Midfielder.

Chapter 448

Chapter 448

The match for the top [-] of the UEFA Champions League has finally been finalized, but the preparation time of nearly three months is not enough for these teams, especially those teams that are not doing well recently.

The collective injuries of AC Milan's central defenders, Real Madrid's worsening defense, and Arsenal's long-standing midfield core problem have caused these giants a bit of a headache.

These are not problems that can be solved in a short period of time, but in the face of the finalized Champions League schedule, it is estimated that many wealthy teams will find ways to make up for the shortcomings of their lineup and strive for a good state.

This kind of confrontation between strong teams sometimes sees the outcome by the slightest difference, and every detail must be perfected.

Choosing an opponent means that in the next three months, we must study as much as possible the tactics and main lineup to deal with the opponent. If we can ambush a few surprise soldiers, it may be the best.

But it is probably not too easy to count on a surprise soldier within three months.

Collect all information about the opponent, including the main state, recent tactics, and even the guys on the bench. You need to study all of this to successfully kill the opponent in the game.

And in addition to preparing for the fierce battles in the Champions League, these teams have to consider their performance in domestic leagues or cups, and sometimes have to make some trade-offs. Multi-line battles really consume physical energy.

Teams like Villarreal and Rangers have given up their respective domestic cup competitions in order to get one step closer to the Champions League. Small and medium-sized clubs still cannot afford such a multi-line war of attrition.

But teams like AC Milan and Barcelona have the ability to fight on multiple fronts, and any trophy will not be easily given up. At this critical moment, greed is actually a drag.

After all, there are not many clubs with more than 20 international players like Chelsea.

When these guys are fighting on multiple fronts and with full firepower, many teams can only envy them from the sidelines.

It can be said that almost every team has its own issues that need to be seriously considered. After entering the top [-] of the Champions League, it has gained more ticket revenue and broadcast fees, but there are also more things to worry about.

Everyone is afraid that they will stumble. Those who want to be a dark horse hope to perform a miracle, and those who want to defend the honor of a wealthy family pray for smooth sailing. Anyway, all kinds of mentality are fully displayed on the big stage of the Champions League.

However, compared with these competitors, the Chelsea team seems to be very calm, even if the media outside are already arguing, they are all advocating Barcelona's Champions League revenge against Chelsea.

But inside Chelsea, it seems calm, because Mourinho has already explained to these players, "The game is played by ourselves, and reading newspapers will not help us win."

"UEFA has selected our opponents for us. Regardless of how the opponents clamor, the game has to be played according to our own habits. Anyway, there are still three months, and there is still enough preparation time. Don't forget, it was a group of players last season. If they are intimidated by their defeated opponents, we won't have to defend the title."

Mourinho doesn't need to say more, he just said a few words so lightly that it is enough.

The head coach didn't feel nervous, so his players wouldn't feel nervous at all.

What's more, it's not that I haven't played against those Catalans. Could it be that if they want revenge, we must follow the ideas of these guys?To hell with them, we're the winners!

Thinking of that kid Lin Yi, he behaved more calmly, Messi?Ronaldinho?He doesn't care who his opponent is, anyway, the game is played with his feet, as for the opponent?Love someone.

Moreover, compared with those competitors, Chelsea now has its own advantages. First of all, the points lead in the league gives them no worries. Although there are still three months before the start of the Champions League, Chelsea has accumulated enough leads before that. , let them spend a bit of money.

Although the League Cup and the FA Cup are also a waste, Chelsea can still cope with multi-line battles by relying on a large-scale lineup rotation. Their substitute lineup is enough to handle all obstacles before these two cups enter the quarter-finals , The four-line battle is not very stressful for Chelsea.

Mourinho said in the first training session after the draw was confirmed, "After this, the League Cup, the FA Cup, including the league, Chelsea will start a large-scale personnel rotation."

This is the first time Mourinho has publicly discussed the issue of the rotation system with his players. He even warned his main players not to risk injury just to get some bullshit statistics.

What Chelsea want is not the top scorer or assists. What Chelsea want is victory, not records.

Compared with those boring lists, the most important thing is to move forward step by step. In the long season, even if you are an iron man, there will be times when you get rusty. We should try our best to avoid this from happening. Mourinho's rotation system is to require everyone to reserve their physical fitness and wait for the final moment of the decisive battle. This guy will not do the things that are a hero in the first half and a bear in the second half.

Chelsea's players are precious, and Mourinho can't afford to hurt any of them. He doesn't need those non-combat attrition. During these three months, he must try his best to preserve the team's main lineup.

If you want to compete with those powerful teams for the Champions League trophy, you must preserve your strongest match.

In order to prevent Chelsea's players from falling into a vicious cycle of fatigue and combat, everyone must have sufficient time to rest. For league results, there is no need to maintain a winning streak.

Even if the media and reporters have been advocating that Chelsea may use a season-long winning streak to end this Premier League championship, Mourinho doesn't care about this kind of meaningless praise.

For Mourinho, it is more important than anything else to keep every player in the game and let everyone have enough rest time. Those so-called records are unimportant clouds.

Moreover, this kind of rotation can also allow many substitute players to get enough opportunities to play. If a few available guys can be excavated from them, it will also be of great benefit to the subsequent European games.

The point advantage is one of them. Before the winter transfer window is about to open, Mourinho and Kenyon's first step can be regarded as making up for some shortcomings for Chelsea. The defenders they have finalized are basically settled. When the transfer starts, Chelsea will be able to immediately get supplementary personnel.

Mourinho gave Kenyon a list of supplementary personnel more than a month ago. Even when Chelsea maintained a winning streak and triumphed, Mourinho was also considering continuing to strengthen the lineup.

A constant lineup represents stability, but at the same time such a lineup also represents nothing new.

A team that has not changed is the easiest to be studied. If you want Chelsea to maintain a strong competitiveness forever, the best way is to make tactics and personnel collocations that are always beyond the expectations of others.

Especially when meeting Barcelona this time, Mourinho doesn't want himself to be thoroughly studied by his opponents.

To maintain the team's personnel adjustment is to retain the possibility of changing tactics. Before meeting Barcelona in February, Mourinho needs to get a few more backup players so that opponents can't guess his last move.

It has to be said that Kenyon is still good at grasping the transfer, and within a month, he got the transfer done.

Bosingwa has no suspense. Apart from the medical examination and signing, this guy is almost carrying a travel bag to report to Stamford Bridge. His family moved faster and started looking for a house in London.

Although Porto and Chelsea are still secret, this is an open secret.

The cost of 1000 and [-] million is not cheap, but it is not too bad to find such a generalist.

Both Manchester United and Arsenal have also contacted Porto, trying to intercept Bosingwa's ownership halfway.

But the price that Kenyon can offer still kills this possibility in seconds. In the eyes of Zao Da Costa, there is indeed a gap between 1000 and 800 million euros and 400 million euros. After all, [-] million euros is still money.

Ferguson and Wenger could only watch Kenyon succeed in another robbery, and Bosingwa wisely did not participate in Porto's Champions League match this season, and still retained his qualification for the European War.

This is why Kenyon raised the price so high when he just opened his mouth, killing his competitors in seconds. What Mourinho needs is the kind of person who can play immediately after coming to the team.

Unsurprisingly, Mourinho has already included Bosingwa in his preparation plan. The League Cup and FA Cup are important battlefields for this guy to get familiar with the Premier League and the team.

Mourinho just didn't expect that Kenyon would be so decisive and quick when he settled the transfer issue, and even this guy could deal with Bosingwa and a central defender by the way.

In the list that Mourinho gave Kenyon at the beginning, many of them were the mainstay of each team, but at the end of the list, he also specifically mentioned Friedrich's name.

Of course, this Arne Friedrich is the current captain of Hertha Berlin, not the Manuel Friedrich who has been dangling back and forth between Mainz and Werder Bremen.

Kenyon didn't pay much attention at the time, but when he couldn't handle Pique and Kompany, the first thing he saw was Friedrich's performance before he touched Mertesacker. The peak confrontation, but it was such an ordinary Bundesliga game that Kenyon remembered deeply.

Friedrich was in the central defender position throughout the game and did not give the opponent any chance. His height of 1.8 meters five allowed him to block all the passes from the air strikes into the penalty area, and he never lost in the head-to-head confrontation.

Kenyon is a guy with a keen sense of smell, after seeing such a performance by Friedrich.

He realized almost immediately that if this guy plays as a central defender in the Premier League, his header advantage can be maximized, and he can also invest in offense in addition to defense.

This big guy from Germany is still a versatile player. He can not only play as a central defender, but also as a right back. However, what makes Kenyon most proud is the guy's worth.

Who would have thought that there was such a guy who served as the captain of Hertha Berlin, and his liquidated damages did not exceed 500 million euros. When this guy faced the temptation of Kenyon's Champions League and the salary conditions of the Premier League, from him From his agent to himself, he couldn't resist the double attack of honor and money, and Hertha Berlin must have hated the amount of liquidated damages when the contract was signed.

But Kenyon's shrewdness made Hertha Berlin now only accept the fate of being robbed. Even if they hate it, they can only watch their captain being plundered by Chelsea.

This is nothing less than a fatal blow to Berlin, which is aiming to hit the Champions League seat this season.

It can cost more than 1000 million to get a suitable central defender, which is really cheap for Kenyon.

You have to know the current market. Any central defender who can afford it will have a starting price of 2000 million in the UEFA Champions League. Don't think it is too expensive. With this market, you may not be able to buy useful players.

Even the guy Richards was fired to more than 2000 million, Kenyon had to sigh, alas, what an impetuous market this is, but this guy didn't think about it when he sighed, if there were no Abramovich and With Chelsea's turmoil in the transfer market, the transfer fee will not be so outrageous.

It is estimated that in a few years, if the Chelsea youth army grows up, they may be able to recover some of the initial investment for the team, but it will take at least five or six years.

Although he invested 700 million euros, Kenyon still brought back two qualified defenders to Mourinho. In addition, Kenyon also brought Mourinho's old men from Russia to London , After moving to Moscow, Maniche, who was a bit unaccustomed, joined Chelsea on loan this time, but if this guy performs well, it is only a matter of time before he buys out.

With such an old subordinate joining, Mourinho has nothing to be dissatisfied with. Maniche can also play many positions in the midfield. In the case of multi-line operations and large-scale rotation, he is very practical.

And it only needs a rental fee of 100 million euros, which is not expensive. In addition, it only needs to pay Maniche's personal salary. If it comes to a buyout in the future, it will not exceed about 1000 million euros.

The Russians really have nothing to do with this former member of the champion team who has been unable to cheer up in the Russian Super League. Even if they watch Chelsea take the tyranny, they can only endure it.

But Abramovich will not be too stingy with the team of his home country. If he wants to buy out Maniche, he will not let Dynamo Moscow lose too much money. 1000 million euros is not a big deal for him.

Such a deal, regardless of success or failure, is not too much loss, not to mention that Mourinho is very familiar with Maniche, he knows how to use this all-rounder, and Maniche also needs to be familiar with his coach.

At least now, it seems that this is a win-win deal. It took more than a month to finalize three transfer contracts. Kenyon's efficiency can be seen to be mediocre, and this guy also contacted two additional deals.

"Antonio Cassano, Nicolas Anelka, it seems that the frontcourt players you have prepared for me are all guys with such strong personalities. These two are not the kind of players who obey orders."

Mourinho also felt a little scratching his head when he saw the two contracts Kenyon handed him.

Cassano?Italy's famous naughty children, talent is nothing to say, but there are a lot of problems.

The reason why he asked for a transfer was simple. This guy who had high hopes from Roma completely fell out with the club. He even offended his former big brother Totti, and it was impossible not to leave.

At the beginning, Rome was able to spend more than 2000 million to buy this Balinese boy, which means he took a fancy to his talent.

It's just that they didn't discover the untamed nature of this kid, and it was too late when they found out.

This talented time bomb finally rang this time. Cassano rejected Roma's contract renewal request without any room for negotiation. He needs more weighty trophies, and also needs more attention.

None of these Rome can satisfy him, and he can only watch this rebellious kid leave the city of Rome.

It's just that there are not many teams that can accept the offer. Apart from Real Madrid's interest, there is only Kenyon, a looter who came out halfway. It is really unreliable to have more money than Chelsea after all.

What Kenyon is missing now is not money, but Mourinho's attitude. Kenyon has been thinking about adding a few important offensive players to Chelsea, especially those who are already a little famous.

Cassano is a good candidate, at least the news effect of this kid is much greater than those of the current Chelsea guys, not to mention that Crespo has not yet renewed his contract, and he is likely to leave next season.

Kenyon chose Anelka as the signing target, as if it was to prevent the Argentine from leaving. After all, in European football, it is indeed not so easy to find a good center forward.

Otherwise, Inter Milan will not spend a lot of money to buy Adriano from Parma. Compared with Crespo, Anelka may be more suitable for the counterattack that Chelsea sometimes needs.

Although players like Anelka and Cassano are difficult to discipline, they are not weak. Each of them can play their own role and have a certain reputation. This kind of players is also a supplement.

It's just that Mourinho doesn't nod now. After all, looking at the things that Cassano has caused in recent years, there is also an even more arrogant and unruly Anelka than him. It seems that it is difficult to deal with.

"Give me a few days to think about it." Although Mourinho covets the personal abilities of these two guys, the temperament of these two guys has indeed made many coaches quit.

Whether to deal with them, add some diversity to Chelsea's lineup, ensure the success of defending the Champions League, or just let it go, don't be such a personality player who can destroy the internal balance of the team. For Mourinho now, it is really important It's a bit of a headache to choose between iron-like discipline or coveted talent. Now even Mourinho himself is almost undecided.

Maybe it's okay to calm down for a few days, anyway, there are still two weeks before the transfer period starts.

Mourinho still has enough time to think, to hesitate, to calculate the trade-offs.

However, Chelsea's speed of attack did make many teams feel the pressure. These guys have achieved such good results that they are still thinking about how to continue to supplement the team's multi-line combat capabilities.

Facing such a team that is extremely greedy for honor, I am afraid that whoever meets them will feel a headache.

Before Christmas, this ambitious blue team will go to occupy the fifth championship.

If all goes well, they will be the first Premier League team to hold the Club World Cup. The accumulation of trophies has also given these animals greater ambition to create their own era. . .

(End of this chapter)