Mourinho sat in the coaching conference room, surrounded by the three right-hand assistants he brought to Inter Milan, Villas-Boas, Faria and goalkeeper coach Sylvinho. Also present was Inter Milan's assistant coach Giuseppe.
Pe Baresi.
In front of them, there were various data that had just been compiled about Naples' recent warm-up matches, including the performance and evaluation of the players.
Mourinho and his assistants are preparing for the upcoming Italian Super Cup.
Before the game starts, they must first determine their team's style of play.
But before the meeting, Mourinho couldn't help but cursed, "That damn old guy!"
Everyone shook their heads helplessly and smiled bitterly.
…
Although he is new here, Mourinho has not changed his madman nature at all.
Just two days ago, he had a war of words with Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri.
The whole world knows that when he coached Chelsea, he took over Ranieri's job. Therefore, Ranieri has not had a good impression of Mourinho over the years. Now that they are reunited in Serie A, some bumps and bruises are naturally inevitable.
The first time the two came into contact was at the TIM Cup.
Before the cup game, Ranieri answered questions related to Mourinho when asked by the media. Generally speaking, he was okay. He praised Mourinho's coaching achievements in Portugal and England, but he also said that coaching in Italy is particularly difficult.
.
Mourinho fired back directly and said: If Juventus cannot win the game against Inter Milan, Ranieri should be more worried about his team. The implication is, you bad old man, mind your own business and stop talking nonsense.
Come to me!
But who would have thought that Ranieri's Juventus would later defeat Inter Milan 1-0.
So, Ranieri was happy. He emphasized again that no matter what Mourinho's previous results were, in Italy, "I will not let him succeed!"
The whole world knows that Mourinho is not a good person. It has never been his character to swallow his anger and he immediately fought back.
Later, Juventus lost 0-3 to Hamburg in the Bundesliga in the Emirates Cup with Arsenal. Ranieri wanted to divert the team's conflicts and said that he was not a person like Mourinho. For him, only victory
, catcalls are also acceptable.
At this time, Inter Milan's warm-up match results improved. Mourinho immediately and confidently stated that he is indeed a very harsh person on himself and the team. He needs to win to make himself happy, and he especially likes championships.
"Ranieri said that he does not need to win, indeed, so he is now over 70 years old and has only won a few trophies in total. Can I lose all my five fingers?"
"I think he should change his mind, but he is so old that he forgets that his assistants also need coaching certificates. I sympathize with him!"
When it comes to talking nonsense, Ranieri is definitely not Mourinho's opponent, especially if he is poked in a sore spot, the result can be imagined.
This war of words, which lasted for several days, made the whole of Italy excited.
Last season we expected Gao Shen, the traffic king, but we didn't expect Mourinho to come this summer.
Now that's good, are you still worried that there will be no topic in Serie A?
In the first round of the season, Italian Super Cup, Inter Milan vs. Naples!
The match venue is at San Siro.
It’s full of traffic!
…
Not only the whole of Italy, but also the whole of Europe, and even the whole world, are paying special attention to this Italian Super Cup.
When Gao Shen met Mourinho, this was their first collision.
Napoli faces Inter Milan, which is also a duel between the two strongest teams in Serie A.
No matter which angle you look at it, this is a show not to be missed.
But unfortunately, both teams attacked with incomplete formations.
Needless to say, Naples has eight main players who have been transferred to the National Olympic team to play in the Olympics. As a result, Naples is now short of personnel, especially the central defenders, who are almost empty.
Interestingly, the situation at Inter Milan is similar.
Since last season, Inter Milan's central defenders have suffered a lot of injuries.
Samuel and Cordoba were both out for a long time, Materazzi and Chivu were also injured, and even now, these four players have not fully recovered.
In other words, Inter Milan actually only has one genuine central defender left, Burdisso.
"From the various data we have collected, we can basically determine one of the two advanced central defenders, and that is Cannavaro Jr."
Boas was analyzing the data in front of everyone.
"There are currently three possibilities for another candidate, namely Thiago Motta, Vidal and Benatia."
"These three people all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Thiago Motta is good at passing and has good physical condition. He has played many times as a central defender in Barcelona and performed very well; Vidal is a genuine central defender, but this player came to Italy
Later he switched to playing midfield, and his style was rather reckless."
"Benatia is the most interesting among the three. Judging from various data, we can't judge Gao Shen's attitude towards him. We can say that he doesn't pay much attention to him, but in fact, according to statistics, he has played a lot of playing time. As for his performance, according to
According to the scouts’ report, most of them came off the bench, which is quite satisfactory.”
It can be said that these three people each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Which one to use depends on Gao Shen's choice.
In terms of playing time, Benatia has the least time among the three, and he is new here, but Mourinho always feels that Gao Shen will not introduce a central defender for no reason.
Is Benatia really just there to fill Domic's shoes?
But if not, how can Gao Shen conclude that an unknown player with a severely torn knee ligament and missing a season can take Domic's place?
You know, when Domic left the team, he earned more than three million euros for Naples, which is not a small amount of money.
What about Benatia?
Ligue 1 Marseille directly let him transfer on a free transfer.
Although net worth does not mean everything, it can reflect the situation of the two people.
If Gao Shen could really recruit someone casually to fill the position of a player like Domic, that would be terrible, right?
…
"Guess what tactics Gao Shen will use?"
Mourinho smiled slightly and looked confident as he asked his assistant.
"Attack!" Boas replied.
Faria nodded in response, "Attack."
Giuseppe Baresi frowned, "He once said that he would avenge the 3-0 defeat at San Siro. Moreover, he is young and energetic, and he has two goals.
There is no central defender, and I guess he doesn’t have much confidence in defense, so I guess he will probably attack.”
Mourinho thought for a moment and smiled: "If that's the case, it's probably Thiago Motta, because his passing is very good and his long passes are also very threatening. Gao Shen will definitely want to use it."
His advantage."
When he said this, an idea suddenly came to Mourinho's mind.
Since Mancini Jr. and Muntari joined Inter Milan, both players have performed very well, and the youngster Balotelli's performance is also remarkable.
This seventeen-year-old youngster is outstanding in terms of speed, strength, and technique. He is very comprehensive. More importantly, he also works hard in pressing and intercepting from the front.
At least, compared to Cruz and Ibrahimovic, Balotelli is pretty good.
Mourinho is wondering if he can use Balotelli and Ibrahimovic to suppress Naples' defense?
The Italian Super Cup is important even if it is important, and it is not important even if it is not important.
It doesn't matter, because this is actually just a cup competition and its influence is very limited.
But speaking of importance, this is a formal competition after all. Winning the championship will be very encouraging for the next new season.
Especially for a wealthy team like Inter Milan, which has just experienced a major defeat and achieved nothing last season, being able to counterattack Naples and win the championship before the season will stimulate the morale of the team.
One can imagine.
Last season, Inter Milan had its spine completely broken by Naples. If Mourinho wants to win the championship this season, he must reconnect this spine and straighten it no matter what.
From this perspective, this game is crucial.
"Do you think our defense can withstand Naples' attack?" Mourinho suddenly asked.
Everyone present looked at each other in shock.
Inter Milan is also facing the embarrassing situation of being short of major generals. It is still difficult to freeze Naples' offense.
unless……
"If we can suppress their midfield, I believe we can do it," Giuseppe Baresi said.
As we all know, the sophisticated Napoli attaches great importance to the midfield.
Sacchi, the number one player in the world, even said that sophisticated tactics perfectly interpret the saying "He who wins the midfield wins the world".
This shows that Gao Shen attaches great importance to the midfielder.
If you can suppress Naples' midfield, you can completely suppress Naples' offense.
"Many people focus too much on the central defender, but in fact, there are two very important players who will also be absent. That is the most stable player in Naples' midfield last season, Biglia."
"Also, Napoli's frontcourt left winger Di Maria."
"Both players are Napoli's best players, especially Biglia, who can be called the stabilizer in the midfield."
Baresi said this, then looked at Mourinho and others, and continued his analysis: "Pellet went to China, there is only one Cavani, Naples' tactics will not change much, losing Biglia
, there are hidden dangers in the midfield, and the attack on the left has been weakened a lot after losing Di Maria."
Mourinho understands what Baresi means.
Naples has eight players missing, and they are all the best players in the team. This is a huge blow to Naples, but it is a God-given opportunity for Inter Milan.
Under the current circumstances, Inter Milan should seize the opportunity.
This is called taking advantage of his illness to take his life!
Thinking of this, Mourinho gritted his teeth secretly, "Then we will follow this arrangement. We will do our best to win this championship at the Meazza Stadium and make a good start for the new season!"
By the way, Mourinho also wants to avenge Barcelona and Inter Milan's coaching selection.
He wants the whole world to know: He, Jose Mourinho, is not a backup tire for advanced students!
