Chapter 103
"I have made my decision. I hope you won't make it difficult for me." Van Gaal interrupted Rooney before he finished speaking.
"After this round against Liverpool, I promise you that you will be in the starting lineup. You should know that I cannot lose the Red Devils derby." Van Gaal added, fearing that Rooney would be embarrassed.
Rooney was silent for a moment and nodded slightly,"Boss, is there anything else?"
"That's it."
Rooney turned and pushed the door open.
The long corridor outside the coach's office was empty. He stopped suddenly when he passed a window. His eyes passed through the window and fell on Chen Huan who was practicing penalty kicks with Manchester United's second goalkeeper Lindegaard on the training ground.
Under the sun, the boy's shooting posture seemed to overlap with the nightmare figure.
Only one of them wore No. 7 and the other wore No. 30.
……
At 8:30 pm on December 14, before the 16th round of the Premier League,
Liverpool's bus drove into the main gate of Old Trafford Stadium. In front of the main gate, Liverpool players and coaches on the bus received warm greetings from Manchester United diehard fans waiting in front of the gate.
"The Reds' clash is always so passionate!"
The reporter laughed as the camera broadcast a Manchester United fan smashing the window of the Liverpool bus with a coffee cup.
……
"Yes, we can defeat them."
"This is our home ground"
"No problem at all, I have complete trust in Chen, he is my lucky star."
At the pre-match press conference, when Van Gaal was asked by reporters about his opinion on the game, the Dutchman said with a smile
"Chen, will you continue your goal scoring form?"The reporters turned the microphone to Chen Huan who was next to Van Gaal.
"Of course, I am always striving to score more goals. Chen Huan replied with a smile.
"Chen, Liverpool's Rogers said they can restrict you, what do you think of that?"
"Oh my god, to be honest with you, there were a lot of coaches who said they had me figured out and could contain me, but in the end, none of them could do it."
"Chen, there are many players in Manchester United's first team who cannot play due to injuries. What do you want to say to them?"
"Brothers, rest assured and recover. I will lead Manchester United to win all the time."Chen Huan faced the camera and patted the camera after he finished speaking.
……
Sky Sports Channel, UK.
Former Manchester United star York Dwight attended the live show as a special guest.
Before the show started, York even curiously asked the director why he was invited to be a guest at every Manchester United game recently. The director's answer was straightforward, and fans, especially Manchester United fans, liked to see York"praising" Chen Huan in various ways in the show, and the ratings continued to rise.
"Mr. Yorke, do you think Rooney will start in this game?"After the show started, the host asked a sharp question
"I don't think it would be surprising whether Rooney plays or not. Because judging from Rooney's recent games, his condition is not good. But at the same time, Manchester United has a series of injury problems. The forward line is old and young, and Rooney is a veteran superstar at the very least. He will definitely play a role in the forward line."
……
Dragon Country Football Channel.
Today's commentators are still the classic combination of Xiao Zhan and Coach Zhang.
"Coach Zhang, as you know, there are many Liverpool fans in our country, including me, who is also a die-hard Liverpool fan. So when watching this game, I can fully understand the feelings of most domestic Liverpool fans."
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"Because we all support Chen Huan."Xiao Zhan said with a smile:"But in this round of the Red Double, Liverpool and Chen Huan finally met head-on, so everyone is very entangled in their hearts. They hope that Liverpool can win, but they also hope that Chen Huan's team can win."
"Hahaha, in fact, as long as the two teams can give us a wonderful game, it is worth watching no matter how entangled it is."
"Coach Zhang is right. Now the tactical lists of both sides have been released. Let us first introduce the starting lineup of the home team Manchester United."
"This time Van Gaal used a 3412 formation, which was very similar to the formation used against Southampton, but there were some changes in the personnel."
"The two centers are No. 49 Wilson and No. 20 Falcao."
"Standing between the two center forwards is No. 30 player Chen Huan, who is positioned between the attacking midfielder and the second striker."
"The four midfielders, from left to right, are left midfielder No. 18 Ashley Young, left defensive midfielder No. 21 Herrera, right defensive midfielder No. 31 Fellaini, right midfielder No. 25 Antonio Valencia"
"Three central defenders, from left to right are left central defender No. 6 Evans, center central defender No. 16 Carrick, right central defender No. 4 Phil Jones"
"The familiar No. 1 goalkeeper De Gea is still guarding the Manchester United goal."
"Let's look at Liverpool again. This time, the Red Army coach Rogers sent out a 343 formation."
"The three forwards are No. 20 Lallana on the left, No. 31 Sterling on the center, and No. 10 Coutinho on the right."
"The four midfielders, from left to right, are No. 18 left back Alberto Moreno, No. 24 left midfielder Joe Allen, No. 8 right midfielder Gerrard, No. 14 right back Henderson"
"The three central defenders, from left to right, are left central defender No. 6 Lovren, center central defender No. 37 Skrtel, right central defender No. 2 Glen Johnson"
"Guarding the Red Army's goal is their No. 1 goalkeeper Brad Jones."
After introducing the starting lineups and roster of the two teams, Xiao Zhan said to Coach Zhang:"Coach Zhang, before the two teams start playing, please analyze the starting lineups and roster of the two teams for us."
"First of all, we can see that both teams have adopted a backcourt system of four midfielders and three central defenders, which is enough to show that the system of three central defenders and four midfielders is currently suitable for the mainstream league."
"Secondly, we can see that Van Gaal boldly removed Rooney, the captain of Manchester United, from the starting lineup. I think this is a very risky move, after all, Rooney has a high status in the Manchester United team and the locker room, but I also admire Van Gaal's courage."
Xiao Zhan said:"Who do you think is better in this game?"
Coach Zhang pondered for a moment, then said:"I am more optimistic about the Red Army Liverpool."
"What is the reason?"
"Because Liverpool's lineup is more complete, while Manchester United has been severely tested by injuries, we can see that young center forwards like Wilson can actually occupy a starting position, which shows that Manchester United really has no one available."