The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 269: Rio Ferdinand out of form

Chapter 269: Rio Ferdinand out of form

The teammates all knew that Dynamo Kyiv was Shevchenko's old club, so when Shevchenko secured the victory for the team, Larsson simply patted him on the head. The other players congratulated him in a calm manner as well, celebrating his goal.

The stadium fell silent, and the home fans looked somewhat dejected.

The group stage had started well; they even knocked out group favorites Barcelona in an away match. Facing an English Premier League team at home, it seemed like securing three points was a sure thing.

But looking back at the match, Dynamo Kyiv had very few threatening attacks. The closest they came to scoring was with Kaladze's header at the start; in the second half, Rebrov's long-range shot was well struck but from too far out, giving the goalkeeper enough time to react, which didn't pose a major threat.

Aldrich used two substitutions to kill some time. When the match ended, he calmly walked towards Lobanovsky. Although he had won, he didn't show any signs of excitement.

After they shook hands, Aldrich turned and walked into the players' tunnel.

The Millwall players let out a sigh of relief as the match concluded, then cheered loudly.

This painful and difficult game had finally come to an end, and they had achieved the result they wanted!

Three points, firmly at the top of the group.

In the other match of the group, Barcelona was held to a draw by PSV Eindhoven.

Barcelona only earned one point, and their path to qualification was looking precarious.

In the post-match press conference, Aldrich's expression remained calm, but pride was evident in his words.

"We achieved a great victory. The players not only overcame a strong opponent on the pitch but also overcame themselves. In such challenging weather and conditions, they needed a strong mentality to overcome the odds. I'm glad they did it. This victory is crucial for Millwall—not just for our position in the group standings, but for the growth and maturity of these players. This will help Millwall become stronger."

Despite Millwall being the Premier League champions, Dynamo Kyiv, despite the home advantage, was not a champion in a major European league. Thus, pre-match expectations had favored Millwall to win, which was why Aldrich had insisted they should not take that stance lightly.

So after the game, the journalists didn't find anything shocking about Millwall's victory. Beating Dynamo Kyiv wasn't exactly a monumental achievement.

After all, the Lions' squad was clear to see—how many players from Dynamo Kyiv are widely recognized by European mainstream media? Just being familiar would be a win.

Dynamo Kyiv drew no interest. A reporter asked, "Millwall is in a commanding position for qualification, but we haven't seen the Millwall we expect from the Premier League in these two group matches. As the head coach, don't you wish to showcase your team on the European stage?"

Aldrich replied nonchalantly, "First, we've won two in a row; our fate is in our hands. But that advantage isn't absolute, even negligible. Next, we face Barcelona in back-to-back matches. If we perform poorly, we might lose that supposed edge after those two games. Second, I'm not a rigid coach. I will adjust our tactics based on the team, opponents, and circumstances. Stepping onto the Champions League stage, we showcase ourselves every minute—not just our tactics, but our mentality, fan culture, club traditions, and so on. Winning is the most important thing. Against strong teams like PSV and Dynamo Kyiv, I will choose the most suitable tactical style, not the one the outsiders wish to see. No one can sway my decisions on that."

The journalists on-site felt a bit deflated.

To be honest, if they hadn't studied Millwall's previous season, they wouldn't have held high expectations.

The expectation from the public was never just for Millwall to win.

They wanted to see exhilarating football.

As long as it was a thrilling spectacle, even if Millwall lost, it would still have been the talk of the town.

But a bland and creativity-lacking match like today's, where Millwall won 2-0 away against Dynamo Kyiv, offered little to discuss.

There were plenty of teams on the Champions League stage with more influence and prestige than Millwall. If Millwall couldn't showcase their style, making matches more exciting and unpredictable, they would merely be supporting actors on this grand stage, playing backup for the real powerhouses.

Outside of England, other mainstream media quickly lost interest in Millwall.

After watching two of their Champions League group stage matches, they were wins, but they didn't provide any real test of the team's quality.

The performances weren't flamboyant enough; the only highly anticipated match was the upcoming third and fourth group stage games, where Millwall would face Barcelona.

By the second day after Aldrich led the team back to London, the fatigued players returned from their long trip feeling dizzy. Aldrich had no choice but to give them another day off to rest at home.

This situation was truly concerning.

This year turned out to be fortunate; in October, their foray into Ukraine was manageable, but if the last two rounds of group matches had been in Ukraine, who knew whether the Lions would become ice lions in the frigid cold.

Aldrich imagined the expanded Champions League format in the future, with a higher probability of heading to Nordic countries or even further east to Russia; the travel could wear out even those who don't play.

The weekend league match against promoted team Bolton had Aldrich nearly losing his mind over Ferdinand!

Having played in the Champions League midweek, Aldrich brought both backup center-backs with him for safety, and in the end, he brought on Materazzi to burn some time, while Ferdinand sat on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.

For the weekend match against Bolton, with the starters resting, the center-back pairing was Materazzi and Ferdinand.

From the very start of the match, Ferdinand looked like he was in a haze.

Bolton scored an early long-range shot off of Ferdinand, which went out for a corner.

Then, when Bolton took the corner, Ferdinand headed the ball into his own net.

Aldrich didn't want to put too much psychological pressure on the young lad, considering he was not even 19 yet.

But in the following twenty minutes, crisis after crisis loomed at the goal, and Ferdinand gifted the opponent a penalty.

Aldrich stood with his hands on his hips on the sidelines, waiting for Bolton to convert the penalty. He immediately called Ferdinand over.

Ferdinand stood there, looking serious and silent, probably feeling too embarrassed to speak.

"Rio, if I pull you off now, it will be hard for you to hold your head high in this team. It's the 27th minute, and we're two goals down at home. I can't give up on the match, but Bolton has the audacity to fight us head-on today. The defenders will be tested. So now, you have to tell me directly, do you still want to play? "

Ferdinand replied in a low voice, "Boss, I'll adjust my state, I won't make any more mistakes!"

"Don't tell me that. Just tell me, do you want to play?"

"I do."

"Louder!"

"I do!"

"Get back out there and wake up! An own goal plus a penalty shouldn't keep you this down. Show some courage! I won't take you off unless you ask for it, but just being on the field isn't enough—you need to earn your teammates' trust!"

Ferdinand finally started to wake up a little. After returning to the field, he gradually got involved in the match. However, this late awakening left Millwall two goals down at home.

Aldrich found it quite tiring to coach the squad of young players during the game.

"Andy, Andy! Get back to defend!"

"Michael, tell Damien not to keep running the ball into dead ends; work patiently with your teammates; you tell him I said so!"

With Lampard and Nedved resting and Pirlo still injured, Aldrich settled on a 4-4-2 formation today.

Asking Duff and van der Meyde to play as wingers was a bit much for them, both only 18 years old.

To instill defensive awareness and develop their defensive skills, he had them play as Wing midfielder.

Gattuso and Ballack formed the double pivot, while the strikers were Trezeguet and van Nistelrooy, who hadn't played midweek.

In previous rounds where points were dropped in the Premier League, Aldrich felt he had been asking too much of Duff and van der Meyde—needing them to balance both defense and the demands of modern wingers—causing them to drift from the team's tactical structure in matches.

His own subconscious high expectations for them actually seemed misplaced.

So it was better to assign them simpler tasks within the matches; they could handle that, at least being able to play together with their teammates.

Modern wingers operate in too large of a space, and they were bound to be out of sync. Playing as wide midfielders was simpler; they needed to drop back to defend, stretch the pitch when attacking, and occasionally make runs through the middle when there was space.

At halftime, Millwall was still two goals behind.

However, in the second half, as Ferdinand stopped being a liability for the defense, Duff and van der Meyde became more active down the flanks, leading to a surge in Millwall's offensive momentum.

Aldrich watched as van der Meyde and Duff took turns breaking down the wings and crossing the ball, nodding to himself. The two 18-year-olds were starting to find their rhythm in the match and gaining confidence; just being able to control the ball in tight spaces was a great indicator.

They still had some physical weaknesses, and in direct confrontation, unless they relied on their footwork, they would likely get pushed aside by the Bolton players.

As the two wide players began to make their mark, Millwall started to gain the upper hand.

In the 71st minute, van der Meyde crossed from the right after going to the byline, and Trezeguet got a header at the near post to bring Millwall back a goal.

After the goal, the team's morale surged, launching them into an all-out attack, forcing Bolton to retreat to their defensive third.

Duff broke through on the wing, earning a foul. Van der Meyde took the free kick and sent it in; Neil flicked it on with his head, and Ferdinand, right at the net, leaped in to nod the ball into Bolton's goal.

After scoring, Ferdinand finally held his head high. With under four minutes left in the match, he immediately grabbed the ball and sprinted back, as teammates rallied to rally for the comeback.

Aldrich stood on the sidelines with his hands on his hips, his gaze resolute.

Bolton was on full defense, and Millwall pressed forward!!

When the extra time had elapsed, Millwall had a corner kick to execute.

Bolton coach Colin Todd raised both hands to protest to the referee, believing the match should have already ended.

At the same time, Todd yelled angrily at the fourth official.

"Thirty seconds of stoppage time have passed; how much longer do we need? How long? Does Millwall need to score again before this match ends?!"

Aldrich, standing at the side, maintained a serious demeanor, focusing intently on the Bolton goal.

With a crowd bustling around, it was dizzying.

Van der Meyde took the corner, launching the ball to the far post, where Mills contested for the spot and headed it back into the middle!

What kind of assist is this?

Usually, assists come from above, but this one came straight down.

Yet, all the Bolton players were taken by surprise, and the ball bounced in the penalty area. Then, someone took a shot, and the fans behind the goal leaped up, waving their arms joyfully.

The ball went in!

Aldrich charged onto the pitch, jumping and cheering, his fists pumped in sheer exuberance.

Though it was a dramatic last-minute win against a promoted team, coming back from two goals down was a massive lift to morale.

Emerging from the crowd to celebrate was van Nistelrooy, who had no clue what just happened. The ball clearly hadn't been headed in his direction, but when it bounced in the box, he didn't think twice and just shot. Miraculously, it went in!

Ferdinand affectionately hugged van Nistelrooy, planting a kiss on his forehead.

Thanks to that dramatic goal, Ferdinand was able to finally relax and release all the mental strain that had been building since the match began.