Chapter 896: The Battle of the Goalkeepers
After finishing the training session, I returned to the locker room.
Hazard came out of the shower and found Courtois still sitting on the stool.
He was naked except for a pair of shorts, and his legs were shaking constantly.
Was it because of excessive energy consumption? Or because of fear? Hazard couldn't figure it out, but he still walked over, sat down next to Courtois, and comforted him: "It's okay, he didn't mean to target you, it's just..."
"He is helping me!" Courtois said lightly.
"What?" Hazard was a little confused.
Courtois turned his head and glanced at his teammates, knowing that Hazard must have misunderstood.
It’s no wonder, because he just arrived and it was his first time to meet Su Dong, so naturally he didn’t understand him.
But Courtois had been to Manchester City many times before and had dealt with Su Dong many times, so he knew a little about Su Dong's character.
"Remember I said that I hope to stay in Manchester City and train with the world's best player. Now, not only do we train together, he also trains me personally. What an honor it is."
If Hazard hadn't seen the gratitude on Courtois' face, he would have suspected that he was speaking in a sarcastic way.
Being abused like this, and still feel honored? "He actually wanted to tell me how strong the world's top stars are and how far I am from them. This will be my goal and direction for continued efforts." Courtois thought very clearly.
"Then what did you say to him before you left..."
"Thank you!" Courtois smiled.
Hazard smiled bitterly. Well, he actually thought Courtois was going to say something harsh.
"Did you gain much?" Hazard asked.
Courtois nodded. "The biggest gain today is that I can see my position clearly. I also see clearly that the coach's new training method can really make me get off the ground faster, so I will continue to improve without wavering."
He didn't know whether this was the effect Su Dong wanted to achieve, but he really got it.
This is also why he said thank you to Su Dong before leaving.
…
"What did the boy tell you?"
After finishing the training, sweating all over, Su Dong, Pepe and Unsue left the training ground side by side.
The Portuguese center back was very gossipy and asked curiously.
Not only him, but Wen Sue also showed a concerned look.
"Thank you." Su Dong said with a smile.
"I don't believe it." Pepe shook his head. "That kid is so arrogant. He would say thank you to you? You'll be so happy!"
Su Dong smiled and didn't explain further. He turned to look at Wen Sue and said, "Juan, what do you think of him?"
Unsué knew that Su Dong was talking about Courtois, so he smiled and said, "Not bad, he looks a lot like Van der Sar, not only in height but also in features, and his idol is Van der Sar."
"Does Van der Sar fit in with our tactics?" Pepe asked in surprise.
At Manchester United, Van der Sar is a goal-line goalkeeper, known for his stability, excellent positioning and superb goal-line technology, making them a solid barrier in front of the goal.
But this does not meet Guardiola's requirements for Manchester City goalkeeper.
"You are wrong, Pepe. Many people think that Neuer is the pioneer of the sweeper goalkeeper. In fact, it is not true at all. Long before Neuer, Van der Sar was also a sweeper goalkeeper."
"Van der Sar?" Pepe was full of surprise and turned to look at Su Dong.
Su Dong nodded. "How could Van Gaal's Ajax tactics use a goal-line goalkeeper?"
Isn’t it?
The football played by Van Gaal's Ajax back then was more radical than Guardiola's current tactical style, and they pressed higher. Will he choose a goalkeeper who stays close in front of the goal?
"In fact, under the training of Louis van Gaal and Frans Hoek, Van der Sar was the most promising and impressive sweeper goalkeeper at the time. His role and characteristics in the back line even shocked the entire European football world, so Juventus tried their best to bring him in."
In 1999, after Juventus' number one goalkeeper Peruzzi was poached by Inter Milan for a world record goalkeeper transfer fee of 19 million euros, the Zebras mobilized all their resources to snatch the then Ajax goalkeeper Van der Sar from Barcelona and Liverpool, using the Dutch goalkeeper to fill Peruzzi's vacancy.
But no one expected that both transfers would eventually fail.
Peruzzi only stayed at Inter Milan for one season, and Van der Sar was completely devastated by his tragic experience at Juventus. Interestingly, after Juventus sent Van der Sar away, they signed Buffon from Parma for a super high price of 53 million euros, while Parma signed Peruzzi from Inter Milan for a high price of 18 million euros.
Van der Sar's experience at Juventus completely destroyed his confidence and he became a pariah. No one from any of the big clubs was interested in him, so he was forced to go to Fulham, which had just been promoted to the Premier League. This shows how bad his situation was at the time.
But it was during his time at Fulham that he slowly regained his confidence, and after moving to Manchester United in 2005, he reached a new peak in his career.
Su Dong promised Van der Sar that he would attend his farewell match, so he naturally knew something about Van der Sar.
"In fact, the main reason for Van der Sar's experience at Juventus was that he was not used to it," Su Dong analyzed. He had heard Rijkaard and others mention this before. "Ajax's requirement for goalkeepers is to stand forward, take the initiative, and have more ball control, which is the so-called sweeper goalkeeper."
"But Juventus is different. The Bianconeri is an Italian team and they adopt the Italian defensive tactics. They basically don't allow the goalkeeper to move forward too much. Besides, the defense line has retreated, so the goalkeeper can't move forward even if he wants to."
"In Juventus' tactical environment, Van der Sar's strengths at Ajax were not given any room to play, and his weaknesses were exposed very obviously, so he performed so badly at Juventus."
"That's right." Unsue nodded. "In addition to the technical and tactical aspects, there are also differences in goalkeeper training. Italy has its own goalkeeper training system, and it is an excellent system. This is completely different from the Dutch goalkeeper training system. After Van der Sar arrived at Juventus, he was asked to change some of his playing habits and training methods."
Speaking of which, this is a bit like what Unsue is doing to Courtois now.
It's cruel, but there's nothing we can do about it.
If Courtois wants to play well in Manchester City, he must adapt to all of this, otherwise he will only be loaned out or sold.
"The lack of tactical environment on the pitch and the daily team training made Van der Sar feel at a loss. In addition, his performance was not as good as expected and the media attacked him desperately. Under the multiple pressures, he was overwhelmed and even became at a loss. He didn't know how to play football and completely lost confidence."
At this point, Unsue smiled at Su Dong and said, "With your joining just now, I believe Courtois should have figured it out, but Van der Sar had no one to help him back then, so he was lost."
Su Dong and Peipei both felt the same way.
This kind of confusion of players is very scary, because once a player loses confidence and direction, he is basically ruined.
"However, during his time in Italy, Van der Sar's goal-line skills and some of his shortcomings from the Netherlands were made up for, so after arriving at Fulham, he slowly honed them. After a few years of settling down, he gradually regained his confidence. In addition, as he got older, he could no longer guard the goal like before, but instead found a way of goalkeeping that suited him. This is the Van der Sar we later saw at Manchester United."
From the perspective of hindsight, this is a blessing in disguise.
But only those who have experienced it understand that it is definitely a nightmare that no one can endure.
Why can't German goalkeeper Enke get out of this situation?
The cause of the illness was that he was unable to adapt to Frans Hoek's training methods and technical requirements at Barcelona.
Van der Sar's strength does not lie in how many games he has kept clean sheets or how many championships he has won for Manchester United, but in the fact that after experiencing such darkness and lows, he can still tenaciously come out and achieve success at Manchester United.
This is the most admirable thing! "Are you sure this kid can be like Van der Sar?" Su Dong asked with interest.
Unsué thought for a moment and nodded, "He is still young. Although he has received training in Belgium, he does not have much experience in the professional arena. It is a bit difficult to carve him up, but it is not impossible. At least it is much more likely than Joe Hart."
"His footwork is actually pretty good. Maybe he doesn't have the long pass of Van der Sar, but there is no problem with his passing and ball control. It's just that he is not good at using them. We need to guide and train him slowly."
Su Dong understood what Wen Sue meant.
In fact, he also admires Courtois very much, otherwise he would not take the initiative to train with him.
Now that he has heard the coaching staff's evaluation of him from Wen Sue, Su Dong has a clear idea in his mind.
Manchester City does need an outstanding goalkeeper to fill the vacancy left by Joe Hart. Courtois may not have such strength for the time being, but at least he has such potential.
Su Dong is very clear that if Manchester City plays in the Champions League with last season's lineup, the goalkeeper will be the biggest hidden danger.
Especially in high-intensity knockout matches, the goalkeeper's weaknesses will be more thoroughly exposed under the pressure of the opponent.
In this case, if Courtois can be helped to grow up as quickly as possible, it will be beneficial to Manchester City, Sudong and Courtois himself.
"What are you going to do?" When Pepe saw Su Dong's eyes, he knew that he must have something in mind.
"Nothing. Isn't Van der Sar his idol?"
Pepe and Unsué both nodded.
"I've been invited to attend Van der Sar's farewell match. I'll take him with me then and let him meet his idol. I'll let Van der Sar give this kid some pointers and help him to open up his mind." Su Dong said with a smile.
When Unsué and Pepe heard this, they immediately thought it was a good idea.
When it comes to overcoming Courtois' current situation, who is more convincing than Van der Sar?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
