His Boot Kicked High, Sending Grass Flying!
Both Guardiola and Raymond are football figures who grew up under the La Masia mindset.
During their time working together at Barca, the two saw many players with outstanding footwork.
There are countless players like this at Barca. You don't even need to look at the first team; just look at the youth team. Any one of them is a dribbling expert with exquisite footwork. If you brought them to the Premier League, they wouldn't be any worse than those regular Premier League players.
However, while footwork skills can be developed through hard training, the overall vision and anticipation, especially Tang Long's interception of Bojan's pass midway in the match against Stoke City, are the biggest differences between a star player and an ordinary player.
"That gap should have been Delph's position, but he was out of position, which gave Bojan the opportunity to play a through ball."
"The SportMediaset shows that almost the instant Bojan raised his leg, Tang started moving from the completely unrelated other side."
"He is indeed very fast, but no matter how fast a person is, they can't be faster than a ball!"
"Tang's speed is mainly reflected in his anticipation, which helps him gain the upper hand on the court. Although it sounds mysterious, he has a kind of the Prophet ability."
"So I think the biggest difference between Tang and other players is not how accurate his passes are or how outstanding his dribbling is, but his top-notch anticipation!"
Guardiola was deeply moved after hanging up the phone.
The thought of coaching Tang next summer filled him with excitement, and he eagerly awaited that day.
Some of the players currently coaching Bayern share similar characteristics with Tang.
Take Thomas Muller, for example.
This tall Germany player can play as a striker or a midfielder.
Guardiola relies heavily on this player, believing his football intelligence is among the best of all the players he has coached. He always manages to be in the most advantageous position and make the most rational moves and reactions – a skill inseparable from Muller's ability to anticipate the next move in a situation.
And Lahm.
This Germany National Team captain is only 170 cm tall. He is not tall, not fast, and certainly not strong. In the Bundesliga, where tall and strong players abound, he is like a dwarf and very inconspicuous.
But what makes Lahm capable of playing as a full-back in a star-studded Bayern Munich team, and also captaining the Germany National Team to lift the FIFA World Cup Trophy last year?
It's still thanks to his exceptional football intelligence!
Behind this high basketball IQ is actually Lahm's ability to anticipate his opponents' moves.
This is precisely why, in Guardiola's possession-based system where full-backs tuck in, Lahm becomes an indispensable part of the midfield, shining brightly on both ends of the pitch.
Let's draw a parallel with Guardiola himself.
In the defensive midfield position, he is not fast, not as fast as Davis, who is known as the Wild Boar; he is not physically strong, far inferior to the African tower Vieira; and he is not a top-notch passing master in football, unable to deliver a 60-meter precision cruise missile like Beckham.
However, as the captain of the Dream Team I, Guardiola played for Barca for a full eleven years during his playing career, winning every honor the club could achieve;
After becoming a coach, he took off like a rocket, carrying forward Cruyff's spatial philosophy, achieving the glory of the Dream Team III, and ushering in the era of Barca's dominance.
It must be admitted that Guardiola's Barca had absolute dominance in world football at that time. The three lines of attack, midfield and defense were perfectly coordinated and had no weaknesses, making them a nightmare for many opponents.
Guardiola plays elegant football and conveys an elegant football philosophy.
In the 1990s, Paulo Sousa, Redondo, Albertini, and Guardiola were known as the four most talented and elegant defensive midfielders.
But after these masters retired and became coaches, only Guardiola elevated this elegance from an individual level to the level of a team.
In Tang Long, Guardiola not only saw himself twenty years ago, but also the glory of Barca during the Dream Team III era.
Then, realizing that Tang was only 19 years old, Guardiola was filled with longing and couldn't wait to coach this China player.
"I'm really looking forward to next season. I want to unlock his full potential; he still has a lot of room for improvement!"
Manchester City has recently made significant investments in its medical facilities.
Again, through Dr. Gracie's connections, the latest cryo-chamber developed by the University of Manchester Medical Laboratory was introduced into Manchester City's physiotherapy room.
"Cryotherapy is a treatment method that involves cooling the body or outside the body. After cooling, the effects of free radicals are reduced, and oxidation is slowed down. It's like putting the patient into hibernation, which protects the brain and increases the chances of the patient waking up."
"Our club has cryotherapy facilities, but this old Germany equipment is outdated. New technology will accelerate your recovery and help you return to the field as soon as possible."
Under Gracie's guidance, Agüero and Silva, two long-time Manchester City players with injuries, entered the cryo-chamber shirtless.
This cryogenic chamber, which can accommodate two people, cost hundreds of millions of Pound Sterling to develop and can lower the internal temperature to -130°C in a short period of time.
Tang Long and Ranocchia watched from the side.
As soon as the hatch closed, Agüero 'Agüero body shuddered, then he exhaled a large puff of hot air, hissing and baring his teeth.
Silva, on the other hand, kept his mouth tightly shut, crossed his arms over his chest, and curled up into a ball.
Two minutes later, Tang Long asked Agüero how he was feeling.
"I was very nervous at first, and then I felt like I was dead, like my nerves were numb!" Agüero said.
"Don't be afraid, Sergio, you'll recover soon!" Ranocchia said with a smile.
"You're not dead, your nerve cells are asleep," Gracie said, taking notes in her notebook. "Is your thigh pain any better?"
"I don't feel as much pain anymore. If I can go on stage tomorrow, I'd jump in without hesitation, even if it's -180°C, or even -1800°C! Hahaha!"
After receiving an affirmative answer, Gracie urged Tang Long and Ranocchia to take off their shirts and enter the freezer.
As soon as Tang Long entered the cabin, a bone-chilling cold swept over him, instantly numbing his sense of touch.
He instinctively exhaled two puffs of hot air, causing the glass dome to fog up and blurring Gracie's face outside the cabin.
After a moment of disorientation, the moment Tang Long stepped out of the cabin, all his fatigue vanished.
I was completely jolted!
Tang Long swung his arms from side to side, loosening the muscles in his back.
"Gracie, thank you for bringing the cryotherapy unit. I feel less pain in my back from the collision with Imbula in the last game."
"Yes, this is only temporary, but if you come and spend two minutes here every day, your resistance to fatigue will greatly improve."
"How do you want to spend Christmas? I'll treat you to dinner!" Tang Long said.
Gracie frowned and waved her hand dismissively.
"Dude, didn't you see the schedule? We're playing Queens Park Rangers away on the evening of December 26th. We have to go to London a day early to prepare. What's the point of celebrating Christmas?"
Tang Long was taken aback and wiped the cold air from his head.
"This isn't fair! Why is everyone eating turkey for Christmas while we have to play soccer?"
Ranocchia sighed, "Serie A is so much better, there's a winter break. I won't be able to spend Christmas with the kids this year."
Agüero leaned closer, smiling teasingly, and said:
"This is your first year playing in the Premier League, you'll get used to it. There's no winter break in the Premier League, so just treat yourselves like donkeys and work your butts off!"
In the UK, watching the Premier League at Christmas is an essential tradition.
This is similar to watching the Spring Festival Gala on China New Year's Eve.
Premier League players are lucky; they earn high salaries and continue their professional careers on the world's most high-profile football platform.
Premier League players are also unlucky; even high-level employees can't stop working during the Lunar New Year.
Sunday evening at 7:45 pm.
New Year's fireworks lit up the London night sky above Big Ben on the banks of the River Thames.
On the walls of the ancient clock tower, advanced modern technology projects various Christmas elements, including Santa's sleigh, adorable reindeer, and images of piles of gifts.
Lovers embraced on the shimmering riverbank, celebrating the arrival of the New Year.
The air was filled with the aroma of mulled wine; the rich fruit and wine scents blended together, adding a touch of intoxicating warmth to the cold night.
Almost at the same time as the first fireworks exploded on the banks of the River Thames—
At the Loftus Road Stadium, the referee blew his whistle!
"Kill them! Kill them! Kill these northerners from Manchester!"
Queens Park Rangers' home ground, with a capacity of only 18,000 fans, is arguably the smallest stadium in the entire Premier League.
But this place is home to the wildest fans in all of London, with a volume much louder than the library or Stamford Bridge!
Many fans were already drunk at noon, and continued drinking at dinner, becoming completely intoxicated before staggering to the stadium to watch the game.
As Tang Long ran, he turned back and shouted to Ranocchia:
"Why do I smell alcohol?"
Ranocchia leaped high and cleared the opponent's long pass out of bounds.
"Stop talking, the whole stadium smells like whiskey! How much have these London heavy drinkers been drinking?!"
The fans came after drinking.
However, their opponents QPR dared not allow anyone to come into contact with alcohol, and Manchester City did the same.
Everyone knows that the Premier League matches during the Christmas season are the most-watched matches of the year because everyone is on holiday and has nothing else to do, so they watch TV.
All eyes in Britain are on you, and even the smallest mistake will be magnified.
If you don't behave well, you'll be criticized and denounced.
Bang!
In the 25th minute of the first half, Kolarov on the wing made a flying tackle, sending the ball soaring into the air.
The football flew towards the midfield with an irregular arc.
Whoosh--
Tang Long charged towards the ball!
Without even looking, he knew there was a defender right behind him, because he could even feel the heat emanating from his neck!
"Take him down, don't let him turn around!"
Experienced Scotland midfielder Mackay knew that once he was in the attacking midfield position and Tang turned around, he could immediately create a threat to the goal.
He was thinking about how to commit a foul in a "gentle" way that would bring Tang Long down without getting a yellow card.
However, Tang Long didn't seem to give him a chance to be gentle.
He pretended to stop the ball with his chest, but just as he bent one leg and was about to jump to stop the ball, he suddenly lowered his center of gravity!
The right leg, which was originally intended for takeoff, now became the starting point for the run-up, applying tremendous force to the bent body and causing him to spin around and dart past Mackay!
Poor Mackay, if he understood Chinese, he would have personally experienced the meaning of the idiom "moving like a rabbit."
He was utterly shocked!
Where did they go?
Not only are the people gone, but the ball is gone too!
Tang Long's turn on the spot fully utilized the deception of the high ball, pretending to receive it, but suddenly turning at the last moment, letting the ball fly over the opponent's head and behind him.
This move was all about taking the opponent by surprise!
Mackay was propelled forward by momentum; he didn't have time to turn around. It was a miracle he didn't fall!
To enhance the deception, Tang Long even made a feigned jumping motion with his lower leg bent, completely fooling Mackay.
Every movement he makes is meaningful; every gesture has its purpose.
Whoosh--
Tang Long swung his arm rapidly, looked up at the ball landing, and gently pressed down with his shoe when the ball had bounced ten centimeters up. The ball made two soft thuds, and like Santa Claus's tamed reindeer, it steadily ran forward.
Tang Long sprinted with the ball, his legs moving like wheels of fire as he crossed paths!
The high kicks of the sneakers sent grass clippings flying everywhere!
He's already reached the top of the penalty area!