Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 118 The Resilient Atletico Madrid
After the game restarted, the attention of the fans in the stands around the stadium was focused on the match.

However, many people's attention was focused on Shan Yongzhuo, who scored twice in just over 20 minutes at the start of the game, and they continued to discuss Shan Yongzhuo's performance.

These people are sports media reporters, management students, and football legends.

The majority of the media reporters were from media outlets outside of Italy, especially from England.

The name Shan Yongzhuo is no stranger to the English media. In the Europa League, Roma defeated Fulham twice in the group stage and then eliminated Fulham again in the semi-finals. Shan Yongzhuo was the best performing player.

Their biggest concern now is that Shan Yongzhuo is likely to join Manchester City and move to the Premier League.

This season, Premier League teams have suffered setbacks in European competitions, with none of them even reaching the Champions League semi-finals. This has left the usually arrogant English media feeling somewhat ashamed.

However, the way they looked at the Italian journalists now was quite smug.

"See? Shan Yongzhuo is amazing, but he's coming to the Premier League soon."

"So what if Serie A is great this year? You still can't keep your star players!"

"Star players all choose to come to England."

Italian media outlets were reluctant to discuss this news, as they had previously hoped that Shan Yongzhuo would stay in Rome or go to Inter Milan.

However, with Mubarak and Kroos appearing together, the outcome seemed obvious.

So they decided not to bother with the English.

"We in Serie A were able to win the Champions League and Europa League titles this year, what about you?"

"So what if Shan Yongzhuo left? Serie A is still the strongest!"

"..."

Italian journalists could only console themselves with this thought.

The legends and professional players in the stands, however, didn't think so much. They were more focused on Shan Yongzhuo's footwork. They had all played professional football and knew how impressive it was to score a goal like that.

"No wonder Italians say he has the best shooting in the world! He truly lives up to his reputation!"

"It's hard to believe unless you see it with your own eyes."

"..."

Meanwhile, in the private box, Mubarak and Mancini were also sighing with admiration.

Mubarak was alright; he didn't know much about football, but he thought Shan Yongzhuo performed very well, scoring two goals in the first half.

Mancini was still savoring the goal he had just scored.

"To unleash such a lob shot from almost a zero-degree angle near the byline?"

Even Mancini, a seasoned and experienced coach, was still shocked and immediately began to analyze Shan Yongzhuo's role.

This player's shooting ability is just too powerful!

Mancini's biggest concern was whether Shan Yongzhuo could adapt to the pace of the Premier League. This was the most crucial factor. As for other aspects such as technique, speed, and physicality, Mancini didn't think they mattered much.

It's important to understand that many former prodigies face difficulties adapting to a new league, not because of their skill level, but because of differences in style and pace.

According to Mancini, Shan Yongzhuo's previous Austrian Bundesliga experience was not a valuable reference. His professional career truly began in Serie A, where the overall style and pace are the most unique among the top five leagues.

If they spend a lot of money to bring in Shan Yongzhuo, only to find he can't adapt to the Premier League, it would be a huge loss, and Mancini would definitely bear some of the blame. Now, Mancini isn't worried at all.

Shan Yongzhuo's tactical ability is not apparent at all. He is detached from the entire tactical system and moves around quite freely.

However, he still managed to score two goals.

The first goal came from a long-range shot, which was a direct demonstration of his footwork.

The second goal was even more spectacular.

Mancini discovered that Shan Yongzhuo's footwork was not as bad as outsiders said. His dribbling speed was as fast as others' off-the-ball movement speed, and he always kept the ball under his feet. He did not rely on speed to take big strides to overtake others. What does that require?
This requires extremely high dribbling speed, and in the end, he scored a goal from an almost zero-degree angle.

Mancini felt that he no longer had any adaptation problems.

Free agent in the frontcourt?
no problem!

Just let him play freely in the game. With such strong individual ability, he shouldn't be the one adapting to the team, but rather the team should build tactics around him!

In fact, in Mancini's view, the top stars all bring their own systems, just like Ronaldinho for Barcelona and Kaká for AC Milan.

What coaches really need to do is not to define a fixed system for players to adapt to, but to build a system and select players around the characteristics of true superstars.

In Mancini's view, Shan Yongzhuo is qualified!
He couldn't help but start looking forward to next season.

"If Mario could also come, and he could be the center forward to attack the opponent, or Tevez could also be used, with Shan Yongzhuo lurking behind him looking for opportunities, this would definitely be the most effective attacking combination in the Premier League!"

On the field, Atletico Madrid launched a relentless attack. Falling behind by one goal made them somewhat anxious. With more than 30 minutes left and the first half about to end, they hoped to equalize before the final whistle.

Every player was running and tackling hard.

Aguero is one of them.

Since joining Atlético Madrid, Aguero has risen rapidly, forming a formidable attacking duo with Forlán that strikes fear into the hearts of many in La Liga.

With Forlán getting older, Aguero is seen as Atlético Madrid's future attacking core.

Last season, Aguero scored 17 goals in the league, but this season he has only scored 12, with Forlán remaining the team's top scorer. Furthermore, his reputation in the league is far behind that of his fellow Argentine, Lionel Messi.

This made Aguero, who was hailed as a genius and for whom Atletico Madrid spent a lot of money, very unwilling.

"I must score more goals!" Aguero desperately wanted to perform better. He wasn't jealous of Forlan and Messi; they actually had a good relationship. Aguero simply wanted to prove to everyone that he was fully qualified to succeed Forlan as Atletico Madrid's top scorer and that he was no worse than Messi.

This time, Aguero found an opportunity. Atletico Madrid's attack reached the left flank, and he moved to the wing to receive the ball, combining with Simão to get past Motta's defense.

Aguero then quickly rushed into the penalty area, and Simão's pass came in.

"It's now!"

Aguero received the ball, then used his footwork to cleverly dribble past Burdisso, creating an opening for a shot, followed by a powerful low shot.

The football skimmed across the grass, heading straight for the near corner of the goal. Sergio went down to make a save, but he couldn't stop it. The ball flew into the goal, skimming the grass and the post.

"The ball is in!"

"Sergio Aguero! In the 35th minute, Atletico Madrid have equalized!"

"Forlán and Aguero, this top La Liga attacking duo has shown their prowess, scoring goals to make it 2-2!"

(End of this chapter)