Handsome position is not easy

Chapter 148

After a fierce battle with Sporting Lisbon, Porto has a full thirteen points ahead of this competitor. Although the Portuguese Super League is only halfway through, it does mean that the Green Lions have completely lost the championship.Da Costa said excitedly in an interview with the media that he has served as the chairman of Porto for more than [-] years, and this is the first time he has seen his team dominate the game at the Alvalade Stadium.

Public opinion quickly turned to Porto. The public's doubts about the strength of the Blue and Whites have completely disappeared. Mourinho has also received numerous praises. The proposal to adjust the roster significantly caused an uproar in Portugal's domestic football immediately.

The dismal exit of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup made every Portuguese know that change is imperative. The golden generation is aging. It is understandable that Scolari selectively excluded some people from the selection list.Vitor Baia, the 33-year-old goalkeeper has completely bid farewell to his national team career, and the 31-year-old Jorge Costa has also faded out of the starting lineup, although they are still the absolute main force in Porto.

Because of Sporting Lisbon's poor performance in the first half of the season, Scolari's decision to abolish the players fell on them first. Paulo Bento and Joao Pinto did not enter the selection list of the Brazilian coach, and they still have the opportunity to enter the national team. Only Ruijorge and Sapinto remained.

In mid-January, Porto went to Lisbon again to challenge Belan Lens. This was the second leg of their two-game away game. Early in the morning of the game, Scolari came to the hotel where Porto was staying. Mourinho told The Brazilian talked for a long time, and even the morning training session was overseen by Brito in his stead.

In the hotel room, Scolari expressed his congratulations on Porto's excellent performance this season. Mourinho also generously provided detailed information on his players. The two analyzed each player in great detail, from physical Conditions to technical characteristics, even personality and hobbies.

Of course, Scolari’s main reason for coming was Deco. He mentioned to Mourinho that Porto’s midfielder would obtain Portuguese citizenship as soon as possible, and said bluntly that the Portuguese national team needed Deco very much, especially in Rui Costa is too old to be in AC Milan's poor state recently.

Mourinho revealed the progress of the naturalization, which made Scolari very relieved. The friendly and candid attitude of the Brazilians moved Mourinho, so Scolari said he hoped to be able to When observing one or two training sessions in Porto, the Setubal native agreed to his request without the slightest hesitation.

In the evening, before the match between Porto and Belenlens, Brito got the news from Madeira Islands. Benfica won Maritimo 2:1 away, which invisibly increased the number of Porto players. the pressure on them.To make matters worse, as soon as the game started, Bilenlens successfully scored a goal with a bottom cross from the left, and Porto was still behind 0:1 at the end of the half.

In the locker room of the visiting team, Mourinho had just finished talking about the tactical adjustments for the second half. Jorge Costa, who wore the captain's armband in this game, took over the conversation. This was his first time as captain this season, and Porto Having never lost in the league, Costa didn't want to suffer this kind of pain. He stared at his teammates in the locker room and shouted that if he lost this game, he would hang up his boots and retire.

Jorge Costa's words revived Porto's morale. Not long after the start of the second half, Deco assisted Delray with a long diagonal pass in a quick counterattack, and the momentum of the Blue and Whites immediately began to rise.The Porto players who found the game state began to besiege Bilenlens. In a corner kick opportunity, Jorge Costa, who went up, overwhelmed the two defenders of Bilanlens and scored with a header.

When the game lasted more than 70 minutes, Del Rey was brought down directly by the opponent with scissor kicks in the penalty area of ​​Belan Lens. The referee gave a red dot package. Deco gave the opportunity to the captain on the field, and Jorge Costa also accepted their kindness. He stood in front of the penalty spot with almost no run-up. of ten fingers off.

Porto won 3:1 away from Belenlens, they have won their two consecutive away games in Lisbon, no injuries, not even a cumulative yellow card suspension, they took it from Lisbon unscathed They scored six league points and successfully consolidated their position as the leader of the Portuguese Super League. Now Porto leads No.2 Benfica by [-] points, which means that they and the league championship trophy are close at hand. As long as they maintain their lead, No one can snatch the laurels from the mouth of the dragon.

So far, no one doubts whether Porto can have the last laugh. The difference is how long their stamina can last. After all, Porto still needs to face the intensive schedule of the third-line battle. The last hope of Benfica and Sporting Lisbon is that Porto will be defeated by the Europa League. And the Portuguese Cup dragged down, thus giving them a chance to come from behind.

However, now, the player rotation system proposed by Mourinho has been supported by almost all members of the club. Some Porto players have expressed doubts about the large starting rotation. They mentioned in private chats with Brito and others But I don't want to be rotated, because these players think they have enough physical reserves to deal with most of the games throughout the season.

But Porto's series of victories dispelled everyone's doubts about the rotation mechanism, and the same is true for those players with plenty of energy. When they started consecutively before, they still needed to paddle water from time to time in must-win games to get rest, but Mourinho's "State-only theory" put an end to these ideas.

The Porto players have fully understood the coach's intentions. Being able to start this game does not mean that the next game will be fine. On the contrary, most players who start this game will definitely go to the bench or even quit in the next game. big list.

After they get used to such a mechanism, the team spirit of the players has been unprecedentedly strengthened. In order to get the chance to start in important games, they need to devote themselves to training, and the motivation to win in the game is also maintained at the peak. In terms of status, Porto's first team has truly achieved "competition for posts".

After the Bilan Lenz game, Scolari organized two friendly matches for the purpose of selecting the Portuguese national team players. Postiga, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira also entered the list. Maniche , Costinha and Nuno Valente even got the starting position. Deco is very greedy for such an opportunity, but he still needs to go through some procedures if he wants to become a Portuguese citizen, even with Chairman Da Costa paving the way behind him. .

(End of this chapter)