Team Spirit

Chapter 278 The Dead Resurrected, the Czech Goalkeeper, and the Initial Success of the Three-Center-Defender System
Three months later, people's attention has once again turned to Cech.

The goalkeeper, who suffered a severe head injury, was already considered by everyone to be "off the hook" for his career.

Before his injury, Cech's transfer fee was 30 million euros, and the actual transfer price was likely higher.

Now, Mourinho has converted him into a ten million euro package in the Van der Sar deal.

But everyone thought Green Gun was getting a bad deal.

Because Cech is practically worthless now.

Chelsea fans quickly split into two camps.

One group believes that Mourinho is very shrewd and that if this deal goes through, he would be a perfect "Mourinho's protégé"!
However, another group believes that Mourinho's actions were disrespectful to Cech.

The player himself also believes this.

Cech's family even said they would take Mourinho to court.

Major European football associations, human rights organizations, environmental organizations, women's rights organizations, children's organizations, and others have all condemned Mourinho.

This has tarnished Chelsea's reputation.

But Mourinho doesn't care at all; he never cares what the outside world says about him.

He just wanted to annoy Lu Kai in this way and get revenge on Lu Kai for plotting against him through Madeira.

Soon, news came from Green Gunners that they had agreed to Mourinho's plan.

All of Europe was in uproar!

Transfermarkt: "Datford and Chelsea swapped goalkeepers. The Blues traded Cech plus €5 million for a crucial and powerful goalkeeper, completing their squad and putting them on the right track to winning the title!"

BBC: "Lu Kai has been fooled! Chelsea sign Van der Sar for €5 million!"

Gazzetta dello Sport: "Lu Kai is still young and fell for Mourinho's provocation! He made a terrible deal!"

France Football: "Neither Neuer nor Joe Hart can completely replace Van der Sar at the moment, and Dartford has created a monster opponent for themselves."

Mundo Deportivo: "Lu Kai's evil deeds will surely lead to his downfall; Chelsea will be eliminated by Green Gunners in the EFL Cup semi-finals as early as next week!"

Diario Sport: "A product of Barcelona is always top-notch! Barcelona's translator outmaneuvered Lu Kai in the transfer market, making two worthless but low-salary swaps, teaching the two strikers a lesson!"

This is a deal that's obviously going to lose money.

It's even worse than Arsenal's trade of Cole for Chelsea's Gallas and €7.5 million.

Because Arsenal really can't keep Cole.

Dartford are able to retain Van der Sar.

At 37 years old, Van der Sar had considered spending his final years at a legendary club like Greenstre.

Furthermore, Van der Sar was well aware that he would only be Chelsea's number one goalkeeper for half a season. Even if he became the world's best goalkeeper after that, Chelsea would bring in a younger goalkeeper to replace him, relegating him to the bench.

that's the truth.

Chelsea offered Van der Sar a well-paid two-year contract, with the second year practically a clear indication that they were paying him to stay.

While the world was discussing topics such as "Lu Kai is still too young", "Lu Kai was taught a lesson by Mourinho in the transfer market", and "Datford suffered a huge loss", etc.

There was also discussion within Green Gun.

Southgate believes the team was taken advantage of.

But Guardiola said that he brought in Van der Sar for 3 million euros and sold him for 5 million euros, making a profit of 2 million euros.

Zidane added that Van der Sar also played for both teams for two and a half years, helping them get through the toughest and most difficult period.

It's not a loss no matter how you look at it.

Ashley Young and Alfred exchanged a glance and smiled without saying a word.

deficit?
You still don't understand me, Lu!
Ashley Young glanced at the time and whispered, "They should have arrived by now."

London, a villa district.

Lu Kai rang the doorbell of the Cech family's house.

Cech opened the door, looked at his former rival, and felt a mix of emotions. Finally, he said, "This is the worst transfer of your career."

Lu Kai handed Cech a gift and said with a smile, "People have been saying this since I bought Dartford for one dollar."

"But it turned out to be my best deal."

Cech's eyes reddened as he took the bag and asked, "What's this?"

Lu Kai: "Helmet! The Czech goalkeeper's victory helmet!"

"From now on, he will protect you."

"You protect Dartford's goal!"

Cech could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

He was sentenced to "death" at Chelsea, but was successfully "released" at Dartford.

……

"The Voice of Green Guns": "Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech transfers to Dartford, taking a pay cut of over 70%, putting him on par with ordinary Premier League newcomers!"

BBC: "Cech's pay cut reveals a lack of confidence; Lu Kai should be careful not to lose everything if he tries to take advantage of others!"

Many people believe that even a salary of less than two million euros per year is a huge expense, and they would rather not give it if they could avoid it.

As is well known, the Premier League does not have a winter break, so there are still matches during the winter transfer window.

On January 10, the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final kicked off at the Green Penguin Stadium.

Before the match, Lu Kai and his coaching staff conducted multiple simulations and ultimately decided to use their secret weapon – a three-center-back formation.

Guardiola: "It's a bit risky. Our three center-backs are not fully developed yet. If they can't hold up in such a crucial game, we could be torn apart."

After all, Chelsea has a lot of talented and strong wingers.

But Lu Kai had a reason to do so: "There is never a day when you are ready before you face it."

"From the perspective of the three-center-back formation, they will have to go through the experience sooner or later. Rather than forcing themselves to go when they can't afford to lose, it's better to complete the first battle under conditions that allow for some room for error."

"This is our home ground, and the fans will try their best to support them, so the atmosphere is relatively good. Even if something goes wrong, it will help them adjust quickly."

"Looking at our starting lineup, most of our key players need to rest."

"The Premier League doesn't really need a winter break, but the players do. Besides, this winter is so cold that it will greatly increase the risk of player injuries, which in turn requires players to have more rest time."

There are actually quite a few injury-prone players in the Green Gun team.

Motta is a major injury-prone player, Ribery is a minor injury-prone player, and Duff has had a season plagued by serious injuries.

In addition, the Green Gunners faced tough matches in every game during the first half of the season, resulting in significant fatigue.

In previous years, Green Gunners didn't prioritize the league, which allowed for some rotation of their key players. But this year, with a focus on league performance, there's no room for shortcuts.

Ultimately, Dartford's formation surprised everyone:

Dong Fangzhuo, Zheke

Duff, Lu Kai, Ashley Young
Patton, Pepe

Bonucci, Kompany, Li Weifeng
Neuer

-

Here's a 3232 set for everyone.

The first half ended in a 1-1 draw.

Van der Sar, Chelsea's new signing, started the game right away and proved to be a good fit, making a crucial save against Lu Kai's one-on-one chance.

In one instance, Duff was substituted by Ribery right after halftime, making it seem like a training match. In the second half, Chelsea's coaching staff and key players found weaknesses in Chelsea's three-center-back system, capitalizing on defensive lapses to launch a fierce attack and score another goal, taking the lead.

In the 71st minute, Pepe lost his temper after receiving a yellow card and confronted an opposing player. Lu Kai subsequently substituted Pepe with Thiago Silva.

In the 73rd minute, the most captivating moment of the entire match arrived.

For Chelsea, Arshavin scored with an assist from Shevchenko, beating his former club to make it 3-1, and then... was substituted by Mourinho during the celebrations.

The whole place was in an uproar.

Dartford then substituted Giroud for Dzeko.

In just two minutes, Green Gun launched four consecutive attacks on goal, like a storm.

Finally, in the 77th minute, Kompany scored a header from a corner kick, bringing the score to 2-3.

Mourinho then substituted Shevchenko with a defensive midfielder, which frustrated Shevchenko, who wanted to retaliate.

Abu smashed another batch of wine glasses in the private room, generating revenue for Green Gun.

Lu Kai had specifically instructed that the ashtrays used in Abu's private room were the best, high-grade porcelain imported from Jingdezhen, emphasizing luxury!
These "small sums" may be nothing to Abramovich, but for the stadium, they're enough to easily meet the monthly revenue KPI!
Ultimately, they managed to snatch a victory from the Green Penguin Stadium against Mourinho's defensive wall.

They avenged their previous defeat to Green Guns in the league.

Chelsea win the second leg of the London derby!
This match caused a huge uproar afterward.

Both the loser and the winner are being criticized and attacked.

BBC: "Datford fielding a reserve team against Chelsea? This is disrespectful to the EFL Cup semi-final!"

The Times: "Why did the Green Gunners rotate their squad at such a crucial moment? After losing at home, some fans are shouting for refunds from RMN!"

Manchester Evening News: "Green Gunners' defense has problems, Pepe loses his temper, Bonucci and his sister-in-law give a big gift, but they still can't do without Van der Sar and Vidic!"

Sky Sports: "Chelsea made a great deal on Van der Sar. Neuer is still not consistent enough. I suggest Chelsea bring in another goalkeeper with good stats."

These comments are all about Green Gun; after all, they lost, so it's understandable.

After the match, Lu Kai also reviewed the game, and all the team players were present.

Contrary to popular belief, Lu Kai held a positive view of the match: "Judging from the score, our match was a success."

"Don't be discouraged, everyone."

"Dong Fangzhuo, sister-in-law, Bonucci... Look at our lineup, these are all players who are not recognized by the public."

"There are many players who are not in our starting lineup as people think, but the fact that you played like this against Chelsea is already very impressive."

"After all, this is one of only two teams in the Premier League to be number one."

"Perhaps the next time you play against a team like this, you'll be able to truly defeat them!"

If the team doesn't make any mistakes, the score will likely be 2-1, with the Green Guns winning.

The purpose of this competition is not to determine a result, but simply to verify whether Lu Kai's approach is feasible.

It turns out that it is feasible.

Then there would be no more scruples.

The players also desperately need this kind of training and feedback; otherwise, they won't even know what they're doing all day and what the point is.

Now they have found meaning.

They have to hold the team up despite their "inferior qualifications" when the team's key players need to rest.

Even when the team's core players are not confident of defeating the opponent, they must step up and become the decisive factor.

Similarly, the key players present were also reflecting on their performance.

One thing is the teammates' attitude of putting in extra training, which is admirable.

Another point is that even though they are very strong, they still need the support of these less strong teammates, and everyone feels the importance of each other.

Finally, if even less skilled teammates can shine so brightly under Green Gun's tactics, then we, the core main force, should listen to Alfred and Lu Kai's arrangements even more. Under their leadership, anything is possible!
A defeat brought out the soul of Dartford.

At this moment, Green Phase II truly began to take shape.

Meanwhile, on the other side of London, the soul of Chelsea, the winner, is crumbling further.

Abramovich summoned Mourinho to his office once again. If the last time was a reprimand, this time it was a direct scolding, turning Mourinho into a complete idiot.

"We clearly have such a huge advantage, so why did we substitute Arshavin and Shevchenko?"

"Are you a racist? Do you look down on us East Slavs?"

"I don't need your explanation. Your words are like farts; they're stinky and serve no purpose whatsoever."

"Let me tell you, this season, I don't want Shevchenko and Arshavin to be substituted for no reason again! Otherwise, you can pack your bags and leave!"

"I'm spending all this money to have fun, not for you to ride on my head and poop and pee!"

Abu is going all out.

Mourinho endured the humiliation and remained silent.

In Abramovich's view, Mourinho was just making trouble for no reason, and insisted on substituting the two Russian and Ukrainian stars when the game was going well.

But in Mourinho's view, Arshavin had already burned out, and regardless of whether he scored or not, he was going to be substituted.

Shevchenko's presence added another layer of complexity: it made the team top-heavy and created defensive vulnerabilities. Furthermore, because he also contributed offensively, the team would unconsciously push forward as a whole, which deviated from Mourinho's defensive strategy in the final stages of the match.

Green Gunners' second goal came from a corner kick created by such an opportunity.

Dartford's coaching staff are well aware of this.

If Mourinho hadn't substituted the two Russian and Ukrainian players, Dartford might not have been able to take the lead, but they would have been confident of equalizing.

So what Abramovich saw was Mourinho substituting his favorite players when the team was leading.

But in reality, it was Mourinho's substitution of Abramovich's preferred player that enabled them to achieve the final victory.

If the attribution is wrong, the conclusions drawn and the corresponding solutions will naturally be wrong as well.

January 13th, the 23rd round of the English Premier League.

Dartford fielded their strongest lineup and swept Watford 3-0.

January 20th, the 24th round of the Premier League.

Dartford fielded their usual three-center-back formation against Tottenham.

The team made virtually no mistakes this time, but their offense faltered, ultimately resulting in a 2-2 draw.

Given these greenhorns, this score is well within Green Gun's acceptable range.

The team's minimum goal for these two matches was three points, and now with four points, they can maintain their third place in the Premier League without widening the gap with the top two.

On January 24, the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final kicked off.

Chelsea fans were overjoyed at Stamford Bridge Stadium.

Seven years have passed, and it's finally time for Chelsea to taste the EFL Cup final (championship)!

This is currently the longest-running competition dominated by a single team in all of Europe's major leagues.

Those future achievements like Lyon's seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles, Juventus' nine consecutive Serie A titles, and Bayern Munich's eleven consecutive Bundesliga titles are just the beginning of their success.

Green Gunners are the team with the most dominant single championship record.

The media flocked to the match.

Everyone knew there was going to be a good show.

Because Dartford's starting goalkeeper today is none other than Petr Cech, the man who was traded from Chelsea, whom experts have predicted will never return to the field, and whom fans believe has already retired invisibly!
The BBC, known for its penchant for racist propaganda, ran a shocking headline even before the match began: "Cech is courting death! Luka is committing a crime!"

(End of this chapter)