Of course, Pan Yi knows the Swedish team very well.
Although since winning the European Cup in 2016, many players in the Swedish team have left the national team, such as Karlström, Isaksson, and even Ibrahimovic!
Yes, the 36-year-old Ibrahimovic has announced his retirement from the national team and decided to focus on club games in the future, so that he can maximize his career.
However, the main framework of the Swedish national team still follows the lineup used by Pan Yi in the European Cup, including young talents such as Isaac and Kulusevski, who are still the core they rely on.
Although Swedes are still full of gratitude and affection for Pan Yi, professional football is like this. When the two sides become opponents, Pan Yi can only think about how to defeat Sweden.
When playing against Albania, Italy's young lineup performed reasonably well, but it was not perfect.
If we play against the European champions in that state, it's really hard to say whether we will win or lose.
Therefore, Pan Yi must seize this one-month window to instill his football philosophy into these Italian players.
This is also the advantage of these five young players from York City. They are very familiar with Pan Yi's tricks!
Coupled with Pan Yi's old subordinates like De Sciglio, at least half of the lineup will have no problems.
"Time is still too tight!" Evani sighed during a video conference with the coaching staff.
According to the schedule, the five major leagues basically start on October 14th and continue until around November 5th. Only then does it arrive another international match day, when the Italian national team can assemble again.
In other words, there are only five or six days before the play-offs officially begin.
This means that there is only this little time for this brand new Italian national team to train and get used to it!
As for the last time we played in Albania, Pan Yi took up the post on a temporary basis. Basically, he only had time to make some mental adjustments before going into battle. How could he have time to practice?
Then as soon as the game was over, everyone disbanded and went back to their respective clubs, leaving Pan Yi not even a second longer.
"What I said last time is the training and running method of drawing lines and zones, do you still remember it?" Pan Yi asked, looking at Evani on the screen.
Evani was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "Of course I remember, but when I first saw the messy tactical plans you drew, I really didn't understand them. But then I thought about it carefully, and it was indeed simple. It’s clear!”
This is what Pan Yi came up with to coach the national team.
In order to help players better understand his off-ball running requirements and tactical areas, he drew lines and divided areas during training, and then used red and green colors to represent prohibited and feasible areas, allowing the players to follow the routes during training. Picture to coordinate running and passing and receiving.
Now Pan Yi doesn't have much time to slowly adjust to the national team. He can't have a month-long training period like he did at the club.
He only had less than a week, and he had to make everyone in Italy understand his tactical intentions and form combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time.
"Then prepare according to this method when the time comes!" Pan Yi explained.
Evani and Vialli both nodded.
Pan Yi had told them about the operation of this system before when he was still in Italy, and they were looking forward to trying it out.
To be honest, who doesn't want to learn something from Pan Yi's hands?
And this is also an important reason why they immediately agreed to come to the national team as assistant coaches as soon as Pan Yi called them.
"Also, the training intensity must be increased by then!" Pan Yi shook his head, "My goal is not just to pass the play-offs, but to perform well in the World Cup! Therefore, what I need is a team that can fight hard. An iron army, not a coward who only knows how to play with the wind, and when the critical moment comes, his legs will weaken when encountering difficulties, and he can only juggle skills."
The current batch of Italian players actually have no major technical problems, otherwise they would not be able to gain a foothold in the five major leagues.
The problem is that in national team games, spirit and will take up a larger proportion.
When the time comes to play a conference-based game, every game will be bayonets and everyone must have a belief in winning. As long as one side retreats, the probability of losing is very high.
As the saying goes, when encountering each other on a narrow road, the brave wins, that's what it means.
Pan Yi already knows this principle well whether he is in the Swedish national team or the Dragon Country national team.
And all of this is achieved by slowly accumulating in training, and then practicing and tempering through competitions.
It is impossible to build an iron-blooded army overnight, and Pan Yi is also prepared for long-term operations.
At the same time, he already has a clear idea. Players who do not meet his psychological requirements or cannot adapt to his requirements will be removed from the national team.
On the day the team finished playing Albania, Pan Yi communicated with Immobile.
He also revealed something in his words, that is, he was dissatisfied with Immobile's lack of concentration in previous games. He hoped that Immobile would get rid of this problem of his and pay attention to every minute and every second of the game. Pay enough attention.
This is actually one aspect. The main reason is that Immobile always gives people the feeling of a "vegetarian abuser" or a "foreign war amateur".
He can often kill everyone in Serie A, but when it comes to Bundesliga, La Liga, European wars, or the national team, he always seems to be unable to perform at a sufficient level, and people cannot place hope on him.
For such a mature player, Pan Yi can only hope that he can understand it by himself, so he didn't say it too seriously.
But I believe Immobile will definitely understand what Pan Yi means. If he cannot adapt to Pan Yi's requirements, he will not see his name in the national team's starting lineup, and may even miss the roster!
The same goes for Jorginho, Belotti and others. Pan Yi also gave suggestions, but it is unknown how much this group of boys can change.
"After playing the league on the 5th, the training on the 6th may not go smoothly. There will be a game on the 11th. Will it affect the team's status and morale if you play a lot?" Evani said with concern.
But Vialli smiled and said: "Our Shiyi Sect has already thought of this!"
Pan Yi has indeed prepared for a rainy day.
He contacted Chelsea Club early and wanted to loan Pintus over during the national team match.
"Pintus has helped me draw up a training plan. It is very intense and will test and hone the players a lot. It will definitely have a certain impact on the game on the 11th, but there will be some changes in the second round." It helps, but the most important thing is to train the players.”
"Although due to the time limit of the national team, we really have very little time to use. This is a test for our entire team. We must ensure that we instill tactical ideas and concepts in the players while paying attention to efficiency and time."
Pan Yi's words were recognized by everyone. The national team training comes in a hurry, training for two or three days before playing games, and then going their separate ways after the game. It is impossible to get the treatment of a long training camp.
Under this circumstance, Pan Yi was very envious of the fact that when he was in the national football team, the Football Association could suspend the league early and let the players attend training camps earlier.
Of course, this is also due to the fact that most of the players in the Dragon Country team play domestically, which is still very different from Italy, a traditional football powerhouse.
Because the national team recruits national players to play games, it is good to get the cooperation of the club's head coach. If they encounter someone who does not cooperate, they will just make an excuse like injury, and they will not even be able to recruit them!
After the coaching staff meeting, everyone split up to prepare, while Pan Yi continued to focus on his York City.
The only difference from before is that he will now pay more attention to the performance of the Italian internationals in the team.
And it seems that he understands what the boss means. In recent rounds of the league, Scaloni has also sent more players such as Dimarco, Scamacca and Varela to play games who were not the absolute main players. Let them look for status more.
Their performance also lived up to Scaloni's trust in them.
Against Brentford, Scamacca scored with a header three minutes into the game, helping the team beat their opponent 4:1.
Against Birmingham, DiMarco's left free kick found De Ligt in the center, assisted his teammates to score, and defeated the opponent 2:0.
When facing Cardiff City, second in the English Championship, on the road, although the game ended in a 2:2 draw, Varela's ground-breaking long-range shot still left people unsatisfied, and this goal was also selected as the best in the English Championship in October. Good goal.
Since then, Tonali and Bastoni also scored in the games against Sheffield Wednesday and Burton, helping the team win two consecutive victories.
With four wins and one draw in five games, York City is also soaring up the English Championship standings. With 14 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, it has accumulated 43 points, leaving other competitors behind.
Now ranked second is the strong Wolves, with 11 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, with 35 points. Although they are 8 points behind York City, they are also 2 points ahead of Sheffield United, which is third.
Cardiff City is a bit weak, falling to fourth place with 31 points after two defeats, but they still maintain pressure on the top few.
In addition to their outstanding performance in the English Championship, York City also participated in the two Europa League group matches during this period.
In two consecutive games with Lyon, they scored four points, 2:0 at home and 1:1 on the road.
This result also allows them to rank first in the group with 3 wins, 1 draw and 10 points, and qualifying is in sight.
After the 16th round of the league, York City disbanded on the spot, and the five Italian internationals in the team also went to Milan together with Pan Yi.
In the two battles with the Swedish team, the home game is set in Milan, the place where Pan Yi made his fortune!
Although Italy will play away from home in the first round, the international players will have to train in Milan for a few days before going to Stockholm to participate in the game.
——
When the Italian internationals sat upright in the conference hall one by one and listened to Pan Yi talking about the tactics he planned to use in the next game, they all listened with interest.
Regarding Italian football, I believe the first word that most fans think of is "defense".
Italy's chain defense can be said to be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
But what Pan Yi said today was not defense, or that kind of pure defense.
He wants this Italian team to play Italian football in a non-traditional sense, but to attack with defense and defend with offense.
In other words, it is actually more like the total offense and total defense that Cruyff led in the Dutch national team!
Pan Yi said that with the current technical ability and physical condition of the Italian international, he can do this without having to focus mainly on defense like he did when he was in the Swedish national team or the Dragon Country national team. .
When he first mentioned this, all the Italian internationals present were a little confused, because in their minds, total offense and total defense did belong to the Dutch, while defensive counterattacks belonged to the Italians.
But this confusion was quickly resolved with Pan Yi's more detailed explanation.
Who is Pan Yi?
With Pan Yi's influence and status today, he will not make nonsense without real evidence.
"I didn't expect that we could also play total offense and total defense!" Chiesa said with a smile.
His father Enrico Chiesa, also commonly known as Chiesa Sr., was active in the professional arena in the 1990s, when defensive football in Serie A became popular.
Like the 1994 World Cup and the 1998 World Cup, the Italian national team showed fans around the world the ultimate defense, which can even be said to be drowsy. The goals were scored by frontcourt stars such as Baggio and Spain. Gnoli, Vieri et al.
The same was true for the 1996 European Cup, which Chiesa Sr. participated in.
Influenced by his father, Chiesa naturally has a deep-rooted understanding of Italian football, including his role as a counterattack attacker in the defensive counterattack system when he was in Florence.
Now Pan Yi has proposed the concept of total offense and total defense in the Italian national team, which really interests him.
Of course, this is also because Pan Yi was very detailed in his narration, and combined it with his examples in various competitions in recent years, which gave Chiesa a sense of enlightenment.
The player's perspective and the head coach's perspective are different.
Pan Yi's view of the football game is from a higher place overlooking it. What he sees is the overall situation, but the players are playing on the football field. What they feel and see are the details, which are the details of the game. a small part of.
Now using the players' thoughts to experience some of the thoughts and ideas that Pan Yi saw and expressed as the head coach will undoubtedly help them understand Pan Yi and his football more deeply.
For example, Pan Yi mentioned that in order to achieve total offense and total defense in the current football environment, the most important thing is to improve running without the ball. Through active running with fluidity, we can constantly intersperse and pull back and forth to tear apart the opponent. line of defense.
But Pan Yi also mentioned that total offense and total defense vary from person to person.
Spain, for example, has better technology. They can develop their own total offense and total defense system based on their own characteristics.
As for the Italian team, although it is technically a representative of Latin football, it still has certain shortcomings compared with Spain.
If you copy Spain's system, it will undoubtedly be a toddler in Handan. Therefore, the Italian team should have its own characteristics and style of total offense and defense, give full play to its own advantages and shield its own shortcomings.
Therefore, Pan Yi put forward his own understanding of total offense and total defense in his final summary. He summarized it in a few words, running without the ball, pressing, creativity and teamwork. He believed that as long as these points are achieved, then He has the ability to play total offense and total defense football.
After Pan Yi finished speaking, he led the coaching staff out of the meeting room, leaving the players to experience it themselves.
This is similar to a teacher giving a lecture in school. You can't absorb too much at once. It's better to let the students think about it first and then discuss it spontaneously. The harvest will be better.
Chiesa sat there and thought for a while, then turned to look at Tonali: "Hey, have you ever heard of Mr. Pan Yi's theory when you were at the club?"
"Of course." Tonali said, "But Mr. Pan Yi's tactics have always been very flexible. When our team encounters a strong team, he sometimes lets us set up the bus, haha..."
"Oh." Little Chiesa nodded, "I understand. It's because he thinks that our group of people are young and capable of rushing, so they can play total offense and total defense."
"That's right." Tonali looked proud. "That's our boss, Mr. Pan Yi! He never talks nonsense. If he says we can do it, then we can definitely do it."
"It's great, I really hope I can play beautiful football under him!" Chiesa said with great admiration.
Looking at Chiesa, Tonali thought for a while and said: "I think Mr. Pan Yi will like you. He likes fast and skilled players like you. Look at our club, he buys They are all players like this, like Armand, Leo, Kvaratshelia..."
"However, you must pay attention to one thing during the game. You must not be too lazy and fight actively. Regarding this, Leo has been criticized by Mr. Pan Yi several times!"
"As long as you can do this, I believe you will be able to play under his hands!"
Although Tonali and Chiesa have only played together once, they are both hard-working players, and their similar personalities have quickly brought them closer.
Therefore Tonali also gave his own suggestions.
Chiesa nodded and was very grateful to Tonali for his words.
In fact, he also knows very well what kind of players a world-famous coach like Pan Yi needs.
In fact, Pan Yi also talked to him privately, just to let him maintain such an excellent style on the court.
"Mr. Pan Yi talked to me a lot. He told me where my strengths are and where my weaknesses are, so I understand what I need to improve next. I believe in him and am willing to follow him. Do it as suggested!”
Of course, Pan Yi also communicated with Chiesa about his technical characteristics.
The biggest characteristic of Chiesa is his amazing explosive power. Whether it is a counterattack in the middle or a breakthrough from the wing, Chiesa is very threatening. Therefore, he will always be violated by opposing players in the game, and many players are caught off guard. In the case of defense, tactical fouls had to be used to restrict Chiesa.
On the other hand, Chiesa is a player with balanced left and right feet. Even in the center position, he can shoot left and right without adjusting. This is also a key to his ability to stay in the penalty area, and Chiesa is not a traditional "eating player". "Pie" forward, he can not only break through by himself, but also create opportunities for his teammates. His overall ability is relatively comprehensive.
But Pan Yi also pointed out that Chiesa's stopping of the ball is indeed very good, and he is also very good at stopping the ball and turning around, but the success rate is not high enough. A very important reason is that although his skills are solid , but it is still not enough, especially the ball-handling skills under intensive defense and high-intensity pressure.
He plays more as a left winger, often cutting inside and going under, which puts him in an area where opponents are densely defensive, and his ability to handle the ball in small spaces needs to be further improved.
Because strong teams cannot always give him space to drill. Strong teams, especially top teams like Brazil and Spain, often do not give him space. This requires him to have enough skills to open up space. This is small. Chiesa needs to improve.
"I think Mr. Pan Yi is right. We are all still young. We should not be satisfied with the status quo. We should continue to make progress. We must become stronger and more ambitious, and all of this requires more efforts from us. !" Tonali also said.
It can be seen that Tonali has matured a lot through more than two months of professional league experience.
Especially the loss to Manchester City in the League Cup also allowed him to see the strength of the world's top players and broadened his horizons. Pan Yi's suggestions and guidance also allowed him to see clearly his own shortcomings and needs. A place of improvement.
"A top player is often not necessarily the most talented and smartest player, but the player who is best at learning, always improving, and willing to work hard for it!"
This is what Pan Yi said to Tonali when he communicated with him, and Pan Yi also repeatedly stated at the time that Tonali was always in his plan, including the Italian national team.
However, whether he can eventually become the main player in the national team depends on Tonali's own efforts and progress.
"Mr. Pan Yi is in charge of Italy. I am full of confidence in the future. I think we should have the opportunity to go to the World Cup and even compete for this World Cup!" Tonali said happily in the end.
Chiesa also patted Tonali on the shoulder excitedly:
"Me too!"
