In fact, Guardiola's surprise is quite reasonable, because Chang Sheng himself had no intention of using this tactic in this game at first.
After all, this tactic was still in the experimental stage. He kept communicating with Guardiola and Rudy Gonzalez just to improve this tactic.
He was just a fan before. Although he paid more attention to tactics and could tell many tactics and development trends in world football, he could not be specific about how to turn the tactics he was familiar with into a complete set of things, including how to train.
It's really not something he can do alone.
He needs other help.
Rudy Gonzalez and Guardiola, who are good at tactics, became his good assistants.
Chang Sheng is responsible for providing tactical ideas, and then two people help him improve them.
But Chang Shengjue never expected to put this tactic to use in this game.
Although he would ask the team to practice during normal training, he didn't take it seriously at all.
It was just those few minutes of this game that made Valencia so embarrassed. And if he wanted to score, he had to think of something new.
In this way, he was forced to bring his new tactics to the forefront.
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The scene of the game was chaotic for the Real Madrid players.
Because they found that they didn't know how to defend.
When they tried to defend Ibrahimovic's forwards, the Swede either dropped deep into midfield or moved out wide.
Their back line did not dare to press forward, for fear of letting Valencia hit behind them.
As for defending Mendieta, Mendieta is also erratic in his movement. The Basque was originally a free agent in the frontcourt, but now he is even more at home in Valencia's tactics that require active running and constant changing of positions.
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Only Vicente looks the most honest, but he often switches between the two modes of wing and inside.
Do you think he was going to break through from the wing? But he suddenly stopped, knocked the football inside, and then cut inside.
You thought he was going to cut inside, but instead he swung the ball from the outside and accelerated to overtake...
This made Real Madrid's defenders miserable and unable to defend themselves.
At the same time, Guardiola himself also understood why Chang Sheng wanted him to stay in the defensive midfielder position.
When he got the ball here, because he was far away from the opponent's defensive players, neither Makelele nor Helguera was able to defend him immediately.
If they were to rush to defend Guardiola, then there would be a hole in their own defense that Ibrahimovic could take advantage of.
The two defensive midfielders use defensive weapons, allowing Guardiola to pass the ball calmly from behind to organize the attack.
It is wishful thinking to expect players like Zidane and Figo to defend Guardiola. They are not good at defending, let alone defensive awareness.
At this time in international football, there was no concept of a "strangling midfielder"... Neither Zidane nor Figo were the kind of frontcourt stranglers who were physically strong, active in running, and fierce in defense.
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And Guardiola also found that Ibrahimovic did a good job in the position of "creator".
Because he has skills and awareness, and the most important thing is that his body is much better than Aimar.
Why did Aimar perform so poorly in this game?
Because Makelele completely restricted him.
Although Makelele is thin and not tall, he actually has a very high muscle ratio and is very powerful and explosive, otherwise he would not have become a well-known defensive midfielder.
During the game, he constantly used his excellent body and fierce defense to deal with Aimar, and Aimar seemed very uncomfortable.
But now, his trick doesn't work against Ibrahimovic.
Because Ibrahimovic is physically stronger than him.
The Swede's first goal of the game started with a direct dialogue between him and Makelele. As a result, the aggressive Makelele was pushed away by Ibrahimovic, leaving him unable to fight back.
In addition to his body, Ibrahimovic also has another advantage, and that is technology. Players with outstanding skills can easily break out of encirclement and pressure.
Makelele found it difficult to defend Ibrahimovic alone, and Helguera also came to help.
Suddenly, Real Madrid looks a lot like Valencia before it.
Before, it was difficult for Alberda to defend Zidane by himself, but now it's completely reversed.
Along with this change, the situation on the court of the two teams also reversed.
Valencia, who had been beaten by Real Madrid just now and had no ability to fight back, gradually gained the upper hand. The key lies in Guardiola and Ibrahimovic.
These two adjustments made by Chang Sheng have brought about earth-shaking changes in the game.
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Some people may still wonder: "If there is no forward in front of the goal, who will score the goal?"
But such a problem is really not a problem for Valencia, which has always won.
Valencia, which has always won, has one of the biggest features this season, and that is that there are no players who have scored a lot of goals. There is no Valencia player in the top five scorers in La Liga.
Ibrahimovic, who has scored 12 league goals, can only rank sixth in the league's scorer list.
But that doesn't mean Valencia lacks scoring ability.
On the contrary, after only twenty-eight rounds of the league, Valencia scored 69 goals. They were far ahead in the league and were the team with the most goals. In fact, the team with the most goals in that season in history was
Real Madrid, but they only scored 69 goals all season.
And now Valencia has 69 goals after 28 rounds of the league...
The secret is that Valencia, which has always won, does not rely too much on one scorer, but relies more on the entire team.
Valencia's team has very intensive firepower and has many offensive firepower points.
Sixteen players have scored in the league alone.
Except for Ibrahimovic, no other player has scored double digits.
Therefore, even if Ibrahimovic is not in the penalty area and there is no forward in front of the goal, Valencia does not lack scoring means and people who can score goals.
Mendieta has scored eight league goals this season, and Vicente has also scored eight goals.
Together with Ibrahimovic, they constantly change positions and can always find scoring opportunities.
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In the fifth minute after Baraja came on the field, Valencia made a series of dazzling passes and moves, and the football fell to Ibrahimovic's feet. At this time, he was in the attacking midfielder position, facing each other.
Defense against the opponent.
He didn't pass or shoot, but suddenly passed an overhead kick!
This caught Makelele, who had been guarding the lower third, off guard!
You know, Ibrahimovic has never passed an overhead ball in this game!
Makelele froze on the spot and looked back behind him.
He saw the ball go past him, over Hierro's head, and then fall straight into the penalty area.
At the same time, he also saw the back of Mendieta rushing forward into the penalty area!
"Ibrahimovic! Beautiful pass! Mendieta! Exquisite movement and accurate passing time! Another great opportunity for Valencia!"
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Chang Sheng stood up from the sidelines, clenching his fists.
This ball is an excellent opportunity. Can Mendieta seize it?
To be honest, he didn't expect Ibrahimovic to choose to pick the pass. This was completely an impromptu performance by the Swedish genius.
This is why gifted people are called geniuses!
And obviously Mendieta also saw that gap, otherwise he would not have been able to run over...
Success or failure depends on this!
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Ivan Campo saw the football flying over his head. When he looked back, he saw Mendieta lifting the ball with his feet...
So he raised his arm to remind the linesman and referee that Valencia's captain was offside!
Hierro did not do this, but pounced directly.
Because he knows that no matter whether the ball is offside or not, Mendieta cannot be allowed to kick the football into the goal! If it is not offside, isn't it over?
"Mendieta——!" the commentator began to draw out his voice, which was the rhythm of shouting "GOL".
Mendieta also seemed to notice Hierro's defensive return.
The two of them are old teammates in the Spanish national team and are very familiar with each other. He knows that the most difficult thing to deal with in Real Madrid's defense is this old guy.
At the same time, Roberto Carlos found that he had lost track of the target and was also chasing back quickly. His speed should not be underestimated. If he were to catch up, he would probably not be able to shoot.
So he temporarily changed his attention and no longer planned to stop the ball, but directly... shot with his right foot!
Volley!
At such a close distance, Mendieta fired a powerful shot. As long as it hit the door frame, goalkeeper Cesar could hardly make any saves!
The football flew past Cesar's hand and hit the net hard.
Everyone stared blankly at the football in the goal that was caught in the net.
Five minutes ago, Real Madrid almost broke through Valencia's goal. Five minutes later, Valencia really broke through Real Madrid's goal!
The Bernabeu Stadium fell into dead silence again!
The no-edge tactic is not really no-edge, but there are blades everywhere, and everyone can score goals!
This is the highest level of strikerless tactics. If you just sacrifice a center to serve a certain player and let him score goals, it is just a low-level strikerless tactic!
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Mendieta, who scored the goal, was stunned for a moment, confirming that the football was really in the goal and not hitting the side net. Then he turned around in excitement, took off his jersey, and ran to the corner flag area on the sidelines.
Other Valencia players followed closely behind, coming from all directions.
"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Five minutes after Chang made adjustments, Valencia actually scored again! The lead was re-expanded to two goals! Real Madrid had just seen hope, and now that hope has been destroyed.
Rencia broke it with her own hands!"
"Ibrahimovic did not enter the penalty area. He frequently retreated and played the role of an attacking midfielder, but Valencia did not lose his scoring ability because of this! Mendieta scored twice!
The captain of Valencia is always a trustworthy person!"
"Chang's previous adjustments and tactics were confusing to many people, who thought he was seeking medical treatment in a hurry... But now it seems that the situation is not what people imagined! Ibrahimovic's retreat has revitalized
Valencia's midfielder, his performance in this position is better than Aimar!"
How else can we say that the media and commentators are two-faced characters? I was still saying that it was unwise for Chang Sheng to replace Aimar, because Aimar is the guarantee of Valencia's offense.
Now seeing Ibrahimovic's outstanding performance, he immediately changed his mind and believed that Aimar deserved to be replaced...
Poor Aimar who is sitting on the bench... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe to (this site), reward, and your support is my biggest motivation.)
