Source: Daily_Mail
Matt Lawton interview: Platt on why Mancini can make City great
When Roberto Mancini decided to put down some more permanent roots in Manchester, he bought a house just a couple of doors along from David Platt. [LNB] And when one particular Manchester City player decided to put down some more permanent roots, he moved into a place slap bang between the two. Only he didn't realise he had his manager on one side and the first-team coach on the other. 'I told him there's no sneaking home at three in the morning,' said Platt, laughing almost uncontrollably. [LNB] Final countdown: Platt (right) andMancini (left) hail a Wembley win over United[LNB]'No matter which direction he comes from.' Not so much a case of noisy neighbours as nightmare neighbours. Platt is back in the game he graced with distinction as a player and the former England captain could not be happier. Mainly because he is enjoying the job as much as he is but also because his return to football, last summer, was so unexpected.[LNB] He did wonder if such an opportunity would ever come his way again. Even wondered if a career in football was something he still wanted. He had made his money, particularly during those years playing in Italy, and had a rather nice life, dividing his time between his family and a golf business that allowed him to get his handicap down to six while enjoying some of the world's finest courses.[LNB] The difficult spell he had endured as the manager of Nottingham Forest, which was then followed by three years in charge of England Under 21s, was becoming a distant memory. He had been away six years. [LNB] 'At the level I would have wanted to return at, I didn't see anything happening,' he said. 'There was nothing on the horizon. And the longer you are out of it, the more you take a step back and question whether you want to go back in. If you'd asked me 16 months ago whether I thought I'd ever get back in, I'd have said no.' [LNB] It all changed when his close friend and former Sampdoria team-mate became City's manager. Although even then, when Mancini eventually called him, he had his reservations. [LNB] 'My whole life had started to balance out,' he said, enjoying a coffee in a local cafe he used to go to far more frequently. 'I was late becoming a father. My son's five and I'm 44. I had time, I had the financial ability to have that time, I was playing the best golf courses in the world. I could get up and down in two from the edge of the green 75 per cent of the time! I wouldn't get anywhere near that now.[LNB] 'Had Robbie gone into a club that was in London, it would have been another obstacle I had to overcome. It would have been a much bigger decision if I'd had to move my family in an industry that can be so fickle. But this opportunity was just down the road, and I thought, "S***, there's no reason not to do this".'[LNB] Old pals: Platt and Mancini in their Sampdoria pomp[LNB] Now he's so glad he did take the plunge, because City have not only reawakened his passion for the game but also the competitor that burns inside him. [LNB] Much of that, he says, is down to Mancini and Platt offers a fascinating insight into the suave, sophisticated Italian who has guided City to next month's FA Cup final and within touching distance of a place in next season's Champions League. [LNB] Their friendship dates back nearly 20 years, to when Mancini was the captain of Sampdoria and somehow entrusted with the task of luring Platt from Bari.[LNB] 'You have to understand that Robbie was a God at that football club,' said Platt. 'He was a player but he was privy to president and sporting director conversations. He would have been told I was on their list of transfer targets and he would have said, "OK, I'll talk to him". [LNB] 'I remember earlier this season when that crowd gathered outside Wayne Rooney's house, because they thought he was leaving. How many were there? 50? Robbie was laughing. When he was at Sampdoria and he said he might go to Inter Milan, a crowd of 10,000 gathered outside his house, all begging him to stay.[LNB] 'Eventually he got me there, and at one stage we were going through a bad spell. We then lost the derby against Genoa, 3-1 at home. The supporters were magnificent but all hell broke loose after that, and Robbie got a letter from the leader of the supporters. We used to warm up underneath the stadium and then go out for kick-off. But the letter invited us to warm up on the pitch half an hour before kick-off so they could give us loads of abuse, get it out of their system and then become the 12th man again, come kick-off.[LNB] 'So we go out, (Sven Goran) Eriksson goes out as well, and we're getting it from all sides. But then Robbie goes over to where the hardcore fans sat and just did that (Platt opens his arms), and they stopped, there and then, and started singing his name. It was just incredible. Like he'd parted the sea or something.'[LNB] Talk the talk: Mancini is a 'hands on' manager[LNB] Mancini invited Platt to become his room-mate when he signed for Sampdoria in 1993 - after a season with Juventus - and from there a bond was formed. 'But we're not like bosom buddies,' said Platt. 'And it's not like there's a mutual appreciation society. We have remained friends. We both have a place in Sardinia and we would catch up every summer.[LNB] 'But I don't think that's why Robbie asked me to come and work at City. I think it's because I've always been straight with him. Robbie could dish out b*********s, even as a player. But I was someone, if I didn't agree, who would stand up to him. He likes to have people like that around him.'[LNB] According to Platt, Mancini is someone perfectly equipped to cope with the pressure associated with trying to bring success to the world's richest football club. 'He has this ability to absorb everything,' said Platt. 'The media attention, any setbacks we might suffer, the burden of expectation. [LNB] 'His mantra, even after a defeat, is that we can improve, every day. We had breakfast before the semi-final against United and I asked him if he was nervous. He said, "I'm not nervous. I can absorb any defeat. But I'll feel so sorry for the owners and the supporters if we don't get there". [LNB] 'I think that's why it meant so much to him. For him it's all about winning but it's not about winning for himself. His mantra now is that "We can make history" at this club. That in 100 years they will be talking about Yaya Toure and David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong and so on. If we'd been beaten in the semi it would have been a massive kick in the b***s for the fans.' [LNB]Never lose it: Mancini juggles a ball during training[LNB]Platt says there is a real sense of optimism at City. Excitement too. Even when it comes to the progress he says the often troublesome Mario Balotelli is making. 'We started the season with a lot of new players and it's taken time for the team to evolve, understandably,' he said. 'But since January it's been good. Slowly but surely there's a spirit and an intensity that has built up.[LNB] 'Mario is 20, and he's had to find his feet in a different country, playing a different type of football. But I don't think he's that difficult to manage. I think he responds. We have to continue to manage him, continue to develop him. But he listens and he is learning.'[LNB] Mancini, he says, is a 'hands on' manager. But you can tell that Platt, a bright, articulate man who remains fluent in Italian, takes great pleasure in seeing players like Balotelli develop. [LNB] 'When I was the Under 21 manager I always felt the development of the player was paramount,' he said. 'I took a great deal of interest in such things. I looked at the way the England team was developing. I collated information on the make-up of the England team, and examined the players - in my position as Under 21 coach - who were coming up through the age groups.[LNB]'I anticipated there being a decrease in the number of England players playing Champions League football. I produced a document that raised theissue because I didn't feel it was being recognised. I could see difficult times ahead for the England team.'[LNB]As someone who represented England in a World Cup semi-final as well asthe Euro 96 semi-final, Platt does have opinions that should be shared.He has his doubts about the practicalities of preparing an England teamfor matches at Wembley at a National Football Centre in Burton. He alsoquestions the value of making Jack Wilshere play in this summer's European Under 21 Championship.[LNB]'The boy is now playing in Arsenal's first team, playing in the Champions League, playing for England, so I'm not sure what he's going to learn in an Under 21 tournament,' said Platt. 'The level he's now playing at is superior to Under 21 level. There might be an argument that says the tournament experience would be useful but the argument needs to be counter-balanced by the physical damage that could be done to the player.[LNB] 'He's played a great deal of football already this season and part of his development is a substantial rest in the summer that allows him to progress next season and finish it with a strong performance in the European Championship.'[LNB] That, however, is now someone else's problem. Platt's focus is elsewhere. 'The objective, when I sat down with Garry Cook and Brian Marwood and discussed working for City, was to win something and qualify for the Champions League. And we've now got a very exciting three-and-a-half weeks ahead of us.'[LNB] He wouldn't miss it for the world.[LNB] WIN an amazing Manchester City football experience...Shame those who believe 'Munich' is a laugh - vile chants embarrass us allTom Jones and Noel Gallagher could go head-to-head in Final song battle[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]
