The England national team officially began their first training session under Aldrich's era.
Some of the players, not having trained under Aldrich at Millwall, began to feel uneasy when they heard Aldrich mention that today's training content would be quite extensive.
After doing some stretching exercises, they jogged around the field, and Owen leaned in close to Lampard, whispering, "Is Coach Hoddle's training really that brutal?"
Gerard, Hargreaves, and others around them also perked up their ears, curious to hear Lampard's response.
Lampard, serious as always, replied, "It's fine. I've never felt the training was too heavy. I usually go to the gym for extra work after practice."
His reply wasn't meant to boast, just stating a fact: if he had time for extra workouts, it was clear that the regular training wasn't exhausting enough to drain him.
The others seemed skeptical of Lampard's words.
Millwall's impressive performance was largely built on their physical superiority. If anyone ever saw Millwall players running out of energy on the field, it would be a rare sight.
These players had just finished club matches and were now with the national team. They feared Aldrich might treat them like beasts of burden, wielding a whip to give them grueling sessions.
Lampard noticed the expressions on his teammates' faces and couldn't help but smile in resignation.
Millwall's overall fitness was undoubtedly linked to their tough training, but the key wasn't merely the intensity; it was their scientifically structured and well-designed training system. Aldrich always advocated for a balance between hard work and recovery. When players hit a certain threshold, further training would offer diminishing returns.
They had misunderstood Aldrich's words. When he said the training content would be a lot, it didn't necessarily mean the workload would be heavy!
National team training differed greatly from club training.
You couldn't expect to change a player's playing habits or significantly improve individual abilities during the short national team sessions.
In fact, the intensity of the training would likely be lower than at the club level. The main goal was to adjust players' fitness levels and maintain their technical abilities. Tactical awareness, teamwork, and coordination—those weren't the goals of national team training. Those were tasks for club teams.
When the players finished their warm-ups and returned to Aldrich, he immediately moved to the next phase of training.
"The national team's recent performance hasn't been great," Aldrich said. "I'm not criticizing you, just being realistic. Now that I'm the coach, the tactics will be very different from what you've been used to. If I kept using the same tactics as Hoddle or Keegan, the FA wouldn't have hired me, and I wouldn't be here. So, you all need to understand this: I won't discuss tactics with you. Don't think I'm using my authority to suppress you—it's not that. If you have concerns, it's certainly for the team, and I understand that. But I, as the coach, think more than you do. My job is to ensure we win on the field. You're the players, and I'm the coach. You don't have a say here. All I ask is for you to listen, accept, and do your best to meet my requirements. If any of you disagree with my tactics, just say it directly. If you're unhappy with that, then I'm afraid you'll have to leave."
Aldrich's words shook the players.
Change was inevitable.
The previous failures in the European Championship qualifiers had proven that the old tactics didn't work. If they didn't change, they would only keep digging themselves deeper into failure.
At this point, Aldrich needed to make his intentions clear to the players before things went wrong during actual matches and there were conflicts—like a public clash between the coach and the players.
Of course, if some players were placed in positions they didn't like, there would surely be resistance deep down.
Aldrich didn't know all the details, but he could sense the underlying tensions.
For example, Scholes' early retirement from the national team at 30 had sparked many interpretations. Loyalty to Manchester United was one reason, perhaps a dislike for Eriksson was another, and maybe his assignment to the left-midfield position had also contributed to his decision.
The England players, deep down, all hoped that playing for the national team would allow them to achieve greatness, to be remembered for ages.
Now that Aldrich was coaching the national team, they were filled with anticipation. They hoped he would lead England to the kind of glory Millwall had achieved.
The biggest star on the field is Aldrich. His words may not always be heeded, but who will regret that?
Aldrich continued, "In my view, there are two ways to achieve victory on the football field. The first is to fully exploit your own strengths, to maximize those strengths and use them to defeat all your opponents. The second is when your strengths aren't enough to compete with all your opponents. In other words, when your opponents clearly have the upper hand, you need to limit them, find their weaknesses, and use tactics and strategy to outsmart them."
The national team players nodded in understanding. This was easy to grasp.
When a team reaches a certain level, they can stop worrying about the opponents and simply play their own game. Even if the opponent has countermeasures in place, they'll still be crushed. For example, when Millwall faces most teams, the key to victory isn't about restricting the opponent but maximizing their own advantages. As long as they play their game, victory is inevitable.
But against equally strong teams, this approach of ignoring the opponent and simply overpowering them won't work. When Millwall faces European powerhouses, they can't just rely on their own style—they must study the opponent, limit their strengths, and only then seek ways to defeat them.
Aldrich crossed his arms and asked, "Let's talk about the first situation: exploiting our own strengths. Who can tell me, in your opinion, what strengths the England national team has?"
He had meant this to be a more casual question to lighten the mood in the team.
However, the question seemed to have stumped everyone.
The players looked at each other in silence.
Beckham's eyes shifted, thinking: Does my curling free-kick count as a strength? It's unbeatable!
But if he said that, wouldn't it sound a bit arrogant?
He turned to look at Scholes, hoping the ginger-headed midfielder would back him up.
Unfortunately, Scholes sat there expressionless, seemingly lost in thought. What a lack of charm!
He then turned to his good buddy Gary Neville. Neville, however, was frowning, deep in thought, and didn't even glance at him.
Gerrard was about to speak up about England's fitness advantage but hesitated.
Well, yeah, English players are usually fit, but most of that energy gets spent on domestic matches.
Alan Smith also wanted to say something like, "I dare to fight!"
But thinking back to the last time he played against Millwall, when he got a red card for overcommitting, that probably wouldn't be seen as a strength.
Five minutes passed.
Ahahah~
The sky seemed to darken as if a raven flew overhead.
A cold autumn breeze swept by, and the room fell silent. It was so awkward, no one said a word.
Aldrich stared at the national team players, his eyes wide. He realized he had just asked a really stupid question.
God! What advantages does England have, exactly?!
Aldrich thought hard but couldn't think of a single solid advantage.
Finally, he said, "Alright! Looks like you all have the demeanor of gentlemen. Humble, low-key, unwilling to praise yourselves—well done! You all know what our strengths are, even if you won't say it. Now, let's officially start training. First up, a 30-minute practice match. The coach will give you different colored jerseys, and teams with the same color will be coached by me and Klinsmann. The match will begin in 10 minutes."
As Aldrich finished speaking, he turned to prepare for the practice match. As he turned around, he wiped the cold sweat off his brow.
This is so damn embarrassing.
From now on, if anyone asks him what advantages England has, he might just roll up his sleeves and punch them!
The players took their red and white jerseys from Jenson and Babb, quickly pulling them on. The teams, distinct in their red-and-white kits, made their way onto the field.
But when they reached the sidelines, the national team players wore strange expressions.
The two teams—red and white—were clearly divided into starters and substitutes.
The starting team was the one that Klinsmann had arranged for both positions and tactics.
Goalkeeper: Seaman.
Defenders: Gary Neville, Southgate, Campbell, Phil Neville.
Midfielders: Beckham, Butt, Scholes, McManaman.
Forwards: Owen, Heskey.
A traditional English 4-4-2 formation.
When Klinsmann laid out the tactical plan, the key points were almost identical to their usual style of play.
In other words, this team's overall strength was much like it had been in the past.
On the other hand, the substitutes, led by Aldrich, were more excited, clearly eager for a chance to compete with the starters—perhaps even take their place!
Goalkeeper: James.
Defenders: Mills, Ferdinand, Brown, Ashley Cole.
Midfielders: Lampard, Barry, Gerrard, Joe Cole.
Forward: Alan Smith.
But there was a problem: they were one player short.
They didn't have enough attacking players.
Aldrich waved his hand in the distance, and a young player in a white jersey ran toward him with excitement, asking, "Coach, what position do I play?"
Aldrich put his arm around the boy's shoulders and introduced him to the England internationals, saying, "This is Cristiano Ronaldo, a player from Millwall's youth team, from Portugal. We're short on attacking players for this match, so he's joining us."
Goalkeeper James, tall and imposing, looked down at the boy, who was much shorter, frowning. "Coach, how old is he? Is he not worried about getting injured?"
"It's just a training match, everyone will be careful. He's almost 16. He's been eating and sleeping well, and he trains hard. Look, his muscles are already showing."
As Aldrich spoke, he squeezed Ronaldo's arm, seemingly feeling his muscles.
Ronaldo shrugged off Aldrich's arm and gave James a dismissive look, his nose in the air.
Seeing this, Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, and other Millwall players who were familiar with Ronaldo's style knew: this kid was probably going to show off and prove himself in response to the doubt.
With 11 starters set, Aldrich took the tactical board and began assigning positions on the field.
Barry, who usually played as a defender at his club, was placed in the center of midfield as a defensive midfielder. He had no objections, as he had originally made the transition from midfield to defense.
Gerrard and Lampard were placed on either side, also playing as defensive midfielders.
Joe Cole was assigned as an attacking midfielder, with Ronaldo in the same area, playing as a free player.
Up front, Alan Smith.
Once the positions were set, Aldrich carefully went over their tasks for the match: each player's defensive responsibilities, what roles they'd take when attacking, how to pass, receive the ball, support each other's movement, and what to do at the first moment.
Even though these were all internationals, Aldrich knew that just giving them a formation wouldn't be enough. They couldn't simply go out there and play without understanding their roles.
Without guidance, they'd surely just make a mess of it.