On the second day of the holiday, Aldrich assigned Adam a task: the club's CEO was to travel to the Netherlands with his assistant to recruit Ricardo Moniz, who was working as an assistant coach there.
He asked Andrew to search for someone named Meulensteen in the football database of his company. The staff at Andrew's company update the database every three months, entering the information of players and coaches from professional leagues across Europe. This data collection took them two years, but it has become easier over the last two years, as they only need to update it regularly. This helps Aldrich to discover talent and provides Andrew's agency with first-hand information, facilitating the signing of players in the future.
However, Aldrich was disappointed to find that, despite a few others sharing the same name as Meulensteen, none of them were the right person.
He pondered over where the man could be all night and couldn't find an answer.
In the morning, Aldrich participated in an exclusive interview with BBC, which was originally focused on Millwall's victory in the English League Cup. However, Aldrich repeatedly veered off-topic, passionately discussing the feasibility of the CM training system and expressing great admiration for a coach named Meulensteen. When the host asked who he was, Aldrich simply stated that he was Dutch and expressed his deep respect, hoping for an opportunity to engage in academic discussions about football. He emphasized that collaborating with him would be a great honor.
Millwall was riding high, and Aldrich wanted to leverage this momentum to generate news.
The English media had barely heard of Meulensteen, as their inherent sense of superiority made them self-centered, showing little interest in matters outside the British Isles. Nevertheless, the news would spread quickly.
In the football world, European football is the center of the global stage, with mainstream leagues being the heart. News generated here attracts significant attention and spreads rapidly. While the Premier League may not be as prestigious as Serie A, Millwall's remarkable narrative was sure to be a focal point in the media.
Aldrich found this method rather clumsy, feeling like he was just waiting for opportunities without taking initiative. However, it was the only option available to him, and he also instructed Adam to gather information about Meulensteen while in the Netherlands, hoping for some positive news.
After the interview, Aldrich held a meeting for the entire coaching staff, from first-team coaches to youth trainers, which lasted until evening.
The next day, the players began returning to the training ground, relaxed and full of energy.
After the New Year, the club had hired a professional fitness coach who would lead the players in stretching exercises before training, ensuring every muscle was warmed up.
The fitness coach was a woman named Fiona, in her thirties, slim, and from a noble family. Her grandfather had been made a baron by the Queen, and her father held a knight's title.
Yet, this is not out of the ordinary; there are many British noble descendants facing difficulties, and even royal offspring from several European countries are often reduced to carefree playboys, living for pleasure. Ultimately, with the progression of time, the noble charm surrounding these lower nobility heirs has entirely diminished.
While Fiona led the players through warm-ups, Aldrich and the coaching staff joined in. Although the pace was slow, some of the stretches were challenging, putting their flexibility to the test.
After warming up, Aldrich took the players for a few laps of slow jogging.
Then it was time to start the day's training.
In an unusual twist, Aldrich called the players to the edge of the penalty area, instructing Keller to guard the goal, and then he summoned Makelele and Southgate to the front. He positioned the two in a defensive setup, one inside and one outside the penalty area, then placed the ball three meters in front of Makelele. Turning to the confused players, he said, "Can anyone step up to demonstrate your skills? It's quite simple: kick the ball into the goal, however you want."
The player exchanged glances. Makelele presence had already blocked the shooting angle, and Southgate was there as an additional layer of defense. Was it even possible to succeed through individual ability?
Eager to showcase his abilities, Pires was the first to step up. He stood before the ball, nudging it gently with his toes to intentionally create an opening for Makelele to approach. When Makelele moved in, Pires quickly flicked the ball to change direction and evade him. Yet, just as he took his first step, Makelele turned slightly and established a solid position to block him, then sent the ball back to Southgate.
Undeterred, Pires stepped up for another attempt. This time, he quickened his footwork, pretending to break through to the left before swiftly pulling the ball back and spinning to break through on the right, resembling a Marseille turn—in concept similar but different in execution. Makelele, with a low center of gravity, wasn't tricked and instead kicked the ball out over the sideline.
Pires held on until his fifth attempt, finally managing to get past Makelele through a feint and a clever detachment of the ball from his body. However, after turning around, Makelele stayed with him, chasing the ball. When Southgate stepped forward to challenge, he easily intercepted the ball.
After seven or eight attempts, Pires shook his head in resignation and sighed, "Boss, if it were just Claude, I might have a chance, but with the captain behind him, it's tough. I doubt anyone can continuously get past both of them, especially starting from a standstill."
Aldrich smiled and patted him on the shoulder before looking at the other players. To his surprise, Pirlo stepped forward.
In front of the ball, Pirlo made a lateral touch before unleashing a long-range shot.
The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the net.
Keller, obstructed in his view, couldn't react in time once he spotted the ball headed for the goal.
With his hands on his hips, Makelele laughed wryly, saying, "This is a bit cheeky, isn't it?"
He was only three meters away from the ball, but Pirlo had created shooting space with a quick touch, catching everyone off-guard with that long-range shot, leaving Makelele both amused and exasperated.
In truth, he had initially assumed Pirlo would attempt to dribble past him, but Aldrich had never said that was a requirement; he merely asked to score a goal.
After scoring, Pirlo returned to his teammates, and Makelele called out, "Hey, do it again!"
Pirlo turned back and shook his head, "No need to try. If we start from standing still, I won't get past you again. You won't give me another angle to shoot either."
Aldrich clapped his hands, then continued allowing other players to take their turns.
Larsson approached with a smile, prompting Makelele to go on high alert. Larsson had one of the fastest bursts of speed on the team, so he couldn't afford to take it lightly.
However, when Larsson didn't use his top speed to bring the ball forward, Makelele eyes widened, "What the hell! Another trickster!"
Larsson moved sideways, taking his time before gradually picking up speed. Makelele pursued him sideways, but as Larsson abruptly stopped to change direction and brought the ball back into the center, he left Makelele trailing behind. While both had similar speed, Larsson's rapid change of direction turned the tide. During a match, Makelele would also have to worry about other teammates constricting space. Now, with only two facing each other, there were gaps in defense due to their repetition.
In a burst of sprinting, Larsson shook off Southgate, pushing a shot from inside the penalty area, sending the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Pire slapped his forehead in astonishment, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Aldrich watched from the sidelines, recognizing that while Larsson's clever play exploited space, from a technical perspective, he was relying purely on speed. During actual matches, it was unlikely he'd get the chance to dribble down the wing and then come back to break through.
After a few more attempts, Makelele and Southgate exchanged comments, their coordination becoming more refined. While there had initially been gaps in their defense, they were now effectively complementing one another through practice.
When he got to his fourth try, Larsson commenced to fail.
By the seventh attempt, after multiple sprints, Larsson no longer held an advantage in speed and couldn't threaten the goal anymore.
Of course, Makelele and Southgate's effective defensive teamwork were crucial to freezing him out.
Trezeguet stepped in for his turn, focusing more on shielding the ball with his body, pushing forward like a small tank. Several attempts faced little success, either due to angles or being disrupted.
Shevchenko, Solskjær, Phillips, Nedved, and others took their turns, with Makelele and Southgate swapped out for Gattuso and Stam.
The players were having fun during today's training, treating it as a game.
Aldrich, standing with the other coaches, calmly said, "Did you see? Our players aren't particularly exceptional in one-on-one situations. It's either relying on speed or physicality. The ability to use ball control skills to deceive opponents for offensive gain is best shown by Pires and Schneider, but even their performance isn't outstanding."
Coaches Jensen, Barb, Craig, and Torlop frowned.
Based on their past experiences training players in the Netherlands, regardless of whether it was one-on-one or three-on-three practice, the method was simple: hand the ball to the players, and they'd learn to dribble on their own. Players capable of dribbling would showcase that ability, while those lacking wouldn't even attempt it, fearing a drop in evaluation from their coaches.
In a tactic-oriented training system, individual skills weren't overly emphasized.
But that didn't mean they didn't practice technique.
Areas such as ball control, dribbling, short passes, long passes, and shooting were all part of skill training, and mastering these would enhance the players' ball sense.
Yet, footwork requires not just ball sense but also inspiration and experience.
In a traditional training regime, players' dribbling abilities often stemmed from exploration—much like a journey of discovery.
In a sudden burst of clarity, the player discovered a new dribbling technique, reminiscent of finding a new star in the vastness of space. He steadily grew familiar with it and incorporated it into his knowledge.
What Aldrich needed to change was to directly inform players about the stars in the universe, guiding them to understand and learn until they could eventually integrate that knowledge.
Football techniques are diverse, and in different positions and under varying defensive setups, different strategies must be employed, which can be trained to enhance individual capability.
Jensen expressed concern, "If players start showcasing their foot skills individually, it could disrupt team tactics."
Aldrich replied earnestly, "That's based on talent. Let's put it this way: if Larsson's skill talent is rated at 85 out of a maximum of 100, and Ballack's is perhaps only 70, while Larsson's actual ability is only 55 and Ballack's is only 40, transforming their potential into actual ability won't lead to 11 players each with skill values of 100. Improving individual technique won't harm team tactics; tactical execution relies on team awareness. If they have it, then using superior individual abilities to serve the team will complement each other."
The coaches exchanged glances; without tangible results, no one knew whether this training approach was right or wrong. If it turned out to be incorrect, it wouldn't just affect the team's development—it could lead to the collapse of this team that had taken so long to form.