Chapter 400 African players are treasures

In a corner of the comprehensive training area of ​​the Chigwell Training Base, a tall and strong black player was seen standing about 40 meters away from the goal. A leather ball was placed in front of the top of the penalty area, and there were training obstacles between the leather ball and the black player.

There were also many leather balls around the goal, and half a basket of footballs was placed around the penalty area. It was obvious that he had been training for a long time, so the black man was sweating all over his head and face, and his jersey was sticking to his back.

He took a deep breath, swung his slender legs quickly, and changed speed and direction flexibly and powerfully to bypass these obstacles and came to the penalty area, but he didn't look like he was going to shoot, but to hit a curve ball, but it was not a free kick, more like a pass.

There was a bang, and the violently rotating ball hit the post and bounced out. The black man shook his head and sighed, took another leather ball from the basket, placed it, and walked back. At this time, he saw Ye Qiu standing on the sidelines.

"Shouldn't you go back to the national team?" Ye Qiu smiled as he walked into the training ground. He usually wore sneakers because he never liked to dress in a suit and preferred casual sportswear.

Yaya Toure lowered his head and wiped the sweat off his head and face. He looked like it was raining heavily. "I'm on a flight tonight. I came to train while I was free to get a feel for it!"

Ye Qiu looked at the goal and pointed at it. "Did Beckham teach you?"

Although Beckham had only been at Tottenham for a short time, he would choose to stay and practice after each training session. However, his practice was long pass and free kick training, so he trained more against the goal.

Sometimes Ye Qiu felt that practice was contagious. At least many people in Tottenham were practicing together. For example, Peter Cech practiced how to save direct free kicks and penalties, as well as handle some high balls. There were also many people who wanted to learn from Beckham.

Ye Qiu had previously stipulated that no one was allowed to conduct high-intensity extra training privately, because all training programs of Tottenham Hotspur were formulated by the coaching staff and Peter Brandt, and were most suitable for the current physical condition of the players. Private extra training might not achieve the desired effect, but instead hurt their bodies.

However, Ye Qiu did not have much opinion on the players' choice to practice long passes and free kicks. After all, there were indeed very few people in the team who could take free kicks. When Beckham came, he monopolized all the free kicks and corner kicks, and the other most eye-catching penalty taker was Gareth Bale.

This Welsh boy's left-foot free kick technique was really amazing, and he was willing to work hard to practice.

"Well!" Yaya Toure did not deny it, but did not say much, and he did not seem to be in high spirits.

Ye Qiu could see it and smiled, "Take a break, let's talk?"

He never forced the players, especially outside of training and games, he would give the players enough respect, so most of the time he would not use a forced tone, but more of a negotiating tone.

Yaya Toure didn't say much, but took his towel from the basket where the ball was placed, wiped the sweat off his face, and even took off his jersey directly, revealing a strong body, which made Ye Qiu envious.

Looking at his muscles and then looking at his own, he felt that his muscles were not muscles, but chicken.

However, African players do have many advantages. Although it is quite troublesome for them to play in the African Cup, their bodies are obviously more sensitive and faster than Europeans. Under the condition of maintaining the same physical strength and strength confrontation, their speed and explosiveness are obviously better.

Just like Drogba, among the players who can compete with him, who has his explosiveness and sensitivity?

Of course, there are some European players with good sensitivity, such as Ibrahimovic and Crouch. They are good at footwork and physical confrontation, but they are obviously inferior to Drogba and even Yaya Toure in terms of explosiveness, so Ye Qiu has always felt that African players are treasures!

"Actually, you don't need to be depressed because of the poor performance in the past few games. I mean it!"

They did not change the location of the conversation, but chatted directly in the training ground, and Ye Qiu liked to speak directly.

"I'm not afraid to tell you honestly that I have overturned my previous impression of you in the past period of time, so until now, I don't know how to use you. As for sometimes you play as a central midfielder and sometimes as a defensive midfielder, so the poor performance is not entirely your problem, I also have some problems."

Yaya Toure had communicated with Ye Qiu many times before, and knew that Ye Qiu did not like hypocrisy and affectation in his words and deeds. What he said proved that he really thought so, which is also a way of communication within the Tottenham Hotspur team.

Sometimes, even during internal meetings, Ye Qiu would ask everyone to speak out any complaints, whether to the coaching staff or teammates, and the coaching staff and teammates would give their own explanations appropriately after listening. If it was wrong, then correct it, and if it was not wrong, then it would also be able to resolve the misunderstanding.

You know, it is really very difficult to establish such an internal communication habit. If Ye Qiu himself did not set an example, it would be really difficult to implement it.

"I think I am more suitable for the central midfielder or even the forward position, because that is how I played at Ajax." Yaya Toure expressed his true thoughts.

"Yes!" Ye Qiu nodded, "At first, my impression of you, and what I told you later, was that I hoped you would play as a midfielder and be able to move up or down according to the game situation. But then I discovered a problem."

When he said this, Ye Qiu noticed that Yaya Toure's eyes were a little worried. He smiled and patted his wet shoulders, which were covered with sweat. "Don't be nervous. Your dedication and hard work in the game are my fault." There is no doubt that your technical ability is also good, and I believe that you have always paid attention to the old problem of sticking to the ball. "

When Ye Qiu said this, Yaya Toure couldn't help but nod. Ever since he came to Tottenham Hotspur, Ye Qiu has been paying attention to reminders and guidance in this regard, because he used to be in Ajak When Sneijder, Yaya Toure was the core of the team after Sneijder, Van der Vaart and Robben left, it was a matter of course that he got more balls.

This also directly caused his habit of sticking to the ball that he has never been able to get rid of. However, Ye Qiu has also said this problem many times. Tottenham Hotspur pays attention to the combination of passing and receiving with one kick. Sticking to the ball is not a very good one. This habit will slow down Tottenham Hotspur's overall progress and delay the team's offensive efficiency.

"I said your problem is mainly about running without the ball. I believe you must have noticed that the closer you are to the center of the opponent's defense zone, the tighter the defense you will encounter, and the smarter you are at this time, the more penetrating it will be. Running can often help players play a greater role, but this kind of awareness of running without the ball is not something you can have if you want it.”

Yaya Toure listened silently. Ye Qiu had always hoped that he could learn something from Davis. In fact, he, Cesc Fabregas and others also learned a lot from Davis. , but when it comes to running without the ball, he obviously didn't learn enough, and Fabregas is very smart.

Sometimes the players themselves are not blind. Yaya Toure is indeed envious of Beckham, but he can also see that after Beckham came on the field, his movement, catching and passing were obviously better than his own. Much more, and that's something anyone can tell at a glance, because Tottenham's entire midfield moves so smoothly.

"Running without the ball will improve with the accumulation of experience in the game and with age. I don't deny this. But the problem is, I also found another problem with you, that is, you are too greedy!"

After hearing this, Yaya Toure frowned, raised his head to look at Ye Qiu, shook his head and said, "I don't quite understand!"

Ye Qiu brought the two brothers from Africa to Amsterdam. Over the past few years, he has always been grateful to Ye Qiu, and Ye Qiu also thinks highly of him and trusts him, so Ye Qiu came to Tottenham Hotspur After that, he was brought to White Hart Lane immediately so that he would not suspect that Ye Qiu had any prejudice against him, and he did not dare to have any resentment towards Ye Qiu.

"You always want to contribute on the offensive end, but at the same time you also want to perform on the defensive end. Don't say I misjudged you. Even you, I'm afraid it's hard to find your own position, right? "

Ye Qiu's rhetorical question made it difficult for Yaya Toure to answer. Maybe he did have such thoughts in his heart.

He prefers to take the ball and has good pushing ability, but this is mainly because of his strong physical fitness. Ye Qiu's previous plan for him was to take the ball and push forward to press the opponent's defense, but he is a bit sticky and always unknowingly When competing with Fabregas for the ball, some balls that should be passed may even be missed, resulting in interceptions.

Yes, he can immediately counterattack after the ball is stolen, but the problem is that if you try to steal the ball back after it is stolen, the opportunity has been missed, and he often seems unable to integrate into the team as a whole.

This is also the reason why Ye Qiu said that his awareness of running without the ball is not strong enough. The reason why Davis is outstanding is that his ability to integrate into the team is strong enough, and the way he integrates into the team is to always keep running without the ball. Keeping the distance between yourself and your teammates and ensuring that you can always move into the gap to meet your teammates is a kind of integration.

Yaya Toure's movement without the ball seems a bit weak, and usually as a midfielder, if his movement without the ball is relatively weak, there are usually only two options, one is like Essien and Gattuso , one is to delay, because the further forward, the tighter the defense, the higher the requirements for running without the ball.

Of course, there is another option, that is, like Lampard, Gerrard and Riquelme, everyone in the team plays around him, so that his role can be maximized.

Ye Qiu remembered that in his previous life, Yaya Toure was forced to play defensive midfielder in the backcourt when he was in Barcelona, ​​but later he went to Manchester City, and Mancini's use of him caused a later attack on Mancini: Mancini Nigeria has only two ways to break the deadlock, one is to add a striker, and the other is to liberate Yaya Toure.

Many people may think that this is a compliment to Yaya Toure, but in fact, this is also a disparagement of Yaya Toure.

Why do Manic and Barcelona have to suppress his desire to attack? Because what you can bring to the team after arriving in the frontcourt is likely to be a double-edged sword, but the team needs some other things from you, such as Your coverage defense and outstanding ability to pick up and play the ball in the midfielder position, etc.

It is very dangerous to transform a team into a one-man team. After the rapid development of football tactics in the past few years, very few people will choose to do this anymore, so Pellet Greene's Villarreal looks so different.

As for Lampard and Gerrard, the team has another option, which is to exclude them from the team's offensive and defensive system, let them play freely, and then strengthen the team's tactics through slow running-in. That is the 10+1 strategy.

But precisely because of this, neither of them are compatible in the England national team.

Whether it is Riquelme's core type or Lampard and Gerrard's exception type, Yaya Toure obviously does not have the conditions and abilities for Tottenham Hotspur to develop such tactics around him. .

"A very, very important thing for a professional player is to find his most suitable tactical role and positioning." After analyzing Yaya Toure's situation, Ye Qiu gave him another example.

"Do you know Makelele?" Ye Qiu continued after Yaya Toure nodded, "He actually didn't play as a defensive midfielder from the beginning. When he was in Ligue 1 and Celta Vigo, he was both offensive and defensive. At that time, the double defensive midfielder formed by him and Celades was very good, and some even said that it could compete with Valencia's Baraja and Alberda."

Of course, this is an exaggeration. Baraja and Albelda are one of the most famous midfielder combinations in La Liga history, and they are also the best double midfielder combination in La Liga in the past ten years.

"But after coming to Real Madrid, Makelele encountered a very serious problem. He found that he could not find a place in the team!" Ye Qiu said with a smile, which surprised Yaya Toure. .

"It stands to reason that Makelele cannot have no position. He is excellent, so how could he not have a position? But what position can he play? Offensive? There are Zidane, Figo, Raul and Guti in front of him. He is needed in the offense. In Celta, he and Celades are the starting point of the offense, but in Real Madrid, Zidane is the source of the offense, and only Zidane can control the ball. "

Yaya Toure was a little silent. He knew what Ye Qiu meant, that is, when Makelele found that he could not find his role, he began to make changes and adjusted his role according to the needs of the team. The change is to give up his offense and start transforming into a comprehensive defensive player.

"Do you think it's a pity that Makelele switched to defense?"

Ye Qiu didn't wait for Yaya Toure to answer, shook his head and said: "Then you are wrong. Makelele's previous offensive and defensive skills gave him a strong ability to get the ball, which can ensure that after he steals the ball, his opponent It’s hard to get it back from him. This is a basic skill that a top midfield defensive player must possess.”

"And many people have overlooked another aspect of him, which is to distribute the ball!"

"Zinedine Zidane has the ball, but the team must have someone responsible for distributing the ball, and over the years, all players who distribute the ball have been behind, such as Guardiola, Redondo, and more recently Manchester United's Roy Keane, Arsenal’s Vieira, both are at the back.”

Although the same player is often responsible for distributing the ball and holding the ball back, they are two obviously different midfield functions.

Even in Real Madrid, Makélélé took on the responsibility of distributing the ball. At first, he and Helguera formed a double midfielder, and then he was responsible for it alone. At Chelsea, he was also responsible for the distribution alone. Possession of the ball, while Deco is responsible for organization and ball control.

The function of allocating the ball is to pass the ball to the most suitable player. For example, when you see that it is difficult to break through in the middle, then you should actively distribute the ball to the wings, and let the teammates on the wings widen the tactical width. And then create a threat.

This task is very simple to say, because many people think that Makelele is nothing more than a short pass from the middle and distributed to the two wings, so the success rate is very high. Some people even called this position the Cross Pass Emperor later. As everyone knows, this position is very Importantly, without such a person to distribute the ball, the team's offense will be in chaos.

For example, in Barcelona, ​​Busquets was in charge later, and Pirlo was in charge of AC Milan. Roy Keane was in charge of Manchester United before, and then became Carrick. Even now, Makelele is in charge of Chelsea. Do, and Mourinho wants to focus on cultivating Mikel to take over.

Ye Qiu also told Yaya Toure that choosing to play as a defensive midfielder does not mean that he cannot intervene in the offense. Roy Keane is also good at attacking from behind. Vieira is also good at attacking from behind. Guardiola The same is true for , Redondo and others. The key is that you have to do your job before jumping in to attack, and at the same time ensure the safety of the team's defense.

And for Yaya Toure, being in a deeper position can avoid his weakness of running without the ball to the greatest extent, because the midfielder is not the focus and intensive area of ​​the opponent's defense, and the midfielder can run more calmly. space and a broader perspective.

For Yaya Toure, staying behind is to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses, just like Xavi Alonso. This player is afraid of close pressing, lacks the ability to escape, and is not good at running without the ball, so he has to stay behind. , because delaying can use strengths and avoid weaknesses, but Harvey and Scholes do not need it because they have excellent running awareness without the ball and the ability to get rid of the ball, and are not afraid of pressing.

"As a head coach, we must make trade-offs when arranging tactics. If you want to attack, you must weaken your defense. If you want to defend, you must sacrifice your offense. You can't do both at the same time. There is no such tactic, and the same is true for players."

"No one can have both offense and defense. Usually, those who want both often cannot do the best in both aspects, so they can only choose one and give up the other, and I always believe that you have the ability to create a world of your own in the position of defensive midfielder!"

After saying this, Ye Qiu also chose to stop. Many times, no matter how much the head coach said, the players themselves must understand. Otherwise, if the players do not have this intention, no matter how much you say, it will be in vain.

"Think about it again. If you have any ideas or questions, you can find me!"

Ye Qiu patted Yaya Toure's shoulder again, turned and walked out of the training area and walked towards the training building.

Yaya Toure was left alone on the training ground, and seemed to be still thinking and savoring Ye Qiu's words.