I started with Torres, to revive German football

Chapter 307 Preparation and Provocation before War

On the morning of the second day after arriving in Madrid, all Manchester City players arrived at the Atletico Madrid training base on time to carry out recovery training.

David Silva and De Bruyne are currently recovering in good physical condition, which is what makes Guardiola most satisfied.

No players were injured before the war, and the main players had recovered from the exhaustion of the national team competition in the previous two weeks. This is really important.

After all, the team against this time is the out-and-out top giants in Europe.

If Manchester City wants to get first place in the group and make the subsequent quarter-finals easier, it must be in the best condition to face the enemy. If David Silva and De Bruyne are both in battle-damaged condition, it will be difficult for them to face the opponent. The impact of Manchester City's offensive and defensive system is really too great.

Guardiola said that defending the Champions League was almost impossible, but deep down in his heart he also had ambitions to go further.

As many fans on the Internet say now, no matter which giant team you encounter after entering the knockout round, everyone has gone through the experience and hard work of the group stage to get to this point, why not continue to fight? Woolen cloth?

As the defending champion in good condition, if he doesn't have the confidence to compete for the championship, then why play football?Just go home and raise pigs!

Real Madrid is so strong that Guardiola has been studying it for more than half a month and still can't find any obvious weaknesses in the current Real Madrid lineup. The ultra-luxurious configuration from beginning to end can really be said to be impregnable!
But Manchester City is also not a soft persimmon. After all, it is the team that stepped on Real Madrid to win the last Champions League final. They fight hard for offense and defense. Manchester City has its own areas of expertise. In addition, it also has the previous psychological advantage. It is impossible not to try it. At the Santiago Bernabeu, defeat the Galacticos!
In terms of targeted tactical arrangements, as long as the three armies work hard and with some luck, it is possible for Manchester City to overthrow Real Madrid and take first place in the group.

No matter how bad it is, if they play two games without any regrets, Manchester City can truly understand how far Real Madrid, their biggest competitor, has reached. Even if they fail, this experience will be a valuable asset for Manchester City to continue to impact the Champions League this year.

"Top four every year, striving for the championship!"

This is what Manchester City fans hope for!
This sentence of the fans must be reasonable. Looking at Huang Saren's winning process and Manchester City's winning process in the following years, it all happened in this way.

The top four is a threshold. After crossing this threshold, in fact, compared with the team that finally won the championship, the strength of the other three teams is not much different.

To put it bluntly, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League twice is actually a process of mental transformation and experience accumulation.

For a top team, after the strength has been improved to a similar level, mentality and experience in important games often become more important conditions for winning the championship.

For the current Manchester City, they have strength and experience. If they don't strive for a consecutive championship, let alone the fans, Guardiola himself will look down on himself after nine years!
In the next few seasons, if this nearly complete Manchester City can win the Champions League multiple times, it will directly bring the Manchester City club to an unprecedented height and directly allow Manchester City to gain the status of a top giant!
With such clear goals and ambitions, Manchester City must pay attention and go all out for every match against a strong team.

Otherwise, it is not enough to quickly accumulate the necessary conditions for consecutive championships.

While Manchester City's coaching team is making final preparations, Real Madrid's coaching staff is also formulating double-teaming tactics for Manchester City's offensive core.

Zidane will not despise this emerging powerhouse from England just because Manchester City tied with Real Madrid at home in the first round.

Teams that dared to despise Manchester City were given a hard lesson by Manchester City last season, let alone this season. Look at the tragedies Manchester City has played on various fronts in the past two years. These are all bloody lessons.

At this moment, he and members of the coaching staff are repeatedly watching the games between Manchester City and the top teams in the Premier League in the past period.

Let's see if the central defenders of the strong Premier League teams that play against Zhao Jinge can limit this monster forward.

But after a while, Zidane shook his head lightly and made a conclusion directly.

"Both Ramos and Rafael can't restrain Zhao in a one-on-one situation. There must be at least two of the world's top defensive players to double-team, otherwise it is impossible to restrain him, so we must not give Zhao a chance to One-on-one opportunity in the penalty area!”

Zidane's attention made the coaching staff in the conference room feel nervous.

Now, in addition to Zhao Jinge’s need to design front and rear double teams, Manchester City’s two wingers also need to have one-on-one defense. Players such as David Silva and Mahrez are also involved in high-end games. The strength to break the situation.

Under such circumstances, Real Madrid's investment in the offensive end will be greatly reduced.

"Don't worry, Manchester City also faces the same problems we face, and they just have to be more careful on the defensive end. The offensive end can still be maintained."

Before Zidane could finish his words of comfort to his colleagues, a sudden knock on the door interrupted the meeting, making Zidane frown.

You must know that the general coaching staff is rarely interrupted by the staff when discussing tactical arrangements in the conference room.

In such unexpected situations, generally speaking, something that is not easy to handle has happened in the team, and the head coach needs to make an urgent decision.

After turning off the projector and closing the tactical notes, Zidane let the person who knocked on the door come in. However, the first words of the club staff who came in made Zidane unable to sit still.

"Sir, Ramos seemed to have made a joke about Zhao during his interview with the media. Now the British and Western media have hyped up this interview. As for the content, you can read it yourself."

Zidane narrowed his eyes slightly, took the phone handed over by the staff and browsed it for a while, his expression instantly turned cold.

"Who asked him to say that! Is there any sense of collective honor? Does he think our preparations are too easy?! Let the club's public relations department immediately issue a statement to explain!"

Zidane's sudden anger surprised the Real Madrid coaching staff present.

Just as the mobile phone handed over by the staff was thrown on the table by Zidane, they looked intently, and those eye-catching news headlines suddenly came into their eyes:

"Ramos said that he will never let Zhao Jinge walk out of the Bernabeu safe and sound. He will use all means to defend him."

Some things can be done, but absolutely not said!
Ramos' words instantly caused an uproar on the Internet!

War between fans always comes very quickly. Before the two clubs could say anything, under the instigation of the media, fans of Real Madrid and Manchester City started arguing fiercely on the Internet.Ramos, the instigator, no longer dared to speak out under Zidane's warning. Only official public relations messages from Real Madrid appealed to fans on both sides to stay calm and expressed their apologies to Zhao Jinge and Manchester City.

Manchester City quickly responded on its official tweet, comforting its fans and accepting Real Madrid's apology.

But Zhao Jinge did not make any response to this, which aroused the imagination of many fans.

This attitude is actually enough to explain Zhao Jinge's mood at this time.

Under the turbulent undercurrent, this Champions League battle has attracted the attention of many fans around the world before it even started.

The public opinion war is indeed the best way to warm up the game.

It's not as if Zhao Jinge was angry because of Ramos's remarks, but he was definitely unhappy and a little speechless.

Anyway, he felt that Ramos was ill and wanted to directly threaten him. He felt that Ramos wanted to kill him like he knocked down Salah in the [-] Champions League final in his memory!

After all, in the last match, Real Madrid's defenders also gave him physical strength. It would be very reasonable if the range of shots was larger this time.

Therefore, he did not respond to Real Madrid's official public relations apology and almost posted his displeasure directly on social media.

Mendes' reaction was even more intense than his, and he immediately used his mouthpiece media to launch a counterattack and ridicule Ramos!

For a time, the Western media, the British media, and other media who were watching the excitement made this matter a big deal. In just one day, Zhao Jinge and Ramos became the largest traffic password in world football.

Of course, there is nothing between the two clubs, Manchester City and Real Madrid, and they will not be at odds over this matter, but the two teams now feel a little subtle about each other.

Even in an atmosphere of collective displeasure, some of the tension in their hearts has been dispelled. Now, in addition to thinking about a bloody battle with Real Madrid in the away game, most Manchester City players want to help Zhao Jinge educate Ramos. Big mouth!
It is a pity that Guardiola issued an interview ban after the Ramos incident, which made De Bruyne and Sterling express regret.

But Zhao Jinge, who is the center of public opinion, does not care at all about the external turmoil at this moment.

His attention was now focused on Guardiola, who was giving tactical emphasis for the last time before the game.

The final tactical decision made by the Manchester City coaching staff made Zhao Jinge feel excited just thinking about it, as did other Manchester City players.

"We were fighting against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium. Every goal we scored was a huge threat to them! And they probably didn't expect us to be so bold. In terms of tactical suddenness, we had an opening advantage. , so give them a big 'surprise' and don't hesitate to play against them! They are very good at pressing and counterattacking, but we have the advantage."

Guardiola made a very bold tactical choice. Fighting against Real Madrid at Real Madrid's home court is definitely a scene that countless fans would not dare to imagine!

However, for Guardiola, in addition to increasing the confidence and momentum of his own players, there are actually compelling reasons for choosing such tactics.

He and the coaching team studied for more than half a month, and finally found that the current Real Madrid has no shortcomings in the lineup. This is actually a very scary fact.

The absence of shortcomings means that opponents cannot suppress Real Madrid through personnel arrangements.

For example, if Manchester United's back is not strong enough and its forwards are not stable enough, Manchester City can easily make a fuss about this team's midfield.

But Real Madrid's midfield is unbelievably strong. The three midfielders composed of Casemiro, Modric, and Toni Kroos are both technical, hardy, and tall.

Whether it is through ground penetration or high altitude attack, Real Madrid's midfield combination has an interception plan. With Benzema who is actively returning to defense, it is almost impossible to defeat Real Madrid from the center. .

Not to mention Real Madrid's two wingers. Peak Neymar and Bale plus Marcelo and Carvajal can be said to be good at offense and defense.

Coupled with the layer-by-layer delaying and obstructing defensive system formulated by Zidane, this Real Madrid team can't find any problems that can be targeted on both ends of the offense and defense. The starting players are among the top in Europe, and they can play in any style of team. Not afraid.

After coming to this conclusion, Guardiola gave up his conservative ideas in an instant.

A more conservative defensive approach in the away game is actually very suitable for Manchester City, but that pressure defense may not be easy to use on Real Madrid players.

First of all, Real Madrid's midfield and backcourt are strong enough and their skills are good enough. With the support of the flying wings on both sides, they are not afraid of your high-intensity pressing.

Then in terms of physical fitness, Real Madrid today can be said to be at the top level in Europe. In addition, they come from a long way away, so it will not work if Manchester City wants to bully others with their physical advantage.

The last reason, and the most fatal reason, is that Real Madrid has enough ability to break the bus.

Both Bale and Neymar are at their peak years, and with the addition of the mysterious Benzema, Real Madrid has a top offensive fulcrum and two demigod wingers in the frontcourt!
Neymar and Bale also have a strong ability to tear apart the defense in local areas. Cancelo on the left is still young and lacks experience in competitions. Although Kyle Walker on the right is good enough, sooner or later he will be used as a breakthrough against Bale.

So against the current Real Madrid team, it's fine to control the field and play against each other, but don't make a big move.

Once Manchester City's defense fails before Zhao Jinge breaks through Real Madrid's gate, it will be a serious blow to the confidence of Manchester City's backcourt players.

After weighing the pros and cons many times, Guardiola finally had no choice but to take the initiative at Real Madrid's home court.

Mobilize Real Madrid's midfield and backcourt to attack forward, and then allow Manchester City's forwards to get more counterattack opportunities.

As long as Real Madrid is willing to play this kind of fast-paced offense and defense with Manchester City, Guardiola believes that his disciples will not let him down. At least Zhao Jinge and De Bruyne are worth the gamble!
(End of this chapter)