Roberto Mancini has defended resigning as Italy coach.
Mancini stunned Italian football with his decision on Sunday, with accusations being leveled that he has accepted an offer to take charge of Saudi Arabia.
But he told Il Corriere dello Sport: “After five and a half years it can happen, there were two and a half more left of the contract, I had been thinking about it for months, perhaps it was time to leave, because when certain things, certain situations, change internally, it means that in any case we are moving towards the end.
“I repeat, I don’t think I have killed or disrespected. I have not killed anyone. I am sorry to have read and I had heard certain things. I hoped I could go on because I really enjoyed coaching Italy, however, when the situations change and you understand that the time has come to leave, you have to anticipate the timing of your decisions and, I repeat, with great regret, I did it.”
The former Inter Milan coach also said: “I know, the moment, but there’s also a team that made the Nations in June, I won’t leave them on the street and the championship won’t start tomorrow morning, even if there’s little time. When you prepare for a national team, you only have one week of training. Unfortunately, this is our job, but everything I’ve heard doesn’t seem right to me. It was time to leave.”
