When many fans mention the Premier League, their first impression is of the four major families, followed by the devilish schedule.
The Premier League is the only league among the five major European leagues that does not have a winter break.
As for this year's Christmas schedule, Manchester City will play four games in just ten days starting on the 26th. This is a huge challenge for any team.
It is necessary to make full preparations in advance for the Christmas schedule, and Manchester City is no exception.
After the sixteenth round of the Premier League, Guardiola held a coaching staff meeting. Sudong, Kompany and Zabaleta participated in this meeting as representatives of the locker room.
The main topic is the Christmas fixture list.
Guardiola's number one think tank, Olympic water polo champion Manel Estiarte, was the first to reflect on last season's Christmas schedule. He believed that Manchester City actually did not play well, and last season's Christmas was actually only on Wednesday.
Two games in one day.
It's difficult, but not too difficult.
This season is obviously different. We have to play four games in ten days, and the difficulty is exponentially higher.
More importantly, the team must not only consider the Christmas schedule, but also consider after Christmas.
There is no winter break in the Premier League. Even after the Christmas schedule, there is no way to rest. Instead, they must continue to invest in the second half of the competition. This is a huge test for any team.
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Estiarte elaborated on the pressure of the coaching staff on this year's winter break schedule, starting from the players' psychological war-weariness, the intensity of the schedule, and the difficulty of adjusting the club's existing lineup.
To sum it up in one sentence, it is difficult, very difficult!
But no matter how difficult it is, Manchester City must endure it.
"We have summarized the season journeys of the Premier League champions in the past few years. If there is any pattern, there is only one: play the Christmas schedule well. Anyone who does not play the Christmas schedule well will basically have a hard time winning the championship.
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Estiat's words must have come from statistics.
After learning the lessons from last season, how will Manchester City cope with the Christmas schedule this season?
Guardiola and his team start from many aspects, from physical fitness to rotation mechanism, to the team's skills and tactics, etc., all of which have to make some adjustments, because no player can persist in playing four games in ten days.
Contest.
More importantly, after the Christmas schedule, there will be another winter break schedule, and there will be one more FA Cup.
Buenaventura is in charge of physical training, and he has also made arrangements for this point, insisting on rotation. At the same time, he also hopes that after the seventeenth round, the team will begin to make adjustments to recharge the players' physical fitness.
"In the eighteenth round, we are facing Everton at home, which is also a tough battle." Su Dong reminded.
Regardless of the fact that Everton is currently ranked 15th in the Premier League, anyone familiar with the Premier League knows the strength of Moyes' team.
If you only look at the Premier League rankings and think Everton is weak, then you are really too arrogant.
"We have studied it and it is a bit risky, but it is worth it, and we are confident that we can win Everton at home with rotation." Guardiola said seriously.
These must have been carefully considered and considered by the coaching staff.
Another of Guardiola's right-hand men, Domenech Torrent, said that the team will strengthen the testing of players' physical indicators during the Christmas schedule, including injury recovery, fatigue, etc.
Analysis, and even involved in player psychological analysis and locker room management.
This is a systematic project.
As a saying goes, the outcome of a game is actually determined the moment the players enter the court.
This is definitely not a joke, it's true.
Many fans only see the formation and lineup, and at most they analyze the players' tactical execution, running data, etc., but these are actually part of it, and can even be said to be the result.
If a player does not run much, it may be because he is too tired or has not recovered from an injury; if the player's tactical execution is not in place, it may be because he is dissatisfied with the head coach or has conflicts with his teammates; if a player is in a sluggish state, it is likely that
homesick……
All of these appear before the game, and are already determined the moment the players walk onto the court.
But the media and fans often don't pay too much attention to these. They only see the players' performance on the court.
Domenech Torrent said that the club encountered some problems during the winter break last season and is also learning lessons this season, but it is not enough because many players in the team are doing it for the first time.
Experience the Christmas schedule.
To give the simplest example, it is the same Christmas devil schedule, and different players have different acceptance levels.
Some players are very traditional. They are used to spending Christmas with their families. Now, not only can they not spend the holiday with their families, but they have to leave for an away game early the next morning on Christmas Day. Who can accept it?
Some players are less traditional and will accept the Christmas schedule better.
But when the time comes, these two types of players will have to be on the same team and fight side by side.
"Actually, these are just obvious factors. We can take preventive measures in advance. The real trouble is still on the court, where players will have inconsistent thinking." Torrent said worriedly.
To put it simply, players think differently from each other.
Since the schedule is very intensive, the team will definitely adopt different tactics according to different opponents, equip different lineups to play, and carry out extensive rotations, but then a problem will arise.
Suppose, when encountering a weaker team, the head coach decides to win and the whole team takes it easy.
Of course the main players hope so, because they consume a lot of money, but will the rotation and substitute players also think so?
They finally got a chance to play, and they will do everything possible to show and prove their strength, so they will be very active.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! On the court, including the goalkeeper, eleven players form an interlocking system. In this system, when a certain link goes out of control
If it happens, it will inevitably affect the surrounding areas and even cause the entire system to go out of control.
Appearing in the game means that when a certain player works very hard and is very active, others will naturally become active as well.
The practice of substituting and rotating players is contrary to the team's pre-game strategy.
Therefore, sometimes, the media and fans feel very happy when they see a certain player shine and lead the team to victory, but in fact, the head coach may be secretly complaining, thinking about how much his main players have been consumed.
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Sometimes we even have to replace this outstanding player in midfield or in the second half early.
Why?
It's great for him to work hard alone, but the other players have consumed too much. How will they play in the next game?
This is true for substitute players, and the same is true for main players.
The human mind is the most complex and elusive.
This is already the case for one person, and it is even more troublesome if there are so many players on a team.
Why can Ferguson always turn around during the Christmas and winter breaks?
It is because of his super control ability that he can ensure that every player in the team listens to him.
Who is dissatisfied?
Directly blocked!
Under this absolute authority, Manchester United will only listen to him whether he is the main player or the substitute.
Ferguson's authority and control at Manchester United cannot be possessed by any other team or head coach.
Just like Ancelotti refuted the media not long ago, saying that he is not Ferguson, this is the gap!
…
After the meeting, Su Dong rubbed his brow and left the conference room.
He felt a headache just listening to it. You can imagine how many things Guardiola has to worry about as the head coach of the team?
"I don't understand why the Christmas schedule is so troublesome and the Premier League has never thought about reforming it?" Su Dong asked Zabaleta in confusion.
The Argentinian came to the Premier League in 2008, so it has been more than two years.
"In fact, the Premier League has always stated that they are not opposed to reforming the Christmas and winter breaks. However, the reason why there has been no progress is not only commercial considerations as many people have said, but also British characteristics."
"If you look carefully, you will find that around Christmas, not only football, but also various sports events in the UK will be arranged during the Christmas period. They will not take turns and will even increase their intensity. This is for the fans.
It is a British tradition to send them a Christmas dinner, and fans like this arrangement very much."
Su Dong suddenly understood.
Every rule needs to be based on a certain social foundation.
Fans welcome the holidays at Christmas, and they also like to take their families to the football stadium to watch a match of their supported team during the Christmas vacation. This is also a traditional program for British fans to celebrate Christmas.
If Christmas and the winter break are cancelled, it will not only cause losses on a commercial level, but fans will probably not be happy either.
Due to various factors, the Christmas and winter breaks of the Premier League were not only not cancelled, but intensified.
This is just like the domestic film market, where blockbusters always rush to the National Day and Spring Festival slots. This is the reason.
Su Dong now understands the reason for the Christmas and winter breaks in the Premier League.
Guardiola gave their three captains and deputy captains the task of managing the locker room, calming the players' emotions, and paying close attention to the players' psychological changes during the Christmas and winter breaks.
The four games on Christmas Day are an away game against Newcastle, a home game against Aston Villa, a home game against Blackpool, and an away game against Arsenal.
The one that attracted the most attention was the final away game against Arsenal, which was also Manchester City's first game in 2011.
The first game of the year, coupled with the grievances between the two sides in the first round, all made this game attract the attention of Manchester City. Guardiola and the coaching staff also put this game on the agenda when arranging it.
The most important thing.
You must win points in a strong dialogue!
Even if Manchester City has a certain lead, they must not be careless in the slightest.
What's more, for Manchester City, the most important thing is not only three points, but also revenge!
Who can forget the four-minute red card in the first leg and the penalty kick at the end of the first half?
