The day before the Premier League resumed its war, The Times published a column by the famous columnist Guillem Balague on its front page. The title was this name that caught readers' attention.
Guillem Balague is a native of Catalonia, Spain. He has worked in the football industry for more than 20 years. He started as a reporter and later wrote columns for many famous European newspapers, including Spain's AS.
The Times of the United Kingdom, etc., are all authoritative media newspapers in various countries.
This has also made Guillem Balague a sought-after columnist in the field of European football media. He is also second to none in The Times. He once deeply analyzed the 2004 and 2005 seasons when Liverpool won the Champions League and wrote
[Season on the verge of despair] became an instant hit and is quite influential in the industry.
Gao Shen had read many autobiographies of coaches and players in his previous life, and Guillem Balague was one of the few writers who left an impression on him. He first wrote and published an autobiography for Guardiola in 2012 [Guardiola]
Diola: Another Path to Victory], an in-depth analysis of Guardiola's past and present life as a coach at Barcelona, caused a sensation in the industry.
In the past three years, he had in-depth contact with Messi's circle of friends, interviewing his coach, friends and family, as well as every president and head coach of Barcelona, as well as the head coach and players of the Argentine national team, and even personally visited
Argentina, went to Messi's hometown to explore his past stories, and finally wrote "Messi's Biography".
Two consecutive autobiographies have caused Guillem Balague to cause a huge sensation in the industry.
But he not only has connections in Spain, but also in the UK and European football. Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Mendes got to know him early and officially authorized him to write about Cristiano Ronaldo in 2015.
Autobiography [Cristiano Ronaldo], this masterpiece won the Polish Sports Book Award in 2016.
Although Guillem Balague has not yet become famous, he is already the chief columnist of The Times. He is also well-known in the English football world, and many readers like his column.
…
"The Premier League is a world of empiricism."
At the beginning of the column, Guillem Balague highlighted the theme and pointed out the current general environment of Premier League football.
Empiricism, this is not just a problem for the Premier League, but actually a problem for the entire European football world.
The so-called empiricism is actually filled with all kinds of "superstitions", such as the so-called vision of recruiting and buying players, the treatment of player injuries, and many more.
They believe that the more experienced head coach can lead a better team.
For example, Ferguson, Wenger, Moyes.
This situation actually exists in major European leagues. For example, many people are superstitious about coaches who transition from professional players to coaches after retirement, rather than coaches who have a professional background, because the former are more experienced and understand professional football better.
Guillem Balague spent a lot of space introducing the Premier League's empiricism, and then he said that the appearance of Gao Shen was actually not in line with the taste of the Premier League's empiricism at all, because he was not "empiric" at all.
At the age of 29, he has only made his debut for three and a half years, but he has won two Champions League championships, more league championships and cup championships.
No matter which way you look at it, the profoundness is not to the taste of Premier League empiricists.
But unfortunately, he is now the most successful head coach in European football.
Gilliam Balague believes that the current attitude of the Premier League towards Gao Shen is completely polarized. Either they admire him to the extreme and think that he represents the development trend of European football; or they hate him and think that he has mastered something.
Methods and opportunities, and stolen from successful speculators.
"I believe that no matter how much time passes, this kind of debate will continue."
Guillem Balague said that this is a debate that will never come to fruition because no one can completely convince the other party.
No matter how successful Gao Shen is, even if he wins all the championships, the stance of fans who don't like him will only become more determined.
So why does Guillem Balague say the Premier League is about to face Judgment Day?
Because Manchester City will face Arsenal and Manchester United.
Almost all empiricists recommend Manchester United's Ferguson and Arsenal's Arsene Wenger because these two world-class coaches represent the most unique coaching culture in the Premier League.
They are both very successful and have coached for many, many years. They are veritable football managers, not just head coaches. They are a reflection of the success of British football culture.
Ferguson often said that whether he can win the Premier League will not be known until Christmas and the winter break schedule.
Why?
Because this is the most unique schedule of the Premier League and it is also a kind of British culture.
In fact, this is not only true in football, rugby, basketball and other fields, but also in the UK.
Around Christmas, when others are on holiday, British sports competitions are most intensive and busiest.
"To use their explanation, fans are on vacation, so they have more time to enter the stadium and enjoy a passionate football match. This is the value of this sport!"
For those who lack Premier League coaching experience, it will be difficult for them to handle the challenges of the devilish schedule during the Christmas and winter breaks.
"That is not only a physical challenge for the players, but also a psychological challenge!"
Ferguson's words are empiricism in themselves, but this is indeed the case.
But now, in the fifth and sixth rounds, the Premier League's most anti-"empiricist" head coach is about to lead his mercenary army, which has been criticized and spurned by countless people, to challenge their most respected "empiricism"
representative.
This will be the first collision between the two sides!
In addition to the cultural level, this is also true at the specific league level.
"I have met many senior media and football people in England, and they all said that the Premier League is an outdated world. Over the past many years, people have become tired of talking about the big four."
"Look at Arsenal, do they have any ambition at all? Wenger almost told the world that Arsenal are just messing up and just want to make money by entering the Champions League based on being in the top four. Who cares if they have it?"
Is there any way?"
"I have heard them say too many times that when they stop talking about forcing G4, then the Premier League will be interesting."
Gilliam Balague believes that Chelsea once made the Premier League interesting and intense, but the Blues were also one of the top teams in the Premier League before they were acquired.
As for Liverpool, despite its ups and downs, its performance is actually very stable.
Except for Moyes' Everton who once broke the barrier of forcing G4, but soon encountered joint suppression, over the years, no Premier League team has been able to truly shake the dominance of G4 in the Premier League.
In fact, except for the 1994-95 season, when Dalglish led Blackburn to win a championship, all other championships were forced to be monopolized by G4, especially Ferguson's Manchester United.
Since the restructuring in 1992, there have been 17 league championships, of which Manchester United has won 11, Arsenal has won three, and Chelsea has won two.
Even Liverpool, the king of the 1980s, has yet to win the Premier League title.
Gilliam Balague stated in his column that since the beginning of the 21st century, apart from forcing G4, the Premier League has only had three teams that have participated in the Champions League. They were Leeds United, which finished third in the league in 2000, and then
The traditional giants Newcastle in two years, and Everton in 2005.
Among them, in 2000, the Premier League only had three Champions League places. In 2005, because Liverpool won the Champions League, there were a total of five Champions League places, and the Magpie Newcastle has now declined.
In other words, in the past ten years, the Champions League qualification spots for Premier League teams have basically been monopolized by G4, and other teams have not even had a chance to get a share of the pie.
On the other hand, because g4 participates in the Champions League, they have more income, and their own financial resources are strong enough, so they can take away from other teams in the Premier League, resulting in other teams unable to retain people at all.
"The Premier League has been struggling like G4 for a long time!"
Guillem Balague believes that the rise of Manchester City will be a great opportunity for the Premier League to break through the barriers of the four giants.
This is why, at the beginning of the season, Ferguson and Wenger had such a big reaction.
Facts have also proved that after four rounds of the new season, Arsenal and Manchester United were directly squeezed out of the top four. These two teams also felt the crisis.
"In the past month, I have met many people, and they all believe that the arrival of Gao Shen and the rise of Manchester City will bring the Premier League into a new stage, a new stage full of brutal competition."
"By this time, it is no longer possible for Arsenal to enter the Champions League by lying down, and it is no longer possible for Manchester United to regard the Premier League as a ban."
"The next fifth and sixth rounds will undoubtedly be a comprehensive collision between the old and new forces. It will be the judgment day of the Premier League. It will test whether Manchester City really has the strength to subvert the Premier League structure. It will also test Arsenal.
Nasional and Manchester United to see if they still qualify to stay in the top four."
Guillem Balague said that this will be the most subversive, most anticipated and most eye-catching matchup since the establishment of the Premier League.
At the end of the column, the Spaniard took a personal stand and firmly stated that he was a profound supporter.
Whether it is from a personal football aesthetic or from the overall development of the Premier League, he believes that the barriers of the four giants should be broken and more teams can participate in the competition for the Premier League championship. Only in this way can the Premier League become more exciting.
, more interesting.
"There is no doubt that the next two rounds of the league will be a key battle for Gao Shen and Manchester City to prove themselves. They must show their strength when facing Arsenal and strong teams like Manchester United.
The best performance, prove your own strength, or even defeat your opponent!"
Guillem Balague said he has great confidence in Gao Shen and Manchester City.
"I already knew from when he coached Real Madrid that he was by no means an ordinary head coach. He always brought surprises and surprises to people. He always subverted the outside world's impression of him."
"It's the same with Real Madrid, and it's the same in Serie A. Now in the Premier League, I believe he will still be the same."
"Not long after, in the next week, the power structure of the Premier League will undergo earth-shaking changes!"
