The Godfather of Greenery

Chapter 725 Imperfect is better than perfect

Outside there was thunder and torrential rain, which is rare in Barcelona in early July.

Guardiola was sitting by the window in the cafe of the Princess Sofia Grand Hotel, tilting his head, looking at the window glass was blurred by the heavy rain, he couldn't see everything outside at all, and could only vaguely see that the fog lights were turned on Vehicles come and go.

At this moment, his mood is very calm, even he himself does not know why.

He is very relaxed now, spending time with his family and children when he has nothing to do, or going for a walk in the park, but all these, as he left the position of Barcelona's head coach, have become unpopular. The media paid attention.

Or it should be said that few fans will care about what a former Barcelona coach is doing.

It's a very normal thing for people to leave the tea to cool down. For Guardiola, who has already been through the weather, it is too normal.

As a professional player, Guardiola is not a head coach who likes to expose his life in front of the media, even Mourinho is the same, but after all, it is the flag of Catalonia, Guardiola can not Walking around, so I came to the coffee shop of the Princess Sophia Grand Hotel, sitting here reading a book and thinking about things, it is undoubtedly a wonderful thing.

Now, he finally understands why people in Barcelona like to come here so much, because here, you don't have to worry about being peeped, harassed, or paid attention to.

Just like Guardiola, he can sit here for a long time, and no one will come up to disturb him, even his cup of coffee, which was placed on the table in front of him, and the waiter would not know how long it had been cold. Didn't come up to ask, do you want to change it?
That's the appeal of the café at the Princess Sofia Grand Hotel!

Sitting here, watching the torrential rain outside the window, Guardiola is not in a hurry, because he has just enjoyed relaxation, but he knows what he wants in his heart, even if he said that he wants to rest, but in fact he knows I am waiting.

He left Barcelona, ​​a vortex full of interests, power, feelings and other complex fetters. He wanted to go to a more professional place that could give the head coach more room to play and at the same time give the head coach enough respect.

Obviously, it must not be Chelsea!

"Pepe!" A person came beside me at some point.

Guardiola shifted his gaze to his side, saw that it was Cruyff, and immediately stood up from the chair. The movement of standing up pushed the chair away and made a noise. Fortunately, there was no one in the cafe, only them Master and apprentice.

"Sir!" Guardiola called Cruyff respectfully.

"Is it convenient for me to sit down?" Cruyff pointed to the table opposite Guardiola and asked with a smile.

Guardiola nodded. He knew that this was a chance encounter, because Cruyff often came here to drink coffee. Perhaps Cruyff had the same idea as him, and he just wanted to find someone who would not be harassed. A place where you can quietly think about some problems, or to sort out some ideas.

If something really happened, Cruyff would call him directly to the White House instead of coming here to find him in person.

Sometimes Guardiola also finds it interesting. The two masters and apprentices still retain some of the habits of the past, which seems to be very logical, but in fact Guardiola’s coaching performance is not inferior to Cruyff. , The status in the team is not lost to Cruyff, but he still treats Cruyff with respect from the heart.

Perhaps, he knew very well in his heart that the most admirable thing about Cruyff was not his personal charm or his style of conduct, but his thinking and understanding of football.

"Two big news came out today, did you know?" Cruyff sat down, called the waiter, ordered a cup of latte uniquely prepared by this cafe, and asked with a smile.

"I don't know!" Guardiola shook his head. Although he said he didn't know, he actually guessed a little bit in his heart.

"The first thing has to do with you!" Cruyff laughed, "Some media broke the news that before Abramovich decided to invite Mourinho, he once offered you a sky-high contract. A year's salary, and a power almost comparable to that of Ferguson at Manchester United, but you refused without hesitation."

Guardiola smiled wryly, and he knew that this must be one of the things, because a reporter called him to ask him.

"I heard it was because of Ferguson?" Cruyff asked with a tentative smile, and he was also very gossipy.

Guardiola shook his head vigorously, "No, no, Sir Alex Ferguson didn't say much, it's mainly my own problem."

Cruyff smiled, "I'm very surprised, because I know your personality, you are so strong, you won't let it go, you said you want to rest, that's just to give Roselle a face, your heart is still eager to coach , because you still have too many things to achieve, don’t you?”

Guardiola sighed, this gentleman knew him too well, nodded and said: "Yes, but..." He shook his head.

Cruyff really knew him very well. When he heard that he didn't continue, the Dutch didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he took a sip of coffee and waited silently for Guardiola, this sentimental Catalan, After the entanglement is over, I will take the initiative to speak.

Sure enough, after more than ten seconds, Guardiola tried to ask: "Sir, if you return to coach, are you sure you can beat Tottenham Hotspur?"

This is indeed a very real, or too real question.

Cruyff was not angry at all. With his status in Catalonia, such a question is an offense, but the person who asked this question was his most proud disciple, so he was more like a pair of If the academic discussion between master and apprentice cannot be tolerated and accepted, then he is not Cruyff.

"No!" Cruyff's answer is also very solid.

After a pause, he laughed again, "That's why you don't want to go to Chelsea?"

"Not only, but also because I feel that it is difficult for me to feel enough respect at Stamford Bridge!" Guardiola replied frankly.

Cruyff nodded, "That's right, only Mourinho's character can survive at Stamford Bridge, but you, it's very difficult!"

"I may go to Bayern Munich in a year!" Guardiola sighed.

Cruyff was a little surprised, but soon understood, "It's a very good idea, a risky attempt. German football is the second football kingdom that can play total defense after Dutch football. Bayern Munich has a perfect team. The structure, healthy finances, deep foundation, and their leadership are very familiar with football, the team has been developing in accordance with the laws of football."

Speaking of this, Cruyff nodded in agreement and said: "If it is to go to Bayern Munich, it is indeed better than going to Chelsea. At least I think that if this team is well-tuned, it is fully equipped to dominate Europe. A top team that won't lose against Barcelona."

An important choice for Guardiola to coach the team is to have the potential to surpass his Barcelona team. This is a manifestation of his strong personality and a resilience of his unwillingness to admit defeat.

If you can't surpass yourself, why continue to coach?
"They've been in touch with me since the summer of '11, but I didn't make a decision at the time, and they contacted me not long ago, Heynckes' contract ends in a year and I might take over at that time. "

"That's great!" Cruyff raised his coffee cup with a smile and raised it towards Guardiola, as if to celebrate.

"However, I have been thinking about a question recently, how to beat Tottenham Hotspur?" Guardiola expressed his confusion, or a doubt that has troubled him for a long time.

Cruyff just took a sip of coffee, put it down again, looked at Guardiola seriously, and thought for a while, "Listen, Pepe, Tottenham Hotspur are very special, just like Barcelona. As special as Real Madrid are in La Liga, in many ways he surpasses all current teams."

"But I am very clear that you have been saying that in football, no team can cover all areas unless they are superhuman, so any tactic has advantages and disadvantages, and as long as there are disadvantages, then There must be the possibility of being exploited by the opponent, in other words, Tottenham Hotspur cannot be without weaknesses."

Cruyff nodded uncontrollably, "You're right, Tottenham Hotspur do have weaknesses and deficiencies, such as Pirlo with a single midfielder, and other aspects, but they are exploited by opponents, Or there are too few opportunities to take advantage of!"

After a pause, Cruyff continued: "Some people say that Ye Qiu is very offensive. That's true. He is proud of offensive football, but it doesn't mean he doesn't pay attention to defense. In fact, he has always What he has been pursuing since then is not just offense, but a balance between offense and defense, and he even wants to perfect both offense and defense at the same time."

"It's impossible!" Guardiola laughed and shook his head.

"Yes, but this was his original goal, a fantasy, but later he became sober, so he was thinking about how to make the offense and defense the strongest at the same time, even if it was only superficially the strongest, so A very interesting thing happened, that is, he creatively changed the direction of thinking about a problem."

"I don't understand!" Guardiola shook his head.

"When we design tactics, we often consider a probability issue. As Beckenbauer said, tactics are the probability of the head coach winning. Good tactics have a high probability of winning. In the same way, tactics are also offensive. The probability of the opponent's goal, and the tactics are the probability of the defense being able to prevent the opponent's goal."

"Every set of tactics will have weaknesses, and according to the thinking logic of a normal head coach, it should be to make up for this weakness, such as Tottenham Hotspur, Pirlo's single midfielder is a problem, Vidal can retreat, but Ye Qiu doesn’t do that, he does the opposite, he lets you know that he has this weakness, but he tries to prevent you from taking advantage of it.”

"Look at him playing Newcastle, in the first game, Zlatan Ibrahimovic played a huge role, but in the second game, the Swede's role was contained, and in the first game of this season, you go and see, if Newcastle If you stick to what happened last season, he will die miserably, because once you take advantage of this weakness, he will improve in a targeted manner, and even when you take advantage of it, he will improve, which means you are helping He fills in the gaps."

"He doesn't want the strongest and most perfect tactics. What he wants is the tactics with the strongest self-healing ability, the strongest adaptability, and the strongest learning ability. Therefore, he said that failure is a panacea, and winning is arsenic, because failure can make people feel better. He and the team got stronger."

When Guardiola heard this, he couldn't help but look at his teacher, "According to what you said, is it impossible for Tottenham Hotspur's tactics to be defeated?"

"It's possible, how is it impossible?" Cruyff felt amused, and his beloved disciple still didn't understand, "When Redknapp played Tottenham Hotspur in the first game, if his The quicker the tactical adjustment, he won that game, that is to say, when you have the ability to take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur's weaknesses, before he has made targeted adjustments, or you follow him If you adjust and adjust again, then you have the strength to defeat him, but it is very difficult, very difficult!"

"Tottenham Hotspur's system has no fixed tactics, no fixed formation, and we even emphasize possession of the ball, but if you go and see them, they may not necessarily have possession of the ball, as Ye Qiu said, up to 60% , It doesn’t matter if it’s less, 40% can still be played, and it doesn’t matter if it’s more, 70% can still win.”

"Current teams pay more attention to integrity and emphasize frontcourt pressing, such as Barcelona, ​​Dortmund and Simeone's Atletico Madrid, but if you look closely, you will find that their pressing is different."

"Barcelona, ​​Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid all use high defense and midfield pressing as the core tactics of the team and use this as a basis, while Tottenham Hotspur's high defense and midfield pressing seem to be It's more like a team's method, for example, they often grab it after the start, and it doesn't matter if they don't grab it."

"There have been many cases of Tottenham Hotspur being attacked by their opponents, but they have never seen Tottenham Hotspur lose. In turn, if teams such as Barcelona, ​​Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid do not press, then they basically lose. It's over."

"Dortmund's press adopts a mad dog press. They almost put in the press without any reservations, and the position is even higher. It is purely relying on the players' physical fitness and willpower to press. If this team meets Tottenham Hotspur , Klopp's position as a famous coach must have suffered a crushing defeat, because Ye Qiu's Tottenham Hotspur is their natural enemy."

"Atlético Madrid is not the same. His main press is concentrated in the transition between offense and defense. The main purpose is to destroy the opponent's counterattack efficiency. If you can grab it, you can grab it. If you can't grab it, you can delay it to gain time and space for the backcourt. But you have to pay attention. The pressing of Dortmund and Atlético Madrid was more about individual runs."

"Our Barcelona tactics are smarter. We rely on the system. When attacking, we advocate short passes. This can ensure that we will naturally form a close connection between players and players in the local area when we attack. The number advantage, and once the ball is lost, the number advantage formed during the attack can be immediately converted into the number advantage in the defense, and the offensive player will immediately become a defensive pressing player, so that the player can save a lot of energy consumption. "

"So, we have a slow tempo when we hold the ball, and a fast tempo when we lose the ball, because we have to compete with the opponent for the speed of offensive and defensive transitions and avoid being counterattacked by the opponent. Dortmund and Atletico Madrid don't have such routines, so they lose the ball. When the ball is played, the players are farther away from each other, so they have to run more and consume more to make up for it. But what they are better than us is that there is always a large gap behind us. Once the offensive and defensive transition is not good enough, it will be quite It's dangerous."

"Last season, when we played Tottenham Hotspur, we actually did a poor job. If you can sum it up simply, Dortmund and Atletico Madrid are pressing on the ball holders, while we are mainly blocking the way out of the ball. The pressing of the ball holder is more symbolic, and it is usually the attacking core players who take on this responsibility."

"The smart thing about Tottenham Hotspur is that their offense also pays attention to teamwork in local areas, which is in the same line as ours, but their control area is larger than ours, which is very similar to Dortmund and Atletico Madrid. Similarly, when they lose the ball, the person closest to the ball holder gets close immediately, and the other players immediately focus on cutting the ball route, but their cutting is not mainly for the first pass, but for the second pass. Biography and the third biography."

"That is to say, after they lose the ball, they not only predict the opponent's first kick, but also predict the second and third kicks. The position of the close player is very important, how he gets close, how he defends the position, and what kind of impact it will have on the ball holder, these are the key points.”

"Another point is that the key to the entire tactical operation of Tottenham Hotspur lies in the midfield. The moment Ramsey and Vidal lose the ball, one must participate in the counterattack, and the other retreats to Pirlo. Forward, and the two central defenders behind Pirlo must be one forward and one behind, so that Pirlo has two players in front of and behind protection, forming a triangle coverage area, holding the middle, forcing you to pass the ball to the side."

"Having done that, Tottenham are not obsessed with possession, because possession is the same for them, they want to attack, keep attacking, so their attack is very simple. Soon, sometimes two one-kick passes enter your 30-meter zone, and you can't even defend."

"Their entire tactics, from the frontcourt to the midfield to the backcourt, is one link after another, from the left to the center to the right, and it is also one link after another, just like the midfield, Ramsey and Benny Dahl often changes positions, but no matter which side they are on, as long as the opponent takes the ball and attacks him, he is a full-back. On the other side, he moves to Pirlo and becomes a central midfielder. When attacking, They can go forward again, form the attacking midfielder, participate and then attack."

"It is precisely because of such frequent changes of duties and positions that they need to run and need excellent athletic ability, while Cesc Fabregas and David Silva cannot do this. As for Yaya Toure, This player needs the team to play with him as the core, but Manchester City uses him as the core to build a midfielder, but he has just become the most unstable core element of Manchester City."

"But Tottenham Hotspur don't revolve around who they play, and they don't have any fatal weaknesses that can be caught and exploited by the opponent, and the players they need to select are two criteria, stable fast balls and Excellent running ability."

When talking about this, Cruyff sighed deeply, "This is an imperfect tactical system, but it is better than perfect. He ensures the rigor and integrity of the system to the greatest extent, and the new players Compromise of contradictions between adaptability, at least, they have a lot of advantages over us in terms of material selection!"

(End of this chapter)