Born to be a coach [soccer]

Chapter 279

At the beginning of the 2012-13 season, Henderson started his "transformation road" with the help of head coach Anton.

Anton withdrew Henderson from his current midfield position and changed to playing as a defensive midfielder.Since the area held by Henderson is greatly delayed, the pressure Henderson faces gradually decreases, which can avoid his weak ability to drive the ball.At the same time, his advantage of long pass accuracy has also been fully utilized.Gradually, Henderson began to use his strengths and avoid weaknesses on the offensive end.

In addition, Henderson's tireless running ability and ability to continue to put pressure on the opponent has also paid off on the defensive end.

Anton's defensive requirement for Henderson is to keep running and start to counterattack the moment the ball is lost, trying to kill the opponent's counterattack in the backcourt.This is a strength that Henderson has practiced countless times in Sunderland. At present, among the players in the Liverpool team, no one can do better than Henderson in this aspect.

After the 7th or 8th round of the new season, Henderson's running distance on the field actually ranked first in the Premier League.

This is an astonishing achievement.

Gradually, Henderson's reputation began to improve.

He still has a lot of sunspots, sparing no effort to spray him on social media, saying that he is so disgusting.

But when the sunspots accuse him of rough technique, they always add "although" -- "Although he worked hard..."

In addition to the sunspots, the number of people defending Henderson began to increase.Once there are trolls on the Internet, there will always be someone who is willing to stand up and say a fair word.

By the beginning of the 13-14 season, Liverpool led by Anton was fully capable of hitting the league championship.At this time, Henderson finally established his position as the team's main force.

At this time, Henderson, who only cared about fighting hard on the green field, received an unbelievable news.

Henderson was at the Mayfield base when he made the call.When the other party hung up the phone and a "beep" came from the phone, Henderson's whole body was stiff and he stood motionless. The blood in his whole body was congealed. His throat was stiff and he couldn't speak a word.

After an unknown amount of time, Anton came over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Come to my office!"

Henderson opened his mouth, and Anton had already walked away.

He couldn't refuse Anton's request, the young man finally moved slowly, and came to Anton's office as promised.

"Jordan, just now, your father Brian called me." Anton looked directly into the young man's eyes, "You have a very admirable father."

Just now, Henderson's family inadvertently revealed a secret to Henderson: Henderson's father, Brian, had been diagnosed with cancer earlier.In order not to distract his son, Brian did everything possible to hide the news from his son.

Until just now, after Henderson's family had no intention of letting Henderson know the truth, Brian immediately called Anton for fear of affecting his son's career.

"What do you want to say, what do you want to express, in this room, you can pour out and vent to your heart's content." Anton's eyes were full of sympathy, but he still asked the young man, "When you walk out of this room In the room, please do everything you can to be an emotionally stable adult, in front of your teammates, in front of your family and friends, and in front of Brian..."

Anton sat across from the young man, and witnessed him breaking down bit by bit, crying so hard that he couldn't control himself.

"I thought football was everything to me..." the young man finally spoke to Anton, but he couldn't continue.But Anton knew what he wanted to say.

During the growth of this young player, football always came first, and it was the most important thing in his life. Because of this, the setbacks encountered in the football field once caused Henderson to be very injured.But today, after getting the news, Henderson suddenly realized that there are other important things besides football.

Therefore, this news is tantamount to subversive for Henderson.

Anton sat across from Henderson and witnessed the young man's breakdown.After a long time, he felt that Henderson had almost vented, so he leaned forward, put his elbows on the desk, approached Henderson, and said softly: "Today is the first time I have the honor to speak with your father. Listen to what kind of person Brian is."

At this time, Henderson's mood stabilized a little. Hearing Anton's question, he cheered up a little, and said, "My father...he is a policeman, an ordinary policeman in Sunderland..."

In Henderson's description, Anton roughly knew the father's personality, and finally understood why Henderson had such a personality.

Brian Henderson is a very responsible person. As a member of the police force, Henderson Sr. has a strong sense of community and always thinks of others, but when it comes time to make demands on others, the old Henderson Henderson has only two words: lead by example.

That's why Henderson has always demanded the highest of himself, there's always been a sense of responsibility in him, it's even built into his personality.

Perhaps this is the indirect contribution of the old Henderson to the two teams of Sunderland and Liverpool.

"Listen," Anton said finally to Henderson, "go see Brian once you get a chance, listen to what he thinks, and think carefully about what you can do to help him."

Henderson went as promised, and a day later he rushed back to Liverpool and told his manager: "Father doesn't want me to see him."

Anton thought: You can imagine how proud this old Henderson is, and he is not even willing to show his weakest and worst physical condition to those close to him.

"So, have you thought about it? What methods can help him recover?" Anton asked, "I think the club will do everything possible to support you and meet all your requirements."

Henderson looked at Anton and said earnestly: "Coach, I want to play, I want to play well."

A little tear flashed in his eyes, but the expression on his face was determined.

"I have to play well!" Henderson said. "The only way I can help him is to play better at the weekend. I know he will watch the game..."

Looking at the young man, Anton knew that the pressure on Henderson was different from before: in the past, bad performance would attract black haters, but now it would make a father who was struggling with illness sad.

"I know." Anton nodded, "But you also know that I won't treat you differently because of this. If you want to start, you must show the state you should be."

Henderson nodded vigorously.

After that, Liverpool began a series of winning streaks.

There are many factors for a winning streak, good tactics, players in top form, strong fans, help from the lintels and posts...these are the reasons for winning.But when Anton reviewed the game afterwards, he occasionally found that Henderson's own efforts and the silent support of his teammates after knowing all this, more or less, have become crucial factors in this winning streak .

During this period of time, Henderson's father, Brian, has been refusing to see his son-it is conceivable that the situation of the old Henderson who is undergoing treatment is not optimistic.Although Henderson can contact his father at regular times, the only thing he can do is still perform well every time he plays.

This state continued until the end of the 13-14 season, when Henderson finally took over the captain's armband from Liverpool's legendary captain Gerrard.

"Why him?" When answering the reporter's question, Anton thought for a while and gave his own answer, "According to my standards, he is a mature person, mature enough to be the leader of a team— To a certain extent, he has passed the youthful stage that everyone has."

"In addition, he has a strong sense of responsibility. In my opinion, he is almost a 'selfless' person. It's all about the team and others first. It's all about how to help teammates, unite teammates, and make the whole The team, as a whole, exerts its maximum energy..."

"Of course, you can also bring this issue to former captain Gerrard, after all, he tried his best to recommend Henderson to me as successor." Seeing that the reporters still refused to give up, Anton unkindly blamed Gerrard Ladd's head.

Indeed, in the Liverpool team, there are still several players who are more capable, better and more stable than Henderson, and even many of them can play a leadership role, but the real spiritual pillar and core of the team lies in After Gerrard, it was Henderson.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who refused to sign Henderson back then, did not know if he secretly regretted it. After all, he had already taken a fancy to this promising talent, but later he handed it over to his "mortal enemy".

As Anton once said, mental attributes are higher than others. As the captain of Liverpool, no matter when and where, he needs to shoulder his responsibilities. ...

A few years later, the good news came: After a hard fight against the disease, Henderson Sr. had defeated cancer and had fully recovered, and was able to go to the game site and watch his son's game in person.

At this time, Henderson Sr. reminded his son: The father and son went to Old Trafford "Dream Theater" together in 2003 to watch the Champions League final, AC Milan vs. Juventus.

At the game scene that year, the young Henderson once turned his head and said to his father: "I really want to be able to play in such a final occasion one day!"

——This is the Champions League final!

Old Henderson knew that this was his son's dream, so he naturally smiled and nodded to encourage him - a good father's "affirmative education method" triple hit.

Unexpectedly, after several years, this "dream" became clearer and clearer, and it seemed that it was about to come true.

Before the Champions League final, Anton casually asked Henderson: "Did Brian come to watch the game today?"

Hearing his father's name, Henderson grinned at the head coach immediately, obviously very happy and excited.

Anton was about to remind him a few words, but Henderson himself restrained his smile, clenched his fists solemnly, and said to Anton: "When the finals come later, I will try my best to make my father Brian feel for me. pride."

The author has something to say: The growth of Team Heng and the ups and downs he experienced in the article are basically true.Father Heng has recovered, and went to the Champions League final for two consecutive years in 18 and 19, watched the game led by his son, and witnessed the team led by Heng to win the cup in 2019.