After defeating Setubal 3-0 at home, Mourinho quickly received news from Lisbon.
After conceding a goal in the first half, the Green Lions reversed Guimarães 2-1 in the second half with goals from Pepe and Albertini, and continued to hold Porto firmly in the standings.
This made Mourinho feel the pressure.
He believes that the players on the team feel the same.
"This Sporting team is really tough!"
After returning to the training base, Mourinho dismissed the team, but the coaching staff stayed for a meeting.
Midweek is the second leg of the UEFA Cup semi-finals, leaving Porto little time to prepare.
Mourinho has a huge headache for Sporting Lisbon, because this team is like a dog-skin plaster this season, sometimes close and sometimes far away, but it has been chasing Porto, shrinking from the original seven points to the current one point.
The pressure in this is really great.
Especially considering that there are only six rounds left in the Portuguese Super League.
If you are not careful, your car may overturn at any time.
"Actually, the main reason is that Guimarães themselves failed to live up to expectations and missed so many scoring opportunities. Nikule really didn't pose much of a threat in this game. In his current state, he still wants to compete with Sudong for the main spot?" Boas
Angry and annoyed.
Originally, Guimarães had a chance, but this team failed to seize it.
"The away factor is also crucial. Guimarães is currently ranked fourth in the Portuguese Super League. Their strength is good, but their condition is not good." Faria also felt it was a pity. It was originally a good opportunity to widen the gap.
The decisive battle of the UEFA Cup semi-finals is approaching. If Sporting Lisbon is widened at this time, it will be a considerable advantage for Porto, but it will be a painful blow for Sporting Lisbon.
"That's why I despise Boloni."
Mourinho put his left hand in his pocket, and pointed at the table with his right hand in a very powerful and domineering manner, somewhat pointing the country and scolding Fang Qiu, which made people feel his inner confidence at this moment.
"This game in Sporting Lisbon was actually very dangerous to win. Everyone can see its importance, but Bologna chose Nikolai instead of Sudong. This is problematic, especially when making substitutions.
He still didn't replace Nikolai and replaced him with Su Dong, which is a bit unclear."
When Mourinho said this, he snorted, "Just wait and see, Sporting Lisbon can still maintain a superficial harmony now because the game did not leave them time to have internal strife. When the season is over,
One of Su Dong and Boloni must go."
Everyone also agrees with Mourinho's point of view.
No one else would have been able to bear being used like this by Boloni.
Eighteen league goals and eight in the UEFA Cup. This list of achievements is comparable to Jardel last season.
But what’s the result?
If Niculai, whom Bologna trusts, is trustworthy and performs well, then there is nothing wrong with him and he should be rotated appropriately.
But Nikolai just couldn't hold himself up to the wall.
Do you still continue to trust unconditionally like this?
This is nepotism!
"Jose, have you informed the management?" Brito suddenly asked with a smile.
Everyone also laughed along with him.
Mourinho wants to introduce Sudong. This is not a secret among the Porto coaching staff, and even many players know it.
Deco, for example, has said more than once that Sudong can play a greater role in Porto.
There is also Carvalho, who once said that he welcomed Soviet Union to Porto.
Players with quality never need to worry about not having the ball to play.
For today's Sudong, leaving Sporting Lisbon will usher in a broader stage.
"I've told the chairman, I guess it's being worked on," Mourinho said with a smile.
"You still need to talk to Mendes," Brito suggested.
Mourinho also officially switched to Mendes not long ago. The Portuguese agent will fully represent Mourinho in contract negotiations and other matters. At the same time, he is also working hard to find opportunities for Mourinho to coach in the four major leagues.
Players need agents, and so do head coaches.
"He treats Su Dong like a treasure, and his status is higher than ours." Mourinho was a little helpless.
Everyone was surprised, "Higher than Quaresma, Ronnie, and even our Deco?"
Deco is also a player signed by Mendes.
In just two years, this Portuguese agent has completely shown the momentum to replace Vega.
"I heard that Su Dong's commercial value is very high."
"How is this possible?" Everyone was surprised.
How high can the commercial value of an 18-year-old kid who has just started out?
"It is said that this kid has signed eight commercial sponsorships in just one year. Without exception, they are all major multinational brands, including top brands such as Nike and Pepsi-Cola. Mendes is unwilling to disclose specific figures. He only said
The total amount exceeds six million euros."
"What?" Everyone was shocked.
Six million euros?
This is absolutely an astronomical figure, especially in the Portuguese Super League.
There are even many Portuguese Super League teams whose annual commercial sponsorship revenue is less than 3 million euros, which also includes jersey sponsorship and chest advertising revenue.
"Oh my god, this guy is quite handsome, but isn't he?" Boas was shocked.
"There are over a billion people in China, and among Asian players, he is the most popular right now." Mourinho pointed out the key point.
Everyone suddenly realized.
"The chairman also attaches great importance to Sudong. If he can be recruited, he can definitely expand his influence in Asia. Porto is not a coward like Sporting Lisbon." Mourinho sneered quite a bit.
Porto aims to make a big splash in Europe and also has certain overseas expansion plans, but Sporting Lisbon is relatively more conservative, which leads them to focus more on Portugal.
Mourinho still admires the player Su Dong very much, and as long as Porto wants it, Sporting Lisbon will probably find it difficult to refuse, because so far, no other team in the four major leagues has made a move for Su Dong.
.
This is normal, because Su Dong is too young, only eighteen years old.
It is estimated that he is not willing to go to the middle and lower reaches of the four major leagues. Teams in the upper reaches will be more cautious in recruiting. He hopes that Sudong will play in the Portuguese Super League for another year or two and become more mature before operating. By then, the transfer fee will be relatively high.
It will be higher, but more stable.
No one's money is brought by strong winds. The signing itself is very risky, and the risk of bringing in young players is even greater.
"Don't worry about how much money he makes, we still have to care about the midweek game."
Mourinho stretched out his hand to stop the gossip among his assistants and began to pay more attention to the upcoming second round of the UEFA Cup.
"Su Dong must continue to pay attention. I must restrict his header and right foot, just like in the first round. Don't give him any chance. This kid is very energetic. If you defeat him now, he will come back."
The team is easier to lead."
At the end of the sentence, Mourinho couldn't help laughing.
Su Dong, he is determined to win, and he also has the right to win the UEFA Cup finals.
He is fully prepared, not only to play defense in the first round, but also to strengthen the team's offense and score goals at the Alvalade Stadium.
One away goal can kill Sporting Lisbon!
…………
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"Sporting Lisbon is a strong team, but I am confident that the team going to Sevilla must be Porto!"
Before the game, at the press conference announcing the match roster, Porto coach Mourinho said with confidence.
Mourinho also focused on the first-leg home game, believing that the team's state was not ideal at the time, but has now adjusted. The three-0 home victory over Setubal is the best evidence.
"In fact, we have been working hard to improve our offense in the past period. In the game against Setubal, our offense was quite good. This is a positive sign."
"Although it is an away game, we will still adopt more active tactics. We hope to present a more exciting matchup to the fans."
"Believe me, we will let everyone see the strongest Porto team this season!"
Mourinho's confidence infected Porto's players, and many came forward to express their confidence in participating in the final.
Midfielder Deco said in an interview with the media that Sporting Lisbon is a very good team with some very good players, but the winning team in the end will definitely be Porto.
"We are confident that we can score more than two goals in the away game!" Deco said very confidently.
As a central defender, Carvalho was the hero of freezing Soviet Union in the first round. After the game, he received unanimous praise from the head coach and the media. Now that the second round is approaching, he also expressed that he is full of expectations.
"There is no doubt that Su Dong is a very capable and promising rookie. He once scored a few goals against Porto, but the first round showed us that he is not omnipotent.
."
"We found a way to restrain Su Dong, and in the next 90 minutes of the game, he will continue to achieve nothing!"
In the end, Carvalho did not forget to use a joking tone to tell Su Dong from afar, "If you want a championship, come to Porto!"
Veteran Jorge Costa was relatively cautious. He recognized Sudong's threat, but he also expressed confidence.
"We won't give him a chance. He will hit the wall like he did in the first round."
Offensive players such as Delle and Jankauskas are confident that they want to break Sporting Lisbon's goal, while Ferreira, Valente and others want to block Ronnie, Quaresma, and Mani.
Midfielders such as Che and Costinha...
Before the war, everyone in Porto looked very confident.
Their strength already has an advantage, and they did not have a good way to defend against Sporting Lisbon's offense in the first round. This made Porto's winning rate even more optimistic in the second round.
The domestic media in Portugal are basically divided into two camps. Either they support Sporting Lisbon, but the number of people is small, or they support Porto, which is an overwhelming majority.
Mourinho's team wins because of its strength advantage and is also stable enough.
However, a few media believe that Sporting Lisbon still has a chance to defeat Porto and go to Sevilla.
