Chapter 161 The Most Suitable Position, Part

After the 20th round of La Liga, there is a national team match day in the middle of the week, so some international players in the team have to report to the national team, such as Alves who was selected for the Brazilian national team, Navarro who was selected for the Spanish national team, and Poulsen who was selected for the Danish national team.

Ricardo continued to train with the club this week...

Mainly due to the impact of the fan riots, the Italian national team cancelled the friendly match on this national team match day, and the list originally in Donadoni's hands was never announced.

Donadoni originally wanted to use the opportunity of warm-up with Romania to observe some new players, so the rumored Maresca also missed his first chance to be selected for the national team.

Ricardo, who was able to stay in Seville, quickly invited Julian to come and play. Although Julian originally wanted to spend Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year with Ricardo next week, on Valentine's Day next week, Ricardo would most likely be traveling with the team to play in the UEFA Cup away game...

Therefore, while there is still time and the pressure of the game is not too great, the scumbag Li must fulfill his contract quickly; and although the league game at the weekend is an away game, the game against Real Betis is a derby in the same city, so that Julian can still spend the New Year's Eve in Seville together before leaving, which can also make up for Chiara's aunt's leave.

Although this meant that Julian would have to return to school almost two weeks earlier, she agreed after thinking about it. First, Ricardo did have a competition mission and had no choice. Second, it would be good to return to the laboratory early to do experiments and projects. There were some problems about the application of machine learning algorithms in the field of vaccine research and development. She could discuss this with Ricardo while discussing the physiological structure of the human body...

It was another Monday morning and after finishing his private lessons, Ricardo put on his handsome suit again and went to the airport to welcome the Ice Goddess.

As for Eva and Sofia, who were originally going to return last week, they changed their plans because Sofia found out when she returned to her grandparents' house that they would not live in the city with her. Sofia, who had a deep relationship with the two elders, was naturally reluctant to leave. She cried so hard that she developed pneumonia.

So Eva had to modify her plan and stay with Sofia for another week to recuperate. She also temporarily canceled her enrollment plan in the private kindergarten. She might want to wait until Sofia finishes kindergarten in the town and starts elementary school before moving to the city. During this time, she also wants to help Sofia get used to living independently away from her parents...

Ricardo was very supportive, especially when he learned that Sofia had fallen ill from crying, Ricardo was heartbroken and quickly comforted Sofia, saying that there was no rush, and that they should first try commuting between the city and town every week, and also asked Eva to slowly mobilize the two elders to move to the city.

But that's a story for later. This week, the scumbag Li Ke completely belongs to the ice goddess Julian.

And Julian is the one with the most intellectual beauty and good figure among Ricardo's girlfriends. The temptation and happiness of this contrasting beauty is not as simple as 1 plus 1 equals .

Fortunately, the current scumbag Li is no longer the Wuxia Amon of the past. He has seen a lot, especially after being adjusted by the two big sisters, he has almost combined the old Li Qi's theory with practice. So he did not completely immerse himself in the gentle nest of early spring, but went to bed early and got up early to train seriously, and took the time to review the play route two weeks ago with Julian...

While Ricardo was happily spending every day with the beauty, Juan Ramos was holding meetings with the coaching staff. The TV and computer were playing videos of previous Sevilla games, and the videotapes were piled up next to the VCR as high as a mountain.

Juan Ramos and the coaching staff discussed the bottleneck problems that Sevilla has encountered since the New Year. It is not as simple as not being in the best form. The previous tactical details were put under a microscope and studied by most teams when Sevilla won the 2006 European Best Team and the La Liga Winter Championship, and effective countermeasures were made.

The most obvious example is the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, a derby match at home against Real Betis. Sevilla had the advantage of playing at home, and although it was not a restful match, it had the support of fans and the advantage of being familiar with the venue. After all the main players had rested for 7 days, they were tied by their less powerful rivals in the same city. Before Li Qi came on the field, they did not pose much threat to the goal...

In addition to the team's tactical adjustments, the focus of Juan Ramos' discussions with the coaching staff was the tactical use and position placement of Li Qi. Li Qi has characteristics and advantages that other players do not have, and can bring about immediate changes on the court, but how to maximize and normalize it is the main problem that Juan Ramos is worried about.

Li Qi's advantages are obvious. Although he has obvious shortcomings in the field of getting rid of and passing the opponent on the spot or in a small area, and is not as good as Renato, Navas, Alves and other offensive players in the team, and is not even as good as Korzakov and Maresca, but in terms of physical fitness and football IQ, he is the best in the team, and even in horizontal comparison in the entire La Liga.

He is about 1 meters tall, with excellent jumping, explosive power, balance, sensitivity and endurance - he doesn't look like a soccer player, but rather a rugby player. But what impressed Juan Ramos more was Li Qi's soccer IQ. His defensive position was always in the key tactical position, and he could often successfully defend two or even multiple players at once.

His positioning prediction is also first-rate, and he can stop the ball basically at the first point it lands. At the same time, most of the time, Ricardo, as a striker, has an average number of interceptions per game that is comparable to that of Paulson, who plays as a defensive midfielder, and Navarro, who plays as a defender.

Li Qi's greatest advantage is his calmness and decisive handling choices. He can always send the ball to the most appropriate gap in the most dangerous position. Currently, the number of threatening balls he sends and the number of offensive threats he creates in the team is the sum of the second and third players combined.

In addition, as a young player, Li Qi is easy-going and likes to play with the ball first. He also communicates and cooperates closely with his teammates, so his teammates like to pass the ball to Li Qi for cooperation, because the ball passed to him will basically not be lost, and the ball will be delivered to his feet in time after the basic running position is established, and he can score goals from time to time...

Even though Li Qi has only been with the team for half a season, he has already become a big shot in the team. Maresca, Navas and the loaned-out Copa, the middle-aged and young players basically follow Li Qi, and core players like Kanoute, Paulson, Marti and Navarro also admire Li Qi very much. Only the combined influence of the Brazilian gang can compete with Li Qi, but the relationship between the two is currently very harmonious.

Judging from various factors, when Li Qi first joined the team, although there were many plans before, Juan Ramos and the coaching staff believed that Roma's core Totti's organizing striker position was the most suitable position for Li Qi, or to imitate Ronaldinho's position as a winger in Barcelona. These two positions are also the organizing frontcourt attributes that Sevilla is currently in urgent need of.

Li Qi played these two positions with ease after playing for half a season. In the league and cup, Li Qi played a total of 23 games as a starter and substitute, and he quietly contributed 13 goals and 9 assists, which is a near double-double data, not counting the penalty opportunities he created. He is the second-highest scorer in the team after Kanoute. This is the data obtained when Li Qi mostly played as a substitute to adapt to the team's tactical running-in and was injured for a month in the national team game.

Therefore, Juan Ramos originally planned to increase Li Qi's appearances in the second half of the season, focusing on Li Qi's organizational effectiveness in the frontcourt. However, since the New Year, there have been two draws and two losses in five league games, with only one win, which has made Juan Ramos and the coaching staff waver in the current tactical structure.

In recent seasons, Sevilla has mainly played in a 4-4-2 parallel formation, with the offense mainly relying on sharp and fast counterattacks on both sides and precise cross-field passes.

This formation and tactics have been integrated into the current Sevilla main lineup, and they play very well; originally, with Li Qi's support and organization at the shadow striker or wing midfielder position, this tactic would be more diverse and very difficult to deal with.

However, in recent games, there has been an obvious anti-Sevilla tactical logic, which is to block breakthroughs on both wings, defend in a low position, but commit fouls in advance in the high position, forcing Sevilla to fight a positional battle, and pile up defensive players in the defensive third zone, cutting off the supply from Sevilla's midfield and backcourt to the frontcourt, making it impossible for Sevilla's frontcourt offense and organizational core to touch the ball.

Sevilla's midfield and backcourt players are all top-notch in terms of physical fitness, defensive ability, and counterattack breakthroughs, but they lack organizing players like Xavi and Iniesta who can connect the midfield and backcourt and accurately deliver ammunition to the frontcourt.

Therefore, once the breakthrough on the wing fails, Sevilla's attack will be silenced; even if Li Qi withdraws from the forward position, there will be a certain improvement, but when the opponent is desperate to maintain a draw, Li Qi's withdrawal will not create too many opportunities. As long as the few opportunities to score the first goal are not seized, the scene will be extremely ugly.

Apart from the matches against Levante and Rayo Vallecano, Sevilla has 6 games left since the New Year, 4 of which ended in 0-0 draws and two losses with only one goal, which is enough to prove Sevilla's current problems on the offensive end.

To be more specific, the team lacks the ability to stably deliver and speed up the ball from the midfield to the frontcourt. This was a missing part of Sevilla's previous lineup flaws and tactical construction, and it is also a problem that Sevilla does not need to consider when it mainly plays defensive counterattacks.

Generally speaking, this is an old problem and also a global problem, which is to break through dense defense. As Sevilla's performance gets better and better, fewer and fewer teams will choose to play against Sevilla; it is conceivable that in future games, Sevilla will face this problem more and more.

This problem is not easy to solve even for world-class teams, let alone mid- and lower-level teams. Therefore, many mid- and lower-level teams often find it difficult to maintain stable performance after they have achieved good results through defensive counterattacks.

Originally, Sevilla's problem is not unsolvable. After all, there are already candidates in the team who can solve this problem. However, there was a serious dispute and conflict of opinion between Juan Ramos and the coaching staff on how to adjust the tactics.

The simplest solution is to pull Li Qi back to the defensive midfielder position, responsible for organization and passing the ball, build tactics directly around Li Qi, and let Li Qi control the pace of the game.

Li Qi has played in this position before in Barcelona, ​​the Italian national team and Sevilla, and has also been responsible for the role of a metronome, learning from Xavi and Pirlo and the effect is quite good. Li Qi's defensive ability, organizational ability and overall view are maximized in this position. The only drawback is that his ability to get rid of the original position is still lacking, but he is competent enough.

In other small and medium-sized clubs, young midfielders and forwards with characteristics and potential like Li Qi are definitely the focus of training. Tactics and formations are formulated around him. He can even play the way he wants and however he feels comfortable. There will be no loss in results and economic benefits.

However, this is a dilemma for Sevilla at the moment, and it is also the most tangled point for the current coaching staff, mainly because Li Qi is on loan. And looking at the current situation, Sevilla will almost certainly not be able to keep Li Qi next season. He will either be taken back by Barcelona or poached by another giant. In any case, the cost-conscious Sevilla is unlikely to spend a huge amount of money to buy him.

If the team makes major adjustments to the tactics around Li Qi, and he leaves next season, everything will have to be re-started, and the team's results may fall into an unstable period. However, if the team follows the thinking of the first half of the season, and Li Qi is only used as an auxiliary to the current core tactics, and it seems that he has limited help in solving the current problems faced by the team, then the team's results this season may be directly unstable...

The two factions were equally divided, each with its own arguments, and they could not agree on a solution for a while. Juan Ramos had not yet expressed his opinion: "After all, it takes time to make tactical adjustments around Li Qi. The UEFA Cup will start soon, and Sevilla will be fighting on three fronts. The schedule will be more intensive, so we still have to proceed step by step..."

But no matter what, let's do a comparative experiment in this weekend's league. Arrange Li Qi to play as an organizing forward in the first 60 minutes, and then retreat to play as an organizing midfielder in the last 30 minutes to see the effect first.

Well, we are away this weekend, right? Who is our opponent?

……

Damn, it’s another city derby. Why do we always play against Real Betis recently?

But it doesn't matter. I guess Fernandez's grandson will play defense again, which can also test the tactical effect.

We will make adjustments in the training sessions tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. In the group confrontation, we will move Li Qi to the position of organizing the defensive midfielder and let everyone adapt first..."

While the team was busy preparing for the derby against Real Betis on Saturday night, Ricardo was teaching Julian how to make dumplings at home, as dumplings are eaten during the Chinese New Year. As for the general cleaning, Ricardo arranged a professional team to take charge of it, and also secretly arranged a general cleaning for Room C1119...

On February 2007, 2, which was the traditional Chinese festival Little New Year, at 10 p.m., the Seville derby, a key battle of the 20nd round of the 06/07 Spanish Football League, kicked off at the home stadium of Real Betis.

Although Sevilla will travel to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, to challenge Steaua Bucharest in the UEFA Cup round of 32 next week, Juan Ramos still arranged for all his main players to play in the face of a deadly opponent in the same city!

It was still a 4-4-2 starting lineup, with No. 1 Palop as goalkeeper;

The left and right backs are No. 3 David and No. 4 Alves, and the double center backs are No. 14 Escude and No. 2 Navarro;

The left and right wingers are No. 6 Adriano and No. 15 Navas, and the double defensive midfielders are No. 8 Poulsen and No. 11 Renato;

The two forwards are No. 10 Fabiano and No. 7 Li Qi.

Kanoute, who had just returned from injury, and Korzakov, Mati, Maresca, Puerta and others were all on the bench.

However, as Juan Ramos expected, Fernandez once again used Zhou Tian's defensive formation. Not counting the goalkeeper, he deployed 8 defensive players, mainly playing a 4-4-1-1...

Moreover, Sevilla had a bad start in this game.

Less than 10 minutes after kick-off, Real Betis sent a free kick into Sevilla's penalty area. Alves rushed to protect the ball, but perhaps because he was not warmed up enough, his stop was a little too big without pressure.

Just when Alves was about to poke the ball to Renato at the top of the arc, the home team's Brazilian striker Sobis intercepted the ball that bounced away from Alves' body... and Alves' kick tripped Sobis.

Beep, penalty! Although the referee knew Alves didn't do it on purpose, he still decisively awarded a penalty. After all, a foul in the penalty area is a foul!

Shit! I shouldn't have stopped that damn free kick...

……