After all the warm-up matches for Millwall's Asia trip, the team left Shanghai that night and went directly back to London. Only Aldridge stayed to prepare for an exclusive interview the next morning. In fact, he just canceled his one-day vacation.
The players returned to London for a day's rest.
The next morning, he got up early, dressed up, put on a suit, and asked the hotel waiter to prepare coffee. At 8:30 on time, someone knocked on the door of his hotel suite.
The interview will be held in the living room of the suite.
The person who served as the host of the interview this time was Huang Jianxiang.
Aldrich is not surprised. In recent years, Huang Jianxiang has been making progress in his career. It cannot be said that he has become popular, but it is a fact that he is in the limelight. He has just finished commentating on the European Cup and will soon comment on the Olympic Games. Yes
The best sports host selected by many media in China.
"Hello, Mr. Hall, this is the first time we meet, let me introduce myself. I..."
Aldridge's net worth and fame have skyrocketed in recent years. He can refuse the biggest BBC presenter and accept interviews. He has already become calm and accustomed to the respect shown by others in front of him.
After the film crew set up the equipment, Huang Jianxiang took the initiative to briefly chat with Aldrich about the main content of the interview, giving Aldrich a sense of certainty.
At first, the other party was worried about whether Aldrich's Chinese was as fluent as the outside world claimed.
What he was most afraid of was media hype. If Aldrich could say something, the media would praise him to the extreme, saying that Aldrich could recite difficult and difficult ancient Chinese texts backwards and forwards.
After a brief contact, he suppressed his doubts, and at least the communication was fine. This allowed him to ask some in-depth questions.
After the opening remarks, Huang Jianxiang's exclusive interview officially began.
The content of this interview is divided into topics. The first topic, the focus of discussion is naturally Millwall.
The question Aldrich has been asked countless times was asked again.
What is the secret to Millwall's success? Is it the success of the youth academy?
"I have answered this question many times, and my answer will not change: there is no fixed way to success. Just like when others evaluate Millwall's tactical changes, I have used tactics such as 442, 433, 4231, 4321, etc. People will say that Mill
Wall's 433 is the strongest, so the question arises, since 433 is the strongest. Why does Millwall still play 442? Will it play 4231? The success of the club is the same as the game. There is no static tactic that can ensure that you always play.
Win, achieve success steadily, recognize yourself, observe the situation, and be flexible to take advantage of the situation, so that you can ensure that you have an advantage. Closer to home, if Millwall's success is attributed to the success of the youth training, I think it is unfair.
Especially for players such as Henry Larsson and Nedved Southgate, they cannot be classified as Millwall youth training players in a strict sense. So, according to the outside world, they are not Millwall's successes.
The important part is actually quite the opposite.”
Aldridge's words are realistic. Basically, players who come to Millwall before the age of 18 and stay in the team for three years can be included in the team's youth training players. In Millwall's first team, like Pirlo,
Players such as Gattuso, Gronzal, Ronaldinho, Gianluca Zambrotta, Materazzi and others can already be classified as Millwall youth training players.
But if Millwall's success is simply attributed to the youth training, Nedved and the others will become secondary players.
Huang Jianxiang was surprised by Aldrich's explanation and rolled his eyes. It seemed that he had not delved into this issue.
Probably the outside world thinks that Nedvěd followed Aldridge when he was broke, so he is naturally a part of Millwall, directly erasing his past history of playing in the Czech league, as if he was born from Millwall.
"So what do you think of youth training?"
"I think youth training is an important part of a club's success. For example, for a period of time, Barcelona's team building was mainly based on buying stars. Real Madrid had five eagles at the same time. During that period, Real Madrid suppressed Barcelona. You It can be said that Real Madrid defeated Barcelona's Jin Yuan with youth training, but Real Madrid did not achieve glory in the Champions League at that time, and the Milan dynasty had youth training players such as Baresi, Costacurta, Maldini and so on. Basically, they were very strong at that time, but could they create the Milan dynasty just by relying on their youth training? I don’t think it could, because at that time, it was the Three Musketeers of the Netherlands who shined in Europe. With their joining, Milan became a dynasty. With the capital to create a dynasty, the pinnacle of success in youth training is Ajax built by Louis van Gaal. However, in the post-Bosman era, I think this successful model cannot be replicated. Players are transferred frequently. Teams with fame and financial resources will become stronger and stronger, there will be more and more teams with big names, and the competitiveness will also rise sharply. In this era, a club can maintain its survival by relying solely on youth training. , but if you want to create great achievements, this is far from enough.”
Aldrich's words confused Huang Jianxiang.
Aldridge is happy to talk about this with people in the Chinese football circle. It is better than nothing. The voices that can be spread through the media are definitely much stronger than ordinary people.
He is not particularly reliant on youth training, but youth training is very important. The current efforts to engage in youth training are actually a sign of failure, so that Millwall will not be able to discover stars of hope in advance at Aldrich ten years later. After his appearance, star players from all over the world took the initiative to join Millwall.
But when a youth player cannot become the club's ideal candidate, decisively looking for a more suitable replacement is the best option.
For example, the arrival of Henry and the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy, who had been playing for five years and was definitely a Millwall youth player, is an example. There are countless such examples in Real Madrid now and in the future, and they are also found in all major giants.
Cultivating youth training players, in addition to bringing blood to the first team, reducing team building costs, and giving players a sense of loyalty and belonging, there is also a very important point, that is, their own youth training players can bring long-term stability to the team, and the locker room Stability, regardless of success or failure, the cycle of rebuilding the team, etc. AC Milan is the best example. Maldini, a veteran of several generations, not only contributes simply to the competitive scene in Milan.
At the end of this topic, Aldrich expressed his feelings towards Villa, Ronaldinho, Joe Cole, Pedretti, Barzagli and others who came to the team at a young age and are already players in the team's youth training. expectations, and believe that training at Millwall since childhood has cultivated their sense of belonging, responsibility, honor, etc., which is extremely important for the long-term and stable construction of the team, but there is a major prerequisite, that is, their personal strength must It can be maintained at a level that matches Millwall's football status, and the excellent youth training results will benefit the club for more than ten years!
After the topic about Millwall ended, Huang Jianxiang asked Aldridge personally and discussed his life.
From the perspective of outsiders, Aldridge’s life seems to be the beginning of a legend since he was 10 years old and he decided to become a coach and traveled around to study. It is simply unbelievable to others. But perhaps because ordinary people would not do this, Aldridge did it.
, it finally succeeded, and it felt like a natural progression.
When it comes to this part, apart from the frivolous things about his love life that have nothing to do with football, Aldridge talks freely, including some of his ridiculous experiences in Europe.
When foreign football professionals conduct interviews in China, in the end, one topic cannot be avoided.
Huang Jianxiang was silent for a moment before the third major theme was revealed, and then asked softly: "Mr. Hall, do you know about Chinese football?"
Aldridge smiled and shook his head and said: "Please don't take it as my disrespect for Chinese football. Let's put it this way, the Chinese badminton team and table tennis team will learn about the competitive level of South Africa, Norway, Iceland and other places.
?”
Huang Jianxiang burst into laughter. He was obviously slapped by Aldrich, but you have to admire him for keeping you from getting angry.
Yes, Europe is the center of world football. At best, they will care about South American football, a former competitor. In the past, they had to fight over who was the boss, but who would care about football in other regions?
Just like table tennis, badminton and other competitive sports in which China is unique in the world, China is the center. Not only is it rich in outstanding players, but it can also export players and coaches overseas to perform or provide guidance in other countries.
Huang Jianxiang smiled bitterly and said: "In recent years, we in China have had several players who have played in Europe. Have you heard of them?"
Aldridge smiled and said: "Yang Chen and Xie Hui, who play in the German league, and two players from Crystal Palace who are neighbors of Millwall and our club's enemy, Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai."
When Huang Jianxiang heard this, he realized that this foreigner knew a lot!
"Have you seen their games?"
"No, I just heard that if I tell the truth, Chinese fans may not be happy."
"There are countless things that make us unhappy, and a few words from you are all we need."
"Haha, I am the head coach of the Premier League champion and the Champions League champion. I will not care about the games of the English team Crystal Palace, nor will I care about the relegation teams in the Bundesliga and the Bundesliga. So, of course I have not watched it.
Their games are of no value from a work perspective. Even if we want to study Bayern Munich, when studying Bayern Munich's Bundesliga games, we tend to select game videos where the gap in strength is not too big for research, and scouts go to the scene to observe.
etc."
"Your truth is really hurtful, but this is the reality. The current situation of Chinese players living in Europe is still far away from the top clubs. What about the future? You said in an interview before the game a few days ago that you are optimistic
Regarding the future of Chinese football, I believe that the country has a huge population base and the probability of nurturing football talents will be very high. Millwall has opened a football school in Japan this year. I heard that football school projects in mainland China are also in progress. I have ideas.
Will there be any Chinese players playing for Millwall in the future?"
Aldrich raised his head and closed his eyes and smiled.
The football school is part of the club's brand promotion. Regardless of whether it has a competitive effect, the club will do it because the attached commercial value itself is very rich, and the football school also makes money, just like they opened a club souvenir store in Hong Kong.
"I think it will be difficult to achieve in the short term. First of all, due to the labor certification system, it will be very difficult for non-European players to join the Premier League. Secondly, if Millwall invests in a player, or trains it, the upper age limit will be 20 or 21
Years old, because a player's technical ability is basically completely finalized by the age of 23. We need to shape the player before then, give him time to integrate into the club, and instill tactical concepts, football philosophy, etc.
Wait, and the older the players are, the less effective this work will be. At Millwall's current level, we will be very cautious if we introduce players over 20 years old. Once an agreement is reached, it may be an important deal, such as Henry.
Klose, etc., although it does not mean that players must come to the team and contribute immediately like Henry, but at least they must have the huge potential that we firmly recognize like Klose."
Huang Jianxiang asked curiously: "Are there no Chinese players recommended to go to Millwall?"
"Hahaha, there are clubs from all over the world recommending players to come to our club, including China, of course. However, I am very sorry, maybe there is still a gap between the players who have performed well in the Chinese league and our recruitment standards."
Huang Jianxiang said helplessly: "This is a very sad situation. Chinese football is not paid attention to by Europe, but the outstanding players we have trained locally are famous. When they are famous and can attract the outside world, they have reached the age you said.
When the technical ability is finalized and there is no room for cultivation, then even if he is a good seedling, he may
In the most critical growth stage, their potential was not maximized and they were not given the best training. How to describe it, it's like being a top student in elementary school, but failed to go to a prestigious school, and then the gap was widened in middle school.
Although I showed some abilities when I graduated from college, there was a big gap between what I could have achieved originally."
Aldrich thought for a while and felt that the other person's metaphor made sense. He smiled and nodded. (To be continued...)
