Chapter 355: Facing Messi at Camp Nou? No, it’s more important to become a leader at Old Trafford!
Training and extra practice, whether it was the brief familiarization in Carrington or the flight training in Valencia, Chen Xiaoliang's rhythm was no different from that in Rome.
Ten Hag's summer preparation training volume is very large, especially in terms of physical reserves. The training subjects are very full with 90 minutes each in the morning and afternoon. Sometimes there is a tactical meeting of about 60 minutes in the evening. At the end of , many players are exhausted.
In the first few days, only Kva and Cesco, two close friends, would do extra ball practice with Chen Xiaoliang after the afternoon training. The other Manchester United players were very curious about their actions, but at first everyone just watched.
However, within a few days, four people joined the extra training team.
First of all, there is Livakovic who has just joined the team. Although he is 28 years old and is the third place in the World Cup, he has been playing in the Croatian domestic league. Not to mention jumping directly to a giant like Manchester United, he has never had any contact with mid-level clubs in the top five leagues before.
But just because he has not seen the world, it doesn't mean that his emotional intelligence and EQ are not high. There are many cliques in the team when he first arrived. In addition, from the boss to the head coach, the intention of establishing a new core in the training in the past few days is very obvious. Of course he will take the initiative to join up.
A day later, Lisandro Martinez, known simply as Lima, joined in.
He fractured a metatarsal bone in his foot in the final stage of last season and did not participate in any games in the last two months of the season. Coupled with the injury of another defensive star Varane, this directly led to the collapse of Manchester United's defense. They were completely suppressed and lost to their neighbors Manchester City in the FA Cup without any suspense.
He recovered from his injury at the end of June and had already started his personal training arrangements before returning to the team. These days, he saw Chen Xiaoliang and others practicing extra, especially the one-on-one confrontation between Kva and Chen Xiaoliang. As a central defender, he felt very itchy and chose to join them.
Chen Xiaoliang's style of play in training also impressed the central defender known as the "Argentine Butcher".
He was tough, fierce, steady and accurate in tackles, and solid as a rock in confrontations. Although it was obvious that he was not familiar with his teammates yet, he was restrained to a certain extent and did not let go completely during the group confrontation. But even so, several forwards in the team were beaten by Chen Xiaoliang on the defensive end.
The third player to join is young player Ganaccio. As a loyal fan of Ronaldo and a young man that the team focuses on training, Ganaccio showed great interest in Kwa's skillful dribbling and the threat he created on the left side after he joined the team for training.
After seeing Kva being defended by Chen Xiaoliang again and again, Ganachchio probably understood why this Georgian could grow so fast. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, he also took the initiative to get involved.
Ten Hag was very satisfied with this. The strength shown in training was not enough to help Chen Xiaoliang establish his superior authority. He must also have his own circle in the locker room.
On July 24, Manchester United played a friendly match with Valencia, which was also the first time that Chen Xiaoliang participated in the game on behalf of Manchester United.
There are also old acquaintances from Manchester United in the Valencia lineup, including the Uruguayan striker Cavani, who had previously worn the No. 7 jersey. People like B Fee and Maguire came forward to hug and greet him.
Ten Hag did not send out all the main players as expected. Instead, Rashford led the team, including Ganacho, Peristeri, Elanga, Zidane Iqbal, Brandon Williams, Livakovic and other new players to fight against Valencia, which was training with all its main players, for half the game.
Although Valencia ranked 16th in La Liga last season and was almost relegated, they were able to play at home against Manchester United's young players by relying on their own training ground and had a slight advantage.
Chen Xiaoliang watched carefully from the bench.
No matter how hard you practice, there are some movements that you cannot perform. Just like in military exercises, they are either live-fire drills, live-fire confrontations, or simulated live-fire confrontations. It is impossible to have a real live-fire confrontation.
Actions that can easily cause injury, such as flying tackles, aerial duels, and heading into the goalkeeper, will not be used in training.
But at this moment, although the friendly matches still have the flavor of training matches, their intensity and degree of simulation are highly close to real matches.
Needless to say, Rashford, who was in hot form after returning from the World Cup last season, the young man Reginacho's frontcourt escape and breakthrough, and Peristeri's dribbling forward all made Chen Xiaoliang see the level of youth training of the giants.
Compared with Roma, these people are a little younger than Dalbo, Volpato, Bove and others, but the strength they show and the talent behind them are much higher.
This is also the reason why many players who are trained by top clubs’ youth teams can gain a foothold in the top five leagues or other second-tier European leagues even if they cannot play in their own teams.
In the first half, both teams scored a goal. In the 12th minute, Rashford received a through ball from Ganacho on the left and broke into the penalty area. He made an inverted triangle assist and scored with a shot into the empty goal.
In the 44th minute, as the first half was about to end, Valencia winger Moussa made a cross from the right, and Cavani overpowered young player Mengi and shot to equalize the score.
In the second half, Ten Hag started to replace the main players one after another.
First, Kva, Cesco and Anthony were put on the field to form a three-pointer, with B Fee as the attacking midfielder behind them, and then a very interesting scene took place.
I don't know if the two defensive midfielders Fred and Eriksen were more familiar with Anthony, so they often passed the ball to him who was actively retreating to participate in the defense. Then they saw Anthony staggering all the way with the ball, facing the chain defense of the opposing wing forward and the full-back, unable to break through, so they passed the ball to B Fee in the middle, and B Fee then passed the ball to Kva who was wandering on the left.
In the end, Kwaka rushed into the penalty area and made a fatal pass to Cesco and B Fee.
Over time, the two defensive midfielders also figured out the trick and simply started passing the ball more often to the left.
In the 66th minute, Ten Hag brought on Chen Xiaoliang and Casemiro, replacing Fred and Eriksen, and began his own experiment.
He first let Bruno Fernandes retreat to form a double defensive midfielder with Casemiro. Casemiro was on the left to protect Lindelof, who played as a right-footed left center back. Bruno Fernandes was in front of Varane on the right. Chen Xiaoliang was in the position of attacking midfielder, and his task was to focus on offense.
When Kvart, Cesco and Chen Xiaoliang, a combination of people who work together day and night and have a tacit understanding, appeared on the court, the Valencia defense, which had already replaced some of its main players, was immediately exposed.
In the 70th minute, Chen Xiaoliang had only been on the field for less than four minutes when he received a pass from Cesco in the penalty area 3 meters outside the top of the penalty area and shot into the upper left corner of the goal. Although Valencia goalkeeper and Kva's compatriot Mamadashvili judged the direction correctly, he could not reach the meteor-like shot.
Valencia 1-2 Manchester United, falling behind again.
After scoring the goal, Chen Xiaoliang accepted congratulations from his teammates. Casemiro, known as "Fat Tiger", even jumped onto Chen Xiaoliang's back.
Peristeri, Ganaccio and others who were substituted widened their eyes in surprise on the bench, thinking that it was no wonder that he was worth so much money at the age of 19.
You know, watching Chen Xiaoliang's hat trick and winning assist in the Champions League final on TV is different from watching him play in person on the sidelines. The kind of intuitive feeling that comes to you is completely impossible to experience from the TV screen.
Then in the 75th minute, Chen Xiaoliang moved to the right and switched positions with Anthony. When he broke through outside the right side of the penalty area, he attracted two double-teams and passed the ball to Anthony in the corner of the penalty area.
Anthony faced the young midfielder Almeida who was defending him and made his most proud left-foot shot, scoring another goal for the team, making the score 1-3.
At this time, Cavani had already left the field and Valencia had replaced most of the players with substitutes. Both sides focused on practicing tactics and new team configurations.
In the 81st and 86th minutes, Chen Xiaoliang made a straight pass from the left flank to assist Kvadrat to score in the near corner, and a cross from the right sideline to assist Cesco to score with a header, and the final score became 1 to 5.
After the game, Cavani came over to express his greetings to the players of his old club one by one. Whether they were people he had worked with before or people who came later and he didn't know, he expressed his friendliness in a professional manner.
The fact that he gave up the No. 7 jersey to Ronaldo and left the team when his contract expired caused a lot of controversy in the outside world, but the very professional Uruguayan veteran still chatted with Ten Hag for a while after the game, and when shaking hands with Chen Xiaoliang, he also gave him sincere blessings.
After the game, players who did not play or played for less than 30 minutes were left behind for additional training, led by assistant coach McLaren, while Ten Hag called Chen Xiaoliang to the conference room.
Ten Hag's first words were very frank, and even surprised Chen Xiaoliang with his straightforwardness. After all, although the two had talked several times before, they had not yet established a very deep relationship:
“This is a job, not an easy one but a great one. We need to help each other to accomplish each other so that we can complete this job better.”
"You told me before that you know the history of Manchester United and the meaning of the No. 7 jersey. You must also know that since Ronaldo left Manchester United for the first time, the subsequent owners of this jersey have never achieved real success, whether it is Owen, Di Maria, Depay, Sanchez or Cavani, as well as Ronaldo who returned for the second time."
"We need someone to lead the club to revive. The board, management and I all put our hopes on you. I am very satisfied with your performance in training, your level of self-discipline and your performance in the game just now."
"You are a leader that players of Casemiro and Rashford's level would like very much. I talked to them before you came. You know, Casemiro has won everything in Real Madrid. He doesn't need to prove anything anymore, so he is a little bit Buddhist. Since coming to the club, he has won the respect of everyone in the locker room, but he has no intention of competing for the right to speak in the locker room."
"Rashford is a child of Manchester. In the eyes of Manchester United's celebrities, legends and seniors, he is the flag of the club. He has a very good character, but he is a little dull. He doesn't talk much in the locker room. Sometimes he even spends more time doing charity work than relaxing and having fun off the field."
"These two people are willing to help you, but whether you can achieve this in the end still requires you to fight for it. With their support, De Gea, Varane, Eriksen and others will also be willing to support you."
“And of course, Lima and Anthony.”
These two people were brought by Ten Hag from Ajax. They are old acquaintances and confidants. Naturally, they will support whoever he asks them to support.
Having said that, Ten Hah paused and looked into Chen Xiaoliang's eyes, obviously seeking feedback.
Chen Xiaoliang smiled slightly: "Coach, I understand, you can finish it all at once."
Ten Hag let out his signature "hehe" laugh. Although he is meticulous and delicate, he was also a tough and fierce central defender when he was young. He did not like to drag his feet or beat around the bush. "I told you some things on the phone before, but it was not finalized at the time, so some things can only be discussed after you come to the club."
Chen Xiaoliang asked directly: "It's okay, you can just tell me who has any objections."
Ten Hag clapped his hands: "Perfect, Bruno Fernandes and Maguire, even though these two don't get along well, they are obviously unwilling to give up their say in the locker room and the captain's armband."
"Maguire is difficult to deal with. His value has dropped too much and his salary is too high. No club is willing to take him over. Some of his shortcomings make it difficult for him to adapt to my tactics. But he is a good person, so I often use injuries as an excuse to reduce the embarrassment of him not being able to play."
"But Bruno Fernandes is different. He is not like Maguire who will endure and consider the overall situation. Of course, he is not a bad person, but he expresses his emotions very directly. He is the kind of person who will curse directly in front of more than 60,000 people at Old Trafford during the game or on the stadium when he is unhappy."
"Besides, he has always had a dream of being the boss . In the Portuguese national team, he felt that he should be the leader as he was about to outlast Cristiano Ronaldo. At Manchester United, Maguire is currently in a bad situation. Regardless of whether you come or not, he feels that he should be the first captain based on seniority."
Chen Xiaoliang: "So you want me to deal with him?"
Ten Hag: "Yes, but I know it's difficult. There are three problems."
"First, as I just said about seniority, his contribution in recent years is indeed not small, and his statistics are also very good. And one thing you have to remember is that he is an important player under me. I tend to let you be the captain because I think you are the most suitable person, not because I don't like him. De Gea was originally a very suitable candidate, but he is too quiet. He is also a good person, but he cannot be a good candidate for captain."
"Secondly, he has seen Cristiano Ronaldo, who is in his thirties and still in very good competitive form in the national team. You know, it is difficult for people who have seen such players to be convinced by others. I have watched all your games. Enzo and Dybala, who are around Messi, both admire you. You have the ability to make them trust you. I also believe that you have the ability to make Bruno Fernandes trust you, but Enzo and Dybala came later, while Bruno Fernandes was many years ahead of you, so this is also a difficult path."
"The third, and most direct, contradiction is that your positions conflict."
"I tried to let Bruno Fernandes play as a right winger last season, but to be honest, the effect was average and his best position is still the No. 10. I had considered letting you and Casemiro play as double defensive midfielders and letting him continue to play as attacking midfielder, so that we would have the strongest defensive midfielder combination in the Premier League, but what you did in the Champions League final made me give up this idea, which would undoubtedly be a huge waste of your offensive talent."
"So I'll have him drop back and play as a defensive midfielder for you."
"We have a friendly against Barcelona in five days, then we return to Manchester for the first round against Middlesbrough, and then a week later we play Nottingham Forest away in the second round."
"All three games will be broadcast live, and the opponents in the two leagues are not strong. I need you to play convincing performances in these three games, at least to make the fans of the club support you and praise you overwhelmingly. In this way, even if Bruno Fernandes still feels a little uncomfortable, you and I can control it within a solvable range."
Chen Xiaoliang nodded: "I will definitely work hard, but I'm curious, why do you trust me so much? Is it just because you've seen my games?"
Ten Hag laughed a few more times: "This is my second season at the club. Our line of work is a high-risk profession. You and I both know how many head coaches Manchester United has had in recent years. We can't stand still on the basis of last season. The new boss spent so much money to buy you guys, and he also set very high goals for the management and me. When the fans saw you coming, they naturally had high expectations."
"People outside say that this club has a chaotic management and a chaotic dressing room. Some of this is true, some is not, but all changes must be made this season. I don't have time to wait any longer."
"Although I have never met Jose Mourinho in person, I know what kind of person he is, and I am also a coach with considerable coaching experience. Almost every professional coach can see how much freedom, space and power Mourinho gave you in the last half of the season in Rome. You were even the captain and head coach in the 90 minutes of the game."
"I don't exactly know how you did it, but you ended up repaying his trust, and our scouts also asked the Roma players on the team, and their evaluation of you far exceeded our expectations."
"Believe me, Manchester United may have bought a lot of wrong people, but at least every deal needs sufficient and sufficient basis, otherwise no boss will agree to spend hundreds of millions of dollars casually."
"Mourinho could put you in the leadership position against all odds in Roma because Roma didn't have any big names at the time. But it's different for Manchester United. To be honest, I don't have as much halo as him. Hehehe."
"So, you came to the team, I've been observing you for almost a week, and I think I should say these words to you."
Chen Xiaoliang: "What is the goal for this season? I'm talking about the goal in your heart, not the promotional materials released by the club's official website."
Ten Hag: "We have to compete for the Premier League title, which is where Manchester United should be but has not been for a long time. In the Champions League, I think the reasonable position should be the semi-finals. As for other cup competitions, we have a large team that is capable of attacking on multiple fronts. Every honor is important for Manchester United now."
Chen Xiaoliang stood up and held out his hand: "I understand, coach, leave it to me."
Ten Hag also stood up and the two shook hands vigorously.
Chen Xiaoliang: "By the way, coach, when will Ting Beier come?"
Ten Hahe was stunned: "How did you know?"
Chen Xiaoliang smiled slightly: "When you investigated me, didn't you study how Kova and Cesco were bought by Roma?"
Ten Hag nodded knowingly: "It is too difficult for us to buy players openly. Once we take a fancy to someone, someone will immediately raise the price. The other club may even send someone to compete maliciously and force us to raise the price."
"So after signing you, the club deliberately announced that the transfer was complete."
"However, the transfer team did a good job this time. The official announcement should be made soon. After all, the season is about to start and the players must be in place as soon as possible to get used to each other."
The two finished their conversation, and Chen Xiaoliang returned to the court and began his usual extra training.
Rashford and Casemiro, who played half the game today, also joined in.
Chen Xiaoliang nodded to both of them, and they nodded back.
No one spoke to each other, and all three of them had a heart that was pursuing honor.
No need to say more, everything is self-explanatory.
Five days later, on July 29, the team took a train to Barcelona.
The total distance from Valencia to Barcelona is 350 kilometers, and it takes 2 and a half hours to take Spain's latest "high-speed rail".
Here, Ten Hag once again met his former beloved disciple Frenkie de Jong, but this time, Manchester United did not make a transfer offer to the Dutchman because they already had the best midfielder in the world.
However, Xavi was a little depressed when he saw Chen Xiaoliang. The Brazilian genius Vitor Roque, who was favored by the club, was sent to Rome by Riise. The reason was very simple. Gerrard, who missed the position of Liverpool head coach, officially took over the new triple crown team the day before yesterday.
Wijnaldum's transfer was permanent, Ten Hag sold Van de Beek, who could never play in the Premier League, at a low price, and with the addition of Vitor Rock, the new Roma has set sail.
The Camp Nou stadium in front of us was not deserted just because it was a friendly match tonight.
This stadium, which can accommodate nearly 100,000 people, has not had such a high attendance for a long time. The reason is simple. Their god - Messi is back and put on the No. 10 jersey again, and Manchester City captain Gundogan also joined Barcelona as a free agent in the summer.
Chen Xiaoliang did not expect that he would meet Messi in pre-season training matches for two consecutive seasons.
As the season is about to begin in less than two weeks, both sides, aiming to achieve higher honors in the new season, have sent out their main lineups to conduct the final practical exercises.
On the Barcelona side, goalkeeper Ter Stegen;
defenders Kounde, Araujo, Alonso and Balde;
Frenkie de Jong is the lone defensive midfielder, with Gundogan and Gavi in front of him;
Messi and Pedri serve as the right and left attacking midfielders;
Lewandowski is at the forefront.
On the Manchester United side, goalkeeper De Gea;
Defenders: Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Lima, Luke Shaw;
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes are the double defensive midfielders, and Chen Xiaoliang is the central midfielder;
The three strikers are Kwadwobb, Rashford and Anthony.
Last season, the two teams met in the Europa League round of 16 qualifiers. In the end, Manchester United eliminated Barcelona, who eventually won the La Liga championship, in two rounds. Now they meet again, and both sides have welcomed the core players they have dreamed of. One of the most anticipated games in this summer's pre-season is about to begin!
