Chapter 66

Sure enough, the light was dazzling.

When Lin Sen saw Mourinho calmly walking towards him, he sighed. Since he had this pair of "eyes," this was the first time he had seen such a radiant person. Even Aguero was not as dazzling as him.

In this world, there are always a few people who can reach a certain extreme in a certain field. In the field of football coaching, not to mention ancient times, Sacchi's tactics were an extreme, and Sir Alex Ferguson's resume was also an extreme. Soon, Guardiola would also achieve this. Apart from them, there was one person who had already done so, and that was Mourinho standing before him.

There were many ways to describe what kind of person Mourinho was, but ultimately, only those who had interacted with him could draw a conclusion. The rest were just hearsay. Lin Sen had not interacted with him, so he honestly said he did not know. Mourinho, who walked over, did not have any conversation with Lin Sen. He just nodded, shook hands, and then turned to walk back to his coaching bench.

Lin Sen did not feel the arrogance of the legendary "Special One" or the rudeness of the rumored "madman." This was Lin Sen's first interaction with Mourinho.

Lin Sen also walked back to his coaching bench, and the match was about to begin.

The Rose Garden finally welcomed its first small festival of the season. Thousands of fans entered the Rose Garden, including a few wearing Inter Milan jerseys, some of whom even mixed leisurely with the Malaga fans, which was almost unimaginable in a regular match. The stadium, which could hold nearly 40,000 people, still seemed a bit empty, but it was finally more lively. For Lin Sen, who had just left the Calderon, the absence of curses and protests made the atmosphere of the Rose Garden quite pleasant.

Because it was just a friendly match.

Lin Sen sat on the coaching bench. On the substitute bench to his left, in addition to Eliseu, Calejon, and others, the seven players who were excluded from the previous friendly match were now all back, ready to be called upon. This meant that the starting lineup for this match was not much different from the previous one. On the other side, Mourinho was very accommodating, sending out most of his theoretical first-choice lineup.

Lin Sen had expected to see a group of golden-robed monks in Inter Milan's lineup, but in reality, he only saw two and a half.

Brazilian national goalkeeper Julio Cesar counted as one, right-back Maicon counted as one, and the other half was Cambiasso. Adriano was not among them; he, like the other Inter Milan players, only had a golden aura above his head.

Due to the European Championship, Inter Milan's biggest star, Ibrahimovic, was given special permission to extend his vacation and did not come to Spain. Additionally, familiar players like Crespo, Samuel, and former World Footballer of the Year Figo were also absent, which was a bit disappointing for Lin Sen.

Lin Sen still lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Mourinho adhered to his two-wing attack strategy, lining up in a 4-3-3 formation with the young Balotelli and new signing Mancini on the wings.

With the referee's whistle, the match kicked off amidst cheers.

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As Mourinho had imagined, the match started in Inter Milan's rhythm.

Mancini and Balotelli took turns pressuring Malaga's wings, and Cambiasso, Montari, and Stankovic formed a midfield that firmly controlled the center. It was clear that Malaga still lacked team chemistry, and the five-player midfield could not form an advantage in the center, which disappointed Mourinho. He had not agreed to Malaga's invitation to boost his confidence.

However, as the match progressed, Mourinho quickly sensed something unusual. Despite appearing to have the upper hand, Inter Milan could not score.

His gaze seemed to focus.

Montari controlled the ball, was blocked, and passed back to Matri. Matri tried to control the ball, was pressured, and made a long pass to Balotelli. Balotelli received the ball, broke through on the wing, was blocked, and passed back to Cambiasso. Cambiasso was pressured and passed the ball with one touch to Stankovic, who took a long shot, but it was unsuccessful.

In Mourinho's mind, the recent attack was replayed like a movie, and he extracted the key points like a professional editor. A clear offensive route appeared in his mind, along with several hidden points: No. 10, No. 9, No. 14, No. 8...

No. 10 was midfielder Apoño, whose close marking forced Montari to pass back. No. 9 was Polish forward Lewandowski, whose pressing forced Matri to make a long pass. No. 14 was midfielder Gabi, whose positioning trapped Balotelli. No. 8 was young Koke, whose retreat left Stankovic with no time to make a decision...

Simple and clear.

Mourinho quickly understood the opponent's tactical philosophy.

Offense requires teamwork, but defense requires decisiveness. Malaga's offensive system was still very raw, but their defensive system had already taken shape.

Mourinho looked at Malaga's coaching bench with a bit of surprise. If the information was correct, this young Chinese man had only been a coach for less than half a year?

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The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

Compared to observing the match, Lin Sen spent most of the first half observing the opposing players, especially the wings.

He knew that Mourinho's two-wing attack strategy at Inter Milan would ultimately fail, and the upcoming Quaresma would become a transfer blunder for Mourinho. However, regardless of the future, it did not mean that Malaga could easily handle Inter Milan's current tactics. However, the purpose of a friendly match was to identify problems, not to win. Lin Sen did not plan to make any specific arrangements to counter Inter Milan's tactics; he just wanted the team to play as they had in training.

Malaga's performance in the first half was much better than Lin Sen had expected. Although their offense was lacking, their defense showed what Lin Sen had hoped to see, and even more. At least, in high defensive positions, Malaga performed very well.

In the second half, Lin Sen planned to change players.

The players to be replaced were not the defensive players who performed normally, but the attacking players who excelled in defense in the first half.

Thus, Reus, Isco, and four others came on.

Mourinho also made substitutions at halftime, with Cruz replacing Adriano, Chivu replacing Maxwell, and Orlando replacing Cesar...

These substitutions immediately lifted the dull atmosphere on the field.

At 51 minutes, Cruz scored. In that moment, Lin Sen saw half a golden aura, but it quickly disappeared, which surprised him. Could this be the truth behind the "super substitute"?

At 63 minutes, Rondon scored. Rui's eyes lit up, but his focus was not on Rondon. He finally understood why Lin Sen had specifically instructed him to pay more attention to Reus. This young man, whose physical condition still did not meet his ideal state, dribbled past three opponents on the wing and provided an assist. After all, the opponents were Inter Milan.

At 74 minutes, Maicon scored. Mourinho frowned on the sidelines. A goal by a full-back was good, as his current tactic was a two-wing attack. However, what he most wanted to see was a goal by a winger.

At 89 minutes, Rondon scored again. Hearing the fans' cheers, Livemore smiled. Rondon had come for free, and he had been helping Lin Sen carry the burden all summer. Now, at least some of the dirt should fall off, right?

The match ended with a harmonious 2-2 score.

For Malaga's fans, although it was just a friendly match, a draw against Inter Milan was a victory, so they had every reason to be happy. At the final whistle, they applauded and cheered to express their joy and satisfaction with the team.

For both coaches, the two teams had achieved their friendly match goals, which was enough.

This time, Lin Sen took the initiative to walk towards Mourinho.

With a smile on his face.

Mourinho also stood up and walked over, and the two eventually met closer to the away team's coaching bench.

"I'm glad to have faced you, Mr. Mourinho. It was a good match," Lin Sen said first.

"I'm also glad to have faced you. Malaga is a good team, very energetic," Mourinho's face finally showed a friendly smile, and he even patted Lin Sen's shoulder.

"Thank you. Allow me to say something bold, I hope to face you again," Lin Sen joked, with the foundation of a smile.

"I believe we will," Mourinho's smile grew, and he nodded.

After a brief conversation, the two quickly returned to their respective dressing rooms. In the post-match press conference, Mourinho praised Malaga, and Lin Sen praised Inter Milan. The journalists quickly found themselves outside the Rose Garden Stadium amidst the mutual praise.

Lin Sen had never expected his first match against Mourinho to end so harmoniously, which left him a bit disappointed that he could not face another famous coach he admired.

The originally scheduled third friendly match opponent, Roma, had declined Malaga's invitation.

After receiving this response, Balcaza quickly arranged the last three matches, none of which were against top-tier league teams. Lin Sen could only accept this with a sigh and then quickly shifted his focus to the seemingly distant but actually close target: Malaga's first-round opponent of the new season.

Atlético Madrid!

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PS: I had some matters today and just got home, so the update was late. I apologize.