Chapter 513: Chapter 513

The midfield has always been the land that strategists must contend for.

It is a fertile ground of intense battles, a battlefield shrouded in the smoke of war.

Especially in the Premier League, the pace of transitions between attack and defense is incredibly quick; oftentimes, the situation can reverse here in an instant.

Players who excel at midfield are certainly those with high football intelligence; they are smart, with keen eyesight, and their pupils act like radars, constantly scanning and searching.

As football tactics continue to evolve, radars are also updating.

From traditional distance radars, to sonar radars, and then to laser radars, the intensity and speed of football matches are continuously increasing, raising the demands on midfield players!

Outdated equipment can no longer satisfy the needs of modern football, and many midfielders, while playing, become increasingly bewildered, powerless, and thus eliminated by the tide of times.

They must serve as a solid barrier in front of the defense, using tackles and interceptions to disrupt the opponent’s attack routes;

and in attack, they must pull apart the opponent’s defensive formations, providing passing options for forwards.

When necessary, they must also step forward, make the decisive strike, and break through the opponent’s goal.

Many midfielders become punching bags, caught between defense and attack, with grievances coming from both opponents and teammates.

They truly are like a little daughter-in-law caught in the middle, finding it difficult to please either side~

However, Tang Long played midfield in this match with remarkable composure.

Though he too faced grievances from both ends, he managed to impose them onto the opponent.

On the stands of Stoke City’s stadium, Raymond, the scout tasked by Bayern’s coach to continuously follow Manchester City’s matches, witnessed Manchester City’s recent attack with joy!

Despite having long heard of Tang Long’s renown and watched some of his matches on television;

this was his first time seeing him play in person.

Raymond bent his head and wrote rapidly in his notebook:

"Tang’s thinking during transitions is exceptionally swift, capable of accelerating the team’s attack, fully exploiting the disjointedness in the opponent’s formation. Even though this weakness only lasts a fleeting few seconds, he firmly grasps it."

He then noted down several names, "Template: Harvey, Iniesta, Busquets."

Finally, he circled these three names and drew an arrow pointing to Tang’s name at the top of the page.

Raymond pondered for a moment, then flipped back a few pages to write Ranocchia’s name on a separate blank page.

"Just defended against the Premier League’s tallest forward, Crouch’s header, and immediately jumped into the attack after landing, decisively moving forward, sprinting at high speed. In attack or defense, his headers are also a major threat for the team."

"He is very similar to Yaya Toure at his peak, possessing a strong ability to charge forward, and can be modified according to Toure’s template."

But Raymond paused for a moment and quickly crossed out Toure’s name.

He thought to himself: "Toure and Guardiola worked together at Barça for years, and due to personality issues, they often clashed. Comparing Ranocchia to Toure, Guardiola might not be too pleased."

He thought about it and noted down Ballack, Vieira, and Gullit’s names beside Toure.

As he considered if Ranocchia played midfield, which template would be most fitting for transformation, the cheers from Stoke City’s fans interrupted his thoughts.

Raymond looked up towards the pitch.

In the 78th minute, with one goal behind, Stoke City began their final desperate struggle.

Players in the backfield, despite legs feeling like lead, bit their teeth and stubbornly transferred the ball from the back to the front, even under Manchester City’s pressing pressure.

Only then did Raymond realize why this set of passes had ignited the passions of Stoke City fans.

In this match, Stoke City struggled to achieve more than five consecutive passes, and this time they made six, how could fans not be excited?

Raymond silently admired Stoke City’s players, even as a mid to lower-tier Premier League team, they showed such resilience towards the end of the match, a situation relatively rare in the Bundesliga, where teams facing Bayern seldom display such indomitable spirit.

"There’s a gap in the middle..."

Sitting on the stands, in his god-like view, Raymond’s keen eyes spotted a gap in Manchester City’s central defense for attempting a through-pass. Follow current novels on novel·fıre·net

At this moment, the ball was held by a former Barça player, Bo Yang.

Like Guardiola, Raymond, upon coming to work at Bayern, also worked at Barça, and he was intently familiar with Bo Yang. He tracked Bo Yang’s youth league scouting report for a whole year before he recommended him for promotion to the first team.

Although Bo Yang’s growth was hampered by injuries, his vision and passing skills remained.

Sure enough, Bo Yang did not disappoint Raymond’s years of persistent tracking, unleashing a highly penetrating direct pass!

Raymond on the stands couldn’t help but shout.

His eyes even reddened slightly, lamenting Bo Yang’s wasted talent!

Born in 1990, a genuine La Masia product, who at 17 started for Barça, scoring ten league goals that season, at one point relegating the 20-year-old Messi to the bench.

Back then, I was somewhat his Bo Le.

All those things are gone now... It’s all a thing of the past...

While Raymond was lost in reminiscing about his days working with Bo Yang at Barça, a startled cry from Stoke City fans rudely yanked his thoughts back!

"Oh no, how was this ball intercepted!"

"What a pity, that pass would have let Crouch face the defender one-on-one!"

"Tang’s tackle was so sudden, where did he emerge from?"

"Offense, defense, he’s everywhere; how annoying is this Chinese guy!"

Amidst sporadic fan complaints, Raymond learned that Bo Yang’s direct pass was intercepted by Tang Long.

At that moment, he was lost in his memories, his eyes unfocused, not noticing how the ball was intercepted.

The big screen at the scene didn’t replay the moment, although Raymond was immensely curious, he had to momentarily set aside his curiosity and continue watching the match.

He just felt that Tang’s speed must be incredibly fast to intercept the ball mid-route, which exceeded his expectations~

Right below Raymond’s stand, Manchester City’s head coach Pellegrini broke out in a sweat!

Restricted by his parallel vision, he didn’t see the opening in the middle earlier, so he didn’t loudly alert the players.

It wasn’t until Bo Yang’s pass came out, rolling halfway along the ground, that the Chilean realized too late when he wanted to shout!

Pellegrini first admired Bo Yang’s vision, after all, he once played a key role at Barça;

However, Tang Long suddenly emerged from nowhere, slid in with a tackle, which left Coach Pei utterly stunned, his mouth wide open unable to utter a word!

"Great ball!" Assistant coach Rein slapped Pellegrini heavily on the shoulder.

"Bo Yang tried to sneak attack, but Tang’s precise prediction got him haha!"

If Bo Yang had passed the ball through, he could have challenged Ranocchia one-on-one!

Unfortunately, at the last moment, the opening in the middle was noticed by Tang Long, who charged in and, in a nearly impossible touch of the ball, slid in the air and brushed the ball off the sideline with his toe.

Such a narrow margin!

How could Crouch not be upset?

"Bo Yang, try again!"

Unyielding Premier League veteran Crouch wanted to make a comeback.

However, with Bo Yang’s pass being intercepted, the team’s morale took a hit, and the fatigue in their bodies poured lead into their legs as their stamina waned.

Tang Long at both ends of offense and defense was performing exceptionally.

Leading his teammates away, delivering the final blow to the scattered opponent formation!

It’s Ranocchia again!

With his first ball touch, he easily surpassed Bo Yang with speed, observing his ball touch being slightly large, just before forming a fifty-fifty challenge with the opponent midfielder——

The sole of his right foot swiftly dragged over the ball surface, stealing the ball from under the opponent’s extended foot, then with his left foot, nudged it forward in rhythm, shifting his center of gravity, and passed through!

"Great ball, beautiful drag, this is going in." Scout Raymond’s lips curled into a smile.

Tang Long moved closer to Ranocchia, gaining possession when he was engulfed in a two-man squeeze.

Inbula, Congo’s iron midfielder, 188 cm tall, weighs 88 kg!

Standing before Tang Long, he looked like a mountain blocking Stoke City Stadium’s lights.

Tang Long saw Inbula’s lowered stance and knew he was adopting a squat defense.

The so-called squat defense is blocking the ball holder’s advance route, and if possible, intercepting passes, but above all, he must not let the ball go through!

As one of Stoke City’s few tall players capable of sprinting all game, Inbula wasn’t concerned about stamina or resilience beyond 80 minutes.

Tang Long dribbled toward him, quickfiring three bicycle feints!

While his legs swiftly faked movements above the ball, Tang Long’s eyes were fixed not on the ball but on Inbula’s body posture.

Once there’s any hint of the opponent’s shifted center of gravity, that’s when to end the feint and accelerate.

But Inbula was cunning~

He knew his high center of gravity made him susceptible to Tang Long’s skilful dribbling feints, so he deliberately lowered his center unnaturally.

To the extent that when Ranocchia passed by him, he, too, was amazed, feeling that the Congo man was nearly squatting.

After the first failed move, Tang Long swiftly launched his second move!

He understood one principle – keep pressuring the opponent continuously without allowing any mental relief.

The second move – pendulum dribble!

Tang Long swung left, Inbula subtly moved left, restraining himself;

Tang Long swung right, Inbula subtly moved right, still restrained!

"Left! This pendulum move goes left-right-left, next he surely returns to the left, as long as I stay firm in the final third move, he still can’t get past me, teammates are nearly back in defense, this guy’s out of chances!"

Inbula glanced at teammates returning on defense from the corner of his eye, boosting his confidence.

Tang Long perceived Inbula’s thoughts, also hearing footsteps behind.

He decided to do something unexpected——

Last step, yet heading right!