Chapter 304 Italian Super Cup is coming, Chen Xiaoliang's transformation
During the half-time break, AC Milan coach Pioli replaced three players at once, whom he felt were very dissatisfied with in the first half, especially two midfielders who both received yellow cards but were missed in set-piece defense.
As a result, relying on the home advantage, AC Milan launched a resolute defensive counterattack.
First, in the 69th minute, young central defender Kalulu scored a goal from a corner kick.
Then in a counterattack in the 82nd minute, Leo dribbled the ball all the way up the left at high speed, shaking off Celik and Ibanez one after another, and Chen Xiaoliang had to chase back at full speed from the frontcourt.
Before being caught up by Chen Xiaoliang, Leo passed the ball diagonally to the right into the penalty area. Another young player of AC Milan, Pobega, shot from the right side of the penalty spot. Gvardiol had no time to stop him and the ball went into the net again.
Roma did not lack opportunities in the second half, but Dybala, Enzo and Guevadiol were all in very poor form in this game, and they obviously had not recovered from the World Cup games and the fatigue of traveling back and forth.
Celik and others had not played for a long time, and right after the offseason they had to face the impact of Leo and Theo, and they were unable to cope with it.
The team was not in good shape on both offense and defense, and even Chen Xiaoliang's hard work was to no avail. In the end, the two sides ended up in a 2-2 tie in the first game of the second match.
Of the 10 league games in this round, including the one against Roma, 5 ended in draws, and Inter Milan was even tied 2-2 by newly promoted Monza away from home.
Napoli beat Sampdoria 2-0 away and accumulated 41 points, narrowing the gap with Roma to 3 points.
The next day, Roma set off from the airport early in the morning and flew to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. However, since there was only one flight from Milan to Riyadh a day, AC Milan chose to depart the next day.
Originally, AC Milan legend and current director Maldini approached Pinto, hoping that the two teams could take the same flight, but after asking Mourinho for his opinion, Pinto had to reject Maldini's "good intentions."
This was the conversation between the two.
Pinto: "Jose, Maldini hopes that our two teams can charter a plane and go to Riyadh together, because there is only one flight a day from Milan, so we can save tens of thousands of euros."
Mourinho: "I have no problem, but I want to ask you a question."
Pinto: "Hmm? Excuse me."
Mourinho: "If your wife leaves with someone else, does that mean you are cheated on?"
Pinto was stunned. He knew that Mourinho was setting a trap for him again, but he still nodded reluctantly: "Yes... yes."
Mourinho: "Now the man who cheated on you is playing with your wife and invites you to join them in their... um... fun games, and he can also drive to pick you up, saving you gas and a meal. How would you respond?"
Pinto looked around helplessly: "I know, I will refuse them."
Mourinho: "We are about to compete for a championship trophy and I am trying to create a competitive mentality for the players. The opponent has just prevented us from taking all three points in the league, and you want us to go out with them like a picnic? How about me and Pioli holding hands and walking side by side?"
Pinto said nothing, waved his hand and left Mourinho's room.
Chen Xiaoliang on the side did not speak. He was discussing the players' condition with Mourinho.
He knew Mourinho was very unhappy because the lead was equalized, but he did not like the way Mourinho treated Pinto.
But the reason why he kept silent was because he needed to maintain respect for the head coach, and also because Pinto's suggestions seemed too ridiculous to him, as if the general manager of this club only considered money and competitive factors were never the primary consideration.
After Pinto left, Chen Xiaoliang did not immediately continue the topic of the locker room situation, but asked Mourinho: "Coach, your contract with Roma will only last one year after the end of this season. What you have done here has far exceeded their expectations. They will definitely ask you to renew your contract in advance. Will you agree to them?"
Mourinho immediately understood the hidden meaning in Chen Xiaoliang's words, but he knew that this conversation would happen between the two of them sooner or later: "It really far exceeded their expectations, and in fact, it far exceeded my own expectations."
"The original plan for the boss was to secure European football in the first year, qualify for the Champions League in the second year, and compete for the Serie A title in the third year. I didn't expect everything to happen much earlier and faster than expected."
Mourinho paused for a moment, obviously hesitating whether to speak or not. He is not a person who likes to open his heart to others. In the past, his heart-to-heart talks with players were more like topics tailored for the other party, and he rarely talked about himself.
Suddenly, he sighed and said: "Since I left Porto, I have never thought about leaving the Premier League. Of course, Real Madrid is an exception."
"Abramovich was very ambitious at the time. Although he was indeed a good boss, he was too impatient. He wanted Chelsea to have its own Ferguson, but he could not accept a season without any trophies. There was obviously a contradiction between the two."
"When I left Chelsea for the first time, I had no other Premier League team to go to. Manchester United had Sir Alex Ferguson, and as long as he didn't retire, no coach in the world could possibly move to Old Trafford. Wenger was still at Arsenal, and although his position was not strong, they were obviously used to confronting me and would not take the initiative to find me."
"Manchester City has not yet risen, and Tottenham is still the team of Redknapp that was bullied by the giants at will."
"As for Liverpool, Fenway Group hadn't bought them yet. The whole club was even more chaotic than Manchester United in recent years. They kept spending money on players like Andy Carroll and Stuart Downing for no apparent reason."
"As for Bayern, this club has its own set of rules for close relatives. Ancelotti and Guardiola also had a hard time there. They pay great attention to the club's brand image and it is even more impossible for them to choose someone like me who will be regarded as a traffic leader by the media."
"You know what happened later, Inter Milan, then Real Madrid. In fact, I promised Moratti that my first choice before going to Inter Milan was to return to Barcelona to coach, which was my former home team. They had already asked me to prepare a recruitment plan for the new season, but in the end, they suddenly decided to choose Guardiola."
"Then I returned to the Premier League, but it was a completely different place. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were gone, and Manchester City and Liverpool were the main contenders for the title."
"Under the stimulation of money, everyone has become very radical. It seems that the boards of directors of big teams all think that their own lineups can win the league championship. If there is any deviation from the plan, the head coach will have to leave."
"But you know, the transformation and adjustment of the team requires not only money but also time. The people left by the previous coach may not be suitable for the next coach to take over."
"I didn't get enough space and time to do what I wanted to do at Manchester United and Tottenham, and I didn't want to stay at home for too long because I was 58 years old, so I agreed to Roma's request."
"To be honest, having worked in the football field for so long, I am no longer the kind of person who believes what others say. The reasons why current bosses invest in football are too complicated, but no matter what, it all comes down to money."
"If you dig into his heart and ask him whether he wants to spend 5-10 years to turn Roma into the next Juventus or the Benfica of Serie A, believe me, he will definitely say the former to the fans, but what he thinks in his heart is definitely the latter."
"There are so many excellent managers in Europe, why did he choose Pinto?"
Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help laughing: "So coach, after all you said, what's your final answer?"
Mourinho also knew that he had come a long way and had laid the groundwork. It was time to express his final thoughts: "Look at Real Madrid. Even though they keep winning the Champions League, they are constantly making reinforcements and adjustments. Regardless of Roma's results this year, I will see in the summer how much ambition the board has for this team."
"No matter how many nice words you say, it's useless. In the end, it all depends on your actions. If they really start to encourage you to leave the team after the season, then I will look at the opportunities in the Premier League."
Chen Xiaoliang: "So you still want to prove yourself again in the Premier League?"
Mourinho raised his eyebrows, raised his neck proudly and shook his head: "Do I need to prove anything?"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Then let's see what happens together then."
Chen Xiaoliang didn't say anything else. In fact, both of them knew what the other was thinking.
However, compared to Chen Xiaoliang, Mourinho, who is too personalized, actually has very few options in the Premier League, or only one.
The boards of directors of Manchester United and Tottenham have fallen out with him and their cooperation experiences were not pleasant, so it is unlikely that they will hire him again.
It is absolutely impossible for Arsenal and Liverpool fans to accept Mourinho, whom they have long regarded as an enemy, and there is no possibility that Arteta and Klopp will be sacked in the short term.
Manchester City has long been deeply marked by Guardiola, and the club will not accept a former Manchester United coach coaching their city rivals.
Many people think that Newcastle has a chance, but Eddie Howe’s performance as the team leader is not bad at the moment. Mourinho will only have a chance after he collapses.
The only possibility left is Chelsea, which has changed its owner and management and is currently in a slump. But given Burley's strong personality and the degree of his direct intervention in the team's daily management, there is a big question mark as to how likely it is that he will be able to coexist harmoniously with Mourinho, who also has a strong personality.
But compared to these, what is more important right now is to win the Italian Super Cup and find a replacement for Enzo, even if it is a short-term rental.
After arriving in Riyadh, the two Serie A clubs were surprised by the strong football atmosphere here.
Riyadh Victory, which just signed Cristiano Ronaldo, hung posters with the club's logo and Ronaldo's bust all over the streets, while the people there seemed to have not yet recovered from the fever of the World Cup that just ended in neighboring Qatar.
Compared with the more famous Persian Gulf coastal cities of Doha, Qatar and Dubai, UAE, Riyadh, located in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula, is much less famous.
But Saudi Arabia is far superior to its two neighbors in terms of land area and comprehensive national strength.
In recent years, in order to promote national influence and develop other industries, led by tourism, Saudi Arabia has also begun to focus on the football industry.
The acquisition of Newcastle is only the first step, and buying Ronaldo is just to add a world-renowned business card. It seems to be a blind spending of money and over-development of the sports industry, but in fact it is to divert the national economy's dependence on the oil and gas industry.
Of course, hosting the Italian Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup is only a small part of this grand plan.
The two teams stayed in different luxury hotels.
Although they all have five-star ratings, many five-star hotels in Italy instantly look like guesthouses compared to here.
The gym is so big, but few people use it. However, its facilities are so complete and advanced that even the Trigoria base cannot compare to it.
This was the first time that Chen Xiaoliang came here. Only then did he understand why the Italian Football Association held the game here. Not only could they receive sponsorship fees from the Saudis, but they could also have an extra legal and compliant luxury vacation every winter.
The temperature in Riyadh, 20℃ during the day and 10℃ at night, is almost the same as Rome in winter. Except that it is a little drier, there is no other discomfort.
One victory, one draw, plus four days of somewhat fragmented training excluding the two games, gave Chen Xiaoliang a total of 22 training points (50→72) and three stamina recovery cards. After deducting the two cards used in the match against AC Milan and the extra training, there were three cards left in total.
On the evening of January 12th local time, all 67,000 seats of King Fahd International Stadium were packed. The moment Chen Xiaoliang led the team from the player tunnel into the stadium, he only saw the huge crowds in the stands cheering excitedly, and on one side of the rostrum were many nobles wearing red, blue and yellow turbans, which are colors that only the royal family can use.
The famous referee Maresca was once again designated by the Italian Football Association as the referee of this game . Mourinho naturally felt disgusted when he saw him.
Last season, Maresca refereed the match between Roma and AC Milan. He saved AC Milan from a suspected offside goal but sent Theo off the field. He successfully mocked both sides and received unanimous criticism.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this reason that offended both sides that the Italian Football Association sent him to enforce the law.
Compared to the league three days ago, both teams made some adjustments.
AC Milan's goalkeeper is still Tatarusanu;
Defenders Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori and Theo. Pioli replaced veteran Kjaer with Kalulu who scored a header in the previous game.
The double defensive midfielders are still Tonali and Bennacer, but it is worth noting that their positions have been swapped, with Tonali becoming the right defensive midfielder and Bennacer on the left;
The 21-year-old De Katelare, who was bought from Bruges for 32 million euros, will be the starting attacking midfielder;
Leao and Giroud remain unchanged, while the right side was replaced by Brazilian Messias.
For Roma, Bigna and Malacia returned to the starting full-backs, and Gvardiol partnered with Smalling again;
The defensive midfielder was also replaced by Cristante and young player Beauvais;
Chen Xiaoliang and Kva's starting positions remain unchanged, while Dybala was rested and replaced by Zalewski, and Cesco is still at the forefront.
After Chen Xiaoliang and Calabria exchanged team flags, both sides chose their sides and stood on both sides. Maresca blew the whistle and the game started on time!
Soon, AC Milan, who kicked off first, took control of the ball at around 65% and pressed Roma into the defensive third zone. The situation seemed very good.
Before the game, there were many media analyses that believed that AC Milan's two goals in the second half of the previous league game must have had a huge impact on Roma's morale, making AC Milan have a psychological advantage before the game even started.
But Pioli and his disciples never expected that the equalizer in the previous game did deal a blow to Roma, but the consequence was not the panic after seeing enemies everywhere, but the unity of purpose driven by the desire for revenge!
Maybe he also forgot that the most terrifying form of Mourinho's team is not to press forward and attack, but to retreat and defend.
That 65% possession of the ball was a trap set for AC Milan.
In the 10th minute, Messias dribbled the ball from the left and passed it across the middle, but the force was too strong and was intercepted by Bove.
In an instant, Kva, Cesco, Chen Xiaoliang and Zalewski shot at the same time and rushed towards the front like catapults.
Bove passed the ball to Bigna who was advancing on the right. Bigna dribbled the ball all the way. AC Milan's left-back Theo was retreating with all his strength to keep an eye on Zalewski and had no time to defend against Bigna behind him.
As a result, Binya passed the midfield without any defensive pressure.
At this time, Chen Xiaoliang was at the front, walking the fastest on the right side of the center, followed by Kva on the left. Cesco, due to his height of 195cm and his long legs with limited swing frequency, was left behind by the two in a full-speed sprint and instead began to play the role of a defensive striker.
Viña passed the ball diagonally to Cesco from the right. Cesco turned his back and headed towards the right to meet the ball. Without stopping the ball, he kicked it with his right foot and the ball flew up and went directly into the penalty area.
Theo, the fastest of AC Milan's four defenders, was paying attention to Zalewski on the wing. When he saw the ball going inside and was about to turn around to intercept the ball, Chen Xiaoliang had already rushed past him in an offside position.
Theo used both legs to try his best to speed up, but the time it took Chen Xiaoliang to leave him behind told him mercilessly that the two of them were clearly on a different level in terms of instantaneous explosive speed.
Theo was shocked. When they met last season, he was continuously beaten by Chen Xiaoliang in the final stage of the second half because he ran too much and his physical strength was seriously reduced. When they met again later, although his maximum speed was exceeded by Chen Xiaoliang, there was no difference in starting speed.
How come this time, not only can I not keep up with the top speed, but I can't even keep up with the first few steps of the sudden acceleration? !
He couldn't help but think of a line in his mind: "My combat power is only 6,000, while his is at least 10,000!"
Theo was feeling anxious, but Chen Xiaoliang had already easily received Cesco's pass in front of him.
The tacit understanding between him and Cesco is far better than the cooperation with Barisic in the past. Although the tacit understanding value in the system is full, the two people are of similar age, similar interests, and both are immersed in the world of football. After countless days and nights of training and extra practice, they have reached the level where they can know what the other person is going to do next with just a glance or a gesture.
When they pass the ball to each other, they also know what angle is the smoothest and what posture is the most comfortable.
After receiving the ball, Chen Xiaoliang was already in a situation of having a single shot near the right post, but his position was a bit deep and too close to the baseline, and AC Milan goalkeeper Tatarusanu had already blocked the near post, so the success rate of his direct shot would inevitably be affected.
But it doesn't matter. With his excellent overall view, passing ability and tacit understanding, he can always clearly know the positions of his teammates in several extra training teams.
Chen Xiaoliang swung his right foot, and Tatarusanu bent down nervously and was ready to make a save, but the ball was kicked by Chen Xiaoliang's right leg and passed horizontally in front of the goal!
Zhan Jun: "Back post! Kwa!"
“The ball goes in!”
"A perfect counterattack!"
Zhang Lu: "Hehe, AC Milan fell into Roma's trap at the start of the game today. They just kept pressing and besieging, but not only did they not have any threatening shots, but Roma seized the opportunity to score a goal in a counterattack."
"Looking at the replay, from the time Bove intercepted the ball to the time Kvart scored, there were five passes in total. Bove passed the ball to Bigna, Bigna passed the ball to Cesco, Cesco passed the ball to Chen Xiaoliang behind him, and Chen Xiaoliang passed the ball to Kvart on the other side after being offside. What were the AC Milan players doing during the whole process? They just ran and watched, like spectators, with no chance to stop the attack at all."
After scoring the goal, Chen Xiaoliang and Kva briefly celebrated and then urged their teammates to return to their positions quickly.
1-0 is not a score high enough to avenge last week's draw.
Pioli had no intention of giving up possession of the ball. He kept shouting on the sidelines, reminding the two defensive midfielders and Theo to move more inward and stop Chen Xiaoliang in Roma's counterattack sequence before he started or received the ball.
Once he receives the ball and starts running in an open area during a counterattack, there may be no way to stop him except by committing a foul.
Watching Pioli loudly giving tactical instructions, although Chen Xiaoliang could not understand their unique tactical gestures and code words representing tactics, he and the coaching staff had already rehearsed this tactic in the tactical meeting before the game.
Or it can be said that after the last group match against Liverpool, they came up with a response plan in the face of Bajicetic's persistent defense throughout the entire game.
And now is the time to put the plan into action and completely defeat the opponent.
