midfield god

Chapter 172 The Old Handsome's Revenge!
The training session in the morning started in a somewhat strange atmosphere. Everyone knew that the team would face Chelsea in the next round of the FA Cup. The players seemed rather excited about this. After all, there are not many opportunities to directly play against the leaders of the Premier League. On the contrary, the head coach Redknapp did not look very interested in a training session.

The result of this draw is undoubtedly very disappointing for Redknapp, who hopes to go further in the FA Cup. Although he had expected this situation, no one thought that he would directly meet the strongest opponent in the top 8, and he could only do nothing about it.

"Harry, what are you going to do, give up?"

At the end of the training session, Taylor, who followed the head coach back to the office, asked.

Redknapp nodded, then shook his head again.

"I don't have any hope for this game in my heart, but it's not in my character to give up like this. I can only say that this game still has to fight!"

Redknapp said lightly, his tone was very calm, and he seemed to have accepted this reality. There is no way, the draw is the result, who makes your team weak.

"But before that, we must first get rid of the difficult bone of Watford!"

"Then, Yunfei still can't make it?"

"Go, why not go?" Redknapp shouted angrily when he heard this, and then his face became a little dignified. "Although it is our home court, this game is not easy to play. Originally, I intentionally gave up this game, but now that the gap between us and Reading has narrowed to two points, and the FA Cup has drawn Chelsea again, so this game can't be let go, it must be won!"

……

March 2006, 3.St. Mary's Stadium, visiting team dressing room.

The players who had just completed warm-up training on the court sat in their seats and looked at their head coach, the 56-year-old coach Christian Damiano.

Damiano looked very relaxed at this time, with a smile on his face, watching his disciples.

"Relax everyone. Although this is the opponent's home court, there are also fans who support us in this stadium and cheer for us. I believe you will not let the fans down! But this tense state is not conducive to your performance!"

Under such circumstances, the mood of the head coach will undoubtedly be transmitted to his players. Feeling the relaxation and confidence of the head coach, the players immediately feel less pressure on their bodies.

Damiano does have the qualifications for self-confidence. This season, Watford's performance is so good that they can rank fourth in the league. There is absolutely a reason. They have only lost three away games so far.

"Although Southampton is very strong, they are not strong enough to scare us. We lost the last game, but we may not lose to them again in this game!"

Damiano still has some concerns about the previous defeat. That defeat completely sent Southampton to the second position in the league, and this position is becoming more and more stable. How can this not disappoint Damiano who hopes that the team will be promoted directly!
The players also nodded. This season, Southampton's state fluctuated a lot, and there were few big-score victories. Most of the games were tangled. This is why they were so far behind Reading before. There is a big gap in the performance of the two teams in the first half!

"We had a draw with Reading in the last game, but I think in fact our performance on the field was better, not to mention that we had a good goal that was blown off by the referee, so we don't have to fear them at all. We came here to beat our opponents!"

For the experienced coach Damiano, how to say this kind of pre-match locker room can arouse the greatest emotions of the players is basically familiar with the game. Similarly, he also knows his disciples very well, and he really has confidence in his players!This is the source of all his confidence!

"Southampton's performance has undergone a huge change, that is, after they changed to 4-3-3 and completely strengthened Yunfei and Bell as the main force. Obviously, these two players are the sharpest weapons of this Southampton team. Yunfei's organization and scheduling in the midfield, forward offense, and even defense are very good. Bell is even simpler. This guy runs like lightning. His speed is his greatest weapon!"

"If you want to limit Southampton's offense, you must strangle these two points, especially Yunfei. He has sent 20 assists in the league so far. This is terrible, so I need you to stare at him!"

Speaking of which, Damiano looked to his team's midfielder Kevin Mahon.

"Kevin, you don't need to be by his side all the time, but you must limit his movement space, and Yunfei's physical resistance is not strong. You can target his weakness to defend. In short, don't let him get the ball easily. Even if he gets the ball, you can't let him kick in a better position. Try to push him out! Push him to the edge!"

Ma Hong nodded, turned his head and glanced at his midfield partner Matthew, and then the two fisted.Obviously, defending Yunfei is not Ma Hong's task alone, and Matthew also has to take care of Yunfei's defense.

As the second half of this season progressed, the coaches began to think about how to defend Yunfei. This guy with a huge range of motion, excellent running position and a keen sense of smell is indeed not so easily restricted. His precise passing ensures that even if he is far away from the danger zone, he can still create a threatening attack.

This question is not an easy one for Damiano. To limit Yunfei, he must have at least three abilities. The first is a one-on-one extremely strong single-defense ability to prevent frontal breakthroughs.Secondly, we must be very sensitive to Yunfei's running position, which requires players to have a strong sense of position.Finally, a strong physical fitness is also required to give Yunfei the greatest pressure physically.

These three are indispensable, and the third one is the easiest to achieve, and the first two conditions are not so easy, especially the first two can only be seen on world-class midfielders. Looking at the defensive midfielders in today's football, which one is not an outstanding player in the first two.

(End of this chapter)