Chapter 98: Running-in Period

Chapter 98: Running-in Period

"Okay, it's the two of them." Jose made a decision quickly, not because he was arbitrary, but because he was also familiar with the two players, and it was not a decision made on the spur of the moment.

"What about the defensive midfielder position? Are there suitable substitutes in the youth team?" Jose asked Piri enthusiastically.

"Do you really think that the Mallorca youth team is a big treasure? You have already dug out almost all the players you can use, but there is a suitable one in the transfer market." Piri smiled and said: "Marcos ?Martin Della, born in Mallorca, moved to Sevilla after two years of playing. Last season, he played for Lleida in the second division. His contract is about to expire. He is a defensive midfielder. He is 32 years old and in good condition. He is still in good condition, his salary is not high, you can sign him on a half-year loan, and he will be a free agent after half a year, so you won't invest too much."

"Thirty-two years old? Isn't that a little too old?" Jose hesitated.

"It won't matter if he is a substitute. After all, he doesn't ask for much, and he probably wants to come back to retire. His condition is actually very good, and his defensive ability is not bad. If I want to comment, he plays the position of defensive midfielder. , maybe he is more qualified than Soler." Piri said with a smile.

"Better than Soler?" Jose was a little surprised, but his understanding of players was obviously not comparable to that of Piri, who had been in the La Liga circle for decades. After thinking about it, he immediately nodded.

Only keep nineteen players, bring in three more players, twenty-two people, well, that's about it. Jose thought.

"I am responsible for transferring people from the youth team. I leave it to you to transfer Marcos." Jose said to Piri, who nodded.

Over the next few days, Mallorca started to make big moves.

A total of nine players from the first team were put on the transfer market. Those who should be rented should be sold, and those who could not be rented were sent to the second team. This vigorous and resolute move gave the Mallorca team a new atmosphere. , and after delegating five or six members of the original first team to the second team, Mesqueda, the head coach of the second team, stopped chasing Jose - because with the addition of Motta and Luque who were previously transferred, the second team's head coach Mesqueda Less than half of the main lineup was pulled into the first team by Jose, which made Mesqueda frown. However, the arrival of several first-team members alleviated the shortage of players in the second team, and Mesqueda was not dissatisfied. .

The streamlined Mallorca first team has 22 members, which is basically enough when only the league and cup games are played. The most important thing is that each position now has one or two people who have the strength to win the main position. Players, while the competition has become fierce, it has also made the atmosphere of the first team positive.

Even veterans with outstanding achievements may not be able to keep their main position. In this case, no one dares not to be active.

On December 10th, Mallorca faced Espanyol at home.

In this game, the starting lineup sent by Jose became 442, with goalkeeper Franco, right back George, left back Capdevila, center back Nadal and Gamarra partnered, midfielder Ngon The two midfielders are Ronaldinho and Ibargaza, and the forwards are Luke and Eto'o.

This lineup is obviously offensive-oriented. Both full-backs are good at assisting, and the two full-backs can also be used as forwards. In this game, Mallorca's offensive combination performed very well. Motta A forward move opened the scoring in the 19th minute. Shortly after the start of the second half, Ronaldinho's free kick helped Nadal score with a header. In the 83rd minute, Eto'o received a direct pass from Ronaldinho and then scored again. Scored one goal, but Mallorca won this game with great difficulty. The obviously weakened defense was scored two goals by the opponent. If Eto'o hadn't scored a goal in the 83rd minute that sealed the victory, Maybe Mallorca will suffer a draw at home.

Despite four consecutive victories, only winning one goal in each game gave Mallorca's winning streak a sense of luck. Regarding this, the media have criticized Mallorca, thinking that even after Jose took office, Mallorca The defense has not become better. Recently, although I have been lucky enough to score goals, my luck cannot always last.

Jose ignored the media's comments.

He knows that the team's current shortcomings are huge, but he also knows that there is no problem in the deployment of personnel. After Piri came out to rent Marcos on a free loan for half a year, Mallorca's performance in the entire team There are no flaws in the personnel deployment. Although they are not particularly outstanding players, the current combination of the team is already the strongest lineup that can be formed at this stage.

The reason for the current poor performance is simple - that is, the players still lack tacit cooperation.

You know, this winter Mallorca bought six players, promoted four players from the youth team, and the joining of ten new players almost completely changed the team. With the departure of two Argentines, three players Being loaned out and six players being transferred to the second team also disrupted the complete structure of the entire team. Although many of them still cooperated with each other very well, it was inevitable that there would be situations where the operation was not working properly. , this situation can only be solved slowly over time.

It's just a disruption, and naturally there are benefits of disruption. Mallorca needs to move from a deep-rooted defensive counterattack to a combination of offense and defense. This disrupted situation is more suitable for Jose to continue to adjust, but there will be some troubles in the early stage. , this must be a normal thing.

So Jose felt that he was pretty lucky - he was able to win four consecutive games in the league under such chaotic circumstances. Although each game was quite thrilling, he still won after all. Isn't this luck?

Although these four opponents are not strong, they are basically relegation teams and former strong teams that have performed poorly this season - such as Real Sociedad. However, in any case, luck is also a part of strength, precisely because of the accumulation of last season. The prestige allowed Mallorca to win these four games despite unfavorable circumstances.

The next game will be the first round of the Spanish Copa del Rey. Mallorca's opponent is Ferrigues of the Spanish third-tier league. Although it is an away game, Jose still sent a Most of the new players and young substitutes.

The goalkeeper is substitute goalkeeper Mickey. The four defenders from right to left are Campano, Nino, Gamarra and Capdevila. The midfielder is Kaladze on the left, Novo is on the right, and midfielder Marcos , Ronaldinho serves as the attacking midfielder, and Luke and Eto'o are the forwards.

This lineup will basically be the lineup that Jose will rely on in the future. Except for Marcos, the other players are very young and they also represent the future of Mallorca.

Luke scored two goals in the first half. Under Mallorca's strong offensive, Luke got a lot of opportunities, and he did not miss these opportunities. After the start of the second half, Jose deployed his troops and Kaladze returned. At the left back position, Capdevila came off the field, Ronaldinho stepped forward alone, Soler came on to play with Marcos and the retreating Novo in the back three, and Delgado replaced Eto'o on the forward line.

Different from the first half, this lineup is basically defensive. However, the opponent's offense did not put Mallorca's defense to the test. Instead, in the second half, Mallorca counterattacked and Eto'o scored two more goals. In the end, they defeated their opponents 4-0 away from home and entered the next round with their heads held high - the first few rounds of the Copa del Rey were all single-elimination matches.

"From a tactical point of view, there is nothing in this game for the players to exercise, but this kind of game can better enhance the players' tacit understanding." Jose said when discussing with Piri.

"You're right, tacit understanding is very important." Piri frowned and said, "But after watching these games, I still haven't discovered what the central idea of ​​​​your tactics is. In addition to insisting on playing four defenders, in attacking It's actually very confusing, and most of it depends on the players' personal abilities."

"Yes, that's it. There are too many offensive combinations in the frontcourt. Except for Ngonga and Ibagaza, the other main attackers have been changed. It is normal to have some discomfort... At the same time, I'm waiting for someone to wake up." Jose smiled.

The person he was waiting for was Ronaldinho.

With Ngonga and Motta in the backcourt, Ronaldinho is the only one who can shape Mallorca's offense in the frontcourt. He uses breakthroughs and passes to tear apart the opponent's defense. Mallorca must surround Ronaldinho. Only by playing can the strength of this offensive line be fully utilized.

Ronaldinho is the core, Eto'o is the attack, and Luke is the support. This is the ideal Mallorca offensive line in Jose's mind. As long as these three people can become a whole, then the others can even just play support - Yi Inter Milan in the Bu era basically had this tactic. A bunch of intercepting players in the midfield would look for Ibrahimovic after getting the ball, and then use Ibrahimovic to complete the attack. Before he left, Inter Milan basically relied on This tactic won three Serie A titles...

Although the current Ronaldinho is not as good as the future Ibrahimovic, Jose has no doubt that Ronaldinho has such ability.

It's just that Ronaldinho is still a little confused now. It seems that Jose's previous question confused him. Although he performed well in these two games, he was not that outstanding. The media only evaluated him as " "Performing normally and posing a certain threat" - somewhat inconsistent with his previous reputation in South America.

Jose is not in a hurry to talk to Ronaldinho. He knows that there are some things that he needs to think about that he really can't think of, and then the effect will be better if someone mentions them. As for what impact it will have, for such a person Players, it doesn't matter if you waste a little time.

Last season, in order to let Eto'o perform better, he forced Eto'o to come on as a substitute for several consecutive games and slowly found the rhythm of the game. This season, he will not be stingy with the time spent on Ronaldinho!

In the fifteenth round of the league, Mallorca challenged Rayo Vallecano away. In this game, Mallorca's luck finally ran out (media language), although they still performed well offensively, Eto'o and Luke Each scored a goal in the game, allowing people to see the shadow of Eto'o and Tristan's partnership last season, but the defensive line was still unstable and they lost three points. In the end, they were forced 2-2 by the opponent in the away game. A draw, halting the winning streak.

Jose still didn't speak. Four days later will be the sixteenth round of the league. After that round of the league, La Liga will enter the half-month winter break. During this period, Mallorca will adjust its state and increase tacit understanding. when.

He does not have the time to concentrate in the summer, but he will not let go of this winter break schedule. Although it is already winter, the temperature in Mallorca is still not low, which is a good time to train the team.

After the winter break, Mallorca will face the last three opponents of the first cycle, including Real Madrid and Barcelona. The results of these two games will prove Mallorca's current strength. Likewise Proves Jose's current strength.