Capítulo 46: A disorganized Arsenal
After the team took a one-goal lead, Aldrich pulled his right hand out of his coat pocket and calmly waved it towards the backfield.
This gesture was directed at the captain on the field, Materazzi.
Seeing the young coach's movement, Materazzi started to retreat while loudly shouting to his teammates, "Now that we're ahead, just as the boss said before the match, everyone needs to fall back, especially you, David! You need to help Phil defend over here!"
Predicting the game situation is one of the tactical assignments the head coach lays out before a match. Aldrich generally prepares strategies in phases during a game, and he avoids discussing tactics for when they're trailing beforehand, as it can dampen morale. Instead, he often improvises to make adjustments when the team falls behind.
Seeing that Materazzi conveyed his intentions, Aldrich shoved his hand back into his warm pocket.
After the last goal, he had only clapped briefly, without any additional celebration.
Now, he lowered his head as if casually inspecting the grass beneath his feet, taking a few steps back and forth in thought.
Despite Arsenal fielding their strongest lineup, it didn't mean they were dominating the match.
This was a distinctly characterized Arsenal team, with clear strengths and weaknesses.
Last season, they finished fourth in the Premier League, yet their goal tally didn't even rank among the top teams. They scored only 53 goals in 42 matches, nearly 30 less than the championship-winning Manchester United.
Interestingly, Arsenal actually scored more goals away than at home.
Was it because they were more formidable on the road?
Absolutely not.
As a traditional powerhouse, teams visiting Highbury typically prioritized defense, making it difficult for the struggling Arsenal to score. In contrast, when playing away, their counter-attacking style found more room to thrive.
Now, Aldrich instructed the team to pull back, inviting Arsenal to come forward, while Millwall prepared to strike on the counter!
The tactical battle in football is much like the game of horse racing between Tian Ji, employing different strategies at different stages.
Once Arsenal kicked off, apart from Solskjær causing a stir around the center circle, the rest of Millwall's players retreated to their half. With a defensive wall composed of Gattuso, Vieira, and Ballack in front of the backline, Glen John and Beckham supported Neville and Zambrotta on the flanks, effectively compressing the space for Arsenal's attacking play. As a result, after several attempts at passing and moving, Arsenal couldn't even manage a single shot.
As the first half quickly came to an end, Millwall returned to the locker room with a one-goal advantage.
During halftime, Aldrich simply stated in the locker room, "Our strength lies in quick and concise passing, and Arsenal struggles with advancing in organized play. They're not great at breaking down defenses, so let's continue playing as we did after taking the lead in the first half. However, when they push forward, we must be quicker, simpler, and more direct in our counterattacks. No need for dribbling; we'll tear through their defense with our movement. This Arsenal is just a sheep in wolf's clothing. We shouldn't fear them; they're old and sluggish. You guys are young—run hard, and we can beat them convincingly."
The young players felt encouraged, their confidence bolstered by the first half's performance.
After all, they were up against last year's European Cup winners!
Before the match, the substitutes worried that Aldrich would field his starters because they were facing Arsenal, but Aldrich kept his promise and played them in the cup match. This made them feel that Aldrich, although young, was a man of his word.
Trust is reciprocal. Aldrich trusted them, and they returned that trust with hard work.
As the second half began, Aldrich remained on the sideline, appearing unusually calm today. He didn't shout, and his gestures were minimal.
In contrast, Graham was nearby, frantically waving his arms for his players to push up, yet the team's performance was deteriorating, an ironic situation.
Perhaps it was as the television commentator noted during halftime:
"Arsenal now resembles Graham, a shaky building on the verge of collapse, while the young Millwall is like the rising sun. From both a tactical and spiritual standpoint displayed on the pitch, there's every reason to be optimistic about Millwall, but we cannot expect Graham to spark a transformation in Arsenal. Yet Arsenal is falling too quickly—they've scored fewer goals this season compared to last, while their goals conceded are nearly double. They've never managed to open a gap of more than 10 points from the relegation zone."
As the second half progressed, Arsenal gradually began to push their entire lineup forward. They had no choice; their attacking combinations at the front were too few in number, relying solely on individual ability to break through Millwall's clustered defense.
With the formation pressing upwards, the gaps in their backfield widened.
After intercepting the ball from Campbell, Neville passed it just five meters to Beckham. Beckham turned and launched a beautiful arc from deep in his half, sending the ball flying toward Arsenal's half.
Solskjær had already started his run before Beckham's pass, bursting from the halfway line, right past Bould and successfully breaking through Arsenal's defense, heading toward a one-on-one situation.
The not-so-slow Tony Adams started to track back. After one bounce, Solskjær expertly controlled the ball. At that moment, Adams was just a meter behind him. Solskjær's recent stop had slowed him down considerably, but he shielded the ball, made a sharp stop, and nudged it forward. The sudden change in rhythm threw Adams off as well.
Solskjær's movement was fluid; after pulling up for a moment, he nudged the ball again and sprinted away from Adams, continuing toward a clear shot on goal.
But just as he took a step forward, a tremendous pressure from behind sent him crashing to the ground.
"How embarrassing! Tony Adams just directly tackled Solskjær from behind! There's no doubt—it's a foul!"
The referee decisively halted the match, walking over to the recovering Tony Adams to show him a glaring red card!
If he hadn't committed a foul, Solskjær would clearly have been one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
The crowd erupted in cheers at the Lion's Den, wholeheartedly supporting the referee's decision, applauding both him and Solskjær.
Showing no resistance or protest, Adams walked off the field with a sullen expression, not even bothering to pass his captain's armband to another teammate.
On the sideline, Graham roared angrily at Adams, "What the hell are you doing?"
Adams turned back with two blunt words, "Shut up!"
Then he walked straight down the player's tunnel without looking back.
Aldrich watched the scene of the teacher and student turning against each other with a hint of melancholy.
Now, Graham was a coach embroiled in a scandal, while Tony Adams had hit rock bottom in his personal life, a troublesome alcoholic off the field.
Tensions had already existed between the two since last year.
Graham didn't inspire Adams to bounce back, and Adams didn't publicly support Graham in his time of crisis.
Their mentor-student relationship had reached an ice-cold point, and their bond was coming to an end.
With thirty minutes left in the match, Arsenal was not only trailing by a goal but also down to ten men.
Taking advantage of the stoppage, Materazzi approached Aldrich on the sideline, asking, "Boss, should we stick to the game plan?"
Now that they were a man up, they had the advantage!
Aldrich placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "We'll stick to our tactics. In thirty minutes, we'll win. From here on, Arsenal will be the ones in desperation. Think about it; as long as they create chaos for themselves, we'll have plenty of opportunities."
Materazzi nodded and returned, rallying his teammates with loud shouts to keep their spirits up while reiterating the tactical requirements to prevent any conflicting ideas that might disrupt their strategy.
The match proceeded without any shifts in momentum. At the Lion's Den, a once-mighty force had fallen into the abyss.
In the seventy-ninth minute, Millwall's substitutes unleashed a whirlwind of rapid counterattacks on the pitch.
Gattuso intercepted the ball from Campbell, passing it to Vieira, who then angled a pass to the winger Beckham. Beckham quickly played a through ball to the near post for Solskjær, who, instead of dribbling, skillfully laid it off back to the left wing. The speedy Glen John launched into Arsenal's half, skillfully maneuvering the ball at the edge of the box before cutting it back to Ballack. Ballack nudged the ball right, and with Vieira charging in at high speed from the counterattack, he unleashed a beautiful shot to double the score to 2-0!
Throughout the counter, Arsenal found themselves scrambling to defend, creating gaping holes in their backline due to their aggressive push. Even the usually steadfast Martin Keown slipped and fell as Glen John cut the ball back to the middle.
After scoring, Vieira ran wildly around the pitch, screaming in elation.
Just half a season earlier, he was a fool who was sent off in a minute as a substitute. However, in the last few months, his hard work had paid off as he ran towards the bench to embrace Coach Bab.
Even though Audridge is the head coach, it is Bab who has a closer relationship with Vieira during training, which is quite normal; Audridge is not jealous at all.
With Millwall now having punctured Arsenal with two goals, Arsenal's fighting spirit completely evaporated, ultimately sealing the match at 2-0.
Confronted with this outcome, Aldrich felt no sense of triumph. Despite Arsenal's renowned reputation, they were merely a disjointed team at this moment.
After the match, Aldrich didn't shake hands with Graham and calmly walked into the player tunnel.
Before the upcoming weekend match, the biggest news in English football was that Graham, who had coached the Gunners for eight years, was fired by the Arsenal board!
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