"Your Manchester City won the match in disgrace! Thief!" Wenger gritted his teeth.
Pellegrig froze with his hand extended, his mouth twitching.
The Chilean veteran coach is 62 years old this year. He started his career in his country’s league, gained some fame coaching River Plate in River Plate, and after arriving in Europe, he made a name for himself at Villarreal in La Liga and was Real Madrid’s head coach for a year.
In the 2013-2014 season, after taking over Mancini’s position, he led Blue Moon to their second League Champion in team history, surpassing Premier League giants like Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United.
Throughout his career, although not considered among Europe’s elite coaches, Pellegrig holds a significant position in the relatively tight circle of European football managers; he’s a respectable figure.
In various situations, people show him great respect whenever they meet him.
In terms of football tactic philosophy, he has always respected Wenger greatly, promoting Wenger’s idea of beautiful football. He believes that under the heavy financial burden of new stadium loans and without significant reinforcements for years, Arsenal consistently making it into the top four annually is largely attributable to Wenger.
Therefore, before the match, during the handshake segment, he respectfully addressed Wenger as "Professor."
What he didn’t anticipate was the respected Professor Wenger, the Arsenal leader for 19 years, would say such disrespectful words to him, calling him a thief, essentially trampling on his character!
"Say that again! I can’t believe these words came from your mouth!" The emotional Pellegrini grabbed Wenger’s retreating hand, pulling him closer.
Wenger, standing at 188 cm tall, naturally tall people often have an unstable center of gravity.
Not expecting Pellegrini to suddenly grab his hand, Wenger’s body shook and slipped, with a swoosh, fell to the ground!
The Arsenal players on the bench were startled!
Seeing Professor Wenger fall to the ground, painfully clutching his behind, while Pellegrini stood dominantly above, muttering curses, they knew the two had clashed.
"The Professor was hit! Pellegrini hit him!"
Not knowing who shouted, Arsenal’s players crowded around, encircling Pellegrini.
The Manchester City bench, seeing their coach surrounded by opposing players, didn’t bother figuring out who hit who and rushed over to help.
The 187 cm tall Kolarov took the lead, rushed into the crowd, embraced Pellegrini, then stretched his neck to shout to his teammates on the field:
"Brothers, come quickly and protect the boss!"
By this time, the rain had mostly stopped. Arsenal players were thanking the fans, while Manchester City players were gradually walking back in small groups.
Iwobi had traded jerseys with Tang Long, wearing it, walked to the sideline.
Seeing the players from both teams gathered together, he didn’t think much, and rushed over, only unexpectedly getting punched by Flamini upon arriving. His teammate probably mistook him for a Manchester City player due to confusion, since he was wearing a blue jersey.
Tang Long immediately took off the Arsenal jersey of Iwobi on his body.
Meanwhile, Manchester City and Arsenal players on the field rushed to the sidelines, with dozens of people mingling in chaos, creating a confused scene. The tallest, Ranocchia and Mertesacker became easy targets, each receiving several blows, not knowing who dealt them.
Tang Long, aware his shoulder hurt, knew he couldn’t swing his arm freely. Estimating he’d only get beaten in a fight, could only seize the opportunity and rush to pull Ranocchia out, away from the crowd.
"So, there was a brawl between the teams after the match?" Gracie asked in surprise.
"Yes, I bet quite a few people will be suspended because of it. By the latest tomorrow, the penalty results should come out."
"Later, I talked a bit with Podolski in the player tunnel, and he helplessly told me he’d played for Arsenal for three years and had never seen Professor Wenger loose his composure . Probably my goal annoyed him, three points slipped away, and his mentality cracked," Tang Long said.
Gracie just smiled without commenting, continuing to massage Tang Long’s shoulder.
"Your waist injury is almost healed, don’t get sidelined again because of a shoulder injury. If you keep getting injured, our medical team’s annual performance will suffer, so dear Tang, you better be careful playing, protect yourself, understand?"
"Alright, the shoulder is about fine, want me to check anywhere else?" Gracie asked.
Tang Long thought, one shoulder already took half an hour, if we check elsewhere, today’s practice could be skipped altogether.
Just as he prepared to politely refuse, his phone rang.
Tang Long’s phone was placed on the table, Gracie handed it over, saying Dilata is looking for you.
Tang Long, upon seeing the caller’s name on the screen, suddenly recalled this is the leading lady from Sky Sports, having crossed paths with her a few times during his time at Inter.
Why is she suddenly calling me? I almost forgot about her.
Dilata was calling via Facetime, Tang Long tapped open, holding the phone low, trying not to capture his bare torso.
In the image, Dilata sporting sunglasses, a baseball cap, along with a white bustier, tying a plaid shirt around her slim waist, while dragging a suitcase through the airport.