A Flying Tackle Right From the Kickoff! This Is the Debut of a Serie A Freshman!

Bologna, a city of mountains and waters.

The city is located on the southern edge of the Po Valley and the northern foothills of the Apennine Mountains. With its beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, it is one of the most livable cities in Italy.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world visit this place to check in and take photos.

However, Tang Long had neither the time nor the heart to appreciate the beautiful scenery here.

The Inter Milan team bus was heading toward Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, the home stadium of Bologna.

The long-neglected roads were somewhat bumpy, and even this luxury bus, purchased for 300,000 euros and equipped with the world's most comfortable shock absorbers, could hardly filter out the jolts.

Third-choice goalkeeper Berni was giving Tang Long some final pre-match coaching.

"It's your first start, don't be nervous, Tang. Just play the way you do in training!

Your position is attacking midfielder. Classical attacking midfielders are extinct now; this position requires more running than a striker. Once you stop running, the connection between the midfield and the forwards will be cut off!

By the way, they have a Canadian defensive midfielder named Davis. He's particularly vicious in defense. This little brat likes to play dirty, step on your heels, and especially loves to provoke you constantly. If you make a move, he'll cover his face and fall to the ground. Last year, Palacio suffered at his hands and got a red card!

In Serie A, every away game is tough. Mid-to-lower table teams like Bologna are old foxes; they love to bully young kids like you. Don't be a coward, just go hard against them!

If you need to collide, collide. If you need to tackle, tackle. If anyone bullies you, I'll definitely deal with them!"

In the front row, Ranocchia poked his head out and suddenly said loudly on purpose:

"Uncle Berni, you're sitting on the bench, how are you going to deal with them?"

This remark drew a burst of laughter on the bus.

Berni wasn't annoyed, either, and said with a grin:

"At worst, I'll just rush onto the pitch and take him on. I'm not afraid!"

"Forget it, Uncle Berni. Your previous red card suspension just ended. If you get another one, will your salary even be enough to pay the fines?"

"None of your business, shut up, you big dummy!" Berni retorted with a laugh.

It was the first game after the winter break, and the atmosphere in the team was quite relaxed.

However, Tang Long couldn't relax.

He had no heart to look at the beautiful scenery outside the window.

This was his first time starting for a Serie A match in his professional career!

He had waited too long for this day.

Throughout the entire winter break, he hadn't rested for a single day, putting in arduous effort and sweating profusely.

His physical fitness had improved significantly, and he had finally made it into the starting lineup for the 14th round of Serie A.

However, compared to Tang Long's start, Mancini's adjustments to other positions in the team were even more eye-catching.

The formation remained 4-3-1-2, but up front, Palacio was removed, and new signings Podolski and Icardi were paired together.

In the three defensive midfield positions, new signing Brozovic was in the center, with Medel and Kovacic on the flanks.

Mancini had always liked using players from the former Yugoslavia. In his view, these players were affordable, had low wages, yet were hardworking, good at fighting for the ball, and possessed a relentless, unyielding spirit on the pitch.

This might also be related to the living environment of players from the former Yugoslavia, as many of them grew up during times of turmoil or even war.

In the defensive line, D'Ambrosio and Nagatomo Yuto were the left and right full-backs, with Ranocchia and Andreolli in the center.

The goalkeeper was the ever-present Handanovic.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the bus drove from the narrow European road into the stadium...

"Zhuang'er TV!

Zhuang'er TV!

Welcome to this focal match of the 14th round of the 2014-2015 Serie A season, Inter Milan away against Bologna!

Why is it called a focal match? Because the player from China, Tang Long—please remember this name!

Tang Long will start for Inter Milan!

Following his first appearance in Serie A and his first assist in Serie A, Tang Long has once again created history for the Chinese in the Serie A league!

He is starting!

This is the first time a Chinese player has started in Serie A!"

Duan Xuan's tone was passionate, and he was spitting with excitement.

When he shouted the word "start," he even cracked his voice due to being overly excited.

Zhang Lu, who was beside him, was equally moved!

He saw Tang Long appearing in the player tunnel during the pre-match broadcast, adjusting his shin guards, and a surge of heat suddenly rose in his heart. Above his large eye bags, his eyes were shining!

"Sigh, it really hasn't been easy. I started commentating on Serie A in 1991, and I've been doing it for 23 years!

Over these years, I've watched Koreans, Japanese, and Iranians appear on the Serie A stage, and I kept wondering, when will our Chinese players be able to be like them?

I didn't expect that in my 24th year of commentating, I would witness the rapid progress of Chinese players in Serie A!"

"Let us look forward to Tang Long's performance in this match!"

In this game, Tang Long was playing in the position Guarin occupied in the last match.

Guarin had scored a hat-trick in that game!

The pressure this placed on Tang Long went without saying.

Tang Long understood in his heart that a starting spot is earned through competition, not handed out as charity!

Although Guarin was temporarily out of the starting lineup due to weight issues.

That did not mean he had said goodbye to the starting lineup forever!

Once Guarin returned to his normal physical condition, he would reappear soon—last year, he had a conflict with Mancini in the locker room and was left out of the matchday squad for two games, yet Mancini still utilized him afterward; didn't that speak for itself?

To solidify his position, Tang Long had to produce a better performance than Guarin!

"Whoosh!"

At the start of the match, Tang Long used frantic pressing to force the Bologna defensive midfielder toward the sideline, seized the right moment, and executed a sliding tackle along the ground, stripping the ball away directly!

The ball soared high into the air and, amidst the gasps of the spectators, flew into the stands!

This beautiful sliding tackle happened right in front of the Inter Milan bench.

"Beautiful, beautiful, screw that son of a bitch!"

Berni was so fired up that he waved his towel vigorously at Tang Long from his seat.

The other players retreated in haste, fearing Berni's towel might whip their faces, but they also applauded Tang Long's performance.

Mancini, dressed in a suit, had his eyes light up—hey, this kid has plenty of aggression!

As for Davis, who had fallen to the ground, he slowly stood up, looked at his shorts which had become dirty right at the start of the match, and stared at Tang Long with an extremely unfriendly gaze.

"Hey, number 99, watch your tackles!" he shouted at Tang Long.

Tang Long pointed at the referee and retorted in Italian: "I didn't commit a foul, what are you yelling about!"

Davis had a ferocious look in his eyes as he walked up to Tang Long, their noses almost touching.

"First year playing in Serie A, right?" the Canadian midfielder smiled sinisterly. "I will help you grow, kid. I will help you grow within these 90 minutes today, provided that you can last until the 90 minutes are up."