"The final round of the 2004-2005 English Premier League is about to begin. Defending champion Millwall won their seventh Premier League title two rounds ahead of schedule. Today's game would have been routine, but yesterday, the player who has been playing for the team for 11 years
Captain Southgate announces the end of the season
After hanging up his boots and retiring, this game became very special. Since Millwall had to play the Champions League final ten days later, to be on the safe side, Millwall visited the Hawthorn Stadium and still sent a large number of substitute players.
Scott started the game as captain, which is a scene I haven’t seen for a long time.”
"Martin, we should talk about the relegation situation. In the standings, Norwich, Crystal Palace, and West Brom are all three teams that may be relegated. In the end, there is only one place that can escape. West Brom is unlucky.
They met Millwall, but the good news is that Millwall has won the league and will not fight with them. At the same time, they have the advantage of home court, and Millwall has sent players to prepare for the Champions League final.
They are all substitute players."
"Andy, are you kidding me? Look at Millwall's substitute lineup, the Danish national team's main player Grenjaer, the Czech midfielder Nedved, the Swedish main forward Larsson, and Villa.
Pedretti, Larmour, Barzagli, Neal, and Baines, this substitute lineup is more luxurious than the absolute main lineup of a mid-table team in the Premier League! Will West Brom really be happy?"
"Why not? Wouldn't they rather face Millwall with Henry, Ronaldinho, Schneider, De Rossi, Alonso, Nesta and other main players starting?"
"Okay, I understand what you mean. In order to be able to stage a victory escape, West Brom can only have fun in hardship. Use this thought to comfort yourself. Let the team's morale be optimistic and positive, try their best to win the game and create a
Miracle!"
To evaluate a team's combat effectiveness, the first step must be its paper strength.
The value of the entire team is a hard standard. For a team with a luxurious lineup, no matter how bad their record is, they will always be a popular team in the eyes of the outside world. As for whether they can achieve a record based on their value, it depends on the fluctuation of soft power and tactical mistakes.
, unreasonable personnel matching may lower the overall strength.
Nowadays, media sensationalism is common in public opinion, and Real Madrid's bench is often used to gain attention.
For example, if Raul, Figo, Zidane, and Beckham sit on the bench together, the title will be: Real Madrid's substitute is extremely enviable!
This kind of news is nonsense!
Because the concepts of "substitute" and "sitting on the bench" have been changed!
Just like if Millwall rotates the whole team, take today's game as an example. Who is on the bench?
Ronaldinho, Henry, Nesta, Kaka, Nesta.
Just these five people!
What will the total net worth be?
However, you can't say they are Millwall's substitutes!
They are still the main force, but they are just sitting on the bench at this moment.
However, the reason why Millwall is recognized by the outside world as a top team in Europe is really related to their bench.
This is the thickness of the lineup, not only "thick", but also "hard"!
It’s not just a lie!
Players like Nedved, Larsson, Grenjar, Villa, Larmour, Pedretti, Barzagli, Baynes and other players often sit in key battles when the main players are on the field.
On the bench, this means that Millwall's bench is luxurious!
When needed, having someone to step up and go into battle will give the head coach peace of mind.
For example, Real Madrid's lineup is so strong that it doesn't dare to rotate and collapse. In fact, their lineup is lacking in thickness. It can only be used by the head coach. What's more, Real Madrid's own team building strategy has already been improved.
The stubborn problem of being top-heavy has emerged, and the "Zidane + Pavin" policy is reaping bitter defeat!
Players from both sides have already taken their positions on the court waiting for the kick-off. Today is the final game and 10 games start at the same time, so the referee has to synchronize with other games, so there is a delay of a minute or two. Then, after the referee blows his whistle
, the game officially begins.
Villa lightly kicked the ball to Larsson. Larsson stopped the ball, turned around, and kicked the ball back to his own backcourt with a mid- to long-distance pass.
The ball jumped into the air and flew towards Southgate. Southgate just stopped the ball with his chest, and warm cheers broke out in the stands!
Millwall usually does not pass the ball like this when kicking off. It kicks the ball back to the back line at the beginning of the game. This is a bit demoralizing, as if the opponent is afraid of attacking.
But today, Larson did this deliberately to pay tribute to Southgate, his comrade for many years!
Southgate was focused on playing his last game.
Yes, this is definitely his last game.
Even if there is a chance to make an appearance in the Champions League final, it will definitely be garbage time, just a casual appearance to show off.
All the Millwall players knew this very well, so they took this final game very seriously.
They definitely don't want to bid Southgate farewell with a defeat.
What's more, with Nedved and Larsson on the court, there won't be any problems with the team's mental temperament.
However, Millwall also knew that West Brom would fight tooth and nail to avoid relegation, so they did not act like they were going to eat up their opponents.
From the opening, Millwall showed a very stable attitude.
Win steadily and be patient with your opponents. In terms of game mentality, Millwall must be more than one step ahead of their opponents. There is no need for them to panic. But what about West Brom? As time goes by, the mentality will definitely change and the will will not be firm.
Players with an unbalanced mentality may become anxious and irritable.
Whenever Southgate completes a pass, intercepts, wins a header, or blocks the opponent's long shot with his body, there will be a burst of cheers for him in the stands.
Today, he still looks like a solid and strong defensive player!
West Brom's offensive ability is pitifully low. Although West Brom ranks second to last in terms of total goals scored in the Premier League season, two more than Blackburn, they are the team with the lowest number of home goals in the Premier League!
In the first 18 home games, they only scored 15 goals!
In the face of such an opponent whose offense is so weak that he is almost depressed, even though Southgate's physical explosiveness has dropped a lot, with his rich experience and prediction, he can still calmly resolve the opponent's obvious attack easily.
Aldridge looked at the serious-looking Southgate on the sidelines and was filled with emotion.
In fact, with Southgate's experience, he can indeed play as a substitute at Millwall. There is no problem in playing for at least one more season, such as West Brom, Norwich, Blackburn and other mid-to-lower Premier League teams with low offensive capabilities.
, Southgate can well complete the task of rotating the team to maintain the record.
However, Southgate still resolutely chose to retire, not because he couldn't bear the loneliness of being a substitute, but because he was giving opportunities to other players in the team, such as Barzagli and Neil.
Substitutes also need to play to maintain their condition. One more substitute will reduce the opportunities for players with the same position. Southgate knows this very well, so he chose to retire and announced the news at this time, which can be regarded as letting Barzagli
, Neil knew something in his heart, and told them in a different direction that their opportunities would not decrease in the future, but would only be more than before.
People always talk about Millwall's future relying on young players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Villa and others.
However, people ignore one fact.
The importance of a stable substitute is no less important than the key role played by the absolute main force!
When De Rossi is injured or needs a rest, without Pedretti, the key position of the midfielder will give the head coach a headache!
When Nesta was unable to play, how could we ignore the role played by Barzagli and Neal?
Stable substitutes are fire fighters. Not only must they have the awareness to put out fires, but they must also be ready and on standby at all times!
Southgate knows that he cannot be a stable substitute for a long time, unlike Larsson, Nedvěd, and Schneider in one or two seasons, so he has to give up the opportunity.
Aldridge is also aware of this awareness. Therefore, he hopes to give Southgate a better retirement game and write Southgate's name into Millwall's highest honor in history.
, will be implemented in the future.
After all, West Brom is not a team with strong psychological quality. They have only won 5 games in the first 37 rounds. The more they lose, the more eager they are to win. Moreover, when they need victory most today, their mentality becomes unbalanced very quickly.
Just over 30 minutes into the first half, they pressed forward like crazy and went into attack. Millwall's patience was rewarded. They did not confront the opponent head-on to avoid injuries, and waited for the opponent to take the initiative to expose enough space.
Afterwards, they fought a wave
An effective fast break, the attack directly hit the opponent's penalty area. Glenchard's sudden advance from the wing was like a sharp knife piercing the opponent's heart. Villa, who was outflanking the opponent in the middle, was let go by the goalkeeper who abandoned the goal.
He fell to the ground and the referee decisively awarded a penalty kick!
At the Hawthorn Stadium, the home team fans were as desperate as if they had been sentenced to death!
The Lions fans chanted Southgate's name in the stands, probably hoping that Southgate would take the penalty kick.
The players on the field at Millwall turned their heads and looked at the backcourt in unison. No one said anything. Their eyes and movements expressed very clearly. They also wanted Southgate to take the penalty kick!
Southgate, who had been looking very serious since the start of the game, suddenly lowered his head and smiled.
Because he vaguely remembered that the last penalty kick he took missed!
And that was 9 years ago!
In the 1996 European Cup, the penalty kick that became England's sinner!
Since then, he has never taken a penalty kick in the club or the national team.
Not even a penalty shootout.
After nine years, I stood in front of a penalty kick again! (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
