On the first day of the club's training camp, Pato found Zhang Sheng and made a transfer request.

In fact, what Pato wants to go, Zhang Sheng has already prepared.

As early as before the AFC Champions League final, Pato's agent Kilmar Veros had contacted Zhang Sheng many times, asking Zhang Sheng in a probing tone whether Pato's previous promise when he transferred to the Longteng team had worked.

At the beginning, in order to introduce Pato, Zhang Sheng made a promise: once a European team is interested in introducing him, as long as the price is right, he will not do anything to stop him.

Apparently, Pato, who now feels that he has recovered his form, wants to go.

Pato's 30 league goals this season broke Elkeson's record of 28 goals in the Chinese Super League last year, and then scored eight goals in the AFC Champions League, ranking second in the scorers list by one goal.

His results can be said to be extremely dazzling, and there is also a very good news that since the second season in the Chinese Super League, his injuries seem to be gone, even if there will be a short-term injury trouble, most of them are a week or two, and the comeback time is also very, very fast.

It can be said that in the eyes of the outside world, Pato seems to have returned to his peak both in competitive and physical condition.

By the end of the league period, as many as four or five European clubs had asked the Dragons about Pato's transfer, including teams from the top five leagues such as the Premier League and La Liga.

Kilmar Vilos has also been in talks with the Dragons on this topic on several occasions.

For Pato, it was a stopgap measure before coming to China, and it was a good choice to get an annual salary of 350 euros and adjust his condition during his trough period, but after his form recovered, there were European teams interested, and the temptation was very great, especially now that the time has come to 2016, and the 2018 World Cup in Russia is only more than 2 years away.

Pato, who has always had the dream of returning to the Brazilian national team, is alive again.

It's just that Pato now is too different from history - he already has his own wife, and he will soon have his own children, and his wife is Chinese, and he has to think about her and his children.

During this time, Pato and Lu Shuang had a long discussion.

As a typical Chinese woman, Lu Shuang embodies a fearless spirit of sacrifice, and she has made the greatest support for her husband's career - as long as you have a pursuit of career, I will do my best to cooperate with you, and if you want to go to Europe, I will accompany you to Europe.

After receiving Lu Shuang's firm support, Pato took the initiative to find Zhang Sheng.

In the transfer of players, especially the core players of the club, it is not too wise to take the initiative to find a manager.

Because maintaining the stability of the team is the first priority for the manager, the departure of key players has never been what the manager wants to see. Nowadays, the core players of many teams want to find another way to find a high branch is that the agent first contacts the team, and then mentions it to the head coach, once the head coach does not agree, he will put pressure on the media and fight in training.

It's very rare for Pato to take the initiative and let the manager prepare first and then go to the club himself, after all, the manager has a hundred ways to delay the transfer and keep the player from leaving.

By doing this, Pato trusts Zhang Sheng's previous promise.

Regarding Pato's departure, Zhang Sheng was ready for both from the first day he entered the team.

If Pato, as he has recovered from in history, can only reach the level of foreign aid at the level of the Chinese Super League, let him stay in the team, and if Pato can really return to the level of his peak, he will leave sooner or later, then choosing a good candidate has become a matter of preparation.

Zhang Sheng didn't think about it for long, but worried about Pato: "I don't stop going to Europe, the winter window of the five major leagues is almost a month away, and it's the right time to contact the club first." But you have to think about it. Once you're in Europe, it's hard to have such a relaxed atmosphere as the Dragons. ”

Pato is well aware of the looseness that Zhang Sheng is referring to.

When Pato first came to the team, he had a not very good time, it was Zhang Sheng who gave him enough trust to adjust his condition, let his teammates play with him, give him the best environment when he was injured, and did not urge him because of the team's declining results, and at the same time, Zhang Sheng also did his best to create an undisturbed environment in his personal matters.

In Europe, in the big five leagues, there would never be such a thing.

Now Pato is no longer the "golden boy" who shocked Europe back then, he is a waste man who was exiled by Europe and came to the Chinese Super League, the "football desert" in the impression of Europeans, and "degraded himself".

Not to mention that Pato is still surrounded by beautiful women like before, singing every night, even if you train hard, if you can't score a goal on the field, it will be immediately refrigerated.

Historically, Pato also went to Chelsea in the Premier League at the beginning of 2016, what was the result?

Because of the lack of goals, did not meet the club's expectations, was sold to Villarreal in La Liga in minutes, in fact, the Chelsea first team at that time was very lacking in strikers, only Diego Costa, Falcao and Remy three strikers, and often plagued by injuries, and even had the dilemma of not having a striker available in the game.

You must know that Pato at that time refused Quan Jian's annual salary of 8 million euros to go to Chelsea.

After being sold by Chelsea to Villarreal, which is also lacking strikers, the club that is not a giant is not optimistic about him, speaking of which Pato scored 2 goals in Villarreal's La Liga in half a season, 1 goal in the Champions League qualification, 2 goals in the Europa League, and 1 goal in the Copa del Rey.

This performance is not too bad, and in the end it was not sold to the Chinese Super League.

Therefore, Pato now does not have any capital to make mistakes.

After listening to Zhang Sheng's words, Pato, who has always been smiling and grinning, nodded very seriously and said, "I still want to try." ”

"Since you have chosen, then I can only bless. Zhang Sheng gave his own answer, "In the upcoming Club World Cup, we will meet opponents who are far stronger than all clubs in Asia, are you ready?"

"I think I can't wait to perform. Pato laughed.

Zhang Sheng then contacted Kilmar Vilos directly and told him that the club had agreed to Pato's transfer, and at the same time asked the club to start the selection of foreign players.

For this Club World Cup, Zhang Sheng's preparation is still very sufficient.

Since winning the Chinese Super League, Zhang Sheng has begun to adjust the team's tactical play, that is, to move the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation closer to 3-5-2.

The 3-5-2 formation is a very old formation, the Argentine team first created this formation in 1986, with a strong midfield control ability to control the game, because the midfielder is large in number, the strength is strong, and the midfielder wins the world, of course, it can also be seen as a variant of the 3-4-3 or 5-3-2 formation.

He was born out of the fight against the traditional 4-4-2, the most dominant tactical system in modern football.

Compared with the formation of four central defenders and two central defenders, three central defenders will always be more abundant than two central defenders to deal with two forwards, and then three central defenders can place a central midfielder to strengthen the control of the midfield, and at the same time with two wingbacks of three central defenders, there is more tactical freedom than two fullbacks, and the configuration of the last two forwards can be matched with the opponent's two central defenders, giving midfielders room to step forward.

Later, with Italy's contribution to the chain defense, a group of super powerful defenders allowed Italy to carry forward the 3-5-2 formation, which at that time could be said to be "suddenly like a spring breeze overnight, Serie A popular back three." ”

As this formation spread, more and more teams won the tournament with 3-5-2, with West Germany winning the 1990 World Cup, Brazil winning the 1994 World Cup, Germany winning the 1996 European Championship, and even the 4-4-2 England finalists tried 3-5-2 in the 90s.

However, with the prevalence of the 4-2-3-1 single striker formation, the tactical weakness of the three central defenders is very obvious, because what can be done by two central defenders, three people are too luxurious, and one more central defender will definitely have one less person in the midfield and the front court.

The final 4-3-3 all-attacking and all-defensive line-up was the last straw that overwhelmed the three centre-backs, so the back three suffered from the abandonment of the vast majority of teams in the first decade of the century.

However, with the strong rise of Barcelona, the emergence of the central defender and even the goalkeeper of the ball, so that the central defender is no longer a limited clearer, and now football has more flexible positioning requirements for players, so that the midfielder has also begun to serve as a central defender, and the technical advantage allows them to effectively transfer the ball and control the ball in key areas.

This style of play with the flow of the ball accompanied by Barcelona's near-invincible record has made them the object of adoration of all teams, so much so that countless "XXX Barcelona" have begun to appear.

Soon, however, with the advent of Dortmund's 4-4-2 aggressive, organised and coordinated pressing formation, and the later more efficient and disciplined pressing style of Atletico Madrid, this style of play that does not pursue possession and can rely on less well-known players to "do more with less" began to prevail again.

It is precisely the three-centre-back system that can cope with such a two-striker lineup, coupled with the development trend of the aforementioned players' specialization and multi-ability, this most fluid and efficient formation has also become the trend of modern football, and the 3-5-2 formation has also begun to slowly revivenation.

Of course, football is a game of space: maximizing the space for your own talented players and limiting the opponent's attacking space, the formation is not static, but needs to be adjusted randomly during the game.

Zhang Sheng dared to use this formation, because he had his own confidence.

The 3-5-2 formation has very high requirements for the players, this formation requires 3 good central defenders, two of which must have a good turning and chasing speed, the middle one has the ability to organize the ball, and the two fullbacks on both sides of the midfield must have very good running ability.

In the end, though, it's too complicated.

But Zhang Sheng, as a man holding the system, has a bunch of items available, and it would be a waste not to make good use of this complex and powerful formation.

In terms of staffing, the Longteng team now fits well with the 3-5-2 formation.

Among the three central defenders, Ma Yongli's physical confrontation ability is relatively not so strong, but he has a good ability to kick the ball, Lu Zhihui and Du Zhenyu, the two central defenders have body and speed, and when they are beaten by the opponent in the ribs, the ability to chase back is absolutely enough.

In the midfield position, Roque Gil can be used as a midfielder, retreat can be a central defender, and Zhang Hao, who replaces his midfielder, has a long history of playing as a central defender;

Even if Lin Feng transfers away, Xiong Jian, who has a slight ability but has the same characteristics as him, is absolutely qualified as a substitute; of course, Qi Ming, as Zhang Sheng's "ten-year back" candidate, once he grows up, the midfield control of the Longteng team will be unprecedentedly strong.

On both sides of the midfield, Pato and Ben Arfa were the objects that Zhang Sheng relied on the most, but now that Pato is leaving, Zhang Sheng must buy a foreign player who is suitable for tactics - active running, strong technical ability at the feet, and good breakthrough and shooting skills.

Even so, there are Yu Bo on both sides of the midfield, Tao Wentao has extremely rich game experience and ability, and among the players in reserve, Ni Kai, Cao Jinghao and other players with higher potential are also worth looking forward to.

As for the two wingbacks, it is the focus of Zhang Sheng's call-up, not to mention Xiang Tiange and Shen Jun, who have already shown their ability at the World Junior Championships, and Peng Langjun and Tian Qijie are both players with a potential value of 120 or above, so it is perfect for them to play the most demanding position in the 3-5-2.

Finally, on the forward line, Zou Weijia has definitely enough to deal with the scene at the Asian level, not to mention the all-round strikers in the front court like Nie Jiang and Chavez.

In the last three rounds of the Chinese Super League, Zhang Sheng used this formation to play, which once made the outside world very confused.

At that time, although some people speculated that Zhang Sheng was going to adjust the tactical play of the Longteng team, the people who believed it were a minority after all, because the Longteng team relied on its 4-2-3-1 to win the Chinese Super League championship all the way and reached the final of the AFC Champions League, which proves that the existing tactics of the Longteng team are definitely ahead.

When a team has a poor record, it will think about changing its tactics to get good results, but it is rare for a coach to suddenly change his tactics when his team's results are proud, because it is very likely that the team's performance will plummet because of his own play with fire.

At that time, many people thought that Zhang Sheng's change of formation was due to the incomplete lineup of players - because Shen Jun and Xiang Tiange were both playing the World Junior Championship at that time, and the number of substitutes for fullbacks was indeed small, and it was not a corresponding method to play three central defenders according to the existing staffing.

And later in the two AFC Champions League games, Zhang Sheng still insisted on playing 4-2-3-1, which proved the point of speculation from the outside world.

Of course, when Zhang Sheng insisted on 4-2-3-1, another argument is also very marketable, that is, it is widely believed that Chinese players have a very low ability to accept and understand tactics, and can only play a very rigid 4-2-3-1 with fixed position requirements.