Super Marshal

"What? Chelsea came here to poach?"

When Gao Han heard the news from Mendes, he was shocked.

He would never have thought that the Blues would suddenly want to poach Chinatown on a whim.

Is it a psychological tactic before the game?

As soon as Gao Han thought, his agent Jorge Mendes understood what he meant, "Don't worry, I tested it out, they really want to buy it, it's not a psychological tactic before the game."

"But I don't understand." Gao Han shook his head.

Mendes chuckled, as the saying goes, a wise man will make a mistake after thinking a lot.

"You have forgotten that there are four players in the Chelsea team who will play in the African Cup of Nations from January to February. During this period, no one is available for Scolari, and Ballack and other players are not trusted by Scolari. , Therefore, introducing high-level scorers and midfielders is Chelsea’s most urgent task at present.”

"But why Falcao and Ramirez? Why Chinatown?"

Jorge Mendes nodded, "Because everyone believes in your vision, more than you think."

After a pause, Mendes continued: "In European football transfers, especially when it comes to transfers of players in their early twenties, strength evaluation is often very important. A lot of money is spent, but the result is... Introducing players who are not useful is a case that happens every year in European football."

"And everyone thinks that the strength of the players you have appointed is unquestionable and guaranteed, so they are very happy to do it, not just Falcao and Ramirez. You have to know, Chinatown is now It’s like a treasure trove, and many wealthy teams are coveting it.”

"They didn't do it, not because they didn't want to, but because they were waiting for a more suitable time, and at the same time, they were also waiting for you and the Chinatown team to help them train their players better, and they didn't mind spending more money for this. "

If European professional football is regarded as a pyramid, then the wealthy teams will undoubtedly stand at the top of the tower.

They have the largest income and the most generous transfer budget, and can buy the players they want at the highest price, thereby improving the team's competitiveness and competing for various championships.

To some extent, cultivating young players has never been the way for wealthy teams to operate.

Barcelona's current emphasis on youth training players is completely an anomaly. It can also be said that they are only temporary.

When a group of youth training players such as Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and Pique age out and the youth training players cannot meet the requirements of the first team, Barcelona will inevitably sign in at high prices from outside like other wealthy teams. , strengthen the competitiveness of the first team.

And these wealthy teams often want mature stars who are ready to compete, and training half-finished products is often just a passing move.

Gao Han is helpless, because although the Chinatown team has climbed to the four major European leagues, it is only a lower-tier team in La Liga. Even with Gao Han's halo, it will only be a mid-range team at most, but some things cannot be changed at all.

For example, the Chinatown team is short of money.

Today's professional football world is dominated by capital. Without money, it is impossible to win a championship and it is impossible to retain people.

"You know, I am a professional agent. As the agent of Falcao and Ramires, I must consider their interests. The conditions offered by Chelsea are indeed very high, especially the salary. Within the Chelsea team They are all very good, and it is impossible to get them in the Chinatown team."

Gao Han can understand Mendez's difficulties. After all, he opens the door for business.

To put it bluntly, if the players learn of this news and they really want to leave, they can fire Mendes and find another agent to talk to Chelsea, and Mendes' reputation will be ruined as a result. Someone will believe him.

To a certain extent, Mendes was able to travel from London to Manchester at noon after meeting Abramovich in the morning and reveal the news to Gao Han, which in itself is quite good.

"Think about it carefully." Mendes' identity is a bit sensitive and it is not appropriate to say too much.

Gao Han also understood that after sending him away, he still frowned.

He had been mentally prepared for selling people, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Falcao and Ramirez are both the best players in the Chinatown team this season, so it is natural for them to be targeted. Otherwise, Gao Han would not have had to rush to renew his contract with them before.

Now it seems that the contract renewal is timely, and the initiative of whether to sell or not is in the hands of Gao Han and Chinatown.

But the question is, is it worth staying?

The biggest problem after sending them away is how to make up for the team's losses.

Since Gao Han returned to Madrid to renew his contract in October, the Chinatown team's performance has improved a lot.

First, they beat Sporting Gijon 2-0 at home in the seventh round, but lost 1-2 away to Getafe in the eighth round. Later, they lost 0-1 at home to Atletico Madrid, suffering two consecutive defeats.

But in the tenth round, the team beat Sunderland 2-0 away. In the eleventh round, they drew 1-1 at home with Barcelona, ​​and then beat Almeria 4-1 away. The league ranking was stable. seventh and eighth.

Among these games, the most surprising one was the match against Barcelona in the eleventh round.

Facing Barcelona, ​​which was skilled in controlling the ball, Pochettino's team suppressed their opponents until the 54th minute of the second half before Xavi assisted Alves to score a goal. But not long after, Falcao He received an assist from Mkhitaryan and evened the score.

After that, the Chinatown team launched waves of counterattacks against Barcelona, ​​but both sides were never able to score again.

But this battle made the Chinatown team shine and win the recognition of countless media reporters and fans, especially the goal hero Falcao, Mkhitaryan who was elected the best player in the game, and the midfielder who is both offensive and defensive. Ramirez three.

Gao Han had to consider one thing. Let them go during the winter break. Who can fill their vacancies?

More importantly, the competition is so intense that the team does not have time for new players to adapt, so they must be able to compete when they come.

Thinking about it, Gao Han had a headache. He let out a heavy breath and cursed Abramovich in his heart.

Rich people are great, so they can be so willful?

But I’m not someone to be trifled with either!

…………

…………

The matches are coming one after another. After finishing the League Cup in midweek, Chelsea's focus game will be ushered in at the weekend.

In three days, Gao Han and the coaching staff made every work plan accurate to the minute.

Therefore, Gao Han had to temporarily put down the Chinatown team's affairs and devote himself to the work of Manchester City.

And he also wanted to take this opportunity to teach Chelsea a lesson at the City Stadium in order to avenge him.

He believes that media reporters around the world should be looking forward to this showdown.

The day before the game, Manchester City held a press conference at the City Stadium as usual. It attracted nearly a hundred media reporters to attend, setting a record for Manchester City in history, which shows the attraction of this game.

At the press conference, Gao Han first announced the team's match roster. Unsurprisingly, Kaká appeared in the roster again. For many media reporters, this is no longer news, but old news. .

What really concerned reporters was what Gao Han was thinking when he faced Chelsea again.

Gao Han replied jokingly that he wouldn't think much about it at all.

"No matter who the opponent is, there will always be only two words that appear in my dictionary: attack."

"There is no doubt that Chelsea is the strongest team that Manchester City has experienced so far this season, maybe not even one of them, but we are confident enough to get a victory at the City Stadium and use the football we are most familiar with. It’s also the best way.”

Gao Han's statement was not unexpected.

"Mr. Gao Han, among the other strong dialogues this season, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool were all completely defeated by Chelsea. Moreover, Chelsea did not concede a single goal and their defensive capabilities are quite good. Are you worried..."

"Don't worry!" Gao Han answered immediately before the reporter finished asking the question.

This immediately caused the audience to burst into laughter, and many media reporters felt helpless about this.

Gao Han is already a veteran when it comes to facing media reporters. Many people know what to answer without asking him.

"You are right, Mr. Reporter, Chelsea did defeat Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, but we have also defeated these teams this season, and you have to know that we are currently at the top of the Premier League... !”

Gao Han pointed at himself and reminded confidently.

He is well aware of the urinary nature of media reporters. They will desperately hype up the Manchester City crisis theory and hype that Manchester City will lose, because this is more of a gimmick than Manchester City winning.

Therefore, it is rare to usher in such a focused battle. How can they let it go so easily?

Facts have proved that Gao Han's judgment of the media was not wrong at all.

Although they have been slapped in the face again and again in the past few years, they still repeat their opinions again and again. Gao Han is going to lose, in this game.

Sometimes, Gao Han had to admire the thickness of skin of media reporters.

As the focus of this round of matches, Manchester City's match against Chelsea is scheduled to be held during prime time on Saturday night, while the games of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal are all scheduled to be held on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday afternoon, Manchester United traveled south to London to challenge the Hammers West Ham United away from home. As a result, Ferguson's team defeated the Hammers 4-0 away from home and won a wonderful victory.

Arsenal welcomed Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium in London. The Gunners scored a goal in each half and successfully gained three points.

Only the Red Army, Liverpool, once again suffered a setback in the away game. Facing Allardyce's team, Liverpool failed to play a threatening attack and drew 0-0 with Blackburn Rovers in the away game. The two sides shook hands and made a draw.

The tragic situation of the Red Army was foreseen by Gao Han as early as the beginning of the season, but in fact, as the season progresses, the problem becomes more and more serious. Benitez's team is now ranked fifth, a long way behind the top four. If they fail to introduce strong reinforcements in the winter break transfer market, it may be difficult to reverse the situation in the second half.

Even Benitez's coaching position is under threat and he may be fired at any time.

The afternoon game was very exciting, but everyone focused on the evening matchup.

Chelsea even arrived in Manchester a day in advance to concentrate on preparing for this game. Boss Abramovich and a group of management personnel personally sat at the City Stadium to supervise the game, showing their determination to win.

At the pre-match press conference, head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari even shouted that he would defeat Manchester City in an away game, score three points, and return to the top of the list, encouraging the players to defeat Manchester City in the game.

Facing Chelsea, who have repeatedly defeated powerful enemies this season, Gao Han and Manchester City did not dare to be careless and concentrated on preparing for the game.

Gao Han even started carefully preparing a gift as early as a week ago to give Chelsea a big surprise during the game.

And in this game, a mysterious guest was also welcomed into the VIP box at the City Stadium.