Tang Long took the initiative to walk over to Icardi, who also noticed Tang Long.
Perhaps it was because they had been candid with each other in the locker room before.
Before Tang Long could speak, the Argentine striker wrapped his arm around Tang Long's neck and pulled him into the corner of the locker room.
"Tang, did you see it from the bench? You saw it, you definitely saw it!"
"What did I see?"
"Hernanes's assist!"
"He performed quite well, scored two goals, and Berni even told me his nickname is 'Prophet.'
Icardi made a puzzled expression like a subway old man and muttered, "Hmm."
His Italian was spoken very standardly, unlike Palacio's accent. When Tang Long spoke, he deliberately slowed down his pace, so there was no communication barrier between the two.
"That ball, he could have passed it to me because my position was better, but he chose to pass it to Palacio, whose position was not as good."
"Are you talking about this?"
Tang Long recalled, indeed, it was as Icardi described.
Inter broke the deadlock ten minutes into the first half, with the first goal scored by the 32-year-old veteran Palacio.
This was Palacio's first goal in four matches; he was quite happy after breaking the goal drought, warmly embraced the assister Hernanes.
"During that counterattack, you were positioned closer to the center, able to move into the penalty spot nearby to shoot. Palacio is slower and was on the wing; his position was indeed not as good as yours, but fortunately, the ball went in in the end."
"Was it good? I don't think it's good at all. With his skills, he could have passed it to me."
"But he didn't."
"Yes, he didn't! He gave it to Palacio."
Despite lowering his voice, Tang Long could hear from Icardi's tone his attitude towards the two players.
Icardi wasn't happy with Hernanes!
Why not pass it to me when my chance is better and the probability of scoring is higher?
This is a natural thought for any forward with scoring intent—a thought that persists until the end of the match, regardless of whether the ball ends up in the net.
It is a matter of trust, touching on Icardi's sensitive self-esteem.
As for his compatriot Palacio, Icardi had more reverence, speaking Palacio's name in lip language.
In the summer of 2012, Palacio transferred from Genoa to Inter Milan for 10.5 million euros.
He quickly became the absolute mainstay of the team.
He scored 20 goals and 19 goals in consecutive seasons for Inter, becoming the team's top scorer twice.
Famous Serie A commentator Zhang Lu once evaluated Palacio:
"I don't understand why Inter bought Palacio? He's 30, old and skinny, and they actually spent 10 million!"
Clearly, Zhang Lu missed the mark.
During Inter's low period, Palacio, with his small braid nicknamed 'Braided Handsome,' took on the flag of Inter's frontline alone.
Although this season, due to aging, his physical condition declined, but the decline was not very obvious for now, the visible decline could be seen in the second half of the season.
At least for this season, his status at Inter was higher than Icardi's and he was the absolute leader of the Inter Argentine Barbecue Gang!
Hernanes has been at Inter for less than a year; regardless of his prowess at Lazio, he is still a newcomer at Inter.
He had to pay his respects!
According to Berni, although Hernanes is Brazilian, he doesn't like hanging out with Gualin's South American gang.
He very pragmatically chose the strongest Argentine Barbecue Gang in the team.
Playing it safe, he will definitely prioritize Palacio, leaving Icardi on the sideline.
Tang Long now clearly understood Icardi's thoughts.
He wanted to score more goals to win the Serie A Golden Boot, even the European Golden Boot;
But when Hernanes faced two choices, he tended to pass the ball directly to another forward, Palacio, rather than Icardi.
However, due to Palacio's prestige at Inter and within the Argentine Barbecue Gang, Icardi couldn't say much on both sides.
"Passing to whoever makes no difference," Tang Long teased Icardi on purpose, "Since the ball went in eventually, it makes no difference to the team's victory!"
"Uh, same... but not the same," Icardi looked troubled, "I really want to win the Serie A Golden Boot, you know!"
"If I'm on the pitch, whenever there's a chance, I'll keep passing the ball to you," Tang Long said.
A glimmer flashed in Icardi's eyes but faded quickly.
Just at this moment, Mancini entered, and Icardi stopped talking with Tang Long.
Tang Long thought, "Icardi knows I'll pass the ball to him, but he also knows whether or not I'll appear today, how many matches I'll play this season, that's all uncertain."
Tang Long is well aware of the dynamics between Icardi and Palacio.
At the end of this season, Icardi scored 22 goals and won the Serie A Golden Boot, becoming the youngest top scorer in Serie A's century-old history, becoming the new core of the Argentine Barbecue Gang.
Palacio also performed well, but only scored 8 league goals, a far cry from last season, gradually becoming a marginal player and leaving Inter in 2017.
Therefore, Tang Long must treat Icardi a bit better, it's no longer a matter of gamble but an obvious decision.
Mancini's pep talk in the locker room was nothing more than not relaxing and persisting with the cautious style from the first half.
"...Alright!
Lads, stand up and get back on the field!"
After the talk, everyone left in an orderly fashion.
In the player tunnel, taking advantage of a moment when there were fewer people around Mancini, Tang Long decisively went over to Mancini's side.
"Boss, let me have 10 seconds of your time."
"Hmm."
"I request to play in the second half."
"Give me a reason."
"I feel I'm in good form, I can contribute to the team."
"How much time do you want?"
"10 minutes, 10 minutes will be enough."
Mancini stopped walking, thoughtfully looking at Tang Long.
A confident expression revealed within his handsome Eastern face.
Tang Long's move just now made Mancini a little surprised.
In his coaching career, never had a young player proactively approached him asking for playing time like Tang Long did.
Even when his expectant gaze swept over some young players, their eyes instinctively dodged it, drooped their heads, then awkwardly cleared their throats slightly.
These are all signs of a lack of confidence.
Even when he first coached Inter and promoted Balotelli from the youth team, this fearless guy never asked for playing time halfway through the match.
Mancini suddenly laughed.
In 1982, an 18-year-old Mancini arrived from Bologna to Lazio.
The same age as Tang Long.
At that time, Mancini also struggled on the bench due to a lack of trust from the coach.
Especially the first season's opening dozen matches, he hardly played.
He could only dryly stay on the bench, watching teammates zoom around the field, enjoying the cheers of thousands.
For any ambitious professional player, that taste was like thousands of ants crawling on their heart!
Looking at this young man in front of him who was of similar age to his own son.
The eyes expecting to be on the pitch were so similar to his own emotions during the first year at Sampdoria...
The match had not originally allocated playing time to Tang Long, Mancini changed his mind.
"If we lead 3-0, I'll give you some playing time, but I can't say exactly how much, just follow my arrangements."