As the derby approaches, the situation becomes increasingly tense, and even the air above Manchester is filled with the smell of gunpowder.
In the past, the Manchester derby was dominated by Manchester United. No matter what the final result was, whether Manchester City won or lost, it was always a foil to its local rival Manchester United, and no one cared about it at all.
But now, the situation is completely different.
With Manchester City's massive investment for two consecutive seasons and their superb coaching, Manchester City has transformed into an upstart in the Premier League and even the entire European football world, becoming a serious problem for the traditional top four.
Winning five games in a row and leading the standings is the first time in the history of the Manchester Derby.
With major media outlets taking action one after another and fans all over the world eagerly awaiting the event, the most watched Manchester derby in history is about to begin.
The day before the game, Manchester United head coach Ferguson publicly stated at the pre-match press conference that during his coaching period, Manchester United had a crushing advantage against Manchester City in all competitions.
Ferguson said that although Manchester City has received huge amounts of money from Middle Eastern consortiums, it is still very petty and cannot be on the stage. The players introduced by Gao Shen do not have truly eye-catching stars.
"Suarez? Yes, he is currently ranked first in the scorer list, but this is only temporary. Believe me, Rooney is much better than him. Soon, Rooney will take his place!"
As for Robben and Robinho, Ferguson said that these two players are no longer at their peak.
"Look at Valencia in Turkey in midweek. Manchester City lacks such sharp attackers. Robben can no longer run with such speed and threat." Ferguson made it clear that he wanted to carry out psychological warfare to the end.
Regarding the start of the league, Ferguson said that Manchester City did have a good start, "but we must also understand that in the past few years, we have always not done well enough at the start, and we have always had to catch up, but we have won three consecutive championships.
Already."
"So, being behind at the beginning of the league is nothing to us. We are very good at striking from behind."
Not only that, Ferguson even refused to call the match between the Manchester duo a derby.
"In my mind, the game against Liverpool will always be the derby because we both have history."
In his words, he was still sarcastic about Manchester City's lack of background.
Ferguson revealed that when he first coached Manchester United, Liverpool was a real champion team, winning four Champions League titles and several league titles, and was truly the number one club in England.
"It was very difficult to create new history when Liverpool was so strong, but looking back now, we did it!"
Ferguson was somewhat disparaging about Manchester City in his words. He obviously felt that if the game between the Manchester duo was called a derby, Manchester City was not qualified.
"There is no doubt that this will be a really fierce game, but I am very much looking forward to his arrival!" Ferguson gave the positioning.
He still doesn't want to admit that Manchester City is their derby opponent.
"I can say very clearly and firmly that our opponents are not terrible. They are not qualified to surpass Manchester United in the league. As long as I am alive, this situation will never happen!"
…
The training bases of the two clubs are only separated by a wall.
As soon as Ferguson finished speaking at the press conference, Gao Shen had already received the news.
At the pre-match press conference, Gao Shen smiled and said that he could understand Ferguson's mood at this moment.
"I don't know if you have noticed it, but what Sir Alex Ferguson said before the game has rules to follow."
Gao Shen's words immediately attracted the attention of the entire media.
Everyone only knows that Ferguson likes to engage in verbal and psychological warfare before games, but they don't know that he has any rules.
"Everything he praises is basically a team that he thinks is not a threat. The more he praises the team, the smaller the threat. On the other hand, if he criticizes the team, he will criticize it."
The teams he scolds are often those he truly regards as his opponents. The more fierce he scolds, the more uneasy he feels."
Having said this, Gao Shen concluded: "Actually, I don't have the habit of feeling happy when being scolded, but I want to say that our opponents are scared, which is a good thing for us."
Gao Shen believes that Manchester United's vitality has been severely damaged after losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez this season.
"Having lost two world-class scorers, I don't know how Manchester United can make up for the losses caused by these two generals, so we can see that Manchester United's performance this season is far inferior to last season."
Finally, Gao Shen also issued a provocation against Manchester United.
"I want to say that the era of Manchester United has passed, and the era of Manchester City is coming!"
…
The pre-match war of words between the two world-famous coaches aroused widespread coverage by British and European media, and even media around the world.
The Daily Mail has specially collected the history of the city derby battles between Manchester City and Manchester United over the past 128 years.
Interestingly, on almost the same day 20 years ago, that is, September 23, 1989, a Manchester derby was played. At that time, Manchester City played against Manchester United at home. The final score was Manchester City 5 to 5.
A bloodbath wiped out Manchester United.
This was Manchester United's most painful defeat against Manchester City during Ferguson's coaching period, and it also created Manchester United's most significant defeat in the past fifty years.
The man who scored the consolation goal for Manchester United at that time happened to be Manchester City's former head coach Mark Hughes.
But fifteen years ago in November, Manchester United beat Manchester City 5-0 at their home stadium. Russian winger Kanchelski scored a hat trick, and Mark Hughes and Cantona each scored a goal.
Also in that season, Manchester United defeated Manchester City 3-0 in an away game, completing the season double.
Judging from past history, Manchester City indeed has no advantage over Manchester United.
But judging from this season and recent performance, Gao Shen's team is obviously better than Manchester United, which makes Manchester City fans full of expectations.
On the morning of the match day, when Gao Shen set off for the Carrington training base, he picked up his phone, took a photo, sent it to Twitter, and left a message.
"Look, what color is the sky in Manchester?"
It is indeed a rare good weather, suitable for competition.
Gao Shen's tweet quickly spread on the Internet, triggering discussions and forwarding by many netizens and media.
…
September 20th, 13:00, Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester.
There's still half an hour left before the game.
Players from both sides returned to the locker room for final preparations before the game.
Gao Shen also got Manchester United's starting lineup.
Goalkeeper: Foster.
Defence: Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand and O'Shea.
Midfielder: Sneijder, Carrick and Fletcher.
Forwards: Giggs, Berbatov and Rooney.
It's somewhat unclear whether Manchester United's lineup is 433, 442, or 4231.
It depends on the position of the players on the field after the game starts.
But one thing is certain, this is the strongest lineup that Ferguson can currently put together.
The only controversial thing is the position of Giggs on the wing. Is it Nani, Valencia, or Giggs and Park Ji-sung?
In contrast, Gao Shen's lineup for Manchester City is relatively clear.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defence: Gareth Bale, David Luiz, Kompany and Zabaleta.
Midfield: Javi Martinez deep, David Silva and Rakitic in the centre.
Forwards: Robinho, Suarez and Robben.
What Gao Shen has planned for Manchester City is four three three.
The only surprising thing is that at left back, Gao Shen replaced Felipe with Gareth Bale, and the Brazilian sat on the bench.
This can easily cause controversy.
Because so far this season, Felipe's performance is obviously better than Gareth Bale.
Everyone knows that this Welsh full-back is the most famous disaster star in the Premier League. He once made Tottenham Hotspur winless for 24 games. Although it broke after coming to Manchester City, his performance was not the same.
Not necessarily that good.
Gao Shen laid out the starting lineups of both sides on the tactical board and began to emphasize what the players needed to pay attention to.
For example, the suppression of Carrick, paying attention to Sneijder's pass, Evra's back-up from the left, and Giggs' assist, these are all areas that need to be paid attention to.
How to deal with it, Manchester City has repeatedly emphasized and practiced it in the previous week's training.
There is really no need to mention it any more now.
"I want to say that everyone is very clear about the significance of this game."
"This is not only a local derby, but also a key battle related to the trend of the Premier League. I can tell you very clearly that only by defeating Manchester United can we truly say that we have the strength to challenge for the Premier League championship.
!”
"He's like a whetstone, and I believe we're all ready!"
"Go on the field and defeat your opponent from the first minute. Don't hold back. Expose your attack power and passion for the game to your heart's content. Let our opponents and the once-high-ranking Premier League kings see our strength.
Also tell them that their era of Manchester United is over!"
…
When Gao Shen was in the locker room, excitedly boosting the team's morale, Ferguson also got Manchester City's starting lineup.
His first reaction was, was Felipe injured?
But in the last three days, Manchester City has been conducting closed training camps. Even if Manchester United is next door, they can't catch any news about Manchester City, and they don't even know what they are practicing.
Gao Shen has done a very good job in maintaining confidentiality.
Now, there is only one explanation for taking Gao Shen's confidant Felipe and starting with Gareth Bale, which is that Felipe is injured and Gao Shen does not dare to risk letting him play.
"Manchester City's left wing is likely to be our breakthrough point, everyone must pay attention!"
Having said this, Ferguson looked at Rooney, who nodded heavily.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of him!"
If it were Felipe, it might take some effort, but Gareth Bale, a young player, has been encountered before. His speed is okay, but he didn't leave a deep impression on people.
Rooney believes that it should not be difficult to deal with Gareth Bale.
