4:50 a.m. China time, inside the LeSports studio.
The commentator Liu Teng yawned and rubbed his eyes.
He's an Inter fan himself, and the first half commentary drained him physically and mentally, his dark circles visibly larger.
If he were watching at home, Liu Teng would've cursed and turned off the TV by now!
What kind of ridiculous play was that!
But to earn a living, he had to suppress his disgust and return to the commentary desk.
"I believe all of us watching at home had a terrible first half like me.
It's hard to imagine, this is not the Inter we know!
But the match goes on, and after reviewing the first half during the break, to turn this around, we have to take Gualin off!"
Liu Teng's suggestion was met with approval from most in the broadcast room.
-[Well said! How many times did Gualin send the ball flying in the first half!]
-[Gualin seems to have gotten too confident, shooting as soon as he's 35 meters from goal!]
-[Oh my, he dares to shoot from 40 meters out, isn't that madness!]
-[Look at how frustrated Palacio is, he's almost hopping mad! The midfield only knows how to shoot from distance; no one's sending through balls to him.]
-[Through ball? Who's going to deliver it? Sneijder has that ability, but he's gone!]
The broadcast switches to the field.
Since Gualin was Inter's strongest player on the field, with broad shoulders, Liu Teng keenly noticed his absence!
"My fellow viewers, ha ha, I called it, didn't I? Mancini made adjustments during the break, and Gualin went off for a drink!
Let me see who's coming on; Inter's bench has many players with delicate skills who can deliver penetrating through balls, like Alvarez."
But when Liu Teng saw a young player with black hair and yellow skin standing in Gualin's position,
he was taken aback!
"Who's this number 99 guy? I don't recognize him."
"Wait a second," Liu Teng paused, a hint of delight flashed in his eyes, his whole body shook!
"I think I know this guy; isn't he that... ah—"
Ju!
The second half begins!
Amidst the cheering at Meazza Stadium, Inter launched a wave of attack!
The Italian defender Ranocchia exploited his advantage in ball distribution.
He's born as a forward in the youth team, with a strong sense of moving forward with the ball!
"Pass it!"
Ranocchia found a gap between the opponent's midfielder and forward, and with a couple of strides, he brought the ball near mid-circle before the opponent's encirclement closed in on him, gently nudging the ball with his toe to Kovacic.
This 20-year-old Croatian midfielder, having played all matches as a main player in the recently concluded 2014 World Cup, had a fresh new aura about him!
Confidence and elegance were reflected in his dribbling dance.
With a quick observation, he used a feint followed by a cut to pass a Genoa midfielder!
Meanwhile, as the ball advanced, Inter's three lines pressed forward, creating an encirclement around Genoa's penalty area.
"Watch my position!"
Argentinian forward Palacio quickly pushed forward, attempting to receive an offside-breaking pass from Kovacic.
However, the Croatian midfielder felt the through ball was too simple and opted to continue the pass, stretching the opponent's defensive width a bit.
Pow!
The ball was passed to Tang Long, 10 meters on the right!
As the ball rolled towards him on the pitch, Tang Long's nerves immediately tensed up.
This was his first touch of the ball all game!
Almost in a flash, a familiar brainwave flickered in Tang Long's mind:
"Genoa's defensive formation has been stretched, our right wingback is overlapping! A threatening chance is about to arise!"
In Tang Long's mental heatmap, the little blue dot representing Inter's right wingback Yuto Nagatomo was rapidly approaching, sparkling with light.
Pow!
Tang Long didn't dare to hesitate, opting not to trap the ball and strategize.
Back to goal, without even looking, he nudged the ball forward with the outside of his foot, then immediately started moving forward!
Unfortunately!
The ball didn't find Yuto Nagatomo, it slowly rolled out of bounds.
Tang Long stopped after a few steps and looked back.
Yuto Nagatomo was panting heavily with sweat on his head.
He didn't catch up.
It turned out, Yuto Nagatomo was a bit slow to start, coupled with his lack of absolute speed, so he didn't catch up to the ball.
But more importantly, the Japanese wingback hadn't anticipated Tang Long would pass ball without stopping to control it!
He thought Tang Long hadn't seen him, as Tang Long received the ball facing away from his running path.
Playing on the sidelines, Yuto Nagatomo knew the drill, so he nodded at Tang Long twice, indicating it was his own mistake.
But Palacio in the middle wasn't pleased.
"What's going on, can't even control a simple ball!"
Forward Palacio shrugged his hands at Tang Long, thinking it was Tang Long's poor reception that led the ball out of play.
"You could've made a direct pass, why give it to some rookie from the youth team?"
As if that wasn't enough, Palacio also snapped at Kovacic.
The stands closest to Tang Long on that side of the field showered him with boos!
"Who's this guy, can he even play?
To mishandle such a simple ball, isn't it ridiculous!
What a missed opportunity, young players really lack experience!
Is this the guy who subbed in for Gualin, and yet he's playing midfield, do we not have anyone better at Inter!"
"Xu—Xu—"
For Tang Long's first touch as an Inter player,
he was not met with applause and cheers.
It was all boos!
But Tang Long wasn't disheartened; instead, he felt a boost of confidence.
He knew his idea wasn't wrong.
The problem was Yuto Nagatomo wasn't committed enough or fast enough in his overlap.
"It seems the pace of Serie A is nothing extraordinary; no matter how fast it is, it can't be faster than the AI analysis in my mind!"
With that thought, Tang Long felt more assured.
He was searching for the next opportunity.
Maybe next time, he'd slow down a bit, allowing his teammates to catch up to his thought process for better results.
The game continued.
Inter, trailing 0-1, continued a high-pressure assault on Genoa's half.
Bang bang bang—
Bang bang bang—
The sound of passing echoed across the field.
However, seemingly impacted by the "mistake" of his last pass, his teammates rarely passed to Tang Long.
Some passes visibly went around him.
This clearly demonstrated a lack of faith in Tang Long's abilities.
In a flash, it was 80 minutes into the game.
Inter was still trailing!
Though they've been besieging Genoa in their half, the final pass was always missing the mark.
Couldn't penetrate the box, couldn't find the forwards!
Inter's midfielders were playing long shots more frequently.
Coach Mancini and Inter fans were anxious.
If this goes on, they might lose in front of 60,000 home fans!
Suddenly, a familiar face appeared on the broadcast—
Dutch midfielder Sneijder!
In casual attire, he was sitting in the VIP box at the top section of the stands, discussing the game with friends beside him.
Even through the large floor-to-ceiling glass, one could clearly see Sneijder's furrowed brow—he too was anxious about Inter's current situation!
The fans at Meazza saw Sneijder's image on the large screens at the east and west corners of the stadium.
A burst of exclamations erupted!
Ah—
"Sneijder! It's Sneijder!
Sneijder has returned, he's back at Meazza!
God, please bring Sneijder back, he's eternally our master of passing!
If he were on the field, he would've delivered at least three assists!
Sneijder, we want Sneijder!
Sneijder, please come back soon!"