Chapter 454 - 454

📰 BBC Sport: England Open Euro Qualifying Break With 9–0 Win Away to Kosovo

📰 Sky Sports: Ling Scores Five as Southgate's Side Make Statement in Pristina

📰 The Athletic: England's Central Ling Experiment Gives Southgate a New Tactical Weapon

📰 Manchester Evening News: United Star Returns From International Duty After Five-Goal Display

"In yesterday's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match, England secured a 9–0 away victory against Kosovo, getting off to a flying start in this international break. Jeremy Ling scored five goals, setting a new personal record for goals in a single national-team match."

"After the match, Ling stated in an interview that England still had plenty to improve. He admitted the victory was largely due to the opponent's defensive collapse after the early goals, and that the real challenge would come in the upcoming fixtures against stronger European sides such as the Czech Republic."

"England fans will hope the Three Lions can maintain this momentum, continue building chemistry, and turn their attacking talent into a serious challenge at the European Championship."

The morning news anchor finished the report.

📱 @ThreeLionsWatch ✔

Five goals for Ling in an England shirt. Southgate has somehow added the best player in Europe to a squad that already had Kane, Sterling, Sancho and Rashford.

| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom

| Reply: United fans tried to warn everyone. When Ling gets rhythm, the match becomes target practice.

📱 @EnglandTalks ✔

Kosovo weren't strong enough to judge England properly, but Ling playing centrally changes everything. He gives this team control, chaos, and goals at the same time.

...

After finishing his national-team duties, Ling quickly returned to Manchester.

Truthfully, he did not need to rush back so urgently, but to maintain his competitive rhythm, he chose to return to the club early.

The Euro qualifier had been quite underwhelming.

He had never really been pushed to his limit before the match was already over, let alone forced to maintain peak intensity for ninety minutes.

Carrington Training Base.

"Ling, I watched your England match. Southgate's decision to have you drop deeper and organize the attack was a very good choice."

Mourinho sat with his legs crossed, looking quite pleased.

What he feared most was that Ling would be used like a mule during international duty, forced to sprint, press, score, organize, and carry everything at once.

That kind of workload would place a huge burden on the player.

If Southgate really dared to do that recklessly, Mourinho would definitely call him out in the media.

"In fact, this approach can be applied at the club as well. Whether it's Bruno Fernandes or Havertz, their playmaking abilities are still lacking in certain areas."

Mourinho pulled up the match footage. "You can roam in the attacking third and decide the direction of the team's attacks. If there's space here, you can also take the shot yourself."

His tactical philosophy had shifted somewhat from before.

Previously, all players were tools, working like cogs in a machine to drive the game forward.

Now, the machine had a core.

It was like Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, with the Arc Reactor at the center.

To be honest, Mourinho was also being a little lazy.

Think about it.

Was it easier for Guardiola to overhaul the tiki-taka system, or to build a basic tactical structure around one core player?

Undoubtedly, the latter.

Mourinho thought for a moment and touched his hair.

Although it was not as thick and dark as before, at least it was still on his head.

Unlike Guardiola.

People who overthought everything tended to end up like that.

"Boss, I don't have a problem with that."

Ling nodded.

In fact, he had been learning how to organize and orchestrate attacks for a while.

After reviewing so many matches, he had gained enough experience, and now all that remained was to test those ideas in actual matches and continue improving.

"Good. Now that we've covered club matters, let's talk about your personal life."

Mourinho took a sip of water.

"Personal life?"

Ling was genuinely puzzled.

Did he have any personal issues?

"Ahem... Pep called me a few days ago and said you and Maria are planning to get engaged?"

Mourinho's tone carried a trace of envy.

Sigh.

If only his own daughter had been more proactive.

Having a disciple who was also his son-in-law...

Mourinho would laugh himself awake at night.

"Yeah, that's the plan, but we haven't set a date yet."

Ling suddenly understood.

It seemed his future father-in-law was quite concerned about the marriage.

Otherwise, why would he call Mourinho?

"Wait until the end of the year, after the Ballon d'Or ceremony," Mourinho said, regaining his serious expression. "Young people nowadays care about grand occasions. Of course, I know you don't really mind, but we still have to consider Maria's feelings. After the Ballon d'Or ceremony should be the best time."

Besides, there had never really been a wedding like that in world football before.

In recent years, the Ballon d'Or had been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo.

The former was already married.

As for the latter... well, he was a bit of a playboy.

Even if he wanted to hold a wedding around the ceremony, he probably could not manage it cleanly.

"That's actually a pretty good idea. I'll go back and ask Maria."

Ling did not want to make the decision for her.

"Right. Although the Premier League doesn't have a winter break, we can still squeeze out time for a wedding. You can invite all your friends then."

Mourinho stared at Ling for a moment.

'This kid really had a lot of friends.'

'Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga...'

'He was practically a social butterfly in the football world.'

"Boss, are you so sure I'll win the Ballon d'Or?" Ling raised an eyebrow.

"Cut the crap!"

Mourinho said irritably, "Last year, who could match you in goals, honours, or trophies? Don't play humble with me!"

If the Ballon d'Or winner was not his own disciple, Mourinho would publicly criticize France Football the very next day.

"Alright, go train now. If you have any problems, come find me. If I can solve it, I will. If I can't, I'll find someone who can."

Mourinho waved his hand dismissively.

"Boss, according to our customs, when a couple gets married, the elders have to give gifts."

Ling winked mischievously. "You'd better prepare something nice."

"Get out!"

And so, Ling promptly scurried out of the office.

Back on the training ground, he noticed something strange.

Why were there so many workaholics now?

Scott McTominay, Havertz, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, and several others were all doing extra training.

The international break had just ended. Were they not worried about getting injured from pushing themselves too hard?

"Take care of yourselves!"

Ling shouted to everyone. "If you feel any discomfort, go see the team doctor. Don't push too hard. We still have a long road ahead."

But then again, their national-team opponents during the break had not exactly been terrifying either.

Of course, that was relative.

Most of them had not played heavy minutes and had plenty of time to rest and rotate.

...

That evening at Guardiola's home.

"This is the ham I brought back from Spain. I specifically chose one with lower fat content."

Maria sliced a few pieces of ham and placed them on Ling's plate.

"Delicious."

Ling did not hold back and ate them in two bites.

"This is your second UEFA Men's Player of the Year award, right?" Guardiola asked knowingly.

"Yeah."

Ling kept his head down, focused on eating.

Maria sliced a few more pieces of ham but paused mid-air.

Because both their plates were empty.

After a moment's hesitation, she placed them on Ling's plate, then sliced a few more for Guardiola.

Pain.

Guardiola felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had bronchitis.

Where was the daughter who used to cling to his arm and sweetly ask him for gifts?

How had she turned out like this?

Being lovesick was not a good thing!

"Did Jose talk to you about the engagement?"

Guardiola took a deep breath and, without waiting for Ling to respond, continued on his own.

"I was chatting with your dad the other day, and we thought about holding it in Manchester first, then heading back to your hometown after the season ends. What do you think?"

"Of course, I have no issue with that. We can just follow Maria's arrangements."

Ling went along with it smoothly.

He was not great at handling such matters, but fortunately, money could make the impossible possible.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

Upon hearing this, Maria's smile softened even more, and she picked up the ham knife, ready to slice a few more pieces.

"Can he really eat that much?"

Guardiola's beard trembled slightly. "Besides, ham has too much salt. He should only eat a little."

"Oh, well, you can have the rest then. You're not an athlete anyway."

The corners of Maria's mouth turned from upturned to downturned.

Guardiola fell silent.

'Deep breaths remember, took a deep breaths.'

Forget about his eldest daughter being lovesick.

He still had his younger daughter!

Meanwhile, Valentina seemed to have thought of something.

She hopped right off the stool and hurriedly brought over a bowl of salad.

"Ta-da! This is the healthy meal I made!"

Valentina's little face was filled with the words: praise me, please.

When Ling returned to China in July, he had also brought Maria and the others along, taking them on a brief tour of Beijing, Chengdu, and a few other places.

Among them, Valentina loved pandas the most.

That was why she wanted to curry favor with her future brother-in-law, hoping he would take her to see pandas again.

Ling speared a cherry tomato and popped it into his mouth. The sweet and sour taste made him smile.

"This is even better than what you'd get at a Michelin five-star restaurant."

Was he just saying that?

Actually, no.

Salads at Michelin restaurants were also just a mix of fruits and vegetables. They simply used better ingredients and plated them more beautifully.

Upon hearing this, Valentina flashed a sweet smile, already imagining the giant pandas she might soon see again.

"Daddy, do you want some? I'll only give you a little bit, though."

She had not forgotten Guardiola.

"I'm full!"

Guardiola put down his knife and fork and returned to his room.

He turned on his computer and started playing footage of Manchester United's recent matches.

He was going to turn his frustration into motivation!

---------

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