On the evening of April 29th, Naples San Paolo Stadium.
In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, Naples faced Manchester United at home.
When the players of the two teams, led by Danish referee Larsson, slowly walked into the stadium amidst the cheers of more than 50,000 Naples fans, the atmosphere of the game was pushed to the extreme.
The live broadcast cameras are also everywhere, targeting every corner of the stadium.
Tonight, both teams played with their full lineups.
Naples still adopts its best four-three-three formation.
Goalkeeper: Handanovic.
Defense: Vargas, David Luiz, Bonucci and Lichtsteiner.
Midfield: Thiago Motta deep, Biglia and Rakitic in the centre.
Forward: A combination of Sanchez, Cavani and Di Maria.
Gao Shen still asked the two wingers in the frontcourt to adopt an inverted stance, obviously also wanting to enhance his scoring ability.
Ferguson also faced off with Manchester United's main 433 formation.
Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar.
Defense: Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic and O'Shea.
Midfield: Carrick is deep, with Anderson and Fletcher in front.
Forwards: Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji-sung.
This is also Manchester United's regular lineup this season.
Ferguson used his troops like a god and often adjusted and changed his lineup, which made it difficult for opponents to figure out. However, this lineup performed well in the Champions League and is still used today.
This basically confirmed Gao Shen’s pre-game speculation.
…
After the team came out, Gao Shen followed closely behind, but after he came out, he did not go to the home team's coaching bench, but stood at the entrance of the players' tunnel and waited. After a while, he saw Ferguson also coming out.
"Hi, Sir!" Gao Shen took the initiative to extend his hand and greeted him.
"Long time no see, young man." Ferguson smiled while chewing gum, shaking hands and hugging Gao Shen.
"Seeing your mental state, I believe tonight's game will be fierce."
After hearing this, Gao Shen smiled and nodded, "I think so too."
"They all said that you have been under a lot of pressure recently and that you have insomnia. Is that true?" Ferguson asked with a smile pretending to be concerned.
Gao Shen laughed, "They probably even know how many times I go to the bathroom a day, what do you think?"
Ferguson hummed, "Did you guess my lineup correctly?"
"I guessed it, everything is correct, even the location is correct." Gao Shen told the truth.
Ferguson nodded appreciatively, "This is a basic skill, kid. Adjustments and changes in the game are also crucial. In addition, I also guessed your tactics and lineup correctly, including that you will play as an inverse winger."
After a pause, Ferguson smiled and said: "You know, after you played against Inter Milan, many people said that you would adopt more conservative tactics. I even secretly called Mourinho and he told me, you
He used his team to train and said, "You will adopt defensive counterattack tactics, but I don't believe it. This old boy is very bad and wants to see me embarrassed."
"I bribed him with a whole box of French red wine, what do you think?" Gao Shen chuckled.
This is not a secret, everything has been reported.
"What about me?" Ferguson raised his hands. He was also a drinker.
"We'll talk about it after I win."
Ferguson patted his forehead gently and sighed: "There's no chance."
After the two stood on the sidelines chatting for a while, they each returned to the coaching bench.
Obviously, they didn't try to figure out each other's thoughts.
But it didn't matter, it was clear from the start of the game.
…
Although it was Naples' home court, Gao Shen did not adopt attacking tactics from the beginning like in the past.
This is Naples' signature tactic, but whether it was against Inter Milan before or tonight against Manchester United, Naples did not do this, but started steadily.
From this we can also see the importance Gao Shen attaches to this game and his level of caution.
Manchester United, who played away from home, were also inactive and adopted a safe start. Both sides were testing and trying to figure out the other side's approach. This resulted in a somewhat boring start to the game, with neither side able to create good opportunities.
But gradually, the tactical intentions of both sides became apparent.
Naples tried to suppress Manchester United in the midfield, especially Carrick. Whether it was Cavani's retreat or Biglia's forward penetration, Carrick's play was very uncomfortable.
In the frontcourt, as soon as Rooney gets the ball, there are always players around him who can immediately entangle him, making it impossible for him to pass the ball easily, let alone transfer.
The same is true for Manchester United.
Fletcher has a wide running range and can also retreat very deep. Together with Park Ji-sung, he focuses on strengthening the defense of the two ribs, so that Naples' inverse-footed wingers are always restricted after cutting inside.
Manchester United's defense can be called the strongest steel defense in European football in the past three years.
Evra wanted to go forward and participate in the attack several times, but Di Maria was active on this side, so the French full-back was more or less prepared.
It can be said that both teams have worked hard on targeted tactics and have not left any obvious space or loopholes for the other side.
The game was carried out in this stalemate and fierce state.
No one was able to break the balance.
…
"This boy is not simple!"
Ferguson turned around, glanced at Gao Shen in front of the home team's coaching bench, and said with admiration in his eyes.
As early as when Gao Shen coached Real Madrid, Ferguson knew Gao Shen and studied his tactics. However, Gao Shen at that time used defensive counterattacks. In the game that defeated Arsenal, he used high position pressing, which was a bit Benitez.
shadow.
Later, when Gao Shen switched to Naples and coached in Serie B, Ferguson didn't pay much attention to him.
But last season, Naples led by Gao Shen suddenly emerged as a new force, which immediately attracted Ferguson's attention.
This season, at the UEFA Elite Coaches Summit, Ferguson chatted with Gao Shen for a while, but they did not have a close relationship. Instead, they talked to Guardiola, who coached Barcelona, because the Spaniard almost moved to Manchester United that year, and he was more familiar with Ferguson.
He originally thought that Guardiola was amazing enough, but he didn't expect that Gao Shen would shine in the Champions League this season and be the best in Serie A.
Especially tonight, seeing Naples' formation and the targeted tactics provided by Gao Shen, Ferguson was quite impressed.
If the same set of tactics were used by experienced head coaches such as Wenger and Benitez, Ferguson would think it was quite satisfactory. However, Gao Shen was only 28 years old. If he came up with such a set of tactics, Ferguson would only
It can be described as stunning.
"It seems that he has really done his homework." Assistant coach Mike Phelan said.
Mike Phelan is a veteran of Manchester United. He was once a player of Manchester United. After retiring, he first coached in other teams for a few years with no results, then came to Manchester United and led the youth team for two years.
Ferguson was promoted to the first team and served as fitness coach.
In 2008, after assistant coach Queiroz left, Ferguson divided Queiroz's responsibilities into two, giving them to the original physical coach Mike Phelan and the original technical coach Rene Meulensteen.
So, now, Manchester United has two assistant coaches.
"It's a good thing to do homework, but we still have to see if he can adjust in time." Ferguson said.
The game is ever-changing and changing at any time, and the head coach needs to constantly make adjustments.
Wenger is relatively weak in on-the-spot command, and so is Guardiola. Ferguson also wants to see if Gao Shen can keep up with him.
…
"Rakitic, please lean a little to the right."
"Biglia, go a little further."
"Sanchez, Di Maria, pay attention to the connection, connect the line."
"Play faster on the counterattack, don't hit the lob, and hit the ground more. We have no advantage with the lob."
Gao Shen stood on the sidelines, constantly directing the team, constantly adjusting and adapting to changes on the court. At the same time, he often made some adjustments to his own offense.
But he soon discovered that as long as Naples' offense showed the slightest signs of attack, Ferguson could always quickly suppress it.
The old Scottish man's tactical response was really fast.
In comparison, Gao Shen's reaction was relatively slower, but he could barely keep up with Ferguson's adjustments.
Therefore, the game is basically still a stalemate.
The number of shots from both sides seemed to be okay, and opportunities were created, but there were almost no truly threatening attacks.
Gao Shen always frowned, as if facing a formidable enemy.
The pressure on him from Ferguson was really great.
After all, the old Scotsman has a great reputation. If there is no pressure for being sophisticated, then he is really fearless for the ignorant.
Time passes bit by bit in this stalemate and stalemate.
The first half ended in a zero-to-zero draw. In the second half, Manchester United made some adjustments, and Gao Shen also made targeted changes. Both sides tried to open up the situation, but there was no way.
Naples' quick passing and cutting cannot penetrate into the heart of Manchester United. After all, Naples is different from Barcelona and lacks a key explosive point like Messi. It is difficult to produce the same effect as Barcelona.
Manchester United's midfield organization seemed very chaotic, Rooney was also strangled, and Cristiano Ronaldo was defended by David Luiz several times when he got the ball, making it difficult to create a threat.
As for Park Ji-sung, he did have a few crosses, but David Luiz and Bonucci firmly controlled the center.
The two sides seem to be at odds with each other, and neither can do anything to the other.
But after sixty minutes, Ferguson began to prepare for substitutions.
"Berbatov is coming." Zidane observed the movement on Manchester United's bench.
Gao Shen nodded, his brows furrowed like a mountain, and he kept guessing in his mind whether the person Berbatov was going to replace was Park Ji-sung?
Logically speaking, Rooney can't move, Cristiano Ronaldo can't move, and the one who can move is Park Ji-sung.
Unless Ferguson wants to give it a go, but this is unrealistic.
"It should be to replace Park Ji-sung." Gao Shen said, "In this case, it is very likely that Cristiano Ronaldo will be moved to the right..."
After Gao Shen pondered for a while, he immediately made adjustments, "Let Di Maria and Sanchez change positions. During the next attack and counterattack, we will focus on attacking the left wing and hit O'Shea!"
The Portuguese basically does not participate in defense, which makes Manchester United's right wing a breakthrough.
But even so, it is very difficult because there is Fletcher in the midfield.
But there is no other way. Compared with Manchester United's combination of Rooney and Evra on the left, the right wing is already relatively easy to play.
Sure enough, in the 65th minute, Ferguson replaced Park Ji-sung with Berbatov.
Gao Shen also immediately made adjustments, Di Maria and Sanchez changed positions.
