David Winner is a famous British football journalist who has a very good relationship with many stars in the circle. He has written autobiographies for stars such as Bergkamp and Ferdinand, and has also written many books about football.
Among them, he had such a theoretical description of Dutch football in a book called "Brilliant Orange".
Living on flood-prone plains, the Dutch were forced to skillfully deal with various spaces in their daily lives. Over time, they became particularly good at using space, and they also brought this trait into football.
In the book, he also interviewed Peter McWilliam, the head coach of Tottenham Hotspur in the "ancient" period.
"Possession of the ball is the key, don't take too big a shot, just rush forward."
"The risk of long passes is too high. In most cases, only honing your skills will bring rewards. If you have the ball at your feet, keep it,
This way the opponent won't be able to score."
Do you have a similar feeling?
Yes, this set of football concepts was the ball control concept of the Netherlands and Barcelona later.
McWilliam doesn't have much fame, not even Englishman Vic Buckingham, a player he coached at Tottenham Hotspur.
Few people know that Vic Buckingham was Michels' predecessor at Ajax and Barcelona.
To a certain extent, Ajax, even Dutch football, and Barcelona football should start with Vic Buckingham, then Michels will develop, and then Cruyff will ascend to the top.
A wave of peaks creates a dream team.
Therefore, many people only remember Michels and Cruyff.
From Vic Buckingham to Michels, to Cruyff, van Gaal, Rijkaard and Guardiola, this is a continuous inheritance system.
But here, the role of one person is actually greatly underestimated, and that is Louis Van Gaal.
Strictly speaking, Van Gaal further improved the concept of passing and controlling the ball inherited from the Michels and Cruyff era, making it more adaptable to the trends of modern football. This is very remarkable because it happened in the 1990s.
Early 1990s.
Van Gaal coached Ajax in a three-four-three formation, and he officially defined the fourth position.
The so-called fourth position is actually to push one of the four central defenders forward and place it between the midfielder and the defender, taking on more responsibility for organization and transitional passing, and defense.
Sometimes you can even drop back to the back line and change into a back four.
Before Gao Shen crossed over, many people were questioning Busquets, but from this point of view, does it make sense?
Football tactics are linked one link at a time.
What seemed like a small change by Van Gaal actually completely overturned the entire tactical system.
When the fourth position moved from the central defender to the defensive midfielder, taking on the responsibility of organization, transitional passing, and defense, what followed was a change in the midfield.
Why is there a No. 4 position? Why should it be moved forward?
If it's just for organization and transition, wouldn't the back line work?
The answer is given in 343, which is to push the No. 10 position forward, which is the diamond-shaped midfield position.
But then another change occurred. The No. 10 position pressed forward and became an offensive midfielder. After getting closer to the center and the penalty area, his responsibilities must also change, because that is the area with the most intensive defense.
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Therefore, if you look at Ajax's football in those years, you will find that the tenth position is often the point where they have the strongest offensive firepower and the strongest scoring ability, while the center is more focused on supporting and making the ball.
Then think about it again, why did Guardiola promote Busquets?
Why did Guardiola have to sell Eto'o, who has such a strong goal-scoring ability, in exchange for Ibrahimovic?
In fact, the answer is already very clear.
Times have changed, and Van Gaal's three-four-three is no longer appropriate, but the role of the fourth position and the concept behind it have always existed and have been continuously improved.
For example, Rijkaard used Edmilson as the fourth position and Marcos as the central defender, but in reality?
Marcos often moves forward into the midfield, and Edmilson often drops into the center back.
This is definitely not as simple as playing a football manager game, where you pull an arrow to push a player forward or back like a chess piece, adjust it in the tactical settings, and press a few buttons.
In fact, there is a set of rigorous tactical theories and inheritance behind it. The purpose is to reasonably and effectively use every inch of space on the court and control the ball in your own hands as much as possible.
This is position four!
Therefore, so many people play four-three-three, but in the Netherlands, in Barcelona, and in the hands of Guardiola, it is different.
Even in Mourinho's 433, the most suitable player at the fourth position, Makelele, had very high passing ability and stability. Later, without Makelele, Mourinho transformed
Mikel is also a technical attacking midfielder transformed into a defensive midfielder.
Gao Shen has been adjusting Naples' tactics since the beginning of last season.
Four-two-three-one is really good and stable, but the offensive power is not enough.
Especially when facing a team with tight defense, there are always problems when the four-two-three-one attack.
To put it simply, it is easy for the double midfielder and the defense to become disconnected.
So Gao Shen tried four three three.
He tried many players to play this fourth position, including Biglia, Rakitic, Vidal, and he even asked David Luiz to make a cameo, but the results were all unsatisfactory and failed to meet his requirements.
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Just like Vidal, in the second round against Roma, he performed very well and froze Totti, but in fact, in the offense, his passing and organization did not give enough support to the midfielder.
In other words, he defended well, but did not do enough organization and offense.
Biglia and Rakitic both have old problems and are not qualified to serve as a single defensive midfielder.
So Gao Shen had to set his sights on Barcelona, the palace where No. 4 players are being trained at this stage!
As soon as he walked out of the airport, Gao Shen's cell phone rang.
"I'm in the parking lot directly opposite you. Do you see that black car with double flashing lights?"
Gao Shen listened to Guardiola's voice on the phone and quickly found him.
As soon as he got in, Guardiola drove away quickly.
"I said, why are you acting like a thief?" Gao Shen wondered.
Guardiola turned his head and glanced at him, "You don't know, right? You are one of the most unpopular people in our Barcelona, and I am about to become the head coach of Barcelona's second team. If people see us,
Together, we will definitely make headlines."
Gao Shen chuckled and said, "Head coach of a broken team in the fourth tier league, let's see what you can do."
Guardiola smiled from ear to ear.
He is not usually a talkative person, and is even a bit stern, but he is always very happy when he is with Gao Shen.
"I'm telling you, you'd better provide me with good food, drink and fun. If not, I will go to the newspaper tomorrow to break the news. With only half a bucket of water, you will ruin those children by coaching the Barcelona second team."
Guardiola was amused, "Didn't you just say that we are a broken team in the fourth level? How can I ruin it?"
"The team is broken because it has a bad head coach."
"Listen to what you mean, if you were asked to be the leader, would you be able to lead it well?"
"There's definitely no problem in upgrading. I'll move up one level in a year, directly to the second division. If I go up, there's nothing I can do about it."
Guardiola directly dug in, "It's been a while since I last saw you, and your bragging skills have improved."
The two of them made fun of each other, and the car quickly drove on the expressway to the city.
When Gao Shen came to Barcelona before, he always came with competition missions and was always under a lot of pressure. Unlike now, he is relaxed and can enjoy the scenery of Barcelona.
Don't tell me, it's really unique.
He couldn't help but think of a movie he had seen in his previous life, The Bourne Supremacy.
After the agent actor was shot, he fell into the water and was rescued. He lost his memory and landed in Barcelona.
"Like Barcelona?" Guardiola asked guessingly.
Gao Shen smiled and accepted it.
"How about, think about it and come to Barcelona as the head coach if you have the opportunity, and I will be your assistant coach." Guardiola suggested with a smile, and he seemed to be very serious.
Gao Shen couldn't help but feel happy, "You are so ambitious, you want to usurp Carlo's position. Be careful."
how to say?
Although Barcelona is good, it is not suitable for him!
"By the way...how is the matter I asked you to do?" Gao Shen asked with concern.
Guardiola smiled and said, "Of course, how can I not do my best for what you tell me?"
"arranged?"
"Well, we made an appointment. We'll have dinner with Tesiki tonight."
Tesiki Begiristain, currently the technical director of Barcelona.
If Gao Shen wants to poach Barcelona players, he must get Begiristain's approval.
Coincidentally, when the Barcelona star used to play football, he was teammates with Guardiola and had a very good relationship.
"Tell me, who do you plan to poach?" Guardiola asked with interest.
Gao Shen stared at him maliciously, smiled and said, "It's better you don't know."
For some reason, Guardiola felt an ominous feeling in his heart.
He had a feeling that this time he might not have shot himself in the foot with a brick and attracted a wolf into the house.
"Hey, Gao, let's make an agreement. I've just been on my own, and I've already fallen to the fourth level. I can't fall any further. Don't try to take advantage of my team."
"Look, it was a misunderstanding, wasn't it?" Gao Shen snorted, with an angry expression as if he had been wronged, but soon he couldn't help laughing, "You said it too, we have fallen to the fourth level anyway.
If you can’t fall any further, what are you afraid of?”
Guardiola was stunned. Damn it, are you really here to poach me?
"No, this doesn't excuse you from poaching me!"
Gao Shen clicked his tongue again and sighed: "Is this how you see me? Do I look like that kind of person?"
Guardiola did not answer, but there were two words written very clearly in his eyes.
