Chapter 83: Forcing things to grow faster?
"In my opinion, Sudon is one of the most promising young players in the Portuguese Super League. If possible, I would be very happy to bring him to Porto at a reasonable or even higher price. He is a young player that is hard to refuse."
In an interview with a reporter from Portugal's Morning Post, Mourinho publicly expressed his favor for Su Dong.
At the same time, the Morning Post also released a news that Porto asked Sporting Lisbon whether it is possible to introduce Sudon, because Mourinho is very interested in the 17-year-old player.
Sporting Lisbon also gave feedback quickly.
First, technical director Aurelio Pereira came forward and said in an interview with the media, "We have not received any inquiries from any team regarding Su Dong, and we have no intention of selling Su Dong."
Aurelio also elaborated on Sudon's position in Sporting Lisbon's new season strategy, believing that he will be the focus of the club's training. "He will become the best young player in Portugal and even in European football."
Later, head coach Boloni also publicly stated that Sudong occupies an important position in his tactics and plans for the new season. "Porto wants to get Sudong? I don't think there is any possibility."
"Even if Mourinho is willing to exchange Deco, I will still choose to keep Su Dong without hesitation."
The technical director and head coach came forward one after another, which made everyone believe in Su Dong's position and future in Sporting Lisbon.
Even many professionals have analyzed that in Sporting Lisbon's new season strategy, Sudong's status has surpassed Quaresma and Ronaldo, and he has become the veritable number one rookie in the Green Lions team.
But what no one knew was that during the intensive preparations at the Alcochete training base, Sudong became the player who was yelled at the most by Bologna. The Romanian head coach even stopped the training several times and called Sudong to the sidelines to give him a lesson.
The severity of the situation even made people doubt whether he was deliberately targeting Su Dong.
…
"Su, you could have handled the ball better a few times just now, why did you hesitate?"
Boloni once again stopped the training, called Su Dong to the sidelines and scolded him loudly.
"You need to make yourself more brave and confident. I'm not asking you to cooperate well with your teammates, but to take control of the situation. Do you understand what I mean? Show your control! Be more confident, man!"
Boloni looked a little agitated and was obviously not very satisfied with Su Dong's performance in training.
Su Dong kept nodding his head. He could understand what Boloni meant, but it was difficult for him to execute it on the court .
On the one hand, his own concept has not changed, and he is still a little lacking in confidence in himself. On the other hand, it is because the teammates around him are all people whom he once looked up to.
For example, Jardel, Joao Pinto and Barbosa, etc., or at least geniuses like Quaresma and Ronaldo.
Let me ask you, with such a teammate, can Su Dong control the overall situation?
Watching Su Dong turn around and run back to the training ground, Boloni shook his head and sighed.
"I think you are being too demanding on him," Pontes said as he came over.
Boloni turned his head and glanced at his assistant. He knew the relationship between Pontes and Su Dong. Su Dong even followed Pontes' car to and from the training base every day. The two had a close relationship.
"I know, but there's no time." Boloni said helplessly.
If it was during the summer training period, he would have plenty of time to slowly hone his tactics and slowly build up Su Dong's confidence.
But it’s not possible now. The Portuguese Cup final is imminent and he has no time to adjust slowly. He must force Su Dong to adapt to his new role faster instead of treating himself as a rookie.
"You know, Lionel, Quaresma and Ronaldo are too sticky to the ball. We have all seen their abilities on the wing. If they can perform at their best, our attack in the frontcourt will be completely activated."
Pontes agrees with this statement. Even in the Portuguese Super League adult team, Quaresma and Ronaldo have the strength to stand out from the crowd.
But the problem is that these two guys are too sticky to the ball. Not only do they slow down the tempo too much, but their practical value is also low, which results in Sporting Lisbon's attack often stopping at their feet.
In the past, Bologna did not dare to start them at the same time because Jardel and Nikulai did not have the ability to hold the ball. But now it is different. Su Dong is proficient in passing, dribbling and shooting. It is undoubtedly the most ideal for him to connect the two wingers and control the frontcourt offense, which has been confirmed in the past few games.
"I understand what you mean, but you have to understand that he is only seventeen years old and has only played four games in the first team. Is it appropriate for you to put such a heavy burden on him all of a sudden?" Pontes still had objections.
Boloni saw the determined look on Pontes' face, and he knew that it was indeed inappropriate for him to do so. To use the Chinese words, it was a bit of forcing things to happen. After all, Su Dong was really just a rookie.
"Do you know what my impression of Su Dong is?" Boloni asked instead of answering.
Pontes shook his head. He couldn't understand what the head coach was thinking.
"He's like a mystery, a huge, unpredictable mystery."
Boloni sighed softly and said, "Remember, when he joined the team last December, did you ever think that he would be able to perform like this today?"
Pontes thought about it and shook his head no.
At that time, no matter how optimistic people were or how high their hopes were for Su Dong, they would never have thought that he would be able to perform as well as he is today.
"Have you noticed? His skills have improved a lot compared to six months ago. His ball sense is also much better, and his ball control is getting better and better. This is not in line with common sense. He should have missed the age of improving his skills and ball sense a long time ago, but you see, he has been improving rapidly."
There is a general consensus in professional football that ball sense and technique can be maintained and improved through training, but everyone has an upper limit, which is commonly known as the talent ceiling.
Having reached the upper limit of talent, it is difficult for the player to make further progress even if he practices hard 24 hours a day.
Especially when the player has missed the best age to build skills and ball sense.
Just like Ronnie, he trains hard enough, right?
His ball-stopping skills were not very good, and no matter how much he practiced, his improvement was extremely slow.
But Su Dong seems to be an outlier.
At the age of seventeen, he had already missed the best age to develop his skills and ball sense. No matter how much he practiced, his improvement would be limited. However, Su Dong still maintained an astonishing rate of improvement and still seemed so unfathomable that it was impossible to tell where his ceiling was.
That is why Boloni said that Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union are like a huge, unpredictable mystery.
"He has the body, the skills, the speed, and at the same time he has a very keen sense of smell to seize the instant opportunity. I have never seen such a player before, and I couldn't believe it at all before."
Boloni said this with surprise and admiration in his tone.
"I want to try it now. If we organize the frontcourt offense around Su Donglai, how much energy can he exert? Can he do things that others can't do?"
Pontes was a little stunned. He saw that Boloni had high hopes for Su Dong, even beyond his imagination, but...
"I still think you're too anxious."
"Maybe." Boloni sighed helplessly, "Professional football never waits for anyone. Sometimes being a little anxious is not necessarily a bad thing. I believe he can handle it."
At the end of his speech, Boloni's eyes were fixed on Su Dong on the court.
In the eyes of the Romanian head coach, Sudong has brought him surprises continuously, and he believes that in the final against Porto, Sudong will not disappoint him.
As for why he had such confidence, he didn't know.
…
"Have you noticed that the coach seems to be targeting you deliberately?"
After a day of training, everyone was exhausted.
Su Dong and Ronnie walked to the sidelines side by side. They would stay and practice more.
"He has very high expectations of me." Su Dong looked at Boloni standing on the sidelines in the distance.
"Yes, I just think that his expectations of you are too high, and it seems more like he is deliberately making things difficult for you." Ronnie felt very unfair for his good brother because Su Dong was called to the sidelines and scolded several times.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Su Dong patted Ronnie's shoulder and comforted him in return.
Su Dong didn't know what to say. He had a vague feeling that Boloni was testing him.
Perhaps, the head coach is no longer satisfied with just considering himself as a surprise weapon, or perhaps, the head coach hopes that he can do more and better and take on more responsibilities.
No matter what it is, it is a good thing for Su Dong.
The opportunity has been given, and whether Su Dong can seize it or not depends on himself.
Perhaps for him, the most important game of this season is the upcoming final.
…
…
In the next few days, Sporting Lisbon will continue to prepare for the game in closed conditions in Alcochete.
The content of the preparations is similar to usual. The biggest difference is that during group training, Su Dong is basically in the main group, and he is a regular striker with Jardel.
The 4-4-2 double striker formation is not unfamiliar to Sporting Lisbon, because during the period when the team's performance improved by leaps and bounds in the first half of the season, Bologna insisted on the double striker tactics of Jardel and Niculai, and the offensive was like a tide.
It’s just that now, Nikulai has been replaced by Sudong.
No one had much objection to this. After all, Su Dong's performance was obvious to all. The only surprise was why Boloni was so harsh on Su Dong?
Gradually, as the final approached, the first-team players began to realize Boloni's intentions.
Especially in the group match the day before the final, when Boloni rarely changed the 4-3-3 formation, took off Jardel, and let Sudong, Ronnie and Quaresma form a trident, everyone clearly realized the head coach's thinking.
As it turned out, they all guessed right.
On the morning of the final, Boloni announced the starting lineup for that evening's match to the players.
Su Dong is on the list!
