While Riester and Oti were talking about some changes for next season, the Champions League group stage games finally began. Benitez's results this season are not very good, but they are not too bad either. Now he has been in La Liga
It fluctuates between third and sixth place. If you are lucky, you can enter the top four and get a Champions League spot. But if you are unlucky and fall out of the top four, you can only play in the UEFA Cup.
Speaking of which, Valencia's score is not high this season, not because it lost too many games. On the contrary, it is because there were too many draws. Valencia's current offensive methods are not rich, and they rely more on counterattacks.
But no one blamed Valencia. On the contrary, many people in La Liga football were very surprised by the young Benitez. Because the current La Liga football world is also full of disputes, and it is a league that can compete with Serie A. Among the current La Liga football teams, Real Madrid
, Barcelona, and Deportivo are all powerful. Deportivo, which has won the league championship for two consecutive years, still leads the standings with superhuman momentum. In addition to them, there are also teams like Zaragoza, Alaves, and Celta Vigo.
The teams are all very strong and each performs better than the other in the European competition.
In such a situation of disputes among the heroes, Valencia is currently ranked third in La Liga with a one-point advantage. Above it are Deportivo La Coruña and Barcelona, and below it is Zaragoza.
Real Madrid, Alaves, Celta Vigo and other clubs. The points difference between them is only about one point, two points, or three points.
Compared to other clubs, Benitez is the youngest coach. But with such an outstanding performance, many people in the Spanish media have commented that Benitez is the most outstanding young coach.
"The game has begun. This is the fifth game of the first round of the UEFA Champions League in the 1999-00 season. Valencia faces Bayern Munich at home. Judging from the current group stage, Bayern Munich has already won three and drawn one to get ten points.
Basically, they got a qualifying spot. As long as they don't lose in this game, Bayern Munich can appear one round earlier. Valencia's qualifying situation is pretty good, with two wins, one draw and one loss, ranking first in the group stage with seven points.
Second place. As long as we win this game, there will be no problem with Valencia's appearance."
"Let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides. Bayern's starting lineup is goalkeeper Kahn, the defense is Anderson, Babel, and Kufuor, and the midfielder is Salihamidzic, Jeremys, and Effen.
Borg, Sauer, Lizarazu, and the forwards are Elber and Santa Cruz. Although it is an away game, Bayern still has a 3-5-2 offensive formation."
"Look at Valencia again. Valencia's starting lineup is a bit interesting. The goalkeeper is Canizares, and the defense is Angeloma, Ayala, Pelligrino, and Carboni. Center
On the field are Makelele, Alberda, Hérard, and Mendieta, and on the forward line are Jankoler and Lopez. Coach Benitez sent all three of Valencia's midfielders on the field today. Makelele,
Albelda and Hérard are both very outstanding defensive midfielders in La Liga football, and their defensive abilities are very strong. Unexpectedly, they all played at home."
The commentator was a little surprised. Therefore, in his opinion, Benitez's arrangement was too conservative. Valencia's defensive midfielders are the best in the entire La Liga, and they are one of the best even in European football. Makelele
He is a pure defensive midfielder. He has been highly praised for his defensive ability since coming to La Liga. Albelda plays very tough and actively covers a wide area with his running. Herard is good at attacking and defending.
As a midfielder, his defense is excellent and he is not bad at controlling the rhythm of the game. After all, he came from the La Masia youth training camp. Although he is not Barcelona's fourth player, he has inherited the characteristics of Barcelona youth training players, controlling the ball and passing the ball.
The ball is very good. And Herard also has another skill, that is, his header is very good.
If it were just the three of them, Valencia's defensive midfielder group would not be so respected. Because besides them, Valencia also has an excellent defensive midfielder. His talent may not be as talented as Makelele and Alber.
He is a rising star in La Liga football. He has been playing in the first team of Valencia since he was 18 years old. By last season, he had played more than 30 games under Ranieri.
The second time, he was Farinos. Although Farinos' later achievements were limited, especially when he fell down in Inter Milan, his performance in Valencia at this time was definitely outstanding. He is not tall,
He is not physically strong, but his defense is very good.
The existence of their four ace defensive midfielders allows Benitez to rotate in Valencia with ease. But under normal circumstances, Benitez always chooses two of the defensive midfielders to play. Unexpectedly, he chose directly this time.
Three defensive midfielders.
Defense, defense, defense. Even Riester saw what Benitez was thinking above. Benitez used three midfielders to protect the defense.
Sure enough, Benitez's defensive strategy became apparent after the game started. Makelele plays last and rarely comes out of his position. Makelele is considered one of Benitez's favorites, and currently in Valencia
Among the four major defensive midfielders, Benitez values the most. If you rank down according to the players Benitez values , then they are Hérard, Albelda, and Farinos.
During the game, Herard was more defensive about Effenberg. He didn't let Effenberg have a chance to shoot, but stepped in when he had the opportunity. The three midfielders were lined up, and both Effenberg and Sauer were the same.
Extremely restrictive.
"Jaime, Valencia lacks changes now and is not playing very well."
Lister did not hide his views at all. Although Benitez is his coach and a coach he strongly supports, the game is ugly just because it is ugly. Lister has watched many Valencia games this season.
The game was very boring. If it weren't for Valencia, a cool player like Mendieta, and a shooter like Lopez, Valencia wouldn't have much to watch.
"This was already the case when Ranieri was the coach."
In the current La Liga football world, Valencia is the ugliest player. Even the newly promoted teams in La Liga are willing to show off their footwork during the game. Only Valencia plays football to win.
Part of it is a counterattack style. But this was not started by Benitez, it has been like this since the Ranieri era.
"When we have people like Vicente, Ronaldinho and others, Valencia will have a lot more offensive methods."
Riester and Oti were watching the game and chatting easily. But Hitzfield frowned off the court. When Bayern played Valencia at home, Benitez was not so negative.
Looks like. But when it comes to his home court, Benitez actually plays such a defense. Hitzfield hopes to confirm the qualifying spot for the group stage as soon as possible, and then rest the main force in the last game. After all, the Bundesliga is also in chaos now, Leverku
Clubs such as Sen and Dortmund were all eyeing him. But the game was completely different from what he thought.
Benitez did not pull the line back and then defend the position 30 meters in front of the goal. Instead, he used his strong midfield defensive ability to disrupt the situation in the midfield. He simply did not let Bayern easily in the midfield.
ball control and passing.
Bayern's strength at this stage is the best in Europe. Later, when evaluating European football during this period, what everyone expected most was the confrontation between Real Madrid and Bayern. But after arriving in the away game, Benitez made arrangements completely for Bayern.
The game felt like it was stuck in a mud pit. Watching this game, Lister was reminded of the game when Liverpool smothered Chelsea in the Champions League.
One of Benitez's most outstanding skills is to retaliate in kind. He was able to perform very well in cup matches because he was able to make arrangements according to his opponents. And wherever the opponent was strong, Benitez would do it.
Where do you struggle with the opponent? Historically, Deportivo's left wing was the golden left wing, but Benitez just attacked Deportivo's left wing with him, and finally directly defeated Deportivo.
When playing against Chelsea in the Champions League, they struggled with Chelsea's strongest center. Today's game was no exception. Bayern's midfielder is the best in Europe, and Benitez had to mediate with others in the center.
"The game was very dull. Thirty minutes had passed. Neither side had any good chances. Valencia only knew how to destroy in the midfield. Bayern was completely unable to organize an effective attack. Coach Hitzfeld should make some changes.
Already."
Effenberg is Bayern's best midfielder, and he is also very domineering. But the most delicate player in Bayern's midfield is Sauer, but Sauer's delicacy could not be shown at all today. Alberda followed Sauer closely, and
As long as Sauer can break through once, there will be Makelele and Elber who are lightning players behind him. Unfortunately, Valencia did not have any space for him to play in this game.
"Schauer, pass the ball... Herard, Herard's running is very smart. He appeared in Sauer's passing route and intercepted the ball. Herard, pass the ball!"
Herrard is currently only 22 years old. He came from Barcelona's youth academy. He only moved to Valencia because he had no chance in Barcelona. His defense is absolutely top-notch. His consciousness is excellent. In
When Sauer passed the ball, he had already judged the route of the ball, and then intercepted the ball in the middle. Then watching the Valencia players running, he passed the ball with a long pass. Herard was in Valencia
He is the midfielder with the best long passing ability, and his organizational skills are also top-notch.
"Mendieta, Mendieta... a beautiful pass!"
Mendieta can also run. As a technical player, Mendieta's physical strength is still very good. Because he is protected by three midfielders, Mendieta is very free during the game. But in this game, Mendieta is more
Appearing on the right, and Lopez on the left. This time Herard's long pass found Mendieta.
Because Bayern is attacking with all its strength, there are three central defenders behind it. Fortunately, Lizarazu is an excellent left back. Seeing Herard's pass, he immediately returned to the left to defend Mendieta. Mendieta's back
Faced with Herard's long pass and Lizarazu's defense, he lightly picked the ball with his right foot and then immediately turned around. Although it was not as simple and elegant as Bergkamp's, it was still
It was a huge success.
Lizarazu is a representative of France's golden generation, and he is definitely the best in the world at the left-back position. However, he was also passed by Mendieta's unexpected passing method. Mendieta is very strong, but his movements
It's not flashy, most of them are very conventional passing moves. But this time he used such a gorgeous passing move.
After all, Lizarazu is the world's top left back. Although he was passed by, he still chased back immediately. Mendieta's speed is not slow, but he is not very fast either. But Lizarazu is the real
A speedy full-back, his speed is comparable to that of some wingers. Therefore, Bayern even used Lizarazu as a left midfielder this season. Seeing Lizarazu's pursuit, Mendieta did not continue to break through.
, but after the space appeared, there was a cross directly.
"Mendieta, cross... Jankoler, Anderson and Babel defend Jankoler. Jankoler leaps high and dives to the top!"
Although Mendieta is not a right midfielder, he often moves on the right and sometimes plays directly as a right midfielder. Therefore, this cross is very good and has a very perfect arc. Jankoler is an aerial bully, and the defender who defends him is very good.
Although Anderson and Babel are excellent central defenders, their aerial combat capabilities are still not as good as Jankoler.
Patrick Anderson is 1.86 meters tall, and Marcus Babel is 1.91 meters tall. However, this time he lost to Jan Koller when competing for a header. Jan Koller did not receive the ball a few times in this game.
, vented all his anger on this ball.
Fortunately, Kahn reacted quickly. Jankoler's header hit the ground and then rebounded. It can be said that this kind of ball is the most difficult to defend. But Kahn was able to react the moment Jankoler headed the ball.
He came over and saved the ball with a side dive.
"Kahn, Kahn saved the ball... Lopez, Lopez!"
Because the distance was very short and the speed was very fast, Kahn could only touch the ball with his hands. It was already a world-class reaction, and it can even be rated as the best save in this round of the Champions League. There is no goalkeeper in European football who can react like this
Definitely not many, otherwise Kahn would not be one of the best goalkeepers. Unfortunately, after the ball was saved, the threat was not eliminated. Lopez followed up from the left and faced the ball without stopping, and just volleyed
Volley.
Lopez's shot was very fast, but the shot was relatively straight. Unfortunately, Kahn had already fallen to the ground at this time, and it was too late to stand up and save.
"goooooooooooooooooooooooooal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the goal in the 36th minute of the first half, and it is also Valencia's third shot in this game. This is
Lopez's third goal in the Champions League this season is also his fourteenth goal in Valencia this season. If Lopez's form can be continued, he will not even score thirty goals this season.
strangeness."
Lopez's performance under Benitez's tactics is unparalleled. During counterattacks, Lopez is the most powerful counterattack player, and because of Jankoler's cover, Lopez can also be a forward who grabs points. Let
Lopez's power was brought to its fullest.
Riester and Oti both applauded gently when they saw Lopez scoring a goal, with smiles on their faces. Riester was happy with Benitez's performance. Although the game was ugly, as long as there were results, Benitez would be better.
Si will not dismiss the class. Oti is happy because as long as this game can be won, Valencia will appear.
The income from the Champions League is getting higher and higher. When the first round of the group stage occurs, the income will double. Valencia currently has no major shareholders willing to invest, so it can only let the club make money on its own. The Champions League is the best channel. (Unfinished)
