The Godfather of Football

1:0 win over Luton, 2:1 narrow win over Crystal Palace, 1:1 draw with Watford, 5:0 win over Southampton.

Tottenham Hotspur played a total of four warm-up matches in mid-July and late July. In these four games, the team achieved an unbeaten record of three wins and one draw, including a 5:0 win over Southampton. But overall, the outside media is still not satisfied with Tottenham Hotspur's performance.

In the 5:0 win over Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur adopted another set of tactics, 4231.

The goalkeeper and the back line basically remained unchanged, but changes were made in the midfield. The double defensive midfielder Ye Qiu arranged a combination of Fabregas and Lucas, Ribery and Cavani were separated on the two wings in the frontcourt, Arshavin occupied the front midfielder position alone, and Carroll was at the forefront of the team.

This set of tactics is different from the 433 tactics that Tottenham Hotspur used to use before, because Arshavin was used to play as a front midfielder, or a shadow striker, and it even looked more like a front-court freeman. Fabregas' position was relatively backward with Lucas, responsible for organization and passing.

Arshavin is obviously more suitable for such a tactical style. He played very well in the front midfield, with two assists and a goal himself. His shadow was in almost every offensive plan of the team, which made Ye Qiu realize how he should activate this Russian Tsar.

Not only that, in the game against Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur had high ball control and efficiency, the entire midfield was very smooth, and the control was very well grasped. Southampton even had little chance to create threats throughout the game.

Not to mention Fabregas and Arshavin, Lucas, the Brazilian midfielder, was known for his offensive and defensive capabilities when he was in Brazil. His skills, passing and ball-holding abilities were not weak at all. It's just that he has always had a problem with a slow pace.

Unexpectedly, his slow pace formed a control triangle in the Tottenham midfield with Arshavin and Fabregas. The three of them passed the ball back and forth and cooperated with each other very skillfully. Ye Qiu even replaced Modric and tried to play a diamond midfield tactic directly, letting Lucas fall back, Modric and Fabregas in the middle, and Arshavin rushing forward.

But Tottenham Hotspur had never practiced this diamond midfield tactic in training. The game against Southampton lasted nearly half an hour, and the effect was good. The ball control and passing were good, but the efficiency was not high, the rhythm was slow, and the midfield lacked width. Ye Qiu felt that the effect was not very good.

Ye Qiu always felt that it was difficult to get out of the slow ball control style in the Premier League, because the Premier League is a league that advocates an impactful style of play. Many people say that La Liga does not pay attention to defense, but they don't see the La Liga team's cutting of the passing route. That is part of their tactics and a way of defense.

Therefore, those who say that La Liga does not value defense do not watch football, or only watch the games of the Spanish Super League.

When you meet a La Liga team in the Spanish Super League, with that kind of crushing advantage, no matter how good the defense is, it will be a scumbag!

Compared with La Liga, the style of play in the Premier League is obviously more extensive. It cannot be said to be open, but it is extensive.

This is a very strange league. It is full of passion and a manifestation of the most primitive charm of football, but it is still in a state that cannot be said to be very good at tactics, but at least it is relatively backward, especially the middle and lower teams.

Therefore, the Premier League teams are the real ones. It cannot be said that they do not value it, or should be said that they do not know how to organize defense well. This is also related to the fact that many Premier League teams insist on trusting local head coaches. Looking at the European and even world football, how many British head coaches have succeeded abroad?

Even though it is now known as the heyday of the Premier League, among all the famous British coaches, the only one who can be shown off is Ferguson from Scotland. The other Moyes, frankly speaking, Ye Qiu thinks that he is only in the Premier League. If he is put in other leagues, he may not be able to play well.

Football is a kind of thing that is mutually reinforcing and mutually exclusive. The rigorous ball possession tactics must be more advanced than the extensive British tactics. Otherwise, Ferguson and Wenger would not have to pursue continentalization. But you have to feel strange that if you pursue the ball possession tactics to a certain extent, you will even be defeated by the extensive British tactics in the Premier League.

Therefore, there are many things in the history of football, many tactics, which are in a cycle, a cycle over and over again.

Advanced does not necessarily mean advantage, nor is it necessarily good.

Therefore, in the last half hour of playing Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur had an absolute ball possession advantage, but could not score a goal. On the contrary, in the first hour, the team scored five goals, which is definitely worth studying.

Therefore, after playing Southampton, before the team was ready to go to Amsterdam, Ye Qiu held an internal tactical discussion and analysis meeting in Theobald. For more than two hours, he kept explaining and analyzing the problems and situations that had occurred in the past few games to his players.

Many people said that after Ye Qiu reorganized a set of tactics and play, his team's entire process of familiarity and implementation was relatively slow, and there was often a period of time when the play was awkward and uncomfortable. Some new players also told reporters from their own country that Ye Qiu seldom practiced specific cooperation and what kind of route to play, which made them very confused.

When the reporter conveyed this question to Ye Qiu, Ye Qiu smiled and said that this was his own style.

"Some head coaches like to give players a lot of restrictions. He will develop a lot of very detailed tactics to tell you what to do and when to do it. But if you pause a player's action at will, then Ask him, why do you do this? He may tell you, this is how we play in training."

"But there is also a kind of head coach who doesn't like to have so many restrictions. He won't even ask the players how to act or move, but he will tell the players how I want to play next and what is your task. Then think about what you should do, how to cooperate with your teammates, use your imagination and creativity, think more, think more!”

"I can't say which kind of thinking is better, but the former will easily encounter some obstacles, because when he finds out what he is used to, which has brought them many successful goals and scores, every day and every training session After the routine he kept practicing was destroyed by the opponent, he no longer knew how to play in the game! "

"Don't tell me there is no such team, I tell you, look at those teams that perform very poorly, they are almost all like this, and what I want to do now is not to tell them what to do, but to let them do it. They think for themselves, what is my purpose when I leave my own position and enter the opponent's position? How can I carry out a targeted attack?"

"When I see my teammates in trouble, how should I help and respond to them? When I dribble the ball forward, what is my purpose? Pass the ball? Shoot? When I dribble the ball back, my purpose is What is it again?”

"Why are we slowing down the game all of a sudden? And speeding up the game all of a sudden? Why am I passing the ball? Why aren't my teammates passing the ball to me?"

"Many people say that the biggest reason for a player's poor performance on the court is physical, such as injuries, fatigue, etc., but I don't think so. I think the biggest reason why a player performs poorly is that he is ignorant and has no understanding of his opponents. Ignorance of tactics, ignorance of our own tactics, and ignorance of what we can do and what we can do to help the team.”

"So, as the head coach of the team, I must instill in my players a way of thinking, a way of seeking knowledge, so that they can work hard to understand what purpose everything they do is to achieve, and as long as If the eleven players in the team know exactly what they are going to do and how they should do it at any time, then this team will be invincible!”

For this reason, when Ye Qiu faced these players for the first time during the team's training camp last season, he joked that when he first came to London, he was afraid of getting lost, so he walked the same road back and forth. , so there have been several times when I encountered a traffic jam, the taxi next to me had already gone around those streets, but I still foolishly honked the horn on the road.

This self-deprecating case made the players laugh, but it told all the players a very straightforward truth. Ye Qiu did not dare to take detours because he was not as familiar with the streets of London as those taxis. But now, he is familiar with the streets of London, and he can move around like those taxis.

Therefore, if you pay attention to Ye Qiu's pre-season training, there are two things that he attaches most importance to. One is physical reserves before the season.

Ye Qiu has always felt that exercising a lot in the middle of the season can easily lead to injuries, so unless it is really necessary, he usually will not exercise a lot in the middle of the season. At best, he will do some physical adjustment training.

There is also a tactical analysis meeting, and he usually combines game videos with this kind of meeting in a targeted manner, and this requires a strong analysis team behind Tottenham Hotspur's coaching staff. Peter Brandt is this The head of the analytics team, which can number up to ten people.

Of course, these ten people are not only responsible for video and game analysis, but also training, including analysis of other aspects. They must submit an analysis report to the coaching staff almost every day, and serve as the coaching staff to arrange training and games. An important basis, and this has also been Ye Qiu's habit since his Ajax days.

Bid farewell to July and enter August.

The team crossed the English Channel to Amsterdam, and the next day they ushered in the Amsterdam Cup. The opening game was Tottenham Hotspur against Lazio.

Ye Qiu attaches great importance to the Amsterdam Cup. This is not only because the opponents are very strong. In addition to the host Ajax, Lazio of Serie A and Atletico Madrid of La Liga are both top league teams. This also makes The warm-up match for this event has become very valuable.

The international players who participated in the America's Cup have also returned to the team one after another, but Ye Qiu also treats them separately, treating Thiago Silva, Marcelo, Cavani and others who have played less games because they His physical fitness and condition have been adjusted well, so he has entered the squad for this game against Lazio.

Messi, Mascherano and Vargas are all adjusting their bodies and preparing for the new season, so they didn't even make the roster for this game.

Tottenham Hotspur lined up 433 in the first half against Lazio. The goalkeeper was Cech, and the defense was Marcelo, Hangland, Thiago Silva and Arbeloa. , the midfielders are Beckham, Yaya Toure and Cesc Fabregas, and the frontcourt is Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie and Ribery.

When the game reached the 18th minute, Marcelo suddenly moved forward and formed a cooperation with Gareth Bale on the left, but was blocked by Lazio's defense. Marcelo protected the ball and knocked it back. Fabregas joined in and passed the ball straight through Lazio's defense. Van Persie stopped the ball on the left side of the penalty area, shook off the defender and shot at a small angle, 1:0!

After breaking the opponent's goal first, Tottenham's offense seemed more ambitious, launching rounds of attacks against Lazio, but Lazio was not a pushover. The defense was well organized and never gave Tottenham more opportunities. Instead, in the 41st minute, they took advantage of a mistake by Tottenham to form a counterattack and create a corner kick. The opponent took advantage of the corner kick opportunity and scored, 1:1!

Although the first half ended in a draw, Ye Qiu still made four substitutions in the midfield. After Arshavin was substituted, the team changed to 4231 again, and Carroll replaced Van Persie as the team's spearhead.

The warm-up match against Southampton made this British center forward famous. Carroll, who performed a hat trick, was even called the hope of Tottenham Hotspur to score after Van Nistelrooy left the team by the British media. Especially after performing a hat trick in the warm-up match, many people exclaimed that he got the true teachings of Van Nistelrooy.

Little did they know that Carroll didn't even bother to learn shooting from Van Nistelrooy.

Ye Qiu always kept a cold-eyed attitude towards the media's hype, because he felt that Carroll was just one of the changes in his team from beginning to end, because Carroll did have too obvious shortcomings and deficiencies.

First of all, his physical flexibility. With his tall and strong figure, he looks like a standard British center forward, but his explosiveness and flexibility are his weaknesses and shortcomings, which limits his role.

Secondly, in terms of technology, Carroll has a certain technical foundation, especially when facing a team like Southampton, which is not as strong as Tottenham Hotspur, this aspect of his will be magnified, but once he encounters a strong team, his weaknesses are obvious, so he cannot become a tactical fulcrum like Drogba who retreats to get the ball, and he also lacks the ability to turn around with the ball after getting the ball. In addition, his lack of flexibility and explosiveness makes his most threatening area not in the low position, but in the high position, especially in the opponent's penalty area.

So when playing Carroll as a striker, you have to cater to his characteristics. What's interesting is that Tottenham Hotspur also has an Arshavin, who is good at playing as a shadow striker and a free man in the frontcourt. If Carroll is put in front, Arshavin will cruise freely behind him, and then complete the transition of the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt through the two wings.

In this way, Carroll can play the biggest threat, and Arshavin can also play his own advantages.

With this mentality, Ye Qiu once again practiced the team's 4231 tactics in this game against Lazio. The difference is that this time, Ye Qiu arranged Beckham to return to the right side, which he is most familiar with.

The result is that Arshavin took the ball and passed it to the right side. Beckham stopped the ball and passed it to the middle. Carroll headed the ball into the goal in the penalty area. 2:1, Tottenham Hotspur broke Lazio's goal again in the 63rd minute.

This goal also became the last goal of the game. Tottenham Hotspur successfully defeated Lazio 2:1 in the opening game of the Amsterdam Cup. Andy Carroll, the English local center who scored the winning goal, became famous again. He scored four goals in two consecutive games. Carroll really wanted to compete with his predecessor Van Nistelrooy.

But the British media shouted happily, but Ye Qiu did not want to accommodate their ideas at all. Two days later, the team welcomed Ajax. As a result, Ye Qiu continued to use the offensive combination of Van Persie, Ribery and Ashley Young this time, and further tried and observed the team's offensive routines. After all, he had to prepare for the injuries of players in the middle of the season.

As a result, Tottenham Hotspur played very chaotically throughout the game, and the offense was completely unsystematic. In the end, they took advantage of a front-court set-piece opportunity. Beckham assisted Hangeland to score a goal, and the team also relied on this goal to beat the home team Ajax 1:0.

With two consecutive wins and three goals, Tottenham Hotspur finally ranked first in the Amsterdam Cup with a total score of nine points and won the championship, while Atletico Madrid defeated Lazio 3:1 and won the second place in the group. Ajax was third, and Lazio lost two consecutive games and could only fall to the bottom of the group.

With the end of the Amsterdam Cup, Tottenham Hotspur won the championship of this warm-up match, but they still failed to play the kind of overwhelming attack in the second half of last season. This also made many people clearly realize that Tottenham Hotspur has not yet been able to get out of the changes brought about by the team's tactical adjustments after Van Nistelrooy left the team.

Returning to London from Amsterdam, the draw for the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, as the third and fourth Premier League teams, both had to participate in the qualifiers.

This is the first time Tottenham Hotspur has participated in the UEFA Champions League in decades. Almost everyone is full of uneasiness and anxiety about the team's Champions League journey, and is also full of expectations.

According to Tottenham Hotspur fans in an interview with the media, Ye Qiu's coaching team has extremely rich experience in the Champions League. I believe that this experienced team can bring stable Champions League results to the young Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham fans are also very cautious about the team's performance in the Champions League, and they are striving to participate in the group stage!

Relatively speaking, Ye Qiu's ambitions are bigger.

"I hope to help the team qualify from the group stage!" He said with a confident and calm smile.