It was a euro 2000 group match, the Netherlands against the Czech Republic. In the 67th minute of the match, two famous bald heads of the two teams jumped high and collided together, one of them was knocked off the brow bone, bleeding profusely. Then, the picture that will live forever in the annals of football appears:
The Dutch team doctor threaded the needle on his brow bone and completed a surgical operation in just a few minutes. During the whole operation, the one who was sutured did not even blink his eyes, paid attention to the situation on the field the whole time, and interpreted what is called "scraping bone healing" to fans around the world.
The protagonist of this story is the tough guy, the iron man, the Dutch Guan Yunchang- Jaap Stam.
【Only one step away from the electrician】
Stam was born on 17 July 1972 in Kampen, In The Dutch province of Ober Ijssel. Even in this country where men average 182.5 cm tall, Stam as a teenager still stands out from his peers. At the age of 7, Stam joined the local amateur football team and then knocked down the strikers who were several years older than him.
However, a car accident at the age of 13 changed Stam's path of football, and a recovery period of several years allowed him to gradually become a good fit on the football field, until the age of 18, he still had no professional football training, and could only play amateur games with a group of postmen and porters. At that time, his ideal was no longer to become "a great footballer", but to become "a great electrician".
If the story continues like this, Stam's desire to appear on tv screens will only appear in the "which is the better electrification technology" advertisement, but at the age of 19, he meets an NPC on the field that triggers a new plot - the former Dutch international, Theo De Jong. On a sunny weekend, Theo De Jong watched a wildball match in Stam and then his eyes lit up: "Jaap is very strong, very engaged, very fierce, he will be the best player I have ever seen." ”
Theo-de-Jong's persuasion shook Stam's electrician's heart, and a new map began. In 1992, De Jong took Stam to the second team of FC Velim for £400,000, and six months later he moved to Dutch Second Division side Zwolle and officially started his career. Perhaps because the power of the flood has been held for too long, this teenager who has only begun to receive systematic football training after adulthood has begun to improve at an alarming rate.
In his first season with Zwolle (1992-93), Stam made 32 appearances for the team in the Dutch Second Division, becoming the defensive thigh of Zwolle; in July 1993, the Dutch club Lüvarden Kambul bought him at a high price, even if the club was relegated a year later, it could not hide Stam's light; in July 1995, the Club of William II brought him back to the Dutch Second Division, and before he could warm up in his hands, Willem II received an offer from Eindhoven for Stam... At that time, only half a year had passed since Wilhelm II signed him.
In the winter window of 1996, Stam officially joined Eindhoven. In four years, Stam moved home 6 times, and between changing defenses and changing houses again and again, he completed the transformation from a wild ball teenager to a central defender in the top team in The country.
It was a wonderful time, with domestic rising stars, all the way up, being selected for the national team, becoming the Dutch footballer of the year, pulling Ajax off the throne, and his head was full of hair.
"Cold head against a strong striker?"
inexistent.
[I'm bald, and I'm stronger]
During his time at Eindhoven, Stam was not only able to easily win one-on-one with card slots and confrontations, but also became more and more calm and calm. At the 1998 World Cup, he had become the world's most watched super centre-back, keeping Batistuta and Ronaldo in order.
Such a stam, the temple of Eindhoven is a bit unable to fit. Juventus, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Liverpool have thrown olive branches to him, and Ferguson even went to the Netherlands to talk with Stam on his knees (and joined in a flash). Fortunately, the Dutch star-making factory never missed an opportunity to make a difference as a middleman, so when Manchester United smashed a cheque with a denomination of up to 10.6 million pounds, Eindhoven wiped his saliva happily and handed Stam a ticket to Manchester. You know, Ronaldo's transfer from Barcelona to Inter Milan at the same time was only worth 19.5 million pounds - more than 0.5 Ronaldo's price, no matter which era the price standard, is a huge amount of money.
The day he signed for Manchester United was the last home match day of the 1997-98 manchester United season. That afternoon, it was rainy in Manchester City, and Ferguson threw down the team that was about to play, personally went to the signing site, signed, shook hands, hugged, and then handed Stam a large umbrella with the Manchester United logo printed on it... "The sky of the Red Devils will be supported by you later." ”
However, Stam, who had just arrived in Manchester, did not immediately adapt to the rhythm of the Premier League. Fortunately, coach Ferguson gave him a position-driven, air-superiority partner like Johansson and Borg, and soon Stam showed the Premier League what the most expensive defender in international football is.
He is physically resistant to bugs, often knocking other Rough Guys of the Premier League three feet high; he defends bugs head-on, nicknamed "Jaap who can break through head-on"; his interception tackle bugs, always intercepting the ball within a meter in front of him in a huge shoveling posture, which is simply a walking no-pass symbol.
Moreover, Stam's murderous length is an inner destruction relative to every striker, and the shot of angering Vieira has become a classic picture of world football, no matter who faces him, it can make people timid before they fight. Of course, the only people who are afraid of him are professional players, and if the author fights with him, he will have to kneel on the ground in less than five seconds... Then among those who pinched me, beg me not to die.
In short, fierceness, steel, stability, and super willpower are the personal symbols that Stam left for Manchester United, and all of this was a perfect match for Manchester United at that time. Together, they ushered in the great 1998-99 season, the league title, the FA Cup, and then, too late to celebrate, they went to the Champions League final.
It was destined to be a game in history, with Bayern taking the lead in the 6th minute and plenty of chances after that. Although the iron triangle of Stam, Johansen and Schmeichel stubbornly helped Manchester United to defend the bottom line of a goal behind, their forward line did not score until the stoppage time card was lifted. In the stands, UEFA president Johansson had gotten up to leave, and he took the elevator to prepare to go to the stadium to present the award to champions Bayern Munich. Then in the final three minutes of the game, David Beckham took two corners... bite! Johnsson's elevator reached the stadium and the champions had turned into Manchester United.
For that game, Stam has his own unique memories.
"The moment of the anti-score is really an extreme satisfaction."
"But I thought about it later, when Ole scored, I was right behind him, so if he missed the opportunity, maybe the person who scored the shot was down!"
Brave and frank, undisguised in his thoughts, Stam is such a straight man of steel. During his time at Manchester United, even the songs written by Red Devils fans for him were foul-mouthed, "Jip Jaap Stam is a big Dutchman, get past him if you f*****g can. Try a little trick and he'll make you look a d***, Jip Jaap, Jaap Stam." translates to "Yap Stam is a big Dutchman, you have the guts to try him, do a fake action, he makes you look like XX (indescribable special part), Yap, Yap Stam." ”
It's strange that this song with such a heavy taste can express the love of fans and fully meet Stam's style.
[The hand holding the knife lifted the pen, which may be a tragedy]
In the 1999–2000 season, United won the Premier League title by 18 points ahead of runners-up Arsenal, Stam's outstanding performance in the back line eased the impact of Schmeichel's transfer, and he himself became UEFA Club Defender of the Year twice in 1999 and 2000.
It was at Euro 2000 that season that Stam performed without an anesthetic stitches and without changing the color of his face, which is the scene you saw at the beginning. Although Holland later lost to the ghost-playing Tordo, he also played an important penalty, but no one doubted his top ability as a defender.
However, in the middle of the 2000-01 season, Stam suffered his biggest injury since joining Manchester United, and he took a three-month break from an ankle injury against West Ham. During his recuperation, he was bored staying at home, and then he opened his honor book...
"Thinking about the past, looking at the present, I am up and down."
"So I came up with an idea."
"I want to write a book."
In 2001, Stam's autobiography , Tsukiko , Oh No , Head To Head," was officially published. In this autobiography, he claims that Ferguson took illegal measures when he signed himself from PSV Eindhoven, describes the scene where his Dutch national team teammate Davis scolded David Beckham, ridiculed the Neville brothers' chatter in the locker room, criticized Irving's poor ball control ability, accused Vieira of using small moves during the game, and said that the FA "put a gun on the head of Manchester United" and forced them to participate in the Club World Cup in Brazil...
From opponents to teammates, from coaches to FA, Stam was possessed by Empress Dowager Cixi, declaring war on the Eight Kingdoms in one breath. Later, this autobiography was further interpreted by unscrupulous newspapers when it was serialized in the Mirror, which led to the collapse of the situation.
In his first game after the autobiographical series, Stam was excluded from the squad against Blackburn, and a few days later he received a call from his agent.
"Jaap, you've been sold."
"What a ???!!!"
Shortly after receiving the call, Ferguson coach Yostam met and the two met at a gas station near a shopping mall. "Ferguson got in my car and told me the club had accepted Lazio's offer.
24 hours later, United officially announced that Stam would be transferred to Lazio for £16 million.
In fact, it is not Ferguson coach small belly chicken intestines or intentions, the autobiography is only the fuse of Stam's transfer, the reason why he was really sold is: according to the statistics of The Manchester United assistant coach and data maniac McLaren at the time, Stam's running distance after the ankle injury has dropped significantly, and the average steals per game have dropped by almost half, McLaren believes that this means that he will never return to the peak again, so he strongly recommends that Ferguson "take advantage of Stam's worth of two dollars to seize the time to sell him."
However, this is where the data lie. Later analysts found that Stam's decline in steals was not a sign of his weakness, on the contrary, because his judgment of the game increased, he adopted a follow-up tactic for many balls that did not require steals, but instead increased the success rate of defense.
However, it was too late. In the year of the transfer, Stam had just turned 29 years old, and it was the year of the fight. In the 2001-02 season after his transfer, United conceded 45 goals in the league, a full 14 more than the previous season, and finally finished only third and missed the fourth consecutive league title. Five years later, speaking to United's official website, Ferguson said: "Selling Stam was the worst decision I've ever made and I still can't let go of it until now. ”
Of course, it's not all Manchester United's fault, and if time could be turned back, Stam would probably have hoped that someone would scold him before he wrote that damn autobiography:
"Writing a book? Pull it down, you can't read the book yet. ”
[Lazio to Milan, right-back spring and autumn]
After the transfer to Lazio, Stam's bad luck is not over.
With boss Klagnoli's account on the brink of collapse, Stam received his first salary six months after joining. Moreover, after Lazio's victory over Atlanta on October 30, 2001, he was found to be positive for nandrolone decanoate in a drug test and received a 10-month ban. Fortunately, after a series of appeals, Stam's suspension period was reduced to 4 months, and after his return from suspension, he found himself standing next to a perfect partner - Nesta.
A steel, an elegance, a body invincible, a consciousness superior, a style of courage, a good at mending the pot. Whether Stam plays as centre-back or right-back, Serie A teams will collide with him and Nesta to form an insoluble combination, and no matter which striker comes, they will have to be skinned.
In 2002, however, Clargnoli and his multinational company, Cirio Food Group, were embroiled in a financial scandal, and the Lazio club was placed in the custody of financial managers and banks. In 2002 Nesta was sold to AC Milan for 3100w euros. The transfer finally gave the tortured Serie A striker a long sigh of relief, and the good times only passed two years later, and in 2004 Stam also moved to AC Milan...
"How come it's the two of them again?" Give me the ball and I'm going home! ”
At that time, the Milanese city line looked more terrible than the city of Rome, because the names that made up this line were Cavo, Nesta, Stam, maldini. However, it soon became apparent that Stam's invincibility seemed to exist only in the live football 8 of the time, and in reality, he was no longer as terrible as he thought.
Yes, successive injuries have caused Stam's form to decline, Karaze's ascension has also kept him gradually away from the middle, in milan days, Stam mostly worked in the right-back position, fortunately the team as a whole is strong enough to bring him to the Champions League final again, unfortunately, that final took place in Istanbul.
In the 90 minutes, heaven and hell were exchanged, and the whole team became the background board for the Reds, and the slow half-beat against Gerrard was also an important part of the board. In the two most bizarre finals in the history of the Champions League, Stam was the only one who witnessed the whole process, but the results were completely different, one glory, one failure. In the following season, Stam became a regular bench resident after injury in March, making only four appearances in the final two months of the season...
In the city of Milan, the night was as cold as water, and he took a sip of autumn and watched the peak fade away.
In July 2006, Stam returned to his homeland to join Ajax. Most of the time in the Eredivisie at this level of competition, he is still insurmountable.
Fifteen months later, at the age of 35, he announced his retirement.
[In my dictionary, there is no flinching]
When you want to evaluate Stam's career, he seems to be a contradiction.
On the one hand, his stature, his confrontation, his defensive ability made him a huge shock to people every time he appeared on the field, and many players regarded him as one of the greatest center-backs of his time; on the other hand, he happened to be in an era of the rise of center-backs, and the presence of Cannavaro, Nesta, Maldini rarely made him appear in various award ceremonies. And his low profile off the court has reduced his exposure, and there is no lace story or iron bone tender bridge section on the whole network, and even when he was the head coach of Cincinnati FC, the team's official propaganda map was mismatched with another bald head.
As a result, every time fans recall him, they always think of a magnificent era, the inter-meetings and changes in football, the disillusionment and rebirth of mountains and rivers. Stam, on the other hand, stands in the picture with a unique image, pulling up mountains, charging into battle, brassheads and iron foreheads, moving forward, a trace of blood in the corner of the eye, and not changing the color of the stitches.
The first team he chose to coach was Reading, who was as strong as he was.
- His last appearance was in a friendly match between Manchester United and Bayern, where he played Marseille's spin alone and knocked over three Bayern stars... He was 48 years old.
For Stamm, there was never a game to "move the bones".
As long as he climbed the green field, his mind had only one direction:
Fight, then, never back down.