Compared with the match against AC Milan in the Super Cup, this starting lineup has undergone great changes, with more than half of the players replaced.
The formation has also changed.
Obviously, Stramaccioni was very afraid of AC Milan's all-conquering offensive combination, so he formed a five-back defensive lineup, preparing to defend and then counterattack.
This is also the tactical policy they formulated before the game.
Captain Zanetti plays a guest role as right center back in this lineup, and once AC Milan's wild attack fails and shows fatigue, Stramaccioni can make tactical changes without changing personnel.
Push Maicon to the midfield, Zanetti to the right back, change the formation to a more offensive 451 or 4231, and then blow the offensive horn.
Including the current midfield configuration, it is also set up to restrain Milan's midfield operation.
In particular, letting Guarin keep an eye on Kanter is the top priority of this style of play. Stramaccioni also repeatedly warned Guarin before the game, and carefully studied Kanter's technical characteristics with him, and made
A perfect strategy.
only……
Now Stramaccioni stood in front of the home team's bench, looking blankly at the Milan players on the field.
What about Kanter?
Where are Salah, Mane and Ibrahimovic??...
Pan Yi's lineup actually didn't include any of the main players!!!
Forward: Inzaghi.
Attacking midfielder: Seedorf, Aubameyang.
Defensive midfielder: Van Bommel, Ambrosini, Flamini.
Defenders: Antonini, Nesta, Mexes, De Sciglio.
Goalkeeper: Abbiati.
"...???"
At this time, countless question marks appeared in Stramaccioni's mind.
I bet the information he sent people to conduct reconnaissance at the Milan training ground was all false. Was it Pan Yi's deliberate act?
No, that's not right either.
Isn’t it true that the current Milan starting lineup in front of us just showed up at their training ground to practice against the other team?
The only thing wrong is that Stramaccioni and the others made a mistake about which side is the main force and which side is the substitute...
Stramaccioni couldn't help but be dumbfounded by Pan Yi's bold behavior.
In such an important derby match involving the championship, Pan Yi actually fielded a full rotation lineup???
What also puzzled Stramaccioni was the tactics adopted by Milan today.
Pan Yi actually arranged for the team to play the 4321 formation, which is the legendary Christmas tree.
This was also the tactic Ancelotti often used when he was still at Milan in the early years.
But at that time, Ancelotti's use of this tactic was actually a helpless move.
Under his staff, he has accumulated four No. 10 players such as Pirlo, Seedorf, Rivaldo, and Rui Costa, so An Pang came up with this method, and the results were very good.
This formation can accumulate a large number of personnel in the midfield and backfield, allowing a relatively tight system to be formed in the midfield and backfield, and making it difficult for the opponent to break through the center.
On the premise of stable defense, this formation can also control the midfield well, and then use the personal abilities of the frontcourt players to quickly counterattack.
But it also has some flaws, otherwise this formation would have become popular long ago.
For example, in the two side spaces, it is easy to create a situation of using less to defend more - because this formation does not have wingers.
And if the opponent is a team that makes good use of space, during frequent transfers, the range of movement of the three players in the midfield will increase, and it will easily cause system instability or be easily pushed to the hinterland by the opponent.
In the current world football, most teams attach great importance to the role of wingers, and breakthroughs and crosses from the wing are very frequent. Therefore, 4321 Christmas Tree will have a hard time facing such opponents, which leads to this formation.
The actual application scope is not large.
But now, Pan Yi used this formation to deal with Stramaccioni's Inter Milan!
Since the 4321 Christmas tree is essentially a defensive counterattack tactic that favors the center, Stramaccioni's pre-match predictions were completely in vain, and his plans for Milan are out of the question.
As for marking Kanter... I can only go to the bench and stare at his silly face.
In short, Stramaccioni is completely confused now.
This not only surprised him, but also gave him some bad premonitions.
This person Pan Yi...
Just this courage made Stramaccioni feel that it was not easy.
Thinking about it from another perspective, if he, as an assistant coach, finally got an opportunity to directly command the team to win the league championship, he would never dare to take any risks.
Pan Yi, on the other hand, took all the risks he could.
As for the players in the midfield and frontcourt, AC Milan often rotates them.
But in the backcourt, especially the central defender position, due to the stable performance of Van Dijk and Thiago Silva, there are no injuries, so Nesta and Mexes have few opportunities to play.
It can be said that in a stable team, apart from the goalkeeper position, the center back is the one that least needs rotation.
And today in such an important game, Pan Yi dared to send both of them to start at the same time. This is really incredible.
So Stramaccioni took aim at Pan Yi from time to time.
He really wanted to know what was going on in the head of this boy from the Dragon Kingdom?
…
Pan Yi's idea is actually very simple.
Just to secure the Champions League.
Three days after the battle with Inter Milan, the second leg of the semi-finals with Chelsea will come, and he must ensure that the main players are in the best condition to face that game.
In his mind, the Champions League will always be higher than the league.
Besides, the league championship is almost within our grasp now. If we get it sooner or later, it won’t be much different.
As for "winning the championship by stepping on the rivals in the same city", "it's rare for an assistant coach to perform well", and even "breaking the 100-point record" that he told Allegri before, Pan Yi is not considering it now.
column, at least with a low priority.
He has now received offers from other teams, and he has to prove that he is not in this game or two.
If the existing substitute lineup is used against Inter Milan's main force, there will definitely be a gap in terms of hard power, including the overall level of running-in.
Based on the actual situation of the personnel, such as the lack of wingers, sharp counterattacks by the center, and sufficient defensive midfielders...etc., Pan Yi decided to use the Christmas tree formation.
This is based on the characteristics of the existing players in the team, a defensive counterattack formation based on the posture of the weak.
This is also the reason why Pan Yi kept a low profile during pre-game interviews.
What Pan Yi also didn't expect was that Inter Milan actually deployed a defensive formation, and there were no serious wingers.
"Looking at it this way...is there any chance of a wave?" Pan Yi glanced sideways at Stramaccioni, thinking.