Finished? Every Time They Say I'm Finished, I Become Their Daddy!
Why was Buffon so dejected after Tang Long scored that penalty?
He was so heartbroken, his eyes were vacant, and his face was blank;
So much so that after the match, he simply threw both pairs of goalkeeper gloves on the ground.
Then, head down and sullen, Buffon walked alone to the players' tunnel. Marchisio called him several times, but Buffon did not join his teammates in thanking the home fans.
How could Buffon possibly have the nerve to thank the Juventus fans?
This is not because the team was up by three goals but was overturned by Manchester City, which can be described as another Night of Istanbul.
Born in 1978, Buffon is 37 years old this year.
He started playing Serie A for Parma at the age of seventeen and remained active in the professional arena for a full 20 years!
Aside from the UEFA Champions League, he has achieved the highest level of honors at both the club and national team levels.
A simple comeback victory cannot destroy Buffon's confidence as a goalkeeper;
Moreover, this was just a match in the second round of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
It's still uncertain who will advance as the group winner!
What truly disheartened Buffon was not conceding three consecutive penalty kicks by Tang Long;
In penalty shootouts, goalkeepers are always at a disadvantage. Data shows that in the Top Five Leagues, the success rate of penalty kicks is generally around 80%.
So simply missing a penalty kick didn't make Buffon feel particularly sad, nor did he feel ashamed, to the point that he didn't even have the courage to thank the home fans!
What left Buffon feeling utterly dejected and unable to look back on was the way Tang Long scored from a penalty kick!
If Buffon's two consecutive Panenka penalties against Tang Long in the first two penalty shootouts had already made him more cautious and wary of Tang Long's Panenka shots, then he should have been more determined to improve his defenses.
In the match that just ended, Buffon was intently watching Tang Long's movements when Tang Long took the penalty kick;
If Tang Long slows down even slightly the moment he raises his leg, Buffon will immediately stop and catch his Panenka penalty, avenging his previous humiliation of being tricked by Panenka twice in a row!
However, Tang Long not only outmaneuvered Buffon again this time, but also pulled off an unexpected and deadly move.
This brilliant move completely baffled Buffon, so much so that while Tang Long and his teammates were celebrating, Buffon stood dumbfounded on the goal line, not even knowing how the ball had rolled over.
It wasn't until he saw the replay on the big screen at the stadium that he finally understood why!
Step,
Two steps,
Three steps.
For an average player, these three steps would be a running start, a preparatory step;
The final step, the contact between the striking foot and the ball, is the driving force that propels the football towards the goal.
But Tang Long did the exact opposite!
The first two steps were indeed a running start, but on the third step, when his left supporting foot should have moved about two fist-widths to the left of the ball, he suddenly kicked the ball with his left foot.
It was this small change in rhythm that caught Buffon completely off guard!
Tang Long's acrobatic penalty kick was a catastrophe unlike anything Buffon had ever experienced in his 20-year career.
Throughout his career, he has faced numerous top players at the penalty spot, including Pirlo, Recoba, Shevchenko, Vieri, Ronaldo, Totti, Balotelli, Beckham, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo...
These top-notch shooters, when taking penalty kicks, would never just blindly go up and take a shot;
Instead, they will use various body and eye feints to deceive the goalkeeper in the instant before striking the ball, thus kicking the ball into the far corner.
But Buffon had never done anything like feinting his left striking foot as his supporting foot to mislead the goalkeeper; in fact, he had never even heard of it before!
Is it possible to take a penalty kick like that?
Was this a foul?
Having played a full 20-year professional career, Buffon began to fall into deep self-doubt.
No matter what, Buffon just couldn't understand how a 37-year-old could be so humiliated by a 19-year-old player in a penalty shootout!
"He must have done it on purpose, how despicable..."
Buffon even started praying in his heart that if Juventus and Manchester City both advanced, he hoped they wouldn't have to face Manchester City again in the knockout stage!
Otherwise, if Tang Long were to step up to the penalty spot again, Buffon doubted he would have the courage to stand on the goal line and face that young, Eastern face.
"Give me the ball, referee!"
Agüero and the referee are having a difficult conversation, and Aguero wants to take away the match ball.
According to an unwritten rule on the field.
Players who score a hat-trick can take one of the match balls home as a souvenir after the game.
In this match, Tang Long came on in the second half and immediately contributed one goal and three assists, helping Manchester City to a comeback victory against Juventus.
Of the remaining three goals, two came from Agüero and one from Sterling.
Logically, no one from Manchester City should be entitled to take the match ball away.
Agüero argued with the referee that although Don didn't score, his three assists made him the key figure in orchestrating this epic comeback!
"Give me the ball! I absolutely have to give this ball to Tang Long, please!"
Perhaps it was because of Agüero's sincere attitude, or perhaps even the referee was impressed by Tang Long's outstanding performance in this match;
He made an exception and gave a ball to Agüero, Agüero then promptly stuffed the ball into Tang Long's arms.
"A hat-trick of assists, keep this goal!"
Tang Long thanked Agüero for the gift.
He knew that Agüero's actions must have a deeper meaning, that he hoped Aguero would provide him with more assists in future matches, since the European Golden Shoe was the ultimate goal that the Argentina striker dreamed of.
So Tang Long, holding the mud-covered match ball, gave an interview to Diletta in the mixed zone.
Diletta is really busy, having to fly from London to Turin to commentate on this match;
After the match, I had to rush from the studio, wearing high heels, to interview Tang Long, the best player of the match.
However, Diletta, holding the microphone, looked radiant and had a rosy complexion, showing no signs of fatigue from her heavy workload.
"Tang, congratulations on leading Manchester City to victory over Juventus!"
"This was an epic comeback, and it once again demonstrated the strength of Britain football to the Italy football world!"
"Tang, before this match, you received a lot of criticism from the UK media. Now that the match is over, do you have anything to say in response?"
Diletta truly lives up to her reputation as a seasoned media professional; she's very good at creating entertaining content.
The very first question was a devastating opening blow!
She wanted to use this question to help Tang Long vent his anger.
At the same time, it also helped her vent her anger!
What's wrong with Tang Long coming to visit me?
He would ask me to play every night, and his skill level on the court was far superior to all the other players!
Seeing such a pointed question, the other reporters at the scene also stared intently at Tang Long.
More than a dozen microphones were practically shoved in his face.
After all, Tang Long's distorted interpretation by the Sun sparked fierce public criticism in the British Isles!
Many media outlets have said that this China player, despite his young age, doesn't train properly and is obsessed with women, so his future is definitely ruined!
In fact, this kind of sinister interpretation, viewed through tinted glasses, has never stopped since Tang Long joined Manchester City from Inter Milan.
Tang Long was temporarily placed on the bench by Pellagrini in the first two games due to adaptation issues;
After a few games, he missed one game due to a back injury;
On his most recent day off, while his teammates were training hard, he went to London to meet with Diletta.
Tang Long had only been in Manchester City for a little over two months, but these English-language media outlets were like flies, constantly buzzing around him. The moment he had even the slightest wound, they would try to burrow into him and suck his blood.
They were delighted to see Tang Long decline; they just wanted to see Manchester City make a fool of themselves.
Tang Long took a deep breath and slowly said:
"You'll be useless every time you say it, and you'll be your father every time!"
Tang Long blurted out these words in Chinese.
So, despite his very firm tone, no one present, including the questioner Diletta, understood what he was saying.
Everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions.
Tang Long smiled and switched to English, saying:
"Behumble! As a professional player, it's inevitable to receive criticism and corrections from the media, but I'm grateful for these urgings. They serve as a spur to me, motivating me to correct my shortcomings and deficiencies, and to fight hard and strive for excellence on the field. So, I sincerely thank the media that criticized me."
"Although I was named the MVP of the match, this hard-fought comeback wouldn't have been possible without the concerted efforts of my teammates. We all deserve to be the MVP of the game for such a thrilling performance!"
The reporters at the scene, armed with their cameras and microphones, all looked surprised.
They originally thought that Tang Long would definitely vent his anger and curse those media outlets that were kicking him when he was down in front of the cameras.
Surprisingly, he was quite humble, not only expressing his gratitude to them but also pointing out that their criticism was a driving force for his progress.
That's far too modest!
Even Diletta, who was familiar with Tang Long, was taken aback.
No way, you don't really think that way, do you?
Given your current status at Manchester City and the support the club provides, you don't need to lower yourself like this at all.
However, Diletta then thought that the boy was almost 20 years old and no longer a child. His more composed and mature demeanor in front of the media was also a sign of his progress.
A delighted Pellegrini, accompanied by captain Kompany, briefly spoke a few words at the post-match press conference before leaving.
Because they had to take a flight overnight from Turin back to Manchester.
He didn't want to share his joy of victory with the Italy journalists on the spot.
He preferred to keep this joy in his heart and share it with those around him slowly after returning to Manchester.
Juventus's release meeting, on the other hand, was lengthy and tense.
Several times, Allegri was so enraged by the reporters' questions that he wanted to storm off!
Unexpectedly, the entrance to the Juventus press conference venue was blocked by several tall, overweight reporters who refused to let Allegri leave!
"Allegri, how can you face us? How can you face the media who support Juventus?"
"I've been working overtime until 11 p. m. every day to cover Juventus, and this is the crap you produce for me?"
"What do you want us to write after the match? 'The Night in Turin in the UEFA Champions League Turin'? 'AC Milan's spirit is on full display?'"
"To be up by three goals and still get reversed, and still want to compete for first place in the group? That's going to be very difficult!"
"The group stage isn't even over yet, Juventus' UEFA Champions League journey is already over, it's over!"
"Allegri, if you don't resign, Juventus might as well disband on the spot!"