Red Rebels

727 We haven’t lost yet

"Hey, here we come."

On the first-team training ground at the Newton Heath training base, Ronaldinho cooperated with the forward full-back Fabio on the left. The Brazilian lobbed the ball into the penalty area and saw a figure flash. , Kaka emerged from the gap, raised his foot and sent the ball into the goal guarded by Friedel.

There was a burst of applause from the players at the scene. Kaka's shot seemed light, but in fact it was very difficult. It went in beautifully. Both his shooting technique and consciousness were top-notch.

On the sidelines, Cassell added a point to the main team's score, and then wrote the time and the name of the scorer Kaká below.

"This is already Ricardo's third goal," Cassel said in disbelief.

The team has just trained, but Kaká has already shown surprisingly good condition. Judging from the performance on the scene, Kaká can almost be said to have returned to his peak, even better than him who won the double Footballer of the Year award. It will be even better in two years.

But unfortunately, this kid fell into a goal drought for more than 4 months.

Mourinho turned around and looked at the temporary scoreboard on the sidelines. There were three names of Kaká on it. He was the leading scorer in this training match. Suddenly, a sense of absurdity flashed through his mind and he shook his head. “So fucking weird”

"Sometimes the goal drought is like this," Moniz is more open-minded. "The better the player, the more outrageous the goal drought becomes. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Marchais, Ronaldo and others all experienced this for a period of time. There was a goal drought. Inzaghi also had a goal drought in the league for more than a year, which didn’t end until the end of February 2008.”

There is no doubt that Kaka is also the top scorer, and he is also caught in the vortex of goal drought.

"From what you said, it sounds like you have a lot of experience. Is there any good method?" Cassel asked with a smile.

Moniz immediately shook his head, "Professor Fryer can't help it. If I had it, I would have taken it out long ago, but I know that you can't rush something like a goal drought. Kaka's current mentality is a little impatient. This It’s not necessarily a good sign.”

"We all know that, and we have arranged for Kaka to undergo psychological counseling, but look at him, it doesn't look like he has a problem on the training ground. If we intervene too much, it may cause bad consequences for him. The impact will bring him more trouble."

When talking about this matter, Cassel also looked helpless.

"Let nature take its course," Mourinho said.

No one could say anything more. After all, Kaká, after a long period of recovery, has gradually regained his form with the start of the new season, especially in the first half of the season. In the last two months, he has shown world-class status. In addition to scoring goals, he is even better than before.

Let alone that he is in a scoring drought, even if he really can never score again, as long as he can assist and continue to play like this, he will still be a world-class Kaka.

"How are the arrangements for the League Cup considered?" Cassel asked, changing the subject.

After the winter break, the Red Rebels ushered in an intensive start to the second half of the season. In the League Cup semi-finals, the League, and the FA Cup, the Red Rebels played more games than other opponents, and the first meeting in February In the game, the Red Rebels faced Bayern Munich at home.

Throughout late January to February, the Red Rebels' schedule was very intensive, which was a big test for the Red Rebels' staffing, especially the strength of the bench lineup.

"There is nothing worth hesitating about. These young guys have finally reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. If we tell them at this time that they need to give up the League Cup due to the intensive schedule of the team, it does not mean that we are erasing their success. Do you work hard?"

Mourinho looked at the young players on the court, Micah Richards, Di Maria, Rodwell, Thornton, Ozil, Theo Walcott, Ramsey, Fabio, La Phil, Wilshere, Nima...

The young players of the Red Rebels are all talented rookies, and all of them have already made a name for themselves in the European League. If they were in the middle and lower reaches of the team, they would have already been on their own, but in the Red Rebels , they could only settle on the bench, but even so, they still did not complain.

Rich clubs have the advantages of being rich, and small clubs also have opportunities. It is difficult to say which one is better, especially for these players who were trained by the Red Rebels' own youth training, it is natural to stay and play for the team. things.

"We never have too many trophies. We originally hoped to use the cup to train our substitutes and youth training players. Now is a good opportunity. Even if it is only the League Cup, we will still strive to win as usual."

The coaching staff has always been convinced of Mourinho. They all feel that they have already reached the semi-finals and it would be a pity to give up. Moreover, the young players have performed really well this season.

The four teams that have reached the semi-finals are Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and the Red Rebels. The Red Rebels' opponent this time is Tottenham, and the round match will be held at White Hart Lane.

Originally, the League Cup and the FA Cup have become useless and have become the youth training ground of wealthy teams. However, with the reform of the League Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup have also undergone corresponding reforms. The value of the cup has also risen with the tide.

The giants still focus on training, but that is compared to teams such as the Red Rebels, Manchester United and Droylsden. For teams such as Liverpool and Chelsea, they are eager to win a championship first. Let’s talk about ensuring European qualification for next season.

Rijkaard also hopes to win his first championship after coaching Chelsea, which will make his subsequent coaching smoother.

In this case, the Red Rebels still chose a semi-main and semi-substitute lineup to play.

The goalkeeper is Friedel, and the defense from left to right is Thornton, Terry, Rodwell and Micah Richards; the double back midfielder is Ramsey and Essien, the front midfielder is Ozil, and the double back midfielder is Ramsey. The wingers are Walcott and Di Maria, and the lone forward is Drogba.

This lineup is inferior to Tottenham in terms of strength. After all, the latter lineup has top-notch British stars such as Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Woodgate, Modric and Bentley, especially It is the striker combination of Berbatov and Robbie Keane, who have scored 21 goals together in the league this season.

From the fact that Old Redknapp sent out all the main players to play, it is not difficult to see that he attaches great importance to this game, especially when they are at home.

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As English teams attach more importance to cup competitions, attendance rates are gradually picking up. For this semi-final home game, the attendance rate at White Hart Lane is pretty good, basically reaching 70%. This means that Tottenham can Make a fortune from this.

Both sides are well-informed teams. They have played many games in England and are familiar with each other. There is no need for any testing at all. They immediately entered the rhythm of the game as soon as the game started.

Only 15 minutes into the game, the Red Rebels took the lead in the game with Drogba's goal. This was Di Maria's breakthrough pass from the right, and Drogba pressed hard. Woodgate, header hit, o:1

But after knowing Redknapp, they made adjustments. Although Tottenham were playing 442, they actually attached great importance to the midfield. Modric, Zokola, Bentley and others all gave the Red Rebels a lot of attention in the midfield. Big restrictions, especially for young midfielder Ramsey, the defense is very tight.

The first half ended with the Red Rebels taking the lead, but at halftime, Redknapp replaced the underperforming Russian forward Pavlyuchenko with Berbatov. He came on the field and immediately taught Rodwell, who was responsible for marking him, a vivid lesson.

Less than 2 minutes into the second half, Berbatov equalized the score for Tottenham. Tottenham took advantage of a set-piece opportunity in the frontcourt to create chaos in the Red Rebels' penalty area. Rodwell hesitated when making a clearance. , Berbatov seized the opportunity and scored the equalizer.

Five minutes later, Berbatov scored again, helping Tottenham take the lead.

The Red Rebels went from taking the lead to being counterattacked, and they were suddenly at a loss. However, big brothers such as Terry, Drogba, and Essien played a key role at this time and withstood the pressure at the critical moment. Terry took a corner kick. At the time, Ozil's corner kick was blasted into Tottenham's goal, and the score was evened again, 2:2.

But at the critical moment, the disadvantages of young players were once again exposed. Ramsey made a pass error and was successfully intercepted by Modric. The latter handed it to Bentley, who directly entered the Red Rebels' position and passed to In the penalty area, Berbatov hit another shot, 3:2

Three minutes later, the Red Rebels lost the ball again. Micah Richards' header to clear the ball accidentally turned into an own goal, giving Tottenham another victory, 4:2.

After that, neither side scored again. Although Mourinho made several substitutions and made adjustments, it still couldn't work.

In the end, the Red Rebels lost the match at White Hart Lane 4:2.

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"Okay, guys, what's going on?"

Mourinho glanced at the group of unhappy players in the locker room, all looking downcast.

"Did we lose?" Mourinho saw no one answered him and spoke again, "Who can answer me, did we lose the game?"

Still no one answered. Several veterans knew that Mourinho was encouraging these young people at this time, so they didn't speak. And those young brats were afraid to face themselves because they had lost one by one. head coach.

"Jack, tell me, did we lose?" Since he didn't speak, Mourinho named him.

Rodwell's performance in this game can be said to be very polarizing. He was successful in marking Pavlyuchenko, but facing Berbatov, his performance can only be said to be tragic. The game completely became Berbatov's fault. Personal stage.

"Um...oh, no..." Rodwell didn't expect Mourinho to name him, and was a little incoherent.

"Did he lose or not?" Mourinho relaxed his expression and even smiled a little.

Rodwell seemed to read the confidence from the head coach's face. He looked around at his teammates, especially when he saw the encouraging eyes of John Terry, Drogba and other big brothers. He raised his chest, nodded and said, "We didn't lose." , boss”

"Very good, then who can tell me, since you haven't lost, why do you play like you lost the game? Don't you have confidence in returning to the game at Red Rebel Stadium? Or do you want to surrender your weapons in advance? ?”

Mourinho is now also a well-known talent trainer in Europe. He has a thorough understanding of the psychology of young players, so he can always grasp their psychology and help them adjust when they are sensitive.

"No, boss, we don't want to lose, and we won't lose," Rodwell promised solemnly.

"Yes, boss, we won't lose."

The players promised one after another, and it was obvious that they were all somewhat interested.

Mourinho breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that for a player, especially a young player who is not yet mature and stable enough, defeat has more training value than victory. The growth after defeat is of great significance to their current and future development. It will be extremely precious in the future.

So over the years, he has not hesitated to give young players the opportunity to play in cup games. Even if they lose, he will not reprimand him. The same is true for the league and Champions League. He often arranges in some games. Youth team players come on as substitutes. When they perform well, the credit goes to the players. When they perform poorly, Mourinho takes the blame.

Sometimes, the head coach has to take on such a role

However, Berbatov is a very difficult player to deal with. He is very good at holding the ball with his back, and his stopping skills are also very good. However, he is a bit lazy on the court. In Xiao Yu's previous life, some Chinese fans once joked, He ran the whole game without breaking a sweat, and his kicking style was not messy. He was known as the handsome brother.

This player played very well under Redknapp, and he is also a player who must be suppressed in the next game. Otherwise, it will be really difficult for the Red Rebels to win.

Although they encountered Tottenham 4:2 in the League Cup, the Red Rebels' opponents were not strong in the British competition and faced Blackburn at home.

The Red Rebels returned to their home court and ushered in the round of away games with a 0:5 victory. Blackburn, who was still stuck in the relegation quagmire, naturally would not be merciful. Ronaldinho, Messi and Aguero each scored a goal. Entering the game, he helped the team defeat Blackburn Rovers 3:0 and win the first round of the league after the winter break.

After this game, the Red Rebels set off for London to challenge West Ham United away.

The Hammers sold Felipe Melo, but did not introduce corresponding capable stars, which caused the overall strength of this team to decline. The Red Rebels easily defeated their opponents 1:3 away from home, and this The goal conceded in one game was the 11th goal conceded by the Red Rebels this season.

After scoring 6 goals and conceding 1 goal in two games, the Red Rebels continued their aggressive offensive after the winter break, especially Ronaldinho and Messi, who scored in both games.

What is more regrettable is that Kaká’s goal drought continues, which has also become a major regret for the Red Rebels’ winning streak.

Everyone was praying for Kaka, and the fans held up banners at every game to support Kaká in their own way. As a result, they came home disappointed every time.

Fortunately, Kaka's performance was still outstanding. He contributed 3 assists in two games and made 3 of 8 shots on target, but he failed to score. It is a pity.

But he is still the most dazzling star in England