72. Chapter 69 If I come to wipe Kaka’s butt, how should my opponent respond?

Author: The first foodie in darkness

Chapter 69 If I come to wipe Kaka’s butt, how should my opponent respond?

In a little more than a week from July 17th to July 24th, Real Madrid played three friendly matches in the United States.

Among them were the 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy and the 5-0 massacre of Guadalajara.

There was also a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union's stable counterattack.

Mourinho practiced both tactics of flying together on both wings and quick counterattack.

Several major offensive and defensive stars in the team also performed quite well.

After Mourinho temporarily proved that a certain attacking midfielder left the team, Real Madrid could still maintain a stable and strong firepower output.

Real Madrid fans finally calmed down.

And Li Ang's another Real Madrid preseason trip also received unanimous praise from the pro-Real Madrid media.

Originally, senior reporters in these media were worried that Li Ang would neglect to protect Real Madrid's midfield and backcourt because he was used to attacking forward.

But Li Ang quickly dispelled their concerns with his still stable defensive contribution and positive defensive attitude.

Without Mourinho having to explain too much, Li Ang himself already knew what his most important tactical task would be after returning to Real Madrid.

After all, Milan lacked offensive methods in the frontcourt last season, so Allegri designed an offensive routine of inserting from behind the midfield.

But Real Madrid has never lacked firepower.

Last season and the season before that, Real Madrid's output firepower surpassed Barcelona, ​​and it was the team with the most goals per game in La Liga.

In other words, the number of goals conceded was slightly more, and therefore some points were lost that should not have been lost. Otherwise, Barcelona's dominance of La Liga in the first two seasons would have been very likely to be overturned.

So when Li Ang returned to Madrid before the start of the season, he felt very clear.

No matter how the outside media boasts about his rapid progress or that he has offensive potential that can be exploited, it is all nonsense.

He knew very well that he could gain Mourinho's trust and favor only by his defensive ability.

And his current clear understanding and outstanding performance also make Mourinho very satisfied.

Three friendly matches, three starts, this is the reassurance Mourinho has given him, and it is also a clear message to the outside media.

No matter how the midfield combination is arranged in the new season, he and Alonso will firmly occupy the two starting positions.

As for midfielders such as Las Diarra, Shaheen, Altentop and Granero, they can only take turns competing for positions with limited playing opportunities.

At least that's what Mourinho thought at the end of his training trip to the United States.

However, just when Psy was about to let go and further develop the "hard midfield trio", only two days after returning to Spain, my unlucky brother was injured in training.

Moreover, it was not a player in the Real Madrid team who injured him. It was him who strained his big hip when he pushed forward and shot too hard in training.

Li Ang didn't even know how to describe how fragile Brother Face's body was.

Looking at people who are tall and powerful, they get hurt at every turn.

He had read media reports before that after Khedira had a record of appearances on behalf of the Stuttgart first team, his highest number of league starts in a single season was only 24 games.

He didn't quite believe it at that time.

After all, being tough at Real Madrid doesn’t mean that my brother, my face, was also tough in Stuttgart when he was younger, right?

Now Li Ang has a solid letter.

Mourinho is also very angry.

No coach can withstand this kind of battle damage.

One of the main midfielders in the new season didn't even last until the official start of the league.

Who will he find to replace him?

Shaheen, who overlaps with Alonso's position? Altentop, who is not capable enough? Or Granero, whose aura is gradually fading?

Wait, it looks like I missed a midfielder.

When Mourinho was upset, he saw the two figures who were still practicing on the training ground through the office window, and his eyes were focused.

On the afternoon of July 27, in a friendly match with newly promoted Bundesliga team Hertha Berlin, Mourinho first activated the midfield combination of Alonso and Leonga Granero.

But Granero only stayed on the court for half of the game before being replaced by Altentop.

Thirty minutes later, Mourinho was dissatisfied and replaced Altentop with Nuri Shaheen.

Although the final result of the friendly match was Real Madrid's 3-0 victory over Hertha Berlin, Mourinho was obviously not very satisfied.

On July 29, after another day of training, Mourinho called over Li Ang, who was about to practice for a while as usual.

"Are you very close to Kaka recently?"

Uncle Psy's direct question at the beginning made Li Ang stunned.

"Well, maybe it's because I stayed in Milan last season. I feel that Kaká feels that we can talk to each other quite well, and he has often chosen to stay and practice for a while recently, so I just

He practiced short passing together and got familiar with each other's playing habits."

Li Ang didn't quite understand Uncle Psy's intentions, but he still tried his best to explain to Uncle Psy the reason why he and Kaka walked in.

"I don't want you to explain the reasons for this. I just want you to tell me what you think about Kaka."

Mourinho rubbed his chin and simply took Li Ang's arm to let him enter the office with him and speak slowly.

After Li Ang thought for a moment, he answered truthfully.

"His competitive level has declined a bit faster than three or four years ago. After surgery last year, his speed advantage is no longer obvious. It may not be realistic for him to serve as the team's attacker again, and what about his scoring ability?

I don’t think Kaka has an advantage over the forwards in our team.”

Li Ang pointed out Kaka's current shortcomings to Mourinho almost one by one.

With each item he clicked, the sadness in Uncle Bird's eyes seemed to deepen.

When Uncle Psy was almost telling Li Ang to shut up and go back to practice more, Li Ang's "but" came belatedly.

"However, if we don't let him return to defense too much and move his position slightly towards the rib area, I think his diagonal through balls and long-range shooting abilities should still be very useful."

Mourinho was initially interested, but after hearing what Li Ang said, his face suddenly fell.

Who doesn't know that it would be better for Kaká to focus less on defending and focus on passing the threatening ball?

Who doesn’t know that by asking Kaka to move his position and occupying as little space as possible in the middle where Ronaldo cuts in, both of them can play more comfortably?

But his tactics naturally require that the midfielder must have a positive defensive attitude, and Kaka himself is not used to playing on the wing.

so.

"It's all bullshit!"

Li Ang listened to his boss's criticism, but he was not annoyed at all. Instead, he continued with a smile:

"Hey, I know you are worried about the new starting combination in the midfield.

Kaka's current body is not suitable for intense fighting. If he returns to defense too much, it will easily lead to a recurrence of injuries.

But what if, what if I come to wipe Kaká’s butt and provide him with defensive protection and competition for the ball.

When he attacks, he boldly and confidently presses his opponent in the 30-meter area to send threatening short passes. Or occasionally seizes opportunities to make short-distance shots.

How should opponents deal with the threat of his former Ballon d'Or midfielder?"

What Li Ang said made Mourinho's mind gradually come alive.

But then Mourinho, who noticed something was wrong, looked at Li Ang suspiciously.

"You guys don't want to sweep up the frontcourt and ignore the backcourt based on your position, right? You go to wipe Kaka's butt, and your teacher is alone in the back organizing, intercepting and defending?"

"Hey, boss, you can't be so slanderous. If I wipe Kaka's butt in front of me, why can't I wipe my teacher's ass? I wipe one butt, and I wipe both butts. Don't you believe that I wipe both butts?

ability?"

Li Ang's words made Mourinho disgusted, and Uncle Psy quickly hit Li Ang on the head to signal him to stop talking about the butt.

"You can really wipe two. Well, can you really allocate your physical strength to take into account the defense in the front and back of the midfield?"

"I think there should be no problem. When the time comes, you can ask Angel (Di Maria) to help me return to defense and take care of me as much as possible. Even if the front is really unable to stop me, I can rush back in time to join my teacher in the central defense.

Build a line of defense in front of us.”

Li Ang's final assurance made Mourinho's heart move.

However, at this moment, he did not directly tell Li Ang how he would arrange the starting midfielder in the future.

After sending Li Ang back to continue training, Mourinho originally wanted to deal with other matters.

But when he thought of what Li Ang said, he felt itchy and finally started to deduce it directly on the tactical board in the office.

On the morning of July 30, before the warm-up match against Leicester City, Real Madrid held its final training session.

In the previous trip to the United States, he almost only came on as a substitute in the second half of the warm-up match. A few days ago, Kaká did not get a chance to play against Hertha Berlin.

In this training session, I got a training vest that symbolizes the main team.
To be continued...