Chapter 54
Chelsea were placed in Group B in this year's Champions League, with Schalke 04, Valencia and Rosenborg, their first-round opponent in the group stage.
Endrit seldom thinks about his past life now, but because of Mourinho's strange attitude of attaching great importance to a Champions League group match, and thinking back to the recent games, Mourinho has been letting Sheva play, even if Sheva's performance on the field is unsatisfactory, he did not make a substitution, which is completely inconsistent with the coach's usual style.
However, Endrit did not think too much about it. He just thought that the coach wanted to give Sheva, who had worked very hard in recent times, a chance. But now thinking back, the coach left Chelsea for the first time in his previous life because he was tied by an unknown team in the Champions League group stage.
So the coach wants to keep his job by using players that Chairman Abramovich likes?
This thought stayed in Endrit's mind for a second and then he put it out of his mind, because if Mourinho really cared about this job, he would not have insisted on Abramovich not letting Sheva play. Moreover, the coach had always said that he would take him with him if he left, so the coach was not worried about this job.
He is not afraid to leave, nor is he reluctant to leave. He just doesn't want to leave Chelsea in disgrace with the title of "being fired for failing to achieve results in the Champions League."
Endrit even wondered if this was the reason why the coach returned to Chelsea to coach again. He wanted to prove that he was not incapable of coaching Chelsea and leading Chelsea to win the championship.
Although, the final outcome of the coach’s second coaching from 2013 to 2016 was not very pleasant... maybe it was just a little bit short. When Chelsea won the Champions League, although Mourinho was not at Chelsea, the tactical formation at the time was still based on the team building framework that Mourinho originally came up with.
Before Mourinho came, Chelsea was known as a retirement home for star players. After Mourinho was parachuted in, it took him less than two seasons to complete a major change in the team, transforming it from a retirement home into the current iron-blooded team, laying the foundation for Chelsea's playing framework.
It can be said that Mourinho knows best how to help Chelsea win. But the problem now is that the framework is still there, the tactics are fine, but the players are gone!
Core frontcourt players Duff and Robben left one after another, and the team's fulcrum center Drogba was constantly injured and could no longer pass the ball as before. Some time ago, there was news about Drogba and the German Football Association, and it seemed that he would leave in the next transfer window.
The sports media are criticizing Chelsea for playing terribly. Mourinho is not unaware of this, but Robben left in the summer window this year, and the original two wingers can only be replaced by Sheva, who has never been integrated into the team.
After several seasons, Chelsea has become accustomed to the space-compressing style of play created by Mourinho. It is impossible to create new tactics around the new frontcourt. Not to mention the time issue, what if Sheva's contract expires and he wants to transfer after the training? Do I have to start over and adapt to the frontcourt again?
Lampard was the only core player who was in good shape before, but because several other core players were offline, Lampard had an extremely difficult time in the game: the opposing teams almost always used Lampard as a breakthrough point and kept fouling him. He was absent due to injury in early September, and the team doctor determined that Lampard needed to rest for at least more than a month.
At present, the only famous and capable player that Chelsea can show to the outside world is Sheva, a striker who has not yet been fully integrated into the team system. This is also one of the reasons why Endrit did not think deeply about it before. After all, compared to another lesser-known striker Kalou, Sheva is still somewhat threatening.
The team's defense is aging, the new defenders have not yet adapted to the Premier League environment, and Makelele and Essien's defensive burden has increased...
It can be said that before Endrit became the goalkeeper, everyone on the team was carrying a heavy burden. After Endrit, who was a super-talented player, came to be the goalkeeper, although no one said it explicitly, the pressure on everyone was indeed much less. With Endrit around, Mourinho can freely practice new tactics in the game, and the team's defensive pressure is suddenly much less.
If it weren't for this, the comments released by the English media every day would have made Endrit a loner in the team long ago.
"Ritter, after training, let's go to the bar..." Makelele stopped talking abruptly, "Oh, by the way, you are still young, you can't go. Tsk..."
"You keep thinking about playing, be careful the coach won't let you play."
"How is that possible?"
Makelele is very confident in himself, "The coach will never stop me from playing!"
Seeing that he failed to scare his opponent, Endrit stopped talking, threw the ball to Makelele and used practical actions to signal the other party to practice shooting again.
Makelele is right. The coach definitely wants to win the next Champions League game, so he will definitely let Makelele play. After all, the latter has been an important member of the team's tactical system from the beginning. If Makelele doesn't play, it means the coach has gone crazy.
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"Forwards: Sheva, Kalou; midfielders: Wright-Phillips, Sidwell, Mikel, Cole; defenders: Ferreira, Alex, Ben Haim, Belletti." Mourinho collected the Champions League starting lineup and looked up at Endrit, "and goalkeeper: Endrit."
Endritt couldn't control his expression of astonishment, and the other players couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. It was because, apart from the forwards who only had two options, only two could play in the 442 formation. A small number of the four midfielders and four defenders had just joined the Chelsea family, and most of the rest were usually substitutes, who only came on the bench when the main players were exhausted, or could only play in garbage time!
If this was a normal Premier League game, then Endrit... No, even if it was the Premier League game, Endrit wouldn't understand it! When the Premier League tried new formations before, wasn't it half substitutes and half starters? How come in such an important Champions League group match, the coach directly sent out the substitute lineup? !
This is absolutely crazy, right? !
"Quiet," Mourinho raised his hand and knocked on the tactical board beside him, "What are you arguing about? Are you surprised to hear this starting lineup? What did I say before? I will keep an eye on your training in the near future, but what about you? Some players in particular, relying on the fact that they have always been the starting players, don't train well, and their weight has not dropped until now. What? You think I will force you to play no matter what, right?"
"Ritter, come out with me for a moment."
Mourinho left with a dark face, and his expression was very cold when he called Endrit, which made his teammates in the locker room look at Endrit with sympathy.
"Why are you still standing?"
In the office, Mourinho sat down at his seat and looked up to find Endrit still standing in front of his desk. He couldn't help but laugh, "Why? So obedient today? I told you not to sit down and you stood there without moving?"
"Coach," Endritt felt relieved, and immediately realized that Mourinho's sullen face was all fake, "Is your starting lineup fake?"
"It's true," Mourinho wondered, "Why would I go to the trouble of making a fake list?"
"But they are all..."
"That's right," Mourinho interrupted Endrit, "They are all substitutes. We will be in danger in tomorrow's Champions League group match. We may even lose. Then you may not see me in this office."
Endrit was silent for a while, then he raised his finger and pointed at himself, "Me?"
Mourinho nodded, "Yes, you."
"I've always felt that you needed a bigger stage. I believed in you, so I made this choice. Now tell me, do you believe in yourself?"
At this moment, Endrit even began to doubt whether the coach knew that he was cheating, so he believed that he could really keep the opponents scoreless and even dared to bet directly on himself. It can be said that it is an all-substitute lineup, the first game of the Champions League group stage, one game will decide the outcome.
After the loss, Endrit will be silent for a while, and Mourinho will just pack up and leave.
If they win, Endrit is sure that his position in the team will be extremely solid, and coach Mourinho's control over the team will reach a new level.
This is not asking him "Do you believe in yourself?", but asking him "Do you dare to take a gamble?"
"Do you believe in yourself?"
Mourinho asked again, and Endritt's lips moved slightly.
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[Chelsea's Champions League starting lineup is released!] The all-substitute lineup shocked everyone! 】
[Mad man Mourinho made a bold statement: We can still win the game with a full substitute lineup! 】
"I completely trust the media," Mourinho said with a smile when talking about today's starting lineup at the pre-match press conference of the Champions League group stage. "I think you are right. Endrit is the England goalkeeper. With him guarding the goal, let alone our Chelsea substitute lineup, even if your team of media stood on the field, Endrit would not lose a goal."
"But that was just a draw. If you want to win, you have to score a goal. If you media failed to score and tied with the opponent, it was your fault. Just like you media said, the goalkeeper was not wrong. Even if he was wrong, it was his coach's problem, and it was my fault."
"No, no, no, I'm not mocking you. I'm just repeating what you said. Endrit will not fail. If he fails, isn't it because you, the media, failed to score and held him back?"
Mourinho skillfully shifted the media's focus to himself. Before the start of today's game, he patted Endrit on the shoulder, hugged Endrit, and whispered in his ear: "Don't be too nervous, just play like you usually do. It doesn't matter if you lose, at worst I can take you back to Portugal to play."
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