mtl008 Chapter 128 Kid, I want you to be hard to fly!
Chapter 128 Kid, I want you to be hard to fly!
Chapter 128 Kid, I want you to be hard to fly!
While Albertini was analyzing the possibility of Sporting Lisbon reversing Porto in the sky bar in Lisbon, in Porto in the far north, Mourinho and his coaching team were also studying their opponents in the office.
They all share a striking consensus that the first game after the winter break is crucial.
"We must win Sporting Lisbon!" Mourinho slammed his pen on the table.
This is the conclusion they came to after more than two hours of research and a review of the entire season schedule.
That is to expand the lead to ten after killing Porto, and in the following January, do everything possible to win all the games to further expand the lead.
In this way, when entering February and ushering in a two-line battle, Porto will be more relaxed.
Conversely, if this game is lost, the lead is reduced to four points, which is very dangerous.
If Sporting Lisbon clings to it before the two-line battle, the four-point advantage is too subtle, and it will be difficult for Porto to devote itself to the two-line battle. This will be a huge challenge for Mourinho.
"Sporting Lisbon's hope of winning the championship must be completely stifled, so at the Alvalade Stadium, Sporting Lisbon must be eliminated and all three points!" Mourinho said loudly.
The big goal is clear, then the next step is to subdivide the work.
How to get rid of Sporting Lisbon?
This is a very broad question. The job of the coaching staff is to turn this illusory goal into a task for the players to perform on the court.
"A very important reason why Sporting Lisbon has performed well this season is the trident in the frontcourt."
Boas was the first to stand up and express his opinion.
"After Jader left for England, Nikule first played the center forward. So far this season, Nikule has only scored one goal in the Portuguese Super League. On the contrary, the young player Sudong has scored six goals so far. At the same time, he also has five assists. It should be noted that this is achieved when he has been on the bench for many games."
If last season's Su Dong was considered a budding figure, then this season's Chinese teenager can be said to have been born out of nowhere.
Under the suppression of Boloni's partiality to Nikulei, Su Dong still showed quite good strength and potential, which makes people believe that the future of this young player will be bright.
When he heard the name Su Dong, Mourinho's eyes flashed a complicated look.
He always remembered that in the Portuguese Cup final last season, it was Su Dong's goal that caused Porto to miss the championship.
But now, times have changed.
"The two wings of Quaresma and Ronnie have also performed very well this season, but it is not difficult for us to deal with it, because the two wings always have to create threats through the support of the center. Therefore, from the beginning to the end, the most threatening player of Sporting Lisbon is Sudong." Boas made a final decision and firmly locked the target on Sudong.
This player has competed with Porto last season, and everyone is no stranger to him.
"We suffered from Su Dong's loss last season, but Jardel who ferryed Su Dong's header back then is no longer there, and we are different now." Mourinho continued with Boas's words and said confidently.
He still clearly remembers that in the Portuguese Cup final last season, a thought came to his mind, that is, there is a lack of high school defenders, and neither Carvalho nor Andrade can restrain Su Dong, which is terrible.
But now it's different.
The old captain Jorge Costa went to the Premier League to challenge and failed, and returned to Porto last summer. Now, Porto's main central defender combination is Jorge Costa and Carvalho.
The former is 1.8 meters tall, but has excellent air control ability, while Carvalho is very flexible and has a strong sense of grabbing.
Mourinho is confident that this season's central defender combination will be stronger and more solid than last season's central defender combination.
Also, last season Porto lacked two full-backs, but now they are all made up.
One is Paul Ferreira from Setubal, and the other is Valente introduced from Leiria. These two full-backs and central defenders form the most unbreakable defense line in the Portuguese Super League this season.
Even in the UEFA Cup, Porto's defense is the strongest.
Today is different from the past. Although Su Dong is comprehensive, it is not impossible for Porto to freeze him.
"I specifically analyzed Sudong's games from last season to this season, including his statistics and game performance." Rui Faria, a core member of the coaching staff, also came forward to express his opinions.
"The characteristics of this player are indeed very comprehensive, but he has two weaknesses."
"Let's hear it." Mourinho said with interest.
"One is his left foot. From last season to this season, Su Dong's left foot has not performed well. The only time he attracted attention was when he assisted Quaresma. But to be honest, the quality of the pass was not very high and it was not difficult."
Upon hearing this, Boas nodded and said, "Su Dong is a right-footed player, and his left foot is weaker. This is also normal."
"So," Faria emphasized, "our defense should focus on restraining Su Dong's right foot, and I counted, the ball passed to him by Sporting Lisbon basically went to his right foot, we should pay attention."
What is there to say?
The best defense is not letting the guy you're defending get the ball.
If you can cut off the ball passed to Su Dong by Sporting Lisbon, can Su Dong still create a threat?
"Is there another one?" Mourinho asked with concern.
Before Faria said anything, she laughed instead, "If you tell me, I'm afraid you won't believe it."
People are even more curious.
"Su Dong's height reaches 1.9 meters [-], but his header is very weak."
"It's impossible." Villas-Boas objected, "He has scored headers this season, not just one."
"Yes, but if you count his headers and the number of times he fights for the top, you will find that in many cases, he does not take advantage of it very much, but uses his body to block positions. I guess his judgment of where to land is not very good."
As the saying goes, a blind cat meets a dead mouse.
With devil wings like Ronnie and Quaresma, Sporting Lisbon has no shortage of wide crosses. Even if it happens occasionally, they can score two headers, right?
But Faria said so firmly that Su Dong's header is not good, which is really surprising.
Because in their impression, Su Dong has always been tall and burly, which has an advantage in heading the ball.
But on second thought, Faria was right.
Su Dongcai lacks experience in the game and is not good at judging the placement, which is normal.
"No one of us could catch Sudong before, but now we have Jorge Costa, we can completely control him in the high ball." Faria stretched out his right hand and made a grasping movement, which seemed to be a sure win.
This made Mourinho very happy and kept nodding.
The ground pass restricts the right foot, the left foot is almost disabled, and Porto has a high-school defender like Jorge Costa, so what threat can Sudong have?
Go for a header with Jorge Costa, judging by his poor placement?
Freezing Su Dong is tantamount to freezing Sporting Lisbon's offense.
As long as Sporting Lisbon's goal is frozen, Porto will be sure to score all three points in the away game.
In this way, the lead has expanded to ten, and the Portuguese Super League champion this season will basically be unable to escape.
Thinking of this, a strong desire surged in Mourinho's heart.
This will be his first championship trophy since coaching!
"In the next week's training camp, we will focus on rehearsing this style of play, especially the offensive and defensive drills. We must focus on deploying defenses against Su Donglai. Jankauskas is 1.9 meters tall. Let him play the role of Su Donglai. Our defense line will arrange a defensive formation around Su Donglai."
Targeted simulated sparring is also a regular tactical play for all professional teams to prepare for games.
"Jankauskas's feet are not good enough. Our second team has a center named Hugo Almeida, who is also 1.9 meters tall. Unfortunately, he is a left-footed player, but I think he is more suitable to play the role of Su Dong."
Assistant coach Brito, who had been silent for a while, spoke at this time.
Mourinho thought about it for a while, nodded and said: "Then transfer him to the first team and play this role with Jankauskas. We must practice the defense well, so that Su Dong can't afford any trouble!"
In the end, Mourinho gritted his teeth.
The first championship trophy in his life was at the feet of Su Dong. With his character of vengeance, if he doesn't take revenge, then he is still Mourinho?
Boy, this time I'm going to make it hard for you to fly!
…………
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Su Dong didn't know that in Porto in the north, Mourinho was preparing to freeze his tactics with unprecedented attention, and he didn't even know that a young player named Almeida was transferred to the first team in advance because of him.
Just like usual, Su Dong got up early to train every day, worked hard with Nuno Cruz in the gym, exercised his strength, trained with his teammates every day, and practiced together after training.
The only difference is that a header competition has been added to the extra training.
Both Andre Cruz and Albertini are experienced veterans, especially Andre Cruz is still a central defender. They will analyze Su Dong's training situation, find out the pros and cons, and then help him make corrections.
Pontes will give professional advice in a targeted manner, pointing out where Su Dong should make efforts.
Time passed in this intensive preparations and the full and compact rhythm.
After the winter break, Sporting Lisbon will finally usher in the No.16 round of the Portuguese Super League.
Home game against Porto!
This is the most important battle for Sporting Lisbon so far this season, especially the loss to Porto in the Super Cup before the season, which made the defending champion feel an unprecedented humiliation.
Today, the top two teams in the Portuguese Super League standings will face off. This is bound to be a focus match related to the trend of the second half of the Portuguese Super League season. Not only the two teams, but even the entire Portuguese country have attracted unprecedented attention.
Some media even shouted that as long as Porto gets three points, the Portuguese Super League champion will lose suspense in advance.
Before the game, most people were not optimistic about Sporting Lisbon.
(End of this chapter)