Grass roots glory

Chapter 114 Midfield Duo

Despite the intensive schedule, the UEFA Champions League and the league have continued to rotate in the past few weeks. Just after the sixth round of the Bundesliga, Schalke 04 will fly to Marseille, France non-stop to prepare for the away game in the second round of the UEFA Champions League group stage. In addition to preparing for the game, he initially tried to change the midfield combination. He planned to let Rakitic and Zhou Tiancheng partner in the midfield.

When Slomka first proposed this idea, assistant coach Biskens very clearly expressed his opposition.His reasons are also very good: such a midfielder is too young. Of course, he is not worried about Zhou Tiancheng, but mainly because he is worried that Rakitic will not be able to take on such a heavy responsibility. Rakitic does have good offensive strength. What Skens is worried about is mainly his defense in the midfielder position.

But Slomka had thought about it a long time ago, and he smiled: "Old man, don't forget that Zhou is not an ordinary midfielder! A rare type of B2B, if you don't make full use of this feature, how can you reflect that B2B players are useless on the field?" Any advantage?"

It was soon implemented in training, and Slomka's intentions were revealed.According to his vision, the 4-4-2 formation as an alternative will replace the 4-3-3 and become the team's main formation. The two are not parallel in the midfield, and Rakitic is closer to the two forwards. , which is equivalent to the function of an offensive central midfielder, while Zhou Tiancheng's position is a bit later. Of course, it is conceivable that Zhou Tiancheng is arranged in a more defensive position, but it does not mean that he is nailed to that position. Lomka gave him a lot of freedom of movement. Zhou Tiancheng can move to any area according to the situation on the field, and can freely switch between offense and defense.

During the training, Slomka was very satisfied with the initial effect of the formation change. They each drew on their strengths, and they also effectively strengthened the offensive power of the striker, so that Kuranyi would not be caught in the opponent's heavy double-team by poking in the frontcourt alone. .

Slomka is full of confidence. In the upcoming game against Marseille, he decided to use the actual combat opportunity to test the effect.

As a guest at the Velodrome Stadium in Marseille, due to changes in formation, several key positions in Schalke 04's starting lineup have been adjusted.Neuer, Howedes, Westermann, Rafinha and Bordon have not changed the fixed combination of the midfielder and the backcourt. The main changes are in the midfielder and the frontcourt. Zhou Tiancheng and Rakitic partnered in the midfielder. , the wingers on both sides are Farfan and Altintop respectively, and the double forwards are Kuranyi partner Lowenkland.The two defensive midfielders, Kobia Shivili and Kristajic, became victims of formation changes.

……

The strength of Marseille this season cannot be compared with last year's Ligue 1200 third place. The team's top star Samir Nasri moved to Arsenal for [-] million euros. In the first season, he scored six goals and four assists. , and the performance of repeatedly scoring goals at critical moments helped Marseille finally secure the third place in Ligue [-], otherwise Marseille may not even qualify for the Champions League play-offs.

This is the second year in a row that Marseille have sent the top star in the team. They only sent Franck Ribéry to Bayern the previous season. Ligue [-] is more like a springboard. No club is willing to keep people. Can't live with people.

But it is such a Marseille team that has lost its top star, and it took advantage of the home court to play well in the opening stage.In the 8th minute, former Liverpool player Zenden shot a cloud piercing arrow directly from a free kick in front of the penalty area on the left, and Marseille took the lead at home.

French national TV commentator Fick Larry was very excited and joked about his opponent: "Oh, it seems that Slomka's unlucky days will continue. Possibilities."

Slomka frowned slightly, indicating that the players on the field should stabilize their rhythm and not be affected by the opponent's goal.

The opponent advanced by one goal. The situation is certainly not good for Schalke 04, but to some extent, the losses in the previous two games poured cold water on everyone in the team. At least these players have recognized that they have not seen anyone out. Whoever has the strength, even if the score is behind, everyone will not be anxious to get the situation back immediately.Slomka taught everyone a lesson in the locker room after losing to Cologne: confidence and patience are the most important qualities on the court. tiny holes that come out.

Slomka has always instilled one point in everyone: the only threat in the group stage is Liverpool. As for Marseille and Olympiacos, as long as you do your best, it will not be a problem to win.

The role of psychological hints is often subtle, which strengthens everyone's confidence invisible. Even if they are behind, Schalke 04 still suppresses their opponents little by little according to their own rhythm.After leading the score, Marseille took the initiative to recover the formation and began to play a defensive counterattack.

It's time to test Schalke 04's attacking ability again.

Marcel Leff couldn't help sweating: "It's the problem of breaking the bus again. Slomka's active change should be to deal with the current situation, but the effect needs to be tested. After all, breaking the dense defense is a headache for the rich. .”

Many Schalke fans have the same worry, but they didn't expect Zhou Tiancheng to stand up after a few minutes. In the set-piece tactics, he played a trick with Rakitic in front of the penalty area. After standing in front of the ball, Rakitic flicked the ball with his heels. Zhou Tiancheng followed up and hit the goal directly. He passed through the right side of the opponent's wall with a slight gap and went straight to the goal. The goalkeeper Mandanda did not respond.

1:1, No. 30 minutes into the game, Schalke pulled the score back to the same starting line.

Using the set ball to quickly gain something, the confidence of the players on the field soared. Ten minutes later, Zhou Tiancheng made a steal in his own half and kicked a long pass to instigate a counterattack. Schalke 10 instantly formed a four-on-two, crossing the midfielder and directly hitting the double central defender. Altintop was on the right. After cutting inside to attract the defense, he passed the ball to the top of the penalty area without hesitation. Rakitic took advantage of the opponent's delay and the central defender on the other side was not in time to fill the position and dribbled the ball into the penalty area. The bottom right corner of the goal scored.

From Zhou Tiancheng's instigation of the counterattack to Rakitic's goal, and counting the goal just now, from the equalizer to the overtake, it was entirely the result of continuous cooperation between the two.

CCTV's UEFA Champions League commentator He Wei pointedly pointed out: "Although Rakitic is young, with him on the court, someone can match Zhou Tiancheng's creativity. The effect of this is that one plus one is greater than two."

Slomka smiled on the coach's bench and completed the reversal in more than half an hour, and the process of scoring has already demonstrated the effect of putting the two together.

However, if it is still demanding, Slomka is looking forward to when there will be calls like this between the two and the striker...

(End of this chapter)