The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 181 - 56: Three-Game Winning Streak! 1.2x Speed Marseille Turn! Finding the Next Ronaldo
The consensus was that Schalke 04 had already thrown everything they had at stopping Wang Shuo.
And yet, he still managed to break past them.
Jermaine Jones’s yellow card from the first half meant he didn’t dare commit a timely foul in the second.
Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place.
All one could say was that in the face of Wang Shuo, Schalke 04’s pincer strategy had utterly failed!
The biggest upset of Bundesliga Matchday 23 was last-place Borussia Mönchengladbach defeating Hamburg at home.
A team at the bottom of the table beating a top contender wasn’t anything special in itself.
What made it a real shocker was the scoreline.
4-1!
Borussia Mönchengladbach had slaughtered North King Hamburg at home.
This came as a huge surprise to everyone.
This Bundesliga season was truly spectacular, full of one upset after another.
Meanwhile, at the Allianz Arena, Bayern came back from a goal down to beat Hannover 96 5-1.
Hertha Berlin also staged a comeback away from home, overturning a one-goal deficit to beat Cottbus 3-1, thanks to a hat-trick from Volosin.
And Hoffenheim drew 0-0 at home against Werder Bremen.
...
「Carrington, Manchester.」
For quite some time now, Ferguson had been in high spirits.
Manchester United’s record this season was so good it was almost unbelievable.
Everyone, Ferguson included, believed that another great Manchester United dynasty was about to be born.
Aside from an unexpected loss to Russian Premier League side Zenit in the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the season, Ferguson’s team had been enjoying a smooth ride, winning nearly every competition.
The Community Shield Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the League Cup were all already in the bag.
Manchester United now held a commanding 10-point lead over second-place Chelsea in the Premier League.
They already had one hand on the league trophy.
In the FA Cup, Manchester United had just thrashed Fulham 4-0 away in London to advance to the semi-finals.
As for the Champions League knockout stage, Manchester United had been held to a frustrating 0-0 away draw by Mourinho’s Inter Milan in the first leg of the Round of 16.
With the second leg back at Old Trafford, Ferguson was full of confidence.
They were advancing on all fronts.
After the resounding victory over Fulham, Ferguson had even declared internally that they would fight for every title.
And it wasn’t impossible!
Especially with the attacking trio of Ronaldo, Tevez, and Rooney performing better and better this season.
Standing by his office window, Ferguson watched the Manchester United players training outside under the direction of an assistant coach. An unprecedented ambition swelled within him.
’If we can just win the Premier League and successfully defend the Champions League and FA Cup,’ Ferguson decided, ’I’ll retire!’
’Going out on a high note would undoubtedly be the smart move!’
The very thought thrilled him.
For years now, he had rarely led training sessions himself or laid out specific, targeted tactics.
He left all of that to his coaching staff, particularly his assistants.
Ferguson’s role now was to oversee the big picture, focus on major decisions, and handle communication with the Manchester United executives.
And then there was... the scouting department.
The department headed by his brother, Martin Ferguson.
On the desk behind Ferguson sat a scouting report submitted by Martin.
It strongly recommended one player in particular.
The Chinese player from Bundesliga side Mainz: Wang Shuo.
Just as he was thinking about it, there was a knock on his office door.
At Ferguson’s call, his brother, Martin Ferguson, pushed the door open and entered.
"You were looking for me?" Martin asked, his eyes immediately falling on the scouting report on the desk.
"Tell me more about it."
Martin Ferguson nodded. "You’re probably familiar with him, aren’t you?"
"Hard not to be. He’s probably the hottest name among the younger generation of players right now," Ferguson said nonchalantly.
Over the years, he had seen too many rising stars and too many fallen geniuses to be easily impressed.
"Even the British papers are full of news about his matches these days, especially today’s."
"I saw the video of that assist against Schalke 04. It was impressive, I’ll admit. But you know as well as I do that the defending in the Bundesliga has been a bit soft these past few years."
At that, Ferguson couldn’t help but chuckle.
As a Brit, he couldn’t help but look down on the Bundesliga a little.
It was the same reason everyone was skeptical of stats coming out of the Eredivisie.
Once upon a time, the Netherlands was seen as a star factory, and players coming out of the Eredivisie were pure quality.
But in the last few years, what top-tier stars has the Eredivisie actually produced?
Some players look world-class in the Eredivisie, but as soon as they leave, they’re exposed.
The Eredivisie’s top scorer charts, in particular, were ridiculously inflated.
"The defending in the Bundesliga is average, I agree. But honestly, to put in performances like that at eighteen is no simple feat," Martin reminded him.
"Besides, I’ve also heard that Wenger has been keeping a close eye on the lad."
’Wenger’s interested too?’
Ferguson couldn’t help but smile.
He had a lot of faith in Wenger’s eye for talent.
"Do you think he could possibly replace Ronaldo?" Martin asked, his tone concerned.
The search for the next Ronaldo was already an open secret among the Manchester United top brass.
The Portuguese star had nearly left Manchester United as far back as after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Then, in the summer of 2008, Ronaldo had again come close to joining Real Madrid.
