Starting with saving Manchester United

The core coaching team is working overtime tonight.

When Yang Fan entered the small conference room accompanied by Mike Phelan, Steve Lund, and Paul Brand, Rooney, Van Persie, Ferdinand, Fletcher, and Carrick were already seated inside.

The players looked like a group of students preparing for class, with paper and pens even laid out in front of them.

Apart from Steve Lund, who was aware of the situation, Mike Phelan and others were all surprised.

"Let me formally introduce that, starting today, the coach training course will have an additional task: five players will participate in our pre-match preparation work. We also welcome these five players to offer more valuable suggestions to the coaching staff from the player's perspective."

After he finished speaking, Yang Fan clapped enthusiastically.

Steve Lund, who was already aware of the situation, immediately joined in the applause.

Paul Brand and others followed suit.

Mike Phelan was the most surprised.

He never expected Yang Fan to pull this stunt.

Head coaches always maintain a distance from their players; this is a way of upholding their authority.

However, Yang Fan's current actions are completely different from those of all previous head coaches.

He was more like breaking down the wall between the coaching staff and the players, not only not turning the players away, but warmly welcoming them in.

Is this what Yang Fan meant by "idea"?

If Ferguson in the past, and almost all current head coaches, were management-oriented, then Yang Fan is service-oriented.

Is this what young people think these days?

Mike Phelan wasn't sure, but judging from the reactions of several players, they were quite enthusiastic.

This, in turn, puts pressure on the coaching staff.

If you have real talent and skills, of course you're not afraid of players sitting there "learning".

But if you don't have anything to say, your true colors will be revealed as soon as you open your mouth.

Yang Fan?

What is he afraid of?

The whole world knows he's clueless, a complete novice!

But does Yang Fan need these?

For example, at the beginning of the meeting, he was responsible for summarizing the past few games.

"I can now say with absolute certainty that Manchester United has embarked on a bright path of positive momentum, moving from one victory to the next!"

This is the most accurate assessment of Manchester United's current situation!

More importantly, Yang Fan believes that Manchester United's poor performance before the start of this season and the immense public pressure on the players have led to the team's current dramatic rebound.

"I dare say that every player in our locker room right now is ready to give it their all and give it their all!"

This is the fruit of a four-game winning streak!

But their next match is against Barcelona.

How do I play?

In the past, when Ferguson was in charge of the team, he faced Barcelona twice, both times in the Champions League final, and lost badly both times.

Now, with a group of depleted players, what can Manchester United use to fight Barcelona to the death?

Especially at Camp Nou.

So far this season, Barcelona is competing in La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey.

Their record at Camp Nou was only one draw and one loss, with all other victories.

Their home record is arguably the best in European football!

One of the matches that ended in a draw was the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup before the season, where they drew 0-0 at home against Atletico Madrid.

The match they lost was a 2-3 home defeat to Valencia in the 22nd round of La Liga.

In that match, Barcelona's Alba received a red card.

More importantly, Barcelona was facing a double-header week with La Liga and the Copa del Rey, which gave Valencia an opportunity.

In the Champions League, Barcelona has a record of 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in 8 matches so far.

The draw was a 1-1 away draw against AC Milan in the group stage.

The only loss was a 1-2 away defeat to Ajax, despite having already qualified for the knockout stage.

This report card shows that at Camp Nou, Barcelona is an invincible king!

As Yang Fan's most trusted game analyst, Paul Brand has edited together representative clips from several games, mostly from this season.

However, there were also two matches last season where Bayern defeated Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate.

This season's videos mainly focus on Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid's matches against Barcelona.

Especially the recent El Clásico at the Bernabéu, which ended in a 3-4 defeat.

Real Madrid lost, but without Ramos' red card, the outcome would have been hard to predict.

Whether it was Heynckes last season, Ancelotti this season, or Diego Simeone, their tactics against Barcelona were all very targeted.

But what exactly is it targeting?

This is a reading comprehension question without a standard answer.

Every head coach can see the problem, but their answers vary. How many points to award depends on the actual game.

For example, the coaches at Manchester United see things differently.

Mike Phelan, who has led Manchester United in several matches against Barcelona, ​​believes that given Manchester United's current situation, the team can only retreat to a defensive posture.

Tighten the camp and defend it at all costs.

This was the strategy Manchester United used to eliminate Barcelona in 2008.

The two Champions League final losses in 2009 and 2011 were due to Ferguson's unwillingness to back down.

Time has changed.

Steve Lande immediately countered: With Manchester United's current counter-attacking speed, even without discussing whether they can succeed in retreating, how can they launch a counter-attack once they retreat?

A defensive retreat without any counter-attacking threat is tantamount to being slaughtered by Barcelona.

Some people have suggested that we could learn from Bayern Munich or Atletico Madrid.

The answer is obvious.

I can't learn it.

Manchester United players are not as fit as those two teams.

Bayern also has explosive players like Ribery and Robben with exceptional individual abilities.

Everyone knows that Barcelona's weaknesses are speed and height.

Manchester United currently lacks speed, but they have height.

The key question is, how do we defend against Barcelona and how do we capitalize on their height advantage?

If you can't defend, you'll collapse completely, and all your advantages will vanish.

Okay, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid both contained Barcelona, ​​so how did they do it?

Just one sentence: "Surround and force"?

Tell the players this: Go out there and press and surround them!

Or to put it another way: surround Messi, outmaneuver Busquets, and block Iniesta and Xavi?

Please, that's too vague!

This is not a targeted tactic.

That's just empty talk!

Targeted tactics need to consider implementation and details!

The meeting room was in complete chaos.

This left the five players, who were seeing the coaching staff brainstorming for the first time, speechless.

Are all the coaching staff discussions this heated?

Should we directly refute any questions on the spot?

Showing absolutely no mercy?

But gradually, all five players realized what was happening.

The discussion focused on the issue, not the person.

So, although they appear to be at odds, it doesn't actually affect internal harmony.

This was something that was simply unseen during the previous tenures of Ferguson or Moyes.

Thinking of this, the five players looked at Yang Fan, who was sitting at the head of the table like a great Buddha, and felt a strange sense of respect.

This is the change that Yang Fan brought about!

……

Yang Fan was unaware of the thoughts and feelings of the players sitting on the side.

From the coaching team's brainstorming sessions, he could clearly appreciate the advantages of time travelers.

Last season, Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona twice, showing everyone that Barcelona had begun to decline.

Previously, victory could only be achieved through strict defense and even a bit of luck.

Now, they can definitely push forward and go head-to-head with Barcelona.

But how do we fight?

Everyone is figuring it out.

Heynckes, Ancelotti, and Simeone all gave seemingly plausible but ultimately flawed answers.

They all did something right.

But what exactly is it?

As a time traveler, Yang Fan had more than a decade of experience than others, so he naturally saw things more clearly.

Once everyone had finished arguing, Yang Fan leisurely stood up.

Let me explain my understanding.

Everyone in the conference room looked at Yang Fan with surprise.

In the past four games, Yang Fan has rarely participated in such tactical discussions.

Everyone had gotten used to his lack of involvement.

Especially the players.

Hearing this now, I was quite surprised.

How could a complete novice who has never even played football have any professional understanding of such top-level tactics in European football?

Yang Fan guessed what everyone was thinking and smiled nonchalantly.

"I know nothing about specific tactics, so I'll just talk about some broad ideas."

"First of all, I think that when playing against Barcelona, ​​the priority should definitely be defense. Only if we defend well will we have a chance to attack."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

This is a consensus.

"We can't retreat. If we retreat, we'll be surrounded and attacked. Once they control the tempo, it's almost impossible to take it back. That would be like slow suicide. Besides, our counter-attack speed isn't as fast as Real Madrid's."

What Yang Fan meant was that we should focus our defense on the area outside our own 30-meter zone to the vicinity of the center line, and not retreat too far.

"Our physical condition is not very good, so we can't press like Atletico Madrid or Bayern Munich all over the field. The pressing on the front line must be selective and purposeful. We should go up when we see an opportunity, and retreat first when the timing is not right to maintain the stability of the overall formation."

Upon hearing this, all five players nodded in unison.

Yang Fan's words were concise and straightforward; they all understood them and knew what to do.

Most importantly, is it even possible?

"Barcelona's biggest advantage is their passing and penetration. Although Martino brought some long passes and switching, this doesn't fit Barcelona's DNA, so they still mainly focus on possession."

"I watched the 3-4 match between Real Madrid and Barcelona these past few days, as well as Atletico Madrid's match against Barcelona this season, and two matches between Bayern Munich last season."

"I think the essence of their defense is that the team maintains a stable overall formation, tightens the defensive line in the middle, and prevents Barcelona from penetrating through the middle. They will naturally switch to the flanks."

"Because Barcelona doesn't like long passes and prefers possession, when they choose to advance on one side, our defensive formation will press forward to block them on that side and press them down."

What's the benefit of blocking the flanks and surrounding the enemy?

The sideline is the biggest helper for the defending side!

It doesn't require much investment from people, yet the results are quite obvious.

Most importantly, Barcelona doesn't like long passes like other teams.

Once Barcelona finds themselves blocked on the left flank and unable to attack, they will only choose to pass the ball back, control the ball, reorganize, and then move it to the other side.

This makes it slow.

Manchester United's overall defense will have enough time to move over.

In Yang Fan's previous life, why was Tony Cross a strategic midfielder?

Because he can make a long pass from the left wing and accurately switch the ball to the right wing, leaving the opponent's defensive formation no time to adjust.

Real Madrid's attacking stars, with their exceptional individual abilities, can exploit time differences to create defensive gaps.

Barcelona likes to surround the opponent near the penalty area and stretch them from side to side. Isn't this also a way of creating space by stretching the opponent laterally?

Mike Phelan and Steve Lund are both experienced coaches. When they heard Yang Fan say this, they would naturally come up with various targeted defensive arrangements and player arrangements, as well as a preliminary mental picture of the game scenario.

The five players on site were all seasoned veterans. After listening to Yang Fan's words, they immediately had a general idea of ​​whether they could do well or not.

After thinking it through, they were all shocked!

feasible!

It's absolutely feasible!

If they had previously watched Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid matches with a somewhat hazy, indistinct understanding, then...

Now, Yang Fan's words have enlightened them.

Is this really the level of tactical understanding of a rookie head coach?

That's outrageous!

All five players were completely stunned.

Carrick, in particular, felt like he'd been struck by lightning.

Damn, is he really a newbie?