Football’s First Defender

Just when Yang Feng was receiving one-man guidance from Boll at the training ground, Zenit also started his own away trip!

At the home court of Spartak Moscow, Zenit is in a hard fight!

The 1-2 loss at home in the first round forced Zenit to continue to stick to its offensive tactics in the away game, even if it would expose its defense to the opponent's efficient shooters!

However, forced by the situation, Advocaat still decided to give up his life, but before the game, he quietly warned himself in his heart that if he still failed, then it was time to change his tactics first!

As soon as the game started, Zenit launched another fierce attack!

But after all, not long ago, there were two rounds of battle. Sparta Moscow continued to follow the tactics that had been proven successful before, shrinking the defense at home, and defensively counterattacked with peace of mind!

In this game, all of Zenit's strongest attack combinations at this stage are on the field. Tymoshchuk is dispatching in the midfield. Denisov and Zhilyanov attack on the two sides in turn. The top is at the end. In front is the extremely strong Pogrebnyak, behind him is Arshavin who is a free man, and the two full-backs Kim Dong-jin and Aniukov are also ready to step in for support at any time. Sen can also come forward and take a long shot!

It can be said that, except for the two central defenders who cannot attack forward in sports battles, Zenit is full of offensive attributes, especially Arshavin in the midfield. As the "new tsar" of Russian football, Edvor Carter is full of confidence in him!

At the very beginning of the game, Pogrebnyak in the penalty area got an excellent opportunity. Arshavin successfully got rid of the opponent's defender on the wing, and made a 45-degree pass. The ball accurately found the defender in the penalty area. Pogrebnyak.

Relying on his strong body, the latter directly pushed away the opponent's central defender, jumped up and shook his head directly to attack the goal. This header is powerful and the angle is not bad, but it is a pity that the location of the header is a bit far from the goal, which gave the goalkeeper enough time to react. A beautiful save!

After Zenit, the siege continued unabated. Arshavin, Tymoshchuk, Fernando Ricksen, and even Kim Dong-jin took turns to test the opponent's goalkeeper with long-range shots, but unfortunately they couldn't score!

In the case of a large number of long-range shots to no avail, Zenit had to return to the old way of crossing from the wing, hoping that Pogrebnyak in the penalty area can rely on his own body to complete the goal!

However, the "Boshen" who was marked by two people was obviously dragged into the mud of physical confrontation by the opponent and could not get out. Facing the ball from the wing, he could only grab a little bit and point the ball down. Goal.

However, having a fulcrum in the penalty area is better than nothing, at least Arshavin once got a second chance to land. Arshavin shot directly at the ball, and the ball flew straight to the dead corner. Unfortunately, the goalkeeper jumped up and touched the football with his finger. Finally, the ball hit the post, and all the home fans broke out in cold sweat!

After that, more attention was paid to protecting the home team at the second point, which made Zenit's excellent shooting opportunities less and less!

When you are impatient, it is an excellent opportunity for your opponent. On the football field, the essence of the so-called defensive counterattack is a fatal counterattack!

Spartak Moscow clearly knows this.

Just when Zenit stormed for 30 minutes but failed to achieve anything and the players became impatient, Spartak Moscow finally showed its fangs, exactly the same fangs as two weeks ago!

First, Zenit's side transfer was cut off, and then it was thrown directly to the huge gap in Zenit's backcourt. Since the midfielder Fernando Ricksen had already stepped in to attack, the immediate combat power of the entire defense was only 2 central defenders , the two full-backs are also rushing back, but it is obvious that the home team's players have the advantage of the position, and the full-backs pursued by Zenit can only be left behind!

Skrtel stepped forward directly to press, while Eric Hagen dragged his huge body and wanted to retreat "quickly"!

Skrtel, who originally planned to get a yellow card and also fouled to stop the opponent, found that he was already too late when he arrived at the position. The home team player ran to the position first and passed the ball directly to the front. In front of Eric Hagen, the home team's striker No. 9 Nikov is inserting into this gap. Although Eric Hagen intercepted him in front of him and Jin Dongjin chased him behind, the distances were too far. Plenty of time to adjust and move on to the next step!

Skrtel still bumped into it, even though it was meaningless. Although the referee noticed the physical contact here, he kept his hands straight forward, "It is good for attack!" However, it should be unavoidable to add a yellow card later !

Nikov managed to get the football 35 meters in front of the goal, and then continued to move forward. Eric Hagen wanted to step forward to interfere, but the flexibility of the two sides was obviously not at the same level. The physique of the Norwegian central defender is really not very flexible. , was directly deceived by a fake move, and then was passed cleanly, single-handedly!

In the Russian game, getting a one-handed chance is like celebrating the New Year. Nikov, who is a superb shooter, will not miss this opportunity. Ski had no choice but to be pierced by Nikov again! (The game from two weeks ago was entered several times...)

1 to 0, Spartak Moscow took the lead at home!

"Fuck..." Advocaat on the sidelines was furious!

Falling behind again in the away game, now he has to score two goals to drag into overtime, but the opposite side not only has the solid turtle shell, but also has a sharp counterattack, giving Advocaat a headache!

At the end of the half, 1 to 0, Zenit's Russia Cup seems to have come to an end!

During the intermission, Advocaat rarely lost his temper, but still arranged the tactics of breaking the iron barrel, and replaced Fernando Ricksen with Tyke, prepared two forwards, and kicked the ball from the side!

It's just a pity that the home team Sparta Moscow seems to have prepared a countermeasure in advance. The opposing head coach immediately replaced a central defender after seeing Tyke play. Sometimes the pass is indeed good, but after a strong physical confrontation, even if the Zenit players can grab the chance to head the ball, their movements have been obviously deformed, and they cannot pose a threat to the goal at all!

And as the second half of the game progressed, the home team with a total score of 3 to 1 didn't even want the last chance to counterattack. Another midfielder replaced Nikov who scored the goal. The home team planned to defend to the end!

But in the face of this iron barrel lineup composed of tall and big players, Zenit really doesn't have many options. Although the two sides can guarantee the output of firepower, the players in the center can't make effective shots at all!

Advocaat has let Skrtel, who is good at headers, come forward to attack, but apart from making the opponent's penalty area more crowded, so far he has not gotten an excellent chance!

Most of the bottoms, crosses or horizontal balls were cleared first by the home team with the dominant number in the penalty area. The remaining opportunities, under the interference of physical confrontation, rarely had excellent shots. 1 The score to 0 has continued!

At the moment of desperation, Arshavin stood up.

A world wave! Facing the ball from the opponent's header to clear the siege, without waiting for the opponent's defender to jump up, he volleyed the ball without stopping. The ball was full of power, and the ball turned into a strange parabola, crossed the crowd in front of the goal, and went straight to the dead corner!

The Spartak Moscow goalkeeper had no time to react, and the goal was scored! 1 to 1, one goal short!

But unfortunately, in the last 10 minutes, no hero appeared again and could save Zenit. Zenit made various long-range shots and shot for 10 minutes, but there was no achievement. The two rounds were 2 to 3, and the Russian Cup was stopped. Top 8!

This defeat made Advocaat completely give up the offensive tactics he has always insisted on. At least the current defensive system cannot support the offensive tactics he advocated at all.

"Should it be changed? Should we still focus on defense first?"

Zenit, who had a one-night rest in Moscow, took the Aeroflot flight non-stop the next day to Vladivostok, a 10-hour direct flight...

During the 10-hour long-distance flight, Advocaat finally made up his mind to seal up his ideas first, proceed from reality, focus on defense, and then attack!

In addition, after a 10-hour flight, the players even had to adjust the time difference when they arrived at the place, and their physical condition was very poor! In this case, it is not easy to play a smooth offense!

"From this game on, except for the striker who remains in the frontcourt, everyone else must participate in the defense. The offense no longer needs to pursue speed, but to pursue efficiency and control. There must be enough defensive personnel in the backcourt. Go attack without conceding a goal!"

During pre-match training, looking at the tactics on Advocaat's tactical board, many players couldn't help sighing that the head coach who insisted on his own philosophy for half a year finally chose to "collaborate" with the Russian Super League!

However, the effect is indeed obvious!

Facing Luengia, who is almost at the bottom of the Russian Super League, Zenit relied on Denisov's goal to steadily take 3 points away from the away game 1-0!

The offensive players in this game generally performed poorly due to physical conditions, but they still made enough contributions on the defensive end.

In the second half, relying on Denisov's personal ability, he forcibly penetrated the home team's defense line and scored a strong shot in the penalty area, 1 to 0, the most affordable score!

After a long flight and a connecting flight to Moscow, the Zenit team, who had been wandering for a week, finally came home!

Advocaat also took a special holiday until Wednesday to come back for training.

Then came the weekend league.

In the away game against Tomsk, Zenit relied on Arshavin's goal, 1-0, and took away 3 points very cheaply!

The entire Russian Super League team suddenly discovered that the forward gift package Zenit suddenly changed its style and played defense!

Regarding his tactical change, the team immediately won 2 consecutive victories and conceded 0 goals. Advocaat unconsciously wanted to say "It's so delicious!!!"