Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions-Chapter 211 - 181: A Goal in the First Minute! Sicily Witnesses the Rise of a New Star!

Chapter 211: Chapter 181: A Goal in the First Minute! Sicily Witnesses the Rise of a New Star!

Sicily, an island located at the southernmost part of Italy, is even further south than Sardinia.

Covering an area of 25,700 square kilometers with a coastline of 1,484 kilometers, it is the largest island in the Mediterranean, with a population of about 5 million.

At the southernmost tip of the island, it faces Tunisia across the sea, a distance of just over a hundred kilometers.

Like many others, Tang Long from China, recognized the name of this island from a widely famous Italian movie, "Malena."

Monica Bellucci’s enchanting figure in the movie was the initial enlightenment into puberty for many young boys.

Compared to the highly industrialized United Kingdom and Germany, southern Italy exudes more of the pastoral charm of small towns.

The sea breeze brought a salty and damp smell, and the high temperature of 31 degrees penetrated the pores of every Inter player, causing beads of sweat to appear on many foreheads.

"Achuu!"

Icardi sneezed as soon as he stepped out of the airport.

"Damn, it’s so hot, why do I feel cold all over?" he complained indignantly.

Icardi was indeed anxious!

In such a critical moment at the third to last round of the league, when the competition for the European Golden Boot with Messi and C Luo was at a fever pitch, his unreliable body caught a cold, which was downright ridiculous~

"Kid, hurry to the hotel and grab a coat, don’t catch a chill!"

Headphone-wearing Berni laughed as he gave Icardi a hug.

"What the hell? Why catch a cold now, of all times? Tang, do you think someone in Naples put a curse on me?"

Icardi said to Tang Long with a look of aggrievement.

"Curse, my ass, stop overthinking. Rest for this round, the next one against Lazio will be tougher than playing Palermo," Tang Long replied.

Icardi could only helplessly shrug his shoulders, then grabbed the young Bonazzoli, who was passing by with a backpack.

"Buddy, make sure you play well this match, try to get a hat trick and finish the game by halftime."

The young Bonazzoli nodded earnestly to Icardi: "I’ll do my best, I promise!"

Bonazzoli had always idolized Icardi in his career.

Since being promoted from the youth team to the first team last year, he often watched Icardi’s positioning videos and intentionally imitated his moves in matches.

Icardi patted Bonazzoli on the back, gave him a thumbs up without saying much.

On the surface, Icardi hoped Bonazzoli would score early to help win the match.

Because without the distraction of European matches, Napoli had already played their early Serie A game on Saturday night, beating Cesena 2:0 at home with ease.

If Inter couldn’t defeat Palermo, they would fall further behind in the title race.

But besides considering the overall situation, Icardi also had his own little plans!

Although he caught a cold, it wasn’t serious enough to keep him from playing.

Therefore, after discussions with the coaching staff, Mancini did not exclude Icardi from the playing list for this match.

Instead, he traveled with the team to Palermo and was put on the bench to stand by.

Icardi’s little scheme was that if Bonazzoli could score a few goals in the first half and put the game into garbage time early, he might be able to ask Mancini for twenty or thirty minutes to get on the field and maybe score a goal or two, hehe!

...

"CCTV!"

"CCTV!"

"Now broadcasting the 36th round of the 2014-2015 Serie A season, Inter Milan vs. Palermo at the away game."

"This is also Inter Milan’s third consecutive away game."

"Just returned from Anfield to Milan, the Blue-Black Corps flew directly to the southernmost tip of Italy—Sicily."

"The continuous journey has exhausted the entire team. Mancini likely made some rotations, as Icardi didn’t appear in the starting lineup."

"He’s replaced by the young Bonazzoli."

"Behind him is the attacking midfielder Tang Long."

"On the left is Kovacic, and on the right is Podolski."

"The two defensive midfielders are Hernanes and Gualin."

"Central defense pairing of Ranocchia and Andreolli."

"Left-back Santon, right-back Dambrosio."

"Goalkeeper Handanovic."

"Palermo’s starting lineup is..."

The broadcast studio.

-[Oh my god, really didn’t notice that Inter Milan has played three consecutive away games!]

-[From Sardinia to Liverpool, then to Sicily, Inter Milan flew in a triangle!]

-[Counting the distance, it’s several thousand kilometers, being air-flyers, so it’s no wonder Icardi got sick.]

-[Hang in there, really need to hold on, with only three rounds left, must fight till the end!] frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

-[Come on, Inter Milan! A hundred-mile journey is half at ninety miles, push through the last few steps!]

-[Palermo is no easy opponent either, they even managed to beat Naples, and if they win this round against Inter Milan, they can escape the relegation zone.]

-[I checked, the opponents from rounds 36 to 38 are Palermo, Lazio, and the last one is AC Milan, damn, what a killer schedule!]

-[And there’s still a Coppa Italia final against Juventus in between!]

-[Not much left of Inter’s games this season, cherish it, even if you have to stay up past 2 AM to watch, watch it all!]

-[Go Inter Milan, go Tang Long, go Bonazzoli!]

The players from both teams walked out of the tunneling, and the camera suddenly turned to a familiar face in the stands.

Ronaldo!

Realizing he was on the stadium’s big screen, Ronaldo waved generously, grinning to reveal his iconic teeth.

"Wow, Ronaldo is here!"

"It’s him, it really is him!"

The Balbera Stadium, with a capacity of 36,000, erupted in exuberant cheers.

Countless fans stood up, turned sideways, and craned their necks towards where Ronaldo was seated in the main stand.

Ronaldo was watching this match at Palermo’s stadium together with Inter Milan’s vice-chairman Sane蒂.

He had already been informed by Sane蒂 before the match that Tang Long and Bonazzoli would both start.

Such an opportunity was rare indeed, and Ronaldo decided to make the trip to Sicily himself, despite the distance.

"See, Javier, I’m the center of attention wherever I appear," Ronaldo said to his former teammate Sane蒂 with a hint of pride.

"That’s right, Ronnie, your era is past, but the fans are still nostalgic, they’re calling for the next Ronaldo, who knows when he will appear?"

"Haha, the next Ronaldo might never appear." Ronaldo paused and then jokingly said to Sane蒂, "Maybe my client Bonazzoli could become the next Ronaldo."

"Come on, Ronnie, you’re just joking," Sane蒂 dismissively laughed, "You’d have a better chance saying Tang Long should switch to being a striker!"

No sooner had he said that, Inter got a clear scoring chance!

Tang Long delivered a through pass, Bonazzoli broke past the opponent’s center-back and burst into the penalty area!

Whoo—

Bonazzoli took a heavy step to the left, his cleats tossing a line of turf, then tapped the ball to the right with his right foot’s outside, feinting past Palermo’s goalkeeper, and sent the ball into an empty net!

"I did it, I did it!"

Bonazzoli turned around and hugged Tang Long tightly, eyes brimming with tears!

The clock barely passed one minute!

In the stands.

Ronaldo and Sane蒂 were stunned.

A feint, wrong-footing the goalkeeper, scoring into an empty net...