Legend of Fengshen

Chapter 189 Mourinho's Response

"Dear audience, what we brought to you early this morning is the highlight of Group B of the 08-09 UEFA Champions League group stage. Inter Milan played at home against Schalke 04. In the first match day of the group stage, Inter Milan The away game won Panathinaikos 2:0, while Schalke 04 was tied at home by Anorthosis, the recognized scorer in the group. Inter Milan is temporarily ranked first in the standings. Schalke 04 is temporarily ranked second. These two teams are also the most promising teams in this group, but as far as this game is concerned, I believe many fans are optimistic about Inter Milan. Today we ask The guest commentator here is Zhang Luzhang!" The sports station chose this game as a live broadcast because of Zhang Yuan, and He Wei was doing routine analysis before the game.

"Hello, audience friends! I'm Zhang Lu! This game is crucial for both sides. After the Milan Derby last weekend, Inter Milan urgently needs a victory to boost morale and consolidate their place in Group B. For Schalke 04, they lost to the underdog Anorthosis on the first match day of the group stage and only accumulated 1 point. The start was not good. If they lose this game, the other If Panathinaikos wins another game, they will not be able to keep their current second position designation, so they will definitely strive to win this game, even if they don't get three points in the end, they will still be able to get one point at Meazza. It is acceptable. Inter Milan should also be more vigilant, and Schalke 04 is definitely not a soft persimmon. They had a 1-0 lead against Barcelona in the away game last season, and their defense is actually quite good!"

"Everyone, Director Zhang has given us a brief analysis of the situation of the two teams just now! Alright! The game between the two sides has officially started. The first kick-off is Inter Milan. The TV screen is attacking from left to right. Schalke 04 is from the Attack from right to left. Let me first introduce the starting lineups of both sides. Inter Milan’s Mourinho has a 4312 formation, with goalkeeper Cesar, right back Maicon, and center backs Cordoba and Ma. Trazzi, left-back captain Zanetti, midfielder Cambiasso, Muntari, Stankovic, midfielder Balotelli, striker Ibrahimovic and Adria No partner!"

"Schalke 04 is still their usual 433 formation. Goalkeeper Neuer returns to start, right back Rafinha, center back captains Bolton and Hewedes, left back Pender, Westerman, Jones , Ernst form three midfielders, Zhang Yuan, Kuranyi, and Farfan form the striker line, Zhang Yuan is on the left as usual, Farfan is on the right, Kuranyi is forward!..."

Mourinho sat on the coaching bench with a blank expression. In the eyes of the media, he is a proud and arrogant head coach, but he has the capital to be proud. He has won many championships in Porto and Chelsea, and he is a heavyweight champion. This is why Moratti hired him heavily.

From a translator to a head coach, his experience can be written into a novel. His achievements come from his hard work and unremitting efforts. What is quite different from the outside media reports is that he is serious about every opponent.

Although he didn't have any passionate words in the locker room, he didn't seem to take Schalke 04 seriously, but the Inter Milan players knew how well Mourinho had prepared before the game.

He studied the game video of Schalke 04, and he learned that Schalke 04 is not in good condition. Rutten's team has had a big problem in offense since the away game was tied by Dortmund. The problem is that the team's striker Zhang Yuan, an important player in the game, is not in good condition. His poor performance has reduced the creativity and threat of Schalke 04's frontcourt, and it is obvious that Farfan has not fully adapted to the Schalke 04 team when he first arrived. The performance of the team can only be said to be very average; problem [-] Rutten advocated three defensive midfielders after taking office, the organizational ability is not good, and the help for the frontcourt is not much in offense; , completely relying on two crosses from the wing, which is easy to be defended.

Although he found that Zhang Yuan's state was not good, he still arranged a very detailed marking plan for this game. Generally speaking, he focused on zone defense. In detail, if Zhang Yuan retreated, Cambiasso would specifically mark him. , if Zhang Yuan moves to the back line, it will be Maicon who will keep an eye on him.

Compared with Zhang Yuan's side, Mourinho's arrangement on Farfan's side is much simpler, and Zanetti is enough to complete the task of restricting Farfan.

However, the situation on the field after the start surprised Mourinho a bit. Schalke 04's three midfielders did a good job of intercepting during the opening period. Inter Milan's midfielder could not easily pass to Going to the frontcourt, you can only control the ball frequently in the backcourt.

But the players of Schalke 04, who are their opponents, have another idea.

Zhang Yuan knows Inter Milan very well. Cambiasso in the defensive midfielder position is very strong in defensive interception. He is not familiar with another player, Muntari. He only transferred from Portsmouth to Inter Milan this year. However, judging from his performance on the court, his defensive ability is also very strong. Another midfielder Stankovic is in the position of central midfielder. He is a player with a relatively balanced offensive and defensive ability.

With this combination, what Zhang Yuan sees is that he not only has the ability to intercept but also controls the ball, and he can really do a good job of connecting Inter Milan's front and back courts.

It's not that Zhang Yuan, Kuranyi, and Farfan didn't actively press in the frontcourt, but they couldn't intercept the ball from the opponent's feet at all. Inter Milan made very few mistakes.

Rutten is quite satisfied with the current situation. Inter Milan did not pose much threat to Schalke 10's goal in the first 04 minutes, although Inter Milan has the advantage from the scene.

Mourinho decided to change his tactics. He has Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano on the front line. If Kuranyi is at the international level, then the Inter Milan striker is definitely world-class. , Adriano's state has picked up recently. Although he has not reached his previous peak, he must at least be stronger than Kuranyi.

Now it seems that the midfielder can't get through, so I will change to the long pass. Mourinho waved his hand and adjusted his tactics. Today, his tactical thinking is a bit conservative. According to Inter Milan's usual style of play, The two wingers, Maicon and Zanetti, are very strong. Inter Milan's wide crosses are almost handed over to the two full-backs, but today Mourinho is still afraid of Zhang Yuan and Farfan Two people, these two people are very fast, especially Zhang Yuan is not only fast, but also has a very strong breakthrough ability. For the time being, he dare not let the two flanks press too high.

Inter Milan's change to play long balls takes advantage of the two high points of Ibrahimovic and Adriano. Odd to do the ball.

After Inter Milan adjusted their tactics, Schalke 04 was not stunned for a while. Inter Milan began to make several threatening offensives, resulting in two shots.

Once, Zlatan Ibrahimovic directly received a long pass from the backcourt and lobbed a header. Neuer stood forward. Fortunately, his speed was not slow. Inter Milan is about to take the lead.

The other shot was from Balotelli's long-range shot. Adriano headed back and Balotelli took a long-range shot directly. .

There is another change in Inter Milan’s tactics. Ibrahimovic and Balotelli can change positions frequently. Why Ibrahimovic is known as the world’s number one center is mainly because he is too comprehensive , He is a striker on the front line, and he still has rich imagination and the ability to pass threatening balls when he retreats to the midfielder position.

He is not a second striker, but he is fully capable of playing the second striker and attacking midfielder position. Balotelli is also a relatively comprehensive position. He can play as a forward or a winger, as well as in the attacking midfielder position, and his running position is also good. not bad.

Their change of position caused Schalke 04's defense a headache. It is equivalent to two central defenders directly facing the impact of three central forwards. It's hard to guarantee that I can bear it.

Facing such a situation, Schalke 04's midfielders had no choice but to choose recovery points. As a result, such recovery caused Inter Milan to start pressing towards Schalke 04's half-court, and began to mix play styles, combining short and long passes. Ke 04 is really in a passive defensive state.

(End of this chapter)