Chapter 248 Tactical Arrangements

After the warm-up, the team returned to their dressing room. At this time, the TV station has already begun to officially do the live broadcast of this game.

The pre-match analysis before the live broadcast, the collation of the starting lists of the two sides, the possible tactics, etc., all need to be explained by a group of commentators.

The starting line-ups for both sides have been announced. Both teams started a little bit in the final.

Atletico Madrid continued their usual starting line-up this season, except in the midfield position, the veteran Thiago was given the opportunity to start, he replaced Mario Suarez, and partnered captain Gabi in the back two. In such a tournament, Simeone's choice to field a veteran in midfield is a sign of stability.

In fact, any final has a so-called "big game without a name", and when it comes to the final, it is natural for both teams to choose some safe and safe strategies. This is understandable, which is why the classic scenes of the finals of the competition are so rare.

On Barcelona's side, the traditional 433 formation is shown on the TV screen. Goalkeeper Bravo, at the back are Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba. The strikers are still the MSN combination of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.

Barcelona's changes mainly appear in the midfield, due to the veteran Xavi's age, Barcelona's three starting midfielders are generally Inniesta, Busquets, and Rakitic, but Rakitic appeared on the bench in this game, and the player who started in place of him was Mathieu.

Normally, Barcelona's midfield is in an inverted triangle position, with Iniesta and Rakitic up front and Sergio Busquets lagging behind. But if Mathieu comes up, this position will be exquisite.

First of all, Mathieu is a defensive player, he mainly plays left wingback or central defender, Enrique chose to let Mathieu start the reason is also very understandable, the reason why Barcelona was played so badly by Atletico Madrid last time was that he was abused by Li Qingshan in air defense, so he sent Mathieu, who weighed 190 cm and weighed 86 kilograms, was obviously aimed at Li Qingshan - the existence of such a strong defensive player is somewhat of an obstacle for Li Qingshan.

But Mathieu is a defender, so where should he stand?

This is also after the starting list came out, the commentators of various TV stations also have their own opinions.

Most of them think that Mathieu is standing parallel to Busquets, Iniesta is in front, and the midfield forms a triangle, so that Atletico Madrid's barrier in front of the direction is more stable, so that it will not be quickly crushed by Atletico Madrid's direct long pass from the back like in the last game against Atletico Madrid.

It's just that this has changed Barcelona's long-term midfield position, and it is also a weakening of Barcelona's attack, which is a bit too risky.

There is also a view that Mathieu plays alone in the position of dragging the midfielder, and Busquets plays the position of the original midfielder Rakitic, but in this way, Mathieu, as a midfielder who drags the defense, can play a tandem role that is much inferior to Busquets.

There are even those who believe that Mathieu is a centre-back combination with Gerard Pique, with Mascherano playing in the midfield position - the younger is also a good player in the midfield.

In short, Mathieu's coming into that position is largely a matter of what Enrique's tactical thinking is.

..........

In the dressing room, neither coach went to discuss the opponent's line-up at this time.

Because there's really nothing to discuss.

Simeone and Enrique have chosen different tactics, but they are very much on the same page.

Some football coaches first think about limiting the opponent's play, and then on this basis, to hit the opponent's weak side and seek space on the wing.

The typical representative of this is the coach of Portugal, for example, Mourinho.

And some football coaches give priority to their own performance, emphasizing that they should end with me. The poster child for this type of coach is Pep Guardiola. Pep Guardiola's team, no matter who their opponents are, have basically the same tactical style of play.

There is no superiority or inferiority between these two lines of thought, and the two lines of thought can also be different in their expression.

Enrique and Simeone, although the styles of these two coaches are completely different, in terms of thinking, they still choose to focus on me.

Atletico Madrid also played counter-attacking, but Simeone's counter-attacking was not the same as Mourinho's. Simeone's counter-attack was an active counter-attack, not a bus in front of goal. Atletico Madrid's formation was very tight, and they started to press aggressively up front. Simeone's teams also tend to be very good at using physical confrontation. Therefore, it is rare to see Atletico Madrid have a scene of a hinged backfield with a bus.

......

In the dressing room, the players had already changed their clothes and looked at their manager.

Although Simeone has some concerns about the relaxed atmosphere of the team, he has not said anything at the moment.

'Boys, this is our last and most crucial game of the season. Win this game, and everyone present will go down in history! ”

Simeone's words were impassioned, but he immediately changed his mind.

"But it's not an easy 90 minutes, but if we have the slightest bit of a 'opponent is just that' thought, I'm sure we're going to lose!! ”

"The opponent is Barcelona!! I don't think I need to emphasize anything here about the quality of this team. We beat them a while ago, but don't forget that one game doesn't mean anything and that game won't help this game in any way – it's a new game and it's definitely not the same for Barcelona in this game and Barcelona in that game! ”

"We have to stay focused, gentlemen? Forget about the last game, clear the score of the last game from your head, and now the score is 0-0!! Always remember that!! ”

..........

"I know people have a headache with that big man's header, yes, we chose Jeremy to play just to play against him!"

In the dressing room in Barcelona, Enrique pointed to Mathieu and said.

"But we must not count on defense!! In this game, we are going to attack!! ”

"Possession of the ball!! Leo! ”

Enrique looked at Messi.

Messi nodded, signaling that he was listening.

"You take the ball back in midfield and use your skills to win us space on the ball. You know how to do it. You are the best in the world, either as a striker or as a midfielder. Enrique said.

Messi nodded, and he calmly promised to be called the best in the world.

Without one Rakitic, the attacking organization of the midfield is obviously too thin to rely on Iniesta alone, and Enrique's choice is to let Messi take on more work - Messi will have to go to the midfield and Iniesta to control the situation in the midfield, and also go to the front court and take on the responsibility of a striker to score.

He's Messi and he's capable of doing that.