On June 5, in the final warm-up match to prepare for the European Cup, Sweden drew 1:1 with Wales.
In the first half of the game, the Swedish team's starting lineup arranged by Pan Yi basically followed the 4-4-2 formation used by former coach Erik Hamlen, and the tactics remained basically unchanged.
This is why Pan Yi wants to let the players find out the feeling according to the old method in his first national team game.
Ibrahimovic and Marcus Berry partnered as a double forward, followed by Forsberg, Kjellström, Ekdal, Larsson, and the defense was led by Lindelof, plus Granquis Special, Martin Olsson, Erik Johansson, the goalkeeper is of course Isaksson.
But this relatively ancient formation is obviously a bit outdated today with the rapid development of modern football tactics.
In this tactical system of the original coach, the playing style is also very simple.
Several Swedish defenders are typical Nordic big men, strong but not delicate. Their only way out after stealing the ball is to find Kjellström in front of them.
However, Kjellström is no longer the midfield brain that Lyon used to be, and the help Ekdal and others can provide is really limited, which makes it difficult for Sweden's two forwards to get the ball.
As a result, Ibrahimovic was forced to retreat significantly to collect the ball and was too far away from the Welsh penalty area.
With Ibrahimovic's ability to get the ball near the penalty area line, Wales will be in trouble because of his strong body and fine skills. Sweden's only few chances in the first half were obtained by Ibrahimovic stirring up the penalty area. .
But Ibrahimovic is not Curry who throws three-pointers from two meters away from the NBA three-point line, and football is not basketball. You can't expect Ibrahimovic to score a long shot after passing the center circle, right?
Therefore, the threat posed by Sweden to Wales has always been very small.
On the Welsh side, Saint Bale did not start.
They were led by Ramsey and also featured famous stars such as Andy King, Ben Davis, Hennessey and others.
Wales' style of play is also relatively simple. If Bale is available, look for Bale, and if Bale is not available, look for Ramsey.
So this formed the tone of this game: the defensive formations of both sides have been very good, but there are not many offensive methods.
However, Wales broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Ramsey dribbled the ball into the left side of the penalty area and then crossed the ball. Andy King scored in the lower right corner of the goal with a low shot in front of the penalty area. Wales led Sweden 1:0.
In the second half, Pan Yi changed his formation decisively.
The first is to replace Isaac and Guideti, so that they are separated on both sides of Ibrahimovic, forming a three-point arrow.
Because Ibrahimovic in the middle is slow, Pan Yi did not let him play the role of a forward forward. Instead, he played an all-around forward, basically letting him freely use all his strengths.
Guidetti is known for his skill and speed. He can play as a winger on both wings or as a striker. He once completed three hat tricks in a single season while playing for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie.
The same is true for Isaac, who can hit both sides and has comprehensive skills.
Therefore, Pan Yi asked the two of them to play the ball for Ibrahimovic. At the same time, after Ibrahimovic used the fulcrum in the middle to grab the ball, he could also divide it to both sides, allowing Isaac and Guidetti to exert their scoring ability.
As a result, the offensive routines in the frontcourt alone have become much more diverse.
The three midfielders are composed of Forsberg, Kjellström and Ekdal, and players are required to choose Forsberg first when playing the ball, and try to let the latter organize the offense and the final shot. pass.
This is mainly because in the current Swedish team, only Forsberg has a better ability to organize offense.
Kjellström is old, and Ekdahl, who has been a monster in FM for many generations, has no spirituality in the game at all. Currently, he can only be used as an engineer in the Hamburg formation under Nagelsmann. .
So Pan Yi asked these two people to stand behind Forsberg to help him protect him.
There are no changes to the defensive line personnel, but Lindelof is set as a ball-out central defender, allowing him to be more responsible for forward transportation.
Although Lindelof will often be nicknamed "Lindelof" by Manchester United fans in the future, his ability in this Swedish team is still outstanding.
In particular, he is indeed a very modern ball-playing defender. He is very good at passing the ball or passing the ball. He averaged 57.3 passes per game this season, which is almost the same as a midfield commander.
Later, when he was at Manchester United, he sometimes even had the highest passing success rate among all players throughout the season...
Of course, Lindelof's header defense is sometimes a bit reckless, so next to him, Pan Yi arranged for him the 192cm human shield center back Granqvist.
The vice-captain, who plays for Krasnodar in the Russian Super League, is tall and strong and can make up for Lindelof's shortcomings to a certain extent.
Such a combination of traditional central defender + ball-playing central defender can well handle the balance of backcourt organization and defense, so that when the ball is in the Swedish team's backcourt, it will either have a single route for the ball, or it will simply pass the ball directly with a big kick. .
As for the two fullbacks, Martin Olsson and Erik Johansson are relatively fast, but their technical attributes are really eye-catching.
Especially Martin Olsson, the left back who plays for Norwich, is a typical representative who can rush all the way and then pass the ball away.
So Pan Yi asked him to try to reduce the number of passes directly into the penalty area when assisting, and instead handed the ball to Isaac or Forsberg in front of him.
Pan Yi's change of formation also allowed the Swedish team to improve immediately in the second half.
Although the opposite Wales also replaced their number one star Bale, the Swedish team still played impressively and occupied the advantage on the court.
In the 60th minute, Pan Yi replaced veteran Kjellström, whose physical strength had declined, and replaced him with teenager Kulusevski.
As a result, Isaac and Kulusevski also made their debuts for the Swedish national team!
In the 70th minute, Isaac, who came on as a substitute, received a pass from Forsberg at the top of the penalty area, passed Ben Davis, broke into the penalty area, and then made a selfless cross.
Another forward, Guidetti, who also came on as a substitute, immediately scored with his right foot and evened the score!
In the end, Sweden drew with Wales 1:1.
——
The Swedish media are not very satisfied with this result.
Perhaps it was due to Pan Yi's high expectations that many media found it unacceptable for a result like the draw with Wales.
After all, in their eyes, the Swedish team is also a veteran second-tier European team, and has even won the runner-up and third place in the World Cup in history.
And what about Wales?
This year is only the first time in their history that they have qualified for the European Cup finals!
Therefore, in the eyes of many media, this draw with Wales is as much a failure as the defeat with Slovenia!
"Facing Wales, which is not very strong and Bell only played 45 minutes, our team did not achieve the ideal process and ending."
"This situation is very worrying because our first game in the European Cup is about to start. This time we met Wales in the warm-up match, but in the group stage we will face Italy and Belgium. And Ireland, it's going to be very bad."
"Wales' strength is not even as good as Ireland's! If we can't win against such an opponent, or even just draw with difficulty, how will we face Italy and Belgium who have the ability to win the championship?"
"We all admit that in the club field, Pan Yi is an absolute expert and a legend. But the national team is different from the club. Perhaps his success in Hamburg and Chelsea will be difficult to replicate in the Swedish team."
"Among other things, it is difficult to find suitable candidates in the transfer market according to your own needs in the national team. But we in Sweden only have a population of 10 million, and the football population is far less than that of those traditional powers."
"The difference in characteristics between the two makes it difficult for Pan Yi to succeed in our national team!"
In response to such voices, some people maintained rational thinking.
They believe that Pan Yi is bringing changes to the Swedish national team and can look forward to their performance in the European Cup.
Moreover, from the moment Pan Yi became the head coach of the Swedish national team, he became the most supreme one in the hearts of Swedish fans.
He is simply the savior of Sweden!
Even a previous survey conducted by the local Swedish newspaper "Daily News" showed that Pan Yi's influence in Sweden is now even higher than that of the current Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, ranking first.
This shows the appeal of the national team coach in Sweden - even if he is still an agent in name.
Therefore, when the article doubting Pan Yi and his national team was published, it immediately caused a huge response in Sweden.
The vast majority of fans supported Pan Yi and criticized this seemingly unprofessional media report.
"Who is Pan Yi? He is recognized as the best coach in world football today. If you don't believe me, you can ask Guardiola, Klopp, Ancelotti and other famous coaches."
"In the past few years, he has definitely been synonymous with victory! He can always find ways to help the team and improve the team's combat effectiveness."
"You laymen only know how to judge other people's affairs, but you forget the most basic respect and objectivity."
"As the world's number one coach, Pan Yi's perspective and direction of thinking about issues must be different from those of fans and the media. Otherwise, he would no longer be Pan Yi, or everyone can become Pan Yi..."
"So there is no need to speculate on the combat effectiveness of his team at this stage. We just need to calm down, wait and see, and support this team. That is enough."
"And as far as the game against Wales is concerned, the performances in the first and second halves were completely different. It was obvious that the Swedish team in the second half truly reflected the new lineup and style of play carefully crafted by Pan Yi."
"Including the newly recruited young players Isaac and Kulusevski, they also performed very well. Especially Isaac, who contributed an assist in his first appearance on behalf of the national team, has a bright future."
"If nothing else, under the previous manager Eric Hamren, did we ever play anything like the second half against Wales?"
"So, there is no need for us to doubt his ability. All we can do is support his idea instead of doubting it!"
In response to such a controversy, Swedish Football Association Chairman Carl Erik Nielsen also came out to publicly express his support for Pan Yi.
Captain Ibrahimovic even more domineeringly told reporters: "Pan Yi is God's gift to Sweden. If anyone wants to take this gift away, just wait for an iron fist!"
The reporter asked: "How should I ask God why he sent Pan Yi to Sweden?"
Ibrahimovic: "You are talking to God now."
——
As time goes by, the official opening day of the European Cup is approaching.
Shortly after the Swedish national team finished playing in Wales, they quickly headed to Saint-Denis, a small town in the Paris region of France.
The Stade de France, which hosted the 1998 World Cup final, is located here.
The Swedish team's first match against Ireland was held at the Stade de France!
Therefore, the Swedish Football Association also arranged the hotel where its team will be stationed in St. Denis, using it as the base camp of the Swedish national team.
Of course, this is what Pan Yi meant.
In addition to the first match, the Stade de France will also host a quarter-final, a quarter-final, and...
The final final!
With this arrangement, it is obvious that Pan Yi's ambition is not just to qualify in the group.
Moreover, the environment here is indeed very good.
This is a manor-style hotel, a certain distance from the city, hidden in the mountains and surrounded by dense woods.
If you don't specifically navigate here and just tell you a location, it's really hard to find this place.
Not far from the hotel, there is a training ground, which was originally used by a local amateur club for training and competition. It was naturally requisitioned during the European Cup.
The distance from the hotel to the training ground is only one or two kilometers. The Swedish team players don't even need any transportation. They can just run over and just warm up before training.
There are several bungalows next to the training ground, which are the locker rooms.
Although it is a bit crude, at least it has all the necessary facilities.
Moreover, the quality of the turf is very good, and Pan Yi is very satisfied with it.
Without the fatigue of traveling, you can spend more time focusing on training. Moreover, in this old-style manor located deep in the mountains and forests, there are usually few people coming in and out, so you will not be harassed by some idle people.
After all, the current Swedish team is attracting a lot of attention around the world!
The reason is their new head coach...
However, when the Swedish national team arrived at the Manor Hotel, there were still several local children chasing behind them on bicycles, still shouting "Pan Yi!" "Pan Yi!"
Obviously, these children don't know if they got the news from their aunt and uncle who work in the hotel, and they are keeping watch here.
When Pan Yi led the Swedish team out of the car, he also fulfilled their wishes and signed autographs and took photos with these young fans.
As the team's top star and captain, Ibrahimovic is of course the one they are looking for. Da Fengxian also met their requirements, which made these little guys extremely happy.
Don’t forget, although Ibrahimovic is preparing to leave Paris Saint-Germain in this summer window, during his four years in Paris, he scored 154 goals in 179 games and is the second highest scorer in history, second only to Cavani.
He also brought four French Ligue 1 championships and multiple cup championships to the team, and also won many personal awards such as the season's top scorer and the best player in Ligue 1...
It can be said that he is already a legend of Paris Saint-Germain, a club with a short history! Of course it is also loved by fans.
One act of star-chasing, and being able to get autographs and photos from Pan Yi and Ibrahimovic, two world-famous football figures, was enough for them to brag about their awesomeness for a long time!
For Pan Yi and his Swedish team, this level of "harassment" is no problem at all, and it is even a good little adjustment before preparing for the game.
I'm afraid it's the kind where the gongs, drums, and firecrackers are blasting into the crowd, which will definitely affect the players' training.
Moreover, this old-fashioned manor hotel has security guards and even police officers guarding it, so there is no problem with safety.
After Pan Yi and others entered the hotel, they packed up and took a rest. Then in the evening, they all went to the training ground for their first training session after arriving in Saint-Denis.
This time it attracted a lot of media attention, but because Pan Yi asked them not to enter the venue to watch, they also cooperated and waited outside the training ground to prepare for interviews, so it did not affect the team's training.
——
The media was not allowed to watch the training precisely because Pan Yi felt that the first game was very important for Sweden and there could not be any delay.
In a group with Belgium and Italy, it can be said that the first match of the European Cup between Sweden and Ireland is to be played as a final!
Once you lose, you are likely to fall into an endless abyss.
Not only will they be suppressed by direct competitors in terms of qualifying for the group, but the team's morale, which was originally stimulated by Pan Yi's arrival, will undoubtedly be quickly knocked back to its original shape.
Coupled with the persistent doubts from the outside world, this will definitely affect the Swedish team's subsequent preparations, and then affect the games against Belgium and Italy.
Therefore, the first training session, which is a tactical training session for Ireland, is very important.
Pan Yi knows very well that it is definitely unrealistic for him to temporarily lead a national team like Sweden and want to improve the player's ability in a short period of time.
Therefore, the focus of his training is always on tactics and physical fitness.
Physical training, of course, will be taken care of by Pintus. He will have a scientific training system applied to competitions such as the European Cup. Just leave this to him.
As long as it can be guaranteed that the players of the Swedish national team can have the physical fitness to support Pan Yi's tactical system during the European Cup!
As for the tactics, of course Pan Yi would take charge and then discuss them with his old partners.
Before the start of this evening's training session, Pan Yi had already started a tactical meeting with Arteta, Steve Holland, Scaloni and others.
Yes, even Scaloni was captured by Pan Yi.
"It is of course great that we have a world-class forward like Ibrahimovic. But he also has a shortcoming, that is, he is not fast enough, resulting in a lack of impact in the frontcourt."
Pan Yi said straight to the point:
"This is also the reason why I called up Isaac. He is young, fast and strong, and can attack the opponent's defense with his dribbling."
"With players like him, and Forsberg who is more technically sophisticated, we have certain guarantees in terms of positional attack and speed during counterattacks."
"However, our defense is not fast enough. Especially the turning and pursuit of the two central defenders, which is a well-known weakness. Because of this, our defense cannot press forward too much. This shortens the attack distance.”
As Pan Yi has always said, although the modern football system is organized at the back, how to push the defense forward is also an important issue in offensive tactics.
However, Sweden has never been able to do this due to the shortcomings of its central defender.
This makes Sweden face a big problem. When it performs well, it is hearty, but once someone catches it, it completely dies.
However, this cannot be completely avoided in a short time, after all, the national team only has these talents.
Sweden's central defenders are all tall and have excellent frontal defense and air defense capabilities. However, precisely because of this, they have shortcomings such as slow turning and tracking back.
It is difficult to find perfection in this world. Otherwise, a person with a perfect central defender like Van Dijk would not be so highly regarded by Pan Yi.
"But the Irish team is also not that perfect." Arteta also expressed his opinion.
After he was recommended by Pan Yi to Chelsea as the next head coach, Chelsea executives are still evaluating.
After all, Chelsea is a wealthy team, and it still takes a certain amount of courage to decide whether to let such a "rookie coach" drive the aircraft carrier.
Therefore, they have to consider various factors, including comparing with some famous coaches, before they can finally make a decision.
So Arteta is still an assistant coach at Chelsea. As soon as he heard that Pan Yi needed him, he naturally followed him.
Arteta continued: "They have good tactical discipline and strong execution ability on the court, but there are not many players with good skills. Most of them still play high, which plays into our hands."
The current Irish team is also aging quite seriously.
The original number one star Robbie Keane is 36 years old and has gradually faded out of the main lineup.
Now Ireland's striker mainly relies on Sean Long, the striker from Southampton.
The midfielder relies on McCarthy from Everton, while the defense is former Manchester United veteran and now 35-year-old captain O'Shea.
Due to the lack of technical players, they have always used the traditional British long pass and lob play, allowing the two forwards in front to compete for the top.
"You're right." Pan Yi nodded, "So in this game, we have an advantage in technology and overall coordination. So we have to give full play to our strengths and strengths, and use technology and coordination to knock down opponent!"
In recent days of training, Pan Yi has paid great attention to overall, three-person unit running training without the ball.
When attacking, one goes up, one follows, and one responds from the side;
When defending, one is to mark, one is to assist, and one is to protect from the side.
After all, the current Swedish team does not have players like Robben, Hazard, or even Messi who are very powerful with the ball and can tear apart the entire defense line by themselves.
Ibrahimovic was very strong when he was young and could use his skills to fool the cameras several times and then send the ball into the goal, but he was not the style of the players above;
In addition, he is now 34 years old, and he still plays more of a fulcrum, connector and terminator role on the court.
However, the Swedes have always had a rigorous work attitude, so what the national team has is a group of parts that are well-tuned. All they need is a good technician to assemble them into a fighting machine.
And Pan Yi is obviously such a good technician.
Therefore, by enhancing the players' awareness of running without the ball and integrating this awareness into the entire team's tactical system, the effect will be achieved with twice the result with half the effort.
"In terms of specific offensive tactics, my suggestion is to mainly attack the left wing, while the right wing is the main defender, to establish a certain degree of offensive strength." Scaloni also put forward his own suggestions.
After serving as the head coach of York City for a full season and successfully leading the team to promotion to League One, the Argentine rookie coach has obviously matured a lot.
This is a judgment based on the current personnel configuration of the Swedish team.
Left back Martin Olsson is fast and has strong impact. Although the pass is not very accurate, Isaac, who is also on this side, including midfielder Forsberg, are also used to playing on the left. He can play on the left. Put the ball in their court.
The right back Erik Johansson is more defensive in terms of ability and will be even worse offensively.
Under the premise that the staff is not like what the club can solve by buying people, it is necessary to use tactical tendencies to make up for the deficiencies in staffing.
"No problem, I agree with you." Pan Yi nodded with satisfaction.
Now his disciples have all learned a lot of his real skills.
No matter the level of detail in preparing for the battle, or the analysis of oneself and the opponent, they all appear to be very targeted.
Not much else to say, the piles of hundreds of pages of tactical reports compiled by these coaches in just a few days are enough to prove the progress and seriousness of these people.
"Then, the next few days of training will follow this routine, starting with today's first training."
After the coaching staff held more detailed discussions, Pan Yi emphasized:
"The first game is crucial for us, but also for Ireland."
"We have to win these three points, otherwise we will be very passive in the following games."
"Therefore, this game must launch an attack from the beginning, take the initiative from the first minute, strive to kill Ireland, and get a good start!"
After everyone heard Pan Yi's decision, they all nodded in unison!
(End of chapter)
