April 20, People's Park Stadium.

In the 31st round of the Bundesliga, Hamburg hosted Wolfsburg.

This game will be crucial for both sides.

Hamburg will have to secure their lead over Bayern, while Wolfsburg, who are currently sixth in the table, will also be in contention for Europa League qualification.

However, because Hamburg will usher in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid in four days, Pan Yi still made a rotation in this game.

And Wolfsburg, which fought on a single front, did not have such concerns, and they sent all the main forces.

Striker: Olich.

Front: Perisic, Alexander-Arnold, Caligiuri.

Defenders: Polak, Gustavo.

Defenders: Ronaldo, Knoch, Naldo, Trasch.

Goalkeeper: Glenn.

But such a line-up does not seem to be able to stop Hamburg at home.

They launched one onslaught after another at the positions of Wolfsburg.

In the 6th minute, Mitrovic received a cross from the left wing, stopped the ball on his chest at the back of the penalty area, and the shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, and then Lin Zhijian cut inside on the right wing and shot from a distance, which was blocked by the goalkeeper.

In the 10th minute, Janssen's cross was blocked, and after the ball bounced out, Calhanoglu shot a powerful curling ball, and Glenn held it up with one palm.

In the 12th minute, Wu Lei's left wing dribbled past Trasch, burst into the penalty area and shot at a small angle, but was also blocked by Glenn.

In the 16th minute, Paulinho split the ball in the middle, Wu Lei pushed the left rib of the penalty area, and the ball rebounded against the opponent and hit himself to pop up the bottom line.

Hamburg's successive attacks finally paid off after three minutes.

In the 19th minute, Makoto Hasebe made a long pass, Paulinho faked a real pass, and Wu Lei received a straight ball on the left side of the penalty area and calmly shot into the upper corner of the goal, 1:0!

Although the visiting players protested that Makoto Hasebe had fouled Gustavo before launching a long pass, the referee ignored it and the goal was valid!

After that, Hamburg's attack did not stop because of the lead.

In the 22nd minute, Calhanoglu made a free kick and took it himself, volleying high.

One minute later, Calhanoglu played a deftly through ball and Mitrovic faced the goalkeeper in the middle of the penalty area, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced.

In the 27th minute, Mitrovic split the ball, and Paulinho turned around in front of the arc and shot a powerful long-range shot.

In first-half stoppage time, Kjaer headed high from a corner.

At half-time, neither side made any substitutions.

Hamburg used this rotation lineup to suppress Wolfsburg and take the lead, and Pan Yi was naturally very satisfied.

So he's going to let these guys go straight to the bottom and get more rest time for the main players.

On the Black Gold side, because he is already the main force, he can only make some tactical adjustments on the existing personnel and try to recover the disadvantage in the second half.

But at the start of the second half, Hamburg went from strength to strength to the cheers of the fans and did not give Wolfsburg any chance.

In the 51st minute, Wu Lei passed diagonally, and Mitrovic's left-footed volley was confiscated by the goalkeeper.

2 minutes later, Makoto Hasebe made a diagonal pass, Lin Zhijian volleyed from the right rib of the penalty area, and the ball hit the opponent's head and popped off the bottom line.

In the 56th minute, Calhanoglu took a free kick in front of the penalty area. He got up and shot and the ball went straight into the top left corner of the goal! 2：0！

Such a situation on the field, coupled with a two-goal lead, has almost announced the arrival of Hamburg's three points.

In the 59th minute, Wu Lei made a cross from the left wing, and Mitrovic's header was confiscated by Glenn.

1 minute later, Wu Lei turned around at the top of the arc and shot, but was also held down by Glenn.

In the 62nd minute, Lin Zhijian's right wing got rid of multiple defenders in a row, burst into the penalty area and fired a low shot into the side netting.

In the 84th minute, Janssen crossed from the left, and Mitrovic shook his head and headed wide.

In the end, Hamburg won 2-0 at home to Wolfsburg!

While winning these precious three points, Hamburg also ended their bad record of three consecutive draws and finally won the game!

Bayern, meanwhile, have picked up their form as they beat bottom-of-the-table underdogs Braunschweig 2-0 away from home.

The simultaneous victory of the two teams also kept the difference between them at 7 points.

However, there are only 3 rounds left in the league!

In other words, as long as Pan Yi's team wins Mainz away in the next round, no matter what Bayern's result is, Hamburg will win the Bundesliga championship two rounds in advance!

But before that, Pan Yi has to face an equally important match.

That is the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, home to Atletico Madrid!

……

Since it was confirmed that the opponent in the Champions League semi-finals was Atletico Madrid, Pan Yi has not stopped studying this tough team.

Whether it's the data research he took from Nagelsmann, the business discussion with Pep Guardiola, or his own study of "Simeone's Mad Dog Tactics: Bandits Have Temperament" in the system tactics course......

Because Pan Yi has a hunch, this may be a severe test for Hamburg and for him.

Simeone's ability to use a retro 442 formation to gain a foothold in La Liga and the Champions League is definitely not in vain!

Their defense is indeed very strong, but it is difficult to pry the goal of the weak teams in La Liga by relying on defense alone.

After all, although Atletico Madrid will put a big bus when facing Real Madrid and Barcelona, they are a "strong team" in front of many teams and also need to score.

If it's all 0:0, how can they bite Real Madrid Barcelona in the standings and gradually achieve overtaking?

So Simeone actually has a set of offensive adjustments.

Pan Yi found that Simeone was able to switch from the most solid shield (4-4-2) to the sharp spear (4-3-3) through the position changes of the all-round players on the field.

Simeone made adjustments to the movement of players in various positions on the pitch during the ball phase.

When the ball is in the midfield area, one wing-back moves forward to the central penalty area to form the central attack point of the third striker, leaving the wing space for the full-back behind him.

At the same time, the other wing-back moves forward to the central area to the top of the arc of the penalty area behind the striker (the forward midfield) position, and occupies the entire width of the field with the two full-backs who are inserted in the back.

At this time, the two midfielders pull away to the side, forming a triangle position relationship and passing line with the wingback (front midfielder) in front of them, and at the same time forming a triangle position relationship and passing line with the fullback (front midfielder) and the fullback on the same side, and the defensive level can also avoid the opponent taking advantage of the vacant position behind the fullback after losing the ball in the midfield.

As a result, the number of people involved in the attack in the front court has been adjusted from 4-5 under the original 4-4-2 formation to 6 under the 4-3-3 formation, and the attack power is naturally greatly enhanced.

At present, in the 34th round of La Liga, Atletico Madrid has risen to the first place in the standings, and they naturally conceded the highest number of goals in La Liga, only conceding 22 goals.

In terms of goals, they also have 74 goals, an average of two goals per game!

This is second only to Real Madrid and Barcelona in the entire La Liga, and it also shows that Simeone's tactics are not weak in attack.

Therefore, in the training and preparation meetings of the Hamburg team, Pan Yi has always emphasized to the coaches and players that while everyone is preparing to fight a tough battle, they must also beware of Atletico Madrid's change of formation attack at any time!

Otherwise, the opponent suddenly changed the formation, and if the Hamburg players were not mentally prepared, they were likely to be caught off guard by Atletico Madrid.

After studying the data submitted by Nalgersmann and watching recent footage from Atletico, Pan Yi also found some points that were not mentioned in the system tutorial.

That is, this season's Atletico Madrid also abandoned the traditional "two wings fly together" mode in attack, and instead adopted a method similar to the "fullback adduction" used by Pan Yi in Hamburg.

In the attacking phase of the midfield wing, Simeone abandoned the "ineffective" area on the weak wing.

The same side of the wingback with the ball is inserted forward to the middle to form a three-striker position, the change is that the back midfielder replaces the weak side of the winger to complete the forward occupation of the top area of the arc of the big penalty area, and the position of the weak side of the side of the forward retreat completes the protection of the weak side and maintains the longitudinal balance of the overall formation.

The weak full-back inserts diagonally forward into the rib area of the opponent's defense to form a de facto "double forward midfield", forming a "3-2" echelon attack point and a wing pass receiving point in the middle.

At the same time, the fullback's own defensive attributes and the "3-2" positional relationship formed by the two central defenders behind him and the two midfielders in parallel positions are used to enhance the on-the-spot counter-attack after losing the ball in the middle area of the midfield, and stifle the opponent's counterattack.

These changes are something that the "original" Simeone did not have, or in the normal timeline, Atletico would not use such tactics for at least a few more years.

This also illustrates some subtle changes that Pan Yi's crossing has brought to the current world football.

He brings with him state-of-the-art tactical ideas, which have been learned and applied to their own teams by coaches who are adept at delving into tactics.

That's true for Pep Guardiola, and it's true for Simeone.

Of course, Simeone's trump card is defense.

After several years of running-in and adjustment, Simeone equipped Atletico Madrid with the "trump card" that Atletico Madrid relies on - high-intensity and high-system defense.

In the midfield area, unlike the most popular high pressing strategy in football today, Simeone's team has maintained as much stability as possible in the overall defensive formation, always placing the overall formation between the football and the goal.

The four players in the midfield line have changed to a diamond-shaped position, slowing down the speed and amplitude of the opponent's offensive advance by increasing the depth of the middle, and at the same time, the whole team has recycled to their own half to complete the construction of the defensive system in the middle and low posts.

In the central and backfield areas, the overall formation of the team returned to the 4-4-2 formation or 5-3-2 formation in parallel positions, and the three defensive lines always followed the principle of "between the football and the goal".

At the same time, the overall horizontal and vertical compression, the principle of area marking is used to clarify the defensive area of each player and their respective moving lines, combined with the principle of assisting defense in each specific area to cut off the opponent's passing line and compress the opponent's vertical offensive space, and maximize their natural numerical advantage as a defender.

While reducing the height of the recovery of the ball, the simplification of the defensive to offensive phase and the effective handling of the ball can minimize the threat of the opponent's high pressing.

These defensive tactics that are unique to Simeone, combined with his hand-picked players who can execute his tactics like "mad dogs", have taken Atletico's strength up a few notches.

Objectively speaking, in this season, Atletico Madrid and Simeone do have the subjective and objective capital to stand on the top of Europe.

It's a pity that in Pan Yi's previous life, they met Real Madrid, who was no worse than them in the final.

And in this life, Pan Yi has to find a way for him to keep Atletico out of the final!

……

April 24 evening, Hamburg, Volkspark Stadium.

In the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, Hamburg's home match against Atletico Madrid is about to begin!

Amid the cheers of more than 50,000 Hamburg fans, the atmosphere of the game was ignited when the players of the two teams slowly walked into the stadium under the leadership of the referee team.

The flags waving everywhere, the scarves waving, and the waving hands all give the stadium an unparalleled atmosphere.

And tonight's two teams are obviously also playing with an all-main lineup.

Hamburg still adopts the 433 formation that they are best at.

Forwards: Son Heung-min, Vardy, Salah.

Midfielders: N'Golo Kante, Casemiro, De Bruyne.

Defenders: Robertson, Rudiger, Van Dijk, Carvajal.

Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas.

And Simeone also faced the 442 formation played by Atletico Madrid.

Forwards: Villa, Diego Costa.

Midfielders: Koke, Gabi, Thiago Mendes, Raul Garcia.

Defenders: Felipe, Godin, Miranda, Juanfrán.

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois.

It's also a regular set of Atletico Madrid's squad for this season.

On the bench, striker Adrian, midfielders Alda Turan, Diego, Jose Sosa, including defenders Alderweireld and Mario Suarez, are actually all relied on by Simeone.

When the starting 11 players can't open the situation for a while, Simeone will often adjust the lineup in a timely manner, and combine his formation change tactics to achieve his tactical goals.

Of course, when playing hard, Simeone will still believe in the current starting line-up more.

And this happened to be Pan Yi's expectation.

……

When the head coaches of the two sides shook hands, Simeone still had the same expressionless face as always, and immediately sat back in his coach's seat after shaking hands, not even bothering to say a word to Pan Yi.

Pan Yi didn't feel anything about it.

After all, there is no friendship between the two sides, and today is also the first time they have played each other, and the tactical styles of the two are quite different, and it seems that there is really nothing to talk about......

Plus isn't that what Simone's character is?

Straight to the point, in a hurry, what kind of polite words to say, free of it.

This is still before the game, if he loses, he is not happy, and even the formalities of shaking hands with you are waived.

The name of the bandit is worthy of the name.

But when both of them sat back in their seats, ten minutes after the game officially began, Simeone couldn't help but glance at the home team's bench, his eyes full of appreciation.

"This kid is really not simple." Simeone thought to himself.

Of course, he studied Pan Yi's tactics before today's game, and also studied Pan Yi as a person.

He also knows Pan Yi's contribution during Milan's treble, and what Pan Yi did after coming to Hamburg.

Simeone actually admired some of Pan Yi's tactical innovations, and even kneaded some of Pan Yi's practices into his own set of 442, and made up for what he felt was a little flawed but couldn't think of a way to solve it for a while.

But before the face-to-face confrontation, Simeone's impression of Pan Yi only stayed here.

Many things, or on-site confirmation will get the most correct answer.

And the answer is: "This kid is really not simple!" ”

From the tactics adopted by Hamburg after the opening game today, Simeone can see that Pan Yi is different from other ordinary coaches.

Although tonight's game is Hamburg's home stadium, Pan Yi did not adopt attacking tactics at the beginning as in the past, but started the game steadily and did not rush to attack Atletico Madrid's penalty area.

This shows how cautious Pan Yi is about this game, and it can also be seen how well he understands Simeone's tactics.

Everyone knows that Atletico's defense is arguably the strongest steel defense in European football in the past year, but few people will realize that Atletico's attack is just as good, and it will be a mistake if you are not careful.

If Pan Yi is an experienced veteran coach, Simeone thinks it's normal, but he is obviously just a young man under the age of 27.

The blood is strong, the team's morale is booming and it is a home game, Pan Yi can actually suppress his temperament and test the start first, which is enough to see his character.

On Atletico's side, of course, they also cut a defensive stance to open the game.

This is Simeone's traditional art, he can switch back and forth between defense and rage.

Simeone's intention is obvious, first stabilize his position and see Pan Yi's details.

And Pan Yi obviously worked hard, although Hamburg did not press it hard, but it did not let Atletico Madrid's midfielder get the ball comfortably.

For example, when Atletico captain Gabi was on the ball, Kante and Casemiro on the Hamburg side would pinch him back and forth, making it difficult for him to have enough time to judge whether to pass or dribble.

At the same time, Pan Yi also gave full play to the strengths of Hamburg's two wingers, allowing them to be closer to the touchline, using the width of the field to mobilize Atletico's two full-backs.

With Atletico's four midfielders switching positions and responsibilities frequently, once the two wing-backs are moved out of their original positions, their connection with the two players in the middle becomes weaker, which makes it much more difficult for them to switch positions.

For Pan Yi's move, Simeone was obviously a little surprised.

He really didn't expect Pan Yi to have such a deep understanding of his tactics and make such an effective targeted deployment.

Of course, Simeone also had a plan.

After all, he has led the team for so long, and there will definitely be some coaches who will see the weaknesses of his style of play and target them.

This is also the reason why he "stole the teacher" from Pan Yi, because he found that Pan Yi's fullback adduction was too easy to use!

As a result, Atletico's two midfield midfielders, Gabi and Thiago Mendes, began to pull to the side to support the two wing-backs.

The two full-backs, Felipe and Juanfrán, moved a little down the middle to assist the central defence.

At the same time, Villa in the forward line also retreated a little and stood in the forward position to link players from all directions.

In this way, the distance between all the Atletico players is controlled within a reasonable range, and the space between personnel is not so large.

Suffice it to say, both teams have worked targeted tactics without leaving any obvious space or holes for each other.

The game was played out in such a stalemate and intense situation, and although Hamburg had the advantage in terms of control, neither was able to break the deadlock for a long time.

And such a stalemate actually lasted until the end of the half!

In this half, the two sides played very intensely, with a lot of physical confrontation, and people on the pitch turned on their backs.

However, since the battlefield is basically in the midfield area of both sides, there are few opportunities to shoot on goal, so the scene is also a little dull.

This is actually a scene that is often seen in matches against Atletico Madrid.

If you can't tear through their defenses, you're going to get into a tough fight!

Half-time stats show that Hamburg and Atletico had 73% possession to 27%, shots on goal 6 to 0, pass completion rate 89.3 per cent to 67.1 per cent, breakthroughs 17 to 4 and crosses 12 to 0.

The combined 114 passes of the two defenders, Virgil van Dijk and Toni Rudiger, surpassed Atletico's entire squad of 99.

Usually Hamburg have taken the lead by the time they play like this, the problem is that the scoreboard has never been rewritten.

Behind this, Atletico made as many as 10 tackles, 8 interceptions and 13 clearances.

Simeone's Atletico defence was resilient and effective against Hamburg, who had the most control over the continents, after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois didn't make a real save.

This also gave Pan Yi a bit of a headache at halftime.

Such a situation is clearly what Simeone wants to see.

Win a draw away from home and then go to Atletico Madrid's Calderon Stadium to beat Hamburg again.

So what should Pan Yi do?

"I think we can recycle some more and induce them to attack us."

As they walked back to the players' tunnel, Nagelsmann suddenly said to Pan Yi.

"Huh?" Pan Yi is actually considering this method as well.

Now the battle between the two sides in the midfield is too anxious, resulting in neither side pushing the fire into the heart of the other.

But the problem is that Simeone can endure such an ending, Pan Yi can't bear it.

If you can't win at home, it's obviously more difficult to get away.

And what if Hamburg instead puts on a defensive stance?

Showing weakness to Atletico Madrid makes Simeone feel like there's a chance to steal one away from home?

Nagelsmann added: "I found that the gap behind Gabi was one of the few minor flaws for Atletico, but Koke on his side always made up for it. If Simeone feels like he can beat us......"

Pan Yi took over with a smile: "Then he is likely to send the more aggressive Alda Turan." In that case, the ribs at the edge of the box are unprotected, so we only need one successful combination to score! ”

The two men looked at each other and smiled.

This is the tacit understanding between the coaches of Hamburg now!

And Inzaghi, who trotted all the way up behind, looked at the two smiling colleagues inexplicably, and said suspiciously:

"You two, is there something good to hide from me again? Preparing to secretly eat ramen after the game?? ”

(End of chapter)