Before Mustafi walked into Ward's office, Sensibile came over to deliver a report, the combination of scouts Peranch and Frank was very efficient, and the information of the opponent had been collected in less than three days, and there were many handwritten notes on the report, which showed that they were very attentive. In fact, the collection of pre-match information does not need to be so troublesome, the communication between clubs and between scouts is the unspoken rule of the football world, just like female stars sleeping together and so on.

Even before the FA Cup kick against Arsenal, Tottenham said they could provide reports of their rivals for free, which was not great news at all.

"A week's penalty?" Sensibile looked at the punishment decision handed over by Ward for a while, and said in surprise.

He didn't explain much, just a syllable came out of his nose: "Hmm"

"Well, you have the final say" The Italian took the note into his arms and left the office.

Sensibile is so busy that he doesn't have time to stay, and the director of football is responsible for the whole football department, recruiting people for Portsmouth's squad – players and sometimes coaches, and taking care of the whole team, taking care of everything around the game, and of course he has to be responsible for the concept of the first team to the youth team, discussing the policy with the coach, and the youth team must follow the way the first team plays. Of course, the philosophy of the team has to do with the region, Portsmouth is a military port city, and many of the people living here are descendants of the Royal Navy in World War II, so it is very important that the team has to be bold and attack, but at the same time it has to be smart and the fans here can tolerate you playing like chess if necessary.

It sounds like Sensibile has more power than Ward, and in fact it is true at many big-club clubs, but it's a little different at Portsmouth. The administrative system of most English clubs is that there is a board of directors at the top of the team, and the chairman of the board is elected, who hires the head coach and puts him in charge of the team's short- to long-term football strategy. Portsmouth's board of directors is a bit chaotic, Zhang Jingru has a part, and the risk control company controlled by Ward has a part, but the vast majority of the shares are in the hands of the fans, in other words, no one can fire Hydward except the fans.

It's like Arsene Wenger, only when he is banished by the fans, the board has a way to use the knife in the system, weakening the authority of the manager year by year, until he is fired.

………………

Not long after Sensibile left, Mustafi came and said straight to the point: "Coach, I heard from the captain, I just apologized to Icardi, I think the matter has been resolved......"

"I fined you a week's salary," he said, interrupted by Ward.

“H AT？” Mousse's face changed, and his tone rose suddenly, "Boss, I already know it's wrong, and I didn't mean to!" …”

"Why are you here to play, Schödland?" Hydward interrupted the disciple's loud grumbling again.

Mustafi was stunned when he saw the manager's solemn expression, thought for a while and said: "Moyes told me that I don't have a chance at Everton, and it just so happened that the agent said that Portsmouth had a chance, so I came" He shrugged his shoulders and looked indifferent.

"No, I'm not talking about this, why are you playing? For what? Cars, beautiful women, flashing lights, endless money or endless energy drinks? ”

“……”

"Well, no, my mother wants me to be a cultured person, and if I don't play well I might go to school, study economics, boss, you know, I just got a high grade on my paper," Mustafi shrugged his shoulders.

Hydward poured a glass of boiled water for his disciple and continued, "Really? I talked to your agent, you were a genius when you played in Hamburg as a kid, if it's just to be a better person, you should stay in Germany, Jurgen Klopp was very interested in you, you know how successful Dortmund is now, but you chose to go to England, to Everton, have you ever wondered why? ”

Mustafi was speechless for a while, not knowing how to answer, he himself had forgotten how an 18-year-old had the courage to leave his homeland and live abroad alone.

After a while, Hydward suddenly asked: "Do you know why Icardi plays?" ”

Mousse shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

With a smile on his lips, Hydward said: "Mauro and Messi are fellow countrymen, and the whole world knows the story of the growth hormone deficiency dwarf kid and the best club in the world, but not in Portsmouth knows the story of Icardi." ”

He was born without a mother, he helped his father with household chores when he was still in kindergarten, he learned to clean cars and perform on the street before he was seven years old, his weekly salary was a piece of meat or a fish, he could take more food home if he played well, his first pair of sneakers was given to him by the club coach, so that he did not have to run barefoot on the concrete floor, and Icardi still has those shoes that were too rotten to wear. His father sold everything in the family and sent him to Spain, and told him; Boy, you're going to be able to kick it out."

Ward pointed to Mustafi's chest and said again: "Boy, you can definitely kick it out." For a family who had to sell their possessions to scrape together a plane ticket, Icardi had no choice. ”

Caught in his memory, Ward continued: "When I saw Mane in Metz, France, he was asking for help from a reporter from China to send a photo home, Mane didn't have a mobile phone, let alone a camera, and he usually had to borrow his teammate's electricity card to make calls. He has six younger siblings and a mother in Senegal, can you imagine seven mouths eating down a family, all the living expenses sent by the club to his family, and he has to do odd jobs at night, and in the same way, Mane has to be played, even if his skills are not as good as a Chinese player named Wang Chu. Maybe you have never had such an experience in your life, and you were selected for the Senegal national junior team, but because he had no money, he walked to the capital Dakar, and missed the registration time. Missing out on the first team at Everton is probably your biggest setback, Mustafi. ”

Mousse, who listened carefully, was silent, holding the paper cup and not knowing what he was thinking.

Hydward took a sip of water and continued: "You are just teammates and you kick me, or I kick you, when Icardi is playing football in the streets of Argentina, the opponent's lowest tackle is also at the height of his throat, only the strongest players can avoid such a ball, you play football is just a choice in life or a poor hobby, for them who come out of the slums, football is bread." ”

Mustafi is more silent, or more thinking, he actually doesn't like or hate the players from South America, they are free, they are loose, they are uneducated, they fight for every ball, their creativity, their unique personal style, they are more cunning, they are more desired, but they are not united, they have no tactics, they are not like a collective. Mustafi often talked about "football is cruel", tackles and bravery as glory, but now it seems more like a child's play.

Maybe only by struggling in the quagmire, rolling in the dirt, accompanied by drugs and crime, to fight a life that is not bleak, will they understand what football is for them, what is maturity, Mustafi is too delicate and not strong like a flower in a greenhouse, even if he can maintain his appearance to hide from the wind and rain, but still love the sun, he will wither, and no matter how gorgeous the appearance is when the storm comes, it cannot be blocked.

Ward stood up and patted his disciple's not too broad shoulder: "Mustafi, you are still far behind, I know that you are very talented, better than many people in the team, this determines your ceiling, but you must make your heart strong, he determines your lower limit, don't let yourself down." I hope that one day, you will be thankful for a week's salary that has been penalized, and that your fist should be directed at your opponent and not at your teammates. ”