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Roberto Mancini has been appointed as the new coach of Zenit St Petersburg, days after the club parted company with Mircea Lucescu. Former Manchester City manager Mancini -- out of work since being sacked by Inter Milan just before the start of the season -- becomes Zenit's second Italian coach after Luciano Spalletti, who won two Russian titles. In a statement on their official website, Zenit said Mancini had agreed a three-year contract with the option to extend by a further two years Zenit ended the season in third place, eight points behind the champions Spartak Moscow and one behind CSKA Moscow, who qualified for the Champions League qualifying rounds. Mancini's first challenge will be to overcome two rounds of Europa League qualifying, starting close to the end of July. He will then be expected to challenge for Zenit's fifth Russian league title and the first since 2015. Mancini won Serie A three times with Inter Milan and the Premier League with Manchester City. Zenit sacked Lucescu after the Russian team failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second straight year.
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