Gianluca Vialli admits he didn't see former Sampdoria teammate Roberto Mancini as a coach.

They are now working together again for the Italy squad going into Euro 2020.

“Roberto is a great coach, which I honestly did not expect when we were playing together!" said Vialli on Notte Azzurra.

“He has created a wonderful atmosphere of confidence and trust in the players, and when a player feels the coach has faith in him, he can walk on water.

“That's not all, because Roberto also knows how to instil discipline at the same time."

He added: “We met 35 years ago and are not just friends, but brothers. We did extraordinary things at Samp, then the rapport consolidated even after we took different paths.

“Friendship helps you to work better, because you have absolute trust."