Chapter 512: Dream in Progress

With a four-goal away victory over Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur has undoubtedly become the number one favorite to win the Champions League in everyone's eyes.

On the second day, almost all the media around the world reported this game crazily. They all pushed Tottenham Hotspur to the position of defending champion, believing that this North London team is likely to break the nine-year mark. After the Champions League was restructured two years ago, no team has been able to fulfill its destiny of defending the title.

Among the promotion odds offered by the gambling company Wilshire, Tottenham Hotspur's promotion odds are the highest, reaching 1.13, and Tottenham Hotspur's championship odds are as high as 2.1. Barcelona's 2.8 is a lot higher, and quite a few media even regard Tottenham Hotspur as winning the championship in advance.

Media all over the world are paying attention to and reporting on Tottenham Hotspur, paying attention to the football style of this North London team.

It is an undisputed fact that the Champions League is far ahead of the national team on a tactical level. In the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur's style is undoubtedly the most eye-catching, but it is another La Liga team. Barcelona, ​​the team that overemphasizes the possession style, makes them difficult to be favored.

Menotti, the famous Argentinian coach who once led Argentina to win the World Cup, is a columnist for the German News Agency. He has long been paying attention to European competitions and has followed up, reported and analyzed some important games. His perspective is from the perspective of a world-famous coach. Articles that cut into the analysis are also very popular among fans.

This time, in his column, he first criticized the media that had been criticizing Tottenham Hotspur and Ye Qiu before because Tottenham Hotspur lost the league. He described those media and reporters as swingers.

“There’s a saying where I come from, don’t spit in the well because you might drink the water too.”

"We always wonder, how could there be such a person in this world?"

"But in fact, such people always appear around us. They don't care to drink the well water where they have spit. They are even very happy to do so because they have completely lost their moral integrity.”

"I still remember that when Tottenham Hotspur lost 1:2 to Manchester United, they kept saying that Tottenham Hotspur was going to be doomed and that this team could not hold on anymore. Ye Qiu They began to be unable to bear the pressure and made mistakes. Many people began to support Manchester United and believed that Ferguson would be able to reverse the situation. But now, at this moment, they all switched to supporting Tottenham Hotspur."

"I want to say, save it. In the eyes of quite a few rational fans, you are just a group of clowns who wantonly spread and talk nonsense. I even guarantee that if Tottenham Hotspur loses another game, If they do, they will take back all the praise and praise they receive now, and then continue to spit into this well, even though they know very well that they will continue to drink from this well in the future, but they still don’t care.”

"I have to reiterate that for me personally, I don't care at all who wins the championship or wins, because what I care about is no longer winning or losing, or winning the championship, but football itself."

"Now there are quite a few media and fans who like to discuss football. They will discuss tactics, from 442 to 433. They also like to rank, who is the best in the world, who is better than who, and they also like to study whether offensive football is better. Is it better to play defensive football? Who can better represent the tradition of football? They prefer the theory of victory. The strong must be stronger than the weak. Some more experienced fans will start to discuss the technical characteristics of the players. "

"In the era when I was coaching, there was a tradition that when you are not familiar with a player's technical characteristics, please do not discuss him, and when you do not know the philosophy of a team, please do not discuss it. You don’t discuss him.”

"Yes, we talked about philosophy, the core element of football!"

"What is offense? What is defense? What is 442? What is 433?"

"A concept is the soul of a team, a spiritual force that everyone on the team, from fans to players to coaches and even staff, adheres to and integrates it into their own blood. To see a Whether a team has a concept is very simple. You ask their head coach and management, what kind of team do you want to build? How do you build such a team? "

“When you have a concept, it doesn’t matter whether your team plays offensive football or defensive counterattack, whether your team plays well or poorly, whether your team performs well or performs poorly. , it doesn’t matter, because people who like your philosophy will still follow you without any regrets, and this kind of following often, especially when you are in a disaster, will turn into a kind of beauty. And spread it to future generations!”

"Ferguson used to be a very ideal person. His team reversed Bayern Munich and won the championship in 1999. I was completely conquered by him. That was the power of ideas. In the following years, although Manchester United entered a trough adjustment period, , but I am still optimistic about this team, and I believe that now Ferguson must have clearly seen the problems of Manchester United. In the past two seasons, there have been problems with its philosophy. I am still optimistic about him, and I believe that, Manchester United can get out of the trough soon."

"Chelsea used to be a team with ideals. That was during the period when Ye Qiu was coaching. Ye Qiu has to be mentioned here. He is a very ideal coach and is very good at instilling ideas. His ideas It’s how to make the team play better and more offensive football, this is his philosophy and football creed.”

"But Chelsea's performance fluctuated when Ye Qiu left the team and Mourinho came to power. The latter always talked about victory, but in fact he never seriously thought about how he wanted to win. By winning, he has blurred his football philosophy, or in other words, winning is his only philosophy, and he doesn’t care about how to win.”

"Relatively speaking, Hiddink's philosophy is much clearer, so Chelsea under his leadership has performed very stably because everyone clearly knows what Hiddink wants them to do, and this clarity will be reflected on the football field. superior."

"Barcelona's Guardiola is the new coach, but he doesn't look like a newbie at all. This reminds me of Ye Qiu in the past. That's because he has his own football creed from the beginning. He is very He knew what path he wanted to lead Barcelona on, so he led the team directly without any hesitation or any adjustment. "

"What I want to say is that concepts are old-fashioned in the eyes of many people, but you should always remember one thing. Football is a sport of eleven people. No one or any team can combine the skills of eleven people." We control our thoughts, just like we control a machine. What we can do is to unify the thoughts of these eleven people on the football field to the greatest extent.”

"This is the power of ideas, and it is also the most primitive, fundamental and most fascinating power of football after so many years of development!"

"A team often represents a concept, and football games are often a collision of concepts. It attracts fans to go crazy for it, and makes all fans feel a sense of common honor and disgrace with it, just because it has a concept!"

"When we discuss Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, and Maradona, in fact what you see is not just them, but their own football philosophy. A football philosophy that you will always remember, a football philosophy that includes teammates like Puskás and Neeskens working together to create a football philosophy.”

"Nowadays, many people like to discuss Real Madrid and discuss what superstars Real Madrid wants to introduce, but what I want to say is that Real Madrid has never needed superstars, because it itself is the biggest superstar. What it needs is to return to its most original and traditional way. A football philosophy that is in line with all Real Madrid fans and in line with Real Madrid’s long history.”

"With ideas, you will naturally find your own football, and you will naturally welcome your own superstars!"

"Without a concept, even if you buy superstars from all over the world, I'm sorry, you are still a lost lamb who can't find a way out in the chaotic maze!"

At the end of the column, Menotti talked about Messi and gave new hope to the Argentine superstar.

"Many people are talking about superstars. I want to say that the real superstars, whether they are Maradona, Cruyff, Platini or Di Stefano, they are all a group of people who have a full understanding of football. They know better than anyone that football is a holistic sport and their existence requires the support of their teammates around them, and he also needs to give support to his teammates.”

"The reason why they are great is not because of their individual performances, but because of the greatness of the team as a whole!"

"Messi is a very good player, and he has the ability to stand alongside these seniors, but what he needs to do is not to score more goals in the game, but how to help his teammates and help his team perform. As long as he does this, he will be remembered by the fans."

"No matter how much a player's reputation is hyped, no matter how high a player's worth is, if he wants to be remembered by fans, he can only rely on his performance on the court, and this requires teammates and a team that conforms to his own philosophy. Playing in the team.”

"I hope Messi can play at Tottenham Hotspur until he hangs up his boots!"

Menotti's column caused considerable repercussions in European football and was reprinted and translated by many media from around the world. Although his entire column did not focus on Tottenham Hotspur, in fact, Everyone can see that he actually wrote this column for Tottenham Hotspur.

Reading between the lines, everyone can feel his admiration for Tottenham Hotspur, but this is not the so-called admiration for offensive football, nor is it admiration for Tottenham Hotspur's performance, but a kind of philosophy. respected.

In Menotti’s words, as long as you have ideas, no matter what your results are, no matter how you perform on the court, you are worthy of respect and recognition, and as long as you continue to persist, even if you are at the lowest point in history, sooner or later you will You will definitely usher in your own light.

The Argentinian coach's remarks immediately aroused huge repercussions and discussions around the world. Many fans are talking about it, thinking that whether it is Tottenham Hotspur or Barcelona this season, they are obviously the kind of players. Teams with very clear concepts, even Chelsea's Hiddink and Manchester United's Ferguson, their concepts are very clear.

Many professionals are discussing Menotti's words. They are studying whether it is this clarity of concept that makes it easier for them to lead a team to achieve success?

If Hiddink and Ferguson are both experienced, then what about Ye Qiu? From his debut at Ajax to Chelsea to Tottenham Hotspur, he has been successful almost all the way, constantly climbing to new heights in his career.

And Guardiola, who achieved such outstanding results in his first season with the team, is because, as Menotti said, it is because he has a very deep understanding of Barcelona’s football philosophy, and the philosophy between him and Barcelona It is completely consistent, so even if he has no experience in leading a team, he can lead Barcelona to sweep Europa with ease?

As Menotti said, philosophy is a neutral word. It doesn’t matter whether your philosophy is offensive football, defensive counterattack, or even defense to the end. The key is that you have to have this concept and be willing to persevere for it. of hard work.

In fact, there is another phenomenon that can well explain the significance of the concept, that is, on May 2nd at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur welcomed the relegation team West Bromwich Albion .

One team is the leader and the other is the bottom team. The strength of the two teams is very different, and the level of the players is even more different. However, West Bromwich Albion forced this team to defeat the top clubs in Europa at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur were pushed to the point of being almost helpless and failed to score in the ninety minutes.

They stood firm in front of their own goal, using their bodies to block Tottenham Hotspur's holes again and again, and to block Tottenham Hotspur's attacks again and again. They never thought about it. To score goals, they never thought about defeating their opponents. They only had one thought, to avoid relegation!

To avoid relegation, you have to score points, and facing Tottenham Hotspur with such a powerful attack, if you want to score points, you have to defend!

Tottenham Hotspur's offense was also very sharp. They attacked again and again, with almost no effort. They kept attacking West Bromwich Albion's 30-meter zone and created opportunities again and again. Two teams The team is playing hard to get.

The tense and exciting atmosphere, the heart-pounding feeling of life hanging by a thread time and time again, the sigh of failure again and again, formed this game that should have been completely free of suspense, but in the end it turned into a kind of all-out game. A tense game that left fans at White Hart Lane breathless.

It is the belief that the team strives for relegation that supports West Bromwich Albion. There are still four rounds left, they still have hope, and as long as there is hope, their belief will continue to persist. Go down.

Tottenham Hotspur also have faith. They want to attack and use offense to destroy their enemies. They want to score goals and win. They want to win the game in their own way and then take a step towards the double crown they dream of.

Offense and defense are not at all a confrontation between beauty and ugliness, nor a contest between positivity and conservatism, but two different concepts, confronting each other equally on the same stage, and the sparks that bloom are very dazzling and charming.

The time exceeded ninety minutes, and West Bromwich Albion's players still did not dare to be careless. They still tightly arranged their defense lines inside and outside their penalty area, and Tottenham Hotspur's offensive players still did not give up. Still constantly attacking West Bromwich Albion's defense, hoping to break away from the opponent's goal at the last moment.

They need to score goals, the team needs to score goals, and if they want to win the championship, they need to score goals!

Everyone has a belief. Head coach Ye Qiu has been instilling a belief in the players from the sidelines from before the game to halftime and during the game, "If we can win, we will definitely be able to score!"

In the penalty area, Van Persie leaned against West Bromwich Albion's Swedish central defender Jonas Olsen. David Silva's through ball passed to his feet from the left side of the arc and he wanted to turn around. , but another central defender Sheldon Mathis quickly assisted in defense, and the two central defenders blocked Van Persie's chance to face the goal.

The Dutch forward passed the ball to the right side of the penalty area. Messi also caught the ball under the double-team of two players, but he made a feint shot and deceived the two defensive players, but he had no chance to hit the goal. So he chose to knock back to Cesc Fabregas on the right side of the top of the penalty area.

Immediately, a defensive player rushed over and blocked Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard had no chance. He hit the center of the top of the arc again, looking for David Silva. This was a gap. Is it possible? There is no gap, but he hopes that David Silva can have a chance to kick.

But before David Silva could reach his position, he saw a tall and thin figure rushing up from behind. Without any hesitation, he faced the ball that Cesc Fabregas knocked across. He picked up his left foot, which he was not very good at, and fired angrily.

The ball was not drawn very well, and the angle and strength were not very good, but the ball still flew towards the goal like a cannonball. West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Carson made a save, but the ball hit the top hard. On the crossbar, the rebound landed and bounced into the goal.

The referee's whistle sounded immediately as the goal was valid!

More than 30,000 Tottenham Hotspur fans in the entire White Hart Lane stadium stood up from their seats and let out waves of exclamations!

Everyone was shouting for a goal crazily, and Yaya Toure didn't expect that he would actually score a goal with just a flick of his foot. Moreover, it was his left foot that he was not good at. How could he score?

Luck?

Perhaps, no one would think it was luck, especially compared to Tottenham's repeated misses in the past. Everyone would rather believe that this was God's reward for Tottenham's continuous efforts to attack.

Yaya Toure was hugged by his teammates and fell to the top of the penalty area. Everyone was celebrating the goal crazily and celebrating the three points in the last and most critical moment.

1:0, Yaya Toure's goal in stoppage time allowed Tottenham's dream of winning the double championship to continue!