Chapter 3 A Group of Old Boys The training camp of Leeds United for the new season has finally begun When Shaq once again set foot on the training ground at Thorpe Arch Training Base, he was no longer the young boy he was before, but the one with the aura of "Ball King" on his head. The world's number one star! Won the European Golden Ball eight times in nine years, won the FIFA Ballon d'Or for eight consecutive years, and a bunch of Golden Boot awards, plus eight Champions League trophies, five Premier League titles, five La Liga titles, a lot With championship trophies large and small, Shaq's aura is dazzling. Leeds United fans even refused to let go of the training sessions. There were as many as four to five thousand people cheering Shaq's name outside the barbed wire fence of the training ground. Their admiration for Shaq could not be increased. "Shaq!" "Shaq!" Before entering the training ground, Jonny Howson, Nelson Oliveira, Sime Vrsaljko, Lonergan, and Pivkov arrived first. Skye, Chris Farley, Ben Parker, Ashley Hood and others chanted Shaq's name and walked over one by one. "Brother, thank you!" Jonny Howson gave Shaq a hug as soon as he came up. He and Shaq have known each other for more than ten years, and he still understands Shaq's character. This brother who has no ambitions other than football, It was definitely because he wanted to save the team that he adopted his own opinion. Otherwise, Shaq would have been unlikely to acquire the "Young Guards." Compared with Shaq's investment of 400 million pounds, the active salary reduction of these veterans is really worthless. carry. "Jionni, if you don't want my investment to go to waste, just lead everyone to do something big!" "Hahaha, of course!" After Joni Howson laughed happily, others came up one after another. Kudos to Shaq, the group of stars who grew up at Leeds United. It can be said that I have witnessed the rise, ups and downs of Leeds United with my own eyes. Over the years, even the players who are not from Thorpe Arch are full of affection for the team. Naturally, they do not want to leave if they can, and now they can still stay. Training here and preparing for the new season is all thanks to Shaq. A group of old brothers looked at Shaq, who had wrinkles starting to appear in the corners of his eyes. I was filled with emotions for a while. Who would have thought that Shaq, who could only rely on his body to eat his opponents alive, would be where he is today! ? Forgetting the world¡¯s number one star, he actually has the ability to finance the acquisition of Leeds United and become the owner of the team. Just thinking about it makes people ugh! Speechless! Du Xiaoguang and Chen Jinlong were familiar with Shaq and Ben Parker, so they naturally got involved with Jonny Howson and others. The newly joined team members Belakta, Koslov, and Diaz also actively To move closer to Shaq, it's not just fans in the world who worship Shaq. Even there are many players. Even Ashley Hood, who is now 26 years old, still openly admits that he admires Shaq and has always used Shaq as his goal to catch up and learn. Of course, this goal is that he once played defensive midfielder. Shaq. As for Phil Jones, Frank Murray, Tobias, Miguel, Weiser and other players who Shaq knew and didn't know, they all respected Shaq very much. Of course, they not only respected Shaq's achievements. Achievements include a kind of respect from subordinates to bosses and from subordinates to superiors. When Simon Grayson and his coaching staff arrived. The players have become very comfortable with each other, and everyone is vaguely centered around Shaq. This pleased Cruel Simon quite a bit. Simon Grayson went to that station and started talking: "I think everyone is familiar with me. Many of you have worked with me. Those who have not worked with me, I believe they will also be familiar with me." I have heard about it, so you must be clearfrom today, from this moment on, you will work hard to win the championship!" Simon Grayson raised his hand and pointed at the Thorpe Arch training base! In the direction of the door, he said sternly: "Whoever can't persist, just walk out of that door! My team doesn't want players who don't have the heart to be a champion! Now I'll give you a chance I don't want to endure hardship, Those who don¡¯t want to pay and feel that they don¡¯t have the ability to win the championship for Leeds can leave from there. I will never set up obstacles in terms of transfer fees!¡± Naturally, no fool will be the one to take the lead, as is the case with ¡°Cruel Simon¡±. Fierce, as the entire European football world knows, this champion coach has won countless championships, and his strict requirements are the guarantee for his achievements. What's more, many people in the current Leeds United team have experienced the team's rise and sweep across Europe under the leadership of Simon Grayson, and then the ups and downs and success again under the leadership of Alan Shearer. By the end of last season, the team was completely in ruins due to financial problems, and even qualification for the Europa League was in doubt.Political issues were stripped away, and it wasn't until Shaq spent 400 million that Leeds United had a chance to survive again. Because of this experience, some of the old players in the team cherish the opportunity they have now. Professional players are also human beings. No one likes to move around constantly. After playing in a club for a long time, they will have deep feelings. , even if the team's record is not good, they will usually not leave, and will not transfer easily unless absolutely necessary. Now that "Cruel Simon" and Shaq have returned together, the future of the "Young Guards" is already worth looking forward to, maybe They still have a chance to taste the championship trophy again! ? "Very good!" Simon Grayson nodded with satisfaction and smiled: "Since you still want to succeed, then follow my requirements. I promise that when you meet my requirements, success will not be too far away from us. Far away! Okay, let¡¯s start training now!¡± Simon Grayson waved his hand and signaled the first team¡¯s physical coach Adrian Ramby to start leading the team¡¯s training At the beginning of the new season, the training program is of course related to physical fitness. Training is inseparable. Even if the team has a strong player with excellent physical fitness like Shaq, as well as young people with outstanding physical fitness such as Chen Jinlong, Du Xiaoguang, Weiser, Hakan Belakta, "Xiao Ben" and so on, the physical reserve is still the same. It is also a key to the performance of a team throughout the season. Looking at Shaq, Jonny Howson, Nelson Oliveira, Sime Vrsalico, Ben Parker, Lonergan, Pifkovsky, "Little Ben", Ashley ?Hood and others have wrinkles at the corners of their eyes or have stable and mature faces. Simon Grayson also feels deeply in his heart. Back then, he led this group of young men to conquer England and Europe. Now ¡Everyone is old! ????????Look at the 16-year-old Alex Lens, Jace Brookman, and Danny Wakelin who have just been transferred from the youth team. There are also young people such as Chen Jinlong, Du Xiaoguang, Belakta, Weiser, Miguel, and Kerslov. Simon Grayson can't calm down. He misses the past and is full of expectations for the future. Suddenly, Simon Grayson had the urge to regard the "Young Guards" as the last stop of his coaching career! The championshipI don¡¯t know how many I have won! Simon Grayson doesn¡¯t know how many personal honors he has received! Money that's not a problem anymore. Simon Grayson's net worth is enough for his children! Only lacking this sense of belonging, Simon Grayson found that whether he was at Manchester United or Barcelona, ??or even when coaching the "Three Lions", he did not feel as comfortable as at home, even though he left Elland. It has been almost ten years since he left the road stadium and Thorpe Arch training base, but when he came back, he still felt that this was his familiar home. Maybeit will really be a good challenge to cultivate one star after another in the future and lead the "Young Guards" back to the top of Europe! ? Simon Grayson at this moment. Suddenly I felt that I finally understood the mood of "Old Sir Alex" Ferguson back then! Returning to Leeds this time, Simon Grayson was forced by Shaq to sign a five-year contract with an annual salary of 2.4 million pounds. According to Simon Grayson's own idea, he didn't want the money at all. Yes, he also wanted to just contribute to Leeds United like Shaq, but Shaq refused to let him suffer a big loss. Simon Grayson had to get at least 10 million pounds in annual salary, otherwise it would be a bit unworthy of him. The title of "the best coach in the world". In the end, the master and apprentice reached an agreement, and Simon Grayson was willing to take the money. But he is only willing to accept an annual salary of only 2.4 million pounds, otherwise he will not sign the contract! Think about Simon Grayson enjoying the world¡¯s number one head coach annual salary of 30 million euros when he was at Barcelona. Looking at the current ¡ê2.4 million, any Leeds United supporter, even those who dislike "Cruel Simon", have to admit that Simon Grayson will never take charge of the "Young Guards". He came back because of personal interests. He just wanted to make some contributions to the team he loved in the past. There is a head coach who refuses to enjoy a high salary. With a group of stars who have taken the initiative to cut their salaries to reduce the financial pressure on the club, and with the unity of the top management, the "Young Guards" in the new season seem to have initially met the conditions for success. Next it depends on this team. What a great team performance! Under the "supervision" of nearly 10,000 fans every day, the Leeds United players completed their pre-season training tasks with quality and quantity. These players are also no strangers to "solar system tactics" and quickly fell into their roles. In the pre-season warm-up match, the "Young Guards" performed quite well. In addition to the lead singer's 1:1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain, they also played away games against CSKA Moscow, Anderlecht, and Dortmund.?Mond, Rozheim, Scanthorpe, Colorado Rapids and other teams have all won games. Six consecutive victories have made the team's morale and fighting spirit reach the peak. After all, among these six teams, Dortmund, CSKA Moscow, and Anderlecht still have certain strengths. It is very difficult to defeat these teams in away games. , but the "Young Guards" did it. And Leeds United did not rely on Shaq to do all this. In fact, Shaq only played two games and scored three goals. German midfielder Frank Murray scored 4 goals, and Pivkovs Key and Jonny Howson also scored 3 goals, as well as Nelson Oliveira's 6 goals, as well as the contributions of Brookman, Lens, Ashley Hood and others. Overall, Leeds United's performance in the warm-up match was quite good, with 6 wins and 1 draw for a team that had just gone through a turbulent summer and only spent 27 million pounds in the transfer market. , it¡¯s really outstanding. (To be continued)