Rebirth 1994: Football Situation

Chapter 679 Candidates
After laughing, Pei Wei looked at Mourinho and said, "If it's just to find a suitable substitute and a pawn to change tactics, I have two choices."

Mourinho was stunned for a moment. It is hard to find such a striker, but Pei Wei said there are two!
Now European players focus more on offense than defense, and there are many good forwards, but such forwards either have a bright future and are the targets of various clubs, or they are in their prime and are the main force of various clubs—whether it is the former or the latter, I am afraid that they will not come to Newcastle to play as a substitute.

So in fact, Mourinho's request is very harsh. Solskjaer has only one, and Kroos has only one.

Now that Pei Wei said that there are two, Mourinho is a little unconvinced-could Pei Wei be so much more familiar with European football than himself?

"A veteran player and a young player." Pei Wei said slowly: "One is Ibrahimovic's striker partner in Sweden, Henrik Larsson. He just ended his contract with the Scottish Celtics this year. Come to the big leagues, he has rich experience, strong scoring ability, fast speed, and a veteran like him can tolerate life on the bench...suitable for all our requirements."

"But it is said that Barcelona is already ahead..." Mourinho reminded.

"This is not a problem." Pei Wei said with a smile: "Larson is used to life in the British Isles, and we have an advantage in this regard, and although we cannot compare with Barcelona in past honors, in the past In this year, we are much more brilliant than Barcelona, ​​so we have a chance, of course, we also have to prepare, it is my habit not to put all eggs in one basket."

"Who is that other teenager?" Mourinho asked.

"David Villa, a 22-year-old striker from Zaragoza." Pei Wei replied: "He scored [-] league goals in Zaragoza last season. Quite good for a striker, quick, good technique, calm in front of goal and a great free-kick... a lad with a bright future."

"It's not easy for Zaragoza to release people, is it?" Mourinho asked.

Pei Wei waved his hand: "Money is not a problem. His termination fee is 600 million euros, but in fact he can be obtained by paying about half of the price. But if the main force cannot be guaranteed, it will be difficult for him to come, but we There is also a need to store power for the future.”

"Larson is free, maybe it is more suitable for us, but Jose, you don't need to think about this aspect, I will pay for it, if Villa can have a good development under your hands, then I will not Be stingy with my purse." Pei Wei finally said.

Mourinho thought for a while, and then said: "Larson, what we need now is not the main force, but an excellent substitute. Larson has a lot of experience, and a player like him is very important I have already taken it very lightly, and it will not cause conflicts in the team. Villa is still young, and what he needs is a game."

Pei Wei laughed: "That's very good, I will send someone to contact Larson immediately, otherwise he will be snatched by Barcelona... But we can't give up on Villa, otherwise it will be a crime... I think it would be a good idea to buy half of him or get the right of first refusal. Well, next, the midfield."

"Our midfield is relatively weak." Mourinho said, "Makelele and Janus performed very well last season, but they did not have a suitable substitute. Speed ​​is very good, but he is old. He is already big, and he is not very willing to sit on the bench, so we need to find a good midfielder, preferably a versatile player."

Speaking of this, Pei Wei and Mourinho smiled at each other, and then said a name at the same time: "Michael Essien."

Mourinho chose him because Essien impressed him last season against Lyon in the Champions League - tireless, physically fit, both offensive and defensive, able to play multiple positions in the back line, and more importantly Importantly, his fighting spirit is something Mourinho appreciates very much.

"This person will cost me a lot of money..." Pei Wei sighed: "Jean Aulas is a standard vampire, but if he can win such an excellent midfielder, it is worth the money .”

Mourinho agrees. These days, it's not hard to find a good striker, and it's not hard to find a good defender. The hardest thing to find is a good midfielder. In modern football, the importance of the midfielder is becoming more and more known. , but there are fewer and fewer good midfielders, which is a paradox.

Not to mention that an offensive and defensive midfielder like Vieira and Keane is almost irresponsible, and an elegant midfielder like Redondo and Guardiola is hard to be surpassed, even an engineer-type midfielder. Fewer and fewer. In the past, Italy has never been short of engineer midfielders. As a result, it still can only count on the pair of Gattuso and Pirlo.

Makelele played in the French national team until he was 35 years old. After he announced his withdrawal from the national team, the French coach Le Maire would force him into the national team, so that Mourinho said angrily: " Makelele is not a player, Makelele is a slave."

All of the above have proved the importance of having a good midfielder.

And Essien is not only a pure defensive midfielder, he also has a strong offensive ability, and sometimes he can play right back... Such a versatile player with abundant physical fitness really satisfies Mourinho .

The only dissatisfaction is that Essien is an African international. Every two years, he is likely to miss a long period of time because he is going to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations. Mourinho has tasted this feeling in February this year , the two right-backs Trabelsi and Kufuor were absent for nearly a month, and Newcastle's performance was also greatly affected during that time.

After deciding on this candidate, Mourinho planned to discuss the right back candidate with Pei Wei, who knew that Pei Wei suddenly said: "Jose, don't you think we are still a bit weak in the middle? Janus last year Well done, but the state of young players always has ups and downs... just relying on Makelele and Essien is still weak for our third-line battle."

Mourinho was stunned for a moment. He didn't know why Pei Wei said that. You must know that Nie Fei and Ribery can also play in the middle of the midfield, although their defense is not very good.

But he quickly came back to his senses and asked, "Do you have anyone you can recommend?"

Pei Wei did not answer his question directly, but said: "Newcastle now has fewer and fewer local players. After Shearer retires, he needs a banner figure, and Newcastle's tradition is to use more local players, so I I want to recommend someone to you."

"A player born in Newcastle?" Mourinho quickly filtered it in his mind, born in Newcastle, in the middle of the midfield, and a native English player...

A name flashed through Mourinho's mind: "Michael Carrick?"

"That's right!" Pei Wei laughed loudly: "It's another Michael... This young man is very good. Although he was born in the West Ham youth team, he was born in Wilside, Newcastle, and he also likes In our team, a young midfielder who is both attacking and defending, but also a homegrown player, such a player is not common."

"But he may not be able to play the main force in our team." Mourinho frowned and said, he was telling the truth, if Essien came, then Makelele, Essien and Janus would compete for two A main position, which itself is enough to cause headaches, if Carrick is added, then Newcastle's competition in the middle of the midfield will be unprecedentedly fierce.

"Then we can take the same approach as Petr Cech, buy it first, and then sublease it to West Ham United." Pei Wei thought for a while and said: "West Ham has just been promoted from League One, and their financial situation is not too bad. Well, if we agree to let Carrick play another season at West Ham and we pay him a salary, then they are likely to agree, after all Carrick was an FA Youth Cup winner in 99 , and was once selected for the England national team, but after all he has been in League One for a year, we should have no competitors."

Mourinho nodded in agreement. He has observed Carrick's performance. He has a good view of the overall situation, has both offensive and defensive skills, and has excellent physical fitness. In terms of strength, it is impossible for him to have any opinions.

"Next..." Pei Wei rubbed his temple and said with a headache, "It's the right back."

This problem caused him a lot of headaches last season, and it still gives him a lot of headaches this season. Kufuor and Trabelsi actually performed well, but they are not very reassuring, and the two Africans are on the right. As for the position of defender, there was no one in this position since the beginning of the Africa Cup of Nations. In a few games in February this year, Mourinho could only send Griffin, who had been out of battle for a long time, to play this position. The effect can be imagined Know.

Although Essien can also play right back, he is also African...

"Do you have any good candidates? Jose?" Pei Wei asked.

Mourinho nodded: "I have two candidates... but they are not easy, I am very satisfied if I can come to one."

"Let's hear it." Pei Wei said with great interest.

"One is Sergio Ramos from Sevilla in La Liga, and the other is Philipp Ramos from Bayern Munich." Mourinho reported two names: "They are both young and have both offensive and defensive skills. Moss' defense is a bit better, and Rahm can play both full-backs, and his assist ability is better."

"Okay, I'll get in touch." Pei Wei sighed, "At least I'll bring you one."

(End of this chapter)