On the afternoon of March 22, Milan Meazza Stadium.
Mancini, wearing a crisp suit, stood quietly in front of the home team's coaching bench, looking at the court intently with a solemn expression.
At this time, the home game between Inter Milan and Juventus has not yet started.
Juventus under Ranieri still adopts a 4-4-2 formation, but the starting lineup has been adjusted.
Goalkeeper: Buffon.
Defense: Molinaro, Chiellini, Lerottaglie and Grigra.
Midfielder: Nedved, Mohamed Sissoko, Camoranesi and Salihamidzic.
Forwards: Del Piero and Trezeguet.
Ranieri made a lot of adjustments to his tactics tonight.
Although the game has not started yet, it can be seen from the position of the Juventus players.
The first is Camoranesi. This right-sided player was placed in the middle by the tinker, which was unprecedented.
Another variation is Piero.
Everyone knows that Del Piero's most threatening area is the left side inside and outside the penalty area, known as Del Piero's zone.
In other words, Prince Zebra's most active position should be on Trezeguet's left side.
In fact, this has always been the arrangement in the past.
But tonight, his position is to the right of Trezeguet.
This is surprising.
Mancini looked very serious. He was a little confused. Is this really the case? Or is it just a suspicion?
Ranieri was not the only one to make adjustments, Mancini also released surprise players.
Inter Milan adopted a 4,31,2 formation, which is the Nerazzurri's most commonly used tactic in the Champions League and has always been reliable.
But tonight, Mancini tried another change.
Goalkeeper: Cesar.
Defense: Maxwell, Materazzi, Burdisso and Maicon.
Midfield: Chivu, Stankovic and Zanetti at the back, Luis Jimenez in front.
Forwards: Cruz and Ibrahimovic.
There are also two obvious changes.
One is that Stankovic was placed in the middle of the three deepest midfielders, allowing him to use his passing and organizational abilities.
The other is to let Chilean midfielder Gimenez start.
Although Jimenez is only 23 years old, he has been in Serie A for six years. He first played in Serie B for four years and performed very well. He also entered the Chilean national team and attracted the attention of many wealthy teams.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Lazio, Arsenal...
However, he failed to do so because the asking price was too high, and he was subsequently loaned to Fiorentina and Lazio.
Like all players, he could only serve as a substitute during the loan period, and his performance was quite satisfactory.
Fiorentina and Lazio also wanted to sign him, but they still couldn't agree on the price, so Inter Milan loaned him out in the summer of 2007.
So far this season, he has played more than 20 times. In December, he started three consecutive rounds and contributed outstanding performances. He handed over an amazing record of two shots and one pass. He is the team's leader.
A key member of the team that ushered in state recovery at the end of November.
In all the games Gimenez has played, whether as a starter or as a substitute, Inter Milan have only lost one, a home game against Liverpool, where he played six minutes.
In all the remaining games, Inter Milan won!
In recent times, Inter Milan has been criticized for its lack of creativity, especially under the instigation of that damn Chinese boy. The outside world has frequently criticized Inter Milan for its lack of creativity.
Mancini will prove himself with a victory tonight at San Siro.
He wants to slap everyone in the face and beat them to pieces!
…
With the referee Farina's whistle, the game officially started.
Inter Milan took the lead in attacking and created an opportunity in just nine seconds. Qiwu received Maicon's cross from the right in front of the goal and headed the ball slightly wide from close range.
Subsequently, Inter Milan continued to create opportunities. Stankovic passed the ball over the top. Ibrahimovic succeeded in countering offside and was saved by Buffon alone.
Ranieri also played very courageously tonight, instead of being defensive and defensive, he took the initiative to attack.
Both sides went back and forth, and the game was very exciting.
Starting from the tenth minute, the game entered Jimenez's rhythm.
The Chilean midfielder frequently created opportunities and was violated by Grigra, Sissoko and other players.
In the 18th minute, it was Jimenez's free kick. Burdisso hit the ball behind and Stankovic headed the ball in front of the goal and hit the crossbar.
Juventus quickly retaliated.
…
As the game unfolded, the tactics of the two teams gradually revealed their outlines.
Mancini used 4312, letting Stankovic play as the defensive midfielder and Jimenez as the attacking midfielder. The purpose is actually very clear, which is to enhance the creativity and passing ability of the midfielder.
But there are also many interesting points in the details, that is, the two defensive midfielders Chiwu and Zanetti actively intervened and even actively formed pressure in the frontcourt.
Jimenez says he is an attacking midfielder, but in fact, he is more about dropping back to get the ball and organize. This is his specialty.
The two forwards in front stretched the Juventus defenders to both sides, thereby creating a dangerous situation in the middle of the opponent's penalty area.
Juventus is also very interesting.
Ranieri asked Camoranesi to play as a defensive midfielder because he also wanted to strengthen his passing and dribbling abilities in the middle of the midfield.
Sissoko is the main defender, and Camoranesi is very versatile, letting go to attack and advance with the ball.
On the left, after Del Piero was moved to the right of Trezeguet, Nedved could dominate the entire left side. At the same time, left back Molinaro also actively stepped in to form a left attack.
This was also a threat frequently in the first half.
The head coaches of both teams made very detailed changes and adjustments, which made the game quite exciting.
But it is a pity that both teams failed to create effective scoring opportunities in the first half. Gu Qian
Among them, Inter Milan's header from a set piece hit the crossbar, which was the most threatening.
After changing sides in the second half, Juventus attacked decisively.
In the 49th minute, Molinaro from the left made a long pass with his left foot. Grigra stopped the ball with his chest at the front of the penalty area and passed it to Camoranesi who came in behind. The latter rushed into the small penalty area and shot a low shot.
, scored against Cesar’s goal.
One to zero!
Three minutes later, Jimenez used a corner kick that turned inward, directly threatening Buffon's goal, forcing the Juventus goalkeeper to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Soon, Mancini replaced Gimenez with Suazo in an attempt to strengthen the offensive.
However, he immediately regretted it.
…
After Mancini saw Ibrahimovic unloading the ball in mid-air, he knocked back with his heel. After Suazo's volley from the front of the penalty area turned into an anti-aircraft cannon, he couldn't help but slap himself hard.
He knows he made a mistake!
I was too hasty just now.
Being anxious can easily lead to chaos.
His idea at the time was to keep the three midfielders stationary, Stankovic continue to organize and pass the ball, and adopt a three-forward play in front.
But now he found a problem.
Jimenez was still there just now, and the Chilean was so active that he didn't notice that Chivu and Zanetti were spending a lot of money.
Both Cruz and Ibrahimovic in the front performed poorly and their fighting spirit was not very strong, especially Cruz.
Apart from pulling the strings, neither Kruis nor Ibrahimovic performed very well.
Even when the team is trailing 0-1.
As a result, he replaced Jimenez!
This is tantamount to removing his most threatening player on the court and breaking his own arm.
Just when Mancini was regretting it, Camoranesi dribbled the ball forward and sent a direct pass from the ribs. Del Piero made a clever pass from the front of the penalty area, and Trezeguet volleyed from behind at close range.
shot and sent the ball into Inter Milan's goal again.
Two to zero!
…
"What the hell!"
Mancini almost wanted to rip his head off.
Chiwu and Zanetti were exhausted in the first half, and after sixty minutes, their physical fitness began to be overwhelmed.
His team is not a sophisticated and carefully crafted Napoli team that can run at full strength for ninety minutes.
They were gone after only sixty minutes!
His tactics look beautiful, but in reality they lack physical support.
What's more important is that he didn't notice this just now, and was stupid enough to replace Jimenez, who posed the most threat.
It's better now. The players on the court lack fighting spirit, and the midfielder is physically weak and can't stand it anymore.
"Substitute!" Mancini shouted unwillingly.
…
In the 65th minute, Mani switched out Cruz, who was in a sluggish performance.
Inter Milan has returned to its best 4312 formation, with Chivu, Maniche and Zanetti playing as the back three, Stankovic as the attacking midfielder, and Suazo and Ibrahimovic as the forwards.
.
Come full circle, Inter Milan is back.
Returning to the tactics they are most familiar with, Inter Milan also began to gradually show its strength.
Juventus continues to play steadily.
After 80 minutes, Mancini replaced the exhausted Chiwu with young player Balotelli.
As soon as the youngster came on the field, he immediately sent a pass on the right side. After passing two players, Maicon entered the penalty area and assisted Maniche to score from close range, changing the score to 1-2.
After that, Inter Milan continued to launch a fierce attack on Juventus.
In stoppage time, Maniche even once again cooperated with Stankovic in a one-two, stabbing in front of the goal and hitting the post.
But the referee Farina finally blew the whistle ruthlessly.
The entire Meazza stadium erupted with deafening boos and curses from fans.
Mancini lost again!
In the most crucial game, the championship, he lost again!
Previously, he lost to Naples 0-5, and it could be said that he was away from home, but today, he was at home, losing 1-2 to Juventus.
What else is there to say?
The Inter Milan coach stood in front of the home team's coaching bench, enduring anger from all directions.
He could imagine that after the game, the entire Italian media would attack him again.
Under the pressure of Gao Shen and Naples, he made an unforgivable mistake!
In the advanced psychological tactics, his players are gradually losing confidence and fighting spirit, and the pressure is increasing exponentially.
Playing earlier than Naples is pressure, playing later than Napoli is still pressure!
"That damn bastard!"
Mancini cursed angrily, full of misery.
Behind him, Mikhailovich and others knew that he was scolding Gao Shen.
Because Gao Shen's words had a huge impact on Inter Milan.
"Our biggest hope now is that Reggina can attack Naples at home."
The arrogant Mancini had to pin his hopes on a relegation team.
