"Su, someone's looking for you in the gym."
Su Dong had just hung up the phone with Ma Dawei when Jose Semedo poked his head out of the door.
This kid's hope of making the first team is slim, but he's doing pretty well in the first team.
With Semedo's personality, he can get along well wherever he goes.
"Who's looking for me?" Su Dong was very surprised.
This is the first time someone has interviewed him over the phone since he joined Sporting Lisbon. Now someone has come to interview him again. He feels really strange and very uncomfortable.
"Mendes and Manuel are here and are talking to Nuno Cruz in the gym."
Su Dong said "oh" and immediately quickened his pace.
…
When he arrived at the gym, Su Dong found that not only Mendes, Nuno Cruz and others were there, but even Ronnie was there.
This guy must have been chatting on the phone with Jordana just now.
A man in love is so plain and boring.
At Mendes's invitation, Su Dong walked straight over and sat on the floor in a circle with them.
"I just came from the office and met Aurelio Pereira," Mendes said straight to the point.
"What do you want to do with him?" Ronnie felt very strange.
Su Dong also frowned and looked at Mendes, guessing his intention of looking for the technical director.
"Don't be nervous. I didn't make any requests. I just wanted to know how the technical team plans to arrange your playing time and your training next. This is very necessary," Mendes explained.
Although they said they understood, they were actually hinting and reminding the other party that the two players performed well and the club should pay more attention and invest more resources to train them.
As the saying goes, the crying child gets the milk.
Nowadays, the era of being honest, dutiful and low-key has long passed.
There are many things that players cannot do themselves, so their agents have to do it.
For example, when Mendes met with Aurelio, he did not mention salary increase or contract renewal, but was just "concerned" about the club's arrangement of players' playing time. This was actually a reminder for them to give them more opportunities to play and train.
"Thank you." Su Dong said lightly.
Mendes smiled at Su Dong. He knew that Su Dong was a smart man and understood the mystery.
Of course, Ronnie was not stupid. He understood after a little hint.
"Aurelio gave me a clear promise. He said he would take it seriously and increase your playing time. But he still needs to meet with Boloni to discuss the details and try to come up with a plan as soon as possible."
This is also the appropriate response.
But if that's all, you can just make a phone call at night and tell them.
Su Dong didn't think that Mendes would come to see them specially for this reason, especially in the gym.
"Is there anything else?" Su Dong asked curiously.
Mendes nodded mysteriously and smiled, "This is why I came here specifically."
After a pause, Mendes came over and lowered his voice, "I just heard that the current conditions of the first-team players are generally not very ideal. Not to mention those who are injured and absent, many players are not in very good condition. Even Jardel, who scored a lot of goals, has an injury that affects his performance."
After playing in the league for several months, the roster of Sporting Lisbon's first team is not spacious. Without a large lineup, Bologna cannot play a rotation system. Key players like Jardel and Andre Cruz are basically used to the utmost.
Anyway, as long as you are not injured or sick, you have to go.
As a result, by April, the players were already tired and exhausted, but at this time, it was the critical moment of the finale of the league. Not only was the competition for the Portuguese Super League championship fierce, but even the Portuguese Cup had entered the crucial semi-finals.
For example, another player under Mendes, Hugo Viana, has played in almost every game since he became a regular starter in October. His performance was very good and he was given the title of Rui Costa II. However, he failed to play in the match against Setubal and was only included in the squad.
This is certainly a consideration due to the team's tactical needs, but Viana's recent form is indeed rather bad.
Of course, this is normal. After all, Viana is young and they definitely can't stand playing like this for a long time.
There is also Quaresma. Apart from his amazing performance at the beginning of this season, his performance has been mixed.
Sometimes he can put in a very eye-catching performance, but sometimes can be a mess.
Young players are like this, their performance is up and down and their form is very unstable.
"What I want to tell you is that the match against Setubal was a good start, both for Su and Ronnie, but the key lies in the next period of time."
Mendes reminded Su Dong and Ronnie very seriously.
"There are still four league rounds, one Portuguese Cup semi-final and, if all goes well, the final, so there will be a maximum of six games."
"These six games will determine what Sporting Lisbon can achieve this season. Not only the club but also the coaching staff attach great importance to it. Even Boloni is more nervous and under more pressure than anyone else, because if he comes away empty-handed, he might be fired after the season ends."
"So, at this time, you should maintain the form you had against Setubal, show good performance in training and games, and thoroughly establish your position in the first team, in the club, and in the mind of head coach Boloni. This is considered to be a firm foothold."
"For a team like Sporting Lisbon, many young rookies emerge every season. Some continue to perform and quickly become the starting lineup, and even play abroad, while others are like shooting stars, fleeting."
"Summer preparations are a critical period. At that time, the team will transfer players, adjust tactics and even reorganize. If you can't prove your value and gain a firm position in the remaining five or six games, then when summer preparations come, you will still be just young players."
"At most, he is just a promising star with potential."
"But you have to know that in European football, in the Portuguese Super League, in teams like Sporting Lisbon, there is never a lack of rising stars. Only by performing better and securing a place in the first team's 18-man roster can you continue the current development momentum in the new season. Otherwise, you will have to start all over again."
Mendes' reminder came at a very timely moment.
Both Su Dong and Ronnie benefited greatly, and even felt like they had an epiphany.
In fact, Su Dong had thought about this before, but he didn't figure it out. Now after hearing what Mendes said, he completely understood it.
This is why many players have been switching between the roles of main player and substitute.
"Nuno." Mendes looked at Nuno Cruz, "We must adjust their conditions during this period of time and make sure they can perform at their best every time they take to the field."
That's why Mendes chose to meet in the gym.
Nuno Cruz is considered a personal coach hired by Sudong and Ronaldo. Although Sporting Lisbon subsidized half of the cost, can borrow the gym in Alcochete, and maintain communication with the first-team coaching staff, he is actually still hired by Sudong and stands on Sudong's side.
"I will adjust the training plan according to the schedule and try my best to stabilize their condition." Nuno Cruz nodded.
The players' condition is very elusive and no one can fully control it.
All Nuno Cruz can say is that he will try his best.
"I can continue training this afternoon and tomorrow morning." Su Dong stated .
Take a chance and turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!
According to the club's arrangement, on the morning of the first day after the game, after the recovery training, the team will have a day off, which is from today noon to tomorrow noon. This is the situation of one game per week.
If there is a game in the middle of the week, there will be no holiday.
"Me too." Ronnie also said.
Now they are in the rising period of their careers. If they seize the opportunity, their future will be much easier.
Faced with the coveted first-team position, Ronnie was unwilling to miss it easily no matter what.
Nuno Cruz nodded approvingly. Sudong and Ronaldo were both very hard-working players. They completed their training programs meticulously. Even in the gym that others avoided, they worked very hard.
This is also what Nuno Cruz is most satisfied with.
"Don't worry, as your agent, I can guarantee that the better you perform on the court, the more benefits I can get for you at the negotiation table off the court. As long as you perform well in the next five or six games, I can get you a new contract and a position in the team this summer."
After a pause, Mendes continued: "Of course, if you can't perform on the court, then what I can get off the court will be less, or even nothing. I hope you can understand this."
To put it bluntly, agents exist by relying on players.
So much so that some people say that agents are like vampires.
This may be a slightly derogatory term, but it vividly describes the role of an agent.
If there is anyone in the world who wants players to , it is definitely the agent.
Of course, many agents will not interfere or control the players too much, because once the players are annoyed, they will send you a fax in minutes, so how to balance this is also a test of the agent's ability.
So far, Su Dong believes that Mendes' agent has done a good job.
At least it allows him to focus on training and competition without distraction.
In the next round, Sporting Lisbon will face Beiramar.
This team is very interesting. Its current ranking is similar to that of Setubal, but its offensive ability is much stronger than Setubal. Its number of goals even ranks sixth in the league, which is better than strong teams such as Maritimo. However, its defense is very bad, and it has conceded one more goal than Vazm in the relegation zone.
Sporting Lisbon is playing at home, and facing such an opponent, if nothing unexpected happens, they should be able to beat the opponent.
Especially after the opponent's top scorer, Senegalese striker Farry Faye scored twice in the 4-2 victory over Braga, he was injured and left the field in the final stage of the game and missed the next two games, resulting in the team's one draw and one loss, with zero goals.
This also makes Sporting Lisbon more confident.