Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

Before leaving Seoul, Manchester United released the latest data on the Korean market. According to statistics, the number of Koreans with Manchester United membership has exceeded 75, with Seoul being the city with the highest concentration, with 5 users holding Red Devils credit cards.

6.8 tickets for the match against FC Seoul were sold out in 6 hours. Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs are the most popular Manchester United players among Korean fans. In addition, the club learned through a survey that half of the fans chose Manchester United in the "English Premier League club you support most".

In recent years, through successful commercial development, Manchester United's brand influence in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and China has continued to deepen, far ahead of competitors such as Real Madrid and Chelsea. Manchester United's next goal will be to focus on Africa...

On the evening of July 7, the Manchester United team arrived at China's Macau International Airport on Malaysia Airlines charter flight MH21, and then checked into the newly built Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, which was still in the trial operation stage.

In addition to the scorching summer sea breeze and heat waves, the Red Devils fans are even hotter than the weather. It is foreseeable that Manchester United, which is visiting Macau for the first time, will create a red whirlwind in this "Oriental Monte Carlo".

Macau, China is the third stop of Manchester United's Asian tour and the shortest stop. After the team has concentrated training in the morning, they will play the third warm-up match of the Asian tour with SZ Shangqingyin team in the evening. The next day after the match, they will set off for the fourth stop of this Asian tour, Jiaozhou, China's southern gate!

When Manchester United arrived in Macau in the evening, Dong Yuanchao, summoned by Ferguson, joined the team at the hotel because the Chinese team was eliminated in the group stage of the Asian Cup. However, at the pre-match press conference held later that day, Ferguson said that the newly returned Chinese star player Dong Yuanchao would not appear in the Macau game.

Soon after Manchester United arrived at the hotel, at around 21 p.m., the two teams that would play tomorrow night held a pre-match press conference in the lobby of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel. Those present at the press conference included: Manchester United Club CEO David Gill, coach Ferguson, popular superstar C Ronaldo, newly joined players Hargreaves and Ricardo Richie; SZ Shangqingyin coach Zhang Jun, players Qi Feng and Li Jianhua; Chairman of the Asian-Australian Organizing Committee Mr. Shaw Weili, President of the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel Ma Wenbang, etc.

At the beginning of the press conference, Ronaldo was undoubtedly the most watched star. At the scene, Ronaldo became the target of many reporters' pursuit.

Because Macau was ruled by Portugal for centuries, Ronaldo, a Portuguese player who visited Macau for the first time, said: "I am very happy to come to Macau. I know there are many people who speak Portuguese here. I also speak Portuguese. I am very happy about this. I enjoy the game here and hope we will win."

When talking about the team's introduction of new players, Ronaldo said frankly: "The team has new partners, I am very happy to have more and better partners." Ronaldo subconsciously glanced at Ricardo sitting next to him and publicly hinted: "I have been making progress every year since I joined Manchester United. The number of goals has increased year by year, 9 the year before last and 15 last year. I will try my best to do my best in every season. I hope to score more goals with the help of my teammates next season. I hope we can win the Premier League championship again!"

After Ronaldo's impassioned speech, some reporters finally noticed Ricardo and started asking questions. Of course, the topic of the questions was still the hot topic in the first two races, that Ricardo could speak Japanese. Unexpectedly, Ricardo directly answered in Cantonese, the most popular dialect in Macau: "Yes, I know a little Japanese, mainly because of cartoons, but I like Chinese and Jiaozhou culture more, so I can speak a little Cantonese..."

A stone stirs up a thousand waves. Originally, Ricardo Liqi's resume introduced that he can speak six languages, including Italian, Spanish, English, Chinese, Cantonese, and Japanese. However, firstly, most people will not pay attention to a player's voice talent, and secondly, who would believe it before actually seeing it...

So naturally, Ricardo stole the limelight from Ronaldo again and was constantly questioned by media reporters about the Chinese elements in Ricardo. Even many fans who were watching the game at the scene became his fans!

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In fact, this SZ Shang Qing Yin team had played against the Spanish giant Barcelona in Macau two years ago. Ricardo was still in the Barcelona team at that time, but the SZ Shang Qing Yin team was still called the SZ Jianlibao team. Ricardo, as a small transparent and green leaf in the Barcelona team, played half of the game and got two assists for free.

In the end, in that game, SZ Jianlibao was defeated by Barcelona by 9 goals... So in this match against Manchester United, SZ Shangqingyin team was very humble. Head coach Zhang Jun said that the team will do their best to play their own style. The goal is to lose less (less than 9 goals) and strive to score goals (break the score)...

On the morning of July 7, Manchester United held an open training session at the Macau Stadium. As the news last night spread, Ricardo, who can speak Cantonese, received more than 22% of the fans and media attention at the scene, and was more popular than the Chinese player Dong Yuanchao, after all, Dong also couldn't speak Cantonese. This made the other Manchester United players jealous, so in the group stage, Ricardo was kicked the most, and he had to frequently feed the ball to the big guys to escape...

After the training, the Manchester United players continued to attack separately: this time, Li Qi attended the afternoon activities at the Manchester United Football School with Giggs, while Van der Sar, Hargreaves and Rooney attended the activities of Jiaozhou Xiangxue Company, one of the sponsors of the event, and Ronaldo visited the "Source of Hope" orphanage with Evra and other players...

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At 7:23 on July 20, the third warm-up match of Manchester United's Asian tour was held at the Macau Stadium. Manchester United in red shirts and white pants will face SZ Shangqingyin team in black shirts and black pants.

SZ Shangqingyin is only ranked 11th in the ongoing Chinese Super League, and is in the middle and lower levels among the 16 teams. Its strength is weaker than the Japanese and Korean championship-level teams that Manchester United has previously played against.

After a few days of adjustment and systematic training in East Asia, Manchester United's condition is getting better and better, so this also gives Sir Alex Ferguson the opportunity to make bold arrangements for this game.

In this game, the Jazz still sent out a 4-4-1-1 starting formation, but Wes Brown, Evans, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs and new signing Lizzie rotated Badsley, Ferdinand, Sylvester, O'Shea, Eagles and Carrick into the starting lineup. This was also the first time that the Italian genius Lizzie entered Manchester United's starting lineup, serving as right midfielder.

In addition, Ferguson changed his mind at the last minute before the game and put Chinese player Dong Yuanchao on the bench. It was probably the sponsor who spoke. After all, the emotional value of the parents who provide bread and butter must be satisfied.

Before the game, Dong Yuanchao represented Manchester United Club to show last season's Premier League championship trophy to the fans.

As soon as the game started, Manchester United gained a greater advantage on the field than in the previous two warm-up matches. They basically pressed SZ Shang Qingyin into the defensive zone 3 and surrounded them, and it was difficult for the opponent to organize an effective counterattack.

So Manchester United broke the deadlock and took the lead in the 12th minute. Fletcher, who was unmarked, suddenly made a straight pass after receiving a long pass from Lizzie. Rooney made an offside move and broke into the penalty area from the left side and made a low cross pass. Giggs followed up and shot into the empty net from 8 yards in front of the goal; 1-0.

Not long after, Manchester United extended the lead in the 20th minute. This time, it was Li Qi who made a high-speed inverted triangle cross from the bottom after a wall-to-wall match with Ronaldo on the right. Rooney received the ball at the edge of the penalty area, calmly observed the goalkeeper's position, and lobbed the ball into the far corner.

Three minutes later, Manchester United changed the score again. This time, Rooney retreated to receive the ball and turned around to pass it directly. Giggs cut into the penalty area and cleverly kicked the ball back with his heel. Ronaldo took away the defender of Shang Qingyin at the front point; and Li Qi behind him followed up smartly and shot the ball into the lower left corner of the goal from 3 yards in front of the goal in the middle of the penalty area.

Manchester United's dazzling passing and cutting made the coaching staff and the fans at the scene excited. Sir Alex Ferguson, who was sitting on the bench, was so excited that his face turned red and he chewed the gum in his mouth to express his satisfaction. After only 23 minutes of the game, Manchester United led 3-0.

After taking a three-goal lead, Manchester United was no longer as aggressive as at the start of the game. They began to control the tempo of the game, avoid violent fouls by their opponents, and try more coordinated tactics.

In addition, several players in the attacking line also began to feed the ball to Li Qi more often. On the one hand, it was to let the local popular Li Qi cater to the expectations of the fans. On the other hand, it was hoped that Li Qi could better adapt to the rhythm and style of Manchester United's games and form an offensive force as soon as possible. Obviously, the Manchester United forward line headed by Ronaldo and Rooney recognized Li Qi's strength and character.

Li Qi was obviously not used to the sudden happiness. In the 28th minute of the game, he received a cross from Ronaldo on the left and wanted to perform a bicycle kick, but he missed. He shook his head in embarrassment and raised his hand to Ronaldo.

So a few minutes later, Li Qi again received a direct pass from Rooney who was retreating near the corner of the penalty area, but Li Qi hesitated again and did not shoot directly or break through. Instead, he passed the ball back to Rooney who was following up.

After Rooney's long shot from 30 yards in front of the goal missed the post, he came over and patted Li Qi, indicating that the attack didn't need to be so complicated, and he could do it himself when he had the chance. Li Qi also scratched his head a little embarrassedly, it seemed that it was the sequelae of being bullied by the big guys this morning...

So 5 minutes later, knowing that his teammates all wanted to help him integrate into the team as quickly as possible, Li Qi started to run boldly and play according to his own ideas. This time, he changed positions firmly and cut diagonally into the small penalty area on the other side to complete the shot.

In the 38th minute, Giggs changed position to the right and made a cross. Li Qi cut inside and made a big arc. The large-scale running allowed Li Qi to completely shake off the defense. He headed the ball into the near corner of the small penalty area 4 yards in front of the far end of the goal without being marked!

At the end of the first half, Manchester United was leading 4-0, and Li Qi, who was called "Lecardo" by the DJ, also scored twice in the first half and received waves of cheers from the fans...

In the second half, Sir Alex Ferdinand, O'Shea and Smith replaced Vidic, Gibson and Giggs in the second half. Li Qi continued to stay on the field, but the team's tactical requirements also changed, requiring more slowing down of the game rhythm.

As a result, the SZ Shangqingyin team gained some space to organize attacks and launched some offensives in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but two consecutive shots did not hit the goal frame.

Just when Shangqingyin's attack was fruitless, Manchester United continued to score in the 55th minute. Li Qi retreated to assist in defense and poked the ball away from Shangqingyin's foreign aid Kamat's feet. After Wes Brown got the ball, he made a long pass to launch a counterattack.

After getting the ball in the frontcourt, Ronaldo dodged the defense lightly and rushed straight to Shang Qingyin's penalty area at high speed. He made a nanny-like cross from the left side of the penalty area. O'Shea followed up and pushed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal from 14 yards in front of the goal with no one guarding him.

However, Manchester United's counterattack was not over yet. As Shang Qingyin wanted to achieve the goal of scoring, the defense was exposed too much after the formation pressed forward. Two minutes after the next kick-off, Manchester United scored again through counterattack.

This time, Li Qi made a high-speed breakthrough on the right wing and sent a straight pass. Rooney made a diagonal run into the penalty area and passed the ball to the far end. Ronaldo followed up at high speed and shot the ball into the goal from 8 yards in front of the goal on the left side of the penalty area! All the attackers in the starting lineup of Manchester United scored, and the score was 6-0.

As the DJ on the radio shouted "Christiano Ronaldo!", the fans at the scene burst into long screams and cheers...

So when the game was about to reach the 60th minute, Sir Alex made another substitution, replacing Evra with Silvestre, C Ronaldo with Eagles, Li Qi with Carrick, and Rooney with Dong Yuanchao. Li Qi, who scored twice and made many wonderful performances, was warmly applauded by the fans when he left the field. Of course, the applause was also for C Ronaldo and Rooney, and even more for the long-awaited Chinese striker Dong Yuanchao.

After Manchester United's substitution, it can be said that except for goalkeeper Van der Sar, defender Wes Brown, Evans and midfielder Fletcher, the entire starting lineup has been replaced.

Just after the substitution, Manchester United scored again.

In the 64th minute, Dong Yuanchao, who had just come on the field, used his physical advantage to protect the ball and squeezed through the defense, then beat the full-back Li Jianhua and sent a cross pass. However, perhaps because he was too excited to come on the field, he did not control his footwork well. Dong Yuanchao's low pass was a little high and a little far back, missing Alan Smith in the penalty area.

However, there was a reason for the mistake. Eagles, who had just come on as a substitute, followed up in the middle and volleyed the ball directly from 25 yards in front of the goal! This shot was a world-class goal, hitting the upper right corner of the goal and Manchester United led 7-0!

Seeing Dong Yuanchao's assist, the fans at the scene were very happy. They didn't care at all that their team was trailing by a large margin and celebrated and cheered wildly.

Dong Yuanchao, who got an assist as soon as he came on the court, was also very proud. He felt that his form and luck were good today, so he wanted to take over the firing rights and also wanted to get another goal.

However, Dong Yuanchao's idea was slightly in conflict with Alan Smith's. The latter had finally waited for the big guys in the team and the new team members to finish the game, and was also trying to show his performance to increase his chances of staying in the team. So the two forwards who were still fighting for the chance to stay in the team in the new season competed in front of SZ Shangqingyin's goal.

In the 66th minute, Smith received a cross from the left side of the penalty area and shot wide of the near corner from 7 yards in front of the goal.

In the 68th minute, Dong Yuanchao's powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area went wide.

In the 75th minute, Smith, who successfully broke away from offside, got a chance to score, but his final shot was bravely saved by the goalkeeper.

In the 83rd minute, Dong Yuanchao received a through ball from Carrick and suddenly shot from the right side of the penalty area 8 yards in front of the goal, which hit the left post and went wide...

The two Manchester United substitutes had no coordination at all, and it was obvious that their final move was too hasty, which made Sir Alex Ferguson and his teammates on the sidelines shake their heads.

But they were not the only ones who wasted chances recklessly. Sylvester's header from 7 yards in front of the goal went over the crossbar, and Carrick's shot from the edge of the penalty area, who was being defended, hit the crossbar and bounced out...

In the end, Manchester United didn't score any more goals, but they still won 7-0 against SZ Shang Qing Yin! After losing to Barcelona on the same field two years ago, SZ Shang Qing Yin once again lost miserably to a giant. However, some media outlets were also optimistic and shameless, and threw out a certain Italian Serie A team that also lost 7 goals to Manchester United to defend themselves...

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At the press conference after the game, Sir Alex Ferguson did not comment too much on the two strikers who repeatedly missed opportunities at the last moment. However, compared with Alan Smith, who is likely to leave the team before the season, Sir Alex Ferguson was generous enough to comfort Dong Yuanchao in front of Chinese fans and media: "Dong just returned to the team, he is still very tired, so he doesn't seem too excited. But he is a young player with great potential, I look forward to his better performance..."

Then the Jazz directed more topics to the media and fans' darling Cristiano Ronaldo and the media and fans' new darling Ricardo Richie. The two scored goals in each of the first three warm-up matches and performed very well, especially in the most recent game, it was obvious that Manchester United's new attacking line had begun to spark.

If the Argentine beast that Sir Alex Ferguson likes can also join this summer window, we can expect how powerful Manchester United's attack will be in the new season...

After Manchester United finished the match with Shenzhen Shangqingyin in Macau on the 23rd, they will rest for a day on the 24th, but will take a chartered flight to the next stop, Jiaozhou, China, on the same evening and move into the PY Changlong Hotel, continuing the red whirlwind to the last stop of this Asian tour!

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