Gianfranco Zola: 'Roberto Mancini going into management was unexpected'

Gianfranco Zola has revealed that he did not believe that his Italian compatriot Roberto Mancini would become a football manager.

The duo played alongside each other in the Italian national team in the 1990s.

"No, I didn't expect Mancini to become a manager," Zola told The Telegraph.

"Because of the type of player he was – he was an intelligent player, of course, but I didn't think he had the desire to become a manager.

"But I guess if you speak to some of my teammates they'd probably say they didn't expect me to either. I certainly didn't expect it."

City host Watford in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.