Passing Football Disappears? Gündoğan Cries That He Was Duped! Can I Change My Mind and Go to Barca?
Seated in the stands of the Etihad Stadium is England manager Mancini.
When he saw Guarin being tormented by Tang Long and limping off the field clutching his back for treatment, Mancini scratched his half-gray hair and couldn't help but laugh out loud!
As a former Inter Milan coach, he knows these two men all too well.
It's a love-hate relationship!
Mancini came to this match specifically to scout England players in preparation for this summer's UEFA European Championship, mainly focusing on Tottenham Hotspur's Kane, Alli, Walker, Dier, and others.
But what just happened brought Mancini's thoughts back to exactly one year ago.
He recalled the conflict between Guarin and Tang Long when he was coaching Inter Milan.
Do you remember the 11th round of Serie A, when the team played against the weak Genoa at home? They wanted to make a great comeback after losing 0-3 to Sampdoria, but instead they were down 0-1 in the first half.
Mancini was very dissatisfied with Guarin's haphazard shooting and careless ball handling in midfield at the time, and criticized him by name.
Guarin responded by referencing the tactical arrangements made to him by his predecessor, Mazzarri.
This completely infuriated Mancini!
Tang Long, who was sitting in the locker room, was originally nominated by Chivu to make up the roster, but Mancini substituted Guarin at halftime with this youth team player who had no Serie A experience.
From that moment on, the two became enemies.
Unexpectedly, Tang Long's outstanding performance led to his growing status in the team, increasing his playing time and eventually securing a starting position. As Tang Long continued to improve, his relationship with Guarin underwent a subtle change.
Although he often felt resentful because his starting attacking midfield position was taken away;
But every time I see Tang Long's god-like assist, I can't help but cheer for his superb skills.
The main theme is a love-hate relationship.
However, times have changed, and after winning the UEFA Europa League and Coppa Italia double with Inter Milan...
Tang Long left, Guarin left too. The two went their separate ways. Although they both went to the Premier League, one was at Manchester City and the other at Tottenham Hotspur. Today, they met again in another life-or-death struggle.
Even Mancini himself went to Britain and became the head coach of the national team for the first time in his life.
However, the Italy National Team, which he dreamed of joining, did not want him, but the England national team extended an olive branch to him. What a twist of fate!
Now, the three of them are gathered in a stadium, playing the same game. The people are still the same, but their identities have changed.
Tang Long and Guarin went from teammates to rivals;
Mancini also withdrew, becoming a neutral spectator.
This constant shift in roles made Mancini reflect on how small the Europe football circle is, and in the end, it's all the same familiar faces.
"Haha, Tang did a great job! He crushed that ball Guarin!"
Nasri, who was also on the Tottenham Hotspur bench and witnessed the incident, secretly cheered.
When he played for Manchester City, he hated Tang Long intensely, and he resented that after Tang Long came to Manchester City, he, as the leader of the Four Little Swans of France, no longer had a stable starting position in Manchester City's attacking third;
He was also incredibly jealous of Tang Long. He couldn't understand why everyone else was training extra and struggling for a starting position, while he never trained extra but was always a starter in Pellegrini's tactics!
But after being released by Manchester City and transferring to Tottenham Hotspur in the winter, Nasri thought he had escaped his misery, but he never expected to fall into Guarin's clutches.
This Colombia seems to be deliberately making things difficult for himself. On the first day of the new signings' meeting, he stared at me intently, and he often took his anger out on me during training, kicking me unusually fiercely.
So when Nasri saw Guarin being dealt with by Tang Long, he felt incredibly satisfied, as if it wasn't Tang Long who had knocked Guarin away, but himself!
However, there's one thing Nasri doesn't quite understand.
At first, he thought that Guarin was targeting him because Guarin was Tang Long's good friend and that this was done on Tang Long's instructions. Nasri cursed Tang Long in his heart for being a persistent ghost.
But in this match, Nasri felt that the two didn't have such a good relationship, as they were evenly matched and neither gave an inch!
The match is still ongoing.
The broadcast camera focused on a man in the corner of the stands who was wearing a baseball cap and had the appearance of a Hun.
Commentator Zhan Jun, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized the player as Borussia Dortmund's Gündoğan.
"Gündoğan has appeared in the stands at the Etihad Stadium!"
"If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last time we call him a Borussia Dortmund player."
"Reports indicate that he will undergo a medical examination at Manchester City's medical facility after this match, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will be a Manchester City player tomorrow."
"It seems Gündoğan is eager to play for Blue Moon, as he even came to the stadium to watch the Premier League. Hopefully, he can integrate into the team quickly."
The broadcast footage showed Gündoğan frequently frowning and shaking his head.
As a Germany, Gündoğan's knowledge is mostly limited to the Bundesliga.
Aside from Bundesliga matches, Gündoğan rarely watches football, let alone foreign matches.
This was even the first time Gündoğan had ever attended a Premier League match in person.
He doesn't watch foreign leagues, and his impression of the Premier League is still limited to the old Premier League era of long balls and physical battles.
So when he learned that he had been sold by Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, he was initially a little worried!
After all, although he is physically strong, he is essentially a technical midfielder, and his strengths lie in his awareness, passing, and overall vision.
Gündoğan sees himself as a metronome, playing a role in orchestrating play from the midfield and backfield and controlling the tempo.
However, when Gündoğan's agent told him that the Premier League is no longer what it used to be, and that Manchester City's possession-based football is even comparable to that of the legendary Barca of yesteryear.
"You don't need to idolize Xavi; go to Manchester City, and you can become Manchester City's Xavi!"
The agent also specifically instructed him to carefully observe the performance of Manchester City's China player, Tang, in this match.
"Don't let Tang's age fool you; there are many things you can learn from him!"
Initially, Gündoğan came to watch the match with a learning mindset.
However, when he saw the two teams constantly clashing physically at the start of the match, with Guarin being knocked down by Ranocchia and then knocked over by Tang Long, this brutal brawl made Gündoğan shake his head in shock.
"Wow, is this what they call Manchester City's technical style? I didn't see any technique, but it felt even more brutal than the Bundesliga!"
With this in mind, Gündoğan is quite worried about his future at Manchester City.
This team's playing style doesn't align with my ideals!
Actually, it's not just Manchester City; Barca is also pursuing this Germany midfielder, hoping to use him to replace the 35-year-old Xavi.
However, Manchester City offered a higher price and showed more sincerity in their negotiations, cleanly and decisively snatching Gundogan Gündoğan.
Gündoğan began to hesitate. "I feel I'm better suited to playing at the Barca level. My personal contract hasn't been signed yet; can I still back out now?"
Guarin returned to the field after receiving a few minutes of treatment. Thanks to Tang Long's consideration for their brotherhood, he was not seriously injured.
However, after suffering this loss, he became wary of Tang Long and no longer dared to confront him head-on. Instead, he targeted Yaya Toure and Delph, among others.
Perhaps it was because of the initial conflicts that the atmosphere quickly became tense;
Or perhaps it was because it was the first match of the new year that both teams played with great effort.
The players' movements were much more aggressive than before, and the attacks became more direct. Many balls were played straight through with little transition, as if everyone wanted to crush their opponent in one fell swoop!
"What's the rush? Keep the ball under your control and stay calm," Pellegrini shouted anxiously.
Pochettino, however, was quite pleased to see this situation.
Basically, they're just throwing punches around wildly; the better they can break Manchester City's rhythm.
After all, he came to this stadium hoping to get just one point.
In the stands, Guardiola's trusted scout, Rayne, shook his head.
He wasn't even taking notes; instead, he tossed the notebook onto his seat, crossed his legs, and leaned back in his chair.
"What kind of football is this? They lost their composure right from the start, couldn't even stay in position? Sigh, they're terrible, they need to practice more!"
In the 35th minute of the first half, Manchester City had an excellent chance.
After receiving a through pass from Delph, Tang Long turned and pulled the ball back, and like a phantom, he sped towards the tightly packed defensive area between Alli and Dier!
The speed of this move was so quick that both Alli and Dier were caught off guard.
"Close the door right now!"
The two instinctively made a closing motion.
The door wasn't closed Tang Long, and the two of them bumped into each other hard, shoulder to shoulder!
Too late!
The eyes of the England national team's two stars were filled with astonishment and disbelief, a question echoing in their minds: how could Tang Long have moved past them like a ghost when the distance between them had been compressed to the extreme, almost nonexistent?
Although Mancini wasn't surprised by Tang Long's dribbling skills, he still had to admit that Tang Long was clearly stronger in the Serie A than he was in Premier League, easily outmaneuvering two England national team players.
Mancini secretly felt relieved that Tang Long didn't have to play in the UEFA European Championship, otherwise England would have had another formidable opponent.
Gündoğan's eyes lit up in the stands, and he looked up slightly, finally revealing an approving expression.
"Not bad, you've got some skill with your feet, not inferior to Reus!"
Tang Long's dribble reminded Gündoğan of his Dortmund teammate Reus.
However, the next pass from Tang Gündoğan speechless, and he covered his forehead in disappointment.
Tang Long passed the ball to the left side of the center and scored into the penalty area;
Bony, however, due to disagreements, went to the right wing!
That's completely the opposite of what we were thinking!
Seeing the ball roll out of bounds, Bony slapped his thigh in frustration, then quickly raised his hand to Tang Long in apology.
"Your idea is right, I didn't keep up, sorry Tang!"
Tang Long nodded slightly, thinking to himself that when Bony was his partner before, he was quite decisive in his positioning. How come he suddenly lost his mind and wasted a one-on-one opportunity?
Teams that squander their chances will be punished, especially against a strong team like Tottenham Hotspur, who are vying for UEFA Champions League spot.
Manchester City cannot afford to be complacent, even when playing at home!
Just one minute after this attack was completed, goalkeeper Lloris launched a long ball that covered a distance of 70 meters, from his own penalty area directly into Manchester City's penalty area.
The tall striker Kane possesses unparalleled judgment in judging the trajectory of attacks.
With his height and long legs, he retreated and headed the ball on before Kompany could reach it, passing it to the onrushing Alli.
Toure immediately pushed forward to defend Alli and called for his teammate Delph to cover his gap.
Unexpectedly, Alli, having observed in advance, spotted Guarin's run before he could even control the ball.
He simply stopped the ball altogether, flicked his head, and the ball flew past the diving Toure and landed at Guarin's feet!
Delph's attempt to cover was a beat too late; he was still two or three meters away from Guarin.
It's often said that "seeing Hart makes you want to kick him," Guarin, who has played half a season in the Premier League, knows this all too well.
Although Hart did not start in this match, Guarin also noticed that Caballero, standing in front of the Manchester City goal, appeared to be a size smaller Hart.
Should we try again?
Without hesitation, Guarin unleashed a powerful volley.
The shot was so sudden that even Guarin himself didn't expect it. The ball dipped sharply in front of the goal, with excellent power and angle. Caballero could only watch helplessly as he made his diving save!
Goal!
Tottenham Hotspur broke the deadlock with a 1-0 lead!
Scout Rayne got busy, writing down the names of [Joe Hart] and [Caballero] in his notebook, then crossing them out with an X!
[Caballero's footwork and passing are decent, but his goalkeeping skills are quite poor. He is not qualified to be a starting goalkeeper and a replacement is necessary.]
"Yay!!!"
Guarin let out a strange cry, then began pounding his massive pectoral muscles with his fists, like a gorilla in the jungle, jumping and leaping with joy, and even dancing a bizarre dance with Alli.
Although the jump was awkward, the joy of scoring a goal was still evident on the Colombia's face.
The subsequent match saw both sides trading blows, resulting in a close and ultimately unresolved game where the score remained unchanged.
Manchester City went into halftime trailing 0-1.
After witnessing firsthand the complete performance of the new team I was about to join in the first half.
Gündoğan was speechless.
As a 25-year-old player, he is in the prime of his career.
Since you're going to transfer, you should go to a strong team—I'm not saying anything more, just at Dortmund a level above the rest.
But through this first half, he couldn't see at all why this Manchester City was stronger than Dortmund!
Seeing the dejected Manchester City fans around him, Gündoğan immediately sent a text message to his agent.
"Chris, you promised me I'd play possession football at Manchester City, and you call this possession football? I'm not going to Manchester City. Contact Barca right now!"
The author is quite tired today and is going to sleep first. This is only 4000 words for today's update. Three more updates will be added tomorrow.