Chapter 365 Red Wen Mourinho Losing 2:4 to Tottenham was a very painful thing for Chelsea players. Because of the loss in this game, the Portuguese coach had not smiled for two consecutive January 1, London time, at the Cobham base training ground, the Chelsea coaching staff led the players in a simple team competition. Hazard's sudden interception made Pogba unable to react in the first time, allowing the Belgian to break through, and the final shot successfully helped the team score a goal. "Paul!" "Where's your defense?" Mourinho spread his hands to Pogba, who waved to the coach, indicating that he knew he was wrong. "Here, come here! Come here!" Normally, if Pogba waved his hands to apologize, Mourinho would usually let it go, but for some reason, Mourinho chose to let Brown stop the game this time. "Jose" Pogba staggered over and said: "I know my problem. I didn't react just now. I will defend better next time." "..." Mourinho did not speak at the first moment, but glanced at the players on the training ground: "Take a break, this is the end of the morning training, let's prepare for tomorrow's game"
After that, Mourinho took Pogba's arm and the two walked to an oak tree: "Paul, just tell me what you think. Tell me why you are so reluctant to participate in defense." "Oh, I just said it, N'Golo's pass was very hidden, I didn't react in time" Pogba explained, with half of his hair on top of his head showing white. After losing the game against Tottenham, Pogba paid his hairdresser in Italy to fly over and give him a new look. One side is white and the other side is black, which makes him look quite handsome. "You are wrong. This is not a question of reaction. I don't ask you to react." Mourinho is quite reasonable. Some midfield passing intentions are indeed difficult to capture. It is understandable that Pogba did not intercept Kante's quick pass halfway. but. "When you see Eden running past you, you should go back to defense, go back to defense, go back to defense at full speed, instead of running slowly!" Mourinho kept swinging his arms in front of Pogba, pretending to sprint quickly, and then he stopped and looked up at Pogba: "Like this, this is what you should do" "Ok, I know I know" Pogba nodded repeatedly and turned to leave, but was caught by Mourinho. "I know I know?" Mourinho imitated Pogba's tone of voice: "Tell me, what is 'I know'? You said 'I know' and continued to walk defensively in the next game. What's the point of saying this? In order to deceive me, do you think I am easy to deceive?" If Mourinho remembers correctly, he stressed the importance of tracking back to defence to Pogba at least 30 times, but Pogba responded the same way every time. First he raised his hand to apologize. Then say "I know". Next, continue walking when returning to defense. "Come on Jose, don't do this"
Pogba spread his hands to Mourinho, and he didn't know what to say else. "Don't tell me this" Mourinho stretched out his right hand and blocked it between himself and Pogba: "I have emphasized many times that any, any player should remember this, even a 3-year-old child, but Paul, you are a professional player and a star, you should know the importance of returning to defense." "I admit that talented players should enjoy some privileges. I support this. And you have also seen that I will intentionally favor Eden and Jiang in training and tactical arrangements. I also give you a lot of privileges." Mourinho raised his head slightly and looked directly into Pogba's eyes: "Opportunities, lots and lots of opportunities. If other players don't return to defense, I will send them to the bench, but I still let you start. This is the privilege I give you." "than...than you" "Don't thank me for anything!" Hearing Pogba say thank you, Mourinho yelled: "I gave you privileges and gave you many opportunities to correct your mistakes. You don't want to return to defense, I can understand. I gave you time to adapt." "BUT!" "What are you doing? Tell me, every time the game enters the second half, is there any time you return to defense that you don't take a stroll?" Mourinho's voice was getting louder and louder. Jiang Yuan and Hazard were originally planning to go out for dinner, but after hearing the quarrel between the two, they hid aside and watched secretly. "what's going on?" Hazard had a serious expression and his lips moved, as if he was reading Pogba's lips. "how could I know?" Jiang Yuan was also watching secretly. After a while, Terry and Zouma came over, followed by Alonso and Ibrahimovic: "Did Paul and Jose have a quarrel?" "Do you even need to ask?" Jiang Yuan said unhappily that he had been at Chelsea for more than a year, and in his impression, Mourinho had never been someone who was used to hiding his emotions. It is very easy to judge Mourinho's mood, just look at his facial expression. When he is happy, Mourinho will smile. When he is angry, Mourinho will just curse. When Mourinho shouted "BUT" just now, the sound could be heard throughout the entire 11-a-side football field. Needless to say, everyone knew he was angry. "What should we do? Should we go up and help?" Zouma licked his lips and seemed to be eager to try, but Terry said it was not necessary. Mourinho often talked to Pogba about some disciplinary issues and he would get angry every time. "I'm used to it, it will be fine in a few days" Since captain Terry said so, the Blues players didn't dwell on the matter too much and dispersed in a few moments. Mourinho and Pogba were left on the training ground. "Paul, we are not playing with three or four defensive midfielders. There are only you and N'Golo in the backcourt. So, please correct your attitude. This is what a professional player should do." Mourinho pressed his index finger on Pogba's chest, not using much force, but Pogba took a step back: "My attitude has always been correct. I have been training hard and playing hard. But what I mean is that when I played in Italy, I didn't need to defend like this..." As Pogba said, before transferring to Chelsea, he never thought that he would have to take on so many defensive tasks. Obviously, Pogba still didn't fully understand Chelsea's tactics. Passing and controlling + counter-attack are Chelsea's unique game tactics. Under this tactical system, Chelsea's defensive pressure is very high. In Mourinho's vision, Kante and Pogba both have good endurance, enough to take on the work of backfield defense, but Mourinho didn't expect that Pogba's defense would be so passive.
Mourinho laughed: "Paul, I admit that you have strong forward ability, which is why I brought you to Chelsea, but attacking alone is not enough. Chelsea needs a defensive midfielder who can attack and defend, just like N'Golo." Fans like Pogba's wonderful backcourt advancement and imaginative long passes, but for the team coach who pays more attention to the overall situation of the team, Kante's role in Chelsea is greater than Pogba. Mourinho and Brown have discussed before that if Pogba can seriously return to defense every time, Chelsea's points ranking this season can at least be stabilized in the top two of the league, instead of swinging back and forth between third and fourth positions like now. "I understand you don't want to do the dirty work" Mourinho put his hands in his down jacket pockets: "What I want to tell you is that if you want to stay at Chelsea, you have to take the responsibility of defending" "If you prefer playing in Italy, then make your own transfer request!" …… (End of this chapter)