Chapter 417: Su Dong VS Captain Tsubasa
During the two-week national team competition, Su Dong took time out to go to Germany to participate in a commercial event of Hugo Boss.
This time, he still appointed Wang Chuqing as his German translator.
It’s not that Wang Chuqing’s German translation is professional, but because Su Dong trusts her.
There is nothing much to say about the event itself. The basic process was just a formality. Su Dong just showed up and said a few nice words. He spent most of the rest of the time answering questions from the media and fans.
It is worth mentioning that Wang Chuqing has successfully obtained a driver's license, but he still has a hard time driving and looks very embarrassed.
Of course, Su Dong has no say in this matter, because so far, he has not even passed the driving test.
"Oh my God, how busy are you?" Wang Chuqing found it very interesting.
Su Dong once again made up his mind to make time to take the exam no matter what.
If for no other reason than to prove that his driving skills were definitely better than that woman's.
Just as he was returning to Barcelona airport from Munich, he saw a familiar yet unfamiliar figure.
…
"Hey, Louis?"
Su Dong quickly chased forward and caught up with the middle-aged man in front.
When I heard the voice, I turned around and saw it was the famous Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.
"Why are you here?" Su Dong was very surprised.
Van Gaal was wearing a blue shirt and had a big belly, looking like a middle-aged man with a fat body. He was dragging a suitcase in his hand. It was obvious that he came to Barcelona to do something and was preparing to return to the Netherlands.
When he saw Su Dong, he was obviously stunned and didn't recognize him for a moment.
Seeing that there was no one around, Su Dong immediately took off his sunglasses and hat and said, "It's me, Louis."
"Su!" Van Gaal was also very surprised.
The two shook hands vigorously. They really didn't expect to meet each other by chance at the airport.
They found an empty corner and sat down to chat.
As the former coach of Barcelona, Van Gaal rarely comes to this sad place, because his career hit the bottom here and he never got up again.
After leaving the Barcelona coaching position, he went to Ajax as technical director, but unfortunately, his relationship with Ronald Koeman was not good, and his relationship with players such as Ibrahimovic was also very bad, so he retired not long after working there.
This summer, he became the head coach of the Dutch Eredivisie team Alkmaar.
"Your team has performed very well this season. I've heard many people mention it." Su Dong praised with a smile.
Van Gaal always looks very cold when he is coaching, but in private, he is a very kind middle-aged man who seems far less distant and arrogant than he is on the court, especially when it comes to his football.
Alkmaar has indeed performed quite well this season. In the first round, they beat Sparta Rotterdam 3-0 at home, then defeated Utrecht 2-1 away, and in the third round they beat Vitesse 5-0 away. They are currently at the top of the Eredivisie.
The reason why Su Dong knew about it was mainly because the Catalan media reported it.
This is Van Gaal's first season after his return from the Barcelona coaching position.
More importantly, Van Gaal once again played an impressive type of football against Alkmaar.
And Su Dong also admires Van Gaal very much.
This appreciation has a long history, from when he coached Ajax to win the Champions League to later coaching Barcelona. It can be said that Van Gaal's football philosophy has always been the most appreciated by Su Dong.
As for his two experiences as coach of Barcelona, what can we say about this?
There are always many unexpected and uncontrollable risks when a head coach coaches a team. Many times, the head coach is like a scapegoat, having to bear many responsibilities that should not be borne by him.
A failed coaching experience cannot be said to be without problems on the head coach himself, but it is also inappropriate to blame everything on the head coach. Not to mention anything else, just the influence of Van Gaal on Barcelona's football style in recent years cannot be ignored.
In fact, Su Dong has heard more than once that Spain's goalkeeper training and even the teaching materials were written by Frans Hoek in Van Gaal's coaching team. It was first practiced in Barcelona and then spread to the whole of Spain.
Unfortunately, Van Gaal and Cruyff are enemies and can never get along.
This time, Van Gaal went to Barcelona to attend a discussion organized by the Spanish Football Association.
But I didn’t expect to meet Su Dong at the airport.
…
"In recent years, I have heard people mention you a lot. At first, they told me that you look like Kluivert, but after watching a few of your games, I don't think you look like him at all."
Whenever Van Gaal mentions football, he becomes talkative and incessant.
"There is a little bit. In fact, I have studied Kluivert's games and playing style." Su Dong said modestly.
Van Gaal nodded. “I can see that, and it’s quite normal, but I think you are more comprehensive and better than him.”
"Thank you." Su Dong felt very honored to be recognized by Van Gaal.
"I personally think that Rijkaard's tactics have not fully stimulated your ability and role. One obvious feature is that you are not fast enough when switching from defense to offense, and your speed is slow, which does not fully play your speed and explosiveness advantages. In addition, Giuly on the right can't cooperate with you, and Iniesta is a little slow."
Ronaldinho himself is a ball-control player, and with the addition of Iniesta, the overall tempo of the ball in the front court becomes slower. This is also related to Barcelona's overall tactical concept, as they prefer to control the ball.
"Frank would rather we control the ball," said Su Dong.
"Of course, many of his ideas are similar to those of the old man halfway up the mountain, but I don't think so. If you have a fast player with strong personal attacking ability on the right, such as Robben, or a player like Cristiano Ronaldo, I think you will be more threatening and the effect will be better."
Su Dong smiled. He had no good idea of what Van Gaal said.
But there is one thing he did feel, that is, sometimes he could obviously speed up, but because his teammates had the ball, he had to slow down and accommodate the rhythm of his teammates and the team.
This is normal. A player needs to integrate into the team and cannot do whatever he wants.
"Take it slow. Barcelona is still a very suitable place for you. I believe you can make further progress this season based on the foundation of last season," Van Gaal encouraged.
After a pause, Van Gaal let out a long sigh, "Rijkaard came at the right time!"
…
Watching Van Gaal board the plane, Su Dong felt a little sad.
It was their first meeting, but Van Gaal overturned Su Dong's inherent impression of him. He was neither arrogant nor indifferent.
It can be seen that he is still brooding over his failure as coach of Barcelona.
Su Dong had heard about Van Gaal from Xavi, Puyol and others, and it was impossible to blame him completely for many things.
Just like his last helpless sigh, if the head coach wants to achieve results, he still has to catch up with the good times.
Just like Mourinho, he ran from Porto to Chelsea and won the Premier League title in his first season as coach.
This is certainly a reflection of his ability, but did his predecessor Ranieri really do such a bad job? On the other hand, if Ranieri did a good job at Chelsea, how can we explain his terrible performance at Valencia? So, sometimes, the coaching of a head coach is really not just a matter of ability.
Just like the saying on the football field, the outcome is often determined when both teams walk onto the field.
…………
…………
No one can understand why Su Dong admires Van Gaal so much.
It may be because of Kluivert, but it may also be because when he came into contact with football, it was the years when Van Gaal was at his peak, which made him always have a good impression of Van Gaal.
More importantly, whether from what he heard on a daily basis or from a brief conversation with Van Gaal, Su Dong felt very clearly that Van Gaal was a very capable coach who had his own unique ideas and a special understanding of football. He felt that such a coach would definitely have a chance.
"I believe that he chose Alkmaar not because he had no offers from other strong teams, but because he wanted to use a team that truly belonged to him to prove his coaching ability and philosophy!"
When talking about this encounter with Iniesta and Messi, Su Dong always believed that Van Gaal would definitely succeed again.
At least Alkmaar has only played three games, but it has already attracted considerable attention in the Netherlands. It is said that other head coaches have begun to drive to learn Van Gaal's training and tactics, and even the media in Barcelona are discussing it.
…
The brief meeting with Van Gaal did not bring any changes to Su Dong.
He is still focused on training and preparation.
Before the second round of La Liga, Su Dong was surprised to find that more Japanese media came to Barcelona.
This made him feel very strange.
After understanding the situation, he realized that Real Mallorca's Japanese talented striker Yoshito Okubo would start in this game.
Speaking of which, this Japanese genius once caused quite a stir in La Liga.
In the first game of 2005, he played for Real Mallorca against Deportivo La Coruna. It was his debut and he made one assist and one goal, winning applause from the whole audience. It not only caused a sensation in Asia, but also attracted much attention in Spain.
But unfortunately, he gradually became a substitute, so much so that he was not included in the roster when playing against Barcelona later.
But this summer, Yoshito Okubo won the starting position thanks to his outstanding performance in summer preparations.
Now visiting Camp Nou to challenge Barcelona away, he will partner with Cameroonian striker Eto'o in the front line.
This is also why so many Japanese media and fans come to Barcelona.
They all had some expectations, even hopes, to know how big the gap was between the young football player that they regarded as a genius in Japan and Su Dong, and whether he would have a chance to score against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
