From coaching Real Madrid

Gao Shen once said that the biggest difference between European players and South American players is that European players are more stable, as stable as mass production in a factory assembly line.

Barcelona's passing and controlling style of play, which is full of precision, stability and patience, is simply impossible to appear in South American teams.

Gao Shen has always felt that Messi is in completely different situations in Barcelona and in the Argentine national team, and the reason for this difference is that the Argentine national team simply cannot play the kind of football that Barcelona does.

This is not a question of players' technical strength, but a difference in football culture and players' thinking about playing football.

It's like Riquelme can't fit into Barcelona.

The so-called creativity of South American players is actually the spirit of adventure.

Many times, the tiny gaps they see are also seen by European players, but the football education and influence that European players have received from childhood will tell them immediately that if the ball is passed, it will be successful.

The rate is not high.

Therefore, they had an instinctive risk-averse judgment and chose not to pass the ball.

This is by no means a coincidence, but a very common phenomenon.

Because in European football, all teams will require players' passing accuracy to meet standards.

In contrast, South American players play more casually. They are more willing to try some risky passes, giving up the accuracy of the pass. Sometimes they even do not consider whether their teammates are friendly or not.

catch the ball.

In the impression of European players, this falls into the category of irresponsibility.

All youth training in Europe are telling players that passing the ball should be as friendly as possible to the teammate, pass it to the teammate's dominant foot, and give a certain amount of advance...

These are all to facilitate teammates' next actions.

But what about the South American players?

they are not.

They'll take risks, they'll try, they'll pass the ball in a completely illogical way.

Didn't it pass well?

No, they will tell you that you don’t have to pick it up seriously at all. You can pick it up in another unconventional way, even without stopping...

Therefore, when watching South American teams play, you will often find that they pass the ball very riskyly and catch the ball very dangerously, but even if they pass the ball, they still catch it. Even after catching the ball, they can resolve the predicament and initiate another move.

A new attack may create a new threat.

This is always unexpected and surprising.

But in European football, this way of playing is not allowed, or even strictly prohibited.

Why?

Because of fear of risk.

When you make a mistake in passing the ball, you give your opponent one more chance to attack.

And taking risks often means instability.

But now, all European teams are pursuing stability.

Why can Barcelona always win the league?

Because it's stable, amazingly stable.

Even Messi, an Argentinian who has been completely Europeanized, can easily feel the difference between him and traditional Argentine players such as Aimar and Di Maria when watching him play.

Or should I say, Messi doesn't play like Argentina at all.

Messi is not a special case. Just like many people said back then, Rivaldo didn't play well enough for Brazil, and Kaká didn't play well like Brazil. It's the same truth. They are both Europeanized South American players.

In fact, in recent years, in South America, especially Brazil and Argentina, many teams have fallen into a contradiction when training players. Should they choose Europeanization? Or continue to stick to South America?

Choosing Europeanization, needless to say, makes it easier for players to succeed in Europe.

Continue to stick to the South American style, this is tradition.

These two kinds of thinking are colliding and constantly competing, which has also resulted in the relative downturn in youth training in Brazil and Argentina over the years.

After all, in this wave of passing and possession centered on Europe, South American football has yet to find its place.

But South American football is born with an unusual ability to adapt, just like their playing style on the court. It is very flexible, highly mobile, and can adapt to new environments quickly.

Gao Shen believes that they will be able to adjust quickly.

I believe that in a few years, we will see batches of South American players, talents from Brazil and Argentina emerge, land in European football, and continue to bring the pleasing and creative football to fans around the world.

…

This is true on a large level. A similar situation actually exists as small as a team.

Toni Kroos is famously stable, but his passing is often difficult to create surprises or change the rhythm.

Modric is relatively more imaginative and adventurous, but he is still not as good as South American players.

So Gao Shen chose Di Maria.

All fans who are familiar with Di Maria will be familiar with it. The Argentinian is always able to use some unexpected skills to pass people, pass and shoot, such as his iconic flower foot.

These are unimaginable for European players.

When facing Atletico Madrid, Gao Shen chose Di Maria.

Di Maria did not disappoint Gao Shen.

In the 67th minute of the game, Dzeko moved to the right wing, Jesus was in the center, and Di Maria appeared on the left wing.

Real Madrid failed to attack the right wing, and Modric passed the ball diagonally.

The ball was a bit high and the ball speed was a bit slow, so when Di Maria received the ball, Juanfran was already in position.

But Argentinians are talented people and bold, and they are not panicked at all.

After stopping the ball with his chest, he "glued" the ball to his feet with his left foot, dribbling the ball laterally and cutting inside. He first took the ball slowly and pressed step by step to relax the vigilance of Atletico Madrid's defensive players.

Especially after Cork also returned to his position, Juanfran was obviously relieved.

But what no one expected was that Di Maria suddenly accelerated and made a move to pass the ball, but suddenly pushed the ball with the outside of his left foot.

As if the ball had eyes, it passed under Cork's crotch and landed directly on the left side of the small penalty area.

Jesé was in the middle and originally wanted to drop back to catch the ball, but unexpectedly, Di Maria suddenly sent such a kick, which not only surprised the defender, but also himself.

But the Real Madrid youngster reacted quickly. He turned around and started quickly. His explosive power was very good. He immediately got rid of Miranda and went straight to the left side of the small penalty area. He just caught Di Maria's pass and pushed with his left foot.

Shot, the ball passed through Asenjo's crotch and into Atletico Madrid's goal.

By the time Asenjo reacted and squatted down instinctively, the ball had already entered the net.

“goalllllllllllllllll!!!!!!”

"In the 67th minute, Jese took the lead to break the deadlock for Real Madrid!"

"Goal from Real Madrid's talented youngster Jese, one to zero!"

"Di Maria's pass was very beautiful and imaginative. It came directly from Cork's crotch."

"Hesse's turn is very explosive."

"This is Real Madrid!"

"Their players can suddenly create murderous opportunities and catch their opponents off guard."

…

When Gao Shen saw Di Maria's wonderful pass and Jose scoring a goal, everyone clenched their fists and cheered.

This is the effect he wants to achieve.

A crotch ball like the one just now is quite risky, and if Jese had reacted a little slower and a little slower, such as Dzeko, the ball would have been lost.

But sometimes, one has to admire the "little cleverness" of South American players.

This is something European players don't have, and sometimes it can become an advantage.

Gao Shen applauded the players vigorously, but at the same time he also signaled the team to continue pressing forward and continue playing like this.

Especially for Di Maria, Gao Shen suggested that he could play more actively.

Only about seven minutes had passed since the goal just now, and Di Maria changed positions and returned to the right.

The Argentine Angel retreated and cut inside, and after completing a cross-change with Modric, the Croatian advanced to the right and passed the ball to Dzeko.

The center of Bosnia and Herzegovina was on the right side of the penalty area, facing away from the attacking direction, and was unable to turn around after receiving the ball.

But at this moment, Di Maria suddenly stepped into the right rib and raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Dzeko passed the ball to Di Maria's line, right in the middle of the two Atletico Madrid midfielders Gabi and Koke. At this time, Atletico Madrid's midfielder and defense once again had a path leading to the goal.

of gaps.

It's almost exactly the same as Di Maria's long shot just now.

The Argentinian didn't hesitate at all and fired directly.

The football flew out like a cannonball, penetrated Atletico Madrid's two defense lines at extremely fast speed, and headed straight for the goal.

More importantly, when the ball entered the penalty area, it bounced off the ground, causing the ball to move faster.

Asenjo judged the direction and jumped out sideways, but how could he still reach it in time?

Di Maria's long shot hit directly into the left side of Atletico Madrid's goal.

"goallllllllllllll!!!!!"

"WORLD WAVE!!!!"

"World wave from Di Maria!!!"

"One pass and one shot!"

"Di Maria performed very well tonight. Whether it was the assist to Jose just now or the world-famous kick that he personally performed, he left a very deep impression on people."

"We saw that fans throughout the Bernabeu were cheering and shouting Di Maria's name."

"This is the Angel of Real Madrid!"

…

Simone's face darkened and he turned around sadly.

He found that he still underestimated Di Maria and misjudged Gao Shen.

Perhaps, Gao Shen never thought of using Cristiano Ronaldo from the beginning, but wanted to use Di Maria.

Judging from the trend in the second half, especially after Gao Shen's adjustment, Di Maria is more like the core of Real Madrid's offense, leading the team's offensive direction and rhythm.

As an Argentinian, Simeone knows very well how Di Maria plays.

Sometimes, it really surprises Europeans.

Whether it was the pass to Jose just now or the rebound of the kick, it was really surprising.

But anyone who is familiar with Argentina or South American football will definitely not feel unfamiliar, because this kind of thing is too common in Argentina and South America.

Of course, there are only a handful of people as powerful as Di Maria.

This is a seriously underrated player!

Simeone has always felt this way.

In fact, he always felt that Gao Shen underestimated Di Maria.

But now I see that he was wrong!

He underestimated Gao Shen!

(End of chapter)