Chapter 22: Keep an eye on No. 23!
January 26th.
Leicester, King Power Stadium.
The stadium is already full before the game even starts.
Leicester City fans wearing blue jerseys sang the team anthem loudly and waved their blue fox scarves, creating a lively atmosphere before the game.
It was also the first time for Lingshan and his wife Julia to come to the VIP stand area of King Power Stadium.
The loud singing that surrounded the entire stadium made the two of them feel very excited.
This is not the first time they have come to the King Power Stadium to watch football.
However, this time is different from every other time.
Because, their precious son is about to make his first career start in this stadium!
Yesterday, after learning that he was on the starting list, Ling Feng immediately called home to share the good news with his parents.
Then, he asked the club staff for two tickets.
The first start of his career, such a milestone moment, of course, must be witnessed by his relatives in this world.
The loud singing in the stadium also spread to the visiting team's locker room.
The Chelsea players who were changing their clothes looked relaxed.
And the Pistachio Hazard in the team, even with his upper body naked and only wearing shorts, stood in the middle of the locker room, constantly twisting his body to follow the music on his mobile phone.
Such a funny dance move made the teammates laugh.
Several teammates also imitated his example and started dancing together.
The most recent battle between Leicester City and Chelsea was two years ago.
The battlefield is also in the FA Cup.
At that time, Chelsea won a 5-2 victory.
Moreover, the two teams have met five times in history, and Chelsea has won all five!
Perhaps it is precisely because they have never lost that Chelsea players, who have a psychological advantage, are so relaxed.
Due to the adoption of a comprehensive rotation, among Chelsea's starting lineup, only Hazard and Lampard and Lampard are the absolute main players of the team.
The remaining positions, including goalkeeper, are substitute players who rarely appear in the league and Champions League.
It is worth mentioning that defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic, who just transferred from Benfica with a transfer fee of 21 million pounds in the winter window, got the opportunity to start for the first time.
As a newcomer who just transferred, Matic, sitting in the corner, just changed his sneakers silently and did not participate in the "dance".
In fact, this silent, tall defensive midfielder was bought by Chelsea for 1.5 million pounds as early as 2009.
However, due to fierce competition within the team and lack of strength, Matic was loaned to Tevez in the Eredivisie after wasting a year in the reserve team.
As for 2011, Matic, who had no chance to play at Chelsea, was sent to Benfica as an addition to Chelsea's purchase of David Luiz.
The Portuguese Super League giant Benfica, as one of the springboards for many South American potential new stars to go to the five major leagues, is a famous "black shop" in football
Their business model is to vigorously cultivate these potential little monsters, and then The leveled monsters will then be sold to teams in the five major leagues at a high price to obtain huge profits.
Di Maria, David Luiz, Coentrao.
All of them are famous and wealthy stars!
Matic, who came to the Portuguese Super League, was like a fish in water, quickly establishing himself and becoming the team's main defensive midfielder.
Last season, he helped Benfica finish second in the Portuguese Super League, Portuguese Cup and Europa League.
With his outstanding performance throughout the season, he was even named the best player of the Portuguese Super League season.
This performance was also recognized by Mourinho, who entered the palace for the second time, so he bought him back.
As Mourinho’s designated defensive midfielder in the winter window, Matic is the first step in Mourinho’s new tactical structure at Chelsea.
This FA Cup match against Leicester City was Matic’s first starting game after returning to Chelsea. He must perform well enough to repay Mourinho's trust and gain a place in the highly competitive Chelsea midfield!
Just as his thoughts were spinning, team coach Mourinho quickly walked into the locker room.
"Turn off the music! Sit tight!"
Under Mourinho's unquestionable tone, Hazard immediately turned off the music on his mobile phone.
The other players also hurriedly returned to their seats.
After looking around and watching everyone's eyes focused on him, Mourinho slowly said:
"Listen, what I want to say and the tactics I want to deploy were already announced in the tactics room yesterday. That’s it.”
“I just want to repeat that no matter what opponent we face, as a team, we must be tough and full of energy!”
After the lecture, Mu Rinho looked at Matic, who was silent in the corner, and said in a deep voice:
"Nemanja, your task is very simple, just keep an eye on No. 23 for me!"< br>
Hearing this, Matic looked solemn and nodded sharply.
"I got it, boss!"
. . .
At the same time, in the home team's locker room.
Compared to the visiting team, the atmosphere in the home team's locker room is much calmer.
The starting players, headed by Ling Feng, were all concentrating on doing their own thing.
It is a rare opportunity to start, and the opponent is the Premier League giant Chelsea, even though they are inevitably a little excited and nervous.
Even if the head coach tells them, "Don't put pressure on them and just perform to your heart's content," it won't completely alleviate their inner ups and downs.
After all, for substitute players, this game is a rare opportunity for them to perform.
However, both Pearson and the players understand that the purpose of this game is mainly to train troops and allow the main players to take a rest.
As for winning or losing, it really doesn't matter
After the simple lecture, Pearson was ready to attend the pre-match press conference.
As soon as I walked out of the locker room, the assistant coach Walsh next to me suddenly asked
"By the way, Nigel, the press officer just asked me if I would like to bring Ling with me. Press conference.”
“What do you think?”
Hearing this, Pearson couldn't help but frown.
Since the FA Cup was born, Ling Feng's performance has been amazing, which made him very happy and gratified.
However, such an outstanding performance also attracted media reporters like hyenas.
In the football world, Pearson has seen too many young players who have just debuted. They are overly praised by the media because of their good performance,
and then lose themselves and eventually become injured players. Yong's example.
He didn't want Ling Feng to become like this.
Ever since, Pearson shook his head and rejected this proposal, which could increase the team’s attention and traffic:
“He is still young, and I don’t want the media’s attention and shit. The flattery made him go to his head!”
(End of this chapter)