novelraw Chapter 900 - 621: The 62-Year-Old Sugar-Coated Cannonball Duo Returns! Six Goals and Four Assists in a Single Match!
Chapter 900 - 621: The 62-Year-Old Sugar-Coated Cannonball Duo Returns! Six Goals and Four Assists in a Single Match!
Icardi, during his playing career, once had a brief nickname: "Juventus Killer!"
On January 6, 2013, at that time Tang Long had not yet appeared in Inter First Team, and Icardi was still playing for Samp.
In that 19th round of the Serie A, Samp faced Juventus, and Icardi scored twice, helping the team to a 2-1 comeback victory!
It was this match that caught Inter's attention, and shortly thereafter, they brought him into their fold.
After joining Inter, although Inter's performance was quite unsatisfactory for a time and they mostly lost against Juventus;
But every time facing Juventus, Icardi seemed like he was on medication, always delivering an excellent performance, making Juventus's defense shaky.
At this moment, in the first Serie A match of August 2025, even though it's against Palermo, the goalkeeper standing in front of the goal is also an old acquaintance of Icardi.
He looks at Buffon standing in front of the goal, and in an instant, memories of facing Juventus flood in like a tide.
"I can keep scoring against Juventus, let alone a small Palermo? Buffon, get ready to fetch the ball from the net!"
His figure is like a crane, coming and going like the wind.
The coordination between masters always reaches a tacit understanding in a split second.
Icardi's serpentine run appears unremarkable, only weaving "zigzag" between two Palermo defenders, but it precisely hits the Achilles' heel of this Sicilian team—the slow turn of their defense!
Mkhitaryan is drawing attention on the left, while Tang Long is holding the ball in the middle;
These two alone occupy 80% of Palermo's defensive efforts, leaving no energy to focus on the world-class running of Icardi!
In the final step, Icardi shifted in place and suddenly ran the opposite direction!
Tang Long's lobbed through ball arrived on cue!
"Keep up with him!"
The seasoned Buffon had already seen the trick, but the two center-backs in front of him were just too slow, their return was like a battleship turning around;
With just this counter-movement, Icardi instantly opened up a two-body lead!
"Mauro, finish him!"
Tang Long's shout, carried by the night wind of Meazza Stadium, along with the passed ball, reached the sprinting Icardi's ears.
In that moment, the Argentine forward's blood surged, steam rising from his head, his gaze like a knife, wanting nothing more than to obliterate the former Juventus goalkeeper before him.
This fierce killing intent clearly intimidated the charging Buffon.
Originally, he was determined to attack; from the goalkeeper's perspective, facing such a one-on-one situation, rushing out is a must, otherwise, you'll just be passively beaten;
But nostalgically, in the process of charging, Buffon met Icardi's eyes, and instantly chickened out.
"His, his killing intent is so strong!"
In hesitation, Buffon's mind suddenly froze, his feet rooted, unable to move, even having cowardly thoughts of retreating.
He was frozen!
"Old chicken, go lay an egg!"
With a bang, Icardi delivered a low shot, precisely nutmegging Buffon, scoring a goal!
3-0!
In their first home game of the new season, Inter took a three-goal lead within just over twenty minutes!
Applause erupted at Meazza Stadium!
Applause for Icardi!
For Tang Long!
For the "sweet artillery" combination that ruled this field a decade ago!
-[Ten years, I've waited ten whole years for this moment!]
-[Tears are welling up, Tang Long and Icardi are scoring together again after ten years!]
-[This is my lost youth, ten years ago I was only 15, that summer watching Tang Long and Icardi with a watermelon and a fan!]
-[And Buffon, if it were another goalkeeper, perhaps I wouldn't feel as much, ah, Buffon has been an old foe, an old rival.]
-[Icardi's shot was indeed decisive, decisive to make Buffon lay an egg!]
-[Has Buffon aged or gone senile? Why did he stop his charge midway?]
-[I don't know, maybe he was intimidated!]
-[What a joke, it's always been goalkeepers intimidating forwards, first time seeing a forward scare a goalkeeper silly.]
-[Icardi's goal, 80% of the credit goes to Tang Long, that lob was a melody played beautifully like a violin!]
-[Can score, can assist, he's back, the Tang Long we know, after half a year of injury, he's finally back!]
After scoring, Icardi excitedly took off his jersey, running high up into the air.
Under the bright lights of the Meazza Stadium night sky, the number 9 jersey shone brilliantly.
Underneath the number 9 jersey stood Tang Long wearing the number 10 jersey.
Indeed, after returning to Inter, Tang Long rightfully took over the number 10 jersey, signifying he's the true core of the team.
"Put it on, Mauro," Tang Long picked up the jersey and handed it to Icardi, "Stay calm, this is just your beginning, no more shirtless celebrations for the next goals."
Icardi took the jersey, not putting it on immediately, but giving Tang Long a big hug, saying emotionally:
"Some say we're old now, Tang, but I don't think so, at least in Serie A, we're still the best combo!"
…
The first match of Inter's season concluded.
In the end, they thrashed the newly promoted Palermo 6-0 at home.
Icardi scored a hat trick, while Tang Long netted twice, contributing four assists.
Gazzetta dello Sport: "Twins Shine Again at Meazza!"
Such a headline is indeed inspiring, but it's more poignant that the former "Inter Twins," Tang Long and Icardi, now have a combined age of 61 years.
They are no longer young players, even beginning to fade from the mainstream stage according to the natural course of football.
However, such a dazzling performance in the opening match, the seamless cooperation between the two, sparked the imagination of many Inter fans—
"With Tang and Mauro, we have the strength to dominate Serie A!"
Notably.
After this match, aside from the hype around Tang Long and Icardi, another player also gained high attention.
Buffon.
He unsurprisingly became a reverse example.
At the post-match press conference, Buffon refused all questions, silently drinking water.
After finishing his own water, it wasn't enough, he even took Palermo's head coach's mineral water to drink.
The reporters kept their eyes on Buffon, not knowing why he was drinking so much water.
Some say Buffon chose to come back at this juncture because his brain was waterlogged from drinking too much!
Others commend 47-year-old Buffon's courage for joining a newly promoted team and returning to the top league, proving his ambition, even saying if Buffon performs well, helping Palermo to stay up, returning to the national team is not impossible.
But now it seems, tragedy might be unfolding~
Buffon, still drinking water, posed a soul-searching question: "Might as well retire right here?"
But the head coach, facing questions from reporters, firmly responded: "Buffon? Trust me, given what I know about him, today's six goals conceded are just an accident."
"I believe when we return to our home in Sicily, next time facing Inter, we will definitely make a comeback!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a sparse applause broke out on the scene.
Buffon almost spat out the water he had just drunk down his throat.
Next time against Inter?
Counting with his fingers, the Italian goalkeeping legend figured it'd either be December or next year.
"What to do for the next few months, it's agonizing, too agonizing…" Buffon closed his eyes in despair.
…
After the first round of Serie A, the standings are as follows.
1. Inter Milan 3 points
2. Juventus 3 points
3. Napoli 3 points
4. AC Milan 3 points
Although seven teams all collected three points, thanks to 6 goal difference advantage, Inter tops the standings, overrunning Juventus!
The top scorers list is as follows.
1. Icardi 3 goals
2. Tang Long 2 goals
3. Lukaku 2 goals
The assists leaderboard is where Tang Long leads, with 4 assists, an unmatchable lead!