After playing against Capello's Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals, Gao Shen studied Ancelotti in the tactical library every night.
He found a very interesting place, that is Saki.
To some extent, Ancelotti is Sacchi's successor.
When Ancelotti was still a player, Sacchi entrusted him with an important task and trained him to become the core of AC Milan's midfield. At that time, the Rossoneri used a 4-3-3 formation, and Ancelotti played the role of the defensive number four in Barcelona and Dutch football.
But during his time at Roma, Ancelotti was a standard number ten player.
When Gao Shen saw this, his first reaction was, isn’t this Pirlo?
Both are number ten players, both are attacking midfielders. Isn’t Ancelotti just making Pirlo into another version of himself?
The difference is that Pirlo's playing style is quite different from Ancelotti's when he was a player.
If Ancelotti's style of play of letting Pirlo play as a central midfielder was a revolutionary innovation, then how great was Sacchi's use of Ancelotti nearly 20 years ago?
But soon, Rijkaard arrived.
This textbook-level Dutch number four came to AC Milan and formed one of the greatest classic Dutch trio in football history. At the same time, he also changed AC Milan's formation to 4-4-2, with Rijkaard and Ancelotti sitting in the middle of the midfield.
According to Ancelotti's own evaluation, this combination has profoundly influenced many people, and in the future, any double defensive midfielder configuration will basically be built according to this model.
For example, Albelda and Baraja of Valencia, Mascherano and Xabi Alonso of Liverpool.
Gao Shen's double defensive midfielders in Real Madrid, Gravesen and De La Red, actually follow this pattern, because neither of these two players is a defensive midfielder in the strict sense. Gravesen is an organizer, and De La Red is an all-around midfielder with both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Milan during the Sacchi era was highly praised by countless people and talked about in the football world, and there is a reason for this.
Gao Shen even thought that Guardiola's Barcelona in 2009 also brought about this kind of subversion and revolution.
…
Based on Sacchi's ideas, Ancelotti's ability to build a defensive system is outstanding.
When many people mention defense, the first thing that comes to mind is parking the bus.
In fact, parking the bus is the worst way of defense. No one would be willing to park the bus unless they are forced to do so.
The reason is simple. With the bus parked, the situation becomes too passive and it is difficult to launch an effective counterattack.
Serie A's defense actually emphasizes flexibility .
Through a layered and flexible defensive system, the opponent's offensive threats are blocked outside the penalty area, while leaving enough energy to organize a threatening counterattack.
When Gao Shen was studying Ancelotti, he actually discovered that, at heart, Ancelotti was still the same Ancelotti who coached Juventus back then. The only difference was that he was conservative at the time because he had not yet figured out how to attack.
But at AC Milan, he understood and sorted it out, and when he met Pirlo and Kaka, he came out naturally.
On the other hand, whether Mourinho was coaching Porto or later Chelsea, the defense was not very strong. He relied more on the players, such as a large number of power players, to run, rush and grab.
But when he arrived at Inter Milan, his entire defensive system underwent a complete transformation. The most classic example was the two-round match against Barcelona. The sense of layering and flexibility were truly impressive.
It can be said that Mourinho reached the peak of his coaching career that season.
All this comes not only from Mourinho's own thinking and improvement, but also from the tempering of the Italian football environment.
Gao Shen is full of admiration for Italian football, but this time, at the Bernabeu, he wanted to try to use the football philosophy of Guardiola's Barcelona revolution in 2009 to challenge the defensive system that Ancelotti built for AC Milan.
He was curious and full of anticipation.
…
…
When we met Ancelotti in the crowded Bernabeu, he was wearing a neat suit and tie as usual, his graying hair was combed neatly, and he looked very energetic.
As soon as Gao Shen saw him, he immediately came up to him with a smile on his face and extended his hand to him.
"Welcome to the Bernabeu, Carlo."
Ancelotti is considered a senior. Whether in his professional career or coaching career, he has won the Champions League and has already proved himself. He is still very friendly to young juniors and shook hands with Gao Shen with a smile.
"Your starting lineup tonight surprised me a little," said Ancelotti.
The goalkeeper is Casillas, the defense is Felipe, Woodgate, Ramos and Arbeloa, the double defensive midfielders are Gravesen and De La Red, the frontcourt is Raul, Zidane and Beckham, and the striker is Ronaldo.
"I originally thought you would use Negredo, but I didn't expect you to bet so big."
"I don't think so. This is not a gamble, but confidence." Gao Shen countered.
Ancelotti laughed and said, "You are still young."
Gao Shen smiled noncommittally, "My feeling is the opposite of yours, Carlo. There is no surprise in your starting lineup. I guessed everything right."
AC Milan's starting lineup tonight is still a 4-4-2 small diamond formation.
The goalkeeper is Dida, the defense is Serginho, Kaladze, Nesta and Stam, the midfield is Seedorf, Pirlo and Gattuso, Kaka is forward, and the two forwards are Inzaghi and Shevchenko.
Gilardino, who has been heavily used in the last two or three games, was placed on the bench, which was obviously intentional by Ancelotti.
But Gao Shen guessed AC Milan's starting lineup correctly.
"Really?" Ancelotti said unimpressively, "Guessing the starting lineup is a basic skill, but winning is a real skill."
"We'll see."
…
The two head coaches had already exchanged sparks before the game, and when walking back to the visiting team's coaching bench, Ancelotti stood directly on the sidelines and shouted a few words to the players on the field, basically reminding them to pay attention to defense.
In the locker room, Ancelotti was surprised when he got Real Madrid's starting lineup, because Ronaldo's physical fitness was a big problem. If he played, he would either reduce the pressing pressure in the frontcourt or be a substitute.
Ancelotti originally thought that Gao Shen would still let Negredo start, after all, Negredo would perform better in this tactical system, but unexpectedly, Gao Shen directly used Ronaldo.
"He wants to score a goal." Ancelotti said with a frown.
With Real Madrid's superstar lineup, if they really want to go all out to score a goal, frankly speaking, even AC Milan will have to deal with it cautiously, for fear of missing it by accident.
"This kid is always surprising. When he is conservative, he is more conservative than anyone else. When he takes risks, he risks his life more than anyone else." Mauro Tassotti said lightly, and his tone made it impossible to tell whether he was praising or belittling him.
Ancelotti also nodded slightly, "This is more of a judgment based on the situation ."
Who says it’s not?
"Tell them to be careful and play steady at the start." Ancelotti frowned.
At this point, there is actually no suspense left for both parties.
AC Milan is designed to defend, while Real Madrid's lineup is designed to attack, and it is at the Bernabeu, so the focus of the competition between the two sides will be on the game of offense and defense.
…
"It's just as I expected!"
Gao Shen now felt quite excited as if he could anticipate the enemy's moves, plan his strategy, and win the battle from thousands of miles away.
Of course, he is still a long way from winning and faces great challenges.
But that didn't stop him from being excited.
Because he guessed right.
Ancelotti's main goal when visiting the Bernabeu is stability and defensive counterattack.
Stam replaced Cafu in the starting lineup and played as right back, which was a very obvious signal.
Everyone knows that Real Madrid's right side is dominated by the unshakable Beckham. This player's ability to attack from the wing is not strong, but he is good at crossing and long passes, and has excellent running ability, so Ancelotti arranged Serginho here.
Brazil's left side is a winger. He is not very good at defense, but he is good at offense.
Real Madrid has Raul on the left side and Zidane often plays on this side, so Ancelotti arranged Stam to guard there instead of Cafu, because Cafu is old and is keen on assists, so it will be difficult for him to come back once he goes up.
This is very similar to Carlos.
There is another obvious signal, that is Inzaghi.
Ferguson once said that Inzaghi is a man who lives on the offside line.
What does it mean?
literal meaning.
What Inzaghi is best at is offside.
And as we all know, to get offside, there needs to be space.
With Shevchenko and Kaka, AC Milan's offensive configuration is definitely designed for counterattack.
If we really want to play a siege, this attack lineup is still not enough.
"Tonight, we must break AC Milan's goal at all costs!" Gao Shen gritted his teeth.
Regardless of whether Ancelotti deliberately showed weakness to lure Real Madrid into taking the initiative, Real Madrid's goal tonight was very clear, which was to score goals and prevent the opponent from scoring.
Gao Shen turned around and looked at the assistants in the coaching booth behind him. Lucas and Buenaventura both supported Gao Shen's idea, while Maqueda seemed to be hesitant to speak. This former Real Madrid star was the type who would do great things but cherish his life.
He wants to win and score goals, but he is also worried about conceding goals. He also wants to defend well and dares not take any risks. Does he really think he is the male protagonist of the online novel, Long Aotian?
How can sugarcane be sweet at both ends?
Thinking of this, Gao Shen walked straight to the sidelines, clapped his hands vigorously, and shouted to the players on the field. His voice was so loud that he didn't even mind being heard by Ancelotti.
"Everyone, cheer up! Pay attention! Just like we did during training!"
Not far away, Ancelotti and Tassotti had just reminded the players to start more steadily when they heard Gao Shen's shout, and both of them frowned involuntarily.
Especially when they saw Gao Shen looking at them with a playful smile on his face, they actually had a bad feeling in their hearts.
what happened?
What went wrong?
Why do I feel like something is not right?