Football giants

Chapter 926 This is a good question!

"Bayern Munich are most dangerous when they have full possession of the ball!"

In the high-level conference room of the Grand Hyatt Berlin where Southampton stayed, Bielsa was explaining the core ideas of the Saints in this game to all the players who were included in the 18-man squad.

In order to ensure the team's safe preparations, and to take good care of the players' families and members of the Saints fan club who came with the team, Southampton has booked the entire Grand Hyatt Hotel, so Bielsa does not need to have any scruples when speaking.

"Guardiola's team is very good at creating threats when they are in control of the situation. Therefore, in the game, from the first minute, we will destroy the opponent's control of the game."

Bielsa pointed to the LCD screen behind him, and a PPT was being switched on it, showing Bayern Munich's starting lineup and the list of substitute players.

"We received news that Ribery will be doomed to miss this game. He hasn't played for a long time, and he hasn't even made the squad. However, another wide player, Arjen Robben, is probably going to be there."

Bayern Munich's offense is very dependent on the performance of the two wings, but this season, Ribery and Robben are both injured and often absent, so Guardiola's formation is also greatly affected.

"I have every reason to believe that Bayern Munich will still adopt a three-back tactic, because this set of tactics has been practiced by Guardiola many times, and it has achieved certain results in the semi-finals, which can make up for the losses caused by the absence of the two core players on the wing."

Behind Bielsa, Bayern Munich started with a three-five-two tactic.

The three defenders are Dante, Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng.

In the case of five midfielders, Harvey Alonso is dragged behind, and four players are lined up in front, namely Bernat, Thiago, Ram and Robben, and the double forwards are Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.

At first glance, this set of formations looks three-five-two, but in fact, there are many factors that can be changed.

For example, if Bernat retreats, it will be a four-back strategy, and if Lahm also changes his position during the game and retreats to the right, it will be a five-back tactic.

The reason why Guardiola's team is a headache is that his formation is completely inaccurate, and the positions of players change too frequently and are highly mobile, changing anytime and anywhere.

This is also true of Southampton.

It is entirely foreseeable that Bayern Munich will definitely invest a lot of defensive energy in the game to guard against the Saints' offensive lineup, especially the front three.

"So, in this game, we have to go up from the very beginning, press up, firmly suppress Bayern Munich in the half court, and use the press to suppress them, but we don't need to fight for the ball too much. Remember, their defense wants to control the ball, let them do whatever they want, but once they enter the midfield..."

Bielsa's slaps lined up on the LCD screen behind him, exactly covering the area where the three midfielders Xavi Alonso, Lahm and Thiago huddled.

The meaning of the Argentine lunatic is to allow Bayern Munich to control the ball on the defense line appropriately, but as soon as the ball enters the midfield range, Southampton will immediately snap it up, completely destroy Bayern Munich's organization, and press their ball back again.

Just ask, the ball can't pass the midfield, how to play a threat?

"In order to achieve the goal of restricting Bayern Munich's midfield, we need to properly shrink the formation, focus on the area from the center line to the 30-meter area, and control the center and ribs."

Having said that, Bielsa showed the next PPT, which is a picture of the players of the two teams.

"Luis!" The Argentine looked at Suarez, "I need you to block all the passes to the middle of the midfield. If Xavi Alonso retreats, you must follow up immediately and stare at him!"

Suarez nodded, this task is no stranger to him.

Moreover, with his ability, he can quickly cut into the gap between Harvey Alonso and the defense at the moment when he turns from defense to offense. As long as he gets the ball here, Bayern Munich will be in danger.

Because he believes that his two teammates Hazard and Sanchez will follow up immediately.

As long as the three get the ball in the frontcourt and cooperate, they will have the confidence to break through Bayern Munich's defense.

"Eden, Alexis, I need you to assist Luiz. Your main task is to block the pass to Lahm and Thiago while Luiz in the center is pressing Bayern Munich, forcing Bayern Munich to pass to the wing."

As long as Bayern Munich's midfield center is locked and the defense is prevented from passing the ball to the three players in the center, then no matter how much possession rate Bayern Munich has, it will be tied, because their way of passing the ball can only go to the side.

In this case, Southampton's defense will be much easier to organize.

Because of the two wings, not to mention that Ribery is not here now, even if the devil returns with wings, Ribery and Robben start, Southampton controls the frontcourt center, Fabregas and Danilo, Di Maria and David Abala, are fully able to limit Bayern Munich's two wings.

As long as the ball is on the wing, it is difficult for Bayern Munich's offense to play a threat.

As for the offense, it's even simpler.

The three-back tactic has natural side defensive flaws.

In order to pursue midfield possession, Guardiola reused players like Harvey Alonso and Lahm. As long as Southampton's front trident can be transferred to the empty space to receive the pass at the first time, and Fabregas and Di Maria will plug in after the first time, then Southampton's offense can be played alive.

One-on-one, no one can defend Southampton's front trident.

More importantly, in the midfield, there is Cesc Fabregas in the pass, Di Maria in the dribble, plus a Toni Kroos who organizes and controls the rhythm.

This is why some people comment that the Saints' midfielder is comparable to Barcelona at its peak.

Di Maria is similar to Iniesta, Fabregas is similar to Xavi, and Toni Kroos is similar to Busquets.

Although the technical characteristics and styles of specific players are different, resulting in the characteristics of the two midfield combinations are also different, but in general, the specific functions are the same thing.

Therefore, as long as they can grab the ball and block Bayern Munich's offense, the Saints' offense is not a problem.

A very important reason why Southampton has such confidence is that the front trident is willing to invest in pressing and defending.

Just imagine, if Southampton's trident was like Real Madrid's front trident, playing big ball, defending when they are in a good mood, and standing and watching a show when they are in a bad mood, Bielsa would hand over such an important first line of defense to them?
Of course, Bayern Munich is not completely powerless to fight back.

Let's not talk about whether Bielsa's tactics can be successful, even if it does work, Bayern Munich still has a choice.

Guardiola, for example, could relinquish his own possession and focus on limiting Southampton's attack.

But in this way, whether Bayern Munich can create a threat on the offensive end depends on luck.

Another situation is that Southampton's frontcourt pressing and blocking are not strong enough to be effective, resulting in Bayern Munich being able to control and pass the ball more effectively. Once Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Robben and others are given the opportunity to directly take the ball and hit the defense, then Southampton's goal is also worrying.

This is the case with football tactics, any choice is both opportunities and risks.

As the head coach, Bielsa can only choose the tactics that are most likely to give full play to the team's advantages and defeat the opponent.

As for whether it can work, it depends on Bayern Munich's response.

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When Bielsa was arranging the team's tactics for tomorrow's final at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, major German TV stations were also warming up for the upcoming Champions League final.

One of the German television stations with the highest ratings even specially produced a special program, inviting many football celebrities to discuss tomorrow's game and study whether it is possible for Bayern Munich to beat the Saints.

"The strongest part of the saints lies in their offense!"

The former superstar of German football and the star of Bayern Munich, Michael Ballack commented on the program.

"I've never seen a team attack like Southampton. They have the opportunity to gather the best superstars, Suarez, Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Sanchez, Di Maria and Toni Kroos. They are absolute superstars and their strength is beyond doubt."

"In contrast to Bayern Munich, we also have superstars, Ribery, Arjen Robben, Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, but we have to admit that in comparison, we are slightly inferior."

"Not only that, but Southampton gives me the feeling that their tactics are very rigorous, and they rarely lose tactical discipline. Every player is playing for the team as a whole, and they also play at the highest level because of teamwork. This is very, very rare in the current European football. The last time I saw it was Guardiola's Barcelona!"

After hearing this, the host smiled slightly and asked, "Michael, what do you mean, Bayern Munich doesn't have much chance of winning?"

"There is definitely a chance of winning!" Ballack replied, "The strongest place is often the weakest place. The Saints' offense is indeed quite sharp, but can their defense be as good as their offense?"

"In such a critical final, can Bielsa let their superstar players devote enough energy to defend? You must know that offensive players are naturally resistant to defense, and Southampton's players will also slack and sometimes unwilling to defend, so this is their weakness."

The host nodded and said, "Thank you Michael, then who do you think is the most important player in Bayern Munich's game?"

"Suarez!" Ballack replied without hesitation.

"why?"

"Any team that has a player like Suarez is quite lucky. His active running and outstanding personal skills can bring chaos to the opponent. Personally, I think his biggest threat is the trouble of retreating to find the midfielder, and taking the ball in the threat area. One person against the double-teaming of three players, which is quite scary!"

"What about Hazard and Sanchez?"

"They are also very scary. Southampton's greatest luck is that they have three top stars with outstanding personal abilities at the same time, which allows them to face any defense line with ease."

"This is a nightmare for all opponents!" Ballack finally added.

Anyone can tell that Bayern Munich legends believe that in this final, Bayern Munich is at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

If Guardiola's team wants to beat their opponents, they have to do enough to limit the opponent's offensive players.

But the question is, with Guardiola's character, will he put down his body to defend?
This is a great question!

(End of this chapter)