Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 255 Community Shield
After a long and tiring journey, Shan Yongzhuo returned to Manchester and had a good day of rest.

The next day, Shan Yongzhuo slept until after 10 a.m., then washed up and drove slowly to the club.

Shan Yongzhuo returned to the team quietly. While his teammates were still on the training field, he needed to undergo a physical examination, so he went directly to the medical room.

As soon as I stepped out of the infirmary, I saw people waiting outside.

An old acquaintance...

"Philip?"

Dan Yongzhuo exclaimed in surprise, then stepped forward and gave Mexes a big hug.

Welcome to Manchester!

“I told you I would come,” Mexes said, his face beaming with the joy of seeing an old friend.

"what?"

“I messaged you on Twitter saying I was coming to Manchester City, but you didn’t reply!”

Shan Yongzhuo said with a wry smile, "I'm going back to China, so I won't be using Twitter anymore..."

"All right……"

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Today is also Mexes' first day here; the news of his joining Manchester City is just waiting for the official announcement.

Seeing his old friend again after a year, Shan Yongzhuo was very happy. After the physical examination, he pulled Mexes aside to introduce him to his teammates.

Manchester City's squad hasn't changed much; at least the core lineup hasn't changed much.

Everyone knew that Shan Yongzhuo and Mexes had a good relationship, and they welcomed Mexes' arrival.

"Let's have an event tonight," Kompany whispered, nudging Shan Yongzhuo's shoulder.

"Um... okay." Shan Yongzhuo knew what Kompany meant, and nodded helplessly.

As the team's top leader, he probably can't escape the fate of having to pay for the meal.

Kompany, Balotelli, De Jong, Richards, Shan Yongzhuo, plus new teammates Mexes, Aguero and Clichy, that's the lineup for tonight's nightclub.

In just one night, the newcomers quickly integrated into the team. After all, these guys weren't exactly model citizens, and Mexes, for example, was a seasoned nightclub regular.

Everyone remained restrained; after all, Mancini's anger was not something to be trifled with.

However, Mancini is in a pretty good mood right now. Manchester City's summer transfers are almost finalized except for Nasri, but there shouldn't be any major problems.

These transfers were basically made according to Mancini's ideas, which streamlined the previously bloated team and strengthened the front, midfield and defense lines.

In Mancini's view, this season is the time for Manchester City to really shine.

Over the next few days, Manchester City entered into intensive training, followed by two more warm-up matches.

Although Manchester City spent over 8000 million euros in the summer, the actual changes were not particularly significant. The biggest expenses were mainly on Aguero and the upcoming Nasri, while players like Clichy and Mexes did not incur particularly large costs.

With little change in the core lineup, Manchester City's tactics and style of play have also remained largely unchanged.

In these two warm-up matches, Shan Yongzhuo's performance was lukewarm, and one could even say he seemed a bit lazy and indifferent. He scored one goal in each of the two matches, which was average.

The newcomer Aguero, on the other hand, has been very impressive. He started one game and came on as a substitute in another, scoring three goals in two games, demonstrating remarkable immediate impact.

Aguero is Atletico Madrid's key striker and this summer's record signing. Generally speaking, top strikers like him tend to be a bit arrogant, especially when partnering with another top striker in the forward line. Even if the two have a good relationship, they will unconsciously develop a competitive mentality.

Aguero is no exception.

When Aguero decided to come to Manchester City, he couldn't help but think of Shan Yongzhuo, the hottest striker in football today.

The two have faced each other before. In the Europa League final two seasons ago, Shan Yongzhuo led Roma to defeat Atletico Madrid, where Aguero played, with a perfect performance.

It was an unforgettable experience for Aguero, especially meeting Shan Yongzhuo, an unconventional striker.

Aguero's mindset upon arriving at Manchester City was quite complex.

On the one hand, he is looking forward to being teammates with Shan Yongzhuo. In his opinion, partnering with Shan Yongzhuo will definitely make them the most formidable attacking duo in European football, bringing them numerous honors.

On the other hand, Aguero was also a little afraid of partnering with Shan Yongzhuo, because he knew that if he partnered with Shan Yongzhuo, he would definitely become the supporting actor, and Shan Yongzhuo would definitely be the protagonist.

For a proud and arrogant striker like Aguero, this is not a good feeling.

Aguero felt this clearly after these two warm-up matches.

In both matches, Shan Yongzhuo basically stood there for most of the time, occasionally jogging a few steps. He only scored two goals, one from a free kick and the other from a long-range shot.

Apart from two shots on goal, Shan Yongzhuo was almost invisible, completely lacking any presence.

But he still managed to score two goals.

Thinking about how he had worked himself to the bone and only scored one more goal than Shan Yongzhuo in two games, while his opponent had scored two goals with almost no effort on his part, he realized that Shan Yongzhuo had been working himself to the bone.

Aguero could only sigh helplessly. Sure enough, even though they were both geniuses, they weren't on the same level.

Moreover, Aguero also noticed that Shan Yongzhuo's return had changed the atmosphere at the club.

Mancini seemed to be in a better mood, always wearing a refined smile, and his teammates also became more talkative, as if everyone had found a pillar of confidence.

During free time, most of his teammates like to hang around Shan Yongzhuo.

They took the initiative to train with Shan Yongzhuo, and chatted with him during their free time. Laughter often echoed from the training ground, changing the atmosphere of the entire training area.

"Is this the influence of Shan Yongzhuo?"

Aguero had to admit that Shan Yongzhuo seemed to be the spiritual pillar of this Manchester City team.

……

Manchester City's first official match of the new season is the Community Shield.

The FA Community Shield is the opening match of the Premier League each year, featuring the previous season's league champions against the FA Cup winners. However, since Manchester City won both titles last season, the match became Manchester City against last season's league runners-up, Manchester United.

The new season starts with the Manchester derby, which left Shan Yongzhu somewhat speechless.

Last season, Manchester City faced Manchester United three times, and this season they will start their season with another match against Manchester United.

This match also attracted a lot of attention.

Everyone still remembers the bold statement made by Shan Yongzhuo at Manchester City's celebration ceremony last season, claiming that Manchester City would win every title they could this season.

Although the Community Shield championship has very little prestige, it is still a championship in itself.

Therefore, many media outlets are paying close attention, wanting to see if Manchester City can defeat Manchester United once again and win the Community Shield.

(End of this chapter)