Five reasons why Roberto Mancini is the coolest manager at the Euros

The hair, the passion, the suit, the touch – Roberto Mancini has it all and we can’t get enough.

The Italy manager is exactly what we all THINK we look like, when we dress sharp for a wedding or grow our hair out despite being reminded by your wife that you’re over 40 and barely have any hair to begin with. The result is usually more likened to a Bobby Charlton combover than long, lucrative locks.

A classy player in his day, he has only increased his flair and slickness since becoming a manager. Even from his days at Manchester City when he sported the blue and white scarf with a tailored suit at every game – he’s a setter, not a follower.

Social media has went crazy for him at the Euros this year for several reasons, so we want to give you the top five so far.

5. The suit

Tailored, terrific and trailblazing – the man can rock a suit. You just instantly respect him when you see him dressed as sharp as this. You even googled to see if you can buy the same suit and wondered if that summer holiday to Rome in 2012 is a good enough reason to get away with wearing it.

4. The passion

Don’t let the cool demeanour fool you, he has that fiery Italian passion and he spends most of the match on the sideline, heading every ball, moving every player with his hands, screaming instructions and getting visibly exasperated when there’s a miss or mistake. He lives this game. He’s also compassionate to the players, sending goalkeeper Sirigu on for the last few minutes against Wales just to get a game. He was an unused sub himself at the 1990 World Cup and obviously hasn’t forgotten about how disappointed that made him feel.

3. He knows his onions

You can be the slickest manager alive (and he is) but you won’t stay in the job long without results. Mancini’s Italy are playing some incredible football at the moment, winning all three of their opening games and doing so in style. They came under a resurgence when he took over and went from a disbanded group of misfits to a team that has real aspirations of winning the entire tournament.

2. He’s still got it

At 56 years old, you would be forgiven to be a little rusty, but with his suede shoes and tailored trousers on, he still arguably had the best touch in Italy’s last match against Wales. His delicate flick with the ball floating behind him to bring it under control – I mean, it was nearly too much for the fans who celebrated it as though they had scored a goal. He didn’t even turn his head, he knew exactly where the ball was.

1 . The slickest post-match interview ever

Now, there was absolutely no call for the silver fox to drape his blazer over his shoulder during the post-match interview, but he did it anyway, and we love him for it. We have ran out of superlatives to describe the suaveness of this man. He wins games and looks fantastic doing it. He is the beacon of hope for everyone going through their midlife crisis; it’s never too late to be cool, it’s about attitude, confidence and well, a great set of hair. But two out of three isn’t bad if you’re struggling up top.

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10