On the eve of the trip to Munich, the England national team gathered again in London. After a big victory over Finland, the team had a day off.
After two days of restorative training, the entire team's physical and mental state returned to its best on the third day.
In the early morning, in the restaurant of the training base, the players sat together to have breakfast, and the coaches sat at another table. This was also Aldridge's request. The team must eat together, and there are no special requirements for table rules. Unlike
Some tough coaches will ask players to keep quiet.
Aldrich always believes that communication is a very important part of the formation of a team's unity. In addition to work, if we are together in life, we must also try to maintain a harmonious relationship to create unity.
The situation of the national team is much more complicated than that of the club. After all, they are opponents in the league. The only good situation is that Millwall, England's public enemy, and the club's main force, only Southgate plays for England.
The players were looking through the morning newspapers, and many of them had faint smiles on their faces.
Anyone who gets praise from the outside world as soon as he wakes up will probably be very happy.
If England wins, they will naturally be praised to the heavens.
Owen flipped through the newspaper and read several articles praising England, especially the goal scorers, and felt a little proud.
But it suddenly occurred to him: the coach had not praised any player.
When I think about it like this, the pride in my heart immediately disappears.
In four games, England scored 15 goals and won four games. Aldridge's remarks after the game were almost the same: England played a good game.
Albania, Greece, Finland.
Anyway, Aldridge didn't think England's victory over such an opponent was worthy of praise. He personally only expressed his true feelings: England should have defeated such an opponent.
In this context, especially with Southgate, a captain who is unfazed by honor and disgrace, the spiritual temperament of the England team is also changing. They are not children who feel happy when they receive some praise. It was just before Aldridge took office.
The England team has been plagued by controversy and criticism, from Beckham's red card in the 1998 World Cup, to the turmoil caused by Hoddle's autobiography, to the aftermath of the 2000 European Cup defeat.
They lost to Germany at home one after another. Such a team needs encouragement. After receiving praise, they probably feel a sense of relief after a long drought. It is normal for the players to feel a little proud, but Aldrich still needs the team to quickly
We have come to a state of temperament of "Don't be arrogant in victory and don't be discouraged in defeat", because there is actually not much time left for England. The World Cup is coming in 9 months!
Fleet Street followed and covered England's World Cup qualifying matches throughout. When they went to Germany, the outside world photographed the England team in suits and ties walking into the airport under the leadership of Aldridge and boarding a plane to Munich.
Although the stars on the court are players such as Beckham and Irving, no one will ignore the changes Aldridge has brought to this team.
The current England team is less impetuous and more calm. Fans always criticize the England team for not being like a team. Fans are not interested in watching David Beckham's salon fashion show or changing his hairstyle.
, only fans who are purely star-chasing are interested. The England team under Aldridge is more like a purely competitive team, less
In addition to the disputes and concerns off the field, during the national team games, the players are strict with themselves, there are no commercial activities, there is no indulgence in nightclubs, there is no trouble that requires the coach to put out fires, even though this is not the iron-blooded England that old fans expect in the traditional impression.
But at least I want to accuse them, but I can't find many defensible reasons.
Aldridge's prestige within the team has made the players feel fear and crisis.
This sense of crisis is that once they violate the rules set by Aldridge, they will most likely face the danger of being kicked out of the national team. Is there anyone in the team who is indispensable?
Beckham? Irving?
Maybe they are extremely important to the club, but in front of Aldridge, they don't dare to have the slightest confidence that they can definitely stay in the England national team.
Millwall continued to sell its absolute main force that year. Didn't Aldridge still find a replacement and achieve success?
If one of the main players makes a mistake today and is kicked out of the national team tomorrow, Aldridge will definitely be able to find a suitable replacement the day after tomorrow.
This is the true inner thoughts of the national team players.
Although Aldridge actually does not have that kind of magic that can make geniuses or first-class stars appear out of thin air in England, this is the impression he gives to players.
Beckham is atoning for his sins, McManaman is making a self-salvation and the last push of his career, Bart is trying to protect the main force from being usurped by Hargreaves, and Ferdinand needs to stay in the main force and suppress Campbell... these players
Because individuals have different circumstances, they all have one thing in common, that is, to be obedient and listen to Aldridge. Everyone has the same goal, to make a difference in the national team!
Moreover, as the World Cup enters the one-year countdown, the national team needs absolute stability. Aldrich's work attitude is obvious to all. The players cannot live up to the trust he has given to the players. Otherwise, they themselves will feel guilty. If it is true,
I made a mistake and was kicked out of the national team by Aldridge, so what right do I have to complain?
In Munich, Aldridge once again led the team to this unfamiliar city and set foot on German soil. The England team seemed to have stepped onto the battlefield.
There is a feud between England and Germany. The goal line of England's championship was unsolved back then. After that, it was invincible for 30 years. Last year, England defeated Germany in the group stage of the European Cup. Germany defeated England again at Wembley. Excluding these football
As for the grievances and hatreds on the field, England and Germany have always been feuding.
Back then, Nazi bombers bombed London into rubble. On top of the ruins, would the English feel less resentful towards the Germans?
Aldridge understands this sentiment very well. It is a bit like the sentiment of the Chinese team when they met the Japanese team, although not as deep. After all, Britain was not like France who was directly beaten by Germany and surrendered and the country fell.
The day before the game, Aldrich attended a press conference and declared before the game that Germany was very strong and England would resist the German team tenaciously in the away game!
"In the past 50 years of history, the German team has won three World Cup championships, three World Cup runners-up, and has never missed the World Cup. The worst result was the quarterfinals. German football has always been a strong representative of international football.
In terms of football level, there is still a gap between England and Germany. We have indeed achieved good results in the past year, but the opponents we have encountered are not strong. Albania, Finland and Greece, these opponents we have won, are actually many in the world.
Strong team
They all have the strength to win them, so England is not special. Tomorrow's game is a severe test. We will try our best to resist Germany's offense and limit the performance of the German team. The result of the game? As long as we don't lose, I
I think it is an acceptable result, on German soil. The last time England defeated Germany was, uh, a friendly match in Nuremberg 36 years ago. England has never won in an official match on this land.
victory."
What Aldrich said is basically true.
In fact, the war record between England and Germany is not one-sided. It dates back to more than half a century ago. As of now, England still has the upper hand.
The German team has 9 wins, 5 draws and 10 losses.
But there are a lot of friendly matches. In the 30 years since England lost every match, they did not calculate the outcome of the friendly matches. Otherwise, they would have defeated Germany in a friendly match in 1985.
In the past 30 years, the two teams have only met 6 times in the main match. The German team has 1 win, 4 draws and 1 loss in regular time. The one they lost was in the group stage of last year's European Cup. After two draws, the German team lost in the penalty shootout.
Defeated the England team. These two defeats brought great pain to England. They were blocked from the finals of the 1990 World Cup, and were blocked from the finals of the local European Cup in 1996. That year, Germany was blocked at Wemble.
Leigh won the European Cup.
In the official competition between England and Germany, England had never defeated the German team in Germany. Only when German football was still lagging behind the world, England was the pioneer and leader in the tactical changes in world football.
In the friendly away game, Germany was beaten with a big score. At that time, England beat Germany by two or three, no matter home or away, it was easy.
Time flies, the sea has changed, Germany came from behind, and now it has left England far behind. It is empty talk, just look at honors. Football is about judging heroes by success or failure. I have more trophies than you, so I am better than you, and everything else.
Nonsense.
Reporters at the scene did not expect Aldrich to make such remarks when he came to Munich.
The German media thought that the rising young marshal was a dragon crossing the river, and they would definitely talk nonsense today to boost the morale of the army. Unexpectedly, the dragon crossing the river first acted like he was coming to pay homage to the mountain.
Well, that's quite interesting.
Then, we don't have to make things difficult for him.
Fleet Street was not happy.
England and Germany are coming to a decisive battle. As the coach of the national team, how can you increase the popularity of others and destroy your own prestige?
"Mr. Hall, you said there is a gap between English and German football. Germany is stronger, but in recent years, German football clubs have been suppressed by English clubs in the European war. Don't you think your words are contradictory? Millwall
, Manchester United, don’t they all represent England?”
Aldridge shook his head seriously. He would not have talked about the club on this occasion, but the topic did not have much to do with the club itself, so he solemnly said: "First of all, to clarify, Millwall is an English club.
But they cannot represent the level of football in England. The same is true for Manchester United and Arsenal. They only represent the Premier League. Listen clearly, they represent the Premier League in the European Cup.
After all, the national team and the club are two different concepts. Look at the proportion of local players in German teams, and then look at the proportion of local players in English clubs. This is the gap. I stick to my point of view.
The German national team is a strong representative of international football. I can also express another point of view: German football clubs are not very competitive in Europe as a whole at this stage."
Fleet Street now feels uncomfortable.
Aldrich's elbow turned outward, and the slap in the face was a bit unbearable.
"Then why doesn't England focus on developing local players?"
"Because in order to make the team stronger and allow fans to watch higher-quality games, wealthy clubs will naturally have to introduce high-level stars. If German clubs are very wealthy and the German Football Association allows teams to introduce foreign players on a large scale, then German clubs
The competitiveness will also increase rapidly.”
"As the coach of the national team, don't you have the responsibility to build England's future competitive level?"
"Yes, but I can't do it. I don't have the power to decide whether to limit the number of foreign players in the Premier League, nor can I compete with the club's opposition. Only a stronger team can increase the probability of obtaining honors and benefits."
...
The German media was delighted.
The English are so funny. The national team coach and his own media went to Germany to start a verbal spat.
This was a ridiculous press conference, and was ridiculed by the German media the next day as an "English farce." (To be continued...)
