Happy Birthday to… Fausto Salsano

Fausto Salsano, a member of Roberto Mancini’s coaching staff with the Saudi Arabian national team, celebrates his 61st birthday today. Salsano, within Mancini’s lucrative team personnel, is most likely enjoying what can be considered an economically rewarding period of his life.

Some have suggested that his colleagues pushed him to accept the opulence arriving from the East during the time of the “scandal”, referring to the resignation of the Technical Commissioner of the Italian team. Whether it’s true or not, Fausto Salsano joining the team with Mauro Sandreani, Alberico Evani, Attilio Lombardo, and Massimo Battara does not seem like a wrong decision. There are people in their sixties, who are arguably faring much worse than them, and it’s not just about money.

Fausto Salsano holds a bond with the Sampdoria football team, asserting his feelings at the last gathering of the players at Gianluca Vialli’s funeral, “We love Samp, Samp is part of us like a sister or brother, we live with these colours inside”.

Maintaining a long-lasting relationship with Roberto Mancini, Salsano recalled in a 2015 interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport how their working relationship rebooted in 2004. He remembered a call from Roberto where he was asked, “I’m going to coach Inter, are you coming with me?” It was a beautiful moment, a strong show of respect and friendship.

Salsano was present in Manchester City’s coaching staff, a team he wanted to bring two Napoli players into. Salsano is known for his dedicated approach to studying and proposing, evident from him saying, “I was the one who went to watch Hamsik in Brescia, the Slovak became a very important player and gained the right experience. Lavezzi is a devastating player who hurts in one on one. They are players we like because our goal is to do great things and win.”

His career has been marked by a trajectory of highs, and the trust shown in him by a high-level coach like Mancini, suggesting that they are an indispensable group together, counts for something significant. Salsano certainly has a story to tell about his journey in football from the Italian Serie A to the Premier League and now in Saudi Arabia with Roberto Mancini.