Chapter 430: Bruno Takes Action
"Curse?" Mourinho was taken aback when he heard the word from Bruno. He had never considered such a thing before. As a staunch atheist, he didn't believe in the supernatural. "We're just having a bit of bad luck lately," he told Bruno.
Bruno didn't have strong feelings about mysticism one way or the other. However, he couldn't deny that football often intertwined with such notions. In Africa and South America, there are professional shamans who are invited by teams to perform rituals before matches against their arch-rivals to ensure victory. Some shamans even cast spells against certain players out of dislike, cursing them with severe injuries in the future.
Europeans are no less superstitious on the football field, with notable examples from major footballing nations. For instance, Chelsea's captain, John Terry, always sat in the same seat on the team bus, listened to the same CD, and parked in the same spot at Stamford Bridge. Former Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Liverpool player Paul Ince only put on his match shirt after walking out of the tunnel. England's goalkeeper David James liked to urinate on the walls before games, and Three Lions legend Alan Shearer only ate chicken and beans before matches.
German football is famous for the "lucky coin" superstition. Germans, generally not very superstitious, believe in the mysterious power of certain symbols like little pigs, chimney sweeps, four-leaf clovers, and horseshoes. The German penny (Pfennig) is considered to have similar magical properties. After Germany's 1:5 home defeat to England in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, Germans decided to use this magic in football. Editors from the Bild newspaper came up with the idea before Germany's crucial playoff against Ukraine, burying a penny in the penalty area of the Kyiv stadium. Germany drew 1:1 in Kyiv and won 4:1 at home, securing their World Cup spot.
In the 2002 World Cup, the penny continued to work its magic, helping Germany reach the final despite low expectations. However, it wasn't always effective, as they lost 0:2 to Brazil in the final.
French superstition proved more successful in the 1998 World Cup, where French center-back Laurent Blanc kissed goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's bald head before each match for good luck. This ritual worked, and France won their first World Cup.
...
Bruno shook his head at Mourinho's dismissiveness. "I don't know why, but a series of unfortunate events have indeed affected the locker room atmosphere."
When Bruno first heard Lingard mention a "curse," he didn't pay much attention. However, after United were held to a draw by the relatively weak Anderlecht, and the idea of a curse resurfaced among the players, Bruno decided to talk to Mourinho about it.
Mourinho also recognized that these incidents had impacted the locker room atmosphere, affecting the team's morale and fighting spirit. The team's recent performances had been far from good, even "terrible" compared to the first half of the season. Since March, United had played nine matches in all competitions, drawing five of them. Before that, in 43 matches, they had only failed to win three times.
In these nine matches in March and April, apart from the FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea, United hadn't faced any particularly strong opponents. But how to solve this? Invite a shaman to perform a ritual? Ridiculous. Manchester United was a club managed with modern principles. Neither Mourinho nor club owner Mr. Jassim would agree to such a thing.
Mourinho stared at the empty training ground, lost in thought.
...
Despite United's impressive first-half performances, the team's recent slump drew much schadenfreude. This was akin to the Ferguson era: as you grow stronger, more people dislike you, although more people also come to support you.
"Bruno has stated twice that his goal is the league title. If he really wants it that badly, he should transfer to Chelsea or even Manchester City. Staying at United is pointless. This team reverts to its true form once figured out..."
"Mourinho has already been quite successful at United. He led them to the League Cup and has long suppressed Chelsea and other Premier League giants in the standings. His teams typically peak in the second season, from Porto to Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and back to Chelsea. In his second year at Porto and Inter, he won the Champions League. At Real Madrid, he won the league title in his second year, breaking Guardiola's Barcelona's dominance with a record 100 points and 121 goals."
...
There were various voices in the media, some seemingly defending United but all ultimately doubting their future performance.
...
Mourinho hadn't yet figured out how to improve the locker room atmosphere, but Bruno, as the team's core player, couldn't stand by and watch the team's morale plummet. Especially with the upcoming crucial match against Chelsea, widely regarded as the Premier League title decider.
A home victory would secure United's dominance in the standings. A loss, however, would mean losing control of the title race.
Currently, the Premier League standings were as follows:
Manchester United: 30 games, 25 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss, 79 points, 1st place.Chelsea: 31 games, 24 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses, 75 points, 2nd place.Tottenham: 32 games, 21 wins, 8 draws, 3 losses, 71 points, 3rd place.Liverpool: 33 games, 19 wins, 7 draws, 7 losses, 64 points, 4th place.Manchester City: 32 games, 18 wins, 7 draws, 7 losses, 61 points, 5th place.Everton: 33 games, 16 wins, 8 draws, 9 losses, 56 points, 6th place.Arsenal: 30 games, 15 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses, 51 points, 7th place.
Though United had a four-point lead with a game in hand, failing to beat Chelsea at home would leave them with little advantage. In the remaining seven matches, United would face tough away games against Tottenham, Arsenal, and Manchester City. Securing victories in these fixtures was not guaranteed.
In contrast, Chelsea's remaining fixtures were relatively easier, with games against Southampton, Everton, Middlesbrough, West Brom, Watford, and Sunderland—all mid- to lower-table teams except Everton.
Moreover, United were still competing on three fronts, with the Europa League and FA Cup also demanding their attention. A slip-up could lead to a disastrous collapse on all three fronts. Chelsea, having no European commitments and already out of the FA Cup, could focus solely on the Premier League, giving them a clear advantage in both stamina and focus.
...
Bruno didn't want the match against Chelsea to mark the beginning of United's end-of-season collapse. He had to do something. Though not yet the official captain, with United's three captains seeing less playtime, Bruno had gradually taken on the armband in some matches, becoming the team's core and spiritual leader. Boosting team morale was part of his responsibility.
On Friday, after the afternoon training session, everyone returned to the locker room. The atmosphere had been tense lately, with everyone affected by the losses and the "curse" rumors. As everyone changed silently, Bruno clapped his hands.
In the relatively quiet locker room, the sound was loud and clear. Everyone looked up at Bruno. "Why do you all look so down? Are we getting relegated?" Bruno's question stunned everyone. Right, if not for Bruno's reminder, they might have thought their league position was terrible, but in reality...
"We are top of the league and have a four-point lead with a game in hand. That's something to be proud of. Why are you all so down?" Bruno pointedly asked. "I feel bad for Mata and Jones, too, but injuries are part of football. I might get injured in tomorrow's training. That's no reason to be down. We've been doing great, so why should we be the ones feeling dejected? Don't listen to the media. They're just trying to create hype."
Having grown up under media scrutiny, Bruno knew well how they operated. "I believe that even if we have more injuries and suspensions, as long as we can field eleven players, we have no reason to act this way."
(End of Chapter)
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