On the evening of September 26, Prussia Park Stadium.
Monchengladbach's home game against Hamburg is about to begin!
For this game, a total of 50,000 Monchengladbach fans poured into the Prussia Park Stadium, which shows how much local fans attach great importance to this game.
Hamburg also has high hopes for this game.
Not only did thousands of fans follow the team to the away game, but club chairman Yachov also came to Westphalia to watch the game in person, which shows his support for the team.
Although there are still two focus battles in the fifth round of the Bundesliga, Frankfurt vs. Borussia Dortmund at home, and Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg at home, the game between Borussia Monchengladbach and Hamburg has attracted no less attention than these two games.
Even in East Asia, according to data, more fans will choose to watch this game instead of watching the two giants.
This fully illustrates the influence and support they have received in East Asia given Hamburg's current excellent record.
In the visiting team's stands, there were even some female fans with Asian faces who were already quarreling.
"Hong Kong Eddie Peng is the most handsome! Hong Kong Eddie Peng is the most handsome!"
"Which Eddie Peng? Isn't he a movie actor? Is he Jackie Chan's son?"
"It's Lin Zhijian! Don't you think he's super handsome?"
"Haha, just a substitute... I still think Wu Lei is cuter."
"Sheba! Our Son Heung-min and Ouba are obviously the most handsome!"
"Idiot! Hasebe-kun is so handsome, are you all blind?"
"You all get out of the way, coach Pan Yi's fan is here!"
"Okay, your officer is the biggest and the most handsome. You can talk but we won't interrupt."
"Look, look, Pan Yi is out, Pan Yi is out!..."
At this time, the starting lineups of both teams were already shown on the TV screen.
There is no suspense here in Hamburg. The only difference compared to the previous game is that Wu Lei returned to the starting lineup and stood on the right wing.
The home team Monchengladbach is indeed a traditional 442 formation:
Forward: Luc de Jong, Hank.
Midfielder: Arango, Xhaka, Nordveit, Hermann.
Defenders: Daemes, Dominguez, Strangz, Janchik.
Goalkeeper: Ter Stegen.
Pan Yi on the sidelines also nodded slightly.
This starting set was basically what he expected before the game.
When facing Hamburg, which had just defeated Dortmund, coach Favre did not dare to neglect, and still arranged this old formation that focused on defensive counterattacks.
It seems that the attacking power shown by Hamburg in the previous rounds of games still makes Borussia wary.
Perhaps, not only Borussia, there should be many teams studying Hamburg's offensive methods now.
In future games, Pan Yi will also have to keep pace with the times and constantly make fine adjustments to his 4231 set.
…
The game begins.
Borussia kicked off first.
Forward Luc De Jong passed the ball to midfielder Xhaka, who without hesitation passed the ball wide to Arango.
At this time, Borussia's two forwards, Luc De Jong and Hank, both rushed forward.
After getting the ball, Arango just raised his head slightly, then raised his left foot and did a 45-degree slant.
Hamburg's two defenders Rudiger and Kjaer were well prepared. They got stuck in front of the two forwards of Borussia Monchengladbach, preventing them from having a chance to turn around and get the ball.
After the ball fell, Kjaer grabbed the first point and pushed the ball out of the penalty area.
Borussia's opening attack also failed.
It can be seen from this attack that Borussia Monchengladbach's offensive routine is just as Pan Yi said before the game, simple and crude, with a strong flavor of English football in the 1980s and 1990s.
After Kjaer held the ball, the ball was controlled by Makoto Hasebe after a scramble.
The Japanese defensive midfielder habitually hands the ball to the right back Carvajal to handle - after all, this is Hamburg's most sharp and effective offensive launch point so far.
But this time, Borussia's left midfielder Arango immediately stood in a defensive position and interfered with Carvajal.
This is the advantage of the traditional 442 formation when facing Pan Yi's 4231.
That is, the four midfielders are lined up, which results in two full-backs standing very close to the side, making it easier to defend against the opponent's full-backs.
But obviously Carvajal has already been reminded by the coaching staff about this situation.
He did not choose to force a breakthrough or pass, but once again handed the ball back to midfielder Casemiro for processing.
Casemiro kept passing the ball and passed it to De Bruyne who returned the ball in the middle.
After receiving the ball with a deft turn and getting rid of the pressing Borussia midfielder Nordwit, De Bruyne pushed forward with the arch of his foot and passed forward!
The direction of his pass was exactly the corner of Borussia's penalty area, that is, the ribs, the area where their defense is weakest!
At this time, Vardy also understood it and started quickly.
But just when Vardy was about to get the ball, a black shadow shot out of the diagonal stab and knocked Vardy to the ground with the ball!
The whistle also sounded immediately, and the referee rushed to the fouled Borussia player and took out a yellow card.
Pan Yi took a closer look and saw that the guy who received a yellow card less than 2 minutes into the game was none other than Xhaka!
The future captain of Arsenal and the Swiss national team is known as the "Card Master" in the world.
Let’s not talk about his early career. When he joined Arsenal in the 2016-2017 season, he received more than 50 red and yellow cards in just five or six seasons. This number topped the Premier League and no player could compare with him.
If you include your entire career... this number is even more terrifying.
In 477 club games, he received an astonishing 116 yellow cards!
Among them, 2 yellows changed to 1 red and he was sent off 7 times, and 6 times he left the field with a straight red.
At the national team level, Xhaka played a total of 98 games for Switzerland in all competitions. He was yellowed 21 times, and was sent off once from 2 yellows to 1 red...
Of course, Xhaka, who still looks childish now, can actually be regarded as a genius boy.
He is only 19 years old this year, but he has already played as the main player in Basel, Switzerland for two years.
This season, he switched to Monchengladbach for a high price of 8.5 million, and quickly gained the trust of head coach Favre, serving as the main midfielder in Monchengladbach.
What, you asked Pan Yi why he didn't consider bringing such an outstanding young man into his team?
On the one hand, the price is relatively expensive, and on the other hand, although Xhaka has excellent blocking ability and excellent passing skills, which keeps his lower limit at a very high level, his shortcomings are also obvious.
Because his body is slightly stiff and his feet are not fast, it is difficult for Xhaka to defeat his opponent in one-on-one situations.
When encountering personal marking or partial pressing, the Swiss needs to use constant running to create space for receiving the ball, or with the support of teammates, he can escape, advance and break through through continuous passes within a small area.
In the fast-paced modern football field, it is easy for him to get trapped in the siege of his opponents and unable to extricate himself.
Of course, the most important point is that once you have this future London "shooting king", you have to take the risk of playing more with less at any time, which is almost like playing with a time bomb.
After all, he is the card master!
The defense is sometimes too reckless, and emotional control needs to be strengthened.
No, in the face of Vardy's sudden advance, Xhaka chose to tackle directly instead of directly interfering and then waiting for an opportunity to cooperate with his teammates to steal the ball.
It seems that his love of playing cards has been present since he was a child. As the saying goes:
The young man left home and the old man came back with a lot of problems.
(End of chapter)
