[Football] Bad Boy Batty

[Half-time report: The highest quality half-time since the start of the World Cup, the two teams were evenly matched, Brazil 0-0 Croatia]

A few minutes before halftime, Zidane looked at the situation on the field and thought about why the team had not been able to score and how to make changes in the second half.

First, it was correct to focus on Croatia's left defense. Batistuta and Danilo left Sousa helpless in the first 20 minutes, and the Croatian wing was in a state of panic.

But then they made a change, with central defender Gvardiol moving to the defensive midfielder position to assist, and Croatia gradually took back the midfield with the help of numbers and experience. Paqueta was very good at assisting, but was not outstanding in intercepting and splitting. Casemiro was targeted while holding the ball, forcing Neymar to retreat. Vinicius could not break through Croatia's wingers by himself.

Then Batistuta retreated to the midfield. His retreat was crucial, as it relieved the pressure on Neymar and allowed him to limit Modric more. With him around, Croatia's midfield did not dare to press too hard when Casemiro was advancing with the ball.

In this way, the pressure on D. Silva and Marquinhos will be reduced, and Brazil will be able to attack from the flanks again.

But the problem is that Vinicius's left side is difficult to open up, and Batistuta returned to midfield on the right. Paqueta was not familiar with the wing operations and soon switched positions with Richarlison again, but this further slowed down their impact and speed in the frontcourt.

So, Zidane put his hands in his pockets, wishing he could have two Batistuta at his disposal.

"Zizu, look at this." Before returning to the locker room, the assistant coach showed the head coach the heat map and the approximate routes of the players in the first half. "Wennie played too little. The opponent began to intentionally restrict our right side. Maybe we can make some changes."

As he spoke, he pushed the dot representing Neymar on the tablet to the side.

Zidane understood what this meant. Pasalic and Juranovic, who he had to face on the left, were both speed players. So how to fight against speed? The answer was technique.

But there is still a problem.

Zidane took the tablet and adjusted his position on it. Neymar went back to the wing, so Batistuta had to take on all the tasks of the No. 10 position in the middle. Even if Paqueta came back and a stronger striker was replaced, the problem in the midfield could not be fundamentally solved.

Suddenly, he saw two names in the bench area next to him, and they gave him inspiration.

"I have an idea. Let's arrange the second half like this—"

After watching the substitutions and simulated offensive and defensive movements on Zidane's tablet, the assistant coach's eyes lit up.

"Since we are going to return, why not return more thoroughly?" He shrugged and sent the revised tactical adjustment to the rest of the team. "You are right, this is totally feasible."

The two returned to the locker room door.

"Then let us test it out." Zidane and the assistant coach exchanged a glance, then pushed open the door in front of them. "Attention! You did a great job in the first half, and implemented the tactical intentions we practiced on the training ground. The overall situation in the second half will remain unchanged, with some minor adjustments to the details and personnel..."

……

[Okay, the 15-minute mid-term break is over, and the second half of the game is about to begin. The fourth official on the sidelines held up a sign, and it seems that the Brazilian team will make a substitution at the beginning of the game.]

The broadcast camera was pointed at the sidelines, and we saw that the Brazilian team made two substitutions in a row, Rafinha replaced Paqueta, and Guimaraes replaced Vinicius. On the other side, Croatia had no plans to make any substitutions for the time being.

[Oh?] Seeing these two players on the field, the commentator was surprised, [In this case, how will Zidane adjust the Brazilian team's position? Let's see the changes of the Brazilian team in the opening.]

[beep——]
The referee blew the opening whistle, Batistuta and Richarlison kicked off from the center circle, and the second half of the game officially began.

The camera pulls away and the situation on the field gradually becomes clear.

【Ah, the adjustment of the Brazilian team is not big or small. Neymar returned to the wing, probably to limit the speed of Juranovich. Batistuta withdrew to the midfield, and Rafinha stood in Batistuta's opening position. There is nothing much to say. The key point is Guimaraes. Judging from his current position, he is partnering with Casemiro as a double defensive midfielder. 】

After going around in circles, I finally returned to 4231.

[The 4141 position is simple and clear, and has a natural advantage in defense. When attacking, it can also make the way of penetrating the defense line flexible and changeable through the players' position change. Brazil easily defeated South Korea with this and occupied the advantage in the first 15-20 minutes of today's game.] The commentator analyzed, [But the space on the side of the defensive midfielder is also easy to be used. Croatia set up a level to prevent Brazil's attack from going up.]

Yes, so Brazil switched back to their more familiar double defensive midfielder.

Compared with Paqueta, Guimarães has better defensive attributes, and he and Casemiro may become a powerful barrier in the Brazilian team's backcourt.

The offense in the frontcourt is already very strong, so we should even out the offense, strengthen the defense to ensure the ball is passed, and achieve a true balance between offense and defense. This way we will have a chance to gain an advantage in the second half.

Falling behind will force Croatia to press forward, and at that point, if they make even the slightest mistake, Brazil will take advantage and counterattack to expand their advantage.

The thinking is very clear.

……

Sure enough, just as Zidane had imagined, 10 minutes into the second half, the Brazilian midfielder took control of the ball and gained more say, with the ball possession rate gradually increasing.

In the 49th minute, Brazil attacked from the backcourt. Guimarães and Casemiro slowly kicked the ball twice to induce Croatia to press forward, and then passed the ball back to D. Before D received the ball, Brazil's frontcourt had already started to run.

"Go, dove! In the middle!"

Richarlison followed Batistuta's instructions and ran straight between the two Croatian central defenders. Neymar also made a forward run on the left side, attracting Juranovic away, which gave Rafinha on the right a lot of running space.

The classic inverted triangle pass and cut tactic.

D 席 rubbed the ball in the air and passed it to Batistuta, who quickly controlled the ball and passed it to Rafinha who had already run out of space before Kovacic retreated to defend. Then, one second after giving the ball, Batistuta immediately moved forward to the middle.

Oh no! There's nothing in the middle!
Modric quickly realized Brazil's tactical direction and started right after Batistuta.

[Brazil attacks from the right, Rafinha, pass! ]

Rafinha's back pass accurately found Batistuta, but Modric's defensive move was decisive and Batistuta failed to pull the ball back in front of him, so this wave of attack was destroyed.

But this is enough to illustrate the problem.

"Come on! Come on, everyone!" Batistuta clapped his hands to encourage his teammates, "We are very close (to scoring)! Come on!"

……

In the 55th minute, Croatian defender Sousa made a mistake in passing the ball in the backcourt. Brazil switched from defense to offense. Guimarães passed the ball directly to the middle. Batistuta dodged and received the ball lightly. Neymar made a tacit move forward on the left. The two played a quick and wonderful pass and cut cooperation on the left side of Croatia, which was not empty.

[Go up! Neymar got the ball on the wing, Batistuta was in position in the middle, and he could pass it - shoot! Oh, this time, Modric's retreat helped Croatia solve a major crisis. ]

Originally Neymar had already brought the ball to the ribs, with Richarlison in front of him. Batistuta created space for shooting, and Neymar took the opportunity to pass the ball.

As long as Batistuta receives the ball, he can shoot. It cannot be said to be a sure goal, but there is at least an 80% probability of threatening the Croatian goal.

Modric's substitution once again ruined Batistuta's possible goal. He turned around and stood in position, and passed the ball back to the midfield with difficulty, inevitably knocking Batistuta down in the process.

This tactical stop earned him a warning from the referee, which, of course, couldn't be more profitable for him and Croatia.

"How are you, Batistuta?" Neymar asked. "I saw that your right foot was stuck when you fell just now. Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Batty held his shoulders and lifted his foot to feel himself, then reached out and pinched the area around his ankle. The superficial pain was beginning to dissipate.

"It's OK, nothing's wrong." Batistuta raised his hand to tell the referee not far away that there was no problem and they could continue. Taking advantage of the time, he complained to Neymar quickly: "Damn it, why is it always Modric? How many chances has this guy ruined for us?"

Neymar raised his hand and pressed Batistuta's neck to bring him face to face with him. "Don't take it personally. You can handle him," he consoled him. "It shows that Croatia's overall defense has problems if he always has to fill in and cause trouble. Don't worry, we still have time."

……

"They are going to pass the ball behind us!" Modric reminded his teammates in the backcourt, especially the central defender, "Don't go out, cooperate! Intercept!"

Under his guidance, Croatia's defense became much more solid.

In the 59th minute, Batistuta passed the ball to Rafinha in the midfield, but was intercepted by Gvardiol behind him; in the 63rd minute, Guimaraes found Batistuta, who turned and sped up, making an incredible breakthrough while being pulled by Perisic and Kovacic. Brozovic's attention was attracted, and Neymar understood what he meant and went straight behind him, but unfortunately he was intercepted by the defensive player's sliding tackle when passing the ball.

"Ahhhhhh! It's so annoying!" Batistuta knelt on the ground, looking at the goal so close at hand, and grabbed the grass twice to vent his anger.

Croatia's defense has been really good so far in this game. Compared with facing Belgium and Japan, it is a qualitative leap.

but.

Croatia still has loopholes, and as long as there are loopholes, they will exploit them.

"Don't let the other team take control of your emotions! We're still in the game!" Batty got up dirty and shouted to everyone, "Come on, come on! Cheer up! Let's start over!"

These words are said to every Brazilian player and also to himself.

hold onto.

They will find their opportunity.

……

In the 66th minute, Croatia made a substitution. Kramaric, who had contributed a lot on the front line, lacked stamina and the pressure on Brazil's backcourt decreased, so the head coach decisively replaced him.

The few minutes of adjustment time brought by this substitution is exactly the opportunity that Brazil needs to seize.

Two minutes after coming on as a substitute for Vlasic, Batistuta retreated to remind Casemiro to be ready. The Croatian midfielder then organized an attack. The substitute player did not retreat to press but chose to move forward, and Guimarães came out to intercept.

Brozovic's pass was intercepted, and he immediately rushed forward to steal the ball. Casemiro held him off to buy time for Guimaraes, and Danilo immediately stepped forward to support him.

[Okay, Brazil's attack is coming again! ]

Danilo advances with the ball from the wing.

"Don't bring it! Here!"

Batistuta waved and quickly moved forward, not forgetting to look back and observe the surrounding situation. Seeing Livakovic following him, he consciously moved to the right.

Danilo stopped on the sideline, cooperated with Casemiro, made a long pass to the left, and then moved forward again.

Neymar stopped the ball after a confrontation with Yuranovic, and after a quick change of direction, he sent a ball that looked like both a pass and a shot.

"Here, here!"

Richarlison, who had been engaging the opponent's defender throughout the game, finally had a chance to get the ball. He leaned against Lovren with his back and did not dare to delay. He quickly passed the ball back and Batistuta rushed to the middle.

Modric kept his eyes on Batistuta and tried to disrupt the ball, but he miscalculated this time.

Batistuta had no intention of taking the ball when he made the forward run. He easily passed the ball past him, taking Modric with him as well, and then immediately blocked the opponent's sight with his position.

【Oh! The coordination is so smooth! Guimarães makes a run forward and passes! Another pass - beautiful! ! The ball goes in! Rafinha! He completes the last leg of this relay race! The Croatian goalkeeper is helpless, the game is in the 69th minute! Brazil breaks the deadlock! 】

"Ohhhh! It's in!"

After scoring the goal, Rafinha was extremely excited and ran towards the camera on the sidelines with his arms open. He wanted to dedicate this goal to his family.

Batistuta, who was behind him, was about to join in the celebration when suddenly a pair of hands reached out from the side and stopped him.

"What did I say?!" Neymar pulled Batistuta in for a tight hug. "No matter how many interceptions or sabotages they made, they couldn't stop us!"

"You're right! You're right Ney! It couldn't be better!" Infected by the emotion, Batistuta gave up the idea of ​​celebrating in front of the camera and hugged Neymar back. Looking at the tattoo on Neymar's neck that means "never give up", Batistuta felt his heart beating wildly.

"They can't defend! No one can defend us!"

"Go on! We can still get in!"

……

At the same time, the camera used by Rafinha to celebrate clearly recorded the entire process, including the goal scorer's gratitude to his family, the excitement of his teammates surrounding him, and the two people hugging each other emotionally behind them.

The cameraman in charge of the broadcast maliciously focused on Rafinha's head, so everything around him became blurry, except for the two who were still hugging each other and seemed to be stealing the show.

Highly praised real-time comments:
[Screenshot - A magnified crop of half of Rafinha's body and Neymar and Batistuta hugging him from behind]
"The Three of Us"

(End of this chapter)