NOVEL NEXT Chapter 304: Crippled? Every time you say crippled, every time I become your dad!
Why was Buffon so distraught after being scored on by Tang Long's penalty?
He was so heartbroken, his eyes devoid of expression, his face confused;
That after the match ended, he directly threw his two goalkeeper gloves to the ground.
Then, with his head down, he sulkily walked alone towards the player tunnel, ignoring Marchisio's calls, and did not join his teammates in thanking the home fans.
How could Buffon face the Juventus fans?
It's not because the team lost a three-goal lead and was overturned by Manchester City, a night reminiscent of another Istanbul.
Born in 1978, Buffon is 37 this year.
He has been active in the professional field for a whole 20 years, starting from playing in Serie A at Parma at the age of seventeen!
Apart from the Champions League, he has collected all club and national team honors.
If it was just a simple comeback, it wouldn't destroy Buffon's confidence as the god of goalkeeping;
Especially since it's just a second-round match of the Champions League group stage.
Who knows who will qualify as the group's top at the end!
What left Buffon distraught wasn't being beaten by Tang Long's penalties three times in a row;
In a penalty shootout, the goalkeeper is always at a disadvantage, and data shows that in the top five leagues, the success rate of penalty kicks is generally around 80%.
So merely not saving penalties did not make Buffon that sad, nor would it make him feel ashamed to the point of lacking the courage to thank the home fans!
What left Buffon distraught, unable to look back, was the way Tang Long scored the penalty!
If the first two times facing Tang Long at 12 yards with two consecutive chipped penalties already made Buffon know the shame and become vigilant against Tang Long's chips.
In the just-ended match, when Tang Long was taking the penalty, Buffon was concentrating on staring at Tang Long's movements;
Once Tang Long's movement slowed at the moment of taking the shot, Buffon would immediately stand still and calmly catch his chipped penalty to avenge the previous shame of being fooled twice by the chips!
However, this time, Tang Long not only fooled Buffon again but also came up with an unexpected trick.
This trick completely baffled Buffon, so much so that when Tang Long was celebrating with his teammates, Buffon was standing dazedly at the goal line, still not knowing how the ball just rolled past.
It wasn't until he saw the replay on the big screen that he suddenly realized what had happened!
One step,
Two steps,
Three steps.
If it were an ordinary player, these three steps would all be a run-up, all the lead-in;
The final step, the contact between the striking foot and the ball, is the source of the power for the ball to head towards the goal.
But Tang Long, contrary to convention!
The first two steps were indeed a run-up, but on the third step, his left supporting foot, which should have moved two fists' distance to the left side of the ball, he suddenly kicked the football with his left foot.
It was this small hop rhythm change that caught Buffon off guard!
Tang Long's juggling-like penalty kick was an ordeal Buffon had never experienced in his 20-year career.
In his career, he faced many great penalty takers at the 12-yard spot, Pirlo, Rekoba, Shevchenko, Vieri, Ronaldo, Totti, Balotelli, Beckham, Messi, C Luo…
These top shooters, when taking penalties, certainly don't just take a shot blindly;
They would use all kinds of body and eye feints before the strike to deceive the goalkeeper and send the ball into the opposite corner.
But using the left striking foot, feinting it as a supporting foot to deceive the goalkeeper, Buffon had not only never experienced it, but had never heard of it before!
Can penalties be taken this way?
Isn't this a foul?
Buffon, who has played a professional career for 20 hard-fought years, started to fall into deep self-doubt.
No matter what, Buffon couldn't understand how, at 37, he could be so humiliated on penalties by a 19-year-old young player!
"He must have done it on purpose, how despicable..."
Buffon even began to pray in his heart that if both Juventus and Manchester City made it through, they would never meet Manchester City again in the knockout stage!
If Tang Long again stood at the 12-yard spot, Buffon doubted whether he would have the courage to stand on the goal line and face that young Eastern face.
...
"Give me the ball, referee!"
Agüero was having a difficult conversation with the chief referee, trying to take the match ball.
According to an unwritten rule on the field.
A player who scores a hat-trick can take the match ball home after the game as a souvenir.
In this match, after coming on in the second half, Tang Long made one goal and three assists in half a match, helping Manchester City overturn Juventus.
The remaining three goals, two came from Agüero, one from Sterling.
Logically, no one on Manchester City's side is qualified to take the match ball.
The reason Agüero argued with the referee was that although Tang didn't score a goal, with his three assists, he was the key figure in orchestrating this epic comeback!
"Give me the ball, please, I must give this ball to Tang Long, I'm begging you!"
Perhaps it was Agüero's earnest attitude, or perhaps even the chief referee was impressed by Tang Long's fantastic performance in this game;
He made an exception and gave a ball to Agüero, who then smoothly put the ball into Tang Long's hands.
"Hat-trick of assists, keep this ball!"
Tang Long thanked Agüero for the gift.
He knew Agüero must have had a deep reason for doing this, hoping for more assists from him in future matches since the European Golden Boot is the ultimate goal of this Argentine forward.
Thus, Tang Long held this mud-covered match ball, accepting Dilata's interview in the mixed interview zone.
Dilata is really busy, having to fly from London to Turin to commentate on this match;
After the match ended, she had to rush from the studio, in her high heels, to interview the match's best player, Tang Long.
However, with a microphone in hand, Dilata appeared spirited, her cheeks flushed, showing no signs of fatigue despite the heavy workload.
"Tang, congratulations on leading Manchester City to a victory over Juventus!"
"It was an epic comeback that once again showcased the strength of English football to the Italian football community!"
"Tang, before this match, you received a lot of criticism from the British media. Now that the match is over, do you have anything to say in response to them?"
Dilata deserves credit as a seasoned media professional; she knows how to create dramatic effects for the program.
Her first question was a direct hit to start the conversation!
She aimed to use this question to help Tang Long vent his anger.
At the same time, it also helped her vent her anger!
What's wrong with Tang Long hanging out with me?
Even if he hangs out with me every night, his level on the field is still way higher than all other players!
Seeing such a sharp question thrown out, other reporters on site focused intently on Tang Long.
Over a dozen microphones were almost shoved into his face.
Due to the distortion by The Sun, Tang Long faced intense public criticism in the United Kingdom!
Many media claimed that this Chinese player, being so young, neglects training, indulges in women, and is destined to fail!
Actually, this malicious misinterpretation wearing tinted glasses has never ceased since Tang Long transferred from Inter to Manchester City.
From being benched temporarily by Pellegrini in the first two matches due to adaptation issues;
To missing a match due to a back injury;
To recently meeting up with Dilata in London during his day off while his teammates were training hard –
Tang Long has been with Manchester City for just over two months, and yet these English media, like flies, kept pestering him, eager to exploit any slight injury to suck blood.
They're thrilled to see Tang Long decline; they just want to laugh at Manchester City~
Tang Long took a deep breath and slowly said:
"Every time you say I'm finished, every time I become your daddy!"
Tang Long blurted this out in Chinese.
So despite his firm tone, everyone present, including the questioner Dilata, didn't understand what he was saying.
Everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions.
Tang Long smiled, switched to English, and said:
"Be humble! As a professional player, one may inevitably receive criticism and direction from media friends, but I appreciate these nudges as they spur me to rectify my shortcomings, to bravely fight on the field and strive to advance, thus I sincerely thank those media who criticize me."
"Although I was named the best player of the match, this tough comeback wouldn't have been possible without the collective effort of my teammates; we all are the best players!"
The journalists present, equipped with all sorts of cameras, showed surprise.
They anticipated Tang Long would vent his anger and harshly criticize those media who kicked him when he was down on camera.
But unexpectedly, he behaved humbly, not only thanking them, but also emphasizing that their criticism act as a driving force for his progress.
Isn't this too humble?
Even Dilata, familiar with Tang Long, was taken aback.
Really? Is this truly what you think?
Considering your status in Manchester City and the club's support for you, you don't really need to be so modest.
But then again, Dilata pondered, the boy is almost 20 years old, no longer a child; displaying a more poised and mature attitude towards media is part of his growth.
...
Pellegrini, feeling incredibly joyful, along with captain Kompany, briefly spoke a few words at the post-match press conference before leaving.
Because they had to fly back to Manchester overnight from Turin.
He didn't want to share the joy of this victory with the Italian journalists on site.
He preferred to keep this joy inside, to slowly share it with those close to him upon returning to Manchester.
Meanwhile, the Juventus press conference seemed lengthy and tense.
Several times, Allegri was provoked by the reporters' questions and wanted to storm off!
Unexpectedly, the door of the Juventus press conference venue was blocked by several tall, big reporters, refusing to let Allegri leave!
"Allegri, do you live up to us? Do you live up to the media supporting Juventus?"
"Every day, I work overtime on reports for Juventus until 11 p.m. at night, and you present me with this pile of crap?"
"How should we write our post-match reports? A Champions League night in Turin? AC Milan possessing you?"
"Leading by three goals yet still being overturned; like this, you still aim for the top of the group? It's tough!"
"The group stage hasn't even finished, and Juventus's Champions League journey is already over, totally over!"
"Allegri, if you don't step down, Juventus might as well be disbanded right here!"