Former universities minister Lord Triesman, winding up for Labour, said the Browne report was "not an adjustment to finance but a fundamental policy shift".
As his son (also Mario) drove us over winding roads through nestled mountainside towns, the former economist with the Nicaraguan government told us a story that was to culminate as we reached our destination.
They have failed to pay their players on time several occasions, are the subject of a winding-up petition and legal action from former player Sol Campbell, and have only recently had a transfer embargo lifted.