Super Coach

Among the teams I have coached, no team has ever succeeded by relying solely on transfers!

Outside the balcony of the top-floor coffee shop of the Park Lake Hotel on the shores of Lake Garda, under a parasol, Yang Cheng faced Canalis, who was sitting opposite him, and talked about his transfer strategy.

At a time when Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Arsenal have begun to announce an arms race, Liverpool has not made much movement in the transfer market. This can't help but make people worry about Liverpool's prospects for the new season.

According to statistics from the English media, Yang Cheng's first team still has 25 people, which can only be regarded as average among Premier League teams, and the training team he brought to Italy only has 30 people, 5 of whom are from Kirkby youth training. The young players in the camp are Walcott, Gareth Bale and Andy Carroll, as well as two players who were not famous in their previous lives but performed very well.

In other words, Liverpool's first team will not make much action this season. At best, they will promote some players from the second team and will not sign as aggressively as other teams.

Since I took over Liverpool, I have formulated a detailed plan. In the first season, we spent the most money, reorganized the team, and introduced a group of very capable players; in the second season , we spent a lot less money, and it was more about introductions to address the shortcomings of certain positions in the team.”

In my understanding, there is absolutely no need for an arms race, and stacking up stars is never a long-term strategy. I think more about the technical and tactical needs of our team. When I took over Liverpool, I and I David Morse has discussed that my contract is for three years, and in the last year, we may not need to buy a single player.

Speaking of this, Yang Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

You are recognized in football today as a head coach who takes the least money but can bring the greatest benefits to the team. You have also achieved success in small teams and wealthy teams. Many people want to know, Do you have any coaching secrets?”

No! Yang Cheng shook his head, If I insist on saying yes, it is because I love this sport, so I can devote myself to this career. Although for many people, playing football and coaching are two different things. Work, but for me, it’s not just work, it’s also my greatest interest and pleasure.”

Have you ever thought about what you would do if one day you stopped coaching?

It's too far away. I haven't considered it yet. I'm only 33 years old! Yang Cheng said with a smile.

Canalis was stunned for a moment before she noticed that Yang Cheng was 33 years old.

I still remember the first time I met Yang Cheng,

How old is he?

23. Yes, he was 23 years old that year and was the youngest head coach in the German Professional League.

In the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.

He no longer has the energy and childishness of ten years ago. He is now more sophisticated and stable, and he also has a lot of charm that belongs to a mature man, especially in his speech and behavior. A charming temperament.

Never thought about it? Canalis asked.

Opposite her and Yang Cheng was a camera, and the staff were filming the entire interview process.

No! Yang Cheng shook his head, I rarely plan distant things. I am a very casual person.

Many people say that your success is full of chance. What do you think? Canalis asked again.

I admit it! Yang Cheng nodded, I am the lucky one. At least he is the only time traveler in the world.

But if you think luck = success, it is undoubtedly the idea of ​​​​some losers. I think I am lucky because I became the head coach of a team by chance, but I do not think my success is accidental. , because of the hard work I put in.”

This answer neither makes people feel proud nor demeans themselves, which is very good.

Previously at the ceremony where Collina announced his retirement, French legendary star Platini said in an interview with reporters that Liverpool's victory was full of chance and he did not think there was any possibility that Liverpool could successfully defend the title. What do you think about this? Is there any response to that?

Yang Cheng smiled and shook his head, No response!

After a pause, Yang Cheng said: On this planet, there are a lot of sensational topics involving me every day. For example, Barcelona's Laborta recently said that he asked to buy Gerrard, but I know very well in my heart. , this is a deliberate hype on his part, because he simply can’t give that much money. What can a poor guy buy? Platini is the same. I don’t have the spare time to deal with this group of people. I care more about mine. team.

Canalis liked seeing Yang Cheng's confident look and nodded with a smile, The last question, I believe, is what many female football fans want to ask, that is, do we have time to have dinner together tonight? ? After saying that, she laughed herself.

Yang Cheng nodded, But we have to wait until 20 o'clock!

It was obvious that although their conversation was about eating, the profound meaning was not just about eating.

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After the interview, the filming team also specially followed and filmed Liverpool's training camp. Yang Cheng gave them 10 minutes of filming time. After 10 minutes, they had to leave the training ground.

According to the plan discussed by Yang Cheng with Tim Hanke and Chris Schmidt, in the first week in Italy, the team will focus on physical reserve training, with the purpose of strengthening the players' physical reserves in order to Help them cope with the busy season ahead.

The second week is about physical strengthening and technical and tactical coordination complementing each other. The third week is about focusing on the team's technical and tactical coordination and overall tactical drills. After all, Liverpool players have been working with each other for so long, so in terms of technical and tactical aspects No need to spend too much time anymore.

The team's main lineup is actually very strong, with Drogba's impact, Ronaldinho and Robben's ability to penetrate deep and attack from the wing, Gerrard's strength on both offense and defense, and Carrick's passing organization. And scheduling, the only trouble is Davis.

The Dutchman suffered many injuries, his physical fitness dropped a lot, and his condition was relatively average. Yang Cheng began to focus on using Essien as the main force. Although the Ghanaian's performance was good, he was still somewhat far behind Davis.

However, it is inevitable that Essien will replace Davis, because Davis is already 32 years old. When there are many injuries, it is difficult to say whether his condition is good or not. On the contrary, Essien is stronger and more reliable. .

For Plan B, Yang Cheng is more considering using double midfielders, with a forward-penetrating central midfielder, two wingers and a center in front. In the central midfielder position, Ashavin, Ribery, Murphy , Gerrard are all qualified, and there are still many candidates, not to mention wingers and forwards.

In the defensive midfielder position, Hamann, Essien, Aarau Diarra, Davis and others are all qualified. Even Gerrard can play this position, and it is very convenient to use.

Since Essien is to be promoted to the main position, his technical characteristics must be integrated into Liverpool's tactical system.

The Ghanaian is very strong, has excellent one-on-one defense, is very capable of chasing back to cover positions, and is also very active in counterattacking on the spot. Coupled with his devastating physical fitness, he is almost Davis's The natural successor, and both of them have equally bad sense of position.

One was born on the wing and the other was born as a full-back. It's strange that he has good positional sense!

But to carve out Essien, it is not necessary to carve out his sense of position. Although this also needs to be strengthened, this kind of thing depends more on comprehension. On the contrary, running without the ball and supporting can be strengthened in training. .

Therefore, at the training ground on the shores of Lake Garda, you can often hear Yang Cheng blowing the whistle to stop training, and then criticizing Essien's running, because many times, the Ghanaian's running is unnecessary and can even be said to be stupid.

In addition to giving guidance on the training ground, Yang Cheng also asked Chris to film the training and recorded a video, which specifically singled out the problems with Essien's running and pointed out some mistakes and Make corrections and let Ghanaians take them back to see.

In fact, video can help players improve their skills and awareness. This is a bit like football players watching games. The more they watch and the more they think, the more they will be able to understand some technical and tactical aspects more deeply.

The biggest fear is that some players don't like watching videos at all.

For example, Didier Drogba's shooting skills are not progressing quickly. In fact, it has something to do with his insufficient investment in this area. There is also an issue with his physical fitness. After all, his body is too strong, and his ball feel and foot feel are not good enough. was affected.

Last season, Yang Cheng recorded all the problems that the team encountered during the game in his notebook, and then made targeted improvements when preparing for the new season.

Of course, Yang Cheng's favorite small field training is indispensable in every training session.

From Germany to Serie A and then to the Premier League, Yang Cheng has never changed his strong interest in small-field confrontations.

3 vs. 3, 4 vs. 4, 5 vs. 5, 7 vs. 7... playing in small venues in different ways every day. The intensity of a small venue match can often make players lie down on the grass so tired that they almost can't get up.

Moreover, this kind of small-field confrontation has a fast pace, which requires players to improve their awareness of ball handling. The coordination of passing and receiving must be quick and reasonable. The players' running support must also be quick and in place, which can train players in all aspects on the court. Ball handling ability and reaction when faced with pressing situations.

After the 15-minute small-field confrontation ended and the winner was decided, half of the Liverpool players walked over one by one, lay down in front of the goal, took off their jerseys, and exposed their buttocks.

The one player in the one-on-one matchup would take the ball, put it on the penalty spot, and shoot them in the butt with the ball.

Sometimes you will hear a bang, which must be the ball hitting Bai Huahua's butt. Sometimes you will not hear it. Even if the ball enters the net, as long as it does not hit the butt, the person who shot the ball will have to line up. At the back of the queue, there is a naked butt waiting.

This is a game in the Liverpool neighborhood, but this game is actually very interesting. It not only gives some rewards and penalties to small-field competitions, promotes players to invest in training, but also can train players' penalty kick abilities.

Carragher's penalty kick in the Champions League final relied on his usual training.

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After the day's training, Yang Cheng led the coaching staff to the hotel. It was very close, just a few steps away.

There are always some Italian football players waiting for autographs outside the training ground. Many of them come to block Yang Cheng. Some even come from Milan. Yang Cheng always takes the trouble to sign autographs and take photos with each of them. Just left.

After seeing off the ball, Ian Rush, who was waiting in the distance, came over.

Seeing you so busy, I feel so happy! Ian Rush said with a smile.

Yang Cheng shook his head and smiled, heading towards the hotel. He was now thinking about going to the hotel's one-day swimming pool for a good dip, and then going to Canalis' room at night. He didn't want to think about anything else. .

Valencia just sent us a fax of an offer! Ian Rush said.

Yang Cheng frowned, Are we interested in any of their players?

No, but they are undergoing a major purge. When the new coach takes over, he will definitely have to go under the knife. Did you know? Their first team has as many as 43 people. Oh my God! Ian Rush was stunned.

Yang Cheng found it unbelievable. How big of a salary burden would this be?

They are cleaning up and hope to bring in some suitable players. They have completed three transfers so far. They brought in Miguel from Benfica, and Arsenal and Newcastle got Edu and Kluivert for free. Now they urgently need a new player. He is a winger, but he needs to sell the previous players in the team.

What about? Yang Cheng continued to walk forward.

Mohamed Sissoko, a player you are rumored to admire very much!

Yang Cheng was stunned when he heard this, stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and finally couldn't help laughing and scolding, Bullshit!

He has never taken a fancy to this player. Although Sissoko's defense is indeed pretty good, he is really not what Yang Cheng likes. And there is currently a player in the Liverpool team who cannot lose to Sissoko. Arrau Diarra, this was the French captain later, how could he be inferior in strength?

As for the defensive midfielder, Essien, Hamann, and Davis will not lose to Sissoko. Why should he sacrifice the near and far?

It's just media rumors! Ian Rush was also helpless about this.

Liverpool's price tag for Sissoko is 8 million euros. I heard that Subilac really wants to get Zaragoza's head striker David Villa, but they need to sell Sissoko in exchange for a Spanish striker. Transfer fee.

David Villa? Of course it is impossible for Yang Cheng not to have heard of this name, Spain's top scorer in the future.

Yes, a Spanish striker who has emerged in the past two years moved to Zaragoza from Sporting Gijon in the Spanish Second Division in 2003. The transfer fee was only 1.5 million euros, but in the past two seasons, he has been in Zaragoza. The performance has been outstanding, the goals have been scored, and the transfer fee has soared 10 times.

There are rumors that Real Madrid is also very optimistic about this striker. After a pause, Ian Rush smiled: Just because he led Zaragoza to defeat Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey and also scored a goal , so Real Madrid also wants him.

Real Madrid's transfer strategy has been adjusted this season. The players they introduced are basically not very famous but very good stars or rookies, so they will take a fancy to Villa. This shouldn't be surprising, after all, Real Madrid currently does not have Ronaldo, Owen has switched to Newcastle, and the forward line does need reinforcements.

Liverpool's current forward line is also very strong. He doesn't think that Villa will be able to compete with Drogba and Larsson for positions. At best, he will compete with Kuyt for the thickness of the bench, but it will cost more than a thousand He feels that it is not cost-effective to spend 10,000 euros to introduce a third or even fourth forward.

On the contrary, it is Valencia's general manager Subilac, who is a very outstanding manager.

In Spain, there are not many managers who are worthy of excellence. Subilac is one of them, and the other one is Sevilla's Miracle. Both of them have successively created the bat army and the Sevilla youth army. Brilliance belongs to rare talents.

Of course, Yang Cheng felt that he should get to know such an awesome person if he had the chance.

Tell Rick Parry that we are not interested in getting involved in La Liga's transfer competition. We don't need Sissoko! Yang Cheng told Ian Rush, and then walked into the hotel door.

He really has no interest at all in the so-called arms race.

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Liverpool trained in Lake Garda for a week before heading to nearby Brescia.

This veteran team in Serie A suffered the misfortune of being relegated last season. Almost all the top stars in the team left. The team's overall combat effectiveness dropped sharply. However, because it is closest to Lake Garda, and Going to Liverpool was hoping to get familiar with the rhythm of the game through a game, so I played a warm-up match with the opponent in Brescia.

In the first half, Liverpool sent out all its main players. Although the players were severely tired after a week of hard physical reserve training, the absolute advantage in strength allowed the Red Army to easily control the advantage on the court, and with the help of Ronaldinho and Ronaldo Goals from Ben and Gerrard gave the home team a 3-0 lead.

In the second half, Yang Cheng made a large-scale substitution, changing almost all the main lineup except Drogba. As a result, the Ivorian seemed to have his self-esteem damaged. He scored with his first shot in the first minute of the second half. Yes, it is so efficient.

As he wished, Yang Cheng replaced Drogba with Kuyt, and then joked that Drogba's shot was rare, which made the Ivorian almost die of embarrassment.

The entire warm-up match ended with 5:1. Brescia scored at the last minute, but Liverpool did not show their best form. Otherwise, they might have been able to gain a bigger victory.

After this game, the team returned to the hotel on the shores of Lake Garda overnight to prepare to continue training. Their next game is in nearby Verona, a week later, and there is still plenty of time to prepare.

The opponents in the first two warm-up matches were not strong, but the next opponents were relatively strong, namely Parma, Marseille and Lyon. Then the team will return to Liverpool to prepare for the Community Shield.

After playing the first warm-up match, Yang Cheng did not return to the hotel with the team, but took the time to go to his villa on the shores of Lake Como. ! .