Chapter 82 Yang Hao is too difficult!
La Coruña, northwestern Spain.
Head coach Irueta put down the freshly published Spanish newspaper that morning and snorted in disdain.
"These media reporters only know how to chase hot topics and hype news. Their professionalism is extremely poor."
Irueta reached up and took off her glasses, placing them on the table, and gently rubbed the bridge of her nose.
He has been reading a lot recently, and his eyes are easily sore.
"If they all had professional qualities, they wouldn't become reporters." Assistant coach Francisco Melo handed over a glass of water with a smile. He has worked with Irueta for two or three years.
Irueta took it, took a sip, and looked at the assistant in front of him, "Francisco, you are from Atletico Madrid, right?"
"Yes, I played for Atletico Madrid for ten years. Like Baraja, I came from Valladolid. We are both right midfielders. The difference is that he developed in the middle and I developed in the defense."
Sometimes, different choices can lead to completely different results.
Melo was also a little famous back then, but ultimately he did not perform as expected and only played twice for the Spanish national team.
"What do you think of Atletico Madrid this season?" Irueta was not interested in old things.
Francisco Melo pondered for a moment. "It's definitely not as pessimistic as the hype outside, but to be honest, I'm not particularly optimistic either. The restructuring is too drastic. To expect to build a team like this in just one summer..."
He hadn't finished speaking, but Melo kept shaking his head, obviously not optimistic about Yang Hao.
"You know, Atletico Madrid's restructuring efforts far exceed those of Sacchi and Ranieri. Even these famous coaches couldn't manage it, let alone Yang Hao. However, these players are not as bad as rumored by the outside world."
Irueta nodded in approval.
Many people say that Atletico Madrid sold many players and received a lot of money, but did not invest much in actual transfers and did not even introduce a competitive player.
Obviously, this is a layman's statement.
Either the media journalists who hype these topics are completely ignorant, or they pretend to be ignorant in order to attract traffic.
The players Atletico Madrid brought in are all strong, and some are even outstanding.
For example, Pandyanyi.
Deportivo La Coruña has been eyeing this player for a long time. After Irueta sent Pauleta away and signed Tristan, he originally wanted to sign Pandiani. In this way, Deportivo La Coruña would have three strong center forwards, Makaay, Tristan and Pandiani.
But what is the result?
Atletico Madrid remained calm and directly intercepted Pandiani.
The key is that the transfer fee is very cheap and the cost-effectiveness is extremely high.
And Deco.
This player has performed so well in the Portuguese Super League and is no stranger to the Spanish football circle in the Iberian Peninsula.
Why is no one taking action?
Because everyone is waiting and watching.
If you want to sign Deco from Porto, the transfer fee will not be small. Even for teams like Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia, they will not act easily unless it is necessary.
Like Irureta, he would rather spend 20 million to buy Belleron than spend 10 million to buy Deco because it is safe.
Not to mention the mid- and lower-level teams, they basically won't even think about it because it's too expensive.
There are also Vicente and Joaquin, these two young players are well-known in the country, and Valencia has been keeping an eye on Vicente for a long time.
Cambiasso is also very strong, and Gravesen is Hamburg's main midfielder. Can these players be said to have no strength?
They just don't have much fame.
The media pursues popularity and focuses on one thing, so they always keep their eyes on the giants and superstars and ignore other players, but this does not mean that these players have no strength.
Irueta has heard more than one person mention that Atletico Madrid's transfer operations this summer were amazing and incomprehensible.
Yang Hao's attacks were fast, fierce, and extremely accurate.
Snatch Vicente and Aurelio from Valencia, Pandiani from Deportivo La Coruna, and also Van der Sar.
The Dutch goalkeeper is definitely world-class, but he had a bad season at Juventus and lost confidence. Real Madrid was trying to poach Zidane, and Juventus had a golden opportunity to sign Buffon, but Atletico Madrid took advantage of the opportunity and snatched away Van der Sar.
This is definitely a good deal!
Of course, the prerequisite is that Yang Hao must have the ability to revive Vander Shaker to full health.
Looking at the entire summer transfer operations, Yang Hao has engraved the three words "value for money" on his forehead.
More importantly, he himself is not famous, so he dare not introduce famous stars because he is afraid that he will not be able to control them.
So these players are all around 20 years old, which means Pochettino and Van der Sar are a bit older.
But as Melo said, the biggest test for Atletico Madrid now is no longer the players.
Yang Hao’s vision for signing players is reliable, but the key is whether he has the ability to integrate the team?
From recruiting to integration, it takes at most one month, and for players like Aurelio it's even less than a month.
This places high demands on the head coach and coaching staff.
You must have a complete set of tactical concepts and team building ideas. You must know what players you are bringing in, where they are placed, and what kind of cooperation you want to play...
It’s too difficult!
Irueta knew how much work it would be just by thinking about it.
Therefore, no one was surprised that Atletico Madrid's warm-up match results were not ideal.
This is normal.
Even many people in the industry are speculating that Atletico Madrid may fail in the first half of the season.
If Yang Hao didn't handle the situation properly, he might not be able to improve his grades and would be fired first.
Such things as the previous generation planting trees and the next generation enjoying the shade are not uncommon in the football world.
Many head coaches have encountered this situation, which has led to more and more head coaches not caring about the future but only focusing on the present.
"I guess he will still use the 4231 tactics from last season," Melo analyzed.
"I heard that he recently reorganized the youth team, especially hiring a second-team head coach named Manolo Jimenez, who also advocates for the 4-2-3-1 formation."
"Manolo Jimenez? The one from Sevilla?" Irueta has been in La Liga for many years and remembered him immediately.
"Yes, after retiring in 1998, he started taking coaching courses. He said he had attended Juanma Lillo's class and that their tactical concepts were very similar, so Lillo recommended to Yang Hao."
When Irueta heard this, he couldn't help but laugh again. "Our kid is really ambitious. He hasn't even figured out the first team yet, and he's already started overhauling the youth training system."
"Didn't the media previously report that he was collaborating with the University of Madrid and was criticized for not doing his job properly?" Melo smiled bitterly.
The cooperation project has been kept secret to this day, and no one knows what exactly was involved, but a lot of money was spent.
Atletico Madrid has a different membership system from Real Madrid, Barcelona and other clubs, so they don't need to disclose everything to the public.
"From the current perspective, he will still stick to the 4231 formation, but the player lineup is completely different from last season. Judging from the warm-up matches, he has not yet integrated it." Melo has been following Atletico Madrid's warm-up match news.
It's still 4231, but the players have changed, so many tactics have also changed a lot.
For example, the most critical No. 10 position in 4231 changed from Belleron to Deco, which means two completely different tactics.
In Irueta's opinion, the smartest thing Yang Hao did was to snatch Pandiani.
The Uruguayan center is taller than Hasselbaink and has similar characteristics to the Dutch center, so he should be a good substitute.
"The two flanks should be Vicente and Joaquin. He should stick to the Spanish wingers, with Deco in the middle. Behind them should be Baraja and Gravesen. Cambiasso may replace Gravesen."
"For Yang Hao, the most important thing this summer is to keep Baraja. If all the defensive midfielders leave, things will be more troublesome. As for the defensive line, Pochettino can occupy one, and Santi should also be able to occupy one. In this case, it is still a bit short."
"As for the right side, it's either Gaspar or Belletti. An agent recommended Belletti to a La Liga team before. He's a very capable player, but as for the left side..."
Irueta paused at this point in his analysis, clearly hesitant.
"Aurelio participated in the Olympics and will probably need some more adjustments and integration. That leaves Atletico with two left-backs. Veteran Toni Muñoz rarely played last season and was mostly coaching new players. Antonio Lopez is only 18 years old."
Having said that, Irueta finally understood everything.
"The left side will be Atletico's weak spot."
Melo also agreed with Irueta's analysis.
Neither Tony Muñoz nor Antonio Lopez are stable enough. Even if Aurelio is reluctantly used, this Brazilian left-back is indeed quite good, but who knows how much strength he can exert?
"So on our side..." Mello asked, looking up at Irueta.
Irueta picked up his glasses from the desk and put them back on. "Velleron, Molina, and Capdevila shouldn't go to Madrid. Let them stay with the team to adjust and prepare for the game."
Melo was stunned for a moment, but immediately reacted and nodded in agreement.
All three players had just transferred from Atletico Madrid, and they were all outstanding players for Atletico Madrid. The fans were very dissatisfied with their transfers because the team had clearly avoided relegation.
Under such circumstances, it would undoubtedly be inappropriate to let them return to the Calderon Stadium, and the players would also feel uncomfortable.
Rather than having them perform poorly on the spot, it would be better to let them stay and rest.
"Let's use the combination of Nabet and Donato as central defenders. I believe they can deal with Pandiani." Irueta explained.
Donato is already 37 years old, a veteran in the real sense, but he has been performing very stably in the nearly ten years since joining Deportivo La Coruna. It's just that as he gets older, his position keeps moving back.
This is very similar to Real Madrid captain Hierro.
Nowadays, Irureta renews Donato's contract every season, but has never been able to find a reliable central defender to replace the veteran, which has become a knot in Irureta's heart.
Deportivo La Coruña has already invested enough in this summer's transfer market, and the club's financial situation does not allow Irueta to sign another high-level central defender, so he can only continue to use last season's central defender combination.
Neither Donato nor Nebet is tall, but fortunately Pandiani is only 1.83 meters tall. This player is more like a shooting machine. Deportivo La Coruña's two central defenders are very experienced in dealing with such a center forward.
The one who needs to be more worried is Kiko.
But after Atletico Madrid's prince was seriously injured, his condition has been much worse than before.
Thinking of this, Irueta felt relieved.
After winning the championship last season, Deportivo La Coruña has further strengthened its strength this season. Irureta is ambitious and wants to continue last season's glory in La Liga and the Champions League.
Start by beating Atletico Madrid!
