Mancini stood where he was, watching Chivu jog over to Tang Long and talk with him. A few moments later, Chivu came back.
"Boss, Tang says his sudden run was to attack the far post. He says it was the tactic you'd instructed, and that his goal was thanks to your excellent guidance," Chivu said.
Then he added, "He said he'd already explained all that at the post-match press conference."
Mancini smiled and waved a hand.
"That kid's such a smooth talker. He just knows how to flatter me. When did I ever tell him to use that tactic? Go back and find out more."
Chivu had no choice but to go talk to Tang Long again. After another conversation, he returned.
"Did you get to the bottom of it?"
"I did. He says he had a premonition."
"A premonition? What kind?"
"He just had a feeling the ball would be sent to the near post. He believed Davis wouldn't be able to reach it, but Icardi would. Then Icardi would flick it on with a header toward the far post, and Tang could pick up the scraps there."
Mancini and Chivu exchanged a look.
They'd already watched the goal replay from multiple broadcast angles, at one-tenth speed, frame by frame, more than twenty times.
They clearly remembered that the moment Brozovic's foot made contact with the ball on the set piece, Tang Long had already readied himself to sprint.
When the ball had traveled less than a meter from Brozovic's foot, while everyone else was still trying to judge where it would land, Tang had already set his sights on the far post and raced toward it!
Chivu's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Premonition! I know that word well. My old teammate Eto'o used to say the same thing, and he did the same sort of thing. Somehow, he seemed to be able to read the ball's path in advance. It was like some mysterious sixth sense!
"And Milito, too—right," Chivu went on, his eyes shining brighter by the second. "I'd often see our midfielders take long-range shots while everyone else stood still and watched. But the moment the ball was struck, Milito would suddenly charge toward the goalkeeper. Every season, he'd score four or five goals by pouncing on the ball after the keeper parried it!
"He told me he had a feeling about when the ball would rebound right to him!"
Hearing Chivu compare Tang Long to world-class strikers like Eto'o and Milito stirred a warm feeling in Mancini's heart.
Back when he was a player, Mancini had been one of Italy's top strikers, second only to Baggio among his contemporaries.
He'd experienced that elusive sixth sense—something impossible to explain—but had always thought it was mysterious and beyond his grasp.
Could eighteen-year-old Tang Long really have developed a premonition for what would happen on the pitch?
"A premonition—a remarkable one! That young man Tang has a limitless future."
Tang Long's standing in Mancini's eyes rose considerably.
After a pleasant training session, Tang Long had just returned to his dorm when another hidden reward was triggered!
"Congratulations, host, on unlocking the milestone achievement: First Serie A Goal!"
"Reward unlocked: Increase the proficiency of the body part used to score the first goal by 20 points!"
"Heading accuracy increased!
"55–75!"
This huge leap gave Tang Long the heading ability to compete in Serie A.
Although a heading rating of 55 had been enough for him to score a winning goal in a Serie A match, Tang Long knew that was largely because he'd anticipated the play and found space. With no one marking him, he'd headed home what was practically an open goal.
From that spot, anyone could have scored with a header—not just Bologna's goalkeeper, Lelia. Even Buffon or Cech would have been helpless.
That was exactly why Bissack, the set-piece coach, had assigned Tang Long to wait at the edge of the penalty area for second balls rather than push into the box to compete for the first header.
Even though the boost to his heading had filled Tang Long with confidence, he still felt a little disappointed.
He wished his first Serie A goal had been with his foot. That would've been perfect!
Tang Long's current attributes:
Host: Tang Long
Age: 18
Height: 182
Weight: 75KG
Position: Attacking midfielder, second striker, defensive midfielder.
Shooting accuracy: 62
Shot power: 64
Heading: 75
Dribbling: 59
Long passing: 67
Short passing: 78
Set pieces: 42
Speed: 65
Stamina: 80
Strength: 78
Jumping: 77
Defense: 35
Overall rating: 70
Player level: Average Serie B standard
The changes in his attributes reflected the effort he'd put in since the winter break.
Improving his physical weaknesses—stamina, strength, and jumping—had greatly raised his overall rating!
He'd gone from Serie C level to the level of a Serie B starter!
At eighteen, being good enough to start in Serie B made him one of the best players his age.
Even Bonazzoli, a standout promoted from Inter Milan's reserve team before Tang Long and a starter for the Italy U21 National Team, was probably at about the same level.
Of course, that player rating reflected the average standard across the league.
Some Serie A clubs mired in the relegation battle this season, such as Genoa, Cagliari, and Verona, had starters—and most of their regular substitutes—who were only at Serie B level. That was why they were often stuck bouncing between the divisions.
Still, Tang Long had an additional advantage other players could hardly hope to match!
The AI predictions in his brain gave him an overwhelming edge in reading the game and anticipating how it would unfold.
That sort of predictive ability couldn't be captured by any numerical rating!
But Tang Long understood that merely being better than others at anticipating plays wasn't enough to make him a superstar.
Knowing what to do was one thing; actually doing it was another.
That night, in the dormitory at the training ground,
Tang Long began thinking about his place in the Inter Milan squad.
He'd started against Bologna and had performed well, scoring once and assisting once.
But would that really be enough to secure him a place in the starting lineup?
After all, Tang Long had only started because Guarin had been overweight and dropped from the starting eleven.
But everyone knew Guarin's absence was only temporary!
A fit and in-form Guarin still held an irreplaceable place in the Inter Milan squad.
For example, why had Inter Milan conceded so early against Bologna?
Because without a tough, physically imposing player like Guarin anchoring the midfield, the opposing center-forward had been able to drop back and bully them with his strength.
As assistant coach Herrera had said when reviewing the match afterward:
"We got our opening tactics wrong. Ranocchia should've picked up Borrelli earlier. If we'd shut down that aerial threat, we wouldn't have fallen behind so early. But Guarin's absence also left us short of physical strength in midfield."
Conceding so early had put the team on the back foot.
Coming from behind to win by two goals made for a thrilling story, and the fans loved it—but Mancini clearly didn't like that kind of match.
For Inter Milan's players, a game like that was agonizing. They had to fight until the very last moment to determine the outcome.
That kind of struggle put them under immense physical and mental strain, and they carried a crushing weight of pressure.
Against a relegation-threatened team like Bologna, a top club was supposed to put the match away early, going 2–0 up in the first half.
From that perspective, Tang Long still couldn't fully replace Guarin.
It was important to know your own limitations. Tang Long wouldn't get carried away or let one good performance go to his head.
How could he truly establish himself?
After thinking it over for a long while, he called his mentor, Chivu.
"Mr. Chivu, sorry for the trouble outside working hours. I just wanted to ask if you have any footage of Icardi's matches. The more, the better—ideally a dozen hours' worth!"
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