"What do they need, and what can you offer?"

Tang Long had heard plenty in his previous life about cliques forming in the locker rooms of top clubs.

It really wasn't hard to understand.

Wherever there were people, there was a world of intrigue!

That was true in the workplace for ordinary office workers, and it was just as true in the locker rooms of football clubs!

Especially at a top European club like Inter Milan.

Although the Nerazzurri's results had declined in recent years, and they hadn't qualified for the Champions League.

But whether you looked at their historical record or their traditional standing in fans' hearts.

Inter Milan were among the top three clubs in Serie A and around the top ten in Europe!

Every player who drew a salary from Inter was a top-class talent~

On the surface, everyone got along harmoniously on the pitch.

But behind the scenes, cliques were extremely common.

After Uncle Bei finished explaining Inter's four factions, he fell silent.

He simply lifted his cup and sipped his coffee, watching Tang Long with a smile as if gauging his reaction before deciding what to explain next.

Tang Long called over a waiter and asked for a fresh cup of coffee for Uncle Bei.

He had noticed a detail!

During their conversation, when Berni had talked about the Italian faction in the Inter squad, he had mentioned Ranocchia, Andreolli, and D'Ambrosio.

But Berni himself wasn't part of it.

He was Italian too!

"Uncle Bei, how are you connected with the Italian Local Faction?" Tang Long asked tentatively.

Uncle Bei seemed to have expected the question. He put down his coffee and took the opportunity to explain:

"Good question!

"Although I'm Italian, I'm not part of the Italian faction. In fact, I never get involved in any cliques at Inter.

"You're wondering why?

"Come on! I'm just the third-choice goalkeeper, brought in to fill a quota for European youth-trained players. I don't even get to play more than once or twice a season. There's no need for me to get involved in some things, and even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference.

"You have to understand that not everyone at Inter picks a side. Even people from similar cultural backgrounds don't necessarily have to stick together.

"For example, Hernanes is Brazilian, but he never hangs out with the South American Faction led by Guarin. He actually gets along pretty well with the Argentina Faction.

"As for me? I'm happy to collect my 500,000 a year. I'll keep doing that for another year or two, then I'll retire. At my age, I've already seen through certain things."

There was no trace of the sorrow of a player nearing the end of his career in Berni's words.

Instead, he looked relaxed and content.

He seemed completely at ease, and his words sounded heartfelt.

Tang Long nodded.

Since Berni didn't belong to any faction, what he said was all the more credible.

Tang Long continued asking Berni for guidance.

Berni spoke to him like a seasoned veteran:

"Tang, if you were a superstar like Messi and Ronaldo, you wouldn't need to join any faction. You'd be the club's most valuable asset, and the board would keep a tight hold on you.

"But right now, as a fringe first-team player, your first priority is to establish yourself.

"If you want to stand up to the South American Faction led by Guarin, you have to join a faction. The Argentina Faction, the Italian Local Faction, or the Ex-Yugoslavia Faction—which one do you think suits you?"

Two moments from the previous match suddenly came to Tang Long's mind!

Both had happened in the home game against Genoa.

The first involved Icardi of the Argentina Faction.

After Tang Long had assisted Icardi's goal, everyone had thought the shot was a fluke, struck off target by accident.

But Icardi had asked him, "Did you do that on purpose, or was it an accident?"

Tang Long had seen both trust and confusion in Icardi's eyes.

Clearly, this striker, with his top-level Serie A sense of positioning, understood the interplay of passes and runs a level better than his other teammates.

The second moment involved Ranocchia of the Italian faction.

Icardi's winning goal had come from Tang Long's pass, two plays before the finish.

After passing the ball, Tang Long had been taken down hard by two Genoa center-backs!

Afterward, everyone on the pitch had crowded around Icardi to celebrate the winning goal.

But Ranocchia had been the only teammate to come over and ask Tang Long if he was hurt.

"Uncle Bei, what do you think? Do you have any advice?"

"Haha, don't ask me. I've only helped you analyze the situation. What you want to do is up to you."

Berni paused, then said thoughtfully:

"Tang, I've spent many years in professional football. When I was young, I joined cliques with other players in the locker room too. It taught me one thing.

"If you want someone's support, you have to meet their needs.

"What do they need, and what can you offer? Whether you can each get what you want is the key to whether you can come together!"

That night.

Tang Long didn't rush to feed match routes into the AI in his dorm at the training base.

Nor did he enter the Cloud Training Ground.

He carefully thought back over his conversation with Berni over coffee that afternoon.

He ruled out the Ex-Yugoslavia Faction first. Its only regular starter was Handanovic. Kovacic was a regular rotation player, while Krhin was completely on the fringes. The Ex-Yugoslavia Faction had little influence at Inter.

That left the Argentina Faction and the Italian Local Faction.

The former had more members and occupied many starting positions.

The latter held the most important position of all: captain.

"What do they need, and what can you offer? Whether you can each get what you want is the key to whether you can come together!"

Berni's words had woken Tang Long up.

The Argentina Faction was currently the strongest at Inter.

The team's recently retired captain, Zanetti, was reportedly about to join the club's senior management.

If the Argentina Faction took him under its wing, he wouldn't have to fear Guarin's South American Faction.

But would the Argentina Faction accept him?

Why would they protect a Chinese player?

After all, Tang Long was still just a fringe player at Inter.

The same question applied to the Italian Local Faction.

What could Tang Long do for them? What needs could he meet?

Tang Long opened the starting lineup from Inter's previous match against Genoa on his computer.

He circled two players.

Icardi of the Argentina Faction.

Ranocchia of the Italian Local Faction.

"Icardi is Inter's top scorer this season. According to my memories from my previous life, he'll win the Serie A Golden Boot at the end of the season."

"Ranocchia is Inter's captain and defensive leader. He often talks to the referee on the pitch, because Italian referees prefer to communicate with local players."

"Hmm..."

By now, Tang Long had more or less made up his mind.

He checked the time. It was eight thirty in the evening.

Tang Long immediately opened the AI Cloud Training Ground and entered training mode.

Once again, he chose Iniesta as his practice partner.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

"Thump, thump, thump—"

The two players' passes echoed across the empty pitch.