The Godfather of Football

On March 20, 2010, in the 31st round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur beat Stoke City 2:1 away from home.

Although Tottenham Hotspur controlled the situation steadily throughout the game, it was a difficult victory. After taking the lead in the first half with Falcao's goal, they performed very poorly in the second half and were tenaciously equalized by Stoke City in the 65th minute.

After that, Tottenham Hotspur had difficulty finding an effective way to break the opponent's goal for a long time. Until the 87th minute, Yaya Toure made a long shot at the critical moment and broke through the goal guarded by Sorensen, scoring the winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur and successfully getting three points away from home.

Although they won, it was a very thrilling victory. On the contrary, their rival Manchester United was scored by Torres just five minutes after the start of the game at Old Trafford, but Rooney's goal helped Manchester United equalize the score in less than five minutes. After that, Manchester United firmly grasped the initiative of the game and threatened Liverpool's goal again and again.

In the end, in the second half, with Benzema's goal, they reversed Liverpool 2:1 at home.

The same 2:1, but Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United's performance received two completely different evaluations. The former was questioned, while the latter was affirmed. After all, Stoke City's strength is not as good as Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United encountered Liverpool led by Benitez.

Tottenham's poor form continued into the 32nd round of the Premier League a week later. This time, Tottenham played at home against Pompey Legion Portsmouth. In the first half, Tottenham's performance was pretty good. Falcao scored again, and Ramsey also scored a goal in the first half, helping Tottenham to take the lead 2:0.

But in the second half, the situation took a turn for the better. Pompey Legion took the initiative and launched a wave of counterattacks against Tottenham Hotspur, while Tottenham Hotspur did not seem to have a very effective way. Although they finally relied on the team's defense to successfully defend 2:0 to the end, they were very embarrassed by Pompey Legion's attack.

After the game, although several football commentators mentioned the reason for Tottenham's recent poor performance, it may be that Ye Qiu and the coaching staff began to consciously adjust the players' physical fitness and status to prepare for the devil's schedule in April, but more media still criticized it, believing that at such an important moment of impacting the league championship, Tottenham's performance was not as satisfactory as other competitors.

You know, in this round, Chelsea beat Aston Villa 7:1, Manchester United beat Bolton 4:0 away, Liverpool and Manchester City both won three goals against their opponents. The performance of these competitors is satisfactory, especially Chelsea and Manchester United, who performed very well in the last stage of the season.

Many people have said that although Tottenham still firmly maintains a 12-point lead, the real test for Tottenham is still in the 34th, 35th and 36th rounds, because Tottenham will encounter Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United in these three rounds, especially Arsenal and Chelsea in the first two games, which will be the top priority.

But in the 33rd round, the away game against Sunderland was not easy. You know, although Sunderland is currently ranked outside the top ten, the home performance of the Black Cats has always been very ideal. Many strong teams have fallen at the Black Cats' home field, including Arsenal and Liverpool. Manchester United also did not win easily away from home, and finally won by a narrow margin.

Therefore, many league analysts and commentators believe that the real test for Tottenham Hotspur has just begun. If they do not play well in the April game, the twelve-point lead is likely to be consumed.

To put it bluntly, although twelve points is a huge advantage, in such a dense and strong team-gathering devil schedule, as long as you are not careful, you may suffer a tragic defeat at any time and anywhere. There are also many analysts who believe that Tottenham Hotspur should adopt a safe strategy and focus on the league. After all, the Premier League now has a twelve-point advantage, and winning the championship is almost a sure thing.

As long as they are not dragged down and affected by the Champions League, it will not be a big problem to survive the devil schedule in April.

"But judging from the match against Portsmouth, Ye Qiu still has no intention of giving up the Champions League!"

Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, the two teams that won the Champions League final last season, are undoubtedly the most eye-catching teams in European football this season, and are also recognized by everyone as the strongest teams. Even though Barcelona failed in the final last season, no one would doubt the strength of this team.

More importantly, Barcelona has made a comeback this season, and has successively introduced stars such as Van Persie and Alexis Sanchez to further strengthen its frontcourt attack, which has made Barcelona's offense this season have a very obvious improvement.

But this Catalan team still maintains its signature style of play from last season, which is ball control.

This season, Barcelona is almost invincible both in the Champions League and in the La Liga, especially with the addition of Robin van Persie. Young player Pedro has gradually taken on the offensive responsibility on the left side of the frontcourt, and the addition of Alexis Sanchez has strengthened the attack on the right side, allowing Xavi and Iniesta to sit in the middle of the midfield. The team's ball control tactics have been strengthened, and the offense and defense have become balanced and solid.

As soon as the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals came out, all the media believed that this matchup could be called an early start to the Champions League final, because no matter who of the two sides won the final right to advance, there was great hope. Entering the finals and eventually winning the championship, because these two teams are the strongest teams in football today.

Because of this, before the game, almost all the media around the world were paying attention to this game. Everyone was looking forward to seeing how Ye Qiu restrained Barcelona's ball-control tactics, and what Guardiola would do. Limit Tottenham Hotspur's attack.

What is somewhat surprising is that as the game begins, it is not clear how Guardiola's defense is arranged, but Tottenham Hotspur's defense is very clear. Everyone can see that Tottenham Hotspur's defense is very clear. Tenham Hotspur's opening tactic was to give up possession of the ball!

"This is a very bold, yet very risky, and very admirable decision!" As a special commentator on Live TV, Italian star Sacchi saw Tottenham Hotspur's tactics after the opening. He was surprised.

As Cruyff said, if the game is regarded as a duel, then football is undoubtedly the only weapon on the duel field, and now Tottenham Hotspur actually have the courage to send the weapon directly to the opponent In your hands, this does require courage, and it can be said to be risky.

Barcelona undoubtedly sent out their main players in this game. The goalkeeper is Valdes, the defense is Abidal, Mascherano, Pique and Puyol, and the midfielder is still Iniesta and Busquets. With Xavi, the front three is Pedro, Robin van Persie and Alexis Sanchez.

Compared with Barcelona, ​​which is fully staffed, Tottenham Hotspur has made quite a few changes.

The goalkeeper is Cech, the defense is Marcelo, Zygrinski, Thiago Silva and Alves, the midfielder is Beckham, Yaya Toure and Cesc Fabregas, and the frontcourt is The trident is Ribery, Cavani and Messi.

Both David Silva and Falcao were put on the bench by Ye Qiu because they both started in the league three days ago and played the entire game. Before the game, some media broke the news. , it is said that when Ye Qiu announced that Falcao would start in the league, the Colombian center had communicated with Ye Qiu, because he preferred to play when playing Barcelona.

As the game began, everyone noticed that even though it was playing at home, Tottenham did not adopt an active offensive strategy, but retreated. For this, Sacchi found it not difficult to understand.

"In fact, a big part of this kind of knockout match is psychological warfare. Both sides guess each other's tactics and make targeted arrangements. I believe that both Barcelona and Guardiola will definitely be against Tottenham Hotspur. Ye Qiu was fully prepared for the opening attack, but Ye Qiu suddenly gave up on this style of play, which would disrupt Barcelona’s plan.”

"Of course, this sudden change has good and bad consequences, because first of all, this change may disrupt the opponent, but it may also disrupt itself, so the head coach needs to have absolute control over the team and the players must be able to adapt to the situation. That change in coaching.”

As the game began, everyone gradually discovered a very strange thing, that is, Tottenham Hotspur's ball possession rate is very low, only 39.7%. This is the same as what Ye Qiu emphasized in the past. Tenham Hotspur are used to playing with a ball possession rate of around 60% which is completely different, almost the other way around.

But what is very strange is that, as the side with the absolute advantage in ball possession, Barcelona only had one shot in the first ten minutes, and it was Alexis Sanchez who broke through and passed from the right, and Zyglinski grabbed it. Robin van Persie's header went out of the baseline. Barcelona's corner kick was deflected by Pique.

Apart from this shot, Barcelona did not have a second shot. This has to be said to be very unbelievable, because with Barcelona’s ball possession rate and the attacking power of the La Liga team, this should not happen at all. Condition.

The only explanation is that Tottenham Hotspur's defense did a good job.

"Tottenham Hotspur did not adopt the shrinking defense that other teams used when facing Barcelona, ​​nor did they retreat to the 30-meter area!" When the on-site commentator asked about Tottenham Hotspur's defensive success, Sacchi Mentioned the differences between Tottenham Hotspur's defensive tactics and those of other teams.

"Barcelona likes to press forward and likes to get their offensive players closer to the opponent's penalty area, but Tottenham Hotspur's defense did not retreat, but it also did not press forward. But if we look carefully, we can find that Beckham Tom and Yaya Toure are at the back, and Cesc Fabregas is coming back frequently.”

"In other words, Tottenham Hotspur's defense is very interesting. The defense does not retreat, but I move the frontcourt and midfield back. When the defense does not retreat and the midfield and frontcourt retreat, as long as Barcelona's Players take the ball and attack head-on, often as if they are stuck in a sandwich biscuit situation, attacking from front to back.”

"And we should note that Barcelona's wing offensive capabilities are actually relatively limited. As full-backs, Puyol and Abidal have no problem with their defensive capabilities, but their offensive capabilities are relatively weak. The support for the two wingers in the frontcourt is It’s not enough, so Barcelona has always focused on the center, relying on Robin van Persie’s frontcourt to handle the ball. The only one with more offensive power from the wing is Alexis Sanchez, but Tottenham Hotspur has focused on the left. layout.”

"Yaya Toure and Beckham's delaying, as well as the retracement of the midfield and frontcourt, effectively compressed the defensive zone, causing Barcelona to penetrate the two ribs with small diagonal passes, which caused problems, so We saw that Pedro had almost no threat, and Alexis Sanchez could only make frequent passes. "

At this moment, Barcelona launched another attack. Alexis Sanchez still took the ball on the right. Marcelo stood still and marked Sanchez one-on-one on the right. But at the same time, Todt Naham Hotspur's David Beckham and Cesc Fabregas were both hovering around Van Persie, making it impossible for the Dutchman to effectively connect with Sanchez.

But at the same time, Pedro cut from the left to the center. As long as the ball is passed, he can insert into the penalty area anytime and anywhere.

It should be said that Pedro is a typical player who wins without the ball, but this time Yaya Toure is always next to him, always between him and Van Persie, which makes even if Van Persie gets the ball , if you want to find Pedro, you have to pass through the defense zone of Cesc Fabregas and Yaya Toure.

Sure enough, when Sanchez couldn't find a chance, he could only pass it back to Xavi. Fabregas immediately ran towards Xavi, and Ribery was also retreating to defend, which made Xavi immediately Caught in a double attack, Barcelona had to pass back to Busquets. As soon as the latter got the ball, Barcelona's offense slowed down.

As soon as Barcelona's offense slowed down, Tottenham Hotspur's defense immediately regrouped, all players returned to their positions, and the entire defensive formation was adjusted back to the most reasonable position.

"Elastic, very elastic. Whether it is diagonal or parallel lines, Tottenham Hotspur's defense appears to be very elastic. This is the essence of the typical Italian chain defense. It does not engage in physical confrontation with you, nor does it involve physical confrontation with you. To compete with you on speed, we rely on delaying, blocking, etc., forcing you to be unable to form effective breakthroughs and penetrations.”

Sacchi laughed when he saw this, "I have said in the column before that a very important reason why Tottenham Hotspur's defense has become stronger this season is that they have established this kind of The firm, stable, and effective flexible defense mechanism can adjust its defense very quickly anytime and anywhere according to the situation and changes in the opponent's possession of the ball, especially in the details of player formations. It is very well organized and coordinated. Pretty good too!”

At this time, the commentator had to interrupt again and explain what formation is.

Generally speaking, fans have only heard of formations, such as 442, 4231, etc., but rarely heard of formations.

The so-called formation can actually be regarded as the overall framework of a team, that is, the position distribution of players, but the specific details, or the use of tactical details in the game, depends on the formation, so the formation refers to It is the whole team, while the formation may only refer to the players in a local area. For example, whether the four people on the back line stand in parallel or in a shallow dish shape, this is the formation.

"It should be Mauro Tassotti. He has a very unique understanding of defense, and he is very familiar with and understands the essence of Italian defense." Sacchi chuckled and mentioned his compatriot. He can also be said to be Sacchi's favorite disciple during his time at AC Milan.

"Tottenham Hotspur's defense is very layered and has very targeted changes. This flexible and layered defensive system has a very strong flavor of Italian football!"

"Barcelona is in trouble!"

Facts have proved that Sacchi's judgment was correct.

Barcelona has a very high ball possession rate, and even increased the ball possession rate to about 63% at one point. This is already an incredible time of possession for Tottenham Hotspur, but the problem is, Barcelona has never been able to effectively penetrate Tottenham Hotspur's defensive system.

As Sacchi said, as long as they take the ball and launch a frontal attack, they are like being in a sandwich biscuit, being attacked from front to back, left and right, and what Tottenham Hotspur's defense is best at is slowing you down, or Say, forcing you to slow down, and then they have ample time to adjust a targeted defense based on your offensive characteristics and direction.

What is unbelievable is that in the first half hour, Barcelona did not take a second shot beyond the corner kick in the sixth minute, so much so that Barcelona's head coach Guardiola walked to the sidelines. , obviously watching the game in disbelief, thinking hard about the strategy.

"Barcelona players are very unsuited to this defensive method. Ye Qiu has obviously absorbed a lot of experience and ideas from Hiddink's Chelsea, as well as Italian football and Dutch football. Together with Mauro Tassotti, Tottenham Hotspur said they would strengthen their defense this season, and now they have shown their level! ”

Sacchi is obviously very interested in Tottenham's defensive system and admires it very much, but this is definitely not just because Mauro Tassotti is his former disciple, but also because he himself is full of interest in this tactical innovation.

"However, Tottenham must also pay attention. Defense is definitely not a solution. Defense cannot break Barcelona's goal. Moreover, from the previous half an hour, Tottenham has completely abandoned its past penetration and advancement, and instead adopted more diagonal long passes to launch attacks and open Barcelona's formation."

"In general, Ye Qiu's ideas and thoughts are very good, and his tactics are also very bold and courageous, but the defense worked, but the offense did not pose much threat, which is also a problem."

When he said this, Sacchi glanced at the time. It was almost thirty-five minutes, and there were only ten minutes left before the end of the first half. Is there a possibility of scoring?

Just as Sacchi's idea just emerged, he saw an arc in the air of the stadium, crossing most of the stadium and landing on the right side of the Barcelona penalty area.