The Only Thing That Earns You Respect Is Your Skill!

Bissack felt a fierce gaze fall on him and immediately shuddered!

Who was Bissack?

He was Inter Milan's set-piece coach.

Over the past few years, coaching staffs at Serie A clubs had followed the latest trends, keeping up with the times.

Many Serie A clubs had copied Premier League teams and hired dedicated set-piece coaches.

Their job was to teach players how to take set pieces and defend against them.

Against that backdrop, the Englishman Bissack had left Watford in the EFL Championship for Inter Milan two years earlier.

The man did specialize in set pieces and had developed a whole system of set-piece tactics.

But he wasn't exactly a high-level coach. Otherwise, why would he still have been stuck in the EFL Championship in his forties?

The reason he'd made it to Inter Milan, where his salary had doubled from £80,000 to €160,000, was entirely because he was connected to former head coach Mazzarri!

He was Mazzarri's brother-in-law, and had come to Italy to rely on his brother-in-law.

Ever since Mazzarri had been sacked by Inter Milan last year,

Bissack had spent every day on tenterhooks!

He was terrified that once his patron was gone, he'd be shown the door too.

He wouldn't find a salary this good at any other club!

Mancini fixed him with a piercing stare and asked:

"Bissack, I haven't spoken with you much in the two months since I came to Inter Milan. I heard the club brought you over from England as a set-piece expert, and that you specialize in set pieces. They're not my strong suit, so I've got a question I'd like to ask you while we have the chance.

"Tell me: in the attacking set-piece tactics you teach the players, what role does Tang have?"

Bissack swallowed nervously and answered awkwardly:

"R-Right, Coach. In my attacking set-piece tactics, Tang is supposed to hold his position at the edge of the box and watch for the opponents' counterattack, guarding the s-second ball."

Bissack struggled to make himself understood in halting Italian, speaking with an English accent.

After answering honestly, he felt terribly uneasy.

He knew Tang Long hadn't followed the attacking set-piece positioning he'd been taught in training during the previous match against Bologna.

And that was how Tang had scored the winning header in the 83rd minute!

Ever since Tang Long had scored that header, Bissack had been on edge.

Tang hadn't followed my positioning, yet he scored. Doesn't that mean there's a problem with my set-piece tactics? Oh no... Bissack had found himself worrying for no reason after the match.

Mancini nodded.

He tapped the ash from his cigar into the ashtray.

"Relax, Bissack. You can continue in English. I coached Manchester City, so my English is good. I understand you."

But Bissack was genuinely nervous—

So nervous that he didn't understand what Mancini meant. Instead, he repeated word for word in English what he'd just said in Italian.

The few coaching staff members who understood English looked at Bissack as if he were an idiot.

The boss had told him to continue, and he'd just repeated himself. What was he doing? Had he lost his mind?

Mancini smiled faintly.

"So that's how it is, dear Mr. Bissack. If Tang was stationed at the edge of the box to guard against a counterattack and contest the second ball, why did he charge into the box? At first, I thought it was a tactic you'd deliberately planned!"

Several members of the coaching staff laughed, too!

Chivu shot Bissack a contemptuous look.

Bissack had already been nervous, and now that everyone was laughing at him, sweat poured down his back and his heart pounded wildly~

He could practically see his dismissal notice already.

Then he pictured himself alone, carrying his bags and holding a ticket to England, trudging toward the airport in the bitter wind...

Bissack stumbled through a long explanation. The gist was that Tang Long wasn't good at heading the ball and would be somewhat wasted in the crowded penalty area, but someone still had to cover the edge of the box. So, after much deliberation, he'd decided to put Tang Long there among the starting players, and so on.

When he finished, he pulled a tissue from the table, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and gave Mancini an awkward smile.

Seeing Bissack's miserable state, Mancini joked with the others.

"Mr. Bissack looks like he's feeling hot. He's English, so it's easy for him to sweat in sunny Italy. Maybe he'd be more comfortable working in England's cold weather."

The meeting room erupted in laughter!

Boom!

Bissack felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him!

What was that supposed to mean?

Was Mancini telling him to go back to England?

Oh no...

Bissack's heart sank.

It looked like he wouldn't be able to keep his job as Inter Milan's set-piece coach.

Mancini glanced at his watch, then stubbed his cigar out in the ashtray and spoke briskly, his tone turning serious:

"Bissack is right. When attacking from a set piece, someone has to hold the edge of the box; otherwise, it's easy to get caught on the counter. I've paid for that mistake plenty of times!

"There's nothing wrong with putting Tang there, either. As Bissack said, out of the starting players, Tang was the best suited for that position.

"As the team's set-piece coach, Bissack has diligently carried out his responsibilities.

"All right, it's getting late. Everyone, get ready for this morning's training. Meeting adjourned!"

Chairs scraped as everyone stood up.

As Mancini passed Bissack, he gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.

In the vast meeting room, Bissack was left sitting there alone, completely dumbfounded.

After scoring a last-minute winner, claiming all three points, and securing their fourth consecutive victory,

Tang Long could clearly feel that his teammates treated him differently!

He'd just changed and was walking down the slope from the dormitory toward the training ground when he ran into several Italian teammates walking together.

Captain Ranocchia pointed at Tang Long and pumped both fists in the air.

"Look, our hero's here! Woo!"

Santon, D'Ambrosio, and Andre were also warm in their greetings to Tang Long.

Tang Long joined them, and the group chatted and laughed as they walked.

On the way, they ran into some members of the South American Faction.

The Colombian Guarín was still indifferent toward Tang Long. He deliberately avoided eye contact and greeted Ranocchia instead.

But the Chilean defensive midfielder Medel looked much friendlier toward Tang Long. He even nodded to him.

That was how a team's locker room worked. The change reminded Tang Long of what Chivu had once told him:

"Tang, in the world of football, the only thing that earns you respect is your skill. It doesn't matter what country you come from, what race you are, or what kind of cultural background you have. The only thing that lets you make a name for yourself is the skill you show on the pitch!"

In the end, only ability mattered!

With his hands clasped behind his back, Mancini quietly watched the players sweat through their training on the pitch.

As head coach, he didn't actually come down to watch every routine training session.

Sometimes he simply watched from his office upstairs, gave instructions, and let the first-team coaching staff carry them out.

But today, Mancini had made a point of coming down to the touchline.

His eyes stayed fixed on Tang Long.

Half an hour later,

Mancini called Chivu over from the pitch.

"Boss, what do you need?"

"I've been thinking about it all morning, and I still can't figure it out. Go ask Tang why, in yesterday's match, he broke away from Bissack's set-piece plan right from the start and made a determined run to the far post. Ask him how he made that decision. I've watched the footage over and over, and it looks as if he predicted what was going to happen in advance! Find out what he based it on."

"Uh, you'd better ask Bissack. He's the one responsible for set-piece tactics. He seemed pretty nervous in the meeting room this morning and might not have explained all the details clearly."

"Bissack doesn't know a damn thing! That relative only has this job because of his connections. Once his brother-in-law Mazzarri finds a new coaching job, he'll be out of here sooner or later."

Chivu smiled. "Why don't you ask Tang yourself? I can call him over for you."

Mancini quickly grabbed Chivu by the arm, then gave an awkward smile and said quietly:

"You still don't get it? If I ask him myself, won't it make me look like an incompetent head coach? Go ask him, and come straight back to tell me. I'll wait right here."