Why Was Guardiola Scouting Manchester City So Early? He Was Preparing for Next Season!

Tang Long was actually quite speechless about this seating arrangement.

In particular, seeing everyone Baba as they sat down before taking their seats themselves made me feel even more bored.

Is this in Europe?

It feels just like China, hilarious~

"Has our club always been like this? Do the Team Committee members have to be seated before the other players can sit down?"

"That's not how it works. Hart was already at Manchester City in 2007, before the Manchester City was acquired by Middle Easterners. One day, I asked Hart, just like you, who made up this rule? Hart told me that before, everyone just sat wherever they wanted, first come, first served. Later, the Middle Easterners made up this rule, so it's a foreign one. Maybe football clubs in the United Arab Emirates have the same rule."

Tang Long nodded slightly. "Alright, that makes sense."

When the plane landed at Borussia Monchengladbach International Airport at 4 p. m.

At this moment, in the office of the head coach of Bayern Football Club in Munich.

Guardiola, sitting in front of his computer, rubbed his slightly blurry eyes and said to a scout:

"Raymond, you've been traveling to South America a lot lately, it must be exhausting. Why don't you cancel your flight tonight and go to Monchengladbach's home stadium tomorrow to watch their UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City?"

"Focus on finding the weaknesses in their passing and possession tactics."

"Yes, don't look at their strengths. In my eyes, their strengths aren't really strengths. You're only looking at their weaknesses in passing and ball control."

"Hmm, I don't know if Tang will play. If he does, focus on analyzing his running routes and passing strategies, and submit a scouting report to me after the match."

"Yes, it needs to be fast, and the content needs to be detailed. I need to see it by the afternoon of the next day."

Manchester City, having already secured first place in their group, did not field their full-strength squad against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Pellegrini fielded a completely reserve team.

Joe Hart has regained his starting position.

fringe players such as Manga LS Baleta, Delph, Iheanacho also started the game.

It's worth mentioning that Ranocchia has recovered well and is on the bench, with a chance of making a comeback!

Borussia Monchengladbach's attack is extremely fierce, and the home atmosphere of Bundesliga teams is always exceptional, far surpassing that of other Europe leagues.

They are currently at the bottom of the group. If they don't want to be eliminated after this match, they must fight hard against Manchester City. Only by defeating their opponents can they rise to third place in the group and directly advance to the UEFA Europa League knockout stage.

The first half was a drawn-out affair, with the score remaining 0-0.

During halftime, Pellegrini gave Tang Long and Ranocchia a heads-up about the second half's schedule.

"Tang, you'll come on around the 70-minute mark and play for about 20 minutes to warm up; Ranocchia, I'll give you 5 minutes to recover in this unimportant match."

Ranocchia has been away from the field for almost a month, and he is eagerly awaiting his return.

Of course, returning to play in a relatively unimportant match against Monchengladbach is actually a good opportunity for Ranocchia personally, as it helps reduce his psychological pressure.

With Tang Long absent and Joe Hart lacking in footwork, Manchester City, despite trying to control possession, often failed to effectively utilize passing to get Monchengladbach moving.

In addition, one of the starting midfielders is an 18-year-old who was just promoted from the youth team. Although he runs very actively, his playing style and football intelligence are very immature and he cannot keep up with the other senior players in the first team.

Monchengladbach finally broke through Manchester City's defense in the 61st minute!

Xhaka dribbled the ball, making a long run forward, and using his physical advantage to get past Delph, he took two steps forward and then unleashed a powerful kick.

When he swung his leg, Xhaka didn't even look at Joe Hart's position; he just went straight for Hart and kicked him!

Unexpectedly, that kick resulted in a world-class goal!

The football, without any spin or curve, initially flew to the left, and when it was about 10 meters from the goal, it suddenly dipped to the right, heading towards the top right corner of the goal.

Even if Joe Hart had three heads and six arms, he couldn't react in time, and jumped awkwardly without even touching the ball.

Monchengladbach fans were ecstatic. "Haha, just as expected! He took a shot against Hart. If that's the case, we can play in the UEFA Europa League!"

Some die-hard Manchester City fans in China who watched the UEFA Champions League match late at night were speechless at Joe Hart's performance.

-[Hart, what's wrong with Hart? Are you even capable of this?]

-[To be honest, this goal wasn't Hart's fault. Even Caballero couldn't have saved it. Xhaka just unleashed a world-class strike.]

-[I watched a Switzerland game during the previous international break, Xhaka missed the target the entire game, it was ridiculous. He took eight long-range shots, and not a single one was on target. How come his first shot tonight was a dipping ball?]

-[That's what you call luck coming your way, you can't stop it, that's exactly what Xhaka is like!]

-[Haha, on the other hand, when bad luck comes, there's no escaping it—that's exactly what Hart is all about!]

- [Relax, I feel this match was worth it just for that world-class goal.]

- [No, I still need to see Tang Long play, and Ranocchia too. I heard he'll be making his comeback in this match, but I don't know if it's true.]

As expected, Pellegrini substituted Tang Long in the 72nd minute, replacing Delph, and moved Tang Long to the defensive midfield position to organize the midfield passing and control.

Pellegrini was very dissatisfied with the defensive midfield pairing of Delph and Fernandinho, believing that they did not strictly adhere to the ball control tactics that had been rigorously instructed before the match. Whether it was the metronome's handling of the ball or the pulling and stretching of the opponent, they fell far short of the expected results in training.

So much so that when Delph left the field, Pellegrini even slapped him on the back of the head, somewhat angrily.

"Don't sit on the bench drinking water in silence, look up and see how Tang plays as a defensive midfielder!"

Delph was also very obedient, sitting on the bench with his back straight, his eyes wide open, his gaze fixed on Tang Long, observing his positioning and passing, hoping to gain some experience from this 19-year-old player.

However, the more Delph looked, the more confused he became;

The more I look at it, the more something seems off; the more I look, the more confused I become!

He noticed that Tang's positioning was extremely unpredictable and somewhat illogical, and his passes always seemed strange and defied normal thinking.

But the strange thing is that although Delph felt that Tang Long's positioning and passing were beyond ordinary thinking, the final result was incredibly accurate!

In the 77th minute of the second half, Tang Long did not dodge when faced with a pressing attack from an opposing defensive midfielder. Instead, he dribbled the ball towards the midfielder, leaving Delph completely bewildered!

Just as the two sides were about to collide and Tang Long was about to lose possession of the ball, he took advantage of the moment when the player rushed forward to tackle. Before the player could extend his leg, he gently poked the ball through the player's legs with his toe!

"Good shot!"

Iheanacho didn't slow down as he followed the direction of the nutmeg, charging straight ahead and using his speed to overpower the opponent's center-back before unleashing a powerful shot into the net!

Delph, sitting on the sidelines, was completely stunned!

"Wow, you can pass the ball like that?"

In Delph's view, Tang Long was already incredibly lucky to have managed to nutmeg the opponent's pressing midfielder in the final moments.

He himself couldn't have done it; he would have conceded the goal instead!

But Tang Long not only nutmegged the ball, but this nutmeg was a very purposeful pass!

Not only did he get past his opponent, but he also made full use of the gap left behind when the opponent pressed him, which created a good opportunity for Iheanacho to make a forward run and score.

"Perfect, absolutely perfect prediction! He had already planned his next move!"

Raymond, the scout sent by Guardiola in the stands, was also amazed by Tang Long's top-notch prediction!

He was engrossed in writing and drawing in his notebook, eager to write down the details of the ball in his scouting report.

Raymond knew that Guardiola's interest in Tang was not because he wanted to bring the player in during the transfer window, as Bayern had no plans to sign Tang Long in the winter transfer window and did not have the financial resources to do so.

Guardiola started scouting Tang Long midway through the season entirely to prepare for taking over Manchester City next season!

Raymond was Guardiola's trusted scout, whom he personally brought from Barcelona to Bayern;

Even if Guardiola goes to Manchester City, he will definitely take him with him.

Therefore, Raymond believed that giving up the trip to South America to scout young talents in order to watch a Manchester City UEFA Champions League match was not something outside his job duties, but rather a way to lay the groundwork for future work—something he was very happy to do.

With the match approaching the 80th minute, Borussia Mönchengladbach, still tied, were Monchengladbach anxious. A win was crucial for qualifying for the UEFA Europa League, and a 1-1 draw was meaningless! They began pressing deep again, and Tang Long led the team in a more defensive retreat, slowing down the pace of the game as much as possible.

In the 85th minute, Ranocchia came on, replacing starting center- Demichelis.

I must say, even though Ranocchia had been away from the competition for a month, his impact was immediate once he stepped back onto the field!

Despite Joe Hart's poor footwork, he was unable to create effective connections for Ranocchia in the goalkeeper's position and in his passing;

However, thanks to Tang Long playing as a defensive midfielder in this match, and Ranocchia moving to the midfield and backfield, the team's passing and control system was significantly improved!

Under the guidance of these two players, Manchester City's passing and control in the backfield began to become more skillful and efficient.

Bang bang bang--

The ball was being passed back and forth across the width of the field, making the Monchengladbach players extremely anxious. They desperately wanted to score, but at this moment they couldn't even touch the ball!

Guardiola's trusted scout, Raymond, kept his eyes glued to the football field, but his hands were constantly scribbling and drawing in his notebook.

Manchester City's possession-based system lacks an effective goalkeeper to distribute the ball.

[The two full-backs are unable to effectively link up with the center-backs who distribute the ball and the defensive midfielder who acts as the playmaker; their thinking is rigid, and they are detached from the team's passing and control system.]

[Iheanacho, on the front line, has extremely rough technique; he's a traditional English striker.]

[The forward runs weren't enough, and Tang wasn't given enough support, forcing the team to slow down the pace and pass the ball back on many occasions.]

[Pellegrini's personnel arrangements were unreasonable; his passing and possession system was somewhat rigid. Navas's move to the wing seemed like his intended strategy, but he failed to effectively draw away opposing players.]

Raymond then couldn't help but write down his own suggestions.

[There's huge room for improvement! The primary task is to bring in a goalkeeper in his prime.]

[Ranocchia can be freed up to play in the defensive midfield position; he definitely has the ability to do so. He's tall, strong in physical duels, has excellent vision, skillful footwork, and decent passing ability.]

[We need a second striker with speed, dribbling skills, and a strong sense of passing and ball control.]

Just as Raymond was writing furiously, his eyes suddenly lit up!

Ranocchia, who was in the center-back position and responsible for distributing the ball, pretended to pass the ball to Zabaleta on the wing, but instead cut inside and out striker Dahoud!

Then, like a bulldozer, he dribbled the ball from the center-back position, making a long run forward, his long legs carrying the ball to the midfield in just a few steps!

This even dazzled Pellegrini, who was watching from the sidelines!

"My goodness, Ranocchia is just like Toure in his prime five years ago!"

However, Ranocchia's performance was not over. After arriving at midfield, he quickly passed the ball to Tang Long and continued to move forward instead of retreating!

Tang Long ignored Ranocchia who sprinted past him and passed the ball to Navas, who was making a high-speed run down the right flank. "Don't rush to cross, give them some space!"

So Navas didn't cross the ball, but instead stomped it under his feet and passed it back to Tang Long with a ground pass.

This back-and-forth movement, seemingly having little impact on the overall situation, actually provided Ranocchia with three precious seconds to make his forward run!

"Andre, watch the game!"

The moment had arrived. Tang Long raised his lower leg high and curled a high-quality 45-degree arcing ball into the penalty area!

The ball was perfectly placed in terms of power, angle, and lead, heading three meters ahead of Ranocchia as he ran. Just as the ball landed, Ranocchia arrived in time.

He didn't even need to jump; at the penalty spot, he simply headbutted it!

With a thud, the football bounced off the ground, slipped past the goalkeeper, and swished into the net!

"Haha, I scored! And it was a game-winning goal!"

Ranocchia, who had just returned from injury and scored a goal, raised his arms in triumph and then opened his arms to Tang Long, who was running towards him.

"Well done! I knew you could do it!"

Tang Long hugged Ranocchia tightly by the shoulders and shook him excitedly.

One is a forward and the other a defender; they rarely have the opportunity to connect on the field through goals, but today, they did!

Tang Long and Ranocchia were good friends during their time at Inter Milan, and after they both came to Manchester City, they became even closer and more inseparable!

Now that Ranocchia has made a comeback and is in excellent condition, Tang Long is very happy for him.

In the end, Manchester City won their final UEFA Champions League group stage match 2-1 away from home without much effort, cleanly and decisively eliminating this Bundesliga powerhouse from the European competitions this season!

Raymond's notebook was already filled with more than 20 pages of his cursive handwriting, which only he could understand.

These were all his detailed analyses of the entire Manchester City team after watching 90 minutes of the match.

Even if the notebook were torn up on the spot, Raymond would still know the content of the match by heart, and could recite every detail from memory. This is his strength, and it is also what Guardiola admires about him.

He immediately sent Guardiola a text message --

"Pep, Manchester City's possession-based tactics have many flaws, and I will report them to you one by one when I get back. However, my first impression after watching the game is that Don and Ranocchia are absolutely the two cornerstones of your tenure at Manchester City next season. You must convince the Manchester City club that they cannot let either of them go this summer!"