On the evening of January 13th, the final match of the 18th round of Serie A.
Naples visits San Siro Stadium to challenge AC Milan.
The competition was very fierce, but it was completely beyond everyone's expectation before the game.
In the away game, Naples adopted a tight defensive tactic instead of the high-position pressing style of the past.
This resulted in Naples being very passive on the scene and lagging behind AC Milan in all aspects.
Ancelotti's team changed from the sluggishness in the first half, obviously made a lot of adjustments during the winter break, activated the team's offense and defense, and performed very actively in the game.
The two sides went back and forth, attacking and defending, and the fight was wonderful.
But in the 63rd minute, Naples' defense made a mistake.
Pirlo sent a scalpel-like through ball. Pato was in the middle of the penalty area and successfully countered offside. After stopping the ball, he turned around and shot, but Handanovic fell to the ground and saved it.
The ball was thrown to the right side of the penalty area. After receiving the ball, Ronaldo shook off Vargas and hit the goal again.
Handanovic, who had just gotten up from the ground, got up again and pounced sideways, throwing the ball to the left side of the penalty area.
Jerzy Garik, who replaced Lichtsteiner in this game, failed to shrink in time and occupy his position. Kaka, who was inserted from behind, took the first shot and scored a goal for AC Milan.
After that, both sides still returned to the situation of one offense and one defense.
…
Gao Shen was not surprised at all by this situation.
Because Naples is in really bad shape tonight.
Everyone who saw the game couldn't believe it. This was Naples who had been so aggressive in the first half.
There were just too many mistakes.
In almost every half-goal, Napoli couldn't beat AC Milan.
Even on the scene, Naples players often stumble out of position after being hit by the opponent, or they are knocked off their backs.
There is no doubt about the courage and determination of the players. They fought for all the balls and ran hard, but the rhythm and physical condition were really not ideal.
As the head coach of the team, Gao Shen already knew all of this.
This is why he clearly knows that Gattuso's suspension will have a great impact on AC Milan, but he still doesn't dare to go out and play.
As soon as he comes on the field, Ancelotti will definitely find clues, and the situation will be very bad.
In this stadium last season, Gao Shen lost to Inter Milan by a score of 0 to 3. This season, he does not want to lose to another Milan team by a big score in the same stadium again. Otherwise, he will really lose.
I'm going to take the blame and resign.
"In recent times, you have really tortured the players." Gao Shen looked at Buenaventura and Pintus with a wry smile.
The winter break is not a pre-season training camp after all, it is very short, so now, Naples can only adjust while playing games.
Buenaventura smiled bitterly and shook his head, he had the responsibility.
However, Napoli's players have indeed been badly abused by them in recent times.
The most important thing is to regain my rhythm and state.
…
After losing the ball, Gao Shen quickly made adjustments to strengthen the team's defense.
He replaced Hamsik with Nainggolan.
Yes, before the 70-minute mark of the game, Hamsik was already out of breath and on the verge of being unable to bear it.
It can also be seen from this how poor the physical condition and condition of Naples players are.
But Hamsik is very important because he must suppress Pirlo.
The attack just now was initiated by Pirlo's through ball after passing forward to receive the ball.
The first thing to bear the brunt was Hamsik's failure to follow Pirlo in time.
This is a symptom of Hamsik's physical exhaustion.
So Gao Shen traded Nainggolan for him.
Naples continued to be on the defensive, while AC Milan continued to work hard to organize and plan the attack.
Ancelotti also knew very well that a 1-0 lead was not secure.
After the time reached seventy minutes, Gao Shen signaled Carlo to prepare for another substitution.
Three minutes later, Antonio Valencia ran back after warming up and stood next to Gao Shen.
"Have you seen AC Milan's defense clearly?" Gao Shen asked.
Valencia nodded, but didn't quite understand.
Sitting on the bench, he was always paying attention to the game situation and observing the movements.
"Kaladze and Nesta form the central defender, Maldini plays the left back, and there is Ambrosini in front to protect. However, when they take the ball to attack, one of the two full-backs will always go forward.
The one who inserted it was either Maldini or Bonera."
Ancelotti is actually a very prudent head coach. He will not allow his two full-backs to advance forward at the same time, which will leave space. However, he cannot stop advancing because the offense requires width.
In this game, AC Milan adopted a 4, 3, 1 and 2 formation in order to gather the Brazilian trident in front.
In this formation, the attacking width comes from the forward movement of the full-backs.
"I guess we still have about ten minutes to play on Maldini's side. You have to pay attention to Maldini's movements at all times, pay attention to get behind him, and take advantage of your speed. Can you do it?
"
Valencia nodded heavily, this is what he does best.
"Tell Cavani and Callejon to pay attention to their position when defending, save some strength, and keep up with you when counterattacking."
"I see."
"Go!" Gao Shen patted Valencia on the shoulder encouragingly.
Soon, Naples completed a substitution and replaced Sanchez with Valencia.
…
Gao Shen guessed that he still had ten minutes, but Ancelotti's reaction was also very fast.
Napoli had just made a substitution here, and Ancelotti immediately asked Favalli on the bench to warm up.
Emerson also ran out at the same time.
Obviously, this damn fat guy wants to stop at the first sign of success and keep the one-goal lead.
Gao Shen also immediately made adjustments, signaling to let go of his right wing and let AC Milan's left wing attack.
Sure enough, AC Milan quickly earned a throw-in opportunity on the left side of the frontcourt.
Maldini quickly ran to the frontcourt and threw the ball to Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is fatter than when Gao Shen was coaching Real Madrid. Although his movements are still relatively flexible, the overall threat is no longer what it used to be. As soon as he stopped the ball, he was caught by Vidal before he could move, so he could only pass the ball.
ball.
But the ball passed to Kaká was intercepted by Biglia.
David Luiz quickly rushed out of the penalty area, intercepted the ball first, and continued to move forward.
Brazilians are becoming more and more like Lucio now.
Before reaching the halfway line, David Luiz caught a chance and sent a long diagonal pass.
The power of this long pass was amazing, and it went directly to the right side of AC Milan's penalty area.
AC Milan's defense was retreating at a high speed. Kaladze and Nesta were running back desperately. Kaladze mainly focused on Valencia on the right, while Nesta kept an eye on Cavani.
.
But Napoli's counterattack was faster.
Like a bolt of lightning, Valencia went directly to the right side of AC Milan's penalty area, leaving Maldini behind who was desperately chasing after him. Before Kaladze could reach his position, after the ball hit the ground, it bounced and then fell, his right foot
A direct volley cross.
The ball was very low and very fast, flying directly to the center of AC Milan's small penalty area.
Cavani was restrained by Nesta and Kaladze throughout the game, but this time, he gritted his teeth, suddenly accelerated, and after getting rid of Nesta by half a body, he fell to the ground at the edge of the small penalty area and tackled Valencia.
Siya's cross was tackled into AC Milan's goal.
Goalkeeper Dida abandoned the goal, but failed to prevent Cavani's shovel shot from scoring.
One to one!
Cavani and Valencia both rushed to the sidelines to celebrate the goal.
Gao Shen also firmly clenched his right fist on the sidelines.
He is satisfied!
…
Subsequently, AC Milan temporarily changed its substitution strategy.
First, Maldini was replaced with Favalli, but then Ronaldo was replaced with Gilardino to continue to strengthen the attack.
Naples was trying to preserve the tie and was forced to retreat across the board.
Ancelotti finally got brave and replaced Pirlo with Gourcuff and continued to strengthen the offensive.
In the final stage, AC Milan was almost overwhelming Naples.
But with Cavani and Valencia in front, especially Valencia who had just come on as a substitute, his speed was so fast that AC Milan did not dare to let go.
With long passers like David Luiz and Bonucci at the back, speedy players like Valencia in front, and the amazingly impactful Cavani and Callejon, AC Milan also has to be wary of Naples.
Fight back.
In the end, the two sides shook hands and made a draw!
…
After the game, Gao Shen high-fived and hugged his assistants one by one.
Even though the team was in such a bad state, they were able to grab a point from AC Milan in the away game. Gao Shen was satisfied.
Who could ask for more?
"Thank you for your substitution!" Pintus couldn't help but praise as he hugged Gao Shen.
It is indeed crucial to make substitutions.
If it were Valencia, it might not be able to have such an effect, but Gao Shen arranged him as a substitute, and when AC Milan was exhausted to a certain extent, he was replaced, which hit the nail on the head.
The assistants actually understand it in their hearts.
Whether it is the formation before the game or the on-the-spot command during the game, Gao Shen has brought Naples' current player configuration and state to the extreme, and he even directly launched a defensive counterattack.
Just because of the player's condition and physical condition, if the tactics are not right, it is really possible for AC Milan to score a big score.
Now it’s one to one, which is really pretty good!
"It's a pity that we have dropped one place in the ranking and are nine points behind Inter Milan." Gao Shen couldn't hide his disappointment, but he soon showed a smile, "But it's okay. After this period, we will catch up!"
Naples coaches also nodded.
"I believe that with the joint efforts of everyone and the fact that we have this group of outstanding players, we will be able to achieve the best results!"
Bitter first, then sweet!
This is what Gao Shen has been taught by his parents and teachers since he was a child.
He also believes that after experiencing the short-term pain and suffering, Naples will definitely be able to reach its peak!
There will definitely be a chance to win the Serie A championship and the Italian Cup!
At least now, he won't think too much about the success rate. He only has one idea, and that is to try his best to play every game well.
This is what he did when he was coaching Real Madrid.