Chapter 371: Foot and Ball

On the day after Tottenham Hotspur lost to Chelsea, it rained heavily in London. It was certainly not a comfortable thing, and even many reporters gathered at the Chigwell training base. I was thinking to myself, is even God crying for Tottenham Hotspur's loss?

They originally thought that Tottenham Hotspur's head coach Ye Qiu would be disappointed with last night's loss, but what they didn't expect was that when he appeared in front of them today, he was driving that stylish Ferrari. Zuo, Ye Qiu's mood did not get worse at all because of losing. Instead, he still had a smile on his face.

Perhaps he saw a lot of reporters gathered here, and he arrived relatively early, so he made a special trip to the gate of the security room to meet with this group of reporters who had been waiting here since they got to work.

When a reporter asked if this heavy rain was God crying for Tottenham Hotspur, Ye Qiu smiled and shook his head, "Please don't cry for me in London, because we don't believe in tears!"

"Losing is always a sad thing, isn't it?" After joking, Ye Qiu answered the reporter's question seriously. Yesterday, he did not steal Mourinho's limelight because he lost, and losers are He should have the consciousness of a loser. He is not the kind of person who will desperately try to divert his attention and shirk responsibility after losing. Losing is a loss. What is there to shirk?

Who has never made mistakes in his life? Who dares to say that he is always right?

"But I think any team will definitely lose sometimes. Last night's game was a big blow to us, but we will not be so fragile that we will collapse because of it. On the contrary, This game will make us more aware of our weaknesses and shortcomings, as well as our problems.”

"Mr. Ye Qiu!" A reporter handed over the recorder, "Many people think that Tottenham Hotspur is a newly formed and very young team. Are you worried about this young team? The morale has been greatly reduced because of last night's game? Or are you worried that your team will not be able to get over the shadow of last night's game? "

Ye Qiu smiled and shook his head, "Actually, I don't think so, because we are all professional teams, and we are mentally prepared for victory or defeat. One loss cannot defeat us, and many people know that I always start the league. Generally speaking, the performance is not ideal.”

"I once said that if you compare a team to a long-distance runner and the league as a schedule, then you can have many different options. For example, you can start running slower and run slower in the middle and later stages. You can also start running a little faster as you reach the middle and later stages of the race, and this is a choice you make based on your own circumstances.”

"Actually, our pre-season training was not very satisfactory. The main reason was that our opponents were generally in poor condition, which covered up many problems and caused many people to be overly optimistic about us. But I have always said, Our goal for the new season is to top four in the league, and even now, I have never given up on this goal!”

Ye Qiu's relaxed smile obviously disappointed many reporters present, because they originally wanted to see Ye Qiu's sad face. At least this would be more convincing than any words about the embarrassing situation he was currently in.

"As everyone knows, I have always felt that a team should identify a goal and determine a direction. Then no matter what difficulties we encounter, no matter how big the obstacles are, we must work hard to move forward. Maybe you will lose. Maybe you don't play well, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you know what you have to do."

"The same is true for us at Tottenham Hotspur. We have very clear goals. Whether we lose or win every game, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we can gain from this game. to what.”

"In the eyes of many people, it seems that winning is everything, but in fact, losing is also a kind of accumulation and precipitation, especially after you lose, you find that I am very poor in this aspect. Where am I?" If you are weak in one aspect, seeing your own shortcomings and weaknesses is actually a kind of encouragement and improvement, and it will also make a team's players more confident and perform better."

"I believe that we will definitely continue to lose, and we will definitely not be able to win every game, but every game is a valuable training opportunity for me and my players, and it is also a valuable training opportunity for me and my players. An experience that will make us stronger and more confident, and we will perform better and better with each game.”

Ye Qiu's words were very sincere and indeed his true experience of the game. Some reporters kept nodding after hearing this, feeling the same way, but some reporters were obviously not convinced, because in their eyes Come on, this is more of a self-comfort for the loser.

"Mr. Ye Qiu, Mr. Mourinho said yesterday that Tottenham Hotspur lost because they were too soft. What do you think?"

"Did he say that?" Ye Qiu was a little surprised, because there was no such question in the post-match press conference.

But almost all the reporters present nodded, "Yes, I said it. I said it in Cobham after the press conference!"

Ye Qiu smiled in his heart. This guy is really restless. You were in the limelight at the post-game press conference. You still feel unsatisfied. After returning to your own territory, you accepted another interview and continued to ridicule me. You really talked to Abra. Mović's nouveau riche personality was at its peak.

"First of all, I won't make any comments on this sentence. Everyone has their own understanding of football!" Ye Qiu said to the reporters, "But my understanding of football is obviously not like this. Of course, I don't deny it. Physicality and confrontation are becoming more and more important in modern football, but this is obviously not the whole story of football."

"I'm used to organizing pre-season warm-up matches, but I never ask for boring off-the-ball training, and I'm not used to asking my players to carry tens of kilograms, or even a hundred kilograms, to do sit-ups in the gym. I prefer Players will not be allowed to run several kilometers or even more than ten kilometers every day. I think that is not training, it is torture and excessive exhaustion of the players’ bodies.”

"The reason why football is football, not rugby, not basketball, not volleyball, is that the important part of it is the foot and the ball. In other words, the game of using your feet to control the ball is called football, and the game of only having feet without the ball is called football. What football?”

"Some people also say that running more, focusing, high tactical execution, and diligent attitude are the key elements for a team to play well. If this is really the case, then why do some teams have to be at the bottom in points? , If some teams can be ranked first, does that mean that the head coach who said this can also go home and sleep, because there is no need for you at all, so what is the use of you? "

"The reason why football is strong or weak lies in whether the team is united, whether the players' skills and tactics can be integrated, whether the players have a sense of belonging to the team, whether they are willing to work hard for the team's games, and as the team itself , To fight against disorder as a whole, whether the head coach and players have enough ability to cope with unpredictable changes that may occur at any time in the game. "

"Our current football is getting more and more astray, with too much emphasis on the body and running, too much emphasis on physical fitness and strength confrontation, which has brought too much and completely unnecessary pressure to the players, and this has directly led to a very serious problem. The consequences of this are that the number of injuries every year is growing at an alarming rate, and soft tissue injuries such as cruciate ligaments are even more alarming.”

"In my opinion, there is always only one core of a football game, how to play well!"

"As for our loss to Chelsea, I don't think it's because we are too soft, but because we are not strong enough. But as long as we continue to go down this path, we don't need to have too many physical confrontations, nor do we need to have too many physical confrontations. With our rough playing style, we can still beat all our opponents!”

Ye Qiu's words appeared in major newspapers the next day. Some newspapers will definitely delete some of his remarks. This is inevitable, and naturally many people praise him. Some people think that He is shirking responsibility.

Many people think that Ye Qiu is a sensible person. Over the years, injuries have become the number one enemy of any team. Many people have even begun to reflect on whether football requires so much physical confrontation and exercise. strength?

Wenger supported Ye Qiu this time. He agreed with what Ye Qiu said. How to play well is the core of the football game. He also felt that many teams and many head coaches now emphasize too much. Physically, there is too much emphasis on strength confrontation and neglect of the most essential thing of football itself, playing football.

But some people refuted Ye Qiu's remarks, such as Mourinho. The Portuguese's reaction came quickly, and his response appeared the next day. He said, "The essence of professional football is victory and championships. Only people like Ye Qiu who have lost the game will want to discuss how to play football with you, because the real winners don’t need to discuss it at all, they know it better than anyone else!”

Ye Qiu felt unhappy. He didn't name anyone, but you came directly to me, so he asked reporters to ask in the newspaper, "Excuse me, Mr. Mourinho, what do you want to say?" Champion, okay, how many championships have you won?”

This immediately made Mourinho very angry, but he had no way to continue to dwell on this topic, because he himself knew very well that in terms of the number of championships, he could not even catch up with Ye Qiu, at least Ye Qiu. Qiu has two heavy Champions League championship trophies in his hands, and he has won them two consecutive years. This honor is not something he can challenge.

So he quickly changed the topic and pointed the conflict at the team, thinking that Chelsea was better than Tottenham Hotspur and so on. Ye Qiu was obviously not interested in these, because he ushered in the game in mid-week. The first round of the UEFA Cup.

The away game against Slavia Prague ended with Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal. Tottenham won the first round at home, 1:0, no more, no less, Ruud van Nistelrooy decided the game. result.

For a time, there was a lot of talk about Tottenham Hotspur relying on Ruud van Nistelrooy. Many people even thought that the reason Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 0:2 defeat at home against Chelsea was because Ye Qiuxue hid Ruud van Nistelrooy. Rui.

You know, even though the Dutch have only played three rounds, he still ranks as the top scorer with five goals, and Tottenham Hotspur has only scored eight goals so far, but Ruud van Nistelrooy scored one by himself. With six players, the importance to Tottenham Hotspur is evident. Some even say that no one can be missing Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Returning to the Premier League, we met city rival Fulham over the weekend. The two sides tied at 0:0. This time, even if Ruud van Nistelrooy came on, Tottenham still failed to reverse the situation.

A week later, the team challenged Liverpool away. This was another tough battle. As a result, Tottenham Hotspur lost again away 0:1, and the ranking dropped directly to 16th place, which was really only one step away from the relegation zone.

After six rounds, Tottenham Hotspur only got four points. No matter from which aspect, this is definitely not a satisfactory result. Many media even believe that if it were not for Ye Qiu's thunderous fame and influence, as well as his past achievements, he might have become the first head coach to be fired in the Premier League this season.

In the middle of the week, the first round opponent of the League Cup, Slavia Prague, was once again faced by Van Nistelrooy. It was 1:0 again. Tottenham Hotspur successfully defeated Slavia Prague with a total score of 2:0.

Many people were dissatisfied with the game because the opponent was a Czech team, which was relatively weak, but Tottenham Hotspur was a Premier League powerhouse aiming for the top four this season. It was really difficult to be satisfied with the two rounds of the game.

But Ye Qiu repeatedly said in an interview that he was satisfied with the team's current situation, and he also said that he would not adjust the team's current lineup and tactics, and he firmly believed that the team's performance would get better and better.

For Ye Qiu's stubbornness, the fans could not do anything with him, and the reporters criticized him, thinking that he was using Tottenham as a toy and fiddling with Tottenham at will. Because of Tottenham's poor performance, the Tottenham Hotspur Club's negotiations on the London Olympic Stadium also fell into a dilemma.

For a while, all the bad things seemed to be sweeping towards Tottenham Hotspur.

Just when the outside world hyped it up to the climax, and even many Tottenham fans began to have opinions on the team's performance and Ye Qiu's stubbornness, Tottenham Hotspur ushered in an outbreak in the seventh round of the league, when they played against Portsmouth at home.

Just two minutes into the game, Ribery took the lead by breaking through from the left and volleying from the front of the penalty area, penetrating the Portsmouth goal and opening the scoring for Tottenham Hotspur.

After that, Tottenham Hotspur continued to launch a fierce attack on Portsmouth, creating opportunities again and again, especially the attacks from the two flanks, which completely suppressed Portsmouth in the half.

Although the Pompey Army defended desperately, they were ultimately unable to defend to the end. Fabregas's through ball quickly tore through the Pompey Army's defense line. Van Nistelrooy got the ball in the penalty area, turned around, and volleyed it in one go, and the ball went into the net, 2:0!

If Tottenham Hotspur was not satisfied with the score of 2:0 in the first half, then the round of bombardment after the start of the second half completely vented the anger and depression in the hearts of the fans at White Hart Lane. The goal scored by striker Van Persie, who replaced Van Nistelrooy in the 80th minute, locked the score for Tottenham Hotspur at 3:0!

The fans of Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane were very angry, especially in recent times, the team has been under great pressure, even the fans themselves feel dissatisfied. Now they have won 3:0 against Portsmouth, everyone is surprised, and they also feel that the team has signs of improvement.

You know, Portsmouth ranked fourth in the current Premier League before this game. More importantly, this team has five wins and one loss in the first six league rounds, scoring 10 goals and conceding no goals. It is the most eye-catching team at the beginning of the Premier League this season, and the style of play is also very eye-catching. But such a team was defeated 3:0 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane!

Tottenham Hotspur felt that they had avenged their previous defeat in this game, especially the fans, who were ecstatic. However, Ye Qiu remained calm and rational, believing that the team could still perform better. Of course, he also praised the players for their excellent performance.

After the seventh round of the Premier League, the Premier League was temporarily suspended for two weeks, which made Ye Qiu and the Tottenham players feel uncomfortable, because the team had finally played a little bit, but now it has faded again.

In the previous seven rounds, Manchester United still occupied the first place in the standings, followed by Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Everton and other teams. On the contrary, Tottenham Hotspur, which claimed to have invested over 100 million yuan, is currently ranked 14th, which is really surprising.

Many professional newspapers believe that judging from Tottenham's performance after the start, this is obviously not a team that can challenge the league championship, because they have lost four games so far, and generally speaking, the number of losses of the Premier League champions in a season should be kept at about five games.

"Unless Tottenham can remain unbeaten in the remaining 31 games, otherwise, it will be difficult for them to challenge the Premier League championship. Those fans who bet on Tottenham to win the championship should be disappointed!"

You know, before the start of this season, Tottenham ranked fourth with Arsenal in the Premier League championship odds, following Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool. It can be seen that the fans support and recognize Ye Qiu, but now...

Two weeks later, the team went to Birmingham to challenge Aston Villa away. The two sides ended up in a 1:1 draw. Van Nistelrooy opened the scoring for Tottenham, but in the second half, Barry equalized the score for Aston Villa, and no one scored again.

This draw caused Tottenham Hotspur's league standings to drop one place to 15th, while Aston Villa is still ranked 6th. Ye Qiu joked that from the perspective of the standings, it was good for Tottenham Hotspur to draw with Aston Villa away.

In the middle of the week after the match against Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Besiktas from Turkey 2:0 away in the first game of the UEFA Cup group stage, making a good start in the UEFA Cup group stage.

The weekend ushered in the ninth round of the Premier League, and Tottenham Hotspur welcomed West Ham United at home.

The two teams were in a turmoil for the London Olympic Stadium, and coincidentally, the rankings of both teams were hovering in the relegation zone, so this game was also jokingly called by the media as a key battle for relegation!