Chapter 63: Is it appropriate to bully newcomers like this?
On the evening of March 28th, at the Alpi Stadium in Turin.
The game has entered the second half and is almost sixty minutes in, but the score is still zero to zero.
From the beginning of the second half, Capello has been standing in the command area of the home team's coaching bench, adjusting the team's tactics, especially the players' running and positioning, from time to time according to the situation on the field.
But tonight, Real Madrid defended very tightly.
Capello looked up at the time, turned around and nodded to assistant coach Gabiati in the coaching booth.
Gabiati immediately walked to the bench, called Mutu's name, and asked him to warm up quickly.
The Juventus assistant coach has a serious look on his face, and the situation on the field is not optimistic.
Capello brought two attackers as substitutes, Mutu and Sarajevo. The latter is 1.88 meters tall . If he plays again, Juventus will have three tall towers in the frontcourt.
But Juventus' biggest problem tonight was that the midfield couldn't pass the ball.
…
At the beginning of the first half, Juventus actually played very actively.
The two forwards Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic launched a fierce pressure on Real Madrid's defense, and the whole team also created threats through active running and quick passage through the midfield.
Real Madrid still adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation, trying to seek stability through five midfielders, but the effect was not ideal at the beginning and was pressed by Juventus for a few minutes. However, Gao Shen quickly made adjustments, especially letting Raul and Beckham press forward to contain Zambrotta and Chiellini, and Negredo suppressing the central defender, while Zidane targeted the double defensive midfielders.
In this way, Real Madrid gradually stabilized its position.
After Real Madrid stabilized its position, it became increasingly difficult for Juventus to advance from the backcourt to the frontcourt.
Especially in the midfield area, Real Madrid has a total of five players in this area.
As a result, Juventus was forced to launch attacks with frequent long passes.
Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic have the advantage of high balls in the frontcourt. Ramos is not tall and Woodgate has many injuries, which causes the two to suffer a disadvantage in the competition with Juventus' two center forwards.
Gao Shen was obviously aware of this, so he attached great importance to the competition for the second landing point.
Trezeguet is not good at holding the ball, so Real Madrid controls the second landing point; Ibrahimovic likes the ball at his feet, as long as he has the ball, there will be at least two or three Real Madrid players around him.
Because Real Madrid's formation is very meticulous, they can effectively control the second point.
Juventus was speechless about the unfavorable ground advancement and low efficiency of long passes.
The data can well reflect Real Madrid's defense tonight.
Throughout the first half, Juventus only had three shots, none of which were on target. The two center forwards Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic created a total of six offsides.
Who would have thought that Real Madrid would play defensively at the Alpi Stadium!
But is that all?
Gabiati always felt that Real Madrid was weird tonight.
…
When Gabiati returned to the coaching seat, Capello also walked back from the front, took a sip of hot water, and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking somewhat anxious.
"Let Sarayeta warm up later. It will be a tough battle tonight." Capello said in a deep voice.
Gabiati nodded, "I always feel that there is something strange about Real Madrid."
Capello glanced at his assistant and nodded slightly, "Did you find out?"
Gabiati was stunned, it turned out that Capello had known it for a long time.
"Every time we press forward to attack, Real Madrid will also press forward, adopt a high defense, suppress our central area through the midfield, and at the same time press our two center forwards out and away from the penalty area. That's why we have so few shots but so many offsides."
After Capello's explanation, Gabiati immediately understood.
"But," Capello changed the subject, "every time we retreated appropriately and wanted Real Madrid to press forward, they also retreated, so the rhythm on the field became very strange, which was very different from the usual games."
When Gabiati heard this, he suddenly understood.
He finally understood why he felt strange. It turned out to be because of the rhythm of the game.
When Juventus advances, Real Madrid follows; when Juventus retreats, Real Madrid retreats.
But why kick like this?
" Why ?" Capello laughed, "It's simple, it saves energy when playing this way."
If any team wants to score a goal against Juventus, it must invest manpower and consume a lot of physical energy and running, because Juventus is known for its solid defense.
In other words, after investing a large amount of manpower and consuming a lot of physical energy, it is still unknown whether a goal can be scored.
The clever approach is that Real Madrid doesn't want to score a goal, so apart from seizing opportunities for quick counterattacks, the rest of the time they spend maintaining their formation based on Juventus' advances and retreats .
One advantage of doing this is that it minimizes the players' running and physical energy consumption.
But the disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, unless you seize the opportunity in a quick counterattack, there is no hope of scoring a goal.
"Isn't this too conservative?" Gabiati found it a little funny and thought to himself, no wonder the Spanish media were bombarding him for being conservative, he was indeed so conservative that he didn't even dare to attack.
But Gabiati was no pushover to become Capello's assistant coach, and he soon thought more deeply.
"I understand, he is preparing for the upcoming national derby and the second leg."
When he thought of this, Gabiati felt a little dumbfounded.
Isn’t this too bold?
Although the Champions League is a two-legged competition, how many people have the courage to do so?
Isn’t this something that only world-famous coaches would dare to do?
"Real Madrid's lineup is limited. Without those Brazilian players, it will be difficult for them to play well in all the games. So from the beginning, he never thought about winning at the Alpi Stadium. He just wanted a draw, preferably a 0-0 draw," Capello said helplessly.
He also had a headache facing an opponent who played tight defense but didn't want to win.
As for ugliness, Juventus and Real Madrid are about the same.
So far, the home team has had four shots, none on target, while Real Madrid has had one more, five shots, one on target.
It was a quick counterattack in the first half. After Beckham's long pass, Felipe suddenly rushed from the left side, went straight to the bottom line, and passed the ball to the front of the goal. Negredo followed up and headed the ball in from close range.
As a result, Buffon flew to save the ball.
This is also the most threatening attack created by the two teams so far.
Other than that, it was pretty sleepy.
"You know what? All the pain in the world comes from people not knowing what they want. They always want more, but they don't understand that God has already secretly marked the price for everything. The more you get, the more you will lose."
Capello sighed to himself when he said this, "This kid knows exactly what he wants, and he can resist temptation. So you see, as soon as Real Madrid stepped forward, he shouted for the team to retreat, because he only wanted a 0-0 draw from the beginning to the end."
Gabiati was a little surprised. He didn't expect Capello to have such a high opinion of Gao Shen.
Is Gao Shen really a 25-year-old young man?
"Even if he really draws 0-0 in this game, is he so sure that he can beat Barcelona in the next national derby and beat us in the second leg at the Bernabeu?" Gabiati wondered.
Capello shook his head and smiled, "Who knows? This is the most interesting part of football, isn't it?"
After a pause, Capello continued: "Even if you ask me, if we are really tied 0-0 in the first leg, are we sure to win the second leg at the Bernabeu? I can't answer you."
"As a head coach, everything we do and every decision we make is to help the team to the maximum extent and increase the probability of scoring or winning. There is no such thing as absolute on the football field."
Gabiati nodded, so this is what is called an upset.
Many post-match analyses try to infer the causes from the results. There is no real way to deduce the causes before the match and make every possible effort.
"This kid is interesting, really interesting." Capello turned his head to glance at Gao Shen who was standing in front of the visiting team's coaching booth. The more he looked at him, the more he liked him. He always felt that Gao Shen had a decisiveness that did not match his age.
"So what do we do now?" Gabiati asked, "Just let him hold on to the score?"
"He's dreaming!" Capello scolded with a smile, "Tell Sarajeta to warm up and get ready to play."
…
…
Gao Shen stood in front of the visiting team's coaching booth, staring at the situation on the field with worry.
Real Madrid players all have an attacking heart, and he was afraid that they would rush out accidentally.
We can't rush at this moment.
Rushing out will make it very difficult to score a goal, but it will consume more physical energy. What will they rely on to compete with Barcelona and Juventus next Wednesday?
More importantly, he has also been observing Juventus' situation, trying to find loopholes and exploit them in the second round.
But he didn't expect Capello to be so unsportsmanlike.
In the 60th minute, Mutu replaced Camoranesi and played as left midfielder, and Nedved was moved to the right.
Then he saw Sarayeta running out to warm up.
Five minutes later, Sarayeta replaced Vieira.
"Fuck, is Capello crazy?" Maqueda shouted in disbelief.
Three centers!
Sarayeta, Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic are all strong men over 1.9 meters tall.
Gao Shen really had the urge to curse for a moment.
This is clearly bullying Real Madrid players because of their short stature, right?
But don’t say that Real Madrid players are at a disadvantage physically.
Capello's words actually had another meaning. He saw through Gao Shen's intentions and forced him to play a war of attrition.
Otherwise, just imagine, three 1.9-meter-tall center forwards standing in the penalty area, with high balls flying directly into the sky. Damn, that scene would be murderous!
Gao Shen turned around and glanced at the home team's coaching bench. Capello happened to be looking at him and even nodded and smiled at Gao Shen, which made Gao Shen curse in his heart.
Miscalculated!
Capello is Rijkaard's master!
Are these master and disciple really planning to join hands to kill me?
After all, you are successful seniors, so why are you bullying me, a newcomer?
Do you think it's appropriate?
Does bullying me like this really give you more pleasure?
