Chapter 143: Midnight in Barcelona (Part I)
Li Mudi's previous plan was to use players on loan from Real Madrid such as Jesse to calm the fans in Turin, and then bring in one or two well-known players to keep them on the sidelines for the time being, and finally win one game at a time to completely win the recognition and support of the fans. Unfortunately, except for the first step, the rest of the rest were not very successful. Due to the relationship between money and the attractiveness of the team, Torino has not been able to buy any big-name stars, which has made many extreme fans express their dissatisfaction many times. And the victory in the Italian Cup, the opponent is too weak, naturally it can't prove how strong the new manager is. The next league opener was pressed to the ground by AC Milan, and if it weren't for the sudden explosion of the players in stoppage time, it would have been a complete defeat. As a result, the Red Bulls fans began to become unsettled, and anti-Lee Moody movement seemed to be on a large scale again, and it was said that the leaders of Granata had begun to plan some drastic boycotts.
Fortunately, in this game, the Torino team was very powerful, defeating Bologna, which is also a veteran Serie A powerhouse, with the largest score difference in the team's nearly 20 years, which instantly detonated the enthusiasm of the fans, and the previous suspicion and hostility also dissipated. Although the victory and defeat of a game does not mean much at all, the ordinary fans who really love football and love the Red Bull are so simple, they are not very demanding, as long as they can feel the joy of football, it is enough, a game can completely change the senses of the team manager or a player. As long as the team continues to perform well, then the fans are the most powerful and unbreakable support behind the club, the manager and the players, until the death!
At the post-match press conference, Li Mudi did not put on a high-spirited appearance, but was more cautious than after the last loss. Lao Tzu's famous saying, "Born without having, for the sake of not worrying, successful and prosperous." The husband is the best way to live, but not to go", is definitely a philosophy that people need to understand well in reality.
Out of respect for Donadoni, the Torino coach did not comment on how beautiful the game was, but only praised his players and skipped them all, and refused to answer a reporter's question about whether Bologna's tactics were unreasonable. He said: "It's just a win, it's not really time to celebrate, it's still a long way from the 37 points we can probably get relegated, so the focus is now on the next round of the league away to Atalanta. However, I am still very happy to achieve the two short-term goals of getting one point and one victory at one time, and as for the next long-term vision, it is natural to complete the small goal of winning streak. ”
The international break will be followed by the end of the European leagues, with Italy's new coach Ventura making his debut on 1 September against new European Cup runners-up France in Bari. Four days later, they will travel to Israel at the Samiofo Stadium in Haifa for the first round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Group G, along with Albania, Macedonia, Liechtenstein and Spain.
The former head coach of Torino announced the latest 26-man squad for the national team two days ago, and as expected, he recruited two favorite Belotti and Immobile, who once played for Torino and now joined Lazio, in addition to Pelle, who has already moved to Qilu of the Celestial Dynasty, and AC Milan's 17-year-old goalkeeper Donnarumma are also on the list. When the list was just announced, the media still had a lot of complaints about the red babe who missed a penalty at the San Siro and caused the team to lose, thinking that he was selected because of the connections of the old coach. However, after the "big four" in this round of the league, no one dares to question whether Belotti is qualified to wear the shirt of the Azzurri, after all, in terms of the current number of goals, he has scored five goals in two rounds, and he is the best striker in Italy, not one.
Li Mudi congratulated the team's core center after he was selected for the national team for the first time, hoping that he would not be complacent, learn more from the experienced big brothers, give them full respect, and lay a good mass foundation for the main force in the future. Later, he analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of his competitors Pelle, Eder, Gabbiadini, Immobile and others, as well as the offensive habits of other players, so that he could better understand these teammates, so that he could play to his strengths and avoid weaknesses in the training of the national team and strive to win the main position as soon as possible.
In fact, from the original intention of the Torino manager, he does not want the club's players to play more games in the national team, which will cause them to be overtired and lead to the possibility of more injury. But on the other hand, playing for the country is an unshirkable and honorable duty of every player, and this kind of thing cannot and should not be stopped. Therefore, it can only help him to become the main player of the national team, which can not only improve the status of the Torino club, but also prevent this important attacker from suffering from gains and losses because of that position, affecting his form and morale in the league.
Although the city of Bari, located in the southeast of the Apennine Peninsula, is not too far from the city of Turin, and it only takes more than an hour and a half to take a plane, which is very convenient, Li Mudi did not have time to watch this "double blue battle" on the spot, which should be very exciting. On the last night of August, he took a flight straight to Barcelona, but the reason for going there was not a good thing.
Nadal has been recovering from injury since retiring from the French Open and Wimbledon and became the only athlete in history to win gold in both singles and doubles at the Olympic Games in Rio in mid-August. By the way, there are really a lot of athletes who have achieved this achievement, almost every time in the first ten Olympic Games, someone has won the singles and doubles championship, and France's Massim also won the mixed doubles championship at the same time. However, after nearly 50 years, players who can win singles and doubles gold medals have become significantly rarer, and after the Williams sisters of the United States and the Chilean male player Nicolás Zhao Si - no, it is Nicolas Massu (not the ex-girlfriend of Kong Guide, it is a man), it is Rafa.
However, due to the injury at the Rio Olympics, he juggled both singles and doubles competitions, and his physical strength was seriously overdrawn, and his form has been poor since returning home, basically announcing that Nadal will be out early at the upcoming US Open, which has led to a conflict between him and his coach and uncle, Tony Nadal. The latter wants Rafa to retire from the US Open and the rest of the season to recover from his injury, but he himself is reluctant to miss out on any more Grand Slam events, as the gap between him and Federer on three Grand Slam trophies seems to be becoming more and more difficult to bridge as he gets older. Although he is five years younger than the Swiss king, the difference in playing style determines the huge difference in the physical injuries of the two men, and Rafa, who has long been scarred, estimates that he has little chance of becoming the No. 1 in history until he retires, so he will have to desperately seize every opportunity.
After a big fight between the uncle and nephew at their home in Mallorca, Rafa ran to Barcelona to find comfort in his girlfriend, who was working as a model there. His girlfriend's name is María Francesca Perero, nicknamed Sisca, two years younger than him, also from Mallorca, the two met when they were in school, and they can be regarded as childhood sweethearts. But even with his girlfriend by his side to take care of him, he still forced a smile every day and couldn't really return to a calm state of mind. So Siska excused himself for the success of the catwalk and invited many friends of the two to come to the party, wanting to let his friends help Rafa get out of the current low mood, Li Mudi was naturally one of the people who had to be present.
After coming out of Barcelona airport, which is located about 13 kilometers southwest of the city, the Turin coach took a taxi directly to the Eixample in the north of the city, and the hotel that Sisca had booked for him was at the northernmost end of the famous La Rambla, which was held in the evening of the next day, and he came a day earlier mainly to have time to have a good chat with Rafa, and if he had time, he also wanted to visit the world's largest city in Spain and the capital of the Catalan community. Take a look at the famous sights.
It is also very interesting to say, the time it takes to fly directly from Turin to Barcelona is even shorter than that of Bari in the same country, exactly 90 minutes, and you can imagine the small size of European countries and the proximity between countries. Li Mudi arrived at the hotel at close to midnight, so he didn't bother others, and after entering his room to wash up, he lay down directly to rest. I've been busy setting up training and preparing for the match against Bologna, and I've been in a state of high concentration for a long time, so I took advantage of a few days of relaxation between the national team breaks. But as soon as he suddenly relaxed, he was directly relieved, and he slept until half past twelve at noon the next day, if it weren't for Rafa's worry that he had no news for so long, it was estimated that Li Mudi would be able to sleep directly until night.
After getting up in a daze, and after doing a quick personal hygiene again, he walked out of the hotel and came to the apartment rented by Siska, not far from here. First they hugged the couple, and then greeted the other friends of the two who had already arrived. None of them were people he knew, either Nadal's previous practice buddies, or Sisca's modeling partner, and there might be some Spanish stars who would come, but unfortunately Li Mudi was not familiar with it at all.
After sitting in the living room for a while and having a drink, the hostess called on the female friends to go shopping and buy things, while the men followed the essentials and acted as flower messengers, leaving the room to Rafa and the Turin boss. Before the group of people left, Siska gave her boyfriend's good friend a helpless expression, it seemed that the persuasion of the previous few people did not work, but Li Mudi had no confidence to convince this stubborn donkey, so he had to try it head-on.
But before he could speak, he was dumbfounded by his good friend. Natto said without looking back as he sorted out his suitcase in the bedroom, "No one knows better than me what my physical condition is like." Although the wrist injury is far from being recovered, it is at least 90% better, and as long as you pay more attention during the game, there should not be too many problems. Even if the old injury recurs, I will be reimbursed directly for the season, and I will not be able to play in the year-end finals, so I can use these few months to recuperate and start again next year. After that, he stopped his movements and turned to look at Li Mudi, with a resolute expression, and then continued to explain in a firm tone: "It's been more than two years since I last won the championship trophy of a Grand Slam tournament, and I have missed nine chances, and no one knows how many more chances God will give me." The last time Roger (referring to Federer) won the championship was in 2012, and our time seems to have passed, but I am not reconciled! I am not willing to let go of the racket that I have held for 27 years, as long as I can still play and fight, I will never back down. Roger now has 17 Grand Slam titles and I'm three years away, so trying to surpass him until I can't play anymore is my ultimate goal as a tennis player. ”
Nadal is perhaps one of the most contrasting athletes in the history of world sports, he is always so low-key and humble, often uses polite language when talking to people, is not only often shy, but also a little childish, especially when he was young There were various anecdotes (interested book friends can search for it on their own, it's funny). But once he's on the pitch or on the training ground, he's instantly transformed into the passionate, domineering king of clay, with aggressive eyes that can make his opponents tremble. On top of that, he also has a very strong obsessive-compulsive disorder, and items such as headbands, water bottles, socks, and towels have extremely strict rules for the use and placement of anything, and after picking them up, they must be put back in their original position impartially. Of course, he is best known for his compulsive action of having to adjust his pants (or panties) before each serve, which is a sign of his extremely stubborn, unrelenting character that does not hit the south wall. In short, when he decided that something or someone was in his heart, it was difficult for outsiders to change him, and Li Mudi, who was a good friend, could only bless him on the sidelines.
Seeing that the other party dispelled but said that he had his thoughts, Rafa was very happy, got up and put his arm around the shoulder of the Turin coach, and said with a smile: "The party in the evening is very grand, we booked a very big hotel as the venue, and hired professional personnel to decorate the scene, I believe it will be very interesting." Let's have a few drinks then...... Drinks, and then take me to the airport, the US Open is about to start, and if I'm late, I'm sure it's going to be big news. ”