The Sideline Intervention

The national team had a day off, and the players adhered to the rules set by Aldrich. No one dared to show up at places like nightclubs; they all returned home and rested as instructed.

Once back at the Leo Training Base to begin preparations for the World Cup qualifiers, the team's energy was noticeably different—there was a sense of drive, and everyone was mentally sharp.

Although the big win against Spain in the friendly match didn't achieve Aldrich's goal of testing the team's limits, the positive effects of the result were immediate.

Training with the national team was relatively light, with a focus on maintaining fitness rather than intensive development. Unlike at club level, Aldrich knew that while there was room for improvement in his players, the national team's training sessions weren't the place for targeted individual work. Take Carragher, for example—Aldrich wanted him to transition into a central defender earlier, but that was a task for Liverpool's coaching staff, not the national team. With so little training time throughout the year, there wasn't enough of a setup to make those kinds of changes.

After one training session, Aldrich kept Beckham and Seaman behind.

The two players were confused but obediently stood before Aldrich, waiting for instructions.

"David, how many free kicks can you take in one minute?"

Beckham thought for a moment and answered, "Five or six."

Aldrich nodded and said, "From now on, after every training session with the national team, you'll practice free kicks for 15 minutes. Any issues with that?"

Beckham agreed, though he felt a little puzzled.

Practicing free kicks wasn't new to him. He had done it often at the club, and it was through relentless training that he had perfected his signature Beckham curve.

Seaman naturally positioned himself in goal, thinking he was just a practice partner. At his age, improving further seemed impossible.

Aldrich set the distance for Beckham's free kick practice—about 35 to 40 yards—and had Boas help by setting up the ball from different angles for shooting.

Just as Beckham was preparing to take his first free kick, Aldrich stopped him, and Seaman was already positioned in goal.

"Coach, anything else you want to say?" Beckham asked, confused by the sudden individual training at the national team level.

Aldrich calmly responded, "There's one thing you need to remember. Before you take a free kick, first observe the goalkeeper's positioning. If he's standing too far forward, just aim for the chip shot. Don't worry about anything else, even if a better angle is available. If his positioning is right, then you're free to take your shot as usual."

Beckham was still puzzled and asked, "Coach, is there a deeper meaning to this?"

Aldrich smiled mysteriously and replied, "It's about being prepared for any situation."

Beckham shrugged, not too interested in digging deeper, and just focused on the practice.

Aldrich watched the "special training" from the sidelines.

Seaman faced around 60 or 70 direct free kicks, with Beckham successfully chipping the ball into the net once when Seaman was slightly out of position. The rest went wide.

Aldrich didn't expect to change a player's habits with just a few words. Long-term training was the most reliable method.

As for Seaman, his career had already been marked by the infamous moment in the 2002 World Cup when he was embarrassed by Ronaldinho's stunning chip shot, which also turned Seaman into a scapegoat for the England team.

Whether Aldrich could correct Seaman's tendency to stand too far forward for long-distance free kicks remained to be seen. After all, this weakness had already been exploited by opponents in the Premier League.

Aldrich hoped that Beckham's deliberate chip shots would continue to make Seaman aware of his flaw and learn from it in the future.

A few days later, the Albanian national team arrived in England.

As usual, Aldrich attended the press conference. In less than a week, his treatment had changed drastically, and the atmosphere was notably more harmonious.

Aldrich had always been straightforward, and today his blunt remarks led Fleet Street to believe that the young coach was about to make a high-profile statement.

"Our goal for tomorrow's match is simple: victory. Any other result is unacceptable."

Exactly! This is the kind of leadership expected from the captain of the Three Lions!

Anything less than a win is utter rubbish!

Aldrich's words were both honest and obvious.

If England can't win at home against the weakest team in their group, what's the point of the World Cup? Oh wait, can they even make it to the World Cup?

It was his debut—yes, Aldrich was having his debut, the national team's home debut.

Although the current group situation wasn't ideal for England, the timing seemed right. The team was in high spirits, playing at home, and the opponent's strength was considerably weaker.

At Wembley, despite the huge disparity in strength, England fans flocked to the stadium. Many FA officials were also in attendance, and they couldn't be more satisfied with the national team's current state!

From a business standpoint, Aldrich and his coaching staff were being paid very little, as they were technically part-timers.

But the profit Aldrich brought in was huge, with sponsors directly presenting new contracts to the FA!

Aldrich's image, combined with his status as the youngest national team coach in history... how could that not bring in money?

Tickets for Wembley were selling much better than before.

After England's friendly victory over Spain, FA chairman Thompson even boasted at a party, "Hiring Aldrich was the best decision we ever made!"

This guy couldn't wait to take all the credit.

"England's starting lineup today has only one change from the previous friendly match: the forward position. Heskey is on the bench, and Owen starts! Without a doubt, today's England lineup is stronger than the last one!"

The England supporters in the stands at Wembley were calm, eagerly anticipating a dominant victory. After all, we had triumphed over Spain, the kings of qualification, by a three-goal margin away from home.

As for Albania? A straightforward three points would be the minimum expectation, with a few extra goals to satisfy the crowd.

But after 20 minutes of play, the England fans at Wembley were stunned.

The score was 0-0.

England couldn't seem to find a way through.

Their attacking play was nonexistent, with very little threat on goal.

But in terms of control, they had complete dominance, pushing forward with relentless pressure. Aldrich, standing on the sidelines, was losing his patience.

"These English lads," he muttered, shaking his head.

"They need a proper scolding, that's for sure."

The disparity in strength was clear. Albania, playing away, naturally opted for a defensive strategy. With their weaker squad, they had no choice but to use a mass defense to ensure they wouldn't concede.

But what were the England players doing on the pitch?

A high-pressure attack!

If this was a team with more delicate play, this strategy might've worked, but England wasn't really known for tight, intricate combinations. Sure, they had Albania under pressure, but what difference did that make?

Their penetrating passes were constantly disrupted, and they lacked the ability to break away with the ball. The ball kept rolling back and forth in front of Albania's penalty area and around midfield.

Albania cleared the ball, England came back, Albania cleared again, England tried again...

Their 4-3-2-1 formation almost turned into a 2-1-4-3.

When the penetrating passes didn't work, they resorted to crosses.

Aldrich nearly wanted to kick Beckham in the butt!

Who were you crossing to?

Owen, at 1.72 meters?

Scholes, at 1.74 meters?

Or the tallest player in the front line, McManaman, at 1.84 meters?

They had set up a solid defense. You're crossing into a crowded penalty area with no space—are you expecting them to rely on physical duels and leap into the air like Jordan for a dunk?

Aldrich had indeed issued a strict order in the locker room before the match. This game was a must-win. Everyone knew it, and if they didn't win, even the qualification for the playoffs might be in jeopardy.

As for Albania's tactics, Aldrich could already predict them. They weren't going to come to Wembley swinging swords to fight England head-on; it was inevitable that they would play a defensive game.

Thus, Aldrich emphasized that the pressing style of play must be executed with full commitment.

Well, they did execute it well. The pressing was so intense that the forwards and attacking midfielders were almost crowding the Albanian goalkeeper, while the defensive midfielders and full-backs also pushed forward to apply pressure.

It worked like a charm—Albania was too scared to pass the ball out from the back and could only clear the ball forward with long kicks.

But here's the problem: by just clearing the ball, where were their players? Naturally, they remained stuck in the 30-yard zone in front of their own goal, with nine players forming two defensive lines that showed no sign of loosening. The lone forward was having a miserable time, running forward whenever his teammates cleared the ball but never getting near it, likely ready to cry in the bathroom during the break.

At this point, Aldrich wished football could be like basketball, where he could just call a timeout.

His national team players had been too confident after a friendly win, thinking that since Albania was not very strong, they could easily win and boost their stats. But now? It had all turned into a disaster!

They had completely thrown Aldrich's tactical instructions out the window.

Seizing an opportunity with a throw-in, Aldrich walked to the sideline. Beckham, ever professional, immediately picked up the ball and was about to throw it in.

"David, wait."

Beckham, probably caught up in the excitement, turned around when he heard Aldrich's call, and in doing so, accidentally tossed the ball to Aldrich...

The crowd at Wembley was stunned.

"Uh, Beckham was about to take a throw-in but passed the ball to the coach, Hall. Is this England's secret weapon? But you can't have 12 players on the field."

The commentator joked as Beckham looked embarrassed, and the referee awarded the throw-in to Albania.

"Coach, what's going on? I—" Beckham started to ask, but Aldrich interrupted him, his expression calm. "Come here, don't worry about the game. If the ball is lost, it's my fault."

Beckham glanced back. Albania was indeed attacking, and the poor forward was once again charging forward, but it was likely futile, as Southgate had already positioned himself to intercept the high ball.

Beckham relaxed and walked to the sidelines, where Aldrich was being reminded by the fourth official not to leave his designated coaching area. Aldrich waved him over, motioning for Beckham to follow him back slowly to the team's coaching area.

The referee came over to ask Beckham what was going on—why had he left the field?

The fans in the stands and those watching the live broadcast were all bewildered.

This was truly bizarre—during a match, the coach had called a player off the field, and it looked like he was taking his time.

Aldrich casually explained to the referee, claiming that Beckham wasn't feeling well and the team doctor needed to check on him.

Beckham took a deep breath and grabbed a bottle of water to hydrate.

"Coach, why did you call me off? Is something wrong with me?"

"Well, you all have issues," Aldrich replied.

"Hmm?"

Aldrich had Beckham turn around, ensuring his view aligned with his own, looking at the state of England's attack.

"David, what do you see?"

"Uh, we're attacking, and they're defending."

"But when they're attacking, what are we doing?"

"We're pressing, like you asked."

"When did I ever tell you to press in the opponent's penalty area?"

"Hmm?"

Beckham thought for a moment, then shook his head.

Aldrich said solemnly, "During training, I emphasized pressing and counter-pressing, especially in midfield. Do you think England's three lines of players can maintain their structure if we press this far forward? When facing stronger opponents, don't you think it's easy to get our defensive lines pierced one by one? Do you know why Italian teams don't emphasize pressing and prefer chain defending?"

"Because aggressive pressing can be easily broken down."

"Exactly, the logic is the same. Even if we win today playing like this, this defensive strategy will be torn apart by top teams. When you get back on the field, tell everyone to fall back. Whatever we practiced in training, that's how we play in the game. Just because the opponent is weak doesn't mean we can take them down easily. If we continue like this, we'll have to rely on luck to win. Do you expect Michael Owen to turn into Michael Jordan and score a header?"

Beckham realized that the tactics weren't working as they had hoped, much like England's old long-ball style. But there wasn't even a tall striker on the field.

He nodded and returned to the sideline. After the referee allowed him to enter, Beckham ran back onto the pitch. He relayed Aldrich's instructions to the team, then suddenly smiled.

"Owen as Michael Jordan?" Beckham thought. "The coach sure has a sense of humor."

He didn't stop to consider whether his own reflexes had been too slow. Only now did it dawn on him...