Tang Long Became Juventus's Thorn in Their Side! Allegri Devised a Plan to Hunt Him Down!
[Tang, don't worry, with me here, no one in this team can bully you!]
When Agüero returned home late that night, he sent Tang Long a text message.
The next morning, before training even started, he joined forces with Manchester City captain Kompany and Joe Hart, the leader of the English-speaking Faction, to confront CEO Begiristain in his office.
Begiristain also took a flight last night and had just returned from a meeting at UEFA headquarters to handle club matters.
When he saw the team's three leaders coming to him together, he knew something was wrong.
As expected, after hearing Agüero's account and seeing the irrefutable video evidence, Begiristain was also furious!
He slammed his laptop shut, took off his suit jacket, and tossed it heavily onto the sofa.
"Such a thing actually happened? Nasri is simply outrageous!"
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group took over Manchester City, dealing with the overwhelming media frenzy in Britain has been a major challenge for the Manchester City CEO.
In the past month, the team's core player Tang Long has appeared twice in the Sun, causing Begiristain a great deal of trouble.
After all, this 19-year-old China player is a core asset that the club acquired at great expense!
It is not only a strong guarantee for the team's championship aspirations, but also represents the club's image.
Begiristain initially thought that flies don't land on eggs without cracks; while the Sun was certainly despicable, Tang Long's promiscuous private life was also a contributing factor.
His purpose in rushing back from Switzerland overnight was to have a serious talk with Pellegrini about restraining Tang Long's off-field private life.
He also planned to meet with Gracie's father, the mayor of Manchester, and privately give the editor-in-chief of the Sun a warning.
But now it seems that this whole upskirt photo incident was a complete misunderstanding!
Tang Long did absolutely nothing wrong; everything was perfectly aboveboard.
What's even more despicable is that the people behind this weren't the paparazzi from the Sun, but rather the team's own player, Nasri!
"There's a traitor among us!"
To quell external threats, internal stability is paramount. However, it seems that Begiristain believes the focus of controlling public opinion shouldn't necessarily be on external media outlets.
The most urgent task is to find the mole in the locker room and restore discipline to the team!
We absolutely cannot allow Tang Long's personal image to be further damaged, nor can we allow it to affect the reputation of Manchester City Football Club, the most important asset under the City Football Group.
However, Begiristain is Begiristain after all. As a high-ranking executive who was specifically poached from Barcelona, he has considerable experience in managing teams.
Begiristain believes that now is not the time to make the conflict public.
In two days, the team will face Juventus at home.
This fifth UEFA Champions League group stage match is crucial for Manchester City to secure first place in their group and a favorable draw in the round of 16, allowing them to go further in this season's UEFA Champions League.
If things escalate at this point, causing internal strife and severe unrest, it would actually benefit Juventus.
"Kompany, Agüero, Hart, I assure you that your demands will be met. Nasri must be severely punished; I will give him the heaviest punishment in the club's history!"
"However, I require that you promise me that before I and the other senior officials reach a conclusion, you must tell Toure no one involved in this meeting can divulge a single word to the outside world, nor can they speak of it internally, not even your head coach Pellegrini."
"After the match against Juventus, I will give you all an answer that will satisfy you all."
Italy, Turin.
Juventus training ground.
The Bianconeri players are training intensely.
In Turin in November, under the Mediterranean climate, the morning temperature is only seven or eight degrees Celsius.
The players were all drenched in sweat, their jerseys completely soaked.
Two players trained exceptionally hard!
One was Buffon, and the other was his old teammate Chiellini.
These two men, whose combined age is nearly 70, fought harder than the younger Juventus players on the field.
The reason is simple: to avenge the defeat at Manchester City's home ground!
"Keep going, Morata, one more!"
"Panenka, the supporting foot touch, and all sorts of other fancy penalty tricks—use them all!"
"I refuse to believe it. I've played football in Italy my whole life, and I can't possibly be outsmarted by a 19-year-old China kid!"
Bang bang bang!
The sound of consecutive penalty kicks coming from inside the penalty area.
Buffon kept practicing penalty kicks with the team's star striker Morata.
Buffon was in exceptionally good form during training today.
The assistant coach, while taking notes, praised:
"Excellent, Buffon! Morata took a total of 50 penalties, and you saved 21 of them, a penalty saving success rate of over 40%!"
Buffon had just saved a penalty kick from Morata that was aimed at the bottom left corner when he immediately bounced back up with a somersault and returned to the front of the goal.
"40%? That's too low, far from enough! With that success rate, how can we possibly deal with Tang!"
Pogba sauntered over, smiling at Morata, whose legs were cramping from exhaustion, and said:
"Looks like Buffon has been thoroughly enraged after being outmaneuvered by Tang in three consecutive penalty kicks. You take a break, I'll take over!"
Meanwhile, Chiellini was constantly practicing small, quick steps, adjusting his weight to move back and forth, left and right.
The diminutive forward Dybala, with his skillful footwork, feints left and dribble right, employing a variety of dribbling techniques;
However, Chiellini repeatedly managed to clear the ball with a precise and powerful final touch!
"I'm done playing, I'm done playing, I'm exhausted! I haven't practiced shooting much this morning, I've been too busy playing one-on-one with you!"
Dybala turned to run, but Chiellini grabbed him.
"Don't go! Let's do 10 more rounds! Your footwork is the most similar to Tang's in the team. If you don't train with me, who will?"
Allegri and his teaching assistant.
The two stood on the sidelines with tactical boards in their hands.
"Boss, it's the last training session before the Manchester City game. I just watched the whole thing, and Buffon and Chiellini are both in excellent form. I'm confident we can turn things around at the Etihad Stadium!" The assistant coach said confidently.
In the first leg of the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Manchester City at home, Allegri suffered the most humiliating defeat of his career!
With a three-goal lead, Juventus thought victory was assured at their home ground;
But then the situation took an unexpected turn, and Manchester City pulled off a remarkable comeback, winning four straight from a 3-0 deficit!
Manchester City's stoppage-time winner in that match made Allegri so angry he almost spat out blood.
Chiellini won a penalty in the box, Tang Long beat Buffon to the kick, securing three points in the 95th minute!
The game was so humiliating that, at the post-match press conference at the home stadium, Allegri was surrounded by a group of local Turin reporters who demanded an explanation and wouldn't let him leave.
They almost got into a fight with Allegri!
What a disgrace! What a disgrace! I never imagined that I, a renowned Italy coach, would be treated like this by my own people.
After that match, Allegri couldn't sleep at night.
He managed to fall asleep, but when his wife woke up the next day, she looked at him fearfully and said that Allegri had been clenching his teeth in anger all night, making a clattering sound, as if he was afraid Allegri would hit her.
"Let bygones be bygones, haha."
Allegri suppressed his anger and, feigning composure, told his assistant coach, "Manchester City is not the Manchester City it used to be. They've lost three key players, and their possession-based system has collapsed."
"I've watched several Manchester City games in a row, and they've played terribly, especially Pellegrini, that old man is quite stubborn, insisting on playing possession football even when the squad is incomplete."
"Their last league match against Chelsea was purely by luck; their attack was awful. Heh heh, with that kind of constipated attack, I guarantee they won't score a single goal against Juventus!"
The teaching assistant smiled obsequiously and began to flatter Allegri.
"Exactly! With the boss's brilliant leadership, Manchester City's possession-based football is nothing!"
"As long as we keep a close eye on Tang, they'll be helpless!"
Upon hearing Tang Long's name, Allegri felt a jolt in his heart, as if he had been stabbed in the heart.
Tang Long repeatedly ruined his chances when he was with Inter Milan last season, and Allegri hated him.
"Tang?! Football is a team sport. No matter how strong Tang is, can he play from defensive midfield all the way to striker? He doesn't have the stamina, you know? That's the crux of Manchester City's problems these past few games! Remember, what we Juventus need to do is not target any one individual, we need to completely crush them!"
That being said, Allegri has been racking his brains these past few days, and has begun a comprehensive hunt for Tang Long...
Manchester, 7:30 PM local time.
Etihad Stadium.
With 15 minutes to go, the fifth round of the group stage will kick off with Manchester City hosting Juventus at home.
Manchester City manager Pellegrini is giving his final pep talk.
Pellegrini emphasized that this match will be the last hurdle Manchester City faces in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and a victory against Juventus would secure them first place in the group.
The Chilean Engineer knew this match would be fraught with difficulty, as Manchester City was already short-handed, and Juventus, having suffered a 4-0 defeat in their previous match, would undoubtedly be eager to prove themselves at the Etihad.
Therefore, the Chile, who has always been very confident in his passing and possession tactics, surprisingly asked the team to retreat more in the first half.
"Don't go head-to-head with Juventus. We need to avoid their strength, slowly wear them down, and then attack in the second half when their stamina is low!"
Many people in the locker room had happy expressions on their faces, which was definitely a positive sign.
It seems even the stubborn old Chile man has his moments of enlightenment!
Nasri, standing to the side, was overjoyed, his eyes shining!
Should we attack again when Juventus' stamina is low?
This means that although he didn't start in this match, if he gets a chance to play in the second half, it will be Manchester City's chance to launch a counterattack.
When the whole team was ready and walked out of the locker room.
Unaware that he was about to die, Nasri deliberately walked quickly to Tang Long's side and gently put his arm around his neck.
What are you doing?
"Dear Tang, did you hear what the old man said? Keep attacking in the second half, hehe, if I get a chance to come on as a substitute, you have to keep your promise and feed me a goal, just like you did for Bony in the last game against Chelsea!"
Starting lineup for this match:
Manchester City home team): 4231
Bony
Sterling / Tang Long / Navas
Yaya Toure / Fernando
Kolarov / Kompany / Demichelis / Sagna
Caballero
Away team Juventus: 352
Dybala / Mandzukic
Sandro / Pogba / Marchisio / Sturaro / Lichtsteiner
Chiellini / Bonucci / Barzagli
Buffon
The referee blew his whistle, and the match began!
Juventus kicked off first.
Marchisio didn't even look at the ball; he rushed straight to Tang Long's side and patted him on the shoulder.
"Tang, I'll play with you all night!"