"Bro, I'm a striker. I want to shoot, I want to score!"
The Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The starting players for Barca and Inter Milan are lined up.
Tang Long, however, turned sideways and walked straight ahead through the players' tunnel.
In a football match, substitute players are the first to enter the field, but it's been a long time since Tang Long has been relegated to the bench.
As he passed by his starting teammates, he gave each of them a high-five and offered them a few words of advice.
"Kovacic, you're the only one with the dribbling and speed up the attack. Whether we can launch a counter-attack depends on you." "Don't worry, bro, watch me rip them apart!"
"Dimarco, be careful behind you in defense." "Okay, I'll try to avoid pushing forward."
"Medel, the playmaking from the backcourt depends on you now, good luck!" "Okay, I'll try my best, it's been a long time since I played as a deep playmaker."
"Santon, for corner kicks, you need to stay in the penalty area. You're tall, so you have an advantage with headers." "Okay, I know what to do."
These players are among the few remaining Inter Milan players from last season who still possess immediate impact.
Their performance will determine Inter Milan's minimum performance level in this match.
As Tang Long passed by his younger brother Bonazzoli, he gave him a big hug.
"Try to score a goal! This is the UEFA Super Cup. If you score against Barca, you'll be famous forever."
"If only you were here, sigh..." Bonazzoli glanced at Kovacic, then hesitated.
Originally, Tang Long was not supposed to be on the bench for the match; he was just traveling with the team.
However, the newly appointed Inter Milan coach Laino recognized Tang Long's status in the team, believing that his presence on the bench could serve as a morale booster for the other Inter Milan players on the field.
With Ranocchia out, Tang Long is the player with the most say in the team.
Iniesta, who was in Barca's starting lineup, and Tang Long had met once before.
As Tang Long passed by him, the two patted each other on the back.
"I'm sorry, I can't play against you today," Iniesta said.
"It's alright, see you in the UEFA Champions League next season," Tang Long said with a smile.
Barcelona primarily uses a 4-3-3 formation!
"Goalkeeper Ter Stegen"
"Right- Alves, center -Pique and Mascherano, left- Mathieu."
"The three midfielders are Rakitic, Busquets, and Iniesta."
"Three forwards: Lionel Messi, Suarez, and Rafinha."
Barca fielded their strongest starting lineup, with the exception of Neymar; the rest were basically their most available players, demonstrating the importance they placed on this UEFA Super Cup.
Barcelona, having won the Europe treble, were not satisfied.
Barca aims to achieve a five-trophy haul, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup!
Compared to Barca's lineup, He Wei's tone was slightly slower when announcing Inter Milan's starting lineup, and he even mispronounced a few names, clearly indicating that he was quite unfamiliar with some players.
"Inter Milan is still mainly using the 4-2-3-1 formation they were familiar with last season, but the players have undergone significant changes."
"Goalkeeper Sepe."
"Left- Dimarco, center-backs Juan Jesus and Andreolli, right -Santon."
"The two defensive midfielders Medel and Vecino."
"Attacking midfielder Kovacic, left wing-back Allan, right wing-back Candreva."
"Bonazzoli as the lone striker."
Inter Milan's starting lineup includes four new signings.
No team can afford to only sell players without buying any.
While selling players, Ausilio also scouted out several new signings in the transfer market.
Sepe and Vecino are both 24 years old and performed brilliantly for Empoli last season, helping the newly promoted team secure their place in the league early. Ausilio brought the two to Inter Milan for €16 million.
Allan, a tough-playing midfielder, is also 24 years old and was a key player for Udinese last season, costing Inter Milan 12 million euros.
Inter Milan have made quite a few signings this season, with their biggest acquisition being a €25 million purchase of Candreva from Lazio.
After some adjustments, including the already young players like Bonazzoli, Dimarco, Kovacic, Santon, Juan Jesus, Inter Milan's starting lineup has an average age that is 2.6 years younger than last season, dropping from 26.5 to 23.9 years.
This was also the owner Thohir's request: to transform Inter Milan into a youth team, similar to Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal in their prime.
Then, by increasing the value of the players, they continuously cashed out and sold them at high prices.
"Coach Zhang, with Inter Milan's lineup, what are your chances of beating Barca?"
"Hehe, it's hard to say. Anything can happen on a football field, especially in matches where the underdog wins."
Although Zhang Lu phrased it tactfully, the China fans in the live broadcast room all understood the implied meaning.
- [What Coach Zhang meant was actually the difference between gently reducing and forcefully adding.]
Even when Icardi and Tang Long were both starters for Inter Milan last season, they still couldn't beat Barca, let alone the current Inter Milan.
How can a young Serie A team with an average age of under 24 withstand Europe treble-winning Barca?
- [With key players like Handanovic, Ranocchia, Guarin, Podolski all gone, Inter Milan's current lack of experience is a major problem.]
-[Actually, it's not entirely a matter of age. Tang Long is only 18, and he can still play as a core player. The important thing is the player's ability!]
-[I'm a bit worried about the goalkeeper position. Last season I watched a few Empoli games, Sepe is a typical erratic player; when he's in form, he's incredibly good, making all sorts of amazing saves, but when he's out of form, he performs terribly, making many incorrect predictions. I feel his goal-line technique isn't mature enough yet.]
-[In Inter Milan's lineup, the strongest attacking player is Candreva on the right wing. Last season at Lazio, he had 11 goals and 9 assists, and his crosses are also excellent. If paired with Bonazzoli's headers, there's actually some potential. The only question is whether they can connect with the center from the wing.]
-[Stop talking. I don't think Inter Milan can beat Barca. The chance is less than 1%, especially with Tang Long unable to play. Even that 1% is gone!]
-[I doubt Inter Milan will even get 30% possession in this match; that's a problem.]
As Coach Zhang and the fans had predicted, the game began.
Barca easily took control of the game, keeping the ball at their feet the entire time.
Having won the treble, Barca's tiki-taka passing and control has become even more perfect.
Whether it's the passing between forwards, midfielders, defenders, or goalkeepers, they control the ball with the precision of someone playing basketball, not a football.
The ball and the body became one, and triangular formations constantly appeared on the field. The players' runs and changes in the ball's trajectory were like shadows, yet unpredictable, leaving this young Inter Milan team exhausted and disoriented.
Bang bang bang--
Bang bang bang--
The sound of Barca's passes echoed continuously across the stadium.
In the 24th minute, Barca took the lead!
Busquets used a luring dribble in midfield, drawing out the reckless young Kovacic, who broke free of his defensive position and ventured deep into the box to try and steal the ball.
However, his teammates did not rush out, which left an opening in the middle after Busquets easily turned past Kovacic with the ball!
Busquets and Rakitic executed a beautiful one-two pass, with Busquets passing the ball to Rafinha on the wing.
Rafinha, without stopping the ball, played another one-two with the advancing Iniesta!
After breaking into the penalty area, Rafinha feinted a shot and then passed the ball back to Suarez, who was positioned at the penalty spot. The Uruguay striker then slotted the ball into the net!
"Beautiful teamwork!"
"The signature Barca cross from the byline!"
"The entire sequence flowed smoothly, with perfect timing and seamless coordination in everything from player positioning to the ball's trajectory and speed."
Watching Barca play is a real treat!
New goalkeeper Sepe was extremely frustrated after conceding a goal just over 20 minutes in his first official match for Inter Milan.
He seemed very dissatisfied with his performance and kicked the goalpost hard.
On the bench, Tang Long was stunned!
This goal actually had nothing to do with Sepe.
Tang Long thought to himself, "This isn't the goalkeeper's fault. Barca's passing and control is superb, especially their continuous one-two passes between teammates. It's impossible to do this unless they are very familiar with each other and their passing and movement are perfectly synchronized."
However, what surprised me was not Barca's excellent teamwork.
Tang Long sat on the sidelines and could hear everything coming from the field.
He was astonished to discover that during this Barca play, none of the players who received the ball— Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta, Rafinha, or Suarez who scored the final goal—exchanged a single word with each other.
They ran silently, passed silently, and shot silently, only shouting and laughing excitedly after scoring.
"In other words, these players have developed muscle memory; they can instinctively know what to do next without even needing to communicate verbally. That's terrifying..."
After scoring, Barca pressed their advantage and continued their relentless attack.
The ball was passed back and forth, and the Inter Milan players were exhausted from running around.
In the 38th minute, Barca scored again!
This attacking play, while not as spectacular as the first goal's series of multiple one-touch passes;
But after 23 consecutive passes and a lot of stretching, Nesta finally delivered a deadly through ball from the edge of the penalty area, and Lionel Messi chipped the ball over the goalkeeper and scored into the empty net!
Barca lead 2-0!
This play further demonstrated the essence of possession-based tactics: never make a move without a good opportunity, but once the ball is passed, it's a fatal blow.
After that, Barca's momentum waned, and the 2-0 score remained until halftime.
Inside the changing room.
The Barca players looked relaxed.
The La Liga schedule has been released, and they've already started discussing their first opponent of the new season, Sevilla.
Inter Milan, on the other hand, had gloomy expressions.
Especially Medel!
As one of the few key players in the team last season, the 28-year-old Chile defensive midfielder has an extremely strong competitive spirit.
In front of head coach Laino, he preemptively criticized several new signings for failing to mark their opponents in defense and for their overly loose formation.
"Mr. Laino, a 2-0 scoreline doesn't mean anything. What's even more painful is that we didn't even manage a single shot on goal in the first half!"
Medel glanced at Bonazzoli, who blushed and quickly looked down at the ground.
"If we can't threaten our opponents in attack, Barca can push forward even more recklessly. Their defense has even pushed into our midfield. It's too much of a bullying move; isn't that just looking down on us!"
Medel, who already had a loud voice, was practically shouting at this moment.
"Medel, I know you're a veteran player, and I respect your opinion, but against a strong team like Barca, we can't rush things. We need to play it safe and focus on our defense first," Laino reassured him.
Although Laino was able to act like a king in Inter Milan's youth team, when he arrived at the first team, he knew that his reputation and experience were not enough to intimidate the locker room. Many people were not convinced by him and felt that he became the head coach because of his good relationship with Ausilio.
Therefore, Laino held Medel, a remnant of the previous regime, in high regard and treated him with great courtesy.
But Medel didn't hold back.
"Laino, your tactics are flawed. We need to switch to a three-man defense to stop Barca's midfield stretching. Also, if we want to turn this around, Tang must come on!"
Forehead...
Laino's eyes widened.
It's one thing for you to question my tactics in public, but I'll let it slide since you're a veteran player and I won't argue with you.
Should Tang Long go?
He's about to officially become a Manchester City player. If he suffers a serious injury at this time, Manchester City can terminate the contract according to the agreement, and the 70 million transfer fee will be lost!
Do you even think before you speak?
"Medel is right. No one in our midfield can hold the ball, which leaves our defenders exposed to Barca's attacks for a long time. We must keep the ball in the opponent's midfield to relieve the pressure on our defense."
At this moment, Santon, a former triple crown snatch winner and a key rotation player last season, chimed in with a comment.
Laino's face turned ashen.
"Tang, come up and play half the game, I'll switch positions with you!" Kovacic suddenly shouted.
Laino glared at him.
Seeing that many of his teammates had spoken up, Bonazzoli also stood up excitedly.
He was suffering terribly.
Pique and Mascherano took turns bullying him, especially Pique. One of them would knock him down with a tackle, then grin and pull him up, only to continue the same stunt with the next ball.
Mascherano is a typical South America player, known for his dirty tricks; he almost ruined Bonazzoli's back with a headbutt.
"Bro, come up here! I haven't even been able to shoot, I've only touched the ball four times in the first half. I'm having such a tough time. Their defenders keep bullying me. I'm a striker, I want to shoot, I want to score!"