Chapter 246: The last match of the season, the European Cup final
With the perfect ending of the final match with 3 goals, Chen Xiaoliang received 3 hours of training value and 2 physical recovery cards.
Training value 20 → 23
In the past, after completing the league missions, Chen Xiaoliang would shut down the system. But today, in the [Season Mission] interface that would only light up once a season, a huge reward package was waiting for him.
[Season Mission: Win the Serie A Championship this season]
[Task progress: Successfully won the championship]
[Task Reward: Any 18-20 attribute +1, any 1-17 attribute +1]
As expected, it is the championship reward of the five major leagues, which is much better than the "100 training points + number of appearances training points" reward for winning the Scottish Premier League last season. Especially since most of my attributes are generally high now, this reward is more in line with my needs.
Since the rewards cannot be saved and must be used immediately, Chen Xiaoliang carefully considered the strategy of adding points.
Currently, the three attributes that meet my requirements and are the most cost-effective are 17 passing, 17 pace and 18 crossing.
If the two rewards are used separately, it means that the cross can be increased to 19, and the 17 bonus can be increased to 18.
But if used on an attribute of 17, you can directly cultivate an attribute of 19.
The total benefit has not changed. No matter how you add it up, it will be one item 19, one item 18, and one item 17. The key depends on how you make your own choices.
Passing is naturally important. It can be said to be the most important and most frequently occurring behavior in football, but the attributes of passing more affect the accuracy of passing. In actual games, there are many complex factors involved in passing.
For example, when it is inconvenient to turn around when receiving the ball with your back to the goal, if you want to pass the ball with your heel, you need the help of the "technique" attribute. And when you use one-foot pass, stop and pass, you need the help of the "stop ball" attribute.
Crossing is equally important, and it can even be said that it has become Chen Xiaoliang's main means of creating scoring opportunities for forwards. This pass surpasses the crossing level of almost all midfielders in Serie A, and is also the biggest factor that distinguishes and surpasses midfielders such as Brozovic and Barella.
However, the application range of the cross is too small. It can only be used in an attack, when the middle is in place and there is an open space on the wing.
Moreover, just like passing the ball, the cross becomes useless in defense.
If it is Barcelona in its heyday or Manchester City today, when the team is leading, they will use a lot of passes to gain control of the ball, thereby compressing the opponent's possession rate and protecting their own goal by preventing the opponent from getting the ball.
That is what is known as "the best defense is offense."
As written in martial arts novels, the Dugu Nine Swordsmen are all about advancing and never retreating, and every move is an attack. When you attack, the enemy has to defend, so of course you don’t have to defend yourself.
At that time, Barcelona also made the passing and controlling style of play based on this concept popular around the world.
But Chen Xiaoliang's head coach is Mourinho... a man who walks to the other extreme. He is the head coach of Barcelona, which defeated Guardiola's peak team in 2010 by relying on pure defense even when one player was sent off and the ball possession rate was only 24%.
In the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, Inter Milan had only one shot in the whole game, which did not hit the goal frame. They made only 67 successful passes with a pass success rate of 42%. These two data can be called "the pinnacle" just like Busquets' acting skills.
Barcelona had 555 successful passes, but due to Inter Milan's iron defense, only 4 of the 15 shots hit the goal frame.
How do you talk to a coach like this about using passing to control the tempo of the game?
It goes without saying that next season when Roma faces strong teams and major competitions, defensive counterattacks will still be the main theme.
Order the dishes that suit the restaurant you go to.
Thinking of this, Chen Xiaoliang decided to add both bonus attributes to the speed of attack and defense.
Speed 17→19
You can launch counterattacks faster in offense and retreat from the front court faster in defense.
However, this ability to get in and out of the court and move back and forth faster will have to wait a few days before it can be shown to the coach and teammates, but Helena, who lives at home with them, experienced it first.
There is no way around it, as physical attributes can also affect life outside the court.
After adding points, there is the next reward.
[Season Mission: Win the Italian Cup this season]
[Task progress: Successfully won the championship]
[Task Reward: Skill Value +20]
Skill value 69 → 89
Looking at this reward, and then looking at the one given by the previous Serie A champion, it is inevitable that it seems a bit shabby...
Last season in the Scottish Premier League, reaching the quarterfinals of the Europa League also gave 10 skill points...
But on second thought, Serie A teams all start from the third round of the Italian Cup. Even if they reach the final, there are only five games at most. The opponents are basically the teams in Serie A. The difficulty and time span of the competition are relatively limited, so 20 points for winning the championship is considered good.
The tasks for the other seasons have not yet been revealed. It seems that we have to wait until the season is completely over before we can claim the rewards.
After processing the system, it is time to reply to a large number of congratulatory messages.
He took the time to reply to every congratulation sent on his behalf by Sir Alex Ferguson, Grandpa , Boss Wu, Gerrard, Sun Jihai, and even the Godfather's confidant.
However, he also called someone to congratulate him, that is, Shen Mengyu, a fellow villager from Donghai City. This season, she helped the Celtic women's football team win the Scottish Women's Premier League FA Cup and the League Cup. Although she failed to win the league championship and missed the Women's Champions League next season, this was definitely a successful start for Shen Mengyu, who was studying abroad for the first time.
Finally, there are his old friends. Glasgow Rangers unfortunately lost to Bundesliga's Frankfurt on penalties in the Europa League final a few days ago.
Chen Xiaoliang also called them to comfort them, and everyone agreed that Rangers must pass the third round of the Champions League qualifiers next season and strive to meet everyone in the group stage to achieve an alternative reunion.
As for the overwhelming messages from fans on social media, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, Chen Xiaoliang could only leave the public relations to Riise's team.
Looking out the window at the paparazzi pretending to pass by on the street or hiding in the car to take pictures, Chen Xiaoliang thought that this was probably the trouble after becoming famous.
A day and a half of rest passed in a flash, and it was already May 23. Early in the morning, the players regrouped at the Trigoria base with joyful expressions and started the last training session of the season in this "hometown".
Since this year's European Cup is held in its first year, and although Albania is very close to Italy, separated by the Strait of Otranto, and the flight distance from Rome to Tirana is only more than 600 kilometers, this city is still too unfamiliar to both Roma and Feyenoord.
Therefore, both parties chose to arrive at the local area two days in advance to carry out adaptive training.
On the last day in Trigoria, the team had to complete the tactical meeting.
The Dutch Eredivisie ended before Serie A because it only had 18 teams and 34 rounds of matches.
Feyenoord finished third in the league, 12 points behind the title-winning Ajax. The total value of the regular 11 starters is around 100 million euros.
It can be clearly seen from these data that compared with the two teams in terms of team strength and specific performance, Roma is superior in all aspects.
Moreover, Malacia was transferred from Feyenoord in the winter transfer window. At that time, the other party did not expect that after less than half a year, the two teams would meet in the UEFA Europa League final. Moreover, the player sold was the only player in the team who was selected for the World Cup roster...
Since UEFA changed the rules in the 2018-19 season, players who have played in European competitions for their original club before the winter transfer window can also play in the same level of European competitions for their new club after the winter transfer window. In addition, the two teams did not formulate any avoidance clauses for this season when discussing Malaysia's transfer, so Malaysia can definitely play in this final against his old club.
However, considering that he came from Feyenoord's youth training and became a U17 professional player in 2015, he has been in this Dutch club for 6 years. In order to give more young people the opportunity to play in major competitions, Mourinho chose to let Zalewski start as a left wingback.
Although he did not start, Forti's tactical reports and player analysis still largely referenced Malaysia's opinions.
After all, he is far more familiar with the club than any Roma match scout.
Mourinho's tactical requirements are very simple, there are only three:
1. Steady defense. Especially in cup matches where the outcome is decided by one battle, Mourinho has always believed that offense wins the game and defense wins the championship, so this game will still focus on defensive counterattacks;
2. Speed. Except for the Dutch right-back Gil Truida, who is quite fast, the speed of the other players in Feyenoord's defense is average, especially the Austrian center-back Trauner. As a typical white center-back, his slow turning speed is an obvious shortcoming.
Under the tone of counterattack and retreat, the opponent's back line will inevitably press forward, so when the ball speed and running speed are both improved, Roma's counterattack can easily break through the opponent's defense line;
3. Win the treble. This is a battle of dignity, the Serie A champion versus the Eredivisie third, a starting lineup worth nearly 300 million versus a starting lineup worth 100 million, winning the third championship of the season is what the team must do. If they lose all these games with such a huge gap, not only will the outside world question the quality of Roma, the new Serie A champion, but the jokes that will be made will make the club lose face from top to bottom.
Mourinho's tactical arrangement was simple and clear, without any special arrangements or targeted tactics, and he played his best for the whole season.
After going through the trials of the Italian Cup and Serie A in half a month, the players no longer have too many thoughts and anxieties about the championship battle. They themselves believe that this tournament should be the end of their perfect season.
Despite this, when the players arrived in Tirana, the capital of Albania, overnight, the development of the situation on the scene far exceeded the expectations of the club, including Feyenoord.
If it was expected that the team would be surrounded by local fans at the airport when they returned to Rome after winning the championship in Turin, then it was completely unexpected that they were once again warmly welcomed by more than 2,000 local Albanian fans at the airport after landing at Tirana Mother Teresa International Airport late at night.
However, unlike Roma, Mourinho's "fans" accounted for a considerable proportion of the fans who came to the airport to welcome him, and many people printed the phrase "the most special one followed by the whole world" on slogans and posters.
As a stadium owned by the Albanian Football Association, the 22,000 tickets for the final at the Aviation Stadium were sold out long ago. Many fans of Roma and Feyenoord could not buy tickets at all and could only buy them from scalpers and the black market, where the prices increased by 5 to 20 times.
According to Italian media Tutto Mercato, the highest ticket price for this game has been driven up to over 10,000 euros.
Even the hotels were sold out. Many Roma fans complained that due to the sharp increase in local hotel prices, the rooms that had been booked long ago were cancelled for no reason by unscrupulous businessmen just to sell them to people who offered higher prices.
These things not only caught the two clubs off guard, but even UEFA was caught off guard. However, for them, the joy was obviously greater than the surprise.
UEFA President Ceferin said in an interview with the media after arriving in Tirana that the level of attention received by the match even exceeded that of the Europa League final between Frankfurt and Glasgow Rangers held on May 18. This shows that UEFA's hosting of the European Contest is completely correct and will allow more clubs to participate in intercontinental competitions and share the fruits of European football development both at the competitive and economic levels.
However, the media and fans are well aware that Feyenoord's influence around the world after leaving the Netherlands cannot be compared with that of Mourinho, who has been in the industry for 20 years, and the rising Chen Xiaoliang.
The reason why this game has attracted so much attention is that Roma is the new Serie A champion, and many media outlets were hyping it up before the game. If Roma wins the first European Cup, Mourinho will become the first head coach to win the Champions League, Europa League and European Cup.
This is what people come to see.
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, club owner Dan Friedkin placed the team directly in the Wanhao Hotel built on the stadium.
In addition to convenient transportation and complete facilities, you can go downstairs and directly enter the stadium for adaptive training.
In contrast, Feyenoord, with limited finances, could only live in a hotel on the outskirts of the city and rented a local club's training ground to maintain daily training.
The Wanhao Hotel was on high alert, with Roma fans waiting downstairs almost 24 hours a day. There were at least one or two hundred people there during the day, and there were still people waiting before 11 o'clock at night.
Mourinho had to arrange time in the evening every day, ask the hotel security to maintain order, and send a few players to greet the fans and try their best to meet everyone's autograph needs.
Although this will affect the players' preparation and training, the knowledgeable Mourinho knows that the fans' crazy love is generally more beneficial than harmful.
Popularity and traffic are what Rome urgently needs to accumulate now.
Although the boss said a few days ago that there will still be large investments in this summer window and the club's revenue has increased significantly, there is still a long way to go to completely cover the huge debts accumulated in previous years.
Under the constraints of UEFA's Financial Fair Play Act, Pinto has privately informed Mourinho that only about 35 million euros of transfer funds will be available this summer.
After all, after the contract renewals of Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco, the salary increase of the two alone has increased the annual expenditure by 10 million euros.
In addition, it cost another 10 million euros to sign Kvaratskhelia plus an annual salary of 1.5 million euros. If the free transfers of Belotti and Dybala are negotiated, although no transfer fee is required, their annual salary and bonus requirements of 8 million and 4 million respectively will increase the annual expenditure by another 12 million euros.
The total for these three people is 23.5 million euros.
There is also the loan of Wijnaldum. The Dutch midfielder's fixed annual salary after tax at the wealthy Paris Saint-Germain has reached about 5 million euros.
In France, the social security contribution rate is about 12% of income, while the income tax rate for high-income people with an annual salary of more than 160,000 euros is 45%. Super high-income groups such as players are also required to pay a high-income contribution fee of 4%.
This means that Wijnaldum's annual salary before tax has reached 11 million euros, which ranks among the top ten in the entire Serie A, and is the same as Chen Xiaoliang who has just renewed his contract.
Paris asked Roma to bear 40%, while Roma set a clause that automatically triggers a mandatory buyout of 10 million if the appearance rate exceeds 50%.
After Paris confirmed that it would purchase the 2016 Golden Boy Award winner Renato Sanches from Lille in the summer window, it also wanted to get rid of Wijnaldum as soon as possible.
It's not over yet. Pinto is negotiating the transfer of Enzo Fernandez in Buenos Aires. The fee of 12 million plus an annual salary of 1.5 million euros is not much, but River Plate insisted on a clause of 25% share of future secondary transfers, otherwise Enzo will be kept until after the World Cup before being sold.
Therefore, the two deals for these two players will cost the club at least 18.5 million and at most 28.5 million.
For all the above, a cost of 52 million euros has been determined.
Finally, the outstanding young player Zalewski is about to start contract renewal negotiations. The 32-year-old Smalling has one year left on his contract. With limited funds, renewing his contract and keeping him is still the most cost-effective operation mode.
In addition to the players, the club also has to pay loan interest, and has to support a large number of people including coaches, team doctors, scouts, analysts, office clerks, chefs, gardeners, security guards, etc.
During the summer offseason, the club's facilities also need to be maintained, from the turf on the training ground, the equipment in the gym, the computers in the office, to the meals in the cafeteria. As the team's competitive level improves and the pressure to participate in next season increases, money has to be spent on purchasing and maintaining them.
There are also large expenses on match day, including travel expenses and accommodation costs.
If the team performs well, scores more goals and keeps more clean sheets, there will also be happy worries. The goal bonuses, assist bonuses, clean sheet bonuses and championship bonuses that need to be paid out will also increase.
Each of them looks okay on its own, but when put together they add up to a large number.
Including the remaining promised 35 million euros, the actual amount that owner Dan Friedkin has to pay for the new season has already exceeded 100 million euros.
Mourinho knows that with the current economic situation in Serie A, it would be a dream come true to get such support from the Friedkin family. Therefore, in the transfers of Dybala, Belotti, Wijnaldum, and even the previous transfer of Matic, he personally called the other party to lobby and invite them, using his championship record and past personal connections to reduce the club's expenditure.
In this situation, making full use of the two "cash cows" of himself and Chen Xiaoliang to attract traffic and increase popularity has become the top priority in the championship stage at the end of the season.
The more sponsorship we get now, the more money we can spend in the summer.
Of course, in addition to increasing revenue, we also have to cut costs. When people come, some have to go. Players who need to be sold have to be sold. We also have to reduce redundant staff, recover funds, and reduce salaries.
Brian Reynolds, the American full-back bought from Dallas, was a huge disappointment for Mourinho;
And Karsdorp, whose professionalism is questionable in Mourinho's eyes, has been put on the sale list;
Four players who are currently on loan and do not want to return to Rome to play, Turkish winger Yundel, Spanish goalkeeper Pau Lopez, Swedish goalkeeper Robin Olsen and old captain Florenzi will also be sold to their current teams.
The first two will move to Marseille, the third will move to Aston Villa , while Florenzi will move permanently to AC Milan;
Brazilian backup goalkeeper Fuzato has made contributions as a substitute this season, but he is unwilling to be Patricio's substitute again, and his transfer request was approved by Mourinho;
Veretout's 11 million euro sale to Marseille has also been finalized. It's not that Mourinho actively wanted to sell him, but his unstable starting lineup and the introduction of a new midfielder next season made him decide to return to his home country of France to get a stable chance to play and fight for the World Cup roster.
Two burdens, Santon has retired, and Diawara transferred to Anderlecht for 1.5 million;
Young defender Calafiori continued to perform mediocrely after being loaned out to Genoa for half a season and could not meet the team's requirements for multi-line operations next season, so he was sold to Barcelona for 1 million euros;
The most regrettable thing is that Afennar Gyan, the young striker who was once highly expected by Mourinho, gradually lost himself in the world of sensual pleasures after becoming famous with one goal, and his performance in training continued to decline. Mourinho had a private conversation with him once, but it turned out to have no effect.
After experiencing Balotelli, Santon and Dele Alli, he has neither the mood nor the time to guide the young players over and over again. What's more, the team has the old players Matic, the young players Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco, and even the loaned Wu Lei's training attitude and professionalism are enough to be a role model for Gian.
Since Gian is unwilling to learn the hard lessons, the 6 million euro transfer to Cremona, which will rise from the second place in Serie B to Serie A next season, has been negotiated.
Just sell it.
He is about to turn 60. As a man who mocked Ranieri, who was 56 years old and coaching Juventus at the time, as an old man who should retire when he just took over Inter Milan in 2008, he himself understands that his coaching career has entered the countdown.
What's more, he now has the best talents in the world. He doesn't want to waste his time on young people who have lost their way. He wants to shine again in the final stage of his coaching, leave the football world as a winner and become an eternal legend.
Considering the security pressure of the hotel, Mourinho did not go to the gate in person to sign autographs for fans, nor did he let the most popular Chen Xiaoliang do so.
But when they arrived at the stadium early on the day of the game, as soon as they got off the bus, he asked the players to go in and prepare first, while he took the initiative to satisfy many fans' requests for autographs and photos by the iron fence.
The fans informed each other and a large number of people immediately came. Finally, the stadium security who formed a human wall could no longer withstand it and warned Mourinho that if he continued to be so "close to the people", there would be a risk of trampling. Mourinho then waved his hand and walked into the stadium coolly, which attracted screams from the fans.
As the game time approached, the media, fans at the stadium, and even Feyenoord were surprised to find that in the 22,000-seat stadium, more than 85% of the fans were supporting Roma...Except for thousands of tickets specially supplied to Roma fans, the local Albanian fans were almost all Roma fans.
Feyenoord fans only got tickets for a small part of the stands...Club staff protested to UEFA, saying, "This is a neutral venue? This is Roma's home stadium, okay?"
UEFA officials looked at the hot football market and the passionate scene, and explained kindly: Be good, stop talking nonsense, and get on the field and play the game well.
You will also be included in the share of the broadcasting fees since Roma is so popular.
Those 12 founding clubs of the European Super League combined couldn't defeat me, and you want to complain?
In the end, the game started as scheduled.
As the game went on, Feyenoord realized that not only was the situation one-sided among the fans in the stadium, but the situation on the field was also one-sided.
It seemed as if they were not facing 11 people, but 11 wolves with ferocious eyes:
Patricio;
Spinazzola, Mancini, Smalling, Ibanez, Zalewski;
Mkhitaryan, Matic;
Chen Xiaoliang;
Cesco, Pellegrini.
Despite maintaining a ball possession rate of over 60%, all Feyenoord did was to pass the ball, pass the ball, and pass the ball again in the midfield and frontcourt. If there was even a slight mistake, Roma would intercept the ball and then launch a quick counterattack like a 100-meter race.
The longer time went on, the more they felt that the trophy made of 32 silver arcs, which was placed on the sidelines and was unveiled to the public for the first time, seemed to have less and less to do with them.
In the Eredivisie where 4-3-3 offense is common, where have you ever seen such defense?
On the Roma side, from Mourinho sitting on the sidelines to the players executing tactics calmly and orderly on the field, everyone was filled with confidence.
Even Zhan Jun, who was commentating the game, said that Roma seemed to have developed an iron shield and no matter how Feyenoord attacked, they could not find the fatal weakness.
In the 12th minute, Feyenoord striker Desers' long shot was blocked by Mkhitaryan. After receiving the ball, Chen Xiaoliang headed forward and immediately started dribbling forward at full speed.
Colombian midfielder Sistra, who was trying to steal the ball next to him, started running almost at the same time as him, but after running for 10 meters, he found that he was left two body lengths behind!
Even Cesco, who was standing near the center line and was almost familiar with Chen Xiaoliang, was surprised and immediately changed from a slow start to a full-speed run.
Feyenoord did not expect that their South American black teammate was easily left behind by the opponent's midfield core. Turkish midfielder Kokcu and Norwegian left back Pedersen, who became the main player after Malaysia left, immediately teamed up to double-team Chen Xiaoliang.
But Chen Xiaoliang, who was already at top speed, like a sports car with the accelerator pressed to the bottom, would not stop there. When he was still 6-7 meters away from Pederson, he kicked the ball to the outside of the right side, and then strode after the ball with his legs as fast as if he was on Hot Wheels.
Pedersen seemed to feel the man in front of him rushing towards him with a gust of wind. He was originally turning sideways and immediately wanted to turn around and start, but before he took two meters, the gust of wind had already whistled to his side.
He subconsciously wanted to reach out and pull him, but when he stretched out his hand, he could no longer grab the hem of Chen Xiaoliang's clothes.
Mourinho and Forti looked at each other, and both saw shock in each other's eyes.
At the same time, countless fans in the stands held their heads or opened their mouths wide, making all kinds of exclamations!
Cesco was almost going crazy. As he ran, he saw Chen Xiaoliang running from behind him to in front of him.
Pellegrini, who originally wanted to make the second response behind him, had already slowed down. He knew that by the time he caught up, the attack on this ball would be over.
After Chen Xiaoliang shook off Pederson who was unable to turn around, he moved slightly inward along the outside line.
Feyenoord's two central defenders, the Argentine Senesi and the Austrian Trauner, did not expect that Roma would attack their unguarded hinterland so simply and directly, and Cesco, who suddenly accelerated, had left them behind.
The coach said that Roma’s counterattack would be fast, but he didn’t say it would be this fast!
Zhan Jun: "Xiaoliang dribbled the ball to the right side of the penalty area and made a low cross!"
"Middle! Cesco!!!"
Zhang Lu: "Oh!!!"
Zhan Jun: "It's a pity that without any defense, Cesco's shot didn't hit the right spot, and Feyenoord goalkeeper Bigelo blocked it with his legs, and it went wide of the post!"
"But we have to say that this counterattack ignited the passion of the entire stadium! Many fans showed incredible expressions!"
"The camera showed Feyenoord captain Kokcu, who seemed to be blaming left-back Pedersen for his slow reaction."
"But Pedersen looked aggrieved, as if to say, how can I catch up with this speed?"
"Today's Xiaoliang seems to be possessed by the Monkey King!"
Zhang Lu: "Hahaha! But this goal is a little worse than the one when Bale surpassed Maicon and assisted Crouch. It's not that Xiaoliang ran slowly, it's that the defenders were too inexperienced, or they seriously underestimated Xiaoliang's speed. It looked like he passed through without any hindrance. Maicon at least followed him for a while."
Zhan Jun laughed: "The problem is, Zhang Zhi, it seems that even we have never seen Xiao Liang have such super acceleration before!"
