Starting with Real Madrid

The latest website: The essence of a football game is a game of time and space.

This sentence is actually not difficult to understand.

Cruyinff, the godfather of Barcelona, ​​once said a word: It's like football and everything in life, you need to find, you need to think, you need to move, move to find space, you need to help others. In the end it was easy.

The implication is that when you master time and space, football becomes a very simple game.

The spatial concept of football reached its peak during the Sacchi period, which is also the greatness of the Milan dynasty.

And Sacchi's football philosophy also comes from Michels and Cruyinff's Total Attack and Total Defense.

From this foundation more and more tactical innovations have been continuously emerging.

In the technical report of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the importance of space is well explained.

In terms of time, in the technical report of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA used Real Madrid as an example.

In 2014, FIFA technical experts believed that offensive football is the general trend, and the speed of the team's offensive and defensive transition is the key player in the outcome of the game.

Experts believe that the formation tends to be constantly rotating rather than static, and pure possession of the ball is already difficult to bring victory.

At that time, Real Madrid was specifically considered to be the football team that best embodies this concept. Gao Shen's name appeared in prominent places in the technical report several times, and many of his theories were even directly quoted by FIFA.

For example, why play a single midfielder?

Gao Shen believes that a single midfielder can not only form a defensive triangle with two central defenders, but also form an organizational triangle with two midfielders. In this way, the defensive midfielder is the key link in the team's offensive and defensive transition. The initiator plays an important organizational role, is also a powerful barrier for the team to switch from offense to defense, and assumes the responsibility of protecting the central defender.

This profound interpretation was directly quoted by FIFA at the time and written into the technical report.

In addition, FIFA experts also specifically mentioned the full-back and goalkeeper, believing that these two positions, together with the midfielder, are known as the three positions that have undergone revolutionary changes in the World Cup.

For example, the full-backs, before the Brazil World Cup, two full-backs seldom press assists at the same time, but in the Brazil World Cup, this has become the norm, and the full-backs can effectively open up the width of the offense after they insert assists at the same time.

There is also the goalkeeper, whose range of activities is constantly expanding. At the same time, he must also undertake the transition of passing the ball when his defender is under pressure, and he must also be able to directly kick the goal kick to initiate a quick counterattack.

From the midfielder to the full-back to the goalkeeper, the changes in these three positions are all proving that the trend of offensive football is becoming more and more obvious.

At the end of the technical report, Gao Shen is considered to be the pioneer of the tactical revolution in world football in the past few years. Whether it is Leeds United or Real Madrid, they are all teams that have been affected by Gao Shen.

Neither the media nor the fans have made an in-depth interpretation of this, but in professional circles, when they see this technical report, the first reaction is deliberation.

For example, two full-backs go forward at the same time.

In the FIFA technical report, it is clearly stated that the first task of the full-back is still defense.

In the past, why not insert at the same time, but only one on both sides?

The answer is simple, the risk is controllable!

If two full-backs go up at the same time, the defensive loopholes on the two wings will be very large. What if the opponent catches the opportunity to counterattack?

In fact, even now, Mourinho, Benitez and other head coaches still adopt this traditional way of thinking, insisting that only one of the two full-backs can play, because they are afraid of being hit back.

How did Real Madrid do it?

The single midfielder is part of it, especially when switching from offense to defense, the midfielder can sink to the central defender at any time, which allows the central defender to pull the side in time and play the role of a full-back.

This is one of the coping strategies, but it is still relatively passive.

What about the proactive approach?

Midfield possession.

Experts from FIFA believe that when two full-backs advance at the same time, whether they can control the midfield is particularly important, because if they are controlled, the team can still maintain balance and at the same time activate the two sides to the greatest extent. The offensive firepower of a full-back.

Once the midfielder can't control it, the consequences are what many people worry about, and they will be hit back again and again.

The central defender is struggling to cope, no matter how good he is, he will always be blown up.

This is why, Gao Shen has been repeatedly emphasizing the saying that the winner of the midfielder wins the world.

After controlling the midfield, in addition to being able to maximize the attack power of the two full-backs, open up the width of the attack, and create more offensive opportunities for the strikers in the front field, there is another very critical point.

That is to control the rhythm of the game.

The word rhythm is very abstract and difficult to understand, but if you look at it from another angle, it is like driving a car with a manual transmission.

Switch between fast and slow.

Gao Shen once heard a saying: Rhythm, an art of playing with time.

In fact, whether it is the transition of offense and defense, or the change of rhythm, to put it bluntly, they are all playing a time difference.

Use rhythm changes to create hesitation and sluggishness of defenders or defensive formations, create time differences, and create a matchup advantage that is difficult for opponents to parry.

Gao Shen previously criticized Leeds United's game rhythm for being too single and lacking in change. He even accused Barcelona's football many times of always playing in a rhythm.

Only change can bring about change and create unpredictability.

Why can Modric win the Ballon d'Or and World Player of the Year?

The key problem is that he has the key to rhythm change, and he has the magic wand to play with time.

Toni Kroos is also a top midfielder, very stable, but he just lacks the magic wand in the hands of Modric.

Zidane, Riquelme, Veron and other older players can no longer adapt to the current football environment, and Modric is the best rhythm master in modern football.

He can't score goals, can't assist, and looks mediocre, but he led Croatia to the World Cup final by controlling the rhythm.

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But many people probably have doubts again.

Then why did Modric have such magic when Gao Shen was coaching, but he lost it again when Benitez was in charge?

This involves one of the most core and essential issues.

Football is a team game.

As there is a saying in football circles: It is not the person with the ball who decides where the ball goes, but the person without the ball.

The receiver's movement without the ball determines how the ball will be handled next.

So many people can see that before Guardiola, Bayern and Manchester City didn't see much ball-handling genes at all, but after Guardiola went, a group of "rough guys" can also pass the ball.

The reason is here.

The system is the key to passing and controlling the ball.

If Modric wants to control the rhythm and control the ball, he often needs the cooperation and support from his teammates around him.

But many of Benitez's tactics are completely different from Gao Shen's, and he doesn't even support Modric's style of play. This has led to Real Madrid's midfield playing very awkwardly, and everyone seems to be unable to play.

That's what Toni Kroos said about not adapting, that's where the problem lies.

Why did Gao Shen force Mbappe to stay?

It is because Mbappe's speed can maximize the advantages of Leeds United's offensive and defensive transitions. This has been fully reflected in the World Cup, and in Leeds United, it must be further developed.

In midfield, Bernardo Silva is a very good pace controller.

…

"This season, I have basically watched all Real Madrid's games. I have also discovered the problems you mentioned. It is indeed the case. I feel that the players are playing very awkwardly and are very uncomfortable."

Zidane also agrees with Gao Shen's analysis of the problems of Benitez and Real Madrid.

"Honestly, it's a difficult problem to deal with because a lot of things are so ingrained in the team, the players, and the manager."

This is why many head coaches will gradually leave the front line. In the final analysis, they still cannot keep up with the changes of the times.

It can be said that this is a necessity.

Maybe one day in the future, Gao Shen himself will not be able to keep up.

As for Ferguson, he was never really a leader.

In the Premier League, the first head coach to change the Premier League was Arsene Wenger. After he coached Arsenal, he made subversive changes from technical and tactical styles to logistical support such as player diet, and then to the management and operation of the club.

Ferguson also learned a lot from Wenger later, but Manchester United couldn't keep up with many things in terms of logistical support and management.

Don't talk about anything else, let's talk about logistics. Who can believe that a wealthy team chose a hotel with poor sound insulation when participating in the Champions League final?

But that's the way Manchester United are.

As for the current Premier League training facilities, Manchester United can't be considered bad, but they can't keep up with the front line.

Not to mention comparing with the top teams like Leeds United, the newly built training bases since the new century, such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham and other teams, are basically better and more advanced than Manchester United.

Therefore, what makes Ferguson really powerful is his ability to learn with the times.

On this point, Gao Shen still needs to learn from the old Jazz.

"Real Madrid's problem is very difficult now. With top full-backs like Carvajal and Marcelo, it is impossible not to play their threat, but in this way, the midfield needs to be stable, but Benitez is obsessed with him. The four-two-three-one pair of midfielders, but now Real Madrid lacks the soil to play double midfielders."

When he said this, Gao Shen let out a helpless sigh.

"Now Real Madrid has a lot of top-level ingredients, but not every chef can use these top-level ingredients to produce delicious delicacies at the Michelin three-star level."

Gao Shen's words were recognized by Zidane and others. UU reading www.uukanshu.com

And that's true a lot of the time.

Real Madrid chose Benitez, the purpose is to ask for change, to make a big break.

But the problem is that Benitez obviously can't do this, and even he can't do Real Madrid well.

The biggest difference between Gao Shen and Ferguson is that they are also champions. The lineup left by Ferguson is very problematic, but the lineup left by Gao Shen is very strong.

"Seriously, Gao, looking at the team we have worked so hard to build over the years, this group of geniuses has been turned into what it is now. If it really falls apart in the future, we will not be reconciled!" Carlo was full of melancholy. explain.

Everyone else nodded, including Zidane.

They all put a lot of energy and heart into this team.

But what can I do?