Super Marshal

"According to feedback from the stadium, the ground maintenance at the Olympic Sports Center is progressing smoothly. Before the game, we expect to be able to conduct two infield training sessions to familiarize ourselves with and adapt to the new turf as soon as possible."

On the bus to Shenyang Olympic Sports Center, Xiao Mu reported the latest situation to Gao Han.

We just played a game against South Korea last night. The physical and mental state of each international player is not very ideal. According to Gao Han and Buenaventura's long-standing habits, recovery training in the morning is very important. Therefore, Even if the team wins, they still don't have to rest and must continue to prepare for the game.

The home game against Iran is scheduled for the 6th, and there are only four days, which is quite tense.

The replacement of the new turf at the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center was a decision Gao Han made after inspecting the venue. He felt that the original venue was not suitable for the team's performance, and the national team had already entered the infield for training before heading to South Korea. Twice.

This is also an advantage of being the home team, especially with a country as vast as China.

The home game is in Shenyang. After playing the home game, the Iranian team has to fly a long time and distance, while the Chinese team can go back and forth in the same night after playing in South Korea. It can be said that they have taken advantage of the three major factors: good time, place and people.

"Are the barbed wire curtains around the outfield okay?" Gao Han asked with concern.

The outfield of the Olympic Sports Center where the national team trains is the same as the outfield of the World Cup stadium in Seoul, South Korea. It is unobstructed and separated by barbed wire. Anyone nearby can have a clear view. However, unlike the away game in South Korea, the Chinese team is on its own In the territory, the advantages will naturally be more obvious.

During the previous training camp, Gao Han specifically asked the Football Association to cover all the barbed wire fences with red curtains to prevent the team's training from being spied on by opponents. In fact, South Korea did not have a deep understanding of the Chinese team's preparations. This played a role in the game. It has achieved good results, and it will continue to do so in the next attack on Iran.

"I called to confirm, everything is still there, no problem." Xiao Mu replied.

Gao Han nodded, still very satisfied with Xiao Mu's preparation.

But after the team arrived at the Shenyang Olympic Sports Center, Gao Han found that many media reporters and fans had gathered at the scene, at least more than a thousand people, all holding various slogans and flags to welcome the arrival of the national team.

Obviously, the match against South Korea last night completely ignited their enthusiasm.

But what followed was that a very small number of media reporters and fans privately destroyed the curtains covering the surrounding barbed wire fence in order to further spy on the team's training. This made Gao Han a little dissatisfied.

Now it's just recovery training, so that's nothing. But if it's time for targeted training, and we still do it like this, if the opponent gets the information and makes sufficient preparations in advance, wouldn't it put the national team in a disadvantageous situation?

The media and fans support the national team, which is a good thing. Gao Han is also grateful, but preparations for the game must be kept secret.

So before the training session that morning, Gao Han asked the team leader Li Tie to inform on-site media reporters that after the training, Gao Han would hold a brief press conference and hoped that all media reporters could attend.

When facing media reporters this time, Gao Han used a rare non-negotiable tone and hoped that everyone would stop spying on the national team's training, especially not destroy the surrounding curtains.

"I know that maybe you will think that I am making a fuss out of a molehill, but I hope you understand that confidentiality is the unquestionable bottom line, so I hope that everyone can actively cooperate with the work of the national team, because I believe that our goals are the same .”

Gao Han also issued a statement on Weibo, hoping that all fans and media reporters who went to Shenyang to watch the national team training would consciously abide by the order at the scene and not affect the national team's training due to personal behavior.

This move also aroused support from domestic fans and netizens. Everyone felt that if, in order to satisfy their own curiosity, the national team's preparations and training were spied on by opponents, it would be more than worth the gain.

Even the next day, when the team started training, the security personnel of the Olympic Sports Center were patrolling around according to the requirements of the national team. They found that many Chinese fans spontaneously formed a guard team and guarded around the stadium, prohibiting anyone from approaching, let alone He said he was destroying the curtain to spy on the military situation.

The actions of this group of lovely fans also moved Gao Han and the national team.

But how to attack Iran has become the number one problem facing Gao Han.

…………

…………

"This is the data I analyzed, Iran defeated Qatar 2-0."

In the first tactical preparation meeting of the coaching staff, Sergio Garcia analyzed the opponents for the next game as usual, so that everyone could have a clearer and more intuitive understanding.

Judging from the posted data, Iran does not have an advantage in terms of ball possession rate, only 53%, with twelve shots, four of which were on target, but there were more fouls, twenty-two. This also resulted in Qatar having many free kick opportunities.

"In this game, Iran still played a 4-2-3 formation, with 23 crosses, six threats, and five breakthroughs. Among the 12 shots, five were outside the penalty area and seven were inside. In the penalty area, this should reflect the Iranian team’s tactical characteristics to some extent.”

"In addition, I analyzed Iran's goal analysis for the entire World Cup qualifiers. Seven goals were scored in positional battles, nine goals were scored on counterattacks, two free kicks, four corner kicks, and five penalty kicks. On average, each game The number of passes in the game was 457, and South Korea’s was 659.”

"The four offensive players in the frontcourt and the left back are Iran's most threatening offensive firepower. Wing offense is their characteristic. Dejagah is one of the most threatening players in the Iranian team. In the top 40, the striker He had three assists and 23 threatening passes, but he will miss this game due to injury."

"Injured?" Gao Han was a little surprised.

"In the 68th minute of the game against Qatar, he was substituted. According to the news from the scouts we arranged in Iran, he was indeed injured. It is said that his right leg was injured."

"Can you find out the specific extent of the injury?" Gao Han asked with concern.

If we can know the extent of the injury or the location of the injury, we can determine whether we can make it to the game on the 6th.

Sergio Garcia shook his head, "We tried our best, but the Iranian team has been keeping secrets. Obviously they are also buying time. Dejaga's absence has a big impact on them, but I think that when they arrive After Shenyang, it can basically be confirmed."

Gao Han understood that he was engaging in mystery, and the other party was also not an economical lamp.

The head coach of the Iranian national team is Queiroz, Ferguson's assistant coach at the time and the former Real Madrid coach. He and Gao Han are also old friends. He often teaches coaching training classes in Chinatown and has been coaching Iran for six or seven years.

From the current data analyzed by Sergio Garcia, it is not difficult to see that the personal ability of the team created by Queiroz is definitely better than that of the Chinese team, and the physical fitness is definitely better than the Chinese team, but they are not good at passing and controlling. The method mainly relies on repeated attacks and fast-paced counterattacks.

This is very much like Manchester United during the Ferguson era.

In the latest FIFA rankings, Iran is ranked 39th, first in Asia, South Korea is ranked 48th, and second in Asia. In comparison, the Chinese team is ranked 78th. ranked eighth in Asia.

Although this ranking does not represent the outcome of the game, it reflects the strength level of a team to a certain extent.

There is still a huge gap in strength between the Chinese team and these powerful Asian rivals, and we cannot be careless in the slightest.

Sergio Garcia then introduced the players of the Iranian national team one after another, especially the main international players. He listed the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of each player in a very clear and detailed manner, making it clear at a glance.

"In general, the current Iranian team can occupy the first place among many teams in Asia. There is no doubt about its strength. The tactics Queiroz created for this team are very suitable for their characteristics and can also play this role." The strength of the team.”

"There are no obvious soft spots or shortcomings, and the wing and center are well combined. Facing such a team, we really have no other solution except fighting hard. Of course, if Dejaga is really The injury may have some impact on Iran's midfield."

Sergio Garcia said helplessly.

For such a well-balanced team, it is indeed difficult to find an effective way to restrain the opponent, and they can only fight hard.

"How to play this game in Qatar?" Gao Han asked with concern.

"On the surface, the score is 2-0, but in fact, Iran scored in the last ten minutes of stoppage time. That is to say, in the previous 90 minutes of regular time, Qatar did a good job of containing Iran. The offensive mainly lies in the pressure and pressing of Iran in the midfield."

"A very intuitive statistic is that Iran's number of passes in this game was only 303, which is far lower than their average number in the top 40 games. The success rate was only 69%, which was also lower than Average level, but the risk also exists. In the end, Qatar’s physical strength could no longer hold on and they suffered a tragic comeback.”

After hearing this, Buenaventura couldn't help but shake his head, "If we press high, our physical strength will not last that long."

He is responsible for the team's physical fitness, and of course he knows the extent of physical energy consumption under various tactics.

The physical fitness of the Chinese team is indeed a problem. Not to mention the fact that they just defeated South Korea, even if they play in their best condition, they may not be able to withstand the consumption of high-position pressing and oppression, and they will inevitably end up like Qatar.

"By the way, why is the stoppage time in the match between Iran and Qatar so long?" Xiao Mu asked curiously.

When everyone heard this, they were all curious.

Sergio Garcia smiled and nodded: "I know what you want to say, but I'm sorry, there is nothing wrong with it. As I said before, Iran committed more fouls, plus Dejaga was injured and came off the field, and there was a pause in the second half. It’s more, I think ten minutes of additional time should be considered relatively reasonable.”

Perhaps seeing that his colleagues were all silent, Sergio Garcia continued.

"After analysis and statistics, I discovered an interesting phenomenon. Iran conceded three goals in the top 40. In fact, the opponents in the top 40 were not strong, and these three goals were all conceded in the top 40. At the beginning of the second half, the away game against Turkmenistan was in the 46th minute, the away game against Oman was in the 52nd minute, and the away game against Turkmenistan was in the 62nd minute.”

"Two of these three goals came from crosses from the wing, and one came from a corner kick. I think this may be a link worthy of our further study."

Sergio Garcia's words made everyone present look thoughtful.

And Gao Han nodded as if he had something to gain.