The England players soon found out what their manager had said at the press conference, even though the fastest news media had not yet reported the contents of the press conference.
Because Gerrard told his roommate, Rooney, what the boss said. Although one of them was a Liverpool player and the other was a Manchester United player, and Rooney was once a player of Liverpool's city rival, Everton, it would not affect the friendship between the players.
Rooney was shocked by the boss's attitude. Unable to figure it out, he also told another teammate, Chelsea's John Terry.
Soon, the news spread and the Nottingham Forest players naturally knew about it. But no one could understand why the boss said that. There were two ways they could not understand. The Nottingham Forest players were more familiar with Tang En. They felt there must be a reason for such an obvious abnormality, but they did not know what the reason was.
On the other hand, the players who were not from Nottingham Forest were indignant that they had been looked down upon by the boss. No matter what, we fought our way to the top eight. Why does he think so highly of the French team and have so little confidence in us?
These people felt the manager's contempt. Of course, they could not directly get angry at Tang En, but they had their own ways to prove the boss wrong. That was to beat France in the game and let the boss see who was more likely to win the championship!
The England players who had a bellyful of anger were working hard in training. Tang En saw it and snickered in his heart.
The assistant manager, Kerslake, was perhaps the only person who knew what Tang En was planning. He was a little worried. "Aren't you afraid of losing your prestige in the locker room? Or make them lose their fighting spirit? "
"This group of people are proud. Such a little blow will not make them lose their fighting spirit. As for my prestige? After they defeat the French team, my position in the locker room will only be higher, "Tang En said with certainty. "This is a provocation. Besides, I said that to make the French team numb. The French are very arrogant, and I like arrogant French. "
※ ※ ※
Tang En was right. The French were indeed arrogant. Twain's compliments quickly appeared in the major French media outlets. They spared no effort in reposting Twain's words. The readers felt great when they saw it — the British also knew how to say good things about us, and it was the most unruly Tony Twain! It looks like our football has really conquered the other side of the strait!
However, what Tang En was most concerned about was not what the French fans thought, but what the French players thought.
Benzema's reaction did not disappoint him. The somewhat arrogant striker welcomed Tony Twain's words. "… I'm very grateful for Tony Twain's praise. I also think we deserve such praise … What could be better than the praise of an opponent? "
Ben Alpha didn't get along with Benzema, but he agreed with Benzema's opinion. Being praised by his opponent made him feel very good.
The other French players and they all had the same idea. They did not think about whether there was any deeper meaning behind the other manager's actions, because their recent performances were really good and they would not be surprised even if they received any kind of praise.
Tang En's words at the press conference filled the French people with confidence in the team's future. Optimism rippled in everyone's hearts. There were even media outlets that printed such a headline: Although we are very grateful to you, Tony, we will be the ones going to Bernabéu in the end!
Only Ribéry felt that something was wrong. The Tony Twain he knew would never praise an opponent for no reason, even if it was a team that was really worthy of praise. Once he opened his mouth to say good things about someone, it would mean that the other party would be out of luck …
Therefore, he continued to do things in the newspapers to "diminish our own prestige and boost the morale of others." He reminded the French team to be careful of England and Tony Twain. However, no one listened to him.
The French team's manager, Claude Puel, was originally also worried whether this was a plot by Tony Twain, but he paid attention to the English media for the past two days. He found that it was almost one-sided in the media that was scolding Tang En. It was almost to the point of directly cursing Tang En's eight generations of ancestors.
Puel felt that it was impossible for Tang En to purposely let people scold him. Praising the French team must be his sincere words. However, that unruly person did not care about the media scolding him. Moreover, going against the English media was also one of Tang En's hobbies.
Moreover, according to some of the more informed English media outlets, within the English team, there were also many players who were unhappy with Tang En's inattention. They felt that they were being belittled by the manager and that Tony Twain's position in the locker room was being challenged.
If this was done deliberately by Tang En, then the price was too high, right? If he overreached himself and lost the trust of the players, no matter what tricks he had, he would not be able to use them. Anyone with a normal IQ would not risk angering his own players.
Through such an analysis, he came to the conclusion that there was no conspiracy in England. It looked like the new tactics that he brought to the French team had indeed been recognized by the world. Now, the French national team can stand up and accept any praise without feeling ashamed of it.
※ ※ ※
"Claude Puel is a very creative manager, but his experience in coaching the national team is similar to mine. In terms of results, his coaching career at the club is also not considered successful. Before he went to Lyon, Lyon had always been the overlord of Ligue 1. When he became the Lyon manager in 2009, Lyon had nothing to do with the French Ligue 1 championship. Although the team he coached played pretty well and could get a lot of praise from the media, what's the use of just playing well? "
In the coaching staff meeting, Tang En was analyzing the French team's manager for everyone.
"In 1999, he made his debut in Monaco and became the manager. A year and a half later, he became a scout. Another year later, he went to Lille and became the manager. He worked there for seven years and officially became the manager of Lyon in the summer of 2009. After the 2014 World Cup, he replaced Deschamps as the manager of the French national team. The French team's performance in the qualifiers was very good. But this Mr. Puel has not won any championships since he took charge of Lyon. "
Tang En's tone was full of disdain. It was no longer the kind of tone that expressed admiration for Puel at the press conference.
"I think Mr. Puel lacks the heart of a champion. It's been so long that he has forgotten how to win the championship. And the French team's path from the qualifiers until now has been too smooth. It's like a flower in a greenhouse. Such a team will be at a loss when they encounter a little trouble. Puel also lacks the experience to deal with this kind of trouble in an international competition. This is something that we must grasp and make use of. "
"Now the team's morale is very good and their fighting spirit is very strong. This will surprise the French. Once they fall into chaos, it will be our chance to win the game. "Tang En clenched his fist and waved it.
"In the game, we must be more aggressive! But I'm not worried about this … "Tang En wanted to laugh when he thought of the players' angry eyes when they looked at him during training. "We can't be afraid of fouls. Against a team like France, the rougher our actions are, the worse their performance will be. Against artistic football? I have plenty of experience. "Tang En laughed.
The coaches who were long familiar with him also laughed. When he was coaching at Nottingham Forest, his team was always placed on the opposite side of artistic football. Whether it was Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Arsenal, he had won more than once. Meeting France in the quarterfinals was simply a heaven-sent opportunity.
If they were to meet Italy, Tang En might seriously consider the chances of them advancing to the semifinals.
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The day before the game, when Tang En was interviewed by the reporters, he once again praised the football played by the French team as "advanced football, beautiful football." At the same time, he also praised the manager, Claude Puel, who had brought such a change to the French team, saying that he had brought a breath of fresh air to the world of football and that he himself had become a fan of Puel. His words, of course, once again made the British reporters very unhappy and made the French feel as if they were on cloud nine.
In the tactical meeting with the players in the evening, Tang En could still feel the players' unfriendly gazes. In their hearts, he must have been equated with a "traitor."
But he still wanted to add fuel to the fire.
"Tomorrow, we will face a very, very strong opponent." After he said this, he deliberately paused. The conference room was silent. But Tang En knew that these people must be booing him in their hearts.
"They will appear in front of us with a complete victory record. The football they play will be liked by the fans and will also bring victory. Although this is a game that concerns whether we can enter the semifinals, I don't want to give you too much pressure. "
Tang En said it so seriously that no one could guess whether he was joking or not.
"I wish everyone good luck. We do need some luck to play against a team like the French team …"
Tang En did not continue to say the words that made the players very unhappy. He knew that going too far was as bad as not going far enough. Blindly talking about how strong the French team was might really wear down the team's morale.
He no longer lingered on the topic of how strong the French team was. Tang En began to explain to the players the tactics to be used in tomorrow's game. In fact, England's tactics were very simple. There was no difference from before. Tang En only emphasized that they had to be bolder and more open when they defended.
The players' minds were not on it. There was an evil fire in their hearts. They could not wait to go to the game immediately and kick the arrogant French on the field until they wet their pants and kneel on the ground to beg for mercy!
After the tactical meeting ended, the players left the conference room one after another. Only George Wood was kept by Tang En.
"You don't seem to be angry because I looked down on you, George." Tang En casually sat at the conference table and looked at Wood opposite him.
"I know what you want to do," Wood said.
"Ha!" Tang En laughed. "I kept you here to tell you not to tell them about this. Now it looks like I was worried for nothing. "
Wood stood up. Since it was just this matter, then there was no need to waste time. He was going back to the room to rest. Before he left, he asked Tang En at the door, "For tomorrow's game, can we win?"
Tang En shrugged and said, "Of course. We're going to win! "
Wood did not ask anything else and opened the door to walk out.
Tang En stayed alone in the empty conference room for a while. Then he got up and left.
※ ※ ※
Almost at the same time. In the French team's tactical meeting. Puel was asking his players to use the previous team's tactics for tomorrow's game.
The French team's tactical arrangement was very simple. There was no nervousness about the big game on the players' faces. Everyone had smiles on their faces. There were even people chatting secretly, doing things that had nothing to do with the tactical meeting.
Of course, Puel saw all of this, but he did not think it was a bad thing. Before the quarterfinals against England, his players could still remain calm, and he was proud of that. He was more and more confident for tomorrow's game.
"As long as we maintain our form and performance in the previous games, it will not be a big problem to win against England." After talking about the tactics, Puel added. "You must know that our goal is to be the champions!"
※ ※ ※
That night. The England players went to sleep with anticipation for tomorrow night's game and anger towards the French and the boss. The French players, on the other hand, went to sleep in a relaxed mood to welcome the next day's game.
Tang En, who praised and complimented the French team, stayed up until 3: 30 in the morning. He watched all of the French team's games again in his room, comparing them with his own notes, checking for any omissions and looking for new weaknesses for the French team.
In fact, with his current body, he could not stay up so late. But Shania was not by his side, and no one could control him. For the European Championship, he also gave it his all.
Tang En did not know if he could do it for another four years until the next UEFA European Championship came. But he did not let go of the opportunity in front of him to think about what kind of habits he would have four years later.
Football was a sport full of luck. No one could say that his luck would be better next time. It was foolish to pin his hopes on the next four years. He firmly believed that George Wood would be able to play at his highest level in the final. For this, he must work hard to provide such a stage for Wood.
In addition, as a club manager, he had obtained all the club honors that could be obtained. But in the national team, it was a blank. He did not pursue the worthless Olympic gold medal. As a national team manager, there was only the UEFA European Championship and the World Cup.
Since the current England team was the strongest and in the best condition, there was no need to set the goal of being the runner-up.
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