This is a day worth remembering. Aldridge takes charge of the Three Lions. This news will be ranked first in the world news list later on this day!
There is no doubt that this is Aldrich's day.
The brilliant record he achieved under his leadership of Millwall has made him the most popular candidate to coach the England national team.
However, when the moment of "everyone's expectation" truly arrived, accompanying questions also followed.
"Mr. Hall, you have now reached an agreement with the Football Association to officially become the coach of the England national team. What about Millwall Club? Who will be the coach? Will Klinsmann take over?"
This is the issue that reporters in the audience are most concerned about.
If the Millwall coach also changes hands, the news will be as sensational as dropping an atomic bomb on European football.
Perhaps, this is also a situation that many powerful and direct competitors of Millwall like to see.
With a confident smile on his face, Aldridge replied methodically: "After negotiation with the Football Association, I took up the position of national team coach as a part-time national team coach. At Millwall Club, I am still the coach."
The reporters in the audience looked at each other, and a new question appeared.
"You are coaching Millwall and the England national team at the same time. How do you reconcile your work? There are inevitably conflicts and collisions of interests."
Aldridge nodded and smiled: "Yes, there are indeed contradictions that cannot be ignored, such as work schedule, energy investment, etc. But I am willing to accept such a challenge. I think I have certain advantages. English players
Most of them play in local leagues. I have been following my opponents in Millwall for the past few years. During the same period, I have a good understanding of the level of most of England's international players, their playing characteristics, what their strengths are, and how to limit them.
, in this way
On the basis of this, I have a very good environment for my work. As for interests, I personally think that this is not a problem. The national team and the club have completely different working environments, working methods, and goals, all of which have their own particularities.
, I accepted the job of the national team, I just hope to lead the England national team to achieve good results, other than that. I have nothing else to ask for, and I can also guarantee it with my personality. When I serve as the coach of the national team, I will treat
All players will be treated equally."
In fact, the so-called conflict of interests, what the outside world is most worried about is that Aldrich may suppress dissidents.
Just imagine, if Beckham was not an England international, how much would his popularity suffer? How much would it also reduce Manchester United's commercial influence?
This creates an invisible conflict of interests.
When Aldridge first took office, the media had to give him some face. They had already vouched for his personality, so if he pressed further, it would be an insult.
"Where's the coaching staff?"
"I am just one person now. I will submit the coaching staff list to the Football Association as soon as possible. I have reached a consensus with Mr. Chairman on this point and I can make the decision."
"What is the goal of the national team? Your contract is for 20 months, which means you will step down after the World Cup. What is the minimum record requirement given to you by the Football Association for the 2002 World Cup? Top 8? Top 4?"
"Hahaha, it's too early to talk about this now. We are still playing in the qualifiers. I think if I can't lead England to the World Cup, I will be fired immediately. So, let's talk about the World Cup in a year and a half. I
I hope I can still sit in the position of the national team coach and answer your questions."
Aldridge took office today. He neither made high-profile claims to lead England to glory, nor did he appear nervous. His demeanor has won praise from the media. It seems that he is really like a football gentleman, neither arrogant nor impetuous, and can make people happy.
You feel his confidence, but you can't relate it to arrogance.
There are many problems facing Aldridge, and reporters are also full of expectations for England's next game. In particular, after the Three Lions usher in the Aldridge era, who will leave and who will
Will they stay and who are the new faces in the team?
Regarding the team roster, Aldridge responded cautiously and did not make any guarantees. He will announce the new England national team roster before the next national team match day. Before that, he will not reveal any names.
At the end of the press conference, Aldridge took a group photo with many FA officials, chairman, CEO and other big figures.
The first thing after taking over as national team coach, Aldridge met with England U21 coach and former Leeds United coach, Wilkinson, in his own office in the FA office building.
Peter Taylor had just stepped down, and the U21 national team had ushered in a new era. Wilkinson and Aldridge had played against each other in the 1995-96 season. At that time, the two ignored each other because of the racial discrimination incident that broke out at Elland Road.
The office was empty, and the England national team information was placed in the glass cabinet. Aldridge was looking through the player information while waiting for Wilkinson.
As the coach of the national team, in fact, in addition to training and leading the team in games, he also has a lot of additional powers. The big one can intervene in the management of the youth training system of the entire league. The small one also has to attend many public relations receptions. Although he does not have the right to make decisions, he has the right to make suggestions.
There is still a right to participate.
For other coaches who only serve as the head coach of the national team, making more appearances and participating in the management of internal affairs can not only improve their prestige, but also maintain their reputation.
Aldridge gave up a lot in the negotiations with the FA, which is what the FA is happy to see. At least, a calm coach will make them feel more at ease than a pushy coach.
The only power Aldridge wants is to intervene in the U21 national team.
He does not want to seize anyone's power, but he hopes that his work can be carried out better. The management of the lower echelons of the national team is very important.
Four years later, Wilkinson and Aldridge met again, this time not on the sidelines, but in the office of the national team coach. The owner was Aldridge.
The two shook hands, exchanged greetings, and sat down on the sofa together with smiles on their faces.
From a certain perspective, Aldridge is half of Wilkinson's superior. Although there is no affiliation, if Aldridge tells the media that he is not satisfied with the work efficiency of the U21 national team, Wilkinson will be in a very embarrassing situation.
"What does it feel like now? Aldrich."
Wilkinson was considered a powerful figure in those days. He had some unpleasantness with Aldrich when they played against each other. Four years later, everything was gone.
Furthermore, there is really no deep hatred between the two. At one moment, they have opposing positions, but they are not the protagonists at the center of the whirlpool.
Aldrich smiled slightly, shook his head and said, "It's a lot of pressure."
"Of course it's a lot of pressure, otherwise, anyone could do this job."
"Haha, you are right. I think you and I are the same type of coaches. We both attach great importance to youth training, right?"
Wilkinson sighed after hearing this. He did focus on building youth training at Leeds United, but unfortunately his subsequent successors failed to carry it forward. It was not until O'Reilly's generation that there was some improvement. But originally
The youth training system that can rival Manchester United is now far behind.
"Let's talk about work. You have to take care of both the national team and the club, so your time must be very tight."
"Well, yes, I like that. Let's get straight to the point. Your focus is to cultivate talents for the national team, and my focus is to lead the national team to achieve the ideal results. There is an intuitive connection between us, because I use
Players are all promoted and trained by you. I have several players here. I hope that in the next time, the U21 national team can focus on training and training them so that they can become the pillars of the national team in the future."
Wilkinson stared directly at Aldrich.
I have to say that it was Aldrich who was interfering in his work, but these words made him feel very comfortable.
Wilkinson became Aldridge's man behind the scenes!
The talents he promoted and trained are sent to the national team!
"If you have local players you are optimistic about, you should tell me directly. Everyone knows how you look at players. It will be beneficial to discover outstanding young players as early as possible."
"Well, here's the list, take a look."
Wilkinson took the list from Aldrich and looked at it.
Carrick, Parker, Lescott, Hargreaves, Crouch.
Wilkinson smiled predictably.
There are four players here with Millwall background. Even if Parker transfers and leaves, they are still from Millwall.
As for Hargreaves, he is a youth training player of Bayern Munich.
Wilkinson smiled bitterly and said: "Crouch, do you still have confidence in him?"
Crouch has actually been the main force of the low-level national team for a long time, but in last year's World Youth Championship, England lost all three games and was eliminated with 0 goals. Crouch's performance as the main forward was abysmal.
Aldrich smiled and said: "He is still very young, and failure is a valuable experience for young people. Well, to be honest, looking at Europe, Crouch's talent and the heights he can reach in the future, I don't think it is particularly worth looking forward to, but
, in England, he has the ability to become one of the forward candidates for the national team in the future."
Wilkinson suddenly said: "But your contract with the Football Association is only for 20 months. During this period, Crouch..."
There is no need for Wilkinson to say the rest, as everyone knows it.
Aldridge said frankly: "Actually, players like Carrick and Parker cannot quickly grow into the main force of the national team in 20 months, but since I am now the national team coach, I hope to lay a good foundation for England's future.
Regardless of whether I am still in office in the future, this is about the future of the England national team."
These words left Wilkinson in awe, and Aldrich remained calm, but in fact he had his own plans in mind.
He can't guarantee whether he will succeed or fail in these 20 months. Maybe he will be fired after playing the next two qualifiers.
However, he had to leave a way out for himself, or save some face.
During his tenure, he focused on cultivating and promoting some future international players. When people talk about him in the future, he can be regarded as a coach who has made contributions!
Wilkinson agreed to Aldridge's request that the U21 national team would focus on training these players in the future. The two stood up and shook hands, and then Aldridge personally sent Wilkinson out.
The first thing I did when I took office was to find a "fig leaf" for myself that I might use. This job is done.
Aldrich has another very important job to do next.
Determine the national team roster.
The World Cup roster is 23 people, but the number of people on the roster for the qualifiers usually fluctuates, and is basically around 30 people.
Aldridge does not want the national team's lineup to change too much. Stability is the first priority. Players cannot be worried about their main position or whether they can make the team's roster.
Only when the players feel at ease and know that the coach trusts and supports them can the players be determined to serve him and their attention will not be distracted.
It is certainly impossible to determine the final list immediately, but there is certainly not much suspense in the overall framework.
With one emperor and one courtier, England is not completely exhausted. You can count some of its main players with your eyes closed. (To be continued...)
