The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

This was a unique classic of Cook, a magnificent performance that will remain in the memory of Manchester United fans. The young players were full of youthful passion, the red torrent of Manchester United bloomed brilliantly in the Theatre of Dreams, and the offense and defense were as graceful as flowing water. Some fans even thought that this game was the best of the season for Manchester United.

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After returning from faraway Russia, the Red Devils played at home in the league against the newly promoted Bolton team.

Before the game, Ferguson talked specifically about the young people of the Red Devils. He said: "I have full confidence in the boys and I am always happy with the performance of the young players. These children are brave, fearless, full of energy and eager to win. They are enjoying the joy of playing football and the joy of competition. This is a wonderful thing."

The young players of the Red Devils were full of enthusiasm, and they played better and better, fully worthy of the starting lineup. Ferguson was very decisive in arranging the starting lineup this time. Because Keane was suspended due to a red card, he moved Beckham to the middle to play as a central midfielder, and gave Terry Cook a chance to play as a right midfielder.

Terry Cook is a youth training talent from the Red Devils' Class of 95. Like Phil, he is a member of the 95 FA Youth Cup champion team. He was promoted to the Red Devils' first team this season and got the chance to start for the Red Devils in this game.

Cook has always been amazing in the Red Devils youth training team. He has delicate footwork, sharp offensive awareness, and very clever shooting skills. He often creates killing opportunities in the opponent's penalty area, and scoring goals is as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. Although he is not outstanding in strength and speed, many Red Devils players think that Cook, like Scholes, can play football with talent and spirituality.

When time went back to this game, Ferguson had high hopes for Cook. This game was just 19 days after Cook's 40th birthday, and many Red Devils fans were looking forward to the rise of a new star. For Cook, this game was even more special, as this weekend was the 25th anniversary of his parents' wedding. Ferguson informed the little guy of the starting lineup in advance and helped him invite his family and friends to the Theatre of Dreams to watch the ceremony.

Although Ferguson arranged a special position for Cook, which was not familiar to him or his strengths, he was still a little nervous at the beginning of the game, but he soon regained his confidence with the encouragement of the fans. Cook has delicate footwork and clever mind. His heart is full of genius inspiration. His passing and passing are artistic, unlike the style of Giggs and Beckham. Cook is very active in asking for the ball, selflessly passing and running, and energetically advancing with the ball. Cook faced strong defenders, rough interceptions, and fierce defense in this game, but he was unusually calm. He always relied on delicate movements and unexpected changes of direction to deal with opponents, playing a dazzling technical style.

The Red Devils' opponent in this match is Bolton, a team with a long history. In the 1995-96 season, they returned to the top league after 15 years. After a long absence from the top league, the newly promoted team was full of fighting spirit. Before the match with the Red Devils, they had defeated the defending champion Blackburn. However, the newly promoted team's form was erratic. In the other four games of the season, they had one draw and three losses, and the results and performance were not good.

When playing against the newly promoted team at Old Trafford, Ferguson made a bold choice in the lineup. The entire midfield and frontcourt were all composed of youth players: Butt, Scholes, Beckham, Cook, Giggs, Lee Sharpe, and even Gary played as a defender. This lineup was almost a pure youth team, which was both surprising and made the Red Devils fans particularly excited.

The Red Devils launched a massive attack at the start of the game. The new midfield and frontcourt entered a strange rhythm. The players seemed to be running and attacking in all directions, which quickly put the opponent into a state of confusion. Giggs and Lee Sharpe changed positions many times, constantly using their personal speed and feints to ravage the opponent's right defense. Beckham and Cook also rotated many times. Beckham went forward and Cook moved back to the middle. The two crossed and changed positions, playing many two-on-ones. Scholes, who was thin and small, was like a civet cat. He always flexibly interspersed in different positions and tried to attack the goal many times. Butt was quite like a general. He effectively suppressed the opponent in the midfield and blocked the opponent's forward pass in time.

The young Red Devils quickly went crazy amid the cheers and applause of the home fans. They played a gorgeous football rarely seen by English fans: fast and swift, yet in perfect harmony; smooth and seamless; seamless and indestructible. The Red Devils' team reporter said: "September 1995, 9 is worth recording in the history of the Red Devils, because the game on that day was very special. This game is worthy of the pride of many fans at the Theatre of Dreams, and is also worthy of being remembered by all Red Devils fans. The Red Devils played a rare and gorgeous movement, which was a tribute performance led by Class 16, and a dazzling bloom of the Red Devils' youth."

The Red Devils' front court was filled with a storm of youth, and the opponent's defense soon fell into confusion, almost completely unable to grasp the direction. The Red Devils' chance to score came soon. In the 18th minute, Schmeichel threw the ball to Beckham, who quickly dribbled forward from the backcourt after receiving the ball, and had already advanced across the center line before Bolton had time to get into position. At this time, Beckham found a better opportunity. He decisively kicked a long pass with his right foot, and a big diagonal pass was transferred to the opponent's right backcourt. This pass was like a long-range missile, fast but very accurate, and fell to the feet of Giggs who was inserted at high speed. The flexible Giggs quickly started after receiving the ball, and the continuous change of direction fake moves made the opponent's defender completely lose the target, directly opening up the gap. After Giggs passed the opponent's defender, he dribbled into the penalty area and continued to go down the bottom. When he was close to the bottom line, he kicked the ball and passed it to the middle. This low cross was just right and passed to Bolton's small penalty area. Scholes suddenly appeared like an assassin and shot directly before the opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground to block it. The opponent's goalkeeper fell to the ground and blocked the shot, but he was unable to hold the ball in time. Scholes calmly got to the goal line and without waiting for the opponent to make any reaction, he poked the ball directly into the goal line!

From Schmeichel's hand throw, to Beckham's long pass after advancing, to Giggs' cross after passing, and then Scholes' shot, the Red Devils' attack took only 18 seconds! Beckham knew there was a chance as soon as he saw Giggs rushing in from the left, and his long pass was also very accurate; Giggs's passing was like chopping melons and vegetables, and he didn't need to wait for his teammates to cross, because he knew his teammates would rush in; Scholes started charging when Beckham passed the ball with a long pass, and with the killer's most critical sensitivity, he rushed into the penalty area at high speed and finally completed the lore. The Red Devils also added double insurance in this attack, and there was another killer in the back area of ​​the opponent's penalty area far post, that is, Cook who also sprinted from the backcourt at high speed.

After the Red Devils took a 1-0 lead, they still dominated the tempo of the game, launching waves of attacks, still causing panic in the opponent's defense. In the 32nd minute, the Red Devils attacked again quickly. Pallister passed the ball to Scholes, who did not stop the ball but passed it directly to Cook on the right. Cook had to deal with the opponent's defenders who were pressing up while receiving the ball, so it was not easy for him to stop the ball and turn around. Just when everyone thought he would lean on the defenders or open up a gap to stop the ball, or directly pass the ball back to his teammates, Cook suddenly had an idea and ran past the landing position of the ball, and used a sideways swing leg to directly hook the ball forward, very mysteriously getting rid of the close defender around the sideline, and then rushing forward like a clever rabbit.

Cook's move was a bit bizarre. The opponent was totally unprepared and was passed by him. When Cook dribbled the ball, the opponent's entire defense became chaotic. He then passed the ball to Butt, who passed it directly to Scholes on his side. Scholes flexibly moved to the intersection of the center line and the sideline, and nimbly got rid of the close defense of the defender behind him. After receiving the pass, he made a straight pass without stopping the ball, broke through the opponent's left defense line, and passed it back to Cook. Cook ran at high speed to catch up with the ball, dribbled the ball all the way to the corner of the penalty area, and passed it horizontally into the penalty area. Because the pursuers behind him were approaching, Cook, who was a little nervous, fell to the ground directly after passing the ball, but falling to the ground did not affect the quality of the pass. Giggs, who was outflanking on the other side, started at high speed, like a high-speed sports car throttled and rushed to the front of the goal, and scored directly with a lying shot in the small penalty area.

Red Devils 2-0 Bolton!

The Red Devils once again played a wonderful combination: Scholes retreated to receive the ball and made smooth movements, Cook dribbled past the opponent with his back foot, Butt made a tacit return pass, and then Cook rushed forward and made an accurate long pass, and Giggs rushed over and shot a goal... This series of operations was so smooth that the Red Devils did not give the opponent any chance to intercept. A large group of strong and powerful players of the opponent could only watch the show from behind.

The spectators in the stadium were also shocked by the goal and the cooperation. They gave even louder applause and cheers. The fans simply loved these little Red Devils. They applauded every time the players touched the ball and cheered for every shot! Sir Bobby Charlton, who was watching from the sidelines, laughed so hard that his mouth split open. He later praised, "This is a wonderful cooperation. I can't think of a more magical goal or a more beautiful cooperation than this. Cheer for our boys. They are really outstanding!"

At the end of the first half, the Red Devils led 2:0, and the score completely reflected the excitement of the process. The commentator on the sidelines said: "Compared with Bolton, the Red Devils players play a different kind of football."

In the second half, the Red Devils continued to attack, and Bolton continued to be suppressed and retreated, passively defending. In the second half, the Red Devils once again presented a wonderful team attack: Giggs immediately launched an attack after stealing the ball in the midfield and passed it directly to the right. Beckham received the ball while running on the right, and advanced along the right at high speed, and then sent an extremely accurate cross. Giggs followed up and passed the ball to the edge of the small penalty area, and Scholes cut in from the middle and shot directly!

The Red Devils once again launched an attack without any fireworks. Giggs planned accurately in the frontcourt, Beckham made accurate long passes from the wing, and Scholes responded tacitly - the three Red Devils teenagers once again made the stadium boil.

“This is a classic!”

Martin, the on-site commentator, said: "This game is an art performance. The young players of the Manchester United are so exciting. Cooperation, passion, offensive routines, tacit understanding, bravery, enthusiasm... This game brings together all the classic elements. What the best teams in the world are doing, the Manchester United are doing now! These young people are really amazing. They are full of vitality, passion, speed, and a very active rhythm. The inspiration and art shown in the team's offense are amazing and shocking."

"Are our opponents Bolton too weak? No, they just look so weak in front of the unstoppable Red Devils. We don't know how strong this young team of Red Devils is, and what kind of performances these guys will have in the future, but at this moment this performance is enough to make people never forget it."

Although Cook was not the most dazzling protagonist or the best player of the game, he also completed a gorgeous and dazzling performance. You know, this was his Premier League debut, which made him the darling of the Dream Theatre in an instant.

Unfortunately, Cook suffered an injury after the game, and his performance did not return to his best after his comeback, so Ferguson could not give him more opportunities to prove himself. After experiencing many setbacks and difficulties, Cook could only disappear under the starry sky of the Red Devils with great regret.