From the man behind the football king to the football king.

Chapter 478 International Champions Cup

Manchester United has been conducting arduous pre-season training for nearly a month, especially Bruno, who participated in pre-season training for the first time.

However, because Bruno's training plan was out of sync with that of his teammates, he did not perform satisfactorily in several warm-up matches before the season. Even in the International Champions Cup, Bruno still failed to get into shape.

This has always been expected by the coaching staff and Bruno himself.

On the evening of July 7th local time in the United States, Manchester United ushered in the first game of the International Champions Cup and faced Manchester City. This is the first time a Manchester derby has been played outside the UK. Although Manchester United easily defeated their opponent 20:2, Bruno, who played for half of the game, was closely guarded by Manchester City and his performance was relatively average.

In an interview with the media after the game, Bruno said that he was recovering.

"I just played in the Confederations Cup at the beginning of the month and I'm still recovering, I just need some time."

Mourinho also said in an interview with the media that Bruno scored zero goals in the warm-up match. One of the important reasons is that he is undergoing pre-season physical reserve training and condition adjustment, and everyone should give him more time.

"He no longer needs to prove himself to anyone. He is the best player! I believe that in the new season he will still be the best player in the Premier League and even Europe."

Everyone at Manchester United is also very supportive of Bruno, and the fans are full of confidence in him. They firmly believe that his downturn is only temporary and he will be able to get out of it soon.

With 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the five warm-up matches, Manchester United's performance was mixed, which caused great controversy for Manchester United.

In the 31st minute of the game, Valencia made a mistake in protecting the ball and Neymar seized the opportunity. This time De Gea was unable to do anything. Barcelona led Manchester United 1:0.

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Gradually, the Red Devils gained the confidence they deserve. Rashford dribbled the ball into the goal and shot from a small angle. Unfortunately, Barcelona goalkeeper Cillessen performed well and he once again blocked the goal.

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After the start of the second half, both sides made large-scale adjustments, but neither achieved anything more. In the end, Barcelona won the game with Neymar's goal.

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand also supported Bruno in his must-die column, believing that he had to recover and adjust in less than three weeks from the Confederations Cup to the warm-up match against the Los Angeles Galaxy. We also have to carry out arduous physical training for the new season, which is really not easy.

In the counterattack, Bruno hoped to find Rashford through a long pass, but unfortunately the latter did not get the ball. Barcelona returned to the dressing room with a 1-goal lead.

Especially against powerful opponents like Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​the problem of Manchester United's weak forward is very serious.

Because the Community Shield match will be ushered in on August 8, Manchester United ended their warm-up tour after the International Champions Cup and returned to Manchester.

"Bruno is undoubtedly at his trough right now. Give him some time and I believe he can climb to a higher peak soon."

"In fact, we can see that many players who performed well last season often performed poorly in the World Cup or Confederations Cup in the summer. This is because every player's state has ups and downs."

After withstanding the opponent's early offensive pressure, Manchester United began to launch a counterattack. Not to be outdone, Bruno took a violent long shot after receiving a pass from his teammate, but it was saved by Cillessen. Then Gundogan also tried to score through a long shot, but his shot missed. Similarly, Lingard's long shot also missed the goal position.

Bruno's condition obviously improved a little in this game. Just one minute into the game, he made a wonderful heel pass, but Lingard's follow-up push failed to score.

After that, Barcelona continued to launch an offensive. Yosi's free kick was slightly over the crossbar, and Suarez also fired a volley, which was saved by De Gea.

Two days later, Manchester United's second match in the International Champions Cup was against Real Madrid. The two sides battled 90:1 in 1 minutes. Lingard scored a wonderful goal in stoppage time in the first half, but Casemiro scored a penalty kick. Immediately, the game entered a penalty shootout. Manchester United led the opponent 2:1 and finally won with a score of 3:2.

After the game started, De Gea saved shots from Neymar, Yossi and Suarez. In the 13th minute, Yosi formed a very threatening shot from the outside of the penalty area. Fortunately, the shot missed the post.

The Manchester Guardian said in a comment that Manchester United's offensive problems have begun to affect the team's new season journey, and Mourinho should solve this problem as soon as possible before the new season officially starts.

On the evening of July 7, Manchester United ushered in the final game of the International Champions Cup, facing Barcelona at FedEx Stadium.

Regardless of whether it is Mourinho or Bruno, the media and fans will no longer question their coaching level and playing strength, but now Manchester United's problem is how to solve the team's offense as soon as possible and reactivate Bruno's state.

Not only the media and fans pay attention, but even the management attaches great importance to it.

The head coach's office at Carrington training ground.

<divclass="contentadv">Manchester United CEO Cristiano Giaretta, head coach Mourinho, chief assistant coach Faria, chief physical coach Carlos Larin, and new captain Michael as player representative ·Carrick and Bruno, the team's number one star, were all sitting together.

This is the first time Manchester United has invited players to participate in a discussion in the new season. Obviously, the coaching staff also hopes to hear the opinions of the players, especially the opinions from Bruno, who is the team's number one star.

Last season, Manchester United scored 174 goals in all competitions, setting a single-season scoring record in team history. Bruno scored 58 goals and assisted 32 times, creating more than half of Manchester United's goals. Everyone has high hopes for him this season. With high hopes.

But there are also some people who are waiting to see Bruno's joke, thinking that he will hit the rookie wall.

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The coaching staff took the lead in analyzing the team's situation and believed that the current situation was basically not beyond everyone's expectations, including Bruno. It is understandable that his state came slowly.

Carlos Larin said that no one, including Bruno himself, needed to be too anxious. He said: "Before September, you can definitely gradually get into the rhythm and condition of the new season."

During this period of time, Bruno has been strictly following his training plan without any compromise. If Bruno is not in good condition, then he, the physical coach, must be responsible.

Bruno himself said that he felt that his condition was gradually returning and he was full of confidence.

Carrick said that there are no problems in the team's locker room. Even the newly introduced Lindelof gets along well with the team and there are no problems.

Carrick, who just celebrated his 36th birthday, has lost his main position at Manchester United since last season, but everyone believes in his role in the locker room, so after Rooney left Manchester United, Carrick did not have any surprises. Elected as captain by the players.

Mourinho also nodded, then turned to look at Bruno and said: "Bruno, please tell me too."

Everyone immediately looked at Bruno. Although he will only celebrate his 9rd birthday in September, he is already the backbone of the current Manchester United team.

Not to mention anything else, if he says something in front of the media tomorrow, "I am not happy playing football," it will cause an earthquake in the whole of Manchester and even British football. If it is more serious, Mourinho's coaching position will be destroyed. shake.

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Because of this, the coaching staff pays special attention to Bruno's opinions. How to make him play comfortably and how to bring out his full strength has become the most important task of the coaching staff at present.

If Bruno is not activated, who will score goals in the new season?

Rooney has left. Although Ibrahimovic has recovered well from his injury, he is a veteran who will celebrate his 10th birthday in October after all. He has just suffered a serious injury. It is difficult to say how he will be in shape after his comeback.

Neither Rashford, nor Lingard, nor McTominay, who performed well during the warm-up match, can afford to take on this role for the time being.

As for signings, neither Harry Kane nor Mbappe have made decisive progress yet. Whether and when these two transfers will be successful is still unknown.

Bruno also thought about it carefully for a while, then looked at the head coach and Faria, and with their encouragement, he said: "I will just talk about some of my personal thoughts and feelings during the game. "

"Well, it's okay. Since it's a symposium, of course it's okay to speak freely." Giaretta said.

The Manchester United CEO knows very well that Bruno's role for the team is not limited to the court. Even on transfer issues, he also has a strong say.

Whether it was during his time at Udinese or at Manchester United, the players he recommended to sign turned out to be value-for-money without exception. And some players he was not very optimistic about eventually proved to have problems.

Mourinho also nodded and said: "It doesn't matter. Even if you think there is a problem with our tactics, just say so. Only by communicating can we reach a consensus, right?"

Bruno smiled politely at Mourinho and said: "José is serious."

This is the respect he has always had for the head coach, and Mourinho responded in kind, smiling and gesturing for him to continue.

Obviously, Bruno's statement made him feel respected. As long as what he said next was not too offensive, Mourinho would listen and even accept it.

But precisely because of this, everyone present felt that what Bruno said next might be quite serious, otherwise he would not be like this.