If Aldridge's team plays at the Bernabeu, they will be booed by the fans until their feet are shaking. But at the Lion's Den, the team obviously does not have an advantage on the field, but a clearance, a fight, a collision, even a foul
, will attract applause from Millwall fans.
Even though British football hooligans are notorious, it is undeniable that the enthusiasm of fans here is unparalleled in the world.
Fans will not choose whether to applaud because of whether the team's style of play is conservative or gorgeous, nor will they give up singing and cheering because the team is lagging behind. For them, a lifetime, or even the loyalty of several generations of a family, will only be devoted to the game.
To a club, no matter whether it is at the bottom or at its peak, and these fans who sing "No one likes us, it doesn't matter!" are even more so.
The first half of the game was not good to watch or even dull, but Millwall fans watched it with gusto and cheered repeatedly.
The four players Makelele, Thuram, Stam, and Nedved were quickly remembered by the fans, and even the fans in the stands were asking each other for their names.
The reason is very simple. This image of a tough guy who defends fiercely and dares to collide fiercely with opponent players is the most admired representative in the hearts of fans!
In their bones, the British believe that football is a sport for men, and what is required is blood, intensity, and hard work!
If there are players who are afraid of confrontation and fighting, then fans will feel completely disappointed.
At the end of the first half, Aldridge took the lead to walk back to the tunnel, and the score was 0:0. Although Millwall was not tired of defense in the first half, because their defense was not embarrassed, they lacked an effective and smooth offense.
Especially under the tactical arrangement of Aldridge, players other than the center back are prohibited from blindly passing the ball with big feet.
Although it is a warm-up match, Birmingham obviously wants to build confidence by defeating a League One team, especially the League One team that ranked third last season, so that they can return with ambitious fighting spirit next year.
English League One.
But they were disappointed to find that Millwall's defense was a group of tough guys!
Even though left back Lucas Neal is only 17 years old, he is still a fierce and hard-working guy. There is nothing we can do about it. Lucas naturally wants to become famous with one goal. The main position of left back is for the time being between him and Zambro.
He is competing for the tower, so of course he has to work hard to perform.
As for the tower-like Stam, the ferocious Thuram and the amazing defensive awareness of Makelele, plus the desperate Nedved, Birmingham seemed to have a fierce offensive in the first half, but in fact the chance of threatening the ball was
zero.
Aldridge waited in the locker room until the players came back to sit down and rest. He said calmly: "The performance in the first half was good. I don't have high requirements for the warm-up match. You just need to treat it as a competition in training, but I reiterate one point.
, Remember my tactical requirements, focus on defense first, Lucas, pay attention in the second half and reduce fouls in dangerous areas. You are still young and need to accumulate defensive experience. Don’t worry about losing your position.
Reis will help you cover the position, but you must catch up as soon as possible after losing position."
When Lucas Neal heard the head coach's call, his heart suddenly trembled, fearing that he would be substituted. When he heard Aldrich's instructions, he nodded firmly to express his understanding.
In terms of tactics, Aldridge has nothing to change. This team has only been training together for ten days. He cannot suddenly let them gather higher combat effectiveness and form a tacit understanding. Now the requirements for the team are very simple.
Just stay still and everyone completes their defensive tasks within their own activity area. On the basis of stable defense, the players will naturally stabilize their mentality and then be able to perform better.
If they are given more tasks from the beginning, including defense, offense, passing, cutting, running, etc., let alone the players, Aldridge feels that this will make the team confused.
Now is the time to shape this team. It is enough to lay the foundation first.
The midfielder encouraged the players, and Aldridge clapped his hands and asked the players to go out and start the second half of the game, trying not to take any pressure.
After the start of the second half, Aldridge was still sitting on the coaching bench, but turned to Jenson and said: "Let Richards, Materazzi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Vieira, Ballack and Solskjaer warm up.
, Substitute them in the 60th minute of the game, oh, Zambrotta replaced Thuram, let Lucas stay on the field, Solskjaer replaced Larsson, Henrik did not get enough rest before the season."
Jensen nodded and turned around to name the players on the bench one by one. Then he saw a group of young players rushing out and starting warm-up activities seriously.
The situation on the field was still dull, but the more Birmingham played, the more they discovered that Millwall's defense was impeccable. 10 minutes into the second half, they no longer tried to organize ground penetration cooperation, but used the simplest way to attack: long pass rush.
Hang.
Aldrich saw the football flying up and down the field, and he was secretly happy.
He really needs an opponent to practice the team's air defense capabilities through this traditional lob bombing, which is an essential part of defense.
Five minutes later, Aldridge replaced a large number of substitute players. Then he shook hands with each player who came off the field, patted their shoulders and praised them.
Schneider and Pires, who stayed on the field, were not as nervous as they were in the first half and were able to control the ball well. From a technical perspective, they were the best on the field. In the second half, when Birmingham couldn't attack, Shi
Ned and Pires frequently created threats on both wings, and several of their passes were well placed. If Trezeguet hadn't entered the state yet, he would have scored long ago.
Before the end, Solskjaer's long-range shot in front of the penalty area that deflected away the opponent's defender unfortunately hit the goal post and bounced off the baseline.
When the final whistle sounded, the score was still 0:0.
This is actually boring for a friendly match. Millwall was third in the English League last season, but failed to defeat Birmingham, third from the bottom in the English League last season, at home. Logically speaking, it is disappointing.
Especially when the situation was not dominant, the fans at the scene not only did not boo, but applauded after the game, and then left peacefully in an orderly manner.
In the next two warm-up games, Millwall's performance was not only stable, but also getting better and better. Aldridge was delighted to find that these players were indeed big-players, and they all had a young and mature calm temperament. Each game was better than the other.
Stable and excellent performance.
In the second game against Oxford United, at the Lion's Den Stadium, Larsson scored with a header from Schneider's cross in the second half, giving Millwall a victory. Although it was only a 1:0 victory, Aldrich
What's even more satisfying is that the team's defense didn't give the opponent a chance.
Facing Oxford United in the last warm-up match, the team played a hearty counterattack based on defense. Trezeguet and Solskjaer, who came on as a substitute, both scored, plus a corner kick.
Southgate scored a goal, and Millwall finally won 3:0.
In the three warm-up games, Aldridge's basic training goal was achieved, which was defense. He did not concede a goal in the three games and gave his opponents few opportunities. Although the opponents were not strong, it was able to build confidence in the team.
, this intangible gain is even more valuable.
In three days, the 1994/95 English League One will kick off, and Millwall will face the challenge of Newcastle United at home in the first round of the League.
After training ended that afternoon, Aldrich called the players together and asked them to put on their home uniforms for the official game.
There were training ground staff on the sidelines who brought chairs and placed them on the training ground. Aldridge called all the first-team coaches to him. They sat on the chairs in an orderly manner, and the players stood behind them according to their height.
It formed two rows and formed an orderly fan shape.
Under the setting sun, Aldridge sat in the middle of the front row with a gentle expression and a smile. The coaches around him also had relaxed expressions, but the players behind him all had serious expressions. Directly in front of them, Adam
Call the photographer to capture the best angle and match the light to capture the best scene.
After the birth of the "family portrait" of Millwall's first team in the 1994/95 season, Aldridge changed into a suit and leather shoes, then removed his chair. He stood in front of the players with his hands in his pockets rather coldly, looking like a
Like the young gang leader, the photographer stood on a chair this time and took a picture of the first-team players and their head coach with their heads held high and cool from a slightly overlooking angle.
After the photo was developed, Aldrich asked the staff to post the family photo in the corridor of the club, and then enlarged the other photo of the handsome and cool first team and head coach as part of the club's promotion.
When Millwall fans were looking forward to the arrival of the new season, they unexpectedly found a new season lineup flyer posted outside the club. Every fan who saw it couldn't help but sigh: This is really a young team.
From the head coach to the players, Millwall has taken on a new look in less than three months. Although we still don’t know what the future will hold, at least it looks energetic now.
