Chapter 85 Is this a relegation team?
During the halftime break, there was a deathly silence in the visiting team's locker room.
Looking back to last season, it was also in this locker room that they celebrated the team's goal during halftime.
But now, everyone hung their heads like defeated roosters.
As the defending champions of La Liga, they played so poorly in the first half!
"That damn French guy keeps cursing at me all day long. I clearly told him my name is Victor, but he keeps calling me Juanma and wants to kill me all the time. Doesn't he understand Spanish?"
Victor Sanchez finally broke his silence.
Everyone could hear that he was looking for excuses for his poor performance in the first half.
Evra played like a madman in the first half. He was short, but his defense and attack were crazy.
The key is that this guy has really good physical fitness.
Well, a bit like Davis from the Netherlands, like a rampaging wild boar.
Victor Sanchez opened the conversation and everyone's complaints came out.
De Jarminha accused Atletico Madrid's Gravesen of playing dirty and aggressively, and the referee of being too lenient and favoring the home team. Makaay complained that Lucio was simple-minded and strong-limbed...
"The midfield and backcourt should provide more support to the front. I think one of the two defensive midfielders should come up to play some cooperation and share the defensive pressure." Left winger Fran suggested.
He felt that he did not have much support on the left side.
Dejaminha has always played like this, concentrating on moving forward, going straight up and down, rarely paying attention to the sides.
This is actually a big problem.
Just like today, when Atletico's double defensive midfielders clamped down on Dejaminha, Deportivo La Coruña's two flanks were cut apart.
After hearing what Fran said, Mauro Silva turned to look at Jokanovic, and they both smiled bitterly at the same time.
They really wanted their teammates to come over and play as double defensive midfielders to see if they could limit Deco.
This Brazilian kid is really not simple.
He plays football in a low-key manner, but every move he makes makes people nervous, and every time he gets the ball makes them terrified.
And the range of activities is very large.
If one of the two defensive midfielders goes up and it is a one-on-one situation, it will be difficult to suppress Deco.
But such words cannot be said, and it is not easy to say them.
For a player like Deco, those who understand will understand, and those who don’t understand will still not understand even if you tell them. Instead, it seems like they are just making excuses.
"You know what? This Atletico Madrid team is really weird. They played so badly last season, how come they've completely changed in just one summer? And their high-pressure defense is outrageous. How long can they keep it up?"
The locker room fell into deathly silence again.
No one can give an answer because Atletico looks to be in pretty good physical condition.
But what is important is this set of tactics.
Deportivo La Coruña really didn't create any good opportunities in the entire first half. Instead, Atletico Madrid launched quick counterattacks again and again, continuously attacking the heart of Deportivo La Coruña's penalty area.
Van der Sar was actually the most leisurely player in the entire first half.
"How can this be a relegation team? If all the relegation teams in La Liga were like Atletico Madrid tonight, we would all be dead!" Victor Sanchez complained helplessly.
As one of the teams most likely to be relegated this season, Atletico Madrid's goal for the new season is to avoid relegation.
Of course, this is just what the media said, and Atletico Madrid officials did not disclose it.
But judging from the current performance, it would be a miracle for this team to avoid relegation!
The intensity of the pressing, especially from the 28th to 37th minute, really suffocated Deportivo La Coruña, making it difficult to even pass the ball across the center line.
But it can also be seen that Atletico Madrid's players have not yet fully adapted to this tactical style of play, and their cooperation is not yet tacit enough.
But now it’s already so uncomfortable. When they further improve their playing style and cooperate with each other, will people still be able to survive?
…
Irueta was in the coach's lounge next door, listening to the players' discussions, and he began to regret it.
I regret not bringing the three Atletico Madrid players here!
He underestimated the enemy!
Originally, he thought that he could easily defeat Atletico Madrid in tonight's game, but now it seems that Yang Hao's level of integration is far beyond his expectations. Even the tactical prototype integrated by the team is amazing enough, and the players have adapted very well.
Even Evra, who retreated from forward to play at left back, was impressive.
With the score 0-2 in the first half, Irueta clearly realized that this game was going to be difficult.
What's even more outrageous is that when Atletico Madrid left the field, he didn't show any obvious signs of physical decline.
This also confirmed what Irueta had heard before.
Yang Hao hired two physical trainers, one of whom was Uruguayan and was said to have coached a rugby team before.
Combined with Lucio's several physical confrontations in which he "crushed" Makaay, Irueta began to understand something.
But he quickly calmed down and walked towards the players' rest area.
The game is halfway through, and I made the decision to finish it even if I knew it would be risky.
At least we have to keep the spark of hope alive for the next round of the Riazor battle.
What's more, Atletico Madrid is not perfect. They also have many weaknesses and loopholes, especially their players, who also make mistakes in the game.
…
“The biggest problem.”
In the home team's locker room, Yang Hao faced his players directly. He pointed out the most serious mistakes the team made in the first half without hesitation.
"We didn't play in our own rhythm at all. We just kept going fast, fast, and fast!"
"I said that the transition between offense and defense must be fast. The purpose of speed is to create a time difference and quickly deliver a fatal blow before the opponent's defense can organize itself, but..."
When Yang Hao said this, he deliberately emphasized his tone.
"If we find we can't create this time difference and pose a threat after the transition between offense and defense, we should decisively slow down, control the ball, reorganize, and then look for opportunities, rather than continuing to rush!"
Speaking of this, Yang Hao listed a very simple data, that is, Atletico Madrid's possession rate in the first half was only over 30%.
There are no so-called data companies in European football today, and OPTA was not established until around 2004.
Atletico Madrid's current data is collected and counted entirely by itself, and some are even collected manually, which seems very rough.
But the benefit of data is obvious, which is that it allows everyone to see the problem more intuitively.
For example, as Yang Hao said, Atletico Madrid had only a little over 30% possession rate in the first half, but the exact number is unknown.
But whether it was the situation or the opportunities created, Atletico Madrid had an overwhelming advantage.
What caused this situation?
Just as Yang Hao said, no matter whether Atletico Madrid has a chance or not, they will launch a fast break directly after grabbing the ball.
"This was a very stupid, low-level, and even completely futile act. Although it exhausted the opponent, it also consumed our own physical strength and failed to achieve the tactical goal."
"We have to play smart, not blindly. We have to think and observe constantly, guessing what our opponents are thinking and what they are going to do, and then we can't do what they want. If they want to be fast, we will be slow, and if they want to be slow, we will be fast. We should always make our opponents play at an awkward rhythm, and then we will win!"
Yang Hao also reminded Deco, Gravesen and Baraha.
These three players in the middle of the midfield are like the backbone of the team, controlling the overall rhythm and offensive direction of the team.
"I've told you before, once the opponent's defense is set up, don't act recklessly. Move around. By constantly moving around, you can stretch the opponent's defense and force them to run. As long as the defense moves, it will inevitably reveal flaws."
"Also, whether it's the forwards, the wingers, or the midfield, try to play more in the half-spaces."
After talking about the shortcomings, Yang Hao praised the players again, especially for their performance in the first half. Yang Hao said that he was very satisfied with them, but also hoped that they could keep up the good work in the second half.
"Last season, we conceded three goals to Deportivo La Coruna at this stadium."
Yang Hao said this and encouraged his players with a smile.
"Tonight, still on this court, we will try to give them three goals."
"come on!"
After hearing this, the players all became more energetic.
Especially after the first half, everyone started to play with confidence and fighting spirit.
It was not until the referee rang the bell, signaling the players to prepare to enter the field, that Yang Hao sent his players away one by one.
When it was Evra's turn, the French kid secretly looked at Juanma Lillo, and without fear of being heard by Lillo, he said directly to Yang Hao: "Boss, the trick you taught me is really effective."
Yang Hao coughed twice, looked at Lillo awkwardly, and really wanted to kick Evra out.
Are you deliberately trying to sow discord?
But when passing by Lillo, Evra reminded Lillo harshly, "I am a striker, a striker!"
Li Lu's eyes looked at his nose, his nose looked at his heart, and he ignored it.
…
"So, it was you who taught Evra that nasty way to scold me?"
Back on the field , Juanma Lillo was sitting next to Yang Hao in front of the home team's coaching bench, testing him with malicious intent.
"Nonsense, am I that kind of person?"
Of course Yang Hao denied it flatly. There were only two of them present at the time. How could he defame someone's innocence by making empty statements?
"I just told Evra to find a way to divert his hatred and vent his emotions. Who knew this guy would resort to such a dirty trick? It's simply..."
At this point, Yang Hao changed the subject, "But seriously, Juanma, this kid performed really well in the first half. Look at this tackle, the digging, it was really vicious. If I were Victor Sanchez, I would have been furious with him on the spot."
"But the ball was grabbed."
After saying this, Yang Hao couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"That's what he said, but he scolds me every time he fights for the ball, and I..." Liluo said he felt very aggrieved.
I'm an assistant coach, and I have to be greeted dozens of times in every game. Is it easy for me?
"You'll get used to it after hearing so much scolding. Half of your salary as an assistant coach comes from being scolded."
Liluo looked at Yang Hao helplessly. He suspected that it was Yang Hao who did the bad thing.
However, soon after the start of the second half, the game became intense.
Juanma Lillo was soon immersed in the intense game and had no time to care about anything else.
Until the 58th minute.
