An uncompetitive league cannot produce the absolute giants of European football. Likewise, a club without intense internal competition can hardly challenge for the top, let alone dominate the game.
Millwall was strong, that was the general perception, but Aldrich knew that in order to keep Millwall at the top, internal competition had to be increased. He needed to make sure that key players like Henry, Ronaldinho, Nedvěd, Pirlo, and others felt a sense of urgency. They not only had to defeat all external rivals but also defend their positions within the team and welcome the challenge from the younger players.
Once the main structure of Millwall's first team was stable and their strength reached a certain level, Aldrich's focus began to shift. His job now was to train and develop young talents. While this might seem like preparation for the future, the goal was never just to develop someone's substitute role or a backup player for rotation. He needed young players like Alonso, Villa, Barzagli, and Ashley Cole to grow quickly and put pressure on the main squad members, creating a sense of urgency.
"Never slack off, even for a moment. The slightest lapse in focus and they'll be replaced by the newcomers!"
Survival of the fittest — this is the rule of the world, and in football, it applies just as much.
Against Feyenoord, Aldrich saw potential in these young players. They were turning raw talent into solid skill, a fantastic sign of progress.
1:2
Feyenoord was behind.
Millwall made a substitution.
The youth team had a lead in the 70th minute, and Aldrich was quite pleased. At this point, he couldn't ask for more. Joaquin and Vicente had given everything down the flanks, their energy almost spent. Joe Cole, who had been everywhere in midfield, was also running on fumes.
Now, Aldrich needed to play his part as the manager, doing everything he could to ensure this precious victory remained in their hands.
Gronkjaer, Van der Meyde, and Gattuso all came on as substitutes together.
Millwall shifted to a 4-2-1-3 formation, with Gattuso and Pedretti as defensive midfielders, Alonso in central midfield, and the two wingers plus Villa pushing forward in attack.
As Vicente, Joaquin, and Joe Cole came off the field, Aldrich rose to embrace each of them.
Feyenoord's players launched a frantic attack, almost losing their minds in desperation. A defeat at home to Millwall, a team that had fielded mostly reserves, would make them the laughingstock of the league.
The rise of football stars often comes at the expense of their fallen opponents, whose defeats serve to highlight the glory of the victors.
Despite Feyenoord's aggressive play, Gattuso's reinforcement of the midfield had left them with fewer and fewer chances, and the goal seemed to drift further out of reach.
In the 83rd minute, Gronkjaer latched onto a long ball from Van der Meyde on the right. Feyenoord's defense had collapsed, and Gronkjaer surged forward. With Villa's run distracting the defenders, he sprinted into the box and unleashed a powerful shot that found the back of the net, giving Millwall their third goal.
1-3.
Millwall sealed the victory.
As the final whistle blew, the young Millwall team jumped and cheered in excitement. What had been a relatively insignificant match had turned into a milestone moment in their careers.
After the match, the media relentlessly assigned nicknames to the young players, dubbing them "So-and-so the second," but Millwall, from the club to the fans, paid no attention to the media hype. Their focus was solely on the draw for the quarter-finals!
When the draw took place, and the name "Millwall" appeared with another team's name, separated by the word "vs," time seemed to freeze in that spine-tingling moment.
Bayern Munich vs Millwall.
"Champions League showdown arrives early!"
This was the headline in nearly every major media outlet the day after the draw.
This season, the two teams considered the strongest in Europe were meeting in the quarterfinals!
Millwall was the favorite to win the title, ranked first.
Bayern Munich was the second favorite, trailing closely behind.
Even though Bayern Munich had suffered defeat at Camp Nou last season, this year they, along with Millwall, had left giants like Manchester United and Real Madrid behind.
Though Millwall hadn't faced strong opponents in the first two group matches, their surprising form in the league made them the biggest favorites to win the title. Bayern Munich, while dominating their league as expected, had advanced in the Champions League with overwhelming force, such as their 8-3 aggregate victory over Real Madrid in the group stage.
(In the real history of this season,Bayern faced challenges from Bayer Leverkusen in the league, but this season, Leverkusen was missing key players like Butt, Schneider, and Ballack, affecting their performance.)
In countless pubs along the Thames, Millwall fans cheered when the draw results were announced!
A year ago, after their defeat in Munich, the Lions' players and fans were all left with a sense of lingering regret. From players to supporters, everyone longed for another chance to face Bayern Munich. If possible, they would have wanted Millwall to join the Bundesliga just to kick Bayern Munich off their perch as the top team.
On Friday morning, Aldrich arrived at the training ground to start another day's work.
By now, the players were no longer excited about playing in the Champions League. They no longer discussed opponents in training with the same enthusiasm.
They had grown accustomed to facing all opponents with a calm attitude. However, today, something unusual seemed to be spreading through the team.
The players trained in silence, their expressions serious and focused, as if they were new recruits in the team, keeping their heads down, refraining from jokes or idle talk, striving to be the "model players" in the coach's eyes.
Aldrich felt like he should send UEFA a thank-you note.
"God, thanks a lot!"
We've been drawn against Bayern Munich.
He had been stressing over how to keep the team fired up, worried that their commanding lead in the league would lead to complacency.
But once the UEFA quarterfinal draw was made, it was as if the entire Millwall squad had been injected with a dose of adrenaline.
Now, facing Bayern Munich, the team that had handed them their only European defeat in history... This was the perfect challenge!
"Looks like nobody's forgotten last year's match," said Klinsmann, standing next to Aldrich, reflecting on the past.
As someone who had experienced both triumphs and defeats, Klinsmann knew that some losses would never be forgotten.
But the fact that every member of the team could still remember that loss so vividly spoke to the quality of Bayern Munich. From another perspective, Bayern Munich was indeed impressive.
"At this point, facing Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals is the best thing that could happen. Haha, what luck!"
"You think drawing Bayern Munich is the best outcome? They're one of the favorites to win the title," Klinsmann said, surprised.
Aldrich just smiled and didn't offer any further explanation.
With the league title nearly secured, if Millwall had drawn a team that didn't spark their competitive fire, their mental and physical focus might have slipped before the Champions League semifinals. Once that happened, it would be hard to recover, like a person already exhausted trying to stay awake—no matter how hard they tried, their eyelids would only grow heavier.
In the afternoon, Aldrich called Nedved and Ronaldinho over for a long discussion.
In preparation for Bayern Munich, Aldrich knew he had to take the initiative this time.
Before facing Bayern Munich last year, Millwall was in a phase of self-transformation, adjusting their attitude to match their rise as underdogs. No matter the strength of their opponents, they were always seen as an easy target. Aldrich had done well countering opponents, taking each match as it came.
But when facing Bayern Munich, Hitzfeld had taken a more defensive approach, allowing Millwall to make the first move, only for Bayern Munich to strike back effectively. Millwall, or rather Aldrich, struggled to adapt—accustomed to being the ones to break down the opposition, he wasn't prepared for how to adjust when his team was outwitted.
Over the past year, Aldrich had been working hard to fill this gap in his coaching ability, always hoping for an opponent to present him with a challenge, much like a chess player hoping for their opponent to break the deadlock, thus giving them an opportunity to improve.
This weekend, Millwall would face Leeds United at home in the league.
Before their earlier encounter, O'Leary, once proud and confident, was now as humble as could be.
Could Leeds United defeat Millwall?
That possibility was something no one dared to speak about.
He gave the media diplomatic responses, claiming that the team would give their all, and that as long as the players tried their best, he would be satisfied.
A few months ago, Aldrich had handed his opponent an 8-0 thrashing, but now, he wasn't showing off at all. He casually remarked that it was just an ordinary league match.
Millwall was just waiting to announce the league champions, but Leeds United's situation was still stuck in a fierce competition.
At the top of the table, Millwall had pulled ahead of third-place Arsenal by several points, and Manchester United was more than ten points clear of Arsenal. The top three were divided into separate tiers, while the gap between third and sixth was just six points, equivalent to two games.
Arsenal, Leeds United, Liverpool, and Chelsea—the four teams were fighting for third place and the UEFA Champions League qualifying spot.
There were only seven rounds left in the league, and any slip-up could see one of these teams fall behind.
The good news for Leeds United was that they were at least not in sixth place but sitting fourth. Even if they lost, they wouldn't fall into the chasing pack's situation.
On the weekend, Aldrich welcomed O'Leary and his team to the Lion King Stadium.
Today, Millwall sent out their full-strength lineup, completely disregarding the upcoming Champions League quarterfinals, with the first leg away.
"Millwall's starting formation looks strange today. Andy, have you noticed anything?"
"There's no change in the first team. Are you suggesting Millwall should field substitutes?"
"No, I mean, Ronaldinho is playing in the attacking midfield role, and Nedvěd is out on the left wing."
"Maybe it's just a positional switch. Millwall's attacking players often switch positions like that."
"No, no. Ronaldinho has been in the attacking midfield position for the entire first fifteen minutes and hasn't moved to the wing at all."
"But it seems to be working well."
Playing on the wing and playing centrally require very different skill sets.
So, many players are limited to the wings because playing out wide allows them to ignore one side of the field and only focus on the defender on their side during one-on-one situations.
But in the middle, you have to consider the full 360-degree area around you, which makes it far harder to break through or maintain possession. The demands on your ability are much higher.
Ronaldinho could play as an attacking midfielder, but it wasn't his first time doing so. In previous games, he often swapped positions with Nedvěd, creating threats from the center. Today, Aldrich had fixed him in that role not to focus on dribbling through the middle but to unleash his creativity in that space!
And this move was specifically designed to take on Bayern Munich!