Super Marshal

Liverpool, England, Melwood training ground.

In the dim light of the head coach's office, Benitez and his assistants watched the video of the two rounds of the game between Inter Milan and Manchester United. Two words were written on everyone's face, solemn.

"Inter Milan's home and away tactics are very targeted, and the cold is still cold." Benitez praised wholeheartedly.

When he was coaching in La Liga, he often dealt with Gao Han, and the two had some friendship, so he knew Gao Han relatively well and knew how powerful the Chinese was.

"Inter Milan has great tactical flexibility in attacking at home and defending against counterattacks in away games." Assistant coach Paco Yesterdam said.

He is Benitez's chief assistant coach and an old partner. He has worked with Benitez since he coached Trinefe. Later he came to Valencia and then to Liverpool. The two of them can be said to have fought side by side. Best friend for many years.

"This is also the most difficult part for Serie A teams. If you look at Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan now, they are all teams with both offense and defense. It is a headache." Benitez also has a headache. I feel something in my heart.

Many fans are talking about his upset victory over AC Milan in the Champions League final, but only he knows how thrilling that game was. To a certain extent, it was luck that made him victory.

Having coached La Liga teams for a long time, he knows the difficulties of Serie A teams better than anyone else.

No, in the Champions League quarter-finals just past, Liverpool lost 1-2 to Roma in the first leg away from home. After returning home, they went through a lot of hard work, and finally Crouch sealed the victory. The Red Wolves were eliminated by zero.

The total score was 2-2, but Liverpool successfully advanced to the semi-finals by virtue of their away goal advantage.

Having met Serie A teams in two consecutive knockout rounds, Benitez really felt that he was unlucky, especially when he encountered high temperatures.

Of course, he is different from everyone else.

Many people thought Gao Han was invincible, but as an old rival, Benitez knew better than anyone how many games Gao Han almost lost, but in the end he managed to survive by relying on on-the-spot command.

He is not invincible, but difficult to defeat.

As a professional football coach, Benitez is happy to challenge such difficulty.

"Gao Han is the one who loves details the most among the head coaches I have ever seen. If you want to beat him, you can't tolerate any flashiness. You must have solid strength as the foundation, and you must work hard on the details. .”

Benitez's words were unanimously recognized by the surrounding assistants.

This is also the outside world’s evaluation of the cold weather.

"Although it is a home game, we can look ugly. It doesn't matter. Everyone knows that Inter Milan has a greater chance of winning than us. We can even play in a chaotic manner and destroy the opponent's rhythm and possession of the ball."

Facing Inter Milan, Liverpool was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of rhythm control and passing and controlling the ball. Therefore, Benitez simply did not stop doing anything and directly disrupted the rhythm and passing and controlling.

Exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, although a bit barbaric, is his best tactic.

"To beat a snake, we have to hit seven inches. Against Inter Milan at home, we must strive to score first, but our offensive ability..."

Benitez didn't finish his words, but his meaning was very clear.

Liverpool's offense this season is indeed problematic, or it should be said that since Irving left Liverpool and moved to Real Madrid, Liverpool has never had a trustworthy scorer on the front line.

At present, Benitez relies heavily on high center forward Crouch, but this English tall man is obviously not a scoring champion.

Whether in the Champions League or the Premier League, Liverpool's offensive weakness has long been criticized.

"So the only thing we can rely on is set pieces."

Benitez said this and looked around the circle of assistants. "There are still two weeks until the first leg of the semifinals. In the next two weeks, we will focus on practicing defense and set-piece tactics."

"Understood." The assistants agreed in unison.

Everyone can see that Benitez places the set piece in a key position that determines victory or defeat.

Being able to defeat Inter Milan depends on whether their set-piece tactics can work.

"In defense, Inter Milan's trident will be a difficulty."

Benitez pointed to the TV that had just finished playing the game video, "You have also seen that Ferdinand alone cannot stop Inter Milan's trident. Manchester United's defense fell apart in front of them."

"Among these three players, Ibrahimovic is the most difficult to defend."

The difficulty of the Swedish center is well known in European football. He has the body and strength of a traditional high center, but he also has very delicate foot skills. What's more terrible is that this guy is from Taekwondo. The body is very flexible.

It can be said that Ibrahimovic is the most difficult opponent in the Champions League in the past few years.

Of course, there is no doubt about his strength and his dominance in the penalty area.

I believe that every team facing Inter Milan will have a headache on how to defend Ibrahimovic.

"We need someone to freeze Ibrahimovic," Paco Yesterdam said.

Several other assistants around him looked embarrassed.

If Ibrahimovic was so easy to defend, he wouldn't be a headache for all the top teams in Europe.

"What about Hyypia? He was outstanding last night," suggested tactical analyst Dav McDonough.

Paco Yesterdam looked at Benitez, a little worried, "Can he bear it?"

Benitez shook his head and said: "Defending Ibrahimovic requires a 90-minute protracted battle. Hyypia is already 33 years old. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to last until the end."

When competing against an opponent like Ibrahimovic, the outcome is determined by minutes. Hyypia still has the strength, but he is not young, so it may be difficult to maintain concentration during the 90-minute game.

"You mean..." Paco Yesterdam guessed Benitez's intention.

"Daniel Agger."

Yesterdam hissed and took a breath of air, "But his performance in the first round of the quarter-finals was very unsatisfactory. In the away game against Roma, he conceded two goals."

It was because Agger performed poorly in the first round that Hyypia was sent in the second round. As a result, Hyypia performed well, but now he still wants to win Hyypia and continue to trust Agger?

If Agger is ultimately competent, that would be okay, but if he performs poorly again, Benitez will definitely take the blame and may even be scolded by the fans.

"I know Agger very well. He is not the kind of character who is easily knocked down. He has a strong will and knows how to self-reflect. I believe he will not be easily knocked down just because of one game."

When he said this, Benitez's eyes flashed with a sharp look.

He had no choice but to trust Agger.

"That's it. The defensive tactics and set-piece tactics in the next two weeks will revolve around Agger. I believe he will not disappoint me."

Yesterdam and others looked at each other, feeling that Benitez was making a huge gamble.

Choosing Daniel Agger to start instead of Hyypia, who is in better shape, is destined to be a game that cannot be lost.

If we lose at Anfield, Benitez will definitely be held responsible.

Even if the opponent is the famous Gao Han.

"By the way, Zenden is also scheduled to start in this game."

"Cenden?" Yesterdam lost his voice this time.

The Dutchman Zenden joined Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer of 2005. However, after joining the team, he never showed convincing strength. He was more of a substitute for the team and had a marginal role. .

But for such a player, Benitez wants to arrange for him to start in such an important game?

are you crazy?

Benitez obviously knows that his choices confuse his opponents, but he also chooses some things based on his feelings.

Zenden is indeed no longer at his peak, and even plays a marginal role in Liverpool, but he also has his own advantages. Benitez originally took a liking to him because he played very hard and had strong willpower.

Moreover, he has played in Barcelona before, so he is more stable in major competitions and can be more calm in such critical games.

But the most important thing is that Zenden's passing and movement are the best in the Liverpool team.

"He...can he do it?" Yesterdam was a little doubtful.

It's not that he doubts Cen Deng's strength, but is worried about his condition.

This is the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals. Is it okay to reuse such a marginal role as the starter?

But Benitez's attitude was very firm, and he must arrange for Zenden to start, and said that Zenden has the ability to change the game.

"Sometimes, we need a surprising force to beat our opponents."

Yesterdam and others obviously understand Benitez's temper, and they all know that once the Spaniard makes a decision, it will be difficult for others to change it.

"Also, Jose." Benitez looked at the goalkeeper coach, Jose Ochuto Reina, "make sure to arrange penalty kick training during the goalkeeper training in the next two weeks."

"Penalty kick training?"

"Just practice more, maybe it will come in handy," Benitez said.

Everyone knew very well that this should also be part of his plan.

Even if he couldn't defeat Inter Milan in the entire game, he would have to drag the two rounds into a penalty shootout.

Benitez's idea is simple, set up a game at Anfield Stadium, not only trap the cold Inter Milan, but also strive for a goal, and this will be the key goal to determine the two rounds of the game.

Therefore, he not only has to carefully select his starting lineup, but also carefully prepares his tactics.

Isn't it said that what Gao Han is best at is details?

Then I will use the most exquisite details to kill Gao Han at Anfield Stadium!

…………

…………

April 24, 2007.

Liverpool Anfield Stadium.

When the game progressed to the 62nd minute, Liverpool was in a counterattack. After receiving the ball in the gap, Zenden turned around and rushed forward with the ball. Evra accidentally tripped him while defending, and the referee decisively disallowed it. foul.

Liverpool's free kick in the frontcourt.

Gerrard personally took the penalty, and high points such as Crouch, Carragher and Agger all pressed into Inter Milan's frontcourt.

When the referee's whistle sounded, Gerrard rushed forward quickly, and there was chaos in the penalty area. Crouch and Carragher sprinted into the penalty area at the same time, creating the illusion of rushing in to compete for high points, deceiving Inter Milan's defense. The players also followed suit.

But in the end, Gerrard suddenly passed the ball to the front of the penalty area. After receiving the ball, Agger passed Cambiasso who was caught off guard and stepped forward to defend. He pushed the ball with his right foot and sent the ball into Cesar's guard. goal.