Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions

Chapter 546 - 372: Bonazzoli Brings His Mom to Manchester for Treatment, Tang Long Gifts a Mysterious Present!

On a day in early February, in the biting cold wind, Tang Long sat in the waiting hall of Manchester International Airport, wrapped in a thick scarf.

Despite wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf, and sitting in a corner trying to conceal himself, some people still recognized him and came over for autographs and photos.

However, Tang Long politely declined all of them.

He didn’t want to be the center of attention at this moment.

Today, he had to deal with some personal matters; he was at the airport waiting for the arrival of his former roommate, Inter Milan striker Bonazzoli.

The crowd surged through the exit.

Finally, Tang Long saw Bonazzoli.

With his sturdy build and typical striker’s height of 1.85 meters, Bonazzoli stood out in the crowd.

He also saw Tang Long and waved at him from afar.

In contrast to the energetic Bonazzoli, the woman sitting in the wheelchair he was pushing had sparse hair, a pale face, and curled up in the wheelchair, looking sickly.

This was Bonazzoli’s mother.

Despite her hair being half white and sparse, she meticulously braided it into a long plait and laid it across her chest, maintaining her graceful demeanor even in illness.

"Hello, Tang, my son has mentioned you many times. It’s nice to finally meet you."

Tang Long placed the bouquet he held into Bonazzoli’s mother’s hands and exchanged a cheek-to-cheek greeting with her.

Then the three of them got into a business car and headed to Manchester Central Hospital.

Bonazzoli’s mother’s leg condition had been deteriorating, making her unable to care for herself, relying on a wheelchair for mobility.

Bonazzoli was very anxious; over the past few months, he had traveled through major cities such as Rome, Turin, and Bologna, searching for renowned doctors in Italy, but the treatment had been less than ideal.

One day, Bonazzoli talked about this matter on the phone with Tang Long.

After consulting Gracie, Tang Long suggested moving Bonazzoli’s mother to Manchester Central Hospital for treatment and arranged through Gracie to prepare a single room in advance.

Here is the most renowned orthopedic center in all of Europe, with extensive experience in treating leg conditions for the elderly.

Therefore, Bonazzoli specifically took two days off from the team, packed his luggage, and brought his mother to Manchester.

After accompanying her through the admission procedures, the two strolled in the park below the hospital, finding a bench by the lake to sit on.

Bonazzoli surprisingly pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and began to smoke on his own.

"When did you learn to smoke?" Tang Long, watching Bonazzoli’s somewhat inexperienced smoking actions, was quite surprised.

"I occasionally smoke one when I’m in a bad mood, but don’t worry, I never inhale," Bonazzoli managed a smile.

Today, the sunshine on the British Isles was rare and genial.

The bare branches of the plane trees could hardly block any sunlight.

The two squinted under the sunlight.

Staring at the trees standing firm against the cold wind in the park, Tang Long’s thoughts drifted back to the days at Inter Milan.

In those days, the two were young and reckless, filled with infinite dreams about the future, while now they were each on different paths, facing different challenges.

As they chatted, both being professional players and having the same agent Ronaldo, they inevitably talked about soccer.

After Icardi left Inter Milan, Bonazzoli, the young 18-year-old striker, had become an important developmental player for Inter Milan and was the starting center forward this season.

The stats were decent.

Halfway through the season, he had scored 9 league goals and had 2 goals in the Champions League group matches, totaling into double digits.

Tang Long congratulated Bonazzoli on his performance and mentioned about another member of their trio at Inter Milan, Di Marco, asking how he was doing.

Mentioning Di Marco brought Bonazzoli’s spirits up;

The worry from arranging his mother’s admission faded from his face.

"Di Marco is amazing! Can you imagine he joined the national team as a starter before I did?"

"Conte frequently praises him in front of the media, and if things go well, he will definitely play in this year’s European Cup!"

"I also need to step up," Bonazzoli said with determination, "If I can team up with Di Marco in the national team, that would be wonderful; I really love his curveball crosses."

They then switched topics to the Champions League.

It’s an unavoidable topic!

Because after both Manchester City and Inter advanced from the group stages, they ended up facing each other in the first round of the knockout stage.

"Hey, you know, Tang, when we heard that Inter drew Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16, I was first shocked but then actually felt quite happy."

"How so?" Tang Long leaned on the park bench, arms crossed behind his head, watching unknown birds hopping among the branches.

"Think about it, facing Manchester City right in the first knockout stage is frightening, right? But we should blame our group stage second-place finish, while you were first."

"Initially, I was also surprised," Tang Long admitted, "I had wondered when I might face my old team, but I never expected it would be so soon."

Bonazzoli continued, "After the shock, I felt a bit excited, imagining what it would be like to actually compete against you on the field someday. It wasn’t something I could picture!"

Tang Long replied with a laugh, "Well, you should ask Gualin, Podolski, Nagatomo, and Shaqiri— they’re experienced."

Not backing down, Bonazzoli immediately called Gualin.

He put it on speaker.

"Hey, Gualin, it’s Bonazzoli. Inter’s playing Manchester City in the first round of the Champions League knockout. How should we counter him? Any advice?"

"I faced Tang twice. My advice? Break him in the first minute of the game, get him stretchered off."

"But wouldn’t that earn me a red card and we’d be 10 against 11?"

"Without Tang on the field, 10 against 11, Inter still has a chance; with him on, 11 against 11, zero chances!"

Bonazzoli hung up with a laugh and chatted with Tang Long about the current state of Inter Milan.

After last season’s glorious double trophy achievement.

With the roster disassembled and severe personnel losses, Inter Milan was experiencing a drastic decline this season!

Due to last season’s exceptional performance of Serie A teams in European competitions, especially Inter Milan’s unexpected victory in the UEFA Europa League, the Serie A’s European score increased, surpassing Ligue 1, earning 4 Champions League spots.

But this season in the league, Inter struggled greatly, standing only at 7th after 21 rounds, 8 points away from the Champions League qualification zone.

Many believed Inter’s chance of reaching the Champions League was slim, especially as rivals Florence and Lazio actively recruited in the winter, while cash-strapped Inter made no signings.

"Remember Leno? He’s troubled about his position, and I’m sure he highly values the Champions League knockout against Manchester City. If he can reach the Champions League semifinals, achieving a historical breakthrough, he might stay; otherwise, he’s certain to go."

"This season’s Serie A champion is likely Juventus again. Sigh, after you left, Tang, we just can’t beat Juventus anymore. But thankfully, you thrashed them twice in the Champions League, I watched those group match highlights from start to finish, it was thrilling and felt like revenge for us from Inter!"

Bonazzoli eagerly predicted this season’s Champions League winner to Tang Long.

He believes it will come from among three teams.

"Real Madrid, Barça, Manchester City, trust me, one of these will win the Champions League."

"You forgot Bayern; they’re very strong," Tang Long said.

"I don’t favor Bayern; they lost to Barça last season and to Real Madrid the season before; they can’t get past La Liga teams, haha, Guardiola’s just alright after leaving Barça!"

"What about Inter? Don’t you guys want to win the Champions League?" Tang Long teased.

Bonazzoli was drinking water and spat it out directly.

"I think our chances of relegation are higher than winning the Champions League."

They chatted a while longer, then Tang Long pulled out a box from his backpack.

"I originally planned to give this to you after the two rounds against Inter in the Champions League, but seeing you’re so lacking in confidence, I’ll give it to you early. When you go back, take a good look when you have time, hope it helps."

Bonazzoli shook the box curiously, asking what it was.

Tang Long stood up, patted his shoulder.

"It’s the idol every striker cannot bypass."