The Godfather of Football

July 7, according to mother Zhang Yuxiu, the Chinese lunar calendar calls this day the Lesser Heat.

But in the UK, it was raining, and it was raining hard.

Originally, it was not necessary to take the highway from Totteridge to Theobald, but in order to test the performance of the newly acquired BMW X6, Ye Qiu took a detour to the ring road and severely ravaged it. Anyway, it was free, and they would repair it if it broke, so why not?

This was the first batch of new cars sent to the Theobald training base by BMW after signing the contract. Among them, some were delivered to Tottenham Hotspur for welcoming and receiving guests, and there were BMW's top-of-the-line 7 series and 5 series. After all, they were used by BMW for publicity, and the team's buses were all BMWs.

Not only that, Peter Kenyon, Ron Gourley, and several well-known coaches of the first team were given a BMW, and each person chose a different car model.

There are also cars for the first-team players. The team will go to BMW's London headquarters for test driving and car selection. Each player can choose a BMW according to his own wishes, and it is free, but the price is that the cars that appear in Theobald and White Hart Lane in the future can only be BMWs.

When BMW signed the contract with Tottenham Hotspur, they asked Ye Qiu for his opinion, and later directly gave him this latest luxury top-equipped BMW X6. This model will not be mass-produced until the end of the year. It is not available on the market at all. It is known as an all-round coupe. The driving experience is indeed first-class and very comfortable.

After running a lap around the ring highway, Ye Qiu arrived at Theobald with great pleasure.

When the security guard saw Ye Qiu, he greeted him and immediately opened the door. After passing the door, Ye Qiu noticed that many reporters gathered in the reception room on the first floor of the news building. Many people took pictures when they saw him driving in.

Tottenham is different now. Now Tottenham is the champion of the Champions League. Therefore, even if it is just a training day at the beginning of the season, it has attracted more than a hundred reporters. I believe that many of them are not from the UK, but from all over the world, because as early as a week ago, Tottenham announced that the first day of training will be open to the public.

The reputation of the Theobald training base has spread all over the world in the past two years. At present, except for the dedicated stadium for the youth team, all other facilities have been completed and put into use. Therefore, the first day of the new season training is open to the public, which is equivalent to a free visit for the media.

In addition, Tottenham has arranged a lot of programs today, such as participating in the BMW car donation event. At the same time, it will announce the joining of David Silva in Theobald in the morning, which will also attract many Tottenham fans. It is said that there will be a groundbreaking ceremony in Stratford in the afternoon.

The whole day's schedule was packed with activities, so many reporters from all over the world came to Theobald early, but openness does not mean free activities. After they arrived at Theobald, the club staff would receive them and then take them to follow the overall process.

"Boss!" When Ye Qiu got off the car, he happened to see Messi, who was smiling, and greeted Ye Qiu.

This kid stared at Ye Qiu's car with a sly look, with ill intentions.

Sure enough, soon, Messi came over with an umbrella, "Boss, I heard that we are going to choose a car. Can I choose your model?"

"You?" Ye Qiu was happy when he heard it, "I said, can you see the front when you sit in this car?"

Messi was stunned and didn't react for a while, but Fabregas and Van Persie next to him were almost out of breath with laughter. What he said was simply a ginseng rooster, too outrageous.

Messi was not stupid. He quickly reacted and laughed cheerfully. He was used to Ye Qiu's usual teasing. Didn't they often tease and ridicule him like this?

"I'm serious. I don't like other BMW cars very much. I just think your X6 is good!"

Ye Qiu smiled after hearing this, "I'll ask them to help you ask, as a pre-promotion for them!"

Messi was immediately happy, but soon, Fabregas also shouted that he also wanted an X6, and Alves also shouted that he wanted an X6. Suddenly, several more X6s appeared. Ye Qiu didn't know whether BMW could produce so many, but it should be no problem. Anyway, it had nothing to do with him.

"Our colleagues in the marketing department have worked hard to get sponsorship. Don't worry, the sponsorship brought by the team and everyone attending the event will benefit. We will not forget it, so I hope everyone can understand that the sponsorship is not for the club to use you, but for everyone to win, so I hope everyone can consciously abide by the sponsorship terms."

Ye Qiu said this sincerely, and the players understood it.

Not long ago, Audi was about to sue Manchester United because Manchester United received a gift car from Audi, but the players did not like driving Audi and still drove their own cars. They then gave the Audi to their family members, and some even gave it to others. This made Audi very dissatisfied because they failed to achieve the publicity effect they wanted.

The players also knew that they would not be able to do as they pleased as before when the club was seeking sponsorship, but the Chinese have a saying that goes, "If you love the boat you ride on, you will love it." They and Tottenham Hotspur are on the same boat, and they all hope that this boat can run faster, so that they can renew their contracts and achieve better results on the field.

"We understand, boss!" The players all answered with a smile.

After all, Tottenham Hotspur has benefited from their publicity and commercial operations in the past two years.

Ye Qiu smiled, waved his hand, and everyone returned to the locker room.

Before arriving at Theobald, they could wear whatever they liked, but when they arrived at Theobald, they had to change into Tottenham Hotspur's training suits immediately. In addition to the Tottenham Hotspur team logo and Adidas logo, the training suits also had Qatar Airways advertisements.

This is what Tottenham asked Adidas to provide, and this year's Tottenham jersey style has also been redesigned. Basically, it still maintains the team's traditional white shirt and black pants color. After all, this color is very popular and is considered a popular color that everyone likes, and it also brings a good start to the team.

But if you look closely, it is not difficult to find that the jersey design is better-looking, and Tottenham's team logo has been improved again, making it more dynamic as a whole. Although the team won the Champions League, it did not add a star to the team logo, because that is the practice in continental Europe, which is relatively rare in England.

After all, if all stars are added, then teams like Manchester United and Liverpool will fill their jerseys.

However, there are also teams that have stars, such as Manchester City, which has three stars, and Aston Villa, which added a star in 2007 to commemorate the team's winning of the European Cup in 1982. Other teams basically have no stars.

When the players returned to the locker room, Ye Qiu also went upstairs to change into the coach's training suit, which was also a set of coaching suits specially designed for them by Adidas. It was also an advertisement for Qatar Airways, but it did not affect the ornamental and comfort of the training suit.

After going downstairs again, Ye Qiu went straight to the indoor training ground. At this time, the players were already in the indoor training ground, marveling at the team's generosity and the advancedness of this indoor training ground.

This is an indoor training ground larger than a standard football field. There are some equipment rooms or lounges on the left and right sides. There are also some seats on the sidelines. The entire training ground is full of surveillance to capture every subtle movement of the players in the field at any time.

The roof is transparent, and even on cloudy days, it will not affect the light in the room, but the lights are still turned on. Looking up, you can see the rain flowing along the ceiling to both sides. There is a very complete drainage system around, so there is no need to worry about the drainage of the field. Even the geothermal and exhaust systems of the entire indoor training ground are very advanced.

If the geothermal heat is turned on in rainy and snowy weather, the air will become very humid and oppressive, making the players very uncomfortable, so the ventilation system is also very important for the indoor training ground. Tottenham Hotspur has specially considered this point and invested in building an exhaust system for this purpose, which is not available in other indoor football venues, and many of them do not even have geothermal heat at all.

"As usual, the morning training session is a recovery training. Everyone reports to the research center by themselves, and then comes back to warm up. Everyone should know the rules and be self-conscious. Go!" After Ye Qiu walked in, he looked at the time and arranged the morning training tasks.

The first few days of the training camp are always relatively relaxed, so Ye Qiu doesn't mind opening it to the media at all.

When the players came back from the physical examination at the research center, the staff of the training base also took the reporters who had walked around the base into the indoor training ground, which immediately caused an uproar among the reporters.

From the outside, this indoor training ground can be called a work of art, but when you walk in, you will find that it will definitely surprise you.

It's not just the light, but also the whole arched arc inside, the transparent covering film, the bright but not glaring lights, and the comfortable air quality, which make you have to admire Tottenham Hotspur's investment in this aspect.

If there were still people who doubted that Tottenham Hotspur's Theobald training base cost more than 80 million, or even rumored to cost more than 100 million, then just go in here and take a look at so many advanced equipment and so many modern hardware, it will make you find that it is indeed worth such a high value.

Across the road from the Theobald training base, the new school building of St. Mary's School has started construction. It was originally a quiet grove. Now with Tottenham Hotspur's Theobald training base and St. Mary's School, it can be said that it is a good place with both books and sports!

"Mr. Ye Qiu!" Sean Ingle from the Guardian seemed to have noticed something, spotted an opportunity, and walked over.

"Hello, Mr. Ingle!" Ye Qiu greeted him with a smile.

This young man is a talent, he shines with a little sunshine, and now he is a well-known reporter in the Guardian. And most importantly, he is a loyal fan of Tottenham Hotspur. Although he will criticize the team and give some pertinent opinions, overall, he has a strong goodwill towards Tottenham Hotspur.

"Why does it seem like someone is missing?" Sean Ingler asked.

Ye Qiu turned his head and said, "A few people? No, Frank Ribery is at the research center. You should have met before!"

Sean Yingger raised his eyebrows. He knew this Chinese person quite well. He was deliberately pretending to be stupid, so he chuckled and said, "You know who I'm talking about, right?"

Ye Qiu also smiled and nodded: "Maybe, Xian, you can meet them in Carrington!"

Carrington? Manchester United? Or Manchester City?

Sean Ingle's reaction was indeed fast enough. He immediately realized that Ye Qiu was hinting, and it was a very obvious hint. However, there are two training bases for football clubs in Carrington, Manchester. One is Manchester City. One is Manchester United. The two sworn enemies are separated by a wall. I heard that they often kick the ball back and forth to each other for fun.

But soon, Sean Ingle realized that it must be Manchester City.

This Manchester football club, which has just been acquired by the Abu Dhabi consortium from the United Arab Emirates, has a lot of money. In order to strengthen the strength of the team, it has invested more than 50 million euros in acquisitions and poaching, but it is said that it is still not satisfied. I heard that some big ones are being prepared.

Could it really be them?

Sean Yngle immediately realized that this was Ye Qiu's deliberately leaked news to him, so he nodded gratefully to Ye Qiu and backed away. However, he did not tell anyone else, but took out his Zeus. The second-generation mobile phone can secretly tell your colleagues in Manchester to pay attention to Manchester City when others are not paying attention.

According to his estimation, it won't appear in Carrington. The two parties may still be discussing personal treatment, so it will probably be in one of the places in Manchester, or maybe in London, but this is definitely a big news. .

But looking at Ye Qiu, he seemed to be in a good mood and did not feel disappointed at all because the players were poached. Judging from his reaction, the price offered by Manchester City must satisfy him, and it will not affect the football team. team, so...

"Tomorrow's front page headlines are here!" Sean Inger chuckled.

He admires Ye Qiu more and more now, because he himself has risen with the help of Ye Qiu. In the past half year or so, it was Ye Qiu and Tottenham who kept giving him some privacy. The news and intelligence made him receive more and more attention within the Guardian, and he gradually became a well-known reporter within the Guardian.

Ye Qiu noticed that Sean Ingle was texting, and he also smiled. Similar to Sean Ingle, there are many partners like Sean Ingle, Tottenham Hotspur and Ye Qiu, but some of them are not This is not the case. Some are purely personal relationships. For example, Ye Qiu has a very good relationship with Martin Samuel of The Times. There are also Jonathan Wilson, a very famous tactical analysis writer in Europe, who is the main column of The Guardian. The writer once wrote such epic football tactics as "The Inverted Pyramid".

Among them, Jonathan Wilson is an analyst of Tottenham Hotspur tactics. In the just past Champions League final, he wrote five columns for five consecutive days, all of which were tactical analysis and explained in simple terms for those who are interested. Fan Reading has been welcomed by many people because he himself has quite solid tactical knowledge.

The interactions between Ye Qiu and Tottenham Hotspur cannot be said to be mutual use. In fact, Ye Qiu welcomes their supervision and encouragement. He even welcomes these people to criticize Tottenham Hotspur and point out that the team shortcomings, so whether it is Jonathan Wilson, Martin Samuel, or even Sean Ingle, they often criticize Tottenham Hotspur.

But these criticisms are well-intentioned criticisms, not casual abuse.

In the morning, the team's first training session of the new season attracted hundreds of fans. This was mainly because Tottenham Hotspur limited the number of fans present. After all, the indoor training ground cannot accommodate so many people. If you enter, it will definitely affect the team's training.

Then Tottenham Hotspur signed a contract with David Silva in the press hall of the Press Building, witnessed by all the reporters and fans who came to the scene. In the next five years, David Silva Silva will play for Tottenham Hotspur.

At the same time, Ye Qiu also announced that the team has reached consensus on contract extensions with Robin van Persie, Messi, Fabregas, Alves, Cech and many other players, and the signing of new contracts will be completed in a short time.

Regarding Ribery's injury, Ye Qiu said that he is still waiting and watching. The specific situation will not be known until mid-August, when another operation is performed and the steel nails are removed, but he believes that Ribery will be able to return to health soon. Return to the court.

After selling Ashavin, Ribery is seriously injured and will be absent for a long time. Will Tottenham Hotspur's frontcourt offense be affected? Also, with Tottenham Hotspur this season After selling several top players, whether the overall strength will decline is a question that many reporters present asked.

Ye Qiu also answered this one by one, saying that Tottenham Hotspur will not be affected by the departure of players in certain positions, the team's overall strength has not been weakened, and the goal of the new season will still be to launch The impact on the league championship, but the team also hopes to continue to make gains in the Champions League.

"Winning the Champions League last season was like a dream for us. My players and I are very much looking forward to another opportunity to stand on top of Europe. I hope to win the trophy again in the new season!"

As for the Premier League championship, Ye Qiu also said that he and Tottenham Hotspur are bound to win it.

"In fact, we were just a little bit away from winning the Premier League last season, but we missed it in the end. We carefully analyzed the reasons and summarized the lessons learned in the past two seasons. I firmly believe that the regrets of the past two seasons will bring more help to our new season!"

At the same time, Ye Qiu also announced that the team will go to BMW London headquarters to attend the car donation ceremony at noon today, and will go to Stratford in the afternoon to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the five-star hotel. All reporters are also welcome to attend.

Faced with Tottenham Hotspur's big moves one after another, all the reporters present were a little surprised and full of admiration.

If we look at it purely from the perspective of team management and operation, Ye Qiu's team is indeed quite outstanding.

However, football clubs still have to rely on results in the end. I don't know whether Tottenham Hotspur can continue the glory of last season. Otherwise, no matter how well the off-field operation is, it will be useless.