325. Earth Defense Force Formation (3) (Amended)
FA Community Shield.
It is a competition held right before the opening of the EPL and is a one-off match between the previous season’s EPL winner and the FA Cup winner.
In Spanish terms, this is the equivalent of the Supercopa de España.
The title of the team with the most wins is overwhelmingly held by Manchester United, who are challenging the Community Shield for the fifth consecutive year.
Originally, it was a competition in which you had to win the EPL championship or the FA Cup to participate, but if Man City won both championships like this time, the team ranked second in the EPL would advance.
That was why Manchester United participated.
What is unusual is that if there is a draw in the first or second half of the 90 minutes, overtime is boldly skipped and the game goes straight to a penalty shootout.
Before the game started, Coach Ferguson entered the locker room with a bloody face.
Then he made the players sit down and spoke.
“Today’s game will determine the rest of the season.”
That was correct.
Currently, Manchester United and Man City are in upheaval.
It was expected that today’s game would determine whether Manchester’s new owner would really change like this or whether he would be able to defend his throne again.
And it was clear that it would also have a big impact on the players’ morale and the upcoming season.
Although it was a competition that had nothing to do with the league, the meaning of the game was more important than anything else.
A match where the pride of the club is at stake.
In particular, Alexson Ferguson, who was planning to retire at the end of this season or next season, was putting a lot of effort into this game.
“Everyone, open your ears and listen carefully. Those who can’t answer my questions better prepare to die.”
As Ferguson made threats, all the players’ hair stood on end and they showed signs of being very nervous.
“You are Manchester United. Losing the title to City should be considered a shame. “It will tarnish your entire career.”
Ferguson put an enormous amount of pressure on the players through those words.
But it was only for a moment.
Ferguson continued.
“Close your eyes for a moment and think about last season.”
“….”
“….”
The painful past they experienced last season pierced their hearts.
Who would have thought that Manchester United, which has maintained its first place in the league, would lose the league championship to another team?
That goes for Man City too.
It was a pain that could not be described in words.
“Shouldn’t we never go through such a terrible experience again? “Does anyone have any objection to what I say?”
“doesn’t exist.”
“Yes, one pain is enough. “Today we will prove here that we own Manchester.”
It wasn’t just a matter of glib talk.
Manchester United put in a lot of effort in the pre-season to regain the throne this season.
Like Manchester City, an early convocation was ordered to quickly improve the physical condition of the players and strengthen their organizational skills.
In addition, they invested money to recruit outstanding players.
Special winger ‘Ashley Young’, known as a man faster than a bullet.
David De Gea is the Spanish national team’s goalkeeper, succeeding Iker Casillas.
They prepared for a comeback by recruiting two rising stars.
And now it’s time to explain the tactics.
“I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. Engrave in your heart every single word of what I am saying here. Because that will determine the outcome of today’s game.”
Now was the most important moment.
“They are playing psychological warfare on us now.”
There was a psychological war at stake in Man City’s starting lineup that was just announced.
The coexistence of Yaya Toure, David Silva, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Hoyoung Woo, and Adebayor.
You might think it was a 4-2-3-1 formation, but given Guardiola’s characteristics, it could have been 4-3-3.
‘Then David Silva, Woo Ho-young, and Ronaldinho. Of the three, one will definitely be placed in the midfield.’
At first glance, it was impossible to tell who would be placed where.
In the end, it was necessary to prepare for all possibilities, and Ferguson presented alternatives for several cases.
One of them was this.
“And if Woo Ho-young went to the front line, he would have thought about using David Silva’s de-pressing ability to relieve our strong pressure. I will start from midfield. From then on, there is no mercy. They will 100% increase their possession rate and use Barcelona-style tiki-taka as their basic strategy. “Is there a player among them who can’t pass?”
David Silva, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Woo Ho-young.
If they were one of the best passers in the world and dominated the second line, there was a high possibility that Manchester United’s camp would be devastated.
“After that, maybe Woo Ho-young will fulfill his role as False Nine. “We’ve already shown it a few times during this US tour.”
Ferguson had a thorough understanding of their strategy as he had thoroughly prepared for the game.
“So we’re going to target their midfield.”
“!”
Most of the players were shocked by those words.
The opponent has come up with a strategy to dominate the midfield, but are you targeting the midfield?
asked Nemanja Vidic, the team’s captain and key figure in the defensive line.
“Is this a counter-fire operation?”
“Wrong. Weaknesses come from the other side of strengths. We are seeing a rift in their midfield. “We will attack that.”
Ferguson focused on Guardiola, Woo Ho-young, David Silva and Iniesta and constantly observed them to come up with alternatives.
“Especially Yaya Toure. That guy’s skills are decreasing significantly right now. It won’t be enough to take on the role of the midfield cleaner on his own. “If they come out with a 4-3-3 formation.”
There was nothing to be certain about.
However, looking at the three games Man City played in this pre-season, the probability of that happening was high.
Moreover, Ferguson’s foresight and judgment were above par.
And great passion.
Woo Ho-young He was a huge stimulus to Ferguson.
Thanks to this, Ferguson was able to regain his passion and set new goals after losing interest in coaching.
Defeating Woo Ho-young.
That was Ferguson’s last goal and dream before retirement.
His current record against Woo Ho-young is 1 win and 1 loss.
They won when they were at Real and recently suffered a bitter loss to Manchester City.
This match was the battle that would decide the fate of the two.
Ferguson opened his mouth with a grim expression on his face.
“If there is someone who gets distracted by Woo Ho-young, I know they will die. And when the secondary cordon is breached, everyone runs backwards without any hesitation. Anyone who reacts late to Woo Ho-young’s breakthrough will be killed today. And the mid-range shot is blocked by De Gea.”
“All right.”
“yes.”
If we lost this time, we wouldn’t have the honor of seeing the fans.
Therefore, we had to win.
Ferguson said, taking off his glasses.
“Their sense of challenge will lead them into a hole. “If they come out with a 4-3-3 formation and deploy David Silva or Ronaldinho in midfield, we can deal with them without mercy as we have prepared.”
“yes.”
“Just think about winning today.”
“All right.”
They left the stadium with a winning mentality.
[Man Utd on the left takes the lead.]
[Man Utd players came out with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Wayne Rooney is at the top, and Nani, Giggs, and Ashley Young are in the second line. The midfield was handled by Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick. The defense consists of Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, and Evra.]
[The thing to watch most carefully here is the goalkeeper. De Gea, the goalkeeper from AT Madrid.]
Manchester United, who had been looking for a replacement goalkeeper after Van der Sar retired, succeeded in recruiting young goalkeeper De Gea from AT Madrid.
And he showed outstanding performance in the preseason, as expected.
Although he is still lacking in aerial ball handling, he has emerged as a promising player for the team by making various super saves.
Today, he played an important role in the team, and that was to block all of Woo Ho-young’s surprise mid-range shots and set pieces.
The weight of the burden he carried was enormous.
Thanks to this, Manchester United’s defenders trusted De Gea and were able to focus more on other areas and carry out what Ferguson instructed.
[Man Utd is aggressive from the beginning.]
[The midfield line consisting of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick applies strong forward pressure. [Ashley Young, Ryan Giggs and Louis Nani also join in.]
Manchester United went on the attack with their numerical superiority in midfield.
David Silva and Iniesta were busy looking for an excuse to counterattack, but they were not able to perform properly as they did not work well together yet.
From there, Manchester United’s power shone.
A move aimed at Woo Ho-young being at the forefront.
“Don’t worry about Woo Hoyoung right now!”
Ferguson responded to the ever-changing changes and directed the players’ movements.
From then on, they stopped focusing on Woo Ho-young.
This is because Hoyoung could not actively participate in the defense anyway.
Manchester United attacked the space occupied by defensive midfielder Yaya Toure.
And 5 minutes later.
“Huh…”
It was bound to be too much for Yaya Toure.
However, David Silva and Iniesta’s defensive skills were not as good as those of defensive midfielders.
[Ah, Yaya Toure has given up space once again!]
One of the pillars supporting the huge castle was shaking.
And from there, cracks began to appear.
Moreover, because they were not yet familiar with the formation, even Man City’s four-back defense looked confused.
And eventually.
Crash!
[Gooooooooo!]
Manchester United’s first goal.
“Koooo!”
It was a goal pushed by Giggs and finished by Wayne Rooney.
Moreover, it did not end there.
Yaya Toure, who started to break through once or twice, was completely reduced to a hole in the defense and gave up space to Giggs in succession, allowing additional goals.
[Gooooool! Rooney’s mid-range shot hits the net!]
[With Yaya Toure unable to find his way, Vincent Kompany and Jerome Boateng’s movements were confused. Man City’s players are still not used to the formation.]
14th minute of the first half.
Manchester United took a 2-0 lead.
Ferguson’s coping strategy seemed to be working.
Indeed, the title ‘Master of customized tactics through psychological warfare and prediction’ was accurate.
“Whoa… shit.”
Yaya Toure lowered his head.
But none of his colleagues blamed him.
Because this was a problem I had already dealt with.
Since the organization was not yet in place, there were bound to be problems with defense.
4-3-3.
Maybe it was a too hasty tactic.
However, Manchester City did not change their tactics until the end.
Anxiety creeped in that they might lose helplessly like this, but they went ahead with their plan.
[A move to use David Silva as a central midfielder. Nice try, but I’m not sure. There is a lot of space left in the midfield and second line, which Woo Ho-young has protected so far. Woo Ho-young’s absence is significant.]
[That’s right. It looks like it’s going to be difficult. It would be better to change tactics now…]
Until then, no one knew.
However, it was only when the game resumed and Manchester City went on the attack again that its true value began to be revealed.
10 people.
All players except Woo Ho-young moved around busily, giving Woo Ho-young some space.
Iniesta and David Silva drew attention as they built up the rear, and Ronaldinho and Adebayor, who went forward, also created chaos in the stadium by moving through the space.
At the same time, Woo Ho-young constantly moved up and down, pulling down the defenders.
On the other hand, Manchester United’s players who switched to defense played the game, remembering Ferguson’s words.
-If there is someone who gets distracted by Woo Ho-young, I know they will die. When the secondary cordon is breached, everyone runs backwards without any hesitation. Anyone who reacts late to Woo Ho-young’s breakthrough will be killed today. And the mid-range shot is blocked by De Gea.
This meant not worrying about mid-range shooting and focusing on blocking Woo Ho-young’s infiltration.
But the Manchester United players soon realized this.
That it was all useless advice.
The fact is that the distance between ideal and reality is very far.
widely!
[Iniesta’s pass to the front line at once!]
When Man City felt the opportunity, they passed the ball to the front line.
The process of creating a play has been drastically abbreviated.
From the rear build-up, straight to Woo Ho-young.
That simple development was Man City’s main offensive route.
[Woo Ho-young catches it! He runs straight ahead!!]
From there, Hoyoung Woo’s show began.
‘shit.’
fast.
Even though it was fast, it was too fast.
‘How can I keep up with that!’
That was the common thought among Manchester United’s defenders.
Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick are long gone.
The only ones left were Ferdinand and Vidic, who were waiting at the back.
Of all the dogs, it was Vidic who stepped forward first.
He rushed forward with full pride as the captain.
If you hit it at this speed, you will definitely be injured.
however.
“her.”
Sigh!
Sudden stop.
Hoyoung drastically slowed down, lifted the ball with his heel, and placed it on his shoulder.
Afterwards, he made Vidic’s tackle unprecedented with a simple and sharp shoulder lift.
Veteran defender Ferdinand was also taken aback by the unimaginable play and was unable to take appropriate measures.
Is there a player in the world who can dribble with his shoulder and has high speed?
The result was obvious.
[It’s pierced!!]
The last line of defense has collapsed.
However, Raphael and Evra were not dragged by Ho-Young Woo and instead went inside the box to prepare for a breakthrough.
It seemed like he was following Ferguson’s instructions closely.
The resulting mid-range shooting angle was a task that De Gea had to solve.
And that mission failed too easily.
Crash!
“…?”
[Gooooooooooooo!]
[Woo Ho-young’s mid-range shot cuts into the goal!]
It happened in an instant.
De Gea could not block the shot even though he only focused on mid-range shots.
No, I couldn’t even react properly.
That’s right, Hoyoung’s current shooting skills are at a level beyond imagination.
Thanks to Beckham’s ability to kick with his right foot, which he had been coveting not long ago, his kicks became sharper and more accurate.
[It was like a shot showing that this is how the ball is kicked. This puts Manchester City up 2-1!]
“Heavy rain!”
Hoyoung, who followed up by one point, ended the ceremony briefly and returned to the halfway line with the ball.
From then on, Man City’s flow began to flow as they wanted, just as traffic that had been congested began to run smoothly.
Stadium evil using market share?
Barcelona-style Tiki Taka?
The tactics that Man City had prepared were like nothing else.
Woo Ho-young.
He was the key and the team’s tactic.
Defense is the next problem that needs to be addressed.
Even if it works, put it in.
That was the soccer that Guardiola and Woo Ho-young pursued.
Man City launched an onslaught of goals, determined to score no matter how many goals they missed.
Manchester United tried to come to their senses and focus on defense, but it was not easy.
We were beaten so hard until the end of the first half that we had to give up the entire lead.
And by the time Manchester United came to their senses.
[Gooooooooo! Hoyoung Woo scores a hat trick! Manchester City succeeds in coming back with a 3-2 lead!]
[He calmly put it past De Gea by trapping his knee. I can only say that his ball sense has reached the level!]
“Heavy rain!”
A goal created by Woo Ho-young’s ball sense that was beyond human limits and Iniesta’s second assist.
There was only one step left to become a flawless midfielder.