Chapter 4 (30)

The careful arrangement of the club, the easy-going new coaching team, and the dedication of a few veteran players who speak well on the team, Cheng Dexing mastered the team almost overnight. In the next two or three days, in addition to arranging for the players to train as usual, he also found time to talk to the players. This kind of conversation is not limited to training and the league, he also exchanges views with them about many aspects of the club and the team, he tells them his vision for the future construction of the team, explains and elaborates in detail the tactical innovations he will make, and listens carefully to the opinions of the players, if there are disagreements in some areas, he will discuss with the players, if the results of the discussion prove that his previous ideas are one-sided or not feasible at all, he will correct them immediately, and then sincerely hope that the players can help him come up with ideas. What does it take to make the team better.

The enthusiasm and enthusiasm of the players were mobilized by Coach Cheng, and after training, they could often be seen getting together to discuss enthusiastically, foaming at the mouth and expressing their mature or superficial opinions, and the content of the discussion extended from the arrangement of training time to the tactical discipline in the game. Sometimes they will not give in to each other for a detail, arguing so red-faced, no one is convinced, so the object of discussion escalates from objective reality to exposing each other's old backgrounds, and then all the way up to adding fists and kicks, until they are persuaded by the person next to them. But after a while, they joined in the discussion with great interest, and quarreled with the person they had just argued with in favor of a point of view like their own.

This serious and positive attitude is not limited to the spare time of the players, it also extends to the training ground. The team's previous training has always dragged on and if any training session has not been extended, then it is certain that it is not because the players have completed the training subjects seriously, but the coach has cut some content out of desperation. But the situation in the past two days is very different from before, the players have brought the serious energy of discussing the problem to the training ground, no one has the idea of stealing and cheating, and they have all shown their best performance, and a few of them have been sick for three days and two days even during the coaching period of Youshen, and now they are almost the pacesetters on the training ground, and the coaches of several echelons even use them as an example to motivate the young players.

Contrary to the excitement on the team's side, the situation on the club's side is a mess.

On Tuesday afternoon, a piece of news spread at the base - Wu Xingguang, the general manager and team leader, has officially submitted his resignation report to the club's board of directors on the grounds of "poor health".

Is Wu Xingguang really going to resign? Can the board agree?

Some believe that the board will not agree. Their reasons are very simple and practical: for Wuhan Yafeng Football Club, Wu Xingguang has both credit and hard work, and it is impossible for the board of directors to cross the river and tear down the bridge! Think about it, go back three or four years, what kind of bad situation is Hubei football? At that time, with the establishment of the professional league A to expand the army, Hubei football did not fall into the big quagmire of A B, there was no money, no one wanted people, the league had not officially started, and everyone in the province who could get a little bit of football on the side, who would not die to Hubei football? But Wu Xingguang came without saying a word, not only did he come, but also brought sponsorship and players, and Leng saved a dying Hubei football. What is it? That's the credit! Although Wuhan Yafeng has not achieved any outstanding results in the past two or three years, nor has it won a few games that fans talk about, there has never been a danger of relegation, right? With the meager foundation of Hubei football and the annual investment of Yafeng Group, it is not easy for Mr. Wu to run a Yafeng club to what it is today. If the board of directors drove Wu Xingguang away at this time, everyone would be chilled, if the board of directors really did this, who would dare to come to Yafeng in the future? Who can still contribute to Yafeng with all his heart? So, Mr. Wu can't go, and he can't go - Wuhan Yafeng can't do it without anyone, but it can't do without Wu Xingguang.

On the question of whether Wu Xingguang went or stayed, most of the people who felt aggrieved by Wu Xingguang were the club's staff. They and Wu Xingguang are old colleagues, and their long-term work together has more or less established friendship and affection between them, and suddenly they will inevitably feel unacceptable when they hear that their old superiors are leaving, and at the same time they are also worried about their future - the work in the club is not an iron job bowl after all.

Not everyone is crying out for Wu Xingguang. Hubei football can have today, and it is not his Wu Xingguang's ability alone, this is everyone's credit; To say that the people Wuhan Yafeng really can't live without are Zhuang Xian, Wei Honglin, and Zhou Jian...... It's these players who have left their hometowns and gathered from all over the country to Yafeng! Of course, there are also coaches like Cheng Dexing...... Some people even gloat: Wu Xingguang should have left a long time ago! As soon as he left, all the people he brought with him would have to follow, and how many desks would be free.

It stands to reason that this kind of lively occasion cannot be without the involvement of the players, but when the news of Wu Xingguang's resignation reached the ears of the players, another piece of news also walked in the team - I don't know where the rumors came from, and the content is also very vague and vague, only saying that there is a very complex background behind Cheng Dexing's appointment and Wu Xingguang's resignation, which not only involves personnel changes within Yafeng Group, but also has a relationship with the Hubei Provincial Sports Commission and the Hubei Provincial Football Association. With such a deep background, who would dare to jump out and talk nonsense? So everyone should continue to train, discuss the future of the team, continue to discuss the future of the team, as for whether Wu Xingguang goes or stays - no matter who will be the general manager of Yafeng, doesn't he have to rely on us to play football for him?

Cheng Dexing, who has been continuously involved in the whirlpool of incidents, is like a nobody, devoting himself to training, and if he has the opportunity, he will continue to talk to the players and exchange views with them on the issue of team building. If someone wants to talk to him about things in the club, he will put on a straight face and tell the guy very solemnly: "Just talk about work, don't talk about the rest." Even two reporters who had a good personal relationship with him touched his nose for this.

And he doesn't have the energy to talk about it right now – in three days, just this Sunday evening, Wuhan Yafeng will face Dalian Dongwei at home.

It's going to be a tough battle!

He closed his eyes, which were a little swollen from staring at the television for a long time, leaned back on the couch, and gently rubbed his temples with his hands.

The room was quiet, except for the calm sound of the air conditioner working, and if one didn't pay attention to it, it would hardly be noticeable. The room is also very large, with a circle of leather sofas around a low coffee table, a large screen TV on the low cabinet of the TV against the wall, and two pots of lush evergreen next to it, but just like that, the living room still does not leave a congested impression. On one side of the room, there is a large glass window that connects to the ceiling and the floor, through which you can see a small courtyard in front of it, with flowers, grass and trees, and a small pond, and a small wooden table and a few chaise longe on the side of the pond on a small open space paved with gravel.

This is the VIP guest house that has just been renovated by Yafeng Club, there are only three sets of guest rooms, and Cheng Dexing, who is very particular about life style, became the first guest of the guest house.

It's just that Coach Yafeng is not in the mood to appreciate this very chic and elegant environment now.

He closed his eyes and recuperated for a long time, got up and walked to the corner of the room to refill his teacup, and walked back to sit down again. He didn't care about the Dalian Dongwei game on TV anymore, he was too familiar with this team, even if he closed his eyes, he could clearly tell the personnel characteristics of Dalian Dongwei, the gains and losses of tactics, and the advantages and disadvantages of cooperation...... This is the team he has led for several years, and he knows the bits and pieces of this team. It was precisely because he knew it so well that he could appreciate more strongly than others how difficult his first exam in Wuhan was......

He stretched out his arms around the back of the couch and stared at the TV. This is the video of Dalian Dongwei's previous round of the game, Dalian people in the middle of a simple cooperation, and then a straight stopper, plus a simple kick in the penalty area can only be described as a "shot", Shanghai Taixing, which has been at the top of the league for five consecutive rounds, has lost the first place. He couldn't help but feel a little proud: this is the team he brought out! Although he has been away from Dalian for almost a full year, Dalian Dongwei has also changed the head coach, and several players have entered and exited, but the team still clearly retains the style he led the team, steady defense, patient holding, and simple and direct attack......

He took a sip of water from his teacup, his gaze resting on the tactical board resting on the coffee table.

There are a number of chess pieces placed on the board, which are more or less different but arranged in a very orderly manner in the front, middle and back rows. He groaned, pinching the lid of the teacup with one hand, and picking one from the pile of chess pieces scattered next to the drawing board with the other, and unconsciously tapping it lightly on the dark brown wooden coffee table. In his mind, the chess pieces on these boards have completely become vivid players, and the boards have also become the courts, they are defending, cooperating, interspersing, and attacking on the court under his careful arrangement, they are running back and forth, fighting back and forth; But their opponents are far stronger than them, and each of their attacks is like a thin wave rushing to the reef at low tide, and many times, before they even have time to bloom on the reef, they have already been wiped out on the road to the reef, and the opponent's attack is like a huge wave in a storm, surging and continuous......

The terrible sight made him throw the pieces back into the pile on the coffee table in distress.

"5-3-2", this is the fourth set of tactical plans he designed for the team in three days, and it is also the most reliable way he can think of to deal with Dalian Dongwei, but there are still irreparable flaws - his players rarely come into contact with this formation, and they have never practiced this tactic in training, and they may not know their position on the field. To make matters worse, in the afternoon training, the players were in this formation and it was difficult to implement his tactical intentions, so much so that he had to interrupt the training at any time and run over to point them out on the correct position. Now it seems that his idea of relying on a plan to block Dalian Dongwei is difficult to realize.

But he was not discouraged. It's okay, this tactic doesn't work, and a set of plans can be redesigned, but the basis of the new plan must be the formation and tactics that Yafeng players are familiar with.

He lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and then placed the cigarette roll on the edge of the ashtray at the clip, and rearranged the pieces on the board in a "4-4-2" pattern.

When placing the left avant-garde piece, he stopped holding the piece. The chess piece in his hand is Zhou Jian. Judging from the recent contact, this player's tactical literacy is very good, the basic skills are solid, he can play multiple positions in the midfield, and he has a certain foundation in breakthroughs and crosses, but unfortunately, he is not a left-footed player, which will suffer a lot when fighting and passing the ball. He put the piece down and picked up the other one with a groan. This chess piece is Li Xiaolin. As a left forward, Li Xiaolin's ability is more prominent than Zhou Jian, and more importantly, he is a rare left-footed player, which undoubtedly gives him a great advantage on the left side, but there is a deep holiday between himself and him, even if they were still eating and talking together the night before, but both of them know very well that the contradiction between them will never be resolved......

He pinched the chess pieces, pursed his lips, drooped his eyes, and stared at the board.

He quickly made up his mind and replaced the chess piece that represented Zhou Jian again. With Zhou Jian, he doesn't need to worry about the communication between his teammates, nor does he have to worry about the implementation of his tactical intentions, but with Li Xiaolin, he needs to worry about whether the players can cooperate effectively with each other. Between collective solidarity and individual strengths, he firmly chooses and supports the former.

Once again, he scrutinized the lineup.

The goalkeeper would have been a problem as well. He originally planned to bring in a new goalkeeper for Yafeng in the summer, but considering that doing so might affect the mood of the team's current main goalkeeper, he never made the matter public. Well, just yesterday, the main goalkeeper greeted himself and the club and he is going to change to a new club in the summer. This time, the problem that had plagued him for several days was completely solved - although the arrogant No. 1 goalkeeper does not speak and do things through his brain, this kind of person generally disdains to make small movements behind his back, and he can completely hand over the very critical position of the goal to him to guard.

In the "4-4-2" lineup, the last thing he has to worry about is the back line, several defenders are intimate with him, and the central defender Zhuang Xian is not only the closest player to him, but also the most proud disciple of one of his senior brothers, which is even half of his apprentice - in the sports world, this kind of master-apprentice relationship is sometimes closer than blood relations, so he is absolutely relieved to hand over the guard line to Zhuang Xian to command and dispatch.

He doesn't have to think too much about the front line, and of course he has no other choice - Gao Jinsong and Franco, only them. Franco used to have a problem with him, but things are easy to change, and now he is no longer the head coach of Dalian Dongwei, and Franco is no longer a stunned young man who has just stepped on the A League, for their own goals, they have chosen to forget all kinds of unhappiness in the past, and they have also recognized the current relationship, and he can now call Franco with peace of mind. In fact, as a striker, Franco is flexible, has a large range of movement, has a sharp sense of smell in front of the goal, can not only break through with the ball, but also create opportunities for his teammates, which satisfies him, but Franco has the enthusiastic blood of South Americans, and often acts recklessly on the field regardless of tactical discipline, especially when his improvisation seriously hurts the interests of the team, it especially makes Cheng Dexing angry - he can forgive mistakes, and even accept betrayal rationally, but he just can't tolerate this kind of thing that ignores the collective interest! Therefore, he did not like Franco at all. If he could be given the opportunity to re-select foreign players for Yafeng, he would rather have an Eastern European player who not only has the skills, but also the discipline and is easy to use.

He didn't think about another striker. He went to the scene to watch the last two games of Wuhan Yafeng, and was very satisfied with Gao Jinsong, who played a temporary guest in the center, even if Yafeng's main striker returned from injury, it was impossible to shake Gao Jinsong's main position. But what worries him is that the little guy has been getting too close to Li Xiaolin, a bastard, recently, and is likely to be led astray by Li Xiaolin...... There is also the transfer issue of Gao Jinsong. Since he took office, there have been three or four groups of people who have come to inquire about Gao Jinsong's situation, and an agent who has dealt with him several times has also hinted on the phone that as long as he raises his noble hand and lets Gao Jinsong go to Xi'an, the Shaanxi Tianhe Club will definitely "thank you again".

A sneering sneer appeared on his lips. He believed that what Ou Zhiqiang said was all the truth - if he became a good deed, Shaanxi Tianhe would definitely not treat him badly. But how could he let Gao Jinsong transfer? Even if he lets Gao Jinsong transfer, he will not let Gao Jinsong go to Xi'an. He can't help Shaanxi Tianhe, which is also a midstream team in the league, to strengthen its strength, right? Let Li Xiaolin pass, it was out of helplessness, he couldn't put a time bomb around him, but if the people of Shaanxi still want Gao Jinsong, it would be wishful thinking.

He picked up his cup and took another sip of water. Even when he was drinking water, his eyes did not take his eyes off the board, and his mind was still wandering around the team's tactics and personnel matching. Now he's thinking about Yafeng's midfield. In fact, all of his free time lately has been pondering Yafeng's midfield.

Yafeng's midfield is flawed, very seriously flawed......

This judgment can't help but make people doubt Cheng Dexing's coaching level, Li Xiaolin, Wei Honglin, Zhou Jian, Chi Yuwen...... Although these players are not famous, they are very practical, although the overall strength is not as good as these big clubs in Shanghai, Dalian and Shandong, but the Yafeng midfield composed of these players still makes many midstream clubs salivate - Li Xiaolin is only one step away from the national team, needless to say, Zhou Jian can play multiple positions in the midfield, and there has been great progress this season, technology, awareness, and tactical cooperation are not lacking, although his defensive ability is still weak, but Yafeng's midfielder also has Wei Honglin, Wei Honglin, who has been absent from the league for more than a year due to injury, is now in astonishing form, and his performance has even attracted the attention of the national team coaching staff......

But Cheng Dexing still thinks that there is a big hidden danger in Yafeng's midfield.

Li Xiaolin is good at breaking through, Zhou Jian's crosses are of high quality, Wei Honglin's defense is stable, his range of activities is large, and his one-on-one defensive ability and assistance defense ability are outstanding...... But none of these players are good at dribbling! Here's the crux of the matter: who will get the ball? Who's going to dribble? Who will effectively dispatch offense and defense? Who controls the pace of the game? Without the dribbling breakthrough in the middle, Yafeng's attack can only rely on two wings, but what if the attack on the two wings is not smooth?

This series of questions made Cheng Dexing feel distressed, and a clear word "Sichuan" appeared at the center of his eyebrows. He was hunched up, his upper body almost lying on the coffee table, his two bloodshot eyes staring at the tactical board. A plan was proposed, but it was immediately rejected by himself, and then racked his brains to think of another plan, which still could not withstand his own scrutiny, "4-4-2", "5-3-2", "4-3-1-2", and "3-5-2", he made countless adjustments to every chess piece he could use, but every tactical concept he designed had irremediable blind spots, leaving enough opportunities for the opponent......

Hey, head-scratching thing.

He straightened up and reached for the cigarette he had forgotten to smoke on the ashtray. Only then did he realize that the cigarette had already burned to the end, and that the cigarette butt was hanging with a long gray-white ash that was lying listlessly on the edge of the ashtray.

He took the nearest cigarette case.

But the cigarette case was empty.

With some annoyance, he crumpled the empty cigarette case and the plastic paper into a ball, and casually threw it on the table, his eyes wandering around.

He didn't have much of an addiction to smoking, he was never like his colleagues, who almost never left his hands when discussing problems, and the whole room was filled with smoke, and he was not like his peers, who circled the coach's bench with cigarette butts of different lengths after a game, but when he was thinking alone, he was still used to smoking two puffs of cigarettes, and let the smell of tobacco help calm him down.

There was no smoke on the coffee table. This result made him can't help but be a little angry. There is nothing more infuriating for a person who wants to take a puff but finds that even this little wish cannot be fulfilled. He angrily threw the designer lighter he had grabbed on the coffee table, and the dull sound of the metal and the wooden table colliding startled him. He looked at the lighter lying on the coffee table and was stunned for a long time - even he didn't understand what was going on, how he suddenly got so angry.

Fortunately, there is also a pack of cigarettes on the TV stand.

It wasn't the kind of cigarette he was used to smoking. This pack of cigarettes has a variety of packaging patterns, the color of the cigarette box is also bright and a little cheesy, and the tin foil that isolates moisture gives people a feeling of being thin and not strong, which shows that it cannot be too high-grade. But he didn't care about that anymore. He soon lit the fire, and then, like a hungry old glutton, took a deep breath - the choking smell of tobacco immediately made his throat uncomfortable, and irritated his lungs so strongly that he managed to resist the thought of coughing, and then an indescribable feeling of relief began in his lungs and gradually spread throughout his body...... Soon he was immersed in the tranquility of the tobacco.

But this quiet that was very rare for him was very short-lived, and before the cigarette was half-burned, his mind could not help but turn to the tactical board.

"3-5-2" and "5-3-2", these two formations have been abandoned by him; "4-3-1-2" is also unrealistic - he can't give up a full-back like Zhou Jian, and the wing attack is still the tradition of Wuhan Yafeng, the players have long been accustomed to this style of play, and he is not at ease with only one defender, Wei Honglin; "4-4-2", whether it is a parallel position or a diamond shape, is not advisable, either the offensive force cannot be cohesive, or the defensive strength is weak, and their opponent is still Dalian Dongwei, a league A powerhouse known for its strong midfield......

After thinking about it, there was no good way, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh - the midfielder couldn't hold the ball, which was the crux of the problem. How can this be solved?

In fact, he already had a plan in his heart for the problem - to remove Gao Jinsong and let him partner with Wei Honglin in the middle.

The fact that Gao Jinsong can still break through with the ball under the front and back of three or four Sichuan Hongsheng players blocking the left and right packs has been haunting his mind for the past few days. Regardless of whether that ghostly lead is Gao Jinsong's ability or his sudden inspiration to the soul, at least his foot skills are not rough, and he can definitely be ranked in Wuhan Yafeng, and he knows very well the ability of those players in Dalian Dongwei, if Gao Jinsong can play normally, there are opportunities for dribbling and breakthroughs, and from the game video in front of Yafeng, Gao Jinsong's defensive ability is also very passable, when it comes to reading the game, line prediction and game style, or it is a step higher than Wei Honglin...... But he was reluctant to move Gao Jinsong away from the position of center forward. The team needs to have a high post to support in this position, and he can also effectively attract the opposition defence to create more chances.

He reluctantly moved the chess piece representing Gao Jinsong back to the forward line.

His mind was still completely stuck in the crux of the midfield, so he didn't notice that he had moved the piece too far forward.

It was a long time before he stood up to refill his teacup with boiling water and walked back to sit down. He moved the piece slightly, juxtaposing it with the piece representing Franco. But his movements suddenly stopped, and his expression suddenly became solemn. The two chess pieces seemed to touch something in his heart, like a flash of lightning across the dark night sky. But the lightning lasted so short that it was extinguished almost as soon as it flickered, and the night sky was still dark and quiet.

He seemed to have caught something, but he didn't seem to have caught anything......

He stared at the two chess pieces with burning eyes. He was absolutely sure that he must have discovered something, and even if he hadn't found the door to solve the problem, he knew that it wasn't a myth. Perhaps he was already standing in front of the door, and with a gentle push of his hand, his eyes would suddenly open up.

But where is this door?

He was now like a traveler walking in the desert, he could smell the refreshing water in the air, but he didn't know which direction the pond was......