On November 30, in the fifth round, League Cup and Manchester United challenged West Ham United in an away game.
Ferguson sent a full substitute lineup: goalkeeper Kuszczak; defenders: Fabio, Evans, Smalling, O'Shea; Midfield: Gibson, Carrick, Fletcher; Frontcourt: Park Ji-sung, Owen, Macheda.
Zhang Kuang, Rooney, and Berbatov all take turns.
As a result, Manchester United 0-4 was defeated by West Ham United and was eliminated from League Cup.
After the game, Ferguson said at the press conference, "I rotate to protect the players. It is really disappointing that League Cup is out, but the season is very long, and we still have Premier League and UEFA Champions League to play."
The media did not criticize it heavily. After all, Manchester United's performance in Premier League and UEFA Champions League was too strong. Losing League Cup was nothing.
But some people on the Internet still joke:
"Manchester United: We rotated our main team and lost 0-4."
"Zhang Kuang, Rooney, Berba: We were watching the game at home, and then we found out that the team lost 0-4. Should we save it?"
"Is this the difference between having a trident and not having a trident?"
"Ferguson: League Cup? What is that? In my eyes I only know Premier League and UEFA Champions League, at most one Football Association Cup."
"Ferguson: No, it's because we have won too much this month, and we need to lose one game to balance the team's luck. We are too invincible at the beginning, and sometimes we cannot have the last laugh, so, League Cup, give up."
"..."
Zhang Kuang also took advantage of the lack of competition in the past few days to summon the naturalized Shane·Lowry, Cris·Kang, and Josh·Chen, Chow Ting-yang, Jack·Xu and others gathered together at Paris, mainly to get to know each other, and then rented a training ground, where they all went on the field to have some exchanges.
Not only are each other familiar with each other's abilities, but also the team invited by Zhang Kuang to see how they have improved after the team formulated relevant training plans.
After the test, Zhang Kuang is quite satisfied. He knows the level of the members of the strong team Asia. There is an Park Ji-sung in the Manchester United team, Lee Chung-yong of Bolton, Australia of Everton and the international Cahill, etc.
Ligue 1 had previously played against Japan national footballer Daisuke Matsui, and later also played against Park Yong-woo from Monaco.
Therefore, he has a clear idea of what the Asia strong team is, because after trying out the strengths of Shane, Cris, Josh, and Chow Ting-yang, he found that although these players are not at the top level, their levels are actually not very different from those of Asia's international players traveling in Europe.
After a few practices and a year or two of improvement, their level should be almost the same as that of the international players from these Asia countries.
This greatly increased Zhang Kuang's confidence.
Although he hopes that the level of the whole team can reach the level of a strong team, it is obvious that this idea is too ambitious at this stage, and the best way is to stabilize the central axis first.
Everyone trained together for three days. Fortunately, they were not the absolute main players of their team, and the team did not force them to participate in any games, so they had time to spend three days with Zhang Kuang.
He also brought these people together to accept joint interviews with Hong Kong Oriental Daily News, Wen Wei Po, Ming Pao and other media on December 1.
The interview location was arranged in the reception room of a football training base in Paris. Several people from Zhang Kuang sat together in front of a round sofa, with a bottle of water and a stack of information in front of them.
Zhang Kuang spoke first, "Let's get started, just ask."
The reporter asked, "Mr. Zhang Kuang, your performance in Manchester United shocked the world. Do you think you are the best player in the world now?"
Zhang Kuang was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "This question is a bit difficult to answer. After all, what is the so-called best standard? Everyone has different ideas.
I just try my best to do my best in every game. As for whether I am the best in the world, this question is left to others to evaluate."
Reporter: "But your information does exceed that of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 18 goals in the 15th round of La Liga, Messi scored 13 goals, and you scored 31 goals in the 15th round of Premier League. What do you think of this comparison?"
Zhang Kuang said, "Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are both great players. There is a lot worth learning from their careers. Information is only one aspect. Football is not just about goals and assists.
And..." He paused and looked more serious, "The tactical environments of Premier League and La Liga are different, so direct comparison of the data is not fair."
Reporter: "Do you think you can win this year's Golden Boy Award?"
Zhang Kuang was silent for two seconds. "If I said I didn't want to take it, it would be a lie. But Golden Boy Award is not something I can decide on my own. All I can decide is: score goals in every game and help the team win. For the rest, let nature take its course."
Reporter: "What about Ballon d'Or?"
Zhang Kuang: "Ah? That's too far away. I definitely won't have a chance this year. Let's talk about what happens after next year. I can only say that I will work hard on this. Whether I can succeed or not is beyond my control."
Reporter: "Zhang Kuang, you disappointed the fans by giving up Hong Kong Team's last game Asian Qualifiers. What do you think about this?"
Zhang Kuang: "To be honest, you have also seen that my competition schedule in Manchester United is quite full, and I have very few opportunities to practice together with Hong Kong Team.
If Hong Kong Team can advance to the competition if he wins, or there is a competition with great hope in the future, I will definitely participate.
However, the last Asian Qualifiers is a game in which Hong Kong Team will be eliminated regardless of winning or losing, so it doesn't make much sense for me to participate. In fact, I would rather represent Hong Kong Team with a new schedule and appearance, so next year's World Cup qualifiers is the time for us to perform."
Zhang Kuang said, pointing to several new teammates of Hong Kong Team.
Reporter: "How sure are you about World Cup qualifiers? Is it the top ten competition? Or is it World Cup's qualifications? Do you think your current teammates can achieve the goals you envision?"
Zhang Kuang: "That must be World Cup's qualification. To be honest, China National Team's failure to participate in World Cup is not only a loss for China people, but also a loss for World Cup.
Therefore, our goal has always been to qualify for World Cup. As for the strength of the teammates you mentioned, after practicing for half a year and a year, they are almost on par with the main force of the strong Asia team, and even feel slightly stronger.
As for the strength of Hong Kong's local players, I haven't practiced with them yet and don't know yet. However, I believe their level will not be too bad. After all, they sometimes performed well when playing against Asia's strong teams."
Reporter: "Shane, how did you come up with the idea of joining Hong Kong Team? Is it because of the joint persuasion of Mr. Zhang Kuang and Mr. He Qigang?"
Shane: "Of course, there is a reason for their persuasion. In addition, there is also a reason for my career plan. As a football player, who doesn't want to stand on the stage of World Cup? Since there is such an opportunity, why not?
The other most important reason is the call of blood. I am Chinese and I should contribute when I have the opportunity to represent the Chinese team in World Cup."
Reporter: "So do you think Hong Kong Team has a chance? Or do you have confidence in Hong Kong Team in the future?"
Shane: "Of course, as long as Hong Kong Team is formed based on Zhang Kuang, and Zhang Kuang maintains a good competitive state in the future, then he can participate in at least four World Cup.
Coupled with the eclectic selection of Hong Kong Team and the selection method based on Chinese people all over the world, we will surely be able to slowly build a super strong Hong Kong Team to represent the Chinese."
Reporter: "Are you attracted by the two strategies of having Zhang Kuang as the core for the next four seasons and selecting Chinese football talents from all over the world?"
Shane: "This is a big reason. Whether there are superstars as the cornerstone, and whether there is the most attractive team formation idea in the future, this is the basis for judging whether a national team can succeed.
Obviously, Hong Kong Team currently has both factors, so I believe Hong Kong Team can be successful, and I also hope to contribute my personal strength to it."
Reporter: "Jack, you are now the main player in A-League, you..."
Next, the reporters interviewed several naturalized players one by one, and the interview results were quite satisfactory to them. They described the several naturalized players summoned by Zhang Kuang at Paris as 'the team training of Hong Kong Team players in Europe when Zhang Kuang was free', which meant that Zhang Kuang led several players in Europe to train on their own at Europe.
When several interviews and videos appeared on Hong Kong's media, the entire East Asia and Southeast Asia were in a frenzy.
Because all fans have felt one thing from these people: Hong Kong Team is currently on the right path to building a strong team.
With superstars as the cornerstone, good team building ideas, and enthusiastic support from Chinese people all over the world, it seems that Hong Kong Team will become the light of the Chinese people soon.
(Online discussions are too stimulating and should not be shown. They are indeed quite divisive.)
"..."
In addition to the interview on December 1st, on December 5th, after returning to Manchester, Zhang Kuang accepted a group interview with Europe media.
This is an opportunity that Zhang Kuang finally got after several media applications to Zhang Kuang's agency and Manchester United club.
Yes, it's that complicated.
Many clubs are like this. Players cannot be interviewed privately without the permission of the club.
Even the pre-match press conference, post-match mixed zone, and official interviews with broadcasters all need to be audited by the club.
Of course, these are only in principle. In fact, sometimes the management is loose. As long as the players do not cause trouble and are occasionally blocked by the media and have to respond with a few words, generally clubs and agencies will not be held accountable.
Of course, some stars also have some privileges.
For example, like Zhang Kuang, Ferguson gave him privileges and allowed him to build momentum for himself in public opinion. This was one of the conditions when Zhang Kuang signed the contract.
Why are there these privileges?
It's very simple. Stars sometimes not only need to use their performance on the court, but also need to create momentum in public opinion. Especially China players like Zhang Kuang. If they don't create momentum in public opinion, it will be difficult to increase their popularity.
If you perform very well on the court but are dull in the media, the media will label you as a 'boring gourd', a 'robot under an oppressive system', a 'tool man of backward civilization', etc. Then you will be greatly discounted in the hearts of fans, and even some people who vote will have a very bad impression of you.
This is why Zhang Kuang is so active in front of the media, and Ferguson actually acquiesces to this behavior.
He has lived for more than 70 years, how can he not understand the biases of the Western media? Ferguson has never been a biased person. If he was a biased person, he would not have played Park Ji-sung for so many years, nor would he have signed Eastern players like Dong Fangzhuo and Zhang Kuang.
Zhang Kuang was interviewed by many media from Europe in Manchester DoubleTree by Hilton Swinton. The content of the interviews can be said to be quite rich.
"Marca" reporter. "Zhang, you scored 31 league goals in 15 rounds, and UEFA Champions League scored 10 goals in 4 rounds. It has far exceeded the data of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Why are you ahead of them? Is it easier for Premier League to score goals in the league? Or is his technical level better than the two of them?"
Zhang Kuang smiled. It was too obvious for this reporter to dig this hole. Do you think he was one of Europe's vulgar players with no education level?
Zhang Kuang: "Messi Cristiano Ronaldo are all great players. My data exceeds theirs. This is just 15 rounds of data. When the season is over, our data comparison will not be so exaggerated.
As for why my information is so good, I believe Cristiano Ronaldo has more say. After all, he has played against Premier League. He understands whether Premier League scores better or La Liga scores better.
As for Messi, he has been in La Liga and Barcelona and is unfamiliar with outside clubs and leagues. Therefore, no one knows what kind of information he would have if he were in other leagues or clubs.
Therefore, this has little to do with the league. As for whether it is due to technical reasons, I believe that many football experts around the world have already analyzed it, and I have also seen relevant analysis.
I think some of the analysis is accurate. Technically, Messi is more talented, and Cristiano Ronaldo is a talent + hard worker type. My skills can only be said to be okay, but my advantage lies in physical ability.
I have better skills, but my physical ability is much stronger than the two of them, which is why I have more goalscoring data."
Reporter: "Which one do you prefer, Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi?"
Zhang Kuang: "Everyone likes it. Messi plays football like a dancing elf, very dexterous and pleasing to the eye. Cristiano Ronaldo, he is my idol. I like his hard work, never admitting defeat, fighting every second, and having super self-control."
You know what? I admire him very much for his determination to eat boiled food every day in order to improve himself. If it were me, I couldn't do it. My daily food must be made by my Chinese chef, or I must cook it myself. I will not treat my stomach badly. I like delicious food.
Of course, the reason why I can do this is because of my special talent. Whatever I eat will not have bad effects on my body, only good effects.
Other players must not do this, it will only ruin you, and you need to learn more from Cristiano Ronaldo."
Reporter: "Cristiano Ronaldo is your idol? But your information now exceeds that of your idol."
Zhang Kuang spread his arms. "But this does not mean that he is not my idol. As I said just now, I admire his spirit and characteristics, not just his ability to score goals.
Moreover, I think Cristiano Ronaldo's current information is not very good, mainly because he has not found a good method yet, and the other reason is that the tactics are not suitable for him."
Reporter: "You mentioned tactics just now. What kind of tactics do you think are suitable for his performance?"
Zhang Kuang: "I know that Mourinho likes to de-privilege the stars and rejects individualism outside the system. He not only needs the abilities of the stars, but also hopes that the players can become robots that execute his tactics.
But in fact, Guardiola is also a so-called star-less coach, but he built a tactical system around Messi at Barcelona, which made him successful.
If he leaves Messi and goes to another team, he will definitely not be so successful. Unless he goes to a team with talented players like Messi and then builds tactics around that player, he will embrace success again.
In fact, Sir Ferguson is the one who does a good job at this point. He is the head coach who can build core tactics around the stars without letting the stars overly influence the team.
For example, his most successful period was the Beckham period, and the Cristiano Ronaldo period, followed by the Zhang Kuang period. And Cristiano Ronaldo is now facing such a dilemma. He needs the head coach to build a system around him, so that he can be the most complete version of himself, otherwise he is not now."
The reporters were shocked.
Zhang Kuang knows that what he said is not without purpose, because the real peak period of Cristiano Ronaldo is the Zidane period.
Zidane took Cristiano Ronaldo as the core and built a set of overall tactics around Cristiano Ronaldo. Then Real Madrid directly came to UEFA Champions League for three consecutive championships, creating a miracle for global clubs and becoming the only achievement of the five major leagues.
It can be seen how important this tactic is.
And when Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, Zidane's system completely collapsed. Zidane also left the position of head coach. After that, Real Madrid's dominance declined rapidly.
It wasn't until Ancelotti arrived that Real Madrid regained the ability to capture UEFA Champions League.
Similarly, Guardiola left Superstar. He does have the ability to lead the team to dominate the league, but it is difficult to get UEFA Champions League.
It was not until 2023 that he relied on the superstar Haaland to regain UEFA Champions League. This is the fact. In 2021, he led Manchester City to lose to Chelsea 0:1 in the final. What was the reason? No superstar stood up at the critical moment.
Of course, it doesn't mean that you can't win UEFA Champions League without a superstar. There are also many teams that can win UEFA Champions League without a superstar. It just means that the dominance is not strong, and luck is a big factor.
Reporter: "Zhang, do you know the impact of what you said?"
Zhang Kuang: "Of course I know. I just feel that Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out. In fact, he should not have transferred. Manchester United is not necessarily worse than Real Madrid. If he stayed at Manchester United, he would have at least got the second UEFA Champions League or the second Ballon d'Or.
Of course, I'm not criticizing Real Madrid's previous coach, nor Mourinho's tactics. In fact, Mourinho is a top master, but he doesn't know how to use superstars."