Chapter 33: Physical Fitness Is the Bottleneck

Chapter 33: Stamina is a Bottleneck

Noon at Carrington Training Centre. The Manchester United players had already gone for their lunch break, but Ferguson was still working. For any manager, the job is never easy. Beyond the need for immense resilience under pressure, the sheer volume of work required to prepare for a single match is staggering. Every successful manager shares one trait: boundless energy. Even at his advanced age, Ferguson looked remarkably sharp. He needed to prepare for the evening’s North West Derby against Liverpool. If football is a war without weapons, then as the commander-in-chief, the manager must maintain a fighting spirit.

Just as Ferguson was jotting down a sudden flash of inspiration in his notebook, his assistant let out a cry of surprise.

"What is it?" Ferguson looked at Phelan with a touch of annoyance.

"Take a look at this." Phelan slid his screen over.

Ferguson saw the footage: a cross from Walcott, a sharp run from Li Mo, and a sliding finish. At first glance, it might have seemed like an ordinary goal. But considering that Li Mo and Fox had started their runs almost simultaneously, yet Li Mo had relied purely on his explosive acceleration to leave the future England international defender trailing behind, Ferguson was struck by a sense of surprise.

"His speed..." He looked up, then checked the score. Two-nil. The hosts were ahead. The match was only twenty minutes in, and Arsenal already held a two-goal lead.

"He scored both of them!" Phelan said, taking a deep breath.

Ferguson’s brow furrowed. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "In that case... this young lad deserves special attention."

If it were only the qualities Li Mo had shown previously, Ferguson wouldn't have been particularly concerned. But if you were to layer this kind of explosive acceleration on top of those existing abilities? Speed is the purest form of talent. Within ten yards, if someone can explode past you, it is a nightmare for any defender. Moreover, a player with the predatory instincts of Inzaghi combined with such blistering acceleration...

Ferguson and Phelan exchanged a look. Both saw a sense of gravity in the other’s eyes.

At the Emirates Stadium, the cameras cut to Li Mo’s family. The entire group was singing and dancing in the stands, and the surrounding Arsenal fans had even begun to chant the "Inzaghi Song."

"Who would have imagined the 'Inzaghi Song' being sung at the Emirates?" Zhang Jun laughed. "Perhaps Inzaghi should thank his nephew."

"Arsenal fans singing the 'Inzaghi Song'? What kind of parallel universe is this?"

"Is Inzaghi a 'Wenger almost signed him' case too?"

The Chinese fans were enjoying the spectacle as well. After finishing his celebrations, Li Mo blew a kiss toward the stand where his family sat, then returned to his half under the gaze of the entire stadium.

Trailing by two goals, Southampton’s morale had hit rock bottom, but they still attempted to push forward, hoping to salvage a glimmer of hope. The result, however, was that they were constantly hit by Arsenal’s quick transitions. By the time the first half ended, the score was four-nil. Although Li Mo hadn't scored again, his teammates were firing. In the 32nd minute, Cazorla scored from distance. In the 41st minute, Vermaelen hammered a header home from a corner kick.

Four-nil at halftime. Arsenal had finally opened their scoring account; before this, aside from Li Mo’s goals, no other Arsenal player had scored in the league beyond a single goal against Montpellier in the Champions League. Today, Cazorla had broken his duck, and even the center-back Vermaelen had finally found the net.

While the scoreline made the fans happy, Wenger on the sidelines was not particularly excited. In truth, Arsenal had created many chances. Southampton had thrown caution to the wind to grab a consolation goal, which gave Arsenal plenty of opportunities to counter. Both Walcott and Giroud had missed several golden chances, with both strikers appearing more "abstract" and wasteful than the last. If not for Li Mo, the opposing goalkeeper might have walked away from this match feeling quite confident.

As the first half concluded, the camera locked onto Li Mo. He walked off the pitch, gasping for air. This was his first start and his first time playing a full half. The intensity of professional football was putting his stamina to a severe test. He was only seventeen, and after the physical changes he had undergone over the past six months, his endurance was not what it used to be. During the latter part of the first half, he had already consciously tried to pace his running, but managing stamina is a matter of pure experience. In this regard, while Li Mo had plenty of "theoretical knowledge," turning that theory into practice required more match experience.

Back in the dressing room, the masseur, Mr. Vearia, was busy working on Li Mo’s leg muscles. Everyone could see that stamina was one of the biggest bottlenecks holding Li Mo back. In reality, it wasn't that his fitness was poor—by the standards of his peers, it was actually decent. The only problem was his lack of experience; he hadn't yet learned how to reasonably distribute his energy throughout a match.

During the halftime break, Wenger told Li Mo, "I will substitute you off in the sixty-fifth minute. Fifteen minutes of rest should allow you to push yourself for another twenty minutes on the pitch." Wenger patted Li Mo on the shoulder. Li Mo nodded. Wenger hadn't pulled him at halftime—that would have been disrespectful to the man who had already scored a brace. However, he knew Li Mo was too young and his body not yet fully developed; he couldn't afford to burn him out. Sixty-five minutes was already the limit for Li Mo. Wenger knew exactly how to manage a young player’s development.

When the second half began, Li Mo received the tightest attention from the Southampton defenders. However, Wenger’s words about substituting him at the sixty-fifth minute acted like a spring in his head. *I only have twenty minutes left! And I haven't scored enough yet! I need goals! I love scoring!*

Li Mo had eyes only for the opponent's goal. After fifteen minutes of rest, he was recharged. His movement began to liven up again—constantly pulling defenders, making runs, linking up, and hunting for the ball.

"Despite having already scored two goals, Li Mo has become active again in the second half... He might just get his third!"

As he said this, commentator Andy Gray’s expression shifted. He remembered something: if Li Mo could complete a hat-trick in this match, he would set a record—the youngest hat-trick scorer in Premier League history!