Training Strikers in 1v1 Dribbling Skills, Activating Various Specialized Drills!

"Hey, Tang! Your Pendulum Dribble against Liverpool was absolutely amazing! How come I didn't know you could do that before?"

In the subsequent group passing drills, Toure surprisingly did not partner with France player Clichy, but instead chose to stand with Tang Long.

"I just learned this too, and I'm only using it now," Tang Long said as he passed the ball to Toure with the instep of Toure foot.

Actually, Tang Long didn't just learn it, but he had only just used it. Back when he was still playing in Serie A last year, Bonazzoli's Pendulum Dribble in the 36th round of the league caught Tang Long's attention. After that, in his daily AI video learning, in addition to focusing on observing the positioning of forwards, Tang Long added another item: learning the Pendulum Dribble.

However, this highly difficult dribbling technique is used by very few players, and those who use it well are even rarer, with only Ronaldo being one of them. And Ronaldo didn't use it in every game. After tearing his cruciate ligament while Inter Milan, Ronaldo used this technique even less to protect his fragile knee.

Tang Long had very limited access to the film footage, so he didn't use it easily. That's why the last match against Liverpool was the first time Tang Long used his signature move.

To be honest, the Pendulum Dribble is only really effective for forwards; it's not very suitable for Tang Long when he's playing in midfield.

Because the pendulum shot requires a certain amount of space to get past defenders, it is often effective in one-on-one situations between forwards and defenders or goalkeepers. However, when Tang Long gets the ball, there are usually people surrounding him. At this time, the best approach is either to protect the ball or to quickly cut the ball into open space, just like what Toure usually does.

"Oh? You just learned that? That's pretty good."

Although Toure replied casually, he didn't believe Tang Long's words at all.

He witnessed it firsthand; Tang Long's move possessed at least eight-tenths of the essence of the Ronaldo.

It would be impossible to do this without long and arduous practice.

Moreover, he did it in such an important match against Liverpool. He must have had a lot of confidence to do it!

Toure thought to himself, "That Tang kid isn't honest; he's not telling me the truth. Don't let his young age fool you; he's quite cunning and probably has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Bony probably won't be able to handle him."

As a player, Toure greatly admired Tang Long, believing the young man had a bright future and would definitely become a world-class superstar.

However, for his own benefit, Toure had to resort to some underhanded tactics.

After training, Toure did not go to the locker room to shower, but went straight to the head coach's office.

During the training session for this match, Pellegrini did not go downstairs to direct the team. Instead, he stayed in his office with several trusted members of the first-team coaching staff to discuss an important issue— Tang Long's position.

"Hey, Toure's here? Come on, let's discuss this. We're struggling with Tang Long's position right now. You're the team's bigwig, what's your opinion?"

When Pellegrini Toure suddenly come into his office, he generously invited him in and asked him to sit down.

As Manchester City's undisputed midfield maestro and the only player in the team to have ever won the treble, Toure holds a very high position in the eyes of the coaching staff.

Occasionally, when he chats with the coaches, he will offer his views on tactics, and the coaching staff will actively listen to his suggestions.

Sitting in Pellegrini's office, Toure listened calmly as several first-team coaching staff members discussed with him the suggestion of promoting Tang Long to the forward line.

"Tang's performance on the front line has been a pleasant surprise. Our coaching staff believes that this young player has great potential to develop into a second striker."

"The next round is Agüero's last game of suspension, so Tang Long should continue to play as a striker to ensure he scores goals."

"After all, both Bony and Iheanacho have been in terrible form lately, failing to score in both of their starts. Tang Long's performance as a striker is at least more reliable than theirs."

After the coaching staff finished their analysis, Pellegrini looked at Toure with anticipation, wanting to hear his thoughts.

After all, while the coach sets up the tactics, the execution of those tactics is achieved by the players kicking the ball one by one on the field.

Even the best tactics are useless if the players are unable to execute them properly for various reasons.

Toure nodded, took a sip of water, and didn't immediately express his opinion, but his mind was racing.

He knew that the reason head coach Pellegrini had called him in must be because he was conflicted.

Toure thought to himself, "Pellegrini is over 60 years old. From what I know of him, he has never been a radical coach. Tactical innovation is not a regular occurrence for him. The reason why Manchester City's possession-based system works so well now is largely because he has inherited the tactical legacy left by Mancini."

He pondered to himself, "Pushing Tang up front would certainly help with scoring, but any tactic requires a balance. Perhaps I can use this point to persuade Pellegrini to keep Tang in midfield."

Toure said, "I don't think pushing Tang up front should be a regular option! He plays very well in the attacking midfield position, both in terms of tempo control and passing accuracy; he's an indispensable part of our Manchester City possession-based tactics. While there are advantages to moving him up front, who will pass the ball from midfield?"

"And also, given Don's physical condition, he can't play center; he can only play second forward. Last season, when we played a 4-4-2 formation, Milner played that position. He was incredibly tireless with his running and tackling, and even as a forward, he could contribute defensively. But Don clearly can't do that."

"Therefore, I think that from the perspective of balancing offense and defense, we should let Tang continue to play in midfield!"

At this point, Toure paused, then changed the subject. "As for the striker, I think Bony should be given more opportunities. His performance for Southampton was indeed poor, but that was only his first start of the season. I don't think it's fair to give up on Bony now! His ability may not be as good as Agüero's, but compared to the overly inexperienced Iheanacho, Bony deserves more opportunities at center forward. After all, his goal-scoring efficiency at Swansea wasn't low."

Pellegrini's eyes revealed his inner turmoil.

After hearing Toure's answer, the elderly Chile coach with a full head of silver hair nodded slightly and pondered for a moment:

"Okay, I understand. We'll consider your suggestion."

Today is Tang Long's 19th birthday.

After training, Tang Long ate at the club's canteen and then returned to his home in Manchester.

Playing football alone in a foreign country diminishes the festive atmosphere of a birthday celebration.

However, after thinking it over, Tang Long felt that he should still celebrate his birthday, since he would be 20 next year.

He first sent Diletta a text message, asking her out for dinner.

However, Diletta quickly replied that he was in London and didn't have time, and complained that Tang Long should have sent him the information a few days earlier.

Tang Long called Gracie again, wanting to ask her out that evening.

But Gracie said he wasn't going, and even told Tang Long to go find that reporter with the long legs and good looks, "Why don't you two go together? Why are you calling me?"

Tang Long told Gracie in a serious tone on the phone that from now on, when you mention Diletta, just say her name and don't always add a qualifier like "long legs and beautiful," it sounds weird.

"Your legs may not be as long or as pretty as hers, but they're whiter!"

Gracie was silent for a few seconds on the phone, gritted her teeth and snorted, then hung up immediately.

After thinking it over, Tang Long felt it was pointless to waste his time, so he simply turned on his computer, continued studying the videos, and then trained for another two hours in the AI Cloud Training Ground.

This time, Tang Long successfully used Ronaldo's Pendulum Dribble, which was quite effective and gave him more inspiration.

Although his primary role is that of an attacking midfielder who focuses on passing and assisting, he can also be effective up front when the team needs more options.

At this point, one-on-one dribbling skills like the pendulum move become very important.

However, since the footage of the Pendulum Dribble was extremely limited, the only ones that caught Tang Long's eye were Ronaldo's few moves.

So after training for half a day, I still felt like I hadn't grasped the key points. After entering the Cloud Training ground, the feeling I produced was no longer the same as when I played against Liverpool.

Tang Long then began to observe other dribbling techniques: Step Over, Maradona Step, Matthews Feint, Cruyff Turn...

These dribbling skills are more common, and many players around the world have successfully used them, resulting in a greater amount of video footage.

"Bite!"

"Disk feed successful, host disk data +1!"

"Initiate specialized Step Over training!"

"Activate Matthews Feint -specific training!"

"Activate..."

Tang Long became more and more excited as he trained, his body drenched in sweat.

Previously, Pirlo had told Tang Long that an excellent midfield maestro must learn to dribble past opponents.

However, Tang Long's Pirlo- style dribbling skills mostly involve maneuvering in midfield and using enticing maneuvers to attract opponents when facing multiple defenders.

Now start practicing forward's 1v1 dribbling skills. The feeling is completely different, much more exciting and passionate!

It was five o'clock in the blink of an eye.

The last rays of the setting sun were beginning to shine on the windowsill where his computer was placed.

Tang Long found that once he became immersed in football, time always flew by. He didn't even want to eat dinner; he figured he might as well skip his birthday and focus on improving himself instead.

Just as Tang Long was about to continue training, Ranocchia called.

Happy birthday, bro! Any plans for tonight? Want to grab dinner together?

Upon hearing this, Tang Long asked in surprise, "Ah, how did you know it's my birthday today? Did I tell you?"

"Haha, they didn't say it, but I know. Don't forget I used to be Inter Milan's captain. I remember every player's birthday, because the club would arrange to send them a cake on their birthdays."

Tang Long thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.

When I played for Inter Milan, there were more than 20 players on the team, and on average, someone had a birthday almost every month.

At this time, Ranocchia would appear either on the training field or in the locker room with a cake, and then call on everyone to sing for the player celebrating his birthday.

I don't know why, but Manchester City doesn't seem to have this step.

"Why don't you come to my house instead? I'll have my sister-in-law cook you a Chinese meal, how about that?"

Tang Long was deeply moved by Ranocchia's invitation and accepted without hesitation.

Since arriving in Britain, he has not yet visited Ranocchia's home.

Unlike Tang Long, Ranocchia already had a family and came to Manchester with his wife and young daughter.

This is a good opportunity to visit his home.

Remembering that both Diletta and Gracie had rejected him, Tang Long couldn't help but think dejectedly, "Women are all fickle and heartless. When it really matters, it's your brothers who will be there for you!"

It was getting late, so Tang Long quickly changed his clothes, went out to a nearby shopping mall to buy a Barbie doll and a Lego set. Carrying the gifts, he hurried to Ranocchia's house.

When Ranocchia first arrived in Manchester, he stayed in a luxury apartment provided by the club.

However, the neighborhood surrounding this downtown apartment is quite noisy.

Ranocchia's wife used to be a hospital nurse, and the long hours and irregular shifts caused her to have poor sleep, so Ranocchia decided to move to a different house.

However, he and his wife were new to Britain and unfamiliar with the local real estate market, so they didn't have time to look at houses.

Fortunately, former Inter Milan manager Mancini stepped in to help, leasing his Pound Sterling 2.1 million detached house, which he had purchased during his time at Manchester City, to Ranocchia at a price below market value.

This is a spacious detached villa with a sizable yard, and its location is not remote.

It's a great location, whether for driving Ranocchia to training or for the wife to take the kids to kindergarten.

After settling in, Ranocchia's family decorated the house to be warm and harmonious, and filled the yard with flowers and plants that Italy love.

Tang Long pushed open the courtyard gate and entered. He was greeted by a riot of colors and a fragrant aroma, which immediately made him feel refreshed and relaxed.

Ranocchia's daughter, who is in kindergarten, happily accepted Tang Long's toy and even said "Happy Birthday" to him in broken Chinese.

Seeing Tang Long's delighted expression, Ranocchia explained with a smile that he had just found the pronunciation online two hours earlier and then taught it to his youngest daughter.

Ranocchia's wife is not particularly beautiful or well-built. She and her husband were childhood sweethearts and fell in love long before Ranocchia became famous and played for Arezzo in Serie C.

This is rare in the world of football, because handsome and wealthy professional players are usually accompanied by supermodels.

As she carried the prepared food from the kitchen to the table, she politely said to Tang Long:

"Ranocchia specifically asked me to cook a Chinese meal. I learned how online and bought all the ingredients at the Chinese Super League in Chinatown. I don't know if it will suit your taste."

Looking at the sweet and sour pork, stir-fried pork with chili peppers, boiled fish, garlic pork belly, and stir-fried loofah on the table, Tang Long almost burst into tears.

If it weren't for his sister-in-law's presence, Tang Long would have loved to passionately embrace Ranocchia.

My brother is so good to me. He not only remembered my birthday and invited me to his house, but he also told his wife to cook Chinese food. I don't even know what to say about this friendship!