Chapter 93

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

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The clash between the second and third teams in the league, although neither side ultimately gained much, did not change their rankings. Malaga still stood at second place with 26 points, but had been overtaken by the unstoppable Barcelona by two points. Meanwhile, Villarreal, who had been tied by the victorious Sevilla, maintained their position only by virtue of a better goal difference.

Regarding the league table, Lin Sen often reminded his players not to worry about it. Everyone knew that matches had to be fought one by one, and good performance would naturally lead to good results. However, in practice, this was not an easy task. For the coach, this was like exam results, but for the players, it was a double-edged sword. Being too concerned about it could be counterproductive.

After shaking hands with the engineer again, Malaga, having survived a grueling schedule, seemed to be able to relax a bit. However, time waits for no one.

On November 23, in the 12th round of La Liga, facing Mallorca, whom they had already met twice this month, Malaga, as if bewitched, drew 2-2 away, suffering their second consecutive draw. Just as the outside world generally believed that Malaga's "aftermath" of the grueling schedule was kicking in, in the following 13th round, Malaga suddenly unleashed their power, defeating Osasuna 4-2 at home, seemingly turning over a new leaf. However...

On December 7, at the Riazor Stadium.

Lin Sen didn't wait for the referee to blow the whistle; he walked directly to the opposing bench to shake hands with Lotina and then headed straight back to the dressing room. Less than a minute after he entered the tunnel, the final whistle blew, and the stadium erupted in joy.

0:2.

Malaga suffered their second defeat of the season, and Lin Sen broke his unbeaten record against his former opponents, losing to Lotina in their second encounter.

Undoubtedly, this made Lin Sen very frustrated.

Losing to Barcelona last time, due to inferior skill, Lin Sen could accept, as it wasn't a hard-to-swallow defeat. But losing to Lotina, who had played a defensive shell game against him last season, was something Lin Sen found hard to accept. Malaga didn't lose in the attack but in the defense. The team's top scorer, Lewandowski, was marked out of the game, and Lin Sen wouldn't blame the attack for its lack of effectiveness, but the defense, which had conceded six goals in three matches, almost matching the total from all previous matches.

With the correct match attitude, positive training attitude, and excellent on-field performance, Lin Sen couldn't figure out where the problem lay in the previous few matches. Perhaps, the only explanation could be "incompatibility"? Regardless, Lin Sen now had to face a question, one that was asked the most at the post-match press conference.

Should he continue to trust the young partnership of Bonucci and Ranocchia, who were clearly inconsistent, or should he bring back the previous pairing?

From a personal standpoint, Lin Sen undoubtedly preferred to continue trusting the current Italian duo, not only because he knew their potential but also because of the old saying, "Good defenders are made through suffering." If he gave up now, all the previous trust would be in vain. However, from a results perspective, Lin Sen knew that the best thing to do was to bring back the pairing of Rosario and Wellington.

Regarding Rosario, he had actually approached Lin Sen. After returning from Portugal, his partner Wellington still occasionally got a chance to rotate, but Rosario had lost his starting position. Lin Sen's explanation at the time was that his training intensity was insufficient. Rosario was clearly unsatisfied with this explanation but ultimately accepted it. Now...

Thinking about this, Lin Sen felt a headache.

No wonder people always say that life is a collection of troubles. No matter how big a trouble you get rid of, there will always be a new one waiting for you... Well, that was a saying Lin Sen himself had coined. Like many others, after the grueling schedule, Lin Sen had once thought that Malaga had no reason not to accelerate, but the reality was that the subsequent three matches saw no significant improvement, with one win, one draw, and one loss.

Seeing Lin Sen's not-so-pleasant expression, Tapia could only express his helplessness. He had already raised this issue once. In his capacity, although he often "questioned" Lin Sen's decisions, his questions were always limited to one time, and he never brought them up again.

Because Lin Sen was the head coach, and the decision-making power rested solely with him.

Actually, this week, Malaga wasn't completely unlucky.

Just a few days before the match against Deportivo La Coruna, the draw for the 1/8 finals of the Copa del Rey was announced, and Malaga's opponent was Almeria, whom they had defeated earlier in the season. Speaking of the draw, the unluckiest person was undoubtedly Regino.

The Copa del Rey has always been a breeding ground for upsets. In the 1/16 finals, Real Madrid was unexpectedly eliminated by the obscure Real Federacion due to fewer away goals, shocking everyone. After seeing the teams that advanced, Regino, who was in a dire situation in the league, had once seen a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough in the Copa del Rey, but then, as if the rain were pouring down, he was hit with a cold shower: Barcelona.

Compared to Regino, Lin Sen's luck was much better, of course, this didn't solve his current problem.

Just as Lin Sen was worrying, he unexpectedly received a phone call, from a stranger.

On the other end of the line, the opening words were a very polite self-introduction: "Hello, Mr. Lin, I hope my call is not disturbing you. My name is Jorge Mendes."

Jorge Mendes?

Lin Sen was taken aback for half a second before finally reacting: Mendes? That Mendes?!

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In today's European football, there is a profession that is both loved and hated by clubs, and that is the agent. In the future, for a long time, there were two agents who were both loved and hated by clubs.

One is Mino Raiola. The other is Jorge Mendes. The former need not be mentioned for now, while the latter is known as the world's top football agent. Not only does he represent stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Falcao, and Di Maria, but also coaches like Jose Mourinho. Of course, these are his hard assets. What makes Mendes most admirable and distinguishes him from Raiola is his ability to maintain good relationships with the clubs his players or coaches belong to, even after they have left. A media outlet once described a day in Mendes' life: breakfast with Inter Milan's president Moratti in Milan in the morning, lunch with Chelsea's president Abramovich in London at noon, and then flying to Madrid in the evening to share a glass of red wine and a laugh with Real Madrid's president...

To put it bluntly, he is the Mourinho of football agents. Both in terms of personality and experience, they share many similarities. Both are Portuguese, and neither had a notable playing career. Both started from humble beginnings; Mourinho's story is well-known, and Mendes' agency empire began in a football video rental store. Now, both are outstanding in their respective fields.

For such a person to suddenly call him, Lin Sen's first reaction was confusion: How did he get my number?

Then, Lin Sen began to think about which players on his team were represented by Mendes. It seemed that Apoño was one of them, and Rosario, it seemed, was also... Could it be about Rosario? Lin Sen thought he had figured out the reason for the call, but quickly dismissed the idea: He was the head coach, and this was Spain. If there were any issues with the players' treatment, Mendes would need to contact Livermore, not him, even regarding playing time.

Indeed, Mendes did not mention Rosario's issue. After a brief self-introduction, he explained the purpose of his call: He hoped that Lin Sen would contact him when he needed an agent.

This was a huge surprise.

To be honest, Lin Sen had no good feelings towards agents. Not to mention that he had recently learned from old Cruz that his current rent was twice as high as the previous tenant's, clearly a result of being taken advantage of by a real estate agent, who is essentially an agent. More importantly, since becoming a head coach, Lin Sen had already placed all agents on his "blacklist."

Because, for a head coach, especially a manager-style coach, agents are practically synonymous with vampires. With a large number of future stars almost certainly gathering under his command in the near future, Lin Sen had already imagined many times the scenarios where he would engage in verbal battles and strategic games with unscrupulous agents.

However, Lin Sen never expected that his first conversation with an agent would be about himself, and that the agent would be Mendes.

Why?

Lin Sen remained silent for a long time. Mendes on the other end of the line seemed very patient, not pressing at all, and waited quietly for Lin Sen's response. Then, Lin Sen asked his first question.

Lin Sen knew very well who he was talking to. Although Malaga had performed well this season, Lin Sen found it hard to believe that Mendes had noticed him because of this. His profession did not make him an object that could maximize an agent's interests; players were, and Mourinho was an exception.

So, there must be a reason.

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