Born to be a coach [soccer]

Chapter 234

Just as the match between Sunderland and Liverpool began, Liverpool fans in the Stadium of Light unfurled a huge banner on the stands: on it was a striking number - "96", which is the death toll in the Hillsborough tragedy number of participants.

Next to the number is Liverpool's team emblem, Liverbird, with flames painted on both sides of the Liverbird, expressing respect for the dead.

Just as the Liverpool players came out of the tunnel, Dalglish stood on the sidelines and waved to the fans in the stands.

Many Liverpool fans have already received the news at this time, knowing that their grievances are finally hopeful.Some fans couldn't bear the excitement, and stood in the stands and cried directly.

At this moment, very suddenly, the prelude to the song "You Never Walk Alone" sounded in the Stadium of Light.

"You Never Walk Alone" is the team anthem of Liverpool. Whenever there is a game at Anfield, the fans will sing this song spontaneously before the game. Later, it has evolved into a reserved item before the Liverpool game. The accompaniment tape will be played, and the fans will sing together until the final chorus.

Unexpectedly, in the Stadium of Light today, Liverpool fans also heard this very familiar melody.

Some Red-eyed Liverpool fans couldn't believe it.

Immediately afterwards, in the entire Stadium of Light, tens of thousands of Sunderland fans began to sing together:

"When you walk through a storm, look up, don't be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm, there is a golden sky, and the sweet song of the lark..."

The tragedy that took place 22 years ago, and the pursuit of justice in the past 22 years, Liverpool people are not only a lonely group, there are many people who have also learned about this incident, and they are deeply saddened by this, silently stand with Liverpool people, hope I can give them a little strength, and I hope they will continue to walk bravely.

When he heard the singing, Dalglish, who was standing not far from Anton, turned his head back in surprise and gratitude, and looked at Anton.

He knew it must be something Anton and the Sunderland fans had revealed, that the team would be treated like this here.

Originally, Liverpool fans felt it was a pity that this game was not held at Anfield.Therefore, paying tribute to Yuan's success should not be too ostentatious.Unexpectedly, Sunderland was so friendly and prepared an accompaniment tape for their team song, and 35000 Sunderland fans sang loudly with them, hoping that they could gain strength from it.

At this moment, the fans in the Stadium of Light really felt: football is indeed a sport that connects people.

When "Never Walk Alone" sang the last note, the audience burst into thunderous applause, and the flag with the word "96" on the Liverpool stands was waving vigorously in the air.The entire Stadium of Light paid tribute to the lost lives, hoping that they could rest in peace in heaven.

But when the game started, it was a completely different situation.

Liverpool is determined to attack, and Sunderland is ready.The two sides have put aside all distractions, strive to win and play a wonderful game.

Anton is still watching from the sidelines with folded arms: Recently, due to the tight schedule of Sunderland, Anton has been busy with work, and he has no time to watch the videos of Liverpool's recent games.Anton didn't notice this problem until Dalglish mentioned to him on Friday that his tactics could not keep up with the trend of the times.

Since Dalglish took office, most of the games Liverpool won were not won by subtle tactics.Most of the time they rely on the individual abilities of the players, or as Anton said, the spiritual attributes of the players as a collective.

Liverpool's style of play now is simple:

They have two fast and sharp arrows: Torres and Suarez.Liverpool's purpose on the field is: Once a player has the ball, he will find Suarez or Torres in the frontcourt.They couldn't find these two, so they let winger Dirk Dirk and others go down to the bottom, hit the high ball, and then continue to charge from the center.

Anton is indeed somewhat disapproving of this.Liverpool have one of the best midfielders in England: captain Steven Gerrard.But under such a simple and old tactic, Gerrard's ability could not be brought into play.

While Anton was secretly pitying on the sidelines, Liverpool captain Gerrard on the field didn't feel any problem at all.He is now playing the position of the midfielder, and he is responsible for the defense without any complaints. When he has the opportunity, he will also organize the offense, using exquisite long passes to deliver shells to the players in the frontcourt.

The rest of Liverpool's team also fought hard.In the 15th minute of the opening game, Skrtel, one of the iron guards, hit the door frame of his own goal during the defense process. His nosebleeds and his jersey was stained with blood.But he didn't even care about handling it. He just ran to the sidelines and changed a jersey, then came back and continued to play.

Looking at Liverpool's posture, the players are completely sparing no effort.

You must know that Liverpool, like Sunderland, participated in the 1/8 finals of the Europa League on Thursday. Although Liverpool failed and were eliminated, they and Sunderland spent exactly the same physical energy and rest time. .But now it's obvious.Liverpool players showed a more vigorous fighting spirit and a more positive attitude than Sunderland on the field-it seems that the players will continue to run like this even if they run to death.

Anton thought: Maybe this is the influence of mental strength on the team.

At the moment when the Justice Movement in Hillsborough is facing a major turning point and seeing hope again, the entire Liverpool team is working hard to move forward, and the three armed forces are using their lives, vowing to use a victory to comfort the souls of the 96 victims.

Anton was thinking while watching the game from the sidelines.Liverpool's style of play is indeed as Dalglish said, very simple, even outdated, but there is a bonus effect of players' willpower on the field; secondly, this style of play is very simple and extremely efficient.

The two forwards, Torres and Suarez, lived up to expectations. As long as they had the ball at their feet, they could create a threatening attack on Sunderland's goal.

As a frame of reference for Liverpool, Anton's team showed a little fatigue after beating Paris.

And today, according to Anton Lei's fixed rotation schedule, he replaced Eriksson on a rest.The "card dealer" in the midfield is not there, and the frontcourt players need to get the ball themselves.Facing the hard work of the Liverpool defenders, Sunderland seemed to be struggling.

After 20 minutes of watching the game from the sidelines, Anton returned to the coach's bench and sat with Russell.

Russell turned his head and complained to Anton: "I really didn't expect Sir Kenny to still use such an old style of play after he took office. It turns out that the media's evaluation of Liverpool's outdated tactics is true!"

Anton wanted to tell Russell: Throughout the history of football development, various styles of play and tactics often evolve in a spiral.In other words, the "old" style of play is likely to evolve into version 2.0 after a period of time, and return to the game to become the mainstream.Such cases are common. "Chain Defense" is an example, and "Total Defense" is in a sense.

But Russell hadn't finished talking yet. The irritable old man scratched his "Mediterranean" and said, "But facing such an old style of play, I also have a feeling that we may not be able to win..."

Anton: Well, I seem to feel the same way.

It turns out that this hunch of the head coach and assistant coach combination is accurate.Sunderland not only failed to win Liverpool, but also conceded two goals in a row in the last 5 minutes, losing 0:2 to Liverpool in the away game.

The decline in physical fitness in the final moments of the game and the slight distraction of the players were the reasons for Sunderland's rapid defeat in a short period of time.

Anton wrote down these questions one by one: making mistakes is not terrible, but not summing up after making mistakes, and making them again and again in the future is the most terrible thing.

After the game, Dalglish came up to hug Anton.The old coach originally wanted to say something to Anton, but at this moment the entire Liverpool coaching staff and the whole team rushed towards the old coach, causing Dalglish to never have a chance to speak to Anton again.

——Can Liverpool not be proud or excited?

After being out of the Europa League, Liverpool finally regained their confidence in the league in this memorable moment: they defeated the top team.

Counting the previous double red meeting, Liverpool beat Manchester United 3:1. After Dalglish took over Liverpool, he has won consecutive victories against the top two teams.

It is conceivable that many media will exclaim after the game: Liverpool has evolved to the point where it only "kills" the top team. Does this mean that the revival of the Red Army is just around the corner.Most of the previous criticisms of Dalglish's old tactics will surely be automatically dispelled.

At the post-match press conference, Anton sent sincere blessings to Dalglish and his team, and also said: the loss reflects Sunderland's own problems and hidden dangers, and the league and cup matches are all over. Not much, the team must resolve as soon as possible.

In Anton's view, fighting on two fronts, and Sunderland's success on both fronts is like a dream, it may not be a bad thing to lose a game occasionally to calm down.

After this weekend, on Monday, the British government finally made public their response to Liverpool fans.

Home Secretary Theresa May publicly stated that the government will disclose all documents related to the Hillsborough tragedy, and will set up an independent investigation committee to restart the investigation into the causes and persons responsible for the tragedy.

When answering reporters' questions, Aunt May gave a clear answer: "As the Home Secretary, I will do my best to ensure that the families of the victims and the public can learn the truth."

At the same time, in the BBC's live report, many Liverpool fans who gathered next to the Hillsborough Victims' Monument burst into tears at this moment.They've waited too long for this moment.

In Sunderland, all the club's players and staff also gathered in front of the TV screens to watch the live broadcast.

Anton said to Jiang Yueming who was standing beside him: "This is what I mentioned to you earlier, and I have witnessed history." He only hopes that this independent investigation can reveal the historical truth and give Liverpool fans justice.

Jiang Yueming said "oh", digested the amount of information for a while, thought for a while and then asked cautiously: "You told me earlier that you want me to find you after the game. There is something very important to tell me. Is this the one?"

Anton: ...?

He quickly explained: "No...not this one, I'm so sorry, even I myself forgot about it."

"This matter was actually brought up by my father." Anton added.

The author has something to say: Yes, Aunt May was still the Home Secretary at the time, and the decision to release all the information was indeed announced by her personally.