Now look at Tottenham. Considering the intensity and horror of the team's schedule in the next two weeks (two league games against Arsenal and Bolton; two Champions League semi-finals against Arsenal; one FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool ), George had no choice but to resist the idea of sending out the strongest lineup to stage a "father is kind and son is filial" drama with Ferguson, and based on the actual situation of the team and some of his ideas, he arranged an unexpected starting lineup!
Goalkeeper Cech, the defense line is Stephen Carr, Phil Neville, Ledley King and Evra lined up, Davis and Speed form a double midfielder; in front of them , Klose serves as the single arrow, Arshavin serves as the second forward and lurks behind the Germans, waiting for opportunities. Mendieta and teenager Lennon are separated on the left and right!
Let the Russian play his favorite second striker position, and then move Mendieta from the midfielder to the left to play as a winger, changing the formation from the commonly used 4-3-3 to 4-2-3-1. In this key battle that is likely to determine the Premier League championship this season, George's sudden change of formation not only surprised the fans, but also caught Ferguson and Manchester United players off guard!
The reason for making such a choice, instead of following the conventional routine of arranging Mendieta as Xabi Alonso's substitute as the midfield commander, is not because George suddenly slapped his forehead and did some experiment, but after a long period of time. An attempt made after careful consideration!
You know, before moving to Lazio, Mendieta was the core of both Valencia and Spain, leading the Bats to the Champions League finals for two consecutive seasons and helping Spain in the 2000 European Cup. The reason why he later failed to perform as the best midfielder in Europe in Lazio and Barcelona was mainly because Mendieta's environment and status in the team were very different from when he played for Valencia!
When he was in Valencia, the surrounding teammates would take the initiative to close the distance to ensure that they could meet Mendieta at any time. There was also a counterattack weapon like Claudio Lopez lurking on the front line. When attacking, they often first pass each other through continuous short passes. In conjunction with stretching the opponent's defense, Mendieta can then use a through ball or a long pass to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. This style of play maximizes the advantages of Mendieta's comprehensive skills, excellent endurance, wide running range, and keen sense of the defensive line, covering up Mendieta's lack of breakthrough ability and lack of organizational skills, thus keeping the goalkeeper Dieta has become the best midfielder in Europe.
After coming to Lazio, Mendieta was used as Veron's successor, but his overall view and organizational ability were far inferior to the latter. However, Lazio did not realize this problem. Others were present. The running position is still based on the premise that Mendieta breaks away from the defense like Veron and then penetrates the opponent's defense with a scalpel pass!
Mendieta couldn't do what his teammates and head coach wanted him to do, so tragedy happened - Mendieta died and after one season he was loaned to Barcelona, which only used him as a midfield engineer. From then on, they bid farewell to the ranks of superstars; Lazio, which suffered a sharp decline in performance and suffered a rupture in its capital chain, completely fell out of the wealthy circle and almost went bankrupt like Fiorentina; as for Valencia, it lost its core and failed to obtain enough from Mendieta's transfer transaction. The cash-rich Bat Corps never reached the Champions League final again, and three years later it was severely deceived by the aftermath of the deal, which kicked off the collapse and civil strife.
Note: The announced transfer fee for Mendieta was 48 million euros, but Lazio chose to pay in installments at the time. Later, Lazio encountered an economic crisis. In the end, Valencia had to agree to Lazio's plan to use Corradi and Fiore to pay off the debt, with two results. He was unaccustomed to Spain, and together with Ranieri, he led Valencia, which had won the La Liga and UEFA Cup double the season before, to collapse.
This is why Mendieta's performance has improved after moving to Middlesbrough and Tottenham. In Middlesbrough, Mendieta is the well-deserved core of the midfield, and his teammates have to move around him; in Tottenham, although George will not build tactics with Mendieta as the core, he will use him as an all-round midfielder. Instead of being a midfield commander, he also used his strengths and avoided weaknesses to a certain extent.
This game against Manchester United was a brand-new exploration and experiment for George: imitating the Valencia team of that year, arranging the winger Lennon to repeatedly attack to open up space for his teammates like Kili Gonzalez did back then. Davis, Arshavin and Klose are enhanced versions of Farinos, Herard and Claudio Lopez, creating space for Mendieta, who serves as the midfielder, to send the final pass!
As long as this tactical experiment can achieve the expected results on Manchester United, George will have more cards available, forcing opponents to spend more energy studying possible changes to Tottenham!
Even if Tottenham loses this game and Chelsea defeats Everton at Stamford Bridge, the point difference between the two sides can only be narrowed to three points at most. Considering that Chelsea's opponents in the last three rounds include powerful teams such as Manchester United and Newcastle, George is very confident that the advantage will be maintained until the end of the league!
For Manchester United, after seeing Tottenham's starting lineup, Ferguson's face immediately darkened - as one of George's leaders on the coaching road, Ferguson naturally realized what his protégé was playing. A wishful thinking!
You brat, you want to use Manchester United as your tactical experimental field, and you also want to kill two birds with one stone to deter other opponents? Are you looking for something to smoke? !
Although he was very unhappy with what George did, just ten minutes after the game started, Ferguson, as stubborn as he was, had to admit George's talent as a head coach and his courage to try.
Dare to use Mendieta, who has failed to recover since leaving Valencia. Mendieta, who has only been the main rotation player in Tottenham for the past two years, served as the starter in this game that is related to the league championship, and he is a left winger that the Spaniard has never played before. . In Ferguson's view, the vast majority of head coaches, including himself, are unlikely to make such an arrangement on such a critical occasion. But George not only dared to try, but also achieved good results, so he deserves a compliment!
Yes, George's tactical experiment successfully activated Mendieta. The arrangement of the left midfielder is actually a free man in the frontcourt. In addition, George has sent players in the starting lineup who are good at running without the ball and passing and cutting. Mendieta has regained a lot of five years. The feeling I had when I was playing in Valencia.
Mendieta's condition improved, and Manchester United's defense was naturally in bad luck. Whether it is Ferdinand or Sylvester, they both have the problem of not concentrating during the game. And this shortcoming of theirs is undoubtedly a major benefit for Mendieta, who is diligent in running and good at finding gaps!
Only thirteen minutes into the game, the gate guarded by Van der Sar was declared lost: Davis, Arshavin and Mendieta tore apart Manchester United's central defense through a series of passes and cuts in the left rib area outside the penalty area. Elvester's loss of position allowed Klose, who received Mendieta's pass, to hit the goal without interference, helping Tottenham take the lead!
