Mister Legend

Chapter 449 Tactical Suppression?

The pre-match press conference received great attention from everyone in the Italian football world. Major media including Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica sent their own reporters to the Olympic Stadium in Rome, hoping to be able to get a good start before the start of the game. Get some breaking news.

However, compared to the previous deliberate neglect, the Juventus soldiers "changed their faces" when the war was about to break out, and they all assumed extremely cautious postures, which made the melon-eaters who were about to watch the excitement very boring.

Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder Pjanic, who occupies a place in the just-announced starting list, said in an interview that winning the Coppa Italia is another goal of Juventus this season.

"We really wanted to win all the trophies this season, but unfortunately we were eliminated from the Champions League, but at the moment we are at the top of the league and winning the Coppa Italia is another goal. But everyone It's clear that Torino is a tough opponent, they've played really well and Coach Lee has found the right balance for the team, so I think the chances are [-]/[-] for both sides. We're looking forward to a fantastic final , we want to win this trophy."

Allegri, the coach of the Bianconeri, also refuted the previous media's prediction that they would win more easily. He said: "I saw the odds numbers about this final. The team is optimistic, but the game is completely different from those things. Every final is an equal opportunity for both parties, and no one can guarantee what the result will be until the final whistle. It’s still a derby, there is no rule to follow, the performance of the Turin team in the past two seasons is obvious to all, so it is ridiculous to talk about four consecutive championships.”

As for the Turin team, naturally they never mentioned the prediction of the result of the game. Li Mudi had made a request to the team before, and he did not want anyone to appear in front of the public with an image of arrogance and ignorance.Because judging from the overall strength of the two sides, Juventus does have a big advantage as the media commented. Under such circumstances, it is clamoring to kick the opponent's ass, which is a typical idiot in the eyes of the Chinese. do.

However, there is indeed a big gap between the views of the East and the West on this aspect. Europeans and Americans believe that the more they are in adversity, the more they must not back down in speech and cheer for themselves.However, after two years of running-in, the Turin players who are already familiar with the way of thinking of the head coach did not raise any doubts. Under the recommendation of Li Mudi, everyone has a little knowledge of various military tactics from that ancient eastern country, and they know how to take the initiative. Showing weakness is also an excellent strategy.

So this second Turin Derby-style Coppa Italia final in history ushered in the moment when the curtain opened in an environment that emphasized extreme low-key.

The starting lineup of the Red Bulls can be said to be not very innovative. It is still a 3-5-2 formation. This is basically the only choice for Li Moody when facing key games this season.The only difference is that among the three central midfielders, he used two defensive players, Musis and Vukocevic, to match Benassi, and let Baselli sit on the bench.This change was obviously made out of fear of the superior midfield control ability of the rival in the same city, but it was also within the prediction of the outside world.

And Juventus' starting lineup is somewhat beyond everyone's expectations. Although it is generally the usual 4-3-3 position before, the winger on the right is played by Dybala. Considering it from a different perspective, this is not the role that the Argentine star is best at, and there should be certain changes during the game.

But the most surprising thing is Higuain's missed start. Mandzukic, who was successfully transformed into a left winger by Allegri before, is at the forefront of the team today. His original position is filled by Douglas Costa.

You must know that although the state has declined compared with the beginning of last season when he came to the old woman, the small smoker still played for the new club in many competitions throughout the season with almost one-seventh of the playing time reduced. Scored 23 goals, and the average goal efficiency of 0.5 per game is still the level of a world-class killer.

In the previous four league games, Higuain also qualified for the starting lineup and played the whole game. The competitive situation is still good.It was just that he was suddenly hidden in such a crucial Coppa Italia final, which naturally aroused a lot of doubt and concern from the outside world.

In this regard, Uncle Jiong’s response was to preserve his strength for the weekend’s league match with Roma, but the way in which the rest of the frontcourt core in the team played and only the Argentine center was absent was quite strange in the eyes of normal people. , it is difficult to gain everyone's approval.

And Li Mudi, who has a plug-in in his hand, seems to have cracked the reason, because the Bianconeri already have a new plan on the front line, which is to buy Inter Milan captain Icardi to replace his compatriots.The playing styles of the two are relatively similar, but the "second brother"'s competitive status and age advantage are obviously much stronger. If the Juventus management has plans to upgrade their offensive strength, this is the best plan. one.

In the FM system, the personal information column of the captain of Inter Milan always has the names of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United and other giants, but after the Serie A overlord joins the ranks of competition, I believe that there will still be no shortage of big moves in the transfer market this summer.

In addition, because the defensive core Chiellini was suspended due to the accumulation of yellow cards, it is not surprising that the central defender combination has become Benatia and Barzagli, but the right back Lichtsteiner with the real card No, Allegri's decision to use Colombian winger Cuadrado as a cameo in the position is really a bit metaphysical.In addition, the left back did not choose the Brazilian Sandro, who has been troubled by the news of leaving the team, but used the Ghanaian midfielder Asamoah. Juventus does not intend to let those players who are not in their future plans play on the final stage. The idea expressed seems to be confirmed to a certain extent.

In addition to the suspense of the final victory, this game is very likely to be Buffon's last final in Italian football. Although he returned to the national team more than a month ago, the greatest player in football history One of the goalkeepers has been revealed by the media that he will leave Juventus after the end of the season.It's just that whether he will retire directly or go abroad to experience a different football atmosphere at the end of his career, it has not yet been finalized.

Coincidentally or fortunately, in such a landmark final, the one who stood across from him was another great goalkeeper Casillas.The two good friends who have always cherished each other may become rivals for the last time on such a stage, and the gimmick is naturally full.

Since the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in the 2002-03 season, the two have played against each other 18 times in official club and national team matches. The Spanish goalkeeper temporarily occupies the leading position with a record of 8 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses. Considering the age of the two And future planning, if you don't want to retire with regrets, Buffon must win this game, and then see what happens next season.

Therefore, in the link where the captains of the two sides exchanged team flags and shook hands before the game, Cassie, who was temporarily appointed by Li Moody as the captain of the Red Bulls for this game, felt the pressure from his old friend. Italian and English uttered two declarations that he would become the winner today, which further aroused the fighting spirit of the former Real Madrid goalkeeper.

Less than 3 minutes into the game, the Turin goalkeeper blocked Khedira's low shot with his right foot after entering the penalty area with a wonderful save, expressing his confidence in winning to everyone in Juventus.And 4 minutes later, Buffon at the other end of the field also gave a wonderful response. Immobile and Benassi hit the wall consecutively. Before the block, he kicked a shot with his right foot towards the lower right corner of the goal.But the Juventus goalkeeper quickly fell to the ground and poked the ball out of the goal frame, completing a superb attack, trying to keep his goal.

After each side had a more threatening attack, the audience found that the rhythm of the field was vaguely controlled by the red bull, which was not expected by many people before the game.

Since the situation in the league has been in a relatively relaxed state for a long time, Li Moody has a lot of time to focus on how to counteract his rivals in the same city. With the assistance of the FM system, he designed a set of offensive for the team to strengthen the side Tactics, focusing on attacking the ribs of the two horns of the Juventus penalty area, achieved good results at the beginning of the game.

Although Benassi's official role in this game is a central midfielder, and he must also play the role of an attacking midfielder during the game, especially on the offensive end, but under the special arrangement of the team coach, he played in this final. In fact, it is still more in a position closer to the two sideways.

In this way, you can avoid the double-teaming of the opponent's three central midfielders, reduce the number of defenders you need to deal with by at least one, and also shorten the distance with the wingbacks on both sides, so that he can play the ball in time when he encounters an interception .The retreat of the two forwards in turn and the forward response of Muses and Vukocevic can also provide them with more passing options, which put a lot of pressure on Juventus' defense for a while.

The attack that caused Immobile's shot before was because of the running restraint of Bareca, Muses and Belotti in other positions, which gave Benassi the opportunity to use the loose space of the Juventus defense to launch a wonderful game. The two of them cooperated, but unfortunately they failed to pass Buffon's level in the end.

The same tactic was successfully replicated on the right side of the Turin team in No. 15 minutes. When Benassi took the ball in the frontcourt to face the double interception of Matuidi and Pjanic, Wu Kocevic's accelerated frontcourt made the Bosnian midfielder distracted to mark, while at the same time, Silvestri also actively lapped the right flank to drive away the left back Asamo Ah, to help teammates open up the offensive space.

Although Douglas Costa chose to return to the defense after seeing that his defense was tight, but the Turin midfielder still found the way to complete the two-pass and one-touch through the retreat before the former rushed back to form a pinch attack. Opportunities for frontal defenders.When Benassi got the ball again, he was already on the right side of the arc top of the penalty area. He was making a fake look to the left with his eyes, as if he wanted to pass the ball to Immobile After the deceitful action, taking advantage of Benatia's hesitation, he immediately chose to take a long-range shot with his left foot.

The ball went straight to the foot of the right post like a shell, but Buffon once again showed the demeanor of the best goalkeeper in the world in the past 20 years. He saved the Zebra again with a diving save When the Legion was in danger, the Turin fans who came to watch the game let out a huge sigh.

On the other end of the field, Juventus' offensive performance was somewhat disappointing.In addition to Khedira's low shot after the opening, their second kick in the game was late until the No. 201 minute. Costa took advantage of fake moves and speed on the left side After breaking through Silvestri's defense, he sent the ball into the penalty area.Asamoah, who came up with the assist, crossed the ball non-stop near the corner of the penalty area. Dybala quickly shot the ball to avoid Diego Llorente's block, but missed the left post slightly, but It also created a lot of threats to Cassie.

For most of the rest of the time, the old woman's offense did not run smoothly, and was resolved by defensive players before entering the dangerous area of ​​the Turin team many times.

The tactic Allegri chose today is relatively clear, that is to attract defensive firepower through the two strong points of Dybala and Costa, and then Pjanic will dispatch in the middle to create kick passes for the two guest full-backs. opportunity in.Mandzukic's header ability is excellent, and his physical strength can suppress Ranocchia, so this offensive method is relatively reliable in theory.

But Uncle Jiong never imagined that Turin's right-winger Silvestri has continued his fiery form in the past month, not only in terms of assists, but also in the defensive end. , defending the Brazilian winger with excellent personal skills without the slightest temper.After several consecutive failures in one-on-one singles, Costa had to come to the middle to look for opportunities more often, which disrupted the team coach's pre-match arrangements.

On the other side, Dybala's performance was fairly stable, but Quadrado, who served as the right back today, was a little uncomfortable with the way of handling after a long-distance forward, and did not show the usual impact as a winger. It seems that it will only be a tendon in the pass.However, this overly rigid offensive method simplifies the difficulty of the Turin team's defense, except for a communication error between Kanneman and Ranocchia in the No. 207 minute, and Mandzukic completed a header that hit the target. Besides, there was no other threat to Casillas.

In the case of less pressure on the defense, the Red Bulls can put more energy in the frontcourt. Belotti's header and Vukocevic's powerful long-range shot tested Buffon's concentration and ability. Fortunately, the latter did not lose the chain at the critical moment and made wonderful saves in a row, which did not put the defending champion in danger of falling behind.

At the end of the halftime, the Torino team had 57% of the ball possession rate. In terms of shooting, they also had a slight advantage in shooting 9 out of 4 compared to 8 out of 2. Their performance completely overturned most people's predictions before the game. The Italian TV commentator and former world No. [-] goalkeeper Dino Zoff, who has always been somewhat biased towards Juventus, didn't know how to round back what he said before that Juventus would win easily.

(End of this chapter)