Chapter 578 Failure

Tottenham Hotspur finally defeated Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but the final score was only 1:0.

But in the last ten minutes of the game, Tottenham Hotspur was also unlucky. The team's top right back Daniel Alves was replaced by Ye Qiu early because he pulled the ball in the last few minutes of the game. The thigh muscle was injured. Judging from the current situation, it should be caused by fatigue, but it is not serious, but I still need to rest for a week.

At the post-match press conference, when Ye Qiu conveyed the result to the reporters at the scene, he repeatedly emphasized that Tottenham Hotspur will not affect the team's game and performance because of Alves' injury. plan.

"It is normal for players to get injured, especially in the second half of the game. We have made enough efforts and preparations for this, and our team doctors and medical teams are doing their best, but no one can guarantee that everything will happen." There are no injuries in this team, so here, on behalf of the team and Alves, I want to thank everyone for their concern.”

"I can understand everyone's worries, because if one day no one is worried about players' injuries, it must be because the players have retired. By the same token, if everyone doesn't care about Tottenham Hotspur, it must be because they don't like this team. The team, but I also hope that everyone can understand that players will get injured sometimes, just like when we buy a Ferrari or Porsche, we need to maintain it frequently.”

Ye Qiu also affirmed the importance of Alves in the team, believing that the Brazilian is the best right back in the world, but said that the team will try to minimize the impact of Alves' injury.

"At Tottenham Hotspur, there will never be a distinction between main players and substitutes. All players can regard themselves as the main players of the team. As long as you perform well, you will definitely get a chance, because you can play in the team. Playing here and being able to enter the first team proves that you have such qualifications.”

"Although Kyle Walker is only 19 years old, he has proven his strength and potential in the past. I think what he needs to do now is to show his strength in the game. At the same time, I also think that he should appear in England. He is in the squad for the national team going to South Africa and he will help the England national team!”

Ye Qiu gave Kyle Walker some appropriate encouragement during the interview, because after Alves was absent, Tottenham Hotspur currently only has Kyle Walker on the right, but what follows? In a week, Tottenham Hotspur will face the Red Devils Manchester United at home and away. This will be a test for the right wing.

For the trust and support from the head coach, Kyle Walker expressed his gratitude in an interview with Tottenham Hotspur's official website and promised that whether he is the main player or a substitute, he will give his best in the game.

However, Alves' injury still affected Tottenham Hotspur's preparations, and the first one was the formation of the defense.

There is no need to doubt Kyle Walker's speed and wing attack ability, and his physical ability to run back and forth is also quite good, but his weakness lies in defense. This is the biggest gap between him and Alves, even in the past Tottenham The Tottenham coaching staff has been consciously strengthening his defensive capabilities, but this kind of thing cannot bear fruit in a short time.

With Dani Alves injured and Kyle Walker starting, the right wing is bound to become a major weakness of Tottenham Hotspur. In this case, right center back Thiago Silva is very useful in starting. Necessary, but Ye Qiu has a worry.

Thiago Silva blocked Drogba in this game against Chelsea. Although the Elephant King of Côte d'Ivoire could not score a goal and did not create any threat, his own consumption in the game was also very high. After all, defending Drogba is definitely not an easy task, so Ye Qiu still has to worry, can Thiago Silva cope with strong opponents for two consecutive games?

You know, Manchester United's current trident run-and-gun tactics are becoming more and more skillful, and the movement of the three players in the frontcourt is very erratic, which also places high demands on the defenders. In this case, Thiago ?Can Silva handle it?

But looking at it from another perspective, Ye Qiu was really worried about Kompany and Zygrinski teaming up. Coupled with the absence of Dani Alves on the right, Ye Qiu and the coaching staff had to decide after three days of deliberation. , finally decided to continue playing Thiago Silva. After all, Tottenham Hotspur played Manchester United in the Champions League semi-finals, and the home court was still focused on offense.

Therefore, Ye Qiu lined up goalkeeper Petr Cech in this game, Coentrao, Kompany, Thiago Silva and Kyle Walker in the defense, and David Silva, Yasirana in the midfield. Toure and Cesc Fabregas, Ribery, Falcao and Messi in the frontcourt, while Cavani was left on the bench this time by Ye Qiu.

The competition between Falcao and Cavani is clear to everyone within the team. Although Falcao has an absolute advantage from the data point of view, Cavani's strength and momentum of improvement are also very eye-catching. , not losing to Falcao at all.

Since Ye Qiu coached Tottenham Hotspur, almost every season there will be some players who have completely enlightened themselves and completed the sublimation of their strength, transforming into top or first-class stars.

The first season was when Van Nistelrooy returned to his peak at Tottenham, while Messi, Fabregas, Ribery and others showed amazing progress; in the second season, Ribery and Messi continued to maintain a high-speed development momentum, and Ribery became a superstar. If it were not for the Champions League final and the injury in the second half of 2008, he would have been able to beat Cristiano Ronaldo to become the World Footballer of the Year.

In the 2008/09 season, when Ribery was injured, Messi took up the offensive banner of Tottenham, and Gareth Bale also emerged. The strength and lineup of the entire Tottenham team were not affected at all. Coupled with Van Persie's threading in the frontcourt, the outside world was still amazed at Tottenham's progress.

While selling many stars in the team in the summer of 2009, Tottenham Hotspur retained Messi and helped Ribery return to the top. Yaya Toure's maturity and stability in the midfield, coupled with the stability of the back line, have maintained the overall strength of Tottenham Hotspur.

But when it comes to Tottenham Hotspur in the 2009/10 season, Romedal Falcao must be mentioned.

Everyone believes that this is the biggest discovery of Tottenham Hotspur this season. This Colombian striker not only surpassed Messi to become the team's top scorer, but also set off an offensive storm in the Premier League. He used his ability to interpret the role of a modern scoring center forward very well.

In addition to Falcao, Tottenham Hotspur is still more adjusting this season. What everyone remembers is the team's youth team. The rise of a group of young players such as Pogba, Nastasic, Varane, Hazard, Ramsey, Kyle Walker, and they began to take responsibility in the first team. These have made people see the future of Tottenham Hotspur.

Almost every year, new things are introduced, and amazing players emerge every year, which makes almost everyone agree that Tottenham Hotspur is the best and most ideal in terms of team stability and metabolism, which is even worse than Manchester United.

Because of this, Tottenham Hotspur has fierce internal competition, which is also known by some reporters and fans who are close to Tottenham Hotspur, especially the competition between Falcao and Cavani on the front line.

These two forwards have many similarities, but also very different tactical characteristics. After a season of familiarity, almost everyone has grasped the key to Ye Qiu's selection, that is, to see his purpose in this game.

If Tottenham Hotspur wants to attack with all its strength and strive to get more points, Falcao is the best choice, but if Tottenham Hotspur feels that this game will encounter some troubles, it wants to get points and wants to be more stable, then it will choose Cavani.

Since Ye Qiu chose Falcao as the starting player, everyone, including Ferguson, felt that Tottenham Hotspur would still focus on offense in this game, striving to beat Manchester United at home and score more goals.

The reason why the competition is fierce is that the players in the team have enough strength and can seize opportunities again and again.

Just like Falcao, Ye Qiu let him start in this semi-final. Although he played almost the entire game against Chelsea, he still seized an opportunity against Manchester United. In the 31st minute of the first half, he received a cross from Coentrao on the left and shot in the penalty area, penetrating Van der Sar's goal, 1:0!

Manchester United's defense in this game was also very tightly organized. Ferguson knew very well how to play away from home, so Manchester United still focused on defense. Even Rooney and Tevez frequently retreated to participate in the defense in the midfield and backcourt, leaving Benzema in front to prepare for a counterattack.

On the offensive end, Kyle Walker on the right was very active. He actively participated in the attack in the frontcourt and his cooperation with Messi was also very threatening. In the first half, there was a diagonal pass from the right, and the landing point was also very good, but Falcao was disturbed by Vidic this time and failed to run to the position, missing a must-goal opportunity.

In the second half, Kyle Walker was also more active. In the 57th minute, he received a knock from Messi on the right, cut inside and shot with his left foot. The level was very high, but it was blocked by Ferdinand.

Amid the cheers of the fans at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur launched waves of attacks, but Manchester United's defense was also quite good, especially in this game. Ferguson had even left a hand in the derby with Manchester City in order to play well in this semi-final, but he ended up playing very awkwardly. If it weren't for Scholes' goal at the last critical moment, Manchester United would have no way to beat Manchester City.

The purpose of holding back in the league is to make a difference in the Champions League semi-finals, so Ye Qiu could never believe that Manchester United would choose to defend in this game, and Ferguson would at least choose to strive for an away goal away from home.

As Ye Qiu has always said, the most important thing about defensive counterattacks is not defense, but the timing of counterattacks.

Put yourself in their shoes, facing a situation like Tottenham Hotspur, the best time to counterattack must be in the last 20 minutes, that is, after 70 minutes, when Tottenham Hotspur's physical energy consumption is the most serious and severe, and the defense is the most vulnerable. At this time, counterattacks will achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Therefore, when Ye Qiu saw that the team showed some signs of physical failure, he immediately made substitutions and adjustments. At the same time, he asked the players to stay focused and patient. The team's tactics were to adopt more prudent tactics and no longer Press hard.

This game of Manchester United can be said to have vividly learned the tactics of Tottenham Hotspur's defeat of Barcelona. Ferguson's team gave up possession of the ball, but because of the presence of Tevez, Benzema and Rooney, Manchester United's frontcourt The pressing is very threatening.

This kind of threat would not be a big problem if Tottenham Hotspur were in good physical condition and passing and receiving smoothly, but once it reached the last twenty minutes, the problem would arise because of this frontcourt trident. The investment in the frontcourt counterattack posed a huge threat to Tottenham Hotspur's entire midfield and backfield defense, ball control and organization.

When the game reached the 83rd minute, what Ye Qiu and the Tottenham Hotspur coaching staff were worried about finally appeared. After Kyle Walker got the ball on the right, he was entangled by Carlos Tevez and wanted to pass the ball. To Thiago Silva, the Brazilian central defender quickly rushed to catch the ball. Under the interference of Benzema, the Brazilian central defender originally wanted to make a clearance with his left foot, but for some reason, he kicked the ball wide. It turned into a pass.

After receiving the pass from Thiago Silva, Sneijder directly passed the ball over the top into the penalty area. Rooney stepped in and after stopping the ball, he directly pushed the ball through Cech's goal. , 1:1!

This conceding goal filled the entire White Hart Lane stadium with surprise. No one expected that Manchester United would score in such a way. Thiago Silva has always used He is known for his stability, but now he made such a low-level mistake in such a crucial game.

The Tottenham Hotspur captain held his head in his hands in frustration after seeing Wayne Rooney score.

Only Ye Qiu, Peter Brandt, and members of the coaching staff who were standing on the sidelines knew that Thiago Silva had tried his best. He had just dealt with Drogba's ravages and was greeted by Tevez, Benzema and Rooney were devastated, and Thiago Silva made mistakes. The main reason was that his physical fitness had reached a limit.

"The situation is not good now!" Mauro Tassotti said in a low voice.

Manchester United are now making it clear that they will try their best to play in the Champions League. Now they have an away goal in hand. With Tottenham Hotspur's current situation, it is difficult to hope for another goal, whether it is Ribery or Messi, or even Falcao, Cesc Fabregas and others are obviously very tired, and Messi and Ribery are completely out of shape.

In this case, it is difficult for Tottenham to break through Manchester United's defense.

In fact, the Tottenham Hotspur coaching staff had already been mentally prepared for such a situation. In less than a month, they played Barcelona twice, Manchester United three times, Arsenal and Chelsea once. Encountering strong teams so intensively, this kind of high-intensity competition is too much for any team.

Even Manchester City and Real Madrid, which are known to have super benches, cannot expect to get out of such a devilish schedule with a complete victory. So far, Tottenham Hotspur has performed very well in every game.

At the very least, after eliminating Barcelona, ​​they defeated Arsenal and Chelsea one after another.

Ye Qiu stood on the sidelines without saying anything, with a serious look on his face, because he also knew that the current situation was not good for Tottenham Hotspur. Because they were playing Manchester United away from home, Tottenham Hotspur had to score a goal. Okay, and Manchester United, which got an away goal, completely had the advantage.

Of course, just one away goal is not enough. We have to see how Ferguson plays, because facing Tottenham Hotspur's powerful attack, just one away goal is not an impossible task at all. I can only say , the second leg at Old Trafford will be very, very difficult.

As Manchester United's main midfielder, Lars Diarra performed at the highest level since joining Manchester United in this game. His interception and destruction in the midfield almost brought trouble to Tottenham Hotspur's midfield. Huge trouble, coupled with the offensive and defensive capabilities of the frontcourt trident, Ferguson's Manchester United finally got through.

In Ye Qiu's view, if Manchester United still has a weakness, it should be the right back. Gary Neville is not young, and the twin brothers Rafael and Fabio have not yet performed well. He does not have the strength and level to take over, so for the time being, he has to rely on Gary Neville to continue to support him.

Because of this, Ye Qiu said at the press conference after the team's 1:1 draw with Manchester United at home that his team would defeat their opponents in the away game.

"The score of 1:1 is a bit of a pity for us, but I don't think it is anything to regret, because we had the absolute advantage and the initiative, and we met a team that was hiding behind a turtle shell. But I believe it will be different in the second leg.”

Regarding the players' mistakes, Ye Qiu said that the biggest responsibility lies with himself.

"If anyone needs to take responsibility for the draw at home, then there is no doubt that I think I am the biggest person responsible because I arranged for all the players to start. Thiago has performed very well this season. "I don't think he should be held responsible because no player can perform at a high level every game."

"For this game, I can only say that Manchester United has seized our current predicament and one of the few opportunities in the game, but I also want to say that we still have the second round of the game, and we will definitely beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and qualify for the final!"

No one will refute Ye Qiu's remarks, because now Tottenham Hotspur has already won the Premier League championship in advance, and the only task next is the Champions League, so Tottenham Hotspur will definitely do their best in the second round.

Whether it is from the feedback of the media, the reaction of the fans, or the odds of the bookmakers, Tottenham Hotspur is still the number one favorite to win the championship and the number one favorite to advance, which shows the recognition and trust of the outside world and fans in the strength of Ye Qiu and Tottenham Hotspur.