Chapter 135 Arsenal's new captain
On January 1, 1988, then Arsenal coach Graham handed over the captain's armband to Tony Adams, who was only 21 years old. Exactly 20 years later, Cesc Fabregas, who was one year younger than Adams, carried the banner of the Gunners.
Fabregas was still dizzy at this moment. When his mentor Wenger handed over the captain's armband to him and announced in front of the whole team that he would become Arsenal's trusted captain, Fabregas While feeling a heavy burden on his shoulders, Gus felt even more confused.
can i do well
Can I be a great captain like Adams?
Fabregas is very clear that when he wears the captain's armband for the first time and appears in the eyes of the fans, people will inevitably compare the two, but as the Arsenal fans sing "There is only one Adams" , Adams is the greatest captain in the history of the Gunners, his status and role cannot be replicated, and what Cesc Fabregas has to do is to emulate Adams and then emulate.
Four league titles, three FA Cups, two League Cups and one Cup Winners Cup. The military medals all over his body record the achievements of Adams, and Fabregas has only won the FA Cup in the 2004/2005 season at Arsenal so far.
Adams has an innate leadership style. Not only Arsenal fans love him very much, but even Arsenal's mortal enemy, Manchester United's star player Beckham admires Adams very much.
In his autobiography, recalling the 1998 British-Arab century war, he wrote: "Only 5 minutes before the game, we were so nervous that suddenly Tony's thunderous voice exploded in the locker room: 'Brothers, England It's invincible, let's risk our lives!' I never knew that a person's voice could be so contagious, I just felt my blood was boiling."
Whenever Adams participates in the game, the fans can always hear his roar on the field, and the most cherished fighter spirit in British football is perfectly reflected in him.
For Arsenal's new captain, Wenger's mind is Clichy, Toure or Cesc Fabregas. In the end, Cesc Fabregas was chosen because the Spaniard has more voice and prestige in the locker room. The status of the locker room is important, and it will give the team a natural centripetal force and cohesion. But for Arsenal, who are often on a roller coaster, how to boost the morale of the team when they are in a trough, Fabregas has not experienced such a test before he became the captain.
In fact, apart from the age when he took over as captain, Fabregas and Adams are not absolutely comparable. But just like when Adams was elected captain, no one thought he would be so successful, perhaps the era of Fabregas has just begun.
Fabregas is already the fifth captain after Arsene Wenger coached Arsenal, the previous four were Adams, Vieira, Henry and Gallas. It is worth noting that, except for Henry who leads the team by scoring goals, Adams, Vieira, and Gallas are all known for their hot tempers. They are not afraid of anyone on the court, and they can control others in the locker room. Obviously, Cesc Fabregas and the above-mentioned captains have completely different personalities.
How can you be the leader of a team?
In the Wenger era, Adams, Keown, and Vieira were all very pure leaders. By analogy with them, we can find out whether Cesc Fabregas is a leader.
After leaving Arsenal, Vieira pointed out that the arsenal has no leaders: "When young players play, they need the help, encouragement and protection of old players. I am afraid this is the problem Arsenal is facing now. The team needs a A leader, a character that players can trust and rely on, can give everyone encouragement and support in times of adversity, and make other players stronger. Leaders need not only personal temperament but also experience. I think the current team lacks leadership qualities."
It should be said that choosing Xiaofa to wear the captain's armband is the choice of the entire Arsenal team: a young team needs a young captain. Arsenal has not had young captains in history: Adams, recognized as the best captain in the history of the Arsenal club, became the leader of the Gunners at the age of 21 years and more than 80 days.
Adams, a player who likes to order his teammates in the locker room when he was 18 or 9 years old, is a type of player like Cantona and Keane in this respect, and Fabregas is still a relatively quiet player now , hand over the armband to him, is he the new Adams or the new Henry?
Wenger is very confident in his choice, as he said before the start of this season: "Cesc Fabregas will get the Ballon d'Or sooner or later!"
Fabregas did not disappoint Wenger's trust. Since the new season, he has led Arsenal to a good start with his outstanding performance. In the first round of the new season's Champions League, Fabregas played again against Spain Villa scored the first goal in the game to help the team win with a score of 3:0.
Up to now, although Arsenal have a poor record in the league and domestic cups due to civil strife, Fabregas has led Arsenal to the semi-finals of the Champions League with his outstanding performance. People can feel that , now Cesc Fabregas has gradually replaced Henry who left and became the new king of the Emirates Stadium.
After Henry left Arsenal, the Gunners no longer relied on one person to score goals as before. Instead, they often used multiple players in the midfield without a dedicated striker to get more offensive points. Fabrega Under such tactics, Cesc has gained more space to play. Based on his excellent technical ability, under the influence of his teammates, Fabregas often penetrates in front of the opponent's penalty area or even the penalty area in the middle of the midfield. Inside, this is why Fabregas can perform so well in the new season.
Speaking of Cesc Fabregas' goal, Arsenal midfielder Rosicky also revealed a little secret inside the Gunners. Rosicky, Hleb and Fabregas made a bet before the start of the new season to see who will be the Gunners midfielder with the most goals in the new season. As it stands now, although Rosicky and Hleb have Goal, but obviously paled in comparison to Fabregas' outstanding performance.
In the history of the Gunners, leaders like Ian Wright, Bergkamp and Henry are all goal vanes in the team, and the king of the Gunners must be the trump card of the team's offense.
As it stands now, Fabregas is undoubtedly the man, with Gallas captained by the team's armband at the start of the new season, with Gilberto as vice-captain. But as far as the status of the two captains in the team is concerned, Gallas is a rookie. Although his character is quite tough, Wenger immediately handed him the captain's armband, which is obviously not convincing. Gilberto is playing for the team For many years, but the Brazilian's 11 goals last year, 5 penalties accounted for nearly half.
Fabregas, who only scored four goals last year, has made a qualitative leap in the new season, becoming the one who can truly lead the team to victory.
After Henry left, if the Gunners need to rise to a leader, Cesc Fabregas' current performance is undoubtedly the new King of the Gunners.
Last summer, Real Madrid sought to acquire Cesc Fabregas at a high price. When Wenger asked Fabregas himself for advice, Fabregas said that it would take 24 hours to consider.
Fabregas made the decision after 24 hours to stay at Arsenal. For the Arsenal people, these 24 hours may become a topic that Gunners fans talk about for many years to come. Fabregas scored four goals last season. Bregas has shown a qualitative leap at the beginning of the new season, and with his outstanding performance, he is well-deserved to become the leader of the current Gunners.
As a midfielder, Cesc Fabregas also did a good job in assisting his teammates while scoring so many goals surprisingly. field performance.
At the beginning of the season, Wenger said when talking about Fabregas, this is a new Platini. In the midfield position, the legendary French superstar is more active in the frontcourt and hopes to score goals. He himself is also the direct service target of other teammates of the team.
But Cesc Fabregas is different. The Spanish teenager is more active in the midfield, and his frequent advances have allowed him to score so many goals. And in the organization of the team's offense, Cesc Fabregas is even better than Platini. As Wenger said: "At Platini's age, I never saw him perform better than Cesc Fabregas."
Cesc Fabregas was really surprised by Wenger's decision, but he was more delighted. As everyone knows, Fabregas' football career began in the La Masia youth training camp. Barcelona, he didn't see too many opportunities, left there at the age of fifteen, and went to London, where Cesc Fabregas met his mentor Arsene Wenger, and started to ascend to Arsenal, which made him a world-class midfielder accept.
At the age of 16 years and 177 days, Cesc Fabregas played the first official game on behalf of the Arsenal first team. At the age of 16 years and 212 days, he became the youngest goal scorer in the history of the club at the age of 17 years and 103 days. , He set a new record for the youngest age to represent the club in the Premier League.
In the first season after Vieira left, Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal made a record break into the Champions League final, and staged a peak duel with AC Milan led by the Wright Brothers at the time. It is a pity that the European supremacy is so close to the Gunners Degan's hat-trick made Cesc Fabregas miss the Champions League trophy for the first time.
With his outstanding performance in the club, the Spanish national team will not let go of such a genius. On March 2, 2006, the Arsenal teenager made his debut in the friendly match against Côte d'Ivoire in Spain and became the youngest Spanish international in 70 years. The above records To illustrate the fact that Cesc Fabregas is indeed a genius.
Not all geniuses can "get ahead". Fabregas has achieved today's fame and achievements thanks to opportunities. First of all, he met Bole Wenger. The French professor has done all the steps from Taobao, consecration to display, and this has created a midfield wizard under the age of 16.
Secondly, I would like to thank Vieira. The captain of the Gunners once gave him great encouragement and guidance, but the professor is obviously interested in the future, because it is difficult for Vieira and Cesc Fabregas to coexist on the court. Suddenly leaving the team at the beginning of the 05/06 season, Wenger pushed Cesc Fabregas and Gilbert Silva to the front line. After half a season of beating and honing, "Gold" finally shined.
There is always something different about a genius, and what makes Cesc Fabregas different is his "precocity". In fact, Cesc Fabregas' actual age is not as old as he looks. People can't judge his age from his performance, accurate judgment, steady ball control, good overall view, decisive shooting and good footwork , His performance is like a battle-tested fighter, but under all the gorgeous "coats" is a young body.
Cesc Fabregas' precociousness is also reflected in his ability to deal with big scenes, which is very similar to the English genius Rooney. The word "stage fright" is born out of bounds with him.
Perhaps it is these excellent qualities that finally made Wenger make a choice, making Cesc Fabregas the youngest captain in the history of the Arsenal club.
"Cesc! Aren't you going to say something to your teammates?" Wenger said with a smile.
Fabregas was taken aback, turned his head to look at Wenger, and then looked up at his teammates. Everyone's eyes were different, some seemed very friendly, while others were obviously very dissatisfied with Wenger's decision.
"Coach!" Brazilian midfielder Denilson interrupted Fabregas, "I don't think this is the right decision. We all know Cesc is a very good player, but I don't think he will be a good player. What we need is a tough guy who can lead us out of the predicament, not a child who can't even take care of himself!"
Wenger did not speak, but looked at Cesc Fabregas with encouragement in his eyes. Of course, he can use the power he has coached at Arsenal for many years to force the players to accept this, but Wenger also knows that he will not Possibly protecting the young Spanish talent forever, Fabregas needs to strengthen his arms and face things on his own.
Fabregas did not disappoint Wenger either. Facing Denilsen's questioning, he did not get angry, and his childish face looked very calm: "I think I can do well!"
Denilson was a little disdainful: "Cesc! You are a good player, but you will definitely not be a good captain. What we need is a tough guy like William to lead us forward!"
Denilson has a very good relationship with Gallas on weekdays. He expressed his dissatisfaction with Wenger's decision to dismiss Gallas captain. If Wenger chose someone else as the new captain, he might not say anything, but France Bregas, a boy of twenty, what is this? Although he is younger than Cesc Fabregas.
"I can do what William can do, and I believe I can do better. As for the things you said, I will prove it to you on the court. I will prove it with my performance. I am worthy of it." Arsenal's captain's armband!"
Fabregas finished speaking, and then said: "Okay! I don't want to get entangled in this matter. Now I want to exercise my rights as captain. We have a very important game tomorrow. Now, what we have to do is Prepare well! Many media in England think that we can beat Florence because our overall strength is stronger. I don't think so. Florence has more advantages than us. I'm not scaremongering, Denilson, don't interrupt me !"
Denilson, who was about to refute, heard that he didn't know why, but he really shut up. The look in Fabregas' eyes just now made him feel afraid.
Seeing that Denilson was honest, Fabregas continued: "What I want to say is Degan. Many of us have experienced that game back then. Now that I think about it, I still find it unbelievable. That Brazilian man Very strong. At that time, our defense line couldn't stop him at all. Although we eliminated AC Milan before, it doesn't mean that we have succeeded in revenge, because our real opponent is Degan. In the original game, it was Degan. One person eliminated us, so tomorrow's game is of great significance to us. I don't want to continue the nightmare three years ago, so tomorrow's game must be between Arsenal and Degan. Make a break!"
Fabregas' words made everyone quiet. Many of them had experienced that game. It was the first time they were so close to the Champions League trophy, but they were all dreamed of by a Degan. broken.
"I know, you and I feel the same way, since this is the case, then let us fight! The powerful Arsenal is not afraid of any opponent, we are confident that we can defeat all enemies, whether it is AC Milan or Fiorentina, their final outcome will be different. There is only one, and that is to become our defeated opponent!"
Wenger could feel that the momentum of the players had changed following Fabregas' words, and they looked at Fabregas with more relief in their eyes.
Maybe this kid can really do well!
In fact, choosing Fabregas as the team's new captain, Wenger is also a gamble. He knows that Fabregas has done well enough, and his performance on the court has almost reached the point of impeccable. However, Wenger now needs Fabregas to do more and take on more important responsibilities.
In fact, after announcing this decision, Wenger also regretted it a little. You must know that tomorrow's opponent is Fiorentina. hit.