Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 81 The Curse

The training intensity on the 13th was very high.

This was a decision made jointly by the coaching staff.

Starting on Sunday the 13th, the team will work on their physical conditioning until the weekend and next Wednesday, when their overall condition will be good.

Especially now, Manchester United faces another week of two matches.

After lunch, the players gradually returned home.

But Yang Fan and the coaching staff stayed, along with Rooney, Vidic, Van Persie, Carrick, and others.

Captain Vidic was also kept behind.

The team needs to hold a tactical meeting.

How do you beat Bayern Munich?

The meeting began with a hand-drawn formation diagram by Yang Fan.

Unlike other formation diagrams, this one has several question marks drawn on it.

Goalkeeper: Neuer;

Defense: Alaba, Dante, Boateng / Javi Martinez, ?

Midfield: Schweinsteiger and ? hold deep; Ribery, ?, and Robben lead the attack.

forward:?

The first reaction of everyone who saw this formation diagram was that it was funny.

But it's obvious at a glance.

These question marks all represent areas that Yang Fan was unsure about.

Why not use Lahm at right-back?

No, Guardiola has recently been fond of using Lahm as a defensive midfielder, partnering him with Schweinsteiger.

The reason is that Lahm can provide consistent passing.

Schweinsteiger's passing isn't always reliable, but given his status, he's definitely a starter.

If Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez form a double pivot in midfield, the defense will be good, but midfield passing and control will be a problem.

Pairing Tony Cross with Schweinsteiger solves the passing and ball-handling problem, but defense remains an issue.

After a few more tries, I found that Ramu was pretty good.

If Lahm plays as a defensive midfielder, then Rafinha will be on the right wing.

But this is a question mark.

There are also forwards.

In Guardiola's tactical system, forwards need to have exquisite footwork and the ability to take the ball and do it alone.

However, Mandzukic's footwork is not particularly good. His strengths lie in his physical strength and tactical pivot, as well as his running ability which is disproportionate to his physique.

Bayern Munich was originally slated to sign Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund last summer and let Mandzukic go.

Unexpectedly, after losing Götze, Dortmund insisted on keeping the Polish striker, preferring to let him transfer to Bayern Munich on a free transfer in the summer of 14.

Therefore, Mandzukic will definitely leave this summer.

In the striker position, Thomas Müller and Mandzukic are two options, representing two different directions.

Using Thomas Müller would mean Bayern are looking to strengthen their ball control.

Conversely, Mandzukic means positional warfare.

The choice of who plays the forward position determines who plays the number 10 position.

Thomas Müller, Mario Götze, Toni Kroos, Thiago, and others have all played in this position.

It can be said that the Bayern Munich team under Guardiola's management is full of talent and has a deep bench, allowing them to field different lineups depending on the opponent and the tactical approach.

On the other hand, what about Manchester United?

"I feel like we've already stripped naked in front of Bayern, we have no secrets left."

Yang Fan's self-deprecating remark made everyone in the conference room burst into laughter.

At first, it was quite novel for the players to participate in the tactical preparation meeting, and many of them were not used to it, but after spending these days together, they gradually got used to it.

Especially Yang Fan's previous remarks.

Manchester United's current strategy is still to use a three-man defense.

With Ferdinand injured, the defense is unlikely to undergo major changes.

In other words, the starting lineup is easy to predict.

"I think Boateng will be Dante's center-back partner; he's better suited to marking Fellaini," Steve Lund speculated.

"Is it possible that Lahm will still play as a defensive midfielder, Toni Kroos will play as an attacking midfielder to ensure midfield control, and Mandzukic will be the striker?"

"The reason why our defense didn't have any problems in the two matches against Barcelona was largely because Barcelona lacked a center forward. I believe Guardiola will definitely learn from this experience."

"If you use Thomas Müller, what's the difference between Bayern Munich and Barcelona?"

Steve Lund's words resonated deeply with Yang Fan.

He had thought so too.

"Everyone in the world knows our midfield is weak, and it's an away game, so Guardiola will probably still use Thomas Müller as the striker, with Toni Kroos and Lahm in midfield to ensure possession," Mike Phelan had a slightly different opinion.

"If it's Thomas Müller, we'll use the same tactics we used against Barcelona against Bayern," Paul Brand immediately chimed in.

"I think the underlying principles of these two approaches are consistent."

"Then their positional warfare capabilities will be even worse than Barcelona's!" Steve Lund retorted confidently.

After a season, Guardiola's tactical philosophy at Bayern Munich is clear to everyone.

He still wants to transplant his possession-based system from Barcelona to Bayern Munich.

The problem is that he can rely on Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets at Barcelona, ​​and has a superstar like Messi with extremely strong individual abilities.

At Bayern Munich?

Ribery and Robben are very strong, but are they on the same level as Messi?

Barcelona's most terrifying ground penetration, besides its passing and possession system, is more importantly due to the players' understanding and exquisite footwork, which Bayern's players lack.

In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund's strength has declined significantly after losing several key players, including Götze.

In addition, Guardiola's passing and possession system is inherently stable, and a stronger squad than other Bundesliga opponents further enhances Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga.

Therefore, they won the championship very early.

They also reached the final of the German Cup.

Bayern Munich looks unstoppable and glorious this season, but many of their matches are not as smooth as they appear.

Especially after entering the Champions League knockout stage.

"Compared to Barcelona, ​​Bayern's ball control is obviously inferior, and their passing consistency is also inferior. However, Bundesliga teams are stronger than Barcelona in terms of the richness of their organization and attacking methods, especially in the combination of wing play and long passes."

Paul Brand presented his analysis results from the past two days.

"Back when Heynckes was coaching, combining play on the wings and in the center and quick transitions between attack and defense were Bayern's strengths. In this respect, Guardiola's Bayern did it better than Barcelona."

"But that's where the problem lies. Even now, Bayern's players haven't fully adapted to Guardiola's passing and possession philosophy, and many players are even quite resistant to it."

"After all, Guardiola took over a treble-winning team!"

Taking over a successful team is actually a terrible thing.

Especially considering they are a treble-winning team.

Benitez taking over Mourinho's Inter Milan is the best proof of this.

Moyes taking over Ferguson's Manchester United is also evidence of this.

In comparison, Guardiola has actually done a very good job.

Yang Fan pondered that this was different from taking over the company's business department.

Because there is a ceiling in European professional football, and each season is constantly cycling.

Whether it's Benitez taking over Inter Milan or Guardiola taking over Heynckes' Bayern Munich, they will both face the same problem.

No matter how well you do, you can never surpass your ex!

Moreover, there's a very high probability that she'll be worse off than her ex.

If you perform worse than your ex, then unfortunately, you will inevitably face a problem that is fundamentally unsolvable.

Just like Bayern Munich now.

Every player must be wondering: We won the treble and beat Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate using Heynckes' tactics, so why should we learn Barcelona's tactics?

It's like a curse!

Guardiola actually knew it in his heart.

But he had no choice.

In Yang Fan's previous life, Guardiola faced similar questions throughout his time coaching Bayern Munich.

Therefore, Yang Fan is not worried if Guardiola uses Thomas Müller.

What we should really be worried about is that he's using Mandzukic to pick up Heynckes' old tricks.

With Bayern's strength and squad configuration, and by leveraging their possession-based system to firmly control the midfield, and by utilizing the combination of wing play and central play that Heynckes once had, allowing Mandzukic to break through defenses in the attacking third, can Manchester United hold them off?

Silence fell over the meeting room.

Bayern Munich is really strong!

They are even stronger than the Bayern Munich team led by Heynckes last season.

Facing a team like this, Manchester United sees no chance of winning, whether considering tactics, lineup, or manager.

In particular, Ribery and Robben are both very good at receiving the ball on the wing and cutting inside.

The two superstars even frequently ran to the same side.

Alaba, Rafinha, or Lahm, on the other hand, actively make runs from deep to take advantage of their crosses from the flanks.

How will Manchester United defend?

What can we use to defend it?

As everyone fell silent, Yang Fan gently tapped the conference table with his left hand, as if with a special rhythm.

"I have a question," Yang Fan broke the silence in the conference room.

After the two previous matches against Barcelona, ​​the team's tactical approach, implemented by Yang Fan, yielded excellent results.

This gave everyone present a glimmer of hope upon hearing Yang Fan's words.

What if this amazing rookie head coach comes up with a strategy to deal with Bayern?

"I support what Paul just said. If Guardiola uses Thomas Müller, we will treat Bayern like we treat Barcelona, ​​with only minor adjustments."

"What if it's Mandzukic?"

Yang Fan didn't wait for anyone else to answer, but took the initiative to continue speaking.

"There is a term in the ancient Chinese military strategy: 'When besieging an army, leave an opening.'"

"What do you mean?"

Yang Fan took a pen and casually drew a square on the tactical blackboard, representing a city.

"When we're besieging a city, we must deliberately leave an opening."

"Following this line of thinking, when we face Bayern Munich, could we deliberately leave Mandzukic exposed, creating a defensive gap that Bayern can exploit?"

"You mean—" Mike Phelan felt like he had grasped something.

But when I try to say it, it's as if I haven't grasped it, and I can't express it.

"We will stick to the same tactics we used against Barcelona: concentrate our forces to defend the middle and flanks, and force Bayern to cross from the wings to find Mandzukic."

"Therefore, all we need to do is control Mandzukic!"

At this point, Yang Fan turned to look at Vidic.

"Nemania, what do you think?"

Should Bayern open up the flanks and focus their attacks on Mandzukic?

This will place high demands on Manchester United's center-backs.

It could even become the key to whether Bayern's attack can be successfully contained.

"I've never played against Mandzukic, but I know him. To be honest, if I were a few years younger, I would say without hesitation that there would be no problem, but now—"

Vidic paused for a moment before continuing, "I need the support and help of my teammates. Mandzukic has a wide range of movement; he will constantly run to the wing and even drop back to create space for Ribery, Robben, and other teammates to make runs from deep."

"This requires us to make targeted adjustments to our defense, and it also tests the teamwork and execution of our teammates."

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"Furthermore, if we open up the flanks and concentrate our forces to defend the middle and flanks, I am confident that we can contain Mandzukic to the greatest extent possible and prevent him from directly threatening the goal. However, we also need to assign personnel to control the second ball."

This is the benefit of players participating in these tactical meetings.

When the head coach puts forward ideas and approaches, the players can give immediate feedback to see if they can be implemented.