Chapter 30: Attack at the start and get the first blood!
On the evening of April 15th, at the Calderon Stadium in Madrid.
In the 33rd round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid will face Malaga at home.
Hill Jr. nervously accompanied his father, Cerezo, Paulo Futre, and Clement Balaverde from the board of directors, sitting in the chairman's stand.
The young man was unable to hide his inner anxiety and uneasiness at all.
The Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona is important, but it's just an appetizer.
The real test for Yang Hao and Atletico Madrid is tonight's key match.
If they want to avoid relegation, they must win 12 points in the next 6 league games. This is a huge test for any team, even Deportivo La Coruña, who is at the top of the table.
Barcelona will definitely lose 4-1 at home. Many people think that Barcelona did not try their best, while others think that it was a last hurrah after Atletico Madrid changed coaches. But no matter what, the King's Cup is not the main battlefield.
If Atletico Madrid wants to avoid relegation, they have to beat their opponents in the league.
Old Hill turned his head and looked at his son. He saw the uneasiness on his face and snorted lightly.
What he despised most was his son's timid and fearful character.
Now that you have made the decision, be brave and bold. What are you afraid of?
Paul Futre heard the noise and noticed the disagreement between the father and son. He immediately laughed, "Joaquin Pero really doesn't intend to save face for his old boss tonight."
Back then, when he was still playing for Atletico Madrid, Joaquin Perrault once coached Atletico Madrid, so they were old acquaintances.
Previously, Atletico Madrid had contacted Joaquin Perrault several times when changing coaches, but the Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan legend kept his distance from the Colchoneros and obviously did not want to get involved in this mess.
And now, he is going to step hard on Atletico Madrid.
"Malaga's current style of play is very tenacious, and this game will not be easy." Clement Balaverde frowned.
Many people say that La Liga advocates offense, which is certainly not wrong, but starting a few years ago, especially after Cooper's success in coaching Real Mallorca, the mid- and lower-level teams in La Liga, and even teams like Valencia and Deportivo La Coruña, have paid more and more attention to defense.
Teams like Alaves, Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo, Malaga, Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol and others have a tenacious and even rough style, which has nothing to do with offensive football.
These teams have also been ranked well in recent seasons.
"Sevilla will face Valencia at home this round. If the Bats want to enter the Champions League zone, they must win this game. Real Betis will challenge Espanyol away, and it is estimated that their chances of success will also be low, because Espanyol wants to enter the European competition zone."
"Real Oviedo will host Barcelona at home. Barcelona has suffered two consecutive defeats . This round is a last-ditch effort for Van Gaal. Even if Oviedo fights hard to avoid relegation, Barcelona will probably be able to win."
Paul Futre couldn't help but smile as he made this analysis. "If we beat Malaga, even though we'll still be 19th in the rankings, we'll quickly close the gap with Real Betis and Real Oviedo."
The chaos in La Liga this season lies in the fact that the top teams have performed poorly. So far, the leader Deportivo La Coruña has only scored 61 points, the fewest points in La Liga in the same period in the past few years.
However, the teams at the bottom, especially those around the relegation line, have the most points in recent years. This has led to a very close distribution of points in the middle, and the entire situation is extremely chaotic.
If you are not careful, you may be stepped on in minutes.
For example, the difference between Celta Vigo in 7th place and Racing Santander in 16th place is only 6 points.
There is a 6-point difference between 10 teams. What a fierce competition.
Below Racing Santander with 38 points, Real Betis has 36 points, Real Oviedo has 34 points, and Atletico Madrid has 32 points.
It can be said that the entire competitive situation, especially the relegation situation, is extremely fierce.
This has been extremely rare in La Liga and even the entire European football world in the past many years.
If the points are too close, the tolerance for error will be low, and whoever makes a mistake may be stepped on.
But this also means that it will be very, very difficult for Atletico Madrid to get out of this situation.
Every game is a decisive battle!
At this moment, the players of both teams, led by referee Alfonso Perez Bruel, walked out of the player tunnel one after another, and the on-site broadcast also announced the starting lineups of the two teams.
Atletico Madrid still adopts the 4231 formation.
Goalkeeper: Molina;
Defense: Capdevila, Santi Denia, Gamarra and Gaspar;
Midfield: Pablo García and Baraja form a double defensive midfield, with Solari, Valeron and Aguilera in front;
Center forward: Hasselbaink.
The starting lineup of the Colchoneros is exactly the same as that in the Copa del Rey semi-final in midweek, which is in line with outside expectations.
After finally working out a somewhat stable style of play, wouldn't it be foolish to adjust it again?
Malaga still sticks to the 442 formation.
Goalkeeper: Contreras;
Defense: Vicente Balcarce, Roteta, Sanz, Roberto Rojas;
Midfield: Movila, De los Santos, Ruano and Rufete;
Forward: Dario Silva and Catania.
What is very interesting is that when Malaga center back Fernando Sanz walked out of the player tunnel, more than 50,000 Atletico Madrid fans at the scene gave a deafening boo, giving the former Real Madrid player "special" treatment.
This was obviously not due to his background as a former Real Madrid player, but because of what he said before the game.
Fernando Sanz is the son of Real Madrid's current president, Sanz, so he said before the game that he would do his best to help Malaga beat Atletico Madrid and push Atletico Madrid further into the relegation zone.
"This is not just for Málaga, it's for my father and for Real Madrid!"
It was clear that he wanted to build momentum for Sanz's upcoming summer election.
Of course, Atletico Madrid fans were not happy with this, so they greeted him with a barrage of boos.
By the way, Real Madrid defender Salgado is the son-in-law of President Sanz.
…
Yang Hao walked out of the player tunnel amidst a wave of boos.
He thought the fans were unhappy with him and were booing him.
Fortunately, when I walked out, the booing stopped abruptly, and there was even a little applause.
This was his reward as he led the team to a 4-1 victory over Barcelona.
After Yang Hao came on the field, he went straight to the visiting team's coaching bench.
This time he didn't need Mendiodoro's reminder and walked over directly to shake hands with Joaquin Pero.
Assistant coach?
Come on, last time Barcelona's assistant coach was Mourinho, this time...
Looks a bit like Hierro.
Never mind, just hold it!
Yang Hao shook hands with the two men, and Joaquin Perrault also said a few words to him, which were basically affirmations of his last game.
"Atletico played a lot of different things," Joaquin Perrault boasted.
"Thank you." Yang Hao said with a smile, "I hope we can continue the excellent performance from last game tonight."
Joaquin Perrault was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "That's probably not going to be easy."
Yang Hao also didn't like this kind of meaningless war of words. After saying goodbye with a smile, he turned around and left.
Joaquin Peró noticed Juanma Lillo in front of the home team's coaching bench, which was news.
"When did he go to Atletico Madrid to be an assistant coach?" Joaquin Perrault frowned.
This guy is also very difficult to deal with. The teams he led before were all difficult to deal with.
"I don't know, it should have happened in the past few days." Manolo Hierro had never heard of it before.
After thinking about it, Joaquin Pero walked to the sidelines and shouted a few words to the players, signaling them to be careful after the start of the game.
Juanma Lillo is best at the 4231 tactics, and is very good at high-pressure pressing, so he has to be cautious.
…
"They still played 4-4-2. The starting lineup and positions were exactly as we expected. They remained unchanged."
When Yang Hao walked to the home team coaching bench, Juanma Lillo and Mendiodor came up to him.
I’ve seen the roster before, but now I see the players’ positions on the court .
Typical 442 parallel stance.
There is no absolutely good or bad tactics in this world, only suitable or unsuitable.
There is no big-name star in the Malaga team, and even few people knew who Catania was before.
But the fact that they can reach their current position is enough to prove the effectiveness of this tactic.
For a team like Malaga, it is extremely difficult to form a strong lineup. Once it is formed, it will basically not be adjusted unless there is an injury.
Atletico Madrid is in a similar situation now.
"Follow the plan, attack at the start and try to get first blood!"
Lillo and Mendiodor gradually got used to Yang Hao's terminology. It was obviously the first goal, so why did he have to say it was the first blood?
Doesn’t this easily remind people of something else?
Yang Hao was still a little worried. Seeing Joaquin Peró yelling at the players on the sidelines, he quickly joined the team and waved to Baraja. "You and Pablo, be absolutely focused. Do you understand?"
Baraha knew the importance of this game and also knew the requirements of the team's opening tactics for the double defensive midfielders.
"Remind Santi and Carlos again, when Catania and Dario Silva are counterattacking, defend them if you can, and commit fouls early if you can't, and don't let them threaten the goal."
Balaha nodded continuously, and when he turned to leave, Yang Hao stopped him again.
"Also, be careful, try to control your movements, and don't get the cards easily."
"Understood."
Baraha returned to the field and quickly conveyed the coach's intentions.
Yang Hao also gestured to Belleron and Hasselbaink, indicating that they should not have any concerns.
…
With the whistle of referee Brewer, everyone was surprised to see that when Malaga striker Catania passed the ball to Dario Silva, Atletico's entire midfield and frontcourt quickly pressed forward.
From Hasselbaink, to Belleron, Solari and Aguilera behind him, to Baraja and Pablo Garcia in the back, and even the entire back line, they all pressed forward with an extremely determined attitude.
Malaga seemed to be prepared, so the ball was passed quickly and backwards.
But they still underestimated Atletico's determination.
Hasselbaink even pressed the ball directly in front of the goal, forcing goalkeeper Contreras to kick the ball forward hastily.
But Pablo Garcia controlled the ball and headed it to his teammate Baraja.
After gaining possession of the ball, Atletico Madrid pressed forward aggressively.
