Another Clever Move! Guardiola: Even Cruyff Couldn't Match That!
Just when Guardiola thought—no, just when everyone watching the game thought— that Tang Long, facing the blockade of two Sevilla defenders, would rise to the challenge and unleash a difficult long-range shot with his left foot's weaker foot.
The soccer ball, however, rolled "whoosh" between Tang Long's legs!
"What? He actually missed it?"
Guardiola was startled and jumped up.
This incredible blunder completely fooled the two Sevilla defenders who came up to block him.
Carrizo and Krychowiak have already launched their sliding tackles.
The two players' sharp studs tore up a large patch of turf at the edge of the penalty area, but they watched in utter bewilderment as the ball rolled past them!
Tang Long's missed shot fooled not only Sevilla's defenders but also his teammates!
Bonazzoli, positioned at the penalty spot inside the penalty area, had already crouched down with his hands covering his head, fearing that Tang Long's long-range shot would hit him in the back;
Another attacking player, Podolski, who had made a run into the opponent's penalty area, jumped suddenly, creating space for Tang Long to hit a ground ball.
After drawing the attention of two defenders, this opening created a wide-open space behind him!
The football was slowly rolling sideways, and perpendicular to the ball's trajectory, a blue-black figure rushed towards it like a sharp sword!
"Got it! The ball's in!"
Before Medel, who charged like a black whirlwind, could even meet the ball and shoot, Guardiola in the stands had already raised both fists into the air!
He didn't know anything about Medel, let alone his long-range shooting ability.
However, Tang Long's brilliant dribble, his precise finding of his onrushing teammate, and his comfortable build-up for the shot—such a brilliant combination, if it didn't result in a goal, wouldn't that be a desecration of the sport of football? That would be so unfair!
Thud--
With a mix of nervousness and excitement, Medel went up and kicked him!
Long-range shooting is not a strong suit for the physically imposing Chile midfielder.
His primary ability lies in fighting the enemy from the defensive midfield position, providing monitoring, photography, and protection for Tang Long.
Medel has played in over 40 games this season, but has only contributed one assist and no goals, although he has made the most tackles for the team.
Based on the information, he is a typical midfield killer, somewhat similar to Gattuso in the past.
But Medel is now facing a long-range shooting opportunity that is just as easy and stress-free as it is in training.
He quickly took a deep breath, adjusted his pace, and chose the bottom left corner as his shooting line!
The football, like a shooting star skimming the ground, suddenly accelerated after a bounce, grazing the fingertips of the opposing goalkeeper Regan, and darted into the bottom left corner of the net!
Watching the soccer ball, skimming the ground, touch the net and roll like a dog climbing a tree, all the way to the top of the goal—
Medel felt a sudden jolt in her heart, and her legs, like two iron rods, slammed to her knees...
He looked up at the starry sky above the Berlin Peak Stadium, pointing both fingers to the sky!
"Haha, I broke my zero-goal record with Inter Milan!"
Following Obi's goal that broke the deadlock, Chile Medel also opened his account with his first goal for Inter Milan!
This goal ignited passion in Chile Santiago, Chile, thousands of miles away!
This is where Medel was born, and the city where Medel received his early football training.
Here, the people of the entire city are all glued to their television sets watching their pride – Chile international Medel – play for Inter Milan in the UEFA Europa League final against Sevilla.
After seeing Medel receive Tang Long's incredible pass, he scored with a low shot.
This South America city erupted with intense energy, like a dormant volcano!
Loom loom loom~
Medel Old Simeone., Medel's mentor in his sixties, was surrounded by a crowd in a bar and pulled in front of the television.
"Mr. Simon, your protégé Medel has scored! Look!"
"That's amazing! This guy was my deskmate in elementary school, I never imagined he'd become Chile national football player!"
Old Simeone was now in tears, constantly wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.
"My God, I can't believe it! I actually saw that brat Medel score a goal!"
"I coached him for four years, from age 10 to 14, and in those four years he only scored two goals in total, both of which were penalties!"
"His long-range shots either go wide or out of bounds; he never makes a reliable shot."
"He's really grown up now; he actually managed to score a long-range goal in the UEFA Europa League final! It's a gift from God!"
Upon hearing this, everyone laughed and made the sign of the cross on their chests.
Thanks be to God!
Old Simeone paused, composed himself, looked around, and then waved his hand.
"Listen carefully, God isn't in heaven, He's on this field."
Everyone was stunned, and then Old Simeone's next words were even more resounding.
"That dark-haired kid in the number 99 jersey is Medel's god!"
"The ball he passed to Medel with his back to goal was a gift!"
Everyone was surprised by Old Simeone's statement and turned to look at Tang Long on the television screen...
In the stands.
The thunderous applause, like waves, reverberated throughout the Olympiastadion Berlin.
Guardiola watched the Inter Milan players celebrating their comeback, his jaw practically dropping to his sides!
He suddenly punched his chin, finally managing to close his mouth.
"Perfect art! That kid Tang, he played... he played the pinnacle of artistic football in my eyes!" Guardiola stammered.
Medel's long-range shot was certainly spectacular, but Guardiola's focus wasn't on the Chile had taken the lead.
All his attention was focused on Tang Long!
As is widely known, Guardiola is a head coach with lofty ideals.
Often, he doesn't value the result of the game—or rather, he values the process more than the result.
In his mind, the climax of this attack wasn't Medel's shot, but Tang Long's missed shot!
What an incredible blunder!
Guardiola has a photographic memory.
Before the replay on the stadium's big screen even started, he was already mentally reviewing the entire process, like watching a movie with the film reel hissing.
"He clearly didn't turn around, so how did he find Medel's location behind him?"
"This is illogical. Throughout the entire process, he was always facing Shaqiri on the left flank, while Medel came in diagonally from the right rear."
"I'm sure he didn't look back at Medel's position..."
Guardiola frantically searched his mind, trying to figure out the logic behind Tang Long's missed shot.
Could it be that Tang Long made a subtle head turn that I didn't notice because I was far away in the stands?
But it wasn't until the replay started on the big screen in the stadium, and Guardiola stared at the clear screen three times, that he finally confirmed one fact.
From the start of this attack, Tang Long never looked at Medel's side!
He didn't even glance back once.
"If that's the case, there can only be one explanation: he doesn't need to turn around to observe; he can predict the position of his teammates behind him!"
Sweat dripped from Guardiola's forehead.
He touched his bald head, feeling as if he were touching a rock that had been baked in the desert sun, burning hot.
At that moment, Guardiola thought about many things.
He reflected on his own playing career, and then on his coaching career, and the top players he had nurtured.
There are very few players who can predict their teammates' positions without looking back, just like Tang Long!
Xavi, Busquets, and Iniesta might be able to do it occasionally.
However, that was only during short-term, small-scale interweaving and coordination.
However, Inter Milan's attack this time started with Tang Long dispossessing Banega, followed by Shaqiri breaking through two opponents in succession before finally delivering a cutback cross from the byline.
This entire process takes about ten seconds.
Throughout the entire process, Tang Long remained facing left and never looked right.
In fact, Guardiola paid special attention to Medel's position at the beginning.
Shaqiri dribbled past the last player on the right wing and was preparing to cross the ball.
Medel is still at the top of the center circle!
He and Tang Long stood almost one in front of the other.
Tang Long had absolutely no way of seeing him behind him!
But in that final moment of vulnerability, Tang Long's back of the head seemed to have eyes, not only accurately predicting that there was someone behind him, but also predicting Medel's move!
Tang Long has made at least three such brilliant misjudgments and missed the ball in Serie A this season.
But this was the first time Guardiola had ever seen it.
Seeing it in person was even more shocking to him!
"Such an amazing sense of Football Space is something even Cruyff, let alone Busquets, could hardly match..."
Just as Guardiola was muttering to himself, his phone rang.
Guardiola and Busquets exchanged a text message during halftime, and now they've finally received a response.
[Pep, thank you for your greetings to me and my family! I'm preparing for the UEFA Champions League final, and I look forward to seeing you come and watch our match against Juventus.]
[Regarding the video you posted, I would definitely run to the far post. It's obvious this was a set-piece tactic Inter Milan had practiced beforehand, and they succeeded. A beautiful combination! Enjoy the game – Sergio]
After reading Busquets' reply, Guardiola laughed loudly twice.
He quickly replied, "[I hesitated ten minutes ago, but now I can tell you for sure that this was definitely not a tactic practiced beforehand. It was all the result of that China player named Tang's on-the-spot prediction!]"