Chapter 981 Return to Manchester United
Manchester City players’ impression of Guardiola is actually quite contradictory, a bit like a combination of an angel and a devil.
He is called a devil because he is very demanding in the execution of tactics. It can be said that except for Su Dong, whom he trusts the most, all other players in the team must run and pass the ball strictly according to his requirements.
How to run, where to run, how to pass, where to pass...
Guardiola will prepare almost everything for the players. As a player, you just need to strictly follow it and play to your strengths.
There are pros and cons to this.
The advantage is needless to say, the team's overall performance is very stable, and it doesn't even matter if people are replaced.
Especially young players like Sterling, Trippier, Thiago and others, they can also perform well in this system.
Many people say that Guardiola is good at training young players. This is because his rigorous and meticulous tactics allow young players to clearly know what they should do and how to do it on the court. Then, within the overall tactical framework, they can give full play to their own characteristics, and their performance will naturally be good.
But the disadvantages are also obvious. That is, when players become familiar with this style of play, they will inevitably feel that it is somewhat mechanical, lacking some imagination and autonomy, and may even easily develop a sense of slackness.
Of course, for the time being, Manchester City is still enjoying the benefits and there are not many disadvantages.
As for Guardiola's angelic side, his management is actually quite humane. Many times he pays more attention to the self-discipline of the players. For example, on the eve of a game, Guardiola does not like to let the team check into the hotel in advance, but lets the players stay at home, believing that this will be more conducive to the players' performance.
However, while being humane, Guardiola also kept a certain distance from the players and seemed a little alienated.
Although he was a professional player, he seldom mingled with the players. Instead, he maintained a kind of aloofness as a manager. Sometimes he even seemed too cold and lacked humanity.
This management model is very scientific and professional, but it lacks a sense of closeness with the players. When the team encounters difficulties, it is difficult for the players to have the impulse to die for their friends. This also led to the team's serious lack of confidence in fighting tough battles in Guardiola's first season as coach of Manchester City.
The joining of Su Dong, especially after he became the team captain, has effectively solved this problem.
Today's Manchester City looks like a division of labor between Guardiola and Su Dong. The former adopts scientific and professional management, while Su Dong gets along well with the players. When necessary, he can raise his arm and the whole team will respond in unison.
To some extent, Su Dong's prestige in Manchester City is even higher than Guardiola's, which is due to this.
Because of this, when there were rumors that Barcelona wanted to poach Guardiola, the British media even felt that Manchester City did not need to find another head coach and could directly promote Su Dong to be the player-head coach and provide him with an experienced assistant.
This statement is not without reason. It is because of Manchester City's current management model that Su Dong has secretly taken away a large part of the authority that should have belonged to head coach Guardiola.
Guardiola was well aware of this, as it was his own choice at the beginning. Moreover, Su Dong highly respected him as the head coach both on the court and in daily life, and gave him enough respect in front of and behind others, which allowed the two of them to cooperate seamlessly, so he did not think about solving this problem.
In fact, whether it was Guardiola signing with Manchester City or the recent contract renewal, Su Dong contributed a lot.
All of this has made Su Dong's position in Manchester City even more transcendent than Guardiola's.
However, Su Dong did not become proud and complacent because of this. Instead, he acted more low-key, was cautious and careful in everything, and was also quite self-disciplined in his daily life.
…
Every morning, before going to Carrington, Su Dong would train by himself at home. This has become a habit he has developed over the years.
After the training, Su Dong took a shower, changed clothes, and went out.
After so many years, he still hasn't learned how to drive. While his fiancée Wang Chuqing was studying, he could only hire a driver to pick her up and drop her off every day.
On the way to Carrington, he would take time to video call his fiancée, parents and future parents-in-law to chat about daily trivial matters. Morning in Manchester is afternoon in China, and they are happy to chat in their busy schedule.
Once we arrived at Carrington, our first stop was the restaurant.
As you get older, not only do you need to adjust your training volume, but you also need to adjust your diet.
Su Dong's personal nutritionist, Dr. Paul Lacasco, flies from Portugal to Manchester every week to check Su Dong's physical condition and tailor a menu for him for the coming week. He also communicates with his personal coaching team every day and adjusts the menu at any time.
Manchester City also carried out a large-scale rectification not long ago, one of the important ones is the emphasis on players' diet. For example, Guardiola requires that every player must eat at the training base during the league.
The food provided by the team is also of high standards. Even some fruits that can be found everywhere are of the highest quality provided by special suppliers, not to mention some meat. The restaurant also provides some high-calorie foods such as pizza and hamburgers, but the players can only eat according to the recipe.
Of course, Manchester City has hired several chefs with excellent skills to serve these players specifically.
Don't think these chefs have an easy job, in fact they are very busy.
Turning delicacies from land and sea into delicious food is actually nothing. The really difficult part is to make things that no one eats or are even difficult to swallow, such as chicken breast, nutritious and delicious. That is the real skill.
Manchester City even supports chefs to develop some recipes for this purpose, which costs a lot of money every year.
Su Dong’s recipes will be sent to the restaurant by his personal coaching team the day before, and the restaurant will then prepare the meals.
The players exercise a lot and have very good appetites. Just a little bit of what they eat is equivalent to at least an average person's daily food intake.
Especially for a high-standard meal like Sudong, all kinds of nutrition have to be taken into account. Although there is not much of each item, more than a dozen dishes can fill up a whole table.
Not only him, but others as well.
If you meet a big eater, he can even eat a whole cow.
Just as Su Dong was sitting in front of a large table with breakfast, fruits and dried rice, he received a call from Ronnie.
…
"Hey, brother, you woke up so early?" Su Dong asked vaguely while eating.
"I've already finished my workout in the hotel gym, how about you?" Ronnie on the opposite side smiled.
Su Dong whimpered twice, "Listen, I'm already having breakfast at the training base."
"Then you have to leave some for me, we are about to go there."
"Of course no problem, as long as you don't mind the trouble."
Real Madrid traveled to Manchester this time and stayed in a hotel in the city, but their training base was borrowed from Manchester United. As the whole world knows, Manchester United's training base is right next to Manchester City.
However, this situation will end this season. After the end of this season, Manchester City’s new, world-class training base next to the Etihad Stadium will be officially opened. In addition to the first team, the youth team will also train there. All facilities are of the highest standard and are equipped with many high-tech equipment.
"How does it feel to return to Manchester United?" Su Dong suddenly asked.
Ronnie on the other side was obviously silent for a while before saying, "No feeling, familiar yet strange."
This is the team he has played for the longest time in his career. It would be absolutely false to say that he has no feelings for Manchester United.
But as professional players, they come if they fit in and leave if they don't. Whether it's a club or a player, to put it bluntly, it's all about interests, and acting on emotion is never a good thing.
"I saw the old man yesterday, and he said that you caused him to suffer from insomnia for a long time." Ronnie laughed.
"What does his insomnia have to do with me?" Su Dong smiled bitterly.
"Isn't it all you who forced me to do this? He asked me to ask you, do you know what it means to respect the elderly and love the young?"
Su Dong laughed when he heard this. This was indeed the question Ferguson would ask.
Of course, the old man would not ask this question to Ronnie's face if he had any shame. What he said to Ronnie was more of a complaint.
Everyone knows that Ronnie and Su Dong are best friends.
"I apologized to him for you," Ronnie said again.
Su Dong was stunned. What did he mean? "I told him that you have been a little crazy recently. I will teach you a lesson on his behalf and let you know how to respect your elders."
Well, after all the twists and turns, I still want to win.
Su Dong chuckled but didn't take it seriously, "That old man must be very happy."
"No, he reminded me that you've been in great shape lately."
At this point, Ronnie changed the subject and said, "But my recent condition is not bad either."
Su Dong snorted, "After all, are you trying to brag about yourself?"
Ronnie on the other end of the phone was also happy, "Pepe called me last night, and he also thought I was in good shape recently."
"He has bad intentions and wants you to show off." Su Dong looked at Pepe who was eating happily not far away on the opposite side and said happily.
Ronnie also did not comment, "Honestly, I feel like I can score a goal tonight."
"What a coincidence, I also feel that I can score a goal." Su Dong said with a smile.
"How many goals do you think you can score?" Ronnie asked.
This kid also had bad intentions and wanted to step on Su Dong.
Su Dong had been with him for such a long time, so he knew what he was thinking. He immediately smiled and said, "One more than you."
"Get out of here!" Ronnie laughed immediately.
The two of them could clearly hear each other's laughter through the phone, and could also hear Pepe's voice on the other end, asking Su Dong if he was talking to Ronnie on the phone. This guy was still shouting that he would never let Ronnie score a goal tonight.
"Did you hear that? Pepe said if you can score tonight, he will run naked from Manchester to Portugal."
"Wow, is this true? I'm going to have to fight to the death!"
Su Dong was laughing loudly. Pepe rushed over to snatch the phone, and Su Dong was so scared that he hid quickly.
Ronnie on the other end of the phone also heard the noise and immediately shouted, "Pepe, I recorded it. Don't cheat after the game. I'm waiting to see you running naked."
Poor Pepé almost cried.
That bastard has scored in ten games in a row, and I'm betting with him on this?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
