Handsome position is not easy

Chapter 136 Smooth Progress ([-])

Because there were several friendly matches on the international match day, the Porto internationals were called up again and did not return to the team until three days before the match against Benfica. In order to allow the players to rest, there was actually not much time to prepare through training. Three games The sequelae of the national team's competition were also quickly revealed.

Jorge Costa, whose condition had obviously declined due to exhaustion, made a big mistake in the 10th minute of the game. Benfica's left forward Simao Sabrosa was rudely knocked to the ground by him when he dribbled. The referee did not give Porto any face or leeway because this is the Asantas Stadium. Costa was sent off directly with a red card. The game was still very long, but the Blue and Whites could only fight with ten players.

Fortunately, Mourinho predicted in the preparation period before the season that the team would face a ten-on-eleven situation sooner or later, so Porto has been practicing a 4-3-2 formation with a small number of people. Thiago Moreira was removed from the midfield four and Ricardo Carvalho was brought in to fill the hole at the back.

According to normal thinking, a team with one less player will shrink its defense, but Mourinho believes that even if it is at a numerical disadvantage, Porto cannot give up its offense. In front of it is Benfica, a direct competitor for the championship. Reducing offensive firepower will only be a problem. Suicide.

Under the command of Mourinho, Porto quickly completed the adjustment of the formation. Because of the foundation of daily training, the players adapted very quickly. Although the midfield was a bit stretched, they still maintained enough pressure. This even made the Benfica players on the field feel very strange. The Porto they faced did not look like a small team at all.

At halftime, the score remained at 1:1. It seemed that a draw was an acceptable result. If this point could be kept, Porto would still be the leader of the Portuguese Super League, but Mourinho put such an idea Putting everything behind him, he knocked on the tactical board and said to the Porto players:
"It is not us who need to panic now, but Benfica. It stands to reason that Jorge was sent off and they should boost their morale and attack aggressively, but Benfica did not pose any threat to our goal in the remaining ten minutes of the first half. Said they were terrified.

You play football on the field, so it should be more direct than me. Even if they have the upper hand, they still have nothing to do with Porto. This shows that the training we usually do is completely effective. Benfica’s opportunity is to expect Porto to continue to make mistakes. Waiting for you to run out of energy, but they forget that this only happens when we are heavily oppressed.

Yes, remember what Benfica did in the past ten minutes?Passing and controlling the ball, but only did not invest in force to press down on our ball-handling players, Deco was even a little more than capable, what does this mean?It means that Benfica can't win us on their own. In this case, we will win this game in reverse. Boys, don't be afraid. In the second half, we must attack with all our strength, control the rhythm, and regain the dominance of the game ! "

The fans in the Asantas Stadium who were very frustrated because the home team was sent off saw a very strange scene in the second half. Porto, who played ten to eleven, suppressed Benfica, which is hard to imagine in normal times Yes, the midfield line composed of Deco, Maniche and Costinha is extremely stable, and it is very difficult for the Red Hawks to push through the half.

Deco's long-range shot from 28 meters made him completely the protagonist on the field. Porto 2:1 Benfica. This score did not change until the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game. Mourinho's The 4-3-2 formation really worked wonders, the entire Asantas stadium was cheering for the dragon's victory, Mourinho held his neck up and proudly accepted the cheers from the fans song.

The defeat of the Portuguese national derby has caused many chain reactions. The most direct manifestation is that Benfica has once again done something to understand the boss. Ferreira, who was defeated by Mourinho in the derby last season, this time He failed to use his new appointment as a reason to keep his handsome position.

Villariño announced that he would invite a famous coach, but this time it was not the turn of Toni, who had been fired by the Portuguese national team. Various rumors in the media and newspapers had been tossing around for a full month before Benfica officially announced what to do. Antonio Camacho became the team coach.

Spain under his rule has a lot of superstars, but it has not achieved much. It is difficult to win against the traditional powers in the world. The biggest shame of being in the Matador Legion may also be that the former Spanish coach was criticized at home and had no choice but to come to Portugal to seek gold.

Porto's next stop is the Grand Marinha Municipal Stadium, where they need to challenge Leiria. This time Young finally got the chance to reunite with his old teammates. He did not celebrate when he scored the opening goal for Porto. Thousands of fans in the stadium applauded this polite enough kid.

But the final result still made Mourinho very dissatisfied. Goalkeeper Nuno Espirito gave Leiria two goals with consecutive misses. The White Army can only hate Marinha. Mourinho can't laugh or cry at the 2:2 handshake again. The last time Porto was a guest here, he only scored one point. He and his old club seem to be Caught in some sort of draw spell.

Nuno's poor performance made Mourinho very uneasy. He was determined to give the 28-year-old goalkeeper some time to recover from the shadow of mistakes, but Porto will travel to Austria in a few days. For the Viennese team, this is a very important game that cannot be missed. The poor schedule of two consecutive away games also left Porto with little time to prepare and adjust.

On the way back to Porto from Leiria, Boas could see where the hesitation on his brother's face came from. During the chat with the coaching staff, he asked Mourinho a question: "Jose , What tactics do you plan to use in the match against the Viennese, attack with all your strength? Or defend and counterattack?"

"Of course it's an offense. If even the Austrian team's away game to Porto is scary, then why are we desperately trying to get a place in the European competition?" Mourinho shrugged his shoulders with a calm expression on his face.

"If this is the case, I suggest that Vitor Baia be the starting goalkeeper. Nuno is obviously stunned. We should always be more cautious in away games in the UEFA Cup, but there are only a few days left now. The goalkeeper position Changes are not good either…”

Porto's goalkeeper coach Silvino took over the conversation: "Don't worry, Baia has been training with the team for a whole week after the end of the suspension period, and the cooperation has been recovered long ago. You haven't seen it much, His attitude during training is too serious, I haven’t seen Baia with such fighting spirit in so many years, and his physical condition is also very good, Jose, if you have the idea of ​​changing the starting goalkeeper, now is a good time.”

(End of this chapter)