The Godfather of Football

"Have a drink!" Ye Qiu's voice rang in Guardiola's ears.

"Oh, sorry, I don't drink!" Guardiola, who was sitting in a daze on the visiting team's coaching bench, waved his hands reflexively, but soon, he saw that Ye Qiu was holding a cup of instant coffee on the outside of the paper cup. It is a very simple brown LOGO.

"Thank you!" He raised his hand, took the cup of coffee from Ye Qiu's hand, brought it to his mouth and took a sip. It was a bit hot, so he held the coffee in both hands and looked ahead without saying anything.

After the game, many fans in the stands had left the stadium one after another, and the staff began to clean up the aftermath. Some temporary workers and volunteers were cleaning up garbage and debris in the stands, and wiping the seats. , and below, the groundskeeper led a team to clean up the turf and fill in the potholes.

This is a very important job and an essential part of maintaining turf.

"Don't you need to stay with the players?" Guardiola felt a little silent and the atmosphere was a little awkward.

After defeating their opponents 5:0 at home, Tottenham Hotspur can almost be said to have advanced to the finals in advance. In this case, I believe that all Tottenham Hotspur players and staff are celebrating vigorously, and at this time , as the head coach of the team, Ye Qiu should be with the players and enjoy the joy of victory.

Ye Qiu laughed after hearing this, "I think it must be a very unpleasant thing to see a serious head coach when the players are very indulgent and happy, so I usually stay away at such times. Far away, I would even consider flying back to Mars if I could!”

Although Guardiola didn't know that flying to Mars was related to a very interesting joke on the Chinese Internet, he couldn't help but laugh. His originally depressed mood gradually became much more cheerful. He picked up the coffee cup in his hand and drank again. After taking a sip, I felt that the taste was a bit special, so I looked at the LOGO on the paper cup.

"Costa!" Guardiola was obviously impressed by this LOGO.

"The local coffee giant in the UK has developed very rapidly in recent years, and it is also our sponsor of Tottenham Hotspur!" Ye Qiu explained with a smile, at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane Stadium and Theo Bor In Germany's training base, only Costa's coffee and their shops can be found, both of which are dedicated to serving fans.

And after Tottenham Hotspur takes over Stratford Stadium, Costa will open the largest flagship store in London in Stratford Stadium. The venue has been selected, and it happens to be opposite Leaf Technology. Data Cloud and Zhenhua Building, the rental of the venue alone is as high as 10 million pounds each season, and if sponsorship is added, it is as high as 15 million pounds.

Of course, Leaf Technology must promise and guarantee that only Costa’s coffee will appear in Stratford Stadium in the future, and they will provide their coffee to all fans who come to the scene. You know, Stratford The capacity of Ford Stadium is as high as 80,000, and according to Tottenham Hotspur's conservative estimates, the average attendance is at least 70,000.

Just think about it, there are two games every week, and 140,000 people stay in this stadium for three hours, and during this period of time, they will eat and drink in the stadium. This is very important for the shops in the stadium. , are huge potential benefits.

Although Guardiola is not very familiar with business, he has heard people mention Tottenham Hotspur’s business operations more than once. There is also news that in order to create the best stadium experience for the team, Tottenham After Tottenham takes over the new stadium, it will invest more than 100 million pounds to renovate the stadium, which is very expensive.

Perhaps, for Tottenham Hotspur fans, entering this stadium is not just for watching games and winning, but for a unique feeling and experience.

"Can I ask you a question?" Guardiola asked, looking at Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu smiled, "That question that bothers you as you sit here and ponder over it?"

Guardiola nodded, and after receiving Ye Qiu's nod, he said: "What do you think you will do when a team loses balance?" But after asking this question, Guardiola asked I feel a bit stupid, because judging from Ye Qiu's actions in the past few years, he is following the same route as Ferguson.

Ye Qiu did not rush to answer, but walked to the other side of the visiting team's coaching bench, sat down, and thought for a while, "Actually, I think the solution to everything in this world is a kind of compromise. Only those who know how to compromise Talent can survive in this world for a long time.”

Speaking of this, Ye Qiu suddenly remembered the Costa Coffee in his hand, "Did you know? Although Costa Coffee became famous in the UK and was founded in London, it was founded by a pair of Italian brothers. They brought authentic Italian coffee, from recipe to roasting technology, but they also added some British local taste considerations to form a unique coffee recipe.”

"If you ask outside, more than 90% of British people like Costa coffee. In their view, this is no longer Italian coffee, but British coffee!" Ye Qiu said with a smile.

The British have a strong xenophobia. They are still immersed in the glory of the empire on which the sun never sets, so they subconsciously have the mentality that their own things are the best, and the same is true for coffee.

"What I want to say is that if Costa had not considered the taste of British consumers, he would not have the success he has now in the UK. This is a compromise for them for the British market, and this compromise also applies to football. Teams and players, everyone needs to compromise, so when a problem occurs, it must be when this compromise is destroyed, then you have to figure out who is destroying this compromise, and how to make up for it? "

Seeing Guardiola's tilted head expression, Ye Qiu knew that such ambiguous remarks would not satisfy him, so he smiled and said, "I have always felt that an evil tiger cannot stop a pack of wolves!"

Guardiola got the answer he wanted, an answer that did not surprise him, but he still couldn't calm down in his heart because he felt that he needed to explore and think about some issues again.

"I have decided to leave Barcelona!" Guardiola chuckled as if he was about to usher in relief.

"Congratulations!" Ye Qiu congratulated with a smile.

But, is this a congratulation?

Guardiola laughed twice, "But I'm thinking about another question, what are you looking for?"

I believe this is also a question that all professional head coaches around the world, or in other words, all professional football people, are interested in. That is what exactly is Ye Qiu looking for with his constant attempts and groping?

"Once upon a time, I wanted to find a tactical system that was the best and most outstanding in the world and could also ensure the longevity of the team!" This should be regarded as one of Ye Qiu's first two or three years of coaching Tottenham Hotspur. "But then I gradually realized and discovered a problem, that is, we should not let such a system tie us down."

"I initially thought that the system was a good thing, but then I discovered a problem, that is, when you rely too much on a system, it is easy to become complacent, because when I sell a player, I I will try my best to find a player with similar technical style to fill this hole and continue to maintain this system.”

When Guardiola heard this, he couldn't help but nod with emotion. This is what he did in Barcelona.

"But you find that when it first started, this system was full of passion and vitality, full of a kind of exciting creativity, but as time goes by, for example, two years, three years, or even longer, After four years, when everyone is familiar with this system and knows everything here, they will feel bored. "

"When everyone is tired of this, the system loses its original passion and vitality and becomes a pool of stagnant water. Although it looks strong on the surface, in fact, it is very fragile because it It cannot stand the test or fail, and more importantly, it has blocked itself in a dead end with no future.”

Guardiola understood what Ye Qiu meant. To use a popular proverb in Europe, since you think it is good, there is no need to change it.

Therefore, when a team wins the championship and wins the honor, the first thing it does is often to maintain the team's winning team and core strength, trying to maintain such a stable system structure, but in this way The final result must be failure. The reason is very simple. Before winning the championship, he was full of honor and passion, but after winning the championship, he was a pool of stagnant water.

"You mean, you want to give up the entire tactical system?" Guardiola felt that Ye Qiu's view of the system was very negative.

But after hearing this, Ye Qiu shook his head and smiled. He found that people in Europe and the United States believed in zero-sum games. It was either black or white, with no middle ground, just like Guardiola. Ye Qiu said that the system was not good, so he felt Ye Qiu wanted to give up the system, but in fact, Ye Qiu had never said anything before that he wanted to give up the system. He was just listing the shortcomings and flaws of the system.

Everything in the world has two sides, good on one side and bad on the other. If you only see the bad side and abandon him, then you might as well commit suicide. But if you only see the good side, that won't work either, so you need to Balance and compromise.

"The system is a good thing, there is no doubt about it. What I mean is that I want to find an effective method and mechanism to avoid the weaknesses and disadvantages of the system while giving full play to the advantages of the system."

After a pause, Ye Qiu continued: "In the process of my exploration and search, I clearly discovered that no tactical system in this world can last forever. A set of tactics can only guarantee The peak of a year, you have to change after the peak, if you don’t change, it will force you to change.”

Guardiola is very clear about this, so he has actually changed in the past season, from the original four backs to three backs, from the original 433 to 343, and he has been seeking changes.

"Change requires fresh blood, so I found that the tactical system is too closed. Because it is too closed, it is difficult for you to find suitable fresh blood to supplement the team and bring freshness and excitement to the team, but it is too closed. It doesn’t work if it’s open, because once it’s open, it’s easy to become scattered, so it needs to be moderate!”

"The same is true for the team's style. Just like Barcelona, ​​you are obsessed with controlling the ball for more than ten years. It is indeed not easy, but is this model difficult? No, as long as you have determination and belief, you can persevere. But the problem is that it is difficult for you to find players that meet your tactical needs in the transfer market, especially for that central axis!”

"However, my team can have Cesc Fabregas and David Silva, it can also be compatible with Vidal and Ramsey, and I can even be compatible with British players like Phil Jones. I don't have to worry about not being able to find them. Suitable new blood, because I can adapt our tactics and system according to the players, can Barcelona?"

This is like a switch socket. A two-hole socket can only accept a two-hole plug. A three-hole socket has a round head and a flat head. It can only accommodate three-hole plugs with a round head and a flat head, so their choices are very limited. It can only be plugged in according to the number, but there is no such concern with the universal socket, which can plug in most plugs.

In the past few years, Ye Qiu has gradually realized a problem, that is, the secret to maintaining a team's longevity is definitely not whether the team has the most brilliant, best and most advanced tactical system, because this Far from being a booster, it is actually a stumbling block.

The secret to truly maintaining a team's longevity lies in whether the team has a sufficiently advanced and professional recruitment mechanism to introduce new blood, which can ensure that the team remains competitive and fresh for a long time.

Therefore, the tactical system must not be too closed or self-contained. Youth training must be paid attention to, but players must be diversified and cultivated. But at the same time, you must be able to be compatible with high-level players introduced from outside to supplement the ball. The team’s weaknesses and deficiencies.

It's like playing mahjong. It doesn't matter what cards you get. What matters is whether you can get the cards in. This is the key to winning.

From this point of view, Ye Qiu realized very clearly that Tottenham Hotspur cannot imitate Barcelona and cling to a tactical system. Instead, they should open their arms appropriately and introduce fresh blood and stimulation from outside. .

This is also the reason why he sold Cesc Fabregas and David Silva last summer. The reason is very simple. Continuing to follow a delicate midfield ball control route is not conducive to Tottenham Hotspur's establishment of an anti-risk mechanism and guidance. To support the team, he introduced Vidal and Pirlo to support Ramsey as the main force.

"I think I understand a little bit!" Guardiola took a deep breath. Now he really admires Ye Qiu from the bottom of his heart, because he found that Ye Qiu has gone further than he imagined. The questions Qiu thought about were deeper and more thorough than he imagined, and there were even many things that he had never thought about before.

Sometimes Ye Qiu thinks that Barcelona is like Microsoft in the high-tech field. It was once extremely powerful, but it is declining at a high speed. Everyone can see it, but they themselves are working hard to continue this strength.

"This game was not unfairly lost!" Guardiola stood up from his seat. He found that the Costa coffee in his hand was cold, but his heart felt warm, especially after listening to Ye Qiu's words. , he himself seemed to have a new hope and passion.

He is eager to confirm and challenge Ye Qiu's thoughts and ideas. Even if Ye Qiu is walking ahead of him, he still hopes to catch up and see what is ahead. The result is not important to him, what is important is It was on this road of pursuit and the charming scenery on both sides of the river that he wanted to get.

I believe it is not just me, but also Ye Qiu, Ferguson, Wenger and others, because they all have pursuits!

"It's difficult for Barcelona to change the current situation. They don't have the motivation, the courage, and the idea. So, I think I'll leave here, take a break, go to other places, and go to a more novel environment. Challenge and train yourself! ”

A bright smile appeared on Guardiola's face, and the suppressed emotions he had been feeling for some time were swept away.

"No matter what, I am very grateful to you for telling me so much. I have benefited a lot!" Guardiola looked at Ye Qiu sincerely and said.

There were two people who gave him guidance on this path of coaching. One was Cruyff, the godfather of Barcelona, ​​and the other was crazy Bielsa. He once went to Argentina to visit Bielsa, and the two discussed football. Guardiola has learned a lot from many things.

But Bielsa is more obsessed with tactics and concepts. Cruyff is slightly better, but he also has his own obsessions, such as controlling the ball, while Ye Qiu seems less persistent. He is more tolerant and open. At the same time, he is also more creative. More importantly, his role as club owner and head coach makes his perspective and height of looking at and thinking about problems obviously different from Cruyff and Bielsa.

He is not only obsessed with tactics and concepts, but he is also thinking about the long-term operation and healthy development of the team.

Perhaps, only people like Ye Qiu, who have achieved brilliant results in two different roles of boss and head coach, can have such insights and thinking.

Ye Qiu also stood up and smiled, "There's no need to say thank you, just think of it as you owe me a favor!"

Guardiola was stunned by these words.

"When I leave the position of head coach in the future, maybe one day I will call you and invite you to coach Tottenham Hotspur. Then you can't say no!"

Only then did Guardiola understand. He smiled and nodded without hesitation: "Okay, I promise, and I'll wait for your call!" After saying that, he waved to Ye Qiu, then turned and walked back to the players' tunnel.

Looking at his back, Ye Qiu just smiled, because he found that if one day in the future, when Guardiola is fully trained in other leagues and other teams, accumulates enough rich experience, and his coaching ability is improved and transformed, what kind of scene will it be when this Spaniard comes to coach Tottenham Hotspur?

Of course, Ye Qiu is very clear that his successor is Mauro Tassotti, because this Italian is very different from himself, he can bring some new things and changes to Tottenham Hotspur, but Mauro Tassotti can't stay in this position for many years, because too long is not a good thing!