After a dominant victory over Millwall at home, the team finally welcomed a short break to adjust after experiencing a grueling schedule at the start of the season.
The team's next match is on September 17th, away against CSKA Sofia.
Although there are only five days in between, compared to the previous rhythm of a match every three days, five days is already considered a small rest.
Gao Bo decided to give the team a day off after the match against Millwall, and then set off for Bulgaria on September 15th.
Taking advantage of the team's day off, Gao Bo went to the youth training camp to visit Li Yuanshan.
Gao Bo is very concerned about Li Yuanshan's situation. The reports from the youth training academy staff about Li Yuanshan are very detailed, and Gao Bo has read them carefully.
Although the basic skills are not very good, the fifteen-year-old boy, with his strong physique, is still enough to gain a foothold in Luton's youth training camp.
"How have you been feeling in the matches recently?"
Gao Bo took Li Yuanshan out to eat at a local Chinese restaurant in Luton.
This is a place where Gao Bo often eats, but the owner is not Chinese.
"It's okay. I've been playing a lot of matches recently. The teams in England are much stronger than those in China!"
Although Li Yuanshan can't play in official matches, the youth training academy doesn't just participate in the FA's U-series leagues and cup matches, but also organizes some friendly matches from time to time.
Anyway, England is not that big.
Many teams will use this method to allow their youth training academies to play more matches.
So Li Yuanshan doesn't have to worry about not having matches to play in England.
Gao Bo used the system to look at Li Yuanshan's data. His technical data has improved considerably. After coming to England for more than two months, Li Yuanshan's shooting data has reached sixty-seven. Although this is still not as good as the average of English players of his age, it is based on his originally low base.
"You have to use your brain more during matches, don't just think about relying on your body. In the professional arena, there are plenty of people who are stronger than you. Don't think that you can gain a foothold in the youth training camp now, because going from the youth training camp to the professional arena is a different concept!"
Li Yuanshan nodded. He now feels more and more that the person sitting in front of him is not Gao Bo, but Old Chen....
However, Li Yuanshan also knows that Gao Bo is treating him as one of his own, otherwise, with more than a hundred people in the youth training academy, why would Gao Bo say these things to him specifically?
Gao Bo plans to take a look at Li Yuanshan's training situation first. Li Yuanshan is obviously completely unable to meet the standards for appearing in a professional match, but just playing friendly matches without official matches is not a good way for a player to grow.
"You can't neglect your basic skills training!" Gao Bo said.
"If you can complete the training plan I give you before the winter transfer window...."
Li Yuanshan raised his head. He really wants to play official matches too.
"I will send you to Portugal!" Gao Bo said.
Li Yuanshan shouldn't even think about a work permit. He is Chinese and cannot obtain an EU passport. However, teams in Portugal don't need a work permit.
The Portuguese Premier League is naturally impossible. Gao Bo is preparing to find a Portuguese Second Division team for Li Yuanshan to try out.
Li Yuanshan is still young, so Gao Bo is not in a hurry. His fellow villager has a physique that is naturally suited for an athlete, and can be considered a talented person.
But whether he can succeed, or how much he can achieve in the future, depends more on his own efforts.
Gao Bo is just a guide on Li Yuanshan's growth path. How fast he runs depends on himself.
After a day off, the team began preparing again.
On September 15th, the team boarded a plane in London and flew to Bulgaria.
The English media is still very concerned about Luton's away trip, after all, Luton is probably the first team in League One history to compete in the Europa League. What kind of performance they can put on in the Europa League is a topic of concern for all English media.
Some media believe that Gao Bo will strategically give up the Europa League.
"...Even if Luton puts all its energy into the Europa League, what can they do? Can they win the championship? So the Chinese coach will probably give up the Europa League. Of course, my saying 'give up' may not be accurate. Gao Bo may not put too much energy into the European battlefield. After all, for Luton, the task of promotion this season is very heavy - Charlton and Leeds United are performing very well, and if Luton can't keep up with the top two in the league, they will most likely have to play in the promotion playoffs - under that system, it's hard to say whether Luton can be promoted..."
Could Luton still win the Europa League?
The media's logic is actually correct. After all, investing too much energy in a competition that is destined to be unwinnable would be a greater loss than the gain if it delays this season's promotion.
However, Gao Bo doesn't think so. He really wants to win the championship now...
When the plane crossed the European continent and landed in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, Gao Bo set foot in this Balkan country for the first time.
Speaking of Bulgaria, Chinese fans may not be familiar with it, but Bulgarian football was a strong team in Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, Bulgaria had stars such as Stoichkov, Letchkov, and Balakov. In recent years, Bulgaria has also produced stars such as Berbatov and Bojinov.
Sofia is undoubtedly a very beautiful city. The roads from the airport to the city center are covered in lush greenery, with rows of linden trees, Arabian rubber trees, French sycamore trees, Canadian poplar trees, etc., neatly arranged on both sides of the roads.
This is a world-renowned garden city, and if it weren't for the match, Gao Bo would really like to take a tour of this city.
However, Gao Bo doesn't have time to focus on the beauty of Sofia right now; he is still studying the opponent in this match—CSKA Sofia.
This dominant team in the Bulgarian league has won the league title twenty-eight times to date! From their name, you can see that this team has a very close relationship with the Bulgarian army.
The two most famous stars in Bulgarian football history both came from this team—in 1991, Hristo Stoichkov won the European Golden Shoe with 38 goals, thus establishing his legendary status; in 1998, Dimitar Berbatov made his professional debut for CSKA Sofia, and ten years later, he joined Manchester United for £30.75 million, setting the highest transfer fee record for a Bulgarian player.
Berbatov had only transferred to Manchester United in the previous season. Being able to cultivate a star like Berbatov shows that the Bulgarian league also has considerable strength.
....
"Could Luton still be thinking about winning the Europa League?"
In the dilapidated away team locker room of the Bulgarian Army Stadium, Gao Bo wrote this sentence on the tactical board.
When the players returned to the locker room after warming up, they saw this sentence at first glance.
"Recently, many English media outlets have used this sentence to prove that we will give up on the Europa League."
The players were a little strange, but Gao Bo said calmly.
"Will we give up on the Europa League?" Gao Bo shrugged. "It depends on what we think."
"If we change our thinking, will we give up on this game?"
"Jamie, tell me? Have you ever thought about giving up?"
"Never! Boss!!!"
Vardy said loudly.
Gao Bo nodded in satisfaction. When it is necessary to motivate the team, the always high-spirited Vardy is the best choice.
"That's right!! I won't give up on this game either."
"As for the Europa League..." Gao Bo pointed to the word Europa League on the tactical board, and then his finger involuntarily jumped to the word champion.
The players naturally desire the championship, but they are just a League One team. Can they really do it?
"I'll tell you a story. Have you heard of Yamada Honichi?" Gao Bo asked.
The players looked at each other. How could they have heard of this person?
Gao Bo is very familiar with this person, because in those years, the "chicken soup for the soul" about Yamada Honichi was very popular in China.
In 1984, in the Tokyo International Marathon Invitational, the unknown Japanese athlete Yamada Honichi unexpectedly won the world championship. When reporters asked him what he relied on to achieve such amazing results, he said this: Rely on wisdom to defeat opponents.
Everyone was a little confused about his so-called "wisdom". Ten years later, he revealed the truth of this "wisdom" in his autobiography: "Before each competition, I would take a car to carefully look at the competition route and draw down the more conspicuous signs along the way. For example, the first sign is a bank; the second sign is a big tree; the third sign is a red house... I kept drawing like this until the end of the race. After the race started, I sprinted towards the first target at the speed of a 100-meter race, and after reaching the first target, I sprinted towards the second target at the same speed. The 40-kilometer race was easily completed by me by dividing it into these small goals. At first, I didn't understand this principle. I set my goal on the flag at the finish line more than 40 kilometers away. As a result, I was exhausted when I ran more than ten kilometers because I was intimidated by the distant road ahead."
After Gao Bo finished telling this story, it must be said that the reason why these classic "chicken soup for the soul" stories became popular is because these stories may really have some nutritional value.
Yamada Honichi's story is actually a method of breaking down a large goal into several small goals.
"A big goal always seems so far away in people's eyes, and many people even flinch. In fact, breaking down a big goal into small goals can have unexpected results!" Gao Bo paused slightly, and after the players digested it, he continued: "The same is true for us. Frankly speaking, I really want to win the Europa League championship. Who doesn't want this championship?"
The players in the locker room naturally all wanted to win the Europa League championship. The most experienced Sol Campbell also desperately wanted this championship. Sol Campbell had won the English championship, but he hadn't won any honors in European competitions.
He hadn't been able to win a European championship when he was at Tottenham and Arsenal. Could he do it at Luton?
Sol Campbell was still very skeptical, but not everyone was an old fox like Sol Campbell. Luton's young players were easily attracted by Gao Bo's words.
"So, since winning the Europa League championship is an unattainable goal for us, then let's set a small goal first!"
"Let's start by qualifying from the group stage!!"
"Let's start with this game!! Defeat them!! Take three points!!!"
Gao Bo's calm words contained an unquestionable power, and the players would not question their absolutely trusted coach.
Since the coach said so, then they should work hard on the field!