The Godfather of Football

"The current football environment is too bad!"

Ferguson faced the large window of his office on the second floor of Old Trafford, facing one of the fan exits of Old Trafford, with his back to the guests sitting in the office, and sighed with an old man, "I really feel so tired, so tired, I need to have a good rest!"

Everyone knows that Ferguson has announced that he will retire after the end of this season. The only suspense is who can be his successor. Some people once said it was Mourinho, but the Portuguese now takes over Stamford Bridge, and some people think it is Moyes, but can Moyes lead Manchester United to fight a bloody road in the competitive Premier League?

Ferguson is not stupid. He knows very well that Moyes has been approaching him intentionally or unintentionally. For example, he will run back to Scotland from England just to listen to Ferguson's lectures, or he will participate in Ferguson's coaching training courses, or he will take some opportunities to learn from Ferguson.

It is normal for these things to happen to the younger generation, so Ferguson has a very good impression of Moyes. He even believes that if the football environment in the Premier League is still the same as at the beginning of the century, or the top four competition a few years ago, he will definitely do his best to support Moyes to coach Manchester United.

But the problem is that the current Premier League is full of unpredictable fierce competition.

In front of strong opponents such as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham United and Manchester City, and experienced competitors such as Ye Qiu, Benitez, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Ranieri and Mancini, can Moyes control Manchester United?

No one can give an answer, because Moyes has no experience in a top club even now, and coaching a top club is completely different from coaching a team like Everton.

So, whether it is for Manchester United or Moyes, he should not be allowed to take over Manchester United.

"Actually, you are not old, there are many older than you, why are you in a hurry to retire?" Guardiola stood up with a smile.

Originally, Ferguson invited him and Ye Qiu to drink together, but Ye Qiu stayed in this office for less than five minutes and found a reason to escape. Now the whole world knows that he can't drink, and Ferguson has made it clear that he wants to get back the debt on the court at the wine table, so why doesn't he run away quickly?

Ferguson shook his head and laughed: "Too tired, the current coaching environment is too tiring compared to the past. I am an old man and don't want to continue to bear such pressure, so I will retire quickly."

Guardiola laughed, not knowing what to say. He respected Ferguson very much, not only because when he was in trouble in Barcelona, ​​Ferguson helped him and almost brought him to Manchester United. If he had come to Manchester United, there would be no Veron.

But later, for some unknown reason, Manchester United chose Veron and Guardiola went to Serie A. Even when Guardiola encountered a doping scandal in Serie A, Ferguson strongly supported the Spaniard. Therefore, whether it was gratitude or respect for the brilliance of Ferguson's career, he respected the old man very much.

"You know? Now the fans have become very impatient, but they don't understand how the team works at all. Sometimes I even think that if they were allowed to manage a club, it wouldn't take long before even Manchester United would go bankrupt!" After saying that, Ferguson himself smiled helplessly.

In fact, many times, fans obviously don't understand the operating model of football clubs.

It's like, in all the successful cases of top teams in the world, there are basically no fanatical fans, such as Moratti of Inter Milan. Although he succeeded from an emotional point of view, except for emotions and the championship trophies after the phone gate, he has almost nothing worth saying about success.

Just like what many people often say, the management of a team is not a matter of one day or one night, but the problem is that fans often have a very urgent mentality, they want to succeed in the shortest possible time.

Especially in the past ten years, with the accelerated arrival of the information age, this urgency has become more and more obvious.

Of course, there are also results caused by changes in the football environment.

"Before Florentino took over Real Madrid, no one knew that the original recruitment of superstars and the use of commercial development could bring such a huge and amazing change to the team. He made the entire football world bright, as if opening up a new world and a new vision!"

Even though Guardiola is a fan of Barcelona and a sworn enemy of Real Madrid, he has to admit that the impact that Florentino has brought to the football world can be described as mixed. It is difficult to define whether his business model is good or bad.

He is not good because he has led to a so-called superstar effect, which is different from the superstar gathering of the Bernabeu chairman. Now this is an information age, an era of national hype, how can it be compared with the past?

To say good things about him, he made all teams pay more attention to commercial development than ever before, which greatly expanded the team's business scope.

Ye Qiu once mentioned a question to him. He said that the Tottenham Hotspur Commercial Department had invested three million euros to conduct a very detailed business survey around the world. He wanted to know more about Tottenham Hotspur. The potential of Tottenham Hotspur's global business development, and the final result makes Tottenham Hotspur very, very satisfied.

Therefore, they are now beginning to reform and reorganize the commercial sponsorship system. They have begun to divide it according to regions, and carry out different marketing models and strategies in each region to attract hundreds of sponsors. This can make Tot Naham Hotspur's commercial revenue rises by £100m a year.

In other words, if the full operation is successful, Tottenham Hotspur's entire commercial income will be close to Arsenal's entire income, and it will become the football club with the highest commercial income in the world, and even a sports club.

Under this operating mechanism, the influence of stars, especially top stars, is crucial!

Ye Qiu also said that the main reason why Real Madrid's operations have encountered bottlenecks is that they have superstars who are attractive, but their performance is not ideal, and performance can give consumers a feeling of "I am the strongest and the best." That kind of illusion is exactly the opposite for Manchester United. The Red Devils achieved quite good results in the early days of Tottenham Hotspur's rise, but after selling Cristiano Ronaldo, they lacked influential superstars.

There is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur is carving out a business path of their own between Real Madrid and Manchester United, so they have made huge breakthroughs and improvements in the team's income almost every year. Not only their outstanding results, but also the stars on their team.

"Ye Qiu is indeed a genius. When he first arrived, he led Chelsea to a strong rise and won the Champions League in the first season. He completely changed the development concept of the football world. He made everyone clearly realize that football does not necessarily have to be Moving forward step by step does not have to be done step by step. It turns out that huge capital can improve the strength of a team in the shortest possible time.”

Having said this, Ferguson shook his head and smiled bitterly, "If you look at the current Premier League, Manchester City, Newcastle, West Ham United, Liverpool... almost all teams are following the model created by Ye Qiu at Chelsea, with huge capital. Invest, introduce powerful stars, transform the team's first-team strength, enhance the competitiveness of the first-team, make a difference in the Premier League and European competitions as quickly as possible, and at least gain a firm foothold, thereby enhancing the team's image and Influence."

"According to this model, the wealthy teams mentioned by the media, fans, and Internet users can almost be wholesale and mass-produced, and a wealthy team can be built in three to five years. This is simply a dream for those big consortiums. It’s a dream platform, so do you think it’s a coincidence that so many big financial groups are pouring into the Premier League?”

Guardiola had never thought about this, but he found that after Ferguson sorted it out, it seemed that this was the case, especially today's Premier League, which has received an astonishing amount of attention, far exceeding La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga. It can be called the best league in the world.

The stars brought by large financial groups have greatly improved the competitiveness of the league and increased the attention of the league. At the same time, they have also enhanced the commercial development and influence of the league, making the Premier League's influence and fans' attention increasingly high. , seems to be on the path of a virtuous cycle, but the only trouble is debt.

Of course, this model is good for the team and the league, but it is a nightmare for the head coach because the pressure is too great and the fans will not care about you. They will only complain that you cannot win. to the championship.

"Manchester United has been unable to adapt to such changes in the past few years. We are still immersed in the past business model, but you must not think that we do not have money to sign players. That is because outsiders do not understand. In fact, , It’s not that we don’t have money, we are just waiting for a head coach!”

Guardiola was completely stunned by Ferguson's words. He suddenly realized that an important reason why Manchester United had not made any large-scale signings was to prepare for Ferguson's retirement in advance. The reason was also very simple. The players introduced by Ferguson were His successor may not be needed, which will lead to a result: he is introduced at a high price. After Ferguson retires, because he does not match the style of the new coach, he is directly sold at a low price, and the club suffers losses.

Thinking of this, Guardiola couldn't help but think of something else Ye Qiu once said to him, that is, current football club transfers are irrational, except for a few teams such as Manchester United.

But at this moment, he didn't know whether this kind of rationality was good or bad?

Perhaps for Manchester United's management and the Glazer family, running the team relies on a long-term model. They must adopt rational thinking and will not spend huge sums of money on signings just for the sake of results in one or two seasons, resulting in The team suffered heavy losses, so they would rather wait and wait until the right time to take action.

As for Ferguson's successor, that also depends. If he can convince the Manchester United management and entrust him with a heavy responsibility, he may be able to get the power to reform and recruit in a drastic way. But if not, then we have to continue to observe.

Nowadays, the signings of wealthy teams often cost tens of millions, and the cost of bringing in three or four players is nearly 100 million. In Manchester United's situation, in addition to the frontcourt, the midfield and backcourt also need signings, which will cost at least hundreds of millions. Funds, so delaying it for one, two or three years is definitely not a problem for a rational investor.

"Have you considered coming to the Premier League?" Ferguson looked at Guardiola with a smile and asked, "You should know very well that many people outside now say that any head coach who has not proven himself in the Premier League is not a successful head coach. !”

Guardiola laughed, that was what netizens said, but there was still a shadow in his heart.

Ye Qiu and his Tottenham Hotspur are like an insurmountable wall, standing in front of Guardiola. Before he is confident enough to defeat this wall, Guardiola hopes to avoid it. It, at least, goes around it, but one day, he will personally move this wall.

"The media outside said that you might come to Manchester City. This shouldn't be true, right?" Ferguson asked with a smile.

Guardiola shook his head after hearing this, "They are very dissatisfied with Mancini's results and have contacted me, but I can't find a reason to coach Manchester City. You know, I don't like that kind of over-reliance on A certain player’s team and tactics.”

If you coach Manchester City, there is no doubt that the midfielder must revolve around Yaya Toure. This Ivory Coast midfielder is the strongest link of Manchester City, but it is also the most unstable link. If he is good, Manchester City will be good. , if he is not good, Manchester City will also be unlucky.

Guardiola had just escaped from the quagmire of Barcelona, ​​so how could he immediately plunge into the swamp of Manchester City?

"Come to Manchester United!" After hearing this, Ferguson smiled and extended the invitation. "If you are willing to come to Manchester United, I will serve as a consultant for you, but I will never interfere with your leadership of the team. And I can guarantee that Giggs and Scholes will You will retire. When the time comes, the team's formation will be completely based on your wishes. The club is willing to do its best to cooperate and provide ample transfer funds and time."

This is indeed a very generous salary. With Ferguson as a consultant, Guardiola will have more confidence and confidence to challenge Ye Qiu. And having ample transfer funds and team formation time also means that Guardiola will not be disappointed in the short term. Dismissal due to poor performance. As for the retirement of Giggs and Scholes, this also means that Manchester United will mold Guardiola into a special one for Manchester United.

As a traditional giant in the Premier League, Manchester United can offer Guardiola such a bargaining chip, and Ferguson personally comes forward as a lobbyist. It is not said to be insincere, but there is still a problem, and that is Ferguson!

As Guardiola once considered in the past, if he goes to Manchester United, he will definitely live in the shadow of Ferguson. He is a monument that cannot be surpassed in the short term, so Mourinho will accept Chelsea's invitation.

But thinking about it on the other hand, one person is short-term and two people are long-term. If he can work together with Ferguson, the possibility of defeating Tottenham Hotspur and Ye Qiu will be greater, and Guardiola is eager to quickly eliminate this feeling in his heart. A shadow, he completed his self-salvation and breakthrough. After all, he didn't want to be suppressed by Ye Qiu forever.

"Let me think about it, Sir!" Guardiola said with a smile.

"Will you really consider it?" Ferguson asked very carefully.

Guardiola nodded, "Really!"

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Tottenham Hotspur retreated from Manchester United and defeated their opponent 3:0. This also made the North London team look almost invincible in the Premier League. Many people even believe that Tottenham Hotspur's success this season The overall strength is stronger than last season.

It is mainly reflected in the team's rotation mechanism.

So far this season, Tottenham Hotspur have played six Premier League games, one Champions League group stage, one Community Shield, one European Super Cup and one League Cup. In ten games, Tottenham Hotspur have played The San Antonio first team deducted 24 players except the third goalkeeper, and all of them got the chance to play. Each of them played at least twice.

Ye Qiu's rotation policy in the new season was already obvious at the beginning of the season. At that time, everyone thought that Tottenham Hotspur was considering the physical condition of some players participating in the Olympics, but it later proved that this was a conscious decision. behavior, because rotation can ensure Tottenham Hotspur's continued combat and multi-line combat capabilities.

After defeating Manchester United 3:0 at Old Trafford, Tottenham Hotspur went to France and challenged the defending Ligue 1 champion Montpellier away. As a result, after Tottenham Hotspur rotated, Messi played a hat-trick Magic, Drogba passed and shot, and Ribery also contributed two assists. The team defeated Montpellier 4:1 away from home and won two consecutive group wins.

The victory of two consecutive games has given Tottenham Hotspur a lot of applause. Even many European media praised Tottenham Hotspur's super strength and made the group of death no longer suspense. But even if In this way, according to data provided by UEFA, the first two rounds of the Champions League group stage have the highest ratings, and the two games with the most support from fans are Tottenham Hotspur's two games.

This also indirectly proves Tottenham Hotspur's strong influence and appeal.

Back in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur welcome Lambert's Aston Villa.

In continuous multi-line battles, and at home again, the North London team rotated the starting lineup, while Aston Villa played away from home based on defense. They retreated from the away game without the ball and were satisfied with just one point.

Tottenham Hotspur's offense was indeed restrained by the defensive Aston Villa. It contained the front but could not prevent the back. Cavani once pulled out of the penalty area and knocked back with the ball. Kyle Walker, who came in from behind, scored a right-footed volley from the right rib of the penalty area, which hit the world nearly twenty meters away, 1:0!

In the second half, Eriksen made a diagonal pass, Pogba rushed to the front of the penalty area and shot directly, scoring again, 2:0!

With these two goals, Tottenham Hotspur defeated the visiting Aston Villa 2:0 at home.

In this regard, Lambert was helpless, saying that his team contained Tottenham Hotspur's frontcourt offensive trident, but could not prevent their back-ins. The players have performed well enough, but the only thing to blame is Tottenham Hotspur's strong offense.

As the saying goes, if the West is not bright, the East will be bright, and it is impossible to defend!