Yang Hao made a big deal in front of Xiao Hill, and "seduce" Xiao Hill to ensure that he would do his best to help him stay in the team regardless of whether he was relegated successfully or not.
The two of them sketched out Atletico Madrid's bright future blueprint on the plane together.
Not long after, on the same route but on a different flight, Valencia also boarded the journey back home.
On the plane, the players were resting, and Hector Cooper, together with his two assistant coaches, Jose Maria Bianco and Mario Gomez, summarized the game that just ended, At the same time, I am looking forward to the next one.
The opponent is Yang Hao's Atletico Madrid.
If Yang Hao is present, he will definitely get close to Bianco, because Cooper's right-hand man will coach Hong Kong Nanhua in 2014.
Strength and conditioning coach Juan Manuel Alfonno is reporting on his evaluation report.
Valencia's players have experienced two tough games in a row in recent days, which has consumed a lot of physical energy.
Whether it was against Sevilla or Lazio, Cooper gave his best, because Valencia did not have enough bench thickness to rotate, and could only make partial adjustments at best.
But their opponent Atletico Madrid has a full week of rest time.
"We didn't have a choice in this game."
After listening to Alfonno's report, Cooper also had a good idea of the team's physical condition, and also set a tone for the next game, that is, Valencia has no retreat.
Zaragoza's opponent is Numancia. This team is currently under little pressure to relegation, and its overall strength is not at the same level as Zaragoza. It is almost foreseeable that it will not be difficult for Zaragoza to win this opponent.
If Valencia fails to win Atletico Madrid at home, it will inevitably widen the gap with Zaragoza.
With 4 rounds left and 7 points behind, there is basically no way to catch up.
If they want to reach the Champions League, Valencia must win Atletico Madrid at home.
On the contrary, from Atletico Madrid's point of view, if they want to avoid relegation, they do not necessarily have to win Valencia in the away game. A draw is also acceptable, which creates a situation that is unfavorable to Valencia.
"Judging from Atletico Madrid's match against Malaga, their opening attack was good, especially the high-pressure press. It was really interesting. I wonder if they will do it at the Mestalla Stadium. One set?" Mario Gomez was a little worried.
In the two games, Atletico Madrid adopted two different tactics.
The young man named Yang Hao is always unexpected, which is really difficult to figure out.
"I'm not afraid of them coming out!" Cooper said very confidently.
Today's Argentine is at the peak of his coaching career. He led Real Mallorca to the Cup Winners' Cup final last season. Although he did not win the championship, he still created a miracle.
After all, it was Real Mallorca.
This season he led Valencia to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, especially the defeat of Lazio, which made him even more famous.
Now Cooper is full of confidence and ambition.
"It will be beneficial to us if they press it out." Bianco also agreed with Cooper's statement.
Cooper smiled proudly, "I watched their game against Barcelona. Some things were really targeted, such as the rib attack. This is really difficult for Barcelona with a single defensive midfielder, but we are not Barcelona!”
Although Valencia also has a single defensive midfielder, its midfield is a diamond-shaped midfielder. Mendieta, Kili Gonzalez and Farinos are all capable of both offense and defense. They have very strong tactical execution and a good awareness of returning to defense. foot.
Especially when defending, it is not easy for Atletico to attack Valencia's ribs.
After all, the defensive awareness of Valencia's frontcourt players and the team's overall defensive ability are not comparable to Barcelona.
"Besides, Mendieta is more likely to stay in the middle, leaving Angeloma on the right to step in. When it comes to defense, Mendieta and Farinos can directly return to support Herard to protect him. Ribs.”
After hearing this, everyone nodded.
As for the right wing, Angelomar is there, so there is nothing to be afraid of.
This former French international was once the main force of the French national team. He was both offensive and defensive, and his overall strength was extraordinary. However, he was later taken away from the main position by Thuram. Now he is 35 years old and is still going strong.
It's also interesting to say that Carboni on the left side of Valencia is also 35 years old, and they are all veterans.
"What we need to consider most now is how to create a goal as soon as possible in the opening game."
When Cooper said this, he glanced at Alfonno again, "Our physical fitness is not as good as our opponents. If we struggle with the opponents too much, it will be detrimental to us, especially in the second half, so we still have to strive to create first in the first half." To score a goal, the earlier the better.”
On the one hand, we must win, but on the other hand, our physical fitness is at a disadvantage. In this case, we definitely cannot turn into a war of attrition.
As for, after taking the lead...
What Valencia is best at is defensive counterattack. From Ranieri to Cooper, this unique skill is inherited from the same origin.
"In this game, I want to end the fight in the first half!" Cooper said loudly.
Two weeks ago, also at the Mestalla Stadium, he said he wanted to end the game in the first leg. As a result, Valencia directly stunned Lazio at the beginning, 5-2, which shocked the world.
Now, Cooper says it again.
But this time the opponent is much weaker than Lazio, and it is also a La Liga relegation team.
Isn't it easy to catch it?
…
On the evening of April 21st, Valencia Mestalla Stadium.
In the 34th round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid challenged Valencia away.
When Yang Hao got Valencia's starting lineup, his first reaction was that Cooper was so stubborn.
The second reaction is that Argentinians are really hard-headed.
The third reaction was that he suddenly thought of Manchester United.
Cooper's stubbornness lies in his insistence on the 442 formation, without any changes in the starting lineup, continuing the lineup against Lazio, obviously hoping to kill Atletico Madrid in one go and score 3 points.
And because of the 442 diamond midfield position, Albelda's performance is not as good as Herard. The latter's nickname is Guardiola Jr., and he came from the Barcelona youth training, and he is a proper direct passer at the fourth position.
The problem is that Barcelona's single defensive midfielder has been knocked down by Atletico Madrid, and Cooper just doesn't believe in this evil.
Sometimes, the head coach's character can really be reflected in the team, so Valencia's style is very tough and iron-blooded.
The reason why I think of Ferguson's Manchester United is because both teams play in a diamond-shaped midfield.
For Manchester United, Keane was at the back, with Beckham and Giggs on the wings and Scholes at the front.
For Valencia, Herrard was behind, with Mendieta and Kili Gonzalez on the wings, and Farinos forward.
In fact, just by looking at these two midfield configurations, you can see where Valencia's problems lie.
Manchester United's golden four midfielder is known as the most classic midfield combination. It has defense and deep-lying organization, breakthrough and wing advancement, precise crosses and wide-range transfers, as well as passing and attacking from behind. .
Looking back at Valencia, every player is both offensive and defensive and very versatile, but in terms of player characteristics, they are still far behind Manchester United's golden four midfielders.
Can Kiley Gonzalez's breakthrough and advancement on the left compare with Giggs?
Can Farinos' passing and back-breaking skills compare to those of Scholes?
Mendieta's characteristics are completely different from those of Beckham, and there is no player in the Valencia team who has the ability of Beckham.
Therefore, Valencia's offense is not outstanding in La Liga.
But Yang Hao still didn't dare to be careless.
…
When the players finished their pre-match warm-up and returned to the visiting team's locker room at the Mestalla Stadium, Yang Hao was already waiting here.
The tactical board next to him contains Valencia's starting lineup for this game.
Goalkeeper: Canizares;
Defense: Carboni, Pellegrino, Djukic and Angeloma;
Midfield: Hérard plays deep, Kili Gonzalez and Mendieta are on the wings, Farinos goes forward;
Forward: Lopez and Angulo.
Standard Valencia 442 tactical configuration.
After all the players came back and sat down, Yang Hao patted the tactical board and asked with a smile: "Did you notice? Cooper and his Valencia are laughing at us."
"They are not even willing to make the slightest adjustment because they are determined that tonight, we are here and there is nothing we can do to them."
Yang Hao's eyes fell on the players in the locker room.
In order to better implement the tactics, he made some adjustments to tonight's starting lineup.
Overall, Atletico Madrid still needs to adopt defensive counterattack tactics.
But Yang Hao dug a big hole for Cooper, and Cooper will definitely step in. The key depends on whether Yang Hao and Atletico Madrid can bury him and his Valencia.
"As I told you before, in tonight's game, Valencia will definitely press out. They must do this. They will take the initiative to press out from the beginning just like they did with Lazio, using what they are best at. A suffocating high press that tried to beat us all at once, just like they did Lazio."
"But they were wrong because we are also good at this style of play and we were well prepared."
"Believe me, we've been preparing for this for a week."
After the previous two consecutive victories, Yang Hao already has a certain weight in Atletico Madrid's locker room, and the players can still listen to what he says.
Even Beybour, who is returning from injury.
This is the Czech midfielder's first appearance under Yang Hao.
Pablo Garcia will be on the bench and available at all times.
"I want to confirm with you again, I don't want a draw in this game, I want to win, but I must hold on to the opening. This is the key."
"As long as we withstand Valencia's opening wave of attacks and don't mess up our position, then the next bat army will be a piece of fat on our chopping board. We can cut it how we want, do you understand?"
"Understood!" the players responded in unison.
Yang Hao was very satisfied with the player's answer, "I want to tell everyone that Valencia is not that strong. You will quickly feel this during the game. At the same time, you will also believe what I said. In this game tonight, victory It will be ours!"
"Didn't Valencia just reach the Champions League semi-finals?"
"Then let's use tonight's game to tell the world that we are better than the teams in the Champions League semifinals!"
"Okay!" The players responded in unison again.
