"Little Ibra" Brags About Bullying the Weak, but Gets Humbled Two Minutes In!
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is a true Manchester United legend.
He had a illustrious playing career, playing for Manchester United for seven seasons from 1988 to 1995, making 334 appearances and scoring 114 goals, helping Manchester United win two Premier League titles and three FA Cup.
Mark Hughes' dream has always been to manage Manchester United.
However, even after being sacked by Manchester City in the 2008-2009 season, and subsequently playing for several mid-to-lower-table Premier League teams such as Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, and Stoke City, he still failed to win back the favor of his former club.
In recent seasons, Stoke City, under the management of Mark Hughes, have performed exceptionally well, finishing 9th in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons.
However, Mark Hughes knows that going any further will be difficult, which is related to Stoke City's role as a team.
In the second round of the league, they faced last season's Premier League champions, Manchester City. Although Mark Hughes was a little nervous, he also saw this match against Manchester City as an opportunity to showcase his coaching abilities.
"If we can beat Guardiola's team at home and slow them down on their title run, maybe Manchester United will take notice of me. I'm 53 years old; it's time to get their attention!"
Mark Hughes watched the Community Shield match between Manchester City and Manchester United and vividly remembers the scenes where Ibrahimovic repeatedly bullied Stones.
Manchester United has Ibrahimovic, and so does Stoke City.
Arnautovic, a towering center forward standing at 1.92 meters, was already known as "Little Ibrahimovic" back when he played for Inter Milan in Serie A.
Mark Hughes called Arnautovic into the technical analysis room and gave him a detailed analysis of the weaknesses of Manchester City Stones.
"Be careful, don't let Stones' tall stature fool you, he's actually quite slender, especially when defending against heavier strikers. He seems a bit helpless there. Just put pressure on him like you would on Ibrahimovic!"
At 27, Arnautovic is in his prime. Last season, he scored 11 league goals for Stoke City, making him the team's top scorer.
This man, with his eccentric and arrogant personality, said to Mark Hughes with considerable disdain:
"Don't worry, if a 35-year-old grandpa Ibrahimovic can bully Stones like this, I'll only do Ibrahimovic. Just watch how I torment this kid!"
Starting lineup for this match
Home team Stoke City: 433
Arnautovic / Diouf / Bojan
Imbula / Whelan / Joe Allen
Pieters / Wollscheid / Shawcross / Bardsley
Given
Away team Manchester City: 433
Tang Long / Agüero / Sane
Thiago / Ranocchia / Gündoğan
Robertson / Stones / Otamendi / Zabaleta
Bravo
Both sides have many familiar faces in this match.
The diminutive Bojan stood out as inconspicuous among his tall Stoke City teammates.
At that moment, inside the players' tunnel, he deliberately leaned against the wall and half-turned away.
He did this not out of fear of facing the powerful Manchester City, but because he heard hurried footsteps approaching him from behind.
He was all too familiar with those footsteps. Back when he played for Barcelona, he heard them every day – hurried, yet fiercely competitive footsteps!
Guardiola, without looking away, walked straight toward Bojan.
"Long time no see, child. How are you doing here? Ah, you've got wrinkles around your eyes. Well, I've lost all my hair too." His tone was filled with the loving affection of an old father.
Knowing he couldn't escape it, Bojan turned around shyly.
But he dared not meet Guardiola's burning gaze.
Guardiola firmly grasped Bojan's hands and exchanged pleasantries with him.
Bojan played alongside Guardiola at Barcelona for four full seasons.
If you also include the time spent at La Masia, that's a full 5 years.
Once upon a time, 17-year-old Bojan made his debut for Barcelona and amazed everyone with his skills.
In the 2007-2008 season, he made 31 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 10 goals. He was in excellent form and even kept Lionel Messi on the bench for a time!
Guardiola greatly admired this diminutive striker who broke the goal-scoring record during his time in the youth academy and made him a key player in his development program.
Back then, Bojan was full of talent, and his shots in front of the goal were incredibly accurate. Even Eto'o, Barca's star striker at the time, once said that he saw his younger self in Bojan.
Unfortunately, due to recurring injuries, Bojan's form in Barcelona was also inconsistent.
His career trajectory was far less smooth than Lionel Messi's, and after the 2010-2011 season, Bojan moved to Roma to begin the next phase of his professional career in Serie A.
Even after changing environments, Bojan's talent was still not fully realized, and he continued to be plagued by injuries.
After experiencing ups and downs with AC Milan and Ajax, he arrived at Stoke City in the Premier League after two seasons.
Seeing that the tragedy of Zhong Yong was about to unfold, Bojan adjusted his mindset in time.
Last season, Bojan made 27 appearances for Stoke City, scoring 7 goals, and his form improved, gradually regaining his confidence.
However, Bojan was already 26 years old at this time. He was no longer a young player, and much of his former flair had faded. His steps were much heavier than they had been nine years ago.
Looking at his mentor Guardiola, who had single-handedly promoted him from the youth team, Bojan was filled with shame.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Guardiola, I have let you down."
Guardiola pulled little Bojan into his arms, hugged him tightly, and patted his back hard.
"Don't say that, kid. I'll always believe in your ability! Show your best in the Premier League. I've always said that players who come from Barca have the ability to be starters on any team. Keep it up, maybe one day we can work together again!"
Bojan did not answer, his eyes filled with tears, remaining noncommittal.
Compared to the somber atmosphere between Guardiola and Bojan, Chivu and Arnautovic were much more relaxed.
"Haha, look who I see! I see my teammate who won the triple crown with me back in the day!"
Before Chivu could get close, Arnautovic turned around and jumped onto Chivu's back.
Chivu is 1.84 meters tall, Arnautovic 1.92 meters tall. Arnautovic is a whole size bigger than Chivu, and when he pressed down on him, Chivu couldn't react in time, stumbled, and almost fell to his knees.
"Not bad, not bad, you're much stronger than when you were 19. Your body has fully developed, you've grown into a great center forward," Chivu said with a smile.
Arnautovic played for Inter Milan in the 2009-2010 season, where he was teammates with Chivu for one year.
Inter Milan was at its peak back then, boasting a wealth of talented players, and they won the treble that season.
That season, the young Arnautovic didn't get many playing opportunities at Inter Milan, only making three substitute appearances and failing to gain any notable achievements.
While the treble is certainly on Arnautovic's list of honors, many of those titles were won by default.
Marko Arnautovic is eccentric and prone to making outrageous statements.
He put his arm around Chivu's shoulder, quietly pulled him aside, and then gestured with his lip towards Manchester City's starting Stones.
"Christian, I'm not trying to be mean, but I watched your game against Manchester United. That silly kid Stones got utterly bullied by Ibrahimovic. Today he's fallen for me, and I won't hold back either. I think that kind of guy doesn't deserve to play for Manchester City. You'd be better off playing for him; you'd definitely put Ibrahimovic in his place!"
Although he only worked with Arnautovic at Inter Milan for a year, Chivu still understands his younger teammate's personality.
Chivu wasn't annoyed; instead, he joked with Arnautovic.
"So, do you think I can stop you if I start as center-back today?"
Arnautovic laughed, threw his head back and laughed loudly, then patted his rock-hard chest, making a loud thumping sound.
"You're too old now, of course not! If it were you six or seven years ago, we could probably fight to a draw! To be honest, I'd really like to have a real fight with you as your opponent, rather than with that Stones."
Chivu said calmly, "Let me tell you, don't underestimate Stones. He's got a lot to do."
Arnautovic chuckled, gave Chivu a friendly middle finger, patted him on the head, and turned to walk away.
He didn't take Stones, this rookie, seriously at all.
However, to his surprise, just two minutes into the game, he suffered a setback at the hands of Stones, which enraged him so much that he pointed at the referee and yelled at him!