Extraordinary coach

"Hey! Why do I feel like Dong's defensive ability seems to have improved!"

When Dong Fangzhuo, who got the shin guards, participated in the team's training later, Dio was immediately surprised.

"Yeah. It's improved." Sun Yi smiled and nodded. Judging from the training situation, "B-level Defense" has greatly improved Dong Fangzhuo's defensive ability.

Although he is still not good in terms of defensive position and defensive awareness, Dong Fangzhuo's defensive skills are much more formal than before. This makes Dong Fangzhuo's defense more effective when training.

"But this improvement is too big, right? If I didn't know his situation, I would think he was actually a defender." The more Dio looked at it, the more he found it hard to believe.

"Sun, you know him best. Did he switch from a defender to a forward?"

"I haven't heard of such a thing." Sun Yi shook his head. He was sure that Dong Fangzhuo was not a defender who switched to a forward. Dong Fangzhuo was a regular forward from the beginning.

"That's strange! How is that possible?" Dio really couldn't figure out why this happened.

"This is the result of Dong's hard work. After all, his physical fitness is very good. As long as he works hard, he can always do better and better." Sun Yi found a reason to forcefully explain. "Besides, his defense has improved, isn't that better?"

"You're right. This is indeed a good thing. As for his rapid progress, maybe it's because he is more suitable for defense?" Dio said thoughtfully. Then he suggested: "Or, try to let him play as a defender?"

"Let's talk about this later. Our team needs more people on the front line now." Sun Yi waved his hand.

Speaking of the need for people on the front line, Dio hesitated for a moment and said: "Sun, Balotelli, how about forgetting it?"

"No. This time I must teach him a lesson. Even if I lose the next game, I will never let him play!" Sun Yi said firmly.

"Okay then." Seeing Sun Yi like this, Dio knew that Balotelli was suspended this time.

A few days later, Sun Yi led the Nice team to face another French Ligue 1 opponent Nantes at home.

Nantes is not a top team in Ligue 1, but it is also very strong. They have performed well this season and are currently ranked eighth in Ligue 1. It belongs to the upper-middle area.

Such opponents should not be underestimated.

On the day of the game, Sun Yi found that Nantes was stronger than he thought.

Without Balotelli in the game list, Nice had no advantage except for the home advantage.

This was quite unexpected by Sun Yi. However, he did not regret suspending Balotelli.

However, there was another situation that Sun Yi did not expect. That is, the starting players of Nice were generally in poor condition.

Sun Yi realized that Nice had entered a trough period after a long outbreak.

This problem is really tricky. But it is unavoidable. After discovering this situation, he could only set a lower goal for the game.

It was this situation where many people were in poor condition that caused Nice to not play with the strong momentum they had in the past after the game started.

After the initial cautiousness of the Nantes team, they found that the Nice team was not as fierce as they thought before the game, and they immediately felt their morale boosted. They played more fiercely and even had the momentum to turn the tables.

"Our players seem to be a little slow to warm up today!" Dio said when he saw the situation on the field.

"I know. The team should have entered a low period." Sun Yi nodded.

"Our offense is not very good. It may not be easy to win this game." Dio's face began to show some worry.

"It's okay if we can't win. In the next game, I think we have to put the players' condition first." Sun Yi thought for a while and said.

"Salah, Cyprien and others can arrange a rest." Dio suggested.

"Let's do it." Sun Yi nodded.

"Now the important thing is this game. What do you think?" Dio then turned the topic to the current game.

"I don't have any ideas this time, just try my best." Sun Yi's bottom line for this game is to maintain a draw and win. If you can win, win. If you can't win, a draw is also acceptable.

"I have a suggestion. Since many of our players are not in good condition, let's play defensive counterattack."

"Defensive counterattack?" Sun Yi looked at Dio with a smile. "I remember you never liked defensive counterattack!"

"It's OK as long as it works. You don't have to stick to one style." Dio smiled awkwardly at first, and then said confidently: "I learned this from you."

"Haha!!" Sun Yi couldn't help but smile. This at least shows that Dio and other assistant coaches now agree with his coaching style.

"Then change it?"

"Change it!" Sun Yi nodded. Dio's suggestion is also a good idea.

He replaced Balotelli with Dong Fangzhuo today. Although Dong Fangzhuo has often performed unexpectedly well recently, he is still a long way behind Balotelli in terms of strength.

When Salah is in good condition, Nice's attack doesn't have to worry. But today Salah and others are not in good condition. Without the support of his teammates, it is naturally impossible to rely on Dong Fangzhuo alone.

This has been proven since the beginning of the game.

Later, Nice changed their style of play from offensive football to defensive counterattack.

This change puzzled the fans of Nice.

After all, fans prefer to play in a way that is beautiful and powerful. Tactics such as defensive counterattacks have never been popular with fans.

Moreover, Nice has won too many games this season, which has spoiled the fans' appetite. This made them more or less dissatisfied.

"What's going on? Why are you shrinking?"

"In the last game, they dared to attack the opponent with one less player. Today, why did they suddenly stop attacking?"

"Change it back quickly! Attack them. That's more powerful and more beautiful!"

However, the tactical adjustment of Nice made the opponent feel very sorry.

"Hey, they shrank back. It would be better if they didn't adjust." Nantes coach Conceicao said with some regret.

Since the start of the game, Conceicao found that the overall state of Nice was not very good today. This made him, who was originally worried about losing, see the hope of winning.

Especially seeing that Balotelli was not in the Nice team's roster today, he was overjoyed.

The games during this period also proved this point. Although the two teams were almost equal in ball possession and shots, the threat posed by Nantes was obviously greater.

In Conceicao's view, this situation was very beneficial to Nantes.

Unfortunately, the adjustment made by Nice changed everything.