Chapter 282: Chapter 281: Round-headed, Cool-faced, Professional Winger Big Ibrahimovic
But the real situation...
"Benfica’s backline has been in good form this year, and they are not lacking in height. Although Ibrahimovic has subjectively solved the difficulty of physical confrontations, his actual ability to compete is lower than Drogba’s."
"He hasn’t started bulking up yet, and such high-intensity confrontations could cause injuries."
"Moreover, with Nuno Gomes as a sparring partner during Benfica’s training sessions, this backline is already better equipped to deal with attacks through the middle."
"That’s why I suggest Ibrahimovic should try to pull to the flanks more in this game."
Joao Pinto also joined the discussion with the coaching team.
This made Paolo Bento, also a member of Portugal’s golden generation, green with envy.
Pinto naturally shared everything he knew about Benfica with Trigella.
It was for this reason that Deng Kai told Ibrahimovic that the team would create an opportunity for him to outshine Maniche in the next game.
Isn’t Maniche a winger?
Then Ibrahimovic would also operate on the flanks.
This also happened to align with Ibrahimovic’s own wishes.
As for whether Ibrahimovic can really play on the flank...
If you ask him to play as a winger like Quaresma or Ronaldo, that definitely won’t work.
Lukaku later demonstrated with his actions that a "beer-belly winger" is unreliable.
But as a wide forward... Ibrahimovic can still give it a try.
What is a wide forward?
A typical target forward mainly drops back to just outside the penalty area arc to receive the ball, providing the midfield with a pivot between the midfield and attack to help the football transition through this area and form a genuine threat.
Or they wait in the box for their teammates to provide crosses or long passes for headers, creating direct chances.
Wide forwards do not possess the latter ability because they operate outside the penalty area, on the flanks.
The area where they perform their pivot role is not outside the arc of the penalty area in the middle but on the flanks on either side.
The team’s high balls are mostly passed to them after they move to the flanks.
This reduces the pressure that forwards face when receiving the ball compared to when they do so in the middle, giving them a more relaxed environment to control the ball.
However, correspondingly, this also demands more of their speed, footwork, cutting-in technique, and crossing ability.
That is why Ibrahimovic can function as a wide forward; his footwork is definitely not inferior to the ordinary winger, and though he’s not as fast as Quaresma, he’s just as smooth.
Although he’s not as fast as Ronaldo, he’s certainly not an old banger.
After all, he is young and hasn’t bulked up, so his current pace isn’t too far off from Drogba’s.
And Drogba’s pace is already considered a high-speed tank among forwards.
...
On October 24th, matchday 7 of the Portuguese league season.
Sporting Lisbon visits Luz Stadium to challenge Benfica.
So far, Sporting Lisbon is perched at the top of the league table.
Second place is Porto, who have also won all their league games up to now.
But they have slightly fewer goal difference.
However, Jia De’er is currently the top scorer in the Portuguese league, outscoring Ronaldo’s six league goals and Quaresma’s five.
In third place is Benfica, who drew with Boavista, trailing the first two by two points.
If they win this match, Benfica will overtake Sporting Lisbon.
Considering that this season is likely to be a battle between the top three powerhouses of the Portuguese league, this game has become a six-pointer!
Luz Stadium is packed with no seats left empty.
In the new season, all fans are looking forward to the bright future of the club.
In the first five minutes, the struggle for possession was intense, with neither side willing to concede control to the opponent.
Maniche, though a forward, fought especially hard in the midfield struggle, helping his team to gain a slight advantage there.
It seemed that the football was being played more in Sporting Lisbon’s half.
But in the seventh minute, Matthaus suddenly made a lateral challenge, teaming up with Deschamps to outwit Benfica’s midfield with a swift intercept in the middle.
Sporting Lisbon’s forwards were still finding their positions, and Benfica’s retreat was quick, leaving no good opportunities.
After only a quick glance, Matthaus passed the ball back to Deng Kai, avoiding any unnecessary ball control.
Pressed into his own half by Maniche, Deng Kai sent a long pass without even stopping the ball.
At that moment, on the left flank, Ronaldo had already switched positions with Ibrahimovic who was in the middle.
Ibrahimovic was running towards the left flank.
When the defense had retreated fully, it was not easy for a speedy winger like Ronaldo to get the ball because to let him receive it, you needed to play a ball into space behind so he could run onto it.
If he started running, he had more than a fifty percent chance of getting the ball.
But once the opposition had fully retreated, there wasn’t much space left for running; a few steps more and you’re over the byline.
If you don’t play a ball into space and instead contest for position directly with the defenders, you’d negate Ronaldo’s biggest advantage, and his chances of receiving the ball might drop to thirty percent.
Similarly, for Quaresma on the other hand, you would need to provide a ball to feet, encouraging Quaresma to retreat a couple of steps to receive it, thus averaging an eighty percent chance of ball control.
Because engaging Quaresma directly would give him a much smaller advantage in a physical duel, bringing his chances of securing the ball down to less than ten percent.
But by retreating to receive the ball, it not only drew the opposition out, with his agility and skill, one turn after receiving could easily send the defenders the wrong way, making the play much more enjoyable.
Therefore, the opposition didn’t dare to press too aggressively, making it easy for Quaresma to receive the ball.
However, Ibrahimovic was different.
Deng Kai’s long pass was aimed at a distance that allowed Ibrahimovic to vie with the defender.
Neither too close nor too far, Ibrahimovic didn’t need to sprint or to retreat.
Ibrahimovic easily received the ball, shielding it from Benfica’s right-back.
The defender was desperately hassling him from behind, but to no great effect.
Central defenders might disrupt Ibrahimovic with such harassment, but a full-back... Ibrahimovic could only offer a silent apology.
With a slight lean on his opponent, Ibrahimovic completed his turn.
After a couple of shakes with his feet, he suddenly flicked the ball for a cross.
Having been pushed away by Ibrahimovic, the Benfica right-back didn’t come back for more contact because that would have been masochistic.
He maintained a bit of distance, which actually helped him defend against Ibrahimovic, because Ibrahimovic’s pace was not too fast; with the distance set, he couldn’t beat the full-back.
Even with Ibrahimovic’s crossing, the full-back was confident of blocking it—he could simply stretch a leg in front of Ibrahimovic’s pass.
That’s the advantage a small, agile player has over a taller, less agile one.
The larger player’s windup and follow-through motions are just too long.
However...
Bang!
The football flew into the penalty area.
The face of the Benfica right-back was a mask of horror.
He indeed anticipated Ibrahimovic’s move.
But he hadn’t anticipated Ibrahimovic’s legs being that long!
Using the advantage of his long legs, Ibrahimovic managed to kick the ball further out, just enough to evade the defender’s interception.
It was too late by the time it was quick.
Ronaldo, who had just settled in the box, used the push from his marker to surge towards the near post, leaving the defender behind with a clever bit of resistance.
