Born to be a coach [soccer]

Chapter 20

Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned Anton when he was asked by reporters about the prospects of the FA Cup teams.

In the third round of the FA Cup, Manchester United was defeated by rival Leeds United at home and was upset.Manchester United's defeat was naturally reported by the media.But as Sir Alex Ferguson, who has led the team for nearly 20 years and has experienced countless ups and downs, Ferguson doesn't pay much attention to the victory or defeat at this moment.

"It means we're going to focus on the league and the knockout stages of the Champions League, which I don't think is a bad thing at all. Of course I can't influence what the media thinks."

When asked about the prospects of qualifying for rival Liverpool, Sir Alex Ferguson unexpectedly replied: "I think Sunderland will be able to qualify."

Reporters: ... what?

Isn't this really Sir Alex Ferguson's sour enemy?Although both played against teams from the lower leagues, Manchester United were beaten by a League One team, while Liverpool were only drawn by a Championship team and will return to home for a replay.

"I know the new Sunderland manager Anton."

The reporters all concentrated their minds and recorded in a hurry: the meritorious coach and the "unnamed" newcomer are actually old acquaintances...

"I met him in Lagos," Ferguson added.

"Lagos", a small town on the west coast of Scotland, may not be known to a few people in the UK, but it is well-known in football.

Several names that have risen in football in the past ten years: Jose Mourinho, David Moyes, Brandon Rodgers, Villas Boas, and even the famous meritorious coach, Ferguson Jazz, "The King" Dalglish, "Mr. Huo" Hodgson①... They have all received training in Lagos, or taught and communicated here.

If Anton has been trained in Lagos, it proves that his strength has at least reached the point where the "big guys" in football are willing to give him pointers, and it is by no means hyped by the team behind him as Ruben said. under the guise of the head coach.

What's more, Sir Alex Ferguson himself endorsed him: "I not only saw him in the classroom in Lagos, but also corrected his homework. He is a very talented head coach."

"His advantage lies in calculation. I have never seen a coach with such strong spatial calculation ability. Compared with him, other coaches seem to 'follow the feeling'." Ferguson praised Anton, "and he can use the top technology Combined with football tactical analysis and arrangement. I originally thought that this is a coach that will only appear in the 'future'."

With such a high evaluation, the reporters felt a pain in the face for Ruben.

"So I think the result of the FA Cup replay at Anfield may not be as the outside world guesses," Ferguson added, "I think Sunderland also has a good chance of winning. It's just this game, it may be a big one. A very tough fight."

Sir Alex passed his judgment.

Bright Academy.

Anton asked for leave that day and did not participate in Sunderland's pre-match training.Instead, assistant coach Russell Black led everyone.Captain Lorrick Garner was also very active on the training ground, calling on his teammates to move and reminding them not to slack off.

Russell feels that Garner has changed since the game against Derby County.He still couldn't believe that what Anton said was "taught" by himself: Didn't Garner call everyone a "little bastard" one by one?But Garner really cheered up. As the captain, his style began to become tough.

This is a change that the club likes to see, but Russell still wants to know what happened in the locker room that day, which caused such a big change in Garner all of a sudden.

So he decided to ask Garner to find a bar for a "drink" after training in the evening.The players' diet was strictly controlled by Joe's mother, but a pint of beer was within the scope of Qiao's mother's permission, but too much was not acceptable.

"Lorik, I think you've been doing pretty well recently." Russell said his opening words, "Is this change brought about by Anton?"

Garner ordered a glass of dark beer with a light and bitter taste, and there was dense and fine foam floating on the glass. After Garner took a sip, it looked like a mustache grew on his lips.

"Yeah, it's Anton. I feel great now because of him." Garner nodded.

"Is that the game against Derby County, during the intermission?" Russell was very curious, "What did he say to you?"

Garner replied with emotion: "Anton said to me at that time: 'Cheer up, you are no longer that teenager who can't get a British visa and can't participate in trial training.'"

Russell opened his mouth wide and didn't close it for a long time: It turned out to be because of this!

Russell was already working as an assistant coach at the club when Ghana transferred. He is very familiar with Ghana's resume: Ghana is an Albanian player who fled his homeland when he was young because of the war in the former Yugoslavia and moved his family to Switzerland.Garner made his mark at a young age. At the age of 16, he was invited by Arsenal Football Club to go to London for a trial training. It was his dream opportunity.But just before the trial, his application for a visa to the UK was refused, and the trip to Arsenal fell through.

The visa officer at the embassy may never have imagined how much the refusal to sign a 16-year-old Albanian boy would have a blow to his career aspirations.But that refusal left a deep impression on Ghana-even if he later successfully played the main force in Paris Saint-Germain, successfully landed in the English League, and became the captain of Sunderland, he still can't forget that time Myself, the humble, the outcast teenager, the persona non grata, the one not allowed into the UK...

This matter has become Garner's knot, and even after many years, it still influences Garner's behavior in many ways.It's just that this kind of influence is hidden deep in Garner's heart, and even Garner himself can't think of it if he is not awakened.Until the day Anton said these words to Garner——

Not that boy anymore!

Already have the right to speak.

You can stand up proudly and say loudly: I am an Albanian player, and I want to fight for Albania.

Even if you have the passports of France, Switzerland and your home country at the same time, you can choose to play for your home country in the end.

……

When Anton said that, Garner saw the humble 16-year-old smile at him, and then turned away.He let go of his inferiority complex and left the past behind, and now, he has become a captain, and he needs to fulfill the duties of a captain.

This is what later became Ghana.

Russell was amazed: Many people know the story of Garner.Except for a few players in the club who hold an English "hukou book", no one would laugh at Ghana's original refugee status, but no one would have imagined that the past experience would have such an impact on Ghana.

— except Anton!

"It's only been a few days since he came here! But looking at you one by one, it seems that he has really brought a lot of changes to you!" Russell pouted, and started his complaint mode again.

"Actually, he has just led the team to play two games, one win and one draw, how can he praise people to the sky?"

"The fans like him like something, isn't it just because he is good-looking? If I were an Italian-Chinese mixed race, I would be born like that. I am 20 years younger and I am more graceful than him..." Russell held the cup in his hand. Beer mumbled.

Garner looked at Russell amusedly, at the full glass of beer in his hand, and at his beer belly.This is Russell's second cup.

"But, Russell, to be honest, haven't you changed a lot since Anton came?" Garner asked back.

"Me?" Russell hiccupped, "I haven't changed? My position hasn't changed, I still have to repay the mortgage every month, and I still have to support the big family... The things I have to do every day in the club are also the same. Still those, the head coach still asks me to lead the team to preside over the training from time to time, what do you think I have changed?"

Garner stuck out his tongue.

On the day when the news of Anton's "airborne" came out, Russell also pulled himself out to drink beer like this. The two complained about the previous loss to Sheffield Wednesday, and Russell complained that he had worked so hard in the club and finally survived. After replacing Simon Grayson, he thought he could "rectify" and be a "caretaker head coach", but he also encountered an airborne.

When Russell was depressed, he clamored to resign, but when he sobered up, he would think about the mortgage and the tuition fees for the three children. Russell, who was "cowardly and cowardly", was "counseled" again in the face of the cold facts, and stayed in the team honestly as his assistant coach.

The only person who heard Russell's complaints was Garner.

Garner couldn't hold it back, and laughed happily: If you really want to say this, Russell hasn't changed at all, at least his complaint attributes are still the same, and he complains so smoothly.

Russell became more worried when he was drinking. Garner knew the address of Russell's home and planned to go out and call a taxi to take Russell home.Unexpectedly, Russell's cell phone rang at this time, and Russell took out the phone listlessly: "It's Anton!"

"I said, this is a private time after get off work, what happened?" Russell asked listlessly.

The next moment he jumped up like a cat, and Garner was startled beside him.I vaguely heard Anton asking on the other end of the phone: "Did Vincent leave early for today's training?"

Vincent did leave early, at four o'clock, on the pretext that he was not feeling well.

"I saw him in London!"

In London, Anton stood outside a very fashionable restaurant in Covent Garden, looking at Vincent who was dining with people inside.

"I think we may have to deal with Vincent's transfer sooner than we expected!" Anton said on the other end of the phone.

"Damn it," Russell said immediately after finishing the phone call, "Damn it, damn it!"

He also sobered up, forgot all his dissatisfaction with Anton, and focused all his energy on the crisis that the club might face soon.

"How can players contact other clubs in private casually? Is there any professional ethics in this?" Russell continued to complain.

The author has something to say: It is useful to collect character tests, thank you for your support, the home team won, reversed, happy O(∩_∩)O~~

In the early hours of next Wednesday, the home team will have another Champions League game. Please leave a message under Wenwen to help the author continue to build character!Thank you, love you guys!

Let me explain this long list of names for those who don’t often watch football. Among them, Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson are more familiar to everyone. One is the "Madman" coach, and the other is the "Red Devils" legend of Manchester United. .

Others such as Moyes, Rodgers, and Villas-Boas were all "young coaches" who were rising in football at that time (around 2010). Dalglish was a legendary star and coach of Liverpool, while Hodgson was once coached by the England national team. handsome.