Chapter 255: Is the Soviet Union a prank by God?
Germany, Munich, Sebena Street.
Bayern Munich's head coach Hitzfeld sat on the sofa in his office, frowning as he watched the game video on TV, which showed some La Liga game scenes.
Valencia vs Atletico Madrid, vs Real Madrid, vs Barcelona...
After watching for an unknown amount of time, Heathfield rubbed his sore eyes with his hand, looking exhausted.
Over the years, he has remained thin and even gotten thinner, which has caused many people to worry about his health.
He suffers from chronic stomach problems.
Bayern Munich's management also knows this and has been patient, but if the results this season do not improve, Hitzfeld will have no choice but to leave.
He was mentally prepared for this and had even made plans.
If he is really fired from Bayern Munich, he will have a good rest and take good care of his health.
But before that, he will do his best to win for Bayern Munich.
Especially in the Champions League.
…
"This Su Dong will be our biggest threat when facing Valencia!"
Sitting opposite Hitzfeld was his long-time right-hand man, analyst Michel Henke.
He is eight years younger than Hitzfeld and has been following Hitzfeld since 1989. From Dortmund to Bayern Munich, the two have cooperated all the way and can be said to have shared the joys and sorrows.
"Su Dong is indeed troublesome, especially for our defense. Our defenders have not performed well this season." Hitzfeld rubbed his sore eyes, closed his eyes and rested, but continued to follow Michael Henke's words.
Bayern Munich's defense this season is not ideal, and the main problem is that the defenders have performed very mediocrely.
During the winter break, the most common suggestion given by the German media to Bayern Munich was to sign a strong central defender, such as Leverkusen's Brazilian central defender Lucio, which could greatly enhance the strength of Bayern Munich's defense.
But without success.
Today, Bayern Munich's defense has big problems. Veterans such as Lizarazu and Thomas Linke have been in poor form, while Robert Kovac, Kuffour, Demichelis and others are in average form. This has become Bayern Munich's most serious problem this season.
"The biggest problem now is that Valencia has an advantage on the wing. Vicente is in very good form this season, and Rufete has also performed well recently. In the middle, there is Su Dong, who is 1.95 meters tall and has an obvious advantage in high balls. He is also very impactful. And our four central defenders..."
Michael Henke didn't finish, but he believed Hitzfeld knew it very well.
Thomas Link, Robert Kovac, Kuffour and Demichelis, the four central defenders of Bayern Munich are all over 1.8 meters tall, which is more than ten centimeters shorter than Su Dong, and they will definitely suffer in physical confrontations.
Bayern Munich is now in an awkward transition stage, especially in the defense, which has many problems.
But the game waits for no one.
"To be honest, I wonder if it's a prank from God? Otherwise, how could there be a center forward like Su Dong?" Michel Henke asked with a wry smile.
A center forward like Su Dong really completely subverts the impression of people in the football world.
What type is he? The answer is, all types! Whatever type you like him to be, he can be whatever type you like him to be! When Valencia needs him to hold up the opponent's defense, he can do it; when Aimar is absent, he needs to retreat to connect, and he can play the role of a nine-and-a-half; when Vicente is absent and the wing is not strong enough, he can pull to the left like Henry and use his speed and skills to break through the opponent on the wing.
Even under Valencia's high-pressure defense, center forward Su Dong played the role of the first line of defense.
He is omnipotent and good at everything!
After hearing his right-hand man's evaluation of Su Dong, Hitzfeld opened his eyes, looked at Su Dong wearing a Valencia jersey on TV, and suddenly felt a little regretful, because he could have signed Su Dong at the beginning.
But he chose Roy Makaay! The reason was simple, Makaay was the top scorer in La Liga at the time and also the winner of the European Golden Boot.
Although Su Dong performed well in the Portuguese Super League and won the UEFA Cup, the quality of the results was not high enough.
Looking back now, the choice I made back then was not wrong, but it was at least regrettable.
If God gave him a chance to start over, Hitzfeld would definitely choose both without hesitation! "With the characteristics of our central defenders, it is difficult for us to completely freeze Su Dong, so we can only make a fuss on the two flanks." Hitzfeld watched the video on TV and expressed his thoughts.
"According to the information we got from the scouts, Aimar is expected to continue to be absent, so Valencia will definitely play on the two wings. Vicente and Rufete will be important starting points for the attack. We have to restrict them and reduce Su Dong's chances of getting the ball."
Michel Henke thought for a moment and nodded, "Then the midfield..."
"Demichelis and Hargreaves, both of you!"
"Both of them?" Michel Henke was a little surprised.
Demichelis can play both central defender and defensive midfielder positions and is a defensive player. Although Hargreaves also has certain offensive capabilities, his most striking features are his running and defense.
Ballack is the team's unshakable core player, and Ze Roberto is also a main midfielder. If Demichelis and Hargreaves both play, wouldn't the starting midfield lineup be too defensive?
The first leg was held at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Is it okay to play so conservatively at home?
Heathfield did not answer, but sighed softly.
Michael Henke understands Hitzfeld's concerns, and he prefers to focus on defense first.
There is a very troublesome aspect of the Champions League knockout stage system, which is away goals.
Bayern Munich's defense has been a big problem this season. They almost failed to qualify from the group stage and finally only finished second in the group, where they met Valencia, who qualified from the group first.
In such a cup competition, the schedule of playing at home first and then away is a disadvantage in itself. If the home court cannot be defended and the opponent is allowed to score away goals, it will be quite disadvantageous on the road.
"Sudong is Valencia's strong point. If we go head-to-head with them, we will definitely suffer. Even if we can defend Sudong, there will be problems in other places. So we must start with a strong sniping attack from the midfield and use the running of the midfielders to make up for the shortcomings of the back line."
To put it simply, it is to create local advantages by using the numerical advantage of the defense.
"But then the attack becomes a problem," warned Michel Henke.
It cannot be said that Demichelis and Hargreaves have no offensive ability. The problem is that Bayern Munich adopts a four-midfield strategy, with Ze Roberto on one side and Salihamidzic on the other. Now that Salihamidzic has been taken off and Demichelis has been started, perhaps the midfield defense has been stabilized, but the offense has been sacrificed.
Hitzfeld's mouth twitched slightly. "Our central defender suffered a loss when facing Su Dong. Do you think Valencia's central defender will suffer a loss when facing Makaay? What about adding Pizarro?"
After saying this, Hitzfeld's wrinkled face, especially his deeply sunken eyes, sparkled with wisdom.
He is Hitzfeld!
…………
…………
Aimar finally missed the match against Bayern Munich! This is not good news for Valencia.
The Bats have an attacking triangle in the frontcourt, with Vicente on the left, Aimar in the middle and Sudon at the front. The three of them work together and cooperate well, which is the key weapon for Valencia's unstoppable success this season.
But when it came to the important games, Aimar was injured one after another.
Before playing against Barcelona, he had already shown signs of returning to the game, but even when he arrived at Bayern Munich, he was unable to return because he felt that his muscle strain had not healed completely and he did not dare to take the risk.
Valencia players felt a little regretful because of Aimar's absence.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are both relatively good, after all, they are Spanish teams and are familiar with each other, and Valencia has enough lead in La Liga, but facing Bayern Munich is different.
Two rounds of matches will determine who can enter the quarterfinals of the Champions League!
…
After playing against Barcelona, Valencia quickly held a preparation meeting for the match against Bayern Munich.
Benítez made a comprehensive analysis of Bayern Munich's current situation and believed that Valencia had a chance away from home.
Due to Aimar's absence, the Bats need to reorganize their midfield.
There is no problem with the two defensive midfielders starting, and there is no suspense on the two wingers, except for the attacking midfielder position.
Benítez decided to start Canobbio to fill Aimar's position.
At the preparatory meeting, Benítez explained why he did this. He hoped that Su Dong could concentrate on suppressing the opponent's defense.
"The central defender combination of Robert Kovac and Kuffour is not solid. As long as we can create opportunities, these two central defenders can't trap Su Dong, and we can score goals away from home!"
Canobbio plays as attacking midfielder, Vicente and Rufete are on the two wings. Benítez still hopes to bring out Sudong's advantage on the front line, because if Mista starts, Sudong will basically have to retreat.
Withdrawing the most threatening Su Dong would be quite disadvantageous for Valencia who wanted to score an away goal.
Mista has never been an efficient scorer.
Assistant coach Jesterdan also emphasized to Su Dong that he would definitely be closely monitored by Bayern Munich in the game, which required him to be mentally prepared to overcome difficulties.
"The Champions League knockout stage is the most technically and tactically advanced tournament in the world today. Although Bayern Munich is in poor form recently, they are still a European giant. Kovac and Kuffour are both famous European players. Facing such a team and defense, we cannot be careless at all."
Su Dong nodded, promising that he would never be careless.
He is not afraid of any opponent, but he will not be intimidated by any opponent either.
When he was at Sporting Lisbon, he faced world-class central defenders like Stam and Mihajlovic from Serie A without any fear. How could he be afraid of Kovac and Kuffour now? Woohoo, my fault! I was so busy today that I forgot to schedule this chapter at 18:00! Sorry!
(End of this chapter)
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