It is customary for Premier League managers to give an interview to the media before the start of each season, so that the club's fans can have a clearer understanding of the manager's intentions and ideas, and get to know their own manager.

In the past month, Chelsea's press department has accepted hundreds of media outlets from almost all over the UK to book an interview with head coach Ye Qiu, because they all know very well that as the fastest rising and most popular manager in Europe in the past two years, Ye Qiu's first interview in the UK will bring them huge sales.

This is the case in this world, many non-Chelsea fans are scolding this team, scolding Ye Qiu, the manager, saying that they are nouveau riche and market disruptors, but in fact, as long as there is news about them, as long as there is news about them, they will still be crazy to pay attention to and buy.

For Ye Qiu's first interview after taking office, Chelsea also paid attention to it, especially the news department.

In the British football world, the position of the head coach has always been very important, and fans also attach great importance to and pay attention to the head coach, don't look at Chelsea now seems to be full of big names, but in fact, Chelsea fans are most concerned about Ye Qiu, because they are very clear that big-name stars still have to be in the hands of excellent managers to be able to play their strength.

Because of this, Ye Qiu's first interview, the Ministry of Information finally selected and chose The Times.

This is one of the most influential newspapers in the UK, and the newspaper also promised to let their chief football reporter Martin Samuel personally interview Ye Qiu, and gave him the treatment of a football page and a cover advertisement.

Chelsea also contacted Ye Qiu's agent Eliza Moon, transferred the questions to Ye Qiu, and after confirming them, they forwarded them to Martin Samuel, and to Martin Samuel's surprise, all his questions were passed by Ye Qiu, and there was nothing that could not be asked.

To know that this is Ye Qiu's first interview in the UK, and even to a certain extent, this is also the first time that Ye Qiu has directly faced British fans, especially in an authoritative newspaper like The Times, in other words, anyone will choose to avoid some issues, such as personal feelings, beliefs, politics, etc.

But Ye Qiu passed them all, which surprised Martin Samuel, but also curious, this head coach from China, the first impression of all Britons must be his nationality background, does he need to have any scruples?

Thinking of this, Martin Samuel has already figured out how to write the beginning of the interview, that must be to praise Ye Qiu's frank attitude first, no matter what his next visit will be, but his cooperative attitude is undoubtedly very good for Martin Samuel's taste.

The interview took place in the hotel where Ye Qiu was temporarily staying the day after the team's defeat to Reading.

Because he was going to play the third round of the Champions League qualifiers in a week, Ye Qiu gave the team a day off today.

Coming to the café of the Skyline Hotel in advance, Martin Samuel found that Ye Qiu was already waiting here, and his agent was sitting aside, even if he was used to seeing all kinds of beauties, the middle-aged British couldn't help but be amazed by Eliza Moon's stunning beauty.

As early as when he was on the phone, he was already fascinated by her voice, and when he saw me, he stayed for a full three seconds.

Martin Samuel has never been a pure football journalist, and unlike those who only cover football, he is more concerned about football and the surrounding environment, especially about the deteriorating operating environment of football clubs that many people are worried about.

If you only know Martin Samuel through the newspaper, you will definitely think that this guy is very knowledgeable and touchable, and he should belong to the kind of person who meets and talks endlessly, but in fact, he doesn't look like a talker.

It's good to use a pen, but it's often not good to use your mouth.

Seeing Martin Samuel sitting there hesitating and not speaking, Eliza stood up, "Maybe it's my presence that makes our Mr. Martin Samuel a little restrained, I'll leave for a while"

Not to mention, Martin Samuel stood up a little embarrassed to say goodbye to Eliza, looking very gentlemanly.

When Eliza left, Yu Juan, the chief football reporter of The Times, directly took out his notes and thought about the wording, "You know, Mr. Ye Qiu, you are from China, a mysterious country that many British people have heard a lot about, but it is relatively unfamiliar, in the Premier League, there are only a handful of Chinese players and managers." ”

"We really want to know what you from China think about political beliefs?"

If Ye Qiu is not mistaken, this problem was still wanted to be solved by Eliza, but he decided to stay, because he knew very well that the more he avoided it, the more it would give people a feeling of wanting to cover up.

"Some people like to divide socialism or capitalism, but I don't have much impression of these myself, I think that no matter which one it is, as long as it can bring benefits to the people and bring progress to society, it is good."

Martin Samuel nodded his head when he heard this, and he agreed with it.

"But we have to admit that each country has a different culture, history, background, etc., a lot of different factors, so this will definitely create some particularities, as we often say, La Liga's possession style to the Premier League will not work, because the environment is different, and the Premier League's set of La Liga will be finished, and it will still be special."

"A lot of people have some misunderstandings about my country, you know, they think we're authoritarian, in fact I think we're very open, everyone can discuss politics, everyone has their own unique set of understandings, of course, we still have a lot of shortcomings, but we're constantly improving, we're making progress, but a lot of people obviously don't notice that."

"That's why you once said that you never considered renunciating your Chinese nationality?" Martin Samuel asked.

Ye Qiu nodded, "Yes, I will never give up, not only me, but also my children in the future."

"Why did you think this way? Is Europe bad? Martin Samuel asked.

"Europe is very good" Ye Qiu said with a smile, "But, you know, I have been in Europe for many years, but sometimes, I still feel that there is still a big gap between me and here, and I have been subjected to some discrimination, of course, I don't mean that everyone is like this, but I just say that such discrimination is everywhere." ”

"It's also a very serious social problem," Martin Samuel doesn't deny it, "because of this, it makes you miss your hometown and your country more, right?" ”

"Yes, I love my motherland, but I will stay in Europe and continue to work hard, because I want to prove myself, to prove to all the people who discriminated against me at the beginning, I am from China, but I succeeded, this is not to show off, but a kind of resistance from my heart, you say that I am from a weak football country, say I can't, then I have to prove myself to you, I can"

Martin Samuel laughed when he heard this, "In the eyes of many people, you have proven yourself. 'He's talking about the Champions League.

"But there are also a lot of people who think that the Champions League is nothing, and in the eyes of many people, the Eredivisie is not representative."

Ye Qiu's words made Martin Samuel laugh again, "Your words make me feel as if you are living to prove yourself to some people." ”

"No, no, no," Ye Qiu shook his head with a smile, "This is only a part, my real inner thoughts are competition." ”

"Competition?"

"Yes, you know, we live in a world full of competition, people compete with people, teams compete with teams, countries compete with countries, competition everywhere, I think the meaning of football for me is to keep surpassing myself, keep trying, to break through, to surpass my past."

Martin Samuel recorded this sentence very carefully because he felt it was important, "Can you tell us about your football beliefs?" A lot of people are speculating about whether you will become more conservative one day in the future, that is...... When you achieve a certain level, you will inevitably want to protect some of your hard-won things and become conservative. ”

"I don't know, it's hard to say this kind of thing, right?"

After a pause, Ye Qiu smiled again: "I have always felt that the reason why football is great is not only because of the game, but also because it is a team sport, and you can win the game in many different ways, to win everything. ”

"It's like going to the mountain, you can have many roads to the top of the mountain, some roads are relatively flat, some roads are more rugged, depending on your choice, maybe the flat road is easy to walk, relatively fast, but the scenery is average, and some roads are more rugged and difficult, but the scenery along the way can make you linger, depending on how you choose, right?"

Martin Samuel was really reminiscing about Ye Qiu's words, and nodded after the most reluctance, and continued to the next question.

'When you were at Ajax, a lot of fans thought your football was an art, what did you think?'

"I'm a very vulgar person, I've never had any artistic cells, I think it's a difference in the perspective of pursuit, what is art? It may be art in your eyes, but it is garbage in my eyes, and art in my eyes may also be garbage in your eyes, and this is purely a difference in personal pursuit. ”

"In my opinion, offensive football can be an art, defensive football can also be an art, pragmatism can also be an art, as long as you accept it, then he can be your art, but it only represents you as a person, not for others."

"I'm sure there will be a lot of fans who like you who won't agree with that," Martin Samuel replied with a smile, "So, who do you think influenced your football philosophy the most?" Michels? ”

"Yes, Michels' all-out attack, I think it's the greatest creation in the history of football, and Sacchi, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, I think the football of these people has had a big impact on me."

"Cruyff said that Barcelona's failure to bring you to La Liga was their biggest mistake, can you explain why you would turn down the invitation of Barcelona and Real Madrid?" This should also be a concern for many people.

Ye Qiu thought for a while, "It's not what many people think, it has nothing to do with them, it's my problem, what I want to do now is to be able to continue to stick to my football philosophy and continue to go down this path, which requires me to have a certain amount of control over the team, and I need to form a team according to my wishes, so I think the Premier League will be more suitable for me." ”

"What about Chelsea? Have you ever considered staying in this team for a long, long time, like Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger? ”

"Of course, if the team is as it is now," Ye Qiu answered this question very frankly.

Martin Samuel smiled, "A lot of people think that Chelsea have spent more than 100 million euros on transfers this year, which is very impressive, and Chelsea fans also feel that this team should be able to have more ambitions and goals this season, what do you think?" ”

"Absolutely," Ye Qiu replied confidently.

"And what is your goal?"

"All the champions" Ye Qiu said with a smile, "Of course, this is a very bold declaration, you know, no one will say no to champions, and no one will say before the season starts, I don't want to win the championship." ”

'It's hard to say what the Champions League will look like, but a lot of people feel that Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal will be your strongest rivals in the Premier League this season, what do you think of those two opponents?'

"They're all very good but I'm just excited about that because I like to play against strong teams and beat them"

Martin Samuel laughed affirmatively at Ye Qiu's undisguised thoughts, "Many Chelsea fans are not very satisfied with one of your transfers, which is the sale of Hasselbaink and the introduction of Drogba, what do you think?" ”

"You know, every player doesn't play on the pitch alone, you can only win by cooperating with each other, and I think the arrival of Drogba will greatly benefit players including Frank Lampard, Ronaldinho, Davies, Deco and so on, and make the whole team stronger, but Hasselbaink wants to play in all the games, I can't give it a commitment."

'What else is not very satisfying for Chelsea fans is the painful discovery that the team they love has become the ugliest team in the Premier League, what do you think?' Martin Samuel asked with a mischievous laugh.

"The ugliest?" Ye Qiu couldn't react for a while.

Martin Samuel patted his face, "It's about appearance, think about it." ”

Ye Qiu suddenly realized, it turned out that Chelsea had become the ugliest team of Premier League players, and if you think about it seriously, Drogba, Ribery, Ronaldinho, Davies, Makelele ...... Well, it seems to be pretty ugly.

"They say you deliberately brought in a bunch of ugly players just to flatter your own handsomeness."

Ye Qiu laughed when he heard it, he didn't notice this, but now that he was reminded, he realized that his team was really the ugliest team in the Premier League, "I do have this idea"

Martin Samuel was also amused.

"I want to say to all the fans who think we are the ugliest, we may be the ugliest team in the Premier League, but we will play the sexiest and most glamorous football in the Premier League," Ye Qiu said confidently.

"Can you tell us about your family and your hobbies?" Martin Samuel changed the subject again.

"Of course, I just got married, and everyone knows about it," Ye Qiu said with a smile, "I've recently become obsessed with swimming." ”

"Swimming?" Martin Samuel laughed, "Are you good swimming?" ”

"It was bad because I could only doggy, which was breaststroke, and I found that I was swimming very slowly, very slowly."

"Is that a weakness?"

"Of course, of course, I'm an ordinary person with a lot of weaknesses and shortcomings, and sometimes I even think that if my wife doesn't take care of my life, and my agent doesn't help me with my work, I'll go crazy"

Martin Samuel suddenly also laughed with Ye Qiu, "Many men are like this, but some people don't want to say it." ”

"Is that comforting me?" Ye Qiu's words suddenly made both of them laugh in unison.

After laughing, Samuel looked at the time and smiled, "The last question is, how confident are you that Chelsea will reach your goals this year?" ”

Ye Qiu didn't hesitate much, "One hundred percent"

"Huh?" Martin Samuel was a little surprised.

"Hmm" Ye Qiu was very sure and confident.

Turning off the recorder and putting away the notes, Martin Samuel stood up with a smile and held out his hand, "Thank you very much for accepting our interview, it was a very pleasant experience, and I am very grateful for your confession"

"Xie Lu Xie" Ye Qiu smiled and shook hands with Martin Samuel.

After a few polite words, Ye Qiu sent Martin Samuel away, he thought this was a very interesting person, maybe his eloquence was not very good, but he did not give people the image of a paparazzi that is unique to British journalists, and his problems were often in moderation, without any sensationalism.

"You know, generally speaking, he only interviews famous coaches like Arsene Wenger of Arsenal and Alex Ferguson of Manchester United" Eliza walked back to the café, right next to Ye Qiu, where she was sitting just now, sat down and drank her cup of coffee that had cooled.

"Are you complimenting me?" Ye Qiu asked with a smile.

Eliza nodded, "Sort of" As she spoke, she handed a document into Ye Qiu's hands, "Mingshuai, I should have watched all the videos I gave you last time, pick a few"

Last time, Eliza took a lot of game videos of Brazilian players to Ye Qiu, hoping that Ye Qiu would help her select a few suitable players and send them to Ajax, on the one hand, to accumulate game experience, and on the other hand, to increase the value in her hands.

In Europe, there are quite a few players who are not in the hands of the clubs, even in the big four leagues.

For example, Everton's Wayne Rooney, part of the ownership has been mortgaged to the bank, and there are other players, some in the hands of agents, some in the hands of some investment companies, which is very complicated.

Ajax sold Lucio to Bayern Munich this summer and Kivo to Roma, although both transfers brought Ajax a lot of transfer income, but the recruitment of the central defender position has not yet been finalized, and Kolo Toure, who was originally expected by Van Basten, is likely to join Arsenal, so they need to bring in a central defender.

And with the departure of McConn, Lucio and Kivo, Ajax's backline is also in short supply, and Abidal may also have to transfer, because Ajax still focuses on keeping core homegrown players such as Robben, Van der Vaart and Sneijder, so it is necessary to add to the backline.

Ye Qiu finally put a tick on the names of the two players, and then handed it back to Eliza, "If these two people are carved well, they will become the number one star in Europe in the future." ”

When Eliza heard him say this, she became interested, and when she opened the folder, she saw the names of the two people that Ye Qiu had hooked.

Marcelo and Thiago Silva