2 July 2000

In the Netherlands, France defeated Italy with a goal from Trezeguet in extra-time to win the World Cup in '98 and then the European Championships, creating the myth of the Gallic rooster.

The victory rejoiced the French, while the loser, Italy, was saddened.

They weren't far from the title, and if it wasn't for Wiltord equalising before the break, where would there be extra time? They have been celebrating champions for a long time.

This European Championship is a failure for the Italians, and the pain is inevitable.

As for several players in the Italian team, they have mixed feelings.

Tormented, painful, dazed

Pirlo, Gattuso, and Materazzi were all selected for the Italian national team lineup, as well as Zambrotta, and of these four, only Zambrotta was the main player, and the others, only Pirlo sat on the bench, but even if he sat on the bench, he did not have a minute of playing time.

In fact, their position in the national team is very precarious.

If you compare the clubs of the Italian national team members who participated in the European Championship this time, it is clear that except for Pirlo's four players from Millwall, the other members of the Italian national team are all from Serie A clubs!

In other words, the Italian national team is dominated by players from the local league.

In this era, for Italian players, playing abroad is basically equivalent to saying goodbye to the national team, Zola is calling for wind and rain in the Premier League, and the Italian national team turns a blind eye.

If Millwall hadn't shone so brightly in Europe that it made people's eyes tingle, Italy probably wouldn't have recruited Pirlo and others, but even if they did. It is not a heavy task!

In other words. If Millwall now recruits the main player of the Italian national team. The opposition may refuse because they are unwilling to give up their international qualifications or main positions.

If Andrea Pirlo had played for Italy today, he would have thought about it.

Thankfully, Millwall came to them at a time when they were penniless and doubtful that there was a way out of the game.

But the reality is that the problem is in front of them, and it has reached the point where they feel heartbroken.

Obviously, he has performed so well in the club, and he has defeated the Serie A giants in the past two years, but he has few opportunities to play in the national team, who can stand this?

Club Honors. They are just one league cup away from a grand slam, and who the cares about the league cup!

Like Andrea Pirlo, they naturally want to go further in terms of national team glory, they are in a very different situation from Larsson, Sweden is playing in international competitions and how far they can go depends on their luck, but what about Italy? Not necessarily the first favorite to win the tournament, but at least the top five, the top three is certain, especially now that Serie A has not yet reached the stage of decline. There are many strong people, all of whom are at the top of the world.

The European Championship is over. Pirlo and the others were ready to go on vacation.

But before the disbandment of the Italian national team, he told his good friend Gattuso, who was in the same room as him, about the distress in his heart.

Gattuso didn't really feel it deeply, and so did Materazzi.

Gattuso was originally a substitute at the club, and this call-up was a blessing, perhaps because he started the Champions League final and performed well, after all, the public opinion "plus" brought by that victory was too high.

Materazzi, on the other hand, is self-aware, although he is not inferior to his teammates in honor, but Nesta, Ferrara, Cannavaro and other teammates, if he really wants to say that he is definitely better than them, it would be a bit shameless.

Andrea Pirlo is the main choice to help the team win the trophy in two Champions League finals, at least, he thinks that his ability is no worse than Albertini and Dino Baggio, so he has a stronger sense of disparity.

He obviously found the wrong person to talk to, Gattuso can't think about it that long now, excluding the shadow of the national team final defeat, he is full of expectations for the new season, Makelele transferred away, it is his turn to take the position, he will not give others a chance, he must firmly occupy the main position!

Andrea Pirlo also chose to forget about the national team for the time being, and let's see in the future.

Aldrich, meanwhile, returned to England from his vacation, but instead of returning to London with Evan, he asked Evan to find a new house, and he himself went to Exeter, where Rowling returned to his alma mater to give a lecture and invited him to attend.

Active and open social activities, Aldrich generally does not refuse if he has time, and Rowling rarely calls to invite, and he does not want to ruin the other party's interest.

In the auditorium at the University of Exeter, Aldrich sat in the first row of the audience, and Jessica sat next to him, looking up proudly at Rowling as she gave a speech on stage.

The success of Rowling's creative career in the past two years has turned her into a public figure, and the Harry Potter series has been an unprecedented success, and Aldrich, as her friend, is happy for him.

"As you can see, I am a single mother and I have certainly been through the lowest period of my life, but I am fortunate and here I would like to thank my friend, Aldrich Hall, for his generosity in keeping me creative and encouraging me when I was penniless, and he believed even more firmly than I could have been, that I could succeed, and that without his help, perhaps I would have been lost, he was the most important friend of my life and the most special."

Probably recalling the period of poverty and destitude, Rowling looked at Aldrich with a smile on her face but moist eyes, and the audience burst into applause.

The master of ceremonies then unexpectedly invited Aldrich to give a speech as well.

The vast majority of those present naturally knew Aldrich, and when he walked on stage, the applause of the audience became even more enthusiastic.

Aldrich's first words were shocked.

"She's lying! Don't trust her! Ms. Rowling deceived you all! She's a liar! ”

Aldrich smiling.

The audience exclaimed, but Rowling and Jessica were still smiling and staring at him, not minding his unreasonable accusations!

There was a dead silence at the scene, as if everyone was waiting for Aldrich to give an explanation.

"Allow me to introduce myself briefly, my name is Aldrich Hall. Profession is football coaching. Part of my job is developing young players. And before developing players. My colleagues and I evaluate a player, and one of them is the potential assessment, because if we think the player has potential, then we will do everything we can to develop him, and if we don't think he has the talent in that area, there is no room for improvement, then we don't waste time. So. I don't have the magic to make a mediocre person talented, Ms. Rowling was lying just now, she has potential, she has a talent for creation, it's hers, it's not given by me, she can be successful without me, she can stand here today and give you a speech and share her recipe for success. ”

Aldrich's words caused a false alarm among those at the scene. There are also a lot of reporters here today, and they hope that Aldrich will really put on a good show of turning against his friends here.

There are many big scenes. Aldridge is unlikely to have stage fright here, even if he didn't prepare before, he could still win the applause of the audience.

"I'm sorry, I didn't go to university, I didn't have a lot of knowledge, I didn't have a high level of art, but I know that if you want to do something, you need to give, I put in 8 years to become a football coach, I put in 14 years to become a successful football coach, and I intend to continue to give and work hard. In my scope of work, I will see the winners, the big stars, I will also see the losers, every year in May, there will be a lot of unknown players who are given up by the club, I just mentioned potential, is potential important to success? Of course it's important, but everyone's potential is different, like me, when I was 10 years old, I knew that I couldn't be a professional footballer, and if I insisted on playing football, I would probably be out of work now."

"Confusion, frustration, temptation, laziness and so on are all enemies, and part of my job is to help my players overcome them, to keep them calm, to be patient, to have the right mindset and to hone their tenacity, and these intangible qualities are often the key to success, and lo and behold, Ms. Rowling is a good example of that."

Aldrich's impromptu speech was not necessarily brilliant, but under the star effect, it still won applause from the audience, and when he stepped down, many students even cheered, presumably, they were all fans.

At the end of the event, Aldrich took photos with many people at the scene and signed autographs, which was busier than Rowling's main character.

As he walked out of the University of Exeter, he was surrounded by a group of reporters who had rushed to hear the news.

Since the end of the Champions League final, the paparazzi of Fleet Street have been searching for Aldridge everywhere, and after more than a month, the legendary young marshal has finally appeared!

"Mr Hall, how would you rate the performance of the England national team after returning home from the group stage of the European Championship? Is Keegan still fit to lead the LinkedIn Glenn national team? ”

Reporters surrounded him, and of course it was around the topic of football.

Aldrich was in a good mood today, so he responded patiently.

'I think the national team is just lacking some luck and we should also give more time to coach Keegan, he took over the national team in a hurry, it is too early to tell.

"Was it because of luck that England was defeated? Wasn't Neville's mistake in giving the opposition a penalty at the end of the game fatal? ”

Aldridge shook his head with a smile and said: "I have been coaching Millwall for six years, although the club is different from the national team, but I have never put the blame on a certain player because of the team's defeat, which is unfair, it is the team that goes to play, not the player who plays individually, Gareth four years ago, David two years ago, Phil today, you must ask me how I feel?" My answer will not change, he is not a sinner. You may not accept my answer, so think about it from another angle, if England advances, even if Phil makes a mistake and commits a foul in the last game, then what? Will you define you as a sinner? He alone can't decide the first two wins and losses, but he fouled in the last game, and that's it, he shouldn't be responsible for the loss of the entire national team, it's too heavy. ”

After all, it is the players of other teams who make mistakes, it is none of their business, Aldridge said two good words, it doesn't matter whether public opinion condemns him or not, but it can make him earn a good reputation in the industry.

'Mr Hall, will Millwall bring in heavyweights this summer? Anelka's agent declares that he is willing to play for you, and that is his pleasure. ”

"Hehe, I can't guarantee anything else, but Millwall is not interested in Anelka, you can just report it in my original words, he won't wear Millwall's shirt and we don't need so many strikers."

"But isn't Millwall going to sell Henry? Won't you find a replacement? I know Millwall has Klose and he's good, but if he can't replace Henry, is Millwall an alternative? ”

Aldrich laughed and said, "Nonsense, how could we sell Henry?" He scored 49 goals last season, 49! Such a shooter, why should we sell it? ”

"But Henry's agent has announced that Henry will not renew his contract with Millwall, Real Madrid has made an offer of 23 million pounds in player plus cash, Inter Milan has made an offer of 32 million pounds in cash with Juventus, will Millwall force Henry to stay? He only has two years left on his contract! ”

Aldrich was a little caught off guard.

However, he maintained his usual appearance on the surface, shaking his head and saying, "He will stay at Millwall." ”

With that, Aldrich got into Rowling's car, and then pulled out the phone to call Adam, his expression already slightly gloomy. (To be continued......)