The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 566: Chapter 111: Bicycle Kick! Matching the Legend! Back-to-Back Hat-tricks! Nesta, Our Duel Is Just Beginning

"I’ve seen the match highlights, but I haven’t had a chance to watch the full recording yet." Mauro Tassotti was frank.

The Bundesliga match was in the afternoon, while AC Milan’s match was in the evening.

After their Serie A match, it was already a feat for Tassotti to find time at home to even check on their Champions League Round of 16 opponent. To watch the entire match, he would have had to stay up all night.

Mauro Tassotti looked at the bloodshot eyes of Allegri. "You finished it?"

"I’m worried!" Allegri sighed.

He had indeed stayed up late last night after getting home to watch the entire match recording.

Tassotti, of course, understood exactly what Allegri was worried about.

Is AC Milan’s current lineup strong?

Although they had sent Ronaldinho back to Brazil during the winter break, AC Milan’s squad was still stacked.

Up front, they had Ibrahimovic, Pato, Robinho, and Cassano.

Among them, Cassano had transferred from Sampdoria during the winter break. Because he had already played in the UEFA Europa League, he was ineligible for the Champions League.

And the midfield?

Pirlo, Gattuso, Siedorf, Ambrosini, Kevin Boateng, Flamini, Van Bommel... All were big names famous throughout the European football scene.

And that’s not even mentioning the back line.

Zambrotta, Abate, Jankulovsky, and others were all established stars in European football.

Nesta and Thiago Silva were, moreover, the best center-back pairing in the European football scene.

But AC Milan’s biggest problems were injuries and the age of the squad.

This was also Allegri’s biggest headache at the moment.

Many players, including Pirlo, would be unable to play in the upcoming first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 due to injury.

"Klopp has been drilling the team’s tactics in recent matches, especially in the one against Schalke 04."

Allegri said, looking at his assistant.

"You’d never notice it just from the highlights. But if you watch the full match recording, you’ll see that Schalke 04 only had a single shot in the entire first half."

"And that was in the closing stages of the first half. It’s ridiculous. Dortmund’s high-press is suffocating enough to smother any team right now."

AC Milan, under Allegri’s management, had also tried to adopt a possession-based style due to the squad’s age.

But when it came to running ability, there was no way AC Milan could keep up with Dortmund.

That made things very dangerous.

"That’s not surprising. Klopp has been using this system from his time at Mainz all the way to Dortmund. And their stamina has really improved a lot; they used to run out of steam around the 60-minute mark in the second half."

"Wang Shuo is crucial!" Allegri reminded him.

Having a forward who averages over 12 kilometers of running per match is an incredible asset.

"Are you worried he’ll use this same strategy against us?"

"It’s a certainty," Allegri said with conviction.

Otherwise, why would Klopp drill it over and over?

It’s the weapon he’s best at and most confident in.

"In this tactical system of Dortmund’s, Wang Shuo is the most important piece. We have to freeze Wang Shuo out!"

When Allegri mentioned Wang Shuo’s name, his tone still betrayed his worry.

"You think Nesta and Thiago Silva working together can’t stop him?" Tassotti asked, somewhat surprised.

Nesta goes without saying.

Since joining AC Milan, Thiago Silva’s performance had gotten better and better. Now, playing alongside Nesta, he had become one of the top center-backs in the European football scene.

Together, their partnership had forged the most solid defense in Serie A, and perhaps even in all of European football.

"If Wang Shuo gets running, gets up to speed... it’ll be difficult," Allegri said lightly.

Tassotti was quite surprised.

’This is Nesta we’re talking about!’

’He may be old, but there’s still Thiago Silva!’

’The two of them together can’t stop Wang Shuo?’

"Strictly speaking, it’s not just a Wang Shuo problem. Dortmund’s entire attack is very multi-dimensional right now."

"If we concentrate our forces on Wang Shuo, then their flanks will get a lot of space, and that’s an area where they’re very strong."

Tassotti understood what Allegri meant, and he couldn’t help but frown.

This was what made Dortmund so difficult to deal with this season.

Their two flanks were extremely active.

The two full-backs, Schmelzer and Piszczek, frequently link up with the wingers ahead of them. When you add a highly active Götze and Wang Shuo into the mix, it becomes a massive headache for any team facing Dortmund.

Focus the defense on the flanks?

Then the pressure on Wang Shuo would ease up. With support from Götze and Shahin, Dortmund’s central attack would come to life.

But what if they concentrated their forces in the middle?

Then Dortmund’s flanks would come to life.

And once the flanks are active, more opportunities open up in the center.

This interplay between the flanks and the center was a real, real headache.

That’s why they were tearing through the entire Bundesliga, already on a 21-match winning streak!

"So what’s your plan?" Tassotti looked at the head coach, clearly troubled.

Allegri’s tactical acumen was extremely high, but even he found this problem to be a massive headache.

"My initial thought is that at home, we should focus on preventing them from scoring an away goal, so we’ll prioritize defense."

Tassotti thought for a moment, then nodded. "Dortmund will definitely go on an all-out attack to get that away goal. We’ll counter with a defensive approach."

"Exactly. As long as we don’t concede an away goal, we’ll have a chance when we go to Germany for the second leg!"

In any other league, adopting a defensive, counter-attacking strategy at home would get you absolutely flamed by the fans.