We had lunch at the hotel.
Li Shiguang left Rivaldo at the hotel and had Simeone take the players to the Olympic Park stadium for acclimatization training.
As he left, Simone looked at Li Shiguang and the other man with a resentful expression.
I didn't know; I thought Li Shiguang and Rivaldo had done something to wrong him.
After seeing Simeone off, Li Shiguang and Rivaldo returned to their room and quickly discussed their tactical ideas for tomorrow's match.
The two sat on the sofa in Li Shiguang's room, staring intently at the laptop on the coffee table in front of them. The screen showed the match in which Lyon defeated Sochaux 4-1.
Rivaldo witnessed the entire interview with Li Shiguang. Compared to Simeone, who blindly idolized Li Shiguang, the Brazilian had his own thoughts: "Boss, were you serious this morning? Are you really planning to kill the game in the first round?"
“Of course.” Li Shiguang nodded naturally.
Rivaldo was somewhat surprised: "I thought you were only saying that because it was French media interviewing you. But Lyon is not weak. If we want to secure a decisive victory in the first leg, we'll probably need to win by at least three goals tomorrow!"
Li Shiguang smiled and said, "Of course I know Lyon is not weak. After all, they have won six consecutive Ligue 1 titles. Although this is also related to the fact that the intensity of Ligue 1 is not high, their strength is indeed beyond doubt."
"Then why..."
“Ferreira, I only acknowledged Lyon’s strength, but I didn’t say they were stronger than us.” Li Shiguang pointed to the computer screen. “And… have you noticed? Limited by the players’ abilities, Lyon’s attacking style is too one-dimensional. In Ligue 1, Houllier might be able to use this one-dimensional tactic to dominate the league, but it won’t work in the Champions League!”
"Their attacking methods are too limited?" Although he had studied Lyon's tactics for a while, Rivaldo clearly did not understand them as deeply as Li Shiguang. He frowned and looked at the computer screen. "But I don't think their attacks are very limited. They attack from both the flanks and the middle."
“We can’t just look at where they’ll launch their attack.” Li Shiguang paused the video on his laptop, pointed to the number 8 player on the screen, and said, “Where Lyon’s attack will start depends mainly on where your compatriot runs!”
Juninho?
“Yes!” Li Shiguang nodded solemnly. “Ferreira, I believe you know your compatriot who has an unpredictable free kick. In Lyon, he is the absolute core. When he runs to the winger position, Lyon's attack will start from the flanks. When he runs to the attacking midfield position, Lyon's attack will rarely shift to the flanks!”
"Houlier has a very clear division of labor among his midfielders. Toulalan and Bodmer focus on defense and rarely cross the halfway line to participate in the attack. Juninho, Shelstrom, and Ben Arfa are responsible for the attack, supplying ammunition to Benzema and Govou up front. But no matter how the roles change, as long as Juninho is on the field, he is the core of Lyon's team, and the others are just supporting him!"
"What we need to do is freeze Juninho! Once he's neutralized, I think we have a chance to completely crush Lyon, even away from home!"
Li Shiguang said that.
Rivaldo quickly bent down and began swiping his fingers across the computer's touchscreen.
I only watched it for a few minutes.
Rivaldo knew that he had indeed overlooked something; his compatriot was truly the absolute tactical core of Lyon!
Rivaldo already knew something about his compatriot Juninho.
Although Juninho was not particularly prominent in the star-studded Brazilian team.
However, his solid fundamentals, more pragmatic approach to playing compared to other Brazilian players, comprehensive skills, and adeptness at orchestrating plays and long-distance runs still left an impression on Rivaldo.
However, all these advantages were overshadowed by his free kicks, which are absolutely among the best in world football.
This is what caused Rivaldo to overlook Juninho's importance in Lyon's squad.
In the few clips I just quickly watched.
Whether it's a normal positional attack or a counter-attack after intercepting the ball in defense, Lyon's players always look for Juninho first after receiving the ball! And after receiving the pass from his teammates, Juninho can make the right choice in a very short time and organize his teammates to launch an attack.
Rivaldo nodded seriously, his tone somewhat embarrassed: "Um... Boss, it was my oversight. I really didn't observe that carefully."
Li Shiguang patted Rivaldo on the shoulder with a smile: "Take it easy, Ferreira. You've only been on the coaching staff for a short time. Compared to Diego before, you've improved much faster!"
Having said that...
Li Shiguang stopped smiling, put his hands on his chest and leaned back: "Alright, I actually have another guess that I need you to help me investigate."
Rivaldo turned to look at Li Shiguang: "What guess?"
“Lyon has been using the traditional 4-4-2 formation almost exclusively this season,” Li Shiguang said, frowning as he shared his thoughts. “Although this is my first time facing Houllier, I have studied his tactical approach when he was coaching Liverpool. Generally speaking, Houllier is different from most French coaches who prefer attacking football; when he coached Liverpool, he preferred to solidify the defense first and then look for opportunities to counter-attack.”
"Ferreira, do you think he'll play a 3-5-2 formation or even deploy five defenders against us tomorrow, trying to play a counter-attacking game?"
Rivaldo understood what Li Shiguang meant.
Just like the two people mentioned earlier, Lyon is not a weak team. If they are determined to stay back and defend, Li Shiguang's bold statement to the reporters this morning, thanks to his home advantage, may come to nothing.
Take a moment to think.
Rivaldo shook his head: "I don't think so. After all, they're playing at home and they can fight us. There's no need for them to go into a defensive posture. And most importantly, boss, I think what you said was a bit excessive. It was a bit like you were looking down on them. Surely Houllier isn't so spineless?"
“That’s not necessarily true.” Li Shiguang grinned. “Wasn’t my remark partly meant to provoke the old man? But I still think that these words might fool you and young coaches like Diego! But to fool a seasoned veteran like Houllier who’s been in the football world for decades… it might not work at all!”
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