The pair have a long association, that dates back to their time as a player and manager with Sampdoria and Lazio in the 1990s. That in itself offers an unusual slant to Manchester City's FA Cup trip to Leicester. But the ties do not end there. Mancini is a former Leicester player, making five appearances for the Foxes in 2001. And more latterly, Eriksson spent a season as City manager, replacing Stuart Pearce to take charge during the eventful, but ultimately ill-fated Thaksin Shinawatra era. "He stayed there for one year," laughed Mancini. "That is enough, no? He left a seat for me. "Sunday will be the first time one of my teams has played against one of Sven's. It will be very interesting because he is like my brother. "I have know him for around 15 years. He is a fantastic coach and a fantastic man." Since standing down as England boss in 2006, Eriksson has moved around, often with alarming swiftness, always securing a lucrative contract. It means a perception of the Swede has grown that is not necessarily anywhere close to the truth. Certainly Mancini will not hear a bad word about him, and credits Eriksson for the exceptional career he had. "If you stay with one manager for 15 years, he can help you to improve," said the City chief. "When Sven arrived in Italy, we played only 5-3-2. Sven played 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. They were different tactical situations and, that for me, was important." So too was that short spell at Leicester, which built an interest in the Premier League that ensured Mancini was suitably attracted to England when the former Inter Milan chief was approached to replace Eriksson's successor, Mark Hughes, as City manager just over 12 months ago. "I have good memories of Leicester and of their supporters," said Mancini. "It was a very good experience for me - short, but enjoyable and it made me want to return to work in England one day." Mancini could hardly have expected his "work" to be quite so eventful. It is almost regarded as a normal week, one where he has had to deal with a training ground scrap between Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, player discontent in the form of Micah Richards, who is unhappy at not getting a game every week even though he started Wednesday's draw with Arsenal. City's negative tactics at the Emirates Stadium have also drawn criticism, while all the time, the Blues are inching closer towards securing the services of £27million striker Edin Dzeko. Amid all this Mancini has to prepare a side to start another avenue that could end in silverware. Last season's Carling Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United proved to be Mancini's first taste of English cup combat, since when two attempts at getting to Wembley have ended with a disappointing early failure. "We will go to Leicester with the strongest squad we have available because we want to be successful in this competition," said Mancini. "The FA Cup is important. I won 10 cups in Italy when I was a player and a manager, so I know how valuable it can be. "This competition is very important in this country. In five games, you can be in the final. That is where I want to be."
