In the first half of the year, some domestic media broke the news that the head coach of the Championship Millwall is a young Chinese, and with Millwall being promoted to the Premier League as the champion of the Championship, the domestic sports media have reported on Zhang Yang, and Zhang Yang has also entered the field of vision of many domestic fans.

"A young Chinese coach in his early twenties coaching a Premier League team?" This news made fans feel like they were in a dream, and they could never have imagined that a young coach in his early twenties would suddenly appear on the top international football stage, or as the top head coach.

It happened in reality.

Domestic fans who hear the news will pay attention to Zhang Yang.

One statistic is telling: so far, the number of domestic Weibo followers has rapidly increased to more than 1.5 million.

And that's just one aspect.

After the start of the Premier League, until the current low of November, in the past three and a half months, there have not been many reports on Zhang Yang in the domestic media, most of them only mention Millwall's amazing results and praise Zhang Yang's level of leadership.

There are very few others.

Few domestic media can interview Zhang Yang.

Outside the Millwall club, there are always a lot of reporters, but the number of domestic reporters is still very small, and occasionally there will be one, and it is also very sad to pass the club, and they can't see the publicity at all. It's you

There's really no way around it.

Millwall is already a Premier League club, and there are so many journalists to cover on a daily basis that the club will definitely not allow journalists to enter on non-training days or press release times, otherwise it is easy to make a mess inside.

Zhang Yang rarely gives interviews in his personal time.

That's a must.

If every reporter who arrives can be interviewed, he doesn't have to do anything on weekdays, and all the time for interviews is not enough.

If reporters can't get the news, there will naturally be very few reports, but if you really dig deeper, there are actually a lot of reports, but most of them have no connotation, or they just take flamboyant photos from afar, or they just reprint British media reports, and so on.

These news alone also made domestic fans very happy.

Although there is not much 'substance' coverage from the domestic media, domestic fans are still paying attention to Millwall, and they are proud and proud to have a coach in charge of the Premier League in China.

This is actually nothing to the big media.

For example, ZY TV is the largest TV station in China, and it is also one of the most influential TV stations in the world, their ratings and influence are not comparable to other media, and the people they can interview, up to the presidents of various countries, the world's richest people, it can be said that there is no big man who can't be interviewed by ZY TV, a newcomer in the football world, even if he has made some achievements, it is nothing to ZY TV.

In addition, in recent years, ZY TV has rarely reported on domestic football.

ZY TV sports channel will broadcast the matches of the Italian Football League in the early hours of the morning, and the domestic league will basically not be broadcast, at most it will broadcast some Chinese national team events.

This is definitely not 'worshipping the foreign'.

ZY TV is an official TV station, and it is impossible to 'worship foreign flattery', the reason for this is very simple: in the context of the decline of Chinese football, there is negative news about domestic football everywhere, and ZY TV will not intervene in it, and it is also difficult for them to make some positive reports, so they only broadcast the game to the national team, and will not comment on anything, unless the national team can play dazzling results, for example, the national team entered the 2002 World Cup, they will naturally do a lot of reporting.

There has been little good news in recent years.

Football is one of the three major sports in the world, and ZY TV will naturally not miss the report.

They didn't pay much attention to Zhang Yang before, but as Zhang Yang's fame rose, especially when Zhang Yang led Millwall to defeat Manchester United, it immediately attracted the attention of ZY TV, and some superior leaders said, "This young man is doing a good job!" At the age of his early twenties, he was able to create a sky in Europe and led an unknown team to defeat Manchester United! Chinese football finally has a figure! ”

So the interview team of ZY TV came.

The interview team of ZY TV is composed of three people: one is a reporter who leads the team, named An Li, a professional woman in her early thirties, dressed in a capable dress, which can't help but make people feel good; There is also a professional photographer named Shao Ming, who carries camera equipment on his shoulder, and he knows what kind of work it is at a glance; In the end, it was a male assistant in his thirties, who was introduced to know that he was a translator and was proficient in the languages of several European countries.

"The lineup is different, they are all talents!" Zhang Yang sighed, the general media interview team will never be able to come up with such a gorgeous configuration.

The interview team of ZY TV station is quite professional, when she saw Zhang Yang, An Li took the initiative to come over to shake hands and talk, the tone and content are very official, but it feels a little close and polite.

After chatting in the living room for more than ten minutes, An Li's topic turned to the interview, and she gave Zhang Yang a document of about three pages, on which the process content of the interview topic was even specific questions, and then let Zhang Yang prepare.

ZY TV interviews, the link may be broadcast on the TV screen, personal image and voice content are very important, if other reporters ask for this, it will definitely make people feel disgusted, but An Li made a very legitimate request, and the tone gives people the feeling that it is easy to accept.

Zhang Yang thought about it and agreed.

The next thing is to prepare for the interview, Ebenezer helped find a well-fitting suit, he carefully groomed his hair, touched a little foundation on his face, and dressed handsomely and handsomely, like a little star who eats with his face, An Li's eyes couldn't help but light up, and said, "I really can't imagine that you will be a football coach like this, maybe you are very promising to enter the entertainment industry or become an actor." ”

Zhang Yang laughed, "Thank you, it's the first time a beautiful woman has praised me." ”

The two laughed a few words, and the interview officially began.

An Li prepared three questions on three topics, the first of which made Zhang Yang a little difficult, not because he asked about privacy, but because the core content was, 'How to succeed at such an age'.

Why are you successful?

Zhang Yang will definitely not tell them that he is a person with a plug-in, and success is inevitable in accident, he has thought about it carefully before, but there is no stuckness, "I think it should come down to three aspects." ”

"The first is the love of football from the heart. I've loved football since I was a kid and I've always wanted to be a football star, of course, like most kids in the country, it's just a dream, but I've always been interested in football, and football has always been my hobby. ”

"The focus on football has also allowed me to study the things in it patiently, and that's the second point: seriousness and patience. I look at a team in terms of their overall tactical play, the level of ability of each player, how to put them together to perform at the highest level, and so on. ”

"In addition, it is the environmental impact, I came to the UK after high school, and the football atmosphere in the UK is very good, and everyone around me talks about football will be football, and in this environment, I am exposed to more football content, more resources, and more professional."

'Those are the things that gave me the opportunity to work at Millwall.'

'But to be honest, it was a bit of a surprise and a bit of luck to be the manager of Millwall, and it's a challenging job and I've been trying to do it well. I don't dare to say that I have succeeded, I am just trying to do my job well. ”

Zhang Yang's answer made several people in the interview team of ZY TV very satisfied, and it is quite positive to attribute success to preferences and diligence, and the modesty reflected in the middle can also give people a good impression.

After that, we moved on to the second thematic session, which focused on Millwall.

This issue is a bit big.

Zhang Yang talked about the results from the beginning of the season to the present, "I dare say that we have played well, in the past 13 rounds of the league, we have won 10 games, the other three are only draws, so far we are unbeaten in the league. ”

"It's a team effort. I was very touched in the last round, when the team was in a very passive situation, everyone was working for a glimmer of hope, we didn't defend it, we took the initiative to try to win. In the end we did it, and a win against Manchester United would give the whole team more confidence. ”

'So far this season, we are second in the league, Chelsea are doing very well, they have four more points than us, but the league has only just started, a lot of the English media are not optimistic about us because we are a small club, it is difficult for a small club to maintain results in the second half of the league, but I think if we can get off to such a good start, we should try to get better results, keep second in the league, fight for first place in the league, it is definitely going to be done, and in terms of the whole season, we are at least aiming for the top four!'

The flamboyant words are not surprising.

The interview trio of ZY TV all nodded when they listened, they thought it was normal, now ranked second in the league, and the goal for the whole season was to be in the top four, which is already a very modest statement, and it is generally said that the goal is to be the champion.

Ebenezer is different.

In other words, as long as you are a British fan, you will be quite surprised by the statement of the "Premier League Semi", the thinking of the "Premier League Semi" has a far-reaching impact, except for the "Premier League Semi" team, it is difficult for other teams to maintain the good results of the whole season, in the past ten years, there are many teams that have performed very well at the beginning of the season, but before the league is halfway through, they have returned to their 'original appearance', and it is good to have a top ranking at the end of the season.

Currently in the top four of the league?

Ebenezer listened with some excitement and a little bit of disbelief.

Can Millwall really do it?

Then we moved on to the third theme, which is also an inseparable theme: talking about the development of Chinese football.

This topic is very sensitive, but as long as it is interviewed and reported by domestic media, it is impossible to stagger the topic of Chinese football.

When Zhang Yang was preparing, he thought about this problem the most, he didn't have the heart to meddle in domestic football, and the complex problems were not something he could solve, he only talked about it because he was interviewed, so he only talked about two issues, one is the cultivation of youth football, that is, the environment of 'football education', and the other is the system of the domestic league.

"In comparison with the football environment in the United Kingdom, British children receive football education from an early age, and more than five out of ten children will like football, ordinary children will take football-related courses, and some children with excellent performance can easily obtain professional training."

"In terms of youth football training, Europe is all systematic, and the country does not pay attention to this aspect, just like when I was a child, it was difficult to find a stadium, let alone play with a group of people. Occasionally, there will be open stadiums, which will be 'occupied' by adults, and there will be no space for children to play. ”

"Exam-oriented education in China also does not support children to develop hobbies in sports, which are the 'mass' basis for football development."

"In addition, in terms of high-end, the domestic league system is still a little backward, and there is a big gap between the system and the professional leagues in Europe. These are all areas that need to be improved. Football is not a day, two days, one or two stars can drive the development, it is to slowly learn lessons and lessons, step by step to improve, every small step of accumulation, is very important......"

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The interview process of the ZY TV station column group was very smooth, Zhang Yang said a few key points, and the whole process lasted about half an hour.

Zhang Yang felt that the interview process was very relaxed.

Although there are some sensitive issues that cannot be said, he can freely express his views without intrigating with media reporters, which is the advantage of domestic reporters.

Zhang Yang has indeed achieved a certain success, but in Europe, he is not a big man, media reporters interview for news, if there is big news, they will also be happy to report some negative news, just like the media treats people in the entertainment industry, celebrities are always eye-catching, negative news is more attractive, some gossip news attracts attention, more hot than a star out of a TV series, movies, etc.

In European football, Zhang Yang is one of the 'many stars'.

He's just one of them.

China is different.

The backwardness of the development of domestic football has also led to the prominent coaching work of Zhang Yang, and the football sector is about to become a 'national hero' type figure, and the media will hardly report negative news, and all reports will be positive.

This is the correctness of 'politics'.

Even if there are some small flaws in Zhang Yang's personality, life and other aspects, they will be tolerated by domestic fans, and even they will think, "Genius will not be perfect." ”

As long as the coaching career is good, everything is good.

The European media and the domestic media have two attitudes towards publicity, and the difference between them is obvious, and the feeling is completely different.

After the interview, Zhang Yang's mood was much better.

Zhang Yang has not yet reached the stage of indulging in the memories of past achievements, he is still very young, and the future is still very long, with a relaxed mood, he quickly returned to work.

After three days of recuperation, Millwall ushered in a new round of competition.

The opponent is Birmingham.

It was also the last race of November.

Birmingham are not a strong team, and the goal of almost every season will be relegation.

Many media believe that coach Bruce has greater ambitions, he is aiming for the European stage, but the overall strength of Birmingham, it is difficult to play too well, they finished 12th in the league last season, and so far this season they are only 10th in the league, and it will be very difficult to continue to climb up.

Against such an opposition, Millwall, who had just beaten Manchester United, did not take it lightly, and from the first minute, the team played seriously, and finally won 2-1 away from home, but the score also proved that the process was difficult.

Birmingham City were doing well, while Millwall were affected by the last meeting with Manchester United, with the short interval between the two games and some of the main players having to rotate, which also affected the team's performance.

It is worth mentioning in the game that Zhang Yang tried to put Jamie Vardy on for ten minutes.

Jamie Vardy made his Premier League debut, but few expected him to perform, as he also played in the eighth tier last season and is said to have failed to play in that team.

How can such a player perform?

The good news was that Jamie wasn't that bad, he worked well with his team-mates, and in the end Vardy didn't help his team score, but apart from a sudden tackle, he didn't make any mistakes.

Zhang Yang is already very satisfied.

It's like the perception from the outside: can a player who played as a substitute in an eighth-tier team last season expect anything to do in the Premier League?

Not making mistakes is already the best performance!

Zhang Yang can see Vardy's nervousness, this guy's brain circuit is different from ordinary people, and he seems to be a little unorganized in doing things, but in the first appearance in the Premier League, he will still look very nervous, and in a nervous state, it is a good performance if there is no mistake.

When the number of appearances increases, with the experience of playing for the team, and playing in normal form, Vardy may still be able to play well.

Zhang Yang is looking forward to it.

The match between Millwall and Birmingham City has not received much media attention as there is a more important fixture in this round, which is Manchester United's match against Chelsea at Old Trafford.

That's the real focus.

Chelsea, the defending champions, have been in excellent form so far this season, dropping just two points from 13 league games to sit at the top of the league table.

Manchester United, needless to say.

The clash between Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho has been going on since last season, and the clash between the two teams has been more eye-catching than the previous game between Millwall and Manchester United.

A lot of the media are bullish on Chelsea, and although they don't like the 'big-mouthed' Mourinho, Chelsea's results are there, and they have almost swept the Premier League, while Manchester United have been a bit underdog, losing to Middlesbrough three years ago and Millwall in the last round, with a gap of ten points from Chelsea.

That's ten points!

The league has only passed thirteen rounds, and the difference has reached ten, and many media even feel that after the halfway point of the league, Manchester United will not even have a chance to compete for the title.

Ferguson and Manchester United are the underdogs.

This is also considered a 'do-or-die' game, with a loss to Chelsea that would put the difference between the two sides by thirteen, with a double-digit margin making it difficult for United to recover.

But the final result proves that Ferguson is an 'old Jianghu', and the 'old Jianghu' has an instinct that cannot be ignored, that is, the ability to "survive" in difficult situations, if you want to achieve something, you must first live, Ferguson has lived at Manchester United for 19 years, he can survive the harshest winter under Liverpool's rule in the early 80s, and now he will not face a desperate situation.

1 to 0!

Manchester United beat Chelsea.

Ferguson led the team through the trough and played a shocking Jedi counterattack.

Ferguson had a rare smile after the game, expressing his satisfaction with the team's performance, believing that the result would give the players a lot of confidence: "When you play against the champions, it's always a big game, and today was like that, a good game. ”

'I think we were good for an hour and then for a while, until the last five minutes, we were under a lot of pressure because they tried everything they could to equalise and that's what a champion team does.

'There's a huge difference between winning and losing, because it means a huge change in points and it's normal for us to be down points from the leaders when we played badly. But now, we've regained our faith. ”

After that, Ferguson praised the performance of the young players in the team, and then was targeted by the media to ask 'Will the previous consecutive losses make him feel pressure in the managerial position', Ferguson was immediately unhappy, and he also scolded foul language, "Absolutely bullshit, absolutely nonsense!" ”

When reminded by reporters that there were still children watching the interview, Ferguson's expression softened a little, "Do you know that we have won thirteen games in a row? There will always be pressure. ”

Zhang Yang carefully watched the post-game interview video and couldn't help but laugh with relief.

He felt depressed when the British media always seemed to target him, but watching the footage of Ferguson being interviewed, he knew one thing better: the British media was not targeting him, but every manager was targeted.

Ferguson is famous enough, right?

Authoritative enough, right?

Looking at the reporter's question, "Will Manchester United's consecutive defeats make you feel pressure in the managerial position?" ”

What are these words? The reporter barely said: "If Manchester United lose to Chelsea, will the Manchester United board consider sacking you?" Or would you consider voluntarily resigning yourself? ”

This kind of questioning...... It's really refreshing to put it on your opponent!

Zhang Yang felt very relieved.

The next day, Zhang Yang was even more pleased.

November has passed, and with the arrival of December, the FA selection has also been announced, Millwall has won three and lost one of the four league games, although he lost the League Cup halfway, but Zhang Yang was still named the 'best coach of November'.

The title was previously held by Charlton boss Jurry Kubishli and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho respectively.

'Coach of the Month' still has a certain influence, at least it will be a rhetoric in media reports, and it will also become a private conversation among fans, and then the media reports on Zhang Yang have increased a lot.