69novels Chapter 25 Game Theory and Trends
Chapter 25 Game Theory and Trends
However, Troussier is also a renowned coach who has been deeply involved in Asian football for many years.
Although he had never seen Ye Xian's high-pressing style of play before, he quickly found a way to alleviate it.
That means having the two wingers in midfield, as well as the two full-backs, move further to the flanks to widen the formation.
This allows the players to spread out more, which also increases the running distance that the Chinese players need to cover when pressing.
This inadvertently increases the time Japanese players are surrounded and pressed, giving them more time to plan their next move after gaining possession of the ball.
Although the distance of this positional improvement is only a few meters, it is still very crucial.
Anyone who has played Football Manager knows that each season's field management requires you to decide the size of the stadium, which essentially depends on your playing style that season.
If you want to play a technical, possession-based style of football, it's best to choose a large stadium, especially one that is wide. This way, you can use your technical advantage to stretch the opponent's defense, create space in the middle, and make it easier to cut inside or penetrate through the middle.
Weaker teams with slightly inferior skills should generally choose smaller fields, as this results in shorter pressing distances, making it easier to execute high-pressing maneuvers and making it harder for the opponent to pass the ball.
To give an exaggerated example, imagine a match between peak Barcelona and the Chinese national team, 11 against 11, but played on a five-a-side pitch...
Even Barcelona might not be able to score!
In short, what CCTV commentator Xu Yang often says, "make full use of the width of the venue," is actually an application scenario.
And this trick worked.
In the 20th minute, the Japanese team finally launched their first threatening attack of the game.
When the Japanese team got the ball in their own half, Miyamoto Tsuneyasu passed it to right center-back Nakata Koji, who had moved to the far right.
Yang Chen and Yu Genwei quickly moved to intercept, but due to the increased distance, they were unable to arrive immediately.
Koji Nakata reacted quickly, sending a through pass along the sideline to the Chinese team's back line.
Liu Ze Dun sprinted forward at top speed, chasing after the ball.
Atsushi Yanagisawa was also a speed-type forward, forming a "tall and fast" combination with Takayuki Suzuki for the Japanese team.
When he unleashes his power, he might be just as fast as Qu Bo!
Yang Pu came up with a sliding tackle, but he was already a step too late.
Liu Ze Dun strode quickly toward the penalty area, preparing to cut inside.
At that moment, Li Weifeng of the Chinese team stood in front of him.
This is the current defensive structure of the Chinese team.
If the defensive midfielder is beaten, the center-back will immediately cover, preventing the opponent from having any more opportunities to exploit.
Liu Zedun swayed a few times, but Li Weifeng remained unmoved, while Wu Chengying on the other side was already about to come over and attack from both sides.
Left with no other option, Liu Zedun had to immediately take a shot.
Li Weifeng reacted quickly, stretching out his leg to block the ball out of the penalty area.
Yanagisawa Atsushi's shooting skills are average, and his shots lack variety, which is probably his biggest weakness.
He later moved to Serie A, playing over 40 appearances in three seasons, but without scoring a single goal, demonstrating his poor shooting skills...
However, Li Weifeng's block still earned him a warm round of applause from the Chinese fans in the stands.
While clapping, everyone was also discussing:
"In recent matches, Da Tou doesn't seem as reckless as before."
"That's right. I heard that Ye Xian taught very meticulously during training, and Da Tou probably absorbed all of it."
"It's not just Da Tou who has improved; I think every national team player has finally figured it out and has improved by more than one level."
"Of course we are here, otherwise how would we be? I still feel like I'm watching China's Round of 16 match live, it's like a dream..."
Ye Xian, standing on the sidelines, didn't have the leisure and tranquility of a fan.
He's now standing on the command line, constantly shouting at the field:
"Well done, Big Head! Keep it up!"
"Pay attention to their flanks, especially the positions of their two center-backs; they're spreading themselves out too much now!"
"The forwards need to press faster, and the midfielders need to help too; don't let them pass the ball out easily!"
"If the ball is passed to the flanks of midfield, the full-backs must immediately move up to block the path!"
Being a football coach is actually just like playing a video game.
The opponent has made a move, so I need to think of a way to counter it.
Now that I've come up with a countermeasure, the other side has to figure out how to deal with my new move.
Fans only see the players running and making brilliant goals and passes on the field, but they often overlook the strategic maneuvering of the coaches on the sidelines.
In fact, the coach's strategy often determines the outcome of the game to a large extent.
Of course, it's not a 100% decision.
Ultimately, the ball is played by the players, and the difference in their skill level, their performance, and the strategic maneuvering involved in every dribble, pass, shot, and tackle will all affect the outcome of the game.
In addition, there are many unpredictable random factors involved, such as someone getting injured, someone hitting the goalpost, or someone deflecting the ball into the net...
This makes the outcome of the entire match unpredictable.
But that's the charm of football, the world's number one sport.
That's why there's a saying that "the football is round"!
Back on the field.
After the Chinese team made adjustments, the game entered a stalemate again.
"The game is quite close right now, Coach Zhang, what are your thoughts?" Huang Jianxiang asked.
Zhang Lu said, "This is arguably the most crucial moment of the match."
"Our Chinese team was on high alert the whole time, constantly disrupting the Japanese team's possession of the ball, and we did a great job of that."
"But how long can this momentum last? That's an unknown."
"And although Japan had few opportunities, the Chinese team didn't actually launch any particularly threatening attacks either."
"Actually, I don't quite understand why we didn't field Su Maozhen, but instead used two fast forwards."
"When you see us crossing from the flanks, wouldn't it be more effective if Su Maozhen were there to act as a pivot in the middle?"
"But now the Japanese team's defenders are very solid, and their defensive line is very dense, making it difficult for us to launch better counter-attacks and utilize Yang Chen and Qu Bo's strengths..."
While Zhang Lu was worried, Troussier was actually relieved.
He also felt that if the Chinese team fielded a tall center forward, their offensive strategies would definitely be more diverse.
Just like when they played against Türkiye, although Yang Chen scored the goal, if Su Maozhen hadn't drawn the opponent's center-backs in the middle, Yang Chen wouldn't have had that much space to shoot easily.
Troussier thought to himself, "It seems this Ye Xian, who's been touted as a genius, isn't all that great after all. All that suspense and talk about 'we'll see in 90 minutes'—what good is all that fancy talk!"
He stood up again and waved to his disciples.
The time has come.
During this period, the Chinese team players seemed to have reached a small limit in terms of physical strength, and their pressing and pressure in the attacking third were not as fierce.
Their overall formation even started to shift back a bit.
Therefore, this is precisely the time for the Japanese team to intensify their attack!
So the Japanese team's line began to move forward.
Several midfielders also pushed past the halfway line, using their skillful footwork to control the ball and patiently look for opportunities.
Seeing that the midfield had taken control of the ball, the Japanese defenders began to confidently move forward, maintaining a tight formation with their midfield teammates to facilitate better ball movement and passing.
At that very moment, the situation changed drastically.
The Chinese forwards, who had previously retreated to their own half, suddenly charged forward again, lunging directly at the Japanese defenders who were in possession of the ball.
Playing hard to get!
Not only them, but the three midfielders of the Chinese team also joined their forwards at this time, locking down the connection between the Japanese team's midfield and defense.
This sudden increase in pace caught the Japanese players off guard.
Koji Nakata, who was standing near the midfield sideline, had just received the ball when Qu Bo made a close tackle and took it away.
Without any hesitation, Qu Bo swung his right foot and swept a low ball towards the center of the midfield.
A red figure flashed by.
It's Yang Chen, number 20!
It's already started!
But instead of catching the ball, he ran straight ahead, letting it slip by.
Behind Yang Chen was Yu Genwei.
Yu Genwei didn't stop the ball, but instead stretched out his foot and pushed it, changing the ball's trajectory and causing it to roll forward rapidly.
And the direction it rolled was exactly where Yang Chen was running!
Clearly, this was a meticulously designed offside trap tactic that launched a surprise attack from the backfield!
Yu Genwei and Yang Chen timed their pass perfectly, avoiding offside.
This is a key reason why Ye Xian made Yu Genwei start – he needed Yu's through ball!
As for Yang Chen and Qu Bo, we need to utilize their speed and impact!
Their combined attack stunned the Japanese defense.
By the time they realized what was happening and tried to catch up with Yang Chen, it was too late.
Yang Chen began to unleash his lightning speed, dribbling the ball straight into the Japanese team's penalty area!
At this moment, because the Japanese team's defense line was pushed forward, Yang Chen only had goalkeeper Seigo Narasaki in front of him.
The poor Japanese goalkeeper had no choice but to rush out of his goal, trying to stop the seemingly unstoppable Chinese striker.
But Yang Chen had already blasted the door open.
This is also Yang Chen's signature shooting style.
Powerful and heavy!
The ball grazed past Narasaki Seigo's outstretched fingertips and flew straight into the goal behind him!
Goal!