Updated: 2012-08-24

"I feel a little distressed about this question. To be honest, I am a person who hopes to find an answer in everything, so in my spare time, I will watch your game highlights back and forth, wanting to find out what is the difference between you who appeared in and you who were in the past. However, I have watched a lot of games, and your performance and movements have actually not changed much from before, so the answer I finally came up with is that the error is not on you."

Mendeta listened to Jose's words, and then a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

Although he is thirty years old, his ambition has not diminished, but he has begun to despair about the future. In the past three years, he has instantly slid from heaven to hell. Even if he is late for success and has a strong personality, he can't bear it.

Although he was unknown before the age of 24, he was still young at that time. He still had a love for football and a longing for the future. No matter how many times he fell, he had the confidence to get up again. However, now, he is over thirty years old. If he falls again, he will not have any chance to get up again - this is also the sadness of the veterans. They can only grasp the present and cannot look forward to the future.

"What you mean is..." Mendeta was a little unbelievable, because Jose would not have inexplicably ran to his apartment to discuss these issues with him. Since Jose said that the mistake was not on him, would he be interested in him? Mallorca is undoubtedly a strong team now. Even if it is still a certain difference from the giants, it has become the place that most players yearn for. Mendeta cannot even guarantee the position of Middlesbrough, let alone Mallorca?

"There are several types of players in this world. One of them is that they can play their due role in any tactic or formation. Most players belong to this type, and those who can play at the top level in any tactic are the kind of players that all head coaches dream of."

Jose did not answer directly, but changed the topic: "The other is to be able to maximize his abilities in a certain specific tactics and formations, and perform mediocrely in unsuitable tactics. I gave him a name for this kind of player, called system players. Obviously, Gezka, you are the kind of player who belongs to system players. Think about it, what you did on the court in the four most glorious years of Valencia, and what you did on the court in the past three years."

When Mendeta was in deep thought, Jose quickly said: "Under Ranieri, you went from a defensive player to an attacking player. In his first season, Ranieri was in, you scored ten goals. Unlike other attacking midfielders, you are not used to controlling the ball under your feet, but running, receiving, and forwarding... Most of your goals are scored in this way, and you basically don't see you pull the ball and break through the opponent and score, because your foot skills are not outstanding compared to other Spanish players. You are playing by running and consciousness."

Menditta nodded slightly. He is indeed not the kind of player with high football intelligence. He knows that he has performed well in those two years, but he doesn't know why he performed well - this is also why he became overwhelmed after his condition declines - because he doesn't know why he performed poorly, because he doesn't think his physical fitness has declined!

It is precisely because he can't figure it out that Mendieta's condition is getting worse and worse. How can a player perform well when he doesn't know how he should play? Just like an army that doesn't know why he is fighting, his combat effectiveness will be very low, and belief and goals are still very important...

Now that Jose said this, Mendeita has a little understanding of why he gradually became a world-class player from an ordinary player. You should know that during the period around 2000, he was even a strong contender for the World Footballer. If he could win a Champions League, he might have been...

"Your real peak period was in the two years Cooper was in Valencia, and no one could deny this." Jose continued, and Mendeta nodded. His performance in those two years was indeed top-notch, and no one could deny it. It was precisely because of his outstanding performance in these two seasons that Lazio dared to introduce Mendeta with a net worth of 48 million. You should know that this transfer fee was the transfer record of the Serie A at that time. Crespo and Vieri's transfer value were not as high as him.

"Now let's see what your performance in Valencia looks like... From the data point of view, your goals in both seasons have reached double digits, 33 appearances in 99-00 and 10 league goals, 31 appearances in 00-01 and 13 league goals, plus your outstanding performance in the Champions League, your performance in those two seasons is better than that of most players, and only a few people can compare with you. Why is this happening? Do you know the reason?"

"Because I was in good shape in those two seasons?" Menditta said hesitantly. He knew that it was probably not the reason, although he was exactly twenty-five, six or seven years old in those two years, and he was at his most golden age.

"It's not the reason." Sure enough, Jose shook his head: "I have observed all your performances. You are not a player with a lot of ups and downs. Your biggest characteristic is your performance. Your performance rarely has ups and downs, and you rarely have explosive performance. For a club, such players are more needed. At least as a coach, you cannot always place your hopes on a certain burst player. We prefer to take all factors into account to reduce all unstable factors. In fact, even your performance in the past three years has been very stable. You have never seen much worse or better than before. So for you, the so-called good or bad state has nothing to do with it. You will not be much better even if you are in good condition, and you will not be much worse if you are not bad."

"Then why did I perform so well that season?" Menditta asked anxiously. He had already vaguely shown signs, but he didn't know how to express it yet.

"Because you are under the most suitable tactic. Do you still remember where you played in Valencia?" Jose asked Mendeta with a smile.

"Right forward." Mendeta answered without hesitation. Valencia's four major midfielders, Kili on the left, Goidel on the right, Farinos and Gerard in the middle, were the midfield combinations that could be compared with Manchester United's golden midfielders in those two years. However, after leaving Valencia, they were basically in a failure. After returning to Barcelona, ​​Gerard was depressed again. Farinos went to Inter Milan for me to perform. Kili's performance in Inter last season was only average, and as for Mendeta himself, let alone...

"Yes, right forward." Jose nodded, then asked Mendeta for a piece of paper and a pen, and then drew on the paper the goal position of Mendeta's 23 goals in Valencia in two seasons. Even the goals scored in any game were marked. It can be seen that...

Mendeta was stunned. He couldn't remember these goals himself, but Jose drew them out casually. It seemed that this head coach, who was one year younger than him, could achieve such excellent results, and it was not possible to get them at will. At least this kind of research on football is not something that ordinary people can achieve.

"We only talk about the league now, not the European game, because I think the league is the place where a player's basic strength is the most capable of proving a player's basic strength. After all, there are fewer games in the Champions League, and it is impossible to fully express a person's ability." Jose said to Mendeta, and then he scored two strokes near the penalty spot: "In addition to the penalty kick, you still scored 18 goals in the league in two years. Among these 18 goals, seven were in the front of the penalty area, two long shots in the 30-meter area, and nine were in the penalty area. Among the goals that scored in the penalty area, there were only four near the right side, and the other five were on the left or in the middle, and a large proportion of long shots at the front of the penalty area were in the middle and left side... This at least shows one thing. At that time, in Valencia, you had a large range of activities."

Mendeta nodded, and he himself knew that Kili was a pure winger at that time. Farinos was accustomed to organizing from the back. Although Herad scored a lot of goals, he was all completed by a long shot after a forward shot. Mendeta's range of activities included the entire right and most of the middle lanes, the standard midfield core.

"So, we can draw a conclusion that when you have enough freedom on the court, your abilities can be fully exerted, which is consistent with my judgment on your technical characteristics. Your speed is not very fast, your skills are not very good, and your ability to confrontation is not particularly outstanding... Just from the perspective of physical fitness and technology, you are just an ordinary player, but you performed so well in those years because you also have other things - diligent running, accurate forwarding, and timely passes. These actions are not eye-catching, but can effectively support the entire team. This is your value." Jose said in a leisurely manner.

Mendita nodded repeatedly. Nothing can be more happy than making a person who has begun to get used to hearing criticisms hear praise. Mendita hasn't heard a positive comment about himself for a long time...

"And in Lazio, what do they ask you to do? Let you break through the wing and pass the ball... You won't do this kind of thing better than a winger with a little speed, because possession of the ball is not your strength. In Barcelona, ​​what do they ask you to do? Let you intercept and fight... You won't do this kind of thing better than a pure engineer, because confrontation is not your strength. On the contrary, last season in Middlesbrough, you were the real you. You have more opportunities to get the ball and activity space, and the pace of the Premier League is relatively fast, so you are the state closest to your peak... It's a pity that Middlesbrough's technical content is not high, and it can't make you really play out, and they don't want to continue using you, which is a pity."

"Gezka, how about coming to my team? As long as you can maintain your physical condition or make your physical fitness better, my team will definitely have your position. In the past three years of decline, the mistake is not on you, but you have not encountered someone who can use you. When you come to Mallorca, although you will not be the absolute main force, you will definitely not be able to play games. As long as you can show your previous characteristics, it is not impossible to return to the Spanish national team!" Jose looked at Mendeta with a hot look and said loudly.


Chapter completed!