The Premier League title race has entered the sprint stage. Except for Millwall, the top four teams have an obvious advantage and are in a comfortable situation. The top three teams of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are eyeing behind them. Returning to London from Kiev, Millwall is about to face a battle.
In the London Derby, their opponent is Charlton, the closest Premier League team to them.
On the early morning of Friday, Aldridge drove to the club to work. Many reporters gathered in front of the club. Their characteristics were obvious, that is, they were young and newcomers to the industry. Generally, experienced reporters would not stop here to find them.
In news, especially in football circles, well-known reporters have their own information channels and use their personal networks to get the latest news and even exclusive reports.
Aldrich's car slowed down in front of the club, and the rookie reporters swarmed around the car, took pictures of him, and asked him questions.
"Mr. Hall, Millwall's opponent in the Champions League semi-finals is Bayern Munich. Do you think this draw is good or bad? Is Millwall confident of reaching the final at Camp Nou?"
"Manchester United and Juventus were drawn together. If Manchester United wins and Millwall also enters the final, the two Premier League teams will meet in the final. Do you think such a scenario will happen? Does this represent the opening of English football in Europe?
Is this the beginning of a reign?”
"I heard that you are good friends with Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti. If he asks you for tips on how to defeat Manchester United, will you help him defeat Manchester United?"
...
Aldrich just drove normally and slowed down and turned to enter the club. As a result, he was surrounded by reporters. He was disgusted with this situation. He was not showing off his superiority and was not showing off his high status, so he closed the car window and drove in without answering any questions.
The club.
Some reporters looked disappointed, while others lowered their heads and whispered a few curse words.
The semi-finals of the Champions League are out, Millwall defeated Dynamo Kiev without any blood.
Manchester United beat Inter Milan to advance to the semi-finals.
Bayern Munich swept Kaiserslautern 6:0 in the German civil war.
Juventus narrowly defeated Olympiacos 3:2 to advance to the semifinals.
Millwall and Manchester United from the Premier League appear in the top four list, which makes Fleet Street excited. There is no doubt about the strong recovery of the Premier League in European football, and now everyone is looking forward to the English Civil War at Camp Nou!
Aldridge felt that he was unlucky. Millwall was drawn against Bayern Munich, which in his opinion was the strongest of the three opponents!
Bayern Munich in the 1998-99 season, in the minds of many die-hard Bayern fans, may be the decade of the 1990s, the first decade after the new millennium. The strongest Bayern Munich in these 20 years, even the UEFA Champions League winner in 2001
Bayern Munich also seems to be slightly inferior.
On the training ground, the players were also talking privately. They were gearing up and eager to compete with the Bundesliga giants.
Aldrich's life is routine. He keeps a low profile in terms of external public opinion and remains focused on work.
However, during the weekend's London derby, he rarely got angry at the team after the game.
When the 90-minute game came to an end, Charlton's players cheered and the score was 1:1.
This game did not have the atmosphere of a Derby, but its importance was undoubted. In the seventh-to-last round of the league, Millwall met Charlton, who was in the relegation zone. If it were against such an opponent who was not strong on paper,
If they can't score 3 points, is Millwall sure of winning against Chelsea and Arsenal?
However, the players' attention was obviously distracted. They probably thought that the opponent was here to give away points, and the difference in strength was obvious. As long as they played at their usual level, they would easily get the three points.
Aldridge warned him before the game that the fighting capacity of the relegation team should not be underestimated. However, at the beginning of the game, Millwall lost the ball in the midfield. They were directly hit by a wave of counterattacks, and Materazzi was in the penalty area.
He knocked down the opponent's forward and was awarded a penalty kick. This penalty was not controversial. The opponent opened the scoring with a penalty kick.
In the following time, Millwall launched an indiscriminate attack on Charlton. Obstructed by the opponent's frantic fighting and frequent fouls, Millwall failed to achieve a reversal in the end. It was only thanks to Larsson's dribble in the penalty area.
After being tripped, he also scored a penalty kick to equalize the score.
After the game, Aldridge walked into the locker room and slammed the door. After a loud bang, he roared ferociously at the entire team.
"Today's game is bullshit. What did you play? Rubbish! Your worth is more than 10 times that of the other party! Your salary is more than 5 times that of the other party! Then, you have to come up with a game that is 5 times stronger than your opponent's.
Fighting spirit, the fighting spirit of being 10 times harder and braver than the opponent! F-UCK! You guys really treat football as a game!? I tell you, every game is
War! For us, a draw or a loss is a failure! A complete failure! Go back to bed early today, get up tomorrow morning and buy a copy of all the newspapers, turn on the TV to watch football news, what will happen? Ridicule and
Ridicule! Remember all the ridicule and humiliation from the outside world! If you don’t want to be treated like this again, wake me up and value every opponent!"
The players themselves felt very disappointed when they failed to win the game, but at this time, Aldridge did not choose to comfort them or encourage them.
What a comfort!
If the game was not won despite the team's best efforts, he would certainly not criticize the players.
But in today's game, he found that the players were a little distracted. The team's momentum looked extremely promising. They were leading the league points, entered the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the Champions League, and were competing for the championship on the third line. In addition, they played that wonderful game again.
Offensive football is highly praised by the outside world, and perhaps subconsciously they believe that it is invincible.
Ronaldinho and Henry were the ones who didn't perform well offensively today. They were a bit too arrogant and chose to break through on their own in many one-on-one situations. Yes, their breakthrough success rate was extremely high in one-on-one situations, but they could wait until they broke through.
What? He immediately fell into the opponent's double-team situation, causing the offense to come to an abrupt halt. Either the ball was taken away, or it was directly intercepted.
But Aldridge doesn't want to put all the blame on one or a few players. He has always emphasized the team. If Charlton loses points, the collective should be criticized.
After the game, the players of Millwall's first team did not leave. They stayed at the club to hold a team meeting. Southgate, who will return from injury in the next game, took the lead in stabilizing the morale of the team and allowing all players to play in the next game.
In half a month, I focused on the game and paid attention to every opponent!
Aldridge's anger is not unreasonable. In normal times, in the middle of the season, Millwall's performance can definitely defeat opponents like Charlton, but he emphasized before the game that at the end of the season, the opponent's paper
On the contrary, physical strength is a secondary factor. In the league, opponents from two major groups, one at the top and one at the back, will be more effective than usual.
The teams at the top are competing for tickets to the European Cup. The teams at the bottom are trying to avoid relegation and will fight their opponents to the death in every game.
On the contrary, those mid-range teams that seem to have good strength have no desires and desires, and the game is easier to play.
In the same round, Manchester United defeated Derby County, who was striving to enter the UEFA Cup, 1:0 at home.
Arsenal defeated relegation team Blackburn Rovers in a thrilling 1:0 home match.
Chelsea defeated Leeds United 1:0 at Stamford Bridge, almost shattering the opponent's dream of reaching the top three and winning Champions League tickets.
In this round, the top four teams will either face relegation teams or teams competing for the European war. It is extremely difficult for the other three teams to win, but Millwall is tied. This time, the Premier League championship
It's more exciting.
The next day, the Times' front-page headline read: "The most suspenseful season yet!"
There is only a 2-point gap between Millwall and Manchester United, and only a 4-point gap between Arsenal and Chelsea. With 6 rounds left in the league, although Millwall still has the initiative to win the championship, Manchester United's championship loss is
The rate soared wildly, almost the same as Millwall, because Millwall will encounter Chelsea and Arsenal in the last four rounds, and the probability of Manchester United gaining a fisherman is very high.
The Millwall first team is fully engaged in preparations for the game.
In mid-week, Aldridge attended the UEFA press conference, and the first leg of the Champions League semifinal between Millwall and Bayern Munich is about to begin.
When Aldridge walked into the press conference, flashes of lights were heard. The young marshal sat down with a normal expression and briefly answered the reporters' questions.
"Although Millwall is the defending champion, we are not favorites. I think Bayern Munich is even better than us in terms of team strength. Look at their lineup. Matthaus, Effenberg, Kahn,
Lizarazu... Millwall is younger. Bayern is more mature. In a competition like the Champions League semi-finals, I think maturity and experience will have a more important impact on the game. However, Millwall
It’s not that you don’t have a chance. If we want to go to Camp Nou, we must fight with our blood and will.”
"Will Millwall be distracted by the fierce competition in the league? At least Bayern Munich does not have this worry. They have a huge lead in the Bundesliga."
Aldrich thought for a while and said: "In the 180-minute game, I need the players to concentrate on the game. If they are distracted by the league, then we will not be able to win."
"Can you talk about Hitzfield? After the draw result came out, he said that this was a test for Bayern Munich. He called you the magic young coach and thought you had a magic power that could make such a young team extremely strong.
, the outside world’s underestimation of Millwall before the season is absolutely wrong.”
Aldridge smiled after hearing this and replied: "I respect Coach Hitzfield very much. He is a senior, and compared with him, I am obviously still a child. Hahaha, he led Dortmund to win the Champions League championship, and now he has to lead it again
Bayern Munich is going to compete for the Champions League, and his ability to train the team is admirable."
"Will Millwall go all out in attack in the first leg?"
"Offense is definitely going to happen. If we can't win against the opponent in London, then the team's situation will be very dangerous when we go to Munich, but the prerequisite is that we must defend well and we must limit the opponent's away goals."
"Southgate has just returned. Will he be allowed to play tomorrow?"
"Yes, as the captain of his team, his comeback will bring positive factors to the team."
"But can he limit the forward combination of Yankel and Elber?"
"I never think that defense is a one-on-one battle between a certain offensive player and a certain defensive player. We will limit the opponent's overall performance layer by layer from the forward line, avant-garde line, midfielder line, and back line. Only
Only in this way can we do our best. In other words, if Yankel and Elber don't get support, they won't have a chance to perform."
