Chapter 883 Self-Recommendation

The 23rd round of the Premier League against Tottenham is a focus battle.

Tottenham ranked fourth last season. They are currently ranked fourth this season and still have the strength to enter the Champions League. Although Manchester United easily won 3-0 in the first round, the away game was not easy. Even if Tottenham does not want Chelsea and Arsenal to win the championship, they will not allow themselves to lose to Manchester United casually at White Hart Lane.

At present, Manchester United's advantage over Chelsea has shrunk to 9 points. If they lose to Tottenham in this game and Chelsea narrow the points gap to 6 points, then there will be many variables in the league.

For Manchester United's bosses and upstarts, this game means even more.

Gary. Neville has just retired, and the vacant captain position is currently unoccupied. Whoever can perform well in such a tough battle will undoubtedly gain a lot of impression points for himself.

Ferguson has some concerns about this game. Although in terms of strength and condition, Manchester United has no problem defeating Tottenham, but now Gao Xiaodong has been questioned after winning the Ballon d'Or, and he doesn't know what his mentality is like, and Gary. Neville's retirement has brought about a captaincy battle within the team. These are all X factors that affect the game.

Before the start of the game, Ferguson specially held a team meeting to emphasize the importance of the game and hoped that the players would unite and make persistent efforts to maintain the lead over the second place before the start of the Champions League knockout rounds.

The meeting went on step by step, until towards the end of the meeting, Ferdinand suddenly asked: "Captain Gary has retired. Who will wear the captain's armband in tomorrow's game against Tottenham?"

This is knowingly asking questions. Although Ferdinand and Vidic have both served as vice-captains, recently even if Ferdinand and Vidic appeared at the same time, it was Vidic who wore the captain's armband.

However, there is a reason for Ferdinand to ask this question. Before Neville retired, no matter how many times Vidic wore the captain's armband, the fans knew that the captain was Neville. Now that Neville has retired, Ferguson has not appointed a new captain. If every time It was Vidic who played as the captain. I am afraid that the media and fans will default to Vidic as Manchester United's first captain.

Ferdinand didn't want this matter to become an established fact, so he raised the question publicly.

In the Manchester United team, apart from Giggs and Scholes, only Ferdinand is qualified to challenge Vidic publicly.

Ferguson was dissatisfied. He originally wanted to delay the establishment of the captain, but Ferdinand unexpectedly brought the matter to the table.

"Leo, do I need to repeat this? Vidic should be the captain on the field first."

Ferguson made up his mind that if Ferdinand continued to ask about this matter, he would severely punish Ferdinand.

But after asking this question, Ferdinand said nothing more and sat down without saying a word.

When Ferguson was feeling strange, Fletcher stood up again and said, "Coach, who will manage the locker room on weekdays?"

Fletcher is also one of the candidates for this captaincy, and is a competitor with Ferdinand, but he is also a general of the local gang. Ferdinand took the lead in attacking Vidic of the mainland gang, and he will naturally not miss the opportunity to attack his competitors. .

Ferguson's face darkened, "Gary will not leave the team for the time being. Even if Gary is not here, there will still be a vice-captain, right?"

Ferguson was already very unhappy. No smart person would talk about the captaincy. Fletcher sat down and remained silent, but Rooney stood up again and said: "Coach, if you are not sure about the captain for the time being, , why not let the vice-captain take turns being the on-field captain and managing the locker room?"

Rooney's words were negotiated between Ferdinand, Fletcher and him. Under normal circumstances, it would be okay to say this, but now that Ferguson is very unhappy, Rooney will certainly be asking for trouble if he says it again.

Sure enough, Ferguson was furious and said sternly: "Wayne, you don't need to decide when to determine the captain and how to perform the captain's duties. Today is a tactical meeting and a pre-game mobilization meeting, not a discussion about the captain.

"

Ferguson couldn't help but get angry. The three generals from the local gang stood up and spoke one by one. Evra from the mainland gang over there was also eager to give it a try. If he didn't interrupt this discussion, there would probably be a quarrel and they would play against Tottenham tomorrow. , Ferguson didn't want to cause trouble in the locker room.

Rooney saw Ferguson getting angry and did not dare to speak anymore. However, when he sat down, he was not convinced. Rooney felt that he was not wrong. Since both Ferdinand and Fletcher could speak, why criticize him alone.

After the meeting, Ferguson had just returned to the locker room when Gao Xiaodong came in.

"Xiaodong, sit down, is there something wrong?"

Although Ferguson was still angry, he still put on a smile when he saw Gao Xiaodong.

Gao Xiaodong said: "It's a small matter. I don't know if I should ask it now that the war is going on. I'm a bit impatient, so I won't ask it. I'm too panicked."

Ferguson smiled and thought to himself, this kid is still playing tricks on me, and said: "If there is anything I should or shouldn't do, just ask."

Gao Xiaodong said: "I read the announcement on the official website yesterday. There are five captain candidates. I would like to ask, I am new here. I don't know what conditions are needed to be the captain of Manchester United? I don't want to be the captain, I just want to be the captain." Ask, um, ask.”

When Ferguson heard this, he was very surprised. He knew that there were fans on the Internet protesting that Gao Xiaodong was not the captain candidate, but he did not expect that Gao Xiaodong now had the ambition to be the captain.

When it comes to the criteria for being a captain at Manchester United, Ferguson really didn't think about it. The original captains, whether Cantona, Keane or Neville, all came naturally. No one doubted whether they were worthy. The position of captain of Manchester United.

But now, many people can be captains, and none can completely overwhelm the competition like Keane. It seems that a standard is really needed.

Ferguson pondered for a moment and said: "Actually, there are no too detailed standards. Generally speaking, one must be loyal to the club, have high skills, be able to play stably, have some qualifications and prestige, and be able to control the locker room. In addition, there must be Good reputation and popularity.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Xiaodong perked up and said with a smile: "Coach, I never thought about being the captain, but after hearing what you said, I feel like I meet the requirements.

Look at me, Mourinho wants me to go to Real Madrid. Real Madrid has a higher status than Manchester United. Manchester City pays me a good salary. I didn’t even go. I’m loyal to the club.

When it comes to football skills, I can't say that I am the best at Manchester United, but at least the playing time is stable. I haven't missed a minute in the league now.

My qualifications may be a bit lacking, but I still have some prestige. No one dares to mess with me anyway. In terms of reputation, I won the Ballon d'Or and I'm popular. There aren't many people on the team who are not good to me. "

Ferguson was dumbfounded. He had seen people bragging, but he had never seen anyone as bragging as Gao Xiaodong. But what surprised Ferguson even more was that Gao Xiaodong's analysis was quite reasonable. Gao Xiaodong seemed to have more than just qualifications and Apart from his age, he is not bad at anything. Not only is he not bad, he is simply excellent.

But having a 21-year-old kid become the captain of Manchester United is so shocking that even a less conservative person like Ferguson would find it hard to accept.

With a wry smile, Ferguson said warmly: "Xiaodong, when you say this, I think you are really a good candidate. Okay, I will add you as a candidate for captain. However, the captain has not been determined yet. You play well and wait for the coaching staff." Don’t let these things distract you from your decision.”

This was the purpose of Gao Xiaodong's visit today. When his purpose was achieved, he immediately stood up with a smile and said, "Thank you, coach. I will definitely play the game well and strive to become more in line with your captain standards."

Gao Xiaodong left. Looking at Gao Xiaodong's back, Ferguson shook his head repeatedly and thought to himself, China is such a magical place, how could it produce such a monster.