Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions

Originally, after being publicly scolded by Medel, Bonazzoli's mood had hit rock bottom.

After voicing this heartfelt word, the 18-year-old had tears welling up in his eyes.

Leno couldn't hold back anymore.

He strode forward, placing a hand on Bonazzoli's shoulder, forcefully pushing him back into his seat.

"Is it your place to speak here, kid? If you can't talk properly, just shut up!"

Bonazzoli was promoted from the youth team and had been playing under Leno for two years.

Leno had scolded and criticized him often in the youth team, so he had no psychological burden doing so.

Seeing Leno's lack of reaction, everyone stopped paying attention to him and instead focused their eyes on Tang Long.

Tang Long, in the eye of the storm, was calm at this moment.

He knew that Leno's decision not to let him play was correct.

With the transfer to Manchester City impending, neither Inter, Manchester City, nor he himself wanted any accidents.

Moreover, before coming to Georgia, Leno had already told him in advance that he wouldn't be playing.

What Leno did wasn't wrong, he was looking at the overall picture for the club—besides, as a head coach, he had no say in such big matters.

Although Tang Long was still technically under Inter's contract, he was practically already a Manchester City player.

He didn't need to make things difficult for Leno at this time.

"I respect the coach's decision," Tang Long said.

...

Barça's head coach Enrique was the first to walk out from the player tunnel, standing in his coaching area.

When he saw Tang Long still heading towards the substitutes, his last bit of worry gently disappeared, and a barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

It's settled!

"It seems Tang won't be playing this match." Enrique said to his assistant coach.

"Boss, I told you long ago not to worry. He's already with Manchester City, there's no way he would play for Inter at this time. It's an industry convention, an unwritten rule," the assistant coach laughed.

The presence of Tang Long was Enrique's only concern during pre-match preparations against Inter.

In this Inter team, only Tang Long could pose a threat to Barça's defense.

Careful planning ensured safety forever, and the cautious Enrique even arranged two sets of tactics before the match.

One for if Tang Long plays, and one for if he doesn't.

Now it seems I was overly cautious, worrying for nothing!

...

Meanwhile.

In England.

The heroes scattered from Inter were also paying attention to their former team's UEFA Super Cup match.

Many wanted to see just how strong Barça was.

Some wondered—if Tang played, and faced Barça, what would the result be? Would Inter have any hope of winning?

Everton goalkeeper Handanovic, in a high-rise apartment in Liverpool, was staring at the TV screen alone.

He didn't understand a word of English, and to him, the commentary sounded like gibberish.

But having played Serie A for half his life, Handa had no need to rely on commentary to analyze matches.

When he saw Tang Long still sitting on the bench, he shook his head, simply turned off the TV, "No chance, might as well sleep!" and went straight to bed.

Arsenal's Podolski, together with Tottenham's Guarin, were sitting together.

Both in London, they teamed up to watch the match at a bar.

The first half had Guarin beside himself with anger.

"What's with this play! If I and Tang were in midfield, it definitely wouldn't be like this, not even a passage of three consecutive passes, my poor old mate Medel, he's almost dead tired solo!"

"Bonazzoli's a waste," Guarin said indignantly, "not a single shot, he's just a dummy!"

He then said to Podolski, "If only you could go up and play forward!"

Podolski smiled faintly, "Tang is on the bench, there's no support for Bonazzoli, even if I were on the field it wouldn't help. Based on this situation, I'm conservative in estimating that we'll concede four. Just watch."

Norwich's Canary player Yuto Nagatomo, was watching the match and streaming it, interacting with fans from Japan.

"We're not playing well, especially in midfield, totally lost control. This has a lot to do with Tang's absence."

"I've seen questions about why Tang isn't playing, let me explain. In European football, when a player is about to transfer, generally he won't be fielded. If he gets injured, the transfer could fall through."

"Di Marco plays worse than me? Haha, he's only 18, I'm almost 30, there's an experience gap."

"Facing Tang in the Premier League in the future? I look forward to that day, and I'll definitely give him a big hug, he changed my fate at Inter."

Manchester City's Ranocchia had been busy all day.

After the morning training session in Manchester, he was busy settling his family and setting up the house, completely overwhelmed.

He even got a suggestion from the Manchester City fitness trainer to gain muscle, which made him quite anxious—there's only half a month before the Premier League starts. With such little time, even if I work like crazy, I probably won't gain much muscle.

Finally done with everything, he got home, checked his phone, and realized Inter was playing Barça in the UEFA Super Cup.

[Barça's possession game is invincible! Inter has zero shots in the first half and is being trampled!]

Ranocchia was taken aback, and the sense of responsibility as Inter's captain surged in his heart, quickly the clicking in…

And on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in New York.

Bernie had been rehearsing with the band all morning and finally had time to take a break and enjoy a bite for lunch.

Since coming to the United States, Bernie had immersed himself in the world of rock music, completely forgetting about football and that he was once a goalkeeper.

Besides, compared to Italy, the United States is a desert when it comes to football.

There's basketball, baseball, and American football here. Football is very rare; Bernie hadn't seen any.

"Bernie, tell us about playing football in Italy. Is football fun? I've never played," drummer Johnson asked, chewing on a burger.

"Oh, there's nothing much to tell. I would've forgotten I even played if you didn't bring it up," Bernie chuckled, "I'll just tell you one thing: your buddy Bernie played football with his hands, it's a bit different."

"Playing with hands? Don't lie, that's basketball. Isn't football played with feet?"

"Some use hands, some use feet, but on the field of 11 players, 10 use their feet, only the most skilled can use hands, got it?" Bernie began spinning a tale.

Johnson was initially baffled, then nodded, seemingly half-understanding.

"I get it now, playing with hands, no wonder your grip strength is so strong. In two months, you've snapped the strings of the guitar a dozen times. The guitar you're using now is the most expensive one in our band, a Torres, worth several grand in USD, Bernie, better be careful!"

Bernie grabbed a handful of fries from the table and shoved it into Johnson's mouth, "Eat your fries, no one will think you're mute if you don't talk."

After a burst of laughter between the two, something suddenly clicked in Bernie's mind.

Spanish guitar…

Spain!

Barça won the Champions League, they should have a UEFA Super Cup match, and the opponent must be Inter.

He opened his phone to search, and they were playing, halftime score 0-2.

Bernie wiped his hands on his clothes and said to everyone, "I need to go first; you guys take your time!"

"Hey, there's a show tomorrow morning, weren't we going to continue rehearsing in the afternoon? Where are you going?" everyone was stunned.

"I have more important things to do, sorry, sorry!"

...

In the second half, Barça continued to firmly control the pace.

The already outrageous possession rate in the first half continued to climb, reaching 77% by around the 60th minute of the second half!

In terms of shots, Barça had 16 attempts, with 9 on target.

On Inter's side, there was only a ridiculous long-shot from Bonazzoli and a header over the bar from Santon.

Two minutes later, Barça scored again!

It was the familiar bottom line cut-back.

This time, the passer was Messi, and the shooter was Suarez, who ran skillfully, made a sudden stop to shake off Juan, and then blasted it into the net.

3-0!

The International Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia, erupted in cheers!

Barça fans rejoiced, singing and dancing.

It's secured!

Even the traveling Inter fans no longer believed they could turn the game around at this point.

Dazed, wooden, helpless, angry, these emotions were conveyed to viewers around the world through the intentional close-ups by the live director.

"Inter fans are heartbroken, but what can they do?"

"From how the game looks, not to mention a comeback, even getting a chance to shoot is scarce."

"Will this turn into a massacre?"

A burst of chaotic noise began to spread among the Inter fans.

They started chanting Tang Long's name.

"Leno out!"

"Tang, get on the field!"

"We need you!"

"We want to see Tang Long play!"

It started with just a few people.

A few minutes later, the calls for Tang Long spread like an epidemic, roaring from the throats of over 20,000 Inter fans.

"Tang!"

"Where are you!"

Many fans called out Tang Long's name with tears in their eyes.

Tang Long sat on the bench, his heart filled with complex emotions.

He knew the fans' expectations of him.

However, some things are often not as simple as fans think.

In the 75th minute, Barça extended their lead to 4-0!

Medel, severely exhausted, with his eyes dry, misplayed a pass, sending a simple direct pass straight to Rakitic's feet.

The Croatian midfielder showed no mercy, first using his body to shield the ball, pushing away his national team junior Kovacic, then turned to make a lateral pass, sending the ball to Raphinha's feet.

Though Barça played possession football, when it came to tearing apart Inter's defense with long passes, they did not hesitate!

Raphinha returned the ball to Messi, who then dribbled past three men from the seam of the penalty area and scored with a low shot to the near corner.

At this moment.

The Barça fans stood up in unison to cheer!

Chanting Messi's name.

Meanwhile, Inter fans were as quiet as students in a library.

They no longer called out Tang Long's name.

They had to accept the fact of a crushing defeat.

...

Leno became a bit anxious!

His first official match leading Inter, and they were slaughtered by Barça.

How am I supposed to lead the team in the future?

His eyes constantly glanced at Tang Long, wanting to speak but stopping.

Not hoping for a comeback, but to prevent things from getting worse, with Medel completely exhausted, someone who can control the midfield must come on.

Tang Long, along with the substitute players, warmed up in groups of three on the sidelines as usual.

At this moment, for the first time in the match, the camera turned to Tang Long!

When his image appeared on the stadium screen, the previously silent Inter fans erupted in noise again!

"Tung!!!"

Tang Long turned his head to look.

He saw countless fans raising their No. 99 jerseys!

And he saw banners bidding him farewell.

[Thank you, Tang, for everything you've done for Inter. You will always be a hero to Inter!]

Tang Long was suddenly moved in his heart.

He walked over and waved to the fans.

This simple gesture ignited the passion of the Inter fans even more!

Rumble——

Tens of thousands of Inter fans stood up, jumping for Tang Long!

The massive roar surprised even the Barça players in possession of the ball.

They curiously looked at the stands, unsure of what had happened.

Even the Camp Nou, which can accommodate nearly 100,000 people, had never experienced such a loud roar before.

Tang Long walked up to Leno.

The two exchanged a look.

"Give me ten minutes!" "Ten minutes for you!"

They both spoke almost simultaneously.

Both were startled, then smiled.

...

In the 81st minute.

Tang Long came on as a substitute, replacing Medel!

"Hurry, it's the last match..." Medel hugged Tang Long with red eyes.

As Tang Long stepped on the UEFA Super Cup pitch, the sense of honor as an Inter player surged in his heart once again!