The Manchester City boss has claimed that his Real Madrid counterpart Jose Mourinho should consider sending Cristiano Ronaldo on a six-month sabbatical to help them win a second successive La Liga title.
VIDEO: http://www.offthepost.info/blog/2012/09 ... he+Post%29
Mourinho & Mancini back Man City for Champions League
Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho believes Manchester City will win the Champions League "sooner or later".
And speaking before Tuesday's meeting in Madrid, City boss Roberto Mancini agreed that they will win the trophy at some point in the future.
Mourinho said: "With the direction the club is going, sooner or later they will win the big cup."
Mancini added: "I am sure we will arrive to win this trophy in the future."
Former Chelsea manager Mourinho compared the investment made at City to that at Stamford Bridge under owner Roman Abramovich.
Mourinho delivered two Premier League titles at Chelsea but was unable to add the Champions League - which he has won with Porto and Inter Milan - to the club's trophy cabinet.
Chelsea eventually won the trophy last season under Roberto Di Matteo and Mourinho is confident that City too will conquer Europe.
He said: "I don't think it is very different to Chelsea.
"Since Roman bought the club, (Claudio) Ranieri was the first coach, then I came and we won the first league, some cups and some more titles.
"Carlo (Ancelotti) then came and they continued to win and finally they won the Champions League.
"With City it started off with Mark Hughes, they started spending money and buying good players.
"Then Roberto (Mancini) came and he has done a very good job. He has created a great squad, the first cup then the first title arrived.
"I don't know if it is this season or next season - with Roberto Mancini or with another person. It will happen sooner or later."
Mancini has set no targets for this year's campaign but admitted that City should be concentrating on winning in Europe in the future.
He said: "If you drive a Ferrari you can win, if you drive a Fiat Cinquecento, probably not.
"In the past we have been working for this. I think we beat good teams but we have played together for two years and we needed time.
"I am sure we will arrive to win this trophy in the future. I do not know when, but I am sure because we are working for this.
"If we want to improve every year it is possible."
Mourinho questioned his side's spirit after they fell eight points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona at the weekend but he says he will not make wholesale changes for the visit of Mancini's men.
He said: "The line-up will not be very different, it will be the best that I consider to play, full of players of the highest level.
"Football is about today and tomorrow, not yesterday. Yesterday is history.
"I haven't been able to keep my players motivated and concentrated at the top level and that is my fault.
"To play against City motivates me as much as playing against Getafe. To win the Champions League motivates me like any other match."
Manchester City aim to prove Champions League credentials
Nobody said it would be easy.
But the task facing Manchester City in this season's Champions League could hardly be more daunting.
The champions of England have been drawn against the champions of Spain (Real Madrid), the champions of the Netherlands (Ajax) and the champions of Germany (Borussia Dortmund).
Depending on to whom you listen, this is either a nightmare draw or the stuff of dreams, a "group of death" or the ultimate opportunity for City to finally announce their presence at Europe's top table.
"Games like this are why you are in the Champions League," City captain Vincent Kompany said ahead of their trip to Real Madrid on Tuesday.
'It's a great challenge. I think we are the sort of team which gets better as the challenges get even greater. It's perfect for us.
"There won't be any moments where we will be surprised. The motivation will be sky-high, the atmosphere great. I couldn't think of a better way to play the Champions League. It's all about how far you can get but it's even nicer when you play against the best teams.
"I thought it couldn't get more difficult than last year but there you go."
Last season Roberto Mancini's team failed to progress to the knock-out stage from a group containing Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal.
Mistakes were made, but lessons have been learned. What surprised Mancini and his players more than anything was the speed with which City were punished for their mistakes. But they are a different proposition these days.
The Premier League title has brought with it a sense of belonging and a confidence that will make City a far tougher proposition.
Indeed, it was City's presence, as much as that of Dortmund and Ajax, that prompted forward Cristiano Ronaldo to suggest his Real Madrid team had been drawn in "the most difficult and most competitive" group.
"In my opinion, and I am sure the opinion of most people, it is the most difficult group and the most competitive," Ronaldo said.
Patrick Vieira's verdict
"Last year gave us belief. Belief in ourselves, belief in the team. But we know when you make a mistake, tactically or technically, you get punished. We have learned from those mistakes and now the players feel they have the power to win every single game and that is really exciting. Since last year we have gone to a different level."
"But we are ready. We are champions of Spain and we are ready to compete with anybody. In my opinion the best teams in the world are there in Spain, in Real Madrid and Barcelona."
And there is the challenge for City. The feeling remains that the two Spanish superpowers still have the rest of the continent at arm's length despite neither reaching last season's final. Mancini believes City are as well-placed as any to bridge the gap.
"There are other teams better than us," said Mancini.
"But for us this is the second time and I always thought the Champions League is a strange animal. If you are lucky, even if you don't have the best team, you can end up in the final. It is a really strange competition. It is important to reach the second stage. After that, anything can happen."
City will need to hit the ground running at the Bernabeu on Tuesday. This baptism of fire will provide City and the rest of us with a yardstick for just how far the club have come in four years since Sheikh Mansour's takeover, and perhaps how much farther they still have to go.
Real start as favourites to top the group but they are understandably wary. "City are a very strong team after an enormous investment and they will be a rival of the highest level,'' said Real director Emilio Butragueno.
Mancini knows his backline must rediscover the defensive obduracy that formed the bedrock of last season's title-winning heroics, while Carlos Tevez will need to make headlines for all the right reasons during the group stages of this season's Champions League if City are to progress to the knockout stages.
As a club, City are relative newcomers to the competition but with the likes of Kompany, David Silva and Maicon, Mancini boasts plenty of European know-how. City will not suffer stage fright.
There will be added motivation for their Italian manager as he pits his wits against Real coach Jose Mourinho, whose name has cropped up in conversations in the City boardroom during the Mansour era.
Champions League in focus
•The Champions League match between City and Real Madrid will be the first competitive match between the clubs
•All three of City's Champions League Group D opponents have won the European Cup
•This is the third season in a row that Real Madrid and Ajax have been drawn in the same Champions League group
•City have never played competitive matches against any of their Champions League Group D opponents
"It will be an exciting match, a good match, between Jose and Mancini," said City executive and former player Patrick Vieira.
"Wherever Jose has been, he has been successful. The Premier League does not hold any secrets for Jose. He follows the Premier League 100%."
It would be foolhardy to see Group D as simply a two-horse race. City will not make that mistake.
Ajax may be a shadow of the side that lifted the European Cup in 1995, but last season they were good enough to leave the red half of Manchester with a bloody nose at Old Trafford, while Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund have won the German title for the past two seasons with considerable panache.
But Real are the most formidable of opponents. In winning La Liga last season, finishing nine points ahead of a Barcelona side considered one of the best to play the game, they scored 121 goals, amassing 100 points.
In Ronaldo they boast one of the world's two outstanding footballers who has the ability and appetite to score goals from anywhere and at any moment. As a former Manchester United player, he will need no added motivation to shine against his old noisy neighbours.
On his last visit to Etihad Stadium in November 2008, he was sent off for two bookable offences as United won 1-0.
Four years on, City have an opportunity to show Ronaldo and the rest of Europe just how far they have come.
Liam Gallagher Wanted Alessandro Del Piero To Join Manchester City
New Sydney FC striker Alessandro Del Piero has revealed that he rejected pleas from Oasis founder and Manchester City fanatic Liam Gallagher to join the reigning Premier League champions.
Del Piero arrived in Sydney on Sunday to begin a two-year contract worth a reported $4 million with the Sky Blues. The Juventus and Italy legend's salary makes him the best paid footballer of any code to have played in Australia.
"Yeah, he (Gallagher) told me a lot of times about City, and the dream for him is me with a jersey of City," Del Piero told Fox Sports in an in-depth interview on Monday. "But, it’s a dream. Now the reality is me with a Sydney FC jersey."
Del Piero, who scored 314 goals in a club record 708 games with Juventus and won six Serie A titles, also turned down offers from Swiss club Sion FC and English Premier League giants Liverpool to sign on the dotted line with Sydney FC.
He has played 91 games for Italy and scored 27 goals, including the second of the Azzurri's two goals in their 2006 World Cup final win over Germany.
San Siro side keen on young Etihad Stadium forward.
Italian source Il Sussidiario states that Inter Milan are keen on signing Man City youngster John Guidetti.
The young Swedish international is struggling to force his way into Roberto Mancini’s first team set-up and could well be tempted by a move to the San Siro as there is a fairly decent chance his career could stagnate at the Premier League title holders.
The 20 year old spent last term on loan at Feyenoord where he scored 20 goals in 23 Eredivisie fixtures and now finds himself behind Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko in the Man City pecking order.
Guidetti is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football and is unlikely to do so anytime soon and Mancini may well consider offers for the starlet striker in January.
New Inter Milan boss Andrea Stramaccioni is certainly looking to build for the future having allowed veterans Maicon, Lucio and Diego Forlan leave over the summer.
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[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Arsene Wenger hints at Theo Walcott deal deadline
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned it will be "difficult" to extend Theo Walcott's contract if the forward has not agreed a new deal by April.
Walcott is in the final year of his contract and rejected a new five-year deal worth £75,000 a week in August.
"If in April it is not done, you can think it will be difficult to do," said Wenger of further planned negotiations.
Wenger also suggested that he may be reluctant to select the 23-year-old if an agreement is not reached.
Walcott has started only one game so far this season - the club's opening Premier League match against Sunderland - and received a mixed reception from the home fans when he was introduced as a substitute against former club Southampton at Emirates Stadium.
Wenger insisted that the England international's place on the bench was not a consequence of his failure to agree new terms, but admitted that it may come into consideration if the matter remains unresolved.
"I still hope to extend his contract so, at the moment, it doesn't affect me. Of course at some stage..." the Frenchman added ahead of his side's opening Champions League match against Montpellier on Tuesday.
"You want your players to be supported no matter what kind if contractual situation they are in. I hope it will not affect him and that it will not affect our fans."
Walcott, who joined Arsenal in a deal worth about £12.5m as a 16-year-old in January 2006, could sign a pre-contract agreement with another club in January. By the end of the season, he will be 24 and entitled to move as a free agent at the end of his contract.
Arsenal sold striker Robin van Persie to Manchester United for £24m in August after the Dutchman announced that he would not extend his contract which, like Walcott's, was due to expire in June 2013.
Twelve months previously, Arsenal sold Samir Nasri to Manchester City, a year before the end of his own contract, after the French international turned down an extension.
Former Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli considered bringing Chelsea striker Fernando Torres, 28, back to Anfield in this summer's transfer window, but was then himself sacked in April. Various
Manchester United plan to rival Chelsea and Manchester City for the signature of Portugal striker Nelson Oliveira. The 21-year-old has scored two goals in four La Liga games since his loan move to Deportivo la Coruna from Benfica. Mundo Deportivo
Sunderland left-back Danny Rose, 22, hopes to turn his season-long loan move from Tottenham Hotspur into a permanent deal. Sunderland Echo
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has decided against signing ex-Manchester United and Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre, 35, and ex-Portsmouth right-back Anthony Vanden Borre, 24, who are free agents and available on free transfers. talkSPORT
Meanwhile, Allardyce says striker Carlton Cole, 28, has a future at the club despite the arrival of Andy Carroll on loan from Liverpool. Daily Mirror
Former West Ham and Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, 28, a free agent after leaving Bolton at the end of last season, is on the verge of joining Championship strugglers Charlton on a a free transfer. Various
Former Everton winger Royston Drenthe, 25, is poised to end his two-and-a-half month search for a new club by joining Greek side PAOK Salonika. talkSPORT
Motherwell boss Stuart McCall fears he will lose an entire team for nothing at the end of the season, when many of his players will be out of contract. Daily Record
Championship sides Leeds United and Leicester City want to take Stoke City striker Kenwyne Jones, 27, on loan. Daily Mirror
Defender Jan Vertonghen, 25, has revealed he rejected a move to Arsenal to sign for Tottenham during the summer - despite the advice from Gunners legend Dennis Bergkamp. Metro
The Football Association hopes Dan Ashworth, the new director of elite development, could be in place at St George's Park before next summer. The 41-year-old is currently on a rolling 12-month contract at West Bromwich Albion which expires in June, but the FA is in discussions to see if they can end that agreement earlier. Times
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Theo Walcott's contract situation could increasingly affect whether he selects the winger in his starting team. The 23-year-old's deal expires at the end of the season and he has already turned down a £75,000-a-week extension. Guardian
The lack of striking options for Liverpool has seen manager Brendan Rodgers call untried summer signing Samed Yesil, 18, into his Europa League squad to face Young Boys on Thursday despite previously saying it would be "one or two years" before he was ready to play for the first team. Various
Manchester United are expected to report a drop in their annual revenue and profits on Tuesday as a result of the club's failure to progress to the knock-out stages of the Champions League last season. Daily Telegraph
Meanwhile, Red Devils goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard, 28, believes the Old Trafford side "got too careless" when they exited that competition at the group stage in 2011-12. the Guardian
Paul Ince, Mark Robins, Phil Brown and Richard Money all remain in contention for the vacant Coventry City manager's job. skysports.com
Captain John Terry, 31, looks set to be fit for the first game of Chelsea's Champions League defence on Wednesday against Serie A winners Juventus after he came through a training session on Monday. Daily Express
Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill is ready to act as peacemaker in 25-year-old Black Cats striker Steven Fletcher's feud with Scotland manager Craig Levein. Sun
Manager Paul Lambert admits he stripped striker Darren Bent of the Aston Villa captaincy to help him find his goal touch. Daily Star
Prince William represented England in typical fashion during his trip to the Solomon Islands after he missed a series of penalty kicks against a 13-year-old goalkeeper. Metro
Watford manager Gianfranco Zola, who signed 13 players from Udinese and Granada this summer, plans to dish out fines if his foreign players fail to learn English. Sun
more bollox soon ....
