The road to godhood starting from Ligue 1

Chapter 265 The Wind Rises in North London

Gaio listened to Haji Begichi's words and fell into his memories.

If I remember correctly, Villas-Boas will be sacked at the end of this year.

This Tottenham team played very well, but after losing Bale, Villas-Boas' tactical flaws were further magnified.

Villas-Boas' coaching style is extremely distinctive: proactive, high-risk, and high-reward.

He adopted a high defensive line, high-intensity high pressing, quick and direct attacking transitions, and wide utilization as his core tactical ideas, and successfully built a team with powerful attacking firepower and high entertainment value, especially allowing Bale to shine.

Therefore, fans who like him will especially like him.

however,
This style demands extremely high levels of player ability, execution, and stamina. Furthermore, Villas-Boas's tactics were stubborn and one-dimensional, with huge loopholes in the defense. Coupled with his lack of in-game adjustments, the final outcome was already predetermined.

In Gaio's view, his ideals are very grand, pursuing modern ball control and pressing, but it is precisely because he is too ambitious that he cannot reconcile his ideals with reality.

The deficiencies, especially in defensive organization and tactical flexibility, are too obvious.

While the attacking play was impressive, it also left a shadow of a fragile defense and the regret of failing to go any further.

"We must use our speed to break through their rear!"

Haji Begichi's words brought Gaio back to reality.

Mane and Lukaku are both eager to try, as speed-type players like them love Tottenham's high-pressing defense that creates offside traps.

You can defend against me many times, but as long as I break through once, it's a one-on-one situation!

"To counter their high-positioned opponents, we need a lone striker with top-notch speed and powerful impact, as well as a winger with absolute speed, strong ball control and forward movement, and good off-the-ball movement awareness."

At this point, Haji Begitch laughed, "Coincidentally, we all have them!"

Outsiders thought Bastia drawing Tottenham was a terrible draw. Hagi Bejic initially thought it was bad luck, but after carefully studying the tactics and consulting some friends from the former Yugoslavia...

Tottenham? A top club?
Bastia's tactics are a perfect counter to Boas's!

As he said, Bastia has at least three options for attacking the opponent's defense: Gaio, Lukaku, and Mane.

They all possess extremely strong impact and one-on-one capabilities.

In midfield, there's a defensive midfielder like Kanté who covers a huge area and is very willing to run and press, plus Rothen and De Bruyne, two playmakers who can drop deep and make long passes.

The three of them form a top-class midfield in Ligue 1, possessing excellent positional awareness, interception ability, superb long-pass vision and technique, and the ability to calmly receive and distribute the ball under pressure.

What other Ligue 1 teams can compare to?

of course,

Bastia would be even stronger if the center-backs had top-notch passing ability, but unfortunately, none of the current center-backs have very good passing ability.

However, with Van Dijk at the back, the defense is tough enough and quick enough to track back, which is sufficient.

The only thing giving Hagi Bejic a headache right now is the choice of full-backs.

Especially the right-back position.

We need to face Bale head-on!

Therefore, speed is the bottom line.

Looking at the entire Bastia right-back position, only Klose has a certain speed.

Klose is currently a player who is clearly strong offensively but weak defensively.

Hajibegić was somewhat troubled.

Should we move left-back Sidibe to the right wing and only have him defend?

But what if this means the left-back has to face Tottenham's other fast winger, the combination of Kyle Walker and Lennon?
Lennon and Kyle Walker were both speed monsters!
Bastia's central axis is very reliable, but the full-back position is a bit of a headache.

This is also what he believes is Bastia's only weakness against Tottenham – their defense on the flanks.

"Therefore, our defense needs to drop deep. They are all extremely fast players, and we cannot leave them any space behind us."

Haji Begitch delivered the decisive blow, essentially explaining the entire tactical plan.

Finally, he said, "Remember the two wins against Atletico Madrid? Nothing is impossible in the world of football. Tottenham is strong, they have many top stars, but we are strong too, aren't we?"

Upon hearing this, the Bastia players smiled and applauded.

This is their greatest source of confidence.

New signings like Van Dijk and Darmian had never played such an important match before, but seeing their teammates so confident eased their tension a little.

When Van Dijk first left the Netherlands, he was worried about integration issues, but in Bastia, there seemed to be no such concerns at all.

He likes the atmosphere here.

Damian did the same; he had already planned to have Gama come with him to live in Bastia after returning to North London.

In the afternoon, the players trained according to Hagi Begic's instructions.

Van Dijk, on the other hand, received personal instruction from Haji Begitch.

Since Van Dijk's last few matches, Hagi Begic has been paying special attention to him.

In Hagi Bejic's words, "I see the shadow of a top center-back in him."

This former Yugoslavian key center-back may have seen a reflection of his past self in Van Dijk.

Strictly speaking, Hagi Begic is definitely not a good coach.

Because he's really not good at coaching players, and his on-field adjustments are also quite average.

This is why Bastia suffered three consecutive defeats when their key players were fatigued or unable to play.

To put it bluntly, the offense relies entirely on individual ability.

He does have a lot of experience in defense, though.

This is also why Bastia was able to stop teams like Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain with a Ligue 2 defense.

After training.

Gaio checked his phone and found a text message from Zidane: "FP will be watching your game against Tottenham. You know there are a lot of transfer rumors surrounding Real Madrid and Bale right now. I can tell you responsibly that it's true. FP plans to do whatever it takes to bring in Bale. This kind of game is also one of the games Real Madrid uses to assess Bale. I'm thinking, what if you can outperform Bale? Real Madrid right now, for you, is not without a chance."

Gaio was slightly surprised when he saw Zidane's text message.

He certainly knew that Real Madrid ultimately took Bale away, and that the core issues between Bale and Ronaldo caused some chaos within Real Madrid.

These things, which were originally far away from him, seem to be getting closer and closer.

"Thank you, I'll try my best." Gaio replied, then felt the February breeze brush against his body, bringing a slight chill.

He looked up into the distance, where the leaves were rustling.

got windy.

The wind also blows in North London.

Training ground at Hotspur Way, North London, England.

Villas-Boas kept watching the game videotape, going over it again and again.

He is a person who is extremely passionate about football, full of his own ideas, and exceptionally confident.

In other words, stubborn.

Assistant coach Reed said, "We should have Scott and Asu guard Gaio together; he's a big threat."

Boas shook his head. "No, don't get caught up in traditional thinking."

Villas-Boas looked up at Reid. "I think you know how Bastia would play, right?"
When facing teams with stronger squads on paper, they often resort to counter-attacking. Hey, Jose used that tactic more skillfully; they only learned the basics.

They'll definitely continue using this tactic at White Hart Lane. If I waste more players on their attacking players, won't that leave us short-handed in attack? Isn't that exactly what they want?

Villas-Boas shrugged. "And I believe in Assu. As a top full-back in the Premier League, he's not much slower than Gaio, but much stronger in physical duels. I don't think Gaio can break through Assu's defense. In the end, you'll see that Gaio is just Assu's toy."

Reed wanted to say something more.

Villas-Boas gestured with his hand and continued, "I understand. Gaio is indeed very talented, and to be frank, the boss also asked me to keep an eye on this young man. If Bale really can't stay with the team and joins Real Madrid, the boss's idea is to buy Gaio, train him, and give him a try. Maybe he'll be another new Bale."

but,

That's a matter for the future. At least for now, I think Asu can defend against a pure winger, okay?

Reed nodded.

Asso Hector, a Cameroonian international, joined Tottenham Hotspur from Lens in France in 2006. He was plagued by injuries for the first two years, but gradually became a key player for the team and has remained so ever since.

Furthermore, it was precisely because of Ektor's outstanding performance that he firmly secured the starting position at Tottenham's left-back, forcing Bale to the left winger position.

Later, when Harry Redknapp accidentally placed Bale in the left winger position, he discovered a new world.

Therefore, in the 2011-2012 season, Bale was completely transformed into a winger.

Bale has officially demonstrated his top-level offensive talent.

It wasn't until Villas-Boas took over that Bale's position was fully unleashed, allowing Bale to deliver the best performance of his career.

In fact, whether it was Southampton or Tottenham in their early days, he played as a full-back because neither team had a top-class full-back at the time. They saw that Bale had good running ability, so they let him play as a left-back.

Therefore, it's normal for Villas-Boas to be confident in his ability to defend against Gaio one-on-one, given that left-back Assu Ekto was able to contain Bale.

Reed thought for a moment and then said nothing more.

He was more concerned about what Boas had just said: that Levy also wanted to join the battle for Gaio.

Gaião is currently very popular in England, and is labeled as a top French talent.

Even minor demons don't count.

Because Gaio has already proven himself on the international stage, otherwise he wouldn't have a market value of 60 million euros.

English media outlets have listed five English clubs with the highest interest in signing Gaio during the summer transfer window: Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Everton, and Liverpool.

Therefore, Reed believes that Gaião will definitely attract the attention of scouts across England in this round of the Europa League knockout stage.

It is estimated that executives from these teams will also be present at White Hart Lane at that time.

Reed didn't know what would happen in this game either; he had a feeling that Asu might not be able to stop Gaio.

After all, Asu is already 28 years old. Can he outrun 18-year-old Gaio?
Reed glanced furtively at the confident Boas, suppressing his own thoughts.

After all, Gaio became famous at a young age.

Wasn't Villas-Boas also a prodigy who rose to fame at a young age?
At just 17 years old, Villas-Boas embarked on a coaching career. He was favored by England's legendary coach Bryan Robson and not only learned from Robson but also from assistant coach Jose Mourinho.

Four years later, Villas-Boas became the youngest coach in history to hold a UEFA A license.

He followed Mourinho from Porto to Chelsea and Inter Milan, and was always one of the core members of Mourinho's team.

In October 2009, Villas-Boas, driven by a strong desire to prove he could succeed without relying on Mourinho, finally received an offer from the Portuguese club Universidad de Coimbra. At that time, Villas-Boas was only 32 years old.

His performance as a coach here for just over half a season earned him the position of first-team coach at Porto.

After that, everything went smoothly, from managing Chelsea to now managing Tottenham!
Reed thought to himself that he was already 48 years old and had no experience coaching a first team.

Then I thought of Gaio.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly; whether a player or a coach, a genius is simply different.

2 month 13 number.

Tottenham held a pre-match press conference. In this short period of time, the Europa League match between Tottenham and Bastia has generated even more buzz in England than the Champions League match.

The first problem Villas-Boas faced was—

"How does Tottenham plan to defend against Gaio? He has scored 38 goals and provided 13 assists for Bastia in all competitions, contributing to a total of 51 goals. He is second only to Messi of Barcelona, ​​who has scored 48 goals and provided 13 assists this season, contributing to a total of 61 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo, who ranks third, has scored 37 goals and provided 7 assists, contributing to a total of 44 goals."

Villas-Boas laughed, "This is in line with Gaio's price tag. He has proven with his stats that he is worth 60 million euros. As for how to defend against Gaio, our players are just as good."

Another reporter asked, "Guyão is currently a transfer target for several English clubs. Is Tottenham interested?"

Villas-Boas scoffed, "You should ask the boss about that. I'm only responsible for things on the pitch."

Next question.

“Bastia’s Gaio, Lukaku, and De Bruyne have all played for or are currently playing for Chelsea. This match is being called a mini-North London derby by fans. What’s your opinion?”

Villas-Boas shook his head. "We are facing Bastia, not Chelsea; if possible, I would like to meet Chelsea in the final, but I just hope they can make it to the final."

While Villas-Boas was dealing with the media, Bastia was also holding his pre-match press conference.

Haji Begitch didn't give the media much time to ask questions, instead opting to give uniform answers.

“This match was very difficult for us. Tottenham is an English powerhouse with a glorious history, but we are Bastia, and as always, we choose to give it our all, even if the final result is not satisfactory.”

"As for Gaio, I believe he has already made it very clear before."

(End of this chapter)