Scouting Mission Fails for Ancelotti and Mancini
Carlo Ancelotti had crossed borders for this. Roberto Mancini too. Two Italian managers with Premier League titles on their CVs, back in England on a Saturday night, not for nostalgia but for work – and the work never really happened.
They came to Tottenham to watch Tottenham v Newcastle and, more specifically, to run the rule over a cluster of Italy and Brazil internationals. On paper, it was a rich scouting trip. In reality, it turned into a near-empty notebook.
A scouting mission without its stars
Mancini at least got one key name on his list. Sandro Tonali started for Newcastle and gave the Brazil coach something tangible to analyse. Destiny Udogie, a player firmly in Italy’s present and future, did appear, but only from the bench for Spurs.
Beyond that, the absences piled up.
The Brazilian contingent Mancini had expected to observe never made it to the pitch. Richarlison was missing again, his future in London still the subject of constant speculation. Savio, the £85 million signing from Manchester City who scored on his Tottenham debut against Charlton, did not even make the squad, ruled out by injury. Newcastle’s Joelinton, another important Brazilian reference point, was also sidelined.
Sousa, meanwhile, stayed where he has been for weeks – on the outside looking in. With Robertson and Udogie ahead of him in the left-sided hierarchy, he remained out of the plans and out of Mancini’s eyeline.
For a national-team coach, this was supposed to be a rare chance to see several options in one place. Instead, it became an exercise in patience.
Ancelotti’s long road for little reward
If Mancini’s evening felt thin, Ancelotti’s bordered on thankless.
The Real Madrid manager had gone to unusual lengths to be there. On Friday night he was in France, in the stands to watch his son Davide’s Lille side take on Paris Saint-Germain. Lille led 2–0 heading into stoppage time, a signature win in sight for the younger Ancelotti.
Then it unraveled.
Vitinha struck in the 91st minute. Marquinhos levelled in the 95th. Two goals in added time, two points gone, and a deflated Davide walking off with a draw that felt like a defeat. Carlo left France with that late collapse still fresh, heading straight for London and the promise of a more productive night.
England offered no such consolation.
Injuries and selection choices wiped out most of the Brazilian and Italian targets he had come to evaluate. Savio and Joelinton were both ruled out. Richarlison did not feature. Sousa watched on from his place in the queue behind Robertson and Udogie. Ancelotti, who had criss-crossed countries to watch them up close, could only look on as name after name failed to appear.
Elanga decides it, Italians leave empty-handed
The match itself still had a clear turning point. With the game finely balanced, it was Anthony Elanga who cut through the stalemate. The Sweden international struck in the 60th minute, his go-ahead goal tilting the contest Newcastle’s way and ultimately deciding it.
For Eddie Howe, it was a valuable away win. For Elanga, another step in a growing Premier League role. For the two Italians in the stands, it was almost incidental.
They had come for Richarlison, Savio, Joelinton, Sousa and more. They left with Tonali’s minutes, a brief glimpse of Udogie, and a long list of what-ifs.
Two elite managers, one long weekend, countless miles – and, in the end, a scouting trip that never really got started.
