Chapter 65

Lin Sen quickly received the physical test report.

Looking at Ruiz, whose brows were almost knitted together and whose face looked as if his wife had run off with someone else, Lin Sen knew that this physical test report was probably not going to be good.

Generally, the pre-season physical training plan is based on two reports: one is the physical test report from the end of the previous season, and the other is the current physical test report. Only with these two can there be a comparison and targeted points. However, now, almost half of Malaga's team are new players. For those who transferred normally, it is still possible to obtain the previous report from their original clubs. But even so, many do not have a previous report. If it were just this, Ruiz would have accepted it, after all, every team has its own standards. Based on the requirements of the head coach, Malaga also has a physical standard. Without the previous report, they could just arrange the physical training plan according to the standard.

Given that most of the new players are young, Ruiz thought that today's physical test might require a bit more effort, but he did not expect that the results of today's physical test would be so poor.

As a physical coach, Ruiz has his own personal standards. He divides the players' physical condition into five levels, from A to E. A indicates excellent, B indicates good, C indicates pass, D indicates over the limit, and E indicates severely over the limit. Generally, players who can maintain their physical standards at levels A and B after returning are those who were originally in good physical condition and strictly disciplined themselves during the holiday. C and D, although one is pass and the other is fail, are not much different in reality. They just indicate that the players played a bit too much during the holiday and need to undergo systematic recovery training before the season to get back to normal. E, on the other hand, is very bad. Generally, being overweight is the main reason, indicating that the players did not treat themselves as professional players during the holiday.

Ruiz has been a physical coach for over ten years, and the most common players he has seen are those between B and D. He has never seen anyone reach his A standard. Perhaps only a player like Inter Milan's captain Zanetti, who still insisted on running on his wedding day, could meet his A standard. As for E, Ruiz has seen it, but very rarely, after all, football is ultimately a physical sport, and few professional players are willing to ruin their own careers.

But now, after a full physical test of the entire team, there are twenty-one players in total.

There are no A-level players as usual, three B-level players, eleven C-level players, five D-level players, and two E-level players. In other words, the number of players who failed is seven, exactly one-third. Last season at the same time, this number was only two.

"The players who failed are mostly new, five of them, and only two of the original players, and they are within the normal range," Ruiz said with a frown.

Lin Sen flipped through the physical test report that Ruiz brought over and did not speak.

Ruiz's five standards did not surprise him because he had seen even stricter ones: Dina divided the players' physical condition into nine standards, four more than Ruiz. Moreover, for each standard, she had a very targeted training plan. This woman, in terms of talent, far surpasses her appearance. Her "Chief" title at Atletico Madrid is not just for show.

Currently, Reus, Isco, Rondon, Bonucci, Ranocchia, Arnao, and Rosato are the seven players that Ruiz considers to have less than ideal physical conditions.

Among these seven, Lin Sen was prepared for Reus to be at the top of the list. The main reason the German was released from Dortmund's youth team was his physical condition. Lin Sen was not surprised that Isco, Bonucci, and Ranocchia were on this list, but he was a bit surprised that Rondon was also on it. In his memory, the Venezuelan was a physically strong forward.

As for Arnao and Rosato, Arnao's position determined that physical condition would not be a problem for him. Rosato, on the other hand, was more troublesome because he and Reus are the two "E" players in Ruiz's eyes. The difference is that Reus is more like a child who hasn't grown up, while Rosato is simply overeating.

"Your opinion?" Lin Sen asked after reading the report.

"I think Reus and Rosato should undergo special training. Their current physical condition does not even meet the standards of the first team. As for the other five, they also need more intense physical training."

"Alright, you decide. Before the second friendly match, these people are under your charge." Lin Sen nodded and said very straightforwardly.

Before the second friendly match? Ruiz was taken aback. If that were the case, then the number of first-team players for the first friendly match would be only fourteen.

"You don't need to worry about the others, but I have a small request. I hope you can pay more attention to Reus." Noticing Ruiz's concern, Lin Sen said.

"I understand." Ruiz nodded.

What kind of team Malaga would be in the new season, others might not know, but the coaching staff, including Ruiz, had at least seen the outline theoretically because they had already seen the blueprint Lin Sen drew for Malaga. They were also very clear about the importance of the young Reus in the new season.

For the next three days, including Reus and others, the seven players followed Ruiz for training, while the other players were led by another physical coach, Paulino Granero, for normal physical recovery training.

On July 18th, in front of over a hundred fans, Malaga played their first friendly match of the new season against the second team. At that time, Malaga's first team had only fourteen players. Besides the eleven players on the field, there were exactly three substitutes. This was the first time Lin Sen's Malaga appeared before the public.

The formation was 4-2-3-1. Notably, to everyone's surprise, including the coaching staff, Lin Sen moved Alba, who had always played as a winger, to the defensive position as the left-back for this match. However, even Alba himself thought this was just a cameo, as the original starting left-back, Rosato, did not participate in this match due to his physical condition not meeting the standards.

But it was precisely this "unexpected" adjustment that helped Malaga win this friendly match against the second team, achieving a good start.

The result of the match was 2-0. Alba provided two assists, and Lewandowski and Gabi scored.

In this match, Alba's running distance was second in the team, just behind Gabi. He had double-digit effective crosses, eight key passes, and six successful tackles... Facing a second team that was a level lower, Alba, as the left-back, delivered a nearly perfect performance.

"Tell me, moving Alba to left-back was just a random decision, right?" After the match, Tapia walked up to Lin Sen and said. However, as soon as he said it, he suddenly felt a bit guilty, even though he had already decided in his heart that it was definitely a random decision.

"Alright, it was a random decision." Lin Sen thought for a moment and nodded.

Lin Sen's honesty left Tapia confused.

Isn't this nonsense? If it was a random decision, why did you hesitate? Come to think of it, this must have been mostly a coincidence, right?

Thinking about this, Tapia suddenly felt a bit sad.

Why did I ask such a straightforward question with a guilty conscience?

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Malaga's second friendly match was confirmed, and the opponent was Inter Milan.

Just as Lin Sen remembered, Mourinho took over Inter Milan.

For Mourinho, taking over Inter Milan was not just a new job but also a new challenge. He knew very well what Inter Milan's president Moratti wanted from him, and not just him, but probably the whole world knew. Under the previous head coach, Mancini, Inter Milan almost monopolized all the titles in Italy, and the only thing he lacked was one: the Champions League title.

Mourinho was not short of Champions League titles. Five years ago, he had led Porto to this crown, and it was precisely because of this that he won the favor of Chelsea's chairman, Abramovich, leading to the birth of the "Iron Chelsea." However, Mourinho ultimately had to leave Stamford Bridge, and the fundamental reason was the same as why Mancini left Inter Milan: the Champions League. Mourinho's Chelsea never achieved a breakthrough in the Champions League.

One could say, success and failure both came from the Champions League. This fate would always accompany Mourinho. Now, Mourinho yearned for a Champions League title, not just for Moratti but also to prove to Abramovich that firing him was a wrong decision.

After taking over Inter Milan, Mourinho quickly established the direction for transforming Inter Milan, which was to have two wings flying. Thus, Mancini Jr. came from Roma, and Quaresma was on his way from Portugal to Italy... With players and tactics, the next step was to integrate them. If it were not for his new arrival, Mourinho would have very much wanted to take Inter Milan to the United States for a tour, as many European giants were there, and Inter Milan could find the best training partners, rather than now, facing various Serie B and Serie C teams, some of which even had names that were hard to pronounce...

Therefore, when Malaga's name appeared before him, he nodded without hesitation.

Because, no matter what, Malaga is now a La Liga team.

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