After completing their victory over Sunderland, York City travelled to Hull City.

With the Europa League group stage against Atalanta coming up in the middle of next week, Scaloni has made some changes to his squad for this game.

Scamacca is the central striker, Huang Zichang on the left wing, Kulusevski on the right, Karlström, Barella and Rice in the midfield, Di Marco, Bastoni, Westermann and Tomiyasu in the back line from left to right, and Onana in goalkeeper.

There were a lot of changes, mainly because the game against Atalanta was still more important, with nine points and York City battling it out for top spot in the group with 10 points.

If they fall to second place in the group, there is a high probability that they will meet the team eliminated from the Champions League in the draw for the round of 32 after qualifying, which is something that both teams want to avoid as much as possible.

And such a big rotation did not affect York City's performance too much.

The attacking combination up front completely broke down Hull's backline, with the trio responsible for all five goals of the game, with Scamacca netting a hat-trick and Huang Zichang and Kulusevski scoring a goal each.

Of course, the front trio also relied on the control of the midfield, and Karlström led the two youngsters to basically not let Hull City's midfield take advantage of anything.

The 5-0 sweep of Hull City also gave York City a lead in the Championship.

After 18 rounds, York City only lost once, drew one, but won 16 games!

Wolves, who are in second place, have drawn 2 games and lost 3 games.

Such a performance gap has also allowed York City to be 8 points away from Wolves in the standings.

And if you compare it with Cardiff City, which is in third place, it has a 12-point advantage!

The format of promotion from the Championship to the Premier League is the same as that of promotion from League One to the Championship, that is, the top two are directly promoted, and the third to sixth are played in the play-offs, so for York City, it is only necessary to keep an eye on the difference between the third place and themselves.

But with a huge 12-point advantage in just 18 rounds and the look to be getting better and better, there is a growing belief that York City has already secured a promotion spot early this year.

Some football experts have pointed out that what York City is playing now is not at all the football that can be played at the level of the Championship.

442 magazine devotes a column to the current success of Yorktown.

They point out that a football match is made up of countless confrontations in small areas. York City, on the other hand, is usually very clever in running off the ball, coupled with the individual ability of the players, to overcome the opponent in the confrontation in a small area, and then overwhelm the opponent in the whole situation.

This style of play was not so obvious at the beginning of the season, but now the strength of this team has improved by leaps and bounds, especially the individual players.

Take a look at York City's midfielders, whether it is the original Baker, Amand, Lin Liangming, Kulusevski, or Leao and Scamacca who just joined this year, including Tonali in the midfield, Barella, De Jong, etc., each of them is a player with strong individual ability.

Not to mention in the Championship, even if it is in the Premier League, there are not many players who can eat them in a one-on-one confrontation.

In particular, the column pointed out that many of these young players were players who couldn't even play in the professional league before coming to York City, but after the owner Pan Yi personally brought them into the team, both physically and technically, they have improved by leaps and bounds.

Many of them have been selected for their national teams, especially the world's biggest teams such as Italy, Portugal, England and the Netherlands will choose to go to a Championship team to recruit players, which shows how strong they are now.

"442" magazine also mentioned the construction of the entire academy system in York City under the leadership of Pan Yi.

They believe that York City's youth team is one of the most technically detail-oriented of any English team, and also has a strong focus on the combination of players in small areas.

This makes York City from the first team to the youth team, all the skills and tactics are in the same line, so when Kvaratskhelia, Huang Zichang, and Saliba performed well in the youth team, they were immediately promoted to the first team and could have a good performance immediately.

Conversely, instead of attacking to encourage technical and cross-cutting coordination, York City advocates restricting space when defending.

From the forwards to the front of the attack, they formed a number of defensive lines to limit the opponent's attacking space, especially in the defensive area at the edge of the York City penalty area, the opponent almost always could not find a chance.

This defensive system makes it difficult for York City's opponents to play high quality in the final pass, thus missing the opportunity to score.

Finally, 442 magazine believes that York City may have been thought by many at the start of the season that they were too young, with too many players under the age of 20, but no one is sure to think that way now.

This team is more than a step above the other teams in the Championship as a whole, and the individual quality of the players, combined with the technical and tactical level of the team, will be difficult to beat.

This can be seen in the bookmaker's odds.

At present, York City is the biggest favorite among all Championship teams to win the championship promotion, and the odds are even as low as an all-time low, which is probably that if you invest 100 yuan to bet on York City to win the Championship title, you can only get back less than 120 yuan in the end.

In addition to "442" magazine, some media even more fiercely.

"World Football" magazine believes that York City is not actually a quasi-Premier League team, but a quasi-Champions League team!

They feel that if this team follows the current state, as long as the players do not undergo major changes, after reaching the Premier League, they may become the hottest dark horse and start to attack the BIG6 position.

Although everyone knows that the Premier League and the Championship are two levels of leagues, there is a big difference in quality between each other.

Over the years, there have been many teams that have performed well in the Championship, but when they reach the Premier League, they can only fight for relegation, and many of them are finally relegated;

But they think York City is different, this team is surprisingly stable and really strong.

It's not uncommon for Championship teams to have internationals, but when have you ever seen so many internationals, many of them ranked among the best in the world?

In an interview with the outside media, as the head coach of York City, Scaloni refused to comment on the team's goal after promotion to the Premier League.

He believes that first of all, the team has not been promoted yet, and the relegation target stated at the beginning of the season has not changed. The current results only make the team more hopeful of relegation!

Secondly, the team is now facing a third-tier battle, all he has to think about is how to play every game, and for a promoted team, that's the key.

Finally, the key Europa League battle with Atalanta is about to be ushered in, so I hope the media will not be too hyped to avoid the young players in the team being affected!

——

Atalanta's recent form in Serie A has been getting better and better.

This previously unimpressive small team rose to prominence in Serie A last season, winning fourth place, which is also their best ranking in Serie A history.

If it weren't for the sluggish performance of Serie A teams in Europe in recent seasons, resulting in only three Champions League places in Serie A, they would have gone to the Champions League this season in history.

The main reason for this is that they brought in the Italian coach Gasperini last season.

Under his stewardship, Atalanta have made bold use of young players and played beautiful attacking football, making them a formidable force in Serie A.

In the team, Slovenian Josip Ilicic, who usually plays in the shadow striker or midfield position, is the core player of Atalanta and can be said to be the brain of the team.

Regarding the trip to Yorkshire, Ilicic also said in an interview with the media that although York City has been in good form recently, Atalanta will definitely try to win.

Only a win over York City will ensure that Atalanta can reach the round of 32 and get a head start in the race for top of the group.

York City, who are sitting at home, also did not dare to take Ilicic lightly, and in this game, Scaloni even asked Rice, who started the game, to stare at Ilicic and not give him any chance.

At the same time, Scaloni also allowed De Ligt at the back to press forward and not leave much room for Ilicic to move.

Among the midfield generals, it can be said that all of them are all-round hexagonal warriors, but Rice's defensive ability is still a little more prominent.

Especially for his reckless running and excellent technical and tactical execution in the game, Scaloni was convinced that when he asked Rice to keep an eye on Ilicic, Rice would definitely complete his task without compromise.

In fact, including the previous away game against Atalanta, Rice did not give Ilicic too many chances to cause trouble.

He knows that Ilicic has excellent skills, strong ability to protect the ball, good ball handling, and strong ability to break through.

So Rice will not blindly grab it, but firmly jam his position, no matter how he shakes when he dribbles the ball, Rice just doesn't move like a mountain, not confused by his feints.

But once Ilicic wants to pass through Rice's area, Rice will still attack decisively and not let him pass comfortably.

Considering that Ilicic also has an excellent direct free-kick skill, Rice will also try to avoid his own fouls and settle the battle in a cleaner way.

Rice is getting smarter and smarter to play football now.

In this game, he no longer used his body to foul as often as he did in the early days;

He was smarter in using small moves that would not be judged a foul, which made Ilicic very unbearable, and frequently protested to the referee, but each time he failed to get the result he wanted.

When Atalanta's core starts to play uncomfortably, then they don't feel comfortable as a team.

York City, on the other hand, played well, and in the 37th minute of the first half, De Jong broke through with a high-speed dribble in the middle and fired a long-range shot from the edge of the box to give the team a home lead.

Then, Leao assisted Baker to score another goal at the beginning of the second half!

After conceding two goals in a row, Atalanta also played more and more impatiently.

Ilicic, who has been guarded against temper, was also more anxious, and in a confrontation with Rice, he kicked Rice in the shin under the nose of the referee, causing the latter to fall to the ground and was shown a yellow card by the referee.

But he relentlessly chased after the referee and complained, thinking that he was rushing for the ball at the time, and he couldn't stop kicking Rice.

The referee did not accept his explanation, he waved his hand angrily, and when he turned to leave, he didn't know what to complain about, and the referee heard it, and immediately chased him, and then gave him a yellow card, and sent him off the field with a red card.

Ilicic's dismissal suddenly made the game completely meaningless.

Especially with York City in control, the biggest threat on the field was removed, the pressure on the team was relaxed, and the offensive momentum became more fierce.

Before the end of the second half, Kulusevski scored with a header from Baker, who was outflanked in front of the goal, with a low cross from the right side, 3:0!

York City got a home win and made their final away game a week from now meaningless, as they had already secured top spot in the group and qualified for the Europa League round of 32! ——

In addition to following the games in York City, Pan Yi is of course also concerned about the construction of the new stadium.

After more than half a year of construction, the new stadium has begun to take shape.

In particular, the underground parking lot and the stadium frame have a rough frame, and the unique design style is becoming more and more prominent, especially the design of the internal space of the stadium.

It's a professional football stadium, so of course there won't be a running track, and fans can watch the players perform at a very close distance, which will have a better viewing experience.

The design of the underground car park is also unique, in order to cope with the parking situation on race day, the designers specially opened up four access roads to the road, which can ensure that when the car park is fully loaded, everyone can leave in the shortest possible time without causing traffic jams.

Of course, such a new stadium built by a domestic company will also have a lot of high-tech content.

For example, the intelligent management system of the parking lot, the monitoring system covering the global field, the pervasive camera position, the Chinese restaurant operated in pure Internet mode, and the luxurious and advanced VIP box...... Wait a minute.

It's fair to say that York City's new stadium may not be the largest in the world, and the hardware isn't necessarily the best, but in terms of software, York City Stadium can definitely compete for the world's top spot.

It is precisely because of the many advanced concepts of York City Stadium that their construction has attracted the attention of countless people.

No, AC Milan Club, which has always wanted to build its own new stadium in Milan City, came to visit.

The person who came was none other than a businessman from the Dragon Kingdom, Li Yonghong!

For this middle-aged man who looks quite energetic, Pan Yi's impression of him can only be said to be average.

Just before this season, Chinese investors represented by Li Yonghong took over the Rossoneri, and many fans felt that Milan was saved, "We have money!" ”

And Milan fans like to call Li Yonghong "Brother Li", which shows that everyone still recognized it at the beginning.

In fact, he did invest a lot of money in the transfer market, but spent one or two hundred million to build a whole lineup, but few of them were useful.

And in order to recruit people, they also made a bunch of high-priced contracts, and recruited a group of high-paid and incompetent people without looking at people.

The most important thing is that Li Yonghong himself doesn't actually have much money......

In the business of acquiring AC Milan, it seems that it is more of a simple financial investment and capital operation routine: buying during the trough period of assets + strengthening investment management (buying people to produce results) + performance rise (entering the Champions League, increasing income and even making profits) + cashing out in the capital market.

But the problem is that in the end, Milan's results did not come up, and they did not reach the Champions League in the end.

The results can't come out, and a lot of money is spent, and the FFP restricts consumption, and Brother Li's money is borrowed from Elliott, and it happens that the country restricts capital outflow, and Brother Li can only sell Milan if he can't pay the money when it expires.

So in the end, tossing and turning, Milan was also seriously injured.

However, judging from the interview with Brother Li that Pan Yi saw, it feels that his acquisition of Milan is not fake, but he should also have love for Milan.

Therefore, Pan Yi's impression of Brother Li is not good or bad, and there is nothing special about it.

"I think there's a lot of similarity between York City's philosophy and ours, we both want to strike a balance between business and competition. At the moment, I think York City is doing a good job. ”

Li Yonghong is clearly here to learn from the experience, and after visiting the old and new facilities in Yorktown, he sighed.

Although it sounds a bit strange to say that the owner of a traditional giant team came to the owner of a Championship team to learn from it, Li Yonghong is still a rookie after all, which is understandable.

Besides, both of them are from the Dragon Country, and they are not too common in the European professional arena, so it is also appropriate to help each other.

"As a team, competition always comes first." Pan Yi said.

There is nothing wrong with this statement at all.

If a team has been mediocre, then the business will not be good, because the popularity is low and the fan coverage is poor.

Nowadays, in this world, which team that has done well in commercial development is not the most famous of the best?

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich...... Wait a minute.

So Pan Yi just wants to mention Brother Li from this perspective, after all, in the near future, Milan will be the first to compete, and then even more commercial.

"You've bought a lot of people this season, but it's still a bit of a rush to the doctor. If you can find one or two more professional senior people, I believe the effect will be better. Sharpen the knife and cut firewood by mistake! ”

Hearing Pan Yi say this, Li Yonghong's brows furrowed slightly: "What do you mean ......?"

As a layman, of course, Brother Li is not personally involved in buying people.

In the transfer market, he has mainly relied on two executives, Mirabelli and Fasoone.

But to be honest, the abilities of these two guys are really limited, and the buyer's vision and policy are also a bit confusing.

Like Musacchio, Biglia, Andre Silva, Ricardo Rodriguez, Andre Conte, Kalinic...... You can't say bad about these players, but they just don't fit.

Moreover, after buying so many people and spending so much money, there is not a single star who can calm the field.

This is not a good choice from the perspective of improving the team's competitive level or commercial development.

And Pan Yi can't do anything to change the matter of buying people in Milan, he only hopes that Li Yonghong can start from the root and solve the club's biggest problem.

"Replace Mirabelli and Fasone." Pan Yi said very simply, "There are some famous hotels in Milan, and they are more suitable for this kind of work. ”

"...... are you talking about?" Li Yonghong couldn't think of who it was for a while.

"Maldini." Pan Yi simply said it directly.

Maldini is, of course, an absolute legend in AC Milan's history.

Maldini played for AC Milan throughout his career, captaining both the Italian national team and AC Milan, winning 26 trophies including five UEFA Champions League titles and seven Serie A titles.

And if you add his father and his son...... All three generations of the family have been dedicated to Milan.

In 2009, after Maldini announced his retirement, he did not go to coach, but went to start a fashion clothing brand with his national team teammate Vieri, and later came to Dragon Country to do publicity.

So Li Yonghong couldn't imagine that it was him.

But Pan Yi knew that Maldini had the talent to be a football director.

In his previous life, in a different timeline, Maldini later returned to Milan as the club's director of sports strategy and development, and then became technical director.

Later, he presided over the introduction of goalkeeper Maignan, center forward Giroud, midfielder Tonali, midfielder Dias, central defender Fikayo Tomori and other famous players, helping the team win the Serie A championship again after 11 years.

Maldini also won the Manager of the Year award in 2021, and was later named Manager of the Year in European Football by Torino Sport, and was named the best sports director in 2022 at the Globe Football Awards, among others.

One of the most interesting signings was when Maldini approached Lyon president Aulas and asked to buy a young player named Kalulu for their Under-19s, saying "this kid may not be able to play", and then abducted him for only a few hundred thousand.

And then? Kalulu became a regular for Milan and was also selected for the French national team.

Isn't this kind of vision much stronger than what Mirabelli and Fasone are? After all, he is the best defender in history!

Even this kind of operation is a bit like Pan Yi...... Doesn't Pan Yi often spend low prices to buy potential stocks?

But considering that Maldini is not like Pan Yi, it is even more rare.

Therefore, Pan Yi also mentioned Maldini to Li Yonghong in advance.

He understands that he may not be able to influence Li Yonghong's thoughts, but he can only help Milan here.

"I'll think about it." Sure enough, Li Yonghong did not listen to Pan Yi's words directly, but used a more polite language.

Then, he talked about the topic he was more concerned about, which was the new stadium.

He wanted his team to have their own stadium as well, so he made it to see the critically acclaimed new York City stadium.

This can be said to be an eternal pain for many Serie A teams!

For example, Milan and Inter share the same stadium and rent it from the Milan municipal government, which is not an exception in Serie A.

Italy does not allow private stadiums, clubs without land ownership can only lease stadiums from the government, and building stadiums themselves is a huge cost, so they can only choose to share, which makes many clubs in Serie A have no way to commercialize the stadium like the Premier League and La Liga, and there is no way to get a lot of commercial income from the stadium.

In 2003, Juventus reached an agreement with the Torino government to buy the 99-year use of the Alp Stadium for 24 million euros, thus becoming the first club in Serie A to have an independent right to use the stadium.

Since then, Juventus has invested heavily in the construction of a new stadium, which opened in 2011 and was named by Allianz Insurance in 2017.

The new modern stadium offers more modern dining, fitness and entertainment facilities, and not only the fans spend more here, but also the general public.

Juventus can often make big moves in the transfer market in recent years, and the results are also outstanding, so it can be said that the relationship is very big.

But unfortunately, the city government of Milan is not so easy to talk about.

In Pan Yi's previous life, the city of Milan finally approved the construction of a new stadium for the Milan duo, but there were still many obstacles.

For example, at the Milan Council, there were 16 additional conditions for the construction of a new stadium, and the most restrictive of these conditions was that the original stadium could not be demolished and had to be preserved in some way.

This means that the potential development of the stadium site will be limited, the entertainment area that the Milan duo want to build will be lost, and if a new stadium is built, it will not be able to exceed the capacity of the existing stadium.

What's going on?

Compared with the current planning of York City, it is simply one day and one place!

Considering that Brother Li is actually difficult to protect himself, and he will give up Milan in a year, don't think about such difficult things as the new stadium.

In this regard, Pan Yi couldn't give him more advice, so he could only divert the topic:

"The Dragon Country Restaurant in our new stadium has almost been built, why don't we go and have a look and taste the taste of our hometown?"

(End of chapter)