Chapter 37 Victory belongs to Atletico Madrid!
Yang Hao painted a rosy picture in front of Xiao Xi'er, "seducing" Xiao Xi'er to repeatedly promise that he would do his best to help him stay in the job regardless of whether he could successfully avoid relegation or not.
The two of them outlined a bright future blueprint for Atletico Madrid on the plane.
Not long after, Valencia also boarded the journey back home on the same route but different flight.
On the plane, the players were resting, while Hector Cooper and his two assistant coaches, José Maria Bianco and Mario Gomez, were summarizing the game that had just ended and looking forward to the next one.
The opponent is Yang Hao's Atletico Madrid.
If Yang Hao were present, he would definitely get close to Bianco, because Cooper's right-hand man will coach Hong Kong South China in 2014.
Fitness coach Juan Manuel Alfonno is presenting his assessment report.
Valencia's players have experienced two tough battles in a row in recent days , which has greatly depleted their physical energy.
Whether against Sevilla or Lazio, Cooper gave his all, because Valencia did not have enough bench depth to rotate, and could only make local adjustments at most.
But their opponent Atletico Madrid has a full week of rest.
"We didn't have a choice in this game."
After listening to Alfano's report, Cooper had a clear idea of the team's physical condition and set the tone for the next game, that is, Valencia had no way out.
Zaragoza's opponent is Numancia. This team is not under much pressure to avoid relegation at the moment, and its overall strength is not on the same level as Zaragoza. It is almost foreseeable that it will not be difficult for Zaragoza to defeat this opponent.
If Valencia fails to beat Atletico Madrid at home, the gap with Zaragoza will inevitably widen further.
With 4 rounds left and a 7-point deficit, there's basically no chance of catching up.
If Valencia wants to qualify for the Champions League, they must beat Atletico Madrid at home.
On the contrary, in Atletico Madrid's view, if they want to avoid relegation, they don't necessarily have to beat Valencia away from home, a draw is also acceptable, which creates a situation that is relatively unfavorable for Valencia.
"Judging from Atletico Madrid's match against Malaga, they played a good opening attack, especially that wave of high pressing, which was really interesting. I wonder if they will do the same at the Mestalla Stadium ?" Mario Gomez was a little worried.
In the two games, Atletico Madrid adopted two different tactical styles.
The young man named Yang Hao is always unexpected and really hard to understand.
"I'm not afraid of them pressing it out!" Cooper said very confidently.
The Argentine is now at the pinnacle of his coaching career. Last season, he led Real Mallorca to the Cup Winners' Cup final. Although he did not win the championship, he also created a miracle.
After all, it was Real Mallorca.
This season he led Valencia into the quarterfinals of the Champions League, especially the victory over Lazio, which made him famous.
Cooper is now full of confidence and ambition.
"It's actually beneficial for us if they press forward." Bianco also agreed with Cooper's statement.
Cooper smiled proudly, "I watched their match against Barcelona. Some of their moves were really targeted, like the flank attack. This was really difficult for Barcelona, who only had one defensive midfielder, but we are not Barcelona!"
Although Valencia also has a single defensive midfielder, its midfield is a diamond-shaped four-man midfield. Mendieta, Kily Gonzalez and Farinos are all capable of both offense and defense, with strong tactical execution and strong awareness of returning to defense.
Especially when defending, it is not easy for Atletico Madrid to attack Valencia's flanks.
After all, Valencia's frontcourt players' awareness of returning to defense and the team's overall defensive ability are not comparable to Barcelona.
"Besides, Mendieta is more likely to stay in the middle, leaving the right flank for Angeloma to run across. When defending, Mendieta and Farinos can directly return to support Gerard and protect the flank."
After hearing this, everyone nodded.
As for the right side, there is nothing to be afraid of as Angeloma is here.
This former French international was once a key player for the French national team, with both offensive and defensive capabilities and extraordinary overall strength, but later his starting position was taken away by Thuram. Now at the age of 35, he is still very strong.
It’s interesting to say that Carboni on the left side of Valencia is also 35 years old, and both are veterans.
"What we need to consider most now is how to create a goal as soon as possible at the start of the game."
When Cooper said this, he glanced at Alfonno again and said, "We are not as physically fit as our opponents. If we get entangled with them for too long, it will be disadvantageous to us, especially in the second half. So we still have to strive to create a goal in the first half, the sooner the better."
On the one hand, we must win, but on the other hand, we are at a disadvantage in terms of physical fitness. In this case, we definitely cannot turn the game into a war of attrition.
As for taking the lead...
Valencia is best at defensive counterattacks. From Ranieri to Cooper, this unique skill has been passed down from generation to generation.
"In this game, I want to end the battle in the first half!" Cooper said in a loud voice.
Two weeks ago, also at the Mestalla Stadium, he said he wanted to end the game in the first leg, but Valencia stunned Lazio right at the start, with a 5-2 victory that shocked the whole world.
Now, Cooper says it again.
But this time the opponent is much weaker than Lazio, and it is also a La Liga relegation team.
Isn't that easy?
…
On the evening of April 21, Valencia Mestalla Stadium.
In the 34th round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid will challenge Valencia away.
When Yang Hao got Valencia's starting lineup list, his first reaction was that Cooper was so stubborn.
The second reaction was that the Argentines are really stubborn.
The third reaction was to suddenly think of Manchester United.
Cooper's stubbornness lies in his insistence on the 442 formation. There was no change in the starting lineup, which continued the lineup used against Lazio. He obviously wanted to defeat Atletico Madrid in one go and win 3 points.
Because of the 442 diamond midfield formation, Albelda's performance was not as good as Gerard's. The latter's nickname was Little Guardiola, and he came from Barcelona's youth training, so he was definitely the direct descendant of the number four position.
The reason why he was so stubborn was that Barcelona's single defensive midfielder had been defeated by Atletico Madrid, but Cooper just didn't believe it.
Sometimes, the head coach's personality can really be reflected in the team, so Valencia's style is very tough and iron-blooded.
The reason why I think of Ferguson's Manchester United is that both teams play with a diamond four midfield.
For Manchester United, Keane was in the back, Beckham and Giggs were on the wings, and Scholes was in the front.
For Valencia, Gerard stayed back, Mendieta and Kily Gonzalez were on the two wings, and Farinos was forward.
In fact, just looking at these two midfield configurations can reveal Valencia's problems.
Manchester United's golden four midfielders are known as the most classic midfield combination, with defense and backward organization, breakthroughs and wing advancement, precise crosses and large-scale transfers, as well as passing and attacking from behind.
In contrast, every player in Valencia is capable of both offense and defense and is very versatile, but judging from the player characteristics, they are still far behind Manchester United's golden four midfielders.
Can Kily Gonzalez's breakthroughs and advancements on the left compare with Giggs?
Can Farinos' passing and running-in be compared with Scholes'?
Mendieta 's characteristics are completely different from Beckham's, and there is no player in the Valencia team who has the ability of Beckham.
Therefore, Valencia's offense is not outstanding in La Liga.
But Yang Hao still didn't dare to be careless.
…
When the players finished their pre-match warm-up and returned to the away team's locker room at Mestalla Stadium, Yang Hao was already waiting there.
The tactical board next to him showed Valencia's starting lineup for the game.
Goalkeeper: Cañizares;
Defense: Carbone, Pellegrino, Djukic and Angeloma;
Midfield: Gerard stayed back, Kily Gonzalez and Mendieta were on the wings, and Farinos advanced;
Forward: Lopez and Angulo.
Standard Valencia 442 tactical configuration.
After all the players came back and sat down, Yang Hao patted the tactical board and asked with a smile: "Did you notice? Cooper and his Valencia are laughing at us."
"They didn't even want to make the slightest adjustment because they were certain that tonight, we were here and there was nothing we could do to them."
Yang Hao's gaze fell on the players in the locker room.
In order to better implement the tactics, he made some adjustments to tonight's starting lineup.
Overall, Atletico Madrid still has to adopt a defensive counterattack tactic.
But Yang Hao has dug a big hole for Cooper, and Cooper will definitely step into it. The key is whether Yang Hao and Atletico Madrid can bury him and his Valencia.
"As I told you before, Valencia will press forward in tonight's game. They have to do this. They will press forward from the start like they did to Lazio, using their suffocating high-pressure pressing, trying to stun us in one fell swoop, just like they stun Lazio."
"But they were wrong, because we are also good at this style of play and we have been fully prepared for it."
"Believe me, we've been preparing for this for a whole week."
After the previous two consecutive victories, Yang Hao has already gained a certain weight in the Atletico Madrid locker room, and the players still listen to what he says.
Even Beybul who has returned from injury.
This was the Czech midfielder's first appearance under Yang Hao.
Pablo Garcia will be on the bench and available at all times.
"I want to confirm with you again, I don't want a draw in this game, I want to win, but I have to hold on at the start, this is the key."
"As long as we can withstand Valencia's initial surge and don't lose our composure, then the rest of the Bats will be a piece of fat meat on our chopping block. We can slice and dice them however we want. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the players responded in unison.
Yang Hao was very satisfied with the players' answers. "I want to tell you that Valencia isn't that strong. You'll quickly feel this during the game. And you'll believe what I say. Tonight, victory will be ours!"
"Didn't Valencia just reach the Champions League semi-finals?"
"Then let's use this game tonight to tell the world that we are better than the teams in the Champions League semi-finals!"
"Okay!" The players responded in unison again.
