The Godfather of Football

***Once wrote a poem like this, it is better to pursue the enemy with the remaining courage than to seek fame and learn from the tyrant.

This is a more elegant way of saying it, and if it is said in a more vulgar way, it is to beat the dog when it is down.

Many people are summarizing the experience of playing against Tottenham Hotspur, and even many head coaches will communicate and summarize with each other. They believe that the two most difficult time periods to play against Tottenham Hotspur are before scoring and after scoring.

Tottenham Hotspur is very good at blitzkrieg and attacking, and its offensive means are varied, so it is a bit difficult to defend well before scoring, because you can't guess when they can score, but after scoring, organizing the team's defense has become a compulsory course for all head coaches facing Tottenham Hotspur.

The North London team is indeed very good at playing rhythm and momentum. When they score, it is often the time when the rhythm and momentum are the best, so at this time they can often play the sharpest and most threatening attack.

Of course, you can choose to go head-to-head, use the opportunity of restarting to attack the opponent in turn, and curb their crazy offensive, but if you want to kill Tottenham Hotspur in a head-to-head confrontation, any team must first weigh whether they have such strength and weight.

Benítez was a guest at White Hart Lane. He made full preparations for all possible situations that might occur during the game. He even told his players before the game what they should do if Tottenham Hotspur scored a goal in the game, so Liverpool players were very patient after losing the first goal.

After the restart, they began to consciously stabilize the rhythm and deliberately slowed down the rhythm.

Everyone knows that Tottenham Hotspur now wants to speed up the rhythm and play their own tide of offensive, so I will slow down the rhythm, grind off the sharpness brought by your goal, and then slowly compete with you.

Benítez kept directing the team on the sidelines, asking the players to be patient, after all, they were only one goal behind.

Liverpool is a very tenacious team with a tough temperament, but Benítez's control ability is unquestionable, so Liverpool began to want to maintain patient backcourt control and pass the ball back and forth slowly.

Tottenham's frontcourt players obviously realized this, so they began to consciously press forward.

If you carefully analyze Tottenham's past offense and defense, especially the rhythm of offense and pressing, it is not difficult to find that this team is very good at playing rhythm, not only in offense, but also in defense.

For example, in the same frontcourt pressing, they don't run and rush desperately right away.

No, they start to look more like a feint, especially the front trident, they won't press very tightly, but this doesn't mean they don't work hard, because if you feel that they don't put in effort in defense, or you are too careless, then you are finished.

When they realize that they can entangle you and create opportunities, they will suddenly speed up and speed up.

Just like at this time, Skrtel was a little hesitant to take the ball. Cavani originally just wanted to block his forward ball route, but when he saw that Skrtel did not pass the ball out in time, he immediately sped up to get close.

Skrtel is a central defender. Just now, he always felt that Cavani's defense was more like a perfunctory defense. Now he suddenly rushed over, and he quickly passed the ball to the left, but at this time Messi also quickly approached Jose Enrique, who did not dare to stick to the ball and passed it back to Skrtel.

But the problem is that Cavani was lying in ambush nearby at this time, and Skrtel did not dare to stick to the ball again. He touched the ball again and passed it to Lucas in front, and Tottenham's entire midfield pressing speed has risen.

Through this change of rhythm, fast and slow, you will be at a loss whether you are defending or attacking. This is the method that Tottenham is best at, and it is also the so-called rhythm that opponents are most troubled by.

Just like Liverpool, being chased by Tottenham Hotspur who suddenly accelerated and pressed, after the ball reached the midfield, there was another mistake in the continuous passing. Ramsey followed Gerrard from the right to the middle and forced the ball away from the Liverpool captain. Although Gerrard fell to the ground, the referee thought it was not a foul.

Ramsey quickly dribbled forward and passed the ball straight. Ribery pulled to the right side of Liverpool's defense to get the ball. After stopping, he passed the ball forward again. At this time, Messi rushed over at a very fast speed in the middle, forming a typical mid-out cut. After getting the ball, he dribbled into the penalty area and attracted two Liverpool defenders, Carragher and Glen Johnson.

Cavani was far behind, and Javier Martinez, who returned to defense, was close to the Uruguayan.

Messi rushed to the left side of the small penalty area. Seeing that he could not get rid of the defender, he suddenly knocked back after going to the bottom line. Ribery received the ball from the outside of the penalty area and shot a curved ball with his right foot.

In this position, Ribery, who cut in from the left, didn't know how many shots he scored. How to shoot in this area is the most threatening. Ribery is definitely the most experienced player, so when the ball was kicked out, Ribery rushed out of the penalty area, and the ball did not disappoint him. It went into the upper right corner of the goal, an absolute dead corner, 2:0!

"There is no way, there is really no way, Liverpool made too many passing errors!"

Andy Gray's only feeling about the game so far is, how did Liverpool pass the ball?

Two consecutive attacks, in less than three minutes, Tottenham Hotspur scored two goals, and the results were almost the same, all from the counterattacks after the midfield pass was intercepted, and the organization and planning of the two times were different, but the point they targeted was the two ribs.

Messi's goal just now was on the left rib, and Ribery's goal now was on the right rib, just a little closer to the middle. It can be seen that all Tottenham Hotspur's attacks are still the same, still playing through and pulling, or making a fuss on the flanks and the middle.

"In fact, the key to scoring in a football match is to consider how to get close to the goal, so almost all goals come from the flanks or the middle. Liverpool's defense is indeed not good enough to protect the flanks and the middle. Of course, you can also say that Tottenham's penetration is too good!"

The slow-motion replay of the goal process just now, everyone clearly saw that Ribery and Messi had a tacit staggered, Messi cut from the middle to the left, Ribery immediately passed the ball to Messi, the Argentine stopped the ball and rushed into the penalty area, which attracted the attention of Liverpool's defensive players.

But Messi's point at this time played the role and effect of attracting defensive firepower. After attracting Glen Johnson and Carragher, he immediately knocked it back to Ribery, who was unguarded and shot directly with his right foot.

Interestingly, from the slow-motion replay, if Ribery had been a little slower, even if it was just a pause, Gerrard would have come back, but it was just this little bit, maybe only half a second, that Ribery kicked and hit the goal.

Sometimes, the interesting part of football lies here.

"For the top players, the less space you can give him to move freely!" Andy Gray has his own understanding of this, "If Gerrard wants to stop him, he must at least get in front of Ribery in advance, otherwise even if he catches up, Ribery will stop the ball and make a simple dunk, which will still make Gerrard miss, and he will still score a goal!"

"So, sometimes, the most important thing about defense is not to give the opponent a chance to face the goal!"

After seeing Ribery score, Benítez on the sidelines kicked the mineral water bottle in front of him away, shook his head, turned around and walked back to the visiting team's coaching bench, obviously disappointed with the situation of the game so far.

In less than ten minutes, Tottenham Hotspur scored two goals in a row and led 2:0. This was indeed a painful blow to Liverpool, who were playing away. For the time being, Benítez had no effective way to deal with such a situation.

Not only him, but any head coach, what can you do when encountering such a situation?

In addition to strengthening the team's defense and stabilizing the situation first, what else can you do?

…………

…………

So far, Liverpool's biggest problem is obviously not the offensive combination in the frontcourt.

You know, in the Houllier period at the beginning of the century, and later in the Benítez period, even if they won the Champions League, in fact, Liverpool still had obvious problems in the offensive combination, that is, they lacked effective means of connection.

During the Houllier period, there was Owen on the front line, and during the Benítez period, there was Torres on the front line, but after these two top strikers, who was responsible for delivering ammunition for them? This became a problem, or in other words, it became Liverpool's biggest problem.

They are all famous coaches, and they all saw this. Houllier and Benítez came up with many tricks and introduced many players, hoping to improve this problem, but they all failed for various reasons.

During Benítez's period, he tried many players, such as Babel, Luis Garcia, etc., but these players were either not adapted or limited by their own strength, making it impossible for them to meet Benítez's requirements and help Liverpool complete a transformation.

After the Indian tycoon took over the Red Army, Benítez received a huge transfer fee, so he solved this problem.

Juan Mata, David Villa and Torres in the early stage, and Suarez later, no matter how the trident was adjusted, they all solved Liverpool's problems and crux in the past decade, but at this time they faced a new problem, midfield organization.

Lucas is a player with both offensive and defensive capabilities. He was once regarded as a midfielder of the type of Xavi Alonso, but now it is obviously not. Javier Martinez is indeed technically capable, but his organizational ability and midfield ball control ability are obviously not good enough.

It can be said that since the sale of Xabi Alonso, Liverpool's problems have been more reflected in the midfield. The problem is that good midfielders are very popular now. Looking at the entire world football, it is really not easy to find a few excellent midfielders, and basically they are all hoarded by strong teams.

Just like Manchester City, the starting lineup includes De Rossi, Yaya Toure, Modric, Van der Vaart and other good midfielders, and there is also a Premier League-level Gareth Barry sitting on the bench. This is simply a waste of talent.

West Ham United spent a lot of money to introduce Portuguese midfielder Moutinho, and Newcastle spent a lot of money to introduce Motta and Pastore. In fact, almost all strong teams have realized the importance of midfield organization. Ferguson brought in Carrick at a high price. Looking back now, it was undoubtedly a very smart decision.

Sometimes the war in the transfer market is more tragic than the war on the football field, and the degree of injury is also greater.

Liverpool lost this game not so much in defense as in midfield control.

Except for the short four-minute attack after the opening, Liverpool never found their own rhythm in all the rest of the time until the end of the game. They were more dragged by Tottenham Hotspur, and their entire midfield was in a mess.

Lucas made the most passes in the whole game, and even though Benitez later replaced Henderson to further strengthen the team's midfield control and organization, no matter from which angle, Henderson failed to play up to his 20 million pounds worth, and he almost sank with Liverpool.

On the contrary, Vidal, who was introduced by Tottenham Hotspur for 12 million euros, or about 10 million pounds, continued to maintain his high level of performance and play in this game. He and Ramsey almost built a moving wall for Tottenham Hotspur in the midfield, and all passes passing through their area needed to be sorted out by them.

Losing the midfield is equivalent to losing the entire game.

In the end, Liverpool lost 0:4 to Tottenham Hotspur away. Before the end of the first half, they lost another goal. The scorer was Cavani, and in the second half, Ramsey scored another goal for Tottenham Hotspur. In the end, the home team won 4:0.

When Philip Dodd blew the whistle to end the game, Benitez took a deep breath. He didn't care much about winning or losing, but he felt that he had learned a lot from this game.

Many times, watching videos and listening to others say that you can't experience it personally. Only when you really face this opponent can you find out how strong he is.

There is no doubt that Tottenham Hotspur is the strongest team in the Premier League and one of the strongest teams in Europe. This is not only because of their excellent offensive ability and solid defense, but also because they are very tough and tenacious.

It's like a piece of beef tendon that can't be cooked. It's in front of you. You want to eat it, but you can't chew it. If you want to force it down, it might get stuck in your throat and choke you to death!

"Fatty, you guys played so hard in this game!"

After meeting with Philip Dodd and other referees, Ye Qiu walked towards Benitez, with a suspicion of adding insult to injury.

After Liverpool lost two goals in a row, their actions and emotions were indeed a bit big. Although no player was sent off with a red card in this game, it doesn't mean that they are very gentle. It can only be said that Philip Dodd gave them enough face, otherwise, at least Gerrard should be sent off with a red card.

If you simply look at the score, you will feel that this is not a game of the same level, but only those who have watched the whole process of the game can understand that this game is not easy. Although there are many goals and Tottenham Hotspur also controls the rhythm, it is different from the overwhelming victory against Manchester United and the crushing defeat against Manchester City. Liverpool is very tenacious in this game.

Or it should be said that they are powerless!

Benitez glanced at Ye Qiu who was proud of winning the game. He never gave in to anyone, even if this 4:0 game was the worst defeat in the many encounters between him and Ye Qiu.

"Don't hum, do you know what your biggest problem is?" Ye Qiu smiled, "Your biggest problem is that you are not only fat, but also panting. You are a stubborn and stubborn fat man who wants to go back to the past!"

After that, Ye Qiu laughed and walked away.

The reason why he said this to Benitez was actually to wake him up.

To be honest, at their level, they no longer need to prove anything, especially for famous coaches such as Ye Qiu, Ferguson, Lippi, Capello, and Hitzfeld. No one will doubt their strength, and what they want to do now, or what they want to prove, is actually to confirm their understanding of football.

Many times, the confrontation and competition between them is no longer a tactical competition, but a competition of ideas.

For them, it is not satisfying if the opponent is too weak. They hope that the opponent is stronger because it can stimulate them. Every team has a lot of things worth learning from the opponent, even Ye Qiu and his Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool also have things worth learning from.

So the more strong teams there are, the more you can learn and the more you can touch, which is good for your improvement and progress. Otherwise, why do all the head coaches and all the top players like to play in the Champions League?

The club plays in the Champions League for money, but the players and head coaches play in the Champions League just for money? For fame?

Wrong, it is to prove yourself and improve yourself through such high-level competitions!

Perhaps it was because he was too poor before Valencia, and after Valencia, he never showed his talents, so he has always lived in the shadow of Valencia, even when he came to Liverpool.

"Who is the fat man? You are the fat man, your whole family is fat!" Benítez muttered angrily to Ye Qiu's back, but his voice was not loud, and his tone was a little... playful.

After saying that, Benítez himself felt that he had lost his composure, smiled, and immediately returned to his iconic mechanical face!