Chapter 512 Welcome, Manchester United’s New No. 8

"Losing is nothing. There is no undefeated team in this world."

"Losing before the season is a good thing for the team. After all, it is a signal. It can at least let the players understand that Manchester United has long been eyeing it."

Although Chelsea coach Mourinho is depressed, he does not admit that Manchester United is stronger than Chelsea.

"The league focuses on the stability of the team. The final championship is not decided in one or two games. We will know who is the final winner at the end of the season. Manchester United has the ability to compete for the championship, but the final winner will definitely be We, Chelsea, want to win three consecutive league titles."

Although they lost the first game of the new season, the championship will still be Chelsea's only goal in the Premier League. If realized, the Blues will win three consecutive championships. In the history of England's top league, only four teams have achieved this feat (Horsfield in the 1920s, Arsenal in the 1930s, Liverpool in the 1980s, and Manchester United in the 1990s).

In the new Premier League season, Chelsea is still the favorite to win the championship. In the winning odds of William Hill and Ladbrokes, the Blues are both 1.44, which is much higher than the second-placed Manchester United at 7.00. Reuters also stated in an analysis article before the Premier League season, "It seems very possible for Chelsea to win three consecutive championships."

Reuters also analyzed that in the third year, the European Champions League will be Mourinho's primary goal. The goal of introducing Shevchenko and Ballack is not just in England. After all, the Blues were already strong enough to dominate the country. Whether this strategic shift in goals will have an impact on the Premier League campaign is yet to be seen.

However, Chelsea still faces some difficulties that need to be overcome if they want to win three consecutive championships. Compared with the three main opponents, Chelsea has made the biggest change in the lineup. Arsenal's central axis has not changed, Liverpool has only strengthened the wings and strikers, and Manchester United has almost no variables. The Blues' main shooter has been replaced, and the center The structural adjustment of the field is likely to bring instability at the beginning of the season.

Coupled with the impact of the World Cup, Chelsea needs a running-in period in the new season. I am afraid it will be difficult to reproduce the perfect start of last season's 9-game winning streak. In the Community Shield Cup, Chelsea's passing and receiving cooperation was a bit jerky, and the traces of individual combat were obvious. It could not be called a seamless whole, so it was difficult to create scoring opportunities in the second half.

There is also the question of how to keep players in a positive mood. The negative impact of the gathering of big names is that it is inevitable that some people will be unhappy because they cannot play. Mourinho has been solving this problem very well in the past two years, and he needs to do the same in the new season. For this reason, Mourinho specifically emphasized that his lineup only requires 20 people. This is also to avoid the personnel accumulation problem caused by an overly large lineup.

And the biggest rival Manchester United?

After a successful season of 433 changes,

Manchester United is finally starting to get on the right track. The arrival of Carrick has improved the team's midfield strength. Overall, Manchester United's lineup is not as complete as Chelsea's, and there are varying degrees of weaknesses in each line.

Let’s look at the defensive line first. The most reassuring thing for Ferguson is the goalkeeper and central defender. Van der Sar and the new Kuzcazak are both known for their stability. Central defender Vidic is the most reassuring. There will be no problem if Ferdinand is not convulsed. They and Brown And the young Pique can also form a small group with fierce internal competition. Under normal circumstances, Ferguson can rest assured about this position, but once the central defender does not have Vidic, this defense line is a bit out of control.

Heinze's return from injury has strengthened the left back's strength. With his strong body and abundant physical fitness, coupled with his rich experience, it is not difficult for the Argentine to seize the main spot. The young Evra may have to serve as the first substitute. Elvester made timely additions at center back and left back, but Ferguson always wanted to get rid of him.

The right back is having some trouble. Neville's offensive and defensive balance is worthy of reassurance, but the Red Devils captain has been plagued by injuries in the past year. Once Neville is injured, Manchester United may be in trouble on the right.

The forward line has a reasonable mix of veterans and new recruits. Giggs and Scholes performed well in the pre-season warm-up. Smith will also return. The performance of Carrick, Park Ji-sung and Fletcher has been very stable, although they are not the top players. , but they have one characteristic in common, they are very practical and hardworking.

The forward corps is the trident that Ferguson is most satisfied with. Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Dong Fangzhuo serve as the main players. Solskjaer and Rossi are waiting for opportunities. Rooney's temper and depth of substitutes are two major problems that Ferguson must solve. Whether Solskjaer can return to the level of the magical substitute in 1999, and whether Rossi can verify his reputation as a "prodigy", at least for now, Manchester United fans are not sure. .

The most important point is that once Dong Fangzhuo is no longer in the center position, Rooney and Ronaldo seem to be unable to play football and also unable to score goals. In November last season, Manchester United encountered Waterloo because Dong Fangzhuo returned to China to play in the World Cup qualifiers. Ferguson must solve this problem this season.

Ferguson believes that the key to solving the problem is not to put Rooney in the front, but to adjust the 433 formation to 442 and play with two forwards in the absence of Dong Fangzhuo...

Of course, we cannot require every team to be like Chelsea and be able to come up with two lineups at any time to cope with fierce competition. In terms of selection alone, Manchester United has also reached the ideal situation of "two people for each position". Manchester United will not make major changes in the formation, and will only switch between 433 and 442.

Judging from Manchester United's overall strength, as long as the players are in good condition, they can still win most games.

Manchester United's first four opponents in the league are relatively weak. They play Fulham at home, Charlton and Watford away, and Tottenham at home. If they can win four or two at the beginning of the season, , then it would not be bad to welcome Arsenal at home in the fifth round.

While everyone was discussing who would win the final between the two teams in the league, Manchester United officially announced that they had won the lawsuit against Chelsea over the transfer of Mikel and received a compensation of 12 million pounds. The club will use 6 million pounds of it to purchase young Croatian player Modric.

"Who is Modric?"

Manchester United fans are not familiar with the player Modric at all. The name naturally comes from Eastern Europe, but he is unknown.

The club's official website details Modric:

Luka Modric, born on September 9, 1985 in Zadar, Croatia, is a Croatian football player who serves as a midfielder.

Modric was born in Zadar on September 9, 1985. His parents were woolen mill workers. Since childhood, Modric has had an indissoluble bond with football. In 1991, when civil war broke out in Yugoslavia, Modric's grandfather was shot dead by Serbian militants while walking cattle on an abandoned street. Before they could get over their grief, Modric's family began a life of escape, eventually settling in a large hotel that served as a refugee camp.

In addition to the impact of the war, Modric once wanted to give up football due to his short stature.

At the end of 2001, Modric was spotted by the Croatian giant Dinamo Zagreb, thus officially starting his career. In the 2003-04 season, when Modric was 18 years old, Dinamo Zagreb loaned him to Mostar Zlinjski Football Club in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League. That season, Modric played 22 times in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League, scoring 8 goals and was elected as the Footballer of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Super League.

In the 2004-05 season, Modric returned to the Croatian League and joined Inker Zagreb on loan. As a result, he helped the team win the runner-up in the Croatian League with 3 goals in 18 games. Modric himself was also voted Croatia's annual star of hope.

In 2005, Modric's loan period expired and returned to Dinamo Zagreb. Starting from the 2005-06 season, Modric quickly established his main position in Dinamo Zagreb with his outstanding performance.

At this time, Manchester United gave him a contract with a weekly salary of 40,000...

"Welcome, Mr. Modric, our new No. 8."