Chapter 254: Chapter 253: God He Has No Discernment
If Terry was a lone wolf because he kept to himself,
then Ibrahimovic was a solitary wolf... an outsider.
Ibrahimovic was the only player Deng Kai spoke with for less than two minutes.
Even Deng Kai, a renowned social phobic, couldn’t enjoy a pleasant chat with Ibrahimovic.
In some ways, Ibrahimovic was similar to Ronaldo.
Pride was their camouflage.
The difference was that Ronaldo’s defense was passive; he would remain relatively silent unless you attacked him first.
However, Ibrahimovic’s defense was aggressive, using exaggerated, or even arrogant, language and attitude to protect himself, preemptively striking instead of waiting to defend.
Against peers or players of equal standing, this method was highly effective.
Thus, in the same environment, Ibrahimovic thrived more than Ronaldo.
His arrogance was considered part of his skill, thereby gaining him a large following.
But, if you were in an environment with people much stronger and higher in status than you, Ronaldo might be ostracized and ignored, but Ibrahimovic would certainly be dealt with by those above him.
And now, as training time arrived, the team’s heavyweights had one by one reached the practice field.
They arrived almost alongside Trigella.
Joining them were Viana, Quaresma, winger Kwame Ayew, midfielder Barbosa, backup goalkeeper Nuno Santos, and the central defender duo of Marcos and Facundo.
They emerged first.
These were seasoned members of the team, having faced off against Deng Kai and Ronaldo last season.
Joao Pinto, Paolo Bento, Schmeichel, Deschamps, Matthaus, and Trigella casually strolled out last, chatting among themselves.
They were joking and laughing, older in age and mostly renowned players.
Without a doubt, Matthaus was the center of attention, even surpassing Trigella in face value.
"Mr. Maxa!" Matthaus greeted Maxa.
If it weren’t for Maxa, the tactical genius, Matthaus might really have overshadowed the team.
This was the aura of a superstar.
You cannot treat them the way you would ordinary players. When working with superstars, you either treat them as friends or as fathers; there’s no third option.
Many head coaches struggle with managing relationships with their players, and it’s often because they can’t put aside their pride.
This is a game of negotiation, a true test of emotional intelligence.
After a brief introduction, the team’s training began.
On the first day, they would definitely start with some basic recovery training.
Thanks to Deng Kai’s reminder and the short rest period after the European Championship, the new signings were all in good shape.
And the veteran players, given the significant changes this year, were also very conscious of their condition.
Thus, the team’s initial training went smoothly.
But always, new players needed time to gel.
Diverging views on training, born from different understandings, would ultimately lead to friction in behavior.
For someone like Matthaus, this kind of training was almost pointless.
He just needed to complete the basic daily training to maintain his touch and physical condition.
He was like a cannon of invincibility, with its durability nearly depleted, and every serious use had to be on the cutting edge, in official matches.
Intense training for him was excessive wear and tear, and even Trigella hoped he’d take it easy during practice.
Similarly, for Ibrahimovic, training was his most important arena to compete for a starting position.
His competition was clearly defined.
Last season’s top scorer in the Portuguese league, or rather, the top scorer for the past three consecutive years... Jia De’er!
From Porto to Sporting Lisbon, although Jia De’er hadn’t achieved four successive league championships, his streak of winning the golden boot remained unbroken.
You can imagine his dominance in the game.
Additionally, Drogba, hailing from France, also put some pressure on Ibrahimovic.
Their styles of play were different. Ibrahimovic possessed superior technique, a better sense of the ball, and more imagination than Drogba, but players of such technical style generally didn’t like physical contact.
And Mr. Trigella didn’t favor this at all.
Compared to Ibrahimovic, Trigella clearly appreciated Drogba’s playing style more.
Today, in training, Ibrahimovic was still wearing the substitute vest.
But Drogba didn’t need to wear the vest anymore as he was already trying to integrate with the starting team.
This made Ibrahimovic quite angry.
After all, among this year’s signings for Sporting Lisbon, other than Deschamps, he, Ibrahimovic, was the most expensive.
All the young players combined didn’t cost as much as Ibrahimovic.
Viana: ?
Quaresma: ??
Ronaldo: ???
Deng Kai: ????
Feng Te: You’re right!
Therefore, in today’s training match, Ibrahimovic not only played harder on the offensive end as per Trigella’s request but also actively tracked back on defense.
Behind this proactive behavior, there was even a hint of anger and defiance.
Bang!
Ibrahimovic knocked down Matthaus, who had the ball.
Matthaus had intended to hold off Ibrahimovic before passing the ball, but to his surprise, Ibrahimovic used his long legs to poke the ball away and even gave Matthaus a shove in the process.
This was a very standard defensive move on the pitch, exactly what Trigella wanted to see.
But the issue was that the opponent shouldn’t have been Matthaus.
Even if it had been Deschamps, it would have been fine.
Deschamps: ???
"What are you doing?" Matthaus shouted after getting up from the ground, furious, "Are you trying to kill someone? This is a practice match, not a slaughterhouse!"
"Or do you think I can’t deal with you in the same way? You think I can’t break your legs, is that it?"
"You son of a bitch! I fuck your ***..."
Ibrahimovic was baffled at that moment.
This... A striker fully committed to defending, and you’re cursing?
Why the insults?
But Matthaus’ status was too high; anyone suddenly cursed by him would first be stunned, not retaliate.
Seeing Matthaus getting worked up, other players hurried over to break it up.
"Um, Swiss kid, quickly apologize to Matthaus," said Deschamps, who was nearby and very aware of the origin of Matthaus’ anger.
"I’m from Sweden," Ibrahimovic said, feeling wronged.
"Is Matthaus okay?" Viana also came over to ask.
"Are you alright?" Paolo Bento approached as well.
"What happened? Ibrahimovic, what’s going on?" Kwame Ayew, Marcos, Facundo, and others joined in.
This was the team’s foremost superstar after all.
And the man was nearly forty, and you’re going hard on him?
Don’t you understand?
It’s not that he lacks intensity, but he only brings it during matches, for heaven’s sake.
Schmeichel, Ronaldo, Deng Kai, and others gathered too.
"Sorry, sorry, Ibrahimovic didn’t understand, he went a bit too far. Mr. Maxa, please take Mr. Matthaus for a check-up," Deng Kai also intervened, soothing the tension and offering a more progressive solution to move the situation forward.
