Chapter 9 Core, Mutiny, and Troublemakers
Yang Hao felt that his strength was that he was very good at observing other people's subtle movements and expressions.
For example, Belleron's expression now resembled that of a curled-up hedgehog, which made him decide to change his conversation strategy.
He began to slowly guide Belleron and talk about what happened in the two years since he joined Atletico.
"I hope to get to know you and our team better."
In this way, Yang Hao slowly started chatting with Bellion.
From the problems Belleron encountered when he first came to Atletico Madrid and integrated into Sacchi's team, to Ranieri's use of him, to the differences between Antic's two coaching stints at Atletico Madrid, and his disagreement with Antic's judgment.
Belleron is an honest man and very frank.
"In fact, I think our biggest problem this season is that we have too many young players and our defense is a serious problem, but Antic doesn't seem to think so. He thinks the defensive problems are because our offense had problems first."
Attack and defense have always been a dynamic balance.
It cannot be said whether Antic’s point of view is wrong.
For example, as long as your attack power is strong enough, so strong that your opponent cannot attack, then the problem of defense will not be a problem.
Yang Hao did not comment on this.
Belleron has heard a lot of boos from Atletico Madrid fans recently because they feel that the team's midfield is too prone to problems, and the first thing they blame is that Belleron is always not actively involved in defense.
"That's not what I'm good at. It's like Sacchi always wants me to be more physical, to be more powerful, and to think about defense first and then about attacking when I play, but I've never met his requirements."
Yang Hao nodded, these were all imaginable.
Italian head coaches, including Sacchi and Ranieri, often consider defense first.
This is not wrong, but players also have some ideas of their own that they need to adapt to.
Some players just can't adapt.
"Do you know why I came to talk to you first?" Yang Hao looked directly at Bellion and asked.
The star from the fishing village in the Canary Islands couldn't figure out his head coach. He felt that his eyes were very sharp and his words were very direct, without any beating around the bush, which made him a little overwhelmed.
"I think that if our team wants to turn around this unfavorable situation and successfully avoid relegation, you will be our most important and crucial core."
Belleron looked at the head coach who was the same age as him in surprise, his eyes full of confusion.
But soon, Yang Hao dispelled his doubts.
Yang Hao got up and went to the desk, took out a piece of white paper and a pen, and started drawing directly in front of Belleron.
He set up a 4231 formation, with the focus on circling the number ten position in the middle of the 3.
"You should be familiar with this tactic, right? Deportivo La Coruña has been using this style of play over the years. I hope you can play in this position."
Belleron is certainly not unfamiliar with this tactical style of play. Deportivo La Coruña is the leader of La Liga this season, and Irueta's tactics have been studied by many people.
"Like Dejaminha?"
Dejaminha, now the number ten attacking midfielder of Deportivo La Coruña.
"No, I don't think he's connected closely enough to the wingers. I hope you can become the team's offensive core. Going forward, you can deliver ammunition to the center forward in front, and going back, you can become a stable receiving point for the ball in the midfield."
"At the same time, we must be able to connect the two flanks and form a joint attack with the wide players in the half-space when necessary."
As Yang Hao spoke, he drew the rib area on the drawing.
Belleron is a bit introverted and shy, but he is a very smart player and immediately thought of the number four position for Barcelona.
With only one defensive midfielder, what is the biggest weakness?
Isn't it just flank defense?
Why do double defensive midfielders appear in football?
The reason is simple, because there are super number ten players like Maradona.
When one defensive midfielder can't stop the opponent's number 10 player, two are needed.
Moreover, the double defensive midfielders can better guard the rib area.
But now, many teams still insist on having a single defensive midfielder, such as Barcelona.
"I believe these are what you are best at and you can do them very well." Yang Hao smiled confidently.
Belleron was somewhat tempted.
In the past two years at Atletico Madrid, the team has adopted a 442 formation more often. He has always been asked to participate in defense or be pulled directly to the wing, which are not his strengths .
When playing 442, both players in the middle of the midfield must have defensive capabilities, unless they are playing in a diamond midfield.
But now, almost no team plays diamond midfield.
"What about defense?" Belleron asked with concern.
"We will adopt an integrated defense. You will have two defensive midfielders behind you to protect you. All you need to do is to do your part within the team's overall defensive tactics. I can guarantee that most of your energy will be used in attacking, passing, organizing and dispatching."
When Bellion heard this, he raised his head and looked at the head coach in front of him in disbelief.
He knew very well that this was a set of tactics tailor-made for him, which could maximize his advantages, avoid his weaknesses, and fully demonstrate his strength.
If he had doubts about Yang Hao's enthusiasm and praise just now, now he really began to believe it, or even believed it.
No head coach would tailor tactics for a player he doesn't value, especially someone like Yang Hao, who almost bets the entire team's offense on him.
As smart as Belleron is, he could already guess that Yang Hao would choose Hasselbaink on the front line.
Kiko held a high status in the locker room and among the fans, but he was never an efficient scorer.
Since his serious injury last season, he has not scored a single goal and his performance has been lackluster.
But even so, it takes great courage to take down Kiko.
It might even spark a locker room mutiny.
…
After the two sides reached a preliminary consensus, Yang Hao further explained his tactical ideas to Bellion.
Many people say that Valeron is the Spanish Zidane, which is only half true.
The two are very similar in terms of height, technical characteristics, and passing ability.
But the biggest reason why Belleron is the Spanish Zidane and Zidane is not the French Belleron is physical confrontation.
Zidane's physical confrontation ability is far superior to Belleron's.
This excellent physical condition allows Zidane to still hold the ball steadily under intensive defensive pressure .
But Belleron couldn't do that.
Even when Sacchi asked Belleron to increase his physical confrontation and strength, he found it difficult to do so.
That's the gap.
In this situation, Yang Hao's tactics must also accommodate Belleron and Hasselbaink who is at the forefront.
If Atletico Madrid wants to rely on the current lineup to create a 4231 tactic, it is impossible to copy the tactical style of Deportivo La Coruña or Valencia, especially it cannot adopt high-position defense.
Once they press forward, Hasselbaink and Belleron will easily get involved in close combat with the defensive players. This is not what the two players are best at, or what they should do, so Yang Hao wants to set the team's pressure area in the area from 30 meters away to the center line of the opponent, leaving Hasselbaink enough space to impact.
Not only that, he also needs to formulate the team's defensive pressure tactics based on the defensive shortcomings of Hasselbaink and Belleron.
To put it simply, try to push the opponent's ball to the sidelines as much as possible.
In this way, the defensive pressure on Hasselbaink and Belleron will be much less.
But Solari and Aguilera on the two wingers will bear more pressing and oppressive tasks.
There is actually nothing we can do about it.
To some extent, Belleron, the classic number 10 attacking midfielder, does not meet Yang Hao's requirements, and Hasselbaink also does not meet Yang Hao's requirements for a center forward.
But now, he only has these two players at hand, and can only create tactics according to their characteristics.
After chatting with Belleron for more than half an hour, the Spaniard left with a much more relaxed expression on his face, and his attitude towards Yang Hao was completely different from when he entered.
Yang Hao could even feel that Belleron was looking forward to his performance in this tactical style of play.
Belleron's agent is also secretly contacting teams for him. Yang Hao is not sure whether they have hooked up with Deportivo La Coruña, but Belleron is definitely thinking about leaving the team.
Atletico Madrid's performance this season has made everyone lack confidence in the team.
Since he is leaving, of course he hopes to get more bargaining chips when joining a new team.
What's more, Belleron is a person with strong professional ethics and has very high demands on himself.
Before, he didn’t see the opportunity, so that was fine.
Now, Yang Hao has given him a chance to repay Atletico Madrid and prove himself at the same time. Shouldn't he seize it by all means?
In this regard, Yang Hao may have more confidence in Belleron than Belleron himself.
…
Yang Hao was very satisfied with his conversation with Bellion.
After sending the Spaniard away, he asked Parales to call over the Dutch striker Hasselbaink.
Unlike Belleron, Hasselbaink's personality is not so easy to talk to.
In fact, this guy has a prickly personality.
When dealing with such a player, you often cannot go against him.
Even coaches like Ranieri and Antic may not be able to make Hasselbaink obey. What qualifications does Yang Hao have to be so confident that Hasselbaink can comply with his demands?
It is estimated that the Dutch are more likely to lose their temper on the spot.
Therefore, when dealing with players like Hasselbaink, you often have to go along with them, understand their psychology, know what they want most, and then guide them appropriately.
Before Antic came to the rescue, Hasselbaink was scoring goals like crazy in the league, topping the La Liga scoring charts, including Roy Makaay, Milosevic and Catania, and on par with Racing Santander's Salva Ballesta.
But after Antic took office, Hasselbaink's goal efficiency has declined significantly in recent times.
In the past 6 league games, he has only scored 2 goals.
On the contrary, Roy Makaay scored 6 goals in the last three league rounds, especially against Atletico Madrid, he even performed a hat trick, which made the Dutch center forward the talk of the town.
Fellow Dutchman, Hasselbaink also felt the pressure from Roy Makaay.
Yang Hao felt that if he wanted to deal with Hasselbaink, the key person was none other than the Black Swan Rijkaard.
