The Godfather of Football

Sometimes, the development of things can be described as a turn of events.

Arsenal had been making great progress before, leading Chelsea by as much as 5 points. It seemed that many people thought that they might leave Chelsea. However, when they met Manchester United, they suffered a draw. However, Chelsea lost after Ye Qiu coached them. After the team's first league game, it ushered in a full-scale outbreak.

The 7-0 victory over Blackburn seemed to inject a strong sense of self-confidence into Chelsea.

Three days later, in the round of 32 knockout rounds of the League Cup, Chelsea faced West Ham United of the English Championship. Ye Qiu still arranged for young players such as Cesc Fabregas, Messi, and Van Persie to start, plus Essien, Sun Jihai, and Hein. Ce and other players, the team defeated the visiting West Ham United 2:1 at home and successfully advanced to the next round.

But that's not the point, because no one will care about a League Cup match. Even if Chelsea is eliminated, it doesn't matter. The real focus is on the Premier League and the Champions League, which are the focus of everyone's attention.

It's the weekend again and Chelsea face bloomers West Bromwich Albion away from home.

In fact, West Bromwich Albion were obviously under pressure from Chelsea's victory over their opponents in the last round. After the start, they put on a posture and determination to defend to the end. This also curbed Chelsea's offense for a time, and even the entire In the first half, Chelsea could only rely on Deco's corner kick at the last moment, and Gallas, who replaced Cannavaro in the starting lineup, scored with a header.

But in the second half, the situation turned around. Chelsea was obviously more open, especially in terms of tactical width, stretching West Bromwich Albion's defense as wide and thin as possible, and then taking advantage of the players' personal abilities and the team's skilled skills. Running without the ball, weaving back and forth, creating opportunities, and then disintegrating the overall situation after partial breakthroughs.

In the 51st minute, Chelsea relied on the attack after the opening, and Drogba finally scored.

In the team's victory over Blackburn, Ronaldinho, Lampard and Rooney all scored twice, but only the unlucky Ivorian failed to score, which made Drogba very depressed. After a while, but this time, he finally scored.

In the 59th minute, after taking a two-goal lead, Chelsea once again launched an offensive storm. Ronaldinho scored another victory for Chelsea, 3:0!

In the 76th and 81st minutes, Drogba and Lampard scored again, and finally helped Chelsea beat West Bromwich Albion 5:0 away from home, winning two consecutive Premier League victories and playing two games. An astonishing record of scoring 12 goals and conceding no goals.

After the team's victory over Blackburn, many media and professionals questioned Ye Qiu and Chelsea's approach and confidence. They believed that the game was accidental and felt that Chelsea might have performed better in just one game. .

But now, Chelsea has completely defeated all doubts with a 5-0 away victory.

Ferguson's Manchester United were unlucky, losing 0:2 away to Portsmouth.

As Ye Qiu said, in the professional league, as long as any team has obvious tactical loopholes, professional coaches can catch it, unless it is a head coach with poor tactical literacy, and as long as he can If we seize the fatal weakness and have the right players in the team to attack it, even the powerful Manchester United may lose to the relegation team.

Portsmouth defeated Manchester United at home in this game. The best thing they did was to suppress Manchester United's midfield, isolate Manchester United's forwards, and lose the pass from the midfield and backfield. Even Manchester United's luxurious striker, look They are all wandering soldiers.

After Arsenal tied with Manchester United, they once again drew with Southampton at home.

Yes, you heard it right, it was a tie, because although Arsenal scored first, they were quickly reversed by Southampton with two goals in a row, and then they evened the score at the last moment, and finally tied with Southampton 2:2 at home.

What's more terrible is that from the perspective of the game, Henry was invisible in this game, Reyes' performance was not as eye-catching as at the beginning of the season, and Vieira was useless. Arsenal seemed to have encountered a problem, and it was surprising. Unfortunately, both goals conceded were headers, which also exposed Arsenal's problem with high ball defense.

After the 11th round of the league, Arsenal quickly recovered from the previous 5-point lead to 1 point by Chelsea. The situation can be said to be precarious, especially when Chelsea kept defeating their opponents by big scores. The Gunners' state It seems to be declining rapidly, which has to be said to make people worried about Arsenal.

The Guardian made a special comment, saying, “Although Wenger keeps emphasizing that Arsenal will inevitably decline after experiencing a peak of form, we still have a negative view of Arsenal’s recent two games. "While I am disappointed with the performance, I am also worried about this team."

"We all know that for any team to succeed, defense is crucial. Someone even once described the relationship between defense and offense like this, that is, excellent defense can make your offense become the cherry on the cake, bright and dazzling It’s sweet and delicious, but attacking without defensive support is like stepping on the edge of a cliff with one foot in the air. You don’t know when you will fall, and you are worried!”

"Manchester United's defeat in this round is actually not surprising. Ferguson's team is typically top-heavy. For the loss last season, Ferguson could find many excuses for the team, such as injuries, such as Ferdinand's absence, but Now, they have no injured players and Ferdinand is back, but the result? Manchester United is ranked 5th, worse than last season!"

"The biggest problem for Manchester United now is not their offense, but the defense and organization of the midfield and backfield. Keane is obviously old, and the midfielder he sits in no longer has the same dominance as in the past. With Beckham With Mu's departure, there is a huge vacuum in Manchester United's midfield, but no one can fill it."

"On the defensive line, Ferdinand is indeed outstanding. After his comeback, Manchester United's ranking has steadily improved. But the problem is that Sylvester has become the most unstable bomb on Manchester United's defense. Ferdinand needs an excellent partner, such as Terry. !”

"Imbalance is the biggest problem for Manchester United, and it is also the biggest challenge that Ferguson will face next. If he cannot solve this problem during the winter break, then there will still be no chance for Manchester United to make a difference this season!"

"On the contrary, Arsenal's lineup is very balanced and stable, but they have always faced a problem, which is to protect the two ribs, because we all know that Vieira is getting better and better, and with Gil With the joining of Berto Silva and Edu, the French midfielder, oh, no, it should be said that the performance of the French midfielder is becoming more and more impressive. He does not want to be a defensive midfielder, but hopes to be both offensive and defensive. A midfield commander, that’s what Wenger wants too!”

"But the problem is, Vieira goes up and leaves a defensive player behind him. The protection of the two ribs is a big problem, and once the two ribs are breached and exploited, such as in this game, Southampton will He made full use of Arsenal's protection on both sides, passed the ball at a 45-degree angle, and used high altitude to resolve the battle, completely conquering Highbury Stadium!"

"Actually, this problem is not impossible to solve. Just like Chelsea, the partnership of Cannavaro and Terry is a bit like the combination of Kolo Toure and Campbell. Chelsea's two wings are even more eager than Arsenal. Attack, but Ye Qiu made targeted arrangements for the defense and midfield.”

"Only one of the left and right flanks can go up at any time, so as to ensure the number of people invested in defense. Makelele is always at the front of the defense, and Deco also provides assistance and support anytime and anywhere, ensuring that it is effective on both sides. protection of."

"But many times, such a seemingly reasonable defensive layout will still cause problems. For example, when Terry is pulled away and the opponent passes the ball into the penalty area, Cannavaro's height disadvantage becomes the team's biggest disadvantage. hidden dangers.”

"Seeing this, do you think that the two goals Arsenal conceded against Southampton were similar to this routine?"

"So, let's see how Chelsea solved it? It's very simple. Boldly expand the goalkeeper's defensive area and area, encourage Van der Sar to leave the goal line, seize the opportunity to attack decisively, and use the goalkeeper's decisive attack to block the defense line. This loophole is why Chelsea's defense has been so solid in the past two seasons, and it is also why Cannavaro's height disadvantage, which was originally thought to be blown away by the Premier League's high balls, has not been revealed at all. s reason!"

"Many people say that Ye Qiu is world-class in terms of attacking, but in fact, Ye Qiu is definitely the best in the world in terms of coaching offense and organizing defensive layout. At least he is introducing players and arranging team tactics. It’s hard not to admire anyone, but just look at Lehmann’s frequent mistakes at Arsenal, and look at Van der Sar’s role in filling Chelsea’s defense, we have to admit that Ye Qiu obviously did a better job in this regard. Ferguson is better than Wenger!"

"After experiencing a sluggish start to the season, the unbeaten record was ended, and the performance was questioned and criticized, but Chelsea withstood the pressure and ushered in an explosion. We can even make a judgment that unless there is another major change, otherwise , with Chelsea’s balance and huge bench, this year’s Premier League is still within Chelsea’s grasp!”

This long report and analysis by The Guardian is well-founded and not only provides very detailed game data, but also combines it with professional tactical analysis. The analysis of the two defensive lines of Chelsea and Arsenal is even more penetrating. .

Even George Graham, the former head coach of Arsenal, repeatedly reminded Wenger in an interview with the Guardian, "Once Chelsea regains the confidence and rhythm of winning, this Chelsea will become unstoppable!"

But sometimes, it's one thing to know, and it's one thing to want to stop it, but it's another thing to be able to do it.

Midweek ushered in the fourth round of the Champions League group stage. Chelsea went to Moscow in the ice and snow. Ye Qiu adopted a prudent strategy and arranged for many players including Heinze, Sun Jihai, Joe Cole, Davis, etc. to start. In the end, They defeated their opponents with a difficult 1:0 and successfully won four consecutive victories from the Champions League group stage.

Chelsea's previous matches in the Premier League have been questioned, leading many people to mistakenly believe that Chelsea's performance is very poor due to the media's exaggeration. However, in fact, Chelsea's performance is very stable whether in the Premier League or the Champions League, and there has never been a big problem. The omissions, even in the Premier League, only appear slightly inferior compared to the crazy performance of Arsenal.

Returning to London from Moscow, Chelsea welcomed Moyes' Everton, and Rooney welcomed his old club.

Before this game, the Liverpool City Echo published a piece of news that Rooney’s former agent Mike Shkin accused the current agent Stretford of believing that this super agent, who is famous in England, had In the process of recruiting Rooney to his staff, many unfair competition methods were used, which harmed their interests.

This was originally just an inconspicuous piece of news. As the saying goes, when a person becomes famous, there are many rumors. Rooney is so famous now, and even his agent, Stretford, is popular. Naturally, there are many rumors. But surprisingly, this piece of news was quickly reprinted and reported by the media, and even a lot of inside information was gradually dug out.

For example, McShekin said that not long ago, Stretford invited him and his assistant to a small restaurant near Cheshire for negotiations, hoping that they would not disclose the process of Rooney's change of agent to the outside world, and expressed his willingness to pay 250,000 pounds for this, but this proposal was rejected by McShekin and his assistant.

At the same time, the media also reported that after Rooney joined Chelsea, another assistant of McShekin once chased Stretford to Heathrow Airport, caught him, and demanded half of Rooney's transfer proceeds, otherwise he would disclose the news to the outside world, but the two sides broke down again.

Stretford has an extraordinary influence in English football, while McShekin and others are unknown. If Rooney is not famous, they are unknown, so they can be said to have no way to complain in the past period of time.

After the media exaggeration, Stretford quickly responded. On the day when Chelsea played against Everton, the English super agent said in an interview with the media that the accusations of these people were obviously false accusations. When he recruited Rooney, the procedures were legal and reasonable. On the contrary, after seeing Rooney's popularity, they were jealous of their achievements and wanted to get a piece of the pie, and they also blackmailed and threatened him.

"I have evidence of their blackmail and intimidation here, and I will file a complaint with the police!"

This wave of disputes did not affect Chelsea's game against Everton. The Blues, playing at home, defeated Everton 2:0 cleanly, but Rooney was obviously affected in the game. He did not score or assist, and his performance was very average.

On the second day after the game, the London police received a complaint from Stretford, who believed that McShekin and others had threatened and blackmailed him, and hoped that the police could stop this gang of rogues from harassing him and his players.

The police responded quickly. They summoned Stretford, McShekin and several of his assistants for questioning. But at this time, the police received a report that someone claimed to know the case very well and was willing to help the police solve this seemingly confusing case.

The outside world was abuzz with the police's handling of the case and the media's attention. Ye Qiu didn't care at all. He only cared about his players, and he didn't know what was going on. The only thing that was certain was that Stretford was definitely not clean, but he didn't want to affect Rooney.

So, the day after the match against Everton, Ye Qiu called Rooney to his office and had a round of conversation with him, in which he talked about the impact of this incident on him.

"Don't worry, boss. I promise that I won't let this matter affect my game and training!" Rooney assured Ye Qiu calmly, and said that the reason why he was in poor condition when playing against Everton was more or less because he was facing his old club.

After talking with Rooney, Ye Qiu was still very satisfied with his mental state, and he immediately accepted an interview with the media, calling on the media not to put too much pressure on Rooney, after all, he was just an 18-year-old child.

"What I want to say is that the agent's duty is to serve the players, so I don't think the dispute between Stretford and Rooney's former agent has anything to do with Rooney, but I think that the judiciary should really take care of these things, and the media should not over-hype them so as not to affect my players."

"As Rooney's head coach, all I need to do is to help him when necessary. I have always said that excessive media attention is not a good thing for a young player. This incident is a good example, and all I have to do is to protect my players so that they can be down-to-earth and not be affected by the outside world."

"Rooney is indeed an excellent player, but he is still a child. When he performs well, we should indeed give praise and affirmation, but not excessively. When he performs poorly, we should also give objective criticism, help him improve and improve, and give encouragement. This is the best environment for treating a young player!"

"This is also the last time I and Chelsea will answer the agent dispute. In the future, I, the players, and the club will no longer express our opinions on this matter. Everything will be left to the police to solve!" Ye Qiu expressed his views again.

He had always had a bad impression of Stretford, but not a bad one either. However, he had also heard about the dispute between Stretford and the black gold case, but now that these things had come to an end, Ye Qiu had not thought about doing anything.

However, he had heard some clues from Peter Kenyon and other people in the club, and it seemed that they all suspected that someone was going to attack Stretford, and Ye Qiu immediately thought of someone, Pini Zahavi, who had long wanted to swallow Rooney and even wanted to monopolize Chelsea.

But could it really be him?