Manchester United legend

Chapter 27 Focus Battle
Robson explained the essentials of 1vs1 defense to Jost, which greatly benefited Jost. He felt that he could do better.

When defending Sharp on the wing, Sharp was still pedaling his bicycle and his body was swaying left and right. Jost stood still, his defensive center of gravity was lowered, he was not shaken by Sharp, and he kicked out blindly.Jost was very happy. He successfully snatched the ball this time. He was swayed by Sharp several times before.

After the group confrontation, some recovery training was carried out, and today's training is over.

Jost wanted to find someone to accompany him to practice 1VS1 defensive practice, but he had just arrived in the first team and was not very familiar with the people in the team.

He saw Giggs packing up his things. Compared with other players in the first team, he and Giggs were relatively familiar. Jost hurried to find Giggs.

Jost: "Hey! Ryan, can you stay with me after practice to practice 1vs1 defense?"

Giggs: "I'm sorry Paul! Just now Sharp asked me to go to a party at night. Are you going? You can go with us."

After hearing what Giggs said, Jost thought about the last party he attended with Sharp and Giggs, and then he was caught by Ferguson and roared. Jost could smell the black pepper in Ferguson's mouth, and his saliva sprayed on Jost's face. Jost didn't dare to wipe it. Thinking of Jost getting terrified all over, he didn't want to repeat the feeling he felt last time.That felt awful.

Jost shook his head: "I still won't go! I wish you a happy time!"

Giggs is still very enthusiastic, he likes to be lively, and he still warmly invites Jost to participate together.Jost firmly refused.Finally, Giggs shook his head and left, feeling sorry for Jost for missing the party.

After training in England, the players would go home, or go to the bar for a drink, and very few people would stay for extra training.Jost is very depressed, no one can practice 1vs1 defense with him.

Jost practiced passing the ball against the wall by himself, and a voice came from behind him after a while: "It's better to 1vs1 with me if you don't realize how much you practice passing alone."

Jost looked back and saw that you were someone else. It was Cantona who had just joined Manchester United. He didn't expect him to stay for extra training.

Cantona said: "Boy, do you want to train with me?"

Jost thought that training with two people was better than training alone, so Jost nodded in agreement.

Jost and Cantona first practiced passing the ball, then Cantona practiced shooting and Jost picked it up for him.

In the end, Cantona practiced 1vs1 defense with Jost. Cantona attacked and Jost defended. Cantona was more experienced than Sharp. He always lured Jost into thinking that this was an opportunity for him to grab the ball. But every time Jost failed to grab the ball, Cantona passed him over and over again.

Finally Cantona stopped, Jost: "Why don't you practice anymore?"

Cantona: "Boy, check what time it is, it's already dark."

Jost saw that it was indeed very late. Cantona said, "You practiced with me just now. Your body is very good, but you don't know how to use it. If you want to grab the ball, you must learn to use your body reasonably. Your experience is still lacking. Experience is accumulated in the game. Watch more games and see how they defend."

Jost listened carefully to Cantona's suggestion: "Thank you, after training tomorrow, will you still practice?"

Cantona smiled: "I will practice every day." Then we broke up and said goodbye in two days.

In this way, Jost would practice with Cantona after training every day. From being unable to grab the ball from Cantona once, to now being able to grab the ball from Cantona two or three times, Jost saw his progress.

The arrival of Cantona is definitely a timely help for Manchester United.In other words, Manchester United has found a guiding light and a strong support in the dark and difficult league.

Ferguson specifically combined Cantona's characteristics and advantages, effectively transforming Manchester United in terms of lineup and tactical play.Ferguson clearly grasped Cantona's superb strength and perfectly integrated him into the team's formation, allowing Cantona to lead Manchester United's new style of play and exert incomparable power.

Ferguson put Cantona next to Mark Hughes and fell back slightly.Moreover, in order to adapt to Cantona's technical characteristics, Ferguson also let him control the ball more and take over part of the offensive task.To this end, Ferguson did not hesitate to sacrifice the playing time of the team's old scalper McClair.

Manchester United's lineup more often appears in front of the opponent is 4411.Especially in the stalemate with the opponent's midfielder, Manchester United's lineup can easily become 451, and the advantage of the number of midfielders can completely change the situation on the field.Even when Mark Hughes bravely chased back to his own half to defend, once Manchester United succeeded in stealing the ball, Cantona's possession and protection of the ball in the midfield, leading the team to quickly press the attack or speed up the assault, became Manchester United's two invincible weapons.

Because of Cantona's comprehensive coverage of the midfield position, it is even difficult for the opponent to send a special defender or midfielder to closely mark him.And once the French are left with space and time, the consequences are often fatal.

On another level, Cantona, who had a tougher and more violent personality at that time, completely replaced Paul Ince, the team's great man-the governor was sometimes lacking in roots-and became the natural representative of Manchester United's bloody qualities.

The kind of arrogance that Cantona displayed on the field is not only the bravery of Ince who wants to fight with others and overwhelm his opponents in the fight, it is not only the bravery of McClair who is not afraid of death, and it is not only the kind of ruthless rigidity of Mark Hughes. Cantona's arrogance will have more content.

He is like the emperor on the court, patrolling his own territory.Opponents or your teammates, as well as everything on the court, are all under your control.

After the signing of Cantona, Manchester United's season seems to have officially started, or restarted at this moment. On November 11, Manchester United beat Liverpool 28-1, making a good start for the "new season".

Cantona soon got the chance to play, and soon became the main force, becoming the strongest fighter under Ferguson.

With the joining of Cantona, Manchester United's combat effectiveness can be described as a hurricane, and it has begun a frenzied pursuit of the top spot.Entering December, Manchester United crazily grabbed points under the leadership of Cantona, setting off a red whirlwind in the Premier League.

On December 12, Manchester United beat Manchester City 6-2 at home.The game was tense, with two goals from Hughes and Ince to cheer the Red Devils fans, and Schmeichel's near-impossible save in front of the goal line saved the team's victory.

Cantona came off the bench and didn't cause too many exclamations, but Cantona became familiar with the team.A week later, Manchester United defeated their powerful rival Norwich 1-0. Mark Hughes scored the only goal, and Cantona has become the main starter. He has a deeper understanding of Manchester United's football.

On December 12, Manchester United drew 19-1 with Chelsea in an away game. Cantona scored the first goal of his Red Devils career. On December 1, Manchester United challenged Sheffield Wednesday away. It was a game that was almost cursed, but Manchester United had Cantona, everything was different.The Red Devils fell behind in the first half. They were scored by their opponents in the 12nd minute of the opening, and fell behind by two goals in the 26th minute.

The defense was slag, and the offense was not lucky enough. In the first half, the Manchester United striker missed at least 3 excellent opportunities in front of the opponent's goal!Not long after the start of the second half, Manchester United was defeated by Schmeichel one-on-one by the opponent, and the score became 3-0!At the moment when everyone almost believed that it was bound to fail, McClair, who was extremely unlucky in the first half, tied the score at 2-3 with two headers. At the last moment, Cantona made an ultimate rescue.Manchester United fell behind by 3 goals and chased back 3 goals!This is a game that almost completed a shocking reversal!Cantona fought to the end and scored the last goal for Manchester United, which was cheered wildly by the Manchester United fans.

Two days later, Manchester United defeated Coventry 5-0 at home, and Cantona's power made the opponent frightened.Cantona established his status through this game: Manchester United's first goal, Cantona created chaos in the opponent's penalty area, and finally Giggs was unmarked with a tricky shot from the edge of the penalty area; break down.Of Manchester United's five goals, four were directly related to Cantona. This game really made people see Cantona's skills and football wisdom!

Manchester United has won consecutive victories in the winter campaign, and Norwich and Villa are already at the top of the list.

After entering the new year, on January 1993, 1, Manchester United ushered in a key battle of the 9th round of the Premier League, playing against the strong enemy Arsenal at home.This is Cantona's 25th game since he came to Manchester United. In the first 6 games, he scored round after round and assisted every game, helping the team win a complete victory. The standings jumped from sixth place before joining Manchester United to second place.

Therefore, almost all Red Devils fans were expecting Cantona to continue his magic before the game.This game is also the focus of the Premier League, and its importance is beyond doubt.

Before the game, the situation of the top three in the standings is as follows: Norwich ranks first with 41 points, but the goal difference is 0, Manchester United and Aston Villa have 38 points, but Manchester United ranks second in goal difference ahead of the opponent by 5; the match between the leader Norwich and Sheffield Wednesday will be held a day later.If United win and Norwich lose, Ferguson's side will rightfully top the table.

(End of this chapter)