PS: Milan and Inter share the San Siro Meazza stadium as the home stadium, in order to distinguish, Inter Milan calls the stadium Meazza when they are at home, and Milan calls the stadium San Siro when they are at home.

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"Dad, what is chain defense?"

Father Huang smacked his lips, although he knew the general meaning of chain defense, but it was half a bucket of water. I don't understand it thoroughly, let alone tell others.

Looking at Huang Wu's eyes full of anticipation, Huang's father could only bite the bullet and say: "Chain defense is to put the bus, but it is more advanced than the bus." ”

As he spoke, Father Huang slapped Huang Wu on the back of the head, "Watch the game carefully, you will understand if you watch more." ”

"Oh." Huang Wu hummed aggrievedly.

Traditionally, every team in the world of football has its own unique label, just like the long ball for England, the Netherlands, the short pass for Samba in Spain and Brazil, the tango of the Pampas Eagles, and of course the chain defense in Italy.

And the chain defense is not just what Huang's father said, it is more advanced than "the bus". If it is explained in this way, chain defense is a conscious hierarchical and active defense, and swinging the bus is a passive defense of "doing nothing". To put it simply, if the chain is broken and squeezed into a line, it is a bus, and the bus comes out to force a chain.

In fact, it was not an Italian who invented the chain defense, but a man named Karl. The Austrians of Lapan. At the time, he led a semi-professional team in Switzerland, which was very different from the rest of Europe.

Faced with a record of 32 games, 4 wins, 3 draws and 25 losses, Lapan racked his brains in order to improve the strength of the team.

"How to improve the strength of the team? Either find eleven players who are naturally very strong, and the level of all aspects is completely high-level, and they can gain an advantage in a 1v1 duel - such as Brazil; Or just integrate a specialized structure among the eleven ordinary people, so that all employees can maximize the value of the collective good. ”

Under Swiss conditions at the time, Lapan had no choice but to choose the latter. And how to strictly enforce tactical discipline without depriving the players of their freedom of thought and action, Lapan made a difficulty.

Eventually, the chain defence came into being, a tactic that saw Lapan win two league titles in Switzerland and five more in charge of Zurich.

The so-called chain defense, as the name suggests, means that the team's defensive formation is like two chains: one chain forces the attacking player in front and blocks the threatening passing line; A chain is used in the back for auxiliary protection.

Specifically, the chain defense is generally composed of 3 men in the front line and 4 men in the backline. One front and one back defend like two chains, with the front line taking care of the opponent and the back line waiting for opportunities to intercept and steal.

In the popular three-back formation, in fact, when the attack and defense are converted, it is not all the two wingbacks who pull back as full-backs, but the central defenders on both sides will pull to the side to defend, and then the back waist will be retracted into the penalty area to act as another central defender, or a configuration similar to 4+3.

The white squad leader held the notebook and looked at the text commentary of Jianghu-Football Network, and gradually had a certain understanding of chain defense in his brain: the Napoli central defender and the back line in the blue shirt formed two inseparable long chains, which resolved every attack of AC Milan invisibly.

In fact, it's pretty much the same in the stadium.

Overlooking the San Siro Stadium, two sky-blue chains blocked the Napoli goal, blocking every attack from Milan.

Although the chain defense has flourished in Italy, in recent years due to changes in the rules, few teams have played with this classical style of chain defense anymore.

Rare doesn't mean there isn't.

Although Napoli lined up with a 352 formation, it was basically maintained at 442 when defending. And Damir and Bellucci weren't just watching, as they formed the first line of defence near the halfway line, forcing the Milan players to start picking up the tempo near midfield.

As soon as the pace is fast, the requirements for tacit cooperation between team members will increase accordingly, and the error tolerance rate will also decrease.

Coupled with this kind of bus-like chain defense, even Weah, the World Footballer, could not dribble the ball into the Napoli penalty area.

In the 13th minute, the young Kluivert plunged headlong into the Napoli defensive formation.

Faced with Napoli's central and defensive lines, the Dutchman flickered and did everything he could to keep the ball under control.

But with Bardini and Longo, as well as the rest of the team, the young man who shines at Ajax struggles to maintain even the most basic balance.

I saw him staggering past Longo's tackle for a while, and staggering under Bardini's rampage. Under the repeated scrambling of the Napoli defenders, they still controlled the ball, which is enough to show their super personal strength.

But for Kluivert, this is already the limit.

Georges Weah and Leonardo are both not far from Kluivert, but how can the Dutchman have the heart to observe the position of his teammates at this time?

He stumbled to control the ball and barely managed to balance under the "point-and-click" defence of the Napoli defenders.

Once, twice, three times...

It wasn't until Malawian suddenly appeared from the other side and squeezed Kluivert away with his body that the "trapped beast fight" finally came to an end.

The Dutchman, who fell to the ground, did not win the sympathy of the referee, as several of Napoli's defendings were within the "reasonable" range. Because of this reasonable foul, it is difficult to blow the whistle even at home stadium.

After Napoli broke the ball, they quickly launched a counterattack from the left side again.

Ayala, who was deployed at left-back, quickly stepped forward after his team won the ball, and the ball came right at his feet.

Ayala quickly passed through the midfield after winning the ball, and in the face of the defense of the Milan central defender, Ayala delayed the time left and right, as if waiting for something.

When Albertini couldn't resist stepping forward to make a tackle, the Argentine defender flew straight up with his right foot and hoisted the ball into the Milan box again.

Maldini pushed Damir into a high jump and cleared the ball to the side of the fall.

Veteran Rossi held the ball in both hands and announced the end of Napoli's counter-attack.

Capello stood on the sidelines, anxiously pacing back and forth.

Kluivert's height, strength, explosiveness, bounce, flexibility are all excellent, and his speed is not slow. On the pitch, the Dutchman can make a lot of difficult ball-possession and scrambles. His style of play is extremely tough and he is not afraid of high-intensity physical confrontations.

Technically, Kluivert is very good on the ball, adept at heading over the ball and carrying the ball with his back. In addition, Kluivert's outstanding playmaking and coordination awareness among the strikers is also very high, and he can often play a fulcrum and a big diversion role in the penalty area, and drive his teammates in the back row to score goals.

Moreover, Kluivert's pull-back organisation is also very good, not inferior to other midfielders. The only drawback of such a modern striker is that he does not have a strong sense of smell in front of goal and lacks the ability to take chances.

But even so, Kluivert is still a sought-after centre-forward across Europe.

It's such an almost all-round striker, but he still falls under Napoli's chain defence. The players who defended him were not as valuable as the Dutchman, but in the end, the Dutchman's attack ended without a problem.

This is the biggest role of chain defense!

As a temporary "tinkerer" hired by Milan, Capello has a big general but can't command like his arm. Kluivert's ability is very well-rounded, but it is difficult to make a difference against chain defense.

The chain defence is not unsolvable, and against Inter Milan, Vincenzo did not let his team execute such a tactic.

The reason is simple, Inter Milan has an alien Ronaldo!

In the face of top strikers who are super capable of fighting individually and are extremely good at breaking through, chain defense may even become a burden to the team. Although Kluivert's skills are comprehensive, his breakthrough ability is far inferior to that of Ronnie at his peak. Once caught up in a chain defence, even the supernova who scored the winning goal in the 1995 Champions League final was helpless.

Facing Napoli's chain defence, Capello actually struggled.

Looking at Kluivert, who looked aggrieved on the ground, and then at Weah, who was constantly running and interspersed, Capello sighed: "If Weah were five years younger, this chain defense would be no different from a papier-mâché." ”

Speaking of World Footballer of the Year, George Weah, he not only has the innate physical strength and fast running characteristics of African players, but also has a comprehensive foot technique and header skills. As a young man, Weah was a nightmare for almost all defenders when he ran up, not only scoring goals, but also scurrying around the opposition defence to help his team-mates create chances, and never greedy when it mattered most.

Such a striker is qualified to fight against chain defense on his own, but unfortunately Weah is 32 years old this year, and he really can't rush.

Kluivert was too young and immature, and Weah was already old.

Milan will need patience and time if they want to penetrate Napoli's chain defence.

But either way, it's a luxury for Milan at the moment!

Someone has studied the Milan derby, although Milan and Inter Milan are at the same stadium, in the derby, it is often the "away" team that wins more often.

This is because for the "away team", this is the home field, so there is no psychological barrier, and the relative kick will be very relaxed; But for the "home team", the pressure on the fans and the club and the players themselves will be slightly greater, and in order to take the lead or win at the "home", the fans will also urge the players to seize the time to attack.

In this way, in the case of an unbalanced mentality, the "home team" often loses to the "away team".

The same is true for today's game.

Napoli playing away from home has no desire, even if it is a 0-1 loss, the team can accept it. So the team defended with all its might, the offense was insufficient, and there was no psychological burden at all.

Milan is different.

They are desperate to defeat their opponents, taunting their sworn enemies with a victory. So it's impossible for fans to want to see the home team play in a "slow and meticulous" way.

"Goals, Victories!!" It is the phrase that Milan fans shout the most at the moment.

Fabio Capello was busy on the sidelines, and fans were urging the home team to attack quickly and score quickly; Instead, he had to tell every player on the sidelines to run too far forward to be slower, to attack more slowly, to be patient.

In this way, the players are also conflicted.

Facing an opponent at the bottom of the relegation zone, they can't win with a wide open. This feeling is simply too hard!

In the 28th minute, Kluivert couldn't hold back any longer and shot directly from 25 meters away.

The ball flew straight through the air and flew straight to the Napoli goal, and the fans were delighted to find that the ball had hit the frame.

But before he could cheer for Kluivert's marksmanship, Acchulian in front of the Napoli goal stretched out his hands and intercepted the ball.

“OU，OU，OU，OU！！！” Seeing the goal of Acchulian, the Napoli fans let out a series of shouts again.

“OU，OU，OU，OU！！！” Inter fans also cheered.

"Fake, that damn goalkeeper again!" Hearing the familiar voice, Milan fans gritted their teeth with hatred.

"Can't he get rid of it?"

"Can't he just make a mistake like Rosie?"

Milan fans gritted their teeth, hoping that Acchulian would be like their old goalkeeper Rossi, with the occasional butter hand or something.

They believe that as soon as the home team scores one goal, the second and third goals will follow. This so-called bus will be worthless in front of the home team with high morale.

Naples isn't just about buses!

On the sidelines, Vincenzo hugged his shoulders and looked at the pitch triumphantly.

"As I said, we have the ability to 'deal with' Milan. It's not just about 'dealing with' their attacks! ”

Gradually, Capello also saw the clues.

A very important factor in chain defense is that the team spends 8 to 9 players focusing on defense and handing over the ball. As a result, the team's offensive ability will be seriously lacking.

Therefore, in the eyes of the British, who like to open and close widely, the chain defense symbolizes passivity, utilitarianism, stingy attack, opportunism, only caring about the result and not caring about the scene, and even unscrupulous means on and off the field, reflecting the "dark side" of football in front of the public. Even if future generations cannot deny its status, it will never be able to do it willingly.

Yes, even England, the birthplace of modern football, cannot deny the status of chain defence in football. Because in the 60s, there was a Serie A club that carried this tactic forward.

Chain defense has never been a "power of the weak", and when Inter Milan used it to conquer the world, it was completely "justified". And the chain defense is also engraved into the bone marrow of Italian football.

The era of the Inter Milan era created by the elder Moratti and coach Herrera is based on a fantastic lineup, coupled with Herrera's original enhanced chain defense.

Herrera's chain defense is special, starting with the addition of a scavenger behind three defenders, just like the rest of the chain defense. But unlike wing-backs, when defending, it is the right winger who pulls back to help defend, while the two forwards hold the opponent one after the other.

Defensively, there are still two long chains, but offensively, Herrera has come up with a brilliant approach.

As the right winger drops back, the burden on the left-back is reduced accordingly. In attack, the left-back plugs in quickly, strikes vertically, and does not exceed three passes to the opponent's penalty area, reducing horizontal passes as much as possible.

In this way, under the extreme defense, the chain formation has added a sharp attacking method, and Inter Milan has won three league titles and two Champions League titles in that era.

Napoli's chain defense today is quite a shadow of the big days of Milan, with the right midfielder dropping back and the left-back moving forward. The transition between attack and defense was quick, and the long ball rushed straight into the Milan penalty area. Hitting the goal threatens the Milan goal, and if you can't play, it can also make Milan shrink the formation and waste physical strength, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

And attacking is a dispensability for Napoli, but if Milan make a defensive mistake, the sky is falling.

So whether it's Maldini or Desailly, these Milan stars have played a hundred and twenty points in the face of every Napoli attack. After all, Rossi behind them is old, maybe the real butter hand misses a ball to the opponent, it will be miserable!

"Vincenzo, you're a kid!" Capello rolled his eyes in hatred on the sidelines.

Using Inter's famous tactics to fight Milan, you can really think of it.

Faced with Napoli, who occasionally steals chickens, Capello gritted his teeth.

"In that case, then don't blame me!" Capello looked at Napoli's backline and rolled his eyes a few times, "You want to replicate the style of play in the era of Big Mi to deal with Milan, have you ever thought that now the rules have changed, and the times are different." You don't have the core components of a chain defense, and what you put out is just a cat and a tiger! ”

As he spoke, Capello waved his hand and gave the players on the field another offensive order.

After the coach's instructions were passed down layer by layer, the Milan players were in high spirits and had a backbone in their hearts.

In the 35th minute, Albertini again carried the ball past the midfield. This time, he didn't look for a breakthrough, nor did he look for a teammate who could break through with the ball.

After stopping the ball and observing it for a while, he suddenly got up with a long pass and hit Bardini and Malawian behind him.

For a time, Napoli was in turmoil at the back.

The 1.85m George Weah and the 1.89m Kluivert cut in at high speed, and whoever competed for the header would cause Napoli a lot of problems.

And the two of them have good header skills and obvious body advantages, and it is difficult for Napoli to have the upper hand in the 1v1 confrontation with the last two defenders.

Without getting a position in advance, the ball has a good chance of being taken by the attacker.

But just as Capello was secretly complacent, there was another cry from the visitors' stands.

“OU，OU，OU，OU！！！”

In Capello's dilated pupils, on the line of the Napoli penalty area, a black figure suddenly jumped high. Grabbed the head of Kluivert and knocked the ball out of the penalty area with a single fist.

Albertini's long pass to the target was hung up, and in this way, it ended without a problem under the attack of Ouchulian.

"What? When did he get out? ”

In Capello's impression, how can a goalkeeper have the ability to attack so quickly? Unless...

Looking at Ou Chuliang, who was standing still before retreating to the small forbidden area line, it was only after a while that Capello spit out two words from his mouth: "Door latch?!" ”

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