ball magic

When Juan drove Raphael to the base, he introduced to Raphael that the base was undergoing major construction, and this was brought by the new coach Bobby Robson.

Inter Milan's training base is called Pinettina.Located between Milan and Como in the town called Appiano Gentile, which has made this town famous all over the world.

It's just that unlike AC Milan's training base, the Milan Sports Center (Milano), which is comparable to a five-star level, the facilities at the Pinettina training base are a mess.

How bad is it?

It was built here by Massimo Moratti's father, Angelo, at the strong request of the Argentine coach Herrera we mentioned before.From the day it was built, the Pinettina facility was a mess.

That was 1962, now is 1997, 35 years later, and Pinettina is as bad as ever.

"Bobby seems to be very dissatisfied. He thinks it is not good for the players to rest here, which will affect our state. And if we live in a hotel like Juventus, every home game will be a big expense-International Milan seem to have a tradition of staying at the base on matchdays to avoid harassment from reporters."

"Bobby said it was good, but it's not right to do nothing in a bad environment. The chairman followed his advice. We may have to stay in a hotel for a while at the moment, but it will not affect our training."

"Zanetti was very friendly to me, 'Ivan the Terrible' was also nice, he asked about your situation in Depor. He also mentioned to us about your game in the national team (Rafa national team leader show against Chile)…”

Juan talked a lot about the situation in the base, but Raphael didn't pay attention to these.

There is no problem for him to sleep anywhere, it will not be worse than nights in the desert, snow mountain thunderstorms and rain forests, and he doesn't care much about the interpersonal relationship in the team, because he can use his fists or use football to conquer.

"Does Bobby Robson have a translator with him? He probably can't speak Italian." This is what Raphael is concerned about.

"You mean Jose Mourinho? This is a Portuguese. He was Bobby's translator when he was in Barcelona, ​​but he claimed to be an assistant. It is said that the contract he signed with the club is also an assistant, but the job of translation He did it. He's a part of our training, too, and Bobby prefers to catch the offense..."

Raphael glanced at "Little Trumpet" Juan with admiration.

This kid returned to the team a few days earlier than him, and it seems that the relationship with the team is not bad.

"It's said that Bobby is going to sell someone. I don't know who to sell. By the way—" Juan said in a low voice: "Mourinho asked me one thing before. He asked if you have a second nationality. .”

Rafael pulled his face down when he heard the second nationality.

he!certainly!have……

Not very willing.

When I was in Deportivo, because we all know that Deportivo is a stronghold of Brazilians, there are not enough non-European places.So before Rafael was promoted to the first team, he had lived in Spain for 2 years and he could already apply for Spanish citizenship.

It is because of this that the Spanish national team hopes to plan him into the La Liga national team.

But for Rafael, Spain is just one stop of his travels. He really likes La Coruña, but he doesn't think he needs to become a Spanish citizen.

Of course, the reality is that if he wants to get a chance, he has to make concessions on this matter.

Seeing Rafael's face, Juan knew that Rafael was still unhappy, so he changed the subject, "Looking at it this way, he might want to buy a non-EU player, but I don't know who it is..."

Rafael doesn't care who the team buys, really doesn't, and a few minutes later he gets a call from the little bitch Jaminha.

Raphael: "..."

As soon as he connected, he heard the little bitch chattering and spraying a lot on the opposite side. The summary is: "I am loved by everyone, and flowers bloom when I see flowers. You should think that I should. I am very happy that you miss me. But forget it if you recommend it to the head coach, I will not serve you as a substitute..."

"Then you stay in Laco." Raphael hung up the phone unceremoniously, and glanced at Juan who was smiling, "Is it funny? Or do you miss him?"

"No...no!" Juan looked forward "focused", and said secretly within 2 minutes: "Actually, I heard that Bobby wants to buy Mendieta."

Raphael didn't speak.

The Serie A transfer window only closed on September 9, and Bobby Robson still has a long time to make adjustments, which has nothing to do with players like them.

The Pinettina training base is indeed as broken as Juan said. The entire training base is empty. The equipment manager looked at Rafael in casual clothes a little confused, and then said: "Rafael, your locker should be -"

"No. 10." Rafael said, his eyes had already looked at the No. 10 wardrobe, which was currently closed.

"Then I'll get you the equipment...but you may have other activities today." The administrator said and looked at Raphael's white shirt and black tight trousers.

Raphael thanked him, and Juan followed the administrator to get equipment for Raphael, and when he came back, he saw Raphael tidying up the closet by himself.

Although the facilities in Pinettina are not good, they are still much better than the dressing room environment in Deportivo.After taking the equipment from Juan, Rafael put it aside, and then took out two photo frames from his bag.

Juan took a look, the first one looked familiar to him, it was the family portrait after Louis was born.The second one made him a little dumbfounded-it was a group photo taken by Rafael, Aimar, Messi and the penguin.

Sensing Juan's gaze, Rafael pointed at the penguin, and said in a rare and ostentatious tone: "The Macallan penguin, a penguin unique to Argentina."

Sounds awesome and amazing, but you and Aimar are taking a kid on vacation?

"Is he your relative?" Juan asked, pointing to Messi.

Raphael laughed immediately, took out another dozen photos from his bag, picked a few and said to him, "Aren't you cute?"

Wait, the tone of your dazzling baby seems to be a little proficient...

Juan took a closer look. They were all photos of the little ghost and the penguin. They looked like they were imitating the walk of a penguin. It was so cute.

Seeing Juan nodding, Rafael nodded in satisfaction, took back the photo and said, "His name is Leo, not my relative, but a player I like. He will shock the world in the future."

Juan, whose shock can overwhelm the whole world at this moment: "..."

This is not the first time he has seen Raphael blow someone, after all, he was there when he played Rivaldo.But seeing Raphael boasting about such a brat, Juan didn't know what to say.

He watched Rafael tidy up the cabinets and started to change his clothes. He also started to change his jersey, ready to warm up with Rafael. At this moment, Zanetti walked into the locker room. The moment he saw them, he rushed Rafael greets: "Hey, Rafa!"

Raphael looked up at him and saw that Zanetti had given him an overly warm hug.

Raphael: "..."

Zanetti obviously didn't notice his resistance to the overly warm embrace, and after greeting Juan, he looked at Raphael's cabinet, and his eyes naturally fell on the photo frame.

"Penguins! Have you gone to see the penguins? Who is this kid? Is he a relative of Pablo?" Zanetti pointed at Messi and asked, "His brother?"

"No, he's Leo Messi, a genius, you'll love him," said Rafael.

Zanetti's smile froze. He reached out to pick up the photo frame, stared at Messi carefully for a while, and then winked at Raphael, "Then I'm looking forward to it."

The genius who can give Raphael praise, if he can grow up smoothly, and the moment he shines, he is destined to be a blazing flame that will shine in the world.

Juan can't get in the conversation between the two Argentines and bragging about Messi, but it doesn't prevent him from observing.He soon discovered that Raphael liked Zanetti, and this liking might not be just because they were compatriots.

In fact, Juan also likes Zanetti.

First of all, Zanetti has a good background, which can be seen from his conversation, so Zanetti is very good at talking, and what he said makes Juan feel very comfortable.

He was also impressed by Zanetti's efforts.Usually he was the first to arrive at the training base, and he was ridiculed by a teammate for this, but Juan didn't care, he was a man with thighs, although he hadn't reported his thighs yet.But Zanetti is often the second person to appear in the dressing room.

Finally, there is character. Zanetti doesn't talk much in the locker room, and is very low-key.Juan likes low-key people now.

"The base is under construction, good luck to you boy, I haven't been able to sleep well here for the past 2 years."

"Will it be worse than the Ezeiza training base?" Raphael asked back, "Pabrido cleaned the bathroom."

Zanetti laughed, "I know, I've heard, that kid is so cute!"

Curly, cute?

Raphael raised his eyebrows, noncommittal.

Zanetti said as he changed, "Tell me where you went in the summer? Only to see the penguins?"

"Going to a lot of places, Pabrido is also going to skate on the Argentine Lake, oh, he said it is across the lake."

Zanetti laughed!

When Zanetti changed his clothes and put on his shoes, he glanced at Raphael, and then laughed, "Did Umbro give you money? Do you like Speciali so much?"

Raphael shrugged, no matter whether you give money or not, don't you still have to wear shoes?He didn't bother to black it out either.

Zanetti hooked his shoulder and said: "They will definitely try to sign you, even if it is to sell shoes in South America. After signing the contract, they will invite me to dinner."

Raphael agreed generously, "Yes, I plan to open a shop for my brother and find him something to do."

"Do you have ice cream in that store?" Zanetti winked jokingly.

Raphael glanced at him, "Are you sure that the barbecue shop will serve ice cream?"

"Barbecue restaurant? That's good. I heard that your business was booming at that time. Do you want me to take a share?" Zanetti asked with great interest.

[1]

"You can try it." Raphael did not refuse.

He promised Javier to open a store for him, so naturally he would not break his promise.It is a good choice to open a barbecue restaurant in Milan, a place full of delicious food.

When they practiced on the training ground for more than half an hour, other players came to the training ground one after another.

The first to arrive was Inter Milan's captain, Bergomi.

For the Nerazzurri, there are three captains in the Nerazzurri that are worth remembering forever, and Bergomi is the second.

Before Bergomi, Inter Milan's legendary captain was Facchetti.

After Bergomi, Inter Milan's legendary captain is Zanetti.

The captain of Inter Milan who joined Milan when he was less than 16 years old is a legendary captain of Nerazzurri all his life. He is actually a Milan fan. What is interesting is that his lifelong enemy is also a lifelong friend. Milan fans, the original dream was to join the Nerazzurri.

It’s just that by mistake, one of the two went to Inter Milan and the other to Milan, but they eventually became the two banners of Milan City.

Bergomi greeted them as he came from a distance, first shouting "Pupi"[2], Zanetti waved to the legendary captain with a smile, and called the captain affectionately.

Bergomi then called Juan, and Juan, whose Italian was not good enough, also called the captain.

When Bergomi approached, Zanetti naturally hooked Rafael's shoulder and said to Bergomi, "Captain, this is Rafa."

Bergomi had already opened his hands to Raphael with a smile, and after giving him a hug very intimately, he smiled and said, "I see you want to extend your hand, but in Italy we greet you like this."

Raphael laughed and called out to the captain.

The corners of Bergomi's eyes slightly raised, and he then praised Raphael's performance in the World Youth Championship and congratulated him on winning the championship.

After Bergomi, some teammates came one after another. After seeing Rafael, everyone came over to say hello. This is obviously an experience of status.

After most of the people arrived, Mourinho walked in. After seeing Rafael, he walked straight to him, holding a tactical board and said to him: "Rafa? I'm Jose Mourinho , your assistant coach, let's talk."

Raphael nodded and followed casually.

When Mourinho followed him to an office, he found that both Moratti and Robson were there.The moment he saw him, the chairman who was enthusiastic enough stepped forward to hug him with a smile on his face, and more importantly, he touched his cheek.

Raphael: "..."

Forget it.

Old Robson was more of a gentleman, and Raphael shook hands with the old gentleman, followed by Sandro Mazzola, the sports director of Inter Milan, but the latter looked at him with a very cold expression.

Raphael didn't know the reason, and didn't bother to care.

When he sat down, he could understand why Sandro Mazzola looked at him coldly.

The pot is actually Moratti's.

If Moratti treats players as gentle as his own children, he treats the head coach as cruelly as he treats his enemies.

But because of what Raphael said before, Moratti decided to make a slightly longer-term plan—a three-year plan.

In the past three years, he hopes that the team can win at least one league championship and one European championship.

He asked himself that this request was not high, and correspondingly he was willing to trust Robson, and gave most of the transfer rights to the British.

To Moratti's surprise, after listening to his decision, the British made his first list, which was the purge list.

Robson wants to clean 14 players in the team, which must be sent away.

And there are 6 players, pending.

Robson said: "The existence of these 14 people is meaningless. They can hardly play. They are not worthy of your ambition and the requirements of the team. Although the salary is not very high and they cannot be sold at a high price, they can all be sold Cleaning it up will be extremely helpful for the team to balance the deficit, control salary, optimize the structure, and even build a better locker room atmosphere."

It was almost like pointing Moratti's nose and saying: "You have 14 wine bags!"

Although it is a bit euphemistic, that is what it means.

Moratti was also speechless for a long time, but he knew every player on the cleaning list, and he knew that what Robson said was right, these players did not get many chances.Obviously, the old Robson did not intend to give them a chance.

The 6 players to be determined can only be given up if they buy better ones, otherwise they will continue to be used.

On the old Robson's signing list, Redondo ranked first.

"Redondo had surgery this summer, and the results are unknown. But this is the best time for us to get him, and the price can be lowered."

Diego Simeone was previously appointed. Robson affirmed Moratti's vision, but he believed that one Simeone was not enough to attack with confidence, and another midfielder in the team, Aaron Winter, had already chosen Robson. Sen's "to be determined" list.

The second on the signing list is not another Argentine midfielder Almeida and Dino Baggio as a substitute, but Stam.

It is worth mentioning that Dino Baggio was once loaned by Inter Milan for a season, which was in the 1991/92 season, so if Dino Baggio is finally selected, it will be a turnaround.

Let's go back to Dutch central defender Stam.

For this old Robson who played for PSV and almost became the coach of PSV this season, even though he is a coach who advocates offense, he praised him like this-"He will become the world's number one central defender, There is no doubt that it would be a better fit for us than the kid who bought Lazio."

"We've got a lot of futures now and we don't need another one. But Bergomi is 34 years old and we need a pinnacle. Stam is the man for that."

and then?

No more.

The old Robson said that what he wants most is Stam and Redondo. If Redondo can’t get it, Dino Baggio and Argentinian Hukou can partner with Simeone and cooperate with Almeida. Also an excellent choice.You can buy either of these two, he didn't ask.

If Moratti handles these two positions, Moratti also wants to upgrade the midfield and defense, but it is okay not to buy.

Such "honesty", the old man's "frankness" and Moratti holding a check waiting to sign the number and his name were speechless.

You, didn't plan to buy more people?

"What do you need to do so much? Serie A is fighting on the third line, not the Premier League. It is on the fourth line. 25 people are enough. If it is not to deal with injuries, it doesn't matter if it is less." Sr. Robson said.

Coaching in Barcelona also taught him a lot, such as experience in team management and how to manage the locker room.This used to be his weakness, but this year at Barcelona, ​​he was considered a success.

Moratti didn't give up, and asked Robson to write a few more candidates, and he was ready to clear people.

In fact, Robson was right. This season, Inter Milan has 40 people, 40 people!Robson couldn't bear it when he saw it. With so many people, whoever can't play will feel comfortable.

And the training is not easy to arrange. Could it be that two games are held at the same time.The main force vs the substitute.Substitute's Substitute vs Substitute's Substitute's Substitute?

Moratti was mentally prepared for a hemorrhage, but after finding out with the management, even if he bought Redondo and Stam, it would cost almost nothing, and he could still make some money...

Of course they've already spent a lot of money this summer, but that has nothing to do with Robson.Moratti was ready to satisfy the coach for the first time, but was "satisfied" by the coach.

And it is precisely because Moratti is ready to satisfy Robson that the sports director who was originally like a decoration is even more embarrassing.

What is he going to do now?Negotiate?Stam's negotiations are all taken over by old Robson...

Seeing that Rafael had no intention of talking about haul first after sitting down, Moratti, who was overly enthusiastic about him, took the initiative to cut into the topic, "Rafael, how is your relationship with Redondo?"

Raphael: "..."

That's a really good question.How to define the relationship between him and that "being a god"?

Raphael thought for two seconds, then simply commented: "It's not bad."

This answer made everyone laugh, and Moratti went on to explain: "Bobby gave me a cleanup list and a signing list. The first of them was Redondo. Crucial. But Real Madrid president Sanz doesn't want to let people go, even though their economy is already bad. So I want you to ask Redondo if he wants to play at Inter Milan."

Moratti said so, but judging from his eyes full of expectations, he obviously thought that Raphael could convince the Argentine.

Raphael never thought that such a problem would come to him.

He convinced Redondo to transfer from Real Madrid to Inter Milan?With Simeone?

If the former chairman of Real Madrid, Mendoza, and Sanz's successor, the famous Florentino, are in office, they will definitely sell Redondo who has just undergone surgery at the highest position without hesitation, but at this time Real Madrid The chairman is Sanz—if there are two daughters, and Redondo, if he is not married, must want to marry the other daughter to Sanz of Redondo.

[3]

Raphael did not refuse.

Although he thought this possibility was very slim, he didn't find it troublesome to make a phone call.

"If Redondo refuses, what do you think of Almeida?" Moratti asked again.

Raphael: "..."

It's not that he has never seen the world, but is Moratti planning to create an "Argentine barbecue gang" in Inter Milan in advance?

"Matias is a good player," Rafael said. "The rest should be something you and the coach need to consider."

Moratti laughed, "I originally wanted to bring Jaminia, because I heard that you have a good relationship, but he said that he would not come unless he was given the main position."

Raphael: →_→.

Bobby Robson finally spoke, and he said to Rafael in English: "Rafa, if you are in the two wide positions in the new season, is it okay?"

Raphael did not answer hastily this time, but asked in English, "What tactics are you preparing?"

This eliminates the need for Mourinho as a microphone, and Bobby Robson said happily: "I originally wanted to play 433, but you know, this is Italy, so I think 4231 is also good. You can play on both sides. Either side. Redondo and Simeone behind - that's the perfect idea. Djorkaeff will be in the attacking midfielder, Ronaldo in front of him, Zamorano will make a little sacrifice like you, I Talked to him about it..."

"I watched your game with the national team, many times, you and Zanetti look very compatible, I think it would be a better choice for you to play on the side."

When Raphael heard what Robson said, he understood his position in his heart.The old gentleman still trusts the mature Djorkaeff as an organizer, and his position is Rivaldo this season.

Is this tactic feasible?

It is also feasible to put it in Barcelona-in fact, if the old Robson had Redondo and Simeone as partners in Barcelona, ​​he could really win the Triple Crown.

Even if you can't buy Redondo, Almeida and Simeone's midfielder is an extremely good choice.

But Rafael wanted more, mainly freer tactical positioning.

He looked at Mourinho, "Jose, can you use your tactical board?"

Mourinho handed over the tactical board, and at the same time complained silently in his heart-how can he always meet players who want to discuss tactics with the coach in any team?

"Pupi is very mature on the right, his dribbling and dribbling are very good, he is better than my captain Fran in Deportivo. If I give him some space, closer to the center, then I can play with him. Djorkaeff handles the ball together."

When Mourinho heard this, he immediately opened his eyes wide, looking at this calm 17-year-old boy who drew a dotted line on the tactical board.

This is a dual-core ah!

Moratti watched this scene with a smile. He originally thought that a genius like Raphael should fly freely like an eagle and not be restricted.So he readily agreed to Raphael's three requests and two requests.He does not intend to breach the contract. Rafael wants tactical freedom, he can give it, and Robson has to give it too.

Robson thought for a while, then raised his head and said, "If the opponent hits Zanetti behind—"

Rafael looked up, "We need two good enough central defenders, the ones who can make up for the holes."

After finishing speaking, Raphael turned his head to look at Moratti.

Look at this man who's waving a check all the time.

Didn't you ask who I want to buy?

Buy a central defender!

The author has something to say:

[1] Zanetti's kebab shop: He did open a kebab shop with Cambiasso, and the business was good.

[2] Pupi: Zanetti's nickname, which means big-eyed, sheltered child.His eyes are indeed big enough, in fact, I think they are dog eyes~[dog.jpg]

[3] Sanz's son-in-law is Salgado, a legendary defender of our regiment.No matter how bad Sanz is, no matter how crazy he is, there is one good thing: he really appreciates Redondo, and he is a dongbu.In fact, Redondo is good everywhere, but he has a knee problem, and his absences are not rare, so it is difficult to persist for a full season.But Sens loves him, loves him so much!Otherwise, he's out of his mind to stand up for Sanz. He's an Argentine involved in this?So it's good to owe anything, don't owe favors.

In this era, there seems to be a lot of good midfielders, but in fact they are not enough. In fact, from that era to the present, there are always wealthy families suffering from "lumbar disease".

For example, Arsenal who lost Vieira, the monsters who lost Keane, the monsters who lost Makelele, and Atletico Madrid who lost Simeone this season...

Central defenders are not only expensive now, they were also very expensive back then, such as "Rolls Royce" Rio Ferdinand, and his most expensive previous central defenders Nesta and Stam.

I found out that two of the three transfer records were refreshed by me...