Barca Panics! Trying to Snatch Tang Long at the Last Minute? Why Didn't You Act Sooner!
The moment Tang Long scored.
The former teammates who left Inter Milan but were still following the game were ecstatic!
The vast majority of them live on the British Isles.
The heroes burst into laughter. This laughter was not only due to their shock at Tang Long's amazing performance, but also because the embers of the blue-black glory within them were still radiating a burning light!
Everton goalkeeper Handanovic, feeling hopeless about winning at halftime, collapsed into bed in frustration.
But he tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep, his mind filled with worry for the young 24-year-old Inter Milan goalkeeper, Sepe.
"This kid, it's one thing to play Serie A for Empoli, but can he withstand shots from Suarez and Lionel Messi? Won't he get riddled with holes? Don't let him lose too badly and embarrass Inter Milan!" He simply rolled out of bed and continued watching the game.
Meanwhile, in a London pub, Arsenal player Podolski and Tottenham Hotspur player Guarin celebrated with a high five!
"By scoring a goal against Barca, Inter Milan has already won! It's worth it!" Guarin said.
"I've played hundreds of international matches for the Germany National Team, and I've faced players from all five continents. No one has ever surprised me like this China guy. Tang is no ordinary player. It's going to be even more difficult for Arsenal to play against Manchester City in the future," Podolski said with a wry smile.
Norwich player Nagatomo Yuto spoke with deep emotion to his fans in the live stream:
"If I were there, I would definitely rush up to Tang Long, bow deeply to him, and shout 'Alli!' He slapped Barca in the face in the same way Barca did!"
Manchester City player Ranocchia, on the other hand, put his nose close to the screen and repeatedly dragged the replay to watch it.
He wanted to figure out exactly how Don's through ball to Bonazzoli went through the legs of Pique and Mascherano.
He thought to himself, "I'm a tall center-back too, and I'm most afraid of these kinds of nutmeg passes. Tang was really lucky with that goal."
But then he thought again that the word "luck" was never appropriate to describe Tang Long, so he felt that Tang Long was doing it on purpose. He decided to wait until Tang Long arrived in Manchester City and then ask him for advice.
Berni, the former third-choice goalkeeper for Inter Milan and now guitarist for the New York Tianjie Band, was in an old apartment building, holding his guitar and lost in thought for a long time.
"If Tang had started from the beginning, perhaps the outcome of the game would have been different."
Back to the game.
Neymar was humiliated by a chip shot, and Iniesta was beaten by his own team's signature move.
Tang Long scored a goal that bypassed both center-backs, Pique and Mascherano.
The players were furious and wanted to regroup and launch another attack on Inter Milan.
But that's how football is.
Relaxing is easy; you can relax anytime.
But once it loosens, it's difficult to tighten it again.
Moreover, football is a team sport of 11 people.
Seven people are taking a walk; even if the other four shout themselves hoarse, it will be in vain.
At this point, Barca's mind was no longer on the game.
It's better to end it early. Why risk it? The new La Liga season is about to start. What if I get injured? Someone on the bench will happily take my place. There's no need to risk it, since we won anyway.
The final minute of stoppage time.
In a 50/50 tie, Busquets hesitated slightly before making his move, allowing the aggressive Tang Long to tip the ball past him first.
Having learned from Icardi, Bonazzoli, now wielding the "smart bean," made a diagonal run from right to left, using feints to receive Tang Long's through ball between Barca's two center-backs, and then chipped the ball into the net!
The moment the football slowly flew into the Barca goal.
The referee then blew the final whistle.
Barca defeated Inter Milan 4-2 at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tang Long didn't even look at the celebrating Barca players. Instead, he led the entire Inter Milan team to the side of the stands to pay tribute to the Inter Milan Expeditionary Army.
The vast majority of these fans paid for their own tickets, airfare, and accommodation—a huge expense for the average fan. Even though they knew before the match that Inter Milan's chances of defeating Barca were slim, they still came to the stadium without hesitation to cheer on their team.
After Ranocchia left, Laino appointed Juan Jesus, the team's most senior center-back, as captain.
However, everyone assumed that Tang Long would be the one standing in the center of the line to pay tribute to the fans.
As Tang Long raised his hand, the fans in the row closest to the stadium started shouting:
"Tang! Stay at Inter Milan!"
Let's win the Serie A title together!
"You can't leave. Everyone else can, but you can't!"
"Please stay! Let's play in the UEFA Champions League together! Stay and be with us!"
The shout was incredibly shrill, even tinged with a sob, deeply moving all of Tang Long's teammates.
Tang Long's younger brother, Bonazzoli, was already in tears.
He had one arm tightly wrapped around his older brother Tang Long's shoulder, his nails almost digging into Tang Long's forehead, while his other hand kept wiping away his unstoppable tears.
Nevertheless, his tears still soaked Tang Long's shoulder.
What could Tang Long say?
He had so much to say to the fans, but at that moment, he felt a lump in his throat and couldn't utter a single word.
He just kept waving at the fans.
Wave your hand slowly, even slower, as if time could stand still in this moment.
He had to say goodbye to Inter Milan fans.
Far away in Manchester, Britain, a group of equally passionate fans are eagerly awaiting his arrival.
Congratulations to Barca for winning the UEFA Super Cup!
"This is their first championship of the new season, a great start."
"But I want to focus on Inter Milan's performance."
Inside the CCTV-5 live broadcast room, He Wei's tone was somewhat excited.
"Faced with a four-goal deficit, most teams would give up and stop playing seriously."
"But Inter Milan scored two goals in the last ten minutes, showing their tenacious fighting spirit!"
"This is telling our opponents, Barca, not to underestimate us. Once you relax, we can break through your seemingly impenetrable goal."
"Inter Milan did lose to Barca, but they showed us the attitude and spirit that a weaker team should have when playing against a stronger team. This is the extra meaning of football beyond just winning and losing!"
"Coach Zhang, do you have any comments?" He Wei asked Zhang Lu.
"Hehehe, He Wei has already said most of what I wanted to say," Coach Zhang chuckled twice in his signature style. "I've been commentating on Serie A for half my life, and now that the game is over, to be honest, I feel sorry for Inter Milan tonight. If Tang Long had started from the beginning, the result would have been very different."
He Wei agreed and nodded.
"Coach Zhang's words actually expressed the wishes of many Inter Milan fans and Tang Long fans."
"However, there are no 'what ifs' in the world of football. It is said that Inter Milan has reached an agreement with Manchester City at the club level. If there are no surprises, Tang Long will be a Manchester City player in the upcoming new season."
"As a China commentator, I hope everyone will continue to pay attention to Tang Long's performance in Europe competitions and cheer Tang Long on!"
He Wei: "Alright, viewers, see you in the new season!"
Zhang Lu: See you in the new season!
Barca coach Enrique was not satisfied with the victory.
Although the 4-2 scoreline highlights Barca's superior strength compared to Inter Milan.
However, conceding two goals in the last ten minutes or so greatly annoyed the Spain coach, who has extremely high expectations for his team.
(Enrique: What kind of play was that in the last ten minutes?)
He didn't look happy after the competition ended, so much so that when he lifted the trophy, he could only manage a forced smile.
In particular, Tang Long scored a goal against Barca in a Barca -style manner.
Not to mention Enrique, even the spectators and reporters in the stands could see that this was a provocation—if you can play football, so can I!
Barca president Bartomeu, who traveled with the team, watched the entire match from a VIP box in the stands.
He remained silent for a long time, sitting motionless in his chair.
After a while, the fans had all dispersed, and then the staff came to knock on the door. That's when they suddenly woke up and panicked!
The first thing I did after regaining my senses was to call Inter Milan's sporting director, Ausilio.
"Listen, Ausilio, I can match Manchester City's offer, or even higher. I can also offer you double the rebate Manchester City gives you. Just tell me, is there any possibility that Tang will join Barca?"
Bartomeu did not abandon the idea of bringing in Tang Long this summer.
But he always felt that writing a check for more than 70 million euros for an 18-year-old boy didn't sound very plausible.
Especially considering this person comes from China, a football desert, and somehow suddenly emerged in Serie A.
It sounded very mystical, with a sense of unreal illusion. Bartomeu felt there was a lot more to it than met the eye, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Moreover, after communicating with head coach Enrique, the current situation is that this Dream Team Barca, whether in the forward line or midfield, all six regular starting players— Lionel Messi, Suarez, Neymar, Rakitic, Busquets, and Iniesta —are in their prime and have perfectly integrated into the tactics.
Tang Long has arrived. Who can he replace?
Spending 70 million to buy a substitute? They must be wasting their time!
Enrique's reply further solidified Bartomeu's determination not to participate in the competition for Tang Long. The only inquiry he sent did not include a price offer, which showed a lack of sincerity. Ausilio naturally did not take this to heart.
However, after witnessing Tang Long's amazing performance on site, Bartomeu's opinion of Tang Long changed drastically!
Bartomeu believes that Tang Long's immediate impact and potential, demonstrated in just over ten minutes on the pitch, may be partly due to the relaxed mentality of the Barca players, but his ability is enough to secure him a starting position at Barca.
In the future, it's not impossible for him to become a superstar like Lionel Messi, Neymar, or Nesta, with the ability to win the Ballon d'Or!
If Barca misses out on a player like that this year, he will definitely be a huge threat if they encounter him in the UEFA Champions League in the future.
If you want to buy Tang Long again later, it will definitely cost over 100 million!
However, Ausilio's crisp refusal over the phone left Bartomeu feeling turned away.
"Too late! Where were you all this time? We've already finalized all the details with Manchester City, Mr. Bartomeu. If you want to buy Dom, ask Manchester City for him next summer!"
Ausilio was a doting father to his daughter, and he was extremely concerned about her future doctoral admission at Cambridge.
As Ronaldo previously stated, this also relies on the connections of the Abu Dhabi United Group.
Money is a good thing, but there are some things in this world that you can't get just by having money.
Even if you offer me triple the kickback, I still won't do it!