Chapter 949 One Small Step for a Saint, One Giant Leap for the World!

Many people say that Michels' Total Football has completely changed the football world.

However, what has changed in the end, except for professionals, few people can tell.

In the world of football tactics, there has always been a set of experiences and theoretical systems that are not familiar to ordinary people. From the past to the present, they have been inherited in one continuous line and are constantly evolving. Although there are branches, they remain the same.

If it is simply explained literally, Total Defense means that everyone is involved in offense and defense.

But if you think about it carefully, if everyone is attacking at the same time, who will defend?

The reverse is also true.

Think again, the football field is so big, so many people are involved in the attack, how to solve the efficiency? How to form an effective offensive threat?

In other words, total attack and total defense is not just as simple as putting in the number of people.

It has a complete set of tactical ideas of its own.

Moreover, it does not simply require players to invest in offense, or to invest in defense, which is too superficial.

To put it simply, total defense is to completely blur the position on the field. Players adapt to the enemy's conditions, make the best use of the situation, and use fluid running and passing and receiving to pull the opponent's defense and create loopholes. Vulnerabilities to attack.

In other words, in a total defense team, there is no distinction between forwards, midfielders and defenders. Whoever appears on the front line is the forward, and whoever appears on the back line is the defender.

There is no clear division of labor and functional arrangements for the players, and the connection is completely based on the situation on the court, as well as the players' own understanding and creativity on the court. The team is completely integrated from front to back, even including the goalkeeper, regardless of each other.

Don't you think it's incredible?

Yes, the ideal total defense, that's it.

Moreover, it looks so invincible and unrivaled.

But everyone knows that in reality, this is impossible to achieve, but all football people are frantically working towards this direction, researching, exploring, and moving towards it step by step.

Taking a closer look at the past few years, football tactics have changed rapidly, but they remain the same.

The traditional scoring center is gradually being eliminated.

Instead, there are players like Drogba Ibrahimovic who can take on more midfield functions, euphemistically called a comprehensive center.

The traditional winger gradually disappeared, replaced by the so-called inside winger, or the controlling winger, or the scoring winger of the Cristiano Ronaldo type.

Even a superstar like Messi, who is almost a top striker, a top winger, and a top midfielder.

Yes, the greatness of Messi lies in his perfect interpretation of the exploration and understanding of total defense by countless football players in the past few years.

In the past few years, the tactics of professional football have been constantly changing, exploring, and after eliminating one type of player after another, they are also creating new types of players one after another.

Some succeed, some fail, and some are unclear for the time being, who knows?

But everyone is clearly moving towards the concept of total defense.

Barcelona successfully built a denuclearized midfield system. Although Guardiola's exploration was interrupted due to various reasons, Barcelona's success shocked the entire professional football world.

Immediately afterwards, Bielsa led Southampton to rise strongly.

If the Saints have not seen signs of denuclearization during Ibrahimovic's time, then last season, they sold Ibrahimovic, Modric and Harbin in one go. After Metz Rodriguez and other superstars, Bielsa's team completely played denuclearized football in the midfield.

Suarez Hazard Sanchez Fabregas Di Maria Danilo David Alaba, Southampton's entire midfield and left and right wings are completely connected into one.

Through their smooth running like clouds and flowing water, as well as frequent staggering cross positions, coupled with their incomparably skillful pass and catch coordination, they completely surprised everyone to see that this is the trend of future football.

It can be said that Southampton has taken a big step forward on the basis of Barcelona.

Yes, one small step for the saints, but one giant leap for world football.

This is why world football is so shocked by the achievements of the Saints, and almost all the head coaches in the world praise the Saints so much.

However, Bielsa's transformation of the Saints is difficult to go any further.

The development of football tactics has its regularity and its objectivity.

Now, the key that hinders the further development of football tactics is defense.

Yes, offensive denuclearization is not difficult to achieve. Even apart from Southampton, I am afraid that in the next few years, other teams will be able to realize this set of concepts, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

However, how defense fits into the denuclearization system has become the biggest obstacle.

This is a problem that even Bielsa can't solve, and because of this, Bielsa decided to temporarily retreat from the front line of coaching and concentrate on research again, hoping to find an effective way to overcome this problem.

No one knows how long it will take, how much manpower, material and financial resources will be invested.

Looking at professional football, there are not many who are willing to devote resources to research in this area.

More organizations like UEFA and FIFA are motivated by public welfare.

However, Yang Huan invested, and invested a lot of money.

After Bielsa decided to retire, Yang Huan has always believed that Guardiola is the most ideal successor.

Why?

Because Guardiola is the same as Bielsa, their pursuit is the same.

More importantly, besides Bielsa, Yang Huan really can't think of any other coach in European football today who can inherit Bielsa's set of ideas and continue to explore.

Conversely, Guardiola is also very clear that the team in European football that best fits his philosophy is Southampton.

Today's Barcelona can no longer meet Guardiola's requirements.

After players such as Xavi and Iniesta got old, Barcelona did not introduce suitable players, nor did they have the motivation to continue to explore Guardiola's set of ideas. They began to live on the credits of the past.

Only Southampton, they still persist.

Fabregas, Di Maria and Toni Kroos are still young, but the emergence of rookies such as Pogba Kovacic makes Southampton more malleable.

To some extent, Southampton has completed corner overtaking in just two or three years, surpassing Barcelona, ​​becoming the strongest team in European football and at the same time the closest team to Total Defense.

And between Southampton and Guardiola, there is still a year's time difference.

Therefore, Yang Huan needs Ancelotti to make a transition for the Saints in the coming year.

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After hearing Yang Huan's words, Ancelotti was really excited.

As a football coach, although his coaching philosophy is different from that of Guardiola and Bielsa, he is equally excited by their pursuit and excited by their achievements.

He used to play for Milan during the period of the Three Musketeers. At that time, Sacchi was also pursuing total defense. He effectively combined the concept of total defense in the Netherlands with the chain defense in Italy, creating the pinnacle of Milan Dynasty, and the glory of the Italian national team.

Ancelotti is the witness and executor of all of Sacchi, so he also has his own understanding of Total Defense.

Moreover, he was born in Italy, which regards defense as the soul, and it can even be said that defense has been completely integrated into his blood.

Therefore, he is very excited because he believes that he can bring something of his own to Southampton on this road.

It is estimated that the reason why the saints chose him also has this consideration.

"Master Huan, I have some questions." Ancelotti said.

"Oh?" Yang Huan smiled and nodded, "Excuse me."

"I am very surprised, if from the perspective of meeting the needs of the team, Monaco's midfielder Verratti should be more in line with the needs of the Saints than Cesc Fabregas, but why did the Saints decide to introduce Fabregas last summer? ?”

Yang Huan nodded, "Yes, you are right, Verratti fits the needs of the team, but the coaching staff thought that he was not suitable to come to Southampton for the time being, he was not mature enough, and at that time Monaco Verratti is needed more than a saint, so..."

Although they belong to the same group, the interests of all aspects must be considered in signing.

This year, many teams are trying to introduce Verratti, especially Barcelona.

Luis Enrique even said that Verratti is not like Pirlo, but like Harvey, asking the management to do their best to win Verratti, but Barcelona may have no hope, because this player has been booked in advance by Southampton .

The meaning of the saints is to let Verratti continue to play in Monaco for another season and join the team next summer.

On this point, Verratti has also agreed, so he readily renewed his contract with Monaco.

"What about Pogba? What is the position of Pogba within the Saints?" Ancelotti asked with concern.

Many people say that Pogba is the prince of the saints. He is young, but he has received great attention.

What's interesting is that the saints don't seem to have any intention of supporting Pogba as the core force. Why is this?

After hearing this, Yang Huan laughed, "Pogba is a genius, there is no doubt about it, but we don't want him to be fixed too early, nor to be fixed in a certain position too early."

Ancelotti shook his head, "I don't quite understand."

"His future position is in the middle of the frontcourt."

Ancelotti's eyes lit up immediately, didn't he?

The philosophy of the Saints is to further improve the overall denuclearization system, so it is not worth making a fuss about letting Pogba play in the frontcourt.

No wonder Bielsa let Pogba try to play a number of different positions.

"I see." Ancelotti nodded.

Knowing the team's positioning of Pogba, then he also knows how to cultivate and carve this precious jade next.

There is also Kovacic, and Martial, and Ravel Morrison, and other players.

After seeing Ancelotti's expression, Yang Huan smiled slightly and asked, "How is it, Carol, are you confident?"

"That depends on what the management expects of me." Ancelotti replied with a slight smile.

"In the new season, you will not have the pressure of performance. The focus is on cultivating these players and helping us bring them out."

With the strength of the Saints today, coupled with the introduction of Messi, there is almost no suspense for Southampton to continue to defend the Premier League. As for the Champions League, it is a highly accidental event. The gang management will not have much opinion.

Therefore, in the new season, the Saints do not have much requirements in terms of performance.

The most important thing is to further improve the team's tactical system and whether these young players can play well.

"Ok" Ancelotti readily agreed.

Stretching again, the fat Italian looked at the Persian Gulf in the distance, "I can't wait to hear such an exciting blueprint drawn by Master Huan."

After Yang Huan heard this, he also burst out laughing.

For Ancelotti, whether it is him or the management of the Saints, they are very confident.

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