Go to Manchester United to Help This Ungrateful Wretch? Bah! Tang Long Snatched Him Away Midway!

Icardi's words also took Chivu by surprise!

He sat on the steps of the FA building and pressed Icardi for an answer, asking why he said that.

Icardi was unaware at this time that Chivu had already left the England national team coaching staff;

He simply advised Chivu to leave the England national team and become a coach for Manchester United's first team.

"Mr. Chivu, as far as I know, a tactical analyst for Manchester United's first team has left Manchester for personal reasons, and the position is now vacant. The club is actively recruiting, and I can directly refer you to the club. It would be my honor if we could reunite at Manchester United!"

Icardi is now convinced that Chivu is the one who can help him successfully transition his career. He has no friends in Manchester and can only save his career by clinging to Chivu as a lifeline.

"With his guidance, I, Mauro, will definitely be able to give Pellagrini a good thrashing! Bony and Ibrahimovic are no match for me!"

After Chivu repeatedly confirmed with Icardi that Manchester United did indeed have a vacancy for the technical analyst position, his mind began to work at lightning speed.

The first premise is that Chivu needs to remain in the UK!

Although he has only worked for the England national team for a little over two months, Chivu has already been deeply attracted to this modern, developed country.

Compared to other developed countries in Western Europe, the environment here is more relaxed and open, the infrastructure is more complete, and the medical conditions are also very good.

More importantly, the education level here is the best in Europe, which is very beneficial for children's growth.

Chivu's son has just turned five and still lives with his mother in Romania.

With his child about to start primary school, Chivu plans to bring his wife and daughter to Beijing Guoan and send his son to UK school there.

This means that Chivu himself must also stay in the UK and find a long-term job.

However, Chivu was new to England and didn't know anyone, nor did he have any connections there.

Mancini managed Manchester City for four years and is still the national team manager. He certainly has extensive connections in UK football. If you seek help from Mancini, you might be able to find a job in Britain football.

But Chivu is also a man of pride. He just had a falling out with Mancini, and now he's going to beg him for help?

Putting aside whether Mancini would help, Chivu simply wouldn't budge on that offer!

Manchester is a major city in England, and although its educational resources cannot compare with those of London, they are still among the best.

As the biggest club in the Premier League, Manchester United enjoys a worldwide reputation. Chivu finds the prospect of securing a position as a member of the first-team coaching staff at Manchester United, or returning to his original profession as a technical analyst, quite tempting!

So Chivu immediately agreed to Icardi and told him that he had already submitted his resignation to the England national team.

Upon hearing this, Icardi on the other end of the phone slapped his thigh and cheered loudly.

"That's wonderful, Mr. Chivu, where are you?"

"London? Well then, take the fastest train to Manchester now. I'll be waiting for you at Piccadilly station, and I'll take you to the club for a meeting!"

That evening, Tang Long booked a private room at the largest restaurant in Manchester's Chinatown to host a dinner for his three teammates.

Ranocchia, Kolarov, and Bonazzoli.

The purpose of this dinner was not to celebrate Tang Long's hat-trick in the league's opening match, but to congratulate Bonazzoli on his debut for Manchester City.

"Federico, you're so young, only 19, and you're already playing for Manchester City's first team! At my age, I'd still be playing in the mud in the Serbia league!"

Kolarov is from Eastern Europe and has been fond of alcohol since his youth. He drank this full glass of red wine like it was water, tilting his head back and gulping it down in three mouthfuls.

Bonazzoli took a sip, and said with a hint of shyness, "What am I? We're both 19, but I'm nowhere near as good as Don."

Tang Long and Ranocchia don't drink alcohol, so they both picked up their teacups.

"Welcome to us, Bonazzoli!"

From then on, the Italian-speaking Faction expanded from three to five members: Tang Long, Ranocchia, Kolarov, Gündoğan, and the newly joined Bonazzoli. Their status in the locker room became even stronger, second only to the Spanish-speaking Faction.

After returning home, Tang Long browsed social media for a while, preparing to watch a two-hour match video before taking a shower and going to bed, when he unexpectedly came across a new status update from Icardi.

[A photo with the world's best coach!]

The accompanying photo is a selfie of Icardi and Chivu at Manchester Piccadilly train station.

Both of them were beaming with smiles.

At this time, news of Chivu's departure from the England national team had not yet been reported by the media.

Fans in Icardi's comment section had no idea that Chivu's trip to Manchester was to apply for a position as a technical analyst in Manchester United's coaching staff.

Fans simply assumed it was just a private gathering between the former Inter Milan coach and former Inter Milan players.

But Tang Long had a vague feeling that something was wrong!

Chivu and Icardi's relationship is far from good.

There's no doubt that Chivu, during his time at Inter Milan, was dedicated to his work and spared no effort in providing Icardi with tactical and technical guidance.

But neither of them are at Inter Milan now, so why would Chivu travel all the way to Manchester to visit this ingrate who got involved in the strike at the end of the season?

Moreover, Tang Long knows Icardi very well; everything he posts on social media is done with ulterior motives.

Previously, in an attempt to curry favor with De Bruyne by passing him the ball, he posted several photos of himself with De Bruyne, claiming that he was the best midfielder in the entire Premier League;

After his falling out with De Bruyne, Icardi never posted another photo of the two of them together, and even occasionally reposted sarcastic comments.

Most importantly, if Chivu came to Manchester and wanted to catch up with former Inter Milan players, he would definitely ask himself or Ranocchia first, not Icardi!

After thinking it over, Tang Long decided to call Chivu to find out what was going on.

Sure enough, there was a hidden story behind this question.

Chivu explained to Tang Long in an apologetic tone:

"I'm so sorry, Tang, I didn't really want to go to your arch-rivals' team. It's just that I've already resigned from the England national team and I desperately need a stable job now. I need to think about my family and my children. Icardi offered me this job opportunity, and I'm quite grateful to him for that."

During the phone call, Chivu also recounted to Tang Long how he had provided Icardi with a detailed analysis of his technical weaknesses and offered him suggestions for a career transition.

Then he took the next available train and rushed from London to Manchester. Icardi then drove him to Manchester United for an interview as a technical analyst.

"Pellegrini is very satisfied with me. Because it was late and the HR department had closed, he told me to wait for a formal reply tomorrow morning. He said that if nothing unexpected happens, we can sign a four-year formal contract tomorrow."

Tang Long was furious when he heard this!

It's not that Chivu is doing anything wrong by coming to work for their city rivals; it's perfectly normal. For Chivu, it's just his job as a coach.

The thought of Chivu, such a good coach, going to help that idiot Icardi filled me with regret; it felt like a good cabbage being eaten by a pig.

After a moment of contemplation, Tang Long suddenly asked Chivu:

"Mr. Chivu, if you could come work for Manchester City, could you turn down the offer from Manchester United? Icardi needs you, but Ranocchia, Bonazzoli, and I also need you!"

Chivu chuckled on the other end of the phone and immediately thanked Tang Long for his kindness.

"Thank you, Tang. To be honest, if I could work at Manchester City, I would definitely choose to come here. After all, you, Ranocchia, Bonazzoli are all players I admire very much. Of course, I would love to work with you every day. Besides, Manchester City's coach is Guardiola! If I could work under him for a few years and learn some of his valuable lessons, that would be a truly worthwhile experience!"

"However, I checked, and Manchester City's coaching staff hasn't publicly announced any recruitment; they're not short of people."

Tang Long shook his head and said, "As long as Guardiola wants you, it's not a problem."

Chivu laughed and said, "But I don't know Guardiola. Forget it, the job at Manchester United is great. Anyway, we're both in Manchester, so you can always make an appointment to see me if you want."

"I'll help you," Tang Long said firmly. "I'll go find Guardiola tomorrow and have him invite you over!"

The next morning, before the morning training session even started, Tang Long took Ranocchia with him to Guardiola's office.

Last night, Tang Long called Ranocchia and told him about this.

When Ranocchia heard that Chivu was going to Manchester United and would be giving Icardi a career transition coaching, he was furious!

"Icardi, that bastard, doesn't even deserve Chivu's guidance! He's just a technical analyst for the first team, not the head coach. Come on, let's go find Guardiola first thing tomorrow morning and make sure he makes room for us!"

Ranocchia's former mentor and close friend at Inter Milan urgently needed a job opportunity in UK, so how could he not help? He absolutely couldn't let this opportunity fall into Icardi's hands.

So Ranocchia came to Tang Long's house that very night.

The two secretly discussed the matter, brainstorming various approaches and strategies, and considering how to persuade Guardiola to give Chivu a position the next day.

The two discussed until 1 a. m., racking their brains to come up with a lot of things to say. Basically, they prepared everything that would benefit Chivu and highlight his professional skills and qualities.

However, even with thorough preparation, neither Ranocchia nor Tang Long had ever interfered in the coaching staff's personnel arrangements before.

So when the two finished explaining their reasons for recommending Chivu the next day, they looked at Guardiola with some trepidation.

Unexpectedly, Guardiola's eyes lit up. He touched his shiny bald head, made a phone call, and summoned his trusted scout Raymond.

Raymond was on his way to Brazil to investigate South America prodigies. He was carrying his suitcase and his plane was taking off in two hours. He rushed to Guardiola's office and impatiently asked him what was wrong.

"Chivu, you know that Romania player who played for Inter Milan and just resigned from the England national team? He wants to work on our coaching staff. Raymond, can you analyze this for me and see if it's feasible?"

Raymond thought for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, Pep. The first team coaching staff is currently lacking a former star player coach to help young defenders like Stones develop. Chivu has an extraordinary career record, having won the treble with Inter Milan. He is a suitable candidate. Moreover, modern football increasingly emphasizes the assistance of technology. I heard that he is famous as a tactical analyst in Inter Milan's first team. Right now, it wouldn't be a bad thing for us to have another high-level technical analyst. Let him come."

"Technical analyst? No, no, no," Guardiola waved his hand. "Rebić said he's quitting, so I'm going to bring Chivu in as my assistant coach!"