Mancini

Early career

Regarded as a promising talent, Mancini began his career in his homeland of Brazil with his hometown club, Atlético Mineiro, where he remained from 1999 to 2002. During that time, he had two loan spells, at Portuguesa and at São Caetano in 2001.

Venezia

He was signed by Serie B side Venezia in January 2003. During that time, he struggled to adapt to Italian football and was criticised by the Venezia manager for his errors and for his habit of controlling the ball with the outside of his foot, which in Italy is considered unconventional. Mancini only made 13 appearances for Venezia that season. In the summer of 2003, he was signed by AS Roma for nominal fees totalling €1,000.

Roma

Having lost Cafu, Roma needed a replacement at right-back, but with his early performances in Italy being far from convincing, many Roma fans were sceptical about his ability. However, their then-manager Fabio Capello gave the Brazilian a chance, and Mancini went on to complete a consistent first season in Serie A, the highlight being a backheel flick from a set piece in the Derby della Capitale against SS Lazio. In the 2005–06 season, Mancini began to find his top form, once again becoming a key player for the Roma side. Following the Calciopoli scandal, Roma qualified for the UEFA Champions League, giving Mancini the chance to play at the highest level of club football. In the last 16 of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, Mancini scored a goal against Lyon…

With the Brazilian Under-20 national team, Mancini participated in the category's World Cup in 1999 in Nigeria. During the competition, in which Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Uruguay, Mancini played in 4 of the 5 matches, scoring a goal in the last match of the group stage against Zambia. Between 1999 and 2000, he played 9 matches with the Olympic team, also participating in the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic tournament. On 28 April 2004, he made his debut with the senior national team in Budapest in a friendly match against Hungary (4-1 for the Seleção). With the Brazilian national team, he won the 2004 Copa América, in which he played 2 matches in the group stage. In total, from 2004 to 2008, Mancini played 6 official matches with Brazil and an unofficial friendly match against Catalonia.

On 7 August 2019, Mancini signed his first manager contract with Serie D club Foggia. His short-lived experience as Foggia boss ended 2 September 2019, as he resigned after the first league game, a 0–1 away loss to Fasano. On 1 September 2020, Mancini took over as the new head coach of Brazilian club Villa Nova. He was successively sacked on 8 October 2020, only to be reinstated the next day. He left the club by the end of the 2020 Campeonato Brasileiro Série D season.

Name and background

His nickname, Mancini, is a diminutive form of manso, the Portuguese word for 'calm'. His surname is, in the Iberian fashion, a composite of his parents' principal surnames. Portuguese naming customs most commonly have the mother's surname first, preceding the father's (in contrast to the traditional order usual in Spanish names). Mancini's follows the usual Portuguese order: The first surname element, Faiolhe, is a variant spelling of Faioli; the second surname component is Amantino. Mancini holds Italian nationality through descent, via his great-grandmother Genoveffa from Veneto.