"It's cloudy tonight. The probability of rain is not high. The wind is level three and the temperature is 18 ° C. It is recommended to wear single-layer cotton linen short suits, T-shirts, thin denim shirts, casual clothes, professional suits, and other clothing … There may be serious traffic congestion near the Anfield stadium. The police hope that the public can take public transportation …"
On the television screen, the beautiful blonde host was broadcasting the weather situation at night. The probability of rain was relatively low. The weather could be said to be quite good. It was good weather for the fans who were going to the stadium to watch the game.
But the news made Liverpool's manager, Benítez, frown slightly. In fact, it had been raining in Liverpool for the past few days. But just yesterday, after the Inter Milan team arrived in Liverpool, the rain that had been falling for half a week suddenly stopped. This disappointed Liverpool, who had been preparing to play in the rain. In fact, the English team had always been good at playing in the rain.
"What is the weather station doing?" Benítez could not help but complain. Previously, the club had specially arranged for people to go to the weather station to find out about the weather. The weather station said categorically that it would be rainy for the next week or so. There might even be moderate rain or more on the day of the game. Now, it was the day of the game and the rain had stopped.
"I just called the weather station again. They said that there is still a certain probability of rain," the assistant said.
"Adopt Plan B." Benítez looked at the sky outside and shook his head. The weather department was unreliable. Although the sky was gloomy, there were no dark clouds and it was not too hot. It would be strange if it rained.
Benítez naturally could not only prepare tactics for the game in the rain. He had prepared several plans for the team. Now he was going to adopt Plan B.
In contrast to Benítez, Li Ang was quite satisfied with the weather on the day of the game. For his Inter Milan, it was a non-mainstream Italian team. Or rather, it was a team that Li Ang combined well with the technical flow of the Italian team's chain defense. This Inter Milan advocated more ground attacks and their offense flowed smoothly. In addition, their defense was also quite tough. Such a team was really difficult to deal with.
Of course, even if it was rainy, Li Ang would not frown. Inter Milan was also good at playing in the rain or even in a chaotic game.
*****
The entire Inter Milan team was leaving their hotel and getting ready to head to Anfield.
Inter Milan was playing in an away game, so there were not many tickets available to the Inter Milan fans. Therefore, the Inter Milan fans who did not manage to buy tickets gathered outside the hotel to send their team off.
The Inter Milan fans attached great importance to this game. Liverpool was known as a cup expert. In the UEFA Champions League, this team was really not easy to deal with when they went crazy. Inter Milan was playing in an away game in the first leg. If they could get a better result, it would be crucial for Inter Milan's promotion.
Seeing Inter Milan's bus slowly drive out, the Inter Milan fans waiting on both sides of the road became excited. The reporters also frantically pressed their shutters, and suddenly there were flashes.
The young man, Mario Balotelli, who had won Li Ang's appreciation in the first half of the season, had been given a chance to play when Diego Milito, Agüero, and Cassano were injured. He had also entered Inter Milan's European match registration list and was given the opportunity to come with the team to Liverpool's away game. Balotelli opened the window and stuck his head out. He grinned and waved at the fans.
When the fans saw Balotelli's actions, they responded with loud screams, applause, and cheers.
"Mario, behave yourself!" Assistant manager Banderas shouted.
"I just have too much experience, and I'm not allowed to play. I have to find a way to vent." Balotelli made a face and sat down reluctantly. However, Mata, who was sitting next to him, still heard him muttering in a low voice.
Mata bit his cheeks. He was afraid that he would laugh out loud.
Yes, in the face of the cheers of the fans, Balotelli was the most active. This guy had only been given a "gift" by manager Li Ang to be brought to the away game to experience the atmosphere of a Champions League match. After the game started, Balotelli would watch the game in the stands at Anfield. He was not even able to make it into the game's main roster.
*****
"Why don't you tell the coach later that you're injured and let me play?" Balotelli suddenly said to Mata with a face full of expectation.
Mata touched his forehead. He was hurt by this black kid's cute expression. What was this guy thinking? How could he have such a strange idea? Even if Mata was injured, it would be Arshavin or Decaux who would replace him to play. It would not be Balotelli's turn.
"How is it? How is it? How is it? " He stretched out a finger and suddenly poked Mata's butt. Once, twice, thrice. As he poked, he said with a smile.
"Nothing much," Mata shook his head and said unhappily when he saw that Balotelli was still poking. "Don't poke me."
"Then you poke me." As Balotelli said, he turned his body to the side and raised his butt. Then, when he saw that Mata did not move, he turned his head and said, "Come on, come on."
Mata was speechless. Motherf * cker!
Sitting behind them, Agero, who had been silently watching them, couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Balotelli was unhappy and turned his head to look at Arguello. "Why don't you give it a try?" As he said that, he raised a finger and wretchedly demonstrated a piston movement.
Arguello's face almost turned green.
"Hahaha!" This time, it was Mata's turn to laugh.
"How about two buttocks? One for each of you, "Balotelli said seriously as he looked at Mata and Arguello.
Mata and Arguello looked at each other and moved together to rub Balotelli's head. This bastard is too disgusting.
"Be quiet!" Banderas shouted casually. However, that was all. He did not take any further action to stop them.
*****
Li Ang did not care about these guys' nonsense. Although Li Ang was strict in his management, he was not an inflexible coach. Usually, he would not stop the players from having fun. Instead, he would encourage them. This was a catalyst to liven up the atmosphere. As long as these guys did not go overboard, he would not interfere.
He was leaning against the back of the chair and resting with his eyes closed. In order to keep a clear mind in the game, he needed to have enough rest. Being a manager was definitely a very, very hard job. Although the manager did not have to play in the game for 90 minutes, the mental exhaustion was huge. Not to mention, a passionate manager like Li Ang had to jump up and down on the sidelines.
After being a manager for so many years, Li Ang had developed an admirable ability. No matter how noisy the environment was, no matter how noisy it was, as long as he wanted to sleep, he could fall asleep. Of course, the sleep he was talking about was not deep sleep. He was just closing his eyes and relaxing his mind. He was like a soft cotton candy, floating and floating. It was very relaxing, both mentally and physically.
For a job as a manager, which was so stressful, one had to learn to self-regulate. Otherwise, the huge pressure would sooner or later cause a nervous breakdown or even an emotional breakdown.
Halfway through the journey, Li Ang opened his eyes and closed them again. He began to think about his opponent, Liverpool.
Next to him, his assistant, Pablo Banderas, and Mihajlovic were whispering. They were discussing the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez.
The focus of the discussion was why Benítez was a master tactician and what was his strength.
Perhaps it was because they were both Spanish, but Banderas admired Benítez very much. He thought that Benítez was a real master tactician. He even used the 'Istanbul night' to prove it.
In the miracle night of 2005 in Istanbul, Liverpool, who were three goals behind in the first half, scored three goals in the second half, dragged the game into a penalty shootout, and finally defeated AC Milan to win the Champions League trophy. What happened in the second half? Let's look at the changes in Benítez. After the second half began, Liverpool only made one change, which did not seem to have a big impact on the game. The change was very important. Harman came on to replace Finnan, and a midfielder replaced a center back. Benítez used a very strange tactic … They changed from a 4-4-1-1 to a 3-5-2, which changed the balance in the midfield. Gerrard had more freedom, and Cafu and Maldini were suppressed by Arne Riise and Smicer in the forward positions. The change in the game gave the Reds' two full backs more space. Gerrard kept moving to open the gaps for them. It was also Gerrard who scored a header. When the score was 2-3, Benítez's team still transferred the ball from the right to the left. The situation was very clear at that time. AC Milan's midfielders had a big problem in defense. Liverpool played more aggressively and played more concisely. After that, Gerrard and Baros cooperated to create a penalty kick, and a shocking reversal happened.
*****
"The Champions League final with Milan, this game is the most convincing," Banderas said.
Mihajlović nodded. He acknowledged the magic of the 'night in Istanbul', but he had a different opinion. "But apart from that miraculous game, aside from the UEFA Champions League title, Benítez's time at Liverpool was not a success."
The two men then had an argument.
Li Ang was "woken up" by the two assistants, and then he spoke.
"Mr. Benítez is indeed a very good coach. The reason why Benítez can be called a master tactician is because of the variability of the tactics, not the depth of the tactics. He is good at adapting to the situation and creating the most suitable tactics to restrict the opponent according to the opponent's playing style. This kind of unfixed playing style has achieved good results in the Cup, but it has not been able to consistently score points in the league. This is also the reason why Liverpool can perform well in the cup competitions, but always fall short in the Premier League! "
"What you're saying is that Benítez's tactics are more about countering the opponent's tactics, but his team doesn't have a fixed and outstanding tactical play style." Banderas immediately asked.
"In a sense, you can understand it that way." Li Ang nodded and said. Benítez's tactics had not changed much in the past decade. The Spaniard wanted to select players according to his own technical and tactical playing style and formation. The unchanged 4-2-3-1 was his philosophy. He required the front field to press immediately after the ball was lost, and the defensive line to press to their own side near the half-field position, not allowing the opponent to deal with the ball comfortably in the first place. He needed a defensive midfielder who could distribute the ball and dispatch in time, so that the team could be immediately dispatched and organized by him during the attack. He needed a beast who could sweep the field, make the opponent uncomfortable at all times, and snatch the ball. He needed a versatile center forward who could not only play the ball, but also break the goal and score on his own, and stand in the penalty area.
And the tactics he created were more demanding for the midfield. Benítez needed players like Alonso. Just like at Liverpool, when Alonso was injured and absent from the game, or during the suspension period, the Reds seemed to not play football overnight. That was the reason. He needed a midfielder who was versatile and had an almost perfect execution of the tactics.
"I heard that Benítez's tactical deployment is very detailed?" Mihajlovic asked curiously.
"Yes." Li Ang nodded. He and Benítez had played against each other in La Liga and knew his Spanish counterpart well. He had heard a lot of stories about Benítez.
It was said that once in Valencia, Benítez drew so many arrows on the tactical board that the players were confused. They could not understand it, it was like a maze.
Benítez had never been an inspirational master. He was best at densely packed tactical deployments on the blackboard. There was even a saying that the tactical sketches in Benítez's mind were more complicated than the sketches in the computer.
*****
"This is Benítez's philosophy. It can be summed up in this way — Benítez will even strictly require the choice of every passing route, dictate how a player should run in a certain position under certain circumstances, or how to pass the ball, whether it's a low ball, a high ball, or a half-high ball, or a ball from behind, whether it's an outside instep or an inside instep, or something else," Li Ang said.
Banderas looked thoughtful, while Mihajlovic showed a look of sudden realization. He said, "Is that why you particularly emphasized watching and analyzing Liverpool's game videos this time?"
Li Ang nodded, looking like a child who could be taught.
There was something he did not say directly. In Li Ang's view, Benítez was a manager who was very harsh on tactical implementation. Such harshness created a different Benítez and also destroyed the genius manager.
Therefore, although Li Ang admired Benítez in his heart, he did not think that he was a real master tactician. A manager who only knew how to respond to every move, did not have his own set of special skills, and had such rigid tactical restrictions, was still a step away from a real master tactician.
Therefore, he was very dismissive of the media's clamor that the game was a showdown between two master tacticians between him and Benítez.
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