9 Give Real Madrid a Major Operation

The history of football tactics is like a tragic history in which the back waves continue to beat the front waves to death.

The old innovators slowly became mainstream, replaced by a new wave of innovators, which in turn drove the development of football tactics.

At the turn of the century, many fans will remember the madness of the Bundesliga, Florentino's Galaxy battleship, Manchester United's iron-blooded triple crown, and the afterglow of the Serie A World Cup.

But few fans will remember that there was a time when a small, unassuming team reached the Champions League final two seasons in a row.

Although they all lost to the giants in the end and became synonymous with tragic reminders, this team is undoubtedly the most impressive in the past few years at the turn of the century, and it also plays the role of a tactical innovator in European football.

This team is from La Liga, called Valencia.

Valencia coached from Italian coach Ranieri brought the Italian defensive system framework to the team, and then took over the Argentine coach Hector Cooper to further Valencia's achievements.

Many fans remember Cooper because of his coaching at Inter Milan, especially his feud with Ronaldo.

Conservative, stubborn, and impersonal, this should be the stereotype of Cooper for all fans.

Even when Gao Shen searched for Cooper on the Internet before, a photo of an old-fashioned image with white hair, a black frame, and a very stubborn expression would always pop up, which undoubtedly deepened the understanding of Cooper for later generations.

But in fact, whether coaching Real Mallorca or coaching Valencia, Cooper is a veritable tactical innovator.

On the basis of Agnelli, he created a four-four-two midfield diamond-shaped stance for Valencia, which greatly stimulated the tactical development of European football. field.

Cooper's play style not only helped Valencia reach the Champions League final for two consecutive seasons, but also cultivated a group of outstanding stars, such as Gerard, Mendieta and so on.

With this idea, he himself won the favor of Inter Milan President Moratti, which is why he later had a grudge with Ronaldo.

So Cooper's tactical innovation is just an adjustment in the player's position?

It seems to be true for ordinary fans, but in fact, this is a revolution in tactical concepts. It represents a big step in European football from the original free and man-to-man tactics to the concept of zone defense outlined by Sacchi. step forward.

Previous football tactics emphasized possession and people, but now a third element has been added, which is space.

In the state of possession, how to expand the space as much as possible, mobilize the opponent's defense, and create more space for the offense; in the state of defense, how to compress the space as much as possible, maintain a tight defensive formation, and reduce the exposure of one's own space.

As a single midfielder, Gerard grew up under Cooper's system, and was favored by Barcelona. He was introduced at a sky-high price. Unexpectedly, he was lost in the confusion of Camp Nou.

Mendieta also subsequently transferred to Lazio, and there was great discomfort, and his career plummeted.

This is definitely not an accident.

If Cooper has been leading the tactical revolution in Europe during his coaching at Valencia, then his successor, Benitez, has taken this set of innovations a step further and has promoted it into a consensus across Europe and even the world.

Four two three one, double midfielder, pressing and pressing from a high position!

Benitez clearly saw that the single back midfielder in the four-four-two diamond-shaped stance was not enough to protect the space between the two ribs of the back line. At that time, there were many European football players like Zidane and Ned. For a midfielder like Vader, they have a strong ability to attack the ribs.

So, he removed a striker and adopted a double midfielder play. After Valencia sold Gerard, he introduced Baraja, plus the team's training of Albelda,

Just for Benitez to set up a set of the most classic double midfielder combination in European football in the past decade.

With four lines, the control of space has reached a new height. You can attack in front and defend in retreat. Benitez used this style of play to lead Valencia to the La Liga title and Liverpool to perform the Istanbul miracle in the Champions League final. .

Even next year, in 2007, Liverpool will reach the Champions League final.

It can be said that the four-two-three-one style of play is very advanced at the moment.

From the perspective of 2006, the four-three-three that Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho is now using is very advanced, but the requirements for players are very high, and it is not suitable for most teams at all. Generally, only strong teams are using them. Four two three one is different, its universality is very strong.

At least, the current Real Madrid can't play four or three.

Once upon a time, Real Madrid also wanted to play with a double midfielder.

No matter if it was Florentino who brought in Makelele, Flavio and Celades in one breath, the back three who performed very well in La Liga, or the later Gravesen and Pablo Garcia Famous players and other players have proved that Real Madrid can't see the trend clearly, so why is Real Madrid's defense still so bad?

The answer is simple: superstars.

So the question is, why is the superstar's tactical influence on Real Madrid so great?

Just because the superstars aren't actively involved in defense?

Yes, but also not.

It is now 2006, and the World Cup in Germany will soon be approaching.

I believe that many fans will have a question, why Zidane performed so well in the World Cup in Germany, but did not perform well in Real Madrid?

Did he deliberately keep his strength at the club?

Whether or not he deliberately stayed, I am afraid that only Zidane himself knows, but in Real Madrid and in the French national team, Zidane plays a completely different role.

In the World Cup in Germany, France adopted a four-two-three formation, with Makelele and Vieira in the lower back. Zidane did not play on the left side of the frontcourt, but played as a front midfielder.

The formation of 4231 is very balanced, especially it can stimulate the role of the attacking midfielder. Zidane can be described as a duck to water in this tactical system, and even he does not need to worry about defense at all, because there are two midfielders behind him.

It can be said that in this set of play, Zidane's strength has been brought into full play.

Can Real Madrid play?

Comparing France's lineup in the World Cup, Ronaldo vs. Henry as striker, Raul vs. Malouda on the left, Robinho vs. Ribery on the right, it doesn't seem like it's incomparable, right?

Even in the midfield position, Gravesson is a famous Premier League player, Pablo Garcia is a famous player in La Liga, and there is a long passer Beckham who plays well in the midfield. You can try it no matter what.

So why didn't Real Madrid try?

The answer is simple, still a superstar!

First of all, Ronaldo's range of activities and personal ability are not as good as those of the past, and he can't play Henry's threat at all; secondly, Robert Carlos loves attacking, and is best at one-stop on the wing, and everyone knows that he wants to let Carlos play. Threat, then the frontcourt has to leave space for him.

Then the problem comes. When Carlos moves forward, the players on the left side of the frontcourt will close in the middle, which will seize the range of activities of the attacking midfielder. If it is only like this, it will be fine. The attack after the insertion was unfavorable, and the opponent counterattacked. Real Madrid's defense is difficult to organize an effective defense system.

Because Real Madrid is still playing the old way of zone marking, the defense emphasizes the individual performance of the players more than the team's system battle, because Carlos can't come back, because Ronaldo, Zidane and Robinho and other superstars are not active Back defense.

If one or two do not return to defense, the team still has a way to make up for it, but if the frontcourt players do not return to defense, how can they make up for it?

Therefore, in the past few years, Real Madrid's defense can be described as riddled with holes. Even if the defenders change one after another, and the midfielders drag the defensive players one after another, the effect is still the same, and there is no effect at all.

The defensive system does not change, the overall tactical concept does not change, and it is useless to change anyone.

...

Gao Shen is very aware of the problems that Real Madrid is facing now.

Before crossing, he was a fan, he only knew that the problem was with the superstar, but why was it a superstar?

He doesn't understand.

Now, he understands a little bit, so he's going to start working on it.

He chose to watch Benitez's series of books, first of all about Benitez's tactics and team formation, especially the improvement after taking over Valencia and the transformation after taking over Liverpool, which are very valuable to the current high school.

When Gao Shen watched these two major cases in the library overnight and chewed it over and over again, although there were still many things he didn't understand, his tactical attainments had reached a new level, and he could see Real Madrid's current problems more clearly.

Real Madrid is ill, and terminally ill.

This kind of situation is no longer cured by taking medicine and injections, but a major surgery that hurts muscles and bones.

Especially defense, we must innovate the entire defense system.

If the defensive system is not innovated, it is useless to introduce more superstars.

From Samuel to Woodgate, and the next world footballer Cannavaro, he even hired the famous conservative Italian coach Capello, which improved Real Madrid's defense and won the league. Champion, but still not stable enough.

And Capello's success in Real Madrid is precisely because he adopted a double midfielder.

This is exactly what Gao Shen wanted to do.

Real Madrid's problem has never been attacking, but defending.

In other words, how to better organize the defense while ensuring the offensive threat.

Real Madrid is also not short of good players. Like Gravesen, he is the core of Everton's midfield. Many people think he is a reckless man. Yes, he looks very fierce, but in fact, he has many strong players. Passing and playmaking skills.

Pablo Garcia is also a famous La Liga player. His ability to be seen by Real Madrid is a proof of his strength.

What Gao Shen needs to do now is to formulate a set of appropriate tactics to integrate these players to form combat effectiveness.

Four two three one is the tactic that Gao Shen wants. He believes that this is also the most suitable set of tactics for Real Madrid at the moment.

Although this will sacrifice part of the attacking power, it can be exchanged for the firmness of the defense, which will make Real Madrid more competitive.

What's more, since Gao Shen has decided to fight with the superstars led by the Brazilian Gang, the team's offense will be affected no matter what, so it is better to take the initiative to weaken the offense and strengthen the defense.

After deciding on the tactics, the next step is the selection of the lineup.