Unlocking Hidden Rewards—Guidance from an Inter Milan Treble-Winning Legend!

After finishing his meal, Tang Long said goodbye to Chivu and returned to his dormitory to sleep.

Since he was a child, Tang Long had developed the habit of taking a nap.

If he didn't sleep for an hour every noon, he would definitely feel drowsy in the afternoon.

However, what Tang Long found strange today was that his sleepiness was much less than before; he naturally woke up after only dozing for about twenty minutes.

Tang Long immediately realized that this had to do with what he ate at noon.

Low carbohydrates, low oil, and low sugar meant less burden on his stomach, so his brain didn't need as much blood supply, naturally making him less sleepy.

"Good thing. Chivu's dietary guidance allows me to save at least forty minutes from my nap every day!"

Tang Long happily entered the AI Cloud Training ground.

Since his passing attribute had hit a bottleneck, he wanted to put some effort into his physical fitness and physical confrontation, as these were the areas Chivu had emphasized that morning.

If he wanted to start in Serie A and play a full 90-minute match, physical quality was the key!

But as soon as Tang Long entered, before he could even select a training program, he was surprised to find that Chivu had actually appeared on the training ground!

He was wearing the 2009-2010 Inter Milan home jersey, standing in place like a wooden post.

Tang Long walked over and pinched Chivu's face; it was soft~

Chivu's expression was dull, like a robot.

"Haha, Mr. Chivu, I didn't expect you to be here too!" Tang Long laughed.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the host for unlocking a hidden reward—guidance from a legendary player of the Inter Milan treble-winning team!"

"Activating sparring partner—Chivu!"

"Special effect: Break through a certain attribute bottleneck of the host, attribute cap: unknown."

Whoosh—

The previously motionless Chivu began to move.

He looked at Tang Long blankly, his tone mechanical, speaking word by word:

"Hello, I am sparring partner Chivu, born in 1980 in Romania. I started my professional career at the Romanian powerhouse Universitatea Craiova, transferred to Ajax of the Eredivisie for 2.5 million euros in 1999, transferred to Roma of Serie A for 18 million euros in 2003, transferred to Inter Milan for 16 million euros in 2007, and retired in March 2014."

"My club career stats: 437 appearances, 21 goals, 17 assists."

"My national team career stats: 75 appearances, 3 goals, 8 assists."

Above Chivu's head, there was a flashing yellow card.

Tang Long tapped it, and the card turned into a line of text.

[Sparring Partner Chivu]

[Offensive specialty: Passing from the center-back position, organizing from the midfield position]

[Defensive specialty: Fierce tackling, abundant stamina, excellent positional sense]

Chivu's appearance in the Cloud Training ground made Tang Long incredibly excited!

Although he wasn't exactly a superstar in the world of football.

There was a significant gap between him and Tang Long's previous sparring tools like Iniesta.

But according to the system prompt, choosing this Inter Milan treble-winning legend as a sparring partner could break through attribute bottlenecks!

Tang Long's passing had been stuck at 70 for a long time.

He had once suspected it was an issue with Iniesta.

But later, even after switching to Pirlo, Ronaldinho, and other sparring tools, there was still no effect.

Now, Chivu's appearance had solved this problem perfectly.

Although Chivu played as a defender during his playing days, his foundation in passing was extremely profound!

In fact, when Mancini spent 16 million euros to bring him from Roma to Inter Milan in 2007, it was because he valued Chivu's solid footballing foundation.

Mancini once evaluated him like this:

"Chivu combines exquisite left-foot technique with tough defense. He can play as a left-back, center-back, and defensive midfielder. He is an excellent footballing versatile player; whoever gets Chivu gets three players at once."

Tang Long immediately started passing training with Chivu.

"Exit AI Cloud Training ground!"

"Short passing attribute increased!"

"70--71!"

As expected!

Tang Long opened his eyes and stretched comfortably in his chair.

This was the most comfortable afternoon stretch he had had in many days.

Although Tang Long was unsure of the upper limit of the passing ability Chivu could bring him, the predicted ceiling was definitely above 80.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

A series of knocks came from the door.

Who would be looking for him at this hour? Bonazzoli must still be fast asleep.

Tang Long opened the door and saw Chivu.

"Haha, Mr. Chivu, you look much more natural like this!"

Chivu was stunned for a moment. What did that mean?

"Tang, come out. Let's continue our training!"

"We're continuing training this afternoon?"

"Of course. Your special training period is very short—only three months—but there are many areas that need improvement. We must seize every second. Let's go, to the gym!"

Chivu was already dressed in his training gear and sneakers, so Tang Long didn't have time to overthink it; he immediately changed his clothes and headed out.

Inside the gym at the Inter Milan training base.

Chivu used his key to open the door.

It was 2:30 PM, and the place was completely empty.

"Tang, your strength training must be intensified. If you want a strong physique, optimizing your diet is far from enough. You must put in extra work!"

"But Mr. Chivu, I've noticed that the strong players on the Inter Milan first team rarely seem to come to the gym."

Tang Long brought up the matter of Guarin.

As the strongest player on the Inter Milan squad.

Guarin indeed rarely visited the gym.

To be precise, he might not even go once a month!

This left Tang Long very confused, and he had even gone out of his way to ask Guarin for advice.

Of course, aside from a disdainful glance, he hadn't gained anything at all.

Guarin had even mocked him, saying, "Are all you Chinese players this weak?"

Chivu understood what Tang Long meant.

He sat on the barbell bench and shared a past experience with Tang Long.

"As a player, I first arrived at Inter Milan in 2007. There was a player on the team named Ibrahimovic. Not only was he tall, but his frame was also extremely sturdy. What was even more terrifying was that his footwork was incredibly agile! Every time we had an internal scrimmage, the last thing I wanted to do was mark Ibrahimovic!"

"I once asked Ibrahimovic how he trained and if he had any secrets he could teach me."

"To my surprise, Ibrahimovic looked at me with a confused expression and said he had no secrets, and that his training was the same as everyone else's. I didn't believe him at first, thinking he was deliberately hiding it from me, but then I saw footage of him playing in Malmo, Sweden, when he was 17. I was shocked to discover that he was already that strong back then!"

Chivu looked at Tang Long with a meaningful gaze.

"Talent—this is a matter of talent! Whether it's Ibrahimovic or Guarin, their physical gifts are far superior to yours!"

"But don't be discouraged. You have your own talent; your vision on the pitch is a gift that crushes others as well."

"Besides, physical deficiencies can be compensated for through later training, but your natural talent is something that is hard to acquire later on."

Hoo--

Hoo--

Tang Long lay on the bench, pushing the barbell.

Sweat poured down like rain, hitting the floor with a rhythmic drip, drip.

"Push harder! Your bench press is only 68 kilograms. Any starting defender in Serie A could knock you over. Come on, push harder! I want you to reach 100 kilograms in three months! Come on!"

"Co-coach, is, is three months really, really enough?"

Looking at Tang Long, whose face was flushed red, veins bulging on his neck, and arms trembling slightly.

Chivu didn't have the heart to tell him the truth.

In reality, his transformation plan for Tang Long was designed to start with a one-year timeline.

The physical conditioning alone was supposed to last at least six months.

But he was worried that a young guy like Tang Long, with his impatient nature, might not have the patience for such a long process.

"It's absolutely enough. Would I lie to you? Give me three months, and I'll have you knocking Guarin flying in our internal scrimmages. Do you believe me?"

Tang Long's cheeks puffed out like a toad's, and his eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets.

The mere thought of him shoulder-charging the Colombian player and sending him flying during training.

Ignited a surge of fighting spirit in his heart.

"Hiyah!"

With a loud clang, Tang Long pushed up the 70kg barbell and placed it steadily back onto the rack.

Chivu's eyes lit up instantly.

"Good! It seems you are nowhere near your limit yet. Keep adding weight. With me spotting you, don't be afraid of getting hurt!"