Nine days is not a long time, but it is not a short time.

When everyone was training hard, nine days passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, nine days passed.

Before deciding who would make the squad, Victorious had all the players do a side.

The results showed that three people were not able to meet the target.

There is also a main player in the trio Benzema.

Chang Sheng stood in front of Benzema with an apologetic face.

Benzema also knew what was waiting for him, and he lowered his head.

"It's really just a little bit closer, Karim." Chang Sheng said to him. "But I'm sorry, it's a rule, and everyone has to follow it. So, you go to the reserves for a week. When you're physically up to the first team's requirements, I'll let you come back. ”

Benzema didn't say anything, he already knew the style of the manager. He was very concerned about discipline.

Originally, he thought that he would be able to reduce the fat content to a standard state after a few days of assault and increase his explosive power.

I didn't think so.

※※※

And so Karim went to the reserves to report. And in the first game of the new year, when Lazio hosted Genoa, the player who appeared in the right winger position was not Benzema, but Cazorla.

Benzema didn't even make the squad. He watched the game from the stands.

Lazio beat Genoa 2-1 at home, and Cazorla was very lively with no goal but one assist.

Benzema watched his team-mate's performance from the stands and knew that even if he returned to the first team, it didn't mean that he would be back in the main team immediately. To get the main lineup, he has to work harder. Then snatch the main position from Cazorla's hands......

The media did not question why Benzema did not play, because Chang Sheng often plays rotation, which player is on and which player is not on is normal, there is nothing strange about it, if you have to ask, Chang Sheng has ** all answers: "Because I am in rotation." ”

What's the point of asking such a question?

※※※

A week later, Benzema and two other players were back in the first team. After examination, they were all in good health.

Chang Sheng felt that this problem was solved.

The team will start the second half of the season with a fighting spirit.

The situation during the holidays was just a small episode.

Unexpectedly, he later found out that everything actually started from that holiday.

Three days later, in the Coppa Italia, Lazio beat Reggina 3-0 at home to reach the quarter-finals.

Lazio, who have won seven in a row in all competitions, look to be on their way.

No one can stop them.

Immediately afterward, Lazio suffered their first defeat in the league.

Round 19. They lost 3-1 away to Napoli!

Edinson Cavani featured in this game, but played as a right midfielder and had a mediocre performance.

For this victory of Naples, he has very little credit.

Even the commentators didn't expect Lazio's first league defeat to come like this.

Before the game, everyone thought that although Lazio was playing away from home, it was still not a big problem to play promoted Napoli.

I didn't think I would lose......

This failure may be considered accidental.

But then "Milan Sports Newspaper" revealed that Nochirino was dissatisfied with playing as a substitute and wanted to get more opportunities to play.

The reporter who reported on this article is still the same reporter who reported on Falcao's possible transfer. Pacheco.

The article said that the reporter interviewed Nocerino, who was not very satisfied with his current situation. Lazio's midfielders include Luka Modric, Khedira, Inle, Ledesma, Cazorla, Nocerino. Cazorla often made cameos between strikers and midfielders. So in fact, there are only five players who are really fixed in the midfield: Modric, Khedira, Inle, Ledesma and Nocerino.

And Lazio's approach in each game is three in midfield.

Three of the five were substituted for two. It stands to reason that this should be a very reasonable configuration.

Coupled with the fact that the winning team is in rotation, every player will have a lot of opportunities to play.

So Nocerino's chances of playing are actually quite a lot.

Last season, including substitute appearances, he made 21 league appearances.

As a non-main player. There are not many opportunities to play like this.

But Nocerino doesn't seem to be willing to continue to be this kind of rotation player. He wants to get more appearances.

“…… I'm almost twenty-three years old, and I think I'm ready to take on the higher intensity of the competition......"

Through the media, Nocerino made such a request to Chang Sheng.

In fact, the team is not satisfied with their current situation. It's not uncommon to ask the manager for it.

But Nocerino's actions made Tsuneki unhappy.

Because he didn't come directly to himself. Evil is through the media!

What does this mean? This is in the hope that the media will exert pressure on themselves...... Thus forcing himself to accede to his request.

His calculations were good, but at the same time, he also exposed the inside of the team's locker room, providing a perfect fodder for the hype for journalists who were afraid of the chaos in the world.

Now that Lazio's results are so good that they have become the target of public criticism, the media must be eager to find some trouble for Lazio...... However, due to Chang Sheng's strict management of the dressing room, he did not allow the players to talk about the inside of the dressing room during interviews.

So the media has not been able to find the right material and excuses.

As a result, now Nocerino's complaint has given the media such a chance!

Sure enough, there was a journalist commentary column at the bottom of the report in Milan Sport, which talked about the crisis within Lazio.

"For most of us, Lazio is a united team, united around a coaching team that is always at the core and working towards a common goal. But Nocerino's words make us realize that perhaps this is not the case......

"When he was in Spain, the Spanish media gave him a nickname, which was not very good. But Chang himself was complacent. 'Tyrant', that's what the people of Spain call him. It's a fitting nickname, because the way you control the locker room is really no different from a 'tyrant'. He rules with repression from within, and anyone who dares to challenge his authority will be thrown into the cold by him. Let's think about Zahovic in Valencia at that time, and what happened to him can be said to be very typical...... But as the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance. So there is actually an undercurrent in Lazio's dressing room...... I'll just say the simplest - who wants to pay no more than two million euros a year all the time? ”

The author of this journalist op-ed is also Brenaud. Pacheco.

※※※

After resuming training on Monday, Tsuneshi found Nocerino.

"What do you think, Antonio. Can you tell me what you thought when you were interviewed by this man? ”

Chang Sheng asked Nocerino in a bad tone.

Nocerino defended himself with a look of trepidation: "The reporter misinterpreted my words...... I didn't say anything like that! ”

Chang Sheng clasped his hands around his chest. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at Nocerino: "Then what did you say?" ”

"Uh...... I was just...... Uh......" Nocerino couldn't say.

"Do you want to play more? Antonio? Now congratulations. You're not going to get any more plays. Chang Sheng didn't have the patience to wait for him to say, he could guess, so he told Nocerino that he had made the final verdict.

Nocerino looked up. Some looked at Chang Sheng with some horror.

'I can't let my players have the impression in their minds that if I go to the media and make a fuss, I can get what I want, whether it's playing or salary. Even if I was going to give you more chances, it's gone. ”

Chang Sheng spread his hands.

"I'm sorry, Antonio. But that's the discipline of the team. Everyone must comply. I remember when you first joined the team, someone would have told you that you weren't allowed to tell the media about the dressing room......"

Nocerino was a little anxious: "But it's not inside the locker room, it's my business......"

"You can talk to me about your request. I've never refused to talk to any player individually. The door to my office is open to you at any time. Why don't you come to me and talk to the media? ”

Hearing this, Nocerino was a little frustrated, and he lowered his head again. Weakly said: "At that time, I just talked about ...... in passing"

"You should know that journalists have a lot of traps when they interview you. Just waiting for you to step on it. You're not just making your debut, Antonio. You are responsible for what you do. ”

※※※

In this way, no matter what Nocerino thinks in his heart, he must accept the punishment of winning - a three-game ban from the team. Then to see the after-effects.

But the Nocerino affair was just an introduction.

Chang Sheng keenly found some problems from this incident.

The first is the stirring up of media reporters. "Milan Sport" seems to be eyeing its own dressing room this time.

The second is that there is an undercurrent surging within the team.

They are top of the league table, and even if they lose a game, they are still four points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.

In the Champions League, they comfortably qualified for the group stage with a top-ch finish.

The team's results have exceeded everyone's expectations, and this is their third season, the second after the big change.

To be able to have such a performance, even the Lazio players did not expect it.

Happiness seems to have come too suddenly.

When victory has become a habit and a habit, how many people will care?

At this time, the players are not thinking more about winning on the pitch, but after they have achieved fame, they should think about their income.

It's human nature.

But this will affect the team's combat effectiveness. When everyone's mind is not on the game, how can the game be played?

Chang Sheng found the clue by linking the Nocerino affair with the team's previous performance during the holidays.

Something seems to be going on inside this team.

And this kind of change is what Chang Sheng does not want to see.

To put it bluntly, this team is losing the motivation to fight and move forward little by little.