In the game against Guimaraes, Mourinho did not arrange Lao Lei and others to play. Considering that they were about to report to the national team and play a warm-up game, in order to keep their disciples from getting too tired, they could only be put on the bench. The national team is a topic that every club manager avoids, and he can't stop the players, who are afraid that they will be too tired and get injured. What's even worse for Porto is that most of the main squad has been withdrawn this time, including Lao Lei, the absolute core and commander. Although he got Scolari's promise, Mourinho didn't dare to be too relieved, not afraid of 10,000 in case.

In this game, Mourinho rotated the squad extensively, and at the same time, pushed Deco to the core of the organization. Deco's existence has also reassured Mourinho, as the core of the organization that has always been in Porto, in addition to his own strength, he is also in Porto's fifth year, and he does not need to worry about tacit understanding. It also gives Mourinho leeway to guarantee the current team's results. However, if Mourinho knew that Deco had the intention of joining the Portuguese national team, I don't know what he would think.

Although Porto sent half of the substitutes in this game, Guimaraes did not take advantage of it. With Deco's organisation, Porto play very fluidly and aggressively on the road. Although Deco is slightly deficient in creating zào compared with Lao Lei, his basic skills are solid, and the effect of his organization on the field is not bad. At least when facing Guimaraes, it was enough, especially when Guimaraes saw Porto's lineup and planned to attack and get three points.

In the 23rd minute of the first half. Deco received a pass from Porto's backfield in the front of the field and shook off the defenders in a series of changes. Sent a scalpel-like precision straight plug. In the penalty area, McCarthy accelerated past Guimaraes and chased after Deco's pass. Immediately it was a precise push. The ball rolled between the feet of the Guimarães goalkeeper and into the goal. 1:0, Porto took the lead away from home.

Then, in the 52nd minute of the second half, Porto was assisted by Alenichev on the edge of the penalty area, and then pushed the far corner again to extend the score to 2:0. Although Guimarães pulled a point back in the 67th minute with a header from a corner. But in the intensity of the Porto defense. Guimaraes did not score again in the next game to equalize the score. The match ended with a 2-1 scoreline, with Porto managing to get three points away from home.

After the game, Lao Lei, Kostiani and other 6 people did not return to Porto with the team, but went directly to Lisbon and went to the training site of the national team. Although Lao Lei can't get used to Benfica, he has to admit that Benfica's hardware facilities are indeed the best in Portugal. After coming to the training ground of the national team. Under the leadership of the assistant coach, Lao Lei took Porto's teammates to the dormitory to drop off their luggage first, and then went to report to head coach Scolari. Lao Lei, who is at the forefront of the team, is already in the position of a big brother, although he is not very old. But with his status in the national team and at the club, in the absence of Costa, he has become the face of the Porto family in the Portuguese national team.

After arranging their respective rooms. Lao Lei led his teammates to Portugal's new head coach and former Brazil coach Scolari. At the time of the meeting, Scolari was busy in his office. After seeing Lao Lei and others come in. Immediately put down the work at hand and greeted him with a smile on his face. The first thing he said to Lao Lei was: "Your watch in the World Cup surprised me, especially in the final." Although Lao Lei doesn't like to listen to sycophants, he is always a little happy when he hears a meritorious head coach praise him, whether he is sincere or not. Lao Lei's first impression of Scolari after close contact in his heart was that he was very good at being a person. Although there were six Porto players in the room, no one felt left out during the conversation, and the first conversation ended in a very pleasant atmosphere.

On the day, a lot of Portuguese players arrived, and Lao Lei met a lot of acquaintances, such as Benfica's Miguel, Deportivo Andrade's Andrade, and England's Postiga. Some of them have good relationships, and some have stiff relationships. But fortunately, everyone was afraid that the three fires in the new Scolari Pavilion would burn on their heads, and no one dared to find trouble. Although Scolari smiled and gave the players a good feeling, no one would be foolish enough to believe that this is what Scolari is all about, and it is better to be careful with the first contact.

In the Portuguese national team that Scolari called up for the first time, it is undoubtedly the largest in the Porto series led by Lao Lei. The rest of Benfica and Sporting Lisbon are not strong enough to compete with Porto in terms of numbers, strength and fame, let alone the players of some other smaller clubs. In the usual tactical training, the players have also seen that the tactical formation that Scolari trains is mainly the 4-2-3-1 formation that Porto has played this season, with the shadow of Porto everywhere.

After Lao Lei found out about this, after thinking about it for a while, he probably had some guesses in his heart. He thinks that Scolari's tactical set-up is to follow Porto's tactics, which can explain why Porto have so many players selected this time. It seems that Porto's steady and strong record this season has made him tempted. What's even more rare is that only Deco, Alenichev and McCarthy are not Portuguese in Porto's main lineup, and they can be copied in their entirety without changing parts. It is very important for the national team to have a solid and cohesive understanding, and Porto's central midfield is such an important midfield that is alive in front of Scola. While adjustments may be made to individual positions, they have no effect on the whole.

After figuring this out, Lao Lei felt that Deco's entry into the Portuguese national team would be more implementable. In the past two days, Deco has already decided to become a Portuguese citizen, and Mendes has already begun to arrange this matter. Regarding Deco's entry into the Portuguese national team, he naturally raised his hand in favor, a player who joins the national team and who does not join the national team. The gap in business value is significant. And Lao Lei's trip to the national team this time was also with communication with Scolari. The task of ventilation came.

On the night after the first day of training, Ray walked into Scolari's office. The two of them talked for a long time inside. When Lao Lei came out, he came out with a successful smile. Although Scolari did not give an affirmative answer in person, he felt that Scolari's heart was actually inclined to agree, and the rest of the matter could be settled as long as there were no accidents.

In fact, Deco is a player that Scolari knew about when he was in charge of Brazil. Although he was not recruited because of the talent in the frontcourt, he still recognized Deco's strength. The only thing he worries about now is the reaction of the Portuguese fans, the Football Association and the old members of the national team. Originally, when he took over the reins of Portugal, it caused a lot of public opinion, and this time he naturally had to be more careful. And this depends on the public relations ability of Mendes's agent. However, Old Ray believes in Mendes' ability, and this matter should not be too difficult for him. The longer he worked with Mendes, the more he was able to feel his excellent abilities.

That night, Ray called Deco and Mendez to express Scolari's attitude. On the phone, Deco also kept thanking Lao Lei, saying that when he returned to Porto, he would thank Lao Lei well. After solving the matter of Deco, Lao Lei was relieved to devote his energy to the training of the national team.

It was fast in time for the warm-up match against Greece. The Stadium of Light in Benfica, the venue of the warm-up match, has already flooded with a lot of Portuguese fans. Although there are no big-name stars such as Figo this time, it is the debut of Scolari, as well as the appearance of a new generation of players such as Lao Lei. It's still getting a lot of attention. However, not many people pay attention to Portugal's opponents, Greece. Although they have a head coach who has created a miracle in Kaiserslautern Otto. Reguhar, but no one felt they could pose any threat to this incomplete Portugal team.

Portuguese players such as Lao Lei and head coach Scolari are almost the same idea. Scolari chose Greece as an opponent. I just took a fancy to Greece's good defense, which can be used as a good whetstone for this selection. Greek football comes across as lazy and undisciplined. Greece, full of art, does not seem to be a good soil for cultivating football. Until now. The Greek national team has only participated in one European Championship and one World Cup, and has very little experience in major tournaments.

However, since Reghar took over in '01, Greek football has quietly changed. In the current qualifiers for the European Championships, Greece, who are in the same group as Spain and Ukraine, beat two opponents and temporarily ranked first in this group. However, even so, not many people pay attention to the Greek team, and the impression accumulated over a long period of time has not changed much. The most impressive aspect of this Greece team was the 1-0 scoreline, which was the most frequent in the games it has won, and although the results were good, the dull spectacle did not allow it to gain much attention. So Lao Lei has no impression of this Greek team, all the news about it was seen from the newspapers, and the media comments made him not have any interest in the Greek team, just as an ordinary fish belly.

In this game, Porto started all but Ferreira. Andrade and Carvalho partnered in central defence, with Valente and Benfica's Miguel at left and right wing-backs, and Ray and Kostiani at the back. The goalkeeper is Portugal's No. 2 goalkeeper in the 02 World Cup, Ricardo. In the front field are Cristiano Ronaldo and Quaresma, Benfica's Martins in midfield, and Postiga in striker. Greece, on the other hand, lined up in a 4-4-2 formation.

After the start of the game, Lao Lei immediately felt that Greece was unusual, and his heart said that it was really hearsay and could not be trusted.

He felt that what was standing in front of him was not a football team, but a well-trained army, and the white-haired old man on the sidelines was their commander. (To be continued......)