Handsome position is not easy

Chapter 172 The Eve of the Finals
Like most clubs, Porto's top management thought it was best to isolate the players from the outside world before the game, so they suggested to Mourinho to stay away from the city when picking a hotel, but the proud The head coach rejected the proposal. He not only settled on a hotel in the city center, but also planned to take the players out to see places worth visiting in Seville before the game.

Although there were many Scots staying in this hotel, the players were not disturbed because of the large number of club staff accompanying them. Compared with the past few bad away games, they slept quite soundly.The day before the game, the entire Porto team woke up very early. After enjoying the breakfast prepared by the nutritionist and the team chef, Mourinho held a combat meeting.

In all fairness, the pressure of the final was indeed very heavy. Although the chef's Portuguese dishes were extremely authentic, Yang still didn't taste much.The condition of the teammates is much better than that of the teenagers. Deco eats a lot. Ever since he obtained Portuguese nationality, this guy has vowed to get all the championships he has a chance to win this year. Like chicken blood, even the team's psychoanalyst was very surprised by his state.

This meeting was not on the agenda. The Porto players thought that the coach would make any changes to the basically determined starting lineup, but Mourinho just analyzed the offensive combination and basic tactics that the Celtics might adopt. What they need to deal with is the Scottish tough guy headed by Larson, while his opponent is the Northern Irishman Martin O'Neill.

The coach of the Celtics is not as young as Mancini. The 51-year-old Martin previously taught in Leicester City. He personally led the Foxes to the Premier League and made the team stable in the middle of the league for three consecutive years. In the past few years, he has won two English League Cups in the powerful Premier League.

After leaving Leicester City, Martin came to the Scottish Super League. In the first year of coaching Celtic, he won the triple crown of domestic competitions including the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish FA Cup and the Scottish League Cup, breaking the Glasgow Rangers. The league's 13-year reign.

Mourinho got a lot of information about his opponents in the final. This Northern Irishman studied under the famous coach Clough during his playing days. He has a deep English football style in tactics. He is very good at motivating players and likes to adopt formations that focus on the wing. , and there must be a center player who can play with the ball, so the Celtics have a good set-piece offense.

In terms of tactics, he attaches great importance to defense, and strictly requires players not to make blind long passes. He advocates the use of simple and fast ground passes to counterattack. The Celtics have also created a perfect tactical skeleton by him, with a high-speed striker combination. Use two players who break through the cross from the side to support the striker, put two powerful midfielders who take into account both offense and defense in the center, and the defense uses physical confrontation to limit the opponent's offensive players.

In the process of getting to know Martin O'Neill, Mourinho felt a lot of sympathy for each other. He likes to speak harsh words to his opponents, and the Setubal people feel deeply about this.

But the Celtics coach also has his own weaknesses. He has absolute trust in the starting lineup he has established, and he has not done a good job in player rotation. His team often has physical problems at the end of the season. Not very stable, Martin's fearless and stubborn character will bring a very special temperament to the team, so the Celtics can always play at a super level in the elimination cup.

By dismantling Martin O'Neill's tactics, Mourinho explained to the players how Porto's defense should deal with the Celtics' offense from multiple aspects, especially the defense against set kicks and wide crosses. La and Nunovalente listened carefully, because once the game started, they both had to face the Celtics' sharpest offense.

After the tactical meeting, Mourinho immediately took the players from the hotel to the most famous square in Seville. In his coaching philosophy, proper relaxation before the game is very important. The local scenery in Spain is indeed very charming. Under the gags of his teammates, the tension that was still lingering in his chest has been gradually forgotten by Yang.

After a short break after lunch, Mourinho took team captain Vitor Baia to the pre-match press conference. Martin O'Neill is indeed a coach with a real temperament. In front of him, he waved his arms and said harsh words again.

"Porto, who beat Lazio to advance to the final, is indeed the favorite to win the championship, but Celtic is not easy to mess with. My players can't wait to take the UEFA Cup championship trophy from the Portuguese. I will do what I say. "

The opponent's extremely confident words only brought a smile from the corner of Mourinho's mouth. Facing the continuous questions from the reporters, he answered very plainly, as if Martin O'Neill's provocation did not exist at all, and the press release was settled. After the meeting, he immediately took Baia back to the team's training ground. Compared with arguing with reporters, this training session that will determine the starting roster is obviously much more important.

To the surprise of the Setubal people, hundreds of reporters gathered beside the training ground in Porto. Seeing the long guns aimed at the players, Mourinho shook his head helplessly and quickly threw himself into the training .Porto's players were in very good condition, and enough rest time allowed them to move around very flexibly. Young's performance of passing two people in a row in the group confrontation even aroused the exclamation of the reporters on the sidelines.

But a bad thing happened suddenly. Jankauskas fell to the ground during a corner kick. The medical team seemed very experienced. In order not to expose the injuries of the players to the reporters, they were expressionless He walked forward quickly and helped Jankaskas quickly leave the training ground.

Soon, bad news came from Rafat and Nelson. The Lithuanian center twisted his ankle when he landed. The injury is not serious, but the pain is obvious. If the redness does not subside tomorrow, Jankaskas will Absolutely can't show up.

After knowing this situation, Porto's coaching staff immediately began to discuss a solution. Capucho and Marco are both in very good condition and have a strong will to fight, because the expected tactic of Jankaskas coming off the bench can no longer be implemented. Mourinho must keep enough backup players. After much deliberation, he decided to let Capucho start. This tall veteran is more similar to Postiga in style. With him, Del Rey can play well. Be more comfortable.

Now that the striker has become a combination of one high and one fast, the next choice is easier to make. In order to deliver higher-quality passes to Delray and Capuccio, Mourinho gave up the defensively experienced A Lenichev, his choice is Young, Porto's twin stars will shine again in the Europa League final!

(End of this chapter)