Chapter 278: Chapter 277 Is there a problem with this line of defense?
Ibrahimovic came on as a substitute in this match, getting just fifteen minutes on the pitch.
His expression was extremely ugly.
October 17th, the sixth round of the Primeira Liga.
Pinto was still in the starting lineup.
Quaresma dribbled past players on the flank, winning a corner.
In the 14th minute, Viana took a tactical corner, Deng Kai crossed, and Barzagli’s header was blocked, with the clearance falling to Matthaus’ feet. Matthaus made a long-range shot that deflected off Ronaldo and went into the net.
Matthaus had inadvertently assisted Ronaldo.
In the 41st minute, Deng Kai’s through ball broke through the opponent’s defense, and Pinto was brought down in the box, earning a penalty which Quaresma converted with a spot-kick.
The second half started with the sides switching ends.
In the 63rd minute, after Quaresma’s cross from the flank, Ronaldo and Pinto swapped positions, with Ronaldo successfully grabbing the spotlight in the middle and heading the ball in, scoring his second of the match.
In the 67th minute, after a series of complicated passes in midfield, Deng Kai penetrated deep into the penalty area.
Deschamps, who had followed Zidane since he was a boy, had learned from him and had also mastered the art of a delicate pass.
A lofted through ball found Deng Kai in the box, and after controlling the ball, he curled a shot into the net.
But... they had won, yet the scoreline was 4-3.
Sporting Lisbon narrowly defeated their rivals, Farense.
Compared to the big wins at the start of the season, the recent narrow victories were revealing some information.
"Winning games can’t hide the slump, Sporting Lisbon’s young storm may not last!"
"As the season progresses, Primeira Liga teams are getting to know Sporting Lisbon better, and the young storm strategy might no longer be effective!"
"Conceding goals consecutively, a shaky defense! There are huge problems with Sporting Lisbon’s backline!"
"Feng Te doesn’t deserve to start! Barzagli and Terry lack experience, a youthful defense is ultimately unreliable!"
"Deschamps is weak and powerless, Matthaus alone can’t cover the four major gaps, Sporting Lisbon’s defense is in big trouble!"
"Schmeichel’s magic is gone, his sharp decline in form makes clean sheets harder to come by!"
The media took advantage of the moment, causing Sporting Lisbon’s fans to start denouncing their own defense.
But within Sporting Lisbon’s internal seminars, the focus was on the offense, making adjustments over and over again.
"Pinto is more suited to play as a shadow striker. Putting him in the center forward position, he might appear capable of passing and coordination, but the environment is too harsh, he simply can’t hold his ground."
"Moreover, once he gets into the box, he doesn’t create as much visual impact or actual damage to the opposition’s defense as Drogba."
"That’s not to say we must make Pinto play like Drogba, which he can’t learn anyway. The main thing is our attack needs speed and skill on the wings, organizational ability and the capacity to suddenly accelerate in midfield. What’s missing is a bridgehead that can stand its ground deep in the enemy’s territory and provide a heading presence to complement the attack."
"Although Ronaldo, Quaresma, including Deng Kai and Viana, can do this once they get into the box, positioning is crucial. There’s often a big difference between running into that position and actually being there from the start."
"Moreover, when there are four players making runs into the box, if there’s no route drawing them out from within the box, then the opponent’s penalty area will be just like an iron board."
"The deadly threat seems to be on the four players who insert into the penalty area, but all this is predicated on the forward’s ability to draw the opposite defenders out first."
Trigella’s words had nothing to do with defense, inside and out.
It was as if he hadn’t seen any of the media’s denunciatory editorials.
Matthaus and Deschamps had both participated in this coaching staff seminar, which was one of the conditions for them joining the team.
Deschamps raised his hand to ask, "But currently our main problem lies in defense, we score a lot of goals. I admit, some of it is on me. I often struggle when facing players who are very fast or very strong."
Maxa laughed at that moment.
He had seen this question before and knew the correct answer.
"Does Mr. Maxa have any insight?" Matthaus also felt that today’s discussion was veering off the central issue.
Maxa took a sip of tea and, glancing at Coach Deng, noticed that Coach Deng didn’t seem to mind him plagiarizing, oh no, speaking out. So he began, "There’s a saying in China, ’Cure the head when the head aches, cure the foot when the foot hurts; you cure these, and problems abound.’"
"We’ve talked a lot about defense and offense before. I’ll go over it one last time here, so students, remember to take good notes and don’t come asking me these simple conceptual questions after class."
"We seem to have scored a lot of goals, but does that mean we are the same in the offensive end as we were before?"
Maxa turned the screen around to show everyone the data summary he had compiled, "Notice that our number of offensive launches, passes inside the penalty area, and shots have all seen a phased decline after Drogba’s injury."
"In other words, the opportunities for the team have significantly decreased."
Deschamps raised his hand, "Doesn’t that also indicate that our frontline’s efficiency has increased? Aside from their personal abilities and improved coordination, could there be a relationship with the reduced number of offensive attempts?"
"What I mean is, though the opportunities seem fewer, every chance is more refined, increasing the probability of the forwards scoring. Like Arsenal, passing the ball constantly to send the football into the opponent’s goal."
"They’re after at least a ninth-degree opportunity; many chances that could’ve been taken at the seventh or eighth degree are ruined in the process. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong."
"Because without trying so many seventh and eighth-degree opportunities, there wouldn’t be so many of those ninth-degree chances."
Maxa nodded, "You make some valid points, which is why at this point, the situation on the field and the opponent’s data are very valuable for reference. This is key to understanding the strength and weakness of the team and players by those who watch the game and those who don’t."
"Now, take a look at this set of reports."
"Before Drogba was injured, the number of attacks initiated by our opponents in each game was less than ten. The number of times they brought the football into the attacking third and posed a real threat was less than five."
"Aside from corners, the number of shots was less than four."
"But after Pinto started playing, all these numbers went up significantly for the opponents. So, the reason for the improved attacking efficiency of our forwards came into play—we gained more opportunities akin to counterattacks... or rather, the chance to counter the opponents’ counterattacks."
"We have more opportunities to exploit their mispositioning, and this style of attack inherently increases efficiency much more than playing against a solid defensive formation."
Deschamps trusted Maxa’s data, but he still didn’t understand how it related to today’s main topic: defense.
As Maxa watched Deschamps struggle, he suddenly realized why he had won Coach Deng’s favor.
It turned out that having such a clever person by his side could bring such refreshing satisfaction.
Oh Deschamps, my apprentice, I’ve got you hooked!
