Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions

Tang Long has played for Inter Milan for less than a year, but if we talk about who knows Tang Long the best within the entire Inter Milan team, there are two people.

Apart from his mentor Chiwo, there is also his then-teammate Yuto Nagatomo.

Chiwo needs no further introduction, as the coach who promoted Tang Long from the youth team to the first team, Chiwo is very familiar with Tang Long's technical characteristics and physical qualities, possessing a lot of firsthand information unknown to others, and even crafted special training reports for him.

As for Yuto Nagatomo, for a long period, he was the only Asian player in the Inter team;

He always maintained a humble and low-profile attitude, playing quietly in the team.

When Tang Long arrived at Inter Milan, Yuto Nagatomo initially looked down on him, thinking he was just someone brought in by a Chinese sponsor connection;

But soon after, Tang Long's skills rapidly soared, continuously conquering and capturing, making the Japanese full-back view him in a new light!

There was a period when Tang Long, after attracting defenders in the midfield, would play through balls into the opponent's gaps, allowing Yuto Nagatomo to sprint forward. This tactic saved this player's career at Inter Milan, helping him regain his position as the starting full-back for a while.

Admiration for strength – a deeply ingrained national characteristic among Japanese, was vividly displayed in Yuto Nagatomo.

Returning to the national team during international match days, Yuto Nagatomo was one of the older brothers in the team, often scolding younger players with an air of superiority and making them polish his shoes and wash his jerseys;

But once back at Inter Milan Club, whether in training or matches, he would often bow respectfully to Tang Long, mouthing "Arigato"!

After the matches, Yuto Nagatomo would secretly study Tang Long's technical characteristics, attempting to find some short-term key to improving his own skills.

However, limited by his own talents, he found that no matter how hard he trained, he could never reach even thirty percent of Tang Long's level.

Nevertheless, it was precisely this detailed and serious analysis that gave Yuto Nagatomo a comprehensive understanding of Tang Long's playing style!

Whether Tang Long was playing as a defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, or forward, Yuto Nagatomo gained detailed insights into his running patterns, passing habits, and football thinking.

Now, Yuto Nagatomo has left Inter Milan, and Tang Long can no longer help him; without any value to exploit, he has become a Premier League opponent instead.

During the pre-match press conference, when a reporter asked if, as Tang Long's former teammate at Inter, the coaching staff of your team had inquired about Tang Long's individual technical characteristics, and if you had given suggestions to the coaching staff?

Yuto Nagatomo answered very honestly, "Yes, I reported everything I know about Tang Long truthfully to the Norwich coaching staff."

"The reason Norwich has managed to stay mid-table in the Premier League this season is partly because we have managed to take points from strong teams. Coming to the Etihad for this match, we have the same ambition!"

Yuto Nagatomo's words were not without truth!

The overall worth of Norwich players is not high, with the entire team totaling only 140 million British Pounds;

And with a Transfermarkt value of 25 million euros, Yuto Nagatomo ranks first in the team.

The reason they remain ninth in the Premier League after 11 rounds is crucially due to grabbing points from weaker teams and managing to snatch points from stronger teams!

They once narrowly defeated Tottenham 1-0 away and held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at home.

This benefit from their solid defense, as they rank ninth in the Premier League, but their goals conceded are only the sixth lowest, even fewer than Arsenal's.

Clearly related to their head coach, the Scottish Alex Neil's coaching style.

This young Premier League head coach, just 34 years old, had once played for two years at Serie B side Barry during his playing days.

After becoming a coach, he brought the Italian football emphasis on defense to the Premier League stage, emphasizing the art of chain defense with his players.

So after the match started, Norwich played very cautiously.

The distance between the lines of players was kept very tight, and they never pressed Manchester City's defensive players beyond the midfield.

Initially, Manchester City players thought this was just standard procedure where Norwich voluntarily adopted a low posture;

Not just Norwich, but many Premier League teams, including some strong ones, would retract into defense at the start when coming to Manchester City's home ground, wary of City's three-pronged attack opening burst.

After all, Manchester City's level of possession and control is top-notch in the Premier League, with potent attacking power, as Agüero, Bony, Tang Long, and others are all among the top scorers.

However, after playing for 30 minutes, the players noticed Norwich showed no sign of pressing forward.

This was quite peculiar!

Because in football matches, it's emphasized as a game of tit-for-tat.

If the strengths of both sides are close, it often leads to one side attacking for a period and the other defending for a period;

If one side defends for a period, the other side attacks for a period, with possession constantly changing hands.

If there is a large disparity in strength, then such exchanges become very rare.

But Norwich not converting at all, this was the first time Manchester City players saw this all season.

They played in a traditional Serie A 3-5-2 formation, but neither of the wing-backs, whether Yuto Nagatomo on the right or Martin on the left, had any intention of pushing forward, obediently retracted into the rear, turning the three-man defense into five defenders.