Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 262 My physical abilities aren't for defense.

On the field.

It's perfectly normal for Shan Yongzhuo to have his ball stolen, and nobody cares, including Shan Yongzhuo himself.

Then Napoli launched an attack on Manchester City.

Napoli's third-place finish in Serie A last season wasn't due to their outstanding defense, but rather their incredibly sharp attack.

In attack, Cavani and Lavezzi led the charge, and with Hamsik making forward runs, Napoli's attack was very cohesive.

Napoli, who are adept at using the 3-4-3 formation, can launch sharp counter-attacks while maintaining a solid defense, and their biggest advantage lies in the movement of their players.

Compared to the time when Donadoni was in charge, the current Napoli players cover about one-third more distance per game.

The more you move around, the smoother your teamwork will be, and the more opportunities you'll find.

In comparison, Manchester City is somewhat weaker.

Manchester City's players aren't particularly active, especially under Shan Yongzhuo's leadership, they've gradually become less inclined to run.

Apart from the two midfielders Silva and Milner, and the relatively active new signing Aguero, the other players' running was significantly less than Napoli's.

Football is a team sport, but it ultimately involves running. When one side runs significantly more than the other, it's not surprising that they gain an advantage.

Within the first 15 minutes, it was clear from the game that Manchester City were playing rather passively. Of course, the reason for this passivity was not due to a lack of strength.

One reason was the running; Napoli was clearly better prepared than Manchester City, accurately identifying Manchester City's weaknesses and controlling the game.

The fundamental reason for the other side lies in Mancini's tactical approach.

Mancini is a good head coach. He has some ability in scouting and developing young players, leading the team and inspiring the team.

However, to call him a tactical master or someone with brilliant tactical ideas would be giving him too much credit.

Moreover, Mancini's biggest problem is his stubbornness.

Mancini had a period of stubborn adherence to Veron during his time at Inter Milan, and his subsequent failures in European competitions fully illustrated his problems.

Mancini's overall tactical approach heavily relied on the flanks, placing the entire offensive focus on them, and then favoring to target beast-like defensive midfielders in the central midfield.

He stubbornly maintained this attitude from Inter Milan to Manchester City.

The arrival of players like Silva and Milner, and Silva's transformation into a winger/attacking midfielder, exemplify this tactical approach.

Of course, this tactical approach is not wrong, but there is a big problem: the midfield is completely unbalanced in the attack, and it can even be said that the midfield is completely abandoned in the attack.

The 4-2-2-2 formation does a good job of combining play between the wingers and the center in attack, but that is the cooperation between the wingers and the forwards, and has nothing to do with the central midfield.

This characteristic can be quite effective when facing average teams and having overwhelming strength, but its weakness becomes obvious when facing teams with strong midfields.

This is why, although Manchester City's squad looks luxurious, everyone believes that without Shan Yongzhuo, they would never have been able to win the treble, and might only have been able to compete for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Mancini's stubborn insistence on his own tactical ideas actually bears a great deal of responsibility.

In this match, Manchester City encountered this problem again, and their midfield was completely unbalanced under the attacking midfielders deployed by Napoli.

Mancini watched anxiously from the sidelines.

There is no significant difference in strength between Manchester City and Napoli; in fact, if one had to choose, Manchester City would have the advantage in terms of strength.

But the game was just played very awkwardly.

Mazzarri calmly identified the flaws in Manchester City's tactical approach, severing the connection between the two wingers and the backline.

Manchester City's attack relies entirely on their two wingers, especially Silva. After a season of experience, although everyone's attention is focused on Shan Yongzhuo, many people can also see Silva's important role in this Manchester City team.

If Shan Yongzhuo's attacks were the ones that ended them, then Silva was the one who initiated them.

The disconnect between Silva and the backfield caused Manchester City's attack to fall into complete disarray.

Mancini wasn't actually oblivious to the problem, but he couldn't do anything about it because he stubbornly insisted that Manchester City didn't have a single player in their squad who could orchestrate attacks from the center of the midfield, and even if they did, they couldn't integrate into Manchester City's tactical philosophy.

"We can only rely on singles now..."

In the end, Mancini found that he could only place his hopes on Shan Yongzhuo. This was a helpless situation.

On the field, Shan Yongzhuo was helplessly relegated to a mere decoration in the attacking third.

He didn't have any good ideas.

With his tactical acumen, he could only see that the team was not moving, but he couldn't see where the problem lay.

He didn't expect the team to be suppressed so badly; he couldn't even receive the ball in the attacking third.

then……

He stood still, clenching his fist and chanting slogans in rhythm.

"Go for it, David!"

"Go for it, Yaya!"

"Go for it, A-KUN!"

"Go, LeBron!"

The young Cannavaro next to him thought Shan Yongzhuo was doing something, so he leaned closer to listen carefully and was speechless. "Aren't you going back to defend?"

"Do not."

Shan Yongzhuo shook his head.

"why?"

"My energy is for scoring goals, not for defending."

"..."

Fabio Cannavaro Jr. felt he couldn't communicate with geniuses (or intellectually disabled individuals).

However, three minutes later...

Perhaps it was Shan Yongzhuo's encouragement that made an impact, because after Cavani's shot was saved by Joe Hart, Manchester City launched a sharp counter-attack.

Silva moved to the center, received the ball, and organized an attack.

Once in the attacking third, Silva passed the ball to Aguero, who had moved to the wing to receive it.

Compared to top teams, or even teams like Napoli, Manchester City's central midfield is at a disadvantage, but their front four has always been their strongest point, and they are in no way inferior to the strongest teams.

Because of Shan Yongzhuo's presence, this group of four can be said to be the strongest offensive firepower in Europe.

Previously, the front and back lines were disconnected, and the four players were unable to organize an effective attack. However, when this counter-attack was successful, the four players got the ball and started to organize an attack, and their power was immediately shown.

After receiving a pass from Silva, Aguero skillfully bypassed Inler and sprinted forward with the ball.

Then, a low pass was sent into the middle.

Shan Yongzhuo received a pass from Aguero near the edge of the penalty area and was immediately double-teamed by Cannavaro and Hamsik.

This time, Shan Yongzhuo didn't let the opportunity slip by and activated the Ghost Shadow Grappling Hand ahead of time.

The difference in the speed of time allowed Shan Yongzhuo to easily break through the double-team of two players, rush into the penalty area, and get a shooting opportunity.

Then...

"Boom!"

The football soared into the air, heading straight for the goal.

For Shan Yongzhuo, a position 20 meters from the goal was practically a piece of cake.

Goalkeeper De Sanctis was helpless and could only watch as the ball sailed into the corner of the net.

(End of this chapter)