After the game, Pochettino was interviewed by the newspaper As.

[On losing the match against Atletico Madrid at home]

"Atletico Madrid is a quality team and they are very competitive in La Liga. We played well in the first half, kept a two-goal lead, it was an exciting game and we deserved a win. But that's sometimes the case in football, the Atletico players are always looking for opportunities and we can accept that. ”

[On Levi's injury]

'It's certainly very unacceptable, you know how well he's been this season and what role he's played in the team because we have to lose a top player for a while. He's never had an injury this season, it's too sudden. But the good thing is that the doctor, after assessing his condition, told us that Levi may only have a minor muscle strain and that he will not be out for too long. ”

[Talking about the rumors of a 'one-man team' that were rumored some time ago]

'It's quite irresponsible, every player has a different role on the pitch, Levi has scored a lot of the time with other team-mates, he's not too sticky, and we've seen him give assists to his team-mates a lot. He's a very important player in the dressing room and he gets along well with everybody. Encourage teammates in time after a team loss. ”

[Talking about the next few races in the first half]

"We have three games to play and they are very strong, but we want to win every game and make a solid plan and a good squad for that, because we have a lot of good players in addition to Levi, and we need to continue to have a strong desire to win and a fighting spirit without him."

[Talking about whether there will be new reinforcements to join in the winter window]

'There are some positions where we could need some reinforcements, but we don't have a clue so far, the winter transfer window can start, and that's something that needs to be discussed with the club's hierarchy.

【Talking about this year's goals】

'Our number one goal is first and foremost to return to European competition, two years ago Espanyol were one step away from winning the UEFA Cup, if they stay competitive they will likely return to the European competition next season, whether it's the UEFA Cup or the Champions Cup, it's up to everyone to work and that's what we want. At the same time, the season has started quite well in the Copa del Rey and we are ready for new opponents and will want to go as far as possible in the Copa del Rey. ”

[Talking about whether it is possible to surpass Barcelona to win the halfway championship]

"It's not possible at the moment."

Pochettino smiled.

'At the moment we are five points behind Barcelona and they are in good form, it doesn't really depend on how well we perform.

At the same time, Yokohama National Stadium.

The 2008 Club World Cup final was played in Japan.

Rooney came close three times in the first half before Tevez's dangerous header was cleared by the goalkeeper.

Chewing gum, Ferguson stood on the sidelines, watching the Manchester United players on the pitch miss opportunities again and again.

Universitario de Quito, who eliminated North American champion Pachuca in the semi-finals, showed their tenacity and ferocity, and it was the farewell match of the team's Argentine coach Bausa, and the players played extremely hard.

There were a couple of chances to close the opener, but the veteran Van der Sar was still brave.

At this point, assistant coach Mike Fallan walked up to Ferguson's ear and whispered a few words.

Ferguson frowned.

"Hurt? What about the injury? ”

After learning that Levi had only suffered a slight muscle strain, his frown furrowed slightly.

Nani, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs moved into the rotation, with Park Ji-sung and Michael Carrick starting, and in the absence of Giggs and Scholes, United's lack of creativity was exposed.

Manchester United's Premier League season has started quite badly this year, reaching 14th place in the league at one point.

Although the competition has improved recently.

In five league games in a row, the Red Devils have not conceded a goal.

This also takes into account that there are four away games in it, with their games against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all picking up points from strong home opponents.

In the central midfield position, United have a lot of space to rotate, with the likes of Anderson, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Fletcher and Michael Carrick all up to the task.

To be able to win the game from the scorelessness of the whole game depends on the depth of the bench.

However, Manchester United have only scored three goals in the last five league games, and the low goal rate on the attacking line has also worried Ferguson.

Tevez, in particular, has not scored a goal in more than three months.

In the Champions League, Manchester United's knockout opponent in the second half of the year was Mourinho's Inter.

However, the situation is worse for Inter than for Manchester United.

Jose Mourinho once again praised Ibrahimovic's exemplary profession on television the other day, while he also praised Levi and Messi.

Ibrahimovic has scored 10 goals in Serie A and one in the Champions League this season, successfully surpassing his shirt number.

However, the other forwards Cruise, Crespo, Balotelli and Obina have scored no more than two league goals.

In the Champions League, except for Adriano with 2 goals, no other striker has more than 1.

With such a forward combination against Manchester United, Mourinho obviously has no confidence.

Mourinho originally planned to try to make an offer for Levi in the winter window, but by the time Levi was injured, his value on "German Transfer" had reached 62 million euros, which was a price that Inter could not accept, even if Manchester United's attitude was not considered.

And a little further into consideration, Barcelona, which swept everything this year, has put great pressure on Ferguson.

Not only Manchester United, but the entire Premier League seems to be in a goal drought, and the winning teams are mostly narrowly winning.

At this time, among the players nominally belonging to Manchester United, the representative of ferocious firepower, the La Liga half-range scorer Wang Levi, was loaned out.

The British media used this to torture Manchester United after each round of matches, leaving Ferguson unspeakable.

At the start of the second half, Nemanja Vidic was sent off.

Cristiano Ronaldo assisted Wayne Rooney to score Lu Xiaopang's third goal in this Club World Cup, and Ferguson's hanging and stable heart was put down.

In the end, Manchester United defeated Universitario Sporting de Quito 1-0 to become the first English team to win the Club World Cup, while European teams won the Club World Cup for the second time in a row.

After the Premier League, Champions League and Community Shield, Manchester United won their fourth trophy this year.

"What? Levi of the Spaniard was injured? ”

Meanwhile, Espanyol's next round opponent, Athletic Bilbao coach Caparos, watched the news with excitement.

The same was done by the managers of Almeria and Malaga.

"What? Full recovery in four weeks? ”

Some people rejoice, some people are sad.

Valladolid coach Mendiliba, on the other hand, was grim-faced.

The shadow of the opening game of the first round of the league floated in his mind like a nightmare.

Sixteen rounds of league games will coincide with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with a nearly two-week break.

The winter transfer window is also just around the corner

"Belated infighting? The inside story of Levi's injury turned out to be ""

Mr. Key is injured, where do the Spaniards go for the rest of the fixtures? 》

"Laporta: Whether Barcelona wins the championship or not has nothing to do with the sworn rivals in the same city, Camp Nou will wash away the shame"

"With a large lead, Barcelona is already 93% La Liga champion"

"The intellectual beauty smiled and fascinated Xiaobei, and the media ridiculed the heartthrob for being afraid of his wife"

"Ancelotti kisses a mysterious woman on the street, a female reporter who is a fan of Milan coaches"

Levi spent only one day in the hospital before returning to his home to recuperate.

The doctor told him to rest well and receive regular physiotherapy.

At the same time, he was told meaningfully, especially not to do strenuous exercise.

Boredom, he swiped the sports news during this time with his mobile phone, watching it with relish.

The first is the news about his injury.

The injury was caused in a match against Atletico Madrid, and Levi was physically up against Dutch team-mate Heitinga, a drama that sparked media speculation.

For a while, there were different opinions, adding the label of infighting to this kind of news.

It is said that the coach of the Dutch team, Van Marwijk, was even more angry, but fortunately, the most recent national team game was in March, when Levi could recover in time.

After seeing the news, Levi couldn't cry or laugh, and the belated infighting finally came to his head.

Then there's the half-way points forecast by the Catalan media, who expected the Spaniard to lose at least two of their next few games.

Therefore, the Spaniards, who have been separated by five points at the end of this round, will be more than 10 points behind Barcelona at the end of the half.

He is very popular within the team, and in addition to the head coach and team-mates of the club and national team, some familiar people have also called to greet him.

For example, the female model Marina, who had a relationship before, said on the phone that she happened to be in Barcelona.

The nights are late, and the winter nights are cold

Looking for a warm place to spend Christmas Eve.

Even Levi's current girlfriend returned to the UK to shoot the cover, and she knew that she was politely declined by Levi.

Although he likes to go to sea all his life, he is not the kind of person who pedals two boats.

The main thing is dedication.

After brushing Levi, I felt that something was wrong, and a large wave of news of team dismantling came to my face.

The second is a large wave of team demolition news.

Manchester United have officially sent someone to contact the club officials in the hope of bringing Levi back to Manchester in advance, and in order to satisfy both parties, United are even willing to pay a liquidated damages that are not agreed in the contract.

The two sides are preparing to negotiate in the near future, and Li Wei is not the only one involved in the scandal of entering and leaving the team.

Milan intend to bring in Thiago Silva, the Spaniard's centre-back for this season, ahead of schedule and are willing to pay the Brazilian a premium for half a season's impressive performances.

According to Italian media, Milan could also bring in another player in the Brazilian league's best team: Juan Maldonado.

As we all know, Portuguese is one of the official languages within the Milan team.

The 'Brazilian Gang' has been Milan's spine all these years, Dida has faded out, Serginho and Cafu have left, Emerson will also leave after the season, and the older generation of Brazilians will age.

Milan has decided to form a new Brazilian gang.

If Juan and Thiago Silva were to be present at the back of AC Milan next season, along with Kaka, Pato and Ronaldo up front, Milan would have half the Brazilians at their disposal.

Brazilian centre-back Alex is also another potential target for AC Milan to bring in.

The eldest of the "New Brazil Gang" is only 28 years old, while the youngest Pato has just turned 19.

According to the Italian media, Thiago Silva is very excited about such an atmosphere in the team, and Milan is also the team he wants to go to.

After the match against Atletico Madrid, Atletico Madrid club officials also sent an official to the Spaniard to discuss the intention to buy back Diego Costa, wanting to activate the buyback contract in advance.

Real Madrid have also been rumored to be interested in their young left wing-back, Coentrão.

Zabaleta and Riera, who did not go through the summer window, received re-offers from Manchester City and Liverpool, and the price was also higher than the summer window.

Ligue 1 side Marseille are interested in Cesar Azpilicueta and are said to have asked Osasuna for an offer to take him.

However, the official tone of RCD Espanyol is that they do not intend to let go of any player in the winter window.

December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Pochettino brought his wife, Karina Pochettino, to visit him at Livy's house and have dinner with him.

When I arrived, I found that several players and their families had arrived.

After the banquet is over, the guests and hosts are happy.

"Li, you should take this opportunity to take a good rest during this time, your attendance this season is too tired."

After eating, Pochettino comforted Levi and said that he would leave and go home to spend the holiday with his family, but found that the other players had no intention of leaving.

"Take out your game console, your hands are itching."

Riera, who loves gambling, grinds her fists and walks in front of Levi with an excited face.

Cesar Azpilicueta and others also looked a little moved, which caught Pochettino's attention.

"BOSS, a long-established Huaguo card game, do you want to try it?"

Levi then took the group to a room and showed off the newly purchased machine.

The boxy table, with a faint gap in the green tablecloth, looks like there is a mystery hidden underneath.

"Is this time-consuming?"

Pochettino looked at Riera, who had already gotten up to get started.

Skillfully manipulating the machine, four columns of small crystal clear squares suddenly stretched out from the tablecloth.

"A quick round!"

What Levi said was the truth, and it didn't take long to play a game of mahjong.

Although his leg injury was not serious, he was unable to go out for entertainment for a long time, and he spent two weeks on vacation, and he was tired of staying at home every day.

So I bought a mahjong machine and made another wave of Spanishization of related terms.

But I didn't expect to invite a few players to my home to play.

They spread the word to each other, and they all said that Levi had a game project in his family.

This next one was not enough, so Levi simply vacated a house and ordered a few more from the Chinese store.

"Let's give it a try."

After Pochettino hesitated, he did not give up this opportunity to have fun with his subordinates and improve the relationship in the dressing room.

The wives of the team were also very interested in this.

A few hours later.

"Tarjeta complementaria del Mahjong."

Pochettino happily knocked down a handful of cards, touched his thick chin, and stretched out three hands to Levi and the others to indicate a triple.

After a night of play, as a manager, he naturally won't accept the punishment of the stickers on the face of the Spaniard dressing room right now.

Gambling is not allowed in the locker room, and several people belong to the dry play.

"Alright, it's not too early, I have to go back first."

Pochettino rubbed his blue eyes, and the moment he opened the door, he suddenly realized that it was early in the morning.

And his wife is even a little reluctant.

Pochettino! Pochettino! How can you be so depraved that you have forgotten all the goals of your previous tactical plan?

This game is too time-consuming to go on like this.

December 25th, Christmas.

Levi declined requests from several teammates to visit him at his home.

I hugged my girlfriend in a red velvet skirt and a small elk hair ornament in my arms.

December 27th.

Diego Costa and others came to visit Levy.

December 28th.

Zabaleta and others came to visit Levi.

In order to prevent his teammates from sinking in this kind of mind-draining game, Levi formulated an anti-addiction mechanism for them, and never asked the same group of people to come to his home in a row.

At the end of the year, the newspaper announced its 2008 European Team of the Year, with five Premier League players selected, while Manchester United had four for their best performances in the Champions League.

La Liga has five selections, while Serie A has only one.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic, Steven Gerrard and Alves have been selected for the second year in a row.

Last season's Champions League double Manchester United was selected under the leadership of Cristiano Ronaldo, the winner of the European Golden Ball, and became the biggest winner, while Ronaldo's opponents in the final five-man final of the World Footballer were also selected in this list, including Xavi, Messi and Torres.

Manchester United's opponents in last season's Champions League final, Chelsea, were not selected.

Casillas replaced Gianluigi Buffon, who was selected last year, as the best goalkeeper and the only Real Madrid player.

The man who will partner Torres up front is Levi, not the other favourite, Ibrahimovic.

On January 4, La Liga restarted.

Pochettino's Espanyol play away to Athletic Bilbao.

Athletic Bilbao, as an old powerhouse established second oldest in La Liga, has suppressed Real Madrid and other teams in the country for a long time.

Eight league titles, twenty-four Copa del Rey and four Spanish Super Cups.

As a founding member of the Spanish Primera League, the 'Basque Lions' have never been relegated since the inception of La Liga in 1928.

The other two teams with this honour are only Real Madrid and Barcelona.

It's a pity that Bilbao, as the most conservative team in La Liga, has a tradition of using only local Basque players.

With a huge amount of money and foreign players pouring into La Liga, other teams are looking to the world to fight for resources as much as possible, while Athletic Bilbao, who only use Basque players, has lost the ability to compete for the title.

In previous seasons, they were even on the brink of relegation, and in 06/07, they only completed relegation in the final round of the league.

can only rely on excellent youth training and team cohesion to maintain a certain degree of league competitiveness.

Mauricio Pochettino's side showed tenacious movement and pressing, creating a number of attacking opportunities for the two forwards through a very holistic approach in midfield.

Cesar Azpilicueta converted six crosses in a single game and set up Diego Costa's header in the 79th minute.

Ninety minutes were played, thanks to Costa's header and Moises Hurtado's long-range shot.

Espanyol walked away 2-1 with a win away from home.

It also dispelled some doubts about the Spaniards, who still have a good competitiveness in Levi's absence.

On 7 January, Espanyol defeated La Liga side Poliegidor 2-0 in the Copa del Rey.

On January 11, it defeated the University of Almeria 3-2.

On January 14, they defeated Poliegidor 1-0 again to advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.

January 18, the final round of La Liga.

Espanyol lost 2-1 away to Malaga and the La Liga halfway was officially over.

Barcelona leads the La Liga standings with a terrifying record of 47 points accumulated in 19 rounds.

Pulled away from second place Espanyol by as many as 8 points.

Real Madrid, who were in a worrying state after losing to Barcelona, lost three in a row, won consecutive games in the last four rounds.

Even strong opponents such as Valencia and Yellow Submarine, they finally accumulated 36 points and ranked third.

Real Madrid lost to La Liga side Real League on away goals in the fourth round and were already out of the Copa del Rey early.

At the same time, Espanyol's opponents in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey were released.

The Spaniards will once again face city rivals Barcelona.

Counting the battle at Camp Nou, the two teams will meet at least three more times this season.

Just when Pochettino was depressed.

When Li Wei saw the news, he suddenly felt that he was not sleepy.

On January 20, Espanyol officially announced that Levi had started training on his own and was expected to return for the second round of La Liga against Huelva.

The Valladolid coach breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of chapter)