Football’s First Defender

"It's time to say goodbye again, Yang!"

"I am very happy to have these two periods of time as a partner with you. I witnessed your growth at Zenit, and at Liverpool, I saw you become the best central defender in the world. I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate in the future."

Skrtel's words were brief but poignant.

As a "veteran" in the Liverpool team who came much earlier than Yang Feng, Skrtel's age is not too old, but last season, Skrtel's performance did begin to decline.

This decline was also in the game, causing instability in Liverpool's defense.

However, after all, Skrtel is the most tacit partner of Yang Feng's cooperation. To "clean up" the players in this way, without even giving a chance to substitute, Yang Feng still feels that some of Liverpool's management is too unreasonable. .

Of course, qualified managers must constantly clean up the team's "negative equity", save first-team expenses, and provide young players with positions to grow, otherwise the team will be dragged down sooner or later.

Yang Feng still understands this point. After all, if the old players are not dealt with harshly, it will delay the training of team personnel and the introduction of players, which will cause big problems for the team's future team building.

It's just that he feels that the team's handling of transfers is still somewhat unreasonable. After all, Skrtel has played for the team for so long. Declining, but personal strength should still be there. Playing the main position may have a large deviation, but playing a substitute position should be more than enough.

As the core player of Liverpool's defense, Yang Feng still thinks who he chooses as his partner in the game, whether the team should ask for some professional opinions when cleaning the players in the defense.

However, Liverpool obviously planned to clean up Skrtel directly, and did not even notify Yang Feng. It was Skrtel who told Yang Feng the news at the first time.

And that afternoon, Coutinho also called Yang Feng.

Unlike Skrtel's parting sadness, Coutinho said on the phone that he is going to join Barcelona and is still very yearning for Barcelona.

After all, that is Barcelona, ​​which can be called the highest team goal of all technical players. Barcelona is a team that can maximize the performance of technical players.

Coutinho is very happy to go to Barcelona, ​​​​and very happy that Liverpool agreed to let him go.

Also happy for his super high social status.

Worth is sometimes a proof of one's own strength.

The call between Coutinho and Yang Feng was simply to inform him that he was about to transfer. After all, Yang Feng has always been the "big brother" in the team, and the additional training team organized by Yang Feng allowed Coutinho to grow quickly. .

Coutinho thanked Yang Feng for his guidance, and exchanged blessings with Yang Feng, then hung up the phone and went to tidy up.

After Yang Feng hung up the phone, he was in a state of bewilderment.

"If I remember correctly, the transfer of Coutinho should be a bloody drama, right? Coutinho, Barcelona, ​​and Liverpool have been talking for a long time, and in the end they resorted to various methods, and Liverpool just insisted on it." The price did not let go. Then Barcelona finally, reluctantly paid real money and bought Coutinho."

"I don't know if my memory is wrong or history has changed and Coutinho left Liverpool so early."

Sometimes it may really be that history has changed. With three consecutive championships as a base, for Klopp, the performance pressure is actually not as great as it is now.

Every championship dynasty is bound to have a period of decline, and with the Premier League looking around, this period of decline may come faster and more violently.

And Klopp can use this period of decline to reform the team according to his own ideas without the pressure of performance. Then he needs to clean up some players who do not meet his tactical requirements, save salary space, and raise money. The transfer fee is used to buy Klopp's favorite players.

In fact, whether Yang Feng is in his plan, Klopp also wants to have a detailed discussion with him.

Whether Yang Feng wants to stay in the team or not.

In the transfer department of Liverpool, while operations are being carried out continuously, the overseas calls between Yang Feng and Klopp have also been going on.

Klopp called Yang Feng first.

Afternoon UK time, evening BJ time.

The two talked in detail for half an hour.

Klopp still wants to keep Yang Feng. After all, Yang Feng's strength is there, it is too strong.

With Yang Feng, Klopp's confidence in reform will be greater, and he will be more secure about his results.

But Yang Feng, after inquiring about Klopp's plan in detail, felt that such a plan would waste his career time.

Asians have been in European football for decades, and there are not many players who can really guarantee their peak form after the age of 30.

The physical fitness of the yellow race has made East Asian players have always had a youthful meal in European football. When they really can't run, it has never been a slow decline in their competitive state, but a precipitous decline.

So for Yang Feng, to compete for honor, whether it is personal honor or collective honor, the time of his career is precious.

And Klopp wants to use two seasons to polish the team, polish young players in various positions, and then hit the results of the league and the Champions League. This kind of plan looks good. According to the historical trajectory, Yang Feng also knows that Klopp Pu could succeed, but Yang Feng couldn't afford to wait.

It is impossible for him to spend another 2 years waiting for the growth of Salah, Mane and Van Dijk.

What Yang Feng needs is continuous victories, so he didn't fit in with Klopp's plan.

After talking for a while, Yang Feng became more decisive, and when he made a decision, he was going to leave.

Leave the place where you have struggled for the past few years, leave the extremely hot Anfield Stadium, leave the lovely kops, leave the city of Liverpool, and even leave the familiar Premier League.

"Mr. Klopp, I still want to leave."

When the phone call was coming to an end, Yang Feng still told Klopp his own thoughts.

Yang Feng obviously felt the voice on the other side of the phone stagnate.

"Really? Yang, I respect your choice. You are an excellent player. You are a championship puzzle who can bring championships to any team. Although we have only worked together for less than one season, it is very It is a pleasure to cooperate with such an excellent central defender like you, and I wish you all the best in the future!"

After finishing the overseas phone call with Klopp, Yang Feng called his agent directly.

The words are very simple, "I want to transfer and leave, I want to leave the Premier League, and then I will get together with Liverpool."

Professional things should be done by professional knowledge. For Yang Feng, he only needs to make a decision. Naturally, he has an agent to help him do all this.

He believes that his agent should be able to handle it reasonably for such a small matter.

After all, as long as the rumor that he wants to transfer goes out, there is no need to worry about no buyer wanting to buy Yang Feng.

It's just that the buyer needs to negotiate a price with Liverpool.

Leaving Liverpool with three Premier League championship trophies, a Champions League Big Ears Cup, plus a generous transfer fee.

For Yang Feng, for Liverpool, he has nothing to feel guilty about.

After getting the news of Yang Feng seeking a transfer from the head coach Klopp and Yang Feng's agent respectively, Liverpool's management is also making the last effort, hoping to persuade Yang Feng to change his mind.

But Yang Feng's attitude is very firm, he wants to go outside to seek new challenges, to challenge more, to try more, instead of waiting in Liverpool for another two years.

When the players' opinions are very firm, there is no good way for Liverpool's management.

Instead, he could only try his best to find a good buyer and sell Yang Feng for a good price.

How to operate it, Yang Feng can't control this matter, what Yang Feng can control is to continue to maintain his training intensity in normal training, to prepare for the new season, a new environment, a new situation challenge.

After such a decision was made, for Yang Feng, he was ready to leave.

The value of life is to constantly seek new challenges.

For Yang Feng, whether it is from Zenit St. Petersburg to the Premier League or from Chelsea to Liverpool.

Every step of his career is a new challenge for Yang Feng.

Back then at Zenit, Yang Feng, who had just stepped into professional football, was constantly challenging himself to adapt to the rough game style of Russian football for his own dreams.

Later, he left Zenit and went to the Premier League precisely because he had no pursuit in the Russian league, and Yang Feng yearned to go to a better platform to prove his strength.

From the cold Russia to the warm British Isles.

From Zenit, to Chelsea.

Yang Feng, who was young at the beginning, was taught by a group of seniors and coaches at Chelsea, and he is learning and growing rapidly.

Yang Feng's defensive characteristics have also been developed and utilized with emphasis.

From competing for a position with others, to becoming Chelsea's absolute main force.

During Yang Feng's several seasons at Chelsea, he helped the Blues defend the defense and reached what may be the world's top defense level.

After Chelsea reached the pinnacle of personal defense, the reason for leaving was firstly because of injury factors, and secondly because Yang Feng wanted to continue to prove himself.

You know, even if Yang Feng has established himself as the main force in the Chelsea team, he is even called the core of Chelsea's team for the next ten years.

However, for Yang Feng, the overall strength of Chelsea's defense is too strong.

It can be said that even without Yang Feng, Chelsea's defense level is one-on-one.

The presence or absence of Yang Feng will have an impact on Chelsea's defensive strength, but it will not hurt so much.

Chelsea's excellent defensive performance, you can say that Yang Feng as a central defender, as the core credit, but you can also say that it is the result of the outstanding efforts of all Chelsea's defensive players.

Yang Feng urgently needed a team that could highlight his one-man defensive role.

Liverpool was the best option at the time.

During the reconstruction period, Liverpool was not that good defensively.

Painting on a piece of white paper is the most utilitarian.

When Yang Feng came back from a serious injury, and when Yang Feng supported Liverpool's defense on the field with his own strength, everyone compared and realized that Yang Feng was actually so strong.

Such a powerful Yang Feng was exchanged by Liverpool for Torres, which is really a treasure!

And Yang Feng, with his own performance, quickly won the recognition of Liverpool fans, and quickly integrated into the kop group, becoming a member of the Red Army.

During this period of time in Liverpool, Yang Feng showed his strength in the defense and led Liverpool to a smooth recovery.

The first Premier League champion in team history!

Champions League!

And three consecutive Premier League titles!

Liverpool has stumbled all the way, but it has been the most successful team in the Premier League in recent years. Not even one.

And the most stable and outstanding performer must be Yang Feng.

Suarez was the core of the frontcourt and left after winning the championship.

Sterling was established as the new core, and he transferred and left after the season again.

When Liverpool encountered a crisis this season, it was still Yang Feng, and a group of his new teammates, who came back from the second half of the standings, caught up to the Champions League, and then caught up to the top two. Completed a reversal and overtake on the last road.

Yang Feng is a witness of Liverpool's outstanding record in the past three seasons and a witness of Liverpool's glorious era.

It was Yang Feng's key participation that allowed Liverpool to recover so quickly.

However, for Yang Feng now, after the team won three consecutive Premier League titles, Yang Feng seems to have lost the motivation to play in the Premier League.

Every season, although there are no underdogs in the Premier League, most of the Premier League teams have the same style of play, which has already made Yang Feng a little bored.

In other words, it is precisely because of his strong defensive dominance in the Premier League that Yang Feng wants to try new challenges instead of hanging on the tree of the Premier League.

In the five major leagues, Yang Feng doesn't want to be said by some people that he only plays in the Premier League and bullies those "rough guys" in the Premier League.

The desire to leave Liverpool was not strong before.

However, when the internal cleaning of the Liverpool team was going on, Yang Feng felt that maybe it was time for him to say goodbye.

The contract with Liverpool was originally signed for 5 years. Because of his outstanding performance after recovering from the injury, he renewed the contract for another year. Now Yang Feng still has a 2-year contract. Although he cannot leave directly, it is discussed by the players and the team When it is completed, as long as there are other teams that can bid, Liverpool will definitely let people go.

For Yang Feng, his new journey will be determined by which wealthy team is willing to spend the transfer fee to buy Yang Feng!