ESPN reports that Internazionale have fired manager Roberto Mancini after much speculation that they were going to do so. Comments Mancini made after losing to Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League in March were cited as a major contributor to his eventual dismissal. This past Saturday’s Italian Cup final loss to AS Roma proved to be his final match in charge.

A statement on the club website confirms the firing. It reads: “F.C. Internazionale have informed Roberto Mancini of his dismissal from the position of head coach of the first team, in particular because of the declarations made by the coach after the Inter-Liverpool match last 11 March 2008, and because of what followed, up to the facts most recently reported in the press.”

This clears the way for Jose Mourinho to be brought in as the new manager, a story that has also been circulating for weeks in the rumour columns. Ironically, Mancini has been named in the tabloids as a possible candidate for the vacant Chelsea job following Avram Grant’s sacking.

It’ll be interesting to see how the managerial merry-go-round swings in the next couple of weeks.