Chapter 515: Chapter 515

Both Guardiola and Raymond are football personalities who grew up with La Masia ideals.

During their time working together at Barça, they encountered numerous players with exceptional footwork.

These types of players are as plentiful as cattle in Barça. There’s no need to look at the first team; just pulling a random one from the youth team, you’ll find a dribbling master with delicate footwork, who wouldn’t fall short compared to any Premier League main player.

However, footwork skills might be trained through hard work, but the big picture view and anticipation, especially like Tang Long’s interception of Bo Yang’s pass in the match against Stoke City, are what truly set apart a star player from an ordinary player.

"That gap should have been Delph’s area, but he was out of position, giving Bo Yang the chance for a direct pass."

"Slow Motion shows it was almost at the moment Bo Yang raised his leg that Tang started moving from an unrelated side."

"His speed is indeed fast, but no matter how fast a person is, they can’t be faster than the ball!"

"Tang’s speed primarily reflects his advanced anticipation, which allows him to gain the upper hand on the field, although it sounds mystical, he has a sort of foresight ability."

"Thus, I believe that the biggest difference between Tang and other players isn’t his precise passing or outstanding dribbling, but his top-notch anticipation!"

After hanging up the phone, Guardiola couldn’t calm his mood for a long time.

Thinking about next summer, when he would be coaching Tang, he suddenly felt thrilled, eagerly anticipating the swift arrival of the day.

At Bayern, where he currently coaches, some players have characteristics similar to Tang.

Such as Thomas Muller.

This tall German player can play as both a forward and midfielder.

Guardiola greatly relies on this player, considering his football intelligence to be among the best of the players he has coached, always appearing at the right place, making the right moves and reactions — which is closely tied to Muller’s anticipation of the game’s next step.

This German national team captain is only 170 cm tall, not tall, fast, or strong. Amidst the giants and tough guys of the Bundesliga, he is like a dwarf, not noticeable.

Yet how could Lahm play as a full-back for star-studded Bayern and as the captain of the German national team, lifting the World Cup last year?

Still relying on outstanding football intelligence!

Behind this football intelligence is actually Lahm’s anticipation of being one step ahead of the opponent.

Because of this, in Guardiola’s full-back inward passing control system, Lahm can become an indispensable part of the midfield, shining on both offensive and defensive ends.

Comparing with Guardiola himself.

In the midfielder position, his speed wasn’t fast, not as good as Davis, known as the "wild boar"; his physique wasn’t strong, far less than African tower Vieira; couldn’t be called a top-notch passing master, failing to deliver 60-meter precise cruise missiles like Beckham.

Yet as the captain of the Dream Team, Guardiola served at Barça for eleven years, winning all the honors a club could claim;

And when he became a coach, he directly soared, promoting Cruyff’s space philosophy, achieving the Dream Three’s dominance, creating Barça’s Cosmic era of control.

It’s undeniable that under Guardiola’s leadership, Barça had absolute dominance in the world football stage at that time, perfectly coordinating on three lines of offense, midfield, and defense without any weakness, becoming many opponents’ nightmare.

Guardiola played elegant football, conveying elegant football philosophy.

In the 1990s, Paulo Sousa, Redondo, Albertini, and Guardiola were known as the four talented elegant midfielders;

But when these masters retired to become coaches, only Guardiola raised elegance from an individual to the level of a team.

In Tang Long, Guardiola saw not only his twenty-year-old self but also the glorious time of Barça’s Dream Three era.

Thinking that Tang is only 19 years old, Coach Guardiola felt eager, impatiently wanting to coach this Chinese player.

"Really looking forward to next season. I want to unlock all his potential; he still has a lot of room for improvement!"

Recently, Manchester City Club has invested heavily in medical facilities.

Through Dr. Grace’s coordination, the latest cryogenic chamber developed by the University of Manchester’s medical laboratory was introduced into Manchester City’s physiotherapy room.

"Cryotherapy is a treatment method involving cooling internally or externally, reducing the action of free radicals after cooling, slowing oxidation, like letting patients hibernate, to protect the brain, increasing the chance of waking."

"Our club had cryogenic chambers, but the outdated German equipment was obsolete. New technology will accelerate your recovery, helping you return to the field sooner."

Under Gracie’s guidance, veterans Agüero and Silva bare-chestedly entered the cryogenic chamber.

This chamber accommodating two people, costing billions of British Pounds to develop, can lower the internal temperature to minus 130°C in a short time.

Tang Long and Ranocchia watched by the side.

As Agüero’s chamber door closed, his body shivered, then exhaled a large hot breath, grimacing with a hissing sound.

Silva kept his mouth shut tightly, arms crossed over his chest, curling into a ball.

Two minutes later, Tang Long asked Agüero how he felt?

"I was nervous at first, later felt dead, as if my nerves had gone numb!" Agüero said.

"Don’t worry, you’ll recover quickly, Sergio!" Ranocchia said with a smile.

"You’re not dead; it’s your nerve cells asleep," Gracie began recording with a notebook, "Is your thigh pain alleviated a bit?"

"Feels less painful now; if I can play tomorrow, even if it’s minus 180°C, or minus 1800°C, I’d jump in without hesitation hahaha!"

After receiving affirmative answers, Gracie then urged Tang Long and Ranocchia to remove their shirts and enter the cryogenic chamber.

Upon entering the chamber, a biting chill hit Tang Long, instantly numbing his tactile nerves;

He instinctively exhaled two breaths, fogging the glass cover and blurring Gracie’s face outside the chamber.

After a blur, when Tang Long stepped out, fatigue was swept away from his body.

His whole body shuddered!

Tang Long swayed his both hands from side to side, exercising his back muscles.

"Gracie, thank you for bringing the cryogenic chamber; my back pain from Inbula’s bump in the match feels less painful."

"Hmm, this is temporary, but if you come for two minutes every day, your fatigue resistance will greatly improve."

"How would you like to spend Christmas? I’ll treat you to dinner!" Tang Long said.

Gracie frowned, waved dismissively.

"Dude, didn’t you check the schedule? We’re playing Queens Park Rangers away on the night of December 26th, need to be in London in advance to prepare, no way to have Christmas."

Tang Long was stunned and wiped the cool sweat off his forehead.

"This isn’t fair. Why are we playing football while everyone else is eating turkey on Christmas?"

Ranocchia sighed as well, "Ah, it’s better in Serie A, we get a winter break. This year, I can’t spend Christmas with my kids."

Agüero leaned in, smiling with a teasing tone:

"It’s your first year in the Premier League, you’ll get used to it. There’s no winter break in the Premier League, just work hard like a donkey!"

In the United Kingdom, watching the Premier League during Christmas is an essential tradition.

It’s like watching the Spring Festival Gala on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Premier League players are lucky; they earn high salaries and continue their careers on the world’s most high-profile football platform;

Premier League players are also unfortunate; high-level employees can’t stop working even during the New Year.

Sunday night at 7:45 PM.

Fireworks celebrating the New Year rose above Big Ben by the Thames, illuminating the night sky of London. Thıs content belongs to NovєlFіre.net

On the ancient clock tower’s walls, advanced modern technology projected various Christmas elements, including Santa’s sleigh, cute reindeer, and scenes filled with gifts.

Lovers embraced by the rippling riverside, celebrating the arrival of the New Year.

The air was filled with the aroma of mulled wine, the rich fruit and wine scent adding a captivating warmth to the cold night.

Almost at the same time as the first firework exploded by the Thames—

At Luton Road Stadium, the referee’s whistle blew with a "Ju" sound!

"Get them! Get them! Finish off these northerners from Manchester!"

Even though Queens Park Rangers’ home ground can only hold a mere 18,000 fans, making it the smallest stadium in the Premier League;

It’s filled with the wildest fans in all of London, with the decibel level much higher than the library-like Stanford Bridge!

Many fans were already drunk by noon, continued drinking through dinner, and staggered to the stadium to watch the game after reaching a drunken haze.

Tang Long shouted back to Ranocchia as he ran:

"Why do I smell alcohol?"

Ranocchia leaped high and cleared the opponent’s long pass out of bounds.

"Don’t mention it, the whole stadium smells like whiskey. How much did these London drunks drink?"

The fans came after drinking.

But the opponent QPR dared not let anyone touch alcohol, just like Manchester City.

Everyone knows that the Christmas Premier League matches boast the highest annual viewership because people are on holiday with nothing to do but watch TV;

The eyes of all England are on you, and even a small mistake can be infinitely magnified.

Fail to perform well, and be ready to be criticized.

In the 25th minute of the first half, Kolarov made a sliding tackle on the sideline, booting the football high into the sky.

The ball flew to midfield with an irregular arc.

Tang Long dashed to the ball!

Without looking, he knew a defensive player was right on his tail because he could even feel the opponent’s breath on his neck!

"Take him down, don’t let him turn!"

The experienced Scottish midfielder Mackay knew that if Tang turned around at the attacking midfielder’s spot, he could immediately pose a threat to the goal.

He was deliberating on how to commit a "gentle" foul, enough to bring down Tang Long without earning a yellow card.

However, Tang Long didn’t give him a chance for any gentleness.

He feigned a chest trap, but just as he bent one leg for a jump to control the ball, he suddenly lowered his center of gravity!

The right leg that was meant to jump now became the source of propulsion, exerting significant force against the ground, allowing him to turn swiftly, darting past Mackay!

Poor Mackay, if only he understood Chinese, he’d grasp the meaning of "as swift as a fleeing rabbit."

He was utterly astonished!

Where did he go, why is he gone?

Not only was the person gone, the ball was too!

Tang Long’s sudden turn made full use of the illusion of a high ball, pretending to receive it, only to suddenly turn and let the ball fly over the opponent’s head, falling behind.

This move was all about catching opponents off guard!

Mackay’s forward momentum left him with no time to turn around; not falling would be fortunate!

Tang Long enhanced his maneuver by pretending to bend his leg as if to jump, completely fooling Mackay.

With Tang Long, no motion was redundant; every gesture had a purpose.

Tang Long swung his arms rapidly, tilting his head to follow the ball’s descent, his shoe gently pressing the ball just as it bounced up ten centimeters, stabilizing it like Santa’s reindeer, who had been tamed, running steadily forward.

Tang Long sprinted with the ball, legs crossing like a windmill!

With each lifted shoe kicking up grass bits!

He had already reached the top of the penalty arc!