London is arguably a crucial city on the football map of England.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic and other teams are all from London, and in League One, there are West Ham United, Crystal Palace, and the former mad gang Wimbledon who has moved out of London, and now Milton Keynes, they were all once the London gang in the Premier League.

A city with so many English professional teams, the football atmosphere is not uninspiring.

As Christmas approaches, the streets of London are lit up to welcome the most important holiday of the year, and the neon street lights and pedestrians look full of pre-holiday festivities.

Yang Cheng sat in the coffee house, through a layer of glass, seeing the passers-by outside laughing, he couldn't help but feel happy in his heart, but he retracted his gaze and looked at the young man sitting in front of him, frowning, and the festive atmosphere outside seemed incompatible, and the agent in a suit and leather shoes sitting next to him was looking at a document seriously.

A copy of the contract that Liverpool have provided to Carrick.

Just two days ago, West Ham finally agreed to Liverpool's offer of 4 million euros for Carrick, which is really not a small amount of money for West Ham United, who have been struggling recently, at least it can allow them to pay the salaries of many players in the team.

West Ham United's current situation is very bad, as the former Premier League powerhouse, the Hammers with an excellent youth training system, but now they only have a record of 25 games, 8 wins, 11 draws and 6 losses in League One, and the points ranking is in the middle, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like it has the potential to be promoted, and what is even more troublesome is that this team broke out in arrears of wages, which directly led to the tragedy of 5 consecutive draws.

Carrick is not a completely unfriendly person, after the team was relegated, Defoe submitted a transfer application within 22 hours, Joe Cole also voluntarily applied to leave the team, and the club also sold a number of stars one after another, including Glenn Johnson who transferred to Liverpool, but the club finally decided to keep Carrick.

Carrick also wants to make a difference in the Hammers, he used to live in the shadow of Joe Cole, now that Joe Cole is gone, he hopes that he can become the core of West Ham United and lead the team back to the Premier League, but after half a season of cruel reality, he really realizes that West Ham United is no longer the Hammers of the past.

"It's an era of commercial football, and without money, you can't play professional football at all!" Agent David Keyes said.

That is, when he was still hesitating, he received an invitation from Liverpool.

Yang Cheng, this is the hottest head coach in football today, and countless players dream of playing under him.

But a cruel reality also reminds Carrick that the midfielder Yang Cheng wants most is not him, but Xavi Alonso of Real Sociedad in Spain, but he has not been able to take it, and the midfield is extremely lacking in technical players, so he will retreat to the second best hope to get himself.

This is both an opportunity and a challenge.

Yang Cheng will continue to pursue Xavi Alonso, and once the Spaniard arrives in the Premier League, Carrick's position at Liverpool is likely to be reduced to a substitute, which is no small challenge; And the opportunity, that is, Liverpool is now lacking a technical midfielder, and Carrick will definitely be able to play and get enough opportunities when he goes.

To go, or not to go?

……

A very important reason why Yang Cheng chose Carrick is that he is cheap enough.

Premier League teams and players generally have relegation clauses in their contracts, which is why Joe Cole, Defoe and others can leave the team smoothly, although Carrick chose to stay, but he and West Ham United did not renew his contract, and it is still very cheap, 4 million euros can be done.

But looking at other organizational midfielders in Europe, there are not 18 million, and they are embarrassed to mention it to others, especially those who are in the year of play, and they are worth a lot of money.

Yang Cheng's coaching staff gave Carrick a report, the central midfielder is very well-rounded, the stopping technique is also a rare type in England, excellent ability to read the game, has a strong sense of position, excellent mid-range passing ability, but he has one of the most fatal flaws.

Thinking of this, Yang Cheng raised his head, looked at Carrick, and said with a smile: "22 years old, is at a very sensitive age!" "If you progress well, you can step into the top midfielders in the Premier League, even at the European level, gain a foothold in a big team, or even play a central role, but if you don't improve well, you are likely to be like this for the rest of your life, and continue to live in the shadow of omnipotence, because omnipotence means mediocrity!" "The all-round player that Yang Cheng advocated before is actually not to have all the characteristics, but a kind of all-round ball quotient in the position, but Carrick's all-round is his all-round football skills, can pass, defend, create, and plug in, but none of these are outstanding.

Many people say that he is a bit like the younger Gerrard, although he is wrong, but he is also imaged, but his skills are thinner than Gerrard, and he is not lost to Joe Cole, but the two are in different positions.

'When I took charge of Liverpool, I told Steven that a player has to make a trade-off, is he going to continue his all-round? Or do you want to actively lean on which side? He finally followed my advice and was pushed into the line of attack by me, as you can see! ”

Steven Gerrard has scored 13 goals in 16 Premier League games this season and is the Premier League's top scorer, while also performing very well in all competitions, and has been hailed as the best and best player in the Premier League this season.

After listening to Carrick, he couldn't help but be a little tempted, Yang Cheng's ability to coach players has long been recognized by the world, and he has carved many World Footballer of the Year, including this year's biggest favorite Nedved, Yang Cheng's protégé, as well as Pirlo, Veron, Vanney and other outstanding stars.

With so many precedents in the past, if Carrick is not moved by Yang Cheng's words, then he will have no pursuit.

"Mr. Yang Cheng, how do you think Michael should develop?" David Kiyes asked with a smile.

There are some things that Carrick is inconvenient to say, and some agents have come forward.

"I'm a very honest person, please forgive me for some words!" Yang Cheng said apologetically.

Carrick nodded, being able to get the top coach's evaluation of himself from Yang Cheng's mouth, and he didn't mind hearing criticism.

"Your skills are excellent among English players, but not as good as those excellent technical players in the world, but you can run, you are very good at passing in the middle and long distances, and you are very good at distributing the ball in midfield, but you have a very fatal flaw, and if you don't change this, you can't expect to go further in your life!"

"What flaw?" At this moment, Carrick couldn't sit still and asked with concern.

Yang Cheng smiled slightly, "Do you know what modern football requires of a midfielder?" What are the corresponding technical points? ”

"Catch, transition, run, pass!" Carrick is an academy that has undergone formal training, and he is still very solid in these basic skills, at least he knows the responsibilities of the midfield.

But Yang Cheng shook his head, "That's half right, because I didn't say it completely!" ”

"Completely?" Carrick wondered.

"Receiving and transitioning, technically running and passing, that's true, but what next?" Yang Cheng smiled, "I've watched many of your games, and one of your big problems is that you can find a gap, but you don't have the sense of deduction. ”

Carrick looked confused, he didn't quite understand what Yang Cheng meant.

"Let me put it this way, in the tactical system of modern football, the emphasis is more on running, passing, running, which is in order, that is, a player has to pull to the gap to catch the ball, take the ball, pass the ball quickly, and then run to the next position where he can form a threat to receive the ball."

"So, you look at Pirlo, you look at Deco, you look at Veron, how do they pass the ball in general?"

"When you see the opponent's loopholes, first deduce in your head, where is the best place to choose as a passing point? This pass point may not be the most suitable, it may be in a dense crowd of the opponent, but it doesn't matter, because they don't let the ball stop at their feet at all, and as soon as the ball comes, he passes it, just like a two-on-one hit the wall. ”

"This is one way, the other is based on the fact that the players are very familiar with each other, if the one just now is for the opponent's vulnerability, then the second is for people, that is, after receiving the ball and passing the ball, and then deducing the next route of the teammates, how the opponent may give a block, so go to the critical position to respond."

"It's hard to say who is better and who is inferior in the two models, each has its own requirements, I think you are more suitable to follow the first model, although the second model is more able to ensure the team's midfield possession, but that has to be based on the players are very familiar with each other, sometimes it can be used in this team, but it is not used in other teams." After listening to it, Carrick couldn't help but have a feeling of enlightenment.

But these are only theories, because to put them into practice, you need the coach's training and tactical support. After all, if you have to play the whole game, it will inevitably consume most of the players' energy.

What Yang Cheng said is actually not a secret, if someone conducts some systematic analysis, they can all come to such a conclusion, but in the Premier League, I believe that except for Manchester United and Arsenal, other teams may not have this kind of analysis team.

And Yang Cheng's own coaching team has cooperated for many years, knows each other's roots, and is an analysis team in itself, Tim Hank is now not only a physical coach, but also an analysis expert, at least his notebook in the game is not fun.

If it is Xavi Alonso who is introduced, Yang Cheng doesn't have to go to such great lengths to tell him this, because he understands that Spain is very advocating ball control and passing skills, so he must understand these, even if he doesn't understand these theories, from his years of practice in La Liga, he will definitely be able to understand these truths.

But in England, for Carrick, it was undoubtedly something completely new.

At least think about the way you play the ball, too steady, always have to pull to the gap to get the ball, but many times, when you get the ball, you find that you don't know where to pass, because the gap often means that there are few people, and there is no one nearby to answer.

Perhaps, Carrick's mid-length pass is carved in this way, because he always passes the ball in places where no one is around.

"Another point that will improve your career will also be very great, that is, you and the other party's physical confrontation is too rigid!" Yang Cheng continued unceremoniously, because in his opinion, if he couldn't even accept these pertinent opinions, then Carrick should not expect progress in his life.

"You know, physical confrontation does not mean that brute force must be used, what are your advantages? I think it's the sense of position, the sense of presence on the court, and your anticipation of the ball, which can allow you to stand at a more suitable receiving point in advance and put on a more appropriate receiving posture. ”

Receiving the ball is very important, with your back to the defender and the ball on your side, these are two very different situations, the former has to turn around to be a threat, but the latter is just a pass.

Yang Cheng is also carving Drogba's awareness now, in the case of the left and right wings playing more and more actively, Drogba will be more threatening if he can take the ball more sideways, of course, taking the ball with his back and turning is also an indispensable skill for a top center forward.

Carrick listened to Yang Cheng's words, and he was really convinced and admired in his heart, because Yang Cheng was not familiar with him, but he was able to say these two items casually, which shows that he has indeed studied himself, and believes that he has a set of better career development plans in his heart to help Carrick improve.

As David Kiyes said, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Even a fool knows that if these two big problems are corrected, then Carrick's strength will definitely improve by leaps and bounds.

He is only 22 years old, and he is still in the age of rapid progress, what could be more important than meeting a famous teacher?

David Kiyes knows his players well, he is also Joe Cole's agent, he has some regrets about what happened to Joe Cole at Chelsea at the moment, and he wonders if Joe Cole would have been in a different situation if he had gone to Liverpool.

Now, he doesn't want Carrick to miss out on such an opportunity.

What agent wouldn't want their players to become the world's top superstars?

"Mr. Yang Cheng, what do you say about West Ham?" David Keyes asked.

"The fact that I'm sitting here is the best proof of that!" Yang Cheng said with a smile.

David Kiyes also laughed, and looking at Carrick, the England midfielder was already very willing.

"Well, Mr. Yang Cheng, I hope we can talk about some details of the contract."

Yang Cheng laughed, "No problem! ”

…………

…………

The whole conversation lasted more than two hours, and it was not until about 10 p.m. that Yang Cheng and Carrick reached a deal, and then made another phone call to tell Rick Parry that he could reach an agreement with West Ham. , got Carrick, although it is not perfect, but at least the midfield has enough protection, and Yang Cheng also has more chips for the second half of the season, and he is in a good mood. In order to avoid the paparazzi, Yang Cheng specially wore a blue sporty knitted hat, but the big logo on it was his and Sienna's own brand, and a thick warm scarf was wrapped around his neck, covering his mouth, so that he walked on the streets of London at night, and no one recognized him.

It was a good feeling, and after walking for a while, a fiery red BMW stopped beside him.

"Wow, it's so cold in London!" As soon as Yang Cheng got into the car, he immediately rubbed his hands vigorously.

Heidi Krum, who was sitting in the car, immediately laughed when she saw him like this, "Who told you not to wait for me in the coffee house?" ”

Yang Cheng smiled, turned his head sideways, and carefully looked at her outfit today, a black suit with a pair of black pencil pants, and a leopard print vest inside, the neckline was not high or low, highlighting the beautiful figure, which was indescribably moving.

Although Heidi was driving, she also noticed the guy's eyes and glared at him maliciously, "Lust! ”

"You look so good, don't you like me to be a little more erotic to you? If I don't look at you another day, you'll cry to death! Yang Cheng deliberately smiled triumphantly.

Heidi was amused and giggled, her heart was beautiful, but her mouth cursed, "Stinky beauty kills you!" ”

The car slowly moves on the roads of London, browsing the beautiful night views of London along the way.

Heidi Krum recently came to Germany for something, and by the way, she came to London to take a look at the company, and it happened that Yang Cheng came to London, so the two bumped into each other.

"How are the negotiations with the DFB going?" Yang Cheng asked with concern.

"Well, almost!" Heidi Krum said.

She will become the football baby of the World Cup in Germany, and in the next two years, she will participate in some preparations and publicity work for the World Cup.

After all, she is now the most famous woman in Germany, known as the first beauty in Germany, and it is ideal for the football baby of the German World Cup to find her to be the one.

"This is a very good opportunity!" Yang Cheng said with a smile.

As a man, his vanity made him look forward to what it would be like when Hedy Krum amazed the world and captivated men all over the world.

"How long will it take to be back this time? Do you want to go to Liverpool? Yang Cheng asked.

Heidi Krum shook her head, a look of regret, "I don't have enough time, I still heard that you just took time to come here in London, and I have to go back to the United States quickly." ”

The biggest difference between her and other women is that she is very independent and has a strong sense of professionalism.

"Then ......," Yang Cheng pursed his lips, "find a place where no one is!" ”

Although Heidi Krum came to him on purpose, she couldn't stand him being so explicit, "You're so bad! ”

"Hey, I just said, find a place where no one is, we haven't had a good chat for a long time, where do you want to go? Bad embryo, you learned bad in the United States! On the contrary, Yang Cheng seemed to be more reasonable than anyone else.

In the battle of words, Heidi Krum is estimated to never be Yang Cheng's opponent, so she accepted her fate, who made her like such a man? . ）