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Mancini free to take Inter job

Roberto Mancini has terminated his contract with S.S. Lazio and is set to be appointed coach of Internazionale FC.

Board confirmation
"We have terminated our contract with Mancini," said Lazio director Giuseppe De Mita after the meeting of Lazio's board of directors tonight. "We will try to find a replacement within the next ten days."

Zaccheroni out
Mancini's agent Giorgio De Giorgis confirmed that the coach is set to sign for Inter. "Now everything is OK between Inter and Lazio and between Mancini and Inter," he said. "The deal should not be announced until tomorrow however."

Tough job
Mancini will join Inter after two seasons as coach and then technical director of Lazio, where, ironically, he also took over from Zaccheroni in May 2002. Despite his young age, the 39-year-old Mancini should be well suited to the pressures of life at the San Siro after a turbulent start to his managerial career at first AC Fiorentina and then Lazio.

Immediate success
Serious financial problems undermined his time at both clubs, but he was still able to lead Fiorentina to victory in the 2001 Coppa Italia in his first year as a coach. Then, at Lazio, Mancini overcame the enforced sales of Alessandro Nesta and Hernán Crespo in the summer of 2002 to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Early test
Last season, Mancini again won the Coppa Italia, Lazio beating Juventus FC over two legs in the final. He will immediately be called on to reproduce that form for Inter as they prepare for a Champions League third-round qualifying tie in August.

Disappointing season
Inter went some way to redeeming a disappointing season, during which they were thrashed 5-1 at home by Arsenal FC on their way to crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage, by finishing fourth to claim Serie A's final Champions League qualifying berth.

Title drought
But that wasn't enough to save Zaccheroni who had only replaced Héctor Cúper as coach in October. Mancini becomes Inter's eleventh coach since former president Massimo Moratti bought the club in 1995 to be given the challenge of ending the Nerazzuri's title drought, which stretches back to 1989.

Scudetto winner
Mancini, a former assistant to England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio, brings a title-winning pedigree to the San Siro having won the Scudetto at both UC Sampdoria and Lazio as a player. He was also capped 36 times as a striker by Italy.

Team spirit
As a coach, much of Mancini's success at Lazio was accredited to the excellent spirit he fostered amongst his players, many of whom he played alongside during Lazio's 2000 Scudetto-winning season. Two of those, defender Giuseppe Favalli and midfield player Juan Sebastian Veron, now play for Inter.

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