Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

July 30, 2010.

After another day of pre-season training, Mourinho was sitting in the office at the Valdebebas training base, holding a player information sheet and struggling with it.

". His positioning sense is very good. He has a natural talent for defensive position selection and excellent defense awareness. However, he is not aggressive in attacking. He likes to press the attacking players' dribbling space and has strong confrontation ability."

"Has stable ability to protect and deliver the ball, but lacks creativity, lacks willingness to move forward, and lacks dribbling ability"

"He is a defensive midfielder worth cultivating. He has excellent position selection, active defense, and excellent physical fitness. However, his organizational skills are weak, his offensive willingness is not strong, and his skills are solid. It is worth mentioning that his header ability is relatively outstanding. Maybe in the future Can play a good role in set-piece tactics.”

After once again reading the summary report handed in by his assistant, Mourinho's lightly frowned brows relaxed little by little.

After rubbing his temples, he seemed to have made the final decision and put down the player list with some regret.

Half an hour later, a young player with the face of an East Asian player walked into Mourinho's office after knocking on the door and getting permission.

"I heard from Mr. Perez that you were looking for me because your body smelled a little bit sweaty, so I went to wash it off briefly. I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

The young Oriental player came in and explained a little apologetically.

His wet body after rinsing had not yet been completely dried, and considering his handsome and sunny appearance, he looked surprisingly refreshing at the moment.

Mourinho looked at the young player in front of him who was obviously not very restrained, polite but cheerful. He smiled nonchalantly and waved his hand, motioning for him to sit down first.

Apparently Mourinho had a pretty good impression of the young player during the previous pre-season training.

"We've talked about it once before, Li. I won't talk nonsense. I called you here today to talk to you about the arrangements for you this season."

Mourinho said as he tapped the report sheet in his hand with his finger.

At this moment, the young Oriental player sitting opposite Mourinho also sat up slightly and looked like he was listening carefully.

"We have decided to rent you out. As you know, the first team currently has enough personnel in all midfield positions. In order to be responsible for your growth, we think it is better to let you out on loan and let you play in other teams. It’s better to play more games.”

Before Mourinho finished speaking, the young player sitting opposite him looked relieved and happy, and he hurriedly asked Mourinho.

"Can I choose my own team, BOSS?"

Mourinho smiled like "I knew you would ask that" and waved a team list in his hand.

"Several teams from La Liga and La Liga are interested, and of course Real Betis is on the list."

The young Oriental player was completely relieved now and thanked Mourinho repeatedly.

This young Oriental player is named Li Ang.

Don't get me wrong, he is not French-Chinese, nor does he have a foreign name like Leon. He is a serious Chinese player.

Thanks to his relatives in Madrid, he came to Spain when he was thirteen years old. After that, he successfully passed the selection and entered Getafe's youth training camp, embarking on the path of professional youth training.

At the age of fourteen, because of his outstanding performance in the youth team game, he successfully transferred to La Fabrica, the youth training camp of Real Madrid, the giant football club in the same city.

When he turned eighteen, he was promoted to Real Madrid's second team Castilla. After playing half a season in Segunda B, he was loaned out by Real Betis, who lacked a midfielder, and played half a season in Segunda B.

At the age of nineteen, he helped Real Betis reach La Liga as the third-placed player in La Liga for the last time before the reform of the La Liga promotion system!

At this age, he has achieved such achievements.

Li Ang cannot be said to be a peerless super genius, but he is fully worthy of his status as an outstanding youth training player in the Real Madrid youth academy.

However, he has grown up in La Fabrica since he was a child and is 100% Real Madrid's "own" youth trainee, but he is not like other Castilla players.

Others want to stay in Real Madrid and dream of playing for Real Madrid's first team, but Li Ang wants to leave.

Even though he was named by the newly appointed Real Madrid head coach Mourinho this summer, he has already started pre-season training with the first-team players.

He still hasn't changed his mind.

Whether Real Madrid sells him or rents him out, he can accept it.

His only request is that he go to a team where he can play games stably.

And Real Betis, which has now been promoted to La Liga, is naturally the best place for him.

There is a head coach who appreciates him, teammates who have been familiar with him for half a year, and fans who like him.

Real Betis is simply a perfect place for him to "level up".

Mourinho didn't know what to say about Li Ang.

After so many years of coaching, he has rarely seen a precocious young player like Li Ang.

Precocious enough to remain unmoved by the temptations of Real Madrid's first team.

Insisting that the club release him to play games, Li Ang can be regarded as the most "alternative" Real Madrid youth training in Castilla.

Mourinho also paid attention to Li Ang when he first arrived at Real Madrid.

He likes young players who are down-to-earth and seem to be hard-working and smart.

Maybe Li Ang is a little behind in talent after all, but for Mourinho, weaker offensive attributes are not a big problem.

Not to mention that Li Ang's talent on the defensive end really satisfied him.

If it weren't for the fact that there are too many midfielders in the first team, Mourinho really wouldn't mind giving Li Ang a chance to get some training opportunities in the Real Madrid first team in the new season.

This was what he was struggling with before.

He is optimistic about Li Ang's talent, but Real Madrid does not need talent now.

Real Madrid, which has been suppressed by Barcelona for a long time, needs immediate combat power and the joining of superstars one after another.

So instead of letting Li Ang sit on the bench and waste this precious scoring period.

It is better to let him out and hope that he will seize the opportunity to grow up quickly.

In this case, maybe in one or two years, Mourinho will still have the opportunity to cooperate with an excellent defensive midfielder who came out of Castilla.

"Come on, don't give up on your diligence and hard work in Valdebebas. I look forward to seeing a better Li Ang in the near future. You are a great young man, keep your focus!"

Mourinho stood up and gave routine encouragement when shaking hands with Li Ang.

Li Ang smiled and nodded, thanked him again and walked out of Mourinho's office with brisk steps.

It couldn’t be a simpler pre-season conversation between a head coach and his players.

If nothing else, after Real Madrid and Real Betis reached an agreement, Li Ang could quickly pack his bags and return to Seville, where he had been for half a year.

This summer's brief training session with Real Madrid's first-team players seemed more like a dream through the mirror.

In addition to broadening his horizons, Li Ang finally had the opportunity to draw the "Golden Star Talent Fragment Card" that he had been waiting for for the past six years.

Three years after another, he has been playing in the defensive midfielder position for six years!

It’s not that he is born with talent in this area, or that he likes to play as a defensive midfielder, but that he has no choice.

After walking out of Valdebebas, Li Ang called up the "Road to the Ball King" panel in his mind on the way home.

On the far left side of this simple system panel, there is a star talent card shining with golden light.

"2008-09 season limited edition Makelele"!

A new book has been released. I hope everyone can collect and recommend it. Let’s rush together in May!