Chapter 220 Tactics Fanatics and Tactical Geniuses
July 28, Hamburg.
The 2013 German Super Cup will be held at the People's Park Stadium.
This is an unwritten rule of the Super Cup, that is, the game that determines the outcome will usually be played at the home court of the "weaker" team.
If it's the league champion versus the cup champion, then the cup champion will play at home. And if it's the league champion versus the runner-up, it will naturally be played at the runner-up's home court.
This is also a benefit for the Hamburg team.
After all, playing at home will boost the morale of the players, and Hamburg’s home results have always been very good.
Last season they even remained undefeated at home throughout the entire season!
Judging from the past two Super Cups, Schalke 04 in 2011 and Bayern in 2012 were both won by the home team.
Of course, based on the vastly different performances of both sides in this year's preseason, most media and fans still believe that the suspense of the Super Cup does not exist.
The super team Bayern, led by super coach Gua Gua, will easily crush Pan Yi’s burgers and defend the Super Cup!
……
The game is about to start.
The players on both sides are still making final preparations in the locker room, and the coaches on both sides have already received the opponent's lineup.
Guardiola indeed laid out the 4231 set he had been practicing in the preseason.
Center: Mandzukic.
Frontcourt: Robben, Muller, Shaqiri.
Midfielder: Kroos, Thiago.
Defenders: Alaba, Van Buyten, Boateng, Lahm.
Goalkeeper:Stark.
This is almost the strongest lineup he can put together now.
The only thing that is a little surprising is that he used the Belgian international and veteran Van Buyten to partner Boateng in the central defender position, instead of using the absolute main force of last season, Brazilian Dante.
In fact, it also includes Bayern's double midfielder combination, Hama Piggy was replaced by Kroos and Thiago.
It's just that this new combination has been often used by Guardiola in the preseason. It is also proof that Guardiola intends to create a new offensive routine this season. Everyone is already used to it.
This lineup was basically within Pan Yi’s expectation.
The only thing that made him slightly worried was that Van Buyten, a Belgian defender, was 1.96cm tall and had outstanding physical advantages.
Although he is not that reassuring in terms of defense, Guardiola sent him to play today. Could it be that he guessed Pan Yi's high center pivot strategy?
Want to use high school guards to restrain the high center forwards here? Is Guardiola really that good?
……
At the same time, in the visiting team's locker room, Guardiola was shocked when he saw Hamburg's lineup.
"Hey, what does Pan Yi want to do today?"
This is a standard 433.
Forwards: Son Heung-min, Mitrovic, Salah.
Midfielder: Kante, Casemiro, De Bruyne.
Defenders: Robertson, Rudiger, Van Dijk, Carvajal.
Goalkeeper: Navas.
As for Pan Yi’s formation, Guardiola actually guessed most of it.
For example, he will use the offensive-oriented tactic of 433. For example, he will use a combination of Kante, Casemiro and De Bruyne in the midfield.
But what Guardiola didn't expect was that Pan Yi would arrange for Mitrovic to replace Vardy as the main center.
This surprised him, but also gave him some bad premonitions.
Mitrovic was just a young man playing football in Serbia before, and Guardiola didn't know much about him.
And now that he did it, Guardiola subconsciously felt that Pan Yi must be planning something.
Aren't you planning to engage in a traditional British attack and use a big center to hit our penalty area?
It can't be a 4-3-3 formation like this. We have to have a formation with two full midfielders.
Guardiola is indeed not sure what Pan Yi wants to do.
The only thing Guardiola feels a little lucky about is that he used Van Buyten instead of Dante in this game.
In fact, the reason why he chose Van Buyten is because this tall defender also has strong offensive ability!
Van Buyten can score several goals every season, and even scored 8 goals in one season.
So Guardiola wants to go all out in this Super Cup and let Pan Yi know what real offense is.
Unexpectedly, in an unexpected situation, with the high school defender facing off against the high center, Van Buyten was able to use his high-altitude barrier to restrict the opposing young center.
……
When Pan Yi walked out of the players' tunnel, two completely different voices sounded throughout the People's Park Stadium.
There were deafening cheers on one side, and harsh boos on the other.
Obviously, some of these sounds were made by Hamburg fans, while others were sent by Bayern fans.
Events like the Super Cup are different from ordinary leagues. Although the "weak team" has the advantage of home court, the distribution of tickets is still roughly based on the proportion of neutral stadiums.
Therefore, the number of Bayern fans present is not small.
Nagelsmann, who was walking two steps behind Pan Yi, came up and smiled at Pan Yi: "It seems that not only the Hamburg fans love you, but also the Bayern fans' love for you is so deep."
Ah."
Pan Yi curled his lips.
As the only head coach of a Bundesliga team that defeated Bayern last season, and as a head coach who declared at the beginning of this season that he would overthrow Bayern and win the Bundesliga championship, it is of course normal for him to receive hostility from Bayern fans.
But this also proves that the current Pan Yi is no longer the kind of person who has no sense of existence in the eyes of Bayern fans.
On the contrary, Pan Yi is full of threats to them!
And only when you deal with someone who is a threat, the other person will hate you and hate you.
Just imagine, if you were the head coach of a team like Eintracht Braunschweig or Fürth, Bayern fans would be too lazy to criticize you.
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This phenomenon also applies to players.
When the competition between Messi and Ronaldo is at its fiercest, the extreme fans of both sides will do their best to dig up dirt on each other to attack. Everything the two players do on and off the court will be magnified and studied.
Compare.
But who would compare Messi with Zaha?
No one will compare Kiessling’s scoring data with Ronaldo.
So, spraying you and scolding you proves that you have a high status in the other person's mind.
Black fans are also fans, and sometimes they even pay more attention to black fans than normal fans. This is also true.
So, Pan Yi smiled at Nagelsmann and said: "I accept the love of Hamburg fans. But I don't want the love of Bayern fans. Take this love away when you have the opportunity in the future." p>
This is actually connoted in another timeline, the reality that Nagelsmann finally became the head coach of Bayern.
Bayern fans also love and hate Nashuai, and there has been no shortage of controversy.
But of course Nagelsmann was confused now. He scratched his head and could only follow Pan Yi into the venue.
……
"See you again, Pan Yi!"
As soon as Pan Yi turned his head, he found a sun in front of him.
That’s Gua Shuai’s bald head.
Under the rays of the sun, Guardiola stretched out his hand towards himself.
"Hello, Mr. Guardiola." Pan Yi also smiled and shook hands with him.
The two have not met since the UEFA Champions League group stage in the 2011-2012 season.
But obviously, Guardiola, who admired Pan Yi very much at the time, always wanted to discuss tactical issues with him.
"I feel that your 433 today is different from the 433 you had in Milan. Can you tell me why you like 433? Or why you abandoned last season's 4231?"
Pan Yi was slightly startled.
This Guardiola, this is before the game between the two teams. Is it appropriate to ask tactical questions directly?
But Pan Yi also knows that this is not some information that Guashuai wants to spy on, he just has a problem in his heart and can't help it!
Sure enough, there were "martial arts fans" in ancient times, and there are "ball fans" today.
"Don't you also like to use 433 in Barcelona?" Pan Yi said with a smile, "We use it for the same reason. Thanks to its good overall layout, there are more passing points, which is conducive to passing coordination." Pan Yi is right.
If we connect every player in the 433 formation with a line, we can find that in the 433 formation, a triangle position can be formed between any player and his two adjacent players.
So what is the use of forming a triangle position in real games?
Players are in a triangular network. After getting the ball, there are many passing points to choose from. From the perspective of the plane formation diagram, there are at least two passing points for each player.
The passing routes are enriched, and the passing coordination between players will be more flexible.
Therefore, for some teams that are strong or like to dominate the game, the 433 formation is perfect.
This is also the reason why Pan Yi decided to focus on 433 this season.
Last season, Hamburg's lineup was weak, and the players' integration was not enough. They played a lot of defensive counterattacks. A snake-oil formation like 4231 is more suitable.
This season, the team's overall strength has become stronger, and the bench has become deeper, so it can attack well!
"As for the difference between my current set of 433 and Milan's," Pan Yi smiled slyly, "I'll wait for you to find out in the game later."
Guardiola also laughed and said: "Then you are not curious why I use 4231 at Bayern instead?"
"Maybe it's because you prefer to work alone." Pan Yi said half seriously and half jokingly.
This is indeed the case.
Guardiola is famous for being obsessed with tactics and studying all kinds of strange ways of playing.
However, although many revolutionary tactical improvements have resulted from this, sometimes it can backfire.
In Pan Yi's previous life, Guardiola's most famous incident was in the 2021 Champions League final.
In the duel between Manchester City and Chelsea, Guardiola actually formed a rare midfielder-less and forward-less lineup!
Rodri and Fernandinho did not play, but Gundogan, B-seat, Foden, De Bruyne, Sterling and Mahrez were put on the list at the same time.
This lineup directly led to Manchester City's huge disadvantage in the first half. Havertz's goal was because Manchester City's midfield and backcourt were wide open, and the shortcomings of no midfielder were clearly exposed.
Throughout the first half, Chelsea's counterattacks were accurate. If Werner was in better condition, Chelsea might be able to end the battle in the first half.
The waistless formation made Manchester City stretched on the defensive end, and also made Gundogan, B-seat and others very uncomfortable. Manchester City was in a state of chaos.
After 60 minutes of the second half, the real midfielder Fernandinho finally appeared. Manchester City also returned to a familiar rhythm in the second half of the game and took control of the game.
It's a pity that De Bruyne had already been injured and was off the field at that time, leaving Manchester City with not enough time. In the end, they failed to equalize the score.
If Guardiola could adjust earlier, perhaps the game would have a greater turn for the better.
In short, he once again chose to "make adjustments" in a key battle, but unfortunately this time the plan still ended in failure.
Guardiola is undoubtedly the most tactically accomplished coach in today's football, but he has not won the Champions League again in the 10 years since leaving Barcelona. This is definitely due to his own reasons.
In fact, going back to the current game, isn't Thiago Kroos' midfielder combination a "midfielder-less formation"?
In fact, neither of them is a defensive midfielder in the true sense.
They are all good at offensive combination planning, but they are lacking in the hardness of midfield interception. To be precise, there is no defensive midfielder among them.
But now Bayern's overall strength is far stronger than many opponents, including of course the opponents in the warm-up matches. This combination has contributed more goals to Bayern.
So this problem has been covered up for the time being, and Guardiola also believes that this style of play can still beat the Bundesliga!
But if they encounter a stronger opponent, or a stronger midfield opponent, Bayern is likely to be beaten like Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final.
Perhaps, this is the beginning of Guardiola's new life after leaving Barcelona?
Of course, Pan Yi definitely cannot tell Guardiola about such a "secret" now.
Now they are the most direct competitors, and Pan Yi still hopes to use this kind of trick to win against Gua Shuai!
So, Pan Yi laughed again and chatted with Guardiola for a while about the pros and cons of 433 and 4231. Especially when they talked about 433, which they both loved most, they couldn't stop at all.
For example, the two also mentioned that one of the characteristics of 433 is that it has a numerical advantage on the side and can form a siege on the side;
Then, through the unremitting running and changing of positions among several players, they can tear down the opponent's defense and wait for opportunities to find openings to complete the breakthrough and score.
In addition, the 433 formation can also make reasonable use of the width of the court to control the pace of the game.
The wing is the key to breaking through the opponent's defense in the 433 formation, but when the opponent's defense is very tight and the team cannot find a breakthrough for a long time, the team cannot hold on to one side for a long time.
Appropriately transferring the long pass from the midfielder to the other side is also a good flexible choice...
In fact, the reason why these two coaches are talking so speculatively is because Pan Yi's formation this season is largely based on the 4-3-3 play style used by Guardiola when coaching Manchester City and Bayern in the later period. In particular, the Manchester City team under Pep Guardiola is a team that focuses on 433 passes and control.
At that time, Manchester City used this style of play to take control of speed up and down in their own hands.
When the midfielder catches the opponent's defensive weak side, he speeds up the pass and signals his teammates to increase the frequency of running and pulling;
When the team's overall physical fitness shows a downward trend, midfielders need to slow down the speed and frequency of passing, mainly to control the rhythm of the game.
Doing so can not only leave room for breathing for your teammates, but also consume the opponent's physical energy.
Therefore, many times, Manchester City can always play with its opponents and slowly "play" them to death.
Many people think that if it weren't for Gua Shuai's performance in key games... forget it.
Having said that, now Guardiola is equivalent to chatting with a person who is proficient in his own tactics and is deeply involved in the enhanced version. Can he stop chatting?
This scene made Nagelsmann, Inzaghi and others on the side look at it, and they all looked confused.
Brother, are you two going to play a game or visit relatives?
How can we shake hands and still have a conversation?
And everyone can see that these two coaches are definitely not the kind of hypocritical and perfunctory polite people, but they are actually very happy and speculative.
Pan Yi shouted every day in front of reporters and players that he wanted to defeat Bayern and win the championship. Everyone could see it.
In turn, Gua Shuai must also have been studying Pan Yi, determined to overthrow Hamburg and defend the dignity of the Southern King.
Looking at this scene, no one could have imagined that this would be the appearance of a pair of the most fiercely competitive opponents in the Bundesliga before the game...
The promised tit-for-tat confrontation, the promised flames of fire?
It's like two old friends reunited after a long separation, shaking hands and exchanging greetings, and chatting for a long time.
Brother, can we stop talking? The game is about to start!
……
When the referee blew the whistle to start the game, Mandzukic in the center circle immediately kicked the ball to Muller and rushed forward quickly.
The entire People's Park stadium burst into thunderous cheers.
This much-anticipated first focus match, which represents the opening of the new German football season, has officially begun!
After Muller stopped the ball, he passed it back to Kroos, and he turned and rushed to the right front, which is Hamburg's left wing.
This action also shows that although Muller's position in this game is behind Mandzukic, playing in his most accustomed shadow forward or midfielder position, he may spend more time on the right wing. p>
This is actually the direction Muller was accustomed to when he played as a winger.
This means that Bayern's main attack direction in this game is likely to be from the right.
Muller will work with Robben, plus captain Lahm who is assisting from the side, to attack the wing guarded by teenager Robertson.
Pan Yi was already prepared for this.
Among Hamburg's three midfielders, except for De Bruyne who will move slightly to the right, the two strong players Kante and Casemiro will move closer to Robertson's side to assist the full-back defense.
As a result, Bayern's right-leaning tactics cannot gain a numerical advantage, and it will be difficult to quickly create a gap on this side.
On the court at this time, after Kroos stopped the ball, he did not pass it back. Instead, he waited for Ram to come up and then quickly passed the ball to the right.
Ram moved forward to catch the ball, and as soon as he stopped, Kanter ran over.
The two smallest players on both sides had a direct confrontation.
But Ram did not choose to fight with him, but took two steps back and passed the ball back to Cross.
At this time, Hamburg center Mitrovic turned around to press the Bayern midfielder, who quickly passed the ball back to Boateng at the center back position.
Boateng and Van Buyten were at the back of the team, and the ball bounced back and forth between the two players.
Bayern played very patiently today.
After a wave of attacks from the right was blocked, the two central defenders tried to pull Hamburg's defense over with their kicks.
However, Hamburg is also patient.
Their entire formation kept running with Bayern's passing, but they were not in a hurry to press on. This made Bayern unable to find a chance to play the ball in the backcourt.
Finally, about half a minute later, Boateng got a chance and passed the ball to the left.
Alaba stopped the ball and moved forward. Before De Bruyne could run over to intercept, he quickly sent a direct pass.
Mandzukic retreated from the front and received the pass from his teammate near the center line.
But Casemiro, who was sitting in Hamburg's defensive midfielder position, quickly went around to grab the ball and then won the ball!
However, since there were no Hamburg players in front of him at this time, there was no good opportunity for a quick counterattack, so Casemiro passed the ball back to center back Van Dijk and started to organize the attack again.
Casemiro's beautiful steal also aroused bursts of cheers and applause from the Hamburg players on the field.
Now it's Hamburg's turn to attack.
Almost following the same pattern, Hamburg began to pass the ball in the back line, and then advanced to the midfield step by step.
But Bayern's defense is also very tight.
When Kanter got the ball and wanted to pass it to De Bruyne to organize the attack, Shaqiri stretched his legs first and intercepted the ball.
But this time, Muller and Mandzukic in front began to rush forward quickly, and Bayern had a chance to counterattack!
But after Kanter lost the ball, he stuck closely to Shaqiri, making it difficult for the Swiss winger to pass the fatal ball immediately.
And the "Swiss Messi" is by no means a deserved reputation. He deceived Kante with a fake turn to the right, and then dribbled the ball to the left, hoping to get rid of Kante completely, and then passed the ball.
Although Kanter had lost his center of gravity, he still stretched out his hand and pulled Shaqiri to the ground.
The referee whistle blows, foul.
Since the game had just started and the ball was only developing in the midfield area, it was not an absolute scoring opportunity in a broad sense, so the referee did not give a card and just gave Kanter a verbal warning.
The Bayern players who missed a chance to counterattack had no choice but to place the ball, pass it back, and the game started again.
Guardiola, who was on the sidelines, looked at this scene thoughtfully.
He likes 433 and knows its advantages. Naturally, he also understands its shortcomings.
Teams that adopt the 433 formation usually face such problems:
When the team conducts a positional attack, the players will make full use of the depth and width of the court and spread out the formation as much as possible.
This is not only conducive to exploring the space between the opponent's full back and central defender, but also conducive to the passing and cooperation between teammates.
However, if the opponent intercepts the ball during the pass and encounters a quick counterattack by the opponent, the team will be in great trouble.
Because our defensive players are scattered in every corner of the court at this time, it is difficult to quickly return to their positions to defend.
The current approach of the Hamburg players on the field seems to be able to effectively solve this problem.
That is, a quick counterattack within 5 seconds. If the ball is not grabbed and the ball is regained within 5 seconds, the team will end the opponent's counterattack at the cost of a foul or a yellow card.
This price is definitely worth it, because if this counterattack can go smoothly, the blow to Hamburg's goal will be catastrophic.
Guardiola had actually considered using this method to circumvent 433's weaknesses in attack before, but he was a little hesitant about whether it would be too easy to get stuck. It was really not as resolute as Hamburg's execution.
Gua Shuai couldn't help but glance at Pan Yi on the other side and thought:
"This guy is really a tactical genius. It seems that if I play a few more games with him, I can really learn a lot of new things..."