Sunderland's pre-season training officially kicked off!
Coach Zhao was on the team's training ground almost every day, personally supervising the players' training in various projects.
This was very necessary.
Many players were new, and even the Coaches were, including Alan Tate, who was participating in such pre-season training for the first time, so experience was a bit lacking.
However, Zhao Zhao, having studied many famous Coaches' courses, was more familiar with various training methods.
Therefore, in the early stages of training, he had to lead by example, gradually instilling the entire training system into the whole team.
However, considering that Alonso and Alan Tate were both quite "talented," it was believed that it wouldn't take too long for them to take over most of the training content, and Zhao Zhao wouldn't have to work so hard.
Alas, Zhao Zhao was so busy now that he didn't even have time for some "indoor games" with the girls who coveted his good looks...
In addition, during his rest and relaxation time outside of training, Zhao Zhao would also instill his tactical ideas into the players.
This targeted approach was sometimes more effective than a unified tactical lesson.
He would discuss with each player individually their position on the field, how to utilize their technical characteristics, or how to play their role well within the team.
The biggest characteristic of young players is their strong malleability; many players even change their positions and habits after the age of 20 and play very well.
This is even more true for these seventeen or eighteen-year-olds.
They all possess extraordinary talent and strong comprehension.
Zhao Zhao only needed to give them the necessary guidance based on his "past" experience, letting them play in their favorite and most comfortable positions, which would allow them to adapt and integrate into the team's tactical system more quickly.
For example, Rice, when he played in West Ham United's youth team, probably spent seventy to eighty percent of his time playing as a center-back.
But after coming to Sunderland, Coach Zhao assigned him more to the defensive midfielder position, which allowed him to better utilize his exquisite game interpretation ability, outstanding athleticism, strong ball-carrying ability, and decent long-range shooting ability in attack.
Although Rice was also excellent playing as a center-back, being positioned too far back clearly wasted many of his good midfield skills.
Another example is Haaland; his situation is different from Rice's.
His problem isn't with his position, because what he's playing now is already his most suitable role as a center forward.
But Coach Zhao would focus on developing Haaland's physicality and heading ability, making him a true target man, better able to serve as the team's spearhead.
In Zhao Zhao's previous life, during Haaland's time at Borussia Dortmund, he was often considered an "impact striker."
He preferred to pass the ball to a teammate first, then make a run and receive the ball, before charging into the opponent's penalty area with an unstoppable momentum, finally scoring.
When a reporter asked Haaland which players he would "learn from," his answer was Vardy and Van Persie.
These two players are clearly representatives of high-impact players, but they are not true target men.
This led to Haaland showing some signs of discomfort when he came to Manchester City and Guardiola asked him to "absorb damage" more often in the front.
But with the strong midfield support at Manchester City, Haaland could still score goals, albeit with limitations.
Despite his exceptional physique, whether in the Bundesliga, Premier League, or Champions League, Haaland's physical confrontation ability was slightly average, and he could only rely on his frame to overpower smaller defenders.
Once he encountered defenders with good anticipation and excellent physical confrontation ability, or faced targeted restrictions from the opponent's defensive unit, Haaland would experience problems with his presence disappearing—for example, when he encountered Antonio Rüdiger of Real Madrid.
In other words, when there was insufficient ball possession, Haaland, as a center forward, found it difficult to help the team gain more possession.
This is also why, even though Haaland scores many goals every season, he is always criticized by fans for "only bullying weaker teams."
It's because the defenders of strong teams are stronger!
As for the technical aspect, Haaland also has some shortcomings.
Not to mention actively moving wide to receive the ball and create chances for teammates, as a big center forward over 190cm tall and weighing over 90kg, his heading ability is relatively average, which is simply inexcusable.
When a team encounters some defensively compact teams, this type of heavy battering ram is a very effective weapon, and if the heading ability is weak, the power of this weapon is reduced by more than half.
So, after Haaland joined the team, Coach Zhao, on one hand, personally taught him to train his heading ability more, as well as his physical confrontation ability when receiving the ball with his back to goal, including some specific techniques.
On the other hand, he instructed the two fitness Coaches to pay more attention to Haaland's physique, helping him build an even stronger body to adapt to the playing style of a big center forward.
This actually even helps the continuation of Haaland's entire professional career.
It is precisely because he possesses such a large body, yet uses a style of play that relies on speed and impact, that Haaland has suffered quite a few injuries during his not-so-long professional career.
And to reach a higher level in one's professional career, ensuring high attendance and not missing crucial major competitions is the prerequisite for everything.
Besides training the body to be more durable, changing a certain style and learning more techniques are even more crucial.
Even if physical confrontation requires muscles and strength, one cannot always rely solely on the body for confrontation, because technique is a shortcut to reducing consumption!
Just like correct running posture, it not only allows one to run faster but also run further; it's the same principle.
If you constantly rely on your body to brute force, then on the basis of the fast offensive and defensive transition pace in the Premier League, coupled with a dense and heavy schedule, body collisions that oscillate between normal and reckless, and an overall relaxed, counter-encouraging officiating style, this will definitely lead to greater injury risks...
In short, what Zhao Zhao did for these young players was to try his best to make them avoid detours and directly walk on the right path!
And during this process, the players also deeply understood the Coach's expectations for them.
Moreover, Zhao Zhao's patient and scientific training methods also opened the eyes of the young players.
Building on Guardiola's 20-zone training method, Zhao Zhao also incorporated some training content commonly used by Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
For example, 8 minutes of passing warm-up exercises (headers, half-volleys, and ground balls), straight-line obstacle run exercises;
15 minutes of 8 vs 8 possession drills;
10 minutes of uneven-numbered defensive drills (8 vs 10);
10 minutes of midfield attacking drills (10 vs 8), and so on.
This made the training process not only not boring but also full of fun.
Of course, many players still felt that the time for such confrontation drills was too short.
After all, these youngsters still preferred ball-oriented, more game-like training!
But Zhao Zhao would not increase the time because of their "protests."
This is because he couldn't let them get their fill of the game during training!
Such short confrontation training was to maintain the players' hunger for the game.
If they were exhausted and satisfied from training, their excitement for the official match would be greatly reduced.
It can be said that football training also needs to start with suppression and then rise; suppress the players' desire to compete in training, and then let them fully release and explode on the green field!
Of course, holding back for too long is also not good; it's like that thing, holding back for too long without release can also lead to problems!
So, Coach Zhao would, of course, also let the players explode at the right time, letting them shoot!
That would be the already arranged friendly match against Wolves on the weekend!
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Wolves, at this time, were still an EFL Championship team.
A few years ago, they even dropped to League One, but they immediately returned as champions.
However, starting from this season, Wolves began to change.
Because a Chinese-funded group fully acquired Wolves, the team now had money!
They began to recruit heavily, and their strength greatly increased.
In the current Wolves team, there were already quite a few excellent players.
For example, Ireland international Doherty, Portugal internationals Diogo Jota, Ruben Nieves, and also Gibbs-White, among others.
And Wolves' Coach was also Nuno, from Portugal.
He had coached clubs like Valencia and Porto; a Coach of that level combined with players of that level could be said to be a dimensionality reduction attack in the EFL Championship.
And indeed, Wolves later directly won this season's EFL Championship with nearly one hundred points, directly promoting to the Premier League.
And Zhao Zhao chose such a quasi-Premier League team for the first warm-up match precisely to see how the young lads would perform when facing an opponent of comparable strength.
After all, if the opponent is too weak, you might score five or six goals against them, but you won't really see any of your own problems;
And if the opponent is too strong, you might be played around with, and similarly, you won't be able to show the players' abilities, especially their attacking ability, and it's easy to lose confidence.
So Wolves was the perfect opponent.
And since Wolves' owner was also Chinese, he naturally readily agreed to the invitation from Chinese Coach Zhao Zhao, so the match kicked off at the Stadium of Light!
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Although the stands of the Stadium of Light were not completely full, there were surprisingly two or three tens of thousands of spectators.
This was just a friendly match! To achieve such attendance was quite astonishing.
Most of these spectators were naturally Sunderland fans wearing red and white striped shirts.
This also showed how much expectation they had for the team after last season's miraculous relegation escape!
So many people arrived at the stadium early to watch the team's first warm-up match of pre-season training, and also to see firsthand the level of the new recruits personally brought in by Zhao Zhao.
At this moment, Zhao Zhao and his colleagues from the coaching staff had also walked out of the player tunnel and taken their seats in the home team's dugout.
The starting lineup for this warm-up match had been decided yesterday, and the tactical arrangements had been communicated to every player.
As for the match simulator... Zhao Zhao certainly wouldn't waste points on a friendly match.
Today's formation was still a 4-2-3-1, which was also the most suitable formation for the technical characteristics of this group of players.
Goalkeeper: Pickford.
Defenders: Robertson, Ruben Dias, Ben White, Zabaleta.
Defensive Midfielders: Rice, Rodri.
Attacking Midfielders: Sancho, Brahim Díaz, Foden.
Striker: Haaland.
It seemed to satisfy the audience's demands, as in today's starting lineup, apart from goalkeeper Pickford, all ten other players were new recruits!
And apart from veteran Zabaleta, many of the other players were only seventeen or eighteen years old.
Counting the entire starting lineup, the average age was probably just over 20!
And the captain's armband was hung on the shoulder of 23-year-old Pickford.
This was simply a youth storm!
This also made Sunderland fans, who were used to last season's veteran-dominated lineup, marvel.
Of course, the fans continued to support Sunderland and Coach Zhao's team as always.
They held up new season commemorative scarves, chanted Coach Zhao's name, and sang the classic "sunderland 'til i die."
And when Coach Zhao stood up from the dugout and waved to the stands, a warm and sustained applause erupted from the spectators.
After surveying the stands, Coach Zhao sat back down.
He knew that most fans still supported him, especially since the success of the last season was still fresh in their minds.
But he also understood that some fans, and even the local media, were taking a wait-and-see approach.
After all, during this summer transfer window, he had essentially replaced half of the players, and many of these new players had never truly played in a professional League, being too young.
No one was sure what level of performance or results this almost entirely new squad would achieve in the new season.
However, when the players emerged from the tunnel, the fans still gave them a warm welcome.
Although this was just a friendly match, without even a television broadcast, when the stadium DJ announced the starting lineup one by one, rhythmic cheers and applause still echoed from the stands.
And when the DJ finally announced, "Coach, Zhao Zhao!" the cheers from the entire stadium reached their maximum decibel!
For the fans, it didn't matter if they didn't recognize many of the players; as long as Coach Zhao was there, they had confidence!
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The match officially began very quickly.
Coach Zhao sat in the dugout, quietly watching the game, quickly maintaining his usual calm, even remaining motionless for a long time.
The other coaches, however, were a bit anxious.
Especially Alonso, who hadn't truly participated in a match with Coach Zhao before, clearly hadn't adapted to Coach Zhao's "calm one" style.
Despite it being just a friendly match, it was his first time standing on the sidelines as a Coach, and he felt even more nervous than when he played on the field himself!
He hoped that the players he had been coaching for a while would quickly demonstrate their training level and then decisively break through the opponent's defense…
But clearly, that didn't happen.
Although Wolves also had some young rising stars, they all had professional League experience, and with a number of veterans anchoring the team, they played in an orderly fashion.
Sunderland, on the other hand, made too many mistakes; even the more technically refined Brahim Díaz and Foden made several basic errors in passing and receiving.
Seeing the team on the back foot, Alonso couldn't help but lean into Coach Zhao's ear and ask, "Should we give them a reminder? I feel like they're too nervous."
Coach Zhao didn't even blink, calmly saying, "It's fine, let them adapt on their own."
"Really?" Alonso stroked his chin.
"I think you're more nervous than them, haha…" Coach Zhao laughed, "I think you also need to adapt to the transition from player to Coach."
"Hehe, you saw right through me," Alonso chuckled a little sheepishly.
Coach Zhao continued, "When players are on the field, they mainly focus on their own condition, at most observing teammates' runs and such."
"But as a Coach, you have to pay attention to the situation of all eleven players on the field and then analyze based on different circumstances."
"Look, Sancho is clearly overly excited today. He started with a fierce burst of running, and he's already breathing heavily after just over ten minutes."
"Do you remember your first time playing in the first team? Wasn't it like that? It's mainly wanting to prove yourself too much, getting too emotional, and expending too much energy."
"The other youngsters aren't much better. Perhaps Haaland will be a bit calmer; his personality is quite laid-back, which is a good thing."
"In short, it's not a big problem. After all, this is just a friendly match. Let them find their rhythm, adapt to the game tempo, and then find their running speed to return to their normal performance."
"Look, we haven't conceded a goal yet, have we? That means our defense is playing well, and that's great!"
Alonso nodded and sat back down.
His mood had calmed down considerably now.
Indeed, perhaps Alonso was a very composed midfield general as a player, but as a Coach, he was still a rookie and needed to learn much more from Coach Zhao.
For instance, Alonso couldn't yet provide the kind of analysis of young players' opening performances that Coach Zhao did.
And the defense, which Coach Zhao said performed best, was indeed the most experienced part of this starting lineup.
Although the two center-backs, Ruben Dias and Ben White, were also relatively young, at around 20 years old, they were more mature than the youngsters in the front line.
Moreover, Robertson on the left, Zabaleta on the right, and even goalkeeper Pickford, they were all seasoned veterans and wouldn't be nervous at all playing a friendly match.
Under their shouts and reminders, Ruben Dias and Ben White were also able to maintain their composure and perform well in their positions.
Therefore, although Wolves launched several good attacks in the first half, each one was broken up, and they failed to score.
This also drew rounds of applause from the Sunderland fans in the stands.
These are Sunderland fans.
They won't choose whether to applaud based on whether the team's style of play is conservative or flashy, nor will they stop singing and cheering if the team falls behind.
For them, a lifetime, even generations of family loyalty, will only be dedicated to one club, whether that club is at its lowest or at its peak!
And these fans, who consistently sing "sunderland 'til i die," are even more so.
Although they didn't have the advantage on the field, and could even be said to be at a disadvantage, even a clearance, a tackle, a collision, or even a tactical foul, would elicit applause and cheers from the Sunderland fans.
And when Ruben Dias and Ben White made brilliant tackles, the fans would ask each other their names and silently commit them to memory.
When Haaland, playing at the very front, knocked over an opposing defender, everyone burst into laughter and then gave the young Norwegian encouragement with a burst of fierce applause!
The reason is simple: for fans in the northeast of England, they inherently believe that football is a man's sport, requiring blood, intensity, and sheer effort!
And whether in defense or attack, strong men who dare to collide fiercely with opposing players naturally earn many points in the hearts of the fans.
However, the first half of this match had intensity, but no brilliance.
Both sides ultimately drew a blank, ending the first half with a score of 0:0.
Coach Zhao waited in the locker room for the players to return and sit down to rest, then calmly said:
"Everyone performed well in the first half. I don't demand much in a warm-up match; you can just treat it as a scrimmage during training."
"But I reiterate one point: remember my tactical requirements; don't run around aimlessly on the field. What have I been emphasizing in training? Maintain your distance from teammates and observe the opponent's position before making a decision."
"The main focus of today's match is to implement what we've trained these past few days. As for winning or losing, I don't care, and I hope you don't either."
The players all nodded.
In fact, this team, especially the players in this starting lineup, had only known each other for less than a week, and their time training together was also less than a week.
In such a short period, it was naturally unlikely for them to suddenly unleash their full potential, including developing telepathic understanding on the field.
So Coach Zhao's current demands on the team were very simple: for the players to hold their positions, and for each person to complete their tasks within their own activity zone.
Once their positions were stable and they adapted to the game's rhythm, the players would naturally calm down and be able to perform better.
In other words, don't try to rush things; build a solid foundation first!
If they were given too many tactical tasks at the beginning, involving complex overlapping runs, late runs from deep, or switching play from side to side, they would probably become even more disorganized and nervous.
And after Coach Zhao spoke during halftime, Sunderland indeed played a bit more fluidly in the second half.
Although they were still suppressed by Wolves' midfield, the few young players in Sunderland's front line clearly relaxed a bit. Sancho even pulled off a few fancy dribbles on the left wing, drawing gasps and rounds of applause from the fans in the stands.
The goal finally arrived in the 70th minute—but it was scored by Wolves.
Doherty suddenly accelerated down the flank, breaking past Sancho's defense, and then directly lofted the ball into the penalty area.
Diogo Jota leaped high and headed the ball into Sunderland's goal.
0:1, Sunderland was behind!
But Coach Zhao remained unhurried; he didn't even make any substitutions in the remaining part of the match.
He wanted these players to play the full ninety minutes, to unleash all their physical and mental energy!
And when the final whistle blew, the score was still 0:1, Sunderland had still lost to Wolves.
Logically, for Sunderland, a Premier League team, to lose at home to EFL Championship team Wolves, this should have been disappointing, especially since they weren't even dominant in terms of play.
However, most of the fans present still applauded their young players enthusiastically after the match.
After all, although they lost, at least this team now looked full of vitality, with a promising future!
This also greatly excited the young players who were playing in front of so many fans for the first time.
"Even for them, I have to train hard and play well!" Rice said to Ben White next to him during the post-match appreciation.
And the usually aloof Ben White simply replied, "Oh."
"Don't you feel happy, with so many fans supporting us!" Rice said.
"Whether they support us or not, it still depends on whether we can win. Otherwise, the people who curse you the most might be these very same people in front of you."
Rice: "...But we lost today. Aren't they still supporting us?"
"Then try losing consistently?" Ben White snorted, "Maybe if we lose the next match, someone will start cursing."
Rice: "But why do I feel like you're never nervous? If you play badly and get cursed by fans, would you be nervous? Would you feel upset?"
Ben White said, "What's there to be nervous about, what's there to be upset about? Didn't the Boss say not to take it to heart? I, Ben White, just focus on playing my own game; I don't care who's cursing me!"
Rice: "..."