The Godfather of Football

Although many people think of Enfield as a suburb of London, in fact it is still a dense residential area.

You have to go all the way north to the area around the Ring Expressway M25 to be considered a suburb. It has a vast area, sparsely populated areas, beautiful fields, and a very broad field of vision.

Get off the M25 motorway and go north into Hertfordshire. Along the way there are guidance signs for the Leigh Valley Whitewater Centre, which will be one of the main venues for the London Olympics and a competition venue for water sports such as surfing and rowing.

Tottenham Hotspur's Theobald Training Base is not difficult to find, especially for those who have been here before. Unless you are a road addict, you will basically be able to remember it after visiting it once, because it is easy to find. Moreover, the scenery here is very beautiful and quiet. It is definitely a good place for self-cultivation.

After visiting the Theobald training base, Pirlo immediately fell in love with this place.

"Hello!" When Pirlo's agent Tinti drove to the gate of Theobald training base, the security guard stopped the car politely, leaned down and saw Pirlo sitting in the car, " Sorry, Mr. Pirlo, outside vehicles are not allowed in the training base, so please park in the dedicated parking lot of the News Building. Thank you for your cooperation!”

Pirlo waved his hand towards the security guard, indicating that he understood, and the door slowly opened.

Like the first training session of every season, Tottenham Hotspur’s training session this morning was still open to the public, so when Pirlo and his agent arrived at the parking lot of the News Building, there were already many people who had come here to The reporters who came.

But what's interesting is that what Pirlo was worried about, similar to the situation in the Italian media where they pounced on the players like tigers when they saw them, did not happen. Everyone just kept a certain distance and picked up the players. The camera was taking pictures, but no one rushed to ask him for an interview, which surprised Pirlo.

"I heard that this is Theobald's rule!" Agent Tindy said.

Pirlo likes such rules very much, and he has always felt that no team in the world can make those all-pervasive reporters obey, but now it seems that he is wrong, because Tottenham Hot Thorn did it.

Walking along the main road of the training base, you soon turned right and came to the first team's training area. Walking further in, you soon arrived at the first team's training building. The parking lot is under the building and there are many players. Talking.

Many international players who participated in the America's Cup have not returned to the team yet, but it was previously reported that basically all Tottenham Hotspur players do not plan to take another vacation after playing in the America's Cup, but will directly return to the team for pre-season. training camp, even though the club still gave them two weeks of vacation as per past practice, they are obviously more active now.

The team's preparations for this summer will be divided into three stages. First, they will train in Theobald for a few days. After the team gathers, they will go to Qatar in the Middle East, where they will stay for four days and play a warm-up match. In Asia, three warm-up matches will be played in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore in China.

The whole of Asia will last for two weeks, and then the team will go to Amsterdam to participate in the Amsterdam Cup Invitational Tournament. This is also a traditional tournament for Ajax. Tottenham Hotspur is invited every year, and this will also be the Premier League Community Shield against Manchester City. The final warm-up match before the team.

In addition, at the end of the Asian tour, three Brazilian players in the team will participate in the U20 World Cup in Colombia in August, namely Sandro, Coutinho and Lucas Moura. Originally, the Brazilian Football Association wanted to let Neymar participated in this event, but Ye Qiu said that Neymar will be an important member of the team in the new season and refused to let him participate in this event.

Ye Qiu has always had a good relationship with the football associations of various countries, so this time he has tried his best to cooperate with the Brazilian Football Association's request and has already allowed three players to participate in the tournament, especially Sang, who is the captain of the Brazilian U20 national team. Drodo, this is also a midfielder that Ye Qiu values ​​​​very much this season. It can be said that he has done his best.

In this regard, the Brazilian Football Association can only choose to accept it. After all, Neymar is now considered a big star.

In addition to players going to participate in national team matches, players participating in the America's Cup may not be able to return to team training until late July. Therefore, for Tottenham Hotspur, training and preparations throughout the summer will become very complicated. It was fragmented and there was no way to start training with a complete lineup.

But Tottenham Hotspur's coaching staff already has rich experience in handling this kind of training. After all, in the past few years, Ye Qiu's team has always had many international players and stars, so they have already accumulated a set of skills. , how to adjust the status and preparation experience of the stars that have been affected by participating in the national team competition.

The performance of Tottenham Hotspur last season shocked everyone. The league started very smoothly and calmly, but in October, Tottenham Hotspur soared into the sky and directly played a wave. The crazy winning streak has almost convinced the whole world. If Yaya Toure hadn't left during the winter break, Tottenham Hotspur would probably have won the Champions League in one go.

On the contrary, if we look at other teams, including Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and other teams, they obviously failed to adjust the state of the international players participating in the World Cup. As a result, they either started the league very eye-catching, but then their state declined rapidly, or It's just that they haven't been able to show their strength and level well throughout the season.

Of course, the coaching staff is capable, but the players also have to trust it.

Before Pirlo came to Tottenham, he had always heard that the players of Tottenham had a strong sense of trust in the club, which made it easy for the team's coaching staff to start work, so on his way to Theobald, he wanted to find out what secrets were there.

"Hello, Andre!" Beckham saw Pirlo and came up. He was the vice captain of the team. He had also attended Pirlo's joining ceremony before, and took Pirlo to visit the entire Theobald yesterday and introduced everything here to him. The team's captain Thiago Silva was playing in the America's Cup with the Brazilian national team.

"Hello, David!" Pirlo smiled and stretched out his hand.

Beckham is 36 years old, which is considered old, but he is still in good shape and still so handsome.

"Hi!" Raul also came over. He is also one of the three veterans of Tottenham.

Pirlo also shook hands with Raul, then looked at Beckham, "Do I need to do anything before training?"

After Beckham and Raul looked at each other, they both laughed. Beckham turned around and waved at a young man who had been staring at them in the parking lot, "Hey, come here, Nick!"

Soon, a slightly shy handsome young man ran over from the crowd. He was estimated to be less than 1.8 meters tall, but he looked very young. It is estimated that he will have to grow taller in the future. He looks very good, a bit like the masculine and handsome Englishman.

"Nick Powell, your fan!" Beckham smiled and pulled the handsome young man and pushed him in front of Pirlo, "Before the training session, you have an important task, Andre, that is to meet the requirements of your fan."

After that, Beckham encouraged him again, "Tell me, Nick, what do you want?"

The handsome young man giggled and was a little excited to see his idol.

"Please, Nick, it's time for training, hurry up!" Raul also laughed.

Pirlo also smiled and nodded, "Okay, Nick, what do you want to do?"

After being encouraged, the boy raised his head suddenly and giggled, "Andre... Andre, I hope to take a photo with you, post it on Weibo and WeChat, and ask you to sign for me!" But soon, he shook his head again, "No, not just one autograph, but several autographs. I have several friends who are your fans!"

Pirlo was happy when he heard it. His teammates have become his fans. It seems that he is really old.

While laughing, he took out the Cartier pen in his chest pocket and took the autograph book handed over by Nick Powell. He found that this autograph book not only had his signature, but also the signatures of almost all other players, one page for each person. It seems that this boy is not just a star chaser.

"To my teammates, future stars, Nick Powell, Andrea Pirlo!"

As Pirlo wrote down his blessings and signatures, Nick Powell excitedly took his autograph book with one hand, and happily took a photo with Pirlo, and posted it on his Weibo and WeChat. But just as he was about to hand over the autograph books given by other teammates, Ye Qiu appeared in front of them.

"Okay, star-chaser Nick Powell, those guys who want to ask for autographs, let them find a chance to come to the first team. We are about to start training!"

Ye Qiu's sudden appearance startled everyone present. He made almost no sound, as if he had come out of the ground. Nick Powell was not afraid, but smiled shyly, "Got it, boss!" After that, he ran away directly.

Not to mention, this kid ran fast and looked very agile.

"Don't bother with those little brats, but many of them are your fans!" Ye Qiu said with a smile after approaching.

Almost everyone who plays in the midfield will appreciate Pirlo. At least the Italian's calm command and dispatch in the midfield is really second to none in today's football. In fact, to some extent, Pirlo is worse than Xavi.

Of course, in terms of honors, popularity, and even influence, Pirlo is definitely not as good as Xavi, but this is more determined by performance and media attention, but as long as it is a fan watching the game, no one will dislike Pirlo.

"Andre, go to the research center first. Meierseman will arrange a temporary training suit and boots for you. Don't worry, this is only temporary, and the boots are also from Nike, so there is no sponsorship problem. As for the training equipment tailored for you, it will take some time to arrive, so you have to make do with it for now!"

Tottenham Hotspur's jerseys, boots, shin guards and other training equipment for almost every player are tailored by sponsors, many of which are built according to the player's body shape, and these training suits are specially equipped with various sensors and training equipment, the purpose is to help the team collect some data from the players during training.

These sensors will even be used in the game. For example, Raul and Beckham have worn headbands many times, and there is a micro camera in the headband to record the players' every move on the field, their observations, vision, running, etc. These are some of the materials needed for the team's training in the future.

Pirlo will do the same. Ye Qiu has already talked to him about this. He has a good relationship with Meerseman and agrees to cooperate with Tottenham Hotspur's research. After all, he is now a Tottenham Hotspur player.

And all of this will be kept secret. Even Raul and Beckham will wear micro cameras on the court. No one knows, and no news will be announced. Everything is confidential, and the players will not reveal a single bit, no matter who they are.

According to Ye Qiu, Pirlo went directly to the research center and met Meerseman, Demichelis and Peter Brandt. In fact, the reason why Ye Qiu was relieved to introduce Pirlo was related to their recommendation, especially Meerseman and Demichelis's strong protection.

The two former heads of the Milan laboratory knew Pirlo's physical condition very well. They all believed that the injury last season would not have any impact on Pirlo. AC Milan would lose a lot if they let Pirlo go.

After returning to the training ground, Pirlo went directly to the locker room to change into training equipment, and then ran to the training ground.

At this time, many media reporters from all over the world have gathered around the training ground, and even Tottenham Hotspur's own interview team is among them, because Tottenham Hotspur has now launched its own TV station and official magazine.

Unlike other public training sessions that are always perfunctory and deal with media and reporters with some sparse and ordinary training projects, Ye Qiu's first training session brought out the real stuff, which can be clearly seen from the layout on the court.

In the comprehensive training ground of the first team, which is much larger than a standard football field, different training areas are divided according to different training projects. After completing a certain training project here, the players will run directly to the next training area to carry out the next training, and then go to the next one after completion.

And unlike other teams' training sessions, which are unified in the same training, Tottenham Hotspur starts all training projects at the same time, but different players carry out different projects, and almost no one stands on the sidelines to watch.

The whole process is very compact and the content is also very interesting.

Like all training sessions, it starts with a relatively light exercise. Tottenham Hotspur's first training is running.

They are divided into two groups to run. One group runs from the center circle to the penalty area on one side of the goal. However, during the running process, the coaching staff set up some obstacles, such as some obstacles that the players need to avoid, and some circles on the grass. The players need to control their legs accurately and step into the circle with every step. There are also some hurdles for practicing jumping.

If you just look at it this way, it seems very simple, but if you personally participate in the training, you will find that these trainings will put your body in a very strange state. For example, avoiding obstacles requires your body to have enough adjustment and balance ability, while stepping on circles requires your legs to be flexible enough, and the balance and coordination of the body is also very important, because every step you take, the body will change into another posture. If the balance and coordination are not strong enough, the whole person will fall sideways.

After running to the edge of the penalty area, another teammate also ran over from the side of the penalty area and passed the ball to you from the top of the arc. The pass was about 20 meters away. After the player who rushed over from the center circle received the ball, the passer would defend one-on-one in the top area of ​​the arc and then shoot. This is also part of the training.

Generally speaking, the offensive players receive the ball and attack, and the defensive players pass and defend, which is very targeted.

After completing this project, there are other projects, which are very practical training projects. Basically, they are one-on-one. When the players complete these projects one by one, they almost go around the training ground and return to the center circle, and then start the next cycle immediately.

The whole training project lasted for 30 minutes. Almost all the players did it without stopping. The whole project included everything that might happen in a football game, such as running back and forth, dribbling at high speed, one-on-one, getting rid of the ball... etc. The content is very rich and very practical.

Many people wonder why Tottenham Hotspur players are so strong in one-on-one ability? Why is the ability to pass and receive the ball so good? If they come to watch Tottenham Hotspur's training, they will find that when they have trained all the training items well, they can also do it.

Ye Qiu is not afraid of being copied by others. To be honest, these trainings are just some basic trainings for Tottenham Hotspur. The key is to look at the team's technical and tactical training, especially tactical training, which will not be announced to the public.

After finishing 30 minutes of high-intensity training, the team immediately moved to the next training ground, taking the opportunity to rest during the transfer, and the next major training project is multi-person confrontation, two-on-two, three-on-two, or multi-person circle monkey, which are also arranged very reasonably and orderly, and at the same time very compact.

The last training project is a six-on-six free confrontation training in a small field next to it. This confrontation training has almost no requirements for attack and defense. The only rule is that each team cannot touch the ball more than three times, and the last third touch must be a shot, otherwise it will be considered a violation.

This is also very demanding for the players, but all the reporters who came to the scene were surprised to find that Tottenham Hotspur is not just about those offensive players, such as Raul, Ribery, Ramsey, Coutinho and other players who performed well, and even Kompany, Kyle Walker, Varane, Nastasic and other defensive players on the back line performed very well.

Some people say that the game is a reflection of the results of training, and what kind of training can create what kind of game.

In fact, everyone is praising Ye Qiu's ability to create stars, but no one has noticed that Tottenham Hotspur's entire training system, even including the staffing of the coaching staff, is also second to none in today's football.

They use this most scientific and effective training program to build their own players.

But it is a pity that these will not appear in the news media the next day, because no one will pay attention to how they train, and more people are more concerned about these stars.

As for those who want to learn, just arrange someone to attend Tottenham Hotspur's coach training class, and they can learn these training programs, because these are not profound things, and they are formulated by Tottenham Hotspur to create their own tactical style. If other teams practice in this way, but play defensive counterattacks, will it be effective?

In other words, if your players' level does not meet this requirement, your training will be useless, but a kind of weakening.

Ye Qiu has always said that Tottenham Hotspur has found its own style and has a mature and stable tactical system, which includes this training system, because it is this system that has cultivated one star after another for Tottenham Hotspur.

Therefore, as long as there is this system, and then continue to improve and improve, it can continuously create stars. Then what is there to worry about selling Fabregas, David Silva, or even anyone else?

It was just a 90-minute training session, but Pirlo felt that he began to trust this club.

Perhaps it was just this training session. Although he was exhausted, he felt deeply that if such a team could not succeed, then who else in today's football deserves success?