Seeing Kolarov asking about his volley shot, Tang Long humbly said to him, "It’s nothing really, just got lucky. If I tried the shot thirty times in practice, I probably wouldn’t make it once."
But Kolarov didn’t believe what Tang Long said.
According to his understanding, if this goal was really just luck, then Tang Long would definitely be celebrating wildly after scoring it, which is only natural, as it would be a pleasant surprise.
Last season, Kolarov faced Stoke City and took a long-range shot from 35 meters away without even looking at the goal, and it went in.
At that time, he raised his arms and shouted so loudly he almost burst his lungs, not only did he slide-knee on the pitch towards the stands, but also sent out three consecutive posts on social media and gave likes to the fans’ praising comments until his fingers were almost cramping!
But Kolarov could clearly see on the field that Tang Long wasn’t overly excited, he was extremely calm, pressing his hands down repeatedly indicating everyone to stabilize their emotions and control the situation.
This shows he had confidence with this goal, and it absolutely wasn’t a result of random luck!
Kolarov thought Tang Long was deliberately withholding his secrets, keeping the techniques to himself.
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to figure out the mystery behind Tang Long’s shot, so he continued to pester Tang Long persistently.
"Come on, just share a bit, we’re teammates, we’ll have to fight together in the future, next time I can assist you, okay?"
Kolarov made quite a noise.
Some Manchester City teammates also came over upon hearing it.
In a team like Manchester City, there are quite a few excellent strikers.
Striker Agüero doesn’t need mentioning, for long shots, aside from Kolarov, there are Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, and others, while Nasri also likes shooting from tight angles near the flanks.
Hearing Kolarov questioning Tang Long about his volley technique, they all became curious and gathered around, wanting to hear what Tang Long had to say.
Milner, who was sitting alone afar, although embarrassed to join the group, took a few steps closer, leaned over, and eavesdropped with ears perked.
As professional players, they showcase their skills on world stages like the Premier League or Champions League every week.
Who wouldn’t want their skills to improve and receive worldwide acclaim?
Every aspiring player thinks that way.
When Kolarov was pestering Tang Long by himself, Tang Long could still politely decline.
Now four or five Manchester City players surrounded him.
All of them are skilled shooters, gazing expectantly and curiously at Tang Long, eager to hear his insight on the amazing goal.
Tang Long thought that if he continued to decline now, it might not only ruin everyone’s mood but also wouldn’t be easy to get through this situation.
Therefore, he simply stood up, stretched his muscles, and said, "Actually, there is some technique involved in my volley, but once you figure it out, it’s not that hard."
Seeing Tang Long stand up and stretch his ankles, everyone thought, this guy is probably going to demonstrate it personally.
Everyone’s eyes lit up as they stepped back to give Tang Long space to perform.
At this moment, Tang Long spotted Milner hiding towards the back of the crowd, sneakily stealing glances at him with squinted eyes.
Their eyes met, and Milner immediately lowered his head to avoid contact.
Tang Long found it amusing, thinking if you want to listen, just come over openly, why sneak around in the back?
"Look, here comes the ball! Watch the ball carefully, first , then , and finally , boom, the ball’s in!"
Tang Long pretended a ball was flying rapidly from the side, then exaggeratedly gestured and swung his leg, making a shooting action, narrating in a comical way as he did it.
Tang Long asked everyone.
Everyone was left confused, looking at each other.
It seemed like they understood, but also seemed like they didn’t.
Because what Tang Long did looked like a simple shooting action, nothing special revealing any mystery.
Yaya Toure from Côte d’Ivoire, who once followed Barcelona to three championship titles, is the most seasoned player in the entire Manchester City squad.
For him to actively approach a 18-year-old Chinese youth to hear him explain the shooting technique, was already an act of great humility from Yaya Toure.
If it weren’t for being deeply impressed by this killer volley, the master Toure would never have done such a thing.
Seeing everyone’s puzzled expressions, Toure was also quite bewildered.
But he thought, the volley from Tang Long, executed from merely 10 meters out, with a rapid high curve descent, must possess profound skills beyond a few words of explanation to fully comprehend. Even if he pressed for more, he’s unsure if Tang Long would disclose it, and merely asking might imply his own skills are inferior, risking changing his teammates’ impressions of him, turning to slight him thereafter.
"Oh~ so that’s how it is, interesting."
Yaya Toure nodded to Tang Long with a knowing smile and walked away.
Manchester City’s squad was puzzled after hearing Tang Long’s explanation, initially expecting Tang Long to elaborate further, but then seeing Toure’s thoughtful and smiling look, reckoning he gleaned the insight from Tang Long’s simple words.