There is a story about Roberto Mancini that has never come out before and probably goes a long way to explaining why, even for those of us who have admired his work, there is no getting away from the fact he can be a terrible prima donna sometimes.



It goes back to the FA Cup final in 2011 when Manchester City won their first trophy of the Abu Dhabi era and Mancini, who was always obsessively superstitious, was adamant that the team had to prepare exactly the same way as they had for their semi-final against Manchester United.



The problem was the team bus had accidentally gone the wrong way on that occasion from their hotel in Hertfordshire. Mancini wanted them to do the same again, even if it made the journey longer than necessary, and refused to budge even when he found out there was a police escort to take them on the correct route.



Mancini, being Mancini, got his way. The police went one direction, the bus went another, and an hour or so before kick-off...