Xu Zhu's Successor's Football Journey

Chapter 369 Mourinho's Worries

On April 4th, all members of the AC Milan team came to London to prepare for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea.

For the Italian media, they are full of optimism about this game, and AC Milan's performance in the competition in the past two years is indeed good.The year before last, they defeated Juventus in the final and won the Champions League. Last year, although they were overturned by Deportivo at home and stopped in the top 8, the team's performance was still very good.

This year they have learned the lessons of last year, and it is likely that their strength will be improved to a higher level. As the number one giant in Serie A, they have reason to be so confident.

The English media are also optimistic about Chelsea. This team has already won the league championship, and they can devote all their energy to the Champions League. Compared with AC Milan, which is caught in the league battle, they still have a great advantage.

It is not the first time for Chelsea to reach the Champions League, but the team's performance has not been very good, and it has never been qualified to participate in the finals. Of course, the English media hope that it can go further. of hope.

Although a season ago, they also said that Chelsea's success would be the rise of utilitarian football and a retrogression of football development, but now they regard Chelsea as their hope. There are only three traditional giants in the entire Premier League, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and since the establishment of the Premier League system, Liverpool's performance has been really unsatisfactory.

Now, Manchester United and Arsenal have shown signs of decline in Europe. Only when more strong teams emerge in the Premier League can they gain a firm foothold in world football. Otherwise, if the giants do not perform well, the Premier League wants to become The world's No. [-] league has become a joke.

…………

On April 4th, Chelsea announced to the outside world that it would conduct closed training. No media could enter the club for interviews, and the players were not allowed to go home. The whole team must be in the club for 5 hours.

The reason for this is to prevent the players from contacting the media, to concentrate on training, to adjust their state before the game, and it is also convenient for the management of the club, and the effect of tactical training is better.

When AC Milan arrived in London, the Chelsea players were also training as usual. Mourinho got the news for the first time. He waved his hand to show he didn't care, but his eyes on the training ground became more and more fierce.

"Wayne, notice that you are a defender!! Defender!! Do you really want to be a striker!?" Seeing that Bridget was too far ahead on the court, Mourinho immediately shouted: "Your mission is Defense, not offense!!"

"Scott!! Pass the ball!! What are you doing!? When you find someone left and right, the chance is gone!! The other party will not give you time to be stupefied, you idiot!!"

"Alan, you have to go forward, you are now a forward!! Forward!! Not a midfielder!! There is Frank behind, don't you trust your teammates!?"

……

If there were reporters around, they would have been taken aback by Mourinho's words.

Since a few games in the first half of the season, the media has always positioned Wang Li as a player between midfielder and forward. He can play and do all positions such as shadow forward, attacking midfielder, winger and forward. That's nice, but when you think about it, he's rarely seen as a traditional striker.

However, after these two days of training, Wang Li has already adapted to the new position. It can be said that he has now grabbed the jobs of Gud Jansen and Didier Drogba, and these two are now sadly serving as the centers of the substitute team. .

Everyone has no objection to this. They also hope that the team can win. The head coach arranges new tactics and executes them. Mourinho does a good job at this point. He always puts everyone's tasks before the game. The arrangement is in place, the players don't have to think about what to do on the pitch.

They have become completely part of the team and believe that as long as everyone can complete their tasks, the team will definitely win.

The results of one season have fully proved Mourinho's ability, and his approach has been affirmed by all members.

And Wang Li's position change is the magic weapon that Mourinho uses to deal with AC Milan.

Before facing a strong team like AC Milan, temporarily changing the team's tactics is definitely a taboo for the head coach, because it will make many players uncomfortable and cause serious problems in coordination.However, facing AC Milan, Mourinho really didn't have much confidence. If he followed the previous style of play, it would be too difficult to win.

He doesn't believe in the so-called luck and perseverance, he just wants to control the game in his own hands.

Thus, a new tactic was introduced.

It really takes a long time for a team to adapt to a new tactic, but this new tactic is very simple. As long as Wang Li can do his job well, the tactic can run smoothly.

The last two days of training also gave Mourinho a lot of confidence. He believes that this style of play can break through AC Milan's defense.

…………

"These are players who need attention."

On the night of arriving in Milan on April 4, Mourinho gathered all the players in the office and began to really analyze the opponent.Holding a stack of materials, he carefully talked about the characteristics of each AC Milan player. After such an analysis, the Chelsea players found that each AC Milan offensive player is quite threatening.

This makes the players feel a greater pressure.

"In their view, everyone in our team is also a threat!" Wang Li's words eased the pressure on the teammates a lot.

"Be sure to pay attention to that young brazilian kid, Paulo. I'll leave this to you. He is very creative and more threatening than the opponent's No. [-] striker." Mourinho pointed to Paulo Ferreira and said.

Ferreira nodded.

"We need to pay more attention to their No. [-] forward Shevchenko. The Ukrainian is in very good condition and is the most threatening. When defending, we must pay attention to shrinking the defense line and not giving them too much offensive space. "

"In terms of offense, just follow the tactics during training. AC Milan has always believed that their defense is the strongest in the world. Indeed, in the Champions League games, they have not conceded a goal so far. I don't want to see this game. Afterwards, they still conceded zero goals." Mourinho said with a serious face and some half-joking.

"Don't worry, boss, Allen will definitely score." Seeing that the atmosphere in the room became a little lively, Bridget jumped out immediately, pointing at Wang Li and said.

"I thought you were going to say: I'm definitely going to score." Lampard said with a funny sarcasm.

"My God, I'm a defender. You can't expect me to step in and make an assist. Go for the shot. The boss will be unhappy."

Mourinho nodded, smiled, and said, "If you step in for an assist but fail to score, then sit on the bench next game."

"Our first game is at Stamford Bridge, and the second leg is going to San Rossi. This schedule is not good for us. So I hope that tomorrow's game must score as many goals as possible, and try not to let them score. That's the only way. Only then can we have more hope of advancing to the top four. In tomorrow’s game, don’t be complacent even if you lead by two goals, remember this is only the first round!!” Speaking of this, Mourinho became serious again.

In the European Champions Cup, there are countless examples of leading by a large score in the first round but being overturned by the opponent by a large score in the second round.In the European Champions Cup, Chelsea is still a very young team, and Mourinho does not want the team to use practice to test these truths.

Just like Ancelotti said, these have a lot to do with the mentality of the players.

Chelsea really lack experience in major competitions.

…………

In the afternoon of the second day, the Stamford Bridge Stadium was already crowded with people.

At this time, the European media were finally able to get close to the Chelsea players. These days, they have been wanting to interview Chelsea, but the team has been training in closed mode.

But now, all the reporters have a feeling of "seeing the bright moon through the dark clouds", especially the reporters who interviewed Wang Li, they even thought "it's worth waiting for so long, I finally met Alan", from this From a point of view, Chelsea's closed training is also very effective externally.

Wang Li is naturally the most popular star in the Chelsea team, even more popular than Mourinho. As soon as he walked out of the home team's locker room, he was surrounded by reporters, from England, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc. Wait, wait, Wang Li also saw a reporter from Huaxia, an ancient country in the east.

What everyone cares about is Wang Li's current state, what the team has trained in the past two days, and some breaking news.

This kind of news will always appear on Wang Li, because every time he is very high-profile before the game.

"We will win, AC Milan are a very good team, but it is a pity that they were unlucky to meet us."

Wang Li's answer did not surprise most people. Many people even took it for granted. This young kid has always been like this. At this time, a media from Germany asked: "Who do you think is more threatening on the AC Milan team? Are you nervous about this kind of giants game?"

"Nervous? I think they should be nervous. Maybe before they come again, they are ready to lose. You know, the Italian has been consoling himself before the game, confusing himself with winning, We don't bother with such clowns."

What Ancelotti said in the media before the game has long been known by the Chelsea players. Everyone is very angry about it. Wang Li is also the same. Before the game started, he bluntly said that AC Milan will win. It became a kind of ridicule in the ears of Chelsea people.Now, in the face of numerous media, Wang Li finally has the opportunity to fight back, and he will not let go of this opportunity.

In fact, he compares his heart with his heart, and he doesn't think about how he does it when he is playing against other teams...

Wang Li's words are obviously very appetizing to these reporters. Except for the Italian media who are a little bit aggrieved, the reporters from other countries are very satisfied. They are very glad that they came to interview Wang Li to get such a big news.

At this time, the Italian media couldn't help but began to ask side-by-side questions: "What do you think of Ancelotti? Will you consider coming to Milan in the summer? Mr. Berlusconi also appreciates you very much."

"Milan City!?" Wang Li was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Maybe, I like the blue and black striped jersey very much." In other words, he likes Inter Milan very much.

To the ears of the AC Milan media, it was as disgusting as eating a fly!

After answering a few more questions casually, Wang Li went straight to the court. At this time, the AC Milan players were already adapting to the court.

Compared with the entire Stamford Bridge Stadium, Wang Li is just a small spot in the audience, but when he walks out of the player tunnel, whether it is the fans who have just entered the stadium in the stands, or the AC Milan players who are adapting to the venue , all looked at him in unison.

"Kaka, that's Mr. 8000 million!?" Gattuso looked at Wang Li and asked with interest.In fact, the news that Berlusconi wants to buy Wang Li with 8000 million euros has spread like wildfire in Italy. Of course, it is impossible for the media to know about the internal G14 agreement.

"How do I know?" Kaka also looked at Wang Li, and said with a thoughtful face, "What is so good about him? Chelsea won't sell it for 8000 million."

"The head coach asked me to focus on defending him. He is the most threatening figure in Chelsea. He is just under 19 years old. Hehe... really amazing!"

"Ivan, don't underestimate him. He almost scored 31 goals in 50 league rounds. This kid's scoring efficiency is extremely high. You may not be able to prevent him!" The Ukrainian nuclear warhead Shevchenko next to him also joined in. Come over and say sourly, as a top striker in the world, he knows how difficult it is to score so many goals.

Gattuso waved his hand and said, "Andre, are you jealous of him!? Haha..."

"That's not the case, I'm the top scorer in Serie A!!" Shevchenko said, stretching his arms consciously and posing a POSS.

This caused all the people nearby to scatter.

"He is also the top scorer in the Premier League, and he has scored twice as many goals as the No.2 Henry. Andre, you have to work hard."

Hearing this, Shevchenko looked at the back, nodded solemnly, and said in a low voice: "I will prove that I am better than him!"

…………

Fifteen minutes before the opening, the anchor rooms of each TV station had already obtained the starting lineup lists of both sides.

AC Milan's starting lineup did not surprise most people. Their main players debuted to face Chelsea with the strongest posture.

The goalkeeper is No. 1 Dida of the Brazilian national gate, No. 2 Cafu of the four iron man defenders, No. 31 Stam, No. 13 Nesta, and No. 8 captain Maldini, No. 21 Gattuso of the three midfielders, No. 20 Pierre Luo and No. 22 Seedorf, midfielder No. 11 Kaka, forward Argentine striker No. 7 Crespo and No. [-] Shevchenko.
"AC Milan lined up a 4312 formation, with the main players at their best. However, judging from this traditional formation, AC Milan still wants to seek stability at Stamford Bridge. The combination of 3 midfielders and 4 defenders is really strong in defense. Their defense is the best in the world, and it seems that it is not easy for Chelsea to score goals."

"...They still need to pay more attention to defense. AC Milan's striker is not inferior. In Serie A, they rank third in the number of goals scored. With this kind of attack power, it is not a problem to penetrate Chelsea's defense."

On Sky TV, Graham looked at AC Milan's lineup and analyzed it with concern.

"Okay, let's look at Chelsea's starting XI again."

"...Oh, My~~God!! God, this is really unexpected, Allen is at the top and plays center!!?"

Chelsea's starting lineup surprised all the media. Except for Wang Li's position change, Drogba and Gud Janssen did not play. That is to say, Wang Li exists as a single forward.Unsurprisingly, the two wingers are still Alkin Robben and Damien Duff, and Lampard, Makelele and Scott Parker also played in the midfield, which means that Chelsea have 5 midfielder.

The fact that William Gallas was on the bench at the back, while Bridget was given a chance, was even more bewildering.

Although Brigi's defensive ability is also very good, it is still inferior to Gallas. When it comes to offensive ability, then Gallas, who can pass suddenly and has rich experience and flexible movement, is even better. , This starting list really makes people feel very confused.

Could it be that Mourinho lost his mind, or gave up the game! ?

…………

At the same time, in the locker room of the home team, Mourinho also got AC Milan's starting list.

He first glanced at the opponent's back line, and four famous players came into view——
Cafu, 35 years old, former captain of the Brazilian national team, has won two World Cup champions. Although he is too old, his strength is unquestionable. He is still the absolute main force of AC Milan.

Stam and Nesta, the two defensive iron guards of the former Lazio dynasty, Stam is known as the "iron guard". Although he is 32 years old, now is the best period of his career; and Nesta is known as the "Iron Guard" and "King of Rome" in Italy. In 2002, his worth of 3100 million euros, which set a Serie A record, can fully explain his ability.

Paolo Maldini, 37 years old, the son of former AC Milan captain Cesare Maldini, although he is 37 years old this year, he is still the captain of AC Milan and is still called by the Italian media 'The most outstanding left-back', since he became the absolute main force of AC Milan in 85, this is already his 20th season playing for such a giant. His strength does not need to be explained at all.

The combination of these 4 defenders was not unexpected, but Mourinho still felt a little tingly, and he looked at the black-haired boy who was sitting cross-legged on a chair with some concern.

In this game, the Portuguese has put almost all the goals on Wang Li alone, 'Can he withstand the pressure? ''Facing these super defenders, can he play at a normal level? '...

These questions have been lingering in Mourinho's mind. Even though he is extremely confident in Wang Li's state and strength, he is still worried when the game is approaching.

However, temporary changes are now impossible. When the black-haired boy in front of him opened his eyes, Mourinho knew that it was time to lead the players out of the locker room and go to the player tunnel to prepare to enter the field.

(End of this chapter)