The Godfather of Football

A Cartier fountain pen, with a gorgeous appearance and bright colors, seems to be not only a fountain pen, but also a piece of art that makes people cherish and reluctant to use it.

Unlike other Cartier fountain pens of the same model, this Cartier fountain pen is inlaid with an AC Milan team logo. When you touch it gently with your fingers, you can feel that the team logo and the fountain pen itself are somewhat mismatched, mainly because the team logo is a bit rough, which is somewhat abrupt on the gorgeous and delicate fountain pen.

But even so, he still threw away the Bic fountain pen he had been using before and used this Cartier.

When he was free, he liked to take out the fountain pen and fiddle with it in his hand, just like a child playing with his favorite toy, and then carefully looked at the team logo on the fountain pen and fell into a daze.

"I solemnly ask you not to use it to sign a new contract with Juventus!"

This is what the person who gave him the pen said after giving him this farewell gift. He couldn't tell whether it was a casual remark, a serious one, or just to show a sense of humor.

He had been troubled by this question for a long time, because he has always been a more emotional person. He often wondered, what if that person was serious? What if he was just joking? What if...

Perhaps this kind of trouble is a bit unnecessary, because that person didn't have much affection for him at all.

"When you were sitting on the bench or even in the stands, we won the Serie A championship, so, Andre, our head coach Allegri told me that if you are willing to stay, he can accept it, but you will no longer appear in the defensive midfielder position, and he will arrange you to play on the left wing of the midfield."

"And I must tell you, Andre, the club's policy has decided to make some adjustments. For those players over the age of 30, we will only offer a 12-month contract extension!"

"We are very grateful for all your contributions to the team, but, Andre, this is our condition!"

The above conversation took place in the general manager's office of AC Milan Club, between Galliani and Andrea Pirlo, and in that meeting, Pirlo told Galliani very clearly that he would not accept the treatment of being a substitute and signing a year-to-year contract, because he felt it was an insult to him.

As he said to his agent Tulio Tinti, he could accept a salary cut, even to 2.5 million euros, but he needed a guaranteed contract and a commitment to the main position.

But after that meeting, the relationship between the two sides broke down completely.

So the outside media soon spread the news that Pirlo was leaving AC Milan, and he soon received invitations from some big teams, such as Inter Milan. Moratti's consultant Leonardo personally called him and invited him to return to Inter Milan, but not long after, Leonardo was poached by Newcastle and became the general manager of Newcastle.

At the same time, Juventus also invited him, but Pirlo was very hesitant about the invitation of the Zebras, because Juventus could not play in the Champions League in the new season, and he knew very well that if he switched from AC Milan to Juventus, he would definitely be attacked by Milan fans, which would be a betrayal for them.

Even if Pirlo thought that he was the first to suffer betrayal, the fans would definitely not pay attention to you.

In the 38th round of Serie A, which was the last round, he was not even included in the game list by Allegri, so he did not follow the team to the away game, but stayed at home, but he still sat in front of the TV to watch the live broadcast of the game. AC Milan, which had already won the championship, obviously did not play well. It was a 0:0 draw.

After the game, Pirlo's phone was connected.

"Hello, Andre!" The voice of the person on the other end of the phone was a little familiar and a little strange. He couldn't hear it for a while. Fortunately, the person immediately introduced himself, "I am Ye Qiu!"

"Hello, Mr. Ye Qiu!" Pirlo was a little surprised. He would never have thought that Ye Qiu would call him personally.

Of course, he is not the kind of person who has never seen the world. His family business is also very large, and he has invested in many businesses. So playing football is not a matter of money for him, but a way to prove his self-worth.

"I know you have decided to leave Milan. Have you considered changing the environment, going to the Premier League, and coming to London!" Ye Qiu didn't have any extra nonsense. He was just like what the outside world had said. He liked to be direct, not to beat around the bush.

"Go to the Premier League? Tottenham Hotspur?" Pirlo was a little surprised and a little surprised.

Ye Qiu on the other end of the phone hummed and laughed three or four times, "You know, I invited you to London that year, and you refused me, but this time I still sincerely invite you to London. I hope you won't refuse me again!"

He still remembers!

Pirlo's first reaction was that when Ye Qiu first coached Chelsea, he invited him to London, but Pirlo was at the peak of his career at AC Milan at that time, so no matter how he looked at it, it was impossible for him to join Chelsea.

That time was similar to this time, Ye Qiu called him personally, but Pirlo politely declined Ye Qiu's invitation.

"To be honest, thank you very much for calling, Mr. Ye Qiu, but..." Pirlo hesitated, "I still hope to stay in Italy. You know I have never played football abroad."

"Are you afraid?" Ye Qiu laughed on the other end of the phone.

"Not afraid, just..." Pirlo was a little angry when Ye Qiu laughed like that, but he was really afraid.

He was afraid that he would not be able to adapt to the more competitive and faster-paced Premier League after leaving the familiar Serie A. Would he return to Serie A in disgrace? Would there be any Serie A team that wanted him? Would he still be able to get a starting position in the Italian national team to participate in the European Cup next year?

All of this made Pirlo feel afraid.

"That's right, Andre, it's normal for you to be afraid, but don't you think it's interesting to overcome fear? And do you think that when you are in your position, you still need to prove something to others? Or will you succumb to fear?" Ye Qiu still said with a chuckle on the phone.

"No, sir, I just..."

"Don't just, Andre, you can't refuse this time, because I need you to help my reorganized team to win the Premier League and the Champions League. This is what Juventus can't give you, and you can't refuse it, right?" Ye Qiu said very confidently.

Pirlo on the phone was silent. He had no way to doubt whether what Ye Qiu said was exaggerated, but he really believed that if Tottenham Hotspur said that they had the ability to win the Champions League, no one would doubt it, because even if the team sold some stars, they would still be one of the strongest teams on the planet.

What's more, Ye Qiu has proved his strength and level with one magical championship after another in the past ten years. He will definitely continue his magical journey next. Pirlo believes this very much.

"Let me think about it, okay?" Pirlo asked after being silent for more than ten seconds. He really couldn't refuse.

"Yes, but I hope to give me an answer before July. I also hope that on July 4, when the team is training, you have already put on our Tottenham Hotspur jersey!"

"Thank you!" Pirlo thanked sincerely on the phone.

…………

…………

Sitting on the plane from Milan to London, sitting in the BMW car from Heathrow Airport to White Hart Lane, Pirlo has been playing with the Cartier pen in his hand from beginning to end, thinking about the question he has been thinking about for the past month.

For his future, just like London at this moment, it is a bit gloomy, but will it be sunny after the haze?

Perhaps Galliani will be very happy because Pirlo did not use the Cartier pen he gave to sign the Juventus contract in the end. He chose a risk, from the Serie A, which has fallen to the fourth place in Europe, to the Premier League, which is currently ranked first in Europe, and is known as the most fiercely competitive league in the world.

Can I continue the glory of Serie A here?

Pirlo had no answer, but it was clear that Tottenham fans welcomed his arrival.

When the team decided to sell Fabregas to Barcelona for a whopping 65 million euros, they were happy about the club's transfer operations, but they were also worried about the team's midfield operations next season.

But when they heard that Pirlo would join Tottenham, all Tottenham fans were full of expectations for Pirlo's future, because they believed that Pirlo would have a place in the team and become a vital member of the team, continuing his magical performance in Serie A.

But after selling Fabregas, Tottenham followed suit and announced again that it would sell Spanish midfielder David Silva to Real Madrid for a high price of 60 million euros, which made Tottenham the most watched focus in the transfer market, because they had more than 100 million euros in transfer fees.

Yaya Toure was sold off during the winter break, David Silva and Fabregas were sold off during the summer transfer window, and Sandro, Vidal and Pirlo were introduced. It is clear that Ye Qiu's intention to make a subversive reform to the midfield has been revealed, and everyone's suspense about the new Premier League season is whether Tottenham's reorganization will work?

Also, can Pirlo and Vidal play a key role in Tottenham's lineup in the new season? And will the team's overall tactics be adjusted? If they continue to play with three midfielders, who will be the other midfielder? Ramsey? Phil Jones? Sandro? Eriksen? Or Coutinho?

Obviously, Tottenham's midfield competition has become completely fierce!

Facing the media's question about how the team will play in the new season and what kind of lineup to play with, Ye Qiu said that he didn't know either, and everything depends on the players' performance after the new season training camp.

"As I have always emphasized before, we are never a team that relies too much on a certain player, nor do we rely too much on a certain style of play. We need to constantly change our tactics and improve our ideas to keep up with the times, so that we can always maintain our fighting spirit and hunger."

"To do this, we need to bring in some fresh blood, and we also need to integrate the thinking of everyone in the team and maintain a unified philosophy, and so far, I am very satisfied with the team's transfer operation this summer. !”

After selling Yaya Toure, Cesc Fabregas and David Silva, Tottenham Hotspur earned nearly 200 million in transfer fees throughout the first half of 2011. , but only spent 12 million euros from Vidal, and he is still a big winner in the transfer market.

When a reporter asked whether Tottenham Hotspur's new season would be affected by the team's transfer market operations, Ye Qiu said that he was not worried at all because he was very satisfied with the team's existing player lineup.

"You know, the most important thing for a team is to have competition. In our team, we have veterans such as Pirlo, Beckham, and Raul, as well as Messi, Ribery, Cavani, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves and other powerful stars, but more importantly, players such as Vidal, Sandro, Ramsey, Eriksen, Kyle Walker and other players can all challenge the main players. Position to launch a strong impact, I think this is a very reasonable team lineup configuration! ”

"I can understand that fans are worried about the team, but what I want to say is that the level of combat effectiveness of a team, and whether the team can succeed, does not just depend on whether the team invests in the transfer market. Huge investment, at least we have been at the forefront of success in the past few seasons.”

"Many people may think that we have not invested in the transfer market, but they should see that Pirlo is still the top organizational midfielder in the world. He is a veritable superstar. No one can deny this, and I I also firmly believe that he can succeed at Tottenham Hotspur and return to his peak!”

"Vidal is a very good midfielder. His arrival will make our midfield stronger and more impactful, and he has very good foot skills, which is very similar to our style. There is Sandro, a Brazilian player with great potential. He is the captain of the Brazilian U20 national team and will lead the team to participate in the U20 World Youth Championship in August this year.”

"There are also Phil Jones, Pogba, Eriksen and Coutinho. They are all very good and have great potential. As for Ramsey, I think he should play a more important role in the new season. He will become a crucial member of the team, I believe no one will object to this!"

Tottenham Hotspur is full of talents. Ramsey's potential and strength have been proven in the past few years, regardless of whether it is Eriksson, Coutinho, Pogba, Phil Jones and others. , are all future rookies with both strength and potential. This group of people will start a brutal competition in Tottenham Hotspur. The best and most improved people will stay and become the main force.

This is Ye Qiu's strategy, and it is also his measure to urge this group of young players to maintain rapid progress and self-discipline.

In addition, this season Ye Qiu also plans to promote Nick Powell to the first team to participate in joint training. This young English player is known as Pirlo II. Now that Pirlo has come to Tottenham Hotspur, he Of course, the successor will have to learn from him, and I hope he can learn more from Pirlo.

In addition to the three midfielders, Ye Qiu also announced that he will recall Brazilian international Lucas Moura from Ajax to Tottenham Hotspur, who participated in the America's Cup. This is also regarded as a move for Tottenham. An important move for Tottenham to further strengthen the thickness of their bench.

But on the day Tottenham Hotspur announced Pirlo's joining, Times columnist Martin Samuel revealed in his column that the reason why Ye Qiu spent so much effort to purge Cesc Fabregas and David Shear Watt, in fact, is revealing a message to everyone, that is, the only indispensable thing is Tottenham Hotspur, not anyone else.

"Fabregas has been entangled with Barcelona in the past few years. Last summer, there was an incident of being put on a Barcelona jersey, which caused Tottenham Hotspur to be dissatisfied by sponsors. Although it was settled in the end, Tottenham Tenham Hotspur did not make any statement, but Ye Qiu was obviously impatient."

“David Silva was eager to join Real Madrid, and after the failure to introduce Fabregas, Real Madrid also wanted to get David Silva, so the two sides hit it off and eventually sold two Spanish midfielders at high prices. "

"Many people will think that this is Ye Qiu's move to adjust the team's technical and tactical style, but in fact they have not noticed that this is also a signal Ye Qiu sends to the big-name stars within the team, that is, don't Give me more trouble or I can sell anyone!"

"You know, in the past few years, Tottenham Hotspur sold forwards, wingers, and defenders, but they didn't sell midfielders. But now Ye Qiu not only sells midfielders, but also sells them all as soon as he sells them. This shows that This was a sign of his iron-fisted integration of the team. Some Tottenham Hotspur insiders even revealed that Ye Qiu even issued instructions to the management that anyone, no matter who they are, can leave if they want to. This shows that his reorganization this time How determined!”

"In the end, Ribery expressed his intention to stay with the team early, and then Messi, Cavani, Thiago Silva and other players expressed their intention to stay with the team one after another. They were undoubtedly shocked by Ye Qiu's thundering methods. They were feeling a crisis. They could no longer play football as slowly and without much ambition as last season."

"Reorganization may be just one of Ye Qiu's goals. His more important goal is to regain the ambition of the players in the team, re-stimulate their desires, and their hunger and pursuit for championships and honors!"

"To use an idiom of their Chinese, it is to scare the tiger with a knock on the mountain!"

Or, it can be said to be killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

Martin Samuel's words in the column were reprinted by countless media and were regarded as Ye Qiu conveying his intentions to his players through his column.

Anyone who violates Ye Qiu's intentions and ideas will have only one result in the end, leaving!