England national team, inside the head coach’s office.
Head coach Mancini convened a eting with assistant coach Chiwo and other coaching staff mbers.
The the of the eting is the preparatory work for the World Cup qualifiers in the European region at the beginning of September this year, with Slovakia as the first opponent.
Since coming to the British Isles to coach, Mancini seldom smoked during etings in the conference room.
Because a sensitive smoke alarm must be installed in every room here, and this alarm is network-connected, it can’t be dismantled.
Attention to fire prevention in Britain far surpasses that in Italy, so Mancini has to suppress his urge to smoke, holding a toothpick in his mouth.
"Everyone, the European Cup just ended, and the World Cup qualifiers are about to start. What are your thoughts, especially regarding player formations, feel free to share."
Everyone expressed their different opinions.
After a few people made so neutral remarks first, soone cautiously suggested that whether the England national team could introduce so fresh blood to the defensive line?
Chiwo’s eyes lit up, but Mancini shook his head without hesitation, rejecting the idea.
"Throughout June, the national team played five European Cup matches with the sa defensive line: two center-backs, Gary Cahill and Smolin, left-back Danny Rose, right-back Kyle Walker."
"This defensive line has been refined through major tournants, and the players are quite familiar with each other. The cooperation is stable, so why change it easily? We should continue this defensive lineup in the World Cup qualifiers."
Mancini is a traditional Italian coach who prioritizes defense in all tactics.
Twelve years ago in the 2004-2005 season, Inter Milan welcod their new coach Mancini.
The young coach Mancini, who was under 40 at the ti, won Moratti’s favor with his outstanding coaching record in Florence and Lazio.
Under his leadership, Inter Milan achieved third place in the league that season, which was decent, but the team had too many draws, especially an unimaginable seven-ga draw streak in the league.
Even today, this bizarre experience of drawing seven consecutive matches still fascinates many fans and becos a talking point during discussions.
Especially in the first 23 rounds of matches, the team had an unbeaten record of 8 wins and 15 draws, which left many feeling both amused and helpless at the ti.
The "Milan Sports News" comnted on Mancini as starting to defend right after scoring one goal, making it difficult for the team to win against strong teams and challenging to achieve big victories against weaker teams!
A player who played elegantly as a "nine and a half" during his football days beca an old-school conservative coach. This defense-first conservative tactic made Mancini’s coaching results have a stable lower bound, preventing major downfall but also considerably limiting his upward potential!
Assistant coach Chiwo couldn’t bear it anymore and argued:
"Our defensive line, although the four players have decent defensive capabilities, their footwork is still rough. If we want better results, we still need a defender with strong ball control ability, especially in the center-back position."
Mancini glanced at Chiwo and took the toothpick out of his mouth.
"Christian, just na who you an—it’s Stones, right?"
Stones joined the team for the 2016 European Cup.
Regarding this young center-back from Everton, Chiwo scouted him for a long period last season and assessed that he has great potential to beco a world-class center-back.
So despite Mancini’s skepticism about him, Chiwo insisted that Stones be selected for the England squad for the European Cup.
However, regrettably, Mancini believed Stones lacked defensive experience, especially in individual defensive ability, so he preferred seasoned defenders like Smolin and Gary Cahill.
The 21-year-old young center-back Stones spent the entire European Cup on the bench, without even appearing as a substitute.
"Yes, it’s Stones," Chiwo asserted, "We should replace the aging Cahill with the fresh force Stones."
Chiwo calculated, even if Stones indeed lacks experience as Mancini claid, making it challenging for him to start in the European Cup finals as a regular starter—when facing a weak team like Slovakia in the World Cup qualifiers, Stones should at least have the chance to showcase his skills!
Mancini, however, sneered, not endorsing Chiwo’s view.
"Christian, I don’t know if you’ve watched the Community Shield between Manchester City and Manchester United, but this kid was completely outperford by Eevee. I’m very sure that if Smolin were in that position, Manchester City would have conceded at least one less goal!"
"There’s no need to discuss this further; Stones is a good player, but he still needs long-term matches to grow. As the national team’s head coach, I don’t have the obligation to develop newcors—player growth obligations should be left to Manchester City’s manager Guardiola!"
Actually, the two have had frequent disagreents about Stones during the European Cup, leading to friction between them.
Mancini always believed that in major tournants like the European Cup, one must select experienced players with senior credentials;
While Chiwo thought that precisely because it’s a major tournant, it’s essential to train the team’s newcors, especially soone like Stones, who has the potential to beco a world-class center-back.
Although the national team’s performance is important, when signing their contracts, the England national team also included requirents to foster newcors and assist in updating the national team.
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