In just over a week from July 17 to July 24, Real Madrid played three friendlies in the United States.

These included a 4-0 thrashing of the LA Galaxy and a 5-0 slaughter of Guadalajara.

There was also a 2-0 grinding Philadelphia Union's stable defense.

Jose Mourinho rehearsed both the tactics of flying on both wings and defending quickly.

Several of the team's offensive and defensive stars also played quite well.

After Mourinho temporarily proved that a certain striker left the team, Real Madrid can still maintain a stable and strong firepower output.

The Real Madrid fans finally stopped.

And Leon's second trip to Real Madrid's pre-season has also been well received by the pro-Real Madrid media.

At first, the senior reporters in these media were worried that Leon would neglect to sweep and protect Real Madrid's midfield because he was used to attacking forward.

However, Leon quickly dispelled their concerns with a consistent defensive contribution and a positive return attitude.

Without Mourinho's too much explanation, Leon himself already knew what his most important tactical task would be after returning to Real Madrid.

After all, last season's Milan lacked offensive means in the front, so Allegri designed an attacking routine inserted after the midfield.

But Real Madrid has never lacked firepower.

Last season and last season, Real Madrid's output firepower surpassed Barcelona's, and it was the team with the most goals per game in La Liga.

That is, the number of goals conceded is slightly more, so some points should not be lost, otherwise it is very likely to overturn Barcelona's domination of La Liga in the first two seasons.

So when Leon returned to Madrid before the start of the season, he was very clear.

No matter how quickly the outside media boasted about his rapid progress and how he said that he had untapped offensive potential, it was all nonsense.

He knows in his heart that he can win Mourinho's trust and favor, relying on this defensive ability.

And his current sober awareness and excellent performance also make Mourinho very satisfied.

Three friendlies and three starts, this is the reassurance that Mourinho gave him, and it is also a clear indication to the outside media.

Regardless of the midfield combination for the new season, he and Alonso will be firmly in the starting two places.

The midfielders of Las Diarra, Shahin, Altentop and Granero can only compete for positions in a limited number of appearances.

At least that's what Mourinho thinks about at the end of his training trip in the United States.

However, just as Uncle Bird was about to let go of his hands and feet to further run in the "Bang Bang hard midfield trio", it was only two days after returning to Spain that my unlucky face brother was injured in training.

And it's not that a player in the Real Madrid team injured him, it was that he strained his big crotch when he shot forward in training.

Li Ang didn't know how to describe the fragility of Brother Face's body.

Looking at the tall and big people, the result is injured at every turn.

He had previously seen media reports that Khedira had made a record for Stuttgart's first team and had only 24 league starts in a single season.

He didn't believe it yet.

After all, if you are crispy in Real Madrid, it doesn't mean that my face brother was also crispy in Stuttgart when he was younger, right?

Now Leon is a proper believer.

Mourinho is also real, and people are about to be stunned.

This battle damage situation can't be withstood by any coach.

One of the main midfielders of the new season didn't even hold up until the league officially started.

Who will he call for his replacement?

Shaheen overlapping with Alonso? Altentop who is not capable enough? Or is it the Granero who is now fading?

Wait, it seems that a midfielder was missed.

When Mourinho was distraught, he saw the two figures who were still training on the training ground through the office window, and his eyes were fixed.

On the afternoon of July 27, in a friendly match with Hertha Berlin, a promoted side of the Bundesliga, Mourinho first used the midfield combination of Alonso and Leanga Granero.

However, Granero only spent half of the pitch before being replaced by Altentop.

Thirty minutes later, an unhappy Mourinho replaced Altentop with Nurishahim.

Despite Real Madrid's 3-0 victory over Hertha Berlin in the final friendlie, Jose Mourinho was clearly not satisfied.

On July 29, after another day of training, Mourinho called Li Ang, who was planning to practice as usual for a while.

"You've been getting close to Kaka lately?"

Uncle Bird's straightforward inquiry at the beginning made Li Ang stunned.

"Maybe it's because I spent time in Milan last season, I think Kaka should think he can talk to me, and he has chosen to stay and practice a lot of times recently, so I will practice short passing with him and get familiar with each other's playing habits by the way."

Li Ang didn't quite understand Uncle Bird's intentions, but he still tried his best to explain the reason why he and Kaka walked in.

"I don't want you to explain the reason for this, but you should first tell me what you think of Kaka."

Mourinho rubbed his chin and simply took Leon's arm and let him and himself into the office and talk slowly.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang also answered truthfully.

"He's down a bit faster than he was three or four years ago, and the speed advantage isn't obvious anymore after last year's surgery, so it's probably not realistic to let him play as an attacker in the team again, and when it comes to scoring ability, I don't think Kaka has an advantage in front of our strikers."

Leon almost pointed out Kaka's current shortcomings to Mourinho.

Every time he clicked out, the sorrow in Uncle Bird's eyes seemed to be deeper.

When Uncle Bird was almost about to shut up Li Ang and go back to continue practicing, Li Ang's "but" was too late.

"However, if you don't let him go too far and move him a little bit towards the ribs, I think his diagonal through ball and long-range shooting ability should be very adequate."

Mourinho was still interested at first, but when he heard Leon say this, he suddenly collapsed again.

Who doesn't know that it would be better for Kaka to play less back and focus on passing the ball?

Who doesn't know that if Kaka moves his position and tries to squeeze as little space as possible in the middle of Ronaldo's cut, both of them can play more comfortably?

However, his tactics naturally require a positive attitude in the midfield, and Kaka is not used to playing on the wing.

So.

"It's all nonsense!"

Li Ang listened to his boss's criticism, but he was not annoyed at all, but continued with a smile:

"Well, I know you're worried about the new starting line-up in midfield.

Kaka's body is not suitable for fierce scrambling now, and it is easy to lead to a recurrence of injuries if he defends too much.

But what if, what if, if I come and 'wipe his ass' and provide him with defensive protection and the fight for the ball.

When he attacked, he boldly pressed the opponent's 30-meter area to deliver threatening short passes. Or occasionally take the opportunity to cut in and shoot from distance.

How should opponents deal with the threat of his former Ballon d'Or midfielder? ”

Leon's words made Mourinho's mind gradually come alive.

But then Mourinho, who realized that something was wrong, looked at Leon suspiciously.

"You kid don't want to sweep the front court and ignore the back court on the premise of position, right? You go to wipe Kaka's ass, and your teacher is alone in the back and organizes and manages the interception and defense? ”

"Eh, boss, you can't slander people like this, I can't wipe my teacher's ass if I wipe Kaka's ass in front of me? One ass is also rubbing, two butts are still wiping, don't you believe I have the ability to wipe two buttocks? ”

Li Ang's words made Mourinho disgusted, and Uncle Bird quickly knocked Li Ang on the head and signaled him to stop talking about his ass.

"You can really rub two. Ahem, can you really allocate physical energy to take into account the defense before and after the midfield? ”

"I think it should be fine, when the time comes, you ask Angel (Di Maria) to help me back to the defense as much as possible, even if I can't stop it in front, I can rush back in time to build a defensive line in front of the central defender with my teacher."

Leon's final pledge moved Mourinho's heart.

However, he didn't directly tell Li Ang how he would arrange the midfield starters in the future.

After sending Leon back to continue training, Mourinho wanted to deal with something else.

But as soon as he thought of what Li Ang said, he felt itchy and unbearable, and finally simply deduced it directly on the tactics board in the office

On the morning of July 30, before the warm-up match against Leicester City, Real Madrid had a final practice.

Previously, the United States almost only came off the bench in the second half of the warm-up game, and Kaka, who played Hertha Berlin a few days ago, did not get a chance to play.

In this training session, I got a training vest that symbolizes the main team.

Leon didn't know what Uncle Bird told Kaka.

After the two talked on the sidelines, Uncle Bird patted Kaka's arm, and then Kaka ran back to the training ground with a little excitement with a training vest.

"The boss still looks at people, so I said he would give Kaka a chance in the end!"

Ronaldo will hold his arms next to Leon and speak confidently, looking very nervous.

Leon certainly didn't tell anyone that in his conversation with Jose Mourinho yesterday, he offered advice that he could pull Kaka into the starting line-up.

Like Ronaldo, who has a good relationship with Kaka in the team, may think that Kaka has impressed Mourinho with his own efforts.

But Leon knows very well that this is a Mourinho exam, and if he passes, then Kaka will naturally have a place in the new tactical system.

But if he can't pass the test, Leon will have no choice.

Kaka didn't think about it that much, and with Mourinho willing to give himself a chance again, all he could do was to work hard and then rely on his strength to become a starter again.

Despite Mourinho's request to push himself to the right flank for the main movement, Kaka was a little puzzled.

But now he doesn't care about whether he is comfortable playing football on the side.

This is his last chance in pre-season training and he has to take it!

The grouping confrontation within the team began.

But today Mourinho once again opted for a change of formation.

The main lineup has changed from the previous 4231 to a weird, four-three-three?

Leon was promoted to central midfield, Di Maria dropped back from the right flank to the left, and Kaka stepped on the ribs of the right midfield.

Let's say that this formation is four-four-two, it's not like.

Because Di Maria didn't play as a full-back on the left, Kaka didn't completely pull the wing.

But to say that it is a four-three-three after Di Maria retreated to midfield, it is not like it.

Because Kaka didn't go up the front line.

Ronaldo and Higuain were both confused, Angel Di Maria was also confused, and Leon shrunk his neck a little weakly.

"Damn, I'm proposing to let the angels defend more to help me relieve the pressure, why did Uncle Bird directly pull him to the midfield, this time there are too many defenses!"

complained in his heart, Li Ang looked at the position of the current main lineup, and felt more and more "familiar" in his heart.

However, the confrontation began soon, and Li Ang didn't have time to dig deeper, so he could only play for a while and see the effect.

As soon as the matchup began, Di Maria was a little constrained in his new position.

After all, it's okay to let him play in the midfield, which will allow him to play directly in the left central midfield, drop back too much, and he will lose his position in the defensive end if he is not careful.

And Kaka's play in the new position is also a little "silent".

Although he doesn't have to completely sideline to one-on-one with defenders, he is actually more accustomed to staying in the middle.

In short, it feels awkward, Di Maria is awkward, Kaka is awkward.

In contrast, Leon and Alonso's performances have been as consistent as ever.

Li Ang saw that Kaka had not performed for a long time, and decided to remind him again.

"It's good to go back a little bit, don't drop back too much, press them into the defensive third, look for opportunities to pass the ball to Cristiano and Gonzano [Higuain]!"

After yelling loudly to make Cacado pay attention to the running position of the two forwards in front of him, Leon also signaled that he had himself behind him to grab the ball, don't panic!

With Leon's timely reminder, Kaka also quickly understood Mourinho's intentions.

Don't let him defend too much, mainly looking forward for opportunities to pass the ball?

Kaka pondered for a moment.

If it's just a physical focus on attacking forward, and it's mostly passing, he's fine.

That's it, and the defensive pressure on Leon is heavy.

But looking at Li Ang's look of "you can rest assured to leave it to me", Kaka was also grateful and made a decision.

He wants to try this new style of play, even if he is not used to it now, but he has no better options and opportunities!

Kaka, who took the initiative to change his mindset, immediately ran in his new activity area.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Higuain's movement is quite good, especially Cristiano Ronaldo, who is even more swift when cutting forward from defense to attack.

You want to take advantage of the fleeting opportunity between attack and defence, and successfully tear apart the opponent's defense with your pass.

Then you can only concentrate and carefully observe the movement of the two strikers in front of you, and try to keep the same idea as they are.

Then, when the opportunity arises, give a sufficient amount of threat in advance!

Kaka quickly figured out his tactical positioning in his brain.

Soon, Leon gave him his first chance to perform after a clear head with a short forward pass after a frontal block.

After receiving a pass from Leon and turning around and looking up quickly, Kaka raised his foot and directly gave a diagonal over-the-top straight stopper!

At this moment, Higuain is still looking for an opportunity to get rid of Albiol on the substitute side, but Ronaldo, who is on his left, has relied on the speed of his explosion to quickly get rid of Marcelo!

Therefore, Kaka's forward diagonal overhead pass and Ronaldo's running directly matched together.

It's just a pity that Ronaldo chose to hit the goal directly without stopping the ball, and in the end, the football was slightly off the far post, which surprised the substitute goalkeeper Adan in a cold sweat.

"Beautiful!"

Leon couldn't help but applaud as he watched the threatening shot sent by Kaka.

And Mourinho, who has been taking notes on the sidelines and observing the game, also flashed excitement in his eyes.

Without the strong assault ability of the past, Kaka still retains outstanding passing skills and a broad field of view under the precipitation of experience.

The threatening pass just now was fast and accurate, and it was very lethal.

Regardless of how many percent of Kaka's long-range shooting skills are left, it depends on the ability of this kick to threaten the straight stopper.

That's barely enough to be the main midfielder in the early stages of the season.

Mourinho continued to bury his head in the notebook and began to take notes, and this Kaka also increased his confidence, and did not forget to give a thumbs up to Leon behind him.

How the ball came from on this counter-attack, Kaka is well aware.

And as Khedira said in a casual chat with him before, it was really comfortable to partner with Leon to organize the attack in the front court

Just pity my angel, who has just touched some of the doorways to kick the midfielder.

It was Brother Long's behind-the-scenes protection and Li Ang's covering sweep that made him settle down a little.

On the offensive end, he was dangerous with his free foot and forward.

And with his offensive support and cooperation, Ronaldo is also playing better and better on the left side.

When Cristiano Ronaldo cut inside and entered the substitute penalty area with Higuain, Di Maria's smooth cross was even more threatening.

Li Ang was also greedy after watching it a few times, and he really wanted to rush up and get past the addiction of attacking and rushing to the top.

But when he thought that Mu Shuai would be on the sidelines, he finally chose to follow his heart.

Leon, who swept up in the midfield with full horsepower, will be about to wipe the butts of the three people.

It would certainly be unrealistic to maintain such a high-intensity sweeping defensive rhythm for a long time, but in just over ten minutes or even twenty minutes, Leon was still able to barely do it.

There's no way, the body can be used, it's really enough, it's just able to run, eh~

Shaheen and Altentop, who were on the bench side, also had a numb scalp when they watched Leang's figure running across the field.

They still wanted to compete with such monsters for playing time before?

What are you kidding, if you really go up like this, they will be tired directly after running for twenty minutes, and they will also kick a hammer game!

The main team held the rhythm of the game at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.

And Kaka also sent another straight plug before Leon had to slow down his fitness.

This time, Ronaldo didn't waste any more opportunities, and even stopped and adjusted a strong shot directly through the goal guarded by Adan!

Mourinho also closed his notebook at this point.

He smiled with satisfaction.

Meizizi set the time, and then continued to code words, brothers, big guys, today foodies are cheeky and ask for a wave of subscriptions~

(End of chapter)