Chapter 19 The Return
If AC Milan is compared to a skinny camel, then Manchester City are a fat horse that eats the grass of the night.
So, when two teams collide, the most interesting thing is not in the stadium, but in the thoughts of the fans on both sides.
At this time, AC Milan fans have not yet seen Manchester City need to laugh at themselves as friends in a few years, but Manchester City fans can't wait to see their team knock out AC Milan, who claim to have Champions League genes, even if it is just a warm-up game with an inconsequential result.
After the phone gate, Serie A Inter Milan dominated, AC Milan was not as unlucky as Juventus, but it was also deducted points, and it was even more stupid in the transfer market, and they soon discovered that holding hands that looked beautiful does not necessarily mean that the ending was beautiful, and not every handsome manager can become Guardiola, at least not Leonardo. AC Milan trailed Inter Milan by as much as 12 points in the league last season, and cities with derbies often mean hell on the other side if one side is heaven, and Milan City is no exception.
So, Leonardo was gone, and Allegri came.
Like many managers, Allegri had an uneventful career as a player, and then after that career he ended his career, he became the manager, sitting up from the small team Agrianse, stepping up to Cagliari, and then, with Cagliari's success, finally won the favor of AC Milan.
In this warm-up game, Robinho did not appear, after his loan contract with Santos expired on July 18, he also had a "World Cup holiday", and did not return to the team until last week, of course, although he and Adriano and other Brazilian fellows have talked and laughed, but many people know psychologically that he is no longer a teammate.
Robinho returned to Europe, not to Manchester. Instead, he went to Milan and underwent a medical examination with AC Milan.
The transfer fee is the same as the previous agreement: 18 million, plus 2 million conditional floats.
The fifth purge, so that Manchester City's transfer balance sheet that had just become negative because of Yaya Toure's transfer turned into a surplus in an instant, and there was no less.
Etuhu two million, Onuoha five million, Petrov free transfer, Ireland nine million, Robinho eighteen million. Five purges, Manchester City received 34 million, deducting 25 million from the introduction of Yaya Toure, this year's transfer budget is equal to a single cent, and 9 million more.
However, this does not mean that Manchester City just made it, you know, just two years ago, Robinho also cost Manchester City more than 40 million. This also means that just Robinho's transfer has lost more than 20 million. Such a loss, even if it is placed in a midstream club. It's probably a season of great vitality, but for Manchester City, it's just an investment that is not a success.
Because, sign Robinho. They get more than what people see.
Allegri, who was nicknamed embarrassed by domestic fans because of his worried expression, was in high spirits at this time, and the last warm-up game. AC Milan won 4-1, and although no one cared about the result of the warm-up game, it was also a big win, and he still ruled out the strongest starters in this warm-up game.
Stars such as Pato and Ronaldo were on the field.
And Linsen, who ushered in all the players, finally stopped mixing and matching this time, but seriously put out a starting lineup that the English commentator thought could be Manchester City's starting lineup in the new season: Hart/Richards, Kompany, David Luiz, Bridge/Yaya Toure, Vidal/Robben, David Silva, Bale/Suarez.
Yes, David Silva entered the starting line-up, and this was not the farewell match that Linsen arranged for the Spaniard, because Linson and David Silva reached an agreement that only two people know.
Then, Manchester City got off to a fantastic start.
Five minutes, two goals ahead.
It was Suarez and ...... who scored the goal Yaya Toure.
Allegri, who was in high spirits, suddenly became an embarrassed uncle.
Fortunately, at the end of the first half, Ronaldo pulled one back for AC Milan with a beautiful free-kick. Just when Allegri was about to have a duel with Linsen in the second half, Linsen stopped playing with him in the second half, and he replaced five players at once.
These include Yaya Toure, who is making his first appearance for Manchester City, David Silva and Arjen Robben, who have just returned to the club, as well as goalscorer Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale, who has assisted two goals.
In the second half, AC Milan scored another goal.
In the end, the two teams shook hands.
It was precisely after this game that AC Milan announced on their official website the signing of Robinho from Manchester City -
After the match against AC Milan, Manchester City travel to Baltimore, Maryland, USA, which will be their last stop in the United States, as they will return to England after this game, and then on August 8 they will have their first real warm-up game of the new season at Wembley Stadium: the Community Shield between the league winners and the FA Cup winners, and before that, their last opponent in the United States: Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid.
This is the second time Linsen and Mourinho have met on the field, and the third time they have met.
The last time they met on the pitch, both were managers of the other team, and now, with one eyeing the Champions League title and the other the Europa League title, Mourinho's mood seemed completely unaffected by David Silva in the pre-match press conference, and he even joked with Linsen on the spot.
On the issue of David Silva, Mourinho's hopes are lagging behind, at least temporarily.
The inability to bring in David Silva is not a problem for Mourinho, but for Baldano, because Mourinho's request for a left winger has not changed, David Silva can come best, but if he can't, Baldano must find another candidate, and if he wants to continue to maintain his interest in David Silva, then this "replacement" candidate still needs to be considered.
In desperation, Baldano could only re-aim at Ozil, who had been temporarily put on hold, but it is said that he is still arguing with Bremen for the transfer fee for the time being.
Jose Mourinho opted to ignore David Silva and focus on the game, while Linson chose to announce one thing at this time, and that was the closing of the transfer window for Manchester City: yes. If there are no surprises, I think Yaya will be the only signing we make this summer and I'm happy with the team, maybe there may be a few players who may leave, but I think we have the most important additions.
In the warm-up match against Real Madrid, Linsen made the same start as he did against AC Milan a few days ago, but this time, Manchester City's game did not go so easily, and the two sides played 0-0 in the first half. From the scoreline it may seem like a dull match, but in reality, for the fans watching the game, the game was unusually exciting, as neither side was conservative and neither side lacked talent for individual technical pleasing eyes.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Manchester City's Arjen Robben, David Silva......
The formation on both sides is 4231, which means that the two sides are bound to battle it out in midfield, in addition to the exciting side duel, there is also a duel at the back that both Mourinho and Linsen are extremely concerned about. Mourinho's "two" in this game is Xavi Alonso with Khedira, while Linson's "two" is Yaya Toure with Vidal.
It should be said that both sides have the same thing in this regard, but there are still slight differences.
Linson began experimenting with having Yaya Toure split David Silva's offensive playmaking. Obviously, Mourinho handed over the "position" of midfield commander to Xavi Alonso, so compared to Manchester City, Real Madrid's lineup is actually closer to 442. Kaka in the forward position looks more like a nine-and-a-half role in a lot of the time.
Two settings, different paths to the same end.
But the effect. Obviously, for the time being, Real Madrid has the upper hand.
The reason is simple, unlike the newcomer Yaya Toure, Xavi Alonso has taken over the command for a season, and he has the advantage in every aspect.
In the 67th minute, Xavi Alonso's long pass set Kaka into the back of the net.
And the score of 1-0 also maintained the end of the game.
Ending the trip to the United States with a defeat is not what Lin Sen wants to see, and he really wants to win this game, because like the previous games, he only made four adjustments in this game, but the game was still lost.
Five warm-up matches, one win, one draw and three losses.
That's a terrible achievement.
After the game, Linson and Mourinho had another small chat.
Lin Sen thought that his meeting with Mourinho might probably talk about something, but the fact is that the two sides are still the same as the previous two meetings, each topic is superficial, a little bit, especially the "David Silva" who stirred the nerves of both sides, and did not mention a word, after Mourinho left, Lin Sen smiled a little self-deprecatingly in his heart.
Perhaps, in Mourinho's eyes, such "poaching" is just a normal thing in the football world.
The day after the match against Real Madrid, the whole Manchester City team boarded the plane back to Manchester -
Manchester City officially announced their sixth and seventh purges on August 1, and if Weiss's loan to La Liga Betis is not a surprise, then Bellamy's final choice to join Cardiff City in the Championship is a big surprise.
You know, last season's Bellamy was even Manchester City's rotation player, and his performance was excellent, after Bellamy's entry into the transfer market this season, many Premier League teams, including Tottenham, expressed interest, but Bellamy's annual salary Welshman's transfer was delayed again and again, but Bellamy finally rejected all Premier League teams, and chose his hometown team Cardiff City, and Cardiff City is also the club that Bellamy followed as a child, in Bellamy's words, this is called a dream come true.
Of course, the reason why Manchester City will accept this free loan is not entirely the beauty of adults, but also the willingness of the other party to bear the full salary of Bellamy. (To be continued......)