Chapitre 486: Rumors, Pride, and Discipline
Since he was substituted out of the match, Ronaldinho had been waiting for Aldrich to appear in front of him, eager to have this conversation. He had a lot to say to Aldrich.
When Aldrich sat down beside him, Ronaldinho immediately took off his headphones and began speaking non-stop.
"Boss, I felt great today, really great. You should've let me play the full 90 minutes... I feel like their defenders couldn't handle me at all. Then, they switched to two center-backs, and the space for attacking opened up even more. If I had stayed on the pitch, I could've... I don't get it, I feel like we could've scored more goals, we definitely could have..."
Ronaldinho kept talking, his words sometimes tinged with frustration, almost like a child throwing a tantrum.
He only stopped when he ran out of things to say, staring at Aldrich, waiting for an explanation.
Aldrich opened his palm and spoke flatly, "Look, that's your problem."
"What problem?" Ronaldinho asked, confused.
Aldrich sighed lightly and said, "Your problem is that you've started playing the way you want to play, regardless of the team. You're just doing your own thing on the field."
"What do you mean?" Ronaldinho frowned, not fully understanding.
Aldrich leaned back and patiently explained, "If you play the way you want, and Pav, Thierry, Henrik, Andrea, and the rest of the team all play the way they want, you're telling me that will still be a team? Do you really think you can work together? That you'll win the game in the end? Won't there be so much conflict because everyone's playing to their own rhythm?"
Ronaldinho fell silent, furrowing his brow.
Aldrich continued with calm authority, "Let's focus on today's game. I asked the team to maintain control of the tempo, and that was for tactical reasons. But you were only focused on attacking, and your teammates couldn't just watch you dribble forward. Because of that, you pulled others out of line with my tactics. We're not here to debate whether my tactics are right or wrong, and I won't explain myself to you because that's not what you should be worrying about. What you need to do is simple: You do what I tell you to do, follow my tactics. The only goal I have is to lead the team to victory. What's your goal? If your goal is the same as mine, to win and bring glory to the team, then you need to work with me. Now, you tell me, what exactly are you chasing while wearing the Millwall shirt? What's your goal?"
Aldrich's tone was flat, but his expression was serious. The pressure was like nothing Ronaldinho had felt before. In the face of Aldrich's unassailable words and questioning, Ronaldinho swallowed hard and muttered, "I also want to help the team win."
"Good. We've reached an understanding," Aldrich replied, his voice softening. "Now, I want you to prove it with your actions. Don't let me down."
Aldrich gently placed his hand on Ronaldinho's shoulder, then stood up. As he walked away, his tone lightened again, and he smiled. "Good job today. You really scared the Germans."
Ronaldinho breathed a sigh of relief, hearing Aldrich's praise. He looked up with a small grin, but once Aldrich had walked away, he shook his head.
It was clear that what started as a moment of frustration for him had turned into self-doubt and anxiety.
Especially when Aldrich had questioned him earlier and spoke with such a commanding tone, his heart had raced. He didn't fear Aldrich's anger, but the subtle authority in his voice had been enough to unsettle him.
For Brazilian players like Ronaldinho, carefree play was often seen as natural, and only a rare few could discipline themselves enough to fit into the European-style team system—those players were held up as models. They had a technical advantage over many European players, but often lacked the team cohesion.
Aldrich didn't want Ronaldinho's talent to pull him away from the tactical system and turn him into a player outside the team's framework.
He had three choices before him.
First, to let Ronaldinho go.
Second, to make Ronaldinho the absolute core, placing the entire team's fortunes on his shoulders, granting him absolute privileges. If he performed well, the team would win every match; if his form dipped, the entire team would slump.
The third goal was to shape Ronaldinho into a more team-oriented player, to rein in his free-spirited nature, and to ensure he poured his full energy into the team's success.
The first choice had never crossed Aldrich's mind. Whether from a team-building perspective or personal emotions, his friendship with Ronaldinho made it unthinkable that he would ever sell him off.
The second choice would eventually become the mainstream model for many top-tier teams. Building a team around a superstar was becoming commonplace. However, the hidden risks were that the superstar often ended up dominating the team's fortunes, with their absence or poor form causing stark differences in the team's results. Aldrich had nurtured many stars, but he never granted any of them special privileges on the field. This was his philosophy for team building and the purpose for the team's development. If a player demanded privileges, such as not participating in defense or taking over the responsibility for scoring, with the other players solely serving him, Aldrich's answer would always be the same: "Get lost."
What he's doing now is the third option: restraining Ronaldinho's freedom. This decision is not only for the team's sake but also for Ronaldinho's career. Some exceptionally talented players need to be shackled, given a set of rules to follow. There are many examples of this—no need to list countless South American players. Take Gascoigne, one of England's most talented players in the past decade. Now he regrets not joining Manchester United. Under Ferguson's discipline, his career could have been a completely different story, and perhaps it would have changed his entire life.
Millwall returned triumphantly to their homeland, and there were many fans waiting to welcome them outside the airport.
Many fans were worried before this trip to Munich, especially since they had lost the previous year. But now, with the result of the first leg in, Millwall had triumphed 3-1 over their opponents, much to the fans' delight. It seemed the team had a good chance to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the third year in a row.
Fleet Street was abuzz the next day, celebrating Millwall's **.
"1:0 to 1:3: What happened in a year?"
The Times reprinted Aldrich's speech from last year when Millwall lost to Munich, in which he immediately boosted the team's morale after the game. This was a piece of news that had been heavily promoted at the time. Aldrich had told the team to hold their heads high, get back on the road, and declared that the failure would be a new beginning. This speech earned much praise from the public at the time.
A team can't avoid failure, or even a period of low performance or decline, but the key is whether they can bounce back. This is one of the important factors in evaluating a team's temperament and strength.
Over the course of the year, Millwall didn't just talk the talk—they showed through their solid performances that they were fulfilling the promises made back then.
A year later, Bayern Munich was still one of Europe's top teams. From a popular perspective, Millwall was still a key contender on the Champions League stage, but the strength gap between the two teams seemed much wider than people had imagined. Millwall's enormous lead in the Premier League was seen as them distancing themselves from other English teams, but when Manchester United, the reigning Champions League champions, somehow made it to the quarter-finals, Europe had to admit that Millwall wasn't just running away with the Premier League; they were widening the gap between themselves and the European giants.
With no league match this weekend, the FA Cup quarter-finals were scheduled as planned.
Millwall would face Arsenal at home.
The day before the match, Aldrich gave a speech to the substitutes, as though inspecting his troops before battle.
"Recently, people have been praising Millwall, claiming we're so strong that we're only a step away from being labeled as champions. I can tell from your faces during training that this has made you feel pretty good. But I think it's all nonsense. You're getting ahead of yourselves. Go home, look through the photos, and see if you're in any of the winning teams. Head to your trophy room and count your medals. Then, ask yourselves: Can you still smile? And if you can, doesn't that just make you look stupid?"
A cold wind blew through, and the substitutes who would be playing in tomorrow's FA Cup match got goosebumps.
Summer was approaching, yet they felt a chill.
Come to think of it, yeah, what's there to be proud of?
Recently, Aldrich noticed that the media's tone seemed a bit off.
With the summer transfer window still far away, many top clubs or first-tier teams had started spreading rumors about Millwall.
Especially the Italian teams.
It couldn't be helped. This season, only AC Milan managed to play in the Champions League, but they were eliminated in the first stage of the group stage.
The other three teams fared even worse: Parma was knocked out in the qualifiers, Fiorentina was eliminated in the second stage of the group stage, and Lazio, the only team to make it to the quarter-finals, was just thrashed 5-2 by Valencia a couple of days ago.
The world's number one league?
The "Little World Cup"?
By the new millennium, Serie A's dominant position had started to falter, and this was evident from their performance in European competitions—dropping a tier every year.
Two years ago, Juventus lost the final ticket to Millwall.
Last year, Juventus fell to Manchester United.
This year, only one Serie A team made it to the quarter-finals, and it was almost certain they would stop there.
Maybe the drop in European form has something to do with the fierce competition within the league, but let's face it, if Italian teams can't deliver on the big European stage, how can anyone keep calling their league the best in the world? The good news is, with all the money flowing into Serie A these days, clubs are more than willing to splash the cash. It's all about signing top talent—no two ways about it.
In football, when you can't beat a club on the pitch, you can always try to take down your opponent in another way: steal their players!
Millwall has recently become the center of attention, with wealthy and well-known clubs reportedly eyeing their players. These rumors have been swirling across European media, with nearly the whole squad now being linked to big teams from different countries.
Aldrich didn't worry much about his starting players. After all, they had everything they needed. But he was concerned about the substitutes. He feared that these young, less experienced players might get swept up by the agents' sweet words and start thinking they were already good enough to go it alone.
So, he decided to have a little word with them.
With the substitutes standing confidently before him, Aldrich walked up to Klose and said quietly, "Do you know what I saw?"
Klose looked around, as if hoping someone would help him out.
They were used to Aldrich's unpredictable way of thinking, but none of them wanted to be caught out by one of his sudden questions.
"Conspiracy. This is all part of the outside world's scheme. Right now, many people are waiting to see how this plays out. Millwall thinks they're big? Millwall thinks they're unstoppable? What happens if you lose? Then they can trample all over you without restraint, can't they?"
Aldrich walked past Klose, and the little carpenter finally let out a sigh of relief.
"If you become arrogant because of pride and underestimate your opponents, leading to a loss, then the outside world, including me, will mock you like idiots. If you believe two nice words from the media, you're easier to fool than a three-year-old! If you don't want to become a laughingstock, shut your ears, ignore the rumors, and take every day of training seriously. Put all your energy into the next match, and always be prepared to step up as a key player for the team!"
As soon as Aldrich finished speaking, the substitutes let out a loud roar in response to his speech.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone