Chapter 237: Hype, Crisis, and Ideas
At the beginning of this season, Chelsea completed a major change.
In just two seasons, Russian tycoon Abraham Roman Abramovich has invested 200 million euros. With this financial offensive, Chelsea has added many world-star players. However, any team will have an adaptation period after completing the transformation. But no one expected that Chelsea would be so strong at the beginning of the new season.
Six consecutive league wins
If we include the away game against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League group stage, Chelsea has won seven games in a row. In football matches, victory or defeat depends not only on the strength of the team, but also on luck. Therefore, even for a top club, this result is brilliant. Moreover, Chelsea's seven consecutive victories, except for this game which was a bit difficult, all other victories were by big margins.
With Manchester United in decline and Arsenal mediocre, the media exclaimed that the Premier League may be dominated by one team.
In this match, the tactical battle between Steven McClaren and Jose Mourinho was undoubtedly very exciting. Even the always proud "madman" praised: "If Mr. McClaren was given a top team, the result of the game might be reversed."
Mourinho knew very well that Chelsea's victory was only due to the team's overall high level. On the tactical level, the opponent did not lose to him.
"Middlesbrough's attacking ability is very strong. At the beginning of the game, our defense was not good, so we lost two goals at the beginning." Facing many media, Mourinho continued: "But we still won the final victory through hard work. I am looking forward to playing against Mr. McLaren again in the second half of the season."
Although he lost the game, McLaren was not too disappointed. This kind of loss was just a last resort. He was unwilling but helpless. If he had a player like the opponent's No. 21 kid, McLaren would be confident of winning even against a stronger team. "We lost because of our strength. We have to admit that the opponent's three fronts are stronger than us, especially the opponent's No. 21 Allen Wang, whose personal strength is really outstanding. Even though I have racked my brains to let the team do a good job of defense, he still defeated us with a free kick in the end."
At this point, McClaren's tone became a little sour, "Here, I can only congratulate Chelsea for getting such an outstanding player."
Mourinho is always pleased to hear his players praised. He smiled and said, "When I first arrived in London this summer, I saw him at the European Cup. Yes, he played for less than 90 minutes but scored five goals and was named the top scorer in the European Cup."
"Maybe, many people call him 'the lucky boy', but I don't think so. Without strong personal ability as a foundation, can he score 5 goals in 4 games just by luck? This is obviously impossible. If this happens, it can only be said to be a big step backward for European football."
"So, I tried my best to get him to join Chelsea, and finally I moved him with my sincerity. Maybe this will be the best choice of my life."
At this time, the Portuguese had forgotten that the reason he wanted to bring in Wang Li was just because he was cheap. Even if he didn't perform as well as expected, at least he wouldn't lose money...
With the two head coaches complimenting each other, the press conference finally came to an end. The reporters were all excited and ready to start talking. They believed that even the Manchester United vs. Liverpool match tomorrow would not be so exciting.
Apart from the fact that it was a clash between two powerful clubs, what else was there to watch?
As for Rafael Benítez, who is he?
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The next day, almost all sports media in England gave full coverage to this textbook classic tactical battle.
The Guardian: "Classic tactical duel: 'madman' vs 'gentleman'"
"Yesterday in the sixth round of the Premier League, a classic tactical confrontation took place in Middlesbrough. Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho and Middlesbrough coach Steven McLaren met each other. They took turns to make temporary tactical adjustments to the teams on the sidelines. The two teams took turns to gain advantages in this adjustment. In the end, Chelsea players were more skilled. In the last minute of the game, young player Alan Wang kicked a free kick to help his team win 2:3. This classic game will definitely be written into the textbooks."
There is nothing special about the Guardian's report. When Chelsea is in high spirits, they always are like this. But if Wang Li does not perform well, they will immediately become the vanguard of "downfall".
The Sun: "A coach's battlefield, Alan Wang is the protagonist"
"...Alan Wang, a name that everyone is familiar with, became the protagonist again yesterday. If this football match is compared to a chess game, then Alan Wang is at least equivalent to two 'rooks' and one 'knight'. In the case of a well-matched chess player, Mourinho has one more pair of chariots and horses than the opponent. What hope does McLaren have to win?"
The Sun, which has always had a good impression of Wang Li, has never been stingy with its praise. They have exaggerated Wang Li's strength to the sky. Doesn't this description mean that one Wang Li is equivalent to three star players of the other team?
But this kind of coverage is absolutely dwarfed by that of Chelsea's local media.
Fulham Times: "Focus on the battle, the dance master shows off his skills again"
"We all know that Alan is the greatest scorer in Chelsea's history. In the previous games, he scored 12 goals in 6 games for Chelsea. His fantastic dribbling and passing always make us excited. This time, he showed another stunt - the dream curve. Please allow me to name it privately. This free kick is so perfect. Maybe in a few months, it will be as famous as the dream dance step."
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The English media never hesitates to praise their country's players. But even though Wang Li has received praise from almost all media, it cannot cover up the brilliance of the real protagonist of this game.
Yes, in this game, the two young head coaches are the real protagonists.
This time, Steven McClaren, the tactical opponent of the championship coach Jose Mourinho, has become a familiar name to English fans. This momentum makes the Swede Eriksson even more uneasy.
Because many media outlets are targeting England's head coach.
The proud English people will never allow a foreigner to be the head coach of the British national team
"…In the summer of 2001, the FA considered promoting Mr. McClaren to become England's head coach. Many people agreed with this approach at the time, but in the end, Steven was abandoned because of his qualifications. Now, Mr. McClaren has proved his ability to lead a team in the Premier League. What are you waiting for, FA officials?" --- The Daily Telegraph
"...We don't understand why they use a stupid Swede when they have such an excellent English coach? He didn't even let Alan Wang start and even let him leave the national team. Oh my god, the end of the world has come. If the FA continues like this, I doubt whether I can see the Three Lions in the World Cup in Germany..." --- The Times
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Due to Wang Li's performance in the national team and the Premier League, as well as Steven McLaren's disruption, the Swede's position has become increasingly unstable. In the last qualifying match, England lost to Poland, which made the fans think it was a great humiliation.
Fans won't put the blame on a player who performs well---
Some talented players have understandable personalities, and almost everyone thinks this is natural.
Under this large-scale public opinion offensive, perhaps it is only a matter of time before the Swede Eriksson steps down.
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Facing the media's hype, Wang Li has become calm in his heart. After a year of adaptation, he has completely integrated into the role of a star player. He knows very well that as long as he keeps performing well, he will definitely get a lot of praise. On the contrary, as long as his state is a little low, he will definitely be questioned.
This is the reality of football, the real competitive world.
After the game, Wang Li returned to Stamford Bridge and his normal life. The life between the club and his residence made him feel very fulfilled. This feeling of home was something he had never experienced before, which was completely different from the feeling that Ellis and Wang Hai gave him.
However, these past few days, he has been unable to calm down. Even during daily training, he often loses focus.
Just because of the opponent's defensive strategy in the last game
If you want to be the best striker, you must never let your opponent find a way to deal with you. Since coming to this world, Wang Li has been improving his abilities so that he has more ways to break the opponent's goal. He originally thought that with his current strength, he would have a smooth passage through the defense of any team.
However, in the last game, Middlesbrough's tactics completely restricted his performance. Although this restriction had a great cost, for Wang Li himself, he was truly speechless because of the defense.
So, in the past two days, he has been thinking about how he can get rid of this defense.
If other teams also imitate this method to deal with us, it will become extremely difficult to perform better in the future.
"I must not let my opponent find a way to deal with me," Wang Li said firmly in his heart.
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