On the evening of September 15th, Inonu Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye.
When the referee blew the final whistle, Ferguson raised his hands high and roared with all his strength, excitedly celebrating Manchester United's hard-won victory.
Zero to one, the scoreboard showed the final result of this game.
Red Devils Manchester United defeated Turkey's Besiktas 1-0 thanks to Paul Scholes' crucial goal.
This victory is a good start for this season's Champions League group stage!
But more importantly, Ferguson's rotation was successful in this game.
Van der Sar is still recovering from injury, and Foster is in charge of the goal.
But Ferguson made substantial rotations and adjustments to other positions.
The first is the right back, with veteran Gary Neville replacing O'Shea, and center back Evans replacing Ferdinand. In the midfield, the main midfielders such as Carrick and Fletcher have all rotated, with Scholes, Park Ji-sung and Anderson starting.
In front is the trident of Nani, Owen and Valencia.
It can be said that this is the remnant of Manchester United.
But relying on this lineup, Manchester United defeated Besiktas, and Valencia was extremely active on the right.
Twenty-five million euros, when Ferguson originally introduced the winger, everyone thought it was too exaggerated and expensive.
But now it seems that it is really worth it!
Produced by Gao Shen, it must be a high-quality product.
Valencia created the most threats for Manchester United and was also the best player in the game. It won the best player after the game. However, it was Nani on the left who assisted Scholes in scoring.
.
Sometimes, football matches are like this.
But Ferguson was quite satisfied with being able to win Besiktas away from home.
From the moment the game whistle sounded, he was smiling from ear to ear, with satisfaction and even joy written directly on his face, so that everyone could easily see his expression at this moment.
Feeling.
In fact, he really deserves to be satisfied.
Because the rest of the team was going to Turkey, Manchester United was recuperating for the weekend derby match in the same city. But who would have thought that Manchester United would actually defeat Besiktas away from home, which surprised Ferguson.
The so-called surprise is an unexpected gain.
Ferguson was mentally prepared for a draw or even a small loss in the away game, but he didn't expect to win.
"Gao Shen, I'm ready and waiting for you to come to your door!" Ferguson said with great enthusiasm.
…
After winning Besiktas 1-0 away from home, Ferguson was very high-profile at the post-match press conference.
On the one hand, he praised Antonio Valencia's wonderful performance by name, believing that he has all the abilities to become a world-class winger and created the most threats in the audience, but he was slightly less lucky.
On the other hand, Ferguson said that the team's rotation is to better cope with multi-line operations.
"Anyone who is familiar with the Champions League knows that traveling to Turkey is very difficult, but today, our players overcame this difficulty and not only gained more advantages on the field, but also defeated their opponents in terms of score."
"For me, there's no better outcome than this."
Regarding the weekend's local derby, Ferguson made a high-profile statement that Manchester United is ready.
"I never care how many wins my neighbors have won. It means nothing to me, because at Old Trafford, any winning streak will be stopped."
Ferguson said he was never worried about Manchester City.
"I once said they were like a noisy neighbor, and I still say that now."
"This is not the first time that Manchester City has spent a lot of money on signings. They also spent a lot of money last season and performed well for a time, but the result? In the end, they ranked tenth in the league and they lost at Old Trafford.
Knocked both of our balls."
Ferguson said, "If you can win a championship by throwing money, then there is no need to play the game. Wouldn't it be better if everyone competes to see who has more money? Why do it have to be so hard?"
The implication is that Ferguson is still sarcastic and sarcastic about Manchester City, believing that the other side is a mercenary built up by money.
Regarding the first local derby of the season, Ferguson said that at Old Trafford, Manchester United will show the level of a veteran team and the spirit of Manchester United.
"We will defeat our opponents!"
…
Regarding Ferguson's war of words in Istanbul, Gao Shen ignored it from beginning to end.
What he is more concerned about is Manchester United's performance and rotation in this game.
After Manchester United played Besiktas, the coaching staff began to synthesize intelligence from all aspects and speculate on Manchester United's preparations for the sixth round of the Premier League, especially the lineup.
Obviously, Ferguson left almost all his elite players in Manchester.
"First of all, exclude some of the starting lineup in Turkey, especially those players who played the entire game, such as Park Ji-sung and Valencia, both of whom played the entire game." Lucas analyzed.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Carrick, Sneijder and Fletcher will be left in the midfield."
This should be the starting lineup that Ferguson focuses on. It is both offensive and defensive, and meets the requirements of Ferguson's home games.
"On the right, O'Shea will start. In the center, Ferdinand will definitely replace Evans and partner with Vidic. There is currently no better candidate on the left, and it should be Evra."
Manchester United's left wing will be a big problem at the moment because Evra has no substitute.
Ferguson tried to arrange Brazilian youngster Fabio to play this position, but his performance was not particularly satisfactory. In addition, Evra was too durable and had a high attendance rate, which resulted in the youngster not getting more training opportunities.
In comparison, there are more players on the right, such as Brown, Rafael, O'Shea, and Fabio also playing on the right.
"Judging from the away game against Besiktas, Evra obviously stopped playing. He should also have the energy to play in the city derby. We must be prepared for this." Carlo reminded.
What Evra is facing happens to be Manchester City's right wing.
In the game against Arsenal, Robben came on as a substitute for more than 20 minutes, scored twice and provided an assist, creating three goals. It can be said that he played his best game since joining Manchester City.
After a week of recuperating, no one can guarantee what an amazing threat Robben will be on this side.
More importantly, Manchester United's left winger Evra also traveled a long way to Türkiye.
If Manchester City attacks Manchester United's left wing, that would be completely normal.
"In the middle, if Sneijder starts, there will definitely be Berbatov in front. This can maximize the pressure on Rooney. Both centers can get the ball, which will be a big boost to Manchester United's offense.
"
Both Rooney and Berbatov have strong ability to get the ball with their backs, and with passers like Carrick and Sneijder in the midfield, their role can be the greatest threat.
Moreover, among the players Ferguson left in Manchester, there was Giggs, who became more and more monstrous as he got older.
As a master tactician, Ferguson must have formulated a detailed game strategy early on, which is why he made rotations against Besiktas with such intensity.
Now it has been proven that his rotation was successful.
Next, it depends on the battle at Old Trafford.
Everyone expressed their opinions and expressed their views on Manchester United and this game.
Gao Shen sat silently and listened quietly.
This has always been his habit.
He was accustomed to listening to his assistants' ideas before finally giving his own.
This has become the norm for Gao Shen and his assistants to hold meetings to discuss issues.
"Gao, how do you plan to play in this game?"
Following Carlo's question, everyone turned their attention to Gao Shen.
Yes, how do you want to play?
"Our advantage is not in the center. We cannot fight with our opponents in the center. Instead, we should actively expand the width when attacking to create more one-on-one offensive opportunities for the wide players."
Everyone nodded.
Manchester City has advantages on the wings, but not in the center.
Although both David Silva and Rakitic have the ability to penetrate from behind, they lack the ability to attack tough situations.
Suarez is not the kind of center who can open a tunnel by himself. He is more famous for his dexterity.
"What we are thinking now, Ferguson must be thinking too, and he will definitely take targeted measures in a timely manner."
The coaches all nodded.
Ferguson's tactical attainments have reached the level of proficiency, and he will not leave such a big flaw for himself.
"Our two wingers will be their focus. He will not easily give us one-on-one opportunities, so I guess that Manchester United is likely to adopt a tactical play similar to three midfielders, and it will be better than Arsenal."
More careful.”
Against the Gunners, Gao Shen only replaced Arjen Robben after Wenger removed the three defensive midfielders.
There's no reason why Ferguson couldn't see this.
"I was even thinking that he might not play Giggs, but let Anderson play, because Anderson was substituted midway in Turkey." Gao Shen guessed.
Many people say that Gao Shen uses Manchester City as his tactical board and laboratory, but why doesn't Ferguson use Manchester United as his tactical board and laboratory? And he has done so for many years.
In the past life, many people were asking why these Manchester United players were able to win the championship in the hands of Ferguson, but couldn't do it if they were replaced by others?
Ultimately, Ferguson's amazing tactical ability is the key.
It's like putting together Lego blocks. With the same blocks, some people can't put together anything, but some people can put together a complete model. It's purely a matter of personal ability.
"According to what you say, what should we do?" Carlo asked with concern.
Everyone also looked at Gao Shen with concern.
They all knew that since Gao Shen had said it, he must have a solution to the problem.
"Don't fight with Manchester United, use our advantage in passing and controlling the ball. Since they like to mark our wingers so much, let them mark them and use the wingers to contain them."
Everyone was confused, what is this?
Aren’t wingers Manchester City’s sharpest offensive weapon?
Gao Shen smiled confidently, "Just wait and see, it's time for our secret weapon to make its debut!"
