The Godfather of Football

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Chelsea, a London derby that has attracted much attention from the outside world, and it is also the European Super Cup.

The pre-match press conference was held in the press conference hall of the Louis II Stadium in Monaco. As early as a week ago, UEFA had already begun to receive reporting applications from many media around the world. On the day before the press conference, a total of more than 300 media applications from all over the world were received.

So, this scene of a crowd of people appeared at the pre-match press conference.

Ye Qiu and Mourinho are the most explosive opponents in today's football world. Even now, many people attribute Mourinho's achievements in Chelsea to Ye Qiu, and the unlucky Mourinho has never won the Champions League in his career, and the biggest opponent is Ye Qiu.

Not only that, in the Premier League, Mourinho won a Premier League title in a season when Ye Qiu was not there, but when Ye Qiu returned a year later, Tottenham Hotspur gave the championship to Manchester United in the last round of the Premier League, which made Chelsea suffer the humiliation of losing the championship at the last minute.

Mourinho has regarded that season as a lifelong shame more than once.

After many years, the Portuguese madman returned to the Premier League. Everyone regarded him as returning to Stamford Bridge with a heart of revenge. The first game after his return was against Ye Qiu's Tottenham Hotspur, which made people look forward to this game, so it also attracted more than 300 media to attend the press conference.

"Hey, what do you think we should do?" In the backcourt of the press conference hall, Mourinho and Ye Qiu were both dressed in suits and leather shoes, but they were not full of gunpowder as expected by the outside world, but they were both smiling.

Ye Qiu put his hands in his pockets, wearing a pair of shiny leather shoes. Through the gap, he could see countless reporters setting up cannon-shaped cameras in the press conference hall. It was said that there were more than 50 TV stations alone, and there were countless reporters holding cameras at the scene. The scene was too big.

"Do you still like to quarrel so much?" Ye Qiu asked with a smile.

Mourinho curled his lips, "Italians don't like to quarrel." After a pause, he laughed and said, "So, I don't like Italy."

Ye Qiu couldn't help but smile, "But I don't like to quarrel in front of so many people!"

"Me too!" Mourinho smiled and nodded repeatedly.

Then there was a scene that made all the reporters and media at the scene almost drop their eyes. Ye Qiu and Mourinho both walked out side by side with very friendly and friendly smiles.

What was even more incredible was that they showed mutual courtesy when they walked to the podium in front of the flashing spotlights. Mourinho gave way to Ye Qiu first, and Ye Qiu soon gave way to Mourinho again, and finally the two sat down in the middle at the same time.

What happened to these two? Did they become good friends after not seeing each other for a few years?

The host just heard the whole conversation between the two behind the scenes. Seeing the disappointed expressions of the reporters, he didn't know how happy he was. In the professional football world, there are not many coaches who can play reporters like this.

Soon, after the two sat down, the host announced the start of the press conference, and the first question of the entire press conference was directed at Ye Qiu, but he still wanted to fan the flames.

"Mr. Ye Qiu, many people believe that Mourinho will be Tottenham's top opponent in the new season. He will lead Chelsea back to the Premier League championship. What do you think? And a few years later, you compete with Mourinho again in a game. What changes do you think he has undergone?"

Letting the opponent comment on the opponent is undoubtedly a precursor to picking faults. The reporter's question is seemingly well-behaved, but it actually lays a foreshadowing for the questions of other reporters.

Ye Qiu laughed, "I will answer the second question first. I haven't seen Jose for a long time. I just met him. My first impression was, wow," Ye Qiu deliberately made a surprised expression, "He has become handsome. You know, I rarely see him shave so cleanly, but he is really handsome and charming today."

Everyone present laughed, even Mourinho couldn't help laughing.

"First question, I have no doubt that Jose can bring great changes to Chelsea. He and I are very good friends. I know his ability very well. I even think that what you said just now is not quite right, because Mourinho plus Chelsea equals the favorites to win the Premier League. They will be our top competitor in the new season!"

Ye Qiu's words are equivalent to praising Mourinho. Although Mourinho's resume at Chelsea is quite successful, it is only one Premier League championship, and Chelsea is currently in a very awkward transition stage. It is really difficult to challenge Tottenham Hotspur.

The second question came soon, "Mr. Mourinho, how does it feel to return to the Premier League? Today's Premier League is dominated by Tottenham Hotspur. Mr. Ye Qiu is recognized as the most special one in the Premier League. What about you? Do you still feel that you are special like you did back then?"

This time, the reporter's question even directly set a trap for Mourinho to jump into.

The Portuguese are well-informed, so how can they not see that it is a trap?

"I think I am the happy one now!" Mourinho replied with a smile. "My biggest feeling is happiness when I return to the Premier League. My experiences in the past few years have changed me a lot, but I miss the Premier League all the time." , because there are many of my friends here, such as Mr. Ye Qiu," Mourinho pointed to Ye Qiu beside him, "and Ferguson."

"There is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur is the best team in the Premier League and even in world football today. I believe that all teams are proud to beat Tottenham Hotspur, and so am I, but I know It’s not easy, but I believe if we work hard, success will come.”

"Of course, I won't be surprised if Tottenham win the title again because they are the best team!"

When the two famous coaches faced reporters and microphones, almost everything they said and did was watertight. Especially when combined with their brotherly expressions, people couldn't help but have an illusion. Could it be that in a few years? In the past, have they really become good friends?

"Mr. Ye Qiu!" Some people didn't believe it at all. "Many people say that you are Mourinho's natural enemy and nemesis. So what do you think is Mourinho's biggest weakness? What makes you most dissatisfied? What is it?”

This question was a naked request for Ye Qiu to ridicule and ridicule Mourinho.

"Everyone has weaknesses, and Mourinho is no exception, but not many. What I am most dissatisfied with about him is that every time I play against him, he always tries his best to improve his shortcomings. This makes He seems to have almost no weaknesses and you have to face such an opponent, which makes me very unhappy!"

There was a burst of laughter again. Ye Qiu's answer was really wonderful. It was more of a compliment than a derogation. Even the Portuguese seemed to be in a good mood, so much so that when reporters almost When the same question was thrown to him, he took the same approach as Ye Qiu.

"Ye Qiu has almost no weaknesses. If pressed, I think his preference for offense is his biggest weakness, but he is able to train a team's offense to the extreme every time, and uses offense to defeat you. Defense, that’s what I’m most dissatisfied with.”

After answering several questions in a row, Ye Qiu and Mourinho basically adopted the same strategy, which was to praise each other's opponents and never let the reporters on the scene catch even the slightest bit of tit-for-tat between them. Not only did they not look like The opponents are like old friends and good friends whom we haven't seen for many years.

This made all the reporters and media at the scene confused. It seemed that these two guys didn't look like friends.

Even to the last question, when reporters asked whether they were confident enough to defeat their opponents in the European Super Cup, their answers were clear, yes, but they would not be surprised if the opponent won.

When reporters asked what tactics they would adopt, both of them refused to answer as confidential. However, when pressed by reporters, Mourinho frankly said that he was most worried about Tottenham Hotspur's offense, while Ye Qiu said , most worried about Chelsea's defense.

At the end of the entire press conference, both of them stood up. Witnessed by hundreds of reporters and media in the audience, they shook hands, hugged, and blessed each other before leaving the press conference side by side, leaving the entire audience with awe. Monk Zhang Er was confused by the reporter.

what is happening?

…………

…………

In fact, this press conference was not without any value.

Because in this highly anticipated European Super Cup match, Chelsea drove Mourinho's iconic bus, while Ye Qiu tried to play his own characteristic offense from the beginning.

But unfortunately, both teams failed to achieve their goals in the end, because Chelsea was enduring Tottenham Hotspur's attacks again and again, and the defense was not very stable, while Tottenham Hotspur was under Chelsea's attack. In this kind of defense that is full of resilience and tenacity, the offensive effect is very few and there are not many opportunities.

Even after the opening, Tottenham Hotspur actively took control of the game and even had an overwhelming advantage in possession of the ball, but they were still unable to loosen Chelsea's defense, especially when the ball entered Chelsea's defense. In front of the 30-meter area, Mourinho's defense was very well organized.

Goalkeeper Cesar, defense line Ashley Cole, Terry, Gary Cahill and Ivanovic, and midfield three players Lampard, Mikel and Ramirez. The frontcourt trident combination is Oscar, Torres and Sturridge.

Chelsea are currently frantically pursuing Hulk, the frontcourt player who is on loan at Ajax from Tottenham Hotspur, and are striving to finally finalize Hulk's deal with Tottenham Hotspur before the transfer ends, that is, tonight. transfer.

Mourinho's ability to train defense is indeed very good. Although Chelsea today is very different from the Chelsea when he coached, and there are even many new players, Mourinho still manages Chelsea's well. The defense integrated and withstood Tottenham's offensive pressure very well in the early stages of the game.

"Chelsea's defense today was very flexible and well-organized. As soon as we pressed up, they retreated, and as soon as we retreated, they did not keep up with the pressing. But once we lost the ball in the midfield, they immediately organized a counterattack. , just play the frontcourt trident combination.”

Mauro Tassotti was standing next to Ye Qiu. He felt that Mourinho's style of play was very troublesome, but it was understandable. After all, the Portuguese had just taken over the team and had already left the Premier League. Over the years, there is always an adaptation process after returning, and during this adaptation process, the key is to establish a good defense first.

"His defense is obviously aimed at our wings. There are three midfielders in the middle to protect us. Ivanovic and Ashley Cole on both sides pay attention to guarding against our inside cuts, but they appropriately let go of our insides. Cross the ball and bully us with no one in the middle!”

After hearing what Mauro Tassotti said, Ye Qiu chuckled, "This is Mourinho!"

In Ye Qiu's view, it's not that Mourinho doesn't know how to coach offense. Of course, his ability to coach offense is indeed not as good as coaching defense. But at his level, it's definitely unconvincing to say he can't coach offense. , because when your strength reaches a certain level, there is not much difference between the so-called offense and defense.

Just like Ye Qiu and Guardiola, one dares to take risks and takes risks, but the other does everything possible to eliminate risks. Who can you say is better than the other? Who is better than whom?

No, I can only say that these are two different concepts!

Relatively speaking, Ye Qiu is not as extreme as Guardiola, so he succeeded.

Mourinho's philosophy is not to emphasize defense but not offense. His core philosophy is to focus on defense first and then consider offense. Defense will not be affected for the sake of offense. For him, the best offense is to be able to Investing the smallest amount of troops to achieve the greatest gains, so simple, direct and fatal, is Mourinho's offensive philosophy.

Because of this, Mourinho's requirements for the overall teamwork of the players and the team's tactical execution are very high, even so high that everyone thinks he is the natural enemy of creative players, but in fact, no one will Ignoring the role of creativity is just that his philosophy does not allow creativity to exceed the limitations of his tactical scope.

Mourinho's defensive attainments are indeed quite outstanding, and his most important training for Chelsea this summer is defense. So judging from this game, when Chelsea is defending, whether it is on the two wings , or in the middle, are all very solid, no matter how fiercely Tottenham Hotspur attacks, they are unmoved.

But Ye Qiu didn't dare to take a crazy offensive, because he knew very well that Torres, Sturridge and Oscar were waiting for you to attack wildly and ignore defense to give you the most fatal blow.

"Mauro, you must know one thing clearly. The best offensive opportunities often occur when the opponent is moving. So when we see that the opponent has set up a bus, then we should not attack this bus head-on. Bus, because not only will it not hurt the opponent, but we will also hit our heads and bleed."

"The best way is to make this bus move, and then seize the opportunity while moving!"

Mauro Tassotti nodded repeatedly as he understood what Ye Qiu meant.

Ye Qiu walked to the sidelines, made a hand-turning gesture towards the Tottenham Hotspur players on the field, and then told his players that when they arrived in the frontcourt and saw the opponent's defensive posture, they should first adjust the rhythm appropriately. Slow down and take your time.

Today's Tottenham Hotspur can be said to be experienced in many battles. All players have experienced many big battles and big scenes. It is difficult for them to be nervous in any more games, and now Tottenham Hotspur is firmly in control. Taking advantage of the game, the ball possession rate exceeded 65%, which also benefited from Mourinho's initiative to give up these ball possession times.

Tottenham Hotspur soon launched another attack. As soon as the ball entered Chelsea's half, the Blues formed a strong press outside the 30-meter area. Players from both sides started a fierce fight, but Chelsea's Lan Pad soon seized on a breach and cleared the ball into Tottenham's half.

Kyle Walker quickly returned to his own half, and no Chelsea player followed him. From this point, it can be seen that Chelsea's defensive execution is very resolute. They would rather sacrifice the opportunity to attack and counterattack than let the ball go. The defense showed the slightest slack.

Even though Mourinho and Ye Qiu acted like brothers at the press conference, in fact the two secretly had a fierce rivalry, and Mourinho also knew very well that with the current strength of Chelsea, he wanted to challenge Tottenham. Tottenham Hotspur has no chance of winning in a head-to-head encounter, so he has to continue his old profession and use an iron-clad defense to stop Tottenham Hotspur.

Kyle Walker caught up with the ball, and Thiago Silva nearby told him that there was no one, so he calmly took the ball, turned around, and dribbled the ball back into Chelsea's half. At this moment, Chelsea had already He put the bus up to the thirty-meter area again, waiting for Tottenham to hit him again.

Pirlo ran back from the front and raised his hand to ask for the ball. Ye Qiu just said that he should use large-scale transfers and pull back and forth on both wings to make Chelsea's iron wall loosen. And as soon as it loosens, Tottenham Hotspur's The offense has a chance.

Therefore, after Pirlo received the pass from Kyle Walker, he took a few steps forward. Only then did Torres rush over to press Pirlo at the bottom of the center circle.

But the Italian didn't wait for Torres to get close, and directly made a long diagonal pass. The ball landed very accurately in front of the left sideline parallel to the penalty area line. Hazard, who replaced the injured Ribery in the starting lineup, steadily unloaded the ball and tried to break through Ivanovic, but failed. He stopped and turned to protect the ball.

Hazard faced Ivanovic, one-on-one, and tried to break through along the left side again, but Ivanovic followed closely and didn't give Hazard any chance. When Hazard was dribbling the ball, he suddenly stopped and dribbled the ball, turning from the original bottom to cutting inside, and he also turned inside, but the ball was a bit big.

Gary Cahill was behind Ivanovic to assist in defense. When he saw the opportunity, he rushed out at the first time to destroy the ball.