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作者：Sam Lee and Dermot Corrigan, The Athletic, 2021.6.11
Translator: Small stir-fried meat
Luis Enrique did not have a single Real Madrid player in his Spanish national squad this summer. Meritorious star Sergio Ramos failed to qualify, while France-born Manchester City defender Emerick Laporte took his place.
Laporte has just made its Spanish debut against Portugal on 4 June, but the Matadors, who won two European Championships in 2008 and 2012, still have to rely on the "rookie" on the defensive line.
Enrique's side does not have the centre-back combination of Ramos and Pique, who have carried the team forward in the past few years, and they pin their hopes on Laporte, believing that he can bring rock-solid defensive quality.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" data-track="9" > behind naturalization</h1>
Back in 2014, then-Spain coach Del Bosque first publicly discussed the possibility of having Laporte change his citizenship. At that time, Laporte played under Bielsa and Valverde, establishing himself as a main player in Athletic Bilbao.
With the combination of Ramos and Pique old, the Western Football Association has been struggling to find a strong centre-back of the right age, but none of them can take over the flag of the duo. Even so, Laporte didn't venture to try.
Several other players have also been considered "naturalized" by the Spanish national team's coaching staff in recent years, including Jason Murillo, who plays in Celta – the current Colombian international – and Valencia-born Brazilian Gabriel Paulista. Gabriel obtained a Spanish passport last November, but according to FIFA regulations, he failed to meet the requirement to live in Spain for five consecutive years (playing for Arsenal from January 2015 to the summer of 2017). Otherwise, he could also be selected for Spain's European Championship squad.
However, Laporte did meet the criteria, starting with bibau youth in the summer of 2010 and playing for Spain for a full eight years before moving to Manchester City.
Laporte was contacted by the Confederation of Laporte in March to inquire about his wishes and offer to help him with his naturalization procedures. In the end, Enrique persuaded the 27-year-old centre-back, and the Spanish sports department also acted quickly, granting him Spanish citizenship in early May to ensure that he could compete smoothly.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" data-track="40" > française</h1>
Laporte played for the French under-17 and U21 national youth teams, but due to bad luck or neglect, he failed to make his debut for the French senior team.
Deschamps summoned him twice, once in March 2017 and once in August 2019, but neither was given a chance to play. In addition, Laporte was completely ignored, and Deschamps and the rest of the French team also privately found it difficult to integrate into the team, and the less they played, the worse the tacit understanding with everyone.
Laporte himself said his lack of call-up was not due to his poor performance. In an interview in December 2018, Laporte said: "(Not calling me) is definitely not a competitive factor, you have to ask the coach personally. I personally have no opinion on him, if there is any personal grudge that is also on him and not in me.
"I could have been part of the world championship team, but it was a decision not to call me up as a coach. I don't think he didn't want me out of personal grudges, I only had respect for him. ”
However, after 9 months, Laporte was finally called up again for the national team, but two days before participating in the training camp, Manchester City injured a knee ligament in the match against Brighton, and was directly injured for more than 4 months.
The ensuing outbreak disrupted the pace of the national team' matches, with Laporte losing his main position at Manchester City in November last year and never receiving a call from the Fahedese Football Association. When the La Uefa extended an olive branch, Laporte finally waited for the best opportunity to participate in international competitions.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" data-track="41" > club season</h1>
When France neglected Laporte, at least he could console himself with being a Manchester City defender. After he faded from Guardiola's main squad in the first half of the season due to injury, changing the court to participate in international competitions is also a way for Laporte to prove himself again.
Laporte became the Blue Moon's substitute centre-back in November, when Guardiola suddenly began to talk about players entering the main squad not by fame but by strength, but he had previously repeatedly stressed that in the long and difficult Premier League, keeping the rotation was a top priority.
Subsequently, Laporte was injured again in December, postponing his comeback date, but in the following months he was able to perform well when he got the opportunity to play, very close to his peak. As a substitute centre-back, he lacks coherent game time and rhythm, and it is not easy to play well.
Since the end of January, Laporte has started 10 of his 19 Premier League games and only started 1 of his 7 Champions League knockout games (the first), which has also become a point of contention for him.
The injured nose gradually recovered, but Laporte could no longer regain the main position from Stones and Dias, as the two players made few mistakes. Even if you play well on the pitch, the disappointment is gradually accumulating.
Laporte is one of many players in Manchester City who could leave this summer after receiving the right offer, but everything is unpredictable in the current difficult situation. Manchester City president Hosni Mubarak also acknowledged this in a season-ending interview, but he is still looking forward to doing some business with two or three of Europe's top teams.
Moving back to Spain to join Real Madrid or Barca has always been Laporte's dream, and a deal could have happened if he had a good performance at the European Championship this summer and both La Liga giants had enough money to buy centre-backs.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="04" data-track="42" > matador view </h1>
Laporte was eventually called by Spain and was not directly linked to Ramos' injury problems.
At a press conference announcing the squad, Enrique spoke separately about the two issues: "The decision to recruit Laporte has nothing to do with Ramos' situation. We've been thinking about calling up Laporte for a long time, he's a top player who can do a lot for the national team. Yard by yard, please don't confuse Ramos, who is not in the squad, with calls from other players. ”
The real problem is that even Nacho has not been called up – which means that for the first time in The history of the European Championship, the Spanish squad does not have any Real Madrid players – which undoubtedly hits the pain point of Real Madrid fans.
"Luis Enrique insulted the most important team in history," said Eduardo Inda, a die-hard Real Madrid loyalist and fan of the chairman Perez. "Laporte and Eric Garcia playing as the main players? The games they have played in this season have not combined to be nachodo. Not a single Player from Real Madrid has been selected, which is deeply repugnant both in terms of morale and competition. ”
Many have pointed out that Laporte has played less than half of all Manchester City's matches this season and has not participated in the Champions League quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals at all. However, most critics also believe that given the current situation in Spain's squad, a defender with the physical qualities and defensive experience of Laporte is absolutely indispensable. Garcia has made even fewer appearances this season, but he has already taken a place in the Ducks national team, playing three 2022 World Cup games on the international day in March.
Villarreal's Paul Torres is talented but lacks international competition experience; Leeds United's Diego Llorente has been in the squad for a few years but hasn't really established himself; and Azpilicueta, who recalled Chelsea, is eyeing the veteran's golden attributes to add a choice to the backcourt change.
If Laporte can play at a normal level, most Spanish fans will be happy to see him at the European Cup.
In this tournament, Spain stumbled to the quarter-finals without being optimistic, losing 2-4 to the Blues Italy in a penalty shootout. Are you still satisfied with Spain's performance? Do they still need to improve?
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