The Godfather of Football

May 25, 2005, 20:30 pm, Istanbul, Turkey, Ataturk Stadium.

Unlike Stamford Bridge and Dragon Stadium, Ataturk Stadium is not a pure football stadium, but a comprehensive stadium, so it has an oval track and other track and field competition areas. This inevitably makes the distance between the stands and the stadium very far even though Ataturk Stadium has more than 70,000 seats.

According to Alan Hansen, the host of BBC TV's Today's Match, even if Ye Qiu passes the note again this time, it will be difficult to pass it to the coaching staff. This is not only because the whole world is watching him, but also because the distance is too far.

The game has not started yet, but the stands of Ataturk Stadium are already crowded. The blue and red are very dazzling, representing the two major camps in this game, representing the blue Chelsea and the red Liverpool. They clearly divide the stands into two major areas.

It is difficult for anyone to find red in blue, and it is also difficult to find blue in red. They are like two forces that are incompatible with each other. But what is amazing is that the crazy passion unique to English fans gathered at the Ataturk Stadium.

Even though the game has not started yet, the two groups of fans have already cheered and sang the team song in the stands almost crazily. The momentum is equal. They gathered together and eventually turned into water that could not be heard clearly. They intertwined together, and no one was willing to admit defeat.

According to UEFA rules and the latest interpretation of the rules, the head coach will not be allowed to sit in the coaching seat to direct the game after the red card suspension. He can only sit in the stands, but he cannot have any form of contact with the team, otherwise he will be severely punished, and he is not allowed to enter the locker room during the halftime break. He can only enter the locker room 15 minutes after the game.

Therefore, for Ye Qiu, the only time he can direct the game is before the game.

But in this game, the home team's locker room before the game was as silent as death. No one spoke, no one breathed, and even the breathing was very light. If it weren't for the eyeballs still turning and the eyelids still blinking, there might be no life here.

Goalkeeper Cudicini, the back line Heinze, Gallas, Cannavaro and Sun Jihai, the midfielder Davis, Deco and Parker, the front court Ribery, Gudjohnsen and Rooney formed a trident. This is Ye Qiu's starting lineup for this game.

There are no big names Ronaldinho, Lampard and Terry, nor Drogba, Van der Sar, Maicon and Makelele. They will not even have their own head coach in the game. This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge Chelsea faces in this game.

Many people in this team are on this stage for the first time. It is inevitable that they will be nervous and feel pressured when they start as the main force for the first time, because they will inevitably be compared with the main force who are absent.

In Ye Qiu's opinion, Chelsea's lineup is not completely powerless against Liverpool in terms of strength. The most important thing is that he will be absent, which makes it impossible for him to make adjustments. In addition, the UEFA people are at the door and will ask him to go to the rostrum to watch the game with the UEFA president and special guests.

In other words, UEFA will not give him even a chance this time.

Thinking of this, he was full of anxiety and uneasiness about this game. This was the game he was most unsure of since he coached, because it was completely out of his control, and the opponents were Benitez and Liverpool, who were strong and had excellent tactical abilities.

He hadn't felt this kind of hesitation for a long time, especially after coming to Chelsea, everything went smoothly, and everything could not escape his control, which inevitably made him breed a kind of arrogance.

Reflecting on himself, he has not made any progress in tactics in the past year or so.

In fact, it is not surprising. Chelsea is too strong. When a team is too strong, the effect of tactics will be relatively weak. There are more choices for the head coach, so there is no need to work hard to improve his tactical knowledge and quality like when he coached Ajax. So it is not surprising that he has not made any progress.

It is only when he meets Benítez that Ye Qiu feels pressure.

"Are you afraid?"

Ye Qiu slowly walked to the middle of the players. He tried his best to show a relaxed smile. He needed the players to have fighting spirit.

The players sat in their seats, raised their heads, and looked at their head coach. Ye Qiu also turned around so that the players could see his face, especially feel his ease.

"You may think that I always look confident, but in fact, every time I walk out of this door..." Ye Qiu pointed to the door of the locker room behind him and laughed, "I am full of anxiety."

"I always wonder what tactics my opponent will use to deal with me? Has my opponent found my weaknesses and shortcomings? Will they take any way to restrain me? I can never think of what my opponent's next step will be, so I am always full of anxiety."

Ye Qiu spoke slowly, but there was no heavy tone that these words should have. Instead, he spoke in a more relaxed tone, which gave people a very different feeling, with pressure, but not suffocation.

"But it's strange, you know? When I walk out of this door and walk to the stadium, I will be very worried and uneasy, but the moment I walk out of the tunnel, my whole person changes, especially When I hear the shouts of support and encouragement from the fans in the stands, I ask myself, what are I afraid of? "

When he said this, Ye Qiu paused deliberately to let this question appear in the players' minds.

What are you afraid of?

Different people have different reasons for fear.

"I always think, now that we have walked out of this door and onto this green field, why should we be afraid? The fact that we can wear this jersey proves that we have such strength. Our ability to enter this stadium means that we are qualified to compete here, so what do we have to fear?”

Everyone in the locker room was silent except for Ye Qiu's voice.

"In the first year of my coaching career, I led the Ajax second team and played in the youth team, but we were able to participate in the Dutch Cup, but no one would think highly of us, but strangely, at that time we were completely There was no burden, we just played one game after another, and in the end we actually won the championship, and at our feet there were also powerful teams like PSV and Feyenoord that fell at our feet.”

"Then I thought, what did we rely on in the first place? Are we also afraid in the first place?"

"I got the answer, that is, we are also afraid, but compared to being afraid, we have a more important thing, and that is to go all out!"

"You know, my wife told me that the reason she loves me is because she thinks I am the most handsome when I give my best."

Ye Qiu's words made everyone in the locker room burst into laughter, because they rarely heard Ye Qiu joke about his own affairs, but it was very true. Didn't someone say it? Concentration is the greatest charm of a man!

"I later learned one thing, a very, very important thing, that is, when you step onto this green field, when you are in front of tens of thousands of fans and in front of the live game cameras around the world, fear is of no use at all. No, on the contrary, fear will make you lose, lose everything, you will lose as long as you are afraid, and you will lose for the rest of your life if you are afraid!"

"The reality is very cruel. Football games will not stop you from playing just because you are afraid. Your opponents will not be merciful to you just because you are afraid. Fans will not forgive you for losing the game just because you are afraid. You After being afraid, we still have to bear all the consequences, bear all the responsibilities and accusations. If this is the case, then why are we still afraid? "

The players all understood that they were stimulated by Ye Qiu's words, and many of them nodded.

"Later, I learned one more thing, that is, don't be afraid, and there is no need to be afraid, because everyone has his own limit in everything he does. Man is not God, and he is not omnipotent. We have our own strength. We can’t do everything well in a difficult place, and by the same token, we can’t win every game.”

"But the key is, my players, we must go all out, we must use up all our strength on the court and do everything we can to defeat our opponents, because only in this way can we be worthy of the jerseys we wear. , Only then can we be worthy of the fans behind us, and only then can we be worthy of ourselves!”

"If you ask me, what is the most important thing for a professional player?"

"I will tell you without hesitation, dignity!"

"Dignity, for a professional player, is more important than their life. We can lose all games, we can also lose all championships, and we can even lose our football lives on the court, but Guys, my players, we can't lose our dignity!"

“Only by going all out can we defend our dignity, ensure that we win, win the admiration of our opponents, and win the respect of everyone even if we lose, so that we can leave an experience worth remembering in our lives!”

More and more players couldn't help but nod their heads after listening to Ye Qiu's words. Even the experienced veteran Cannavaro and others strongly agreed with Ye Qiu's words because they chose to leave Inter Milan in the first place. , leaving Juventus and coming to Chelsea, the purpose is not to win the championship here. This is something that no one can guarantee. They come to Chelsea with only one purpose, and that is to regain their dignity!

"This is not a game for the so-called championship! This is not a game for huge prizes! This is not a game for others, for the team, and for the fans!"

"This is a game for ourselves and for your own dignity!"

"Don't let your fear occupy your thoughts. Clench your fists. Soldiers, we want to walk out of this door, we want to step onto the green field, and we want to fight for dignity!"

"Okay!!!" the players responded in unison.

"Dear spectators, welcome to Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey!"

"What is being broadcast live for you now is the UEFA Champions League final of the 2004/05 season, the Champions League final showdown between two teams from the Premier League, Chelsea and Liverpool."

"We saw that under the leadership of the Spanish referee Mejuto Gonzalez, the referees and players from both teams entered the stadium one after another. The atmosphere was very warm because there were more than 70,000 enthusiastic Premier League fans gathered here."

"The team wearing blue jerseys is Chelsea. This team was the Champions League champion last season and aims to defend the title this season, but the difficulty is very great because they have a total of 7 main players missing in this game, including superstars Ronaldinho, Lampard and Terry, and the other four players The players are the main midfielder Makelele, the main goalkeeper Van der Sar, the main right back Maicon, and the main center forward Drogba. "

"In this game, Chelsea's starting lineup, goalkeeper is Cudicini, the back line is Heinze, Gallas, Cannavaro and Sun Jihai, the midfield is Davis, Deco and Parker, and the front trident is Ribery, Gudjohnsen and Rooney. "

"Compared to Chelsea's lack of soldiers, Liverpool seems to be strong, but Benitez obviously does not dare to be arrogant, because in the past few Premier League and cup games, In the game, Liverpool was defeated by Chelsea's weak points. In this game, Benítez adopted a more cautious tactic in the starting lineup. "

"The goalkeeper is Dudek, the back line is Traore, Hyypia, Carragher and Finnan, the midfield adopts a three-back tactic, namely Hamann, Xabi Alonso and Gerrard, and the front trident is Riise, Baros and Luis Garcia. "

"From the starting lineups of the two teams, both Chelsea and Liverpool are obviously more cautious, especially Liverpool. Even though Chelsea has 7 main players absent in this game, Benítez is obviously still afraid of Chelsea's strength. However, there is another factor that is very favorable to Liverpool. Chelsea's head coach, Ye Qiu from China, was banned from the stands by UEFA! "

As the commentator said this, the live broadcast camera of the game shifted to the rostrum, and Ye Qiu appeared on the rostrum accompanied by three bodyguards. The surrounding area is full of well-known bigwigs in European football, naturally including the management of both Chelsea and Liverpool.

Ye Qiu's position is in the core area, which shows UEFA's respect for him, but it also does not rule out the idea of ​​supervising Ye Qiu. After all, no matter where he is arranged, it is difficult to be assured. Who knows if this tricky guy will do anything else?

The players of both sides lined up in front of the player tunnel. Because the captain and vice-captain of the team were both absent due to yellow cards, Cannavaro wore the captain's armband in this game and became the captain of the team on the field. He guessed the side of the coin with Liverpool's captain Gerrard, and Chelsea finally got the right to kick off.

Both sides returned to their own half and lined up. The atmosphere in the Ataturk Stadium suddenly became tense, especially when the referee Mehuto stood in the center circle, ready to blow the game whistle at any time, the atmosphere became very tense.

Finally, with a crisp whistle, the game finally kicked off.

"Well, this much-anticipated focus event has finally kicked off. We saw Chelsea, who kicked off first, launch an attack on Liverpool. We all know that Chelsea is best at attacking. I wonder if Ye Qiu will continue to adopt the attacking tactics this time."

But before Chelsea's first wave of attack entered Liverpool's 30-meter area, Gerrard collided with Davis directly, intercepted the ball at the Dutchman's feet, and then quickly passed it to Xavi Alonso. The Spaniard adjusted and passed the ball to the left with a big foot.

Riise quickly advanced along the left, but Chelsea's right defense also returned quickly. Sun Jihai blocked Riise on the right. Chelsea's defense line also organized an effective defensive position in the first time, destroying Liverpool's first wave of attack, but the Red Army was obviously not ready to give up. They still adopted high-position defense and pressed forward collectively to launch a round of attack on Chelsea.

"Another through ball from Xabi Alonso, dangerous, Baros got the ball in the penalty area and is about to kick!"

"Cannavaro, a beautiful interception, Cannavaro intercepted the ball from Baros's feet and resolved Liverpool's attack!"

"But the ball still fell to Liverpool's feet. Liverpool fought very hard after the opening. This was also the prediction of many professionals on Liverpool's tactics before the game, that is, they should give full play to Ye Qiu's weakness of not being able to directly command the game, and directly disrupt Chelsea's rhythm after the opening. Benítez's attack undoubtedly wanted to achieve this goal."

With Liverpool's attack, Chelsea had to adopt a retreat tactic, and the three lines were kept very compact. Gudjohnsen was more of a midfielder than a center forward, because he retreated very high, while Ribery and Rooney pressed very high.

This is also the tactic that Ye Qiu can adopt. If there are conditions for a rush attack after the opening, Chelsea will still have to tear open Liverpool's defense from the two flanks, but Benítez adopted a more stable three-back tactic in this game, the purpose is to block his own two flanks and resolve Chelsea's attack.

Moreover, Benítez is obviously more tactically adventurous than Mourinho. The Portuguese did not dare to rush attack after the opening, but Benítez was very determined to adopt a rush attack tactic, not worried about being counterattacked by Chelsea at all.

Because for Benítez, disrupting Chelsea's tactics and rhythm after the opening is undoubtedly more important than anything else.

Ye Qiu's heartbeat accelerated and his brows furrowed as he watched from the stands. He noticed that Ten Cate kept calling on the players on the sidelines, and Cannavaro was also playing the role of the team captain, constantly calling on his teammates to stay calm and maintain defensive order.

For Chelsea, without a head coach, the safest and most effective way is to defend and counterattack.

In fact, Ye Qiu has made full preparations. If the game can be dragged into a penalty shootout, Chelsea's chances of winning will be greater than in a 120-minute game.

But the premise is that Chelsea must be able to ensure that they do not lose the ball within 120 minutes!