The Strongest Ball Sensation Showdown? Tang Long Shatters Perceptions with a Roll of Toilet Paper, Messi is @ !
The following morning, sunlight streamed onto Manchester City's training ground as the players began their daily training session.
After Tang Long's ball control improved, he became much more comfortable in training, and every move he made demonstrated a level of skill that was different from before.
First came the regular dribbling training. Tang Long controlled the ball with complete ease, as if there was an invisible tacit understanding between the football and his feet.
His changes of direction and acceleration were incredibly smooth; the ball seemed to be under a spell, closely following his rhythm.
His teammates, who were training on the sidelines, were frequently drawn to Tang Long's performance and cast surprised glances at him!
"His ball control seems to have gotten even better than before?" Gündoğan whispered to Bonaparte.
"Tang's ball control has always been excellent!" The older brother is amazing, and the younger brother Bonazzoli is equally proud.
Ranocchia grinned and said to Gündoğan, "In the upcoming match, let's team up and take him down, teach him a lesson!"
Gündoğan laughed, "Let's call Thiago over and try to steal the ball too. He's from Barca, he knows how to deal with players with great ball control."
In the ensuing match, Gündoğan, Thiago, and Ranocchia decided to team up and teach Tang Long a lesson.
They surrounded Tang Long, trying to steal the ball from Tang Long feet through their coordinated teamwork.
However, to their surprise, the football seemed to be glued to Tang Long's feet.
Tang Long first made a feint, causing Ranocchia to shift his center of gravity, then with a light pull and turn, he passed through the gap between Thiago and Gündoğan, but the ball went through Gündoğan's legs!
The three men quickly turned around and continued to chase and intercept, but Tang Long remained calm. He gently flicked the ball with the inside of his foot, and the ball passed between Gündoğan's legs again, once again outmaneuvering the Germany.
After a fierce struggle, the three were panting heavily, but they still couldn't take the ball away from Tang Long.
Ranocchia, hands on his hips, chuckled helplessly, "This guy, his ball control has improved so much it's like he's a completely different person. He's making me question my existence just trying to steal the ball from him."
Thiago nodded in agreement. "Yes, his control of the ball is terrifying right now. It feels like the three of us are no match for him."
Gündoğan was not happy after being tricked twice. He pouted but remained silent.
Guardiola, watching from the side, nodded frequently, while his assistant coach Chivu kept whispering to each other.
After training, the players went into the locker room one after another.
When everyone came out after showering, they saw a surprising scene: Tang Long was standing next to the table in the locker room, juggling a ball barefoot!
But instead of a soccer ball, it was an orange that was being juggled.
The oranges bounced rhythmically at his feet, one bounce after another, leaving everyone mesmerized.
After being bounced more than fifty times, the orange finally gave way and rotted.
Seeing this, Tang Long took the orange off its stem and said to Gündoğan, who was staring at him, "Want some oranges?"
Gündoğan said disdainfully, "Your feet stink, I'm not eating!"
He retorted defiantly, "Oranges are nothing, I can have them too."
There was a plate of fruit on the table in the locker room, placed there by the locker room manager so that the players could replenish their energy after training.
Gündoğan picked up a fresh orange and confidently began to bounce it.
However, juggling an orange feels completely different from juggling a ball.
The football is much larger, and the margin for error when juggling it is also much greater;
The oranges were small, and if the touch on the ball was slightly off, it would go away. Besides, Gündoğan had just come out of the shower and wasn't wearing his sneakers, but slippers.
After barely managing ten bounces, the orange flew out of control!
In an attempt to save the orange, Gündoğan attempted a powerful hook kick, but misjudged the force, and the orange was smashed to pieces, landing squarely on Ranocchia's head as he emerged from the bath in a towel.
Ranocchia was completely bewildered by the sudden attack. Touching the orange segment hanging on his face, he subconsciously popped it into his mouth.
Everyone burst into laughter!
Gündoğan flushed red, and he wanted to get back at him.
He looked around and saw a roll of toilet paper on the table. A thought struck him, and he pointed to the roll of toilet paper on the table and said:
"Okay, Tang, I've never flipped an orange before, so I can't beat you. But if you can flip this roll of paper more than 30 times, no, 50 times, I'll really be impressed."
His teammates all knew that the toilet paper roll was angular and very irregular, making it much more difficult to flip than an orange, and they all thought it was impossible for Tang Long to do it.
"That's nonsense," Agüero said. "Oranges are round, toilet paper is a cylinder, how could that be..."
Before Tang Long could react, Gündoğan swiftly grabbed the roll of toilet paper and threw it at Tang Long!
Tang Long steadily stopped the roll of paper with his chest. After the roll fell, he weighed it a few times with his thigh and, finding it feasible, began to jiggle the roll with his foot.
At first, the toilet paper was quite obedient, bouncing on his feet.
As they counted, everyone clapped and applauded.
After about 40 flips, the sealing tape on the toilet paper roll started to come off, and the paper began to fall out continuously.
But Tang Long remained unmoved, steadily swaying.
As the numbers continued to increase, everyone's mouths gaped wider and wider, their eyes filled with shock.
He kept bouncing it over 100 times, until the toilet paper had shrunk into a small tube, and the floor was covered with long strips of tissue paper, but Tang Long continued.
Everyone watched intently, counting aloud. "198, 199, 200!"
Tang Long managed to bounce 200 times in a row!
Then, Tang Long sidestepped and kicked the paper tube into the air, heading towards the open locker of Gündoğan across the locker room. With a "whoosh," the paper tube hit its target, knocking out a pair of shin guards from Gündoğan's body, which landed on the ground.
The entire locker room erupted in cheers as teammates surrounded Tang Long, giving him a thumbs-up.
Agüero exclaimed in amazement, "Don, are you even human? You've managed to make something out of this roll of paper!"
Kompany laughed and said, "Looks like we'll have to get to know you all over again. Your ball control is simply unbeatable."
Although Gündoğan lost decisively, he was completely convinced. "Tang, I'm truly impressed. Your touch was amazing. I reckon even Lionel Messi would have to admit defeat."
Bonazzoli filmed the entire process on his phone and posted the video of Tang Long weaving the paper roll on his social media.
This caused a huge uproar online!
Many fans were amazed by Tang Long's superb ball control; juggling an orange was one thing, but at least an orange is round.
But how could this angular roll of paper be bounced so many times?
Some people say that if Tang Long hadn't given up on juggling at the end and hadn't kicked the remaining toilet paper roll directly into Gündoğan's locker room, he could have juggled it a thousand times if he still wanted to.
Many football fans have started imitating Tang Long's toilet paper-rolling videos on social media.
Most of the time it's just one big kick, and at most it bounces seven or eight times.
In the end, everyone left messages on Lionel Messi's social media, tagging Lionel Messi.
Because in everyone's eyes, Lionel Messi is the player with the best ball control in the world. He has juggled tennis balls, oranges, and mineral water bottles in some commercials, but no one has ever seen Lionel Messi juggle toilet paper.
Netizens are curious: if the Argentina football legend could juggle a roll of toilet paper like Tang Long, could he beat Tang Long?
However, Lionel Messi's personal social media account is clearly not used by him, and he cannot see these comments.
After a training session in Barcelona, some nosy reporters waited outside the training ground and stopped Lionel Messi's car.
Lionel Messi thought he wanted an autograph and was about to reach for the jersey when a microphone was shoved at him.
"Leo, can you juggle a toilet paper roll?"
Lionel Messi was stunned for a moment, his expression instantly turning adorably blank.
"What? Toilet paper? Why would I want to flip a toilet paper roll?"
The reporter showed Lionel Messi a video of Bonazzoli playing with Tang Long paper roll.
Lionel Messi, hands on the steering wheel, watched the entire video with great interest, then honestly said:
"I've juggled oranges and tennis balls. I can juggle dozens of oranges and hundreds of tennis balls, but I've never juggled a toilet paper roll, so I can't answer you. But from the video, Manchester City's Don has an excellent feel for the ball. He's a very outstanding player, and they talk about him on TV every day now."
Lionel Messi paused for a moment, then changed the subject.
"However, compared to flipping toilet paper, I'm more concerned about the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Manchester City on October 19th; that's what I need to focus on."
Premier League Round 8.
Manchester City drew 1-1 with Everton at home, ending their seven-game winning streak in the Premier League!
This included a superb performance from former Inter Milan goalkeeper and Slovenia goalkeeper Handanovic, who made several crucial saves to prevent Manchester City's attack from finding the net.
Guardiola's proactive rotation strategy also played a role.
Because in three days, it will be the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Barca.
Facing his former club away from home, Guardiola knew this match would be extremely difficult, and could even directly determine whether Manchester City could advance as group winners.
Ranocchia and Tang Long, who started in seven consecutive matches, were both substituted early in the second half to focus their energy on the UEFA Champions League.
Meanwhile, both Chelsea and Manchester United won!
Latest standings:
1. Manchester City 22 points
2. Chelsea 22 points
3. Manchester United 19 points
Manchester City are in first place only because of their goal difference.
Conte saw a glimmer of hope!
Pellegrini, standing behind him, was equally full of anticipation!
Pursuers were in front, and ambushes were behind.
On October 19th, Manchester City traveled to Spain to face their toughest opponent so far this season: Barca!