Roberto Mancini: National team must be all-Italian-born

Inter coach Mancini believes the likes of Franco Vazquez and Eder should not have been given Italy calls.

Both players have been included in Antonio Conte’s Azzurri squad for the fixtures against Bulgaria and England.

Eder was born in Brazil, while Vazquez is Argentinian by birth but both qualify for the Azzurri through relatives. They are the latest in a series of so-called ‘oriundi’, immigrants of native ancestry.

Notable oriundi include World Cup winner Mauro Camoranesi and current midfielder Thiago Motta, but Mancini is not a fan of the system.

“The Italian national team must be Italian,” Mancini insisted as he arrived for a meeting of Serie A clubs.

“Those who aren’t born in Italy but have distant relatives shouldn’t be called-up, that’s my opinion.”

His views - coming only weeks after Arrigo Sacchi sparked a racism storm - had led to some criticism on social media.

Ilaria Bottura, Eurosport Italia: Antonio Conte has called up Sampdoria’s Eder and Damian Vasquez of Palermo, who were born in Brazil and Argentina respectively. So Mancini was reacting to this. They have recently received their citizenship so Mancini was speaking about that. Italy is a country of divisions, and can be narrow-minded when we talk about immigration and racial integration.

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