Chapter 388 We just want victory!

On January 30, the 25th round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur went north to Liverpool and visited Goodison Park to challenge the home team Everton. This was not only a Premier League game, but also a battle between the fifth and sixth places in the Premier League.

Moyes' team has always had ups and downs in the past few years, one season is good, one season is bad, ups and downs, and if we look at the rules, Everton should be very strong this season, but in fact, they are currently ranked fifth.

Before coming to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur played two more games than Everton, that is, between the 24th and 25th rounds of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur played an extra FA Cup round of 32 knockout match and a League Cup semi-final second leg, while Everton rested for ten days, which can be said to be waiting for the opportunity.

In the semi-finals of the League Cup against Arsenal, Ye Qiu arranged a half-main and half-substitute lineup to play. The home game ended in a 1:1 draw with Arsenal. Van Persie started and scored a goal, but Henry also equalized the score for Arsenal. Although Arsenal had a clear advantage, they were ultimately unable to break through Tottenham Hotspur's goal.

In this way, Tottenham Hotspur eliminated Arsenal from the League Cup with a total score of 4:1 and successfully advanced to the League Cup final, where their opponent was Chelsea led by Mourinho.

In the FA Cup against Southend, Ye Qiu arranged a large number of substitute lineups to play. Players such as Cavani, Carroll, Gareth Bale, Ashley Young, Huddlestone, Lucas, Mike Dawson and Kompany all started, and the goalkeeper became Joe Hart, but the team still defeated Southend 4:1.

Carroll became the most eye-catching player in this game. His height and impact in the front court were eye-catching. Tottenham Hotspur also adopted an offensive strategy of two flanks. Gareth Bale and Ashley Young actively attacked the two flanks, while Cavani was ambushed behind Carroll.

The double striker combination was effective. Carroll scored twice, Cavani also scored one goal, and the other goal was a corner header from center back Mike Dawson, which allowed Tottenham Hotspur to successfully advance to the FA Cup round of 16.

Although they played two more games than Everton, Tottenham Hotspur did not have a bad start at Goodison Park. Relying on the opening attack of the guest, Tottenham Hotspur scored the first goal in the 23rd minute when Ribery quickly broke through on the left and Van Nistelrooy scored in the penalty area.

But in the 32nd minute of the first half, Everton took advantage of a counterattack opportunity and striker Beattie equalized the score.

After that, Moyes' team adopted a tactical strategy of shrinking defense and actively counterattacking, shrinking in their own half, allowing Tottenham to control the ball and attack, while they waited for opportunities to counterattack, which was equivalent to further putting themselves in a weak position.

Time passed quickly from the first half to the second half. Although Tottenham controlled the initiative on the field, they could not find an effective way to break Everton's goal, because Moyes adopted a tactic that could not be said to be extreme, but at least very disgusting, 451, but it could also be seen as 541.

Conservative tactical strategies and more abundant physical strength have become Everton's way to curb Tottenham's offense in the game, and they used the number advantage in the midfield and backcourt to curb the performance of Beckham and Fabregas.

Moyes now clearly has an attitude. I know that I can't beat you if I play freely. I give up the requirements for the game scene. I just want the result, so I adopt a dead-end defense. If you have the ability, you can attack. If you can break through, you are good. If you can't break through, then you have to be careful of my counterattack.

In the 80th minute, Moyes made a substitution. Defender Hibbert replaced a midfielder to further strengthen the team's defense and more actively express his attitude, that is, to defend the game to the end.

Ye Qiu stood on the sidelines and saw Hibbert on the court. He smiled bitterly and didn't know whether he should be happy or sad.

The reason for happiness is that Everton's current approach is to play Tottenham as a first-class team. This is a recognition and affirmation of Tottenham's strength, because Everton will only adopt such a strategy when facing the top teams in the Premier League. Sometimes, they will not play like this when facing Arsenal and Liverpool.

Being able to force Everton to this point in the away game, Tottenham will have a face-saving draw even if they draw.

Sadly, Ye Qiu felt it was a pity. This should have been a great opportunity to directly suppress Everton and return to the fifth place in the league. But if it was a draw, he felt it was a pity. It was equivalent to giving the opponent a point for nothing, and losing two points himself.

Just as Ye Qiu shook his head and smiled bitterly, a cup of hot coffee was handed over to him, and Roland's voice sounded, "Don't think too much, it's not bad to get a point away from home, drink a cup of coffee to warm up!"

Ye Qiu looked at this very open-minded assistant, smiled, took the hot coffee, and then he found that the assistants were drinking one cup each.

It is now the end of January and the beginning of February. The weather in England is still very cold. The players on the bench can run out from time to time to warm up and stretch their muscles after sitting there for the whole game, but the coaching staff of Tottenham Hotspur cannot do that. They must drink something to keep their bodies warm.

As soon as he received the hot coffee and before he drank it, Ye Qiu walked to the sidelines and said, "Slow down, be patient, David, step back!"

Beckham on the court nodded after listening to Ye Qiu's words and shouted to his teammates for a while. Tottenham Hotspur's formation began to retreat a little more, and the rhythm also slowed down appropriately.

This is what Ye Qiu has been emphasizing since the score was equalized in this game. He is worried that the team will be too obsessed with offense and blindly speed up the pace. This is the biggest hidden danger, because you are prone to making mistakes quickly. It often represents the opponent's counterattack.

"This is a tough battle, Roland!" Ye Qiu took a few steps back, stood between Roland and Mauro Tassotti, looked at the court, and sighed, "Let's not say whether we can win this battle. We can’t win, but at least we have to hold on to this offensive momentum and initiative until the last second of the game!”

Mauro Tassotti listened on the sidelines and sighed with emotion, "The league relies on energy, and this energy cannot be dissipated!"

As a professional player himself, he knows better than anyone that in a long season, any team will have problems of one kind or another. Some problems can be solved very well, but some problems will stay with you throughout the season. You have to be able to overcome them, which requires everyone on the team to have a spirit in their hearts and have a common goal.

"This is just a season, Mauro!" Ye Qiu smiled and patted Mauro Tassotti on the shoulder, "We often say that every strong team has its own temperament. What is temperament? To put it bluntly, Confidence, and where does confidence come from?”

"No strong team is born. All strong teams are built through game after game. The reason why some teams are strong and some are weak is because they are faced with challenges. When a strong team holds on and wins, they are confident and have the confidence to overcome all difficulties, so they are a strong team, otherwise they are a weak team!”

After listening to this, Mauro Tassotti didn't think through Ye Qiu's explanation of the strong team for a while, but he was very touched because he thought of Reading, the newly promoted team this season. This team is the biggest in the Premier League this season. They are a dark horse, currently ranked seventh, but if you look at their roster, you will never see that this team has such strength.

Many Premier League teams have stronger and better lineups than them, but they all fall into their hands. And if you watch the game, everyone will only feel that Reading is very hard-working, but is it just that? ?

Mauro Tassotti feels that not only Ye Qiu is right, a team’s confidence is very important. Reading performed very well in the British Championship last season, with 31 wins, 13 draws and 2 losses in 46 games. Conceding 32 goals in 99 goals, 16 points more than Sheffield United, which ranked second in the league, won the championship and was promoted.

They swept almost all the teams in the English Championship last season, and after arriving in the Premier League this season, they maintained the championship framework of the English Championship team and only strengthened local positions. This aspect allowed Reading to maintain enough strength. Their tacit understanding and cooperation also allowed them to successfully bring the confidence and energy they accumulated from the English Championship to the Premier League over a year.

As a newly promoted team, Sheffield United also fought hard and fought hard, and Watford also gave in equally, but why can't these two teams be like Reading? To put it bluntly, it’s because they lack self-confidence!

Reading, who are confident, dare to press out and challenge Premier League teams, while Sheffield United and Watford, who are not confident, adopt conservative tactics. To put it bluntly, this self-confidence affects their rankings.

Of course, strength is also a factor.

Many people say that the standard for a strong team is that it can win the game when it performs well and keep scoring points when it performs poorly. What affects the team is actually a mentality, which makes everyone on the team We all believe that no matter how difficult the situation is, we can win and we all have the confidence to score points.

This confidence cannot be achieved by a head coach bragging or saying a few words. It must be accumulated and accumulated by playing games, fighting tough battles, and killing opponents one after another.

In Ye Qiu's view, Tottenham Hotspur are currently in such an accumulation stage. Even when he said that it will take three years to compete for a Premier League championship, this is definitely not empty talk, because the first two years were Tottenham Hotspur. The process of thorn accumulation and metamorphosis.

Mauro Tassotti stood on the sidelines and watched Ye Qiu directing the game. The team was playing faster and attacking more urgently. He walked up and shouted a few times to keep them calm and control the rhythm and initiative; When the team's play slowed down and their morale waned, he immediately stepped up to encourage the players and asked them to step up their offense and not give up.

How can we make a deep mark on a team?

Victory is not enough, championship is not enough, or even defeating all your opponents is not enough. You can only change the team and players slowly, with every detail, with every subtle influence, and then unknowingly Accumulate, and one day in the future, you will suddenly realize that this has completely become your own team!

Time entered the final stage, and Tottenham Hotspur were still strengthening their offense. Ye Qiu replaced Mascherano and replaced Ashavin. He replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was not physically fit, and replaced him with Robin van Persie. Every substitution is in pursuit of offensive quality, and this substitution not only gives motivation and goals to the players on the court, but also puts pressure on Everton.

Moyes could no longer sit still and walked out of the coaching bench, constantly calling on the players to hold on.

At the final stage of the game, both sides were at a bottleneck in terms of physical strength, and both sides' morale was also on the verge of exhaustion. This game completely became a competition between the team's will and the players' fighting spirit.

Every minute and every second of time passed very slowly. The half cup of hot coffee in Ye Qiu's hand had completely cooled down, but he didn't notice it at all, and he was completely focused on the game.

This was a major test for Tottenham Hotspur. By defeating Everton, Tottenham Hotspur will build up their self-confidence and show their tenacious fighting spirit, which will benefit the team in the next league and even in the future seasons, because such a strong dialogue at a critical moment does not appear casually.

Maybe, there are only one or two games in a season. If you catch it, you will succeed. If you miss it, it will be difficult to wait for another opportunity. Ye Qiu himself didn't know whether the team could seize such an opportunity.

Now, there is actually very little that he, as the head coach, can do. He can only entrust everything to his players, and then give them trust, support and wait.

Of course, he can also understand the hard work of the players. Many players almost died from fighting. Look at Ribery, half squatting there, with his mouth wide open, unable to speak for a long time, just like a dog, panting with his tongue sticking out. You can imagine how uncomfortable he is at this moment, but in a blink of an eye, he fought again.

And Beckham, a 31-year-old veteran, played the whole game and ran a distance of 14 kilometers, but now the team's midfield defense depends entirely on him and Fabregas, because Ye Qiu replaced Mascherano with Arshavin to strengthen the offense, so no matter how tired he is, Beckham is running, running non-stop.

Let's look at Fabregas again. The Spanish youngster had cramps just now, but he was carried off the field. After a few random moves, he stood up and jumped, and rushed back to the field, but was complained by Everton players. The referee drove him out of the field and waited for a dead ball opportunity to score again. He stood on the sidelines and kept shouting to remind the referee to let him in quickly.

The two full-backs Alves and Vargas also ran a long distance, and they were all panting, but every time the team needed them, they were still rushing and running.

Seeing these players on the field, Ye Qiu felt that he felt ashamed that he couldn't win such a game, and he felt it was difficult to explain to the players, because everyone tried their best, everyone had forgotten everything, and there was only one thought in their minds, victory!

This is not just a game, it is also a test for the team, all the players, and everyone in Tottenham Hotspur. Only if they can overcome this, Tottenham Hotspur will be qualified to say that they are a strong team. If they can't overcome this, they will always be second-rate and will always let others step on their heads.

Ye Qiu understands this truth, the players on the court understand this truth, everyone in the coaching seats understands this truth, and the players and fans in front of the TV on the bench and in the stands also understand this truth.

Strive to be the best, we must be the strongest!

The fourth official on the sidelines called the extra time. Because of the substitutions and interruptions in the second half, the extra time was relatively long, a full four minutes.

"The game has entered the overtime stage. Although we feel it is a pity because Tottenham Hotspur did perform better and more tenaciously in this game, it is really a pity that a draw may be difficult for them to accept, but this is a football game, and they can only return from Goodison Park with regret."

"Everton is also a very tenacious team. At least in this game, despite their own lack of strength, they relied on tenacious fighting spirit and active running to freeze Tottenham Hotspur's midfield and successfully curb their offense. The score of 1:1 was achieved by the efforts of all of them."

"We must say that this is a wonderful game. Neither of the two teams is considered a top Premier League team, but they have presented us with a good football feast. Perhaps in this game, In the game, we didn't see the wonderful teamwork and outstanding offensive routines, but at least, we saw that the players of both teams were very brave and manly to fight for the victory of the game. This will be an unforgettable game. "

But just when the commentator thought the game should be over and was making the final summary of the game, he saw Ye Qiu, who had been standing on the sidelines, suddenly rushed to the sidelines, clenched his fists and shouted to the players on the court with a very excited look, "Come on! Don't give up, guys, there are still 4 minutes, there are still 4 minutes, we don't give up! ! "

"Don't give up, you know? Don't give up! ! "Ye Qiu was quickly pulled by the fourth official on the sidelines, obviously worried that he would affect the game, but his face flushed because of the excited shouting, and the blue veins exposed appeared in front of everyone.

Soon, Roland also rushed out and stood beside Ye Qiu, "Come on, Tottenham Hotspur!"

"Don't give up, come on, we can win!" Mauro Tassotti also ran out.

Then, everyone in the coaching booth rushed out at once. Peter Brandt even threw his most precious laptop aside and rushed out. The players on the bench also ran out, including Van Nistelrooy and Mascherano who had left the field. They all stood on the sidelines and cheered for their teammates on the field.

The Tottenham fans who came to the away game from the stands saw this scene on the sidelines and stood up one by one, shouting in unison, "Come on, brave Tottenham warriors, we just want victory! We just want victory!!"