Although even Gary Neville, who has always been tough-talking, felt a little guilty after Chelsea's consecutive victories in adversity, Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal will not be easily restrained.
He has always been a tough guy!
When he was interviewed by reporters before the game and was asked about the upcoming league opponent Chelsea, Van Gaal stated in a high-profile manner that the team would continue to stick to its own style of play at Old Trafford and then defeat Chelsea.
"I know Chelsea are doing well in the Premier League this season and doing well in the Champions League, but that has nothing to do with me."
"I have developed a suitable tactic for Manchester United, and I also believe that this tactic can restrain Chelsea's formation and ultimately win."
"You say Pan Yi is a master tactician? Haha, when others said that to me, he was probably still in kindergarten, right?..."
Van Gaal's remarks quickly spread throughout European football, and of course also reached Pan Yi's ears.
"Haha, Van Gaal is indeed an old hooligan."
When Scaloni handed the newspaper with this report to Pan Yi, Pan Yi smiled instead of getting angry.
To say that Van Gaal is a "hooligan" is not nonsense.
His always open and forthright speeches always surprise many people, and he is even called the joke coach.
For example, he once said that Huth's action of pulling Fellaini's hair was like "X abuse", and another example is that he encouraged players to play football with high morale like "X hunger".
During the World Cup interview, he even "drove" in public and said to his wife who came to visit the training ground: "You can come to the hotel or my room and we will have sex."
The female reporters on the side were embarrassed, but Van Gaal didn't care at all and went back to direct the team's training with a smirk on his face.
Therefore, for Pan Yi, who knows Van Gaal well, it is nothing to make a fuss about him expressing his confidence before the game and belittling his opponent.
But Scaloni was a little angry. He said to Pan Yi: "Boss, should you respond? Lest anyone think we are afraid of Manchester United."
Pan Yi waved his hand and was about to walk away, but suddenly thought of something, turned around and said to Scaloni:
"Just find a good reporter to respond to me and say that I respect Van Gaal's position in European football very much, but it is really shameful for him to attack a junior like me like this."
"Perhaps it's because Manchester United's recent poor record puts Van Gaal under tremendous pressure, so he wants to find someone to vent to."
"But it doesn't matter. If you have the ability, we'll see you on the court. Let's see who's tactics are better!"
Scaloni laughed as he remembered.
The boss is the boss after all!
I don't usually like to get into verbal fights, but if I do, I'm not afraid of anyone coming!
And Pan Yi naturally had his own purpose in responding like this.
Van Gaal's tactics at Manchester United have evolved in many ways, which will actually cause certain uncertainty in Chelsea's pre-match preparations.
Pan Yi wants to use his verbal war with Van Gaal to make Van Gaal use his best and most reliable tactics to stabilize this uncertain factor.
In this way, Pan Yi is more confident to use targeted tactics to defeat Van Gaal!
——
"Are you stressed because of poor performance? Haha, only a kid can talk like that, right?"
"I have been a professional coach for more than 20 years. I have been to big clubs like Ajax, Barcelona, and Bayern, and I have also served as the head coach of the Dutch national team. What kind of battles have I not seen?"
"I have won championships and lost often. These pressures are nothing to me."
"I just want to tell Pan Yi now that if he wants to be called the 'Master Tactics', he must defeat me with tactics in the game."
"But one thing I am very sure of is that Chelsea may be able to win by relying on the players' personal abilities, but Pan Yi definitely cannot give me a refreshing feeling at the tactical level!"
"In my opinion, his 343 and 70-minute substitutions are all my leftovers..."
"Of course, it is impossible for them to win at Old Trafford. In our territory, we will not give him even the slightest chance!"
"Against Chelsea, we only have one goal, and that is three points."
"At Old Trafford, we will strive to gain the initiative from the first minute of the game and maintain it until the end. We will make our opponents leave Manchester with a nightmare."
"Pan Yi is a very young coach, and I am an old coach. I don't mind giving him some of my life experience, that is -"
"Sometimes, for young people, failure is more rewarding than victory."
——
Pan Yi did not respond to Van Gaal's counterattack.
There is no more meaning in the repeated back-and-forth. Who is stronger and who is weaker still has to see the truth on the court.
Soon Pan Yi held a meeting with the coaching staff to prepare for the weekend league.
Although Manchester United's recent situation is not good, they are Manchester United after all!
The team still has many stars who can change the game with their own flashes of inspiration.
Moreover, Van Gaal is indeed ranked among the top tacticians in the history of world football and must not be underestimated.
Therefore, Pan Yi also did his homework and shared it with everyone at the meeting——
If football coaches were simply divided into three types, they would probably be the following:
The first is to select players based on the formation you want to use.
Guardiola and Mourinho are the more typical representatives.
The advantage of this is that it allows the players to adapt to the head coach's formation and play style to the greatest extent. If there is someone in the original team who does not meet the requirements, he will be let go.
Of course, the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it requires money, more money.
The second type is to set up the formation based on the existing players, that is, to make decisions based on the players.
Obviously, when it comes to this type of coach, many people will immediately think of Ancelotti.
After all, Fatty An is famous for being good at cooking. Whether in Milan, Real Madrid, or later at Everton, he can cook all the "ingredients" he has under his hands to make them delicious.
In fact, Van Gaal is also a good chef. He is not called Chef Van for nothing!
Van Gaal just came to Manchester United this season. From the warm-up match to the beginning of the season, he actually tried several formations, such as the 442 diamond midfielder and the 352 three-back system, but the results were not ideal.
Based on Manchester United's poor midfield control and ball-playing ability, Van Gaal later developed a tactic of leaving the midfield empty and focusing on the wings, which is what people in the world call the "big circle tactic"!
Although everyone talks about "big circle tactics" with a bit of ridicule, in fact this is the best use of Manchester United's limited personnel by Van Gaal, who truly deserves to be a master tactician.
Manchester United this season has limited staffing, poor recruitment, and mixed player characteristics. It is actually difficult to integrate into the same tactical system.
Let’s take a look at Manchester United’s regular main and rotation players this season:
Goalkeeper: De Gea, Lindegaard
Defenders: Rafael, Luke Shaw, Jones, Rojo, Evans, Smalling, Valencia, Blind.
Forwards: Rooney, Robin van Persie, Di Maria, Falcao.
In the entire lineup, the players who can play the midfield axis position include Mata, Carrick, Herrera, Fletcher, and Fellaini. Blind counts half of them.
But the problem is that Mata's position is more inclined to the wing, Fletcher did not perform well due to various reasons (in fact, he is about to leave the team in the winter window), Fellaini has rough skills, and Herrera's foot skills are not considered good.
As good as he is, Carrick is often missing from the field.
This midfield set really cannot provide Manchester United with strong midfield control.
Not only that, there is a bigger problem with Manchester United's player configuration, that is, the mismatch of player styles.
The Spanish team headed by Mata is better at small-scale triangle cooperation and good at organizing attacks from the ground; while the English team headed by Fellaini is good at playing high and solving problems in the air.
After Van Gaal had a detailed understanding of the characteristics of Manchester United players, he invented this strange-looking large circle tactic.
He gave up almost all midfield positions from the offensive second zone to the offensive third zone, and instead divided the players into two small teams according to their characteristics, living on both sides of the court.
Carrick moved in the middle to make full use of the width of the pitch. The entire formation was like a big circle, surrounding Carrick in the middle.
Therefore, Van Gaal used Carrick as the absolute core, sinking between the two central defenders and responsible for determining the direction of Manchester United's attack.
Rooney frequently dropped back to get the ball, opening up the defense in the penalty area and creating space for goals.
Manchester United's left wing consists of Blind, Ashley Young and Fellaini as a three-man team. They mainly play the British high-flying style of play, which is simple, efficient and fast.
On the right, Valencia, Mata and Herrera form a three-man team, focusing on small-scale cooperation, which is delicate, smooth and gorgeous.
If one side's attack is blocked, the ball will be handed back to Carrick, who will then transfer the ball to the other side.
For both sides, Carrick's way of distributing the ball is different. When going to the left, he prefers to pass the high-altitude ball to Fellaini, while when going to the right, he prefers to directly hand the ball to the horse who is constantly changing positions.
Tower or Herrera, the two of them are responsible for organizing small-scale cooperation.
As a result, Manchester United made full use of the width of the court and made frequent lateral moves to tear apart the opponent's defense.
As the number of fights increases, the opponent's defense gradually exposes its shortcomings, so the phenomenon of more players playing less frequently appears on both sides, creating a large number of scoring opportunities.
There will be a problem here, that is, Rooney pulls out of the penalty area and overuses the two wings, resulting in a lack of personnel in the penalty area.
In this regard, Van Gaal asked players on the non-offensive side to insert themselves into the penalty area appropriately, and even Fellaini would enter the penalty area when holding the ball, in order to increase the offensive manpower in the penalty area.
In addition, as a player with poor mobility, Carrick plays as a defensive midfielder, which inevitably means that the midfield defense is weak.
Therefore, Van Gaal arranged for two midfielders with strong defensive capabilities, Fellaini and Herrera, to assist in the coordination to increase the defensive intensity.
Looking at it this way, although Van Gaal's large circle tactic was a helpless move in terms of staffing, is it not an unprecedented innovation in the history of football tactics?
After all, modern football emphasizes the control of the midfield more than ever before. Many coaches use the method of stacking people in the midfield to free up the wings and strengthen the offense.
Van Gaal, on the other hand, completely went against the trend, directly abandoning the center, focusing on wing attacks, and using people on the wings to relieve the pressure in the center.
To have such courage to change and innovative ideas, Van Gaal is definitely awesome.
It's just that Manchester United's generals are not yet accustomed to such innovations, which leads to poor results in the early stages of the league.
This is the price of innovation!
As for dealing with Van Gaal's large circle tactic, Pan Yi was naturally confident.
Why?
It’s because he is a time traveler!
In Pan Yi's previous life, Van Gaal relied on his mature big circle tactics to continuously defeat strong opponents such as Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester City, creating a six-game winning streak.
But then Manchester United met Chelsea coached by Mourinho. Mourinho used the tactics of Zouma and Fellaini, and then ended Manchester United's winning streak.
How could Pan Yi not copy this kind of homework? After all, he also has Zuma!
Of course, Pan Yi will not copy it by heart.
After all, Mourinho's lineup at that time was quite different from Pan Yi's current lineup, and we still have to adapt to local conditions.
"The most important people in Manchester United's big circle tactic are two people. It can be said that Van Gaal's tactic is based on Carrick's excellent scheduling ability, Fellaini's ability to compete for high-altitude balls, and the two
A tacit cooperation from all sides.”
"Let's talk about Fellaini first. He has a terrifying advantage in the air. Van Gaal's Manchester United will use the local advantage of long passes and air dominance to make up for the disadvantage of ball control in the midfield."
"So, I will let Zouma watch him every step of the way. I believe that Zouma, who is tall, has long legs and has a strong body, can make the Belgians with rough feet lose their aerial advantage."
"Once Fellaini loses his air strike capability, he will also lose his tactical role."
"The other one is Carrick. He stands in the middle of the whole circle and can be said to be the eye of this Manchester United team."
"Since both sides of Manchester United have two completely different playing styles, Carrick's choice of whether to move to the left or to the right on the ever-changing pitch is particularly important."
"It can be said that his transfer determines whether the ball will develop towards life or death."
"So, we must not give Carrick any space when we play against Manchester United."
"As long as there is no space, he won't be able to pass the ball calmly, he will make mistakes easily, and our advantage will be established."
"And the specific tactics are like this..."
After Pan Yi explained Van Gaal's big circle tactics, he immediately gave a solution to it.
This also made all members of the Chelsea coaching staff nod in approval and show admiration on their faces.
To be honest, whether it is Van Gaal's tactical analysis or his targeted arrangements, if another coach changed, he would definitely not be as detailed as Pan Yi.
Moreover, Pan Yi made a surprising move again this time. Every time he faced different opponents, Pan Yi always had some unexpected ideas.
Perhaps, to deal with the strange formation, you need to use strange tricks!
This also makes everyone look forward to the weekend's game.
Then, Scaloni suddenly raised his hand: "That's right, boss. You just said there are three types of coaches in the world, but you only said two. So what does the third type look like?"
"Oh, is it the third type?" Pan Yi showed a warm smile and replied seriously:
"xjbt."
——
October 26, Manchester.
Manchester is not on the seaside, but September and October are still rainy seasons.
Maybe there is still sunshine in the morning, but at noon or afternoon, it will suddenly rain.
Today, there is a drizzle in the sky.
Although it's not big, it still affects my mood.
Especially the mood of the person who is lagging behind in the game.
Now, Van Gaal is standing in the ceiling of the visiting team's coaching bench, looking at the thin line of rain in the sky, the wet field, and the scoreboard showing "0:1" above the field, and he can't help but feel in his heart
Di An cursed:
"This damn weather, this damn Pan Yi!"
As a Dutchman, he really doesn't like rainy days, nor does he like rainy days like this in Manchester.
What he didn't like even more was Pan Yi's tactics today.
Chelsea under Pan Yi's formation today is actually a bit similar to Van Gaal's!
Of course, Van Gaal's starting lineup is still based on his "big circle tactics", which is roughly 433 in terms of position:
The three frontcourt players are Ashley Young, Rooney, and Mata.
The three midfielders are Fellaini, Herrera and Carrick.
The back four are Blind, Jones, Smalling and Valencia.
The goalkeeper is still De Gea.
Compared with 433 of other teams, the biggest difference between Paradigm Manchester United is of course the midfield.
The position of the midfielder is obviously different from ordinary ones.
Carrick is in the center, while Fellaini moves to the left and Herrera moves to the right, thus forming a big circle.
But if you look at Chelsea's side...
It’s also very special! It’s also different from ordinary ones!
The forward line is quite special. Lukaku and Bamford are forward, with Hazard and Willian on both sides.
On the back line, there are three central defenders, Terry, David Luiz and Zouma, flanked by two wing-backs, Marcos Alonso and Ivanovic, forming a back five.
From a personnel perspective, this may be due to the injuries of Seat B and Cahill, as well as the red card suspension of Azpilicueta, which forced Pan Yi to make adjustments;
But this formation makes people feel a little weird.
Four forwards and five backs? That’s nine players used here.
What about the midfield? What about the people in the midfield?
Starting 11 people, deducting a goalkeeper and nine players, then there is only...
Yes, there is indeed only one person standing in Chelsea's midfield today, and that is Kante.
From the formation diagram, this seems to be a big circle!
It's just slightly different from Van Gaal's.
If you use what Pan Yi said in the interview, it is that the formation he used today is a "5-1-4 poke"!
It is said that he got the inspiration from a game anchor who led York City in the FM game, and decided to use it to compete with Van Gaal.
Coincidentally, after playing Manchester United, Chelsea will meet York City in the League Cup.
In a sense, this can be regarded as an advance "training" for Pan Yi.
This "5-1-4 poke" also does not accumulate troops in the midfield. It is also based on the wings, but it seems to have stronger attack power.
After all, there are four forwards in front!
After the game started, Van Gaal also discovered that Pan Yi's formation really had something to offer.
Although there is only one Kante standing in the middle, this versatile midfielder has a wide defensive coverage and can fill in gaps everywhere. He can also use long passes to send the ball directly to the forwards in the frontcourt.
Of course, this is also because Manchester United's midfield is also empty, otherwise even if it is as strong as Kante, there is no way to truly defeat one against two or against three.
This also shows Pan Yi’s thorough research on Van Gaal’s big circle tactics!
What is more thorough is Chelsea's specific tactics.
Although it was a weird 5-1-4 formation, Chelsea players still pressed Manchester United high, which made it difficult for Manchester United to play the ball out of the backcourt.
And if Manchester United passes the ball to Carrick, who is retreating to receive the ball, more Chelsea players will press forward to force one side, forcing Carrick to pass the ball to the other side.
This other side is often the side where Chelsea has the advantage!
This is why Pan Yi adopted this kind of large circle tactic.
Didn't you, Van Gaal, have at least three people on each side after giving up the middle, so you have a numerical advantage?
I'm doing better, and there are more people on the sidelines!
There is a wing back and a winger who are the "permanent population". The centers on both sides and a wing center back will often pull out. Coupled with the support of midfielder Kante, there can be up to five people on a certain wing in an instant.
, forming the idea of beating more with less.
The side where Chelsea forces Carrick to play is often the "high-altitude group" composed of Blind, Ashley Young and Fellaini.
Because the footwork of the players here is rougher than that of Mata, their ability to deliver the ball is poor and it is easy to break the ball.
Originally, there was no problem with their rough footwork. Fellaini could ferry them in the air and then get to a safe area.
But the most terrible thing is that Pan Yi also sent Zouma to keep an eye on Fellaini throughout the whole process!
Zuma seemed to have only one order, which was to just pinch Fellaini and beat him without doing anything.
After several duels at the beginning, everyone also discovered that Fellaini could not take any advantage from Zuma.
Whether it’s body, speed, fighting for high balls...
Fellaini can only do nothing.
Therefore, it was like Van Gaal's carefully crafted large-circle tactic, but half of it was ruined.
The other half, because they often fail to get the ball, are almost useless.
In this case, it is natural for Chelsea to gain the advantage and take the goal lead.
In the 23rd minute of the game, Zouma passed the ball to Kanter after fighting for the next high-altitude ball.
Kanter took advantage of the situation and pushed the ball forward to initiate an attack.
The two players in front, Hazard and Willian, both moved to both sides, and with Marcos Alonso and Ivanovic coming in behind, Chelsea immediately put on a side attack stance.
.
The Manchester United players quickly pulled up to defend, but did not notice that Chelsea's two centers Lukaku and Bamford were also rushing forward.
Kanter saw the opportunity and made a through ball, and the ball reached Bamford.
Why not pass on Lukaku?
After all, Lukaku performed well in the previous games. Smalling, the only one in Manchester United who is still defending behind, can only give priority to defending Lukaku's line when facing two forwards, and has no choice but to miss it.
Bamford.
This is why Pan Yi wants to use two centers.
The combination of edge and middle plus double ghosts hitting the door makes it hard to guard against!
Moreover, in Van Gaal's large circle tactic, the center is the most empty, so of course we have to take advantage of it.
At this time, Bamford sprinted forward, just in time to receive Kanter's pass, and then moved forward slightly, and fired with his right foot!
The ball flew into the left side of Manchester United's goal at great speed, almost grazing the post and entering the net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Bamford! He scored!!"
The entire Old Trafford stadium was quiet, except for the cheers of the visiting team Chelsea fans.
"This shot is really wonderful!"
"Bamford opens the scoring for Chelsea!"
"Whether it was Zouma's steal, Kante's counterattack, Lukaku's interspersed running, or Bamford's shooting, they all played very well."
"It can be seen that even under Pan Yi's seemingly weird tactical system, they still performed well!"
"Now Van Gaal seems to have a very disappointed expression on his face! Maybe he didn't expect that Pan Yi would use such a style of play to take the lead!"
Of course Van Gaal was disappointed.
Of course, he really didn't expect that such an original big circle tactic of his would be broken by Pan Yi in this way.
Generally speaking, Van Gaal's method of avoiding midfield entanglements and dealing cards directly from the middle to both sides certainly has its obvious flaws, and there are also relatively simple solutions.
For example, it means hoarding troops in the middle, advancing slowly, not fighting guerrillas with you, and forcing you to concentrate your troops in the middle for the main decisive battle.
As long as Manchester United's players have to give up the wings and go to the middle, this large circle tactic will be self-defeating.
But Pan Yi actually chose the same big circle tactic and chose to have sex with Van Gaal!
It feels like Pan Yi wants to prove in this game that even if I use similar formations, I can still beat you!
Isn't this too insulting?
Is this the confidence Pan Yi dared to have a war of words with him before the game?
So, Van Gaal gently wiped a few drops of rain from his face and looked at the Chelsea generals who were celebrating passionately without saying a word:
"This damn weather, this damn Pan Yi!"
——
PS: Thank you to Heavenly Birth for your 500 reward, and thank you to Cancer Yang Mie for your 3000 reward!