novelraw Chapter 634 - 439: God Arrives but Falls at the Door! Chelsea’s Conte Takes Over, Angrily Removes Mourinho’s Photo!
Chapter 634 - 439: God Arrives but Falls at the Door! Chelsea’s Conte Takes Over, Angrily Removes Mourinho’s Photo!
Hoo—
A business car came to a steady stop at the entrance of the Manchester United Carrington Training Base.
Before the door could even open, the surrounding journalists swarmed over, surrounding the car with their cameras and microphones eagerly pushing forward amid a cacophony of voices.
"Eevee! Welcome to Manchester United!"
"Tell us why you decided to come here!"
"At 35 years old, joining the Premier League, what ambitions do you have for the new season?"
"With Icardi and Bony already as top strikers in the team, are you confident you can secure the main position?"
"You’ve won the league championship every season; will you lead Manchester United to defeat Manchester City and win the Premier League?"
Eevee slowly stepped out of the business car.
Standing at a height of 195CM, he was already tall and imposing, with long hair styled into a braid and wearing large black sunglasses, emanating an aura of confidence akin to a mafia boss.
The reporters who had surrounded the vehicle were all struck by his presence, involuntarily stepping back to clear a path.
Eevee, chewing gum and holding a small LV business bag, swaggered towards the entrance with a swagger befitting a social figure.
Known for his eccentric personality and great strength, he was long accustomed to being the center of attention;
For scenes like this crowd of journalists, he was unfazed.
Yet even so, his heart was still quite pleased, as he had finally realized his career-long dream of playing in the Premier League.
He ignored every journalist, instead loudly speaking to himself:
"God said he had conquered Serie A, La Liga, and Ligue 1; it is time to play in a different league..."
Bam!
Before he could finish speaking, Eevee kicked a low stone block, his towering figure staggering as he tumbled to the ground.
The grim Manchester sky was gloomily overcast, and Eevee, wanting to look cool, had been wearing sunglasses, making it even harder to see the path underfoot.
From among the crowd of journalists, Dilata giggled and shouted, "Oops, God has tripped at the entrance!"
Everyone stifled their laughter, unable to hold back their amusement.
Eevee got up, dusty and disheveled, even if his sunglasses were hanging crookedly on his face, it didn’t stop him from glaring at Dilata.
"Alright, I’ve got you remembered!"
...
The summer of 2016.
After four years at Paris Saint-Germain, with 180 appearances and 156 goals.
In the last moment, Eevee rejected Nasser’s invitation and chose not to renew his contract with Paris, becoming a free agent once it expired!
"I’ve been in Ligue 1 for four years; it’s just too long, time to seek new challenges!"
As soon as he regained his free agency, numerous clubs went after him.
Be aware, in the just-concluded 2015-2016 season, the 35-year-old Eevee delivered the most explosive statistics of his career.
He appeared in 31 league matches and scored 38 goals, second only to last season’s European Golden Boot, Suarez.
In total, he participated in 51 matches and scored 50 goals throughout the season!
An average of one goal per game made people regard this Swedish tower, who calls himself God, with awe.
Upon hearing Eevee’s intention to move to the Premier League and embark on a new adventure,
Pellegrini immediately extended an invitation to him!
"Zlatan, join Manchester United and fight with me; only this club suits your ambitions!"
Eevee was also keen on Manchester United, the mutual desire led to Manchester United signing Eevee on a free transfer.
From Eevee’s personal perspective, the Champions League may not be in hand yet, but in any league I join, winning the league championship is a must, that’s the baseline.
Last season, Manchester United fell to second place in the Premier League, beaten by Manchester City, but their point difference was merely 4 points.
While Manchester City was strengthening its squad, Manchester United was also fervently recruiting strong players!
Pogba returned to Manchester United from Juventus for an astronomical transfer fee of 105 million euros.
Additionally, they spent 38 million euros to acquire 21-year-old Ivorian defender Bailey from Villarreal.
Eevee thought, with Manchester United having a bunch of powerful young lads, as the senior, leading them to defeat Manchester City and revive the Red Devils’ glory is, haha, my unshirkable responsibility!
From Pellegrini’s viewpoint, signing Eevee on a free transfer was a very cost-effective deal.
Eevee’s arrival could greatly enrich the team’s tactical play.
The team already had two strong strikers, but the tactical features of both Icardi and Bony were relatively singular!
Especially Icardi.
Although he could score over thirty league goals in a season, most of them were easy goals within the box.
Icardi lacked speed, didn’t have obvious height advantage, his physique wasn’t particularly strong, and his dribbling footwork was practically non-existent!
In modern football which increasingly stresses comprehensiveness, a poacher type striker like Icardi has very limited tactical roles.
Especially in last season’s double defeats of Manchester United led by Pellegrini, this issue became apparent.
Icardi was great at feasting on weaker teams, but when facing Premier League powerhouses or other top European clubs, his shortcomings were magnified.
However, the robust, dribbling-savvy, visionary passer Eevee became Pellegrini’s ideal signing.
Of course, Pellegrini won’t give up on Icardi, but one Bony is far from enough. Add another Ibrahimovic, increase the internal tensions, and intensify the competition between players. This helps players maintain a constant sense of crisis and hunger.
...
Manchester Evening News: "God Descends on Manchester! That Man Who Can Do Everything Has Arrived!"
Daily Telegraph: "The King of League Champions! Manchester United’s New Season Is Set!"
Daily Mirror: "Ibrahimovic Has 12 League Championships, Four Times That of Manchester City!"
The Sun: "Agüero and Icardi Pale in Comparison to Ibrahimovic’s Glory!"
The arrival of Ibrahimovic ignited the media’s passion, becoming the most newsworthy and entertaining topic of this summer transfer window!
While many Manchester United fans felt that the introduction of Pogba and Bailey left the team still lacking in confidence to confront the heavily revamped Manchester City;
The arrival of the Swede Ibrahimovic made all Manchester United fans feel that the gap between the two sides had completely closed!
Even from the mysticism of winning the league, having Ibrahimovic in the lead greatly increases their chances of victory.
[Ibrahimovic! Welcome to Manchester!]
After a day’s training ended.
Ranocchia was driving, taking Tang Long and Bonazzoli to the city for dinner, and they passed the LCD billboard next to Selfridges in the city center, where they saw this striking red slogan.
Ibrahimovic in a number 13 jersey, arms open to the sky, exuding an air of dominance over all.
"Damn, that’s awesome!" Bonazzoli in the passenger seat couldn’t help but exclaim.
Ranocchia, driving, sneered, unimpressed.
"That bastard even calls himself God, so disgusting that if God were like him, the Bible could be burned!"
Ranocchia turned his head and started talking to Tang Long in the back seat about the past...
It was in the 2011-2012 season, Ranocchia’s first year at Inter, the 18th round of Serie A, when Milan faced off in the Milan Derby.
In that match, Inter narrowly won with a goal from Diego Milito, 1-0.
The score was calm, but the process was much more intense!
It was an all-out brawl between the two sides.
Especially starting center-back Ranocchia and forward Ibrahimovic, who were entangled from the first minute of the match.
Ranocchia had agile footwork, though not as good as Ibrahimovic’s, but he was faster. So, during one skirmish with Ibrahimovic, he dribbled the ball past the Swede.
However, as soon as he took a step forward, Ibrahimovic suddenly tugged him from behind, grabbing Ranocchia’s arm and pulling him to the ground, not letting go until he was sure Ranocchia fell.
Ranocchia’s forehead was sweating from the pain, and he cursed, "Why do you keep pulling my arm? If you like men, go grab some on the street, don’t embarrass yourself here!"
Ibrahimovic spat on the ground, laughed, "I like men? Let your sister come to my house tonight, and I’ll tell you the answer."
Ranocchia was so angry because Ibrahimovic deliberately yanked his arm down hard, not just a typical tactical foul.
Just five minutes earlier, during another clash, Ranocchia was knocked to the ground by Ibrahimovic, losing balance and landing his arm heavily on the ground, taking over a minute to recover on the sideline. He even briefly suspected his arm was dislocated.
Ibrahimovic noticed that once Ranocchia returned to the pitch, he was uncomfortable, twisting his arm, so the previous tug was obviously intended to aggravate his injury.
Sure enough, with that forceful yank from Ibrahimovic, Ranocchia’s arm was dislocated, immediately substituted, and he missed a whole month of matches.
After hearing this, the young Bonazzoli expressed disbelief, "Is Ibrahimovic really that sneaky?"
Tang Long said, "Ranocchia is just too good-tempered. If it were Kolarov, he would’ve fought Ibrahimovic! He only talks big; when it really comes to a fight, he’s a coward."
"Back when he was at AC Milan, he got into a brawl with the American defender Onyewu during training, and Onyewu broke two of Ibrahimovic’s ribs. He didn’t dare make a sound!"
Bonazzoli skeptically responded, "That’s impossible; I heard Ibrahimovic is a fifth-degree black belt in Taekwondo, practically a professional level. Is there really a player he can’t beat?"
"That just means his kicking is good," Ranocchia laughed, "but his punches probably can’t beat Onyewu. I heard Onyewu used to be in the military in the United States; is that true?"
Their conversation in the car was full of laughter.
From Inter Milan, to Manchester City, after one season apart, the three of them became teammates again and had endless topics to talk about.
...
Chelsea FC.
Stanford Bridge Stadium.
The newly appointed head coach, Conte, was inspecting the stadium’s turf.
As he walked out of the player tunnel, he saw a picture of Mourinho hanging on the wall, showing a look of disgust, and immediately asked the stadium manager beside him to remove it.
The stadium manager, who wasn’t aware of Conte’s obsessive character, hesitated and said Mourinho is a legendary coach of the team, holding an important place in the club’s history.
Conte, like a lion whose rear was scalded by a cigarette, erupted in fury, launching his first hairdryer treatment since taking charge at Chelsea against the staff.
"I, Conte, come from Italy, and now I’m Chelsea’s head coach. Yet, in our home stadium’s player tunnel, there’s a photo of a coach who’s been dismissed. How ridiculous! Get it out of here!"
The stadium manager, startled by Conte’s sudden outburst, quickly nodded, hastened to take down Mourinho’s photo.
The temperature in London in July was a bit warm, just after a light rain, the sun shone again, making the freshly steamed turf emit the earthy aroma.
The quality of the turf at Stanford Bridge was excellent, much better than the stadiums in Italy, which pleased Conte greatly. He squinted his eyes, took a deep breath, and found the scent intoxicating.
million euros to buy Basessaa, 35.8 million euros to buy Kante, 35 million euros to buy David Luiz, 23 million euros to buy Marcos Alonso.
This summer, Chelsea’s investment has exceeded a hundred million euros.
After leading Serie A’s top team Juventus to a triumphant three-peat, Conte took a full two-year break until this summer, when he returned to the field at Abu’s invitation.
He is equally ambitious about winning the championship this season!
"Italian coaches are the best in the world, and I, Conte, came to the Premier League to conquer it!"