Before I knew it, it was already my third season in Naples.
Sometimes, Yinwan Rakitic can't help but think of the first time he met the head coach Gao Shen in the small town called Molin on the outskirts of Basel.
At that time, he would never have imagined that he would usher in the three years of rapid progress in his career.
Before representing Croatia in the European Cup, Rakitic once accepted an interview with the media. He talked about Gao Shen's help to him. There was one point in it: Gao Shen was completely different from all other head coaches.
"He has a pair of unique eyes. He seems to be able to see the uniqueness of each player, dig out the potential and advantages of each player, and combine them into a complete and reasonable set of tactics."
Yes, this is Rakitic's biggest impression of Gao Shen.
He came to Naples with doubts and trepidation.
Because he doesn't know what this Serie B newly promoted team can bring to him? How much of the prospects outlined by the head coach can be realized? Could this head coach who is not much older than him be a liar?
But now, three years later, he has to say that he made a wise decision.
These three seasons in Italy were the three seasons in which he made the most progress, and the three seasons in which he established his own style and tactical characteristics. Although he is only twenty years old, he already has very obvious technical and tactical characteristics. .
Gao Shen once commented on Rakitic in an interview with the media.
He said: "If I were asked to choose, I would think that Rakitic is the benchmark player with the most modern football midfield characteristics in today's Serie A and even European football, because he is so comprehensive."
In terms of defense, he is not as good as Vidal, in terms of organization, he is not as good as Biglia, in terms of offense, he is not as good as Hamsik...
But he has firmly locked the main position in the midfield.
Because he is very comprehensive, he can do any job and do it well.
In the words of head coach Gao Shen, the requirement for midfielders in modern football tactics is to be comprehensive.
Students who are partial to science will have less and less room for survival.
Looking at all the midfielders in Naples, they are basically both offensive and defensive. The difference is whether they are more offensive or defensive.
In Naples' midfield combination, the division of labor is also very clear.
Gao Shen once mentioned this to Rakitic.
If you follow all Naples games this season, it is not difficult to find that Gao Shen likes to use 433 in the Champions League. However, except for Thiago Motta, who is deep behind, he basically uses BIG in the midfield. The combination of Leah and Rakitic.
There is a reason for this.
In the warm-up match, the coaching staff tried many different combinations, but some problems arose.
In comparison, the combination of Biglia and Rakitic is the most stable.
But in 433, their tasks are very different from those in 4231.
Thiago Motta is a barrier in front of the defense. Strictly speaking, defense is his main task, but at the same time he also bears the burden of reasonably distributing the ball and passing the ball to the right teammates at the right time. This is Barcelona's fourth position.
Rakitic has played this position before, but he was not used to it.
Of the other two players, Biglia can control the rhythm. He is always very calm-minded and is responsible for organizing and controlling the rhythm. At the same time, he also launches attacks during transitions between offense and defense. He is also very comprehensive, like a command tower.
If you watch Biglia's football carefully, you will find that although he will make long passes and forward passes when he encounters the right opportunity, in fact, in a game, he is more running sideways.
Mainly responsible for coordination.
But Rakitic is different. He runs more vertically, participates in the attack forward, cuts forward to score the ball or shoots from long range, and retreats back to the defense line. This also allows Rakitic to develop a strong kick.
Long range shooting skills.
Rakitic and his teammates once had a question: Why the combination of Rakitic and Biglia?
Vidal Hamsik Nainggolan Parejo Pastore?
Why can't it be someone else?
At first, no one understood it, but after trying it out in some games and the head coach’s analysis, everyone gradually understood the reason.
If they play 433 and are composed of two Rakitic, then Naples' midfielder will completely lose their sense of rhythm, the organization will be chaotic, and there will even be problems in defense, because these two players are likely to see the front
He plugged it in at the same time, but ignored the hidden danger behind him.
If it is a combination of two Biglias, the pace of the game will become very slow, the depth of the midfield will be completely lost, the coverage will be greatly weakened, and the pressure on the opponent will also be reduced.
Therefore, in the past two or three years, Gao Shen has been repeatedly adjusting the lineup and training the players.
Rakitic knows very well that when he played in Switzerland, he was not what he is now, and Biglia was not what he is now when he first came to Naples, but they are all slowly being polished into the head coach's mind.
The way you want it.
This is also of huge benefit to them.
Not only has their performance improved significantly, they have gradually become famous in European football, and they have also found a career direction, which will be a huge benefit to them.
At least, Rakitic knows very well that everything he has today comes from the years of cultivation and training given to him by head coach Gao Shen, which allowed him to become a player in European football at the age of twenty.
The forum became famous.
It has even attracted the attention of many wealthy teams.
This was unimaginable before.
In return for the head coach, Rakitic always tries his best in every game, moves forward courageously at every opportunity, and never discounts any of the head coach's tactical arrangements.
Therefore, when the game started, Napoli grabbed the ball under pressure and launched an attack from the left. When Rakitic saw Cavani pressing the opponent's center back, Di Maria pulled on the right.
When he hits the opponent's defender, he recognizes his opportunity and moves forward without hesitation.
This is his mission!
Biglia's pass found Cavani with precision.
The Argentine midfielder's passes are always very accurate, but after Cavani blocked the opponent's center defender with his body and stopped the ball with his chest, he tried to turn and kick to hit the goal, but the opponent was already prepared, so the Uruguayan center immediately protected the ball.
At this moment, Rakitic quickly moved forward and called Cavani.
The two have played together for more than two years and are very familiar with each other and have a tacit understanding. Cavani knows Rakitic's tactical tasks and playing habits. As soon as he heard the shout, he immediately passed the ball across the top of the arc.
Right.
Rakitic rushed over, and before Tymoshchuk rushed over, he fired without stopping the ball.
Cavani's pass was very comfortable, and Rakitic's shot was also well-placed.
The ball flew out quickly like a cannonball and directly hit the right side of Zenit's goal.
…
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Less than two minutes into the game, Napoli opened the scoring!"
"Cavani received a long pass from his teammate and assisted Rakitic to score a long shot."
"This long-range shot was very beautiful and of a very high level. Rakitic made a very exciting start for Naples."
"One to zero!"
After Rakitic scored, he was so excited that he forgot everything and turned around and ran out.
All the Naples fans in the audience were shouting and cheering at the top of their lungs.
Taking the lead less than two minutes into the game, could there be a better start than this?
Gao Shen jumped up excitedly on the sidelines and cheered loudly for his players.
Rakitic's goal came just in time!
Be the first to score, which is also what Gao Shen asked his players to do before the game.
With a goal, the rest of the game will be much easier to play.
But after the celebration, Gao Shen walked to the sidelines and shouted to the players, telling them to press forward and press harder.
In terms of strength, Naples has the advantage.
Gao Shen didn't want to give Zenit a chance to react, but wanted to go all out and directly defeat the opponent.
…
Advocaat's team actually doesn't play conservatively.
Both sides showed extremely bravery in the first game. Even though this game was a guest at the Sao Paulo Stadium and even though they conceded the goal less than two minutes into the game, they still fought fiercely against Naples.
They received a cross from Denisov in the fourth minute, but Handanovic abandoned the goal and directly picked the ball out of the air.
Naples quickly launched a counterattack. Vargas sent a cross from the left side of the frontcourt. Sanchez got the ball from the left and cut inside. After throwing away the defender, he hit a curve ball with his right foot and headed towards the goal.
Upper right corner.
The result was a slight miss and the shot failed, but it still made Zenit break out in a cold sweat.
Naples, playing at home, took this opportunity to suppress Zenit again and launched a wave of attacks.
In the eleventh minute, Naples once again pushed the defense through the midfield, with Biglia and Rakitic already pressing into the 30-meter area.
After receiving a pass from his teammate, Biglia passed the ball from the center to the left. After Sanchez broke into the penalty area with his left rib, he kicked the ball again and hit the goal.
But this time the shot was too straight and was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper.
But Naples soon made a comeback.
In just one minute, after Naples successfully intercepted the ball in the midfield, Thiago Motta received a pass from his teammate. After controlling the rhythm a little, he sent a ground-breaking pass to the right side of the front edge of the penalty area.
Di Maria ran inside, stopped the ball, volleyed with his left foot, and hit a curve ball.
The Zenit goalkeeper unexpectedly made a save, but Cavani, who came up behind him, shot the ball first and into Zenit's goal again.
Two to zero!
The entire Sao Paulo Stadium is boiling!
In just over twelve minutes of play, Napoli scored two goals.
This is definitely a scene that surprises everyone, but when watching the game, some people will take it for granted.
Because Zenit never gained a firm foothold from the start and never tried to control the ball and rhythm.
The entire game was played under Naples' control.
The fans at the St. Paul Stadium were cheering crazily, hoping that the team could continue to attack!
