The War of Words Between England and Spain

"Manchester City really values you!"

Walking into the mansion that Mansour gave Lin, Pere couldn't help but admire it.

The mansion was located on a hillside by the sea in Manchester, offering a broad view and beautiful surroundings.

Such a luxurious seaside villa would probably cost no less than 5 million pounds on the market.

But Mansour didn't even blink an eye and gave it to Lin as a welcome gift.

The generosity of a Middle Eastern tycoon was truly astonishing.

"Are you referring to this or the team cleanup?" 

Lin knew about Džeko and Tevez's transfers, but he wasn't particularly concerned.

As long as the club didn't sell David Silva, it didn't matter who else left.

"Both!"

Pere poured himself a glass of red wine, sitting on the sofa and observing the house's decorations.

Lin nodded slightly, poured himself a cup of tea, and sat on the sofa, waiting for Pere to continue.

Pere definitely didn't come over just to say this; he had another purpose.

"Manchester City currently doesn't have a head coach. Chairman Al Mubarak wants to ask for your opinion. Do you have any suitable candidates in mind?"

Sure enough, Pere brought up a topic that even surprised Lin.

"Asking for my opinion? Isn't choosing a coach something the club decides?"

Can a player really influence Manchester City's choice of head coach?

"Of course, Mansour wants to hire a coach whose tactical philosophy suits you. This way, your abilities can be fully utilized, and you won't perform poorly at Manchester City due to mismatched tactics."

Hearing Pere's explanation, Lin nodded to show he understood.

"Does Manchester City have any candidates in mind?"

There are many good coaches in the football world, but most are already employed.

Guardiola is at Bayern, Mourinho is at Chelsea, Ancelotti went to Real Madrid—these people won't leave their clubs anytime soon.

Ferguson retired, so he's not an option, and Wenger won't leave Arsenal either.

Among the remaining renowned coaches, those who might interest Manchester City include Eriksson, Benitez, Hiddink, Van Gaal, Ranieri, and Pellegrini.

These coaches have contracts, but their teams aren't top clubs.

Except for Ranieri's Monaco, the others could be persuaded.

After reviewing the list Pere provided, Lin started to think.

Historically, Manchester City signed the Chilean engineer Pellegrini.

Pellegrini had a reasonably successful three-season stint at Manchester City. Although he didn't win the Champions League, he led the team out of the group stage.

In his final year, they even reached the semi-finals.

In the league, Pellegrini also led Manchester City to another championship.

Considering Manchester City's spending and squad, his results were decent but not outstanding.

With this in mind, Lin decided not to interfere with Manchester City's coaching selection.

To him, these coaches had similar capabilities, so it didn't matter who they chose.

Knowing Lin's attitude, Manchester City started contacting these coaches and inviting them.

Hiddink and Van Gaal both declined Manchester City's offer. One was happy at Anzhi, and the other was preparing the Dutch national team for next year's World Cup.

As expected, Ranieri also refused. Monaco had made significant investments in the transfer market, aiming to make a big impact in Ligue 1.

Having never had such resources before, the Tinkerman was eager to make his mark and didn't want to leave halfway.

After several coaches declined, Manchester City ultimately signed Pellegrini, as they had historically.

Hearing that Lin had joined Manchester City, Pellegrini gladly accepted the invitation.

In his view, having Lin meant a minimum performance threshold. Even in the worst-case scenario, they wouldn't perform too poorly.

If he could integrate the team's tactics well, Manchester City might rise under his leadership!

After finalizing the contract with Pellegrini, Manchester City quickly announced the news on their official website.

They also announced Džeko and Tevez's transfers.

Although both transfers were player-initiated, the announcements still sparked controversy.

"Haha, Manchester City is cleaning house!"

"With so many forwards, if they didn't clean up, Lin might not have a spot!"

"I'm not surprised Tevez left, but Džeko? He performed well at Manchester City. Why did he leave suddenly?"

"Isn't it because of Lin? As soon as he arrived, he took Džeko's No. 10 jersey. Any proud player would feel humiliated and choose to leave!"

"That makes sense. So, Lin is a team-breaker!"

Online criticism of Lin emerged, mainly from fans of other Premier League clubs.

For them, Lin joining Manchester City was bad news.

An enhanced Manchester City meant tougher matches for their teams.

The Premier League already had enough strong teams. The competition was fierce, with limited rewards.

Manchester City's sudden rise only made the competition more brutal.

Apart from Manchester City fans, Premier League fans didn't want to see Manchester City's rise.

They preferred Manchester City to remain a weak club that their teams could easily bully.

Seeing that weak team suddenly rise and surpass them was hard to accept.

It's like seeing someone else get rich—it's more painful than losing money themselves!

Besides fan criticism, British media also expressed concerns about Lin's prospects at Manchester City.

"Everyone knows the Premier League is the world's top league and the most competitive.

"La Liga players focus on footwork and not physical confrontation. This soft playing style won't work in the Premier League.

"Lin's footwork is excellent, but his physical confrontation skills are questionable.

"Opponents will take pride in knocking him down and humiliating him on the field.

"For a player under eighteen, this might be very harsh.

"But this is the Premier League, the world's top league. No matter your reputation, it doesn't matter here!"

British media subtly implied that Lin couldn't adapt to the Premier League and mocked Spanish players' soft style as unmanly.

When these British reports reached Spain, they immediately triggered a comprehensive counterattack from Spanish media.

"Haha, losers always like to flatter themselves.

"If Premier League teams are so strong, their European results must be great, right?"

Spanish media included a chart of last year's Champions League quarter-finals.

Among the eight teams, three were from La Liga, two from the Bundesliga, one from Serie A, one from Ligue 1, and one from the Turkish Super Lig—no Premier League teams.

With this chart, British boasting couldn't continue.

But Spain didn't stop there:

"British media ignore the fact that Spanish teams, considered 'soft,' consistently outperform Premier League teams in European competitions.

"Let's remind the British: In European finals, Premier League teams have consecutively lost six trophies to La Liga teams."

At this time, Spanish tiki-taka football was at its peak.

Not only did La Liga dominate the Premier League at the club level, but the Spanish national team also outshone England.

"Spain has won two European Championships and one World Cup, recently adding the Confederations Cup for a complete set.

"What about the England national team?

"They were knocked out in the World Cup round of 16 and the European Championship quarter-finals. We have to ask:

"La Liga's strength has bolstered Spain's national team, making Spanish midfielders world-renowned. Every top club prides itself on having a Spanish midfielder.

"But what has the Premier League's strength brought to England?

"Besides their local reputation, what notable English players thrive in other leagues?"

Spanish media's sharp rebuttals left British media speechless.

England's national team, often called the 'China team of Europe,' boasted at home but performed poorly in major tournaments.

But British media, due to their English language dominance, had significant influence, always hyping their teams despite frequent embarrassments.

...

"Don't mind the online comments. These are opponents trying to mess with your mind."

During preseason training, national team teammate David Silva specifically consoled Lin:

"When I first came to the Premier League, they doubted me too.

"They thought a small, skinny player like me couldn't survive here.

"But I proved them wrong with excellent performances, turning doubts into praise.

"In the Premier League, just play well and let your results speak for themselves.

"If you focus too much on external opinions, it will drain your energy and affect your performance."

David Silva, speaking from experience, shared his wisdom with Lin.

Lin had seen the online arguments and the media war between the two countries but didn't care much.

Since transferring to Manchester City, he knew there would be significant controversy.

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks, David!"

Though he didn't need the pep talk, Lin appreciated David Silva's concern.

In a foreign place, having someone care about you is a friend worth keeping.

"Hehe, don't thank me. I'll need your help this season!"

David Silva joked with Lin:

"You're the core of the national team and now the club. On the field, take care of your national team buddy!"

Hearing this, Lin laughed:

"With your skills, you don't need my help. I'm new here, not familiar with anything, and need your guidance more!"

Lin referred to the locker room dynamics, being new to Manchester City and unaware of the internal affairs.

"Hehe, we'll talk more later. The coach is here!"

David Silva, smart as always, understood Lin's hidden meaning.

Accompanied by Chairman Al Mubarak, Pellegrini arrived at the training ground.

Standing on the sidelines, he watched the players train seriously and energetically.

Pellegrini was very pleased. He looked at Lin training with David Silva and asked Al Mubarak:

"How's Lin's condition? What position does he want to play this season?"

New to the team, Pellegrini hadn't met Lin yet and didn't know his temperament.

So he sought Al Mubarak's input first.

"Lin's condition is excellent. He can play any position upfront. You can discuss the specifics with him."

Al Mubarak, not being

 a professional, wouldn't interfere too much.

Professional matters are best handled by professionals. As head coach, Pellegrini should talk to the team's core player.

But before that, he decided to test the team with a few friendlies.

In early August, Manchester City would play in the Audi Cup in Munich.

The invited teams were Manchester City, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and São Paulo.

Among these, Bayern was the strongest, with the other three on a similar level, perfect for testing the team.

Given Bayern's status as fresh Champions League winners, Manchester City would face significant pressure.

Pellegrini didn't set specific goals for the Audi Cup.

Winning a game would be good enough!

...

Manchester City got lucky, not drawing Bayern in the first round but AC Milan, a team of similar strength.

AC Milan's performance had declined, far from their glory days.

They finished third in Serie A last season and were knocked out in the Champions League round of 16, comparable to Manchester City.

With both teams evenly matched, Pellegrini boldly adopted a 4-3-3 attacking formation to go head-to-head with AC Milan.

From the start, the game was intense. Though Manchester City players hadn't played together long, two exceptions were Lin and David Silva.

Lin and David Silva had played together in the national team and recently won the Confederations Cup, showing great chemistry.

In the 3rd minute, Lin assisted David Silva for a goal.

In the 19th minute, Silva returned the favor, assisting Lin for his first Manchester City goal.

Two minutes later, Lin assisted Kolarov for Manchester City's third goal.

In just 22 minutes, Manchester City scored three goals, shocking AC Milan.

The team's strong offensive firepower not only surprised AC Milan's coach but also startled Pellegrini himself!

Before coming to Manchester City, Pellegrini expected Lin to be strong.

But seeing Lin in action, he realized he had underestimated him.

Lin was even stronger than he thought!

Pellegrini was thrilled, realizing he might need to set higher goals for the season.

With Manchester City's current squad, winning the league and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals or even semi-finals seemed achievable!

If they were lucky in the knockout stages, avoiding top teams, they might even reach the semi-finals?