Chapter 25 — Roberto Mancini: I Sold My Club-Coaching Career
A startle, a jolt, like a roller coaster!
Both sides collect themselves, surprise → fright,
fright → surprise,
such were the feelings!
The match continues: Diaby throws the ball, Podolski flicks it to Mikel Arteta.
At that moment, the recently humiliated Joleon Lescott suddenly charges out of the box, a truck-drift block sliding in to take position, pinning Arteta behind him, chesting Podolski's pass to Yaya Touré.
That single action silenced all the "overhyped" doubts.
The home crowd roared applause continuously…
On the sideline Wenger nodded in mild approval:
"Three men make a teacher" —
when it comes to using defenders, he admits he and Sir Alex Ferguson are indeed inferior to Roberto Mancini!
Touré pushes the ball forward and doesn't pass; he launches into a Kaka-style charging mode.
The situation flips.
Touré's attack thundered,
Arsenal's retreat receded like a tide — defensive lines pulled back in perfect order, giving the opponent no gap.
Once Santi Cazorla and the others reorganized to block Touré, he bulldozed his way to City's penalty area.
Facing the interception, Touré did not insist on a personal duel and instead released the ball to David Silva, who, near the left edge of the box, adjusted slightly then threaded a through ball toward the Arsenal goal.
Edin Džeko flicked the ball at the near post without striking it cleanly; the ball went straight into Mannone's arms.
Within 12 minutes there had already been three shots; Manchester City had two and were slightly dominant, but Arsenal's attempts were more threatening.
This validated what Roberto Mancini had said pre-match: both sides had opportunities.
As play restarted, the two teams began a fierce midfield fight.
He who controls midfield controls the world!
Mancini, backed by the oil owner, had spent heavily for two seasons building a luxurious midfield; overall strength was slightly stronger than Arsenal's.
At first it wasn't obvious, but as the duel wore on, Cazorla and Arteta began to show fatigue.
At that moment, Xia Qi suddenly dropped back and shifted sideways: "Captain, here."
Arteta was originally vice-captain; Vermaelen was rested tonight, so he was wearing the captain's armband.
In the white-hot battle, Arteta didn't overthink and passed the ball as instructed.
After he passed,
he nearly had a heart attack.
First shock: Xia Qi had broken the tactics. Don't be fooled — Wenger is mild-mannered but a discipline maniac.
After the Liverpool match, even the hero Xia Qi was summoned for a discussion, right?
Second shock: the usually quiet Xia Qi spoke.
For someone with social anxiety,
communication is a form of trust.
Arteta was moved to tears — Xia Qi trusts me, sees me as a brother.
Xia Qi didn't realize that a single word from the AI inside him could move the older man so much.
Seconds earlier,
"Ding — detected the host's team has fallen into difficulty. [False No.9-Mei] attribute activating…"
"Precise target searching…"
"Target Arteta locked…"
The AI prompts Arteta; Xia Qi considered it natural — the No.10 is not the same as a forward.
A striker can play cool and be an icy killer.
But a No.10 must organize, dispatch, and tidy the team — how can he be mute?
Although everyone trains together and builds tacit understanding, no two snowflakes are identical; mere tacit understanding isn't enough.
On the pitch,
AI-Xia Qi receives the ball and immediately turns to pass it to Aaron Ramsey, then sprints forward at speed.
A single pass doesn't reveal organizational genius, but Mancini and Wenger both saw his football intelligence.
With that one turnover, Arsenal's midfield — on the verge of collapse — turned danger into safety.
Aaron Ramsey received the ball and, as tactics required, charged forward.
David Silva pressed up to close him down.
Ramsey held the ball, ready to do the next move, but Xia Qi shouted him to stop.
"Here, the Reaper!"
Aaron Ramsey felt the same shock and exhilaration as Arteta had.
If Xia Qi's personality defects didn't limit his future, he would be Arsenal's prince → king, even possibly a world-class player if England ever won a World Cup.
Such a player — who wouldn't want to befriend him?
All right then, David Silva, you escaped humiliation!
The ball was taken back by Xia Qi.
Xia Qi took a few dribbles toward the middle, then sideways gestured at Arteta. Arteta froze — commanding runs?
"I'm the brain, I'm the boss — you, Li Yunlong, tell me where to run?"
Already drunk before halftime?
On the sideline Wenger and Mancini both popped up at the touchline.
One was angry — angry that Li Yunlong (a reference) had acted independently and broken discipline.
One was surprised — surprised that Wenger could indeed coach and turn a player into a nine-and-a-half; shit! I sold him for £5m and got rid of a player who could play the Bielsa system like a Messi???
What did I just sell? I didn't sell Xia Qi — I sold my club-coaching career!
From now on I can only coach national teams.
Pat Rice rushed to Wenger: "Don't stop him. Let's watch some more; let's see what else the kid's hiding."
Wenger happily accepted — competitive sport is sometimes that practical: if you have the ability, then forge ahead!
Blacksmith Kobe: ????? Out of bounds! I call that Black Mamba!
Xia Qi's pass had an extremely precise landing; a moving Lukas Podolski needed no adjustment and simply pushed and shot.
This goal was opportunistic — it hit them unawares; Joe Hart could only watch with his eyes.
The ball didn't care about his sharp gaze and slipped into the net.
Despite having the better possession, Manchester City conceded first to Arsenal.
The City players looked more bewildered than either coach; they were all at sea.
It felt like someone was happily having hotpot on a train when suddenly bandits boarded and robbed them mid-song.
After the goal,
Podolski and Arteta charged toward Xia Qi in excitement, but Xia Qi turned and walked toward the center circle… hiding achievement and fame.
(END CHAPTER)
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