Chivu felt deeply frustrated.
He was so frustrated!
After talking with Mancini, he felt that in the eyes of the renowned Italian manager, Tang Long was nothing more than a pawn to help him control the locker room.
Perhaps, in Mancini's view, Guarin, whom he relied on, Icardi, whom he was grooming, and Tang Long, whom he had promoted over widespread opposition straight from the youth team—
were all just pieces in his grand strategy for Inter Milan, a Serie A powerhouse!
To Mancini, Inter Milan was merely a stepping stone from the Premier League back to Serie A, an important move in restoring his standing in Italian football after returning for a second stint.
His ultimate goal was to manage his homeland's national team, like Lippi, and reach the pinnacle of his coaching career.
But to Chivu, the words "Inter Milan" meant everything.
He had played for Inter for a full seven years, giving the club the best years of his career and accompanying the team on its fall from the heights to the depths.
Even after suffering a skull fracture in 2010, he had risked a lifetime of neurological complications to undergo surgery to remove the bone fragments. Just a few months later, he was back representing Inter in the league and the Champions League.
Wearing a helmet like Cech's, he had fearlessly challenged for headers on the pitch for another four years!
The year he retired, in 2014—
Cagliari in Serie A had actually offered him a two-year contract. He could have continued his career whenever he wanted.
But Chivu had turned it down without hesitation. He had publicly declared to the media, "I'll never take the field against Inter. If no club abroad wants me, I'd rather retire!"
With such a profound love for his club