"Tang! I'm not resigned to this! I refuse to accept it! I'm going to climb higher!"

After the previous media storm caused by the Sun, although Manchester City achieved an epic comeback in this match away from home, Pellegrini dared not give the players a day off this time.

9:30 AM on the second day.

All players arrived at the training ground on time to begin their regular training session.

Many players also harbor resentment about this!

We just got back from a long away game, arriving home close to 1 or 2 AM. We still have to get up early for training. Can't you give us another day off? Does this mean you don't trust us?

We can have a day off, then practice extra in the afternoon, and sleep in late in the morning.

However, among all the players...

One person, however, trained exceptionally hard!

He got up at 6:00 a. m. and arrived at the gym before 7:00 a. m. to start his extra workout.

This person is Bony, Manchester City's second substitute striker from Ivory Coast.

After his respected fellow countryman Yaya Toure helped him drive away a group of relatives who had flown all the way to Manchester to demand money, Bony's highly stressed nerves were given a temporary respite.

But he shouldn't relax at all in the world of football!

Because he had only played for a few minutes in the previous UEFA Champions League away game against Juventus, and the game was over before he had even warmed up, Bony came to the training ground early the next day to do extra training.

When his teammates arrived at the training ground exhausted at 9:30, Bony was already drenched in sweat and had changed into two short-sleeved shirts.

"Hey, Tang! Good morning, have you eaten?"

"Huh? You ate it!"

Bony's last three words, "Have you eaten?", were spoken to Tang Long in broken Chinese.

This was the first time Tang Long had heard someone speak to him like that in a foreign land.

These three words immediately stirred up some memories for him; it was a common greeting between friends.

Tang Long was somewhat curious; how did Bony know that phrase?

"Haha, how's my pronunciation? Not bad, right?"

Bony chuckled, then began to tell Tang Long about the three assists from last night's game.

"Your assists were absolutely fantastic, Tang! Can you teach me how you made those runs? How come you and Agüero always have such perfect synchronization in your passing and movement?"

Tang Long smiled slightly.

Good grief, you've revealed your true intentions after only a few words. So that's what you were after.

Tang Long couldn't help but chuckle at the thought that Bony had even learned a broken Chinese phrase, "Have you eaten?", just to please him.

"Bony, I can't help you with positioning; you'll have to ask Agüero for that. I'm only responsible for passing the ball."

"I know positioning is one thing, but you must have had some private communication with Agüero. I just want to figure out what kind of passes you like." Bony didn't give up.

Tang Long laughed.

"I like to pass the ball to a striker so he can score, that way I can provide an assist."

Upon hearing Tang Long's words, a hint of disappointment flashed across Bony's face.

He hesitated for a moment, then patted Tang Long on the shoulder before turning and leaving.

Bony knew perfectly well that he should consult Agüero about positioning.

But he also knew perfectly well that Agüero would help him.

It's a ghost!

One of them was from the French-speaking Faction, and the other was from the Spanish-speaking Faction. These two groups were the two most powerful factions in the Manchester City dressing room.

Don't be fooled by their cheerful and smiling exteriors; behind the scenes, there's a lot of backstabbing and stabbing between them.

Just a few days ago, Nasri from the French-speaking Faction made a rather aggressive move against Silva from the Spanish-speaking Faction during a rondo contest, knocking him to the ground with a flying tackle.

"Hey! What are you doing? Keep your hands to yourself!" Agüero immediately scolded Nasri.

"Who told him to deliberately stab my crotch!" Nasri retorted, not to be outdone.

Both players joined Manchester City in 2011.

They are about the same age, one born in 1987 and the other in 1988.

Back then, Nasri's fame was no less than Agüero's; he was known as one of the Four Little Swans of France. Moreover, Arsenal's status was higher than Atlético Madrid's at that time, and Nasri performed exceptionally well for Arsenal, earning Wenger's deep trust.

Therefore, Nasri, who considers himself a veteran of Manchester City, was not as polite to Agüero as he was to others.

The confrontation between the two quickly escalated into a firefight between the French-speaking Faction and Spanish-speaking Factions!

Toure, Klich, Bony, Mangala, and others surrounded them;

Navas, Otamendi, Zabaleta, Caballero, Demichelis also joined in to support Agüero.

In the chaos, Agüero shoved Bony, who rushed to his side, and glared at him fiercely.

Fortunately, Pellegrini intervened in time, reprimanded both sides, and ended the dispute by giving each a fair share of blame.

So, against the backdrop of gang warfare, Bony is sent to consult with striker Agüero on positioning techniques...

Even if he could bring himself to ask, Agüero teach him?

Dream on!

It's already being kind of them not to make a sarcastic remark about him.

Let's also talk about the location.

Positionally, both are centers.

In Manchester City's current lone striker tactic, Iheanacho is essentially a mini -Rami among the three center forwards, with a very weak presence.

The only players Pellegrini truly trusts and can entrust with important responsibilities are Bony and Agüero.

These two are also rivals on the front line.

Despite Agüero's current status as a regular starter, Agüero is physically rather fragile.

As early as his second season with Manchester City, he was sidelined for six months due to injury.

One should always be wary of others.

Agüero is worried that if he gets injured and stays away from the field, will his rival Bony take his place?

Putting himself in Agüero, Bony would also not share his positioning tips and other forward techniques with his rivals.

Otherwise, the scenario of teaching an apprentice only to have the master starve is a common occurrence in Europe professional leagues!

During the hour and a half of training in the morning, Bony's eyes never left Tang Long.

Tang Long was stretching and warming up, Bony was watching him;

Tang Long was warming up by juggling a ball, Bony was watching him;

Tang Long was sprinting back and forth, Bony was watching him!

When Tang Long was practicing long passes, Bony stared intently at him, studying his leg swing movements.

Even when Tang Long was tired and went to the sidelines to get a drink of water, Bony's eyes still followed him.

In the final 20 minutes of the intra-team scrimmage.

Wearing a substitute player's vest, Bony kept a close eye on Tang Long's every move on the field.

Assistant coach Rayne had to repeatedly blow his whistle to remind Bony, "What are you doing? Run! Are you playing football or just watching?"

There weren't many people in the Manchester City club's canteen at lunchtime today.

The players, who just returned from Turin last night, were exhausted from their journey.

Many people finish training, shower, and drive straight home.

Especially for players with families, they all want to go home and enjoy a delicious meal prepared by their wives.

Despite being single, Tang Long still maintains his habit of eating lunch at the club's cafeteria every day.

He was dipping wheat bread into a bowl of light mushroom soup, and as he ate, he began to reminisce about the Italy with tomato sauce that Diletta had cooked for him in London that day.

Suddenly, I realized that someone was sitting across from me.

He looked up and saw Bony grinning at him with a fawning smile.

"Bony, what's up?" Tang Long asked.

"Nothing's wrong. What a coincidence, running into you at lunchtime."

Bony scratched his head.

His clumsy excuse made this chance encounter seem all the more deliberate.

"Okay, let's eat together then."

Tang Long buried himself in his bread and mushroom soup, then finished off a plate of steak.

After finishing his meal, Tang Long noticed that Bony was still following behind him and even offered to drive him home.

Tang Long hadn't had time to get his driver's license after arriving in UK. During his training, he either drove Ranocchia and gave them rides along the way, or he took a taxi. So when he heard that Bony wanted to drive him, although he knew that Bonnie must have ulterior motives, he was happy to save himself the trouble and simply agreed.

The car was driving on the wide asphalt road.

Outside the car window was the typical gloomy sky of the British Isles.

While driving, Bony kept glancing at Tang Long in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye.

But he remained silent, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Tell me, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Tang Long cut straight to the point, breaking the awkward silence.

Bony swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing deeply.

He told Tang Long that since Agüero just started and played the full 90 minutes in the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Juventus, Pellegrini was very likely to rotate him into the starting lineup for this weekend's match against the Aston Villa.

"That's a good thing, Bony," Tang Long said casually. "Isn't it just that you want to play and score goals?"

"But I'm afraid I won't be able to score after I go on the field."

At a traffic light intersection, Bony lightly applied the brakes, and the front of the car slowly came to a stop in front of the white line.

"That depends on your abilities. Opportunity always favors the prepared mind," Tang Long said, stopping short of commenting.

The red light lasted a full 60 seconds, and the numbers kept ticking down.

For Bony, this felt like the longest struggle of his life!

In those brief 60 seconds, the hardships and pains of his 10-year professional career unfolded rapidly in Bony's mind like a movie.

During that brief moment at the traffic light, he recalled his years struggling in the slums of Ivory Coast.

From leaving that place to going to Europe as a professional player, how he barely gained a foothold amidst racial discrimination, struggled step by step, and was suppressed step by step, finally making a name for himself in Swansea, and then, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world's best center forward, he came to the powerhouse Manchester City that he had long dreamed of.

However, due to his limited appearances and repeated missed opportunities, he was jokingly referred to as the most unsuccessful transfer in Manchester City's history.

His confidence was trampled on!

The moment the red light turned green, Bony suddenly floored the accelerator, and his Audi Q7 roared forward!

Bony was roaring too!

"I'm not reconciled, I'm not convinced, I'm going to climb higher!"

"Tang! Help me, or we might as well all die today!"

The car was driving on a riverbank, with a sharp bend less than 50 meters ahead. In a moment of impulsiveness, Bony continued to press the accelerator without slowing down.

Just as the car was about to veer off the riverbank, he suddenly jerked the steering wheel, nearly causing his Q7 to overturn. It wobbled and came to a stop on the side of the road.

Bony was clearly horrified by his own foolish actions!

He broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding, his back already soaked with sweat.

He turned his head and looked at Tang Long with a nervous expression, his eyes full of apology.

Tang Long was also terrified.

He gripped his seatbelt with one hand and patted Bony on the back with the other.

"Dude, we're just playing football. Your job is to kick the ball into the goal, not drive a car into the river. It's not that serious, really not. If you really want to learn, I can help you."

Tang Long Ranocchia already heard about Bony being ruthlessly exploited by more than 100 members of his family, who treated him like a human ATM.

He knew the pressure this African player was under.

Furthermore, Bony, who has never been able to secure a regular starting position, is seeing his career visibly declining.

The combined pressures of family and career were enough to crush this man in his twenties.

Upon hearing Bony Tang Long's agreement, Boni's tears flowed like a waterfall.

He sobbed and apologized as he buried his head in Tang Long's arms, hugging him and crying.

Tang Long gently patted Bony's back to comfort him, while thinking to himself:

"Let's take this opportunity to completely control Bony. That way, if Yaya Toure and his French-speaking Faction try anything funny again, I'll have an inside man."

Tang Long said to Bony, "Come on, let's go back to the training field. I'll teach you a diagonal cut-in running move. Once you learn this move, no matter how I pass it to you, I guarantee you'll be able to run it!"

Just three days before Manchester City's Premier League match against Sunderland.

Almost all Britain media outlets showered Tang Long with praise!

They all said that Tang Long's appearance gave Manchester City the ability to deliver the decisive blow on the field. Even against Serie A giants like Juventus, Manchester City can have the confidence to say no at their home ground!

Even those right-wing conservative media outlets that have always been at odds with Tang Long have quietly changed their tune.

The Daily Telegraph's coverage was particularly unique.

They were relieved that Tang Long hadn't retaliated fiercely after the match, believing they had escaped a serious attack.

They also felt that this kid seemed easy to bully and not as individualistic as they had imagined.

While the Daily Telegraph also praised Tang Long, its choice of angle was quite ingenious and thoughtful.

Our criticism helped this humble young man grow!

"Tang's performance in the UEFA Champions League doesn't deserve excessive praise, because as Manchester City's most expensive player in transfer history, he should shoulder this responsibility. When the team is in adversity, he should bravely step up; this is the duty that comes with his transfer fee."

"However, Tang's humility in the post-match interview, claiming that it was precisely the media criticism that spurred him to keep improving, demonstrated a rare UK gentlemanly demeanor among foreign players!"

"UK is a country that produces many gentlemen, and the Daily Telegraph is the most gentlemanly traditional media outlet in the entire Britain press."

"We are very pleased to see that players like Tang, who come from underdeveloped countries, have changed their unruly personalities after receiving a higher level of education in Britain."

"This is not only the growth of the players, but also a sign of progress in human civilization."

"The entire editorial team at the Daily Telegraph is very pleased about this, as we have helped a young player mature, becoming more civilized and cultured."

"We must confidently acknowledge that, beyond football, UK can offer the world so much more!"

However.

Just as the right-wing conservative media outlet, the Daily Telegraph, was basking in the glory of its reporting...

One hour before Manchester City host Aston Villa.

A fan's comment, which was pinned to the top of the website's homepage, caused an uproar in the editorial department!

"Haha, that's hilarious! You guys are praising him? Tang said he's your dad! Did you even understand the Chinese he was speaking?"

Starting lineup: Manchester City home team), 4-2-3-1

Bony

Sterling / Silva / Navas

Fernando / Delph

Clichy/ Otamendi / Ranocchia / Sagna

Caballero

Away team Aston Villa: 4231

Ayew

Sinclair / Veretout / Traore

Gueye / Sanchez

Amavi / Richards / Clark / Hutton

Guzan