LRAB Chapter 64 Youth as the Main Force
Chapter 64 Youth as the Main Force
There was a reason why Ye Xian arranged a scrimmage on the second day after the team assembled.
On the one hand, it's about quickly getting the players back from holiday mode to match mode.
After all, apart from a few players who played in the World Cup, and those like Drogba who have already participated in other teams' training camps;
The others were either in the Maldives, or in Las Vegas, Rio de Janeiro, Phuket... their hearts were already wandering!
Playing competitive matches can help to "refocus" your mind.
On the other hand, it also gives the team's young players a chance to "release" their energy.
Many of them have just joined the team, and they are all eager to play and show their skills; they are all holding their breath with anticipation.
Let them have a showdown, then they can vent their anger and feel better!
In this match, Ye Xian will lead the "newcomer team," while Moyes will lead the "veteran team."
This was also Ye Xian's suggestion.
It's basically a team of new players against Everton's main team from last season.
However, after glancing at the two teams' rosters, Moyes was immediately filled with confidence: "Ye, are you serious? The whole team is just kids, can they really beat a seasoned Premier League veteran like me?"
Ye Xian smiled: "Then let's give it a try. How about we make a bet? If I lose, I'll treat your whole team to dinner tonight. And if you lose..."
Moyes: "Understood, I'll treat the whole team to dinner!"
Ye Xian laughed heartily: "Then how about this, everyone eats together, but the losing side will treat us anyway."
Moyes: "It's a deal! You better get your money ready to treat us!"
After spending a few days together, Moyes and Ye Xian had become quite close, so he was no longer so polite in his speech.
Mo Tiancai was, of course, very confident about this "match".
The lineup he has is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Paul Gerrard.
Defenders: Naismith, Will, Stubbs, Watson.
Midfielders: Pembridge, Gemmill, Gravesen, Kasley.
Forwards: Kevin Campbell, Radzinski.
The standard 4-4-2 formation is basically made up of last season's starters, and Moyes uses it very skillfully.
Ye Xian's lineup is as follows:
Goalkeeper: Cech.
Defenders: Grosso, Pilkington, Li Weifeng, Alves.
Midfielders: Leon Osman, Alonso, Li Tie.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney.
It's basically just new signings plus a few kids from the youth team.
None of the team members have Premier League experience.
Two players have experience in the top five European leagues, but even if you add them all up, they only have less than three seasons in total.
Even their average age is just over 20!
It's practically a U21 youth team.
In Moyes' view, the two lineups are completely mismatched in strength!
The coaching staff also share the same view.
After the group assignments were finalized, they were already waiting for Ye Xian to treat them to a meal!
……
Of course, Ye Xian didn't think so.
He quickly gathered his youth troops together and began pre-battle mobilization.
"Our opponents are basically all key players from last season, so they think we're no match for them. Do you think so too?" Ye Xianxian asked.
"No, of course not!" everyone answered loudly.
Cristiano Ronaldo had the loudest voice, and Rooney's face also showed his dissatisfaction.
"Very good. In fact... I'll tell you all a secret." Ye Xian pretended to be mysterious, "Actually, in my mind, most of you are the main candidates for the new season."
The young players all looked delighted.
Ye Xian seized the opportunity to start pumping himself up:
"Yes, I bought you guys or promoted you to the first team, not to be substitutes!"
"But you also need to show them with excellent performance that my choice was right."
"Otherwise, you might still be relegated to the youth team, loaned out, or left on the bench."
"So, what are you going to do in the next match?"
Everyone answered in unison: "Defeat them! Prove yourselves!"
Ye Xian clapped his hands in satisfaction: "Great!"
As expected of a team mainly composed of young people, it seems my speech had an effect.
Especially for players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, who are naturally extroverted, their expressions are very enthusiastic.
While players like Alonso and Cech were more composed and not as excited as the others, their eyes still held a firm resolve as they looked at Ye Xian!
They knew very well that Ye Xian was right.
Although Ye Xian, as the manager, bought them, he definitely wanted them to play a role in the team and would give them more opportunities.
However, if they don't perform well in team training, Ye Xian will face a lot of pressure if he insists on putting them in the starting lineup.
Even if it's just out of gratitude to Ye Xian for recognizing your talent, you should still play well!
Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Ye Xian took out the tactics board and pointed at Drogba, saying:
"I will use a 4-3-3 formation, with you as the center forward."
"But you should note that the center forward I'm looking for might be different from the one you played in Ligue 1; aerial duels aren't everything."
"First, you need to make good use of your body as a fulcrum to hold back the defense and create space for your teammates."
"Secondly, my requirement for the forwards is to press high up the pitch, acting as the first line of defense to force the opposing center-backs or goalkeeper to pass the ball, thus disrupting the opponent's rhythm."
"During this process, you can even drop back into midfield to assist in the defense, protect Alonso, and form a midfield barrier."
"Third, when we're attacking, you can't just stay in the opponent's penalty area all the time. Instead, you need to frequently drop back to the open areas between the two defensive lines to receive the ball, organize the attack, and then make a second-chance run. Do you understand?"
Drogba looked at the tactics board with a serious expression and nodded slightly.
He is still processing the details of his new role as a center.
But he was, after all, a professional player, and he had done his homework on Ye Xian, the Chinese coach.
He had learned from watching the Chinese team's World Cup matches that Ye Xian's strikers basically needed to constantly fight for the ball, and they needed to be very flexible in their positioning and have a very comprehensive role.
"Keep playing well, you can do it." Ye Xian patted Drogba on the shoulder.
In fact, what he asked Drogba to do today is pretty much what this future African Andy Lau will do at Chelsea.
Mourinho bought Drogba to play as a lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation, to become Chelsea's bridgehead, an aerial dominator and a powerful weapon for linking up the team!
Therefore, he certainly believed that Drogba could play the style he wanted.
Then he walked up to Ronaldo.
Ye Xian said succinctly: "In the next match, you'll play as a left winger."
Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been full of fighting spirit, was suddenly stunned: "Huh? Boss, my dominant foot is my right foot? When I was at Sporting Lisbon..."
"I know you usually play as a right winger or right midfielder, and your main style of play is to cross from the byline, right?" Ye Xian said with a smile.
"Yeah." Cristiano Ronaldo scratched his head.
Knowing he was right-footed, why let him kick with his left foot?
What exactly does this Boss Ye want to do?
Ye Xian maintained his smile: "But today, you'll need to learn how to play as a winger with your weaker foot."
In fact, even after joining Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo initially played primarily on the right wing.
He wasn't even a winger, but a right midfielder—he was there to replace Beckham, sharing a side with Giggs.
Because that's how football tactics were in this era, with a focus on attacking down the wings and scoring through the middle. The combination of Joaquín and Vicente in Valencia was a prime example of this.
However, with the emergence of more and more wingers with the weaker foot like Robben and Ribery, the traditional winger style of playing with the stronger foot gradually disappeared into the long history of football.
Even Ferguson made changes, starting to have Ronaldo play primarily on the left wing and giving him more freedom to utilize his abilities in any position in the attacking third...
Now, in addition to Ronaldo, Ye Xian also needs to help Rooney adapt to this style of play.
With Drogba on the field, even Rooney, the "Little Tank," has to give up his center-forward position.
At this time, Rooney was actually very fast, had top-notch explosiveness, and was definitely a promising winger!
Although his dominant foot was also his right foot, Lu Xiaopang's left foot was already very strong at this time.
Therefore, Ye Xian had him play as a right winger so that he could use his weaker foot more often to cut inside.
There's another advantage to doing this: Rooney can suddenly switch to a traditional winger position to deliver a cross to Drogba in the middle!
This is why "two-legged monsters" are so difficult to defend against.
In the future, Ronaldo will actually be a standard ambidextrous player, capable of producing powerful shots with both feet, but not yet.
From this perspective, Rooney might actually be slightly better than Ronaldo in terms of talent alone.
But in terms of professional ethics, Ronaldo is definitely far superior to Rooney...