Volume 1: Playing football with me will break your legs Chapter 19 The Strongest Rival in History
Li Polo, who was sweating all over in the gym, finally returned to the players' apartment.
Given New Wimbledon's financial strength, it was definitely impossible to arrange an independent villa for him. When he opened the door, his three roommates were playing games enthusiastically in the living room.
The forward Adebayo Aziz, born in 1994, the midfielder Jack Reeves, born in 1993, the goalkeeper George McDonnell, born in 1994, and he as a defender, so each position is unique.
"Why did you just come back?"
Reeves whistled and said jokingly:
"If it's a date, you're back too early!"
Aziz and McDonnell were in the middle of a fierce battle and didn't even have time to look at him.
Li Polo looked at the screen and saw a dozen little people fighting fiercely for a ball. He couldn't help but laugh:
"After a whole day of training, your way of relaxing is to play football?"
Reeves shrugged.
"Oh no, we just played fighting games for half an hour, and finally decided that football was more interesting..."
Li Polo was speechless at the enthusiasm of these young teammates and had to sit down and act as a spectator.
They were playing FIFA14, and both teams were from London. Aziz supported the "Arsenal" Arsenal, while McDonnell was a fan of the "Blues" Chelsea.
Arsenal in the 2013-14 season was already in decline. The only top player in the team was probably Erdogan, who had just transferred from Real Madrid. The rest, such as Giroud, Ramsey, Wilshere, Koscielny, Arteta, Chamberlain and the like, could not support the reputation of a wealthy club.
——However, after Sanchez joined, Wenger managed to survive for a few more seasons.
Chelsea is completely different. The "Magic Bird" Mourinho has come to the team for the second time, bringing back the iron-blooded and championship temperament to the Blues. Their lineup is also far better than their city rivals. Led by the Premier League top star Hazard, Terry, Lampard, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Cech, Mata, Oscar, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Cole, each of them is a famous figure.
Even their bench puts Arsenal to shame: Torres, Essien, Mikel , Willian, Schurrle, Demba Ba, Salah, De Bruyne, Lukaku...
As Hazard's powerful shot from the left pierced Szczesny's defense, Aziz threw down the controller in frustration:
"The gap in strength between the two players is too big, how can we play this game?!"
McDonnell pointed at the 4-0 on the screen and laughed:
"This is purely because you are so incompetent!"
Reeves raised his chin towards Li Polo:
"We want to play a round too?"
Li Polo did not refuse this kind of interaction between teammates and took a handle:
“Is there Wimbledon?”
Reeves was a little surprised:
"Yes, there is, but... are you sure?"
Li Polo shrugged noncommittally:
"Just for fun, you can choose Manchester United."
Reeves was stunned for a moment, then laughed:
"Don't blame me for bullying you!"
The two men quickly chose their teams, and when they were arranging the formation, Li Polo suddenly regretted his decision.
The highest-rated team in the new Wimbledon squad is the trio with 62 points - centre-back Alan Bennett, midfielder George Porter and forward Jack Middleson, but all three players have left in the summer transfer window without exception.
Next is the old captain and midfielder Sammy Moore with 61 points. He has also completed the transfer and has no intersection with Li Polo.
So... the strongest ones have left, leaving only Barry Fuller, Jack Smith, Mark Phillips and other old, weak and disabled people who can't even reach the passing line?
He took a look at the opposing lineup. The highest-rated Van Persie was only one point away from 90. Rooney and Vidic both scored 87. Ferdinand, Nani, Shinji Kagawa, Ashley Young, Carrick and Valencia were all between 82 and 85. The lowest-rated young players such as Rafael, Welbeck, Cleverley, Jones, Smalling and others all scored 77 or 78 points.
FIFA14 is of course the initial lineup of each team in the 2013-14 season. In comparison, at least 60% of Wimbledon's players at the time have transferred away, and even Manchester United's lineup has undergone significant changes: Ferdinand, Evra, Vidic, Cleverley, Nani and others have left the team, and in their place are powerful new players such as Fellaini, Mata, Luke Shaw, Herrera, Rojo and others. If the Dutch champion coach Van Gaal is included, the overall strength may increase instead of decrease.
Li Polo gritted his teeth and deployed a 541 defensive formation, ending this disparity in strength with a fierce battle and a score of 0-0.
The ball possession rate in the entire game was 21:79, the number of shots was 3:17, the number of fouls was 12:5, and the number of yellow cards was 7:2, which is very consistent with the strength comparison of the two sides.
Reeves threw down the controller in dismay:
"If you're a man, you should choose to attack!"
Li Polo rolled his eyes:
"Fighting against Manchester United? That's not a manly thing, that's a moron!"
…
After a short break, New Wimbledon soon ushered in a busy schedule of events.
Two days later, on August 16, the Kuangbang once again went on the road to challenge their opponents in the second round of the league.
As the champion of the fifth-level league - the English Football Council Premier League last season, Luton has just undergone a transformation from an amateur team to a professional team. Although the club owner has invested tens of thousands of pounds in "huge sums" of money in transfers, their lineup is obviously not yet in place.
Especially when the three forwards Akinfenwa, Aziz and Dubis were all out, Luton could only choose to retreat and defend. However, with the crazy offensive , the home team's city was still lost in the 86th minute, and Wimbledon took away three points.
Then on August 19, the Crazy Gang returned to their home ground and beat Southend United 2-0, achieving three consecutive league wins in the new season and ranking second in the standings with a slight disadvantage of fewer goals.
Li Polo, who played both games, performed decently. Although he failed to score any goals or make any assists, his post-match ratings were ranked in the upper middle of the team. The right side he guarded also made the coaching team more and more assured.
Both games were matches with clear strength of the weak side. New Wimbledon was able to form a siege most of the time, leaving not many opportunities for the defense to perform. Li Polo only gained 21 negative points, which was not as fruitful as the first half against Milton Keynes.
Four consecutive victories in various competitions have created an unprecedentedly united atmosphere within the new Wimbledon team and the players' morale is very high. Head coach Adlay knows that he needs to fulfill his original promise.
In the training session on August 20, he announced to everyone:
"In the fourth round of the league, we will rotate the lineup."
Rotate and let the main players get a rest, and then face the strong opponent of the League Cup - Manchester United - in the best condition!
No one was surprised, but everyone was inexplicably excited.
Of course, they are well-known to Manchester United and even have some fear of them, but this does not affect their desire to defeat the "Red Devils"!
Key players such as Akinfenwa, Dubis, Francon, Rigg, Goodman, Shea and others were excluded from the starting lineup, and were not even included in the substitute list. It seems that Adre has made up his mind to focus on the League Cup.
Li Polo was no exception. From August 9th to 19th, he played four games in ten days. His physical strength was close to the limit. Fortunately, two injured players, Barry Fuller and Jack Smith, returned from the hospital in time, allowing him to find his feeling in the less intense league.
Perhaps it was the outstanding performance of the young people that inspired the two veteran captains. Smith and Fuller ran all over the field as if they were risking their lives. Thanks to their active performance, the new Wimbledon team with a full rotation lineup won 2:1 away from home against Hartlepool, allowing the team to continue its "good start".
August 26th is getting closer.
The strongest opponent that New Wimbledon has encountered since its establishment in 2002 is about to arrive!
