With the 2:2 draw between Sweden and Denmark, the conspiracy theory that England was defeated by Croatia in the last group stage game, which led to France winning and being eliminated, was immediately abandoned by the outside world.
In the morning, Aldrich was sitting in the hotel restaurant having breakfast.
Sitting by the window, there was a simple breakfast and newspapers from mainstream media on the dining table. Aldrich was drinking coffee from a cup in his right hand and browsing the news with the newspaper in his left hand.
Stramaccioni came to sit opposite him and said hello: "Good morning, is it so early today?"
"Well, I went to bed early last night."
Aldrich, still reading the newspaper intently, replied casually.
Stramaccioni selected a newspaper and read it.
Today's newspaper headlines are mostly about yesterday's Group C match report and post-match team updates.
The Italian side was eliminated and faced punishment from UEFA.
"They should be ashamed of themselves for qualifying in this way!"
Italy international goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon angrily condemned his Nordic brothers.
"I don't think what I said was exaggerated, because the scene between these two national teams that advertised as 'fair play' really shocked me!"
"Assuming our football is unclean, then now I finally see clearly that football is even dirtier than ours!"
"It should be them who feel ashamed, not us who were eliminated! A few days ago people were still analyzing the possibility of a 2:2 draw, but when the result of the game turned out to be like this, I couldn't believe it.
With your own eyes! It's like just when they needed to set an 'example' in front of fans around the world, they really did it! All those who call for 'fair play' should open their eyes and see what happened.
Everything about the Italian team!”
Carraro, the president of the Italian Football Association who had previously announced that he would resign if Italy was eliminated from the group stage, was even more emotional: "There is no doubt that these two teams reached an agreement before the game. What's even worse is that they did it perfectly. There was no retention.
The next bit of evidence we can use."
The anger of the Italians did not bring about a substantial change in the outcome. And this time, compared to the "unfair treatment" that occurred at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan two years ago, Italy did not receive much sympathy.
To put it bluntly, in the first two games against Sweden and Denmark, as long as they win one game, they will advance in the end!
Since they failed to defeat these two teams that qualified together, it is not too unacceptable that Italy was eliminated.
Their anger will lead to punishment from UEFA. After all, the president of the Italian Football Association is still a member of the UEFA executive committee. Buffon's words are too extreme and he cannot turn a blind eye. Routine minor punishments and major warnings are unavoidable.
Stramaccioni read yesterday's game report and post-match comments. His breakfast was brought to him by the waiter. He put down the newspaper and started to enjoy his breakfast. He was curious because Aldrich held the coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other for a long time without taking his eyes off it.
Browsing through the newspaper, what on earth attracted Aldrich? So he looked around to see what Aldrich was reading.
Fleet Street newspaper. And it's a serious European newspaper.
"The Times"
To be honest, Aldrich had no interest in watching past games and some heated arguments.
So there were a lot of newspapers on the table, and many of them would become disinterested after just one glance or two.
But British newspapers would take him a lot of time.
Fleet Street is the European media center and can be said to be the European heartland of public opinion platforms, with huge communication influence.
The same is true for the football section, their ability to "make stars" is unparalleled.
But Fleet Street is not as dark as a crow, it has a splendid image of a hundred flowers blooming.
In other words, it can cater to the broadest public appetite.
Focusing on England is not just about blind hype and bragging. There are indeed many capable people using media platforms to pay attention to England and publish constructive and thought-provoking articles.
Aldridge browsed the news before the start of the European Cup, and also focused on the media in Fleet Street, because Fleet Street is essentially the most concerned about England's performance. If England returns home early, their newspaper sales will definitely drop. Only England will continue to do so.
Existing on the stage of the European Cup, Fleet Street's newspaper sales will be better guaranteed.
Otherwise, the mainstream consumer group, the British, would be particularly concerned about the performance of other teams in the European Cup? Once England is eliminated, they will not care at all who wins the championship.
With this deep-seated factor in mind, many of Fleet Street’s reports and articles surrounding England provide advice for England.
Long-term goals are unrealistic and short-term goals are often the focus of public opinion.
How to deal with France?
How to deal with Switzerland?
Analyzing the enemy's situation and previewing the game, knowledgeable writers will also professionally predict the opponent's formation, how to exploit strengths and avoid weaknesses, how to deal with England, and how to make England wary, etc.
Aldrich was browsing these articles, some of which would inspire him, and some of which would indeed serve as a warning to him.
This is completely different from the club.
When he led Millwall to conquer the north and south, he would never refer to the suggestions and opinions given by the media. He would even actively block and ignore them to avoid disrupting his own thinking, because Millwall's defeat is the most likely to stimulate newspaper sales.
, and Millwall's loss may not have a decisive impact on the team's season.
About to face Greece, Aldrich must admit that for this European Cup, although the team has a good record, qualified early, and won convincingly, his thinking is not unified and has caused considerable fluctuations.
.
This impact is caused by many aspects. England's qualifiers went smoothly, the opponents were not strong, and the gold content was insufficient. What level of team strength was there? The French team had its own problems, and it was difficult for it to defeat the defending champion and represent England.
The team has risen to a certain level of substance, just like defeating Argentina in the World Cup group stage two years ago. At that time, he would not have regarded that game as a landmark because Argentina was too overrated.
At the same time, Southgate retired from injury. This change requires him to fine-tune the team's tactics. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, this change is not worth mentioning. When the matchup is changed, Terry's strength is obvious to all, but Aldridge is confident
His grasp of details and sensitivity are worthy of his vigilance.
Coupled with the changes in mentality of a group of world champion players in the team, etc.
Aldrich, who seemed calm, actually showed signs of hesitation.
He knew very well that this was not a good sign.
He needs clearer ideas to stabilize himself. This has nothing to do with being calm emotionally, but rather having a clear picture of the overall situation.
There will be a match against Greece soon.
The reason why Aldridge was restless before breakfast this morning was actually simple.
The England team's offense is still based on disrupting the opponent's offense, destroying the opponent's offense, and then quickly creating a threat to the opponent.
Is it okay to go to Greece like this?
He had no idea.
If this is possible.
In the original history, why did France, which claimed to have the most advanced technical and tactical system at the time, fall? Why did the Czech Republic, which played a complete mess of offensive football, fall? Why did the host Portugal, which had the right time and place and everyone occupied, fall into the same pit twice?
Interpreted from the overall situation, the Greek team defended and the opponent attacked. France, the Czech Republic, and Portugal, the three teams with good firepower, failed to defeat Greece. Then Greece counterattacked and won.
Corresponding to today's England, Aldrich's thinking is in trouble. The reason is: purely in terms of offense and ability to attack tough battles, how can England compare with France, the Czech Republic, and Portugal?
More goals does not mean stronger offensive ability.
For example, Spain was squeezed out by Greece. Greece advanced by scoring more goals than Spain. However, who dares to say that Greece's offensive capabilities are stronger than Spain's?
Someone sent Aldrich a "timely rain" at this time.
It was the "The Times" he held in his hand that made him fascinated, reading it word by word, carefully pondering its profound meaning and self-thinking.
"The Times" chief sports columnist, the 52-year-old writer who has written for the "Times" for the past 22 years, published an article that Aldridge couldn't understand at first glance, because senior writers would show off.
Talent, like David Miller, will throw out a Greek philosophy to vividly describe what is happening in the football world. If you don’t understand philosophical thoughts, you won’t understand what he wants to express. Academic qualifications are indeed
As for the miserable Aldrich, he couldn't understand it.
But if someone explains it, he will be able to understand it and apply it to the football field, quickly comprehend it, and understand and think deeply.
Barnes' article quoted a "rule". At first, Aldrich didn't understand it and thought it was another old-fashioned thing. Fortunately, Barnes immediately briefly explained the theory of this "rule" in the article.
"In England before 2001, it looked like the best version of the 'Quentin Crisp Rule'.
Crisp said this: Never chase the person next to you, hold them back and bring them to your level.
It's a pity that England has not been Crisp for a long time.
They are always the 'one next to them', always being held back and brought to the same level as their opponents.
This phenomenon occurs because England's determination and national spirit cannot outperform its opponents - no matter who they are.
England is as good as the best and as bad as the worst.
Everything depends on who their opponent is.
Who does this remind you of? Let me give you a hint: It's late June and the strawberries are ripening. Yes, I'm talking about Tim Henman.
Henman, too, was able to hang with the best and just lose a little bit of courage. But equally, he played against lower-ranked players like a routine, easily winning the first set and then moving on.
Giving opportunities to his opponents. Henman never wins a game easily. He can stage a dramatic scene at any time when he is leading by 5 sets, and then slow down for 3 sets. It seems that this is his style.
The same is true of England's style. They can hit the opponent's chin, but they will never step on their opponent's head. They will always give their opponents another chance. This is a virtue of human beings, and this is becoming the motto of football teams.
trouble.
Before 2001, in the World Cup, European Cup, and qualifiers, England was always desperate to defeat its opponents. This seems to be worthy of praise, but we have regrets for more than 30 years, even if
In the games we win, we often find that our opponents will
However, England will always become a regretful decision factor after receiving a red card, not to mention countless defeats at the last moment. All this is because England is always desperate to face the strong and regardless of the situation.
We must win at all costs, and we are equally desperate when facing the weak.
Don't be fooled by the goals, there are always goals scored for England, there are always games won, so that often leads people to a false point of view. In some games England have to take their time to win, in fact, they win
Regardless, going all out, staring, even losing control. But at least they won, damn, at least.
When people are cheering for England to win the game, people probably forget that before the game many people vowed to win the game, even against a weak team, but in fact when we enjoy the victory, we feel that it is because we watched the game that the process was too thrilling and exciting.
Only because of the excitement will we forget to celebrate after the game. In fact, we are rejoicing in our hearts: Fortunately, we won.
Here, I must explain that after Sir Hall took over as the head coach of the England national team, his approach to team building was quite similar to the 'Quentin Crisp Rules', but that only placed England in the role of the 'weak'.
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Now that England is recognized as the 'strong', Sir Hall should know how to 'bully' the weak after becoming the 'strong', because Millwall's unparalleled success is the best explanation, but England is not Millwall.
"We, England's opponents, the Greek team, have understood and implemented what Crisp said." (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
