Chapter 64 of 100
Chapter 64
17 min read4,353 words
On July 15th, Lin Sen arrived at the training ground early.
What was called a training ground was actually the new home stadium of Malaga for the season, the La Rosaleda Stadium. This was one of the things that made Lin Sen feel helpless about Malaga. Throughout the entire La Liga, there was no team without its own independent training base, and Malaga was a unique case. Besides La Rosaleda, Malaga had another backup training ground, the Malaga City Stadium, but training would only be moved there when La Rosaleda needed maintenance. It's worth noting that even La Rosaleda was not the property of Malaga FC; the stadium belonged to the city government, the Malaga parliament, and the Andalusian management committee. Malaga FC could only be considered a tenant. Therefore, owning their own stadium had always been a wish of Malaga FC, although this wish seemed very distant at the moment.
Today was the team's gathering day for the new season, and the gathering place could naturally not be set at the modest City Stadium.
Following Lin Sen to La Rosaleda was Tapia. When he saw Lin Sen standing at the entrance of the stadium, he was a bit surprised, as Lin Sen was known for being early. Over the past twenty years of his coaching career, he had maintained a routine of arriving half an hour before training, although it wasn't always the case, it had become a habit. There were people who arrived earlier than him, but they were few and far between.
The two exchanged a brief greeting, and Tapia went to prepare some things needed for the day. When he came out, Lin Sen was still standing at the entrance, and Tapia paused for a moment, then realized something. Indeed, as the scheduled gathering time approached, more and more people arrived at the stadium, and the new head coach of Malaga stood at the entrance, nodding to each person in greeting.
Was there a better way to meet? Tapia felt a warmth in his heart. He didn't want to speculate on how the players would react to Lin Sen's gesture, but it was clear that Lin Sen had already sent a signal to his team: he was not a high-and-mighty head coach.
The first player to arrive at the stadium was the starting goalkeeper from last season, Gordia. The Basque player clearly didn't expect Lin Sen to be standing there, greeting him, and was a bit taken aback. Following Gordia was the player Lin Sen knew best on the team, Koke, who seemed especially happy to see Lin Sen, who smiled and patted his shoulder.
Next, the calm-faced Lewandowski, the excited Venezuelan forward Rondon, the slightly nervous Isco, the familiar Gamess, the steady Gabi... The two Germans, Reus and Gundogan, arrived together, having already greeted each other. The two Italians, Ranocchia and Bonucci, arrived one after the other.
Lin Sen, who had been using his "cheat," naturally didn't miss any of the players' emotions. From Tapia's perspective, Lin Sen was clearly using this excellent opportunity to introduce himself to the team, but what Lin Sen gained was far more than just recognition.
Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian, German, Italian... and then Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian. All the players knew that when they first met their head coach, he greeted them in their most familiar language. For the Spanish and Portuguese players, this might be commonplace, but for those who didn't understand these languages, especially the new arrivals, no amount of welcome and enthusiasm could match those few simple words.
Not for any reason, just because they could understand.
When the last player, Carrion, arrived and greeted Lin Sen, Lin Sen looked at his watch. There were still nearly ten minutes before the scheduled gathering time.
Lin Sen's mood immediately improved.
This was a good start.
---
The atmosphere in the dressing room of La Rosaleda was now strange.
On one side were the players who had been with Malaga last season, chatting about the European Cup, holiday stories, and even the new head coach, all with laughter and conversation. On the other side, the new players were noticeably quieter, even those from the same country chose silence, quietly changing into their jerseys and shoes...
The team's captain, Arnau, and vice-captain, Gamess, tried to ease the tension, but language barriers made it impossible, so they gave up, thinking that once they got to the field, things would naturally improve, after all, football was the best common language for everyone.
On the other side of the field.
Lin Sen, who had just had a brief "intimate contact" with all the players, first thanked the fact that Malaga was not a big club, otherwise, with the European Cup just ending, he would have faced the problem of incomplete personnel. He also thanked Livemore's efforts, which allowed him to see the complete team he wanted on the first day of training without facing the awkwardness of naming players he didn't want.
Malaga's first team currently had a total of 21 players, including two goalkeepers, eight defenders, nine midfielders, and two forwards. If possible, Lin Sen really wanted to start training the team according to his methods today, but everyone knew that after the holiday, physical fitness would be the most important focus in the short term.
Before handing the team over to the fitness coach, Rui, Lin Sen made his first appearance as the head coach in front of the entire team. Given that Tapia had repeatedly emphasized that his speech should not be as brief as it was at the coaches' meeting, Lin Sen decided to say a bit more. Thus, he delivered what would later be widely discussed as his "epistemology" when he became a top coach recognized throughout Europe.
"My name is Lin Sen, and I am your head coach for the new season. I have already met all of you, and many of you may think we already know each other, but to be honest, I don't see it that way. Here, and where I stood just now, are different. Here, we are inside the stadium, and there, we were outside. Outside, we did indeed recognize each other. But here, I believe I know you better. Not out of arrogance, but because I have spent almost all my time over the past month studying you. And most of you were on vacation. So, before the season starts, I hope you can help me by getting to know me as much as possible here. Of course, I want to say that I am happy to meet all of you, and I hope you will be happy to meet me too."
The speech was over.
Tapia, who didn't see the grand scene above the team at that moment, knew that he would never forget Lin Sen's words.
The team quickly went to the fitness test under Rui's leadership. Miguel, who was in charge of the equipment, had already prepared everything needed. Lin Sen didn't follow the team but went with Tapia to be interviewed by the media. It was the first day of the team's return to training, and without the distraction of the European Cup, the media's attention finally returned to the leagues.
Speaking of which, Lin Sen then realized that there weren't many fans in attendance today. Although it had only been less than half an hour, the stands were sparsely populated, with no slogans or cheers. In fact, Lin Sen didn't know that because Malaga's training ground was at La Rosaleda, ordinary fans couldn't enter, only those with season tickets could. At this time, there naturally wouldn't be many fans.
The media present were mostly local, so the interview went smoothly and uneventfully. Lin Sen, who had experienced several intense confrontations with the media while at Atletico Madrid, handled it like a kindergarten teacher dealing with children, satisfying the interviewers in just a few minutes. Needless to say, the next day's reports would portray a thriving Malaga under the leadership of a young and capable coach.
After the interview, Lin Sen cornered Balcaza and asked about the pre-season friendly matches. According to Lin Sen's training plan, Malaga needed to play at least four to five friendly matches before the season started to get the players to know him.
Balcaza said that the first three opponents were basically determined. The first opponent was Malaga B, which didn't need much arrangement, just an internal friendly match, scheduled for three days later. The second and third opponents were still waiting for their responses.
Lin Sen asked which two teams, and Balcaza seemed reluctant to tell him before it was confirmed, only saying they were strong teams. It wasn't until Lin Sen pressed him that he revealed the names of the two teams.
Both teams were from Italy and were currently the two most competitive teams in Serie A: Inter Milan and Roma.
Lin Sen was a bit stunned when he heard this, and only one name flashed through his mind.
If Inter Milan accepted Malaga's invitation, it would mean that Lin Sen would meet one of the best football coaches in the world for the first time on the field.
Jose Mourinho!
---
0809 Malaga's current roster:
Goalkeepers: Arnau, Gordia
Defenders: Rosato, Rosario, Wellington, Gares, Ranocchia, Bonucci, Silva, Alba
Midfielders: Apoño, Gabi, Gundogan, Koke, Reus, Isco, Eliseu, Celis, Carrion
Forwards: Lewandowski, Rondon
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