Chapter 231: Chapter 230 Falling Stars, the New Tactical Whiteboard (Twelfth Update)
He seemed to not even exist in that game!
It was as if Deng Kai’s shot had hit thin air and then bounced into the goal.
As the most crucial link, Ronaldo was entirely forgotten in the global discussion.
This made Ronaldo doubt himself for a while.
Was it possible that Deng Kai’s shot had actually taken him out, and he was just a soul, which was why no one else could perceive his presence?
Ronaldo had an even more terrifying guess. He had heard a story from Deng Kai that said when everyone forgets about your existence, even if you still exist, you are essentially non-existent!
"So, I don’t exist, so I... killed me? I, Ronaldo, didn’t get to enjoy the Primeira Liga championship life, so am I called ’Ronaldo the Lifeless’?" Ronaldo slumped in a pile of newspapers, his hands stacked together, ready to pat his forehead.
"This..." Deng Kai interrupted Ronaldo’s contemplation, "this might be my fault."
Ronaldo shook his head, "It’s okay, scoring is what’s most important. Even if it’s painful, even if it means risking injury, I would still let you shoot me in the head with the football. You did nothing wrong, Kai, no need to feel guilty!"
Seeing Ronaldo being so rational, Deng Kai did not continue.Actually, what he wanted to say was that it was his fault because he got too excited after scoring, directly leading his teammates past Ronaldo’s entire world and towards the corner flag to celebrate.
As a result, almost all the photos of that goal didn’t include Ronaldo’s figure.
Because, at the time of the celebration, Ronaldo was still lying in the opponent’s penalty area.
The fact that the players from Rio Ave didn’t take the chance to kick Ronaldo while he was down really spoke to their high quality.
Of course, Deng Kai admitted that he had a bit of inner struggle when he passed by Ronaldo lying on the ground.
In his mind, a little angel and a little devil were debating with each other.
The little devil said: Forget about him, he’s in great shape, he’ll be fine. Let’s celebrate first, we can check on him afterward.
The little angel nodded vigorously: "Yeah, yeah!"
Ronaldo: ???
You call that a debate?
But since Ronaldo didn’t hold it against him, Deng Kai said no more.
It wasn’t that he was afraid Ronaldo would hit him, it’s mainly about respecting Ronaldo’s wishes, right?
...
"Ding! You have won a victory, your rating this game is SSS!"
"Ding! You have received the collective honor of Primeira Liga Champion, individual honors of Primeira Liga Best Player, Primeira Liga Best Midfielder, Primeira Liga Assist King, Primeira Liga Best Squad!"
"Reward received: Super Training Dummy*50, Dong Long Sports Drink*40, White Medicine OK Bandage*15, Blue Skill*1, Purple Skill*1, Tactics Slot*1, Star Player Drop*1!"
"Blue player skill Field Invisible Man: There are always some players who, while playing on the field, just fade away. When you move around on the field, your presence significantly decreases, making it harder for the opposition defense to spot and tightly mark you."
"Purple star player skill Midfield Core: There are always some players who, while playing on the field, turn into the center of attention. When you run on the field, your presence significantly increases, making it easier for teammates to find you. Your close-range passing with teammates improves. Your long-range passing with teammates sees a greater improvement."
Wow!
The system finally acted humane.
No more giving out fragments like those junk game companies, now they’re directly giving out finished products.
And these two skills are complementary.
It means whether Deng Kai walks or runs, he gets some decent boosts either way.
Field Invisible Man is definitely a godly skill for sneaking around.
Midfield Core is also extremely rare in that it can enhance oneself, and also improve teammates by extension.
In situations where your teammates are CBA quality, the practical effect of this skill is definitely not inferior to a purple star player skill.
The Star Player Drop is interesting. Deng Kai didn’t see that star player on the field, but since there was a drop, they probably were there.
And quite a shock, right?
"Van Gaal’s tactical board: the flesh and blood of this famous Dutchman is of the Large Circle Tactics, faithfully in love with it for over twenty years with not an inch of progress. Occupying a slot in the tactical column. Defensive positioning +2, interception +1, tackle +1, block +1, clearance +1, short pass +1. You and your teammates can adapt faster to the backfield U-shaped passing, flanking infiltrations, and delayed defensive plays through training."
Uh...
This...
For a moment, I actually didn’t know whether this was praise or mockery.
Speaking of Van Gaal, most of his coaching career was rather unsuccessful, wasn’t it?
But he was good at promoting youngsters, and many young stars first entered the first team under his guidance and then gradually dazzled on the field.
He was also called Chef Van by fans because he especially liked to spend big money on buying players frequently, just like the dimwitted chef played by Fan Wei in the sketch show "Selling Crutches," with new stuff every year, and each year different from the last.
This so-called Large Circle Tactics, sounds like a damn tactic, but it’s really not much of a tactic.
To put it simply, it’s the center-back passing to the left-back, the left-back to the left midfielder, the left midfielder to the left winger.
The left winger gets the ball and sees, oh my, there’s no one in front on the flank.
The opponent is defending against me, can’t get through.
Breaking through has risks, and the coach said not to take them.
So the left winger passes back to the left midfielder, the left midfielder passes back to the left-back, the left-back passes back to the center-back, the center-back passes to the right-back, the right-back to the right midfielder, the right winger... one, two, three, four, let’s do it again.
From this perspective, the football keeps moving along the edge of a large circle, and looking from our own goal, it forms a U-shaped trajectory.
What is the characteristic of this tactic?
No mid-lane collisions, no through-balls, no falling back, it’s all about playing on the flanks.
Flanks move back and forth frantically, almost no attacking attempts, just a tiresome tease.
Once the characteristics are clear, the pros and cons come out.
Pro number one, even without top midfielders, you can still maintain substantial possession and claim the so-called upper hand.
Pro number two, having control means reducing the opponent’s attacking opportunities, which is beneficial for defense.
Pro number three, fully utilizing the pitch width to cope with pressing, which also benefits defense.
Such teams are unlikely to score a lot of goals.
Con number one, if you have top midfielders, your midfield is wasted.
Con number two, if you have explosive wingers, your explosive elements are wasted.
Con number three, the backline takes on a lot of passing responsibilities, forming the base of this U, and if the base has holes, it’s over. Therefore, to prevent leaks, the backline can’t push up, they have to hang back, which leads to a disconnect between the midfield and defense.
The space resulting from this disconnect becomes fair game for opposing players. Even if they are much shorter, they can still gain substantial possession in this space. If defensive players rush up, they risk leaving an opening; if they don’t, they just watch the opponent control the ball with their back to the goal, which seriously tests the defense’s ability, understanding, and speed of support.
But Large Circle Tactics is just a prototype.
There is a lot of DIY space.
For example, to solve the "midfield void" issue, you can add a technically gifted defensive midfielder with good speed to push up and contribute to midfield tactics.
Or find a striker capable of moving and providing support to help the flanks offensively while sparking off the midfielders who push up.
You could also give wingers with explosive capabilities some autonomy, let them forgo a lot of ball control in favor of pressuring the opponent’s defense, or even utilize a Frisbee tactic with both wings flying simultaneously.
Or maybe, forget it, when it comes to tactics, there’s no best, only the most suitable.
Having more tactical choices is good.
Besides, the ability of players to quickly adapt to tactics is itself a demonstration of skill.
Different tactics require different skills; the more you can adapt to, the higher your lower limit shows to be.
