June 27, Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France.
The double-decker stands, which can accommodate 80,000 people, are already densely packed with people.
What will be held here tonight is the seventh game of the round of 16 of this European Cup, Sweden versus Spain!
The Swedish team's base camp is in Saint-Denis, so they avoid traveling on the road and can wait for work here.
This is why Pan Yi decided to choose Saint-Denis as his base camp early on, and it also reflects his confidence in himself - because the first place in Group E will play in the quarter-finals at the Stade de France!
Before today's game, six teams had already entered the quarterfinals.
The first is four games in the top half.
Switzerland tied with Poland 1:1. In the end, the two sides decided the winner through a penalty shootout, and Poland had the last laugh.
Wales defeated Northern Ireland 1:0 in the English Derby.
Croatia tied Portugal 0:0. In the end, in overtime, thanks to Quaresma's goal in the 117th minute, Portugal defeated Croatia!
Belgium, on the other hand, recovered its form, beating the "soft persimmon" Hungary 4:0 and also entered the quarterfinals.
Then there is the second half, which is full of strong players, and two games have already been played here.
The host France team relied on Griezmann's brace to beat Italy 2:1.
For Germany, Boateng, Gomez, and Draxler each scored a goal and defeated Slovakia 3:0.
This means that if Sweden can get past Spain tonight, they will meet Germany in the quarterfinals!
One hour after this game, the last quarter-finals will be played between Iceland and England. The winner between them will meet the French team in the quarter-finals.
At the same time, they are also potential semi-final opponents of Sweden and Germany.
——
At this time, Pan Yi was looking at the players on the field who were making final warm-up preparations, and at the same time looking at the fans in the stands.
Today, in the stands, the yellow that represents Sweden and the red that represents Spain cover both sides of the stands, which looks particularly spectacular.
Especially the Swedish fans took out a huge flag and passed it around in the stands.
Above the flag, there is a special cartoon image of Pan Yi. The handsome man is waving his arms and pointing into the distance.
This is also conveying a message, that is, they believe that under the leadership of Pan Yi, the Swedish team can create miracles!
All of this made Pan Yi feel moved and excited.
In the second year of leading Chelsea, he led the team to travel north and south. Although he encountered difficulties, the overall journey was smooth.
Although he was very satisfied with being undefeated and winning all the championships, at the same time, he felt that something was missing.
Pan Yi didn't understand what was missing at first, but now he seems to know.
Lack of excitement! Everything is so smooth!
It lacks the intense excitement of the weak defeating the strong!
But now, with Sweden's very average lineup, Pan Yi has found this missing thing.
That thrilling excitement returned to his body again, and he could feel the same excitement as when he brought burgers to challenge Bayern and Dortmund.
Just when Pan Yi was immersed in this excitement, Arteta came over.
As soon as he saw the two people coming together, Scaloni came over immediately, and the three of them got together.
"Spain's starting lineup is out!" Arteta handed over a piece of paper, "It's almost as you guessed, it's 4-3-3."
Pan Yi glanced at the list on the paper, and sure enough, many players' starting starts were what he expected.
The goalkeeper has been replaced by Manchester United's De Gea, the defense is Marcos Alonso, Pique, Ramos and Azpilicueta, and the midfielders are Iniesta, Busquets and France. Bregas, the front three is David Silva, Morata and Pedro.
Generally speaking, it is still the same team that won three consecutive European Cups and World Cups. However, the withdrawal of Xavi, Xavi Alonso, and Villa, and the decline of Casillas as a substitute still reflect the strength of this team. have an impact.
In addition, due to Chelsea's outstanding performance in the past two years, Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta, who have performed well in the Blues, have also replaced the original positions of Alba and Juanfran and appeared in Spain. Among the starting lineup.
In other words, this game against Spain is another battle between Pan Yi and his two apprentices.
There is nothing we can do about it. Who can let Pan Yi lead him well?
If your players perform well, they will of course be favored by the coaches of various national teams.
Of course, whether they can perform at the club level in the national team is another matter.
——
While Pan Yi got the list, not far away from him, Del Bosque also got the Swedish team's starting list for this game from his assistant.
Unsurprisingly, none of the names on this list are the same as Sweden's last starting lineup.
These starting players have been fully rested and are ready to come to Spain today!
This is another advantage Sweden has over Spain.
The morale is high, there is no need to travel, and enough rest... plus Pan Yi is there.
It can be said that the right time, the right place, the right people and the right people are all on the Swedish side!
This had to force Del Bosque to remind his disciples to be very alert to deal with Sweden.
In terms of the team's own preparations, Del Bosque also paid great attention to Sweden's wing and rib attacks.
Olsson and Johansson's rimming, Isaac and Guidetti's interleaving, Forsberg's rib penetration, and of course Ibrahimovic's support and finishing in the middle, these constitute the most important part of the Swedish team so far. offensive routine.
Therefore, Bosque has been telling Pique and Ramos, the two main players in his defense, not only to keep an eye on Ibrahimovic, but also to pay attention to Sweden's attacks from both sides.
After all, Ibrahimovic, who is now older, needs more support from his teammates;
Whether the Swedish team is a fullback or a winger, when they finally reach the opponent's penalty area, they will often use a rib attack to pass the ball to Ibrahimovic, or directly insert the shot themselves.
For Spain, Pique and Ramos have been partnered together for a long time, but there are still omissions in coordination between the two;
Coupled with the technical characteristics of the two full-backs Marcos Alonso and Azpilicueta, Pan Yi is really familiar with it, so Sweden will definitely take advantage of the gaps between these four defenders and then play in the ribs. Make a fuss!
"Let's see who can score the opponent's goal first." Del Bosque looked at the list in his hand, smiled and said to himself.
Of course, Del Bosque is aware of Spain's defensive problems.
However, it is impossible for any team to defend 100%, especially the Spanish defense, which wants every player to become a forward.
Ramos and Pique, do you think this is a joke?
So instead of thinking of ways to strengthen defense, it is better to maximize Spain's characteristics and use offense to defeat Sweden!
After all, Sweden's defense also has big problems, and it is far less solid than it appears on the surface.
Not to mention that compared with the four main defenders of Sweden, there is a huge gap in reputation and strength between the four main defenders of Sweden;
Lindelof and Granqvist's shortcomings of slow turning and slow recovery can definitely be taken advantage of by Spain's small and agile players.
As long as we resolutely attack on the ground, we can avoid the Swedish team's strong air defense capabilities.
Exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses is the central idea of Bosque's tactics in this game.
Moreover, even if you have to play high-altitude balls sometimes, Spain now has a high center forward Morata!
He performed very well for Juventus this past season, helping the team win the Serie A and Coppa Italia double.
With ground attacks as the main part and air strikes as the supplement, I don’t believe that we can’t break the Swedish city!
Thinking of this, Bosque looked to the other side, and Pan Yi happened to look over at this time.
The two looked at each other and smiled, nodded to each other, said hello, and then turned their heads, obviously starting to think about targeted tactical arrangements and arrangements.
——
"This is Spain's starting lineup!"
Today, the Swedish team was drawn as the visiting team, so they were sitting in the visiting team's locker room.
But fortunately, the Stade de France, like Wembley Stadium, is specially used to host national team games and some special important games. There is not much difference between the dressing rooms of the home team and the away team, and they are both spacious. .
Unlike the dressing rooms of many clubs, there are two separate worlds: home and guest.
The home team's dressing room is generally luxurious and spacious, and can be used for various sliding, shoveling and kneeling inside;
The visiting team's locker room is often tight and cramped, and it's tempting to have more than a dozen people bumping into each other, shoulder to shoulder...
This can be regarded as an advantage for the home team.
Now, Pan Yi is on a large tactical board in the visiting team's locker room, with Spain's starting lineup players on it, analyzing Spain's tactics to all the Swedish players.
"...Whether it's David Silva, Pedro, Iniesta, or Cesc Fabregas, these players all have one characteristic. They are not tall. They are small and quick players with excellent skills. players.”
"Bosque's intention with them is very obvious, that is, when we shrink our defense, the small and quick players can create and obtain more opportunities to get the ball and dribble in the dense defensive zone, thereby creating threats, which will also It is Spain’s main attack method in this game!”
Having said this, Pan Yi pointed at Lindelof and Granqvist and warned: "You must always remember to occupy your position, and don't let the opponent easily deceive you. Their offensive players will definitely I will try my best to pull you out of your position, don’t be fooled, remember this!”
When the two central defenders heard Pan Yi's serious instructions, they immediately nodded solemnly and agreed.
"You!" Pan Yi looked at Ekdal, "You have to build an interception zone in front of the defense line. Your duty is to protect the team in front of the defense line, especially after the two ribs and Cesc Fabregas retreat. , strangle him to death immediately!"
Ekdal, the current Hamburg player, was actually regarded as the new generation of Ibrahimovic when he was a child. He first played as a forward and then became an attacking midfielder.
But as he grew older, his position became deeper and deeper, his playing style became more and more tough, and he gradually became a qualified midfielder...
After Pan Yi took charge of the national team, he was also fixed in the midfielder position, and his performance became better and better.
Although his contribution to the offense is not great, he is very good at defense and has Pan Yi's trust.
Especially now that the national team's defense lacks the speed to recover, Ekdal, a guy who originally had the speed of a forward, is still of great help to the team.
"The opponent's best way of playing is to pull our defensive players out of position, and then attack through them, thereby breaking down our defense."
"So the most important thing for all of us in the game is that the defense line must stand firm and the midfielder must provide strong protection so that their offense completely loses its ability to advance in depth!"
As long as there is no depth, the Swedish team's defense can be guaranteed behind them, and the game is likely to turn into a head-on confrontation.
The Swedish team's defensive players are strong in their frontal abilities, but their only weakness is in turning around and catching up. Therefore, Pan Yi's set of defensive tactics is exactly to take advantage of the Swedish team's strengths.
"I understand, boss." Ekdal agreed repeatedly, "I promise to complete the mission!"
He only joined the team after Pan Yi left Hamburg, so he did not have the opportunity to play under Pan Yi.
But those veterans in Hamburg, such as Lin Zhijian, Janssen, Westermann...especially Wu Lei, their eyes lit up when they talked about Pan Yi!
Including the current Hamburg head coach Nagelsmann, when it comes to Pan Yi, he also has the highest praise for his mentor.
This naturally made Ekdal full of respect and fascination for Pan Yi.
Today, Pan Yi has really become his head coach and has given him great importance. How could he not be flattered by this?
He even felt like he could die for Pan Yi!
Not to mention just protecting one's own defense on the field...
"Our offensive tactics are based on what we have practiced before, and we must proactively look for opportunities. If the opponent relaxes their guard against Ibrahimovic, give the ball to your captain!"
Pan Yi has great trust in Ibrahimovic, and the striker's consciousness and ability have never failed to live up to Pan Yi's high expectations.
Three goals in two games allowed Ibrahimovic to rank first on the scorer list after the group stage.
At this time, Pan Yi looked at Ibrahimovic again and said: "Zlatan, you should also know this very well. Pique can use this point to pull it out, or suppress him and let the two wings cut in to create opportunities. Do you understand? "
Ibrahimovic nodded.
He is certainly no stranger to Pique and Ramos, and he also knows how to deal with these two defensive players.
At the same time, he also knows how to cooperate with his teammates on both wings to give them more opportunities to face the Spanish goal.
When it comes to protection, Spain's defense may not be better protected than the Swedish team.
After Xabi Alonso and Xavi left the team, Spain's midfielder is not as versatile as before.
Midfielder Busquets moves relatively slowly. If the Swedish team really seizes the opportunity to counterattack, Spain's defense may not be very strong.
"From the start of the game, I want all of you to start pressing aggressively, starting with the forward line."
"We have to put enough pressure on Spain from the beginning. Once we get the ball, we have to counterattack aggressively and quickly to create a threat."
"But you must also remember what I said. Spain is very adaptable. Pay attention to my adjustments!"
Pan Yi had already drawn up many game plans to deal with Spain before the game, but one thing he was very sure of was that he must first gain the initiative after the start.
Because in Del Bosque's view, Sweden should not have the confidence to compete with Spain or to control the ball, Pan Yi wanted to do the opposite.
Suppress Spain's momentum and energy at the beginning, so that the next game will be easier to play.
But he himself also knew very well that it was absolutely impossible to suppress Spain in the whole game.
Once Spain got used to Sweden's pressing and rhythm, the team was able to use their tacit understanding and skillful ball control to gradually bring the game back under their control.
How to adjust later still depends on the specific situation of the game.
"Believe me, as long as the tactics are implemented in place, we can win this game!" After Pan Yi introduced the tactics, he finally said in a confident tone that everyone is already familiar with.
——
When the players from both sides walked out of the tunnel one after another, the entire Stade de France stands were completely boiling!
All the fans chanted the names of the two teams and players, and some shouted Pan Yi's name.
After all, Pan Yi is one of the few people in the world whose reputation as a coach is greater than that of his players!
"The two teams entered the stadium and were ready to start playing the national anthem. Now let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides!"
The on-site commentator immediately began to analyze the starting lineups of the two teams, and also gave a certain preview of the game.
When the national anthem was played, Ibrahimovic, as the captain, sang very loudly, and the Swedish international players beside him also shouted at the top of their lungs, looking full of desire to fight!
Speaking of Ibrahimovic, it can be seen from his surname Ibramovich that he is not a native of Sweden.
His father is Bosnian and his mother is Croatian.
Because of the war, Ibrahimovic's parents fled to a small town in Malmo, Sweden, and later became Swedish citizens. Ibrahimovic also started his legendary road from Malmo Club.
To this day, Ibrahimovic has become a true legend in Sweden.
There are two things that illustrate Ibrahimovic's influence in Sweden.
One thing is to sing the national anthem.
In 2014, Ibrahimovic recorded a Swedish national anthem sung by himself while filming a commercial for Volvo. As a result, the song was played 3 million times in Sweden, and Ibrahimovic also won the Golden Disc Award...
Isn’t that outrageous?
Also in 2014, the Swedish National Post Office even released a set of stamps with Ibrahimovic as the theme, called the "Ibrahimovic Stamp Set". This set of stamps sold 5 million sets in advance.
You may think that 3 million times and 5 million sets are not extraordinary data, but you need to know the denominator of these data, which is that the total population of Sweden is only 9.68 million (2014 data).
Looking at it this way, you can know what kind of status Ibrahimovic holds in the hearts of the Swedes.
And Ibrahimovic obviously loves his country very much, which can be seen from the way he sings the national anthem.
"You are ancient and free, in the far north..."
The Swedish national anthem sounds very grand. Although Pan Yi can't understand it and can't sing it, he still stands solemnly.
But it's different in the stands.
All the Swedish fans sang loudly along, and some even shed tears uncontrollably with excitement.
"The memory of ancient history sleeps quietly..."
"I will live in this Nordic motherland forever!"
After the national anthem was played, and with warm applause from the audience, the players began to return to their own half one after another.
After Ramos and Ibrahimovic shook hands, the captains of both sides began to draw lots. Spain won the right to kick off and the game was about to begin.
"The Swedish team has been in excellent form recently. In the group of death, they defeated Ireland 2:0, Italy 2:0, and Belgium 1:0, winning all of them."
"Looking at Spain, on the other hand, since losing 1:5 to the Netherlands in the 2014 World Cup and being eliminated from the group, the Spanish team has never returned to its heyday."
"In the last round of the group stage of this European Cup, they actually lost to Croatia who came on as a substitute. It was really shocking."
"It's just that the strength of this team, composed of players from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and other giants, cannot be underestimated."
"At least compared to Sweden, Spain's lineup is indeed too luxurious. The only one in the Swedish team who can be called a wealthy star is Ibrahimovic!"
"Okay, the game is about to begin. Judging from the formation, both sides are obviously very targeted. Now we will see who can stand out in this game!"
Following these words of the on-site commentator, the referee finally blew the whistle to start the game.
Spain took the lead and Pedro kicked the ball to Iniesta, who immediately knocked it back to Cesc Fabregas.
Fabregas knocked it across to Busquets, who then passed the ball straight to Pedro's feet, but Ekdal immediately stood behind Pedro and did not let him face the defense line directly, nor did he Let him turn around easily.
Pedro had no choice but to pass the ball back to Busquets, who in turn passed it to David Silva.
During the entire process of passing back and forth, Spain unknowingly completed the pressure on the back line.
Del Bosque's team usually uses this kind of defensive line to press forward, shorten the distance between the three lines, and then use skilled ball control skills to suppress the opponent in the half court. This is exactly the same as Barcelona's style.
But this time, when they pushed the ball into the Swedish half, Sweden's entire defense retreated to the edge of the penalty area and stopped retreating. Instead, they began to actively press and defend.
The ball soon fell to the Swedish team. Busquets wanted to pass an open ball to Pedro to catch it, but Lindelof grabbed the ball in advance and cleared the ball with his big foot. The ball fell to Spain's back. Line of defense.
Ibrahimovic and Pique competed for the top, and the latter headed the ball back to the midfielder, but as soon as Fabregas got the ball, Weinblum immediately surrounded him and entangled him.
Today, one of the main tasks of the Swedish team's midfield is to disrupt Spain's passing organization. Therefore, the midfielder still uses the double midfielder combination of Ekdal + Weinblum when playing in Italy, just to deal with these small Spanish players. Kuai Ling goes on a killing spree!
Although Weinblum is slow and not flexible enough - in other words, he has poor mobility, he has a good sense of position and is not easily taken away from his defensive area by Spain's intersecting runs.
However, Fabregas has a strong ability to escape, and he seems particularly flexible in front of a slightly bulky defensive player like Weinblum.
After shaking left and right, he got a little space, and then glanced ahead with his peripheral vision, and saw that Morata had started and was ready to rush forward.
This is a good opportunity to attack!
Fabregas raised his leg and immediately picked the ball behind the Swedish defense, allowing Morata to catch up.
Morata's speed is actually not slow. He also saw the gap exposed behind Lindelof and Granqvist.
So we saw that he and Fabregas understood each other very well. As soon as he saw Fabregas' leg-raising action, he knew what to do.
Morata immediately ran as fast as he could and inserted diagonally behind the Swedish defense. As soon as he passed by, he would have a chance to form a single attack.
But just as he ran away, he heard a clear whistle sounding on the scene, and the linesman raised his flag high to signal that Morata was offside.
It turns out that at the moment Fabregas passed the ball, Morata had actually fallen into the Swede's offside trap.
Pan Yi on the sidelines couldn't help but smile:
"Well...this trick is really useful against the King of Yue!"
(End of chapter)
