Le Marche another Italy

Roberto Mancini was born 27th November 1964 in the town of Jesi, of the Province of Ancona, in Le Marche Region.
This small town in central Italy was the place which saw Roberto first fall in love with the beautiful game.
As a boy, his only two interests were football and religion. He was a committed Roman Catholic, and as such honoured his faith by being an altar boy at his local place ofworship, the church of San Sebastian.
His football club Aurora Calcio was next door, and a young Roberto Mancini was often found training or playing games there during the early seventies.
His two passions once famously clashed when Roberto left midway through his First Holy Communion to join his teammates for their Sunday fixture. The initial reaction of his family was dismay, until the priest conducting affairs informed them it was he who instructed the young Mancini to get his boots, as his team was 2-0 down.
These were the humble beginnings of a man who would go on to make over 500 appearances in Serie A, inspiring Sampdoria to domestic and European glory, something they hadn't achieved before, and haven't since.
Bologna were the first to see Mancini's talent and signed him at the age offourteen. He was handed his debut at the age of sixteen in September of 1981. Mancini scored nine goals in thirty-one appearances for the Rossobù), although his first season proved to be his last.
Sampdoria saw something special in the young forward and brought him to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in the summer of1982. Little did they knowjust what great success he would bring with him....

Via www.serieaweekly.com