Chapter 18 Training Begins
On July 3rd, the team’s training day arrived.
The first-team players have arrived at the club one after another, as the team has undergone a major overhaul during the off-season.
So the veteran players returning to the first team saw a host of new faces.
In response to this, most of them acted very calmly, with a lukewarm attitude. They couldn't say they liked the new players, nor did they hate them. It was more like an attitude of not wanting to bother with them.
It was the team's old captain, 31-year-old Clemens Fritz, who welcomed the young players.
"Welcome to Werder Bremen, this is a great club, I believe you will love it here!"
Apart from a few young players who were promoted from the youth team, the reactions of the other players who transferred in during the offseason were rather cold, and they just applauded perfunctorily.
Seeing this situation, Lin Quan nudged De Bruyne, who was in a daze, with his arm and said to him, "Let's go and say hello to the captain."
De Bruyne was unfamiliar with the team and only knew Lin Quan.
Being an introvert by nature, he would just stay in the corner and listen to music quietly in such occasions.
But after hearing Lin Quan's words, he immediately put down his Walkman, followed Lin Quan obediently, and walked towards Fritz.
"Hello, captain. I'm Lin Quan, and this is De Bruyne. We are both new to the team, so please take care of us, captain!"
"Haha, hello, I heard the coach mention you two. He praised your talents. Perform well in the new season. The team needs fresh blood like you!"
Fritz also likes such polite and sensible young people, especially compared with another player on loan from Bayern Munich, the impression of Lin Quan and De Bruyne in his mind instantly rose a lot.
They are all loan players from wealthy clubs. The players of Barcelona and Chelsea are so polite and respect the big brothers of the team.
Are you a Bayern player who is so aloof? So after saying hello to Lin Quan and De Bruyne, he also took them to say hello to other veteran players of the team, introduced them to the veterans of the team, and helped them integrate into the team as soon as possible.
In addition, he also showed some concern about Lin Quan and De Bruyne's lives in Germany. Neither of them is a native German and they might not be able to adapt to a strange place when they first arrived.
Therefore, he said that if there was any trouble, people could go to him for help. He had lived in Bremen for six or seven years and had certain local connections.
After some contact, Lin Quan had a certain understanding of the character and conduct of the team captain.
Just as William said, Fritz is a nice guy who is easy to talk to.
It just seems that his temper is a little too good, lacking the feeling of an iron-blooded leader.
I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.
The players chatted and talked about various interesting things and experiences during the holiday.
A moment later, the head coach brought the coaching staff to the training ground and announced today's training plan.
Because the offseason just ended, most of the players have just recovered from their vacation.
Therefore, the training intensity on the first day was not high, and it was mainly some recovery training.
Looking at the players on the training ground, Thomas Schaaf was lost in thought about the team's formation and playing style for the new season.
Bremen is an offensive team, and their offensive firepower is among the best in the Bundesliga.
In the 2005-2006 season, Werder Bremen once won the Bundesliga's double first place in goals and goal difference.
That season they scored a total of 79 goals, an average of 2.3 goals per game, and a goal difference of 42 goals.
These figures are 12 and 7 goals more than second-placed Bayern Munich respectively.
Bayern Munich's strength is obvious to all. The fact that they were able to snatch these two first places from the Bundesliga giants shows Werder Bremen's offensive firepower.
However, Bremen has always had a big problem, that is, this team is not good at defending.
They scored a lot of goals, but also conceded a lot.
During the peak period of the five seasons from 2004 to 2009, Bremen was able to cover up the problem of poor defense and too many goals conceded with more goals.
However, starting from the 2009-10 season, Werder Bremen's overall strength began to decline, the team's offensive firepower began to decrease, but the number of goals conceded did not decrease.
As a result, Werder Bremen's performance began to plummet, gradually falling into the relegation zone, and even became a hot candidate for relegation this season.
A very realistic question is facing head coach Thomas Schaaf:
In the new season, will Werder Bremen continue to play the same offensive football as before?
Offensive football wins fans, defensive counterattacks win games.
Defensive counterattack seems to be a safer option, but the problem is that Thomas Scharf is not a coach who is good at defense.
He spent most of his time studying offensive tactics and formations, and was not good at defense, especially efficient defensive counterattacks.
It is impossible to expect him to reach the level of Mourinho, a master of defensive counterattack.
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Therefore, he did not dare to make drastic changes to Werder Bremen's previous tactics.
If such a change is really made, it may not only fail to achieve the desired effect, but may also make the players overwhelmed and ultimately have the opposite effect.
Therefore, the safest way is to adjust the previous tactics and make some changes to the details of the team's offense and defense without changing the overall framework.
Based on the current characteristics of the team, especially the large number of young players, good physical strength and aggressiveness.
Thomas Schaaf slightly adjusted the 433 formation that Werder Bremen had been using before, turning it into a 4141 formation.
The 433 formation is a typical offensive formation, and the evolved 4141 not only has the offensive advantages of the 433, but also makes some improvements in defense.
The characteristic of this formation is that the winger is moved back and placed in the position of wide midfielder.
When defending, they participate in the midfield defense, forming a strong five-man interception line in the midfield to stifle the enemy's attack.
When attacking, the wingers who retreated to the back were used to attack from both wings.
At this time, the wing midfielder who had retreated back returned to the role of winger and formed a connection with the forward, and the formation returned to the 433 formation. With three forwards in the frontcourt, the offensive options are more abundant.
This formation is not completely without disadvantages, because the absence of two wingers leads to a sharp decrease in the number of people in the frontcourt, and the team is unable to carry out high-intensity pressing and interception in the opponent's half.
The arrangement of a single defensive midfielder will make the sides of the team's midfield and backcourt slightly empty, making it easy for opponents to find gaps.
In addition, because the formation has become 4141, there are a total of four lines, and controlling the distance between each line is a very critical issue. If the distance is not controlled properly, defensive gaps will easily appear.
In this formation, the three most critical positions are: defensive midfielder and two wingers.
The defensive midfielder is the free man in the midfield. He is the gate of the team's defense. Once he is broken through, the team's defense will be directly threatened by the enemy.
While the two wingers have to shoulder certain defensive tasks, they are also the magic weapon for the team to open up the situation and complete the attack.
Compared to the center forward who only serves as a fulcrum in the frontcourt, the wingers on both sides have heavier offensive tasks.
If they fail to open up the situation, the team will be in a passive position.
Fortunately, this is not the only option in Schaff's toolbox. If the 4141 tactics don't work, he can let the team continue to play 433 or 442.
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