Chapter 388: Weak Team Spokesperson

"Not simple? What's not simple?"

Yang Huan asked back with a smile.

But his eyes did not fall on Platini, but were focused on the silver championship trophy in front of him.

Europa League trophy!

This trophy was just presented to Porto by the captain of the last Europa League champion, Elton, on behalf of Porto. He delivered the Europa League trophy to the exhibition hall of the National Stadium and held a handover ceremony.

This is also a routine before every European final.

Because this trophy will appear at the game tomorrow night!

The trophy is called the Bertoni Cup, weighs 15 kilograms, has a silver body and a yellow marble base, and is the predecessor of the UEFA Cup.

Compared with the Champions League, the Europa League is not as important as it used to be.

But for some teams that cannot participate in the Champions League, the Europa League is undoubtedly their main battlefield for becoming famous.

The trophy was exposed and placed in front of Yang Huan, making people want to reach out and touch it.

But Yang Huan resisted this tempting thought.

Legend has it that there is a curse in European football that the two teams participating in the European Cup final are not allowed to touch the championship trophy before the game.

Whoever touches it will die!

So whether it is the Europa League, the previous UEFA Cup, or the current European Super Cup and Champions League final, players will not touch the championship trophy before the game, as it is considered unlucky.

It has even now extended to some domestic cup competitions, such as the League Cup, FA Cup, Community Shield, etc.

This is a bit similar to the curse that women are not allowed to enter the locker room, but it is not as well known.

Platini noticed Yang Huan's expression, walked back, and said with a chuckle: "Very charming, right?"

"Yes!" Yang Huan was honest and straightforward, "But after tomorrow night, it will belong to Southampton!"

In the Saints' more than 100-year football history, they have never won even a single European championship trophy.

If we win this one tomorrow night, it will create a new record in Southampton's football history.

This is why Saints fans are so crazy!

Platini chuckled. He had heard that this young master Huan was very sharp and aggressive, even a little scary!

"It's a pity that the Europa League isn't important enough!"

Yang Huan also smiled faintly, "This is easy. If you announce that from now on, the champion and runner-up of the Europa League will directly enter the Champions League group stage, I guarantee that this cup competition will immediately become very popular!"

Today's Europa League and the Champions League seem to be superior and inferior, but in fact they are very unequal.

The eight teams that finished third in the Champions League group stage will directly enter the Europa League knockout stage after the group stage.

But teams from the Europa League have no way to advance to the Champions League, which is unequal in itself!

There is only one way to participate in the Champions League, and that is league ranking.

But a phenomenon occurs.

That is the fifth-ranked team in the Premier League. They are obviously stronger than some teams from Portugal, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Turkey and other countries. However, due to quota restrictions, they cannot participate in the Champions League, while weaker teams can.

This is certainly UEFA's consideration of the principle of fair distribution of benefits, but there are indeed some unreasonable aspects.

At the very least, resources are not fully utilized.

If the promotion channel between the Europa League and the Champions League can be opened up, the Europa League will not be as useless as it is now.

Just imagine, if the Europa League can get two or even four qualifying places for the Champions League group stage, then the strong teams in strong leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will definitely try their best.

By that time, the competition in the Europa League will be fierce, the fans' attention will be high, and the commercial value will be reflected.

Platini nodded and smiled approvingly, "What you think is pretty much the same as what we think."

But soon, there was another sigh.

“But reform is not that easy!”

These words were said with great sadness and a bit of helplessness.

We know it is a good thing, but it is difficult to promote it. What can we do?

I'm afraid the problem lies with the weak countries.

After all, the Champions League quota from the Europa League is meaningless to them because they have no way to compete for it.

These places were originally reserved for strong teams and have nothing to do with them.

But once the Europa League obtains a place in the Champions League group stage, it will inevitably reduce the number of places in the Champions League qualifiers.

The teams participating in the Champions League qualifiers are all from countries with weak football skills.

And in Europe, among the 54 member states, weak teams are the absolute majority!

In a nutshell, it’s not easy to be the head of this family!

Yang Huan smiled faintly. Whether the Europa League is reformed or not will indeed have some impact on Southampton, but not big.

The Saints' goal for the new season is to be in the top four, and their long-term goal is also to be in the top four.

It is Yang Huan’s long-cherished wish to build Southampton into a top team in England.

Therefore, he would like to see the reform of the Europa League, but he is not in a hurry.

Relatively speaking, he would rather see changes in football rules.

"I think the rules of football should be changed appropriately!"

After hearing this, Platini immediately laughed and pointed to the sofa in the corner of the exhibition hall with interest.

"Come on, let's go sit over there!"

Yang Huan also smiled and walked over.

He was invited to attend the championship trophy handover ceremony, but unexpectedly, after the ceremony, Platini took the initiative to come to him and asked a lot of questions about Southampton.

It can be seen that he has a strong interest in what Yang Huan is doing in Southampton.

Yang Huan also happened to have a plan that he had been planning for a long time and wanted to have a good talk with Platini.

As a result, both sides had a very pleasant conversation.

"You know, we have a research department that specializes in studying and analyzing the players' bodies. We found that over the past few years, the players' physical fitness has not improved as fast as the intensity of football games."

In short, as many media have said, the players are under too much pressure and burden.

Improving the physical fitness of players is a very large systematic project. It is definitely not a problem that can be solved by a football club, or even in the football field. It requires the participation of the whole society.

In other words, if we want to improve the physical fitness of professional players, we have to improve the average physical fitness of humans.

For example, the average running distance of professional players in a game is about 120,000 to 130,000 meters.

This is the limit!

If you want to improve further, yes, there is a way!

Putting aside the physical factors of the players, better training, better diet...

All of these things can be done, but the areas involved are staggering!

That is no longer a matter for the players, it is a matter for all mankind.

On the one hand, the rapid development of football tactics has led to the increasing intensity of football matches, especially for teams like Dortmund and Atletico Madrid that rely on players' pressing and covering to make up for their technical deficiencies. The intensity of football matches is astonishingly high.

But on the other hand, the players' physical fitness is improving very slowly.

This contradiction is not unsolvable!

On the one hand, it is to play more controlled football through high-level players.

It's like Barcelona's ball control, you run and I pass, and I consume less physical energy than you. You can only last for seventy minutes, but I can play for the full ninety minutes. This is my advantage.

But what Yang Huan wanted to say was something else.

"You mean, increase the number of substitutions in the game?" Platini frowned.

This proposal is not new and has been proposed before.

This proposal is brought up almost every time a professional player has an accident during a game.

"I think it's worth a try!" Yang Huan nodded.

"Of course, I insist on one thing, all substitutions must be made without affecting the flow of the game."

Football is played in real time, and substitutions cannot interrupt the game. This is the bottom line.

"But many people think that increasing the number of substitutions will make strong teams stronger and weak teams weaker!"

Platini expressed a concern.

After hearing this, Yang Huan shook his head and laughed, "This is simply impossible!"

"Who says it's impossible?"

An angry voice came from not far away.

The voice startled Yang Huan and Platini. They looked up and found that it was Qin Yongming and Qian Duoduo.

They represent Atletico Madrid.

At this time, the two of them were standing in front of the Europa League trophy, reaching out to touch the silver trophy, seemingly not caring about the so-called curse at all.

Or maybe they don't even know that there is such a thing as a spell.

The one who spoke was Qian Duoduo.

"Mr. Platini!" The two men came over and greeted Platini first.

Platini immediately stood up and shook hands with them, "Hello, both of you!"

After shaking hands, Qian Duoduo immediately looked at Yang Huan with ill intentions.

"Just now you said that we should increase the number of substitutions, right?"

"Yes!" Yang Huan was not afraid to admit it.

"Then have you ever thought about whether the depth of the bench of a top team is the same as that of a non-top team?"

After a pause, he felt like he hadn't finished yet.

"In teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​even the substitutes are all top-notch players. But how can the strength of the substitutes in a team like Atletico Madrid compare with that of the top teams?"

"In this case, if we increase the number of substitutions, won't that widen the gap in strength between the two teams? At that time, how can we compete with the top teams? Is this fair to a weak team like us?"

Qian Duoduo's angry and angry criticism really made him seem like the spokesperson for the weak team!

Yang Huan didn't realize that Qian Duoduo was actually a football fan and had some knowledge about football.

But obviously I didn't understand the key issue!

After listening to Qian Duoduo's words, Platini nodded at first, but after thinking about it, something seemed wrong.

Yang Huan even burst out laughing on the spot.

"Your way of comparison is to turn football into a simple one plus one game. If we follow your way of thinking, then there is no need for football competitions at all, because the players of the top teams are definitely stronger than those of the non-top teams. So what is there to compete for?"

Qian Duoduo didn't quite understand, "We are talking about the substitution rules now!"

"Yes, I just want you to understand that the outcome of a football match does not only depend on the strength of the team, but also on tactics!"

Platini nodded continuously.

Anyone who truly understands football knows that in the modern football environment, tactics determine how much strength a team can exert.

"There are no two players in this world who are exactly the same. Substitution itself is changing the existing tactics. Increasing substitutions is equivalent to improving the effectiveness of tactics. If a weak team wants to defeat a strong team, it must rely on tactics!"

"Without relying on tactics, a weak team will never be able to beat a strong team!"

With a lineup like that of Dortmund and Atletico Madrid, how could they possibly beat Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid?

But why can these two teams hold their own in this strong dialogue?

Even, can Dortmund surpass Bayern Munich?

Isn't it because of tactics?

If Klopp didn't have this set of tactics, based solely on the players' strength and on-the-spot performance, could Dortmund beat Bayern Munich?

Yang Huan didn't give Qian Duoduo a chance to refute.

In fact, the latter cannot be refuted.

He is just an ordinary fan with limited knowledge of football.

Yang Huan has been in the core circle of football for at least two years, and he often has free time and discusses with veteran fans and professionals such as Marcus du Satoy and Howard Wilkinson, and he obviously has more valuable information in his mind.

"Let me give you the simplest example, Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid!"

"It's not that I look down on you Atletico Madrid. In terms of player strength, you will never be able to beat Barcelona in your lifetime. When you are in good physical condition, Barcelona's ball control can make you run away like dogs. Do you know what Barcelona's regular training program is? Running away like a monkey!"

"You are the ones who are running away!"

Qin Yongming and Qian Duoduo were immediately furious when Yang Huan pointed at them and ridiculed them in person.

But they couldn't refute it!

"But in many matches, why were you able to play on equal terms with Barcelona?"

"One reason is that under the tactical effect of high-intensity pressing and oppression, you can fight, run and grab, which can limit Barcelona!"

"But there is a knot that you have not been able to solve even now. Do you know what it is?"

Yang Huan asked back with a sneer.

Yang Huan would not be polite to this funny guy who took the initiative to put his face close to him and slap him! --16841+d6su9h+10737220--