The Godfather of Football

"Wow, it's snowing!"

Standing in front of the window of the dormitory of Theobald Youth Training Camp, looking outside through the glass window that was a little hazy because of the hot air I exhaled, I don't know when it started, it turned into a white world, it turned out to be snowing.

Jordan Larsson is used to this kind of snow scene. In his hometown of Sweden, it snows earlier and more, and he has lived in many countries with his father. Whether it is the cold Netherlands and England in the north or the warm Barcelona in the south, he has lived there for a long time.

He is used to snow, but he is a little surprised by this sudden and silent snow.

He is the son of a star player. He grew up under the spotlight since he was a child, so he developed a cheerful and outgoing personality and stronger adaptability. Even though he lives alone in London now, he looks like he has lived here for a long time, and he always looks so confident.

"Hey, get up, it's time!" Jordan Larson walked into the dormitory and knocked on the bed boards around him. In this dormitory, he has three roommates from different places. One is Dan Crowley from Coventry in the east of Birmingham, but he said he grew up in Birmingham, and the two places are actually not far apart.

Another is Youri Tielemans from Brussels, Belgium. He is a mixed-race with coffee skin. He is taller than his peers and has a good build. They always call him Rijkaard, but this person doesn't like to talk and is a bit dull. It is probably because he doesn't speak English well and is always caught by people for making mistakes.

The last one is the oldest in their group, but the smallest. Patrick Roberts is a native of London, but his home is in southwest London. In addition, the club has regulations, so he also lives in Theobald, and he and the 18-year-old left-back Luke Shaw are said to be from the same place.

Following Jordan Larson's call, the other three people in the dormitory also got up one after another. Not surprisingly, they all showed their bed-loving expressions, but when they looked at the window with the curtains drawn, they were all attracted by the snow scene.

This is the first snow in London this year, and it always looks very white and beautiful.

Young people are always like this. When Jordan Larson went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, the three roommates rushed to the window. The three big heads wanted to break the glass window and go outside to feel the coldness of the white snow.

After waiting for a long time, they were tired of watching, and one by one they rushed to go to the bathroom, or to wash their faces and brush their teeth.

In the end, the result was that some went to the bathroom, some washed their faces, and some brushed their teeth. It was very interesting.

"Hey, can we go now?" The door of the dormitory was pushed open, and Ryan Ledson and several of his roommates who lived in the dormitory next door were already waiting outside, but the people inside were still looking for pants or socks.

This kind of thing happens almost every day in every dormitory, not only for the younger age groups, but also for the older age groups. Every time they arrive at the end, they will be urged by their companions and teammates to tidy up their beds and leave the dormitory in a hurry.

The dormitory for young players in Theobald is also very comfortable. Although it is not built to the standards of a five-star hotel like the first team, it is the most advanced and high-end no matter where it is placed or which football club it belongs to. However, the requirements are also very strict and discipline is emphasized.

There is a wall of honor at the exit of the dormitory building, on which there are photos of young students who once lived here, such as Nastasic, Varane, and Pogba. They have all established themselves in the first team. In addition, some of them have not been able to enter the first team and may have left football or played for other teams.

There is a slogan hanging on the wall of honor, which is the concept of Tottenham Hotspur Youth Training Camp, or even the football concept of Tottenham Hotspur, "Football is not just for victory!"

This sentence is not long, and the young players all understand it, but few people can really understand its meaning and implications, so naturally they don’t know that this sentence has not only caused countless controversy in the world of football, but also is the persistent pursuit of countless head coaches throughout their lives.

All the staff of Theobald are fans of Tottenham Hotspur, so coming to work at Theobald is not only a job with good salary and benefits for them, but also a passion, so early in the morning, the staff had already cleared the road, and the snow was swept to the side of the road, leaving only some melted snow water on the road.

"Good morning!" After finishing the morning work, the sanitation worker, who was still holding a broom in his hand, stood by the road and greeted the young players with a smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Brown!" The young players nodded politely to him.

Coming out of the dormitory building, they headed towards the intersection of the youth training camp because they were in a hurry to go to school. The school was St. Mary's School across the street, a very famous institution in the UK and even in London. Although it is not as top schools as Eton College, it is also very famous and not everyone can get in.

You know, as Tottenham Hotspur's youth training students, they do not need to pay any fees to enter St. Mary's Public School, while other people's annual tuition fees alone are more than 10,000 pounds, so these backgrounds do not count. Fugui, this is a very rare opportunity for a young player who got where he is today through playing football.

Of course, St. Mary's School has very high requirements for its students. For ordinary students, in addition to wealth, they must also be talented. For Tottenham Hotspur players, wealth is not considered, but it is There must be something, in addition to being able to play football, cultural studies and other aspects must meet their requirements.

To this end, there are more than a dozen tutors in the Tottenham Hotspur youth training camp, who specialize in tutoring students with poor cultural courses to help them meet the requirements of St. Mary's School. The club has even introduced a series of high requirements , anyone who fails to meet the requirements in cultural courses will not be allowed to participate in training and competitions, and may even be considered for withdrawal.

It is because of such high requirements that the academic performance of this group of Tottenham Hotspur players is very good.

"Good morning, Mr. Brinton!" Finally arriving at the security room, this group of little villains greeted each other in a flattering manner.

Security captain Paul Brinton put on a very serious look, "Hey, boys, you're late!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Brinton, the time is just right!"

As soon as this group of brats stepped out of the security room, they immediately ran forward like wild horses that had escaped the reins.

Seeing their appearance, Paul Brinton laughed and cursed from behind. Looking at this group of young brats, anyone would feel younger, especially the vigorous energy in them. It gives people full confidence in their future and believes that they can one day become the pride of Tottenham Hotspur.

Of course, maybe this idea is a bit naive. After all, not everyone can wear the Tottenham Hotspur jersey. Only the best players have this qualification, but wishes are always beautiful and naive. , isn’t it?

Just like the day before yesterday, the day after Tottenham Hotspur slaughtered Chelsea 4:0 at home, FIFA also announced the top three selection results of the first FIFA Ballon d'Or Award in 2010. In order to maintain suspense, they The specific top three positions were not announced. Tottenham Hotspur's Messi and Franck Ribery were both selected, while the other one was Iniesta from Barcelona.

It should be said that this is definitely a major victory for Tottenham Hotspur.

Paul Brinton is aware of the group of brats who just passed by him. They are all rookies that Tottenham Hotspur attaches great importance to. Among them may be the next Messi, the next Franck Ribery, or the next Francesco. Bregas, who may be seen donning Tottenham Hotspur shirts at the new Stratford Stadium in the near future.

The bell of St. Mary's School rang in the distance.

"You have to work so hard every day to go to class. You should be late!" Paul Brinton laughed and scolded.

But after saying this, no one could see the slightest complaint on his face.

Many people say that Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of the cooperation between St. Mary's School and Tottenham Hotspur, but in fact, those who say this do so because they do not understand the situation.

Tottenham Hotspur is now the most popular team in London. Countless fans have devoted themselves to Tottenham Hotspur. In addition, the level of Tottenham Hotspur's youth training has improved rapidly in recent years, especially In the past two years, it has helped St. Mary's School defeat all competitors for two consecutive years and win the England Inter-School Cup.

This is definitely a huge honor for St. Mary's School. They even have the right to represent England in some European school team exchange games, and all of this is Tottenham Hotspur players and coaches. Support behind.

Why has St. Mary's Public School become more and more famous in recent years, and why do so many players want to enter St. Mary's Public School during the recruitment every year? In addition to the fact that this school itself has a strong faculty, the promotion of Tottenham Hotspur is also a factor that cannot be ignored.

Some people say that for English people, football is a kind of faith, the stars are saints, the football field is the church, the chants of the fans are hymns, the jerseys worn by the stars are religious robes, and the head coach is the godfather!

In the past two years, St. Mary's School has organized students to visit Theobald at the opening ceremony of each semester. There is even news that they will start with the topic of Tottenham Hotspur stars. It’s a new semester, because this will make it easier for some new students to integrate into the school atmosphere.

Paul Brinton is very proud of his job, because he feels that Theobald's security captain is equivalent to defending the beliefs of countless people. This is a noble and extremely positive job. Meaningful work.

As usual, the group of naughty students were sent away, and the players and coaching staff of the first team were soon welcomed.

A new day has begun!

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Because of the snow, the morning training session was arranged at the indoor training ground.

This is an indoor training ground equipped with an advanced geothermal system and drainage system. The ventilation effect is also very ideal. Even if it is snowing outside and the geothermal is turned on inside, no one will feel wet or stuffy. This is a manifestation of good ventilation.

The players are doing some simple recovery training on the training ground. After all, after playing against Chelsea, Ye Qiu gave everyone in the team a day off, so many people need to do recovery training to adjust their physical condition to cope with the 18th round of the Premier League in a few days. This is also a key round that determines whether Tottenham Hotspur can break Chelsea's winning streak. Although Ye Qiu didn't say anything, the players are still very nervous.

And just yesterday, the French Football Magazine held a press conference to announce the top three of the 2010 FIFA Golden Ball Award. Messi, Ribery and Iniesta became the top three. Many people are guessing who will win this award.

In addition to the two Tottenham players being shortlisted in the top three, Ye Qiu also received an invitation from FIFA, hoping that he could attend the award ceremony and serve as the first FIFA Golden Ball Award presenter. He was also shortlisted for the 2010 Best Coach. The other three candidates were Bosque, Mourinho and Ferguson.

"Inviting you to present the award should be a hint!" Mauro Tassotti stood beside Ye Qiu. The two watched the players train. Because it was not an important training, they watched casually.

"Hint?" Ye Qiu found it funny when he heard this. His wife Huang Chu also thought so last night, but...

"Do you think it is a hint that our players can win the award? Or a hint that our players can't win the award?"

This question made Mauro Tassotti unable to answer, because no matter how he thought about it, it was right.

Two Tottenham players were shortlisted, and Ye Qiu went to present the award. Is this a hint of a consolation prize? Or is Ye Qiu going to present the Golden Ball Award to his favorite player? This is probably a very suspenseful question!

"No matter who wins the Golden Ball this year, it will be very controversial!" Mauro Tassotti said helplessly.

If Tottenham Hotspur won the Champions League last season, there might not be any controversy, and Messi or Ribery would have no problem winning the award. But the problem now is that Tottenham Hotspur does not have the Champions League, but Messi and Ribery did perform well, but they did not have a convincing performance in the World Cup.

The best performers in the World Cup are Spanish players, and Iniesta is such a representative. He scored the winning goal in the final, but he did not have a good performance in the club.

If the honors of the club and the national team are used as a benchmark, Sneijder is the most convincing. He helped the Netherlands reach the World Cup final and won the runner-up. At the same time, he also helped Manchester United win the Champions League and the Premier League runner-up with his outstanding performance. But the problem is that Sneijder's performance in the second half of the year was too unconvincing, and he almost couldn't even keep his starting position.

Ribery's performance in the second half of the year was sluggish, which eventually led to his failure to win the World Footballer of the Year award. So this year, Sneijder failed to make it into the top three. To be honest, there is nothing much to say except regret and pity.

But among the top three players left, no matter who gets it, it will cause strong controversy.

But all selections are like this. As long as they are selected by people, they will inevitably bring some controversy.

Ye Qiu can also clearly feel that Messi and Ribery are also quite nervous. Among them, Ribery is better. He can enter the top three, which is actually a victory. Although his performance is also quite outstanding, his brilliance is still overshadowed by Messi in Tottenham Hotspur.

Only Messi is more capable and weighty to win this award, but he himself is not sure enough in his heart, so this more or less affects his mood.

Ye Qiu had to call Messi to his office after the morning training session and had a talk with him, reminding him that the most important thing now was not to think about whether he could win the prize, but to concentrate on the game.

After Ye Qiu met Messi, UEFA also held a draw ceremony for the round of 16 knockouts at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

As the first in the group, Tottenham Hotspur, apart from the factors of being in the same group and the same country, may draw opponents such as AC Milan, Valencia, Roma, Copenhagen, Lyon, Inter Milan and Marseille, which should be considered as relatively strong teams, after all, they can stand out from the group stage.

Copenhagen is one of the weaker teams, but Tottenham Hotspur obviously can't take advantage of this, because they drew Roma from Serie A. Ye Qiu was also quite satisfied with the result of the draw, after all, there is still a big gap between the strength of Roma and Tottenham Hotspur.

With the results of the draw announced, Tottenham Hotspur's attention has returned to the Premier League and the upcoming Christmas carnival. This year's Christmas carnival will have higher investment than in recent years and has received strong support from the community and the London City Government, which will attract more attention from fans and tourists from all over the world.

Ye Qiu and Peter Kenyon both planned to make the Christmas Carnival an annual event for Tottenham Hotspur, so they spared no effort in promoting it, and even arranged for the team's stars to shoot commercials for publicity and promotion.

However, this aspect was handed over to Peter Kenyon, and Ye Qiu and the first-team players still focused all their energy on the Premier League, after all, the Christmas devil schedule was about to come.

Because Manchester United had to participate in the Club World Cup, the match between Manchester United and Chelsea was held in advance in the middle of the week. As a result, Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2:1 away. Not only did the Blues fall out of the top four, but they also suffered two consecutive defeats. Ancelotti's position as coach was in jeopardy, even if Abramovich personally came forward to protect it.

It was under such circumstances that Tottenham Hotspur ushered in a record-breaking battle!