Football giants

Chapter 742 Dude, I'm Going to Charge!
bang~ bang~ bang~
When the players of the two teams walked out of the player channel one after another, there was a thunderous drum sound all around, followed by a burst of thunderous cheers!
Do you think this is the Allianz Arena?
Wrong, this is Glory Square in Southampton!

Glory Square is the artificial island where Southampton's new stadium is located.

In order to welcome the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final, the club broadcast the game live on the huge advertising screen on the outer wall of the Glory Stadium, allowing all interested fans to gather in the Glory Square to watch the game together.

On this day, all the shops in Glory Plaza will have their grand opening!
In particular, Saint Harry's Bar, after a non-stop rush, was also completed the day before and officially moved to Glory Square.

Not only that, Heineken Beer, Calon Family, Cadbury, Pepsi and other resident brands in Glory Plaza also opened their doors on this day, and carried out a huge promotional activity.

Therefore, this night, Glory Square was flooded with people.

Thousands of fans gathered in front of the four super-large screens surrounding the stadium.

Wearing the jerseys of the saints and bringing various fan props, they gathered here to cheer for the saints in Munich, Germany!
Although no official statistics were made, at this moment, Glory Square attracted at least 5 people.

Therefore, when the live TV broadcast showed players from the two teams walking out of the player tunnel, the entire Glory Plaza was like a erupting volcano, creating a momentum that was enough to move the entire city.

"We've got the starting lineups for both teams now."

"Bayern Munich's starting goalkeeper is Thomas Kraft, a Bayern Munich youth player."

"The back line is Contento, Boateng, Dante and Rafinha, the three midfielders are Schweinsteiger, Thiago and Lahm, and the front trident is Ribery, Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben."

"This lineup can be regarded as the strongest lineup of Bayern Munich this season, and the personnel are very complete."

"The Southampton side are equally strong."

"The goalkeeper is Neuer. This German goalkeeper was once close to Bayern Munich in [-], but he was cut off by Southampton halfway. This made Bayern Munich's top management very angry, but it also contributed to the youth academy player Kraft's top position."

"However, in recent seasons, Kraft's performance has not been satisfactory, so Bayern Munich's pursuit of Neuer is still very enthusiastic, but Neuer, as the captain of the Saints, has always been the pinnacle of the Saints' defense."

"At the back, David Alaba also came from Bayern Munich's youth training camp, but he didn't get a chance and switched to Southampton. The two central defenders are a combination of Harvey Martinez and Varane, and the right back is Azpilicueta."

"The Southampton midfielder still adopts a double midfielder configuration, which is a combination of Toni Kroos and Modric."

"The three offensive players in the frontcourt are Hazard, Suarez and Sanchez, and the center player is Zlatan Ibrahimovic!"

"What's interesting is that when Zlatan Ibrahimovic switched from Barcelona to Southampton, he quarreled with the then Barcelona coach Guardiola. This time, the Swedish center reunited with Guardiola for the first time after leaving Barcelona. So before the game, the Swedish center said that he would definitely prove it to Guardiola with goals!"

"The players of the two teams are entangled with each other, and it is the crucial semi-final of the Champions League, so the smell of gunpowder on both sides before the game is very strong."

"The referee for this game is Pedro Proenza from Portugal."

When the players of the two teams lined up in front of the player tunnel, the camera scanned the players of the two teams and the referee group in the middle one by one from front to back, and then came a big panorama.

At the same time, the shots were also given to the coaches of the two teams on the sidelines, Guardiola and Bielsa.

"We saw that Guardiola took the initiative to shake hands with Bielsa. It is said that before Guardiola coached, he went to Argentina to ask Bielsa about coaching. Many of Guardiola's tactical concepts were also born out of Bielsa."

"So, in the eyes of many people, this will be a duel between master and apprentice!"

The camera went up and fell on the chairman's stand of the Allianz Stadium.

"We can also see that the executives of the two teams attach great importance to this game!"

"This is the interim chairman of Bayern Munich and also the chairman of Adidas, Herbert Heiner. After Hoeness resigned from all positions in Bayern Munich due to the tax turmoil at the beginning of the year, Heiner temporarily served as the interim chairman."

"This is Rummenigge, the chief executive of Bayern Munich. We can also see that Beckenbauer, the honorary chairman of Bayern Munich, also appeared in the chairman's stand."

"Sitting next to them is the owner of Southampton, Yang Huan from China. This is also a figure who has been in the limelight in European football in recent years. In just four years, he has brought out a strong Southampton team. It is a miracle!"

"Next to Yang Huan are Saints' executive chairman Nicola Cortez, CEO Peter Kenyon, and chief operating officer Ron Gurley. It can be said that there are high-level gatherings!"

"We also have every reason to believe that this will be a wonderful matchup!"

When the TV commentator said this, there was a crisp whistle on the scene.

With the whistle of the referee Pedro Proenza, the game officially kicked off!
The entire Glory Square burst into thunderous cheers, and almost all the Saints fans cheered loudly, supporting the team thousands of miles away!
…………

…………

Yang Huan frowned from the first minute of the game.

Because he found that Southampton's tactics are a bit strange today.

The starting lineup is very strange, why use Suarez?
You know, in many games this season, Bielsa used Suarez and Ibrahimovic to start at the same time, and they all arranged for the Uruguayan to play on the wing, and James Rodriguez basically occupied the center.

Even in some Champions League matches, Bielsa used Kaka in the midfielder position.

But in this game, neither Kaka nor James Rodriguez played. Instead, Suarez was allowed to play in the middle of the frontcourt, cruising behind Ibrahimovic, which is quite puzzling.

What is even more frustrating is that Bielsa's team has been shrinking defensively from the beginning.

This is not Bielsa's style at all!
You know, the Argentine lunatic is most talked about is his desperate offense.

But now, play defense as soon as you come?
Doesn't this become Mourinho?

Southampton's defense contracted and the possession of the ball was given up.

But when Beckenbauer, who was sitting next to Yang Huan, saw this situation, he seemed to frown deeper than Yang Huan, and sighed a long time, saying, "This game is difficult!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect that even Bielsa would become so pragmatic!" Rummenigge also smiled helplessly.

Yang Huan's ability to watch football is considered very high, but if compared with people like Beckenbauer and Rummenigge, he is still not as good. At least they have been dealing with football all their lives, and they have played professional football for 30 to [-] years. Can it be the same?

But from their words, Yang Huan vaguely figured out something, that is, Bielsa's change made them feel very uncomfortable, as if it just stuck some of their weaknesses.

It must be right to make the opponent uncomfortable!
So, Master Huan laughed at once, and he was in a good mood.

Be pragmatic!

Yagobe's, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​etc., reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League is as simple as eating, but we are Southampton, after more than 100 years of tossing, we have a chance to reach the semi-finals. Can we be more pragmatic?
Furthermore, Bielsa is actually not stupid, on the contrary, he is very shrewd.

Since Argentina suffered a humiliating Waterloo in the World Cup in Korea and Japan, he has been reflecting.

After coming to Southampton, he was exposed to the first-tier European competitions. With the accumulation of experience, he is also making continuous progress.

At least he understood that professional football sometimes has to be more pragmatic!
Just ask, the Barcelona Dream Team [-], which is as strong as Guardiola, hasn't been pragmatic?
Isn't it a kind of pragmatism that they are desperately brushing up the ball possession rate?
Besides, with Bielsa's character and character, no matter how pragmatic he is, he can't become Mourinho!

And as the competition gradually unfolded, Yang Huan also gradually saw some tricks.

The overall tactics of the Saints are defense-based, which is understandable. After all, they are facing such a powerful Bayern Munich, and they are a guest at the Allianz Arena, and it is the first round of the semi-final match.

But Bielsa's defense is particular.

When Bayern Munich had the ball, Southampton steadily dropped back, allowing Bayern Munich to press hard.

When the ball entered their own half, Ibrahimovic and Suarez withstood Bayern Munich's defense, and the defense focused on cutting off Bayern Munich's passing route.

Don't you want to control the ball?
Okay, I will let you control the ball, and I will not fight for the ball with you. As long as I can hold the ball, the longer you hold the ball and the more passes you make, the more likely there will be problems. As long as I catch your mistakes, I will resolutely fight back.

It was also at this time that Yang Huan realized why he wanted to go to Suarez.

In the defense against Bayern Munich's three midfielders, Southampton also treated them differently.

Focus on Lahm and Thiago, relax Schweinsteiger.

This is also very particular.

This season, Guardiola is not satisfied with Schweinsteiger. He thinks that his playing characteristics are more risky, always inclined to advance, and has a higher turnover rate.

Statistics show that Schweinsteiger concedes the ball once per game, three times as much as Ram.

Therefore, there was a time when Guardiola used Ram to play as a single midfielder.

Similarly, the defense against Bayern Munich's frontcourt trident is also very targeted.

Bayern Munich used Thomas Muller to start in the middle, so Bielsa asked Azpilicueta and David Alaba on the two sides to defend more to prevent Ribery and Robben from cutting inside, and let them pass from the bottom.

Because you have no point in the middle, what's the use of your cross?

Don't go down, don't pass, go inside?
That's okay, the double defensive midfielders Tony Kroos and Modric are firmly covering the front of the penalty area.

As long as you cut inside, I can at least guarantee that there will be a full-back and a midfielder to double-team you at the same time.

No matter how strong and outstanding your Robben and Ribery are in personal ability, is it possible that you can still bring the ball out of the double-team of several people?

I'm afraid even Messi can't do it?
And if I succeed in double-teaming, once I break the ball, you will be in danger!
Not to mention, less than 8 minutes after the opening, Southampton really waited for an opportunity.

Since the start of the game, Southampton has been passively beaten. The chances of getting the ball are pitifully rare, and more often they are rushing to clear the siege after getting the ball.

On the other hand, Bayern Munich has an overwhelming advantage, constantly infiltrating and intruding towards Southampton.

But when Ribery took the ball from the left and wanted to cut inside to find his teammates, Azpilicueta followed up decisively. Toni Kroos outflanked him. The two started at the same time, squeezing Ribery in the middle.

Toni Kroos looked up after successfully stealing the ball.

The entire Bayern Munich backcourt is a large area of ​​open space.

Suarez has raised his hands high.

That look seemed to be saying, buddy, pass on time, I'm going to rush!

(End of this chapter)