Hello and goodbye? Mancini ducks welcome ceremony at City training camp as speculation continues over his future
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini ducked out of a ceremony to welcome his title-winning team to their pre-season training camp in Austria tonight as speculation grows over his future.
However, Blues fans will be relieved that the Italian HAS travelled with the squad to the high-altitude base for the next two weeks after he was linked with quitting for the Russian national team job.
The title-winning players arrived in Seefeld tonight to cheers from locals and the boom of an oompah band, but Mancini avoided the crowds.
Sources suggested he may have used a private entrance round the back of the five-star hotel or even delayed his arrival altogether to escape attention.
The move disappointed local officials, who had planned to hand over a specially-made lederhosen to the Blues boss on the red carpet.
City players who have been on Euro 2012 duty have been given a break and will not be coming to the camp, during which the club will play three training matches.
A crowd of around 500 - one-sixth of the village's population - had turned out to welcome the latest Premier League club to stay in the spa resort in the Alps.
Players from AS Monaco are staying in the four-star hotel next door to City.
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