Mancini: Could Guardiola do it at a mid-table club?

Inter boss Roberto Mancini is a fan of Pep Guardiola but is not convinced his methods would work at a mid-table club.

Since taking over at Barcelona in 2008, Guardiola has enjoyed huge success at Camp Nou and now Bayern Munich, winning five league titles and two Champions League crowns in a glittering coaching career.

His Bayern side are dominating again in Germany this season, establishing an eight-point lead at the top of the table after 14 games.

Mancini, however, is intrigued to see whether Guardiola’s possession-based approach would work at a team not challenging for honours.

He told Sky Sport Austria: “He is doing well and his style of football works for teams like Bayern Munich and Barca, but I’d like to see him work at a mid-table side.

“Regardless of that, Pep has some good ideas and is a very good coach.”

Serie A’s status as the strongest in Europe has waned in recent years and Mancini is not convinced the infrastructure, or personnel, are in place for that situation to be reversed.

He added: “In previous years Serie A was the best league in the world with lots of foreign players who wanted to come here. That was certainly a wonderful period, then things changed, above all due to the financial crisis in the country.

“Then there’s a problem with the stadiums, as there hasn’t been enough investment. Perhaps it’s necessary to change those at the top, as I’m not convinced the people governing Italian football are the right ones.”