"Red Devils" is inseparable from the "local soul" - an interview with Manchester United star Peter Schmeichel

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, July 7 Title: "Red Devil Xing" cannot be separated from the "local soul" -- An interview with Manchester United star Peter Schmeichel Xinhua News Agency reporters Wang Haoyu, Wu Junkuan and Xiao Yazhuo What happened to Manchester United? This should be the most asked question by reporters during the opening of the Manchester United Experience Centre in Beijing, "Red Devils" legend Peter Schmeichel. In the 1999 Camp Nou "Miracle Night", Schmeichel experienced the peak moment of the "Treble" in the history of Manchester United, although he bid farewell to Manchester United for several years, but the "Red Devil Heart" remained the same. The "Red Devil Dynasty" that was once invincible is now in turmoil. In the face of Xinhua News Agency, Schmeichel proposed his own way of reviving Manchester United. In Schmeichel's eyes, since the retirement of manager Ferguson in 2013, Manchester United have been like a soulless person. 'By United's standards, we've failed in the last 6 years. Schmeichel said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency. 'We once had a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson who has been coaching the club for many years and can give the team a clear direction, a clear idea and a culture, after whom the club can be said to be struggling. Ferguson's successor, Moyes, who has been coaching Everton in the Premier League for many years, was swept out by Manchester United in less than a season due to a poor record. Schmeichel believes that Moyes' "lightning" dismissal is the starting point of Manchester United's "spiral fall". "The club signed Moyes on a 6-year contract, but he was sacked after 7 or 8 months, which is incredible. We have to figure out what kind of club this is and reclaim our values and culture. He said. What is the Manchester United tradition? Schmeichel's answer was: "Rooted in the soil." "As we've always done in the past, United's rebuilding is going to be homegrown, the British players. We've had a global presence and we've had some great foreign players who have brought new elements to the team. But I think the club's past success is more due to the fact that it has British players at its core. "Schmeichel is delighted that Manchester United are currently moving towards localization, signing daniel James (Wales) and Wan Bissaka (England) two local young talents in the summer transfer window." Ole (Manchester United's new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer) looked at young, eager players who grew up in England in his first transfer window. We are now more focused on developing new people, new people with the characteristics that Manchester United requires, than in the past few years. To play for Manchester United at Old Trafford, you have to have two brushes. Solskjaer is the right leader Schmeichel hopes that Manchester United can regain its traditions, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the best candidate in his mind. Commenting on the former teammate and now the new Manchester United manager, Schmeichel can be described as extremely praised. "Ole is a coach like no other, he is a quiet person who brings positive energy to the people around him in life and has no lack of humor. As a manager, you can get angry, but Ole is not that type, he has unique personal qualities. Think about the talent he has, the goals he scored, but he wasn't a main player [at Manchester United], he was always on the bench and when he was needed to play, he knew it meant 'I have to go and do something for the team'. After United and Mourinho "broke up" at the end of 2018, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as acting manager in the middle of the season when the team was in poor shape. Surprisingly, Manchester United under Solskjaer then played a wave of good results, and the club officially appointed him as the new head of the "Red Devils" at the end of March. Unfortunately, after the regularization of the coach, the team's performance gradually declined, and finally ranked sixth in the league and did not qualify for next season's Champions League. As the new Premier League season draws nearer, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's coaching prospects are not optimistic, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Lampard tied for the top spot in the bookmaker's odds of "who will be the first manager to be fired in the new season". However, Schmeichel has his own reasons to support the manager, "How to rebuild the team, Ole has a number in mind, and his personal charm can unite the team and make the players buy it." He's good at interpersonal skills, has a clear direction (for the future), and he knows what he wants to do. I've talked to him a lot about this before, and I like and fully support his (planning) direction." Speaking of Chinese football, Schmeichel's first reaction was Sun Jihai, after all, the two had been teammates at Manchester City. What impressed him the most was naturally the enthusiasm of Chinese fans for football, and he felt that because of this enthusiasm, Chinese football needed more players like Sun Jihai to compete in Europe in the future. "To be honest, I'm not too focused on the Chinese Super League, but I hope that in the foreseeable future, China can produce more and more (excellent) players to be sent to the bigger leagues in Europe." Schmeichel said. "When you come to China and see these football fans, there are so many fans in a club alone. In China, you can feel the expectations and desires of the fans for football, and if on this basis, chinese players can often go to Play in Europe, it will be great. (End)