The finals of the Wimbledon Athletics and Reading's upgrade play-offs have attracted widespread attention from the media, and everyone is scrambling to report on the team's upgrade history and their legendary experience.

But for everyone in the Wimbledon bar, this game is more like a gathering of old friends.

Starting the day before the game, many people came to Boss John's bar one after another, and a large part of these people had not seen them for a long time.

For example, the first players who had played for Wimbledon before.

When they played for Wimbledon, they all established a very deep friendship with the fans in the Wimbledon bar. At that time, the team was an amateur team, and the relationship between the players and the fans was much closer than they are now. Of course, it does not mean that the relationship between the two is very far away now, but at least the current players will not come to the bar run by fans during holidays or during training to drink happily with other fans.

Nowadays, the identities of fans and players are very different. Fans appreciate the performances of players, while players enjoy the cheers of fans. At that time, players and fans were more like friends.

"This is really nostalgic..." Qiao Xilin looked around at the furnishings in the bar. "It has almost never changed. More than ten years have passed, and it is still exactly the same as before."

Boss John brought a glass of wine and said to him: "We are all nostalgic, ha!"

"Actually, even if you don't call me, I will watch this game. At most, we can't sit together. Now it's like a dream. We said we would return to the top league more than ten years ago, but we didn't expect that we would achieve this goal so soon..."

Qiao Xilin picked up the wine glass and walked to the photo wall. He looked at the photos carefully, and even found himself in a bunch of photos.

The day before the game, everyone came to the bar to gather, and then discussed how to go to the stadium tomorrow, what things to prepare, what slogans to shout and what songs to sing during the game.

They don’t seem to be worried about whether their team can be upgraded. In terms of strength, Wimbledon has surpassed Reading. They even think that Chu Zhongtian can deal with Reading alone... "How do we celebrate after upgrading?"

"Of course I've been drinking! Haha!"

"Then I have to drink it! I won't go home until I get drunk!"

"Hey, John, will your wine be free then?"

"Don't worry, all are available for free! Everyone drink openly!"

"Ohhhh! You are really our great benefactor!"

※※※ Fans are already preparing to celebrate in advance, and the atmosphere in Wimbledon Athletics is not relaxed at all.

This is the last game of the season. The more you reach this time, the more you cannot relax.

Chu Zhongtian was afraid that the players would underestimate the enemy, and his concern was definitely not unnecessary - because in terms of league ranking, Wimbledon is higher than Reading, and in terms of league record, Wimbledon has doubled home and away games this season.

Wimbledon Athletic seems to have no reason to lose to Reading.

At present, this team has no serious injury problems. The main players are there and the head coach is back. The team is very morale... With so many favorable factors, can the team still lose?

Chu Zhongtian’s answer is “yes”.

You may still lose the game - if the team is proud to underestimate the opponent, the pressure of price increase may also become a factor that interferes with the team.

After all, all the team's efforts this season are for this goal. As the goal is about to be achieved, everyone will feel pressure in their hearts. Sometimes this pressure will have a counterproductive effect, causing the team to perform poorly.

In order to avoid this situation, Chu Zhongtian paid special attention to the ideas of his teammates.

Although Russell has returned, they have agreed that Russell is still the head coach outside, but within the team, Chu Zhongtian still performs his duties as a head coach until the end of this season.

Russell was the head coach during training, and Chu Zhongtian was the head coach during the game.

In terms of psychological adjustment, Chu Zhongtian must shoulder the responsibility of a head coach.

Just like what the coach of Eames did to them at the beginning, but the situation was different. At that time, they were really weak, and everyone could not raise their fighting spirit at all when facing the powerful Chelsea. In order to inspire fighting spirit, Eames proposed the spirit of the crazy gang to encourage everyone. The problem that the team is facing now may be that they are proud and underestimating the enemy, and it is a bit out of place to propose the spirit of the crazy gang.

Psychological adjustment is really a very technical job. Chu Zhongtian has deeply experienced it in the past half season as the head coach. If he tried too hard, he was afraid that the players would be restrained. If he used too lightly, he was afraid that he would not work.

This degree is really difficult to master. Because the results of psychological adjustment are not something you can see immediately, and when you see the results, it is often too late to adjust... However, Chu Zhongtian now has an advantage that he is one of the players on the court. He can use his actual actions to influence his teammates, which is easier to observe the mental state of his teammates than the head coach. In addition, he has the last insurance - even if other players are in a wrong mental state, he can turn the tide and decide the outcome of the game by himself... The disadvantage is whether this move works every time... At the tactical meeting on the last night before the game, Chu Zhongtian stood in front of the tactical board and explained the specific tactics of tomorrow to the players. He has already said this thing once, and he has emphasized it again this time, hoping to deepen the impression of the players and avoid situations that he doesn't know what to do during the game.

"Our main tactics in this game are offense, not defensive counterattacks. Reading will definitely put forward a defensive counterattack tactic. What we have to do is to control the midfield, which is the primary goal, and the whole team must act with this goal. As long as we can control the midfield, there is no threat to the opponent's defensive counterattack."

Chu Zhongtian once experienced a similar game. It was the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifiers, where the Chinese team played against Laos at home. In terms of strength between the two sides, the Chinese team beat Laos, but the result was that more than 20 minutes into the game, Laos led the Chinese team 2:0. Both goals were scored by defensive counterattacks. The first goal was a bit unexpected, and the second goal was completely seized by the opportunity of the Chinese team's eagerness to equalize the score and push the defense into a large-scale empty space.

The crux of the matter is that the two Chinese midfielders were unable to perform as they should, especially Zheng Zhi was in a bad state and Yang Hao frequently lost the ball. The coaching staff did not intend to let Chu Zhongtian play so quickly, but he was replaced at the beginning of the second half. As soon as he went up, the Chinese team regained the midfield and the offensive hit Laos goal one after another. He scored two goals in ten minutes and overtook the score.

Chu Zhongtian is the key here. He controls the midfield and allows the Chinese team to attack and retreat and defend. When Laos counterattacks, he can block the opponent's counterattacks and make the Lao team's counterattacks fail. When the Chinese team attacks, he can show off his power to transport shells continuously.

Finally, with his assist, the Chinese team defeated Laos with a huge gap of 7:2, and completely defeated Laos' hope of turning the tables at home.

Therefore, how to deal with defensive counterattacks? Chu Zhongtian’s idea is to “control the midfield”. The midfielder must become the most trustworthy barrier on the back line. He cannot lose the ball at will, otherwise the opponent will have a chance to counterattack.

"During the game, Kut and I should do more horizontal running defense and stop the opponent's counterattack here..." Chu Zhongtian pulled a line from the position after the center circle, which is the defensive area of ​​the back midfielder.

"After the defending players get the ball, they must immediately send the football forward and pass us." Chu Zhongtian pointed to himself and Hammons. "Try to use the method of direct long passes as little as possible. Reading's body is better than us, and their headers are also good. We may not be able to gain a advantage by passing the ball directly, but we easily lose possession and hand over the offensive opportunity to the opponent."

Reading is good at high altitude balls, and Chu Zhongtian's plan is to continue playing with them foot skills, just like the first time they met in the first half of the season. He is quite confident in his foot skills, especially in front of a "bright English guy" like Reading.

Use your own ball control to attract the opponent's defensive attention and create opportunities and space for your teammates.

"The forward should not defend the penalty area in front. He should pull out the opponent's defenders and keep running. The two wing forwards should not hesitate to try to get in!"

Chu Zhongtian drew arrows at several positions and made a sign.

"When defending, we should pay special attention to their high-altitude balls, especially to protect the second landing point. We should not let the opponent easily get the second landing point!"

To defend against high balls, many people think that as long as they send players who are good at fighting for high balls up, there are too few players who can reach the first landing point every time. The second landing point is the key when attacking through high balls, so you should also pay special attention when defending. Many times, after the players push the football down, they will see which side controls the second landing point. If they are controlled by the defensive party, the threat of this offensive will be lifted, and they can even use this opportunity to make a quick counterattack. If they are controlled by the offensive party, it is easy to form a second attack.

This is like rebounding in a basketball game. Any basketball player or basketball coach understands the importance of rebounding, especially frontcourt rebounding. In football, the second landing point is equivalent to rebounding.

"Their center Eddie Woodgate has outstanding heading skills, but he rarely uses heading and passing to his teammates. I think this may be because his skills are not good in this regard, so his heading is mostly directed to the teammates who are inserted. We should pay special attention to this. In addition, they should also pay attention to the ball on both sides. Reading will definitely practice crossing on the wing in the previous training, and try not to make them comfortable playing on the wing!"

It took an hour to tell all the aspects that Chu Zhongtian could talk about. Of course, this is only for the whole team. Each player has a tactical manual, which records in detail what their opponents are and how they should deal with them... Each player is different. After Chu Zhongtian summarized them, he asked everyone to memorize them. In this way, he would not know what he should do during the game.

After the tactical meeting, the team was disbanded and they had one hour to have free time to move around, so it was time to rest.

Chu Zhongtian’s management of the team has been refined to every detail, including the rest time of the whole team.

In the remaining hour, there is actually nothing to do for free. Many players will choose to watch TV, take a shower, and then go to bed in their room.

Tomorrow this game is so important to them, if they can win, they will be promoted to the Premier League. For many people, this is their ultimate goal.

※※The eve of the game was very calm. When the match day came, the Wembley Stadium became lively since the morning, and media from all over the country and even the world gathered here. A play-off in the Championship should not be taken so much attention, but who made Wimbledon's Athletics team too legendary, and Chu Zhongtian too legendary?

A season ago, when he left Real Madrid and joined Wimbledon Athletics, the media thought he just wanted to return to the team he liked to support himself. Some media even felt sorry for Chu Zhongtian's choice, because his performance in the last half of the season at Real Madrid has proved that his strength can continue to play high-level football for two to three years. But now he has joined a Championship team, which is obviously self-destructive.

Chu Zhongtian did not explain his choice, but worked silently. It was not until now that everyone saw his reason.

Leading a Championship team to upgrade is actually no less than winning the league championship.

"Getting the league championship, the Champions League championship... this is nothing, but transferring to a Championship team and leading the team to successfully upgrade as the core of the main team and head coach is the real legend!"

Some media sighed.

Before the finals, many media wanted to interview Chu Zhongtian and listen to his mental journey this season. But they couldn't get what they wanted because Chu Zhongtian refused all interviews. Now Russell has returned to the team, and Chu Zhongtian is no longer the team's head coach. There is no need to force attend press conferences or something. The reporters can't ask him more questions.

While the media reporters were still preparing for the afternoon game, Chu Zhongtian and his teammates were resting in the hotel.

In the morning, Chu Zhongtian also went to the hotel gym for training, and he felt very good.

Now he is chatting with Russell while drinking coffee in the hotel cafe.

At this time, of course, I can't help but recall the years. They were all very young at the beginning, going to school, and playing football at Wimbledon. They were there on the day the team was established, but those who were with them had gradually faded out and even had no contact.

"Gavin is coming too, I called him and he rushed back from South Africa." Russell said.

Gavin Borger was Russell's good friend and a good partner of Russell. He chose to retire at the age of 28. In the year when the team became professional, he left the team. He worked as a coach in several amateur teams in England, and later went to South Africa. He heard that he was a coach in a professional football club in South Africa.

He is still engaged in a football-related vision, and many people have never continued to do football-related work at all. For example, Qiao Xilin, the former forward of the team, has now become a businessman.

Chu Zhongtian is the only one who can continue playing football.

"At that time, you were the worst among us, but I didn't expect you to achieve the highest achievement now!" Russell did not forget to tease Chu Zhongtian.

Chu Zhongtian rolled his eyes. But what Russell said was not completely lies. When he joined the team, he had no other ability except for good physical strength, able to run and defend. Even passing more than five meters forward would have problems, and there was no such thing as an offense. He even felt that he could only be an engineer-type midfielder for the rest of his life. He did not expect that he would become a player with both offense and defense and would often play an important role in offense?

"Now we have finally achieved our original goal..."

Russell breathed a sigh of relief.

Chu Zhongtian smiled: "Do you have any plans after the team is promoted to the Premier League, Alai?"

"Plan? Uh... try to stay in the Premier League. I guess I have to relegate in the first few seasons." Russell thought for a while and said that he had never led a team to play in the Premier League. He could only judge based on his experience in leading the team to play in the Championship.

"What after relegation?" Chu Zhongtian asked again.

Russell spread his hands: "I haven't thought of such a far-reaching problem yet. Just tell me if you have any ideas, Chu."

"I think upgrading is not the ultimate goal. If Wimbledon is just satisfied with returning to the Premier League, it will be over. We should have a bigger goal - not only to relegate, stay in the Premier League, but also strive to be the best! Upgrading is just the beginning for me. You know, this is my first time playing in the Premier League."

"But your contract is expiring in three seasons..." Russell didn't expect that Chu Zhongtian wanted to be so ambitious, and he actually wanted Wimbledon to become a quasi-strong team like Everton, a quasi-strong team that has long occupied the mid-range position in the Premier League... That is really a "luxury hope" for Wimbledon!

"Can't you renew your contract when it expires?" Chu Zhongtian curled his lips indifferently. "I'm only 38 years old by then. If my health is in good condition, I can play for at least two more seasons."

"You're going to kick until you're forty?" Russell was even more surprised.

"What's wrong? As long as I'm in good health, I will continue to play. I enjoy football and don't want to say goodbye too early, haha!"

Chu Zhongtian said with a smile.

In fact, what Chu Zhongtian is looking forward to is not upgrading, but what happens after he is promoted to the super industry. The English Championship is a small stage, and he doesn't take it seriously. The Premier League is the real big stage, and through this stage, you can enter a broader world.
Chapter completed!