Chapter 279: A Century-Old Champions League Dream
With the referee's whistle, the game was over! Sitting in front of the TV, Porto coach Mourinho's face was not good, and he seemed a little sad.
"I never thought that in just one year, he has reached his current level!" Assistant coach Baltemar Brito was also very emotional, because he still clearly remembered the situation when Su Dong played for Sporting Lisbon a year ago.
At that time, Su Dong was indeed very eye-catching, but he was far from being as amazing as he is now! In just one year, he seemed to have transformed and completely soared! "At the beginning, he didn't come to Porto, but now he may become our opponent again." Faria said with a wry smile.
Porto also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, and their opponent is Deportivo La Coruna from La Liga.
Judging from the current situation, Deportivo La Coruna, which just reversed AC Milan, is the favorite, while Porto is relatively underdog. However, judging from the strength of both sides, Porto is not without the ability to fight.
Mourinho's team has also played very steadily this season, unlike Irueta's team, which has ups and downs, which is a taboo! Usually, teams with ups and downs often have obvious flaws and shortcomings, otherwise this situation will not occur.
Just like Valencia, where Su Dong plays, has been incredibly stable this season.
On the one hand, it is because the defense is very solid and mature, and on the other hand it is also related to Su Dong's outbreak.
With the full support of the whole team, Su Dong performed very well on the offensive end, scoring goals for the team.
With both the front and back lines performing well, Valencia will naturally be stable.
"Now many people say that he is very similar to Ronaldo back then. What do you think?" Brito suddenly asked curiously.
He is Brazilian and has a very different kind of respect for Ronaldo. He is reluctant to believe or admit that there is anyone who can come close to the Ronaldo of his time.
You know, in the minds of Brazilians, Ronaldo is a living legend! Mourinho still has a say in this matter because he was Ronaldo's translator back then.
It is natural that when the Englishman Robson coached Porto, he needed a Portuguese translator. But why did the Englishman need a Portuguese translator when he coached the Spanish giant Barcelona? Isn't this a strange thing? The answer is that Mourinho took the initiative to follow Robson to Barcelona, but Barcelona had already assigned an English translator for Robson, so Mourinho had nothing to do with it.
But just when Mourinho couldn't stay in Barcelona anymore and was about to return to Portugal to be his physical education teacher, Barcelona brought in Ronaldo from Eindhoven. At that time, Ronaldo didn't know Spanish or English, and was not even willing to learn it.
So, the Portuguese translator Mourinho was kept.
This is how we have the current Porto head coach, Portugal’s popular young coach!
Mourinho has deep feelings for Ronaldo. After all, he was one of his mentors in the early stages of his coaching career, and he is full of respect for Ronaldo.
"I don't think Su Dong is very similar to Ronaldo, although there are many times when the two play in a similar way, such as when they dribble at high speed, they are really similar, but I still don't think so."
Mourinho thought for a moment and continued, "They are actually different types of players. If we look at the development trend of football defense in recent years, when Ronaldo came, his threat would be much weaker because there would not be so much space for him to exploit and attack in a strong dialogue."
"Su Dong's personal ability is still far behind Ronaldo, but his comprehensiveness and tactical role make up for this deficiency, and even make him perform as well as Ronaldo in modern football games, even surpassing Ronaldo's craziness back then."
After careful consideration, everyone agreed with Mourinho's comments.
Football tactics are always developing, especially in recent years, defensive tactics have developed a lot compared to the past, and the intensity has also increased a lot. For example, in the World Cup in France that year, France was able to win the championship thanks to its unbreakable defense.
Zidane? The French team back then was like Valencia this season, and Zidane was like Su Dong.
The amazing performance of some stars overshadowed the defensive contribution of the entire team.
"To be honest, if we really meet in the final, I really don't know how to defend Su Dong!" Mourinho smiled bitterly, "We couldn't defend him a year ago, and now... I'm afraid it will be even more difficult!"
Everyone felt the same way.
Porto has indeed made a lot of progress in the past year. The return of McCarthy has greatly improved the team's forward line, made up for this shortcoming, and the team's competitiveness has also increased a lot.
But Su Dong has improved more and faster! A year ago, the combination of Jorge Costa and Carvalho could not stop Su Dong. Can they do it now?
…………
…………
Valencia beat Monaco 3-0 at home!
This victory quickly caused a huge response in European football.
French team newspaper commented that Valencia's victory was due to its stability.
"Except for the goals scored by Sudon and Vicente, and a few other highlights, Valencia's performance was generally stable and lacked any surprises. Even the 18-year-old David Silva did not create many surprises."
L'Equipe believes that this is in line with Benítez's coaching style.
On the other hand, L'Equipe believes that Deschamps' team played with more passion and tried to launch attacks several times. Although they failed to score a goal, it is worthy of recognition.
When passion meets steadiness, Valencia's efficiency shows its advantage.
L'Equipe believes that in this game, Monaco did not fail to create opportunities. On the contrary, the French team also created several opportunities, but failed to seize the opportunities to score goals. This is the key!
"Valencia played very skillfully. Benítez focused on several hidden dangers of Monaco, especially on Ibarra's side, and attacked them frequently."
L'Equipe said that Deschamps guessed the start and process of the game, but not the end.
His original plan was to let Valencia score first, and then Monaco would take the opportunity to score an away goal, preferably with a 1-1 or 1-2 score, leaving the Mestalla Stadium, so that they would still have an advantage in the second leg.
"But in fact, in the first half, Su Dong's two goals completely disrupted Deschamps' deployment."
"Deschamps' most serious problem lies in his use of players. Gilvert has performed well this season, but tonight against Su Dong, he can really be said to be useless and was completely unable to stop Su Dong."
"On the contrary, after Squillaci came on as a substitute, he and Rodriguez did a better job of blocking Su Dong."
L'Equipe believes that Deschamps' use of Gilgeous-Alexander was the reason why Monaco lost two goals in the first half. If Squillaci had started, the result would probably have been different.
"But now, there is no regret medicine to take!"
"We lost 0-3 away from home. Although Deschamps still said that there is still a chance when we return to our home court, in fact, we all know that the chance of a comeback is very slim."
"The calm and experienced Benítez will never give Deschamps a chance to turn the tables!"
…
The Spanish media congratulated Valencia on their victory, especially Sudon who scored twice.
AS believes that heroes are made by the times and this season's Champions League has made the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe successful.
This media started with Valencia's goal drought in the past few seasons, and has given its all to support Su Dong this season. Su Dong lived up to expectations, bringing a flood of goals and helping Valencia to keep pace on both the La Liga and Champions League fronts.
"He shows people the advantages of the modern all-around center and is also creating his own type of center!"
Marca even believes that Su Dong has begun to rank among the top European stars. His current value is not inferior to any striker, and may even be higher than many well-known strikers.
"He's only nineteen!"
"Age is his biggest advantage!"
"Everyone is looking forward to it now. The 19-year-old Su Dong has already been so outstanding. What heights can he reach next? Will he have a chance to live up to people's expectations of the alien Ronaldo?"
Marca also interviewed Ronaldo specifically.
The Brazilian superstar also praised Su Dong. He even publicly stated that Su Dong would catch up with his achievements within three years and then surpass him to become a better player than him.
“Of course, I’m talking about at club level!”
At the national team level, Ronaldo comes from the football kingdom of Brazil, which is an advantage that no one can match, while Su Dong comes from the football desert of China. There is a world of difference between the two and there is no comparability at all.
More importantly, Su Dong has not played for the national team even once so far.
This is something that fans all over the world find unbelievable! Such an outstanding player, let alone in China, even in Brazil, he would probably be snatched up to the national team, right? But unfortunately, Su Dong has not received a call-up from the national team so far.
So much so that netizens on the domestic Internet are joking, "Do you know why Su Dong has never been selected for the national team?"
"Because he can't play Chinese football!"
Some netizens even joked: "In order to better serve the national team, Su Dong decided to play basketball instead!"
…
Scoring twice in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, Su Dong once again became the focus of public opinion.
Countless fans placed higher hopes on him, especially Spanish fans, who began to call for Su Dong to help Valencia reach the final and finally win the championship, fulfilling Valencia's Champions League dream! You know, in the nearly 100-year history of this club, it has never won the Champions League. At the beginning of the century, it reached the final twice, but failed twice, which made countless fans around the world feel sorry for the Bats.
If we can reach the final again this season and win the championship, it will definitely be the most exciting moment in Valencia's history and the greatest season! This is not only the voice of Valencia fans, but also the call of many Spanish fans!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
