After training on 8 December, Mazzoni began to announce his squad for Portugal in the dressing room.

"Starters, goalkeeper Castellazzi, defenders Dainelli, Petroch, Stankovicius, Martinez, midfielders Pep Guardiola, Di Biagio, Mattuzalen, forwards Baggio, Toni, Zhang... Subs, Viviano, Mareco, Pisano, Guana, Baccini, Filippini, Caracciolo... ”

Every time he pronounces a name, the eyes of the Brescia players light up. By the time Mazzoni finished reading the 18-man squad, the excitement on the faces of the players was palpable.

The 18-man squad includes all the main players and key substitutes, which means that the players are certainly clear about what the manager thinks.

There were also players who were privately worried that the team would choose to give up the game conservatively when the group was determined to qualify, but now it seems that this is just their overthinking.

"Aha! This time it's a good look for the Portuguese! As soon as Mazzoni finished speaking, Stankovicus couldn't wait to shout loudly.

"That's right! We're going to let those rats hiding in their burrows know that it's awesome! "Although the all-out squad means that Barchini is unlikely to start, it seems that he doesn't care.

Zhang Shu also jumped on the stool and waved his arms, "They stole three points from our home stadium!" This time we're going to their home stadium to get it back! Porto! ”

"Porto!"

With Zhang Shu's words, the young players shouted this slogan loudly.

Mazzoni stood aside, a little glad he had made the right choice. Looking at the excitement of the players, if he really strategically gave up this game early, the team's physical strength may be restored a little, but the blow to the team's morale may be much bigger than he imagined.

And in the other corner of the dressing room, Guardiola and Igor, who are holding their arms, are also exchanging ideas.

"Pep, I feel like I've learned something again." Igor said as he scribbled in his notebook.

Pep Guardiola nodded, looking at the warm atmosphere in the dressing room with the same thoughtfulness.

The head coach is of course the highest authority in a team, but at some point the head coach must also follow the players' ideas, and if the players are forced to do what they want with an iron fist, even if the right decision is made, it is easy to fail to achieve the goal due to the player's disgust and reluctance.

Many assistant coaches are actually very good at tactics, but they lack the skills to control the dressing room and interact with the players, so they will not be able to be a good manager for the rest of their lives. And some head coaches, although the training and deployment are not excellent, but with their own charm, the team is willing to play 120% of the effort, and finally can get good coaching results.

Of course, this is not to say that tactical ability is not important. If you can grasp the hearts of all the players and have the tactical quality yourself, such a manager can be called a top manager.

That's what Guardiola wants to be.

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Brescia rushed to Portugal in a murderous manner, and everyone felt that they were full of power in their bodies and couldn't wait to vent on Porto.

However, their blood full of revenge was poured cold in Porto's face.

At the end of the game, the score was fixed at 0:2.

The Brescia players walked back to the locker room with complicated expressions against the boos of the away fans at the Dragon Stadium, and Zhang Shu's expression was still a little dazed, as if he was wondering, "The game ended like this?" ”

If a fan had just turned on the TV and saw this scene, he would have thought that Brescia had lost the game again.

But the scoreboard shows it clearly, the home team Porto in front with 0 points, and the away team Brescia in the back with 2 points.

In this game, Mourinho put Costa, Silva, Bosinga, Maniche, McCarthy and other main players in the stands, and faced them with a semi-main lineup, and the result can be imagined, Baggio and Toney each scored a goal in the second half to help Brescia win easily 2:0.

It's just that such a victory is completely unsatisfying for the Brescia players who are bent on revenge, just like a swordsman who has been practicing hard for ten years to find revenge on the master who defeated him back then, only to meet the master and find that the other party didn't even bother to put on a posture and directly admit defeat.

Why is the priest hated, because for the victor, it is also a surrender, and the opponent makes an understatement, 'Well, you won.' 'Rather than gnashing my teeth,' I choose death. 'It's much more lethal.

Originally, when they saw that Porto actually sent half of the substitutes, the enraged Brescia players also planned to use a big score to teach Porto a lesson, but they didn't expect that although Mourinho's team changed half of them, the defensive intensity did not decrease much. Zhang Shu worked hard throughout the game, but only got two assists.

It's frustrating enough to hit the sandbag with a heavy punch that has been accumulating for a long time, and it is no wonder that the expressions of the Brescia players after the game are like that.

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"Congratulations." Mourinho, who lost the ball, took the initiative to shake hands with Mazzoni with a calm expression, and Mazzoni squinted his eyes, as if he wanted to see the young man in front of him clearly.

But Mourinho quickly pulled his hand out of Mazzoni's hand, nodded slightly to the old boss, and then turned to return to the dressing room.

"I didn't expect you to give up this game so simply." A voice came from behind, Mourinho's footsteps paused, and Guardiola, who stepped off the field, stopped straight in front of his friend, "I thought you were the kind of person who would never admit defeat." ”

"I'm not admitting defeat, I'm just not willing to show my edge." Mourinho's calm face finally changed a little, and the corners of his mouth turned up on one side, and he grinned, barely half a smile. 'Chelsea's elimination was a big upset in the eyes of others and I don't want to be the focus of other teams...

Pep Guardiola frowned, "If you finish second in the group, it is very likely that you will draw those big teams." ”

'In terms of quality, if those teams value us, it's not easy for us to win any team. But on the other hand... Mourinho's grin widened, and Guardiola could faintly see the sharp canines under his lips, "If they ignore us... ”

Mourinho didn't say the rest, but Guardiola understood what he meant, but soon Guardiola thought of another question.

"Deliberately abandoning the game, aren't you afraid that your players will be dissatisfied?"

"It doesn't matter if they like me or not, because they know they can win by doing what I say." Mourinho's head tilted back, making him look more and more arrogant. "Professional players and coaches are essentially just working relationships. I am only responsible for the final result. ”

"But do you use a loss to paralyze the opponent in the round of 16? Pep Guardiola shook his head, "I don't think it's worth the cost. In case of losing... ”

"Pep," Mourinho interrupted, "no, not just for the round of 16, but for you to attract attention, I think this neglect of us will continue much longer." ”

Seeing that Guardiola was a little puzzled, he continued.

"I don't know what your coaching staff thinks, but I guessed it. At first, I just came to the Champions League for a walk, and after a few rounds, I set the goal of qualifying from the group, and after the group qualified, the goal became to enter the top 8, so I will fight for the first place in the group, for the advantage of the draw for the round of 16. ”

"When you get to the top 8, you will think about how to get into the top 4, the semi-finals, the finals, in short, take one step at a time." "But for me, there has always been only one goal for the entire Champions League, so I will use all means to pave the way for the final goal... ”

"You don't think I've gained more than I gained, and yes, if we were eliminated in the round of 16, my initiative to give up the top spot in the group today would have been considered the wrong choice by the newspapers and commentators."

"But so what."

"Some managers will simply let the team press out against the team when they are facing an impossible team to beat, and choose a beautiful way to die, in my opinion, this is the real coward. Just for the sake of commenting after the game, the false name of 'although defeated, but still honorable', I gave up the possibility of victory. ”

"I would never do such a thing, even if I was pressed to the ground, covered in mud, ugly, and looked so embarrassed, that if I lost the game, I would be ridiculed and criticized ten times as much after the game, but I don't care, at least I still have a chance to win... Just get up from the muddy water before anyone else expects it, and plunge the dagger into the heart of your opponent. ”

'It's like this in one game, it's like it in a cup. For me, only the result matters. ”

Jose Mourinho ended his tirade. These extreme words were calmly uttered by him, as if they were normal remarks.

Guardiola was frightened by his friend's words, and it took a while to put away his surprised expression. "José... I'm sorry, but even if you say that, I think you're aiming too far this time, it's the Champions League, not the UEFA Cup you played in last year. He said with a smile and in a joking tone, trying to lighten up the serious atmosphere.

But Mourinho is serious.

'From my first day as a manager, every time, my goal was that one.

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Pep Guardiola doesn't know what it takes to be a good manager in the past few days, but he doesn't need to rush to digest it.

He still has a lot of time, so much that he can calm down and go to the chaff.

He was able to learn tactics and how to win the hearts of the dressing room around Mazzoni, and he was able to see if his friend's slightly radical ideas could actually lead to a good outcome.

Now for him and Brescia, winning the next games is the most important thing.

Brescia, who won the game but was unhappy, returned to Italy and vented his frustration on his league opponents.

In the 13th round of Serie A, with Baggio resting, Brescia defeated Empoli 5:2 at home, and Di Biagio opened the scoring soon after the opening of the first half with a corner cross from Guardiola, but Empoli equalized with a corner kick five minutes later.

Just when Empoli thought that the game was back on the same running line, Zhang Shu cooperated with Bacchini and received a through ball from Bacchini on the line of the penalty area to form a single knife, and in the face of the attacking goalkeeper, he pushed the far corner to help Brescia exceed the score again.

Immediately before halftime, Zhang Shu used a long-range shot to expand the score to 3:1.

Mazzoni replaced Pep Guardiola early in the second half, but Brescia's attack was not affected too much. By the 75th minute of the game, Mazzoni replaced Zhang Shu at the break, and the score on the field had become 5:1.

It wasn't until the final stoppage time that Empoli scored another face-saving goal.

Mazzoni was in a happy mood after the win, and although it was the second leg of the Coppa Italia against Modena three days later, he still gave most of the players who played in this game a day off, after all, he had already made up his mind to let the substitutes play in the Coppa Italia, so it would be no problem to give the main players a day off.

Of course, the players who did not get the holiday will not feel psychologically unbalanced, for these substitute players, there is a game to play for them, a day off for a chance to perform in front of the manager and the home crowd, this deal is simply too good deal!

So when they saw Zhang Shu in training clothes and sneakers on the training ground the next day, they were surprised.

"Zhang, what are you doing here? Kicked out of the house by your girlfriend and has nowhere to go? Bacchini came over with a hippie smile: "You play for a while, and when our training is over, my brother will take you to find a new one?" ”

Although Bacchini played in the league with Empoli, Mazzoni did not give him a holiday because he was still required to play in the Coppa Italia. Of the young players and long-term substitutes on the pitch right now, he's pretty much the most high-profile of the players.

Of course, the word "almost" is used because the vice-captain Filippini is also there.

"Don't listen to his nonsense, Zhang, are you here to practice today?" Filippini walked over and asked.

Zhang Shu smiled and nodded to the team deputy and ran straight to Mazoni on the sidelines.

"Daddy, I want to participate in today's training."

"Well, okay, let's go to the queue." Mazzoni smiled happily and bent his eyes, it is rare for Zhang Shu to achieve such good results and work so hard, give up his vacation to practice, which coach doesn't like such a talented and hard-working young player?

But Zhang's next sentence made Mazzoni unable to laugh.

"Dad, I want to play in the next game against Modena."