Roberto Mancini was as surprised as anyone over his return to coach Inter, six years after leaving the club.
The 49-year-old won three successive Serie A titles in his first spell at San Siro, but departed in 2008 following the third of those titles.
Following an indifferent start to the 2014-15 campaign, Inter parted company with Walter Mazzarri on Friday, paving the way for Mancini s appointment.
At a press conference on Saturday, Mancini revealed his delight at returning to Italy after a successful spell at Manchester City was followed by a disappointing stint in Turkey with Galatasaray.
I was very pleased to receive the affection of the fans, he said. I never thought I d come back to Inter, but it all happened so quickly. These things can happen in football.
I honestly never thought I’d return here, as when you ve done good work then there s everything to lose by coming back.
I was called, the project was explained to me and I think it can be another great story.
I don t know all the players well yet, so it s difficult to compare with the team I left. Usually when a coach is changed, it means things aren t going well and it is not always just the fault of the coach. I consider Mazzarri to be a good coach.
We need to do something. I hope we can repeat what we achieved 10 years ago. It s tough to say if there are comparisons, but this team looks like it has quality as we did a decade ago and we just need a bit of luck, to work together and ensure things don t get worse.
I am happy with the enthusiasm, as that is the basis of any victory. It s down to us now to restore enthusiasm and bring the fans back to the stadium so we can get back to winning ways.
Mancini s first game in charge will come against city rivals Milan a week on Sunday.
