The Young Lion

On August 14, 1998, the new season of the Premier League kicked off.

Millwall visits Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the league.

Before the start of the game, the players returned to the locker room after warming up. The starters and the substitutes were all in the locker room, waiting for Aldridge's lecture.

Aldridge was as elegant and chic as ever. He looked around the room, looked at the expressions of each player, and then said lightly: This season, we must bring the league championship back to the Lion's Den Stadium. This is my compliment to you guys. The request is also a request to oneself.

The players listened with serious expressions and nodded consciously.

Aldridge continued: The outside world says that Millwall's strength has declined. I don't think so. Although some of you did not play in the Champions League last season, it does not mean that all our success is achieved by 11 main players. , We are a team, with only 11 players, no matter how good they are, it is impossible to create great achievements! Players who will get more opportunities in the new season, I hope you will put all your attention on the court and put your Show your best side, and old players like Gareth, I hope you can set an example for young people, work hard, forget what kind of honor you have won, don't stop chasing victory, in your heart We must have a firm belief: we are far from the peak, far from it! I have the confidence to continue to create brilliance with you, but this also requires you to have the same confidence and show it to me with actions!

Southgate smiled and said: Boss, don't worry, the taste of being a champion is like a drug, which makes people addicted!

Nedved also nodded and said: Yes, we will fight until the day we can't kick!

The young Ronaldinho touched his nose and said softly, Me too.

Other players expressed their positions one after another, as if they had issued a military order, the atmosphere in the locker room gradually increased, and morale suddenly increased.

Aldridge looked around again and said: Okay, go to the game with the temperament of a champion. Tell everyone that Millwall is the biggest favorite for the league championship. No matter who doubts, we will fight back with action!

After saying that, Aldridge walked out of the locker room first, and walked into the stadium along the player tunnel.

When he appeared, the live camera was immediately on him. There is no doubt that he is now the hottest Premier League manager, except for his jaw-dropping record. The image of the England coach himself also made him receive more attention.

The first round of the new Premier League season is about to start. Andy. What do you think of Millwall's prospects for the new season?

I think the most important thing is the performance of several players,

Whether they play well will determine the fate of Millwall this season. I think the first important person is the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will replace Trezeguet. As a center forward, his task is to score goals. This criterion makes him have to score more goals than last season in order to ensure Millwall's offensive firepower. The second is Ronaldinho. Judging from Hall's formation, he was placed on the left winger position, and Larson moved to the right. Through the observation of few games last season, I found that he It is obviously different from Shevchenko's characteristics. Shevchenko doesn't stick to the ball, he passes it when it is time to pass, and he will make an air cut as soon as it is time to move, but Ronaldinho is more like a midfielder, he likes to take the ball. He likes to use his personal ability to tear apart the opponent's defense in the frontcourt. Looking at it individually, he is a very good player. However, in the past four years, Millwall has always emphasized the overall team. Can the Brazilian compete with Nedved, Lal The combination of core players such as Sen and Pirlo will be the key to affecting the quality of Millwall's offense. As for Henry, who was transferred for 10 million pounds, we haven't watched his Premier League games, so we can't comment for the time being.

Hall has already uttered bold words. This season is to regain the league championship lost last season. Do you think his remarks will put pressure on the players?

There must be pressure, and this group of players also needs pressure. Like Southgate and Makelele, they have won the league championship, the Champions League championship, and they have the club's two highest honors. At this time, the head coach must issue a death order. Going for what will keep them motivated, what will the players think if, as in past years, Hall keeps a low profile and thinks Millwall is not the biggest favorite, which in turn will damage morale? We are already European champions Are you still not as good as other teams in the local league? Set a goal and work together as a team. Although Millwall can’t be said to bring the old to the new, the team has young strength injected into it. Hall Young people also need to be motivated.”

It seems that Hall's diplomatic rhetoric has a clear purpose, so we will wait and see how the new Champions League champion will perform in the new season.

Players from both sides began to enter the field, and Millwall's main formation is still 433 from last season.

Goalkeeper: Bout.

Defenders: Schneider, Materazzi, Southgate, Zambrotta.

Midfield: Makelele, Pirlo, Nedved.

Forwards: Larsson, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho.

The formation is still the same, but the style of play must be changed, because the personal characteristics of the players are different, especially Ronaldinho on the offensive end. It is impossible for Aldridge to let him replicate Shevchenko's role in the winger position. It is not an exaggeration to say that because Ronaldinho has entered the main lineup, the focus of Aldrich's summer preparations for the team is to tailor a new tactical system for him.

Sheffield Wednesday is not a strong team. The middle and lower level teams are at their home court and the new season has just started. They don't need to play bus tactics yet, but their posture must be defensive.

When the game started, Aldridge stood on the sidelines with a solemn face.

Even though last season was a great success, at the beginning of the new season, his work is even more arduous than at the beginning of last season, and it is not easy to command the team on the spot. He needs to observe and improve the performance of the team's new lineup in the game. See every drop clearly.

Millwall played a wave of fast breaks at the beginning. Zambrotta rushed along the left flank. Along the way, he made two twos and ones with Makelele and Ronaldinho. Nistruy failed to grab the point, and the ball that was cleared fell to Pirlo's feet. He pierced the opponent's defense line with another exquisite through ball. Larson got the ball from the right and volleyed directly. At the goalside net, unfortunately no score.

Millwall seems to be in good shape for the new season, but Larsson has switched from the left to the right, and his shooting feels a bit worse. If he cuts in on the left, in the same position, he has scored many wonderful goals. The ball, although this kick is not ugly, but it is not up to par.

Xie Wednesday's offense can only rely on long passes, because the level of the players is obviously different because of the ground coordination. They need more time to pass and control the organization. The probability of interception is very high.

Millwall has Materazzi in defense this season. At least air defense is fine. A long pass can't penetrate their defense.

The game lasted twenty minutes. Millwall's offensive was like a wave, but it only blossomed but did not bear fruit. Aldridge saw the crux of the problem.

Ronaldinho and Nedved lack of tacit understanding.

Unlike counterattacks, which have a large space and the speed advantage of rushing forward, positional warfare has higher requirements for passing and cutting movements. The tacit understanding of the timing of passing and running is also required to be higher.

When Millwall is controlling the rhythm, Ronaldinho and Nedved often have effect crashes.

That is to say Ronaldinho got the ball, Nedved didn't move, Nedved moved, Ronaldinho thought the opponent would catch the ball on the spot, and vice versa, Nedved is used to closing in a smooth attack The eyes will give the winger a through ball, whether it is Larsson or Shevchenko, as long as there is space. It will inevitably be cut in from the wing to meet in place.

So when Nedved took the ball and wanted to play it, Ronaldinho didn't run, so he could only pass the ball at his feet. The offense finally pushed to the limit and ended in a simple and rude way, or passed. Ruud van Nistelrooy did nothing under the opponent's strict marking, or forced a kick to shoot, but the quality was not high.

Sheffield fouled in the frontcourt on Wednesday, the opposing players were arguing with the referee, and Aldridge called Ronaldinho and Nedved from the sidelines.

When the two came to him, Aldridge simply said: Before the end of the first half, Ronaldinho, you get the ball, Nedved runs, Nedved takes the ball, Ronaldinho waits for the ball. , Nedved passed the ball to you, he moves, you pass again, understand?

Ronaldinho and Nedved nodded at the same time.

Aldridge can't expect them to have a tacit understanding out of thin air. He can only make strict rules and use the most rigid method to make them cooperate.

Essentially, the role is fixed without conversion.

Ronaldinho first fixed on the role of the serializer, while Nedved fixed on the role of the finisher who scored behind the goal.

When the two of them have a tacit understanding, they can complete the exchange of roles tacitly.

After such adjustments, Millwall's offensive coordination has become much smoother, and the threat has become more intuitive.

Ronaldinho and Nedved passed and ran on the left. Nedved's speed advantage then inserted into the penalty area like a sharp knife, threatening the opponent's goal repeatedly.

In the 39th minute of the first half, after Ronaldinho took the ball, Nedved went forward. The Sheffield Wednesday players also realized that the opponent would pass the ball to Nedved, so they blocked the passing route and kept an eye on Nedved. .

However, Ronaldinho pulled the ball back and made a cross pass. Pirlo, who got in behind, caught the ball in the middle and tore through the opponent's defense with a subtle direct pass. , but the defense on the right is relatively loose, Ronaldinho shifted, Pirlo went straight, and played extremely fast from left to right. Larson cut inside the right to get the ball, with only 30 degrees of shooting space. Calmly knocking the ball back to the center, Ruud van Nistelrooy consciously retreated to get rid of the opponent's defender's marking, faced the incoming ball and pushed it with one foot, and the ball went straight into the lower right corner of the goal.

Millwall broke the deadlock at the end of the first half, and the goal was their new main center Ruud van Nistelrooy! Millwall played an exquisite coordination, the ball went from Nedved, Ronaldinho, Pirlo, Larson, and then scored at the feet of Ruud van Nistelrooy. All the offensive players in the frontcourt participated in this attack. This is the way Millwall is best at. It uses the sudden through ball after the lateral transfer to penetrate the opponent's defense line. As long as the opponent's rhythm keeps up with If it doesn’t go up, the defense will inevitably reveal flaws. Millwall’s goal is not unexpected, and it even came later than expected.”

Aldridge applauded the team's goal, then sat back.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was delighted with the goal and celebrated with Larsson's corner flag in his arms.

He also wants to fight back the doubts from the outside world, telling everyone that he can not only take Trezeguet's position, but also do better than him! ()