Mancini had worked as an assistant at Lazio for over a year. Later, Eriksen left Lazio to coach the England national team.
But the renowned Swedish manager, with his deep tactical knowledge, had taught his assistant Mancini a great deal.
In 2001, at just 37 years old, Mancini landed a first-team coaching job at Fiorentina, becoming the youngest head coach in all of Serie A!
Of course, his status as a retired star turned coach had helped open doors, but Mancini's coaching ability had also earned him genuine recognition.
After that, his career went from strength to strength. He returned to Lazio as head coach in 2002, then won Inter Milan's favor in 2004, beginning his rise to become a legendary manager.
Interestingly, Eriksen left Manchester City in 2008, and Mancini became the club's manager in 2009.
Before taking the job, he had actively sought advice from his old mentor about tactics in England.
Throughout his career, Mancini had always regarded Eriksen as his life mentor. Their tactical approaches also shared the same roots: pragmatic and conservative, with winning above all else.
As they chatted in a relaxed atmosphere, Mancini told Eriksen about the thorny problem he was facing.
"Coach, I feel like young players are getting harder and harder to manage, especially those born in the '90s. They're completely different from players in our day."
Mancini was referring to Icardi.
The day before Mancini came to China,
Inter Milan's current vice chairman, Mr. Zanetti, had suddenly paid him a visit.
At Zanetti's mansion on the shores of Lake Como, almost everything he said concerned Icardi.
Zanetti tactfully told Mancini that Icardi was unhappy at Inter Milan and felt he was being pushed out.
"Mr. Mancini, Icardi is an important player for us. Whether you look at it from a sporting perspective or in terms of increasing the club's asset value, he deserves to be given proper consideration. We can't afford to lose him next summer."
Mancini realized this was a conflict between Icardi and Guarin—or, more broadly, between the Argentina Faction and the South American Faction.
He had thought he had everything under control.
But Zanetti's sudden intervention was like a huge stone dropping into a bucket of water: the bucket had been nowhere near full, yet the water spilled over.
As the most respected former captain in Inter Milan's history, Zanetti's pressure made Mancini feel the weight of the club's management.
Before coming to see him, had Zanetti spoken with sporting director Ausilio and general manager Fassone?
And what if even owner Thohir knew about it?
Then the pressure wouldn't just be coming from management. It would come from the board, too!
Mancini felt the weight pressing down on him. How could he balance results on the pitch with keeping his players happy? Even 50-year-old Mancini had his doubts.
Eriksen nodded.
He didn't answer Mancini directly, but instead brought up Chelsea.
"I coached the England national team, and I have a lot of friends in England. They once told me about something that happened.
"Do you know Villas-Boas? Three years ago, when he was just 37, he started managing Chelsea.
"To show that he had control over the dressing room, he once wanted the club's star players to fly to Miami in economy class. The whole squad resisted, and he was sacked after a little over a year at Chelsea.
"I know what Villas-Boas was thinking. He looked at the club and its players and thought, 'All right, I'm the manager now. I need to do something. I need them to understand that they have to respect me!' But he went about it the wrong way.
"As some players put it, 'I'm a star player. You can't expect us to fly economy. It's a matter of principle.'"
Eriksen's words sent Mancini into deep thought.
After a long while, he nodded, as if he'd figured something out.
Eriksen topped up Mancini's glass with Wusu Beer.
White foam bubbled up and spilled over the rim, trickling down the side of the glass.
"Roberto, don't worry so much. You've got nothing to complain about. You're well paid at Inter Milan, while plenty of people in this world have to get up early and do grueling physical work in factories. What do you have to complain about? Appreciate what you have!"
After that, the conversation between them grew much more relaxed.
When Eriksen asked how much Mancini had in his transfer budget for the winter, Mancini gave an awkward smile and raised one finger.
"100 million euros?"
"No, Coach. 10 million."
Eriksen burst out laughing when he heard that, then told Mancini about his own club, Shanghai Port FC.
"I can't speak for Europe, but the transfer market in Chinese football is absolutely crazy right now. We're about to bring in a midfielder next season. We've more or less agreed on a deal. He's Chinese, too, and his club is asking for 50 million yuan, around 5.6 million euros. His name is Yu Hai. Have you heard of him?"
Mancini was taken aback. "No, I haven't. I don't know him. The only Chinese player I know is Tang."
Eriksen replied, "See? Even a Chinese player you've never heard of costs 5.6 million. What kind of player do you think you can get in Europe with your 10 million euros?"
"I told my sporting director, Ausilio, that I needed a striker to compete with Icardi," Mancini said.
Eriksen joked, "A striker? Let me think. We have a striker named Wu Lei. He's very young, only 23. Ten million euros should just about be enough to get him. Want to give it a try? Though I can't guarantee that price will be enough. Our club isn't short on money!"
Mancini couldn't help asking, "Are Chinese clubs all that wealthy? Italy's economy has been going downhill for years, and the owners are all out of money. Even Mr. Moratti's oil refinery is struggling, and Inter Milan has been bought by foreign investors."
"The prosperity of the Chinese transfer market has a lot to do with the real estate industry behind it," Eriksen said, continuing to eat his grilled fish. "I don't know how long this spending spree can last. It started in 2012, when a team from southern China got funding from a real estate developer and won the Asian championship. After that, the spending race began."
"But in Shanghai, where I live, housing prices are even higher than in some parts of London. If you ask me whether there's a bubble in all this..." Eriksen swirled the beer in his glass. "I don't believe there isn't."
That night, a cold northern wind swept across Chongming Island.
Mancini had drunk enough Wusu Beer to get tipsy, but now he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
He was still awake at one in the morning.
He kept thinking over his mentor's advice, and as he did, memories of his own youth as a player came back to him.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
He saw that it was Ausilio calling and answered at once.
"Roberto, I have two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which do you want first?"
"Then I'll take the bad news first."
"The bad news is that our winter transfer budget has been cut in half. We only have 5 million euros in cash to work with."
"...What's the good news?"
"The good news is, we've found the striker you wanted. Podolski. Arsenal is willing to let him go."
"Can we get Podolski for 5 million?" Mancini asked, unable to believe it.
"A loan. 600,000 for half a year! They say we have to buy him at the end of the season, but don't worry. I'll add a buyout clause—or we can just refuse to buy him at the end. We can negotiate! Ah, that's how I've been doing things these past few years. Don't worry, we'll manage even if we're broke. Give me a million and I can loan players from all over Europe!"
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