Roberto Mancini (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto manˈtʃini]; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian former football player and manager of Premier League club Manchester City. As a player Mancini was best known for his time at Sampdoria, where he played more than 550 matches, and helped them win the Serie A league title, four Coppa Italias and the Cup Winners Cup, whilst being capped 36 times by Italy. As a player, he gained a penchant for becoming a future manager and would often give team talks at half-time and ultimately became an assistant to Sven-Göran Eriksson at Lazio near the end of his playing career. After his retirement, Mancini embarked on a successful managerial career.

A cup specialist, Mancini has never failed to reach a semi-final of a major national cup competition in every season he has been a manager, from 2002 to 2012. He also guided the Italian clubs he managed to a record 5 consecutive Coppa Italia finals from 2004 to 2008, with Lazio once in 2004 and with Inter in the following four seasons. Mancini's first managerial role was at a cash stricken Fiorentina at only 35 years old and managed to win a Coppa Italia, but left with Fiorentina facing bankruptcy. Months later, he took over as manager at Lazio, where again he inherited financial constraints and was forced to lose a number of key players. With limited resources during his two season tenure, he still managed to win another Coppa Italia, reach a UEFA Cup semi-final, and secure a lucrative Champions League place.

Mario Barwuah Balotelli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmaːrjo baloˈtɛlli]; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent who plays as a striker for Manchester City and the Italian national team. He started his professional football career at Lumezzane and played for the first team twice before having an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and subsequently joining Internazionale in 2007. Inter manager Roberto Mancini brought Balotelli into the first team, but when Mancini left, Balotelli's disciplinary record fell away. He had a strained relationship with new head coach José Mourinho and was suspended from Inter's first team in January 2009 after a number of disciplinary problems.

His problems deepened in March 2010 when he came under heavy criticism by Inter fans after he appeared on the Italian TV show Striscia la notizia, wearing an A.C. Milan jersey. This damaged the prospect of him having a long career at Inter, but he did make several appearances after that. With doubts over his career at Inter, former coach Roberto Mancini at Manchester City gave Balotelli a fresh chance at a new club. He joined Manchester City in August 2010, where his performances and off-field activities have continued to be controversial and enigmatic. Balotelli earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010, in a friendly match against the Côte d'Ivoire thus making him the first black player to play for the Italian national football team.

Fatih Terim, Commendatore OSSI, (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish football former player and manager. Terim was born in Adana, Turkey to Nuriye and Talat Terim. His father Talat, is a Turkish Cypriot who emigrated to Turkey. Terim is regarded as a hard-line motivator whose no-nonsense approach was honed during 11 years as a rugged defender with Galatasaray. His nickname is İmparator, which is the Turkish word for "Emperor". This nickname is also widely used in Italy in his reference.

In a survey conducted by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in 80 countries, Terim was placed among the best 8 managers in the world. He received his award at a ceremony held in Rothenburg, Germany on January 8, 2001. Terim was nominated to be named UEFA manager of the year 2008. Eurosport named Terim as the best coach at Euro 2008. In December 2008, Terim was ranked the 7th best football manager in the world by World Soccer Magazine. Despite his successful record as the manager of Turkey in UEFA Euro 2008, Terim resigned from his post in October 2009 upon the failure of Turkish national team's qualification for FIFA World Cup 2010.

Robert William "Robbie" Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a football pundit and former Welsh professional footballer who played predominantly as a midfielder. During his career he captained Derby County, and also played for the Welsh national team. He now presents 606 on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday evenings alongside Mark 'Chappers' Chapman. He appeared on series 9 of Strictly Come Dancing.

He gained notoriety for his playing style. In 2008, the Daily Mail labelled him as the dirtiest player in Premier League history, based on numbers of yellow cards received, though he has since been surpassed as the player with the most Premier League yellow cards by Lee Bowyer.

Savage was born in Wrexham in October 1974 to Colin and Valerie Savage. He attended Ysgol Bryn Alyn in Gwersyllt, until he completed his GCSE studies in July 1991. On leaving school, Savage joined Manchester United as an apprentice.

Savage is married to Sarah. The couple have two sons. His father was diagnosed with Pick's disease, a dementia-type illness, when he was in his mid-50s, and died in 2012.