Chapter 579: Flying over the Milan Nursing Home
Since winning the Champions League in 2001, Bayern has had ups and downs in the Champions League in recent years.
If we talk about the team that caused the most damage to Bayern, it must be AC Milan.
In the past few seasons, Bayern has met AC Milan three times and was defeated by AC Milan all three times.
In 2002, Bayern met the Rossoneri in the first stage of the group stage. As a result, they were defeated by AC Milan with a score of 1-2 in both home and away games, which led to Bayern's embarrassing elimination at the bottom of the group.
This crushing defeat completely shattered Bayern's ambition and confidence, and they quickly fell from the ranks of the Champions League giants.
Recently, Bayern has faced AC Milan in the Champions League knockout stage for two consecutive seasons.
Bayern first drew 1-1 at home, then suffered a 1-4 defeat away from home and left the Champions League in disgrace.
Last season, Bayern drew 2-2 with AC Milan away from home, but lost 0-2 at home and was eliminated in the quarterfinals again.
It can be said that AC Milan dealt a huge blow to Bayern in the Champions League.
Times have changed. When Bayern faced AC Milan in the Champions League semi-finals, it happened to be the time when they were on a winning streak and unstoppable. This made everyone in Bayern ambitious and wanted to avenge their previous defeat this season.
But the German football world is very worried about Bayern's first leg away at San Siro Stadium.
Bayern has not won a single game in the past six rounds. This embarrassing record makes it difficult for people to have confidence in Bayern.
But in an interview with the media before the game, Su Dong rarely expressed in a high-profile manner that he was full of confidence in the away game.
"In terms of past performance and European experience, we are indeed not as good as AC Milan, but we are younger and more energetic, which is the key to our victory!"
As it turns out, Heynckes also deployed his troops according to this idea.
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Ronaldo is 32 years old, Emerson is 32 years old, Dida is 33 years old, Serginho is 36 years old, Cafu is 37 years old, Favalli is 39 years old, Fiore is 39 years old...
What? Is this the roster of the old folks' home football team? No, this is the roster of the AC Milan first team.
Oh? These are not the starting players? No problem, just look at the starting XI against Bayern.
Goalkeeper Karachi is 35 years old. From left to right, the back line is Karadze 30 years old, Maldini will be 40 years old in June, Nesta is 33 years old, and Oddo is also 33 years old.
In the 4-3-1-2 formation, the three midfielders are Ambrosini, 31 years old, Pirlo, 29 years old, and Gattuso, 30 years old.
Kaka is 26, Inzaghi will be 35 in August, and Pato is the youngest at 18.
Among the eleven starting players, as many as eight are over thirty years old, and among the remaining seven substitutes, only Bonera, Gourcuff and Gilardino are under thirty years old, while the others are all over thirty years old, including veterans such as Fiore and Favalli who are nearly forty years old.
This is the lineup AC Milan used against Bayern.
Over the past few years, owner Berlusconi was unwilling to invest, and coupled with good results in cup competitions, AC Milan has been very conservative in its transfer strategy, focusing more on cost-effective signings, mostly veterans.
The Milan laboratory has therefore become famous in European football.
But veterans are still veterans after all. They are experienced, but their problems are also quite obvious.
…
AC Milan kicked off first, but Bayern picked up the pace as soon as the game started.
After several consecutive passes, AC Milan tried to pass the ball to the left side of the frontcourt, allowing Pato and Kaka to cooperate and attack Bayern's right side towards Lahm.
But in the end, Mascherano, Lahm and Modric, as well as Robben who actively returned to defense, formed a double-team on the right side, forcing AC Milan to make a pass error. After Bayern intercepted the ball, Modric quickly took the ball and launched a counterattack.
Just after crossing the center line, the Croatian midfielder sent a straight pass.
The ball accurately passed through the defense area of Ambrosini and other midfielders and fell at Su Dong's feet.
Su Dong had already started at this time. After getting the ball, he suddenly increased his speed and forcibly shook off Maldini.
Nesta desperately chased Su Dong and blocked his position, but Su Dong still rushed into the right side of AC Milan's penalty area with the ball, and shot directly without waiting for Nesta to arrive.
The ball went straight to AC Milan's goal, and Karachi made a beautiful save, pushing the ball out of the bottom line.
The entire San Siro Stadium was broken into a cold sweat.
"Bayern's counterattack was very sharp."
"Sudon started too fast, Maldini was thrown away in an instant, and Nesta almost couldn't stop him."
"Seeing Su Dong at this moment, we can't help but think of Ronaldo when he first joined Inter Milan. He also dribbled the ball like this and challenged the opponent's entire defense line single-handedly."
"Look at this Bayern corner."
Modric quickly sent out a corner kick, and there was chaos in the penalty area. Su Dong made a feint, and Lucio got to the front point and headed the ball directly, but it was slightly off the goal, which shocked everyone again.
Ancelotti could no longer sit still, and ran to the sidelines, constantly signaling to the players to stay calm and adjust the team's defense.
Soon, AC Milan's attack crossed the center line, and Bayern launched a fierce pressing attack. After intercepting the ball in front of the penalty area, they passed the ball to Ribery with one continuous kick.
The French scarface drove straight into the penalty area along the left side with the ball. Facing Oddo, Ribery made a flexible emergency stop, dribbled the ball inside, shook off Oddo, and passed the ball diagonally to Su Dong at the front of the penalty area.
Su Dong received the ball with his back, blocked Nesta with his body, stopped the ball, and gently passed it to the goal.
Robben came up on the right side, met Su Dong's pass, and shot directly with his left foot.
Failed to control the ball's momentum, it went too high!
Robben shook his hands in frustration, feeling really annoyed.
Su Dong didn't mind. On his way back, he reached out and touched his bald head.
The feeling is indeed not good, but comfort is still needed.
"After Bayern opened the game, they played at a very fast tempo."
"AC Milan has not yet entered Bayern's penalty area once, but the Bundesliga champions have already had three shots, and all of them created a certain threat, especially the one by Su Dong at the beginning of the game, which was very scary."
"This is obviously Bayern's tactic tonight, to take the lead from the start."
…
The commentator was absolutely right.
The tactics Heynckes developed for Bayern were to take the initiative, but the purpose was not to score goals, but to speed up the tempo of the game.
Everyone knows that fast-paced games are very demanding on players.
Bayern's players have an advantage in this regard, not only because they are young, but also because the Bundesliga has a long winter break. During winter training, Bayern conducted sufficient physical reserve training for the second half. In addition, there are fewer Bundesliga games, so Bayern can devote more energy to the Champions League.
On the other hand, AC Milan is so old, has so many games to play, and is a defensive team in Serie A. Every game consumes a lot of energy, which puts AC Milan at a physical disadvantage from the beginning.
To put it simply, Heynckes' tactics are based on attrition.
I am young and energetic, I will wear you down! Of course, it would be ideal if we could score a goal at the start.
But it is obvious that AC Milan was well prepared.
…
Some people say that Italy specializes in producing tactical masters.
Ancelotti is no pushover either.
He knows his team very well and naturally knows what tactics Bayern will adopt. He made sufficient plans before the game.
AC Milan's response strategy is that after Bayern takes the initiative to attack, they will retreat appropriately and strive for more ball possession.
Don't you want to speed up the pace?
If I retreat to control the ball, you have to press forward. The more you want to keep pressing me, the more you have to press forward, and the bigger the space behind you will be. At this time, Pirlo's long pass and Kaka's speed will become threatening.
Soon, after Bayern's opening attack, AC Milan began to exert its strength.
After getting the ball in the middle, Kaka dribbled past Modric and rushed all the way to Bayern's 30-meter area. He then passed the ball diagonally to Pato who had moved to the left. After getting the ball, the latter broke through Lahm, cut diagonally to the left side of the penalty area, and shot.
Although it failed to create a threat, it still made Bayern break out in a cold sweat.
But AC Milan quickly launched another quick counterattack.
Pirlo made a precise long pass from the backcourt, directly behind Bayern's defense line.
Inzaghi successfully made an offside move, sprinted all the way, and at the front of the penalty area, he chested Pirlo's long pass into the penalty area.
Just as the man who was born on the offside line was about to shoot, Pepe, who was chasing back desperately, suddenly rushed out from the side, cut in between Inzaghi and the football from the side and rear, and kicked the ball out of bounds.
The ball was about to go in, but it was ruined by Pepe. Inzaghi was so angry that he started cursing.
He couldn't understand how this fat-faced boy could catch up so quickly.
…
After the opening, Bayern took a certain advantage, but AC Milan quickly adjusted and quickly regained the advantage. They made targeted adjustments to Bayern's starting tactics and created a wave of threats in succession.
The battle of wits and strength between the two teams was reflected on the court. The game was progressing very quickly. The two sides were fighting back and forth with great pleasure, and the fans at the scene were all shocked.
When AC Milan reacted, the choice fell into Bayern's hands again.
Should they stick to the tactics they had formulated at the start, continue to exert pressure and speed up the tempo of the game? Or should they slow down the tempo appropriately, let AC Milan control the ball, and then consolidate their own defense? The former is undoubtedly more radical, while the latter is relatively more mature and prudent.
How to choose? Heynckes and Bayern's players had already reached a consensus in the pre-match preparation meeting this morning.
The vast majority of players agreed that the team should adopt an aggressive style of play rather than a passive defensive approach.
Su Dong said something that received a response from his teammates in the locker room.
"AC Milan is a team for the elderly, and the San Siro Stadium is like a nursing home. Today we want to let them see clearly that Bayern is no longer the Bayern of the past. We will use the football and thinking of young people who are full of youth and passion to conquer the old city of Milan!"
Therefore, even after AC Milan created counterattack threats several times in a row, Bayern still did not retreat, but continued to maintain pressure on AC Milan and continued to press forward.
This not only surprised Ancelotti, because he felt that this was not like Heynckes' style.
How could the old man be so radical when he was in his sixties? Little did he know that Heynckes himself was also terrified.
Are young people nowadays so unethical?
Xiao An, you should learn from your mistakes!
(End of this chapter)
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