Chapter 43: Fighting Barcelona Again
"Renew the contract?"
It was already afternoon when Yang Hao met Xiao Xi'er.
After meeting with Yang Hao's father, the general manager of Atletico Madrid reached a consensus and came to Majadahonda impatiently to discuss contract renewal with Yang Hao and to retain this talented person as soon as possible.
But Yang Hao's reaction was somewhat beyond his expectations.
"What's the matter? If you have any questions, just tell me." Little Hill felt that something was wrong.
"I'm sure there's no problem, but the team has too many things going on right now. We're about to go to Barcelona for the Copa del Rey semi-final. You don't know that stubborn old Van Gaal actually compromised with Rivaldo and Kluivert. The situation is very complicated now, and I really can't be distracted."
Yang Hao explained it to Xiao Xi'er.
The team defeated Barcelona 4-1 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. What a good situation! The effect is comparable to Cooper's Valencia's 5-2 home victory over Lazio, right?
In this case, we must give our all away from home to qualify for the King's Cup final, right?
Little Hill nodded very affirmatively.
Atletico Madrid has suffered many disasters this season. It would be a great consolation if they could achieve something in the King's Cup.
"Also, we will play Barcelona at home next weekend. If we don't play well during the week, it will be difficult to play when we come back." Yang Hao also reminded us.
The Copa del Rey semi-final is important, but avoiding relegation is more important.
We must persist in doing both things well and make both our hands strong.
Xiao Xi'er is not a fool. He can hear that Yang Hao is looking for excuses to delay, but there is nothing he can do.
"By the way, Michelle, I told you before that if things really don't work out, we'll sell the players. You haven't done it yet, right?"
"No." Little Hill quickly shook his head. "I'll definitely let you know as soon as I have any news. Besides, our current financial situation is barely manageable, though a little tight. So, I'll owe you your bonus for now."
Yang Hao has not received a penny from Atletico Madrid so far.
"It's okay, it doesn't matter to me, but the players must be on time." Yang Hao reminded solemnly.
"The other teams were originally waiting for our financial collapse. They were very enthusiastic during the government trusteeship, but now they are waiting and watching. I guess they want to wait until we are relegated before talking to us." Hill Jr. guessed what the other teams were thinking.
"Then let them wait. You can contact them before the end of the season, but you must never sell them. After we successfully avoid relegation, the value of our players will be different from that of the players of the relegated team." Yang Hao reminded.
He is now full of confidence in Atletico's relegation.
Although Atletico Madrid fans on the Internet were quite disappointed that the team failed to escape the relegation zone, Yang Hao thought it was normal.
The relegation battle is so cruel.
But precisely because of this, head coaches who successfully lead their teams to relegation are often very popular.
We have now reached 18th place, and just one more step forward will get us out of the relegation zone.
By that time, if Atletico Madrid wants to sign him, fine, we can talk about it.
It's the same with him and the players as well.
As long as the team can avoid relegation, the players will never be sold at a low price.
Little Hill also felt the strong confidence in Yang Hao, and he was deeply infected. He nodded and assured, "Don't worry, I know what to do. As for renewing the contract..."
"You can release the news for now and say that I have agreed to renew my contract with the club and will definitely coach Atletico Madrid next season, but we can discuss the contract after the season ends and we have more time." Yang Hao said without room for negotiation.
In the past, I had no bargaining chips and it was good enough to be able to coach. Now it’s different, we have the confidence!
"Okay, I'll wait for your news at any time." Little Hill didn't say any more.
…
After seeing Xiao Xi'er off, Yang Hao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After three victories, he finally gained a foothold in Atletico Madrid and got a long-term coaching contract.
Of course, the contract has yet to be finalized.
It is entirely conceivable that if he continues to perform poorly, Atletico Madrid will definitely reconsider.
He already has a rough idea about summer transfers and team formation strategies, but it is not appropriate to discuss them yet because the specific decision will have to wait until the end of this season.
Some players are bound to leave, while some players can be considered to stay.
He wants to build a team that everyone will be afraid of!
But for Yang Hao, the most important thing at the moment is Barcelona.
We will play against Barcelona twice in the next four days. This challenge is really fresh.
It’s interesting to say that Ranieri was highly recognized in Spain because he led Valencia to beat Barcelona three times in one season. Now, what would it be like if he also led his team to beat Barcelona three times?
But it's not that easy.
Van Gaal recently reconciled with the locker room. Both top stars Kluivert and Rivaldo expressed that they had put aside their past grudges and would work together to prepare for Barcelona's next attack on three fronts.
In return, Van Gaal also changed his traditional 433 tactics.
In the original 433 tactics, Kluivert was the undisputed center forward, and Rivaldo was forced to move to the wing. This was the biggest point of conflict between Rivaldo and Van Gaal.
The Brazilian Yao Dao believes that if he is pulled to the wing, his abilities will be restricted and he will not be able to display them at all.
As it turned out, after Van Gaal moved Rivaldo to the middle, the Brazilian immediately broke out.
After careful consideration, Van Gaal adopted the 3331 tactics.
That is, Kluivert is in the front, followed by Zenden, Rivaldo and Figo, and then Cocu, Guardiola, Xavi/Gabri, and the three defenders behind him are generally Reiziger, De Boer and Puyol.
It was this style of play that helped Barcelona to defeat Chelsea right from the start of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, staging a stunning comeback.
Later, Van Gaal continued to use this style of play in the league and defeated Sevilla 2-0.
Now it's Atletico's turn.
In fact, you only need to take a look at this 3331 formation to know where the problem lies, which is the defense of the flanks, but the concept it adopts is to attack instead of defend. As long as the frontcourt can suppress the opponent, I am not afraid of you attacking me from behind.
Anyone can see that this is actually a forced change of formation and is very risky, but it actually works very well for Barcelona today. At least Kluivert, Rivaldo, Figo and others are all very happy.
Moreover, Barcelona does not have a good left-back.
For Yang Hao and Atletico Madrid, they can only defend steadily in this game.
It’s not that Yang Hao doesn’t dare to take the risk, but he really can’t take the risk.
No one is sure now whether Atletico Madrid's defense can withstand the super luxurious offensive formation composed of Kluivert, Rivaldo, Zenden and Figo. They are leading 4-1 in the first leg, and taking the risk in the second leg will make them more likely to be beaten.
Therefore, Yang Hao’s strategy was to defend firmly from the start at the Camp Nou.
Everyone was like a wooden stake, staying in their position obediently.
But there is a difference between defending to the death and holding on to the death.
If they retreat to the penalty area to defend, it will be too bad for Atletico, because a tall center forward like Kluivert will be a huge test for Atletico's defense because Atletico is afraid of heights.
Therefore, Yang Hao’s strategy was, just like in the first round, to stay near the center line and push Barcelona’s most threatening attacking line out of the most threatening area.
At the same time, they started with a defensive attitude, tried to slow down the game, and prevented Barcelona from having a strong start.
The score was 1-4 in the first leg, so Barcelona must score 3 goals in the second leg. If they fail to start well, they will lose confidence as the game goes on.
More importantly, after 34 rounds, Barcelona is still 5 points behind Deportivo La Coruña.
There are 4 rounds left in the league. In the next round, Deportivo La Coruña will play Celta Vigo away, which will definitely be a tough battle.
The double defensive midfielder formed by Makelele and Celades is one of the best performing double defensive midfielders in La Liga this season, and is in no way inferior to the combination of Mauro Silva and Flavio of Deportivo La Coruna.
So, for Barcelona, which is more important, the Copa del Rey in the middle of the week or the league at the weekend?
If the game explodes at the start, Van Gaal will definitely go all out, but what if it drags on into a war of attrition?
Van Gaal will have to think about it.
These seem to be two games, but in fact, Yang Hao is preparing for them as one game.
If we just prepare for one game after another, many things will be limited. But like we are doing now, preparing for two games as if they were one game, then many problems will become clear.
…
On the evening of April 25th, at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona.
This was Yang Hao's first time setting foot in this world-famous football stadium. Looking at the audience, he deeply understood what it meant to be the 12th man.
The massive crowd and the overwhelming noise were like a mountain of pressure, even if one was just standing in the stadium.
Before the match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, at another stadium in Barcelona, the Olympic Sports Center, the Spaniard took the lead in the first half at home, but was equalized by Morientes in the second half.
The two sides finally shook hands and made peace with a score of 1-1.
Since the first leg at the Bernabéu Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw, the aggregate score was 1-1, but Real Madrid eliminated Espanyol with an away goal and successfully advanced to the King's Cup final.
This immediately made everyone focus their attention on the upcoming battle at Camp Nou.
Atletico Madrid leads the first leg 4-1 and has the greatest chance of advancing, but Barcelona also has hopes of a home comeback.
No matter which of the two teams is, if they eventually reach the final and face Real Madrid, it will be a big attraction.
Yang Hao only received some news that Espanyol's main central defender, Pochettino, who will be a famous European coach in the future, did not play in this game. This had a great impact on Espanyol's defense line, resulting in a goal lost in the second half.
However, Yang Hao and the coaching staff had no intention of telling the players the news, but instead asked them to concentrate on preparing for the game.
When they finished their pre-match training and returned to the locker room, Yang Hao could feel that each of them was ready.
The past three victories have helped them regain a lot of confidence.
At least it makes them look less confused and worried. They begin to become determined and confident.
Especially when they looked at head coach Yang Hao.
Yang Hao didn't say anything else from beginning to end. When the referee's bell rang, he looked at each player in the locker room and said word by word, "I've already booked their hotel and plane tickets to Valencia. I believe in you!"
The Copa del Rey final was held at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia.
