Chapter 58

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Matteazzi returned to the locker room without angrily smashing things. Instead, he took off his jersey and sat motionless on the stool in front of his locker.

Assistant coach Jason pushed open the door of the locker room. Seeing Matteazzi in this state, he felt relieved.

Sitting down beside him, Jason hadn’t even opened his mouth when Matteazzi, in a frustrated whisper, said, “I’ve disappointed the boss, haven’t I?”

Jason laughed easily, “I don’t think so. We’re not saints; everyone makes mistakes. Marco, you’re a defender. On the football field, defenders and attackers are held to different standards. Attackers can fail over and over again in 90 minutes, but if they succeed once, they might become heroes. Defenders, on the other hand, can succeed over and over again in 90 minutes, but if they make one mistake, they might become villains. You don’t need to blame yourself. Defenders do the dirty, tiring, and heavy work, and sometimes, the impossible.”

Matteazzi felt much better, feeling that Jason’s words were like a heavenly melody from a kindred spirit. He shook his head fiercely, “That bastard went too far. I was blinded by anger at the time, and I don’t know if I’ll make the same mistake again.”

Being fingered in such a way, any man with a bit of pride would find it hard to bear. If it weren’t on the football field, a slap would be considered light!

Jason nodded, putting himself in Matteazzi’s shoes. If he were Matteazzi, he might have made the same mistake. However, he still said earnestly, “Marco, I haven’t experienced such a thing, so it’s hard for me to tell you how to think in that situation. I can only talk about the consequences. Suppose today’s match was a decisive league championship game, an English League Cup, an FA Cup final, or even a Champions League final, or a European Championship or World Cup final for Italy. If you were sent off after just two minutes, regardless of the impact on your teammates and coach, would you regret that action for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years? And half the fans in the world would say Robbie Gates is despicable and dirty, while the other half would say Matteazzi is a stupid donkey who can be easily provoked.”

Matteazzi turned his head to look at Jason with a serious face, his deep eyes gleaming with a cunning light.

Bad boys are everywhere on the football field, and notorious thugs and butchers will never disappear from the scene.

Robbie Gates was unknown, but on the field, he was a detested forward. People were used to seeing defenders who constantly harassed forwards with small actions, and such annoying behavior usually earned these players the nickname “doctor,” as if their harassment was like a doctor examining a patient.

However, today, it was Swindon’s forward harassing Millwall’s defender, and he successfully provoked his opponent.

With one man down, Craig sat next to Aldridge and suggested, “Should we get Thuram to warm up?”

Thuram could play as a full-back or a center-back. Aldridge had him on the bench today, effectively using him as two players.

But Aldridge smiled and shook his head, “No need.”

The situation on the field wasn’t one-sided. Swindon, fighting for survival, had no choice. With a numerical advantage, they didn’t have the patience to play a positional game. They used the simplest and most brutal way to attack, stacking their forward line.

Seeing the opponents rush towards Millwall’s half, Aldridge turned to Craig and said, “Swindon thinks they’re wolves and can easily eat Millwall. They’re wrong. They’re more like a panicked flock of sheep. We’re down a man, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re at a disadvantage.”

Because they were down a man, Millwall’s tactical execution would be higher, and the team’s actions on both offense and defense would be more consistent. This way, they would play more resolutely, a situation not uncommon in football. Many teams have played more efficiently with one man down.

When Swindon’s cross in front of the penalty area was intercepted by Gattuso, their defense immediately sounded the alarm.

Gattuso passed the ball to Vieira, who kicked it with a long diagonal pass into the opponent’s half. Glenoar, starting from the halfway line, used his speed to leave Swindon’s entire defense behind.

Seeing this, the Lion’s Den erupted in cheers.

Aldridge turned confidently and smiled, “Look, the slaughter of the sheep by the lions has begun!”

Glenoar, Phillips, and Solskjaer, three arrows, were launched. Swindon’s defense hadn’t even reached the penalty area line when they were shocked to find their entire line chasing Millwall’s three forwards!

This bizarre scene on the field made the TV commentator exclaim, “Swindon’s defenders are too slow. Millwall’s simple counter-attack has turned into a sprint by three track athletes. Swindon’s goalkeeper is pitiful; he doesn’t know what to do, whether to leave the goal or stay. Oh, he’s leaving the goal. Glenoar predictably passed the ball to the right, and Phillips easily scored an empty net. Millwall, down a man, is leading in the score. Perhaps, as the newspapers say, Aldridge, this young and magical coach, actually went to the track field last year and brought sprinters to play football...”

After Phillips scored, he celebrated with the fans and his teammates. Aldridge, watching from the sidelines, just smiled in his seat.

With Millwall’s success this season, his tactical system has become a focal point in England.

One of its prominent features is the speed of the counter-attacks, so fast that it’s often compared to a sprint by the commentators.

Because Beckham left before the plan, Aldridge officially adopted the 4-3-3 formation when using the second team. The roles of Glenoar and Solskjaer as wingers have also attracted widespread attention.

In the past, the two wingers were mainly used to enrich the wing attacks, provide support to the forwards, and play a defensive role. However, Aldridge’s three forwards, with the two wingers, are revolutionizing the traditional roles of wingers and wing midfielders. In this tactical system, Aldridge’s two wingers combine the roles of wing midfielders and modern wingers who cut inside, making them more versatile and forming the first line of defense in defense.

But whether such a style can withstand the test of the Premier League is one of the reasons for the outside world’s anticipation of Millwall next season.

Swindon’s coach had a grim face, anxiously urging the players to step up their efforts on the sidelines.

Aldridge, however, remained calm. The opponent’s blind and frenzied attack was fruitless. Even with a numerical advantage, it only made them overconfident, playing a chaotic and disorganized game, which was naive to think they could bring down Millwall.

Last season, Swindon disastrously conceded 100 goals in the Premier League. This season, their defense hasn’t improved, averaging about 1.1 goals per game but conceding nearly 80 goals in 45 league matches. A team like this thinking they could win at the Lion’s Den with just a brute-force attack? It was a pipe dream.

With the first goal, Millwall’s counter-attacks became even smoother, while Swindon was thoroughly crushed in this match.

In the 30th minute, another counter-attack saw Solskjaer take the ball to the baseline and pass it back to the center, where Ballack scored from a distance, making it 2-0 for Millwall.

Just before halftime, Solskjaer dribbled past the opponent’s defender outside the penalty area and delicately sent the ball into the near post.

With a three-goal lead, at the start of the second half, Millwall launched a lightning attack that sent Swindon into the depths of relegation.

Vieira, unexpectedly, initiated the attack and advanced to the penalty area, easily receiving a pass from Phillips and scoring, expanding the score to 4-0 for Millwall.

The Lion’s Den turned into a sea of joy.

The game was no longer in doubt. Millwall would certainly end the season in the Third Division with a perfect finale. But what no one expected was that the game would still have more dramatic moments!

After a mistake in an attacking combination, two of Swindon’s forwards had an internal conflict, with Robbie Gates once again playing the lead role!

The two teammates went from verbal abuse to a heated argument, and then they started fighting on the field!

Richards, the closest to the incident, rushed over to pull the two apart, trying to separate them.

This scene made the fans in the stands join in the commotion!

Many even laughed until tears streamed down their faces!

“My God! What is Swindon doing? They were relegated from the Premier League last year, and now they’re being relegated from the Third Division. Now their players are fighting on the field, and it’s between teammates! The most absurd part is that Millwall’s Richards is actually breaking up the fight! This is the most shocking scene of the Third Division this season, and the match is truly full of drama!”

Due to this conflict, the game was paused for nearly ten minutes. It took the combined efforts of both teams to finally separate the two players. After they calmed down, the referee showed them both red cards, sending them off. The match was now 10 men vs. 9 men, with the score at 4-0.

In the remaining time, Swindon had no heart to fight, but Millwall’s young players were still not satisfied. In an 8-minute stoppage time, and with the referee whistling early, the scoreboard at the Lion’s Den showed a bloody score: 8-0.

“Congratulations to Millwall. This promising young team will be playing in the Premier League next year. Will they replicate Nottingham Forest’s trajectory? It might be difficult, but it gives us a glimmer of hope.”

After the match, Aldridge became the focus. As he walked back to the players’ tunnel, several TV cameras followed him. He smiled and tapped the camera, confidently saying to the lens, “Hey, Premier League, Millwall is here!”

PS: Thanks to “Tuo Tuoxie Hey” for the tip!

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