Chapter 599: Chapter 598 Youth Version of Manchester United
"The Champion Gene of Deng Kai and Ronaldo is Too Strong! Manchester United hasn’t won the English League Cup in ten years, and Manchester City hasn’t reached the final in twenty-five years!"
"Ronaldo’s Chance for Revenge Has Finally Arrived! This Time, Which of the Lisbon Sporting Twins Will Prevail?"
You’d say this is a bit too coincidental, wouldn’t you?
But in reality, it’s not.
Manchester United’s strength has returned to its peak this season, and although their starting lineup may not be as strong as in the past, their attacking reserves are considerably stronger.
This has led to them performing quite well in the rotated squad for the English League Cup.
As for mid-table Premier League team Manchester City, focusing on the cup competitions and giving up on the league, their achievement is not surprising.
Therefore, the encounter between the two is well justified.
On January 25, in the fourth round of the FA Cup,
Manchester City fielded their main squad at their home ground and beat Millwall 2-1, advancing to the next round.
Although the scoreline wasn’t significant, the game was decidedly one-sided.
Millwall barely had any decent opportunities throughout the match.
Manchester City, on the other hand, bombarded their opponent with forty shots.
It’s just that their shooting was really off the mark.
On January 29, during the 25th round of the Premier League,
Manchester City faced Fulham at home.
Deng Kai scored a hat-trick once again, dominating the game.
Manchester City continued to defend their home ground’s honor with a 4-1 win.
On February 1, in the 26th round of the Premier League,
Manchester City played West Brom at home.
Despite being at home, Manchester City still made a few rotations in preparation for the English League Cup final two days later.
In this match, Deng Kai assisted and scored, helping Manchester City secure a narrow 2-1 victory over West Brom.
With this, Manchester City achieved a five-match winning streak in all competitions!
This was their rare highlight of the season.
And Manchester City’s rotation in the league undoubtedly demonstrated their determination for the English League Cup.
In contrast, their local rivals, Manchester United, fielded a full-strength line-up in the 26th round of the league.
Because the competition between Manchester United and Arsenal for the league title was heating up.
At present, Manchester United had 53 points, trailing Arsenal by three points.
Manchester United obviously couldn’t afford to relax.
Thus, they could only sacrifice the English League Cup.
The lineup for the 26th round of the league essentially also hinted at the lineup for the English League Cup.
Because it was impossible for Manchester United to have their key players play two matches in three days.
So when Manchester United defeated their league opponents 2-0, a double-scoring Ronaldo let out a very reluctant roar as he celebrated in front of the camera.
The camera then turned to Ferguson.
Ferguson was not at all displeased because he knew that the roar meant Ronaldo had accepted Ferguson’s arrangement.
On February 3, the day of the English League Cup final.
In the morning, Manchester City were the first to announce their line-up for the day:
Baggio, Fowler, Ribery
Deng Kai, Essien, Tu Lei
Grosso, Chiellini, Hierro, Maicon
Lehmann
All their elite players were out.
Shortly thereafter, Manchester United also announced their match line-up:
Diego Forlan, Danny Webber
Jimmy Davies, Fletcher, Veron, Stuart
Kieran Richardson, Brown, O’Shea, Roche
Barthez
This lineup was quite unfamiliar to many.
Only Barthez was an absolute starter for Manchester United.
Veron, Forlan, and O’Shea were key rotations.
The others were either youth academy players or simply fourth or fifth substitutes.
Journalists confronted Ferguson on the spot, "Have you given up on winning the English League Cup? This is a championship, is this how Manchester United treats the competition?"
Ferguson seemed somewhat helpless in response, "In the league, our competition with Arsenal is very intense. Between the Premier League and the League Cup, given the choice, I can only pick one."
"Moreover, we’ve also reached the last sixteen of the Champions League, and our opponents in the second group stage are Juventus, Deportivo La Coruña, as well as Basel, who eliminated Liverpool."
"Do you think we can afford to be distracted?"
"Or to put it another way, do we qualify to be distracted?"
"Of course, I hope no one underestimates Manchester United’s youth players. They are all very talented, and we have developed a golden generation like ’The Class of ’92’."
"I don’t want anyone to undervalue the Manchester United academy!"
Over at Man City, Deng Kai also held Manchester United’s lineup in high esteem, "This team has many potential players."
"Dai Weisi, Fletcher, Webb, Roche... Premier League fans are all familiar with their names."
"And Fran could be the starting striker for any team."
"We will not underestimate this Manchester United side, nor are we qualified to underestimate anyone!"
Standing beside Ferguson, Jimmy Davies was quite excited when he heard Deng Kai mention his name.
He knew the chance for him to make a name for himself had arrived.
Or rather, it was the opportunity for his generation of Manchester United’s academy to rise.
But...
This generation of Manchester United’s academy was a tragic one.
Because looking back, almost none of them made it big.
The biggest reason was that their prime coincided with that of ’The Class of ’92’, they couldn’t get enough matches during their optimal period of growth.
Another reason lay in the strength of Manchester United which meant that their rivals were also very powerful.
And these academy players had to face very strong opponents during their limited playing time with Manchester United.
Take the Man City team before them, for instance.
This was the team that even the peak Manchester United struggled against at Maine Road Stadium; how could a bunch of kids stand a chance against them? They were likely to be overwhelmed.
Once their confidence was shattered, geniuses would cease to be geniuses.
Thus, these players should take advantage of the legacy of ’The Class of ’92’ to make a name for themselves at other clubs. Those who stayed were merely waiting for the inevitable.
Uh...
Speaking of which, Davies couldn’t leave Manchester United.
Because if the timeline doesn’t change, next season he will be loaned out to Watford and then involved in a car accident there, tragically dying at the age of twenty-one.
...
The Millennium Stadium in Wales.
Because Wembley Stadium was undergoing reconstruction, this year’s English League Cup final was held at this venue.
The match drew a crowd of 75,000 spectators.
This would be the first championship to emerge in England this year.
As both teams entered the field, the match officially began.
The third minute.
Davies tricked Deng Kai with a feint and delivered a cross.
Fran headed the ball just a bit too high.
The tenth minute.
Baggio, unusually taking on a dribble, beat Veron with a sham move and delivered a cross, proving the old adage of an oldie but goodie.
Deng Kai rushed forward, unleashing a long-range stunner to break the deadlock.
One-nil!
Man City took an early lead.
The midfield of this Manchester United team seemed decent enough.
The incredibly agile Davies, the all-rounder Stuart, the defensive spearhead Fletcher, and Veron once the best midfielder in Serie A.
However, Fletcher’s positional sense was too poor, and the other players were all weak in defense.
Deng Kai’s shot was far too comfortable.
The seventeenth minute.
Veron made the connection with Fran, completing the link-up.
Fran received the ball and exploded into a powerful shot.
But before the Manchester United players could even start to celebrate, the referee blew the whistle to indicate the goal was disallowed.
