Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 94 Guardiola is fighting desperately!

On the morning of April 29, in downtown Munich, at the Bavarian Palace Hotel.

As its name suggests, this hotel is decorated in Baroque and Rococo styles, from the rooms to the restaurants to the conference halls.

Moreover, it has always been the hotel where Premier League teams stay when they come to Munich.

It's about a 30-minute drive north from the hotel to Allianz Arena, 15 kilometers away.

Manchester United arrived in Munich yesterday evening.

On the morning of the match day, everything proceeded according to the pre-arranged schedule.

Wake-up time, breakfast time, rest time —

Everything proceeded smoothly and according to plan.

After the break, the team specially rented the hotel's conference room for a pre-match tactical meeting.

Because of the leak incident that occurred during Moyes' previous tenure, Yang Fan has always announced the roster only on the morning of match days since taking over.

This time is no exception.

But as early as yesterday, everyone already basically knew the answer.

Over the past week, the team has conducted several targeted training sessions, and with the first leg match a week ago, everyone has a pretty good idea of ​​how to play in the second leg.

What Yang Fan needs to do is make some targeted adjustments based on the situation in the first round and the situation in the second round.

Manchester United's coaching staff speculate that Guardiola will still use the 4-2-3-1 formation.

However, learning from the experience of the first leg, the coaching staff believes that Thomas Müller is likely to play in the number 10 position.

In this scenario, the two defensive midfielders could become a combination of Toni Kroos and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Lahm returned to right-back.

Guardiola has too many cards to play, and no one can say for sure right now.

But it is not important.

Yang Fan patiently waited until Mike Phelan, Steve Lund, Paul Brand, and others had all finished speaking before he leisurely stood up to give his final summary.

This also sets the tone for the match.

I took over the team on March 17th, and it has been exactly 45 days, a month and a half.

What's amazing is that, for both Yang Fan and the Manchester United players, this period of time seemed to last much longer than 45 days; it felt like an exceptionally long time, as if they had experienced a great deal of time together.

Especially Yang Fan.

From being a rookie whom the players initially couldn't accept at all, to now, they not only accept him but also follow his arrangements with great conviction.

All of this was unimaginable 45 days ago.

If this were a novel, the plot would definitely begin with an absurdity, followed by a dramatic and thrilling process.

But it's far from over.

Yang Fan stood in front of the podium, his gaze sweeping over each Manchester United player in front of him.

Everyone has three green lights above their head!

This made him truly proud!

Over the past 45 days, he has made tremendous efforts to gradually bring the team back on track.

This is the limit of what he can do!

The team has far exceeded everyone's expectations to get to where it is today.

Including himself!

But the 2-0 scoreline in the first leg at home makes it impossible for him, or the players in front of him, to be satisfied with the status quo.

An unprecedentedly intense longing shone in everyone's eyes.

Lisbon!

Head to the capital of Portugal, ascend to the highest hall of this year's professional league, and wash away all the shame of this season!

"As everyone knows, I'm a novice. I know even less about professional football knowledge than you do, so don't expect to get any substantial guidance from me."

Yang Fan's opening remarks were always very down-to-earth, making everyone in the audience laugh.

If novices are ranked, Yang Fan is definitely among the best.

"I'm best at talking, so I have a few ideas to share."

Yang Fan spoke casually, but both the players and the coaching staff took it very seriously.

Paul Brand even took out his notebook and started taking notes.

"Tonight's match depends entirely on our 2-0 victory over our opponents in the first leg."

"Now let's try to look at our opponents from this foundation."

"Bayern are under more pressure than us right now because they need to score at least two goals."

"If you want to score, you have to push forward and attack."

"But this is their home ground, and if they press forward to attack, they'll have to worry about us counter-attacking."

"Honestly, I've always thought that away goals in the Champions League knockout stages are one of the greatest rules in football history, almost on par with the offside rule, because it's so interesting."

"If we score one goal at the Allianz Arena, Bayern will score four; if we score two, they will score five."

indivual."

What Yang Fan said is actually very basic and obvious.

Many players are actually aware of this in their hearts.

But after his explanation, everyone suddenly understood.

Bayern Munich is under much more psychological pressure than Manchester United right now.

They can't afford to gamble!

"This morning, my assistant Jackie gave me a news briefing—"

Yang Fan extended his left hand, just as he was introducing Jackie Kay. The players were all very familiar with her, and they couldn't help but find it amusing.

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"I've noticed that many British media outlets like to offer us advice, help us analyze tactics, and discuss how Bayern will play —"

"I don't think it's necessary!"

"Really, we don't need to care what Bayern thinks, or whether they play 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, or Guardiola just arranges 1000, it doesn't matter."

"You just need to remember one thing, which is what I just said: every time they attack, they should be worried about us sneaking up on their base from behind."

"And what we need to do is very simple: repeatedly, constantly, remind them of this!"

After listening, Mike Phelan looked thoughtful.

Steve Lund's eyes lit up.

Many players in the meeting room nodded in agreement, clearly understanding Yang Fan's meaning.

Make Bayern afraid!

Once Bayern Munich starts to feel fear, they become hesitant and indecisive when attacking and organizing their offense.

The more they worry about winning or losing, the more likely they are to make mistakes, and the more mistakes they make, the more counter-attacking opportunities Manchester United will have.

"So, what we need to do is very simple."

"They'll definitely attack at the start, so let them attack."

"When they push out to attack, we counterattack from behind."

"As Steve just explained, when we defend through the middle, we attack down the flanks, constantly pushing behind them from both sides to create threats and repeatedly remind them to watch out for the goal!"

"If we do this well, we'll definitely win!"

As soon as Yang Fan finished speaking, a round of enthusiastic applause broke out in the conference room.

From the players, and from coaching staff members such as Mike Phelan and Steve Lund.

Especially Steve Lund.

After spending 45 days together, he discovered that Yang Fan really didn't know much about football.

But Yang Fan possesses something very unique and precious.

That is, he has a very accurate eye for things and can always accurately capture the most crucial point.

Moreover, it can explain things clearly to everyone around you in the simplest and most straightforward language.

Don't underestimate this!

Why did Maradona manage to play so poorly with the Argentine national team in 2010?

Many people say that Maradona didn't understand football or tactics.

That's nonsense.

The reason is simple: Maradona is a genius, and many of his ideas are based on genius. He thinks things are simple and easy to do, but when he tells the players, everyone is completely confused.

Once on the field, how do we ensure uniform execution?

Sometimes, Steve Lund even thought that perhaps because Yang Fan was a rookie, many of his understandings were not difficult for the players to grasp, which actually made it easier for the players to implement his tactics.

When Manchester United arrived at the Allianz Stadium by bus, the entire stadium was already lit up in red.

This is the color Bayern Munich uses at home.

It's also Manchester United's color!

Inside and outside the stadium, Bayern Munich fans wearing red jerseys could be seen everywhere.

Tonight, Manchester United will wear a black and dark blue checkered shirt for the away game.

Looking out the bus window, Yang Fan saw very few fans wearing Manchester United jerseys.

Bayern Munich also acted cunningly, deliberately limiting the number of away fans.

After entering the player tunnel and changing their clothes, the players went onto the field for pre-match warm-up training.

Yang Fan and the coaching staff stayed in the locker room and received the starting lineups for both teams.

Bayern's starting lineup was different from what Yang Fan, the coaching staff, and the media had predicted before the match.

Goalkeeper: Neuer;

Defense: Alaba, Dante, Boateng, and Lahm;

Midfield: Schweinsteiger plays deep, with Ribery, Götze, and Robben in front of him.

Forwards: Mandzukic and Thomas Müller.

The names on the starting lineup are arranged according to their jersey numbers; there is no formation diagram.

Yang Fan and the coaching staff guessed Bayern's starting lineup based on this list.

That was unexpected.

"Götze and Thomas Müller started together, while Toni Kroos and Javi Martinez didn't play at all."

Steve Lund kept shaking his head as he spoke.

"Guardiola is going all out in this match, fighting us to the bitter end!"

To be honest, Yang Fan was also surprised.

In his understanding, Guardiola has always been an inflexible and somewhat stubborn idealist.

This time, however, Guardiola is going all out!

"Thomas Müller's starting position is not unexpected; we expected it. But Götze's starting position is indeed surprising," Mike Phelan said, his brow furrowed.

"This means that Bayern will want to maintain possession from the very beginning and try to shut us down from the start."

Anyone who sees this starting lineup would guess that Bayern's midfield defense has problems.

Passing the ball also carries some risk.

But if Bayern continues the style they showed in the first leg, no, or even does it to an even greater degree, and takes more than 8% possession of the ball, then what is there to worry about?

As expected of Guardiola!

Yang Fan chuckled inwardly.

This is exactly the kind of thing that guy would do if he suddenly changed his tactics on the eve of the Champions League final!

The opponent has changed and made adjustments, so Manchester United will definitely have to make adjustments as well.

Yang Fan's starting lineup remains a three-defender formation.

Goalkeeper: De Gea;

Defense: Smalling, Vidic, Phil Jones;

Midfielders: Ashley Young, Cleverley, Carrick, and Valencia, with Fellaini and Rooney up front;

Forward: Robin van Persie.

According to Manchester United's original plan, they should press forward at the start of the game to challenge Bayern Munich and disrupt their rhythm.

However, it now appears that Guardiola has made adjustments to his starting lineup and tactics.

Bayern will attack even more fiercely and aggressively from the start!

With this in mind, Mike Phelan, Steve Lund, and the others all turned their attention to Yang Fan.

What should we do at this moment?

Ultimately, it's up to the head coach to decide!

Yang Fan thought about it for a moment and made a decision without hesitation.

"No matter how the opponent adjusts, they will still have to exert pressure."

"Bring Fellaini back. We'll start with three defensive midfielders to stabilize our defense and hold the central area!"

Yang Fan immediately provided a targeted adjustment plan.

"Once they seize the opportunity, their counter-attacks should focus on the flanks, pushing Ashley Young and Valencia forward, along with Van Persie and Rooney up front. That should give Bayern a run for their money!"

Ashley Young and Valencia are Manchester United's two most lethal counter-attacking weapons.

Welbeck has good speed and strong impact, but the problem is that his passing awareness is poor, and he easily misses opportunities during counterattacks.

Besides, Ashley Young and Valencia are playing better and better as wing-backs on both sides.

Mike Phelan and Steve Lund considered it and both felt that Yang Fan's adjustment was feasible.

With this in mind, they began to discuss specific tactical details and the players' counter-attack routes.

Once the players return from warm-up training, they must clearly explain the specific adjustments they need to make before going on the court.

Time is extremely tight.