Chapter 689 The Indispensable Center Forward
The Allianz Arena was filled with roaring voices, with Bayern fans singing the team song and cheering for the players in the stadium.
The deafening sound swept every corner of the stadium, including Su Dong who was sitting on the home team's bench.
It was already the second half, but Bayern's offense still didn't improve much.
This is a peak showdown. Many people thought that this game would determine the top of the group, but now it seems that this may not be the case, because Bordeaux in Ligue 1 played quite well in the first group match and drew with Juventus away.
What does this mean?
In other words, Juventus lost the three points that they should have grabbed at home.
The three teams in this group are from the Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1. Bayern and Bordeaux are both championship teams, and Juventus is also strong. The three teams are competing for points with each other, so the three points at home are particularly valuable.
Whoever loses these three points must try every possible means to get them back.
Especially in some matches where the original plan allowed for points to be lost, such as the Allianz Arena.
Therefore, Juventus fought Bayern with all their strength in this battle. To some extent, they even treated this battle as a life-and-death battle for the top spot in the group and showed extremely tenacious performance.
Ferrara knew Bayern's strength, so he adopted a more balanced tactic of 4-4-2.
Bayern responded with a 4-3-3 formation, with Ribery, Klose and Robben forming a trident.
From the beginning, Bayern took advantage of their home field to launch a fierce attack on Juventus and frequently created opportunities, but the Zebras had been fully prepared for this and defended tightly, not allowing Bayern to gain any advantage.
Chiellini played like a great general in this battle, while Buffon was still strong despite his age, which made Juventus' defense very solid.
In the absence of Su Dong, Ribery and Robben were very active on the wing.
It can be said that these two players played at the level of world-class superstars, but it was useless.
There is a saying in Italian football that no matter how well you play on the wing, you still have to return to the center to score goals.
Therefore, the flanks in Serie A have actually never received much attention, and Serie A has always lacked wing players.
When Juventus opened up the flanks but tightened the middle, Bayern's attack seemed to be much ado about nothing.
It was difficult for Klose to gain an advantage due to the joint restrictions of Chiellini and Lerottale in the middle.
After the second half, Heynckes replaced Tymoshchuk with Thomas Muller, letting Schweinsteiger and Modric form a double defensive midfielder. The team changed its formation to 4-2-3-1 and continued to attack Juventus.
Thomas Muller has been very active this season and this game was no exception. Several of his runs and pulls were very threatening, but he still couldn't break Juventus' goal during the game.
…
Su Dong sat on the bench and watched the game on the field.
He found that Bayern had all the advantages, including overwhelming dominance in flank attack and ball possession, and even the players' performance was quite outstanding, with none of them performing poorly.
But I just couldn't score a goal.
What's the problem?
"When Juventus shrinks their defense, their defense becomes a wall, and what we need now is no longer a sharp sword, but a battering ram."
This is what Heynckes said to Su Dong during the half-time break.
Ribery and Robben are both extremely sharp swords and top attackers in Europe, but when facing such an unbreakable defense, their role is actually not very big because they lack the strength and level to open an offensive channel in the dense defense.
Of course, this is relative.
In the Bundesliga, they will probably be able to do well because the level of defense in the Bundesliga is like that.
But in the Champions League, facing a team like Juventus, they fell silent.
Ribery's ball control, Robben's breakthrough, Thomas Muller's positioning, and Klose's support were all very, very good, but in the dense defense, none of these were effective.
This is the importance of a center forward! He can not score goals, can have rough skills, can...
But, he just can't live without it!
It was just like when Capello played the no-striker tactics in Rome. Was it because he didn't need a center forward? No, it was because he didn't have a center forward! Sitting on the sidelines, Su Dong saw it very clearly. After Klose was contained, Bayern's attack also died down, and the threat was greatly reduced.
This is not accidental, but inevitable! Correspondingly, Ferrara played two center forwards tonight, Iaquinta and Trezeguet.
This is very Italian! You know, Serie A has never paid much attention to the wingers, but pays special attention to the center forward.
Why does it seem that center forwards are no longer valued in European football?
The reason is actually very simple, there are too few high-level center forwards! Su Dong is the one who can understand this the most, because the overall defense level has improved significantly in recent years, roughly starting from the year Greece won the European Cup, all teams began to pay attention to defense, double defensive midfielders became popular, and the middle was overcrowded.
Just imagine, when the middle lane is full of people, how can the center survive? How can he seize the advantage?
The body is essential.
We can do without technology, but we cannot do without our body.
So, it doesn’t matter if Drogba’s skills are rough, as long as he is strong enough to break through the defense.
Klose and Thomas Muller are facing this problem now. They just can't break through Juventus' defense.
No matter how active Ribery and Robben are on the wing, it will be difficult for you to create a threat if you cannot break through the middle.
Su Dong had a hunch that the defense was becoming increasingly tight, and under this trend, the requirements for centers would become higher and higher.
But now the mainstream trend is to control the midfield and balance offense and defense. Any team will have higher and higher requirements for passing and controlling the ball, especially for the center forward.
Just think about it, what’s the use of a center who can’t even hold the ball in a tight defense?
Unless you are physically stronger than your opponent and can crush him with your body alone, you must have skills, especially ball-stopping skills, but this is too demanding for a center.
As a result, strong centers will become more and more popular and scarce. Teams that cannot get them will simply give up on the big center tactic, preferring to have nothing rather than something too bad.
But having a strong center can definitely bring the team's overall strength to a higher level, and can even lead the team forward by himself.
This is what Su Dong felt in his heart as he sat on the bench throughout the game, watching the Bayern players bombarding the field but still failing to break through Juventus' goal.
Several times, he felt that if it were him, he would definitely be able to create a threat.
But he sat on his bench.
Muscle injuries can be serious or minor, and Nuno Kroos takes this very seriously. He even asked to let Su Dong rest for this game, but finally at the request of Heynckes and Su Dong, Nuno Kroos agreed to let him be a substitute.
Just as Su Dong was observing and thinking, the Bayern player on the field suddenly kicked the ball out of bounds.
The referee blew the whistle and waved towards the Bayern coaching bench, signaling the team doctor to enter the field.
I saw Robben sitting on the grass at some point, looking a little painful.
His knees have always been fragile. Even with the help of Nuno Cruz and strengthening of muscle training, there are still certain hidden dangers. Now it seems that there is a problem with his knees.
Wolfart and his assistant quickly rushed into the field, checked Robben initially, carried him out of the field, and signaled to Heynckes to make a substitution.
…
"Robben looks to be seriously injured, probably a knee problem."
"Now is the critical period of Bayern's devilish schedule. I hope it will not affect Bayern's performance."
"Let's see if Heynckes will replace Su Dong this time?"
When Robben was taken to the sidelines, Heynckes grabbed his head hard, feeling very depressed.
He turned his head and looked at Su Dong on the bench with a questioning look, as if to ask, can you play?
Su Dong nodded.
He knew that Bayern needed him at this time!
Heynckes immediately waved his hand, signaling Su Dong to hurry up.
"Sure enough, Bayern is going to make a substitution!"
"Su Dong is about to go on stage."
"It is now the 73rd minute of the second half and the score is still 0-0."
"This is Bayern's second substitution."
When Su Dong walked to the sidelines, the entire Allianz Arena was filled with cheers. Bayern fans were shouting his name frantically. Su Dong's shouts resounded throughout the Allianz Arena.
This represents the expectations and affirmation of Su Dong by Bayern fans! Juventus was also quite nervous. Ferrara kept calling Chiellini and Lerottale on the sidelines, and also signaled Marchisio and Felipe Melo to protect the defense more to avoid being taken advantage of by Su Dong.
The moment Su Dong walked into the stadium, everyone's attention was on him.
“This is Su Dong!”
"He came to the Allianz Arena like a savior."
"At this moment, all the fans at the Allianz Arena are looking forward to him, because they all believe that Su Dong will lead the team to victory because he can always score goals!"
"Juventus must have been very nervous because they were not sure if they could stop Sudon from scoring."
"Looking at the world of football, I'm afraid there is only one superstar like this, Su Dong."
…
After Su Dong came on the court, Bayern's tactics changed to 4-4-2, with Su Dong and Klose forming a double striker.
Less than seven minutes after Su Dong came on the field, in the 82nd minute of the game, Juventus launched an attack directly into Bayern's penalty area. Diego made a long shot, which was directly caught by Neuer.
After the Bayern goalkeeper got up from the ground, he took a look at the situation in front of him and immediately threw the ball to Lucio.
After the Brazilian center back got the ball, he passed it forward to Modric.
The Croatian midfielder dribbled the ball forward and just after crossing the center line, he made a straight pass to Su Dong on the right side of the penalty area.
At this time, Grosso and Chiellini, who were possessed by their souls, had already arrived in position in time, forming a double-team in the penalty area, ready to block Su Dong.
But Su Dong was skilled and bold. After stopping the ball, he rushed directly into the penalty area with the ball.
(End of this chapter)
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