"How are you? Is Fabio alright?" As soon as Li Shiguang returned to his seat, Simone leaned in close.
"No problem." Li Shiguang nodded, glancing sideways at him and joking, "He's a World Footballer of the Year, isn't his ability to adjust better than yours?"
"Boss! You can't praise one while belittling the other!" Simeone immediately objected upon hearing this. "I'm also a double champion in La Liga and Serie A, okay!"
"Hahaha, alright, alright, then I apologize to the double champion." After laughing, Li Shiguang said seriously, "However, Fabio himself said that his physical condition has not been as good as before since the beginning of this season, and he wants to step down to the second line. If nothing unexpected happens, he should join our coaching staff after this season."
"real?"
"real!"
"That's great! From now on, let the new employees handle overtime!"
"Get lost!" Li Shiguang chuckled and lightly scolded Simeone, then instructed, "If Fabio retires, the first team will only have three center-backs, which is definitely not enough. You need to communicate more with Ron. If you find any good prospects, you should screen them first. If you think they are good, you can bring them to me for a look."
"OK!"
····
October 24th.
Leeds United's Champions League group stage match against Dynamo Kyiv kicked off at the Lobanovsky Stadium in Kyiv.
Li Shiguang has always been decisive in his actions.
Since Cannavaro made the suggestion, and considering that Dynamo Kyiv is not very strong, Li Shiguang directly fielded a central defensive pairing of Kompany and Thiago Silva for this match.
Leeds United also secured a resounding 4-1 away victory against Dynamo Kyiv, achieving their third consecutive win in the Champions League group stage.
After finishing the Champions League match, Li Shiguang led his players back to England without stopping and flew directly to Birmingham.
After a short day's rest in Birmingham, the 11th round of Premier League matches kicked off on time.
Fortunately, Birmingham, ranked lower, is not very strong. After 90 minutes of hard-fought battle, the tired Leeds United players did not disappoint the fans this time, taking away three points with a score of 3-2 away from home, bringing a relatively satisfactory end to this October.
····
The players were given a precious day off after returning to Leeds the next day.
Li Shiguang also didn't go to work at Thorpe Arch today.
He slept until noon, and after eating the lunch prepared by Shakira, he comfortably lay on the sofa and began to plan for the upcoming matches.
Throughout November, Leeds United will only need to play five matches: three league games and two Champions League group stage matches.
Their three league opponents are Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal, while their Champions League opponents are Sporting Lisbon and Roma.
They're all tough nuts to crack! Not a single one is easy to eat!
If it were just these few matches, Li Shiguang wouldn't feel anything, but in mid-November, various clubs will usher in a new round of international match days.
Just like in October, the players who were called up to the national team will have to play two qualifying matches within half a month. The only difference is that the players from the Americas will be playing World Cup qualifiers, while the players from Europe will be playing qualifiers for next year's European Championship. In any case, there will be no rest!
As for Leeds United...
Before that, they will have a tough match against Chelsea next weekend, and three days after that, they will have a Champions League group stage match at home against Sporting Lisbon.
Both games were extremely important to Li Shiguang.
In this round of league matches, Chelsea thrashed Manchester City 6-0 at home, demonstrating their excellent form while maintaining pressure on Leeds United and Manchester United in the standings.
Even Li Shiguang himself is unsure whether Leeds United can secure all three points at home.
Moreover, the FA's match schedule is quite interesting.
Besides Leeds United's match against Chelsea being the focus of this round, Arsenal will also face Manchester United at home.
Li Shiguang vs. Mourinho, Wenger vs. Ferguson.
Just seeing these four names is enough to send the English football world into a frenzy!
In one round of matches, the top four teams in the league faced off against each other. Li Shiguang knew very well that the outcome of this round would most likely determine who would win the mid-season championship!
Such exciting matches have already prompted various media outlets to begin their analyses, even though there is still a week until the two games start, and fans from each team are already promoting their favorites.
besides.
If Leeds United can defeat Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, they will secure their qualification for the knockout stage with two rounds to spare. This will undoubtedly make Li Shiguang feel much more comfortable with the lineup arrangements for the next two Champions League group stage matches.
Therefore, in Li Shiguang's view, there are reasons why he must win these two fierce battles that are only three days apart!
····
After a day of rest, the players returned to the team on time, and Li Shiguang also threw himself into the intense preparation work.
However, before Li Shiguang could even turn on his computer after returning to his office from training in the afternoon to study Chelsea's recent match videos, Allen knocked on the office door.
As soon as he walked in, Allen handed the documents in his hand to Li Shiguang and said softly, "Boss, I have two urgent matters that require your decision."
Taking the document from Allen, Li Shiguang looked down and saw a quotation receipt.
“This is their response after we made an offer to Inter Milan for Balotelli. I printed it out after receiving it.” Allen pointed to the document in Li Shiguang’s hand. “After you gave the order last time, I’ve been keeping an eye on Mancini’s situation. After we returned from Switzerland, I received confirmation that Inter Milan and Mancini have reached an agreement that they will not renew his contract after this season! So I directly made an offer to Inter Milan for Balotelli. As you requested, I raised the price to 12 million euros after two offers, but they still rejected it.”
"Moratti refused?"
“I don’t know,” Allen said thoughtfully, “but I doubt whether Mr. Moratti has even seen our offer.”
“Okay.” Li Shiguang nodded. “I’ll call him later and ask. And then? Is there anything else?”
“After training at noon, Camoranesi came to me,” Allen said slowly, taking a moment to organize his thoughts. “He submitted a transfer request to me.”
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