Array football

Chapter 37 Psychological Warfare

Today, in football, psychological warfare has become an important factor affecting the outcome.

Psychological warfare, in essence, is to confuse opponents with falsehoods.

The most famous case of psychological warfare is the psychological warfare launched by Ferguson against Newcastle in the 1996-1997 season of the Premier League.

At that time, in the middle of the league, with one round less, the Newcastle team led by the famous coach Kevin Keegan was the best, leading Manchester United by as much as 12 points.

Ferguson decisively launched psychological warfare, used the media, made remarks, and ran on Keegan and Newcastle.

In the end, Newcastle coach Keegan was under too much pressure and had a mental disorder. He yelled and lost his voice on TV. Newcastle's performance also took a sharp turn and fell into a downturn.

Manchester United rushed to catch up, and in the end Ferguson reversed the situation and won the championship that season.

In the new century, with the extreme development of various media and the development of football, psychological tactics have been carried forward, and the head coaches have tried many times, and there are many successful cases.

In the Premier League, especially when Ferguson's Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's Arsenal played against each other, all kinds of trash talk abounded.Whenever this time is the festival of the media.Reporters from major newspapers, websites, and journals no longer have to worry about having no news materials, and the fans are even more eye-opening.

The war of words between the two reached its peak last season, when Arsenal challenged Manchester United away and lost by two goals.After the game, an Arsenal player had an argument with Ferguson in the aisle.

In terms of talk, how can a young player be the opponent of the old and spicy Ferguson?
The Arsenal players who failed in the verbal battle became furious, picked up a few pieces of pizza in the aisle, and threw them at Sir Alex Ferguson.Ferguson, whose verbal combat power was 100 and his hands-on combat power was 0, suffered from pizza.

This is the famous "Pizzagate" incident.

Afterwards, around this incident, Ferguson and Wenger launched a war of words that lasted for several weeks.

Its intensity even made the "Pizzagate incident" top the Baidu search list in the UK that year, and the result of the hot word No.3.

In the end, the FA couldn't stand it anymore and came forward to mediate before letting the two coaches give up.

Why is the war of words so powerful?

The reason is that now that the media is developed, every word the head coach says will be infinitely magnified and hyped by the media, thus forming a kind of public opinion pressure in the society.

The head coaches are all seeking fame or profit, so naturally they attach great importance to their social image.In the face of slander and slander, he will definitely stand up to protect his image.Such a war of words will not only affect the mentality, but will also involve the energy of the head coaches.

So in football games, war of words is the most cost-effective strategy.Either disintegrate the opponent mentally, or force the opponent to make arrangements for their own expectations. Sometimes the role of verbal wars even exceeds that of a core player.

A head coach who can't fight wars of words is not a good coach!

For the war of words, Duncan will not be afraid.For him, the war of words is to some extent a conspiracy.If you avoid fighting instead of fighting, because of the unequal information, the public and even your own players will misunderstand, which will cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

"If I remember correctly, four days after the league match between Liverpool and Manchester City, it will be the first leg of the Champions League, Liverpool's away game against Inter Milan. Now Liverpool is only ahead of No.5 in the league, which is Tottenham by 5 points. If this If you lose one game, I am afraid that the fourth place in the league will not be guaranteed. With such a psychological burden to play in the Champions League, I believe Mr. Benitez will not be very at ease, right?"

Duncan didn't answer, but went to dig Liverpool's problem.In Duncan's view, if he wants to talk about his own shortcomings, it will become darker and darker. It is better to burn the flames of war to the other side.

"We are never afraid of challenges, and looking at the rankings, it seems that Liverpool is higher than Manchester City. Even if the league is sixth, at least there will be European competitions." Benitez fought back, using Manchester City's ranking as an issue.

"The only difference is that our goal, relegation has been completed. And what about Liverpool? I clearly remember that at the beginning of your league, you called for the championship. Look at the standings, first Manchester United second Chelsea third Arsenal, Liverpool The fourth position is also very unstable! I don’t know, Mr. Liverpool Chairman, has he considered a new coach at the end of the season?”

Duncan threw the topic directly to Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton.

However, Mr. Chairman obviously knew that this war of words would be endless once it was launched, so he simply chose to remain silent.

Duncan turned the flames of war on the chairman, but made Benitez uneasy.I have been to Liverpool for four seasons, and I have also won the Champions League, but the league title is far away.In the first two seasons, at least one championship can be won, but this season, if it is not done well, there will be no big four!

Mr. Chairman, it's hard to explain.

There is basically no hope of winning the league championship. The FA Cup and League Cup have been eliminated. The only remaining championship to fight for is the Champions League.However, Liverpool's league semi-finals have not been guaranteed, and their European seats for next season are still subject to change.The thickness of Liverpool's lineup is obviously not enough. In this league, should they give up or not?

Benitez got himself into a tangle.

But he immediately woke up: This psychological warfare was obviously provoked by himself, so why was he led into the pit by the other party instead?
Where did this kid come from with such superb fighting skills?

Benitez was secretly surprised by Duncan's "war of words" IQ, but the war of words has reached this point, so it cannot be stopped.Otherwise, the one who was injured would probably be his own.

"Liverpool is No. 4 in the league, and Manchester City is No. 11 in the league. The ranking on the standings speaks for itself!" Benitez intends to bring the topic back.

"Really? Manchester City has won the European Cup Winners' Cup, and Liverpool has not won the Cup Winners' Cup. So, Manchester City is better than Liverpool?"

Cup Winners Cup Champion?

Benitez was at a loss for a while. He has only been in Liverpool for three years. Although he has some understanding of Liverpool's history, it is not to the extent that he knows everything.

Fans who knew the inside story were all in tears when they saw it: Liverpool did not win the Cup Winners' Cup. That was because the Cup Winners' Cup was canceled and merged into the UEFA Cup.

The UEFA Cup trophy, Liverpool has three, big brother!

The uproarious war of words before the game made the newspapers in the streets and alleys a fire.

So in the past few days, many journalists who smelled fishy smell gathered in the Carrington area of ​​Manchester.

Not only the game between Manchester City and Liverpool, but also the other game between Chelsea and Manchester United was full of saliva.In order to gain an advantage in this key battle for the championship, Ferguson has been full of verbal wars, and there has been a tendency to submerge Stamford Bridge.

It can be said bluntly that in recent days, the Carrington area has even become the football news center for the whole of England.

Benitez was misfired, but Duncan still had more to say.Facing the reporters who came up after training, Duncan talked eloquently.

"Liverpool is really not strong!"

"Then you mean, Manchester City can beat Liverpool?" a reporter asked.

"Just halftime," Duncan said.

(End of this chapter)