Chapter 249: Chapter 249

Sitting in the stands, Guardiola was still immersed in Tang Long’s anticipation of positioning during halftime, but had gradually regained his focus by now.

His attention again centered on Inter’s passing and control tactics.

This time, he gave up his vacation and traveled far to the Berlin Olympic Stadium just to scout Tang Long.

Coincidentally, Inter’s game was focused on passing and control, which piqued Guardiola’s interest even more.

He wanted to see what role Tang Long could play in Inter’s passing and control tactics.

Although Tang Long’s anticipation in heading positioning delighted Guardiola, the Spanish coach was more interested in seeing Tang Long’s performance within the passing control system.

From the first half, given Inter’s overall performance, Guardiola hadn’t discovered more highlights.

At least from a tactical standpoint, Tang Long shouldn’t be inferior to Bayern’s current main midfielder Harvey Alonso, should he?

Otherwise, even if Bayern Munich brings in Tang Long, it wouldn’t hold much significance.

After all, asking an Inter Milan core player to come to Bayern as a substitute, Guardiola is uncertain if he and Bayern’s management can persuade Tang Long to do so.

But soon, Guardiola saw a highlight!

Just 5 minutes into the second half, a midfield pressing from Inter Milan quickly cut off Seville’s ball possession.

After Banega, the midfield core, took the ball, two teammates Alex and Reyes immediately approached, intending to form a triangle position.

But Reyes was a step slower, and his position was soon squeezed out by Gualin, cutting off the passing line on the left.

"Watch the right-side passing lane!"

Tang Long shouted to Medel, then quickly closed in on Banega!

Banega rose to fame early, having represented Boca to win the Copa Libertadores and captured a men’s football gold medal for Argentina U23 in the 2008 Olympics.

But after entering the La Liga, his football career didn’t go smoothly.

In the winter of 2014, he was even loaned back by Valencia to Newell’s Old Boys in the Argentine Primera Division, and half a year later, he came to Seville.

At 26, at a great age, being loaned back to an Argentine team, Banega surely has weaknesses—he’s too glued to the ball!

Facing Tang Long’s pressing, Banega attempted a stationary 180-degree turn to dodge Tang Long’s forward tackle like Iniesta.

With both the left and right passing lanes blocked, the most reasonable exit for Banega was actually to pass back to his team’s midfielder Mbia.

Yet he wanted to confront Tang Long, choosing to outplay the Inter Milan player who equalized the score with a header.

The 27-year-old Banega intended to dampen the 18-year-old Tang Long’s spirits.

Unexpectedly, as he turned 90 degrees, Tang Long’s foot hooked over, and with a thud, both the man and the ball were knocked down.

The referee hesitated for a second before finally blowing the whistle.

Tang Long shook his head at the referee, raised one finger, signaling he had touched the ball.

Gualin and several other Inter players surrounded the referee for an explanation.

Guardiola in the stands also felt the play wasn’t a foul.

He thought the main referee might have spared Banega out of a desire to protect technical players.

"It’s really ridiculous, such plays wouldn’t be blown in the Bundesliga," Guardiola chuckled.

Although Tang Long’s tackle ended in a foul, that opening midfield pressing in the second half from Inter Milan caught Guardiola’s attention.

Passing control tactics consist of both passing and controlling.

The ultimate goal of passing is to maintain possession, and control not only comes from passing but also from defense!

In matches, even a passing control-oriented team like Barça can’t keep the ball under their control at all times.

Letting the opponent keep possession doesn’t matter, the key is how to minimize the opponent’s ball-keeping time.

Pressing, compressing the opponent’s passing space, tackling to regain possession is also an essential element in the passing control system.

Tang Long’s tackle, whether in timing or defensive movements, bore some resemblance to Busquets.

If Inter Milan’s initial attempt only slightly impressed Guardiola.

Then the pressing that happened 5 minutes later, made Guardiola clap and cheer!

At the 60th minute of the second half, Inter Milan held possession.

Gualin lifted his head in the midfielder position, taking a few steps observing, not finding a good passing lane, simply pushed the ball forward, attempting to compress Seville’s defensive space.

Gualin’s choice wasn’t wrong, but the fault lay in his rough touch.

This push originally aimed to go forward a meter, but accidentally went over two meters~

The Seville midfielder seized the moment, intercepting the ball before Gualin could control it, handing it back to Banega.

This was a steal by Seville!

"Press up, don’t retreat!"

As Tang Long’s right hand swung vigorously forward, three Inter Milan players magnetically closed in rapidly on Banega.

Having experienced the previous mishap where Tang Long knocked him down, Banega was much more cautious this time.

He didn’t dare attempt dribbling past anyone and immediately made a horizontal pass, trying to pass the ball to Krychowiak.

If this pass succeeded, it would instantly dissolve the pressing from the three Inter players, leaving huge gaps exposed in Inter’s defense.

But teammate Krychowiak was readying to receive the ball.

Yet a second later, he was forced to retreat, biting his teeth—because Tang Long intercepted the ball!

As early as the moment Banega stretched his foot to make a cross-pass, Tang Long predicted through his body language that the ball would be passed to the left.

The defensive distance was a bit far, what if the legs weren’t long enough?

Then go for a slide tackle!

Tang Long met the anticipated pass route from Banega with a ground slide tackle, intercepting the ball halfway.

By coincidence, this slide tackle, originally intended to break the pass, accidentally slipped under the ball, becoming a lofted pass.

The ball flew over Banega’s head, heading straight towards the left wing~

On the left, Shaqiri sprinted forward, bringing the ball back just before it was about to cross the sideline.

This defensive play also drew a round of applause at the Berlin Olympic Stadium.

Among these thousands of clapping hands, there was a shout from Guardiola:

"Good, good, very good!"

Guardiola excitedly shouted "good" three times in a row.

In Guardiola’s traditional philosophy, passing errors are not terrifying.

Even the Barça central midfield composed of Harvey, Iniesta, and Busquets, when playing against relegation teams in La Liga, might commit passing errors—it’s unavoidable.

Mistakes are inevitable, but the key lies in, after the mistake, players must immediately surround the opposition and reclaim the ball in the shortest time.

If you retreat and think about setting up a defensive formation, it’s completely abandoning the desire for ball control, handing it over to the opponent.

In 2013, during that season when Guardiola had just arrived in Bundesliga Bayern Munich from Barcelona, this tactic of several players immediately encircling and snatching the ball carrier after losing possession had once confused Bayern players greatly.

Kroos, Götze, Ribery, and others were quite puzzled.

If you fail to snatch the ball, lose your position again, and the opponent gets the ball through, wouldn’t you be leaving a huge gap?

Why not retreat moderately, build steadily, and then plan the next wave of attack?

Moreover, such frantic ball snatching is a great drain on the players’ stamina!

But Guardiola sternly informed Bayern players with his coaching experience at Barça:

"If you want to play comfortably, save energy, and maintain good competitive status, encircling and snatching right after losing the ball is the most convenient way!"

"Imagine, if you allow the opponent to dominate possession, you’d have no choice but to run with the movement of their players back and forth, and you will expend more physical energy than you would in encircling after losing the ball!"

Guardiola’s explanation was an eye-opener for Bayern’s players.

Ultimately, that season, they played a dominating style of passing and controlling in the Bundesliga, easily winning the championship plate with a lead of nearly 20 points over Dortmund.

In this recent defensive move by Inter Milan, Tang Long’s anticipation of the ball route impressed Guardiola once again.

Especially with his ground tackle, showing excellent physical prowess, was precisely what appealed to Guardiola!

If it were Bayern Munich under his coaching, the 34-year-old veteran Alonso would not be able to make such defensive plays.

It’s possible that with such a tackle, Alonso’s thigh muscle could get strained.

While Guardiola was praising Inter’s encircling tactic, Inter Milan had already launched a rapid counterattack.

Tang Long’s slide tackle accidentally turned into a pass, and once the ball was under Shaqiri’s feet, the Swiss star didn’t choose to control the pace but drove the ball forward directly.

Although short in stature, Shaqiri was exceptionally fast, his quick footwork dazzling opponents.

As long as he’s given space, he keeps advancing like an atomic ant!

Left cut, right cut, shaking off defensive midfielder Mbia!

Continuing along the flank!

In this drive, the ball control combined with speed surpassed Gualin by a level, utilizing the speed advantage to outflank right-back Alex.

(Swiss star Shaqiri using speed to overpower the opponent)

"He’s going to cross!"

Like the fans around him, Guardiola couldn’t help but stand up.

In the penalty area, the 1.84m Gualin and 1.85m Bonazzoli were ready to contest the header.

Seville’s two tall central defenders were also fully prepared.

What happened next was unexpected!

Shaqiri did make a cross, but instead of a high pass, he used the instep of his left foot for a sweep—this was a low pass!

What was remarkable was that the ball wasn’t swept into the penalty area but unexpectedly swept toward the top of the penalty arc.

"Tang can take a long shot!"

Seeing Tang Long charging to meet the ball at the penalty arc top, Guardiola was filled with anticipation.

Although center-back Caliso had already lunged out, and Seville midfielder Krychowiak also rushed towards Tang Long, both had taken blocking positions;

Moreover, for Tang Long, taking a side-foot shot with his weaker left foot from this position presented a significant difficulty for a long shot.

Yet Guardiola wanted to see Tang Long’s long shot!

Because in the Bayern squad, Alonso often delivered stunning long-range strikes from the top of the arc.

Guardiola wanted to see if Tang Long’s long shots could match Alonso’s.

However, the next scene made Guardiola suddenly clasp his head with both hands...