Chapter 52 - Central Defenders

Many people think that the two Portuguese central defenders that Manchester City purchased, Koppelle Ferreira and Ricardo Costa, are used by the team to supplement the defensive lineup, so there is little expectation for the two.

The team's central defenders already have Distin and Dunn. The combination of the two is already very strong, and there is no need to add any personnel. It's just that Dunn has not fully recovered from his injury, so Sun Jihai can get the starting chance, while the others People don't have a chance in the middle of the defense at all, so Koppelle Ferreira and Ricardo Costa can only find opportunities on the flanks.

This is the public's understanding of Manchester City's lineup, but what they didn't expect was that Koppelle Ferreira got the starting chance in this game, while Sun Jihai didn't even enter the squad.

Some people thought, even if Sun Jihai's entry into the national team is affected, he won't even be able to get into the big roster, right?

Even if Koppelle Ferreira starts, Sun Jihai should stay on the bench to be safe. After all, Koppelle Ferreira is only a supplementary player, and it is really hard to say what he can do.

That's why someone asked about Koppelle Ferreira before the game, but they never expected that Wansheng would rate Koppelle Ferreira so highly!

This is a true evaluation from the heart, and it is just praising your own players! ?

Wansheng's evaluation is still very interesting. This is due to the fact that he has trained many outstanding young players and his status as the focus of public opinion in English football. In short, because of one of his evaluations, Koppelle- Ferreira received more attention.

Many people want to see what kind of performance this "genius defender" in Wansheng's mouth can have on the field.

But when the Manchester City-Portsmouth game started, Koppelle Ferreira's performance was somewhat disappointing.

Everyone has to admit that Koppelle Ferreira's defense is still very composed - composed of position, composed of movement. In short, a solid defense.

Then there is no more.

Nothing special, nothing worthy of a special kick, to describe it, it is 'too ordinary'.

This may be qualified for unknown players. But when focusing on one player in particular. Ordinary equals disappointment.

Many commentators described Koppelle Ferreira's performance as, "He is very stable. For a central defender, stability is the most important." This is a 'tough' to praise Koppelle Ferreira. Leila, after all, the camera lens pointed to the past again and again, if there is nothing to say about his performance, the lens itself becomes meaningless.

But even tough compliments. In fact, the media is still disappointed with Koppelle Ferreira's performance.

as head coach. Wansheng is quite satisfied with Koppelle Ferreira's performance. He is different from those of the media. He hopes that his central defender will perform more calmly, so that the game will not go wrong.

If a central defender always shows his skills in the backcourt, then he really has to worry about defense.

However, Wansheng still sees Koppelle Ferreira's nervousness, and perhaps it is precisely because of nervousness that he acts so ordinary.

Take advantage of a dead ball opportunity. Wansheng also called Koppelle Ferreira to speak to him. "Don't be under pressure, play how you want, just like in training! You can feel the league is like this, it's no big deal!"

Koppelle Ferreira nodded fiercely.

He is indeed a little nervous. After all, this is his first start in the Premier League, and many media are paying attention to him. Just now, he noticed the camera lens a few times. Can't go wrong'.

Because of this, he felt that his performance was a bit 'uncomfortable'. Compared with normal training, it was not natural. Fortunately, the opponent was not a strong team, and he did not have any problems.

He knows the importance of the game to him. This is his first start, and it is a hard-to-get opportunity. Even if he doesn't perform well, he must make the defense more stable. He knows this in his heart, so the game is played. It's more stable.

So, his next performance was uneventful.

At the same time, the game between the two teams was not unexpected. Manchester City scored a goal in the second half and Portsmouth tied the score at the beginning of the second half, but they still lost the game in the end.

In the end, the two teams ended with a score of 2:1, and Manchester City won the fifth round of the league.

The score is nothing special to say. Manchester City's victory over Portsmouth is normal. Koppelle Ferreira's performance was a bit disappointing, but in retrospect, nothing went wrong. As a result, by the end of the game, the media Found out they didn't know what to say.

But it is certain that they are paying far less attention to Koppelle-Ferrera.

Of course, whether the media pays attention to Koppelle Ferreira or not, Wansheng doesn't care at all, he can just be satisfied with the performance of his players.

Soon the sixth round of the league came again. Manchester City's opponent in this round was Bolton. This is not an easy opponent to deal with.

Bolton's seventh-place finish in the league last season surprised everyone, but looking at Bolton's two seasons in a row (8th the previous season), it's actually the result of steady improvement.

Under the leadership of Alledyce, Bolton has caused trouble for each team with a unique traditional British style, but this season, with the strength of Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and other teams increasing, the media expect Bolton It's not that high either, but what is certain is that the game is not easy for Manchester City, and if you want to beat the opponent, you must be well prepared.

What they need to worry about is how to deal with Bolton's long ball and high hanging play.

This requires a tough central defender, and a solid central defender can make Bolton do nothing. Therefore, the media analyzed that Manchester City's central defender combination is likely to be Distin and Dunn. Although Dunn has just recovered from injury, his state is still uncertain, but the key Time still needs to look at this veteran.

At the same time, Chinese media are also looking forward to Sun Jihai's appearance.

In the last round of Sun Jihai's absence, there were some dissatisfied voices in China, because Wansheng praised Koppelle Ferreira, which happened to be Sun Jihai's competitor, so they supported Sun Jihai The position of Sun Jihai became worried, and some people expressed dissatisfaction with Wansheng for not allowing Sun Jihai to enter the roster.

Not just simple dissatisfaction, but also brain-damaged reporters. Ask Wansheng face-to-face why Sun Jihai didn't make it to the roster.

Hearing this question, Wan Sheng's face turned black, and he immediately said firmly, "In my team, there are no absolute main players and substitutes. Whoever is in good condition can play! Besides, no one can do my job. Point fingers!"

This is a direct expression of anger.

For the sake of his compatriots, Wan Sheng didn't kick out the reporter who asked the question, and it was already very good, and other reporters also gloated.

That's how things have passed. After all, it is Wansheng's job to send who to play, and no one can tell the truth, especially Manchester City's performance is so good. No one will question anything. Unexpectedly, there was bad news before the game-the team captain Distin was injured.

It was the afternoon before the game, and Distin sprained his ankle in practice.

This is a small injury, and it will be completely healed after a two-day rest. The key is that he was injured the day before the game, and he will definitely not be able to participate in the game the next day, so those who were originally dissatisfied with the starting center back Start schadenfreude -- Distin is injured. Dunn has just recovered from injury, so what central defender combination will the Chinese send?

Could it be Koppelle Ferreira and Sun Jihai...! ?

In the eyes of many people. Such a combination is definitely the 'weakest in the Premier League'. Sun Jihai itself is not a strong central defender, and it was only Dunn who was injured that he had the opportunity to start. Many people think that he is really just a player to supplement the lineup, and his ability is worse than Sun Jihai.

When the two are combined, Bolton has a good chance.

Bolton also saw this. As a result, before the second day of the game, their head coach Alledyce said with confidence, "Although it is away, we are confident to score Manchester City's goal!"

Manchester City only conceded one goal in the first five rounds, and their defense was quite solid, so it was not easy to break Manchester City's goal. Allardyce said this, which is equivalent to expressing confidence in winning.

Last season, his team met Derby County, but he didn't have such great confidence, and now that Manchester City is in crisis, he finally found the opportunity to "be ashamed".

At least that's how he himself sees it.

Wan Sheng didn't say much, he just announced the starting list, and then it was up to the media to discuss it. His rare low-keyness has also become a topic for the media, thinking that facing Bolton, he lacked confidence.

At the same time, the focus of the media is still on the central defender position.

Manchester City is playing against Bolton at home. The centre-back combination is Koppelle Ferreira and Ricardo Costa, two new Portuguese. Some Manchester City media are questioning Wansheng's formation. The most important thing is that the two don't have a core point. If Dunn plays, no matter who it is with, there will not be so many doubts.

In fact, Wan Sheng also lacked confidence in the starting center back of the two partners.

It's not about ability.

Koppelle Ferreira's ability is still quite good. At the age of 24, he has the strength of the next few years. The only thing he lacks is game experience; Ricardo Costa is worse, but his body He is very strong, and his comprehensive ability evaluation is also higher than that of Sun Jihai. What he lacks is only experience.

It is precisely because both of them lacked game experience that Wan Sheng felt that the two of them would not be safe to start, but this was also a helpless choice. The main reason was that Sun Jihai's state was not very high, and he was also lacking in high-altitude ball defense.

Dunn is a good choice, but he has too little time to resume training and can't keep up with the team's tactical rhythm.

In short, when Distin was injured and Sun Jihai was in poor condition, Wansheng's only option was to be the partner of the two Portuguese central defenders, otherwise he could only send players from the reserve team to play.

This is a desperate choice.

However, Wansheng is still looking forward to the performance of Koppelle Ferreira and Ricardo Costa. After all, they still have some strength. As long as they have a calm mind in the game, their performance will not be too bad. (To be continued ~^~)