Chapter 274 This is our mission battle

When the smoke from the Champions League cleared, the leagues across Europe soon resumed their wars.

In the Premier League, for the powerful teams that are about to enter the winter devil schedule, the period from November to mid-December is the best time to grab points.

At the beginning of January every year, the Premier League teams will join the competition for the FA Cup. By then, if they give up the two major domestic cup competitions early and do not have the European competition, the teams can still live a better life.

After all, they only need to rotate well and ensure that the main players in the team do not get injured in the winter. There is no additional competition pressure.

But for the top four or even the top six teams, the pressure of domestic cup competitions and European competitions will accumulate until the winter. Just give up. It’s hard to explain to the fans, but don’t give up. After the league, you have to prepare for various cup competitions.

, the burden on the players is too great.

This is why every December, the top teams in the Premier League always experience a wave of injuries.

After all, players are humans, not machines. They play too many games, don’t get enough rest, and the weather is cold, so injuries are inevitable.

A good case of muscle strain may require a few months of rest before being able to play again; a bad case of injury to a joint or even a fracture may result in the remaining half of the season being written off.

Sheffield United are currently doing a pretty good job at this point. They have started to rotate early. For players like Bell and Joaquin who have had a history of frequent injuries in the past, the team doctor only needs to give advice on rest.

Germany will never send them to play.

The performance of the two this season seems to have been greatly improved compared to last season due to rotation.

Not to mention Bell, he has become a hot new star in the Premier League since he became famous in the battle with Inter Milan. It is expected by many people that he will perform further this season.

Joaquin's outstanding performance is what surprised many people in the industry.

A 31-year-old Spanish veteran who was entering the Premier League for the first time actually performed almost as well as David Silva in his prime. This is simply incredible.

Today's Joaquin no longer has the lightning speed he had when he was young, nor does he have the super ability that he used to have when he was in good form.

But his rich experience and game reading ability, coupled with a coach Speed ​​who can understand him, gave him a new life in the midfielder position.

It is said that the head coach of the Spanish national team, Vicente Del Bosque, is also considering recruiting Joaquin back to the national team and wants to see his performance in the World Cup preliminaries.

Although they are just rumors and have not been officially confirmed, the emergence of such rumors is enough to illustrate Joaquin's outstanding performance in the Premier League.

Joaquin will also start against Norwich today. As the Spanish national team is about to hold a friendly match with Panama, this league is very important for Joaquin.

You may not be able to get called up as a head coach this time, but if this league goes well, it will at least make Bosque pay more attention to Joaquin. Only with attention can you have a chance.

And Joaquin has been waiting for this day for a long time.

In the dressing room before the game, other Sheffield United players did not say anything extra to Joaquin. Everyone joked around as usual, and finally completed the mobilization by shouting slogans during Li Mo's speech.

After Joaquin walked out of the locker room, he took a deep breath.

"Hey, come on, brother, although I couldn't support you in the first half, I believe Danny and the others will help you as much as possible. We all believe in you."

Li Mo put his arms around Joaquin's shoulders from behind, smiled and gave the big brother a hug.

Speed ​​did not arrange for him to start today. Considering that he had to fly back to China in the evening, Speed ​​did not want him to be too tired. Maybe this game would only give him about thirty minutes of "warm-up time" in the second half.

Finding the feeling of the game and maintaining the desire to score goals are Li Mo's only task in this game.

Norwich are very weak, and their performance this season has dropped a lot compared to last season. Even if Li Mo does not start, Sheffield United can basically win steadily.

Of course, to be on the safe side, Speed ​​still brought along Li Mo. If the game couldn't be broken in the first half, Li Mo would still have to fight in the second half.

However, the probability of this happening is very small. Norwich conceded 21 goals in the first ten games, with a goal difference of minus 14.

With such defensive ability, it is really unrealistic to expect them to suddenly burst into defense against the impact of Bale + Joaquin + Berbatov and Vardy.

Faced with Li Mo's encouragement, Joaquin didn't say much, and shook hands with Li Mo vigorously, his eyes full of power.

Li Mo also walked up to Maguire, helped him straighten the captain's armband on his arm, patted his arm and said cheers.

As the captain on the field for the first time, Maguire's expression inevitably became a little more serious, but after being patted by Li Mo, he smiled and touched his hair.

After high-fiving the remaining teammates, Li Mo walked out of the tunnel and walked to the bench first.

The Sheffield United players also felt a little uncomfortable at the moment, including Maguire, who was wearing the captain's armband.

Every time they played before, looking at Li Mo standing at the front, they would quickly settle down in their hearts. With Li Mo not starting today, everyone would inevitably be a little uncomfortable.

However, as time expired, the head referee also signaled the players from both sides to follow the referee team on the field. This may be uncomfortable and you have to get used to it as soon as possible. The game does not wait for anyone.

"The players from both sides followed the referee team out of the player tunnel, and the game was about to start. However, Li Mo did not appear in the starting team today. He was sitting on the bench and communicating with his head coach Speed.

Scenes like this were rarely seen in previous Sheffield United games."

"Speed ​​is doing this entirely out of love for Li Mo. On the 14th, we have to play the World Cup preliminaries with the Jordan team. Everyone knows what it means to win this World Cup preliminaries. Speed ​​is a gift to

I have given Li Mo enough rest time. After today’s game, Li Mo will also get on the plane back to China.”

Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu were giving commentary in the studio, and fans in China were also excited to watch this Sheffield United league match.

To be precise, it depends on Li Mo's state before returning to China.

The fans were more or less regretful that Li Mo failed to start the game, but they were also relieved at the same time.

Even if he plays half a game less in the league, Li Mo's physical fitness will be able to reduce a lot of consumption and he will be in a better state when he plays Jordan.

I really don’t blame the fans for being so concerned and careful.

More than ten years have passed, and Chinese football has once again arrived at the door of the World Cup. All it takes is the last step to step over, and the scene of national celebration will once again reappear!

But if we fail to win the game four days later, we will have to wait until the away game against Oman in June next year.

Who can wait for this special code!

And when the time comes to play away games, even if we win, when the country is celebrating, the players on the field can't witness this moment with their own eyes. What a pity.

So, don’t wait, don’t regret. Fans are looking forward to being able to be in China in four days, feel confident and bold, and shout out happily: “We have qualified!”

Seeing Li Mo sitting relaxedly on the bench and chatting with De Bruyne, the Chinese fans were in a good mood and praised Speed ​​as the most considerate coach in the world.

After the game started, even if Li Mo was not present, the Chinese fans cheered for Sheffield United from the bottom of their hearts, hoping that Sheffield United could win Norwich City as soon as possible today.

Drinkwater decisively transferred the ball to the right at the beginning of the game. To be precise, it was transferred to the feet of Joaquin.

Berbatov approached to receive the ball, and Vardy ran on the right to help Joaquin pull away the defender. As soon as everyone made their gestures, Joaquin knew that these young men must have discussed it in private.

I didn't tell him in advance because I was afraid that he would refuse. Maybe Speed ​​knew about it, but before the game, there was no news that he was going to be the protagonist in today's game.

Joaquin didn't know what to say. He was a little dumbfounded, but he was also very moved.

It feels really good to have teammates trying their best to help you. Although Joaquin feels that it is inappropriate to do so, but now that he has reached this point, it is all hypocrisy.

"Just use victory to express your gratitude. Thank you, my brothers."

Joaquin started the first offensive trial of the game with the ball, and the Sheffield United home team fans at Bramall Lane Stadium also gave the veteran the most enthusiastic cheers.

Although Joaquin has only played more than ten games for the team, the fans' eyes are sharp.

He does not steal the ball, but is willing to help Drinkwater organize the team's operations. He can press forward to get the ball and break through when needed, and he also has a positive attitude when defending.

Who doesn’t love such a veteran!

Not to mention that Speed ​​praised Joaquin's professional attitude many times after the game. Li Mo also said many times that Joaquin is like a teacher and brother to the young players in the team, helping every player in the team as much as possible.

.

Joaquin is worthy. Even if he only stays at Sheffield United for this season, Sheffield United fans will regard him as one of their own and give him full support and encouragement.

Today's Sheffield United also changed from their usual calm style. They started to play against Norwich and used Joaquin as the starting point of the frontcourt attack, setting off wave after wave of offensives.

Li Mo and De Bruyne sat on the bench and cheered for every wonderful performance of Joaquin.

In the midfielder position, although Joaquin did not show any gorgeous dribbling skills, he used decisive and timely transfers of the ball again and again, making Sheffield United's frontcourt offense seem to be equipped

Like an engine, there is no feeling of stagnation at all.

The atmosphere of the entire stadium reached its first climax in the 19th minute of the first half.

Joaquin made a stop, shook off Norwich midfielder Johnson, and then sent a diagonal through ball directly to the right rib area in front of the penalty area!

Berbatov and Vardy succeeded in countering offside almost at the same time. Faced with this situation of two ghosts hitting the goal, Norwich goalkeeper Rudy was eager to kill his two central defenders.

In the end, Berbatov made a clever push and scored. Li Mo and De Bruyne on the bench shouted and applauded vigorously.

Brother Xiaosha still looked elegant. He even lightly waved his fist in celebration, and then smiled and hugged Vardy and Joaquín.

"Norwich's defense has been penetrated! Joaquin's passing is decisive and sharp. I feel that this veteran is becoming more and more like a free man in the frontcourt. He no longer plays from one side to the end like he did when he was young.

Peter's transformation has extended Joaquin's career. If he can maintain his current form, I feel that Joaquin will have no problem playing in the Premier League for another two or three seasons."

Zhan Jun made no secret of his love and praise for Joaquin.

It can be gorgeous or simple. Joaquin's style changes very naturally. The most valuable thing is that he uses a simple way of playing to run a team's frontcourt offense. Such a veteran is a treasure wherever he goes.

"Hey, Sheffield United doesn't seem to have much of an attacking midfielder position now, right?"

Zhang Lu touched his chin and asked, Zhan Jun thought for a while and replied:

"Yes, Sheffield United has very few formations with an attacking midfielder this season. De Bruyne has played several times before."

"Well, it's a pity. I think Joaquin is suitable to play as an attacking midfielder now. When I watched him play for more than ten minutes today, I always thought of Belleron back then. The characteristics of the two organizations are very similar, and Joaquin's body

Better than Belleron, if the range of activities in the frontcourt is wider, it may bring more surprises to Sheffield United's offensive tactics."

Zhang Lu's evaluation is not low, but the current Joaquin certainly has not thought about transitioning to play as an attacking midfielder.
To be continued...