The Godfather of Football

He wears a crisp black suit with a white shirt and a sky blue tie. He has a short half-inch hair and his temples are already gray, but he still maintains a standard figure similar to that of the player.

The first impression Mauro Tassotti left on Ye Qiu was quite good, at least he maintained his image very well.

In fact, it is definitely not easy for a player to maintain a figure like Mauro Tassotti after he retires. I have never seen Ancelotti become so fat now, and quite a few players will gain weight after retiring. It's because of drugs, and secondly, it's one of the sequelae of player retirement.

Mauro Tassotti should be a person who is strict with himself and has high demands on himself!

This was Ye Qiu's first impression of Mauro Tassotti, and it also made him quite satisfied.

The two met for the first time, but there was not much politeness to each other, because Ye Qiu didn't like politeness, while Mauro Tassotti looked gentle and elegant, and there was not much red tape. The two sat down face to face.

"I just came from Turin, and I wanted to meet you by the way!" Ye Qiu explained the reason for his trip with a smile, "You know, I read your paper in the coaching training class, and I I was really surprised at the time, and I was thinking that I must talk to this person if I have the chance.”

Mauro Tassotti was stunned. He had indeed written a paper, but in fact, even he himself had forgotten it, let alone no one ever mentioned it to him, because it was just a paper for It's just a thesis to get a coaching certificate. It's insignificant and inconspicuous. Even in the football field, no one will pay attention to it.

But Ye Qiu found a lot of connections because of that paper, just to meet and talk with him.

"First of all, I think I have to dispel your doubts. I do admire you very much, but the purpose of my trip is mainly academic discussion, because I always want to break through myself." Ye Qiu's attitude seemed very serious. sincere.

Mauro Tassotti was not surprised by this, because Ye Qiu had always given people the impression of breaking through himself, but he still smiled and remained polite, "I think you are now one of the best in the world. It’s really not easy for him to think like this even though he is a famous coach. It’s very humbling.”

After hearing this, Ye Qiu also smiled and shook his head: "Don't talk about those false claims. I don't care about those false claims, but I am really interested in knowing how you can ensure the movement and assisting defense of the defensive line players you proposed. The team’s defense switches smoothly between multi-level, single-level and slash defenses?”

As soon as Ye Qiu asked the question, Mauro Tassotti immediately knew that Ye Qiu had indeed read his paper, and he had read it very carefully, because the question he asked was after reading the entire paper. a doubt.

Now, he has really discovered that the purpose of Ye Qiu's trip is indeed just an academic discussion, at least, poaching is only secondary.

"This is a very complicated matter. It is a systematic project of the entire defensive system. It is very troublesome to talk about!" Mauro Tassotti was really moved by his words, because this was the end of his coaching career in the late 1990s. A paper during training, and in fact, the concepts described and conveyed in the paper have become the defensive trends and trends in modern football.

He was still a little proud of this, but no one else knew it.

"It's okay. If you ask me to go drink, I don't have time, but I have a lot of time to discuss this!" Ye Qiu smiled and indicated that he could speak freely and he was all ears.

Mauro Tassotti's philosophy is actually to ensure that the team can skillfully use and switch this set of defensive tactics through training and various training methods. Among them, he gave a very interesting example, That is when Sacchi led AC Milan, he used a set of shadow training methods.

The opponent at that time was Real Madrid. Real Madrid sent scouts to spy on AC Milan's training conditions, but the spies finally reported that Sacchi asked the team's players to play a game for 90 minutes on a standard-sized training ground, but But there is only oneself and no enemy in the game.

"As we all know, in order to make training closer to the actual game, all training must have opponents. This is a consensus. But in fact, the most powerful opponent is never our enemy, but ourselves, because no one can compare with us. We become more aware of our own strengths and weaknesses, so we ourselves are our own worst enemies.”

The core of shadow training is to train yourself with your most powerful enemy!

Of course, not every team can achieve this step, and there are now many training methods that can achieve this goal, such as studying game videos, or using semi-hypnotic methods to allow players to repeatedly review their mistakes and understand themselves. shortcomings and weaknesses, as well as ways and means to improve them.

The most important meaning of shadow training is that the team has skilled movement without the ball, outstanding coordination, and an amazing overall tactical system. Only by achieving these points can the team be qualified to use shadow training.

While Mauro Tassotti explained his defensive philosophy, he also talked about a lot of Serie A and even some of the training methods he and the Milan coaching staff came up with. Of course, it was just a rough framework, and it was not a secret. Will cause leakage.

He explains his defensive ideas through this combination of training.

"Do you know?" Ye Qiu waited until he finished speaking his thoughts and then expressed his doubts and feelings.

"I have been at Ajax for four years. I have a deep understanding of this team's tactics. I have also been very familiar with Michels' Total Attack and Total Defense, and we all know that the ball cannot be pushed forward. There are almost two methods, penetration and air cutting. The former is to receive the ball and advance, and the latter is to pass through the air. "

To put it simply, the former is an advancement after receiving the ball or passing or breaking through, while the latter is running to a neutral position to catch the ball.

The former is for man-to-man marking, and the latter is for zone-to-man marking. Since modern defensive tactics are a mixture of man-to-man and zone-to-man marking, general offensive tactics are also a mixture of penetration and air-cutting. Depending on the opponent, It changes with the changes of the situation. If you use man-to-man marking, I will use penetrating attack. If you use zone defense, I will use air cutting to advance. If you change, I will change accordingly. This is pertinence!

Mauro Tassotti has played football for so many years and is still very familiar with these basic things. He kept nodding and listened patiently because he now fully believed that Ye Qiu's trip was to seek solutions.

"I also came to the conclusion that limiting defense is mainly reflected in four aspects. First, the game of each other's speed, second, individual defense, third, formation coverage, and fourth, preventing unpredictability."

Needless to say, speed has always been the biggest advantage of offense. Therefore, how to limit the opponent's speed is an important key for all defenses. The second point is the player's personal defensive ability; the third point is the ball. The team's formation coverage is not only the team's coverage, but also the running distance of the players after implementing this set of tactics.

Everyone knows that if you have the ability to cover all the court space, your defense will be impossible to break. But the question is, can your players do this? Can you ensure that your players keep running and sprinting like Ferrari every minute?

impossible!

Players must maintain a fast and slow rhythm during the game. Fast is to achieve the goal, while slow is to rest, brew and adjust.

Therefore, in many cases, the third point is precisely the foundation and core of a set of defensive tactics.

Fourth, consider the rapid changes on the court. After some sudden changes, how can the team quickly stabilize the situation and reorganize in the shortest possible time, or before the offensive team takes advantage of this change to break your defense? own defensive system and maintain compactness and integrity.

Theoretically speaking, the fourth type is the key to how effective a defensive system can be, because every game is full of unpredictability, and accidents can happen anytime and anywhere.

Michels' total offense can actually solve the first and fourth points very well, because they can use the tight integrity to limit the opponent's speed, and at the same time, they can also achieve the shortest time from the tight integrity. Reorganize the defensive system.

The second point is actually beyond the scope of tactics, because it is a reflection of the individual strength of the players and the tacit understanding of the team.

The third point is that Ye Qiu has been groping for a long time, and it is also one of his weaknesses.

"I found that football is a combination of contradictions. We all know that we must keep the formation compact, but after the formation is compact, our coverage area will inevitably become smaller. For example, if the ball appears on the left, we will We must shift the focus of defense to the left side to ensure that we can invest enough troops on the left side to maximize the possibility of regaining the ball."

"But in this way, a large gap will inevitably appear on our right side, which will become our new weakness and the focus of our opponents' attacks. I have tried to study chain defense, but the effect is average!" Ye Qiu is not afraid to be honest about his shortcomings and weaknesses, because with his current status, no one will laugh at him.

After Mauro Tassotti thought about it, he went directly to the waiter and asked for some paper and a pen. He explained to Ye Qiu directly on the paper and pen, and drew some offensive and defensive diagrams, such as how he emphasized the slashes of the players. Defense, but the diagonal line here is not a straight diagonal line, but determines one's position based on comprehensive considerations such as one's own speed, awareness of assisting defense and many other aspects.

This is also the same as what the tactics emphasize. 433 does not mean that the three midfielders are in parallel positions. One can be very forward, one can stand to the right, and the other can be very far back and to the left. The two wingers can also stand one to the left. Left, one in the middle, depending on your own characteristics. As long as the characteristics and advantages of the players can be brought into play, it is a good tactic.

Tactical formations are just dead objects, it depends on who is using them!

Player B is also providing defensive support to player A. What distance should B keep from A?

If the explosive power is strong, the distance can be extended appropriately. If the explosive power is weak, the distance should be closer. There is also the speed of reaction. People with fast reactions can be closer, while those with slow reactions should be farther away. These are all based on the player's own ability. The choice is made based on the characteristics, rather than the unchanging requirement of saying how far it is, which is meaningless.

Mauro Tassotti's understanding of defense is obviously more in-depth and thorough. He clearly explained to Ye Qiu how to spread out the defense, while ensuring that the area is compact, while also minimizing his own loopholes from being exploited by opponents. .

In the final analysis, it comes down to one thing. It is impossible for any defense not to have flaws under the opponent's attack. The question is, after you have a flaw, how to prevent the opponent from scoring before the opponent exploits it or while it is exploiting it.

Isn't the ultimate goal of defense to prevent the opponent from scoring goals?

It's not that Ye Qiu doesn't understand many principles. He understands them very well and is familiar with them. But now he finds that the same things are used in two completely different ways in his hands and in Mauro Tassotti's hands. And Ye Qiu deeply agrees with one of Mauro Tassotti's ideas, that is, when instilling in players, they should not just teach them tactical theories and how to choose positions and adapt to changes, but should help them understand these rules and how to deal with them. Understand why you are doing this and for what purpose.

Purpose, this is something Ye Qiu has always emphasized!

"Well said, well said!" Ye Qiu was very impressed and even applauded, because he found that he may be very good at offense, but in defense, for someone who has played as a defender all his life, he once played in Sacchi and Capet. For Mauro Tassotti, who plays under famous coaches such as Ronaldo and has been influenced by Serie A's rigorous tactical system for a long time, his understanding of defense is actually very superficial.

Of course, Ye Qiu's deficiencies in defense do not lie in the framework and theory, but in the details.

And it turns out that details are often the most critical and important!

Mauro Tassotti was modest and polite about the praise from Ye Qiu. He now had no doubts about Ye Qiu because he could discuss and study such boring defensive details with him for a long time. It is impossible to be truly interested, and he even believes that most head coaches, including Ancelotti, have no such interest.

"Let me ask another question!" Ye Qiu finally asked. This question was also the question he wanted to answer the most during this trip.

"Say it!" Mauro Tassotti smiled and nodded.

Ye Qiu thought for a while, "I found that you and Italy's defense still focus more on defense organization. At best, they use midfielders. Of course, I'm not saying that you don't pay attention to frontcourt defense. Mine It means, have you ever thought about extending this defensive system from the back line to the front?”

"What do you mean?" Mauro Tassotti didn't quite understand what Ye Qiu said. The line of defense is the line of defense. Why extend it forward?

Ye Qiu thought for a while, "Your defensive system is composed of 4 to 6 players. It may not be able to be composed of 11 players. From front to back, one link after another, a tight organization A compact, yet coherent defensive system?”

The defense advocated by Mauro Tassotti is actually not a simple Italian chain defense. It contains many offensive elements. To a certain extent, it is also applicable to the construction of the offensive system, because offense and defense often It's like two sides of the same coin, or two different expressions of the same core.

This is why world-famous coaches such as Sacchi say that a team that is truly good at defense must also be good at offense!

"You mean, integrate it into Michels' Total Offense and Total Defense?" Mauro Tassotti understood immediately, and felt a little enlightened.

"Actually, if you extend it to the whole team, it means total offense, total defense!" Ye Qiu felt that he must not be wrong.

Of course, it is not defense here, but some principles and core elements mentioned by Mauro Tassotti.

Ye Qiu even thought about Ajax during Michels' era, Ajax during Van Gaal's era, AC Milan during Sacchi's era, and Barcelona during Guardiola's era in the previous life. These teams all had a very special atmosphere. The obvious feature is that it is difficult for you to clearly distinguish their offense and defense.

Even by extension, for all outstanding top teams, it is difficult to distinguish offense and defense, because they often integrate offense and defense best and find their own set of tactics.

Just like Chelsea under Ye Qiu's coaching, the three midfielders seem to focus on defense, but when the team's defense presses forward and the three midfielders form strong pressure and pressure near the opponent's 30-meter area, it only takes one interception of the ball. It can create murderous intent. At this time, would you say it is offensive or defensive?

With the development of football tactics to this day, fusion is inevitable, the fusion of offense and defense, the fusion of technical ball control and physical strength, and even the fusion of the styles of teams such as the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and Bundesliga, and the technical styles of Europe, Africa, and South America. Fusion, everything that can be integrated will eventually be integrated.

"I must not be wrong, and I believe that I am not wrong, because we have found the key!" Ye Qiu walked up to Mauro Tassotti with a smile, patted his shoulder, and looked a little excited. , because he finally saw clearly how he should go next, and he couldn't make a mistake!

"A key that allows us and our team to be recorded in history and immortalized!"

Just like Michels' total offense and total defense, just like Sacchi's Milan dynasty, it will last forever!

Mauro Tassotti also discovered this. He also knew very well that what he knew, combined with Ye Qiu's understanding and understanding of football, the final fruit would be like this. This was absolutely unexpected. He was not expecting it.

Not only did Ye Qiu figure out his goal, he also figured it out, because he knew that just defending was not enough to make him a top head coach. He had to learn more, and according to the current football trend , he must integrate more styles and elements, and he must come into contact with more things that he is unfamiliar with and understands.

Staying in AC Milan can indeed achieve this, but it is very limited, because he already knows everything here. Even if Ancelotti plays the so-called 4 No. 10 football, there are still many problems and shortcomings. If it were normal, he would choose to stay in AC Milan, but now, he is a little uneasy.

"Come with me to the Premier League, come to my team to help me, I will give you a higher salary than in AC Milan, more room to play, and more importantly, let's learn and grasp this key together to create everything we see!"

After saying this, Ye Qiu stretched out his right hand and invited Mauro Tassotti.

Mauro Tassotti hesitated for a moment. Even now, he still maintained a certain rationality. Many ideas and considerations flashed through his mind, including whether he could convince the AC Milan management to let him leave. In the end, he felt that it was feasible, so he stretched out his hand and shook hands with Ye Qiu.

This handshake made Ye Qiu feel relieved, because he finally found an assistant who could complement him!

To use the words of FM Football Manager, Mauro Tassotti is the world's top assistant coach!