There's a Traitor Among Us! Tang Long Is Back on The Sun's Front Page!
Manchester City go winless in two rounds! Their form remains sluggish!
<Two games, one goal – is this the best attacking firepower in the Premier League?>
<Shocking! Manchester City has fallen so low that they need center-back Kompany to go one-on-one with them!>
<Going backwards is not a good sign; Manchester City's attack is impotent without Agüero!>
<Don's lucky assist helped Manchester City secure a meager point!>
Luck won't always favor Tang, nor will it always favor Manchester City!
Manchester United easily defeated Wolfsburg 3-0, with Icardi scoring twice!
Chelsea thrashed Porto 4-0, and are poised for a stunning victory against Manchester City!
The media heavily criticized Manchester City for only managing one point away from home!
They described Kompany's late equalizer as a fig leaf for Manchester City's recent slump;
Tang Long's assist was attributed to a stroke of luck!
In the post-match interview, Kompany said he never expected Tang Long to pass the ball to him, and he felt that it would have been better to pass it to Sterling.
Under the pressure of public opinion, the entire Manchester City team was also feeling suffocated.
There was nothing the players could do but keep training extra!
These players are all seasoned veterans.
Their professional careers taught them a lesson.
The more turbulent the team is, the more it's your chance to step up!
Currently, the absence of the central axis of Ranocchia, Silva, and Agüero is causing significant problems for Manchester City's passing and possession system.
But this is also a good time for other players, especially substitutes, to compete for a starting position.
For example, substitute center- Demichelis trained the most intensely in training.
He felt that as long as he played his role as a ball-playing center-back well while Ranocchia was injured, it was another matter whether Ranocchia could take his place once he recovered!
As for Tang Long, he still didn't do any extra training, arriving and leaving on time, clocking in and out without stopping for even a second.
Even during training, Pellegrini thought Tang Long was going to be late, so he arrived at the last minute.
Many of Tang Long's teammates looked at him with disapproval, feeling that his professional attitude was unworthy of a starting position at Manchester City!
However, everyone has to admit that there are reasons why Pellegrini always starts Tang Long.
Because once he's on the court, he always manages to put on some great performances and rack up some impressive stats.
He always makes his presence felt!
This unusual contrast left his teammates feeling uneasy.
Some felt a pang of jealousy, and some even began to resent Tang Long.
Why is it that we train so hard just to get a starting spot, sometimes so tired that we fall asleep as soon as we get into bed, while you don't train extra, you're always on time for regular training, and you still get to start, score goals, and provide assists, Pellegrini still trusts you so much!
Sigh, why are you so talented?
Why is there such a huge difference between people?!
I'm so angry!
"Hehe, you really aren't afraid of media attacks, are you? Tell me, how do you have such a strong mentality?"
Diletta sat at the dining table, smiling as she looked at Tang Long.
Tang Long buried his face in a bowl that was bigger than his face, shoveling large mouthfuls of Italy into his mouth.
This bowl of Italy was made by Diletta herself.
Italy is not a rare or expensive food.
However, the Italy made by an Italy woman is always a hundred times better than that of any restaurant on the streets of Manchester.
Tang Long raised his head, wiped the tomato sauce from the corner of his mouth, pointed to his left ear, and then pointed to his right ear.
"What do you mean?" Diletta asked, puzzled.
"It goes in one ear and out the other. I'll just treat these reporters' nonsense as if they've farted. I'll stay far away and not even want to smell it."
Diletta glanced at the shiny bottom of the bowl in front of Tang Long and pursed her lips.
"What's wrong with reporters? Reporters make a living this way, just like you players make a living by playing football. If you look down on reporters so much, don't ask me for help!"
"Alright, enough chit-chat, let's get down to business."
Diletta got up and dragged a heavy suitcase out of the living room.
She originally wanted to talk to Tang Long about serious business as soon as she entered the door, but Tang Long insisted that she make a bowl of Italy. Diletta had no choice but to go to the kitchen to make spaghetti for Tang Long.
Tang Long opened his suitcase, weighed it in his hand, and then lifted it with all his might.
Splash! Dozens of books cascaded down like a waterfall.
Looking at the pile of books on the ground, Tang Long pointed and asked, "Are they all here?"
"It's all here. I've searched all over London for the Manchester City player biographies and interview materials you requested; I found everything I could."
"Paper books are inconvenient to carry around, are there electronic versions?"
Diletta took a USB flash drive out of her bag and stuffed it directly into Tang Long's pants pocket.
"Some materials and books are only available in print and not in electronic format, while others are available in electronic format; they are all included here."
Looking at the messy floor, Diletta bent down and picked up the books one by one, then placed them on the living room desk, introducing them to Tang Long as she worked.
"This is a memoir written by Visino, a famous England youth coach. It's over 700 pages long, and I glanced at it. About 80 pages of it are about Sterling. He was very proud to have coached this protégé."
"Goalkeeper Caballero also published an autobiography, but it sold very poorly; only 1,000 copies were printed, and it's basically impossible to find one in stores. I found a copy for you at a used bookstore."
"The materials Nasri left behind are quite fragmented, mostly interviews with family, friends, and coaches, as well as videos of him attending various France variety and entertainment events. I've organized them for you and put them on your USB drive."
"By the way, this novel was written by an Ivory Coast author. Although it's fictional, the protagonist's experiences are completely based on Yaya Toure's life story. You can take a look when you have time."
"And this too, your head coach Pellegrini had a column in the Buenos Aires Sports Daily more than ten years ago when he was coaching River Plate. He wrote about fifty or sixty articles about football tactics, which I've also collected and organized for you. They're on your USB drive."
After reading Kompany's autobiography, Tang Long gained a deep understanding of the ambition hidden deep within Kompany's character, and after feeding it to his AI System, it immediately proved effective in the UEFA Champions League away game against Sevilla.
Having tasted success, he felt he needed to read more books and materials and understand his teammates better.
However, the information he found on the internet was very limited and of inconsistent quality.
Some tabloid and social media reports are of dubious veracity; some are even obviously fabricated jokes!
Therefore, Tang Long thought of his good friend Diletta.
Diletta is a journalist by training, and a veteran sports journalist at that.
They have a natural advantage in collecting books and information about players, and they also have a keen eye for verifying the authenticity of information.
So Tang Long made a single phone call to London.
Diletta was working overtime at Sky Sport headquarters at the time, feeling dizzy and lightheaded;
Upon hearing Tang Long's ambitious data collection plan, he felt his vision go black.
"Why do you need to know so much about your teammates? Are you going to switch careers and become a journalist to write their autobiographies?"
"Diletta, this is very important to me, and I can't explain it to you in a short time. Just tell me if you'll help me or not."
What are the benefits?
What do you want?
"Hehe, I want something sincere, let's see how you give it."
"During my time at Manchester City, aside from interviews requested by the club, I will refuse all other media interviews. My in-depth interviews will be exclusively authorized to you, and you can do as many as you want," Tang Long paused, "I will only share big news with you, just like that interview when I transferred from Inter Milan to Manchester City."
Upon hearing this generous offer, Diletta felt that Tang Long was being very sincere and immediately agreed.
I happened to be in Manchester on a business trip, so I brought all the information I had collected with me.
Diletta truly lives up to her reputation as Sky Sport's top female anchor; her professional skills are astounding!
Not only were they quick at collecting information, but they also leveraged their connections within Sky Sport to obtain data that was no longer available for sale.
Without Diletta's help, Tang Long would have searched the internet endlessly and found nothing.
For example, Diletta even managed to get his hands on a photo of Spain winger Navas's high school report card.
The transcript shows that Navas is a student who excels in only one subject but not the other.
He scored near-perfect marks in Spain and history, but failed subjects like English, math, and physics.
In particular, he only scored a dozen points out of 100 in English.
Upon seeing this report card, Tang Long suddenly realized what was going on!
No wonder Navas, after playing in the Premier League for so many years, still only speaks Spain in interviews, and the few English words he occasionally utters are completely incomprehensible unless you listen carefully.
It seems I just lack the aptitude for learning English.
Tang Long picked up a book, sat down on the sofa, and began to read it with great interest.
Diletta had finally managed to organize the pile of books and materials, arranging them neatly on the bookshelf for Tang Long to browse.
Just as the blonde Italy woman was doing all this for Tang Long, the doorbell rang.
Diletta, covered in sweat, rubbed her aching lower back as she opened the door.
Manchester City's team doctor, Gracie, stood outside the door, holding a thick file folder. When the door opened, instead of Tang Long, a tall woman appeared in front of him.
Forehead...
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
Gracie and Diletta knew each other; they had met briefly at a charity gala in Manchester to honor retired players.
But Gracie never expected to see Diletta at Tang Long's house.
The smile that had been on her face instantly froze.
Seeing Diletta covered in sweat and holding her lower back, Gracie's mind was instantly filled with images she didn't want to think about.
"Hello, Gracie, please come in!" Tang Long broke the awkward silence.
"I think I'd better not come in; it's not appropriate," Gracie said, biting her lip.
Diletta, who was standing to the side, also looked at Tang Long.
Tang Long explained that Gracie had come to deliver his teammates' medical records.
Tang Long was very meticulous. He not only wanted to understand the backgrounds and cultural contexts of his teammates, but he also wanted to know the complete tracking reports of each teammate in the Manchester City medical laboratory.
These reports not only cover the injury and recovery history of each Manchester City player, but also include regular medical examination records and follow-ups on the players' physical condition. Through these reports, Tang Long can gain a complete understanding of his teammates' physical condition.
To understand a person, it's far from enough to simply know their positioning, passing, and shooting habits.
Whether it's the players' backgrounds and cultural experiences, or their physical characteristics and injury history, these are all very helpful supplementary factors for player modeling.
With the addition of more variables, the model built by the AI System will become more accurate, and will be of greater help to Tang Long!
"My goodness, why do you want to know so much? Is Pellegrini going to step down and you're going to take over?" Diletta joked.
"You've worked hard, Gracie. Haven't had dinner yet? I'll take you out to a nice restaurant. Come along, Diletta."
France football star Nasri was driving out to dinner when he passed by Tang Long's house and saw Diletta and Gracie. He then followed Tang Long out.
He quickly slowed down, took out his phone to take a few pictures, and sped away.
Inside a public phone booth.
Nasri wore a mask and spoke in a low voice.
Is this the Sun's citizen tip-off hotline?
"I'm a concerned citizen of Manchester, and I'm here to break a big sex scandal involving Manchester City player Don!"
"He brought two women home overnight, and I have photographic evidence."
"Name your price? No need, I don't want a penny of payment. Just be quick, get it on the front page tomorrow!"
(Recently, some people have said that the author's writing is padded. The author sincerely asks, what would be considered not padded? Is it just about winning matches all the time? I don't want to write a battle report. I've interspersed some daily life scenes in these chapters, but the daily life scenes are all about football, and I'm also exploring the relationships between the protagonist and his teammates, which can be considered as foreshadowing. I'd like to hear your thoughts.)