Football
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Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli, Ronaldo added to Italy Hall of Fame

Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli and Ronaldo have had their names added to the Italian Football Association's (FIGC) Hall of Fame.

The trio were among 10 new additions at a ceremony in Florence on Monday with Mancini earning his stripes for his achievements as coach of Inter Milan, in his first spell, while Vialli was recognised for his playing achievements and Ronaldo's name was added as one of the greatest foreign players in Serie A.

"I would have liked to enter [the Hall of Fame] as a player, but my friend Vialli beat me to it," Mancini toldĀ La Gazzetta dello Sport. "It was much easier being a player than it is being a coach. In any case, I am honoured to be part of the Hall of Fame as Inter coach.

"I just hope our football returns to being the one where the best players in the world ply their trade."

The FIGC's Hall of Fame is a "celebration of our champions," in the words of FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio, who hopes "young players and managers will have the desire and ability to reach this objective in future."

He added: "This is the best way of getting Italian football back to the level it deserves."

That was a very high level in the 1990s, when Ronaldo arrived at Inter Milan from Barcelona as the latest in a long line of big names to strut their stuff in Serie A. It was, as the Brazilian said, the culmination of a dream.

"I remember when I was a kid and I would wake up at nine in the morning to watch Italian football," he told the FIGC website. "In Brazil, I would dream of playing in Italy. Italian football is what got the best out of me."

While Mancini admitted he would have preferred to take the award for his performances on the field, Vialli suggested he would like to win it for his coaching one day. The 51-year-old has worked as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia since he left Watford in 2002, but he admits a return to coaching is an ambition.

"I've found a fantastic job with Sky paying me to watch football, but I would like to return to the game," he said, adding that the Italy job, which could be available from the summer, might be an ideal route back. "I'm totally available for that. In fact, I'm going to leave the FIGC my number on the way out."

Roberto Rosetti entered the Hall of Fame as one of Italy's best referees, while Patrizia Panico was included for women's football. Giacinto Facchetti, Helenio Herrera and Umberto Agnelli were also all given posthumous awards for their contributions to Italian football.

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