Chapter 564: On the eve of the final
Before the World Cup final, all the media went crazy, whether sports media or not, to consume this grand event.
All kinds of beauties, supermodels, people in the entertainment industry, people in the fashion industry, well-known players who failed to enter the World Cup, well-known players who have been eliminated, celebrities from all over the world, fans, pseudo-fans, just trying to watch a lively ordinary audience...... All of them are consuming this world-renowned final.
This is also the last concentrated outbreak of the World Cup fever, and after the final, it will have to wait another 4 years.
The disturbance from outside could not affect the Brazilian team, who were preparing for the game.
Before the final, Dunga banned the players from giving interviews, banned the players from tweeting and posting on Facebook, and the team doctors and staff kept a close eye on the players' physical health, diet, mental state, etc., and everyone was working towards one goal - to beat Spain in the final.
In response to Spain's possession tactics, Dunga's response was to press high and cut off the ball and send it straight to both wings.
When there is no chance to counterattack, you control the ball yourself, and once the ball is broken, you will fight back on the spot, and do not give the opponent a chance to organize calmly.
This was actually a reference to Spain's tactics against Germany.
Spain used these tricks to kick Germany to the north, and the German team only had a pitiful 28% of the ball and did not have a few shots on goal throughout the game.
Brazil's possession is certainly not as good as this Spain team, which cannot be replicated. But Brazil also have their own characteristics, the speed and technique of the two wingers, the all-round striker Kaka, and the superb shooting skills of Ronaldo, which Spain does not have.
And Spain's Xavi and Iniesta are also coveted by the Brazilian team but cannot be obtained.
Both teams have their own advantages.
Spain also have a decent defensive system, conceding just two goals in their first six games, and both of those goals have come in the group stage.
In the three games in the knockout stage, they did not concede a single goal, winning three 1-0, the fewest goals conceded.
While much of the credit for this is due to Spain's firm possession of the ball and not giving their opponents many attacking opportunities, it also shows that their backline is not a soft persimmon.
In contrast, Spain's attacking prowess has only scored seven goals in six games.
It can be said that Spain has possession and defense, but lacks the means to make a final decision. They dominated most of the games and had a lot of shots, but they just didn't score.
Brazil, on the contrary, is the team with the most goals in the World Cup, and its attacking power is insane, with all kinds of 3, 4, and 5 goals to win, while Brazil's opponent is actually no weaker than Spain's opponent.
That's telling.
If Spain pulls out and fights Brazil, Brazil will not be afraid.
But if Spain keep possession of the ball, Brazil will also be speechless.
Dunga had to guess Spain's tactics and then adopt targeted tactics.
Spain will definitely have the ball, and if they don't have the ball, it won't be Spain. And what Spain is particularly good at is in possession, gradually mobilizing opponents, causing holes in the opponent's defensive system through passing, and then launching lethal through balls.
If Brazil doesn't pay attention to the way they press, it will give the opponent a chance to play behind.
So pressing is to press, but you must not rush indiscriminately, Dunga arranged a lot of training, requiring players to protect each other and maintain the defense line in the rush.
At the same time, he has also noticed some problems in the Spanish backline, with Puyol sometimes being a bit reckless and leaving a large gap behind him, which is something Ronaldo will be aware of.
In addition, the height of Spanish players is generally insufficient, and set-pieces are a sharp weapon against Spain, which must be used well, and there is no shortage of set-piece drills for the Brazilian team in the past few days.
Of course, Dunga wanted the battle to be resolved in 90 minutes, but it wasn't always so rosy.
Being dragged into extra time by Spain, or even into a penalty shootout, is a possibility.
So the team should also be prepared to take penalties.
If it goes to a penalty shoot-out, it must not fall short as it did in 2006.
In the past 8 meetings between the two teams, Brazil has 4 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses, which has a certain advantage. But the two teams haven't played each other for a long time, and Dunga doesn't know whether the Brazilian team's devastating attack can solve the opponent.
Despite all the arrangements, he still had no idea what to do.
Of course, in his pre-match press conference, he was confident: "We did everything we could to prepare, Spain is a strong opponent, but we are not weak opponents along the way. We have overcome all kinds of strong enemies and come here, and we have the confidence and belief that we will win. ”
He also did not forget to put psychological pressure on his opponents: "The process of the game will definitely not be easy, this is the final of the World Cup, everyone has to be careful and not dare to make mistakes. But I think I'm a little bit more experienced because we've reached the final of five World Cups in a row and Spain have never been to a World Cup final. I want to tell Bosque that the atmosphere in the final is completely different and if he thinks the final is about the same as the semi-final, the quarter-final, he will make a big mistake. The pressure on players in the World Cup final is not comparable to any other competition. ”
The old man Bosque said with a graceful attitude: "Thank you Dunga for your awakening, it is true that we have reached the final of the World Cup for the first time, but my players are not short of major tournament experience, most of them have played in important matches in the Champions League. And we won all the games except for the first defeat in the group stage, and we gradually found our rhythm and found our confidence. Even against Brazil, we won't give up our style of play. ”
After the press conference, Dunga was still unsure. In the evening, he called captain Licardo, vice-captain Kaka and the biggest star Ronaldo to his room for a short meeting.
"All three of you have played for Real Madrid and you should be very familiar with Barcelona. And as we all know, this Spanish team is based on Barcelona players. So what do you think we can do to make sure we win the game? ”
Ricardo felt bad. Tomorrow is game day and the manager doesn't have an idea, how can this be done?
In fact, Dunga led the Brazilian team to the World Cup, not because of his coaching level and experience, but because he was the captain of the 94 championship team and a proud disciple of Pereira, and the media generally believed that he took over the mantle of Pereira.
But in fact, Pereira's tactical thinking is actually outdated, and Dunga's biggest role in the team is to stabilize the morale of the army, balance the dressing room, and pinch the big-name Brazilian team together.
How good is his coaching? Not really.