Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions-Chapter 633 - 438: Seven New Recruits Make Their Debut! Tang Long’s Words Shock Everyone!

Chapter 633: Chapter 438: Seven New Recruits Make Their Debut! Tang Long’s Words Shock Everyone!
Manchester City held a signing ceremony for seven new recruits at an official press conference.
Stones, Sane, Mkhitaryan, Diego, Bonazzoli, Bravo, Robertson.
The seven wore brand new Manchester City jerseys, lined up in a row, standing prominently at the center stage.
Among them, Mkhitaryan, Diego, and Bravo, slightly older, all players who have won important championships, looked relaxed, occasionally waving and posing for their photographers;
Stones, Sane, Bonazzoli, and Robertson, the younger ones, seemed a bit nervous, their smiles rather awkward.
The funniest one was 22-year-old Robertson.
This Scottish lad felt that joining Manchester City was like his ancestors were blessing him from above!
Last season he was playing in the Championship, and this season he’s playing in the Premier League with Manchester City, the process felt like a dream;
Even at the signing ceremony, he couldn’t quite figure out why Guardiola would take a fancy to him.
Robertson had never seen such big shots among his Manchester City teammates on stage and offstage, he was extremely shy, standing on the edge of the corner, deliberately took a step back, nestled next to Bravo;
He looked down at his toes, not knowing where to put his hands.
Everyone else had their hands behind their backs, head up and chest out, he alone had his hands crossed over his crotch, his nervousness explicitly written on his face.
After the press officer’s introduction, the ers started asking questions.
To no one’s surprise, Dilata, deputy director of the Sky Sports Manchester Branch, was the first to get the microphone.
Looking at the green Robertson, she was reminded of Tang Long, who had emerged at Inter back in the day, so she decided to tease this adorable young man a little to help him relax.
"Robertson, tell me, where are you right now?" Dilata stood up and looked at Robertson.
Standing at 172 cm, plus her high heels, her long legs made her stature even more imposing, drawing everyone’s attention toward her.
Robertson was stunned, looking at this tall big sister who was about his height, a wave of panic struck him, thinking:
"What kind of question is this, where am I? Aren’t I at a press conference?"
He stuttered: "Uh... I’m at the press conference."
"Is that so? Why do I feel like you’re on the pitch," Dilata smiled, her eyes gleaming as she stared at Robertson, "Your posture looks like you’re in a defensive wall!"
The room went silent for a moment.
Three seconds later, laughter erupted!
Robertson on stage was bewildered by the sudden laughter, his face filled with confusion, not knowing what was going on;
Next to him, Bravo, trying to suppress his laughter, bent over and patted Robertson’s hand, then laughed and explained, "This beautiful lady is right, Robertson is a full-back, if the opponent takes a free kick, he’d be part of the defensive wall!"
Robertson looked down at his hands covering his crotch, suddenly realizing, and quickly separated his hands, placing them behind his back, straightened his back, and even amused himself.
Then, Dilata went on to ask each person to describe their characteristics in one sentence.
Stones nodded and said: "My strength is aerial duels, but I like to control the ball, I’m a ball-playing center-back, I prefer ground play."
Sane lifted his chin: "Speed and dribbling! My speed is very quick, breaking through on the wings is my specialty, I once set a Bundesliga record for fastest movement!"
Mkhitaryan, with a composed face: "Passing, through balls, then scoring."
Diego said calmly: "As a midfielder, I can play many positions. Since my La Masia days, I have been playing possession football. This is my fifth year working for Mr. Guardiola, and I’m honored to continue working with him at Manchester City."
Bonazzoli modestly said: "The task of a striker is to score goals, but when I need to be a target man, I also hope to draw fire for my teammates."
Bravo chuckled: "My characteristic is I can dribble past players in the box, haha, just kidding!"
Robertson spoke softly: "My former teammates said I can run a lot on the wing, and... the coach said my assists are alright, and I’m quite fast at tracking back."
Having long been a frontline journalist, Dilata, with just a few words from the seven new recruits, through what they said and their demeanor, she gained a rough understanding of each person’s character traits.
With a slight nod, her gaze lightly swept across the audience, finally fixing on Tang Long, locking in like a predator, abruptly challenging:
"Tang, Bonazzoli is your old teammate from Inter, and rumors abound that he came to Manchester City at your strong request to Guardiola. Is that true?"
This casual sentence was like dropping a bombshell into a calm lake.
Originally those who were bowed down, fingers tapping away furiously on the laptop keyboards, live-blogging the press conference, suddenly jolted upright, eyes all turned sharply toward Tang Long!
The gaze was filled with inquiry and excitement, as if in the next moment some major scoop would be uncovered.
The question was indeed sharp!
As everyone knows, Tang Long’s performance last season at Manchester City was simply scorching, advancing triumphantly, his status in the team rising steadily.
Just taking media s for example, ever since Toure left the team, Tang Long has, step by step, steadfastly risen from fourth captain to third captain, now just behind Kompany and Agüero.
Moreover, with the new season about to kick off, the s of scout Raymond observing Tang Long in every match last season kept popping out like popcorn.
Thus, as soon as Dilata spoke, everyone naturally started speculating—
Could it be that Tang Long has already gotten involved in the team’s transfer affairs, about to become the ultimate authority within Manchester City!
Captain Kompany slightly furrowed his brow, his gaze flickered with concern, secretly glancing at Tang Long.
He’s not even 20 yet, can he handle such a tricky question?
Looking at Guardiola, a light, carefree smile still hung on his face, yet his eyes were like hooks, firmly glued to Tang Long, just waiting to see how he’d respond.
On stage, Bonazzoli’s face turned red, fine beads of sweat unconsciously formed on his palms,
He still thought up till now, that the reason Guardiola took a liking to him must have been due to Tang Long’s behind-the-scenes support, speaking good words on his behalf!
He always wondered, convinced that Tang Long had spoken plenty of good words to Guardiola, giving him this chance to step through Manchester City’s doors;
Not knowing at all that being noticed by Manchester City was all due to Guardiola and Raymond’s repeated discussions and evaluations, genuinely attracted by his own solid skills.
Tang Long’s favor is there, but it’s just icing on the cake, hardly a critical factor.
Tang Long and Ranocchia are sitting in the front row, gesturing all sorts of funny and weird signs towards Bonazzoli, the kind that only Italians can appreciate, trying to make him laugh on stage.
Suddenly, Dilata asked him a question, leaving Tang Long a bit confused.
He slowly turned his head, looked at Dilata, and was met with eyes full of provocation and hidden resentment, as if she wanted to eat him alive.
Tang Long knew very well the tricks of this female er; he was quite familiar with them.
She was always pondering how to pry some explosive news out of players’ mouths, or else, how to catch eyeballs and fill pages?
But why did Dilata ask him this question?
Was she sincerely trying to pick on him?
Yet Tang Long was puzzled, why was she targeting him today?
Was she really picking on him?
Little did he know, just a few days ago at home, the two were having a great time, with Tang Long pinning Dilata onto the kitchen island. Suddenly, Guardiola stormed to the doorstep just as things were heating up, and Tang Long waved her away without hesitation.
This attitude infuriated Dilata, keeping her boiling with anger till now, just wanting to take a subtle jab at him in front of everyone to regain some face.
After pondering for two seconds, Tang Long realized that to escape unscathed from this question, he had to deflect the attention onto Bonazzoli.
Thinking "Sorry, buddy," Tang Long cleared his throat and loudly exclaimed, "That’s right, Bonazzoli coming to Manchester City was at my strong insistence!"
As soon as he said this, Guardiola frowned, and the venue instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked at each other, the atmosphere awkward enough to cut with a knife.
Even Dilata was stunned; she thought that with Tang Long’s cunning, he would somehow skillfully navigate and smooth over the situation, but she never expected him to speak so straightforwardly without a hint of hesitation.
Suddenly, she regretted deeply, silently cursing why she had set this kid up.
But Tang Long quickly changed his tone, not giving everyone much time to think, and said in a half-joking manner:
"Because Bonazzoli personally told me over the phone that he can score 50 goals a season, so when I relayed his words to Mr. Guardiola, he immediately agreed!"
Hearing this, Bonazzoli on stage jumped up in anxiety!
"I didn’t say that, Tang, don’t talk nonsense, when did I say I would win the European Golden Boot!"
Tang Long unhurriedly pointed at Ranocchia: "Ranocchia heard it too, if you don’t believe me, ask him."
Ranocchia touched his head, then started laughing: "Ah, well... hahahahahaha!"
Everyone finally realized they were joking and also laughed along with Ranocchia.
The room was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
The one laughing the hardest was Guardiola!
He knew Tang Long was just talking nonsense.
Tang Long had never mentioned Bonazzoli winning the European Golden Boot to him.
After all, everyone knew Bonazzoli’s capabilities, he didn’t have what it takes to contend for the European Golden Boot!
Guardiola laughed while thinking to himself, "This kid is young, yet he’s showing such incredible on-the-spot adaptability, really smart! Just like my impression of a genius player, somewhat reminiscent of myself back in the day!"
Seeing Tang Long smoothly handle this tricky situation with a humorous joke, Dilata let out a long sigh and pursed her lips, looking at Tang Long with a half-smile;
Her look was half relief that nothing went wrong, and the other half still carried a hint of unresolved resentment.
Her question took up too much time, so she handed the microphone back to the press officer, and other journalists began to ask questions.
Due to the previous laughter during the press conference, the tone was set;
The subsequent Q&A session was filled with laughter too!
The press conference was very joyful, Guardiola applauded and laughed several times.
However, one person kept a stern face throughout.
Bonazzoli to win the European Golden Boot?
The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it seriously.
Agüero sat in the middle, silent all along.
Last season, he scored 37 goals in the league, his state was explosive, even surpassing Messi and C Luo!
Although he won the Premier League Golden Boot, he couldn’t rival Suarez and Eevee, not winning the European Golden Boot.
This year, the 28-year-old Argentinian forward was at the best age for a striker.
He planned to give it all this season, aiming to connect more with Tang Long and eat up his assists, striving to win a European Golden Boot, achieving the ultimate pursuit of personal glory for a striker!
However, to his surprise, in the new season Guardiola announced to the team abandoning last season’s Pellegrini’s 4231 formation to play 433!
With this, two more forwards would appear next to Agüero.
Undoubtedly, it would take away his share of goals.
What touched Agüero even more was Tang Long’s position moving from a central midfielder to left-wing!
Being closer to the goal, facing opportunities to pass or shoot, would Tang Long pass to him?
That was uncertain!
After all, Tang Long also had strong goal-scoring ability, otherwise, as a midfielder, how could he have scored 18 league goals?
Agüero glanced at Tang Long, then at Bonazzoli on stage, and thought about this season where Sane, Sterling, and even Mkhitaryan might frequently appear on the front line, a sense of inexplicable anxiety surged in his heart...