For Premier League fans this season, their last game of the season will be the Champions League final on May 24. The two Premier League teams Chelsea and Manchester United will compete in this final. The battle, and for Manchester City fans, they are more concerned about the FA Cup final a week before this. This game will be their last game of the season.
This season, Manchester City has won the first league championship in forty years and the first League Cup championship in thirty-two years. They even hope to win the first FA Cup championship in thirty-nine years. Manchester City does not have many honors, but they have also won four FA Cup championships, which is not too few.
For this game, Manchester City fans have absolute confidence. After all, Manchester City's luck in the FA Cup is quite good. They have never encountered a truly strong team all the way. Even in the final, they faced It is also a mid-range team like Portsmouth. Liverpool and Chelsea were eliminated by Barnsley successively, and Manchester United lost to Portsmouth. This situation not only proves that Dick is lucky, but also proves that this season, the entire Manchester City is in trouble. Blessed by God
Dick dismissed this statement. Although all the major clubs unexpectedly lost in the FA Cup, if it weren't for the involvement of the Champions League and Manchester City putting enough pressure on them in the league, how could they possibly win in the FA Cup? The horse in the cup stumbles? This situation may seem accidental, but in fact it has its inevitable rules.
And he also doesn¡¯t want to let go of this game. Portsmouth¡¯s strength is not weak. However, Dick¡¯s character will not take it easy on any opponent. He is still quite sure of winning this game.
Portsmouth was in the middle of the league in the just-concluded league, a position neither above nor below. However, this team has many outstanding players, otherwise they would not have had the last laugh in the FA Cup. The goalkeeper is former England goalkeeper James, and the core of the defense is also former England national team main defender Sol Campbell. After leaving Arsenal, this veteran joined Portsmouth and performed quite well. Chelsea's right-side offensive full-back Glen Johnson, although this full-back does not meet Mourinho's requirements and is not a suitable full-back in Dick's mind, he is also a good player in the Premier League.
Their main striker on the front line is Kanu, the iconic Nigerian striker who once played for Inter Milan and Arsenal. This genius who was once troubled by heart disease has never met people's expectations for him, but he is also a very good striker. , this season, although he only played 25 times in the league and scored four goals, his performance in the FA Cup was quite eye-catching. He scored the key goal that eliminated Manchester United, and it was also his goal in the previous round. He is a standard key player in helping Portsmouth win. His experience can help Portsmouth very well.
The midfielder is undoubtedly the strongest part of Portsmouth. Lars Diarra, who previously felt that he had few opportunities at Chelsea and took the initiative to transfer, still felt that he had insufficient opportunities after moving to Arsenal. Then he moved to Portsmouth in the winter, where he finally got the main position, and there were many good players around him - Nigerian winger Utaka, Mendes, who once won the Champions League with Porto , Ghanaian midfielder Muntari, and Croatian midfielder Kranica, these are very outstanding players. Such a five-man midfielder once relied on running and pressing to gain the upper hand when facing Manchester United. I think To beat Portsmouth, you must put more pressure on the opponent in the midfield.
These five people have different divisions of labor. Utaka is a typical winger. His breakthrough after receiving the ball from the wing is his biggest threat, while Muntari is more comprehensive. In Portsmouth, he is more of a left midfielder. , posing a threat with his own ball control and passing, and supporting the midfielder with running, Mendes defended at the back, Lass Diarra organized the attack at the back, and Krani Cha is responsible for part of the organizational tasks, and more for supporting behind Kanu, using his own breakthroughs and skills to help the team. The five people have different divisions of labor, but they work together quite well. At least this season, some of their obvious characteristics The shortcomings are not exposed, such as Muntari's passing skills, such as Diarra's love of sticking to the ball
"Campbell's frontal defense ability is very strong, so we have to be more flexible offensively. The two full-backs boldly press forward to increase our midfield confrontation ability. Scott, Toure, you are bold in the midfield Press Diarra and make him make mistakes. Mendes does not have much help in the offense. Just leave Kranica to Barton. Press him and make him make mistakes. We will have more fast break opportunities. Richard Now, the same thing happens in the game, if Muntari gets the ball, force him and make him pass the ball wrong! Both of them like to control the ball. This is also our opportunity to have enough advantage in the midfield. Then kill him??, do you understand? "
Dick¡¯s tactics before the game were very simple. There is no secret to Portsmouth¡¯s tactics and playing style. As long as we focus on the characteristics of several of their core players, the winning rate will be much higher.
The venue of the FA Cup final is still at Wembley Stadium. Manchester City came to London three days in advance this time and stayed at the same five-star hotel where they stayed before.
"This is our lucky place, and so is Wembley Stadium. We will win our third championship this season here."
Dick replied with a smile at the press conference before the game.
"It seems that Dick has enough confidence in this game Of course, they are also the biggest favorites in the FA Cup. It is generally believed that Portsmouth cannot compete with them. After all, Manchester City's overall strength is better than them Much better Coupled with Manchester City's current good physical condition, Portsmouth basically has no chance."
"Dick seems a little too optimistic. Yes, Manchester City is indeed very good, and the overall strength is much stronger than Portsmouth, but the FA Cup has always been a hotbed of upsets. There are countless examples of the weak defeating the strong. Dick Such optimism may cause a huge blow, which may not be a good thing for him.¡±
"Well, you can't think that Dick underestimates the enemy just because of what he said. Everyone knows that Dick is a very arrogant head coach, but he is always calm during the game. The arrogance is just his appearance, just like Mourinho Just like O, they can also deceive their opponents with their appearance. If Portsmouth thinks that Manchester City underestimated their opponents, maybe that¡¯s when they were fooled"
The media began to discuss the FA Cup final. Although the teams participating in the Champions League final are two English teams, the status of the FA Cup is different after all, and there is still a week before the Champions Cup final begins. , so now the focus of all English media is on the FA Cup
But apart from attending that press conference, Dick became silent in the press. He only attended necessary press conferences before important finals, which has become a routine.
Although the reporters in England are quite pervasive, it is difficult to find any news. In the past few days, Dick has been eating and lodging with the players, and only ordinary physical training is available for training. Specific tactical training is completely inconvenient. Look, reporters had no choice but to write news about Charlotte.
"Princess Charlotte was shopping in London today and was smiling happily."
"According to the information disclosed by the hotel waiter, Princess Charlotte and Dick live in the same room. I wonder if Dick has more time to arrange tactics."
"Dick asked the players to abstain from sex, but he did not abstain from sex Well, I always feel that this is a bit wrong. Although he does not need to play, this is an attitude after all"
Readers prefer to read reports on this aspect. After all, Dick is still relatively unfamiliar to England fans. Reading more of this kind of stuff can also help them understand Dick better.
Time has finally arrived on May 17th. For everyone at Manchester City, the last game of the season is coming. With their outstanding performance in Manchester City this season, many Manchester City players have been selected for the national team. The most obvious one is It is Di Natale. This time he was selected for the Italian national team to participate in the European Cup. It is also a very rare thing to be selected for the national team at such an age, not to mention that the current Italian national team coach Donadoni is an advocate To change the national team
Parker and Barnes are more unlucky. Although they were also selected for the new England national team, the England national team missed the European Cup, making them unable to participate in the European Cup.
There was nothing Dick could do about this. Although he had ridiculed the head coach of the England national team, McLaren, in the qualifying match, there was nothing he could do to make the England national team miss the European Cup. The team entered the European Cup, Parker and Barnes were unlucky, but they should have a share in the next national team, after all, their performance was indeed good.
When the players from both sides began to take the field, huge cheers rang out from the stands. Manchester City fans occupied half of Wembley Stadium, shouting loudly and waving the homemade FA Cup trophy in their hands, hoping to win. After this game, he became the first team in England to win the league, League Cup and FA Cup at the same time!
"Now the players from both sides are on the field! Manchester City's starting lineup is 433! And Portsmouth's starting lineup is 451. These are the formations they are better at. Manchester City won two championships with their offense. , Portsmouth's ability to enter the FA Cup final relies on their solid defense and excellent counterattack. Their counterattack speed is not fast.It is to advance steadily and not give the opponent any chance defensively. This is what they did when they defeated Manchester United. Now, how can they perform against another team in Manchester? let us wait and see! "
"Judging from the resumes of the two teams, both Manchester City and Portsmouth can be regarded as ordinary teams. However, since the beginning of this season, Manchester City has been extraordinary. With the financial support of the Abu Dhabi Group, the addition of With the guidance of a world-famous coach like Dick, they have quickly become one of the top teams in England! However, Portsmouth is still an ordinary team. They can complete the counterattack of the mid-table team and win the FA Cup. Will the tradition be carried forward? Or will Manchester City maintain its dignity and achieve unprecedented success in the domestic treble? "
Dick sat in his seat and looked at the court calmly. Such a game was not enough to make him too excited. He had already arranged everything he wanted to arrange. Next, he just waited for the players to put this on the court. The champion is back!