"Coach O'Neill, you guys are so polite, in fact, it's okay to arrange us to train at the outdoor training ground, there is no need for us to train in the stadium."

"Coach Li, after all, Mr. Michael and our chairman have just signed a cooperation club agreement, and you have come from afar, and it is also what we should do to provide a suitable training venue."

George Lee and a middle-aged man wearing glasses were fighting on the sidelines of the pitch, but the badge on the chest of the training uniform worn by the middle-aged man was not Leeds United's.

On the pitch, Leeds United players are working on passing and running under assistant coach Brian Kidd, while several other coaches like Chris Casper, Peter Schmeichel and Colin McGee are whispering over something.

Jordi Cruyff and Alfinge Haaland were not present, as the two were left in Portugal to watch the semi-finals of the European Championship that are not yet over, Portugal against the Netherlands.

George Lee and the others left for Glasgow, Scotland, after watching the group stage of the European Championship, to join up with Kidd, McGee and the team's players for a pre-season training camp.

Like Edgar Davies, who is still playing in the European Championships, and several Danish players who have just been eliminated 3-0 by the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals, Thomas Graveson, Denis Romerdal and Jesper Glenschal will return home for a week of rest before joining up with the team.

At the suggestion of George Lee, Leeds United signed partnerships with clubs from several neighbouring countries this summer, including scouting and pre-emptive purchases. Among them is Scotland's old powerhouse, Celtic.

After arriving in Glasgow, Leeds United just arrived at the hotel where they stayed for a short rest, and the next day they were arranged by the host Celtic club to train at their elite stadium, the elite stadium (Excelsior Stadium) is located 15 kilometers east of Glasgow, is the home of Celtic second team, Celtic women's football team, Airdrie and Glasgow University FC, with more than 10,000 seats, built in 1998, the equipment and facilities are relatively new.

Chatting with George Lee is the head coach of the Celtics, Martin O'Neal.

"Coach O'Neal, your former opponent, the Portuguese Jose Mourinho, is about to land in the Premier League, do you also have the idea of coming back to England to develop?"

After the two exchanged polite words, George Lee found a topic in order not to let the chat be cold, and Mourinho, who is about to become Chelsea manager, is undoubtedly a good topic.

In the 2002-03 season, Celtic led Martin O'Neal to make a big splash in Europe, but also gave up domestic and domestic competitions to meet Liverpool, Stuttgart and other strong teams in the Europa League, and Porto led by Jose Mourinho in the League Cup final. Celtic showed great resilience in the game, falling behind twice and equalising twice, but in the end, the Portuguese came ahead to lead Porto to a 3-2 victory.

That season, the Celtic were all four, and the only consolation was the fair play awards from FIFA and UEFA that year.

"I can't compare with others, they have won the Europa League and the Champions League in the past two years, and there is a gap between me and him." O'Neill said.

"If, I mean, if it was your Celtic who won the Europa League that year, would it be you who will be the one who will call for the wind and rain in the Champions League the next year?"

"It's a pity, Henrik left with regrets, and it is his eternal regret that he didn't help Celtic win the UEFA Cup." O'Neill still expressed regret about Larsson's departure.

"Speaking of Larsson, he's such a fantastic player. I watched the match between Sweden and Bulgaria and Henrik showed a level that I couldn't tell that he was in his thirties. George Lee kept praising O'Neill's beloved apprentice.

Henrik Larsson, who spent seven years at Celtic, moved to Barcelona this summer.

"There's no way I'm going to go back to the Premier League and I'm going to step down as Celtic manager after this season." O'Neill sighed.

"No, Celtic can do a lot in the Scottish league under your tutelage, and even in Europe. It's not like Leeds United, who still have to fight for relegation. ”

"Coach Li, what you say is too modest, you look at your reinforcements this year, it doesn't look like a relegation team at all, although it doesn't have a big move like Chelsea, but every penny is spent on the blade, you will definitely be a dark horse in the Premier League next season."

"So, are you really not trying to try in the Premier League again?"

"No, it's a private matter." O'Neill told the truth, "My wife has been in poor health, and I want to spend time with her after this season." When you first start as a manager, it's probably not clear that in the future, whether you do well or badly in the managerial position, you're going to lose a lot of other things in your life. ”

"Thank you very much, I think it's really a pleasure to talk to you." George Lee turned to say goodbye to O'Neal as he prepared for his friendly match with Motherwell in the evening.

O'Neill reached out and shook George Lee's hand, then thought for a moment and said to him.

"That Australian from Motherwell, called McDonald, watch out for his shot."

"Okay, thank you."

On the pitch, James Milner on the right flank sent in a cross, and Robin van Persie near the penalty spot did not stop the ball and fired a left-footed volley into the goal.

^^^

On the pitch, James Milner on the right flank made a cross, and Robin van Persie near the penalty spot did not stop the ball, and fired a left-footed volley directly over the goal.

"Oh!" "It's a pity!" "Didn't you enter?" There was a round of exclamation from the Leeds bench.

This is Motherwell's home turf, Phil Park.

Leeds United and Motherwell played 80 minutes into the friendly and the score was 2-0. The scorers were Alan Smith and Morten Pedersen.

For this match, Lee lined up the lineup with Paul Robinson in goal, and the backline consisted of Ulris Mathieson, Dominic Matteo, Martin Albuchesen and Danny Mills. In the morning training, Ian Hart was not allowed to play because of some calf strain.

Alan Smith's midfield partnership is two Norwegians, Eric Barker, who stayed last season, and Morten Pedersen, who has newly arrived in the club.

The front trio is Robin van Persie, James Milner and Ori Oscarson. In the first half, Robin van Persie played the same position as he did at Feyenoord, as a left winger.

The first goal came in the 13th minute of the first half, when Van Persie held the ball on the left and stopped the ball near the baseline, unable to break through Motherwell's defence, and returned the ball to Pedersen near the corner of the box on the left. Because the left wing-back who started the game was Matthijson, he didn't follow very closely, so Pedersen went from the middle to the left to receive Van Persie's pass. I saw that the Norwegian picked up his left foot after winning the ball, and crossed the ball with a 45-degree arc, and the ball flew to the penalty area.

The Icelandic striker, known as Oscarsson, fought for the first point and then flicked the ball to the back post, where Alan Smith slammed into the ground and fired a shot into the back of the net as soon as the ball bounced off the ground.

Because the team's two main wingers, Glen Charles and Romedahl, have not yet returned to the team, George Lee's two wingers today are not slow, but they are not known for breakthroughs. So Lee asked Pederson to use long passes to find Oscarson's high point before the game, or directly behind the opposing defender.

The first goal was initiated by Pederson in the backfield, central defender Albchesten's cross was pushed out in defense, Buck received the ball and passed it to the Norwegian countryman next to him, Pedersen made a long pass, because the right full-back inserted to assist when the opponent just attacked, Van Persie appeared directly behind him, running all the way, but unfortunately the last time he got the ball did not stop, and was forced to stop by the central defender who was on the opposite side near the bottom line.

After this goal, Pedersen frequently threatened the opposition defense with long passes.

So he was taken care of by Motherwell in the second half, with grass marks on his white jersey.

On 74 minutes, Pedersen was brought down in front of the penalty area and took a free kick.

Pedersen took the penalty himself, and it was again with his left foot, and a full moon scimitar went straight into the corner, and Motherwell's goalkeeper did not react.

"Where did you find him, he's a left-footed Beckham." Kidd asked about George Lee after the celebration.

"I have good news and bad news." George Lee didn't answer directly, but said to Kidd.

"What?"

'The good news is that next season in addition to Ian, there is another set-piece player.

"And what about the bad news?"

"They're all left-footed, and it's a bit monotonous."

“......”