Chapter 13063: To kill someone, first make him crazy

Tactical system, this is a term that is being paid more and more attention.

But many people still don’t understand why a stable tactical system is becoming more and more important.

I believe that no one will deny that in the past, present and future, professional football has been constantly developing in the direction of integration. Even for a talented superstar like Messi, his outstanding performance must be based on the overall team.

Even a star player like Cristiano Ronaldo must be based on the overall team.

Either the team serves you, or you serve the team.

Since it is a team sport, the cooperation between the eleven players on the court is crucial.

How to integrate these eleven players into a whole, work together on the court, unify their thoughts, and advance and retreat together, this has undoubtedly become a major problem that all teams must face.

Manchester City has brought in strong players over the years, and their cards are outstanding, but why do they always give people a feeling of being weak and fragile? Why do they always fail to achieve the results they should?

The answer is simple, lack of a whole!

The Chinese have a saying that goes, it is easy to break one chopstick, but not ten.

As long as the eleven players can work together on the football field, the team will not be too bad. Any team that wants to defeat such an opponent will have to work hard, let alone crush it.

In fact, teams with stronger overall cohesion can often perform dark horse miracles.

It's just like Rehhagel's Greece, Mourinho's Porto, and this season's Leicester City.

But this is easier said than done.

Because the thing about a person that is least likely to be controlled is his thoughts!

Every professional player who can make it to the top European leagues and gain a foothold must have his own unique qualities.

You can imagine how difficult it is to control the minds of these people.

It can even be said that it is impossible!

But is there any way to regulate the actions of these people on the football field?

The answer is, yes!

That is a strict tactical system!

Through a meticulous and detailed tactical system, the players' behavior on the court can be well regulated, so that they know clearly what they should do and when at any time and anywhere.

Does that mean that the tactical system is stifling the players' creativity?

Yes, but also no!

Simply requiring players to stick to the tactical system and not knowing how to perform on the spot is the weakest approach.

A truly brilliant tactical system lies in the fact that it can not only provide the team with a sound tactical framework and regulate the players' responsibilities on the court, but also create a relaxed environment for the players to perform.

Is this contradictory?

No, there is no contradiction.

To put it simply, the tactical system is the bottom line. When players have no better options on the court, you can't go wrong by following the tactical system.

Because in this situation, decisions made in haste are often not good choices, and may even be the worst.

In this case, you might as well not make any choices and just follow the tactical system.

Conversely, in the absence of a complete and rigorous tactical system, players can easily lose control on the court, especially when they encounter setbacks and panic.

Just like Real Madrid now.

In the first leg, Real Madrid lost 0-4 at Southampton's Stadium of Honor and returned to the Bernabeu in disgrace. Amid the cheers of tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans in the stadium, Real Madrid played like a pile of loose sand.

Are they not working hard enough?

Obviously not, every one of them was holding back a lot of anger and trying their best to vent it.

Is that a wrong tactic?

Not really.

After falling behind by a large margin in the first leg, it was understandable that Zidane fielded a very offensive lineup in the second leg to give it a go.

Even Zidane learned from the lessons of the first leg in his lineup, fielding a combination of Modric and Casemiro in the midfield, James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale on the wings, and Lewandowski and Benzema as the two forwards.

Although James Rodriguez was on the wing, he was asked to drop back to midfield to participate in organization and defense.

Gareth Bale, Benzema and Lewandowski switched positions flexibly on the court.

It is obvious that Zidane's intention is to suppress Southampton's defense with a world-class offensive lineup.

So, from the very beginning, Real Madrid chose to press forward.

This should be considered a very proactive set of tactics, and in theory it may be effective.

But only in theory.

In fact, on the field, Real Madrid's players were seriously inconsistent in their execution and lacked coordination with each other.

When Real Madrid had the ball and attacked, Gareth Bale, Benzema and Lewandowski were at the forefront of the team, suppressing Southampton's defense and waiting for passes from their teammates behind them so that they could launch an attack as soon as they got the ball.

Even James Rodriguez, who theoretically should have retreated to support the midfield, stayed on the left side of the frontcourt.

This idea is a good thing, proving that the players have a strong desire to win.

But the bad thing is that Casemiro and Modric were suppressed by Southampton, and the distance between them and the strikers was too far.

Ancelotti had obviously anticipated that Real Madrid would launch a crazy attack at home, so he started the game with a defensive tactic, with the focus still on strangling Modric.

Especially when he realized that the distance between Real Madrid's frontcourt and midfield was a bit unreasonable, he further increased his suppression on Modric and Casemiro.

This directly led to the complete loss of connection between Real Madrid's frontcourt and midfield, and the ball could not be passed forward at all.

As a result, Real Madrid's offensive effectiveness was greatly reduced.

But if that's all, then we are underestimating Ancelotti.

In this game, both teams had players suspended due to yellow cards. Southampton's player was left-back Alaba, while Real Madrid's player was center back Pepe. Both players are vital members of the team.

But unlike Zidane who chose to make positional substitutions, Ancelotti made tactical adjustments.

Hazard, who performed brilliantly in the first leg, went straight to the front to contain Carvajal and did not retreat to defend, leaving the left wing for Gareth Bale to attack.

At left-back, Ancelotti asked Luke Shaw to focus on defense.

In other words, Southampton gave up its left side, which is Real Madrid's right side, and allowed the opponent to attack.

He knew very well that Real Madrid lacked a strict tactical system and patience. When they thought they had found the opponent's loophole and wanted to attack, their defense was often the loosest.

Because at this time, the superstars in the frontcourt have all pressed forward, but the midfield and backcourt are unable to keep up.

Therefore, Ancelotti's strategy is very simple, let go of the left side, I am confident that I can defend it, because Real Madrid's frontcourt one-on-one breakthrough ability is not strong, as long as the team tightens its defense, it will not be easy for Real Madrid to break through.

But once Real Madrid pressed forward, their problems in the midfield and backcourt were exposed.

There is a saying that goes very right, “If God wants to destroy someone, he must first make him crazy!”

It turns out that Ancelotti is indeed an old fox.

When the game reached the 21st minute, Real Madrid continued to press forward, but Southampton intercepted the ball.

The ball was quickly transferred to the midfield. Di Maria took the ball and saw Pogba sprinting to the right, taking away Modric, while Messi took the opportunity to make a diagonal run to the top of the penalty area.

Di Maria and Messi cooperated well and the ball immediately came to Messi's feet.

As soon as Messi got the ball, he accelerated, dribbled past Casemiro, broke into the penalty area, dribbled past Ramos who was rushing to steal the ball, and passed the ball diagonally behind him. Suarez followed quickly and shot the ball directly into the net.

Southampton completed a very sharp and quick defensive counterattack!

In an instant, the entire Bernabeu Stadium became silent!

After conceding the goal, Real Madrid launched a frantic counterattack. Gareth Bale had two consecutive chances to shoot in the left rib area in front of the penalty area, but one was resolved by Luke Shaw and the other was blocked by Neuer, and neither chance was created.

Marcelo also began to actively participate in the attack in the frontcourt, and got a powerful shot from the left side of the frontcourt, but Neuer flew over the crossbar.

Real Madrid looked on the offensive.

But in the 34th minute, Southampton launched another attack.

Di Maria got the ball in the midfield, broke free and made a quick breakthrough, passing the ball straight into the penalty area.

Messi didn't know when he switched positions with Suarez, and he made a heel pass in the penalty area. Pogba followed up from behind and shot the ball directly, and the ball went into the net again!

Two to zero!

Two consecutive goals completely brought Real Madrid's morale to its lowest point.

I'm afraid no one would have thought that the Saints would be able to continue their previous excellent performance at the Bernabeu Stadium.

The players of Real Madrid were equally frustrated. They couldn't understand why it was so difficult for them to score goals, but it was so easy for Southampton to score?

Is it because the teammates behind me are not strong enough?

Zidane, who was sitting in front of the home team's coaching booth, also looked frustrated. He never expected that the tactics he had carefully arranged would fail in the end.

The team didn't achieve the results he wanted at all. It looked like a complete mess, with everyone fighting on their own.

Especially when they were one goal behind, the first thing each of them thought of when they got the ball was to counterattack and attack.

But the more anxious you are, the more mistakes you will make.

There is no doubt that the 2-0 score in the second round extended the total score of the two rounds to 6-0. If Real Madrid wants to qualify, they need to score seven goals, which is already impossible.

What Real Madrid should be thinking about now is not qualifying from the knockout stage, but saving face.

That means scoring a goal!

But this requirement, which is usually easy for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, seems extremely difficult when facing Southampton.

The team's cohesion is too strong. Real Madrid's players are fighting on their own and cannot create any threat at all.

It's like Gareth Bale, who dribbled past Luke Shaw, but soon there came Nastasic.

As soon as there is a slight pause or hesitation, Luke Shaw will turn around and pounce on him, forming a double-team.

In this situation where everyone is fighting on their own and lacks communication, it is difficult for Real Madrid players to threaten Southampton's goal no matter how strong their individual abilities are.

Zidane was helpless in the face of such a situation because he found that he had no way to make every player on the team play with a unified idea.

This made him feel helpless and frustrated.

Especially when the game entered the second half, Southampton seized the opportunity again not long after it started. After Messi retreated to the midfield to get the ball, he used his personal ability to get rid of Modric and passed the ball directly into the penalty area. Suarez once again calmly seized the opportunity and scored in one fell swoop, further expanding the score.

At this moment, the entire Bernabeu Stadium was in an uproar.

All Real Madrid fans are fed up!

So many big-name stars, so much money invested in transfer fees, but in the end they were humiliated by their opponents in their own home stadium?

Who can bear it?

So, for a while, the calls for Florentino to step down were heard again at the Bernabeu Stadium.

The sound became louder and louder, and finally covered the sky and the earth!