Chapter 264: Chapter 263: First Release? No, This is Core! (Thanks to Book Friend 5899 for the Helmsman Reward)
Maxa: Uh... well... I thought when I announced the roster, you guys would criticize me, but it turns out it’s still my handsome Trigella and young Deng Kai taking the heat?
Right.
Why let Maxa announce the roster?
Because Trigella is still getting the team’s players adapted to the new formation.
This formation is completely tailor-made for the team’s players.
You could also say that the team’s players were bought specifically to fit this formation.
Even the players themselves were surprised by how quickly they adapted to the formation.
Of course, that’s after they had practiced with Deng Kai.
Before practicing with Deng Kai, the players actually had a bit of trouble getting the hang of this formation.
The main reason is that this formation has too many variations.
Without a Commander’s guidance, you switch to 433, he switches to 451, and someone else switches to 325—it becomes chaos.
In the early stages of the new formation, when the players’ understanding of it isn’t enough, that’s when they need a Commander the most.
Viana is a good player, but his talents mainly lie in skill.
Either on or off the field, his leadership skills are not up to the mark.
But this is the kind of work Deng Kai likes.
And can handle.
So, the outside criticism of Deng Kai’s starting position is misplaced.
What they should be criticizing is why Deng Kai is the... core of this team!
Deng Kai: "Matthaus, fall back, you need to be ready to become a left center-back at any moment."
Matthaus: "I don’t want to play center-back, I want to be more involved in the game."
Deng Kai: "The passing in our system mainly comes from the center-backs, who can also initiate long passes depending on the situation. Are you sure you don’t want to switch?"
Matthaus fell in love with the position as soon as he switched.
He had played center-back before, and it was tough and tiring.
The center-back role in this formation is different; when Matthaus falls back, the three-man backline becomes a four-defender system.
Football is passed between their four feet and then played out wide.
Ronaldo partners with Viana, Quaresma partners with Deng Kai.
If it doesn’t work out, they go back again.
The defenders play like midfielders, and the key is they don’t face the kind of pressure from marking and pressing that midfielders do.
It’s absolutely delightful!
Older players love playing football like this.
They get to be fully involved and it’s relaxing.
This is Van Gaal’s Large Circle Tactics with a U-shaped passing system!
Deng Kai: "Viana, when Matthaus falls back, you need to drop deeper."
Matthaus: Be more specific, where am I going?
Deng Kai: "Ronaldo lacks the ability to shake off defenders in midfield, you play in this position like a core player, both I and Ronaldo will cooperate. Drogba will also drop back, play according to the situation."
Viana was very happy because this allowed him to switch places with Ronaldo on the left, or push forward comfortably through the middle with support from Drogba and Deng Kai.
When the football is on the left wing, this is the core style of play.
No need for him to waste energy running around everywhere.
Deng Kai, "Deschamps, after Matthaus comes off, you need to stay a bit more central, you’re our defensive stronghold. But no pressure, you’ve got strong defensive players behind you and quick support, you just need to delay the opponent."
"Stay steady, no need to wrestle or grind with the opponents, we play off-position defense, as long as you can buy us time, that’s a successful defense!"
Deschamps, "Don’t worry!"
And he doesn’t need to compete fiercely, just block and intercept. This style of play couldn’t be more suitable for the older players.
Moreover, Deschamps wasn’t a beast-style player reliant on physicality to begin with.
Deng Kai, "Quaresma, you need to drop back more, Deschamps’s interceptions will come straight to you, you need a lot of ball possession. We need you to carry out a solo offense on the right wing, your fancy dribbling shouldn’t be limited to the attacking third."
"Dribble, penetrate, cross after breaking to the bottom line, cut inside for a shot, you have countless options. As our strong side, you must find every way to break through the opposition! That’s the mission of the team’s leading player!"
Quaresma, "Leave it to me with confidence! I can even dribble from the back!"
Deng Kai, "That won’t be necessary."
Quaresma, "?"
Deng Kai, "You are our offensive core, we can’t have you going back to defend, it would be a waste!"
Quaresma grins from ear to ear.
This is what’s called "teach, entertain, and lead"... ahem, this is the art of language.
Mainly because everyone buys into it, as Deng Kai isn’t just bluffing.
When Viana dropped back, he truly became the core of the left midfield.
But in fact, Viana also indirectly handed over the rights to fire from the left front to Ronaldo.
Asking Quaresma to drop back even deeper, giving him almost the entire right wing, the toughest and most exhausting job, and yet Quaresma was very happy about it—this is what it means to be a star player.
Limited Matthaus’s forward runs, gracefully called it controlling the football’s initiation right.
To be safe, they cut off Deschamps’s offensive and counterattack rights, making him focus on defense, and Deschamps actually felt that Kai was giving the younger players a chance.
As for the other young brothers, there wasn’t a need for so much flowery talk.
"Feng Te! Spread out a bit, you need to make space for Matthaus! But don’t leave your position too early, to avoid connection gaps!"
"Barzagli, be decisive in fouling, with Quaresma as support, you don’t need to be so forward. Once there’s a gap behind you, it becomes the opponent’s open field, you need to be more cautious."
"Terry, your speed in retreat is good, but don’t slide tackle recklessly, or else you’ll completely lose your target. Our back line’s primary task is stability, then interception! We don’t need to win the ball from under the opponents’ feet, our goal is to delay, delay, and delay more!"
"Drogba, drop back! What are you doing standing in the box? Hold off others, you need to provide me and Viana with an outlet for passing."
"Ronaldo, what are you waiting for? Keep attacking their defense on the left wing, when Viana or I pass the ball to you, I expect you to have already beaten their right back! That’s your purpose of being here!"
"Schmeichel, come out a bit more, the defensive line will pass back to you any time, if you stay too far from them, the opponents might get a chance to intercept. Your footwork is second to none among goalkeepers, if you can’t do it, no one can!"
In this way, players throughout the team were constantly changing their positions, but everyone knew what they had to do.
The formation seemed chaotic, but actually, the score in everyone’s hearts was becoming clearer and clearer.
...
On the 31st of August, the first round of the Portuguese Premier League kicked off.
The champions of last season, Boavista, opened the game with an easy victory, continuing their championship momentum from the previous year.
Porto, under the leadership of Jia De’er and Deco, triumphed over their opponents with a four to one victory.
Jia De’er scored twice, and Deco showed his core class with a goal and an assist.
Benfica, having lost the veteran Joao Pinto, was fueled by the "Red Spirit" that nurtures talent, and Nuno Gomes, carrying the momentum from the European Championship into the league, scored two and assisted one, helping the team win narrowly against Guimarães with a three to two scoreline.
The top three of the Portuguese Premier League from last season remained stable.
Everyone turned their attention to Sporting Lisbon, who finished fourth last season.
