The Red Devils' revival starts with retaining Mourinho

Just as the players finished their first training session and returned to the locker room to wash up, Mike Donnelly, the chef of the restaurant at the Carrington Training Base, received relevant instructions.

This is also one of the important suggestions for the internal reform of the Carrington Training Base after Solskjaer became the club's sports director last season. Since the old Sir Alex Ferguson era, the buffet in the restaurant at the Carrington Training Base has always been open to all players and staff at the same time. The kitchen will prepare the meals at noon, and then the players and staff can start eating. At the peak, the number of people eating may be as high as 160; because in the eyes of old-school coaches such as Sir Alex Ferguson, this will make the players and staff feel a sense of belonging to the club. But in the eyes of Solskjaer, a sports director who was a player, such an arrangement is a bit upside down. Because in many cases, those players who participate in training may not come to eat until after 2 pm, when all the dishes are cold, and many dishes will lose nutrition if they are left for a long time or repeatedly heated; and for a club, it is precisely these players who need to eat well the most.

Solskjaer raised this question and received full support from club chairman Rowley. After communicating with head coach Mourinho and chef Mike Donnelly, they jointly decided: the restaurant buffet will remain open to all players and staff, but in order to allow all players participating in the training (including all echelons and youth training players in the Carrington training base) to eat nutritious hot meals as soon as possible after high-intensity training, the restaurant will customize meals according to the players' training arrangements and the menus formulated by nutritionists; for this reason, the Carrington training base has added two nutritionists and four chefs on the basis of the original one chef + four chefs.

After washing up, the players walked into the restaurant one after another. The restaurant was filled with the aroma of food, the tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and the lights were softly sprinkled, creating a warm and lively atmosphere.

As soon as Lu Kershaw and Marcus Rashford walked into the restaurant, they were stopped by the nutritionist. Because of their overweight, they were required to implement strict food control during this period. Seeing others heading towards the buffet area with a wide variety of food, they could only helplessly head towards the meals prepared specifically for them.

Lu Kershaw looked at the 100 grams of roast veal on the plate and muttered, "Oh, this is just a little bit of meat, it feels like it's not enough to fill my teeth." Marcus Rashford smiled and joked, "Brother, be content, at least there are 120 grams of salmon, which is healthy and delicious. Besides, we are doing this to run better on the court." As they talked, they sat down and started to move their chopsticks towards the fixed meal. First, they ate a bite of roast veal. The meat was tender and the roasting temperature was just right, but the amount really made them feel a little unsatisfied. Then they ate a bite of salmon. The fish meat was smooth and had a light ocean flavor. It was paired with three slices of yeast-free bread, which had a unique flavor. In addition, 250 grams of vegetables were used as side dishes. The colorful ones looked healthy. Finally, they ate a few bites of fresh fruit to supplement vitamins. Although the two were still complaining about the small amount, they knew that it was all for their own good, so they finished the meal obediently.

The other players happily ran to the buffet area. Theo Fernandez looked at the table filled with various dishes with his eyes lit up and said, "Wow, today's dishes look really rich." Raphael Varane responded with a smile, "Yeah, we have to replenish our energy." Harry Maguire had already picked up the plate and started to put his favorite food into it. He first picked up a large piece of roasted chicken leg. The skin of the roasted chicken leg was golden and crispy, exuding an enticing aroma. Then he scooped a spoonful of mashed potatoes. The delicate and soft mashed potatoes looked delicious. He also took some broccoli to make the combination of meat and vegetables on the plate more reasonable. While Ruben Dias was choosing food, he was discussing the training with Ashraf Hakimi next to him. Ashraf Hakimi smiled and said, "Don't worry about the training, fill your stomach first." Pepe also echoed, poured himself a bowl of steaming vegetable soup, took a sandwich, and sat at the table.

Diogo Dalot, Josh Gwadiol, Nico Williams and others also took their plates full of food and found a seat to sit down. The restaurant suddenly became lively. Everyone ate and talked, and laughed continuously.

At this time, Raphael Varane, Diogo Dalot, Pepe and other players talked about Ronaldo's abnormal diet.Raphael Varane said while chewing his food: "Do you remember Cristiano Ronaldo's diet? It's really strict to the extreme. It's almost all high-protein, low-fat food. Chicken breast, fish, vegetables and the like, those high-calorie foods are basically not touched." Diogo Dalot took over the conversation: "Yes, and I really admire his self-discipline. He follows the diet every day without fail. No wonder his physical condition can be maintained so well." Pepe also nodded, took a sip of the drink and said: "I heard that when he was in the team, Giggs and Neville supervised his diet a lot. It was so strict."

This immediately aroused the interest of Scott McTominay and Lee Grant. Scott McTominay swallowed the food in his mouth and talked excitedly: "Hey, let's talk about Speaking of supervision, I remember one particularly interesting incident. At that time, Cristiano Ronaldo was still the "Little Ronaldo" of the team, and he was still a stubborn Portuguese teenager. He probably really wanted the carbonated drink, and took advantage of the fact that Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, who were supervising him, were not paying attention, and secretly took a can of carbonated drink and was about to drink it. As a result, Ryan Giggs's eyes were sharp, and he found it immediately, and rushed over and pressed him against the wall to "teach him a lesson", haha. "Lee Grant also smiled and added: "But, that kid is also very competitive. In the subsequent league, he actually performed his first hat trick at Old Trafford, which surprised everyone. I guess he was holding back his energy." The players around laughed when they heard it, and everyone was attracted by this interesting past. Alejandro Ganaccio, Charlie Wellens, Dyson Bernard, Ethan Whitley, Kobe Menou and other youth players who were sitting not far away had already stood up to get carbonated drinks. After hearing the story told by the elder brothers, they looked at each other and unconsciously put the cups in their hands back to their original places.

Alejandro Ganaccio stuck out his tongue and said, "Oh, let's not drink it. If the coach sees it, I guess I will be scolded. We must learn from Cristiano Ronaldo and be more self-disciplined." Charlie Wellens also smiled and nodded, "Yes, he is so powerful and so self-disciplined. We can't indulge ourselves." Several people sat down again and continued to eat obediently.

Juan Mata and Scott McTominay sat together. Juan Mata smiled and said, "These stories have become the precious wealth of our Manchester United. They are passed down from generation to generation, and the younger brothers will know how hard the predecessors worked." Scott McTominay agreed, "Yes, this also inspires us to be more strict with ourselves. After all, we wear Manchester United jerseys and we must live up to this honor." Declan Rice was discussing tactical issues with Vitinia Ferreira while eating. Declan Rice said, "I think we need to strengthen the interception in the midfield in the next game. We can't let the opponent pass through our defense easily." Vitinia Ferreira nodded and said, "Yes, yes, and when we attack, we must improve the accuracy of the pass and try to create more threatening opportunities." The two talked seriously and didn't care about eating properly. Cody Gakpo looked at Edinson Cavani and joked, "Brother Cavani, the way you eat shows that you are very satisfied with the food." Edinson Cavani laughed and said, "Of course, after training, it's the most delicious time to eat. Only when you are full will you have the strength to continue fighting." Marcus Rashford also finished his controlled meal at this time. He walked over and sat down and said, "Brother Cavani, you have to teach me how to stay in good shape. I still have to work hard to lose weight." Edinson Cavani patted him on the shoulder and said, "There is no special trick. Just control your mouth, move your legs, and eat a lot. Be more self-disciplined in class and work harder in training, and there will be no problem. "

Erling Haaland also has a good appetite. His plate is full. He talks to Jamal Musiala beside him while eating: "The food in this base tastes pretty good, and the nutrition is balanced, which is very helpful for us to recover our physical strength." Jamal Musiala smiled and responded: "Yes, I feel full of energy every time I finish eating. I have to perform well in the afternoon training later."

Mason Greenwood, Adam Hlozek, Michael Olise and others also said in their own small circles.There were smiles, sharing interesting things in training, or discussing the next game arrangement. Reece Bennett looked at the lively and harmonious scene in the restaurant and said with emotion: "It's great to be in Manchester United. It feels like everyone is like a family, training together, eating together, and working hard for victory together." Alvaro Fernandez Carreras also nodded and said: "Yes, this atmosphere is so likable. I hope we can keep it up and achieve more good results together."

Daniel Gore and Florian Wirtz, two young players, listened curiously to the stories of the old players, their eyes full of longing, as if they saw the glorious years of Manchester United along the way, and they were full of expectations for their future days here.

Just when everyone was chatting enthusiastically, the restaurant staff came over to remind everyone that the break time was about to end, and they couldn't be late for the afternoon training. The players got up one after another, packed up their plates, and walked out of the restaurant with full energy and expectations for the next training and game. The restaurant at the Carrington training base temporarily returned to calm.