Ever since Gao Shen first announced that he was going to bring in an exciting player, the whole world has been waiting with eager anticipation.
From Messi to Ronaldo to Kaká, to Ribery, Rooney, Torres, Gerrard, Drogba...
Anyway, a lot of superstars have been hyped and favored by the media in turn.
As a result, who would have thought, he would bring in Robin van Persie.
Speaking of Van Persie, this is not a nobody, but it is far from exciting, especially Gao Shen.
Since Henry left, the Gunners' top star has been Cesc Fabregas, and their top striker has been Adebayor.
In the past few years with the Gunners, Van Persie has been suffering from minor injuries, but his status has gradually improved, from winger to center, forming a double forward with Adebayor, but the real core is still Adebayor.
At least, in his partnership with Adebayor, Van Persie is more like a second striker.
This is also the reason why he has so many assists.
Last season, Van Persie had an explosive start and was in amazing form. However, after getting injured, he almost lost the season. Although he finally made it to the World Cup, his performance was not satisfactory.
At least, he didn't show any of the exciting performance that Gao Shen said.
Does such a player deserve such praise from Gao Shen?
The media was quite unconvinced.
You can't use Manchester City's warm-up match results as an argument, that would be unfair to people.
It's okay for me to accuse Robin van Persie of not performing well, right?
He really didn't perform well and didn't even score a goal in the warm-up match.
A striker brought in with 30 million euros has not scored a single goal. Isn’t that too much?
I have to admire the British media's ability to build momentum, especially when they cooperated with each other in a tacit understanding, the momentum was really huge. Even if many outstanding people came forward, including Henry who was far away in the United States, they said that Van Persie was being raped.
A player who is underestimated will still be of no use.
The British paparazzi seemed to be having trouble with Gao Shen.
I don't dare to mess with you, so I'm going to mess with your players. What's wrong?
It would be great if Van Persie could be put under great pressure and turned into a parallel import.
Doesn’t the whole world say that you have an excellent eye for selecting people and that you are always right in your judgment?
Let me make a mistake today!
…
Gao Shen didn't understand the media's thoughts. In fact, at the pre-match press conference, some media already asked this question, but Gao Shen responded and expressed his trust in Van Persie.
When the team was about to head south to London, Gao Shen felt a little annoyed when he saw that the media were still fanning the flames everywhere.
I immediately posted several tweets on the Internet.
"We at Manchester City have the strongest striker in the Premier League. We have two top forwards currently in the Premier League. They both have the ability to score more than 30 goals in a single season!"
"Many people blame Van Persie, but what I want to say is that in the more than ten years of Premier League history, at the center position, as long as he is not injured, he is definitely capable of ranking in the top five. Then I can be very proud to say
, we have two of the top five players in history!”
"Yes, I'm talking about Suarez and Robin van Persie!"
As soon as Gao Shen's tweet was posted, it immediately caused an uproar.
Everyone is crazy.
Suarez performed very well last season. If you want to boast that he is one of the best centers in the history of the Premier League, forget it. With Robin van Persie's statistics and performance, is he worthy?
But Gao Shen quickly replied in the comments to a netizen who was the sports editor-in-chief of The Independent, unceremoniously exposing the fact that the other party was an Arsenal fan, pointing out that the reason for the other party's fierce words was because of Robin van Persie's transfer.
Manchester City.
"You all say that his performance in the World Cup was not good, but have you ever watched the Netherlands game? Van Persie is not the number one star in the team, but can't you see his role in the center position?"
There are also some comments that accuse Gao Shen of blindly protecting his players, even to the point of being unrealistic.
Many people believe that Van Persie is not even as good as fellow Dutchman Van Nistelrooy.
Gao Shen replied directly: "Even the old knight will not approve of you."
But some fans were so happy that they immediately asked Gao Shen, "Where is Henry?"
"He's not a center, thank you." Gao Shen replied.
"Tell me about your top five candidates. Who are they?"
"Alan Shearer, Drogba, Torres barely count, Suarez and Robin van Persie!"
Violent talk!
What a violent argument!
Gao Shen's remarks immediately caused an uproar on the Internet.
Whether it was fans, netizens, or the media, they all expressed disbelief at Gao Shen's remarks.
Is this what a two-time Champions League gold medal coach would say?
I have seen people praise their own players, but never such an embarrassing one.
England legend Alan Shearer, whose name was called by Gao Shen, replied to Gao Shen on Twitter, "Thank you, Director Gao, for your affirmation! Van Persie is indeed seriously underestimated, but he still needs to prove himself!"
Gao Shen responded with two handshakes, basically expressing his approval of Alan Shearer's statement.
But everyone also realized that Alan Shearer only mentioned Robin van Persie, but not Suarez.
Some fans and media with a keen sense of smell were surprised to find that Suarez has the qualifications to enter the top five in Premier League history?
After Alan Shearer was exposed online by many fans and media people, he sadly reminded everyone, "He was talking about the center forward!"
"Cantona, Bergkamp, and Henry are not centers. Van Nistelrooy's scoring ability is super strong, but the tactical role of a center is..."
Alan Shearer once again clarified that the reason why Gao Shen's remarks caused controversy is because times have changed.
In the past, centers did not need to be as comprehensive as they are now, so even though Ruud van Nistelrooy scored a lot of goals, at Manchester United, he was just a scoring opportunity and his role as a tactical fulcrum was hardly reflected.
Compared with this, Van Nistelrooy is definitely not very good at the center position.
And Henry, he is the only striker in Premier League history to score 30 goals and 10 assists in a single season.
Just like Ronaldo of Manchester United. Although he scored 31 goals in a single season at his peak, he only had seven assists.
But last season, Suarez was very close to Henry.
With the Uruguayan's age and condition, it is entirely possible for him to catch up with or even surpass Henry.
Alan Shearer said that the reason why Gao Shen said these words must have his purpose.
If Manchester City's two forwards really have the ability to score more than 30 goals in a single season, it would be really scary.
"Let's wait and see!"
…
"Have you seen the news reports in the media today and the posts on the Internet?"
After sleeping all night in a hotel in west London, the next morning after the team had breakfast, Gao Shen called Van Persie to his room and asked him if he had paid attention to the news from the outside world.
"I saw it." Van Persie looked at Gao Shen and nodded gratefully, "Thank you, boss!"
"Don't thank me, I'm just trying to justify the halo around me, and the media doesn't like it." Gao Shen said with a smile.
"But, Robin, I mean it!"
Robin van Persie sat opposite, raised his head in surprise, and looked at Gao Shen in disbelief.
"I believe you must also feel this way, especially in the early part of last season, before the injury, I felt that you had the strength and potential to be among the top five centers in Premier League history."
"Boss, you...stop joking." Van Persie laughed awkwardly.
He always felt that Gao Shen was defending him in front of the media.
"I'm very serious!" Gao Shen emphasized his tone with a very serious expression, "I am confident in my ability to see people. I believe you have such ability, and I believe you will not disappoint me. The key now is that you
Do you have such confidence?"
"Believe me, come with me and slap those doubters outside in the face, or if you give in, that will make me very disappointed!"
Van Persie fell silent.
He found that the head coach was serious.
But just because of this, he didn't know how to deal with it.
That's thirty goals in a single season. How can it be so easy?
In the best season of Henry's career, he only scored 30 goals. Can he score so many?
"What? Are you afraid?" Gao Shen asked with a chuckle.
"How do I remember that when you joined Arsenal, you were a bad boy who didn't take everyone seriously, made violent comments and made trouble all day long? Now, you have changed your gender?" Gao Shen continued to provoke him.
In fact, it would happen to anyone else.
Because Van Persie has suffered too many injuries over the years, big and small. Injuries of all sizes have never stopped. When his condition improved a little, it was immediately interrupted again, making it difficult to maintain it for a long time.
Just like last season, in the first twelve rounds, seven goals and seven assists, this data is really eye-catching enough.
But what can be done?
Chiellini made a tackle and his season was lost.
Over the years, he is no longer the reckless young boy he once was. He has a family, and he has grown up and matured.
Gao Shen has been paying attention to the changes in Van Persie's expression, especially his eyes.
He can understand this change of Van Persie, because anyone else must learn to suppress his own personality.
On the football field, no one can truly let themselves go.
So to some extent, Van Persie's transformation is not a bad thing.
But suppressing yourself too much is not a good thing.
Gao Shen clearly remembers that in his previous life, after Arsenal sold Adebayor to Manchester City in 2009, they officially promoted Van Persie and became the team's number one center. Last season, he scored seven goals and seven times in the first 12 rounds.
Assisted, but later got injured and the season was scrapped.
This season, he was a substitute for a period of time, but he also performed well. However, after September, he was injured in the national team again and was sidelined for more than two months. After returning from injury, his condition has been adjusting.
Until January, starting from the 21st round, he scored 18 goals and 4 assists in the last 18 rounds, including missing two games due to the Champions League. In other words, he actually
Only played sixteen games.
It is obvious that the 27-year-old Van Persie is now at the peak of his career. He is like a volcano that may erupt at any time, but he is suppressed by injuries.
What Gao Shen has to do now is to help him reduce his injuries, stimulate his fighting spirit and desire, and let this volcano completely erupt!
