Chapter 123 The Italian Super Cup in Beijing (4984
ps: Phew, it’s over for today.
I have written eight chapters, and I still owe a lot. I will pay it back tomorrow. But as long as I see everyone’s monthly votes, no matter how many chapters I write in a day, I will be full of fighting spirit!
Thank you!
There are eight days left, let us fight to the end!
After Chang Sheng revealed that the unit price of his players was a minimum of 100 million euros, as expected, there were far fewer clubs coming to him to buy players.
Of course, there are also those who don’t believe in evil, such as clubs like Chelsea.
Naturally, they received the same treatment as Chelsea.
Any club that wants to buy Lazio players will receive a return price of 100 million euros from Lazio!
As a result, everyone lost their temper.
It is impossible for them to really buy a player for 100 million euros. There is no player in the world worth so much money.
Chang Sheng and his coaching staff have also devoted themselves to training the team.
This season, Lazio only has two players, but both of them are important midfielders. In the mad dog tactics, the midfielder is the most important.
Naturally, these two people have to learn and adapt to mad dog tactics from scratch, which requires some effort and time.
The workload of the coaching staff is not much lower than last season.
They are experimenting with many combinations of personnel.
For example, Gotze went to participate in the European Youth Championship in Germany, so Candreva appeared in the winger position many times in warm-up matches and training, partnering with David Silva to find a feeling.
There is also the possibility of letting Belletti, who has returned from injury, play as a defensive midfielder, because after having Faraoni, Lazio already has three people at the right back position. In order not to waste the ability of each player, Belletti is always allowed to win.
Instead of playing as a defensive midfielder, he can also play as a midfielder when necessary.
In addition, Faraoni has been paired with different central defenders many times as a central defender in training and warm-up matches.
This all allows him to adapt to the different requirements of multiple positions. Once the team needs it, he can immediately appear in that position and perform like a regular player.
This summer, there is an important game for Lazio.
This game is probably also very important for winning.
Because this is the second time he has performed in front of his hometown elders after becoming the head coach of a European club.
That is the 2009 Italian Super Cup to be held at the Bird's Nest in Beijing at 8pm on August 8th!
This is not a commercial show. This is the real Italian Super Cup.
Although previous Italian Super Cups have been held when the league is about to start, this time is different. This is the result of exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and Italian football.
Most of the Italian Super Cups are held domestically, but there are also examples of them being held abroad. For example, one was held in the United States in 1993, and later it was held in Libya and the United States.
So it’s no surprise that the Italian Super Cup moves to Beijing.
However, for the Chinese who are always victorious, the meaning of this Italian Super Cup may be somewhat special.
The move of the Italian Super Cup to Beijing in 2009 had been decided long ago. At that time, Lazio had not yet won the league championship or the Italian Cup.
So when the season ended and the final results came out, the Chinese media and fans were all excited.
Let’s not talk about the competition between two high-level teams, Inter Milan and Lazio, nor the popularity of Mourinho, a personality coach. Just say that their compatriot who has always won the game can return to his country to coach the game, which is a big deal.
What a gimmick!
It has been a long time since Chang Sheng became the world's top football coach, but as his compatriots, Chinese fans can only witness their proud style through television broadcasts.
The last time he returned to China to participate in a game was Valencia's trip to China, but Chang Sheng's influence and reputation in football at that time was far less than it is now. At that time, he had not won the Champions League championship. He only won some league championships.
and domestic cup champions.
He is also an excellent coach, but compared to real European coaches, he is still a bit behind.
Who would have thought that after that trip to China, Chang Sheng would win the Champions League when he returned home, and then he would become the most successful and famous head coach in Europe.
But after that, Chang Sheng never returned to China to compete.
There is a saying circulating in China that Chang Sheng is very resistant to business competitions that require long distance travel.
The last time I returned to China to play with Valencia, the season turned out to be extremely difficult. Various injuries occurred one after another.
In the end, we were able to win the Triple Crown, which was surprising.
Chang Sheng has said more than once that he doesn't like this form of commercial competition where he travels more than 10,000 kilometers back and forth.
Although this is just a rumor, Chang Sheng never participated in a commercial game outside his home country, whether in Rome or Lazio.
It stands to reason that as a Chinese, he enjoys huge popularity in China. This is a good business opportunity, and it is impossible for smart businessmen not to know how to take advantage of his popularity.
So there should be a lot of various business competitions.
But Chang Sheng never came to China again.
When he goes to Asia to compete, they are all official competitions, such as the Club World Cup.
The Chinese market has always hoped that he could lead the team to play several commercial games, but he has never agreed once.
This time, there was finally an invitation he couldn't refuse, and that was the Italian Super Cup.
This is a regular game and he must participate, so he appeared in front of Chinese fans again.
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For the media and fans, there are really too many gimmicks in this Super Bowl matchup. The return home is only one of them, and the rematch between two personality coaches is another.
Last season, the two were entangled in the league until the 34th round. It was not until Lazio defeated Inter Milan head-on that they were guaranteed to win the league championship.
As a loser, Mourinho's performance is also worthy of admiration and respect. Because he turned Mancini's soft-legged crab Inter Milan into an iron-blooded force.
After losing to Chang Sheng in the league, Mourinho must be unconvinced. Now there is such an opportunity, the Italian Super Cup, that he can defeat Chang Sheng in China and prove that he is no worse than Chang Sheng.
But the two head coaches had completely different attitudes towards the Super Cup held in Beijing.
It is rumored that Chang Sheng, who doesn't like coming to China to participate in competitions, has no objection to returning to China to play in the Super Cup.
In an interview with a Chinese reporter, he said: "Bird's Nest? It is a beautiful stadium. I am looking forward to this game."
What does this mean about not wanting to return to China to compete?
His words can be regarded as refuting rumors. He has no intention of returning to China to compete. Are the Chinese media who used this reason to criticize Chang Sheng stupid this time?
Mourinho doesn't like going to China very much.
Just for a Super Cup, he has to travel all the way to Beijing. In Mourinho's view, this is completely unnecessary. It is the Italian Football Association sacrificing the team's interests for commercial interests.
In addition, he is worried about whether there is a high-level competition venue in Beijing. In his mind, China, with its low level of football, may not even be able to find a football field that meets FIFA requirements.
So in June, he flew to Beijing specifically to inspect the conditions of the Beijing Bird's Nest Stadium, especially the turf.
He had to see it with his own eyes and step on it with his own feet before he could rest assured.
This uneasy attitude is very obvious.
Chang Sheng, on the other hand, has no such worries at all. On the one hand, he is Chinese. He knows very well that when China wants to concentrate its efforts on doing something well, it will be perfect. He has deep feelings about how perfect it will be. The Bird's Nest can also be regarded as the leader in Beijing sports.
It’s the highlight. There is no problem with the quality of the field. After all, this game is not hosted by the Chinese Football Association. If it were the Chinese Football Association, I’m afraid Chang Sheng would have to fly back to inspect the quality of the turf...
On the other hand, he is a time traveler. He knows the venue conditions of this game very well. For holding a Super Bowl, there is no problem at all.
I'm worried about the quality of the Bird's Nest turf. It's better to train the team well.
In any case, as a Super Cup game, it must be played in Beijing, which is more than 8,000 kilometers away. The impact on the team does exist, and he must try to minimize this impact.
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On August 4, the entire Lazio team boarded a plane from Rome and flew to Beijing. After a journey of 8,145 kilometers, they successfully landed at the Capital International Airport.
Historically, the 2009 Italian Super Cup was indeed played between Inter Milan and Lazio.
At that time, Inter Milan was the league champion and Lazio was the Italian Cup champion.
However, Inter Milan was more popular at that time, and Jose Mourinho was also a favorite of the media and fans.
Lazio is a lot more loser in comparison.
Today the situation has changed.
Because in the past few years, Lazio's performance and results have been very strong. There are many stars in the team who are popular with fans, and there is also Chang Sheng, a famous coach who is quite popular in China. So this time, Lazio's popularity surpassed Mourinho's
Rinho and Inter Milan.
Although there are more Inter Milan fans in China...
There were about 300 Chinese fans who greeted Lazio at the airport.
There are nearly a hundred reporters.
Media from all over the country and even the world are here.
When Chang Sheng and Lazio walked out, the crowd burst into cheers.
More than three hundred fans wearing blue Lazio jerseys chanted: "Lazio! Lazio!"
Of course, the name Chang Sheng is also indispensable.
Although they looked tired, Lazio's players still waved to these enthusiastic Chinese fans.
Maybe it's because their boss is Chinese, so they seem very friendly to Chinese fans.
This is in sharp contrast to the Inter Milan I visited before.
When Inter Milan arrived in Beijing, more than two hundred Chinese Inter Milan fans came to welcome them. Facing the cheers of these Inter Milan fans, the equally tired Inter Milan players had no expression on their faces and walked straight onto the waiting bus.
car and then left the airport.
Lazio fans got a response from Lazio players.
Chang Sheng also frequently waved to the Chinese fans and reporters.
In fact, he also had some sense of vanity in his heart.
Returning home in glory...
I have been in Europe for ten years and have won two European Champions Cups. It is completely different from the obscurity when I left China.
Having so many people like him and chant his name greatly satisfied his vanity. (To be continued...)
