The most low-key superstar

Chapter 358 Red and White Roses

On December 12th at the Stamford Bridge Stadium, the former Chelsea coach sat in a box and looked at his opponents in the Champions League. The stadium sang "Come back, Mourinho" very appropriately. Manchester United coach Ferguson believed that the madman would return to the Premier League one day , Stamford Bridge is Mourinho's outpost in the Champions League, perhaps it is his way to return to the Premier League.

It is not news that Mourinho wants to return to the Premier League, because he believes that the Ferguson-style football manager has more power and can better display his abilities and ambitions, "Are you interested in returning to the Premier League? My answer will always be the same, I really I really want to come back." Coincidentally, Ferguson publicly welcomed the former Chelsea coach back to the Premier League. "Every time I chat with Mourinho, he always says that he prefers English football compared to other places. The attraction of returning to England The force is always there."

Mourinho made no secret of his enthusiasm for coaching Manchester United in an interview with the "Daily Mail". "I will consider coaching Manchester United, but this first depends on whether Manchester United wants me to be Ferguson's successor. If they have no opinion, of course I will Willing!" Ferguson, who is about to turn 68 years old, also looked at his successor with the eyes of his predecessors, "He is still a young man. Yesterday at Chelsea's home court, his thoughts on English football will be rekindled, because most stadiums in Italy The atmosphere, the intensity of the game and the fact that the stands are closer to the pitch than Chelsea."

Facing Mourinho who flirts with Manchester United, Moratti, the actual boss of Inter Milan, said quietly, "All this is a fantasy of life, and it is difficult to know what the truth is?"

In the third round of the FA Cup in the 09/10 season, Manchester United faced their century-old enemy Leeds United at Old Trafford.

历史上，曼联与利兹联共交锋105次，红魔45胜35平25负占据优势，其中足总杯曼联4胜3平2负领先。英超历史上，双方交战23次，曼联12胜7平4负，其中主场7胜4平保持不败。

In this game, Ferguson still offered a 442 lineup. Although it is the FA Cup, he still sent many main players.In the goalkeeper position, Kushzak still replaced Van der Sar; on the back line, Brown and Evans partnered as the backbone of the defense, with Fabio on the left and Gary Neville on the right; in the midfield, Obertan, Gibson, Anderson and Welbeck were lined up; Rooney was paired with Berbatov up front, and Nickel was not included in the squad because of muscle soreness before the game.

In the 19th minute, Beckford scored first to help Leeds United score the only goal of the game. Hughes made a long pass from the right side of the backcourt. After Beckford stopped the ball with his left foot, the left side of the penalty area faced Brown, and the inside of his left foot lightly With a light push, Kuzzak was unable to make a save, and the ball slowly rolled into the lower right corner of the goal. Leeds United beat Manchester United 1-0!

"Nicole, Nicole, Nicole..." At the end of the game, disappointed Red Devils fans chanted Nicole's name, embarrassing Nicole in the stands.

In the first red and white rose battle in six years, Manchester United lost 6-0 at Old Trafford.And Leeds United finally tasted victory at Old Trafford for the first time since 1.

After the game, Ferguson said he was shocked and surprised by the result, and admitted that he was very disappointed with the performance of the players.It is worth mentioning that Manchester United just beat Wigan 5-0 in the last round of the league, and they performed so poorly tonight, no wonder Ferguson was furious again.

Ferguson said that the team's pre-match preparations were very good, "Our preparation process was very good, but I was shocked by the performance of the players. We didn't play well at the beginning of the game. On the contrary, Leeds United made a good start and they scored goals. After that it was a dead end. Their players were fighting like tigers and although we expected that, we knew every team coming to Old Trafford for the FA Cup was going to be like that, but it turned out to be a pity."

Leeds United's top scorer Beckford scored the only goal of the game in the first half. Ferguson said, "We did think about Beckford's speed. An oversight was caught by the opponent, which is a bad thing for us. We played badly throughout the first half, we barely attacked, the quality of the passing was never that bad, everything was bad. That's the way it is, we're just human and of course there are times when it's frustrating. Surprising performance, but we never expected to play like this."

Ferguson refuted some media's belief that Nickle, who did not play, was the key to losing the game, "Nicole is definitely the core of Manchester United, but Manchester United should not play like this without Nicole. One day, Nicole Leaving football too."

Manchester United's offensive improved in the second half, which gave the home fans a glimmer of hope, but that was not enough to help them turn the tables and win. Only one substitute player satisfied Ferguson, "I don't think any player can say that he played well, maybe only Valencia, only he can say that, and even then it took 10 minutes for our players to start passing him the ball. Everyone was expecting us to score at Old Trafford, we picked up some intensity in the second half, and in the There were a lot of chances in the box, but unfortunately we didn't take them."

The last time Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round was in 1984, when Redknapp Sr. was under the knife, and Ferguson hadn't even taken the coach in Lancashire.And the one who buried the Red Devils this time was one of Manchester United's centuries-old feuds, Leeds United.

Rose is the symbol of Lancashire, and Manchester United and Leeds United are called red roses and white roses respectively. The history of incompatibility between the two sides can be traced back to the war period in the 15th century. After 1992, the white rose was suppressed for 17 years, and now it finally blooms so beautifully that the red rose has no choice but to bow down.

"After scoring a goal, any opponent will do this at Old Trafford." The 0-1 score and the home defeat made Ferguson compare Leeds and Villa together, but don't forget, Manchester United is the Premier League triple crown Wang, Leeds have played in League One for two consecutive years, which in itself is not an equal dialogue.

The value of Leeds is that, unlike Villa, they almost only defend and do not attack. When necessary, they can rely on Beckford's speed, Kilkenny and Bradley Johnson to seek a counterattack. The visiting team got 11 shots and their ball possession rate exceeded 4%.

"Manchester United is not invincible, no team is invincible, even if they are one of the best teams in the world. I think we can surprise them, we can surprise everyone." Sen's rhetoric before the game.

Leeds belongs to Yorkshire, and the well-known local media "York Evening Post" was excited after the game, "Leeds eliminated Manchester United and completed an unbelievable subversion. This is the first time they have won at Old Trafford since 1981." .The 9000 fans who traveled with the team were undoubtedly the happiest. Beckford's 20th goal of the season gave Leeds a memorable victory over their arch-rivals. '

As soon as the game ended, Nichol got into Hall's car and quickly left the field. At this moment, he didn't want to say anything. Originally, Nichol had already guessed that the team might give up the FA Cup, but, It definitely won't be this match. After all, Mr. Ferguson underestimated his opponent too much.

(End of this chapter)