Chapter 117: Mourinho's Assessment

Longbenon Training Base, Pitch Number One.

Although it was only a few hundred meters from Pitch Number Four, where Long Bisheng and his teammates usually trained, the difference between the two was obvious to anyone.

They did not see the superstars usually viewed on television: China’s top player Nie Fei, the Ivorian beast Didier Drogba, the Ghanaian buffalo Michael Essien, the French scar-faced warrior Franck Ribéry, the Swedish tower Zlatan Ibrahimović, or the Brazilian national team defenders Lúcio and Maicon. These internationals would not appear at the Longbenon training base for over a week, as they were away competing in matches for their respective national teams. It was precisely because sixteen of the twenty-four first-team Newcastle players had been called up that head coach José Mourinho decided to promote eight players each from the Newcastle Under-19 squad and the Yunjia Tianyu U-17 team. This not only prevented the remaining non-international first-team players from losing their match fitness due to a lack of teammates but also served as an opportunity to evaluate the youth players and see if they could provide reliable cover should injuries plague the first-team regulars.

However, they were still able to see the symbol of Newcastle—the club's greatest striker, Alan Shearer. After the 2000 European Championship, Shearer announced his retirement from the national team. Although the national team manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson, had stated more than once that "the doors to the national team are always open to Shearer," he showed no intention of returning. For the remainder of his professional career, he only wanted to dedicate his full energy to Newcastle.

Also present were the Danish veteran Larsson, who had retired from international duty after Euro 2004, and left-winger Robert and left-back Bernard, who had been left out of the French national team. For these young players, training alongside such figures was an supreme honor.

Mourinho had always been a coach who thought outside the box; his imaginative ideas and tactical command on the sidelines had caused headaches for many world-class managers. Within just one year of arriving in England—and his first year managing a European club—he had led his team to lift the Champions League trophy, a feat many legendary coaches might never achieve in a lifetime. While there was an element of luck involved, the trophy itself was a tangible honor.

His unconventional approach was not limited to match-day tactics. It was on full display during this massive integration of reserve and youth players into first-team training. Beyond the standard drills, he shuffled the groups completely for practice matches. Long Bisheng might find himself playing alongside first-teamers like Larsson, Stewart, and Bernard, or several Newcastle U-19 players. Dai Guangming and his teammates might end up in a mixed legion featuring Taylor, Lennon, Bale, Robert, and Shearer. The result was that almost every player was unfamiliar with their teammates, forcing them to learn through movement and communication on the pitch.

For the first-team stars, this was no big deal—even if they were only backups in the first team, they were still idols in the eyes of the youth players, who were well-versed in the technical styles of their senior counterparts. For the youth players, however, it was more challenging. Fortunately, the Yunjia Tianyu players had decent English skills, otherwise, communication on the pitch would have been a major obstacle.

These matches left the Yunjia Tianyu players feeling somewhat lost. Hu Gandang, Dai Guangming, and Long Bisheng fared better, as they were players who adapted easily. Hu Gandang was a defensive midfielder who contributed to both attack and defense, making it easy for him to find his place in an unfamiliar squad. Dai Guangming was an organizational attacking midfielder who needed the ball at his feet to dictate play, yet he didn't mind doing the "dirty work" most attacking midfielders avoided; his love for reading had gifted him a sharp mind. As for Long Bisheng, no matter how unfamiliar his teammates were, seeing his height and position told them exactly what to do: lob the ball toward his head.

Wu Bufan was a goalkeeper, so he temporarily faced no such issues, and his habit of shouting loudly on the pitch proved important. However, the other four members of the U-17 team, who were a year or two younger, adapted more slowly.

Mourinho never skimped on encouragement for young players. He had always been a coach who enjoyed using new talent—though not as obsessed as Arsène Wenger. At Yunjia Tianyu, he had promoted prospects like Li Fang and Sun Bing. At Newcastle, he had also nurtured relatively young non-superstar players like Dawson, Jenas, and Stewart. Had he not been in charge at Newcastle for less than two years, he would have promoted even more youth players.

Among the young players, he praised four individuals the most. One was eighteen-year-old Lennon, which was no surprise; having made his Premier League debut two years prior, Lennon possessed extraordinary ability. If not for the fact that Newcastle’s right flank was incredibly crowded—with the established star Nie Fei and even England international Dyer struggling for minutes—Lennon would likely have secured a regular spot. Such a player with infinite potential was naturally worthy of Mourinho’s attention.

The other two, Bale and Walcott, who had been poached from the West Ham youth academy that season, were also frequent subjects of Mourinho’s praise. Although physically slender, Bale had outstanding crossing ability and could play as both a left-back and a left-winger, not to mention his excellent direct free-kick technique—essentially a replica of Roberto Carlos, albeit without the same physical prowess. Walcott was a versatile forward with blistering pace and decent technique; it was said that Wenger had tried several times to poach him for Arsenal, only to be flatly rejected by Pei Wei and Mourinho, regardless of their past relations.

The fourth player frequently praised by Mourinho surprised everyone and yet, in a way, did not: Long Bisheng. It was surprising because, in terms of pure ability and level among this group of Chinese and English elites, Long Bisheng was at best in the middle or lower tier. It was not surprising because, during these group matches, his performance was the most eye-catching of the eight Yunjia Tianyu players. He was a constant headache for opposing defenders in every game. Even captain Shearer had praised him several times for doing a good job as a center-forward. To be evaluated by the greatest center-forward in the club's history, it was no wonder Long Bisheng garnered more praise from Mourinho.

His role on the pitch was simple: when his team attacked, he would plant himself in the penalty area, waiting to receive high crosses from teammates to either head the ball into the net or knock it down to a better-positioned teammate. After playing so many matches for the England Under-19 team, he had adapted well to the English style of play. He was never at a disadvantage in physical duels, and Taylor, who had once kept him in check during a match, found it increasingly difficult to contain him. Furthermore, his high stamina allowed him to track back to the edge of the penalty area to help defend, while he also possessed the ability to drift out of the box to create plays or drive forward himself. Such a player might seem inconspicuous, but he was highly practical. His humility also quickly won over the others, and even Shearer often pulled him aside to share tips on playing the position.

The other seven guys from the Yunjia Tianyu U-17 team envied Long Bisheng, as none of them had performed as well as he had during that week of training. Even Hu Gandang and Dai Guangming, whose physical attributes were not as impressive as Long Bisheng's, struggled to adapt to the English style of play as quickly—even Nie Fei had taken several months to adjust to the rhythm of the Premier League.

However, no one knew about a private conversation Mourinho had with club chairman Pei Wei on the sidelines regarding Long Bisheng’s future.

Club chairman Pei Wei would sometimes come to the training ground to watch their matches. Whenever he did, he would watch with delight, like an ordinary fan. Everyone could feel his immense passion for football—a passion that originated entirely from the game itself. This had quickly made him the best chairman in the eyes of Newcastle players and fans in just over a year; a chairman who operated the club for the sake of football rather than other motives—or to be more precise, he operated Newcastle for the sake of Chinese football.

Pei Wei liked the simple, tall boy Long Bisheng. Although he had many responsibilities and couldn't keep a constant eye on him, he knew a fair bit about him. After seeing Long Bisheng head in another beautiful goal, Pei Wei couldn't help but ask for Mourinho’s opinion on the youngster.

Mourinho, however, offered a perspective vastly different from the praise he gave publicly. "As long as he continues to train, even if he doesn't become a world-class player, he will have no trouble securing a starting spot in a Championship side. He has a God-given height, but that height may well become the very factor that restricts him from advancing further... being too tall doesn't necessarily mean being agile, and his reaction time doesn't seem very fast either. Furthermore, players who are too tall are prone to injuries. A player like this won't have the ability to establish himself in a top-flight league at a young age. If he still has the potential to be scouted by a top-tier league before he turns twenty-five, then he might become the next Luca Toni... of course, that is not a certainty."