The Ballon d'Or award ceremony collided with the 18th round of the Premier League.
"France Football" sent an invitation letter. Ronaldinho, Larsson, Henry, Pirlo, and Nedvěd are all on the invitation list, inviting them to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
The Premier League Christmas Express is coming soon, and the day to join the FA Cup is also getting closer. Millwall has just finished the first stage of the Champions League group stage, and went to Germany with all substitutes in the away game. Hamburg fought for honor, playing Millwall 1 at home.
:1 draw.
After Aldridge returned to London, he asked these invited players to attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony, which could be regarded as giving them some sweetness in advance and taking a rest. In the 18th round of the Premier League, Millwall will visit Goodison Park to challenge
Toffees Everton, and then the highlight is a trip to Old Trafford on Christmas Eve to compete with the Red Devils Manchester United.
Aldridge doesn’t want to see players getting emotional at this time. The Golden Globe Award is an extremely glorious personal honor and they are not allowed to go to the scene. What if he wins the award? Aldridge does not have the ability to predict the future. He does have it, but
He has become the head coach, and now everything is full of variables.
Just let them go, and then come back and play Manchester United well. If they really win an award, that would be even better, the momentum will be high!
Before the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, the draw results for the second stage of the Champions League group stage also came out.
Millwall had a good draw, drawing AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, and Anderlecht in the same group.
After the draw results came out, the one who was most in tears was the Belgian giant Anderlecht.
If they were drawn into this group as the second best player in the group, that would be fine.
But they are first in the group!
In the first stage, they fought tooth and nail against Manchester United, PSV and Dynamo Kyiv. They crushed Dynamo Kyiv to the bottom of the group. They also kicked PSV out of the UEFA Cup, beating the Red Devils and Manchester United to win the title.
The first name in the group, what is the picture?
The one who qualified is the first one. After all, in the second stage of grouping, it would be best to meet two weaker groups in second place!
damn it!
Looking at the second place in each group, Millwall is the strongest. They got the draw and won the prize!
Paris Saint-Germain is also depressed. It is one draw away from defeating Bayern to win the first place in the group. Now, it is better to be second in the group and meet the strongest second place in the group, as well as the traditional giant AC Milan...
....
AC Milan is also depressed. Millwall's name is too eye-catching. Last season, they were double beaten by Millwall in the first stage of the group stage. In the end, they failed to even advance to the top 16. This year, they finally won the group in the group of death.
First, they met the killer Millwall again in the top 16.
Doesn’t this allow people to live?
I just finished my fight with Leeds United, Barcelona, and Bethesda. I immediately entered the group of death again. Who drew the lottery for the stupid UEFA? Come to San Siro, I promise not to beat you to death!
The person who went to draw the lots on behalf of Millwall was CEO Adam. When he was interviewed after the game, he said that he drew a good lot.
After Aldridge commented on the draw in private, someone spoke up and made headlines on non-match days in Fleet Street.
"Millwall, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Lyon, this is the group draw result that Hall is most looking forward to."
In fact, Aldrich's original words were: It would be great if Anderlecht were replaced by Deportivo La Coruna or Valencia, or if Bayern Munich and Lyon replaced Paris Saint-Germain and Anderlecht.
Anderlecht is willing to change positions with these teams, but they won't change. Why? The group Bayern drew is simply the best in terms of strength. Why not switch to Millwall's group for excitement?
The Lions fans really bought into it and thought their coach's idea was wonderful. Of course they hope to see more strong dialogues in the Champions League.
With the restructuring of these two seasons, even the Champions League games have seen a downward trend in stadium attendance. The games between Millwall and Hamburg, Sporting Lisbon, and Spartak Moscow are really uninteresting.
The last 16 of the Champions League is out, and Fleet Street is a little more excited.
Why?
Among the top 16, the Premier League has the most teams.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds United, Millwall, all reached the top 16!
There are two teams each in La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1. Bayern Munich is the only one in the Bundesliga.
The downward trend of Serie A has become more and more obvious. Inter Milan fell in the qualifying rounds, Juventus collapsed in the group stage, and only AC Milan and Lazio were left.
But now if we insist on saying how strong the overall strength of the Premier League is in Europe, Fleet Street will not be able to find its own way. Millwall is strong, but Millwall's strength obviously also distanced itself from other strong teams in the Premier League last season.
Millwall represents the Premier League, but it cannot represent the overall strength of the Premier League. The key is to look at the results of all the teams that represent the Premier League. There are four Premier League teams in the top 16. Wait until the top 8 and then look.
Look, the top 8 and top 4 are the stages to measure the top level.
On a sunny winter afternoon, the 18th round of the Premier League kicked off, and Millwall was a guest to challenge Everton.
Millwall, with most of their main players absent, sent substitutes. Everton, who was at the bottom of the standings, set up a 451 midfielder to press the formation to attack Millwall.
At the end of the game, there was a huge cheer at Goodison Park.
The numbers on the scoreboard are:
2:1
Everton defeated Millwall at home, which had created an unbeaten record of 65 league games!
Millwall's substitute players, who played an away Champions League game in midweek, showed a marked decline in their performance today. In addition, they were eager to prove themselves mentally and wanted to help the team get three points to overtake Manchester United. During the game, they played very offensively.
Not ideal.
The midfield combination of Lampard + Pedretti was defeated step by step when faced with double-teaming by the opponent's 5 midfielders. The tacit understanding required between the midfield line and the forward line was obviously lacking. After the disconnect, the offense played poorly, and the defense was in the backcourt.
When a player provides support, the opponent takes advantage of the space and penetrates him.
After Aldridge shook hands with the opponent's coach, he walked into the player tunnel. When he attended the post-game press conference, he came to the scene with a smile.
The reporters stared at Aldrich intently. He sat down and smiled into the microphone: "Haha. The day has finally arrived. Do you have anything to ask?"
This day?
The reporters suddenly realized.
This young marshal is quite open-minded.
Yes, there is no team in the world that cannot lose.
Where are Millwall's limits?
In the previous 65 unbeaten games, people predicted countless times that Millwall would fall at the feet of someone, but they failed to do so. They exceeded the limit time and time again.
Now, record the freeze frame.
David Miller of The Times suddenly applauded.
Other reporters followed suit and applauded the young marshal and Millwall.
Other times, when Millwall win, their applause seems worthless.
But the applause at this time was not only applause for the completion of a great record, but also applause for Aldrich's unexpected courage.
David Miller even imagined what Aldridge would look like at this moment?
Angry? Unwilling? Refusing to admit defeat? Shouting for revenge in the next fight?
No, Aldrich faced it with a smile.
The young commander's words were also expressed very clearly.
"This day has finally arrived."
He never let the continuous success go to his head.
Aldridge is used to the usual applause. But today's applause made him a little embarrassed. He raised his hand to stop them and said with a smile: "Millwall lost, don't do this, let's get to the topic."
David Miller was the first to ask.
"Have you ever thought that the team would end its unbeaten streak by losing to a team like Everton, which is ranked lower in the Premier League?"
Aldrich shook his head and said: "No, we didn't lose a game in the league in the last stage of last season, the whole season of last season, and the first half of this season until today. No, but I know the football
It is impossible for a team not to lose all the time. In fact, there have been many times when the team has achieved
At the critical point, almost losing, such as after winning the championship early last season, or several draws and unbeaten record at the beginning of this season, will be like a big mountain on the shoulders of the players, and even I feel extra
The pressure, I think, when this record became something that bound us, affected me
When we are here, we should get rid of the baggage. This does not mean that I will be happy to see the team lose, but as you can see, today we met a tenacious Everton who needs points. At their home court,
Millwall is missing many key players, and some of the players who played were missing a few days ago
We just played in the Champions League and we lost today. Everton fought back to win. They should be praised, not us. We gained experience and relieved the pressure, so that the young players will no longer be confused by others.
Things are affected, and this is the positive impact of this defeat.”
A reporter immediately asked: "Do you regret allowing a large number of main players to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony? If they can play, maybe Millwall can continue their unbeaten record."
Aldridge still shook his head and said: "I don't regret it. If you are a reporter who knows me well, you will not ask this question. Anyone who is familiar with my coaching style knows that I pay attention to the team's planning for the whole season. The Premier League is about to usher in Christmas.
Express, and we will play Manchester United in the next game. Let these main players spend a relaxed and happy weekend, which will help them
In the next period of playing for the team, I don’t think I need to reiterate that I have never forced to change the team’s usual working style in order to continue the unbeaten record. Not this season, nor last season. On the contrary, it is precisely because
Our focus on such reasonable and scientific long-term team building and planning is one of the guarantees for Millwall's record."
Many reporters nodded. There is no need to argue with Aldridge on this point. The facts are there. Millwall's work is step by step. When it is time to train new players, they will train the new players. When it is time to give the main players a rest, they will give the main players a rest.
The undefeated record is good, it can be used to show off, it can make the fans proud, and it is also a topic that the football circle will talk about from now on. However, if the unbeaten record becomes a burden, a kind of
When there are cancers that will be detrimental to the future development of the team, the negative impact should be eliminated decisively.
Millwall forced all the main players to play for 90 minutes, just to continue their unbeaten record. The main players did not get a rest, and the newcomers did not get exercise. Not to mention whether it would cause chaos within the team, just doing this, really
Will it benefit the club's season plans?
This record has already reached a terrifying 65 games, and we can’t ask for more.
The Premier League is not a second-rate league, it is not a place where you can achieve unbeaten records of hundreds of games.
Millwall ended this record in a situation that was not a collapse or a situation in which the whole team fell into decline, which is acceptable and will not cause any sequelae.
Those Millwall main players who went to participate in the Ballon d'Or probably did not expect that when they returned to the club, one of the team's great records would be fully recorded in history.
But at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony that night, the ambitious Millwall players collectively encountered unprecedented embarrassment and blow. (To be continued...)
