Alessandro Amantino

Having played in some of the biggest clubs in the world, Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino, better known as Mancini, is one of the best players to come out of Brazil in the modern era. Playing as a midfielder, usually in an attacking position on the flanks, Mancini is an extremely skillful player known for his vision, technical ability and trickery on the pitch.

Surprisingly, Mancini's career began as a right-back, when he started off his youth career at Atletico Mineiro. From 1997 to 1999, Mancini was a part of the youth academy and in 1999, he was called up to the first team. Mancini's skill and ability was evident and he became a regular starter in the Atletico Mineiro first team right from the word go. From 1999 to 2002, he played over 120 games for the team, scoring 19 goals in the process.

During that tenure, he had two loan spells as well, one to Portuguesa in 2001 and then again, in the same year, to Sao Caetano. Both times, Mancini was recalled from his loan spell earlier than expected, after Atletico Mineiro required his work-rate at the back. He helped the team win the 1999 and 2000 Campeonato Mineiro titles, playing an important role from the right-back position.

In 2003, the Italians came calling and Mancini moved to Venezia. Joining up in Serie B, Mancini's skillful game failed to match the technique and skill required to survive in the Italian game. His habit of controlling the ball with the outside of the foot was one of the fatal flaws that saw him fail to adapt to the Italian game. The result was that Mancini lost the ball a lot, and was left out of the starting line-up as well as the pitch.

After just a few months, Roma decided to sign him up as Cafu left for AC Milan. Fabio Capello, the manager at Roma, gave Mancini an opportunity to prove himself and the Brazilian shone. He made an impact on the manager and, soon, was a regular part of Roma's first team. Over time, Mancini became a better attacking player than defender and soon, he was playing in the midfield.

By 2004, Mancini was included in the Brazilian national team as well. He helped the national team win the 2004 Copa America title, before helping Roma win the 2007 and 2008 Coppa Italia titles. The former year, Mancini was instrumental in the Supercoppa Italiana triumph as well. In 2008, Mancini moved to Internazionale Milan after a fantastic season with AS Roma, both in the league and in Europe.

Under Jose Mourinho, Mancini became a potent force although his playing time was limited thanks to the presence of Ricardo Quaresma and Luis Figo in the lineup. Mancini's game dropped and he became quite inconsistent, winning the 2008-09 Serie A title with the team as well as the 2008 & 2010 Suppercoppa Italia title.

In February of 2010, Mancini moved to cross-town rivals AC Milan, on loan, for the remainder of the season. AC Milan decided against signing Mancini on a full contract and he was sent back to Inter Milan. Internazionale decided against renewing his contract and soon, Mancini was back in Brazil, playing for the club where he started his career - Atletico Mineiro.

Mancini was only part of the Brazilian squad for 6 games, never really being able to make a mark due to the presence of the likes of Robinho, Ronaldinho and Kaka in the Brazil setup.