After the game, reporters flocked to the venue.
Flick and Lu Yang attended the post-match press conference.
Reporter: "Flick, it is a very bold move to let a player of Fenio's level serve as the starting midfielder. Why did you make such a decision?"
Flick spread his hands: "To be honest, Fenio is not up to the standard of starting in Newcastle, and he knows this very well. But after we lost Sauber, we urgently need a grabber."
"It's the English media that reminds us that we seem to have the best tacklers in the world."
The reporters were speechless.
It's your turn to show off.
Just because you are dissatisfied with everyone's pressure on Newcastle to let Sauber undergo surgery, right?
Reporter: "So you don't think Sauber should have surgery?"
Lu Yang took the microphone and said: "Of course not. We are very optimistic about Sauber and we hope to keep him for a long time because we believe that his contribution to Newcastle will not be limited to these few games."
"But the vacancy after Sauber's surgery is something we have to face up to."
"Now it seems that this problem has been solved quite well."
Reporter: "But Fenio has caused a lot of trouble for Newcastle. He is a time bomb. Will he start the next game?"
Flick: "We never think that any player is a time bomb. When I say that Fenio's strength is not up to the standard of starting in Newcastle, it does not mean that he is not strong enough. He did that in the 88th minute. The performance surprised everyone, didn’t it?”
"We will give young players enough opportunities as long as we can see their progress! This is also the difference Newcastle brings to English football."
"We will not encourage so-and-so to become a British star again, and then watch him go to nightclubs and spend hundreds of thousands in one night. We will only quietly cultivate players who can really contribute to the game."
"You will only marvel at how lucky Newcastle are to have another great star. But you have not seen how many opportunities and help we have given them to train them."
What this means is that this reporter feels that if he were a player, he would also like to join Newcastle.
The fascination for young players is too strong.
Reporter: "Then let's talk about Sasso. He gave away a penalty kick in this game and his performance was not good. In fact, Sasso's performance in the entire second half of the season was inferior to that of the first half. Quite a few.”
"What's wrong with him?"
The smile on Lu Yang's face froze.
This reporter did a great job.
Something is definitely wrong with Sasso.
After Lu Yang finished playing football, he received the investigation information from Laura.
Lu Yang smiled: "No player's state is static. This is very normal. And I don't think there is anything bad about Sasso's performance on the court. He is one of the best central defenders in the Premier League this season. "
This is not wrong.
In a report released by Sky Sports, through various analyzes such as data, record, and on-field performance, the comprehensive evaluation included Lusimar, Sasso, Kadu Kuba, Peterke, Nagy, White and other central defenders. Be among the best.
Reporter: "Last question. When you scored the second goal, you said that the Newcastle United miracle was beginning. What did you mean? Can we understand that this is you issuing a championship declaration on behalf of Newcastle?"
Lu Yang nodded.
The reporters at the scene immediately started whispering among themselves, expressing their shock at this.
A reporter stood up and said: "Lu, I have an obligation to remind you. Although Newcastle is currently ranked second in the Premier League standings. But in another hour, after several other games are over, your ranking is likely to be among the top four. outside."
"Are you sure you want to announce Newcastle's intention to compete for the title at this time?"
Ahem!
Lu Yang coughed twice, looked at the reporters in the audience and said: "There are only three games left in the Premier League. Even if Chelsea wins this round, it will only be 75 points, and we are 72 points."
"Mathematically speaking, we certainly have a chance to win the championship. Not only us, but even Tottenham, who we defeated in this game, also have a theoretical possibility of winning the championship."
The reporter retorted: "But your opponents in the next three rounds are Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea! It's not easy for you to get a point!"
Lu Yang smiled slightly: "That's because you are too pessimistic."
Another reporter asked about this: "Excuse me, if you go all out to prepare for the Premier League in the last three rounds, what about the UEFA Cup and FA Cup? Are you going to give up?"
"Especially the FA Cup, you have reached the FA Cup final!"
Lu Yang pursed his lips: "My lowest point was the year I debuted, fighting for Sanremo in Italy."
"We only won one championship trophy that year."
"Since then, I've never won just one trophy."
"I don't think Newcastle this year is any harder than Sanremo that year."
"Whether it's the Premier League, the FA Cup, or the UEFA Cup, we will go all out."
After Lu Yang finished speaking, some reporters applauded involuntarily.
Because this is a very new theory for the Premier League.
There is too much competition within the Premier League.
So that if you want to gain something, you have to give up something first.
Most Premier League champions are just one champion, and double champions are rare, let alone triple champions.
If you want to hit multiple championships, Chelsea's Sanya King the year before last is still fresh in your mind, which is the best example.
Of course, the Premier League has also seen the emergence of a Triple Crown dynasty that crushed the rest.
But that is a very rare chance event.
And if you put the Triple Crown champion Manchester United in the current environment, there is a high probability that they will not win the Triple Crown.
Because in this era of Premier League competition is more intense.
In the European war, competition is also fierce.
Of course, some reporters think Lu Yang is telling lies.
He is painting unrealistic mirror images for Newcastle fans.
This was what Lu Yang said forcefully without giving in to reality.
Lu Yang has won a championship trophy in his worst season since his debut.
But this year, Lu Yang is very likely not to win a championship trophy.
In the most likely UEFA Cup, Newcastle are also showing signs of overturning.
…
"The second phase of the Holy Spirit is ready to take off?" Lu Yang issued a championship declaration! 》
"champion? No, many champions! Lu Yang bluntly said that he has never failed to win the championship in any season in his career! 》
"Four goals and one assist, dragging ten with one, the land king is back!" 》
"Trinity, who can compete with the strongest Ten, Nine or Seven?" 》
"Everyone comes to suiiiiiiiii, Newcastle are officially fighting for the Premier League title! 》
"Crash or win, the difference is sometimes so small that it's hard to tell!" 》
"Don't be afraid of losing points, just because Lu Yang is in Newcastle!" 》
"Half an hour of Premier League second place!" Manchester City scored a lightning goal in the opening game and scored 74 points in real time, overtaking Newcastle! 》
"Thirty-five rounds of key matches came to an end, Newcastle were squeezed out of the Champions League and ranked fifth! 》
"Talista's killer performance puts Chelsea ahead of the Premier League standings with 75 points!" 》
"Lima and Moreira scored twice to help Manchester City win, ranking second in the standings with 74 points! 》
"Moric shot and passed twice, Arsenal returned to the winning track, with 73 points there is still hope of winning the championship! 》
"Aveiro scored the only goal of the game, helping Manchester United beat Newcastle with 72 points and rank fourth in the standings! 》
"Newcastle scored many goals and conceded many goals, and their goal difference ranked last among the seven sisters in the Premier League! Ranked with the same score, the disadvantage is obvious! 》
"Carlisle and Kolber passed shots to each other, and Liverpool ranked sixth in the Premier League with 71 points after winning! 》
"Tottenham suffered a disastrous home defeat and were kicked to the brink by Newcastle. With 70 points, they only have a theoretical hope of winning the championship! 》
"Liverpool's next match against Newcastle, the loser will directly exit the Premier League title race!" 》
"A huge test!" The first game after Newcastle United sets sail is the "Immortal Red Army" Liverpool, and the Magpies are in danger! 》
From this round on, the news media went into a frenzy.
Because there are only the last three games left before the Premier League champion is born.
The hard work of a whole season depends on the results of the last three games.
Outside a high-end apartment in Newcastle.
Sasso currently lives here.
His family has not moved here yet.
After he really establishes himself in Europe, he will buy a villa and bring his family here.
Many Brazilian players do this.
This has a lot to do with the fact that salary levels in Europe are much higher than there.
Although Sasso is a famous star as the top central defender in Brazil, if he wants to buy a villa in Newcastle without blinking an eye, he still needs to consider a lot of things.
What if he doesn't get kicked out, what if he goes to another team next season.
Sasso is not Lu Yang. He has sufficient funds and can buy wherever he can join.
Sanremo, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Newcastle, London, BJ, Shanghai, Los Angeles... these places have Lu Yang's large and small properties.
Not for investment, just to have a place to stay when I go there.
Ding dong!
Lu Yang rang the doorbell.
After a while, Sasso opened the door.
He forced a smile and invited Lu Yang into his home, but he was not in a good mood.
On the contrary, he was a little nervous.
Just like high school graduates waiting for their college entrance examination results.
Before Lu Yang could exchange greetings with Sasso, Sasso's cell phone rang.
He immediately connected and it was his wife’s video.
"Sasso, Yago is out of danger, the doctor said he is fine!"
With one sentence, Sasso burst into tears.
"Really? Really?" Sasso said excitedly into the phone, and then screamed.
The sound continued.
He even turned around and hugged Lu Yang, and then kept jumping, even more excited than when he won the Brazilian League championship and the Copa Libertadores.
"Congratulations Sasso, but you shouldn't hide such a big thing from us." Lu Yang said, "In this way, our Chinese doctors will go there as soon as possible, and Yago will recover faster..."
Sasso nodded repeatedly, and then suddenly reacted: "Chinese doctor? Belle, Yagota..."
On the other end of the phone, Sasso's wife also said with red eyes: "Yes, there was a medical team from the East yesterday. Dr. Krim said that they are really very good. They also cured Yago's disease..."
The two talked a lot.
In fact, Sasso's child was diagnosed with neonatal jaundice after birth, and the condition was relatively dangerous.
Subsequently, this caused a series of infant diseases, which have always been in a dangerous state.
This is not Sasso's first child, but even though it may show more or less, the love parents have for every child is the same.
Sasso plays football in England for the sake of his family.
But his heart was always in Brazil.
After Lu Yang learned about this situation, he immediately invited a team with expertise in neonatal fetal diseases in China and flew to Brazil overnight.
Successfully rescued Yago from a dangerous state.
"Lu...I..." Sasso was too excited to speak.
"Newcastle is a big family. You are welcome to join, and I hope you can feel at home here." Lu Yang hugged Sasso and said, "Come on, man. Bring your family over as soon as possible. The self-discipline of you South American players will be appreciated." I’m really scared.”
"If you have a wife who takes care of you, you can play for Newcastle for a few more years."
Bailey on the other end of the phone was amused and said that he would consider moving after the child recovers.
When Lu Yang left, Sasso sent Lu Yang outside the community.
In fact, situations like Sasso's are not particularly rare in football.
For most players, playing football is just work.
In a person's life, he will encounter many things that are more important than work.
The year Lingard's form took a turn for the worse, his family suffered a heavy blow.
Shocks such as the death of a loved one can indeed cause a player to undergo earth-shaking changes.
Adriano is the most typical example.
It can also be seen from this that when Ronaldo's father passed away, Ronaldo's data and status did not fluctuate significantly, and it was so rare to usher in an explosive period a year later, or even directly enter the peak period of the Premier League.
This requires an extremely determined mind.
The team has spent tens of millions of euros on one player, isn't it necessary to help them pay attention to the difficulties in life, etc.?
This behavior will not make the team's job much harder.
Just cut a few bloated positions in the coaching staff and management, and the salary saved will be enough to get these things done.
The value of these things is not only reflected in helping players maintain good condition and mental outlook during the contract period, but also has unexpected effects during contract renewal and transfer.
This is indeed an era gradually being eroded by gold and yuan.
But even so, there is still a touching story of Matic calling for support from thousands of miles away because of Mourinho's call.
Even Mbappe, who has been criticized by many people, would definitely pursue his dream of Real Madrid if it were not for the pressure of "political governance" and the influence of large orders between countries worth 12 billion euros.
It is unreliable to expect the club's care to retain players, but under the same conditions, such warmth may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
May 11, the day before the second leg of the UEFA Cup semi-finals.
Newcastle is conducting a regular training match.
This UEFA Cup is Newcastle's home court, so they don't have to travel all the way.
Marseille players have arrived in Newcastle this morning.
On the training ground, Chiesa dribbled the ball from the wing with great speed.
He shook again and again, trying to challenge Sasso.
But soon, Sasso seized the opportunity and directly stretched out his feet to complete the steal.
He even helped Chiesa who was about to fall.
Newcastle cannot afford to be injured now.
"I feel like the Sasso who was in the first half of the season is back." Flick looked at the data analysis of Sasso in this training match. "If there hadn't been a short downturn in the second half of the season, we might now... be at the top of the Premier League. "
"Not bad." Lu Yang smiled from the side, "At least we still have a chance now."
As he said this, Boyle made a beautiful kick and swept in front of the goal.
This is the move that most center backs fear most.
Then bang.
Sasso made a bold move and kicked the football out of the penalty area.
There is no need to worry about mistakes in clearance leading to own goals and so on.
He has this confidence.
His abilities and mental state are back.
He is good at footwork, and his interception of cross passes is excellent.
He is even sharing his unique skills with Deas and Gombani, trying to teach them.
Deas learned a little faster, and soon he dared to take bold steps to intercept cross passes in the penalty area, and the effect was good.
Gombani learned a little slower, mainly because his model was larger and his sensitivity was lower than Deas and Sasso.
This defensive method of blocking cross passes with your feet, if it is a little slower, it may have another result.
This is not a good fit for Gombani.
May 12, UEFA Cup semi-finals
Newcastle faces Ligue 1 rival Marseille.
In the first round, the two sides drew 2-2.
Sauber was injured in that race.
This time, Newcastle's formation has changed slightly from last time.
Manjujovic
Bridge, Lu Yang, Chiesa
Sasso, Tavares
Boyle, Gombani, Deas, Rees
Amelucci
The left lower back has changed.
From Fenio to Sasso.
This is a surprising change.
After all, after the last round of the Premier League, both Flick and Lu Yang praised Fenho, saying that this player is good. Although he has shortcomings, his final performance proved himself.
The Marseille coaching staff couldn't be happier.
In just three days, they watched all Fenio's games since records began, staying up late one by one like giant pandas.
In their view, Fenio is simply a player full of flaws.
He is a hedgehog. Wherever he goes, Newcastle will have a defensive hole in that place.
Marseille has developed a complete set of tactics using Fenio as a breakthrough point.
The players also practiced twice.
But now you're telling me that Fenio won't play?
this……
On the Newcastle bench, Flick was communicating with Fenio: "Watch this game carefully and think more about how you would send the football forward in this situation if it were you."
"What you lack is not the means to get the football upfield, but the awareness."
"Your future is not in the defensive midfielder. Your position should be that of an excellent cerebellum player. You are suitable to be the deputy core of the midfield."
Fenio kept nodding and did not feel unhappy that he was not the starter in this game.
Although he is not particularly clear about his position on the court, he has a very clear understanding of his identity.
He is very grateful to be one of Newcastle's regular rotation players.
His playing style is from the last era, and his ability is not good enough. He cannot stand out in the youth training team or the sub-level league, let alone in a team competing for the Premier League championship?
On the court, the game has been going on for a while.
Sasso's performance in the defensive midfielder position so far has been remarkable.
This proposal was made by Flick.
He feels that Sasso is quite versatile and it shouldn't be difficult to play as a defensive midfielder.
Even if the defensive midfielder and the central defender have different requirements for positioning, Sasso can't be more cowardly than Fenio.
Lu Yang also agreed.
But both Sasso himself, Flick and Lu Yang have made it clear that Sasso will not stay in this position for a long time.
Because this kind of cross-position swing is harmful to the player's ability.
Trading a world-class central defender for a world-class defensive midfielder is more of a loss than a gain.
In the 13th minute, Marseille right back Aspili Tanko completed a beautiful cross pass from the ground.
Gombani was penetrated, but Deas from behind made a decisive move and intercepted the football.
Artists are bold!
But Vandeas's interception was wrong, and Marseille forward Dimitar Payet behind him was able to get an excellent shooting opportunity.
Tanko and Payet are Marseille's two star players.
The former is expected to enter the Spanish national team and compete in this summer's European Cup.
The latter is a fringe international player for the French national team, but has not been called up many times in the past two years.
Because the French team has too many superstars and monsters, whether it is the high level of the superstars or the brilliance of the monsters, Payet cannot compare.
Fortunately, Marseille reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup this year.
If he can defeat Newcastle, the largest traffic team in European football, to advance to the final, Payet's probability of being called up will be greatly increased.
In the 36th minute, Payette made continuous passes on the left wing.
Reese tried to get to the body, but Payette withstood Reese's first impact and started spinning in circles.
The technical and tactical level he showed is Bridge's mature state in Flick's mind.
But now Bridge can't withstand the first impact of the opponent's defensive player. This is the biggest problem and requires careful polishing of the body.
Tavares was also passed in Payette's circle.
Payette got a chance to hit the goal on the left side of the penalty area.
Deas and Gombani were ready.
Payette kicked the ball and hit the goal.
boom!
Sasso next to him made a sliding tackle and blocked the football.
Reese controlled the football.
Marseille started a crazy frontcourt press.
Reese was unable to play the ball forward and could only pass it back to Deas.
The path between Deas and the goalkeeper was cut off by Payette.
At the same time, there is no room for big feet.
Deas took a risk and gave the ball to Sasso, who had just stood up from the ground and asked for the ball.
Sasso faced the football with a... leak.
The Marseille player pressing Sasso was shaken.
Sasso followed up with the football and kicked the football forward with his non-dominant left foot.
Completed a very beautiful solution...
"Wait! Lu Yang, it's Lu Yang!"
"This ball actually found Lu Yang!"
"This is a counterattack!"
"Lu Yang and Marseille's center back blocked each other, and Lu Yang relied on the opponent to stop the ball."
"Catch the ball! Lu Yang has passed!"
"Single sword! Lu Yang used it alone!"
"The Marseille goalkeeper strikes!"
"Lu Yang shot! The Marseille goalkeeper went to the ground to save. Oops, it was a rub shot, a half-high ball. The Marseille goalkeeper raised his palms high, but it was still more than ten centimeters behind the ball. It would have been better if he had not come down to the ground."
"The goal is scored! Newcastle is 1-0, taking the initiative to advance to the UEFA Cup final!"
"Sasso made a wonderful clearance and assist, and Lu Yang scored with a single shot!"
"I have to say that Sasso feels a little different in this game than before. That calm general style is back!"
"Is Sasso more suitable for the midfielder position?"
"But his running ability may not be suitable for playing as a defensive midfielder."
"In any case, Sasso's position in this position at least makes up for Newcastle's weak waist problem and changes direction to liberate Lu Yang."
"Based on the current situation, I am more optimistic about Newcastle in this game!"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
3 million words, yeah!
