As a fan in his previous life, Li Ang had watched a lot of Villarreal CF's games. In his impression, Villarreal CF's opponents rarely formed a one-on-one. There were also very few opportunities for long shots in front of the penalty area. This highlighted Senna's exquisite defense. Senna also had the skill of long shots and long passes. The only drawback was that his passing was sometimes too steady, which caused the pace of the ball to be slightly slower.
"Senna's defense covers a huge area!"
"However, he also has a shortcoming, which is that his passing is very steady. Therefore, his pace of the ball is slightly slower!" As Li Ang spoke, he looked at Carlos. In the game against Villarreal CF, Senna and Carlos were the midfield barriers of the two teams. Their performances would determine the results of their respective teams to a certain extent.
"Their midfielder, Hosike, is a typical Basque midfielder in La Liga. He is good at passing and protecting the ball. He has a strong sense of rhythm and is good at blocking and assisting in the defense."
"However, Hosike's ability to one-on-one and intercept is slightly worse!"
"If Hosike is not in the starting lineup, Tacchinardi may be in the starting lineup!"
"Tacchinardi's coverage area is very wide, and his strong body and reasonable fouls protect the team's penalty area!"
"This man also has the unique skill of long shots in the box!" When Li Ang mentioned Tacchinardi, he smiled and said to the players, "You should be familiar with Tacchinardi and Harvey."
Zanetti nodded. When Tacchinardi was in Serie A previously, they had played against them too many times. They were also familiar with the characteristics of this player.
*****
Later, Li Ang emphasized the Argentine player, Sorin.
Sorin, who ran all over the field, had an interesting position in Villarreal CF. He was nominally the left midfielder, but in fact, he would withdraw to help protect the middle during the defense.
"When Aruabarrena assists, Sorin sometimes retreats to the left back to protect. This is something we have to pay attention to when we counterattack!"
Sorin was not only good at assisting in the defense, but when Villarreal CF attacked, he often rushed to the front line and acted as the front striker to cover Forlan behind him.
However, Sorin's shooting skills were not that good. Although he could often step on the wrong spot to shoot, his final kick would often miss by a hair's breadth. Of course, his role in defense was obvious to all. His support and movement in offense gave Riquelme a lot of options and space to shoot the ball. His high fighting spirit and iron-blooded character were also a great encouragement to the Yellow Submarine. Therefore, although Alvarez was the captain of Villarreal CF and Riquelme was the most important player in Villarreal CF, Sorin was the spiritual leader of the team.
*****
There was no doubt that Riquelme's existence was the most crucial factor in the rise of the Yellow Submarine. His existence made Villarreal CF play the 4312 with him as the core. The tight zone defense when defending and the patient control of the ball when attacking were a kind of strong control of the playing style.
Villarreal CF, who focused on defense, was able to take a breather under every opponent's attack. They relied on Riquelme's superb control of the ball to open up the situation in every deadlock. They relied on Riquelme's flash of inspiration. His time in Villarreal CF was also Riquelme's best time in Europe. He was the core of the team.
"For Riquelme, we have to press him tightly!"
"However, Riquelme's control of the ball is excellent. He rarely loses the ball. Instead, he uses the pressure to attract the opponent's defensive attention and then sends a fatal pass. Therefore, I ask that when someone presses Riquelme, the other players have to be vigilant! Don't give them any chance! "Li Ang said in a serious tone.
"Be careful of Forlan!" Li Ang then signaled his assistant, Banderas, to play the edited video.
"Keep an eye on him!"
"Don't give him a chance to take the ball comfortably!"
Forlan's performance at Manchester United was mediocre, but he played with confidence in La Liga. The Uruguayan striker showed superb shooting skills. His left and right feet were very balanced, and his shooting methods were endless. Of course, he wasted a lot of chances, but his condition was stable. He and Riquelme also had a good understanding of each other.
In this season, he scored a lot of goals in the league, but not many in the Champions League. This was mainly because the opponent closely marked him. However, Forlan's existence contained a lot of the opponent's defensive power. For this striker, you have to be vigilant. In Li Ang's memory, it was Forlan's goal that eliminated Inter Milan from the Champions League because of a lack of away goals.
Villarreal's other striker was José Mari.
José Mari became famous very early. He played as the main force for Atlético Madrid in the 19992000 season. He was also a member of the Spanish team in the 2000 Olympics. Later, he went to Milan for a high price, but he never played at the level he did in La Liga. His occasional outstanding performance made him lose his position as the main force. Li Ang had a deeper impression of him only in the 3-3 game against Barcelona in the Champions League, where José Mari scored twice.
But after returning to La Liga, his performance picked up. In the 20052006 season, he played at a high level. He actively ran in the front field and took the ball from behind to relieve a lot of the team's defensive pressure. Although he did not score many goals and his ability to seize opportunities was limited, he ran the most in every game, even surpassing Sorin, who was famous for being able to run.
Inter Milan's players felt the importance the manager attached to their opponent, Villarreal, because Li Ang's tactical analysis meeting was very detailed, even extremely detailed. This kind of situation only happened when they were facing a few opponents such as Juventus and AC Milan.
Feeling Li Ang's attitude, Inter Milan's players put away their contempt for this dark horse of La Liga. They did not dare to be careless with a team that their manager attached so much importance to.
*****
March 29, 2006, Milan, Meazza Stadium.
With the whistle of referee Merkel, the first leg of the 20052006 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals match between Inter Milan and Villarreal began.
Li Ang sat in the technical area, staring at the field.
This was his first time playing against a La Liga team since he left Sporting de Gijón.
He was no stranger to Villarreal's manager, Pellegrini.
Pellegrini's tactics for the Submarines were actually very simple, but it took a long time to really achieve the perfect coordination and control. The team mainly relied on the tight defense in the middle, aggressive pressing, and tight connections between the three lines to reduce the opponent's attacking space. They tried to compress the opponent's ball to the flank and let them take the ball. The center back actively fought for the first point, the defensive midfielder actively protected the second point in front of the penalty area. After the defensive midfielder intercepted the ball, he usually held the ball firmly and looked for Riquelme or Fran and Mali in front of him. He was not in a hurry to play a fast attack, unless there was a very good opportunity. Senna supported Riquelme in the middle, Sorin actively plugged in, Josemari cruised on the right flank, and Fran pulled out of the penalty area to seek cooperation. There would be a few full-backs who would actively plug in, usually Benta. After losing the ball, the striker and Sorin would immediately harass and counter-press. The defensive midfielder and full-backs would retreat quickly, so the opponent basically had no chance to attack alone.
Furthermore, Villarreal CF was very adept at controlling the ball. The rhythm of the game was generally very good. In this way, as time passed, Villarreal CF often relied on a set piece or a small cooperation to break the deadlock.
*****
Li Ang found a way to deal with this Villarreal team!
That was to press and speed up the whole game!
He asked Inter Milan to maintain a high speed and maintain a continuous attack on Villarreal. In this way, Villarreal would not be able to take a breather and adjust their lineup. Their lineup would no longer be intact and precise all the time.
In addition, due to the lack of a one-on-one striker on the flank and a strong center forward in the middle, Villarreal's offensive ability was insufficient when it was necessary to go all out to attack.
These were all places that Li Ang could take advantage of!
Villarreal's Chilean manager, Pellegrini, was called an "engineer" by the media, which meant that he was a master tactician. Li Ang was going to defeat Pellegrini and his Villarreal team tactically today.
PS: Leaguemaster [Passerby 957].
Looking for a guaranteed monthly ticket.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
