Mancini debuted in Serie A for Bologna in 1981. The following year, he was bought by Sampdoria, for £2.2 million, whom he played for until 1997. With Sampdoria, he formed a dynamic strike partnership with Gianluca Vialli under manager Vujadin Boškov, which earned the pair the nickname "The Goal Twins" ("I Gemelli del Gol", in Italian). Together, they helped the club to its only league title in 1991, four Coppa Italias and a Cup Winners' Cup in 1990. He also appeared in the final of the 1991–92 European Cup against Barcelona. At 27, Mancini sat on the interview panel that selected Sven-Göran Eriksson as manager. Mancini often delivered the team-talk for Sampdoria. He attended board meetings and had a say in transfer business. In David Platt's 1995 autobiography, "Achieving the Goal", he described the day he met Sampdoria in Genoa while playing for Bari and, lining up in the tunnel, became aware that Mancini was looking his way. Platt wrote: "I thought nothing of it until he asked me, very matter-of-factly, if I was staying at Bari. Outright he asked if I wanted to join Sampdoria. Mancini had been at the club years and was almost a son to the president, Paolo Mantovani." Mancini kept in touch when Platt moved to Juventus and eventually helped bring him to Sampdoria. At that stage, Mancini had established himself as the most powerful voice in the "Blucerchiati" dressing room.