As the appetizer of every season''s Premier League, the community shield cup game has little practical significance. It is more like a friendly game with higher gold content, and the legendary curse of winning the community shield cup and losing the league.
Manchester City won the league, Carling Cup and FA Cup last season, so this season''s community shield cup will be played by Manchester City against FA Cup runner up Chelsea, which makes the game at Wembley more eye-catching.
More importantly, it will be the first community shield cup champion in Alpine coaching career.
But when Gao Han led the team into Wembley Stadium, all the fans booed.
At the beginning, Gao was also surprised. He has never been given such a special treatment away from home. How can he do the same at the neutral Wembley Stadium?
But soon, Brian Kidd solved the doubts in Alpine heart.
"They''re not aiming at you, they''re aiming at..." the assistant coach pointed to the big screen, and a close-up of England coach Fabio Capello sitting in the grandstand appeared on it, which made Alpine a little funny.
It turned out that the fans were booing about Capello.
But he soon found out that it wasn''t just Capello, but also England international such as Terry and Lampard.
All the England fans who came to the scene were using this way to express their dissatisfaction with the national team''s World Cup trip in South Africa. They not only booed, but also attacked the national team coach Capello with words.
Alpine is also to this moment, suddenly found that there is no national team main international is a very happy thing.
"Poor Capello, why risk such a mess?" Gao Han shook his head and sighed.
With Capello''s position in the world, we can choose a more suitable national team to coach. There is no need to take over England.
If it''s for money, he can go to some national teams that give more money, such as the Middle East. If it''s for results, he should take over some national teams with more stable lineups and results.
But it''s clear that neither is the case for England.
The biggest problem for England now is that the Premier League is very strong, but the local youth training in England has done a very bad job, which makes it more and more difficult for the local players to get a foothold in the top league. Even in the traditional local characteristic teams Manchester United and Liverpool, the proportion of local players is declining, especially in the main team.
"Are you so bad about England?" Asked Brian Kidd with a wry smile.
Gao realized that he had made a slip of the tongue. How can I say that Brian Kidd is also an Englishman? It''s really inappropriate for him to say so. He immediately laughed and shook his head. "I''m sorry, I''m not against England, but... Well, the luck of this world cup is really bad, I think."
But the expression he forced to explain was as awkward as it could be. How could Brian Kidd not see it?
On the pitch, the players are training before the match. Because it''s just the community shield cup, both sides don''t attach much importance to it, so the coaching staff of Manchester City are not so nervous. Brian Kidd looks at the cold, hesitates for a long time, and finally asks an old question hidden in his heart for a long time.
"To be honest, what do you think is the biggest gap between English players and other European powers so far?"
"Me?" Gao was a little surprised. When Brian Kidd nodded his head, he faltered and said, "I think... Almost. Now the English players are very strong."
This is so insincere that even Gao Han doesn''t believe it, let alone Brian Kidd?
"Mr. Gao Han, I want to ask you this question very seriously." Said Brian Kidd gravely.
After cooperating with each other for a year, Gao Han is familiar with him. Gao Han still admires him, especially because he has a stubborn feeling of Englishman. Obviously, he can''t do without answering his questions.
Gao Han said with a bitter smile, "I''ll talk about it first. It''s just a discussion."
Brian Kidd nodded. "I''m not going to say anything."
He knows the fear of high cold. After all, there are many English fans, especially those fanatical extreme fans, who can''t tolerate any adverse comments on English players. That''s why high cold is so wary.
"Do you remember the first thing I asked you to do when Milner joined the team?"
"Study the team video?"
"To tell you the truth, from a technical point of view, many English players are not bad and can''t be said to be superior, but at least they must be solid and even excellent. But I think the biggest problem of English players is mainly here." Alpine cold refers to the brain.
Brian Kidd didn''t say a word, but listened in silence.
"In the 1980s, English football was really excellent. A large number of excellent stars and teams emerged, but later they were banned and far away from European football. This period of time was just a few years of rapid development in the tactical level of European football. Since then, England began to fall behind European countries."
Brian Kidd understands that that period was the peak of Italian football, especially the generation led by Sacchi and Capello, which brought the peak of Italian tactics and profoundly changed the whole Europe.
"This tactical backwardness, even up to now, only shortens the gap and still lags behind. But I think it is a very good way for the Premier League to constantly introduce excellent foreign coaches, especially excellent European Youth coaches in recent years."
When Brian Kidd heard this, he understood, "you mean the players are weak in tactical awareness?"
"That''s right." Gao Han nodded, "take Milner''s performance in a few warm-up games. Do you think he is diligent enough?"
Brian Kidd didn''t answer, but nodded.
"But in fact, what''s the effect?"
Brian Kidd didn''t answer. He seemed to understand.
"Diligence and hard work are the advantages, but many times he can''t clearly know what he should do and what is the most suitable choice on the pitch, which leads to him often spending his energy in inappropriate places, and also leads to him being in a different rhythm with the team, some of which are difficult to integrate
"I often emphasize one point in the team, whether it''s attack or defense, the rate of arrival is very important. The purpose of running is to reach the goal. If the rate of arrival can be guaranteed, any player can give me a walk to play football. But the reaction of Milner is that he is very diligent and runs all the time, but the rate of arrival is not ideal. Why?"
"The tactical consciousness is weak, unable to make accurate or the best choice according to the situation on the field in time. In the case of being at a loss, the first reaction is easily guided by his own emotions, becoming very excited and fanatical. For example, once he went back to the goal from the front court."
Brian Kidd can see from Gao Han''s expression that Gao Han doesn''t dislike Milner. On the contrary, he thinks Milner is a creative talent, but what he says is really a problem.
It''s not just Milner, but Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and other top English stars.
And alpine said, it''s not about the players themselves, it''s about the football environment in England as a whole.
On the one hand, it is the youth training, on the other hand, it can be traced back to the fact that England''s tactics caused by the suspension lagged behind the European continent for a long time.
"Another point I think is also very fatal, that is, the general discipline of English players is not strong, on the one hand, they lack tactical discipline, on the other hand, their character is often more impetuous, which is particularly obvious in Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, or Terry
"I remember that there was a time when the Premier League highly praised such tough guys as Roy Keane and Vieira. At that time, Makelele and Emerson were popular in the European continent. Now, the Premier League has gone beyond the environment of Roy Keane and Vieira, but this phenomenon is still obvious in English players."
"In addition, among the young players, such as Walcott and Wilshere, they are obviously lack of discipline and professional self-discipline. I think this is also a very serious problem, but it is also a problem left over by history. After all, when Arsene Wenger was coaching Arsenal, drinking and eating in the Premier League were still a big problem."
What Gao Han said not only appeared in the existing players in England, but also can be traced back to the past. It is reasonable and justified, which makes Brian Kidd speechless, because it is indeed universal.
Sometimes he even wondered how many native English players would be able to gain a foothold in the Premier League if there were no registration restrictions for local players and youth training?
This may lead to a desperate answer.
"Take your time, Bryan. This kind of thing can''t come quickly, and now more and more teams are starting to reorganize the youth training. These are very good phenomena. I think with the financial resources of the Premier League now and in time, we can definitely catch up."
"Maybe." Brian Kidd returned with a wry smile.
He himself has to say that the cold is to the point, pointing out the biggest problem for the English players.
We should know that in modern football, especially in European football in recent years, the standard to evaluate a player is not technical skills, but tactical awareness, that is to say, playing with the brain.
For example, Michael Essien, the Chelsea midfield player who is going to play in this game, knows the characteristics of Ghana buffalo. In fact, last season, he gradually transformed into a back midfield player. He not only has excellent defense, but also has a good sense of position and good shooting ability, which depends on the training of two generations of teams, Rijkaard and Scolari.
There is also Manchester United''s Michael Carrick, who has been ravaged by the game. He plays an important role in the United team, and even is the most indispensable member.
When Gao Han was coaching Manchester City, he only wanted Xavi Alonso, not Gareth Barry, the captain of Aston Villa. Obviously, he was interested in Xavi Alonso''s tactical awareness, so he was directly appointed as the team captain after joining the Spanish midfield.
The more Brian Kidd thinks about it, the more he feels cold. This seems simple, but it points to the crux of English football.
If you think about it more carefully, did England choose Capello just because he was a famous coach?
Is it possible that because they are aware of the problems of the national team and players, they will choose Italian coach Fabio Capello, who is famous for his tactics, to make up for and improve the team''s weakness in this aspect?
Therefore, the high cold will say that Capello clearly has a better choice, but he has to take the risk to accept the challenge and take on such a mess.
But now, Capello has obviously become the public enemy of this group of fans who don''t know the truth. What''s the matter?
Gao Han stood by and saw Brian Kidd grinning bitterly. He knew he understood.
"Don''t think too much, Bryan. When the boat reaches the bridge, it''s time to go back to the dressing room."
With that, Gao Han turned and walked back to the players'' passageway, leaving Brian Kidd a cool figure.