Inter's South American gang against me? Third goalkeeper Berni gives guidance!

And just like that, Tang Long arrived at the first team of Inter Milan.

He discovered that his teammates had varying reactions to his arrival.

The most welcoming of them all was Bonazzoli.

Even though Tang Long had refused to sneak over the wall to a nightclub with him that day.

Bonazzoli was, after all, a young player of similar age, and the two shared quite a few common interests.

This rising star of the Italian youth national team's forward line was incredibly bored living alone in the base's dormitory.

On nights when he wasn't out picking up girls at clubs—after all, his youth team contract of 50,000 euros net per year couldn't support him partying every night—Bonazzoli would run over to Tang Long's room to chat.

"Tang, you're so weird! Why are you sitting there like a wooden statue? Uh, Tang, can you hear me?"

"Tang, is watching match footage really that fun? I'm different from you; outside of training and matches, I don't want to spend a single minute thinking about anything related to football!"

"Tang, can you tell me why Mancini took a liking to you? A 400,000 euro annual contract, oh my god, if I had 400,000 euros, I'd definitely rent a place in Milan, move out, and pick up 10 girls a night!"

Aside from the carefree Bonazzoli.

Inter Milan's third-choice goalkeeper Berni was also very enthusiastic toward Tang Long!

He was the person sitting next to Tang Long on the Inter Milan team bus, having spent his entire professional career drifting through Italy's lower-tier leagues.

Fortunately, he was a product of the Inter Milan youth academy, and the club had only bought him back to meet the quota for homegrown players required for European competition registration.

His specialty was waving a towel, making him a beautiful sight to behold on the substitutes' bench!

He waved it with such ferocity and intensity that it whistled through the air, causing those around him to dodge, fearing they might get slapped in the face by his towel!

This profession was something many Inter Milan fans envied.

Who wouldn't want to earn a 500,000 euro salary while watching games for free from the bench every week?

It was simply a dream job!

Uncle Berni also had another important duty: managing the music style in the locker room.

He was a rock-and-roll guy; with his bald head and thick beard, he often liked to blast loud American rock music, thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump~

It was loud enough to make the dust in the locker room fall down in sheets.

In his words, this was to get his teammates hyped up and excited before the match!

"Haha, Tang! You made it to the first team so quickly; I feel like I underestimated you before. You'll definitely become a big star in the future!"

"If you want to practice shooting after training, I'm a goalkeeper, just call me, and I'll keep you company!"

Besides Bonazzoli and Berni.

The Japanese player Nagatomo Yuto also extended a warm welcome to Tang Long!

He started in his domestic high school team, then entered the J.League, and after playing for less than half a year at the Serie A underdog Cesena, he was spotted by Inter Milan and transferred in January 2011 for a fee of 4.5 million euros.

In his three years at Inter Milan, Nagatomo Yuto had been diligent and humble, using his super-strong stamina to compensate for his physical disadvantages, gradually growing into a starting right wing-back for the team.

On Tang Long's first day with the first team, Nagatomo Yuto even gave him a deep bow!

"Tang, thank you for the brilliant pass you sent me in the match against Genoa. Although everyone says it was just luck and that your shot turned into a pass, I know that without your contribution, it would have been impossible for me to provide that winning assist to Icardi!"

Although Nagatomo Yuto spoke very tactfully.

His bow was a solid 90 degrees, with his torso almost parallel to the ground.

Tang Long was a bit shocked at first, thinking this guy was being way too enthusiastic!

However, he soon discovered that this Nagatomo Yuto bowed at every single moment of every day...

Even if he scored a simple goal in training, he would give a deep bow to the person who assisted him.

He also bowed to the groundskeepers, the lawn mowers, and the gatekeepers.

He even nodded and bowed slightly while talking on the phone.

"Arigato, arigato!"

Aside from these three.

Inter Milan captain Ranocchia was quite dutiful, often asking if Tang Long needed any help.

As for the others, most maintained a lukewarm, professional relationship.

Other than communication during training, they barely said a word to him.

This was fine; after all, in a place like Europe where football is highly commercialized, football is just a job for many players.

It's just work, so the relationship between colleagues is naturally indifferent; it's understandable.

However, Tang Long discovered that there were a few people in the Inter Milan locker room who seemed to harbor hostility toward him!

They never spoke to him.

When walking past him, they would deliberately avoid Tang Long's gaze.

Especially that Colombian, Guarin, who would even deliberately use aggressive tackles on him during training, drawing side-eyes from other Inter Milan players.

"Guarin tackled you during training? That kid is a troublemaker. He often had conflicts with the former manager Mazzarri, and now that Mancini is here, he'll probably have to be disciplined properly."

On the streets of Milan, outside an open-air cafe, the bright sunlight reflected off the surface of the coffee in the cup, shimmering with a strange luster.

Tang Long and Berni leaned back in their chairs, chatting in a relaxed manner.

A white pigeon flapped its wings and landed on the table, its round, mung bean-sized eyes staring intently at the breadcrumbs on the plate.

Berni waved his hand, shooing the pigeon away. "Guarin is just like this pigeon; he's staring at you because you took what belonged to him."

"I can understand that. After all, being substituted for me in the last match was an insult to him," Tang Long said. "But besides Guarin, Medel, Juan Jesus, and Jonathan also seem to have a problem with me."

Berni smiled meaningfully and took a sip of his coffee.

He pointed at the coffee and said to Tang Long:

"This coffee is delicious, and I love drinking it, but coffee from different places has different flavors."

Berni looked left and right, and after confirming that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned closer to Tang Long and held up four fingers.

"You're new here, so you don't know the situation in the locker room yet. Let me tell you about it."

Berni began to explain in detail.

Within the Inter Milan squad, there are four major factions.

The most powerful is the Argentine faction.

Ever since the Moratti era, Inter Milan has had a tradition of collecting Argentine players.

This season, the Argentines on the team include Icardi, Palacio, Osvaldo, Campagnaro, and Carrizo—five in total.

Next is the local Italian faction.

This group consists of captain Ranocchia, D'Ambrosio, and Andreolli.

The former Yugoslav players at Inter Milan also stick together, forming the Balkan faction.

The members are Handanovic, Kovacic, Kuzmanovic, and Krhin.

Finally, there is the South American faction, led by Guarin.

"Let me tell you, Tang, although Argentina is also in South America, that group is independent and doesn't fully integrate with the South American faction."

The South American faction at Inter Milan mainly consists of four players: the Colombian Guarin, the Chilean Medel, the Brazilian defender Juan Jesus, and the Brazilian wing-back Jonathan.

Although Guarin has a reckless personality, he hasn't been playing for all these years without having a sharp mind.

He knows that your arrival is Mancini's way of deliberately messing with him, so Guarin will lead his South American faction to stand against you!