Coaching career started as a college team coach

"No! It shouldn't be like this!" Benítez's unique voice echoed over the lawn of Newcastle United's training center, "Jamal (Lascelles) you need to run away faster, so that you can confuse people!"

"My fault, sir." Jamal Lascelles panted and raised his hand to admit his mistake.

Benítez nodded, accepting his apology. He continued to talk endlessly, "When we face Wolves, I have repeatedly emphasized that we must make good use of set pieces. Just like the free kick opportunity just now, Jamal, you suddenly ran away, so that Shelvey had the opportunity to shoot from your position just now, do you understand? Come here, I will show you..."

Benítez ran onto the field in small steps, dragged Lascelles around, and pointed at the positions on the field.

"Hey! Right! Counter-run! Disrupt their human wall! Right!" After Benítez blew the whistle again, the free kick attack scene started again. This time, Russells met Benítez's requirements, but Shelvey's long-range shot outside the penalty area finally flew high into the sky.

"It's okay, it's okay, nothing happened." Benítez clapped his hands, "Just play like this, be calm next time, there will always be a time to score!"

"Keep going! Keep going! What are you standing for? Form a human wall! Wait for me to bring you a sofa?"

"Toot——"

"Good shot! Keep going, let's change the angle..."

The game time is getting closer and closer, and Benítez has arranged two or three training sessions specifically for set-piece training.

"It's really effective." Assistant coach Gomez nodded to Benítez, "They are now much better at grasping set-pieces."

"Yeah." Benítez nodded expressionlessly, not surprised by Gomez's report. It stands to reason that if Benítez's team can't play set-pieces, it would be strange.

Eight of Benítez's first 10 league goals after he came to Newcastle were scored by corner kicks, free kicks or penalties, which shows how much Newcastle under Benítez attaches importance to set-piece tactics and the important position of set-pieces in Benítez's tactical system.

Benítez has his own ideas for this game against Wolves.

He has to admit that this Wolves team that has emerged out of nowhere is already a strong team, and they have a strength far beyond the general level of the Championship. Benítez is not a gambler, on the contrary, he doesn't like risks very much.

He hopes that everything is under his control. If the direction of all games on the football field is carried out according to his ideas, how wonderful it would be. Unfortunately, the reality is not like this.

Benítez attaches great importance to the offensive firepower of Wolves. Wolves are the team with the most goals in the Championship so far, the team with the most goals in open play, and the team with the most shot attempts and shots on target.

Because of this, Benítez adopted a steady and cautious tactical approach in the match against Wolves. Set-pieces became an important offensive means for Benítez's Newcastle.

Benítez just stood there, staring at a plant in a flowerpot that he couldn't name. In his mind, he had already arrived at Molineux Stadium a few days later. What would happen if he sent out such a lineup?

What would happen if Richie was replaced by Atsu? How would Wei Le fight back against me?

Assistant coach Gomez watched Benítez enter a "meditation" or "daze" state, knowing that trying to communicate with Benítez now would only lead to Benítez's scolding, so he stood up and poured a cup of hot coffee for his boss and put it on the table.

"What kind of person is Benítez?" Wei Le asked Celars with interest, holding his chin.

"Is this important?" Sailars was a little speechless, "We are going to play a game, not to go on a blind date."

"It is very important. Anyway, answer the question first. What kind of person do you think he is?"

"I don't understand you young people." Sailars complained, but still thought carefully about his impression of Benítez.

After thinking for a while, Sailars spoke, "I remember that the reports about him are basically polarized. Some people praised him as a 'tactical master' and the person who knows football best in the world, while others seized on Benítez's poor interpersonal relationship and scolded him, thinking that he can't even be called a qualified head coach."

"I am more inclined to think that he is actually a combination of the two. He is probably a tactical genius who is extremely obsessed with football, so he ignores other aspects such as interpersonal communication."

Wei Le nodded. He startedThe impression of the team is similar to that of Celars. When Wei Le was a fan at the beginning, every time he saw Benítez being pushed to the forefront because of the locker room dispute, he would have the same thought, that is, how did he become a world-class coach?

But after becoming a coach, with more and more detailed sources of information, Benítez's image gradually became three-dimensional in his mind.

Yes, he is a tactical master.

The decisive 15 minutes of Istanbul night, the "God's hand" of replacing German midfielder Hamann, the tactical design that allowed Gerrard and Alonso to coexist in the team, including its modernization based on the classic 4-2-3-1 formation, all prove this point.

But at the same time, it is also true that he is not good at interpersonal relationship management.

Take Gerrard for example. The legendary Liverpool star mentioned in an interview with the media after his retirement that he could "take out the phone and call any former Liverpool coach he played for", but Benítez was the only one he could not do.

When Benítez first met Gerrard's family, the first thing he said was "Does Steven like money?" This made Gerrard very angry. Gerrard also said that Benítez seemed to prefer Spanish or South American stars, calling them nicknames, but only "Steven" for himself.

Torres once complained about Benítez because of the "indifference" of the Spanish coach. Torres clearly remembered that he scored twice in a game. When he was excitedly waiting for the coach to praise him after the game, Benítez just told him that I had told you how to run for a corner kick so that you can grab the point.

This is a person who has only football in his heart, which makes it difficult to use any tricks on him because he hardly cares about media evaluations.

Benítez's focus on football is also reflected in his attention to details. In the summer, Benítez asked the board to upgrade the indoor artificial grass, replacing the previous inferior artificial grass with the latest 4G artificial grass in Europe to reduce injuries in training.

In addition, Benítez also requested that the training base be renovated, the work and rest areas be improved, and the gym be equipped with better equipment.

Benítez is not the head coach who complained about Newcastle United's training facilities, but he is the only head coach in recent years who has really asked for rectification.

"So, what's the point of studying Benítez?"

"Benitez will definitely adopt a steady and cautious style of play. He doesn't dare to face our heavy punches. If he has a choice, he will definitely not choose to take risks." Wei Le touched his chin and analyzed, "In this case, perhaps their means of scoring will be..."

Celars answered first, "Set-piece!"

"Yes, I think so too." Wei Le smiled and nodded. Celars and himself really have a tacit understanding.

"Then I'll arrange the training session!"