10 Minutes, 10 Minutes Is Enough for Me!

Tang Long took the initiative to walk toward Icardi, and Icardi saw Tang Long as well.

Perhaps it was because they had already seen each other in the raw in the shower earlier.

Before Tang Long could even open his mouth to ask, the Argentine striker grabbed Tang Long by the neck and pulled him into a corner of the locker room.

"Tang, did you see it on the bench? You saw it, you definitely saw it!"

"See what?"

"That assist from Hernanes!"

"He performed quite well, scored two goals, and Berni even told me his nickname is the Prophet."

Icardi made a face like a confused subway passenger and let out a "tsk" sound.

His Italian was very standard, unlike Palacio who spoke with an accent, and he deliberately slowed down his speech when talking to Tang Long, so there was no barrier in their communication.

"On that play, he clearly could have passed to me because I was in a better position, but he chose to pass to Palacio, who was in a worse spot!"

"You're talking about that?"

Tang Long recalled the moment, and it was indeed as Icardi had described.

Inter Milan had broken the deadlock ten minutes into the first half, and the one who opened the scoring was the 32-year-old veteran Palacio.

This was also Palacio's first goal in his last four matches; he was quite happy after breaking his goal drought and gave the assist-provider Hernanes a warm hug.

"On that counterattack, you were positioned closer to the center, and you could have shot near the penalty spot as soon as you got the ball. Palacio is slower and was out on the wing; his position was indeed not as good as yours, but fortunately, the ball went in."

"Fortunately? I don't think it's fortunate at all. With his footwork, he clearly could have passed it to me."

"But he didn't."

"Right, he didn't! He gave it to Palacio."

Even though he kept his voice low, Tang Long could still hear Icardi's attitude toward both of them in his tone.

As for the assist-provider Hernanes, Icardi was a bit annoyed with him!

If I had the better opportunity and a higher probability of scoring, why didn't you pass to me?

This is an instinctive thought for any striker with a desire to score—a thought that persists until the end of the match, regardless of whether the ball actually went in or not.

This was a matter of trust, touching upon Icardi's sensitive ego.

As for his compatriot Palacio, Icardi felt more awe, to the point that he only mouthed Palacio's name when he spoke it.

In the summer of 2012, Palacio transferred from Genoa to Inter Milan for 10.5 million euros.

He quickly became an absolute starter for the team.

For two consecutive seasons, he scored 20 and 19 goals for Inter Milan respectively, retaining his title as the team's top scorer.

The famous Serie A commentator Zhang Lu once evaluated Palacio like this:

"I don't understand why Inter Milan bought Palacio? He's already 30, old and thin, and they actually paid 10 million for him!"

As it turned out, Zhang Lu had misjudged him.

During Inter Milan's low point, Palacio, who wore a small braid and was nicknamed The Braid Commander, single-handedly carried the banner for the Inter Milan frontline.

Although his physical condition had declined this season due to his age, the decline was not yet very obvious at this stage; it wasn't until the second half of the season that a visible drop in competitive form became apparent.

At least this season, his status at Inter Milan was higher than Icardi's, and he was the absolute big boss of the Argentine faction at Inter Milan!

Hernanes had been at Inter Milan for less than a year; no matter how impressive he was at Lazio, he was still a newcomer upon arriving at Inter Milan.

He had to pay his respects to the hierarchy!

According to Berni, although Hernanes was Brazilian, he didn't like hanging out with the South American faction led by Guarin.

He pragmatically chose the most powerful group in the team, the Argentine BBQ Gang.

To be safe, he definitely had to prioritize Palacio, and Icardi had to be pushed to the back of the line.

Tang Long now understood Icardi's thoughts very clearly.

He wanted to score more goals and win the Serie A Golden Boot, or even the European Golden Boot;

But when Hernanes faced two choices, he tended to pass the ball to the other striker, Palacio, rather than Icardi.

However, constrained by Palacio's prestige within the Inter Milan squad and the Argentine faction, Icardi couldn't really say anything to either side.

"Isn't it the same whoever you pass to?" Tang Long teased Icardi on purpose. "It went in anyway, so it makes no difference to the team winning!"

"Uh, it's the same... but it's also different," Icardi said with a troubled expression. "I really want to win the Serie A Golden Boot, you know that!"

"If I'm on the pitch, once an opportunity arises, I will keep feeding you the ball," Tang Long said.

A glimmer of light flashed in Icardi's eyes, but it quickly faded.

Just then, Mancini walked in, and Icardi stopped his conversation with Tang Long.

Tang Long thought to himself: Icardi knows I would pass to him, but he also knows that whether I can play today, and how many games I can play this season, are all questions.

Tang Long was clear about the trajectory between Icardi and Palacio.

After this season ended, Icardi would win the Serie A Golden Boot with 22 goals, becoming the youngest top scorer in the century-long history of Serie A and the core figure of the new generation of the Argentine BBQ Gang.

Palacio also performed well, but he only scored 8 league goals, a far cry from the previous season, gradually becoming a fringe player for the team before leaving Inter Milan in 2017.

Therefore, Tang Long had to be good to Icardi; this was no longer a matter of placing a bet, but an obvious decision.

Mancini's lecture in the locker room was nothing more than telling them not to relax and to persist with the defensive style of play from the first half, and so on.

"...Alright!

Lads, everyone stand up and head back onto the pitch!"

With the lecture finished, everyone filed out.

In the players' tunnel, taking advantage of the moment when there were few people around Mancini, Tang Long decisively walked up to his side.

"Boss, I need 10 seconds of your time."

"Hmm."

"I request to play in the second half."

"Give me a reason."

"I feel like my form is very good, and I can contribute to the team."

"How much time do you want?"

"10 minutes, 10 minutes is enough."

Mancini stopped in his tracks, looking at Tang Long thoughtfully.

The handsome Oriental face revealed a sense of confidence.

This move by the Chinese player just now still left Mancini feeling a little surprised.

In his coaching career, no young player had ever come up to him on their own initiative to ask for playing time like Tang Long did.

In fact, when his expectant gaze wandered over some young players, their eyes would instinctively dodge, they would awkwardly lower their heads, and then clear their throats unnaturally.

These were all body language signs of a lack of confidence.

Even Balotelli, whom he had promoted from the youth team during his first stint coaching Inter Milan—a guy who feared nothing—had never asked him for playing time while a match was halfway through.

Mancini suddenly smiled.

In 1982, an 18-year-old Mancini arrived at Lazio from Bologna.

It was the exact same age as Tang Long.

Back then, Mancini had also wasted away on the bench because he didn't have the coach's trust.

Especially during the first dozen games of his debut season, he barely had any playing time.

He could only sit dryly on the bench, watching his teammates speed across the pitch and enjoy the cheers of thousands.

For any ambitious professional player, that feeling was no different from having their heart clawed at by a hundred talons!

He looked at the young man before him, who was about the same age as his own son.

Those eyes, expectant for a chance to play, were so similar to how he felt during his first year at Sampdoria...

Mancini, who originally had no plans to give Tang Long any playing time in this match, changed his mind.

"If we go up 3-0, I will give you some playing time. I can't say exactly how much, so just listen for my instructions."