Capítulo 444: Hell’s Home Ground, Millwall’s Triumph
Aldrich kept a low profile during the pre-match press conference in Turkey, downplaying the "battle between great coaches" that the media had framed this as. He avoided any provocative questions and steered clear of unnecessary conflict.
Since Euro '96, Turkish football had been on the rise, and in recent years, Galatasaray had seen impressive success domestically. Their manager, Fatih Terim, was one of the most respected figures in European football, recognized by the IFFHS among the world's top eight coaches across 80 countries.
Terim wasn't a revolutionary or a savior, but he was known as "The Emperor" in Turkey—a testament to his fierce personality. Anyone who challenged his authority or crossed his boundaries would face his wrath.
Aldrich wasn't interested in stirring up trouble. For him, this was just another match, and he preferred to avoid any provocations, whether through words or actions on the field.
Terim, however, was far less restrained. He wanted to prove himself further, seeing his group's draw alongside AC Milan and Millwall not as a setback but as a chance to establish Galatasaray's standing in Europe.
Setting up a 4-3-1-2 formation at home, Terim focused on short, central passing to penetrate through the middle. Yet, as the match began, he quickly furrowed his brow—Galatasaray's attempts to advance through the center were stifled.
Millwall's defensive organization, with Henry and Nedvěd tracking back and a midfield shield of Pirlo and Makélélé, proved highly effective. Without wingers, Galatasaray's fullbacks, Zambrotta and Schneider, tucked in, further consolidating Millwall's control of the central zone.
Aldrich observed from the sidelines, calm and composed. He had studied Galatasaray well. The recent addition of Boas to the coaching staff had refined their pre-match preparations significantly this season.
Galatasaray's center-focused style didn't worry him. Such a narrow strategy, in his view, was too one-dimensional.
True elite teams use the full breadth and length of the field, balancing attacks from both the center and the wings to stretch their opponent's defenses. For Millwall, defending against such a straightforward approach was manageable.
Galatasaray found it challenging to progress through the middle. Without wingers, their midfielders hesitated to move wide, fearing counterattacks and potential gaps in their defensive positioning. Instead, they crowded the center with passing options, moving their defensive midfielders higher up, which increased the pressure on Millwall but also heightened their vulnerability to counters.
Between the 10th and 25th minutes, Galatasaray launched a series of attacks, seemingly controlling the game and forcing Millwall's defense to retreat. However, they couldn't create genuine chances in dangerous areas.
Finally, in the 35th minute, Millwall seized their opportunity. Neil intercepted the ball and passed it to Schneider, who launched it into open space down the right.
Nedvěd, racing forward, was too far to reach it, but Ronaldinho quickly adjusted, collecting the ball at the center. Galatasaray scrambled back to defend, but Ronaldinho took his time, dribbling calmly past one defender. As Nedvěd arrived, he sent a diagonal pass to him, and Nedvěd drove forward.
With Larsson and Henry running cross patterns to unsettle the defense, Nedvěd angled a pass into the half-space, finding Henry, who slipped through onside. After a touch to control, Henry shot from a tight angle, the ball zipping past the keeper and into the net.
"Millwall strikes first! Henry finds the net! It was a straightforward yet deadly counterattack that puts Millwall ahead at Galatasaray's home ground. Trim's team had been dominating possession, but it's Aldrich's side that drew first blood. Cool and composed, Hall didn't seem worried as his team absorbed the pressure. Maybe he was simply waiting for that very moment, for Galatasaray to leave an opening for a quick strike."
Henry, after scoring, skipped any sideline celebration to avoid provoking the passionate home crowd. Instead, he shared a quick embrace with his teammates near the goal and then returned to midfield.
Aldrich, still seated, turned to Klinsmann with a knowing grin, praising Henry's sharp, advancing skills in front of goal.
Galatasaray, despite their stars like Hakan Şükür and Emre, couldn't match Millwall's overall strength.
In football, strong teams often find themselves under pressure—that's strategy, not necessarily a sign of inferiority. A weaker team may attack incessantly, even desperately, but without a breakthrough, they leave themselves exposed to a single counterattack that can bring them down.
In top-tier matchups, set-play chances are rare. Counterattacks become the most effective weapon, which often leads to cautious, even dull games, as both sides avoid giving the other any room for a counter.
After conceding, Galatasaray slowed down, shifting to more deliberate passes and trying to retain possession. They clustered around the center, managing simple passes but failing to make penetrating ones, as Millwall's defense quickly shut down any forward thrusts.
Millwall's players seemed slightly off-form, likely due to the away atmosphere, and a few miscommunications surfaced in the first half.
"Half-time! Millwall heads in a goal up, leaving Galatasaray in a tough spot. Trim's really got to think hard now—if his side loses this, they'll be left with just a single point from two games, and that's not looking good for advancing."
During the break, Aldrich made tactical adjustments to address the mistakes in their offensive play from the first half.
Sometimes players can give a 95-point performance one day and drop to 85 the next. In the short time between halves, no coach can expect to change a player's form with just a few words. Aldrich knows this well and never demands miracles—he doesn't expect players to go from dreadful to divine in mere minutes. His job is to adjust tactics based on their form, or if necessary, to make substitutions.
For Aldrich, mistakes were part of the game. Unless a player's performance was consistently disastrous, he wouldn't resort to substituting them, a decision he saw as a last resort.
He asked his team to slow down the pace, reducing risky choices and prioritizing success rates. With a lead, there was no reason to rush.
Aldrich returned to the sidelines for the second half, ignoring the boos from the nearby stands as he took his seat again.
After watching for five minutes, he glanced toward Terim with a look of surprise.
Like a general commanding his troops, Terim was using every bit of body language to direct his players on the field.
Galatasaray had adjusted their formation for the second half.
They switched from a 4-3-1-2 to a 4-1-3-2.
From Aldrich's vantage point, it was clear that Galatasaray had moved from three holding midfielders to just one.
Their strategy was still focused on the center, though.
Thinking of Terim's fierce reputation as the Turkish Emperor, Aldrich wasn't surprised.
In 2008, Terim had led the Turkish national team to the semifinals with a string of nail-biting victories, nearly pulling off another last-minute win against Germany—if not for Lahm's stoppage-time goal.
Aldrich stood, hands in his pockets, silently observing from the sidelines.
His presence alone communicated to the players that he had a new approach in mind, without needing to say a word—they understood.
If Galatasaray's second-half formation change led to an equalizer, it would alter the game's course entirely.
Aldrich's players soon proved they would not let him down. Their solid defence left Galatasaray with no room for manoeuvre and Millwall extended their lead in the 64th minute with a quick counter-attack, with Henry netting his second goal.
Pirlo's accurate long pass reached Larsson, who drove forward with the ball. After bypassing the last defender, he squared it to Henry, who calmly tapped it in for a brace.
Galatasaray went all-in for the second half, but their exposed defense only grew more vulnerable, unable to withstand Millwall's fast breaks.
Seeing the second goal go in, Aldrich turned and calmly sat down.
"Millwall leads by two; it seems they've got the match under control. How will Galatasaray handle the remaining 25 minutes?"
With two goals down, Galatasaray had no choice but to launch a full-scale attack.
Ronaldinho wasn't at his best today. Apart from that clever pass after shielding the ball for his goal in the first half, he didn't have many standout moments. Near the 70-minute mark, Aldrich subbed him out for Gronkjaer. Perhaps the intimidating atmosphere of this 'hellish' stadium really took a toll on his performance.
After being substituted, Ronaldinho sat quietly on the bench, and Boas came over to check in on him. With a furrowed brow, Ronaldinho began to vent his frustrations.
He admitted that, playing on the wing, he was constantly worried about fans possibly attacking him from the stands. Taking Nedvěd's advice was one thing; actually blocking out the distractions was another. That rain of coins at kickoff had shaken him, casting a shadow over his performance. That single flash of brilliance in the first half came when he was in the middle of the pitch, where he didn't have to worry about the fans.
Boas didn't know what to say after hearing this. In the end, he just let it go—after all, not every week do they play in such a 'hellhole.
Despite the players' best efforts to ignore the atmosphere in the stands, Millwall wasn't at their best today. Fortunately, their opponents didn't hesitate to go all-out on the attack, seemingly unafraid of Millwall's strengths. Ironically, this allowed Millwall to secure the win with surprising ease, even while off their game.
By the 70th minute, Millwall fully shifted to a defensive counter-attack mode.
They left only three men up front: Henry, Larsson, and Gronkjaer.
Galatasaray's full-scale attacks kept faltering, and each failed attempt only set Millwall up for a swift counter, dismantling Galatasaray's defense with raw skill.
In the 79th minute, Henry completed his hat trick.
Three minutes later, Gronkjaer added another for good measure.
Galatasaray managed to claw one back through a set-piece two minutes after that.
Then, four minutes later, Larsson broke free, only to be taken down by the keeper. The referee didn't hesitate—a red card for the keeper, and Millwall earned a penalty. Larsson converted, making it 5-1.
Millwall achieved a massive victory on Turkish soil.
After the final whistle, Aldrich rose and walked over to shake hands with Terim. Without a word, he shook his hand and walked away.
A "hellish" home ground?
Aggression doesn't always equate to strength.
Sorry.
I've got world-class talent to silence demons.
If this truly is hell, then I am the King of Hell!
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