Mancini, who had been a striker in his playing days, wasn't a conservative coach deep down!
If he played it safe, it was because he had no choice.
Who didn't want to play beautiful attacking football?
Who didn't want to win the acclaim of an attacking mastermind by overwhelming the opposition in front of tens of thousands of fans?
After joining Inter Milan, Mancini had implemented a cautious approach as a compromise forced by the players at his disposal.
Even so, he still yearned to play attacking football.
In fact, during Mancini's first spell at Inter Milan, in the 2006–07 season, the team had played attacking football.
That year, they won the Serie A title for a second consecutive time with a club-record 97 points.
In all 38 Serie A matches, Inter Milan had scored an incredible 80 goals!
That was more than two goals per game!
Such a feat was extremely rare in Serie A, a league that prized defense.
In the seven years since 2007, no Serie A team had managed to break the league record of 80 goals in a single season.
"I'm going to win the Serie A Golden Boot!"
"I'm going to become the youngest Golden Boot winner in Serie A's hundred-year history!"
So when Mancini returned to Inter Milan in November 2014 and sat down for a one-on-one talk with Icardi in his office,
the Argentine striker's bold declaration instantly won Mancio over!
Mancini had told his longtime assistant, Herrera, more than once:
"If a team wants to win titles, it needs a powerful striker—someone who can score 20 to 30 goals in a season."
During Mancini's first spell at Inter Milan, that player had been Ibrahimovic;
after he took charge of Manchester City, it had been Aguero.
And on his first day back at Inter Milan, Mancini decided that this player would be their center forward, Icardi!
Mancini had a keen eye for talent, and his ability to build a team was world-class.
Although Icardi had scored only nine goals the previous season, and although Inter Milan's starting striker, the over-thirty Palacio, had scored 19 over the course of the season,
Mancini, with his sharp eye, was certain that Palacio wouldn't be the one to lead Inter Milan's attack in the future. It would be Icardi!
Mancini didn't show it publicly, nor did he compare Icardi and Palacio in front of the media.
But from the very first day he arrived at Inter Milan, the idea of building the team around Icardi had begun to take shape in his mind.
After taking part in several of Inter Milan's training sessions, he became even more certain.
Icardi's instinct in front of goal was absolutely top-tier in Serie A!
If Mancini wanted to achieve results at Inter Milan, Icardi would be his most important piece on the board.
"Push up! Get forward!"
Mancini issued a brief but firm instruction from the sidelines, urging his players to step up their attack in the remaining minutes.
Assistant coach Herrera nervously suggested:
"Boss, we're already leading 3–0, and there are only five minutes left. This is Roma's home ground. If we keep attacking, I'm afraid they'll start getting rough..."
"What are you scared of?" Mancini scoffed. "Totti's already off the pitch. The other Roma players can't make much of a threat. Let's just keep attacking!"
At Mancini's command, all three lines of Inter Milan's team pushed forward.
Icardi was the happiest of all.
One goal wasn't enough to satisfy his ambition.
Hernanes had scored one, Palacio had scored one, and Icardi had no intention of being content with standing level with them.
"Tang, keep feeding me the ball. You give it to me, and I'll put it away!"
Tang Long naturally wasn't going to pass up the chance to batter Roma.
The Red Wolves had been beaten down, and they were a man short after Totti's substitution.
If not now, when would he punish the opposition and pad Icardi's stats?
In the second minute of stoppage time, Inter Milan used their numerical advantage in possession to pin Roma firmly inside the penalty area once again.
No matter how the Inter Milan midfielders moved the ball around in the area twenty meters from goal, Roma stayed packed inside their box.
Hernanes, who was orchestrating the attack, was remarkably patient.
Whenever the ball reached him, he carefully watched how the opposition's defensive line was positioned and shifted, trying to spot a gap.
"Here!"
Icardi glanced at the Brazilian midfielder, then immediately surged forward!
But even after crossing the offside line, he still didn't get Hernanes's pass.
Icardi glared at him, cheeks puffed with frustration. All he got in response was a smile and a one-handed downward gesture telling him not to rush.
Clearly, unless there was an obvious opening, the Brazilian midfielder wouldn't risk playing a through ball.
"He's way too cautious. I was in a great position!"
Icardi couldn't help spreading his hands and complaining to Tang Long.
On the sidelines, Herrera stood beside Mancini with his arms crossed.
"Boss, look. Roma's formation is really compact, and they're sitting very deep. It'll be hard to play through them like this. Hernanes is trying to draw them out, but Roma won't fall for it. After all, losing by three goals at home is already about as much as their management can take."
"Yeah. They're like a can of compressed biscuits, packed in tight."
"I reckon the score will stay like this until the final whistle."
"Not necessarily. No matter how tightly packed the can is, there's always a knife that can pry it open."
"But Hernanes isn't playing any threatening passes. He's being too cautious."
"Herrera, Hernanes doesn't have to be the one to open the can."
In Mancini's eyes, Hernanes was an excellent passer.
His command of midfield play was especially impressive—among the best in Serie A.
But he wasn't perfect.
With years of coaching experience behind him, Mancini knew that probing from outside the box alone wouldn't break through Roma's compact defense.
The key was a sudden change of pace!
To pry open this tightly packed can, they had to wait for an unexpected, deadly strike.
Mancini had a faint hope.
The one to deliver that deadly strike wouldn't be Hernanes, Kovacic, either of Inter Milan's wing-backs, Jonathan or Nagatomo Yuto, or even Medel, the burly defensive midfielder with his clumsy footwork;
if he had to put his money on someone, Mancini would bet on Tang Long!
It was the instinctive judgment of a man who had once been one of Serie A's top strikers.
The clock reached the 94th minute.
The final minute of regulation time.
Inter Milan launched one last attack.
Icardi was anxious. He still hadn't opened his account for a second goal;
Tang Long was anxious too, because Hernanes hadn't given him the ball in ages!
Ever since Tang Long's cross from the wing had accidentally won a penalty,
Hernanes, who controlled possession in midfield, had rarely passed to Tang Long. Perhaps he'd taken it personally that Tang Long hadn't followed his instructions.
The seconds ticked by.
The referee already had the whistle in his mouth and was watching the clock.
The final whistle could sound at any moment.
Thinking quickly, Tang Long ran to the edge of the penalty area and shouted at Hernanes:
"Prophet, over here!"
Hernanes had his back to him. He'd been about to work the ball with Jonathan on the left, then wait for the match to end.
But when he heard someone call him by his nickname, he quickly turned around and saw Tang Long waving at him. "Prophet, Prophet, pass it to me!"
Everyone in the workplace liked a little flattery, and professional footballers were no different.
Hernanes immediately grinned.
Well, would you look at that! This young Chinese kid even knew my nickname!
Had word of my reputation as the Prophet of football really traveled all the way to China?
Heh heh heh~
I really am famous far and wide!
Tap!
As Hernanes passed him the ball,
the AI in Tang Long's mind began processing at full speed!
The space available to Tang Long was indeed very small.
Two Roma players were already closing in behind him, rushing toward him.
They wanted to block Tang Long's ability to turn immediately!
If Tang Long couldn't turn near the edge of the box,
he'd have no choice but to pass the ball back.
Once he passed it back and they exchanged another one or two passes, the referee would blow the whistle. Roma would have successfully kept the score at 0–3 and avoided the humiliation of losing by four or more goals at home.
The ball was about to reach Tang Long's foot, but his brainwave prompt remained silent, offering no feedback at all.
Had it malfunctioned?
"Beep beep beep!"
"Data analysis indicates that the opponent's back line is densely packed. If the host turns and attempts a forced through ball after receiving possession, the chance of connecting with a forward is only 2.23%."
"Suggestion: You may let the ball run through. There is a 35.45% chance of creating unexpected chaos."
A flood of AI analysis poured into Tang Long's mind in a matter of milliseconds.
Just as the ball was one centimeter away from touching the foot Tang Long would use to control it,
he spread his legs apart with all his strength, leaving just over a foot of space between them!
The ball slipped between his legs!
Inside the penalty area,
a lurking blue-and-black figure darted forward in a crouch, like a cheetah on the prowl...
Before you continue