During the more than three weeks in the Red Country, Chen Xiaoliang really didn't train much.
At home, the most I can do is go out for an hour's run in the morning, and don't even think about working out. If I move a little, my mom will come over and say, "Don't be too tired, take care of your body."
Once you arrive in the capital and stay at the state guesthouse, you can't go out at will and can only ride a bike in the hotel gym.
After all, it is a state event. If I run out and fall and get a bruise on my face, how can I receive foreign guests?
In addition, without disturbing others as much as possible, I met up with my good friends and teachers in Donghai. They were preparing for their senior year exams, and we made an appointment to go on vacation in Europe after entering college and watch Chen Xiaoliang's game live.
Adding together all the fragmented time, the training value increased by 18 points in total in these three weeks.
Training value 20→38
But there is one thing that has made us fully prepared for the new season, and that is muscle fatigue.
I slept and ate, ate and slept at home, and was treated as a VIP at the Capital State Guesthouse. I was able to completely relax.
However, in the following days, Chen Xiaoliang will have to engage in crazy preparation training.
After chatting with Mourinho, I went to the training ground to do some ball training by myself.
I haven't touched a ball for weeks and my feet are itchy!
Um?
I saw from a distance that there were already people training? Two of them? And they were talking and laughing?
However, because the sun was too strong , they both wore sports sweatshirts and hats to block the sun.
Instantly, an inexplicable sense of crisis surged into his heart. Which two bastards were trying so hard to snatch my title of the King of Self-Discipline? !
As I got closer, I realized that one of them was Cesco.
"Hey! Aren't you Doncic? Why are you back so early?!"
Cesco, who was feeding the ball to another player, was overjoyed when he heard Chen Xiaoliang's voice: "Brother Liangzi! You are back too? That's great!"
Cesco came over, hugged Chen Xiaoliang, and said softly: "Brother Liangzi, this guy is so strong! His name is so long too!"
After he said that, Chen Xiaoliang had a 90% idea in his mind.
Nonsense, how can this guy not be strong? But I snatched him from Naples!
Because he messed with the Blackfoot Gang's cake, he was almost caught up and beaten up.
But in the end, he and Cesco fought back.
Sure enough, when the man saw Chen Xiaoliang coming over, he immediately took off his hood and said with a slightly shy look: "Captain, nice to meet you."
There are no complicated courtesies between the players, they just hug each other when they meet!
Chen Xiaoliang: "Welcome to join the team!"
Afterwards, Chen Xiaoliang went for a jog and stretching warm-up while watching Cesco and Kvaratskhelia continue to feed the ball to each other and shoot in various scenarios.
Cross from the bottom, inverted triangle cross in the penalty area, through pass after two-pass cooperation, Kvaratskhelia is the one who passes the ball and Cesco is the one who finishes.
After a while, Chen Xiaoliang also joined them. He asked Kvaratskhelia to pass the ball to him and asked Cesco to defend him.
Cesco went there reluctantly, but Chen Xiaoliang was delighted.
All he could hear was Cesco saying “Ouch!”, “Huh?”, and “Oh my god…” He was so pissed off by the Georgian man in front of him.
Chen Xiaoliang also basically judged from the balls that Kva passed to him that he was better at low horizontal passes and inverted triangles. His accuracy in long-distance high passes was okay, but it was not his strong point.
After a few passes, the three players changed positions, Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball, Kva defended, and Cesco shot.
Well, his feet are very fast, he is very active in defense, and he is decisive when he really makes a move. However, his accuracy in tackling and his grasp of the actual situation are not good enough.
But this is normal. He is a winger. Even if he participates in defense, his main focus is to press and compress space, assist in cutting off passing routes and cooperate with teammates in double-team defense. One-on-one interception is not his job.
Next, the appetizers are finished and the main course is served.
It was Cesco who held the ball, Chen Xiaoliang who defended, and Kva made a tactical run and received the ball from behind and shot.
Although he is a center forward, Cesco serves as a fulcrum in the game and has a lot of tasks such as receiving high balls and ground passes for secondary transfers.
In addition, he does not play as a traditional stationary center forward. He has a lot of room to move around and is not slow at all. Therefore, controlling the ball and dribbling past central defenders are abilities that he must strengthen.
This kind of training was very familiar to both of them. When they practiced together in the past, they would compete like this almost every day.
Chen Xiaoliang did not make a tackle, but kept harassing Cesco with body squeezing and small close-fitting movements. What Cesco was practicing was how to keep the ball, balance his body and finally choose a reasonable way to handle the ball in this state.
Outside the penalty area, Kva passed the ball to Cesco, and then moved towards the penalty area according to the tactical route.
After Cesco received the ball, Chen Xiaoliang followed him.
Cesco immediately dribbled the ball and accelerated to try to pass the opponent.
As a teammate whose tacit understanding has already reached the maximum, how could Chen Xiaoliang not know what Cesco was thinking? He immediately turned around and tried to stop him, pulling him with his hands.
Extra training is not just playing house, all the exercises have to be simulated according to actual combat situations. Except for the ultimate move of tackle, Chen Xiaoliang uses all other defensive moves.
When their bodies bumped into each other, Chen Xiaoliang was startled.
What the hell! What’s wrong with this kid?
At first he thought it was because he hadn't practiced for a while and was a little rusty, but after a few confrontations, he was very sure that Cesco either gained weight or worked hard on his strength and confrontation.
But that’s not all, this guy’s rhythm has also become a little... weird.
Usually, Cesco would pause in the middle of his smooth passing, dribbling and spiking movements, as if the rhythm was suddenly interrupted, making Chen Xiaoliang unsure whether to kick the ball or not.
After practicing a few times, he asked:
"Where did you learn this?"
Cesco smiled proudly: "Brother Luca taught me."
Chen Xiaoliang knew that the Luka he was talking about was Luka Doncic: "Fuck, you learned to play football from a basketball player?"
Cesco: "We trained together and he taught me a lot about rhythm changes and physical confrontation."
Kind of interesting...
Although they are football players, sports are interconnected, and many people also watch basketball games, and even go to the United States to watch NBA games during the winter break.
As a European player, although Doncic is very strong, he still has a big gap with black players in terms of jumping and speed.
But he relied on his superb skills, especially his clever changes of rhythm, to dominate the NBA.
Unexpectedly, after going around in circles, Seth learned something.
Not only Chen Xiaoliang found it interesting, but Kva, who was waiting for the ball, also found this change in rhythm interesting.
Next it was Kva's turn to dribble the ball, Chen Xiaoliang defended, and Cesco shot.
Born on February 12, 2001, Kvaratskhelia is only 21 years old, but among the three, he is the oldest, has the lowest income and the least fame.
Although the contract will not officially start until a few days later on July 1, he still cherishes the opportunity to join Roma to participate in the top five leagues, so he flew over early to meet Mourinho first and then familiarize himself with every aspect of the club in advance.
Chen Xiaoliang's name was well-known to him, especially in the club's Hall of Fame. When he saw the photo of Chen Xiaoliang winning three trophies on behalf of the team a month ago, he admired him from head to toe.
Now that he had the opportunity to compete head-on with the steals and interceptions king of the top five leagues, Gewa focused his attention and used all his skills.
Chen Xiaoliang also wanted to see with his own eyes the level of this Georgian player who came to the team because of his recommendation.
Even though Cesco was made into a fool just now, he is a forward after all. Even in the personal training schedule arranged by the team for him, one-on-one defensive exercises only account for a very small proportion.
Cesco passed the ball, Kva took it and started running. He dribbled the ball with his right foot at a very fast pace, but with a small stride, and ran towards Chen Xiaoliang in a step-by-step rhythm.
Chen Xiaoliang stepped sideways towards Kva. He didn't know Kva's kicking habits, so he had to judge the opponent's intentions first.
Suddenly, Kva changed direction and dribbled to the right, and Chen Xiaoliang, who was already leaning to the left, immediately blocked him.
Just as Chen Xiaoliang's center of gravity shifted, Kva stepped on his right foot and immediately pushed the ball back and moved to the left.
Chen Xiaoliang turned around instantly and stepped back to the right to block Kwa.
Unexpectedly, Kva once again dribbled the ball with his left foot and changed direction to the right!
"sure!"
Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help but shout loudly, and he was indescribably happy in his heart, as if he was a lonely martial arts master who met someone who could compete with him.
In the entire Roma team, there is no other person who can control the ball so gracefully and smoothly, and change direction repeatedly while dribbling!
Cesco, who was watching from the side, was also stunned, thinking that Kwa had not used his full strength when he passed him just now!
Chen Xiaoliang also discovered that even though he was very close, he could not see the predicted figures that he had seen when defending most people in the past.
This shows that Kva's ball control ability and technique far exceed Chen Xiaoliang's man-marking attributes!
After another change of direction, Kva left Chen Xiaoliang half a body length away and rushed forward into the penalty area at full speed.
However, when he had run less than 5 meters and was about to rush into the penalty area, Kva was surprised to find that Chen Xiaoliang had caught up with him and stuck to him. Then his center of gravity shifted due to the physical confrontation, forcing him to adjust his foot in order to maintain balance.
Because of this step, his feet left the ball and Chen Xiaoliang immediately stretched out his legs to destroy the ball.
Kwa was shocked.
This is not just watching a video through a screen, this is a real, close-up confrontation that you can feel.
The confrontation ability that Chen Xiaoliang showed in the previous defense made him hard to believe that he was a player who had just turned 18 years old, especially since this confrontation was not a blind collision with great force, but was aimed at destroying his body balance and ball control rhythm.
Moreover, he had just passed him, but was immediately caught up again. This had never happened before in the Georgian League.
The final kick was destructive, just like any other Roma game I've ever seen, it was lightning fast, accurate and fierce.
After just one round, Kva understood why the red Chinese man in front of him was chosen as captain by Mourinho.
"Come again."
Chen Xiaoliang was still not satisfied, so the three of them started over again.
In repeated confrontations, Kva continuously improved his speed of changing direction and tried his best to get past Chen Xiaoliang, while Chen Xiaoliang was completely focused and immersed in dealing with Kva's changeable dribbling.
Before long, the two were working hard and sweating profusely. They took off their coats and only wore a sports short-sleeved shirt.
After standing aside for a long time, Cesco suggested taking a break, and the three of them went to the restaurant and sat down to drink water and rest.
Kwa asked humbly, "Captain, do you think my moves were okay?"
He really has no confidence. The best game he had played before was the Russian Premier League, where he played for Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan. However, he had few opportunities to play when he was just 19 years old. Last season, he finally had more opportunities, but when the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, he had to return to his hometown to participate in the Georgian league.
His team Dynamo Batumi is ranked 273rd in the UEFA club rankings, while the Georgian Super League is not even in the top 20 of UEFA's European leagues rankings.
So when Kwa heard that Roma was interested in buying him, he thought it was a call from a scammer. It was not until Reese appeared in front of him that he realized he had won the lottery.
When all the transfer documents and contracts were finalized, he even suffered from insomnia for several days out of excitement and anticipation.
"Can I be a starter in the team..."
But in the end, he was too embarrassed to ask this half of the sentence.
Chen Xiaoliang said seriously: "Listen, brother, I tell you responsibly."
"There are many good wingers in this league, such as Theo and Leao from Milan, Dumfries from Inter, Chiesa from Juventus, Biraghi from Fiorentina, and so on."
"Each of them has different characteristics. Some are fast, some are explosive, some are good at cooperation, and some are particularly good at crossing. But believe me, when it comes to dribbling past opponents, I have never seen anyone in the league do better than you."
Although Kwa was a little surprised, he was still overjoyed when he heard Chen Xiaoliang say that.
But Chen Xiaoliang didn't finish his words.
"But you also have your weaknesses."
Kwa immediately became serious and listened carefully to the captain's analysis.
"Your first two steps were fast, but your ultimate speed is not fast. You must have realized this yourself. There were a few times just now when you could have completely passed me, but I was able to catch up with you as soon as I exerted my strength."
"But this is not a big problem. Real games are not one-on-one like ours. A good receiving position, active support from teammates, and reduced physical strength of the opponent can all help you establish a spatial advantage after dribbling past the opponent."
"Also, it's hard to significantly improve your top speed in a short period of time, so just improve it slowly. Your dribbling speed is already pretty fast."
"But physical confrontation, especially physical confrontation during high-speed running, is not your strong point, so you couldn't stop me a few times just now and I got you back to your position."
"So in the next two months, I suggest you spend some time practicing physical confrontation."
"Although the overall competition in Serie A is not too intense, we have the Champions League to play in the new season. Many teams in the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are quite fierce in competition. After analyzing our league, they will definitely make targeted arrangements for you."
Kwa listened carefully and nodded continuously.
"Also, it's about cooperation. Passing on the wing is just a means to create space and tear open the defense. Our ultimate goal is to score the ball."
"You need to focus on improving your ability to cut in and shoot, change direction, pull away and suddenly shoot. "
Chen Xiaoliang pointed at Cesco when he said this.
"Passing the ball over the head and feet of this big guy will also be your next important task."
Cesco: "Liangzi, is this really okay for you..."
Chen Xiaoliang rubbed Kwa's shoulders a few times, just like when Drogba rubbed his shoulders in Paris to relax himself.
"Snap, snap, snap"
Suddenly, applause broke out in the empty and quiet restaurant.
The three of them turned in the direction where the sound came from and immediately stood up.
It's Mourinho.
"Sure. If the boss fires me someday, our captain can directly serve as the head coach."
The three came in through the restaurant's main door facing the training ground, while Mourinho came in through the connecting passage between the restaurant and the office area.
When the three of them were training just now, he watched for a while through the floor-to-ceiling window of the office. The one-on-one confrontation between Kwa and Chen Xiaoliang made him very satisfied.
Seeing them enter the restaurant, I walked over after finishing my own business. Unexpectedly, as soon as I reached the door, I heard Chen Xiaoliang lecturing his new teammates, so I waited for him to finish before coming in.
He didn't come here to chat with the three people, but called them to his office.
"In the new season, the three of you will be the focus of the team's offense. Of course, if Dybala can come in the end, he will also be one of them."
The news of Dybala's falling out with Juventus had long spread throughout European football, and many reporters had also reported that he was negotiating a new contract with several clubs, including Roma, so Mourinho did not hide it and spoke out directly.
"We also have Pellegrini, Abraham and Zaniolo , and I will let them join the offensive system centered on you."
As Mourinho spoke, he took out a tactical board and marked on it with a marker.
"At the beginning of last season, we played relatively simply and didn't pose much of a threat on the wing, which led to poor results when we faced the traditional top three teams."
"This season we have to strengthen our attack from the wing. My plan is to put Dybala on the right wing, like you (he points to Kvar), as an inverted winger. If Dybala can't come, then Zaniolo will play, he is also left-footed."
"This will not only allow more direct attacks towards the goal from the flanks, but will also allow the formation of an attacking triangle on both the left and right flanks."
"Let us have attacking points on the edge of the box, in front of the box and inside the box."
At this point, Mourinho looked at Chen Xiaoliang again:
"Last season, we didn't perform well in positional warfare. On the one hand, we didn't have the ability to dribble past opponents on the wing and get to the breakthrough point in the penalty area. Our overall cross level was not good enough. On the other hand, we didn't have enough impact in the penalty area."
"Cesco alone is not enough."
"So I hope that when Kvar gets the ball and breaks through, you can support him outside the penalty area, so that whether it is a cross pass in front of the goal or an inverted triangle, you and Cesco can become the receiving points."
"When attacking from the right, if you need to cross the ball, you can switch positions with Dybala or Zaniolo, and you can cross the ball from the right and let them attack in the penalty area."
"When you need to attack the penalty area, you can go forward and directly participate in the attack or even finish the attack."
Mourinho paused:
"Just like what Gerrard and Lampard did back then."
"I know you are very cautious. You rarely take active shots, and most of them are outside the penalty area. You only try long shots when the team cannot penetrate the defense."
"But in the new season, I need you to shoot more in the penalty area, not just headers, but also to score, receive reverse triangle shots, or even get rid of the ball and shoot."
He pointed at Cesco again, but still spoke to Chen Xiaoliang:
"Only when the second and third points can be attacked can Cesco fully exert his offensive power. Otherwise, there will always be several people surrounding him, and he will be the fulcrum and do the dirty work in the penalty area. Our problems in positional warfare will still not be solved."
This time, he looked at Cesco:
"I want Drogba, Ibrahimovic, Kane, Milito, but I don't want Heskey."
The three of them nodded and thought for a while.
Chen Xiaoliang asked: "Coach, do you want me to play as attacking midfielder?"
Mourinho looked hesitant: "I have thought about what you said for a long time, but I haven't made up my mind yet."
"Wijnaldum and Enzo will arrive at the club in a few days. Unless it is a big game, I will not send them both to play at the same time. I will let one of them cooperate with Cristante or Matic to ensure the ball out of the backcourt."
"I have seen Wijnaldum play in the Premier League, but I don't know much about Enzo. The Argentine league is very different from Serie A."
"If my double defensive midfielder configuration can achieve a balanced attack and defense, and they can also support the team's midfield defense, then I think there is no problem for you to play as an offensive midfielder, so that I can use your physical advantage to arrange the team to launch a high-pressure defense."
"Let me think about it again, because your defense is too important to the team. If the midfield can't stop it, no matter how good the central defender is, he will be overwhelmed by the attacking group under the trend of modern football."
Mourinho waved his hand, indicating that the matter should be discussed later.
"I won't give you three too much playing time in the warm-up match. It's definitely not a smart thing to reveal our tactical arrangements for the new season too early."
"Hvicha (Kwa's name), especially you, you must be mentally prepared. In order to succeed, you must be able to endure loneliness."
"The time for the whole of Italy, and even the whole of Europe, to remember you is not in the warm-up matches. Even if you are allowed to play then, I hope you can play with restraint."
"I don't want your characteristics to be discovered by the opponent's scouts so quickly. I won't let you play even in the first few games of the league."
When Kva heard this, he was a little frustrated, but he was mentally prepared to sit on the bench for a while.
"You must be strong inside, strong enough to make a big splash when the opportunity comes!"
Kwa nodded.
Chen Xiaoliang looked at Mourinho and knew that he regarded Kva as a secret weapon and there was a high probability that he would play in the Champions League group stage.
It’s just that we are still in the off-season and the Champions League qualifiers haven’t even started yet, so we don’t know who our opponents will be in the group stage.
However, he believes that the ability shown by Kwa in his first arrival today will sooner or later terrify the full-backs in Serie A.
If his speed, burst and shooting were better, he could become the best winger in Serie A.
But it's true, if the speed and shooting are improved, then he will be Messi...
Thinking of this, Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help but look forward to playing a game with Messi.
At this time, Mourinho turned the computer screen towards the three people:
"I have received invitations for warm-up matches from two big clubs, both at the end of July. The two clubs have conflicting schedules, so I can only choose one. You can take a look and decide who you want to play against."
oh?
The three people's eyes lit up and they immediately looked at the screen.
Arsenal, July 30, Emirates Stadium, London.
Paris Saint-Germain, July 31, Parc des Princes Stadium, Paris.
"Ce Na!"
"Walter?"
"Um?"
The three of them exclaimed in different ways at the same time.
If there is any time in this world when you want something to come true, it is now!
Chen Xiaoliang thought, is this even worth considering?
I am not the kind of person who is looking for someone who doesn’t have any!
Three people pointed at the invitation letter from Paris Saint-Germain at the same time.
Mourinho asked knowingly, as if he had seen through the three people's thoughts, smiling and asking: "What's the reason?"
Chen Xiaoliang swallowed his saliva.
Cesco's eyes lit up.
Kwa scratched his head.
Chen Xiaoliang thought to himself: I want to play one-on-one with Messi!
Cesco thought to himself: I want to score a goal in front of Messi!
Kva thought to himself: I want... the coach seemed to have just said that he would not let me play, so I will just watch Messi.
"snort!"
Looking at the three crazy people, Mourinho snorted and turned the screen around:
"Can't give a reason? Then it's Arsenal."
Chen Xiaoliang immediately jumped up from his chair: "Stop! Coach! Do I even need to ask for a reason?!"
Mourinho: "You can choose Paris. But I have already said that you will not be allowed to play more. When the time comes, it will be Abraham, Pellegrini, Cristante and others who will play against Messi, Mbappe and Neymar."
Chen Xiaoliang knew that the head coach was being naughty, and he almost cried with laughter: "Coach, please be kind, I'm old, can you not play those childish tricks? Tell me, what are the conditions?"
Mourinho chuckled and said, "Practice all the tactics I just drew for you. If you don't practice well, don't even think about playing. Stay in Rome and watch Messi on TV!"
The three of them looked at each other, then immediately stood up and walked out of the office.
Mourinho asked: "Why?"
Chen Xiaoliang said loudly without even turning his head: "Practice!"
Mourinho looked at the backs of the three people leaving and smiled slightly.
One is 18 years old, one is 19 years old, and one is 21 years old. He has even imagined in his mind how much influence these three people can have in European football in the next ten years.