On August 14, 1998, the new Premier League season kicked off.
Millwall visit Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the Premier League.
Before the game started, the players returned to the locker room after warming up. The starters and substitutes were all in the locker room, waiting for Aldrich's lecture.
Aldridge was dressed elegantly as always. He looked around the room, looked at the expressions of each player, and then said lightly: "This season, we must bring the league championship back to the Lion's Den Stadium. This is what I want to say to you."
The requirements are also the requirements for myself.”
The players listened with serious expressions and nodded consciously.
Aldridge continued: "The outside world says that Millwall's strength has declined. I don't think so. Although some of you did not play in the Champions League last season, it does not mean that all our success was achieved by 11 main players.
, we are a team, and with only 11 players, no matter how outstanding we are, it is impossible to create great achievements! Players who will get more opportunities in the new season, I hope you will focus all your attention on the ball.
On the court, show your best side. As for veteran players like Gareth, I hope you can set an example for young people, work hard, forget what honors you have won, and never stop chasing.
To step towards victory, we must have a firm belief in our hearts: We are far from reaching the peak, far from it! I have the confidence to continue to create brilliance with you, but this also requires you to have the same confidence and show it to me with actions.
!”
Southgate smiled and said: "Don't worry, boss, the taste of championship is like a drug, it makes people want to stop!"
Nedvěd also nodded and said: "Yes, we will fight until the day we can no longer play!"
Young Ronaldinho touched his nose and said softly: "Me too."
Other players expressed their opinions one after another. As if they had issued a military order, the atmosphere in the locker room gradually became higher and morale increased suddenly.
Aldridge looked around again and said: "Okay, show the temperament of a champion and go to the game. Tell everyone that Millwall is the favorite for the league championship. No matter who questions it, we will fight back with action!"
After saying that, Aldridge took the lead to walk out of the locker room and walked into the stadium along the players' tunnel.
When he appeared, the live broadcast camera immediately focused on him. There is no doubt that he is now the most popular coach in the Premier League. In addition to his jaw-dropping record, his image as an English coach also makes him attract more attention.
"The first round of the new Premier League season is about to begin, Andy. What do you think of Millwall's prospects for the new season?"
"I think the most critical thing is the performance of several players. Whether they can perform well will determine the fate of Millwall this season. I think the first important person is the Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who succeeds Trey
In the position behind Zeguet, as a center forward, his task is to score goals. This criterion makes
He must score more goals than last season to ensure Millwall's offensive firepower. The second one is Ronaldinho. Judging from Hall's formation, he is placed in the left wing position.
Above, Larsson moved to the right side. Through observation of a few games last season, I found that he and Shevchenko were very clear.
The difference is obviously that Shevchenko does not stick to the ball, passes when he needs to, and cuts in the air when he needs to move, but Ronaldinho is more like an attacking midfielder. He likes to get the ball and be in front.
He uses his personal ability to tear apart the opponent's defense. Individually, he is a very good player, but in the past four years, Millwall has been
The emphasis is on the overall team. Whether the Brazilian can cooperate with core players such as Nedved, Larsson and Pirlo will be the key to affecting the quality of Millwall's offense. As for the 10 million pound transfer
Henry, we have not watched his games in the Premier League, so we cannot make a comment for the time being."
"Hall has made a bold statement that this season is to regain the league championship he lost last season. Do you think his remarks will put pressure on the players?"
"There is definitely pressure, and these players also need pressure. People like Southgate and Makelele have won the league championship, the Champions League championship, and they have the two highest honors of the club. At this time, the head coach must give orders.
Go for what will keep them motivated, and if it's like they have been for the past few years, Hall keeps a low profile and thinks Millwall
If we are not the favorite to win the championship, it will in turn depress morale. What will the players think? We are already the European champions, but are we still not as good as other teams in the local league? Set a goal and work hard as a team.
Although Millwall cannot be said to lead the new with the old, the team has young energy injected into it, and Hall also needs to stimulate the enthusiasm of young people."
"It seems that Hall's diplomatic rhetoric has a clear purpose, so we will wait and see how the new Champions League champion will perform in the new season."
Players from both sides began to enter the field, and Millwall's main formation was still 433 from last season.
Forwards: Larsson, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho.
The formation is still the same, but there must be some changes in the style of play, because the personal characteristics of the players are different, especially Ronaldinho on the offensive end. Aldridge cannot let him copy Shevchenko's role at the winger position.
, it is no exaggeration to say that because Ronaldinho has entered the main lineup, Aldridge's focus in the team's summer preparations is to tailor a new tactical system for him.
Sheffield Wednesday are not a strong team, they are a mid-to-lower level team. At their home ground, the new season has just begun. They don't have to use bus tactics yet, but their attitude is definitely defensive.
When the game started, Aldrich stood on the sidelines with a solemn expression.
Even though he achieved great success last season, at the beginning of the new season, his work is even heavier than at the beginning of last season, and it is not easy to command the team on the spot. He needs to observe and understand the performance of the team's new lineup in the game.
Every drop of insight is clear.
Millwall played a fast break at the beginning. Zambrotta rushed along the left wing, playing two one-twos with Makelele and Ronaldinho along the way and then made a pass from the bottom.
Nistelrooy failed to grab the point, and the ball that was cleared fell at the feet of Pirlo. He made another exquisite pass through the opponent's defense. Larsson cut in from the right and got the ball and volleyed it directly.
On the goal side net, unfortunately no score was scored.
"Millwall seems to be in good shape in the new season, but Larsson switched from the left to the right, and his shooting feels a little worse. If he cuts in on the left, he has scored many wonderful goals in the same position.
The ball, although this kick is not ugly, but it is below the standard."
Sheffield Wednesday's offense can only rely on long passes because of ground coordination. The difference in player level is obvious. They need more time to pass and control the ball. When the ball cannot reach a very accurate level, it is defeated by Millwall.
The probability of interception is very high.
Millwall has Materazzi on the back line this season, and at least they have no problem with air defense. Long passes cannot penetrate their defense.
The game lasted for twenty minutes. Millwall's offensive was overwhelming, but it only had fruit but no results. Aldridge saw the crux of the problem.
Ronaldinho and Nedvěd lack tacit understanding.
Unlike counterattacks, where you have a large space and the speed advantage of rushing forward, positional warfare requires higher precision in passing, cutting, and running positions, as well as higher tacit understanding of the timing of passing and running.
When Millwall controlled the rhythm, Ronaldinho and Nedvěd often had "effect collisions".
That is to say, Ronaldinho got the ball, but Nedved did not move. Nedved moved, and Ronaldinho thought that the opponent would catch the ball at the same place. The opposite is also true. Nedved is used to keeping the ball closed in smooth attacks.
His eyes are used to pass the ball through to the winger. Whether it is Larsson or Shevchenko, as long as there is space, he will cut in from the wing to receive the ball.
So when Nedvěd took the ball and wanted to play it out, Ronaldinho didn't run, so he could only pass the ball. The attack finally pushed to the limit and ended in a simple and crude way. Or he made a pass, and Ruud van Nistelrooy was closely guarded by the opponent.
There is nothing to do next, or he forces a kick to shoot, but the quality is not high.
Sheffield Wednesday committed a foul in the frontcourt, and the opponent's players were arguing with the referee. Aldridge called Ronaldinho and Nedved over from the sidelines.
When the two came to him, Aldrich simply said: "Before the end of the first half, Ronaldinho, you get the ball, Nedved moves, Nedved gets the ball, Ronaldinho waits for the ball
, Nedved passes the ball to you, he moves, you pass it again, do you understand?"
Ronaldinho and Nedved nodded at the same time.
Aldrich couldn't expect them to have a tacit understanding out of thin air. He could only impose strict rules and use the most rigid method to get them to cooperate. He would work out the coordination first, and then once they got to know each other, they would be able to use it freely.
Essentially, the role is fixed and does not change.
Ronaldinho first played the role of a linker, while Nedvěd played the role of a finisher who broke in from behind and scored goals.
When two people have a clear understanding of each other, they can complete the swap of roles in a tacit understanding.
After such adjustments, Millwall's offensive coordination is much smoother, and the threats are more intuitive.
Ronaldinho and Nedvěd passed and ran on the left. Nedvěd's speed advantage pushed him into the penalty area like a sharp knife, repeatedly threatening the opponent's goal.
In the 39th minute of the first half, Ronaldinho took the ball and Nedvěd moved forward. The Sheffield Wednesday players also realized that the opponent would pass the ball to Nedved, so they blocked the passing route and kept an eye on Nedved.
.
Ronaldinho pulled the ball back and passed it across. Pirlo caught the ball in the middle and made a wonderful direct pass to tear open the opponent's defense. The opponent was closely tracking Nedvěd, so they deployed heavy troops on the left.
, On the contrary, the defense on the right is relatively loose, Ronaldinho transfers, Pirlo passes through,
Playing extremely fast from left to right, Larsson cut inside to get the ball on the right, with only a 30-degree shooting space. He calmly knocked the ball back to the center, and Ruud van Nistelrooy just happened to retreat consciously to get rid of the opponent's defender.
Marking the ball, he pushed the ball straight into the lower right corner of the goal.
"Millwall broke the deadlock at the end of the first half, and the goal was scored by their new main center Ruud Ruud van Nistelrooy! Millwall played a wonderful combination, the ball passed from Nedved, Ronaldinho, Pirlo,
Larsson then scored at the foot of Van Nistelrooy, and all the offensive players in the frontcourt
Participated in this attack, this is what Millwall is best at, using sudden through balls after lateral transfers to penetrate the opponent's defense. As long as the opponent cannot keep up with the rhythm, there will inevitably be holes in the defense. Millwall's goal is not
Unexpectedly, it even came later than expected.”
Aldridge applauded the team's goal and then sat back.
Ruud van Nistelrooy was so excited about the goal that he went to the corner flag to celebrate with his arms around Larsson.
He also wants to respond to the doubts from the outside world and tell everyone that he can not only take over Trezeguet's position, but also do better than the opponent!
