51�Թ�

He only made his Italy debut in March 1990 - a late developer at 25 - and was widely expected to be a peripheral figure in coach Azeglio Vicini's squad, even though he had helped Juventus win the Uefa Cup with a two-leg victory over Fiorentina weeks before.

In 2005, his predecessor in the Quirinal palace, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, conferred on him one of Italy’s greatest honors, making him a senator-for-life.

Only three presidents have been elected in the very first round, the last one being Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 1995.

The 1988 Italian team that he was part of, and that was led by Azeglio Vicini, was similarly entertaining and also believed in youthful exuberance, perhaps inspiring Mancini to build something similar.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella had to abandon a ceremony on Tuesday dedicating a Rome road to one of his predecessors, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, after officials noticed that the name on the stone plaque was misspelt.