Chapter 23: A blockbuster
Atletico Madrid beat Barcelona 4-1 at home!
After the game, the news spread throughout Spain at an extremely fast speed, and then spread to the entire European football world and even the whole world. Everyone was shocked by the result of the game.
The King's Cup, even in the semi-finals, does not have much presence and does not have such influence.
But Barcelona's 1-4 defeat was big news that shocked the world.
It is even more outrageous that they suffered a crushing defeat to a team that was about to be relegated.
Van Gaal's team is full of stars. In the past period of time, his conflicts with superstars such as Rivaldo have put Barcelona in the spotlight and attracted the attention of media and fans around the world.
At this critical juncture, Barcelona unexpectedly lost 1-4 to Atletico Madrid. Although it was just a King's Cup match, it was shocking enough, especially since Van Gaal once again criticized the players' performance after the game, believing that many people did not try their best.
Catalan daily Sports reported that in the post-match press conference, Van Gaal believed that Atletico played a little chaotically and restrainedly in the opening stage.
"But they quickly stabilized the rhythm, played more resolutely, and implemented their tactics more effectively, especially their defense, which was significantly improved compared to the past."
Van Gaal emphasized Atletico Madrid's new coach, believing that this was a change brought about by the new head coach.
Although he looked cold and arrogant on the court and ignored Yang Hao, he praised Yang Hao highly in the press conference after the game and believed that Atletico Madrid's new coach was not as rumored by the outside world.
"On the contrary, in today's game, he successfully proved himself!"
Regarding his own team, Van Gaal thought Barcelona played better and had more control, but lost.
"I have always told the players that we played well and controlled the game, but this is not enough. We must strive for more goals. Only goals can win the game."
"But unfortunately, tonight, we didn't do that."
Van Gaal believes that Barcelona players' performance tonight was below par, and many players even performed very poorly.
"I don't know why this happened, but I think a lot of our players need to reflect on this game."
Van Gaal's remarks were interpreted by Daily Sports as dissatisfaction with Barcelona stars, who were only thinking about attacking but ignoring the team's defense.
More importantly, attacking them poses no threat.
…
In addition to reporting Van Gaal's interview, Daily Sports also questioned Van Gaal's use of players and lineup in this game, especially the partnership between central defenders Cocu and De Boer.
Guardiola's performance this season has been questioned a lot, even in this game.
When the Barcelona captain faced Belleron, Guardiola did not have a good solution, especially against the frequent connections between Atletico's front midfielder and the two wings, which led to Atletico's first two goals being in this pattern.
Almost all of the four goals were scored by Belleron, and Guardiola's problem was the most serious.
But after Cocu moved from center back to defensive midfielder and partnered with Guardiola, the entire midfield stabilized.
Double defensive midfielders, this seems to have become a consensus among many people.
For example, in Real Madrid, Redondo's single defensive midfielder position also began to be criticized, and Bosque began to frequently use Karembeu and others to partner with Redondo, adopting the 442 tactics.
In this game, Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona using the 4231 tactics.
"It turns out that more and more professional coaches are beginning to realize the problems faced by the single defensive midfielder."
Daily Sports believes that Van Gaal was very stubborn in choosing 433, and his use of players was also very questionable.
For example, let Cocu play as a central defender.
"This is a disaster!" commented the Daily Sports.
In Barcelona, Cocu is not the only defensive player. Abelardo has been in good form recently. Abelardo has even been a partner with De Boer, but Van Gaal made adjustments.
"He felt that Abelardo should be held responsible for the team's 3-0 loss to Real Mallorca, so he used Cocu alongside De Boer. As a result, they conceded four goals in Madrid. Who should be held responsible this time?"
The wording of Daily Sports was very clear, directly pointing the finger at the Dutch gang in the Barcelona locker room.
…
Both Daily Sports and Mundo Deportivo found fault with Van Gaal in every possible way, and even questioned the Dutch coach's lineup. However, the Catalan media gave extremely high praise to Atletico Madrid, especially the new coach Yang Hao who made his debut.
By defeating Barcelona 4-1, Atletico Madrid can be said to have one foot in the King's Cup final.
Yang Hao's debut was a brilliant victory to please the fans of Calderon.
"It's hard to believe he's only 25."
The Spanish newspaper Marca, headquartered in Madrid, also gave positive reviews to the Copa del Rey semi-final. Marca expressed great admiration for Yang Hao's coaching, especially his use of players in this game.
Belleron appeared in the number ten position, with two full-time defensive players protecting him behind him, which allowed Belleron to devote himself to organization and offense without any worries.
As it turned out, most of Atletico Madrid's four goals came from Belleron's planning and assists.
In this 4231 tactic, Belleron played his best game since joining Atletico Madrid. He let everyone see the strength of the Spanish magician and his fantastic passing skills.
In addition, the double defensive midfielders of Pablo Garcia and Baraja are also highly praised.
Needless to say, Baraja is a famous Spanish player, but he has always found it difficult to gain a foothold in Atletico Madrid, and Pablo Garcia has always stayed in the second team.
But Yang Hao boldly promoted these two players , and after they formed a double defensive midfielder, they became an unbreakable barrier in Atletico Madrid's midfield.
"Xavi and Gabri were even unable to get past their defence throughout the game."
Marca believes that Van Gaal only managed to create some trouble for the two defensive midfielders after he brought Litmanen on, but it was still difficult to create any threat.
"Seeing this game, Ranieri and Antić should feel ashamed because they didn't know that Atletico Madrid had a player like Baraja on the bench and a player like Pablo Garcia in the second team."
Marca said that after Beybur was injured, the whole world felt that Yang Hao was in big trouble and Atletico Madrid could not find a player to replace Beybur.
But what is the result?
Yang Hao not only solved this problem, but also solved .
Pablo Garcia, in particular, looks very similar to Beybul in terms of height and strength.
"However, the Uruguayan midfielder has passing and technique that Bejblü does not have."
Yes, Beybul is a defensive stalwart, but his passing and footwork are rough.
Although Pablo Garcia's defense is still immature and not as experienced as Beybul's, his passing and footwork, especially his several ball handlings in the game, have shown his advantages.
Whether it is Pablo Garcia or Baraja, they are both players with both offensive and defensive capabilities, and both have strong passing abilities.
But the two people have very different characteristics.
Baraha is 1.77 meters tall and is better at large-scale running coverage and pressing, as well as running in from behind and long-range shots.
Pablo Garcia is 1.86 meters tall and he also has strong running and pressing abilities, but he is more likely to be at the back.
The presence of these two players has made up for the shortcomings of Atletico Madrid's midfield to the greatest extent.
Of course, the problem of the defense still exists.
For example, the two central defenders Gamarra and Santi almost surrendered in front of Kluivert.
"The height and strength gap was too obvious. They couldn't shake Kluivert at all."
The weakness in defending center forwards is a long-standing problem for Atletico Madrid.
However, Marca believes that Yang Hao's defensive strategy has solved this problem well.
That is to cut apart Barcelona's trident, forcing them to fight on their own, and then encircle them with the advantage of numbers.
"Kluivert wins almost all the duels up front, but he struggles to create goals."
"Because Atletico pushed their defense to a relatively high position, Kluivert was away from his threat area, and he lacked teammates around him to cooperate with him."
Rivaldo, Kluivert and Figo, this trident looks star-studded, but they each fight on their own on the court.
It is no wonder that Barcelona's attack fails to create any threat.
…
Both the media and the fans gave high praise to Yang Hao's coaching debut.
Beating Barcelona 4-1 at home is by no means an easy task.
According to El País, if this game were to be rated, Hasselbaink, who scored a hat trick, would get 8.5 points, Belleron should get the highest 9 points, and both defensive midfielders Baraja and Pablo Garcia should get 8 points.
Atletico Madrid's head coach, Yang Hao, deserves a 9.5. Considering his age of 25, the hasty nature of his appointment, Bejbl's sudden injury, and the team's past struggles...
"For the new Atletico Madrid coach, giving this game a full score of 10 is not an exaggeration at all."
"Of course, he can't be too proud or complacent."
"The alarm for Atletico Madrid has not been lifted, not even at all."
"According to assistant coach Mendiodoro at the Atletico press conference, Atletico is now focused on avoiding relegation."
"Then this has nothing to do with the King's Cup results. Atletico Madrid needs to win at least four of the remaining six games this season."
"Considering that the opponents are strong teams like Barcelona and Valencia, this requirement is still very high."
El País believes that when many famous coaches said NO to Atletico Madrid and did not want to take over this mess, Yang Hao suddenly emerged and defeated Barcelona 4-1 in his debut, which was a stunning success.
"Now, the entire Spanish football world has remembered this young head coach and is curious about whether this amazing young coach can continue his outstanding performance in the first game."
"Before the match against Barcelona, everyone thought Atletico's relegation was a foregone conclusion, but now it seems not so certain."
And all this is because of Yang Hao, because of Calderon's 4-1 victory!
