Jose Ingenieros, a very famous Argentinian thinker at the beginning of the last century who is highly respected by former Real Madrid midfielder Redondo, has a book: A Mediocre Man.
In this book, the author attempts to analyze the two different personalities of the Argentine university reform movement at that time.
One is a poor person, the other is an idealist.
Liverpool's head coach Benitez once used this to describe his current right-hand man Pellegrino.
The relationship between the two is very good, and they have always been like this from when Pellegrino went to Valencia to play for Benitez, and they have a lot in common, like-minded interests, and more importantly, they They are all full of idealism.
Benitez even once said that if you give him eleven robots, he can win all the games.
The idealism is palpable.
As if to confirm Benitez's vision, after Pellegrino arrived, Liverpool finished second in the league last season, behind Manchester United, and almost won the league championship.
Benitez was full of praise for this assistant who was a central defender. He believed that Pellegrino's special training had a great impact on the team's defensive players and was important for the team to show strong competitiveness on multiple fronts. Push hands.
As for his former assistant Paco Yesterdam.
The Spaniard, who was very popular among the players in the Liverpool dressing room, left Liverpool after falling out with Benitez. He first went to Real Sociedad as the director of football, but after less than a month, he went to Benfica as the physical coach. This summer I returned to Valencia as a physical trainer.
Without Benitez, Yesterdam has lost its former glory.
Benitez even spoke highly of his current assistant coach Pellegrino, believing that except for his poor English, he was already close to perfect in the position of assistant coach.
Therefore, this season, Benitez has given full power over the team's defensive training to Pellegrino. The Argentine assistant coach has lived up to Benitez's high expectations and will Liverpool has been trained to become one of the best defensive teams in the Premier League and even European football.
Even in the thirteenth round of the Premier League, against Manchester City at home, Benitez's team still showed a superb defensive level, allowing Manchester City, known as the strongest offensive firepower in Europe, to defeat again and again at Anfield. The ground hits the wall.
In the forty-five minutes of the first half, Manchester City fired a total of sixteen shots, but they were unable to break through the goal guarded by Reina. In the second half, the sides changed sides and the game continued, but Manchester City still refused to listen and launched an offensive.
Even at the 60th minute, Gao Shen directly replaced the big center Giroud to further strengthen the offense.
But still to no avail.
…
"It's a pity. If Fernando can play, we have a chance."
Standing in front of the home team's coaching bench at Anfield Stadium, Benitez watched the game on the pitch, judged the situation between the enemy and ourselves, and felt helpless about the current situation of Liverpool.
Before the game, he thought Fernando Torres could play because after the team doctor's test, Torres was in good condition.
Unexpectedly, Torres came to him himself and said that he still felt that his body was not ideal.
In the end, Benitez had no choice but to let Torres rest.
If Torres could play, Benitez believed that Gao Shen would never dare to attack so fiercely.
Pellegrino believed in Benitez's judgment, "Manchester City's performance is also quite good. The advanced young man is quite young, but he still has something of his own, and..."
After the Argentine paused for a moment, he saw Benitez turning his head to look over curiously, and then he smiled and said: "He is nothing like you. I really don't know how people in the outside world know this."
Speaking of this, Benitez also found it very funny.
"When he coached Real Madrid, he played four-two-three-one and his style was very conservative."
"I know it's not easy for him to be so conservative that Capello scolds him." Pellegrino laughed.
Capello is already famously conservative, and even he couldn't stand Gao Shen. One can imagine how conservative Gao Shen was at the time.
"Actually, he was not conservative at all, just pragmatic. Real Madrid at that time really should have played like that, and when he played Arsenal away from home and in other games, he was not merciless when it was time to attack."
After a pause, Benitez turned his head and glanced at Gao Shen in front of the visiting team's coaching bench, "He is just a real poor person."
This is another kind of person in the writings of José Ingenieros.
If realists are water, then idealists are oil.
The two cannot get together under any circumstances.
Therefore, it is very rare for Benitez not to dislike Gao Shen.
You know, he hates Mourinho very much. The reason why he had a falling out with assistant coach Paco Yesterdam was because Yesterdam went to shake hands and joke with Mourinho, but he was
He was hit hard.
"Tonight, his false winning streak is going to end!" Benitez said harshly.
Pellegrino nodded. With the current situation, Manchester City really has no good way to defeat Liverpool's defense.
The double defensive midfielder of Biglia and Mascherano, with Gerrard and Kuyt in front, and the defense of Insua, Daniel Agger, Skrtel and Carragher behind, plus
A goalkeeper Reina.
Liverpool's defensive formation is not intimidating to any team, whether in the Premier League or in European football.
Even Guardiola’s Barcelona!
"Insua should pay special attention to this point. Biglia has already received a yellow card, and the protection on his side will be weakened." Benitez warned.
If you have to find a weak spot in Liverpool's defense, it must be Argentine left back Insua.
Due to Aurelio's frequent injuries, Insua has gradually gained a foothold after emerging this season, but his problems have also been exposed a lot, especially today, in front of Robben, he also had a very difficult time coping.
The Dutchman broke through and cut inside for the first time.
Fortunately, Biglia played well, but in order to help defend Insua, the Argentine midfielder also received a yellow card.
As for the other side, Carragher also received a yellow card under Hazard's repeated attacks.
It can be said that Manchester City's offensive still brought great pressure to Liverpool.
Pellegrino also heard Benitez's concerns and immediately reminded Insua loudly.
But at this moment, Manchester City launched another wave of attacks from the right.
After Robben dribbled the ball away from Insua and cut inside, he suddenly passed the ball back to the right wing. Zabaleta inserted along the right wing and caught up with Robben's passing ball. He passed the ball down and hit the ball.
On Daniel Agger's body, the rebound crossed the bottom line.
Corner kick.
Manchester City's offense still failed to create a threat in Liverpool's penalty area.
…
"Adopt Plan 4!"
Gao Shen gave the order to Carlo, who quickly conveyed it to the court.
Rakitic ran to the corner kick on the right side of the court, and he was responsible for taking the corner kick.
All the tall players from Manchester City also ran into Liverpool's penalty area, immediately making the already crowded Liverpool penalty area become full of tall people.
Gerrard, Daniel Agger, Skrtel and Carragher on the home team are not short, but the double midfielder and Insua are relatively shorter. The Argentine left back is 1.8 meters and is already defending.
Ordered before.
In comparison, Manchester City still has a lot of tall men.
David Luiz, Kompany and Javi Martinez are all relatively tall. Gao Shen has just replaced the big center Giroud. Four tall players of 1.9 meters have taken advantage of each other.
Standing in Liverpool's penalty area is still very intimidating.
In set-piece defense, the front point and the center of the small penalty area are two crucial points, but between these two points, there are also other players who need to protect the defensive players at the two points.
Insua guarded the forward point, Carragher guarded the center of the small penalty area, Gerrard and Daniel Agger protected, and Skrtel was responsible for the back point.
In this game, Manchester City took several corner kicks, and Liverpool used this defensive configuration.
Benitez's zone defense system has gone through several years of confusion and adjustment, and has actually cooperated very well. However, sometimes there are mistakes in their cooperation due to injuries, lack of players, or rotations and other factors.
At least in tonight's game, against Manchester City, they have not made any mistakes so far.
Gao Shen originally wanted to hit Insua's forward point, but Liverpool was well prepared for this and Daniel Agger's protection was in place.
Although Carragher was embarrassed at the front of the penalty area, he did not make any mistakes.
This resulted in Manchester City's several corner kicks being in vain.
Therefore, Gao Shen now wants to use the fourth plan.
…
After receiving the instructions, the Manchester City players on the field immediately divided the work.
There is a very clear coordination between who attacks the front point, who attacks the middle, and who attacks the back point.
Everyone in Liverpool has also felt the changes in Manchester City, and everyone feels like they are facing a formidable enemy.
Captain Gerrard is also in the penalty area, ready to protect Manchester City's key offensive point. At the same time, he is also calling on his teammates loudly, hoping that they can cheer up.
"Come on! We can't beat Liverpool!"
Gerrard's shouts and loudness made the fans in the stadium feel excited and shouted even harder.
The players also felt the power from the captain and the fans in the stands, and they all cheered up.
"Come on!" the players responded in unison.
After the referee Phil Dodd arranged the penalty area, he slowly stepped back with the silver whistle in his mouth.
In the corner kick area, Rakitic slowly raised his right index finger and conveyed it to his teammates in the penalty area.
When the crisp whistle sounded, the Croatian midfielder quickly ran forward and kicked the football in the corner area. The ball was forceful and flew up. After crossing an arc, it fell towards the goal.
direction.
Point before!
Almost everyone reacted immediately.
Gerald reacted quickly and rushed out immediately.
But no matter how fast he is, the Manchester City players who know the landing spot early are faster.
Dajiru jumped out first, stuck his position, jumped up high, and hit the landing point directly.
The ball was lifted up by Giroud again and quickly fell to the back of the center of the small penalty area.
At this time, Carragher stood forward, and Skrtel was attracted by David Luiz at the back point. The front edge of the small penalty area was in the center and left area, leaving only Mascherano.
