Starting With Real Madrid

Italian football has always struggled with deploying wide players.

On one hand, this is because Italian teams place great importance on defense, leaving very little space on the wings. On the other hand, it's a long-standing tradition in Serie A.

There's a saying in Italy that no matter how well you play on the wings, you still have to return to the center to score.

As a result, in recent years, most of the prominent players from Italian football have been central players.

Particularly, the number 9 and a half, represented by Roberto Baggio, led this trend.

However, this doesn't mean that Italian teams don't use wingers, but their wingers focus more on running, cooperating, and defending.

Camoranesi is a typical Italian winger. He is adept at both attacking and defending, has boundless energy, is active in running, very versatile, and possesses high tactical execution. Whatever task the coach assigns him, he can complete it.

But such wingers are no longer competitive in the Premier League, La Liga, or even the Bundesliga.

Times have changed!

Juventus boasts a very strong lineup. Take their midfield, for example. From left to right, there's Nedved, Emerson, Vieira, and Camoranesi. It's the most luxurious and powerful midfield configuration.

Even Gao Shen thought at first glance that this was incredible. Who could match this?

But upon careful consideration, it's not difficult to see that this lineup, while seemingly powerful and all-encompassing, is actually quite mediocre.

Camoranesi, Emerson, and Vieira are all versatile, but even the standout Nedved is known more for his toughness and tenacity rather than his footwork and creativity.

So, the question arises: what does a midfield formed by these four players look like?

The simplest question is, if the opponent's formation is tight and their players are well-organized, who can break through in a one-on-one situation to dismantle the opponent's defense?

The answer is obvious: no one.

When facing a tight defense, Juventus usually relies on two strategies: continually pressing forward, forcing the opponent into mistakes, much like a battering ram that repeatedly strikes but can't breach the city's gates. In other words, it depends on the strength of the opponent's defense.

The other option is to go directly to the center forwards, Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic.

But everyone knows that Trezeguet can't hold the ball, Ibrahimovic is too rough, and Juventus' long pass strategy is very inefficient.

The midfield lacks creativity and the ability to connect effectively. The two center forwards don't have a large range of movement and their ability to drop back and link up is weak, making Juventus' offense appear strong but actually quite mechanical and inflexible.

...

This in-depth analysis was collected from the tactical library, which includes opinions from many tacticians such as Wenger, Lippi, Ancelotti, and Mancini on this season's Juventus team.

But Gao Shen doesn't just look at others' opinions. After repeated research and verification, and after thoroughly understanding it, he fully transforms it into his own.

Now, he's explaining his understanding while chatting with Zidane and Beckham.

The two superstars across from him were taken aback for a moment because they were so surprised.

Could a twenty-five-year-old rookie who just started coaching really express such insights?

After Gao Shen's deconstruction, they both felt that Juventus didn't seem so scary.

Not scary at all!

As long as Real Madrid maintains a tight formation and doesn't make defensive mistakes, why be afraid of them?

After digesting what Gao Shen had just said, Zidane suddenly thought of a second question.

"Did you mention tactics just now?"

Gao Shen nodded, "As I said with Camoranesi, times have changed."

Nowadays, the popular formations in the Premier League and La Liga are 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, but the three strong teams in Serie A, Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan, are currently playing 4-4-2. Ancelotti hasn't yet implemented his famous Christmas tree formation and, under pressure from Berlusconi, is using two forwards.

Then comes the problem.

Compared to 4-4-2, what are the advantages of 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 as we usually understand them?

The answer is the midfield.

In fact, 4-4-2 is a formation that's very unsuitable for controlling the midfield. It's more suited to long passes and rushing, which is an English style formation that quickly hits the front line.

But everyone knows that the efficiency of long-pass rushing is very low. In recent years, the mainstream tactical trend in European football is to control the midfield and place superior forces there. Whether attacking or defending, it offers an advantage.

This concept reached an extreme in Barcelona's later dream team.

Ancelotti will lead AC Milan to win the Champions League next season, relying on the 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree. Seedorf and Kaka are essentially midfielders, plus Ambrosini, Pirlo, and Gattuso, achieving effective midfield control.

In Serie A, Roma does this best. Capello adopted the 3-6-1 formation at Roma, using six midfielders, but at Juventus, especially after Vieira joined this season, he had to use four midfielders.

It's like Real Madrid's superstar strategy: who can be left out?

Vieira is there, and there's another Emerson in the team. Who can spare the two world-class midfielders?

Plus Nedved and Camoranesi, how can the lineup be arranged?

Who will win in the front line?

Is it Trezeguet, who has the most scoring ability? Or will it be Ibrahimovic, who is the most capable in singles?

Juventus' problem is actually the same as Real Madrid's superstar strategy.

This is what Gao Shen meant earlier: the strongest often have the weakest points.

...

After listening to Gao Shen's remarks, Zidane and Beckham looked at each other, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.

This is the first time they've been so close to analyzing an opponent with Gao Shen, which is very different from previous tactical meetings.

In the past, they always thought it was the collective effort of the coaching staff.

But now it seems Gao Shen really has something of his own.

Zidane sighed heavily and said with a smile, "After hearing what you said, I suddenly found that Juventus isn't scary at all. I can go back and have a good sleep."

Gao Shen smiled, feeling somewhat satisfied. After all, getting Zidane's approval wasn't easy.

"However, if you follow your line of thinking and aim to keep the away game level, you'll probably get scolded even more after the game," Beckham laughed.

Gao Shen recently led the team to five consecutive victories, but he was also heavily criticized.

However, he is quite blunt and hasn't softened toward the media. So far, he hasn't even attended a post-game press conference, causing Maqueda to suffer the criticism.

Why?

The media vented their grievances of not being able to see Gao Shen and scold him in person on Maqueda, the press conference spokesperson.

"Let them scold." Gao Shen was nonchalant, "We only have this much strength now. If we don't play like this, how else can we play?"

Zidane and Beckham were speechless.

A superstar can be arrogant, but not blind.

They know Real Madrid's capabilities. Otherwise, how could Zidane maintain such good form and announce his early retirement while still under contract with Real Madrid?

On the football field, everything still depends on strength.

If you want to win, you have to win beautifully and show your strength!

Just like Rijkaard's second dream team and Guardiola's third dream team.

...

...

The next morning, Real Madrid held their last tactical meeting before the game.

After sending Zidane and Beckham away last night, Gao Shen "stayed up late" in the tactical library and perfected some of his thoughts and ideas, including how to effectively defend against Juventus' problems.

As a head coach, Gao Shen must implement his tactics through the players.

In this game, Gao Shen emphasized pressing and pressing from a high position, but he didn't need the players to run all over the field. Instead, they should keep the formation meticulous and orderly, relying on the team's overall combat to defend.

If Juventus' attack is like a battering ram, then the 4-2-3-1 formation Gao Shen prepared for Real Madrid is like setting up multiple gates. It won't be easy to breach.

Ramos and Woodgate have good maneuverability. Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic aren't fast, and even their running ability is limited. Trezeguet is more of a traditional center forward who relies entirely on the midfielders to deliver the ball.

So, Gao Shen can confidently apply high pressure.

But Gao Shen emphasized one point: reducing their own mistakes.

"I want each of you to understand that the Champions League knockout stage is a two-legged, 180-minute game, not just 90 minutes. Whatever we do at the Alpenstadion will depend on the second leg at our home ground."

"So, I hope you can maintain enough patience in the game, knowing that our most important task tonight is to keep a clean sheet. As long as we do that, we'll have an advantage when we return to the Bernabeu. I have confidence that we can beat Juventus."

Gao Shen spoke with great certainty.

It doesn't matter how beautiful the theory is; the key is to practice it on the field.

Tonight is the best opportunity to practice.

As long as they hold out tonight, it will prove that Gao Shen's idea is correct, and in the second leg, he will have more confidence.

Moreover, he also wants to use the first leg to better observe the situation of Juventus.

There are many things that are not found in the tactical library and need to be dug up and explored on your own.

It's not that Gao Shen didn't think about grabbing an away goal on the road, but it's too risky.

Capello adheres to the one-to-zero principle. If given a goal, he will defend more tightly than anyone else when he returns to the Bernabeu. At that time, Real Madrid would be very passive and have to press hard.

Against such a team, you really can't take risks; you have to fight to the death with the opponent.

As for the scolding from the media and fans at that time, Gao Shen doesn't care.

He has only one goal now: to lead Real Madrid to continue on the paths of both the Champions League and La Liga.