The Prince of Inter Milan starts with Brother Xiaosa

Chapter 116 Is there a bomb?
  "Oh, it's still a loss. If I had known, I would have waited until now to help you negotiate endorsements."

When Leo returned to Milan, he was surprised to meet his agent.

"Mino, aren't you supposed to be busy with Zlatan's transfer now? How come you have time to come see me?"

“There isn’t much about me there for the time being, and it would be too early to discuss Ibrahimovic’s personal terms with Barcelona now.

I will only start my work after the club reaches an agreement.

Inter Milan is actually not very willing to let Ibrahimovic go, but Zlatan's attitude is very tough, and the club can only compromise.

It's nothing more than a price issue. Inter Milan definitely wants to sell it for a little more money, while Barcelona thinks it can use Ibrahimovic's intention to lower the price. "

Not interested in Ibrahimovic's transfer, Leo smiled and shook his head.

"You haven't said why you came to me."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about the real thing.

Mario is going to Spain for vacation with me. Do you want to go with me? "

"You guys have a pretty good relationship, so I won't go."

Raiola seemed to have anticipated Leo's answer. He smiled mysteriously and took out a stack of documents from his bag.

"If you don't want to go, just prepare."

Leo:? ? ?
  It turned out to be a plan for commercial activities and advertising shoots for brand endorsements.

Recalling the painful days half a year ago, Leo couldn't help but shudder.

"No! Don't! Isn't it okay if I go on vacation with you?"

Leo agreed with a grimace.

Lapang smiled and nodded with satisfaction.

"That's pretty much it. Young people must learn to enjoy life, otherwise what's the use of making more money?

Come with us to Mallorca, where the sun, sand, coast and beautiful women are waiting for us! "

In fact, time was not abundant, so Leo and the others went to Spain for a six-day vacation under Raiola's arrangement.

Some indescribable entertainment activities in the middle will be skipped.

After returning to Italy after a short vacation, Leo still couldn't escape a full week of high-intensity business activities.

It seems that just showing up, taking photos, signing autographs, etc. is really not easy at all.

After everything was done, Leo suddenly realized that it was the day when the team's pre-season training was about to begin again?
  Where is my vacation? What about my long vacation? Is this gone?
  During this period, Inter Milan's transfer department had already started its work.

The club is constantly adjusting the team's lineup according to the needs of head coach Mourinho.

In recent years, due to Italy's economic difficulties, Serie A's appeal to big-name stars has continued to decline.

The loss of well-known stars has also been increasing.

This summer, Serie A has historically lost two of its biggest names, Kaká and Ibrahimovic. The influence and image of the Milan duo have suffered a major blow.

In addition, the retirement of Figo and Nedvěd, the two golden ball players, and the uncrowned king Maldini have also made Serie A's starlight become even dimmer.

The glory of the Little World Cup is gone, and even Italians are embarrassed to talk about it anymore.

Now if you interview foreign fans, it may be difficult for them to name the top stars playing in Serie A.

And this will lead to a further decline in Serie A's attention, which is a vicious cycle.

But is there any solution? Conservative and xenophobic Italians have always firmly opposed the influx of foreign capital.

Not to mention extreme football hooligans, even ordinary loyal fans are difficult to deal with.

Maybe we have to wait until the day when the team or even the league reaches a point of life and death before we have to make changes.

Going too far, Mourinho hopes to send away all the players he does not need in the team.

Leo's teammate in the Italian youth team, Acqua Fresca, was sold to Genoa by Inter Milan for 15 million euros due to his good performance in the European Youth Championship.

Brazilian full-back Maxwell, who is strong in offense and weak in defense, transferred to Barcelona for 5 million euros.

Obina was sold to Malaga in La Liga.

Cruz went to Lazio on a free transfer, and his fellow Argentinian Crespo joined Genoa on a free transfer.

Jimenez, who didn't get a chance, went to West Ham in the Premier League, and Burdisso is about to be loaned to Roma.

Of course some people come and go. Argentinian striker Diego Milito, who scored 24 goals last season and tied with Di Vayo for second place in the Serie A scorer list, and his Genoa teammate Italian Thiago Motta came together. Inter Milan.

As soon as he reported to the team, head coach Mourinho called Leo over.

"Are you familiar with Bonucci?"

Leo shook his head honestly.

"It's true that he and I were teammates for a period of time in the youth team, but privately he and I didn't have any communication.

If we talk about ability, I think Bonucci has the potential to play as a strong central defender in the first team, but the current level may be a little bit less interesting. "

Mourinho nodded, and Leo's answer was basically consistent with the information he received.

Last season Bonucci was loaned to two Serie B teams, Treviso and Pisa, by Inter Milan, and his performance could only be described as average.

Therefore, when the transfer offer came to Mourinho's desk, the Portuguese had almost no understanding of this young man whom he had no impression of.

This young defender, who is three years older than Leo, still needs more training in games.

"Okay, nothing else. By the way, you have to continue to help me keep an eye on those two brats Mario and David."

Mourinho made a judgment on Bonucci's arrangement and kept him in Inter Milan. He can be rented out but cannot be sold. After sending Leo out of his office, the madman returned to his seat, picked up the two reports on the table and fell into deep thought.

Both are Brazilians, and both are outstanding central defenders. One has been famous for a long time and has rich experience, and the other is young and strong with a bright future.

Which one to choose?

Compared with the low-key and steady Italian central defenders, these central defenders from Brazil appear to be so sharp.

He didn't wait for Mourinho to make a decision, "What? Being intercepted by AC Milan?"

Mourinho was a little disappointed, but at the same time he was more relieved.

It happened that he no longer had to make a choice, and there was only one target left.

AC Milan spent 10 million to buy young Brazilian center back Thiago Silva from Fluminense, and this player was actually also spotted by Inter Milan earlier.

Finally, at the position of defender, the club spent 7 million euros to bring Mourinho the Brazilian international player who previously played for Bayern, the 30-year-old veteran Lucio.

If we only look at the current strength, Inter Milan's business is definitely not a loss. An experienced veteran like Lucio can definitely plug and play and is a powerful supplement to the Nerazzurri's defense.

But from a long-term perspective, it is obvious that the Rossoneri who decisively bought Thiago Silva are the winners.

The transfer work is still in full swing, and Mourinho has already led the assembled team to the distant United States to start pre-season training for the new season.

Ibrahimovic, who had not yet completed the transfer, actually came to the United States with him.

On July 7, Inter Milan played its first warm-up match this summer with the UCLA football team locally.

The local temperature in Los Angeles today is as high as 35 degrees Celsius.

Leo wiped the sweat from his forehead before starting and said to himself:
  "Playing football in this weather is really life-threatening."

Brazilian goalkeeper Cesar, who just participated in the Confederations Cup not long ago, has not resumed training, and Toldo is absent due to injury.

Suazo and David Thornton, who were loaned to Benfica last season, are also injured, and two new aids, Milito and Motta, are sitting on the bench.

In the first half, Ibrahimovic continued to partner with Balotelli on the striker, and Inter Milan continued the 4-3-1-2 formation with the highest winning rate last season.

Less than five minutes into the game, Leo stole the ball in the frontcourt and passed straight into the penalty area. Ibrahimovic got rid of the defender and shot in front of the goal!
  The connection between Leo and Ibrahimovic once again helped the Nerazzurri take the lead.

Then during a corner kick attack, Leo made a pass and assisted Materazzi to score with a header.

Inter Milan leads 2-0 on the road.

At halftime, Mourinho replaced all the players. Last season's fringe jerseys such as Mancini, young players from the youth team such as Destro, and new aids Milito and Motta all appeared.

The home team took the first corner kick, Carrasco scored with a header, and they got a goal back at 2-1.

In the second half, Mourinho changed the formation. Inter Milan continued to attack from both wings, and Mancini was very active on the offensive end.

Before the end of the game, Munoz made a direct pass, and Griffin got rid of the defense and scored the ball.

Two to two!
  The two sides ended up tied.

Mourinho was not angry and instead gave all players a holiday.

So the next day most of the Inter Milan players went to the city center for shopping.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Four Seasons Hotel where Inter Milan was staying received an anonymous call saying that there was a bomb in the hotel, and then the local police rushed to the scene.

"What? There's a bomb? Let's go out and take shelter?"

Leo was stupid when he received the call. This was really his first time encountering this matter.

Why does this happen? Leo probably never wants to come to the United States again in this life.

Leo quickly asked Thornton and Balotelli, who were playing cards with him in the room, to run away.

In addition to them, there were also Burdisso, Samuel and Chivu. This group of unlucky guys were resting and waiting on a lawn outside the hotel.

After nearly two hours of investigation, they were able to return to the hotel after confirming that there was no problem.

"I just said we should go out and hang out together. It's all because Mario insisted on dragging us to stay in the hotel to play cards."

The matter was finally resolved, and Thornton continued to complain.

Leo smiled and replied,
  "David, it's not too late for you to go now."

Thornton shrank his neck.
  "Forget it, I'm afraid I might hit a bomb."

"It's hard to say whether bombs are used, but they are more likely to be involved in shootings, which are more common in the United States."

"So why on earth did we come to this damn place!"

"Because I can make money."

"..."

Two days later the International Football Challenge kicked off in California, USA.

Inter Milan faced Mexico's veteran team America in the first round.

The two teams were tied at 1-1 in the 90th minute, and then China lost 4-5 in the penalty shootout.

After losing the first game of the challenge, Mourinho's team failed to win in two consecutive warm-up games before the start of the new season.

Although judging from the lineup and process of the game, we all know that the Madman did not play seriously and was just making some new attempts.

However, Inter fans still expressed dissatisfaction with the team's performance.

In the second round of the Challenge, Inter Milan faced Chelsea at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.

　The bomb is a real thing and it's funny.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)