All Football Talents Are Mine Chapter 352

352. Toward the all-time champion (3)

The most important keyword in modern soccer is pressure.

That’s why decompression is considered the most necessary ability for players, and strong teams have excellent decompression skills on average.

For that reason, it is impossible to achieve satisfactory gains against strong teams with a fair amount of pressure.

That is why the three-sided pressure emerged.

It refers to a tactic where three players form a triangle and trap the opponent from the outside to the inside while stealing the ball.

But that alone was not enough to dominate modern soccer.

As tactics improve, the player’s technique also improves.

As such tactics emerged, the demands placed on soccer players increased.

Relieving pressure has become more important, and players who can withstand such pressure have been developed.

Representative examples include Iniesta and David Silva.

As the Spanish players, who are basically good at footwork, were generally good at de-pressing, the three-sided pressure did not show much power in the end.

That’s how four-sided pressure emerged.

It refers to a tactic of surrounding an opponent from all sides and stealing the ball when he has the ball.

In that case, even if the player is good at releasing pressure, the ball will be taken away.

For example, even if it is not taken away, you will not be able to make the play you want and will not be able to escape the situation of having to return the ball to the back.

However, due to the problem that four-sided pressure severely drains players’ stamina, it is safe to say that no team has mainly used that tactic until now.

For example, if you use it, the opposing team has a player who is that good at relieving pressure.

So, such tactics were often used against strong teams.

This is because there is no good strategy to stop special cracks.

However, there was one monster that even that did not work on.

[If you put pressure on Woo Ho-young, isn’t he a player who chews it all up?]

[It’s nagging, to say the least. I can assure you that this is probably why Barcelona prepared this type of tactic. It shows the will to stop Woo Ho-young no matter what.]

Pressure on page 6.

The reason Barcelona used such extreme tactics was to stop Woo Ho-young.

[In modern soccer, the key is which team is better at pressing and which team is better at escaping pressure. From that perspective, the weapons Barcelona has prepared look good. That rumor didn’t spread for nothing.]

[I agree. It looks like they were really well prepared.]

Manchester United coach Ferguson had previously attempted to steal the ball from Woo Ho-young using six players, but this was the first time the tactics were so systematically standardized.

It was possible because tacticians who had a sense of challenge to Woo Ho-young and various managers and coaches put their heads together and worked hard for several days to complete it.

‘If you just do what you trained, you can easily stop it.’

Tito Vilanova predicted the possibility in his mind.

If only Woo Ho-young could be blocked, the rest of the players would be easy to deal with.

‘It’s true that they are great, but they are still young to deal with us.’

Eden Hazard, Gareth Bale, David Silva, Fellaini Kompany, etc. were promising players who had not yet fully developed their skills.

If you take advantage of the lack of experience, you could easily win.

However, I did not feel completely at ease.

As the manager of Barcelona, borrowing external power was the same as throwing away all pride.

So Villanova turned away.

He did not care much about his personal reputation as a director.

What was important to him now was the team.

If you succeed, you will get a trophy.

Because you will be able to achieve glory that others cannot achieve.

However, it was true that concerns outweighed expectations.

Isn’t the opponent Woo Ho-young?

A player who can quickly figure out how to respond over time, even if a new tactic appears.

Moreover, the opponent was not only Woo Ho-young.

Tactical genius Guardiola was always by his side.

[I think the most important thing is ‘time’. Woo Ho-young is a genius of the century. In fact, no matter what tactic you use, you have the power to destroy it with your skills.]

[That’s right. It is known that the time it takes Woo Ho-young to understand the strategy ranges from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. [Barcelona will have to look for a win within that.]

Still, Hoyoung was already analyzing Barcelona’s tactics.

‘Press on all four sides. It’s a tactic that forms the basis of Gegen pressing.’

Gegen Pressing.

It was an innovative tactic that manager Jurgen Klopp should have adopted in the near future.

But the future has changed.

The tactic of going beyond four-sided pressure and calling it six-sided pressure has already begun to be systematized and has even appeared on the big stage of the Champions League final.

Because of Woo Ho-young’s presence, the development of tactics was accelerating.

Hoyoung had experience dealing with as few as 2 to 3 people and as many as 5 to 6 people, but such experiences were rare.

‘It’s definitely more organized than Manchester United’s pressing.’

If the pressure that Ferguson had prepared at the time was hastily prepared, this was a more refined and sophisticated tactic.

Quality pressure.

The fact that each and every player applying pressure was world class was making it even more difficult for Hoyoung.

Because one person must play more than two roles, it was only possible for players to have a high understanding of positioning.

[Look at Barcelona’s third line. Xavi Fabregas, Busquets, Pique Mascherano and Puyol are moving as one body. Even if you don’t watch the video, you can see how much training they had to do for today’s game.]

They all had excellent understanding of tactics and established the foundation for effective six-sided pressure by occupying as many points as possible.

[Ball flowing toward midfield. iced coffee! Fellaini hung up. The ball goes straight to Iniesta.]

[Iniesta immediately looks at Woo Ho-young. Woo Ho-young comes down looking for empty space!]

Manchester City played the same way as usual.

This was a tactic where Hoyoung, who had been wandering around the front line, suddenly moved down to the second line, received the ball directly, and launched an attack.

It was also a tactic that could not be blocked even if one knew about it due to Hoyoung’s quickness and field control.

however.

[… Oooh!]

[Woo Ho-young! I need to be careful!!]

At that moment, an unbelievable sight unfolded.

As soon as the ball left Iniesta’s feet, the six players waiting around him rushed to one spot at once.

That point was Hoyoung’s destination.

Pow!

[Busquets throws his shoulder in first!]

[Puyol follows suit!]

Before Hoyoung, who arrived first, could receive the ball, Busquets fought first.

Puyol, who played as a right fullback, also came in from the other side and participated in the struggle.

It was to buy time before Hoyoung played with the ball.

This was the tactic Barcelona prepared.

The six players move as a team, taking control of as many areas as possible, waiting at key points, and then killing the space before the pass is passed to Woo Ho-young.

Busquets was thrown out of the fight with Hoyoung, but was able to gain more time as Javier Mascherano followed him.

[I guess that’s why Mascherano, who played as a central defender along with Pique, kept going back and forth between the third line!]

Javier Mascherano, also known as ‘Eraser’.

Despite his short stature, he was a great fighter, but he was eliminated by Hoyoung in just one second.

However, Pique arrived in the meantime and put his arm in, buying more time.

In the meantime, Xavi caught the ball.

Hoyoung arrived right after and put his foot in, but it was in vain.

No matter how world-class his tackling skills were, he could not easily steal the ball away as Xavi’s de-pressing ability was also top-notch.

Immediately afterwards, Xavi exchanged passes with Fabregas, who was right next to him, and kept the ball safe.

This was the result of learning all of Manchester City’s frequently used attack patterns and undergoing rigorous response training.

‘do!’

‘Yes, this is it!’

‘Good, it looks like a possibility.’

There was an exhilarating feeling in the Barcelona camp.

I don’t know how long they have been training to win the Champions League since winning La Liga was almost confirmed.

There was no guarantee that we would meet Man City, but we have been training hard for two months to implement this tactic today.

Because I had the confidence that if I had the strategy to beat Man City, I could beat anyone I faced.

It was the moment when those difficult times turned into rewarding days.

[Manchester City is becoming frustrated. It’s still early in the game, but Barcelona definitely looks good.]

[Well, I don’t know. Will Barcelona be able to keep Woo Young on his feet? Woo Ho-young is not a person who will fall victim to the same strategy over and over again.]

The commentator predicted that.

Because Woo Ho-young was a player with excellent coping skills.

But 9 minutes in the first half.

It was around the time when Barcelona, who failed to attack, gave the ball to Man City.

[The ball flows to Iniesta and is immediately given to David Silva.]

[Alexis Sánchez and David Villa press forward. David Silva moves the ball backwards. Fellaini catches the ball safely.]

[Like before, he seems to have changed his attack development out of concern that the pass would be cut off.]

[That’s right. As long as the opponent occupies space, it would be better to secure the ball safely through rear build-up rather than connecting at once through the ‘Woo Ho-young zone’.] This

was Guardiola’s instruction.

Although it was a temporary solution, it was much better than leaving it alone.

[Felanii then looks ahead. It is given briefly to Iniesta.]

In a moment, Iniesta’s head turned towards the front.

At the same time, his eyes glowed fiercely and his ankle instantly spun.

A kill pass that hits the space behind the front line instead of the second line.

It was an attack aimed at the gap where Pique and Mascherano raised the line.

[Woo Ho-young runs towards the back space!]

[Uh-uh-uh! The moment you said!!]

Percussion!

Xavi Hernández.

The ball stopped at his feet.

[Xavi Hernández’s sliding tackle! He barely blocks Iniesta’s pass!]

[Wow, that’s where they cut it off. It really is an incredible view. Xavi Hernández is clearly reading Iniesta’s pass path.]

[It’s only natural. How many years have you two been together? Why isn’t there something like this? The only person who calls Iniesta by his nickname is Xavi.]

When it comes to vision, Xavi Hernández is one step ahead of Iniesta.

As the play of Iniesta, who can be said to be the ‘backbone’ of Manchester City, was overlooked, the flow of the game shifted towards Barcelona.

Immediately afterwards, Xavi went on the attack by exchanging passes with Fabregas, who was waiting nearby.

A counterattack that followed at once.

[Barcelona attacks as a team. Six people maintain the formation and help relieve pressure on the carrier.]

Barcelona’s hexagonal formation was not only used for pressure.

When attacking, the players around him sequentially joined in and helped take the pressure off.

At the front, the hexagonal formation of Messi, Villa, Sánchez, Fabregas, Xavi, and Busquets was active, escaping the three-front pressure pursued by Manchester City.

It was a very sophisticated and delicate strategy.

Unfortunately, Messi’s shot missed the goal slightly, but it definitely paid off.

[I can’t say it’s very advantageous, but Barcelona is still on a good track. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of response Manchester City will show.]

Manchester City’s bench.

Sure enough, Guardiola summoned Woo Ho-young, who was wearing the captain’s armband.

The purpose was to inform players of new coping measures.

“We will change the plan from now until the end of the first half.”

“All right.”

Hoyoung, who immediately understood what was being said, nodded and turned around.

Guardiola touched Hoyoung’s shoulder and opened his mouth.

“Don’t overdo it. Don’t think you’re alone.”

Sigh.

Hoyoung walked onto the pitch with a vague smile.

Then I closed my eyes.

‘From now on, I’m alone.’