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Chapter 347: Aldrich's Bold Provocation

At the pre-match press conference, reporters were less concerned about the game itself. Ever since Aldrich took charge of Millwall, his performance in London derbies had been remarkable, with a particularly dominant record against Chelsea.

Only the Fleet Street journalists were keen to ask Aldrich about his thoughts on Chelsea's new squad for the season.

Aldrich wasn't interested in discussing Chelsea. Every year, someone would bring up how strong Chelsea had become, how much they had spent, and which world-class players they had signed.

The purpose was simple: to fan the flames, making the rivalry between the two clubs even more intense.

"Chelsea improves every year, that's true, but I believe there's still a significant gap between Chelsea and Millwall. A truly powerful team isn't built by just adding stars—it's about chemistry and whether the sum is greater than its parts. Sure, Chelsea brought in names familiar to European football fans: World Cup champion Desailly, Ferrer, Laudrup Jr., Casiraghi... But so what? Football matches aren't a one-on-one showdown across every position. Chelsea's constant player turnover—where's their identity, their tactical tradition, their team spirit? They're still far behind Millwall."

The reporters on-site were quite pleased—Aldrich was talking big now!

It made sense when you thought about it. Aldrich was already a Champions League-winning coach, so what if he looked down on Chelsea? Chelsea didn't have much to show off about when facing Millwall anyway.

"Mr. Hall, but Millwall also went through a major squad overhaul this summer."

"That's different, completely different. Millwall has tradition. Players like Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho, and Materazzi have been at Millwall for a long time. They know the team well and are stepping into key roles—there's no issue with them integrating. Chelsea, on the other hand, still needs time to figure things out and build a new squad. Millwall only needs a short adjustment period before we're back at full strength. Even tomorrow, I don't expect Chelsea to pose any trouble for us."

Aldrich's words excited the reporters.

That's the confidence you get after lifting the Champions League trophy!

Arrogant, perhaps, but no one at the press conference challenged Aldrich.

After all, he's a big deal—arguably the hottest young manager in European football—so who cares if he looks down on Chelsea?

Aldrich's attitude now bordered on disdain for Chelsea, clearly not considering them a threat.

As the press conference veered off-topic, no one cared much about the upcoming match. Millwall's past dominance made the outcome seem predictable, even though Chelsea had improved year by year. The focus shifted to the Champions League group stage draw.

When asked about Millwall's group, Aldrich was more restrained. He sighed, "Since the draw was announced, all I've heard is talk about Millwall and Inter Milan. Yes, we are two favorites to advance. Inter Milan has a squad full of stars, and Millwall are the defending champions. Even my players think that if we just beat Inter, qualifying will be a formality. I think that's a huge mistake. We have six group stage games, and only two are against Inter. Winning both gives us six points, but if we lose or draw the other four games, we could drop four points or more. I'm not saying that Graz or Spartak Moscow are particularly strong—I'd be accused of being insincere—but the key to qualifying lies in how Millwall approaches every opponent. If we underestimate Graz and Spartak, even beating Inter might not be enough to see us through."

Aldrich had indeed noticed signs of complacency within his squad. At breakfast that morning, all the talk at the team table was about Inter Milan, especially Ronaldo. The older players, who had faced him before, were telling the younger ones how difficult Ronaldo was to mark.

This wasn't a good sign.

In reality, if Millwall wanted to qualify, they just needed to avoid losing to Inter and focus on winning the other four games. This strategy, similar to a game of "Tian Ji's horse-racing," would guarantee enough points to advance, even if not as group winners. But Aldrich could never tell his players, "Hey, let's forget about Inter and focus on bullying the weaker teams for 12 points."

It might be true, but saying that would destroy their confidence!

The next day, the UEFA Super Cup was set to take place. The Louis II Stadium was packed, with UEFA dignitaries and Monaco royalty in the VIP boxes, eagerly awaiting the spectacle.

Aldrich arrived early and took his seat on the bench, immediately surrounded by photographers.

Millwall were still defending champions.

The previous season's Super Cup had been played just six months earlier, where they had defeated Borussia Dortmund over two legs to claim the title.

Chelsea's coach, Gianluca Vialli, now fully transitioned into his managerial role, no longer needed to swap his suit for a jersey. Upon emerging, he briefly shook hands with Aldrich, but the two men exchanged no pleasantries, only a quick arm pat before parting ways.

Aldrich's bold comments from the previous day had made headlines across major media outlets. Everyone following the Super Cup knew that Aldrich held Chelsea in complete disregard.

Even though Chelsea's lineup was impressive, compared to Millwall's summer overhaul, Aldrich still had no respect for them.

"The UEFA Super Cup is about to kick off at the Louis II Stadium. Last season's Champions League winners, Millwall, take on last season's Cup Winners' Cup champions, Chelsea. Both teams hail from London, and they share a fierce rivalry. A London derby on the stage of the Super Cup—this is a rare sight in European football."

As Millwall and Chelsea players emerged from the tunnel, the commentator introduced the starting lineups.

Millwall's 4-4-1-1 formation:

Goalkeeper: Butt.

Defenders: Schneider, Materazzi, Southgate, Zambrotta.

Midfielders: Gronkjaer, Lampard, Makélélé, Ronaldinho.

Forwards: Van Nistelrooy, Nedvěd.

Chelsea's 4-4-2 formation:

Goalkeeper: De Goey.

Defenders: Ferrer, Desailly, Leboeuf, Le Saux.

Midfielders: Petrescu, Di Matteo, Poyet, Wise.

Forwards: Zola, Flo.

Millwall's tactical setup for this match wasn't new—they had used it in the past during their time in the First Division.

The style was reminiscent of Arsenal's, relying on solid defense and counterattacks. Arsenal's 4-4-2 relied on the wings, with Pires and Overmars driving the offense, while Petit and Vieira formed a double pivot in midfield. Bergkamp, both a creator and scorer, partnered with Wright last season and would be paired with Anelka this season.

Millwall's defense relied on a Lampard-Makélélé double pivot, while their attack featured Ronaldinho and Gronkjaer on the wings. Nedvěd played as a free man up front, capable of both scoring and creating, his experience and game-reading abilities making him a perfect shadow striker, requiring no special instructions from Aldrich.

Chelsea, on the other hand, played a more traditional 4-4-2. Their attack featured the tall-and-fast combo of Flo and Zola, and their defense had been strengthened by the French duo of Leboeuf and Desailly.

As the enthusiastic cheers of the fans echoed through the stadium, the referee blew the whistle to start the match.

Aldrich remained seated, his expression calm and composed.

The game started with Chelsea controlling the midfield. The Di Matteo-Poyet pairing had more experience and was technically stronger than Millwall's Lampard-Makélélé duo, especially in terms of ball possession.

Millwall pulled back into a defensive stance, with Chelsea focusing their attacks on the wings.

Boas, sitting behind Aldrich, leaned forward and asked, "Do you still think Chelsea aren't strong enough to challenge Millwall?"

The first ten minutes of the game had Boas on edge—Chelsea's aggressive offense was putting a lot of pressure on Millwall's defense.

Aldrich smiled without saying a word, but Jensen, sitting next to him, turned around and said with a grin, "Do you really believe what he said to the reporters? That was all for Chelsea to hear."

Boas frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Jensen pointed to the pitch and explained, "Don't be fooled by Chelsea's strong start. Millwall's tactics are designed for this—they need the opposition to come at them."

Aldrich turned to Jensen with a smile and added, "Provocation works every time."

Chelsea are star-studded; it's hard to ignore the fact that Aldridge has already won the Champions League at such a young age, which in itself is enough to make people mad with envy. On top of that, Aldridge continues to sneer at his old nemesis - how can Chelsea accept this?

Chelsea's squad also had an average age five years older than Millwall's lineup.

Of course, they were going to throw everything at Millwall in an attempt to crush them.

Boas, still confused, asked, "But we couldn't even beat Coventry with the same lineup and tactics."

Aldrich straightened up slightly, leaned back, and casually remarked, "This system isn't particularly strong when it comes to breaking down a defense head-on. Its real power lies in counter-attacks, and for that, you need space. It relies on quick surges down the wings and midfielders making late runs into the box. Against Coventry, their defense was more static, compressing the space, which stifled our players' ability to perform. We still need more time to fine-tune it. But today, against Chelsea, pay close attention — we'll have more chances than we did against Coventry. As long as we execute cleanly when transitioning from defense to attack and make accurate outlet passes, Chelsea won't be able to intercept on the first attempt. And once that happens, our counter-attack will quickly overwhelm their backline."

Boas listened intently, nodding as he kept his eyes fixed on the game.

Millwall's defense, after enduring twenty minutes of relentless pressure from Chelsea, had not conceded a goal. This gave the players a much-needed boost in confidence. With their mindset now more composed, they defended more calmly, and their counter-attacks became clearer and more precise. Gradually, Millwall found their rhythm and began to feel the flow of their counter-attacking game.