Three days later, in the 32nd round of the Bundesliga, Hamburg challenged Mainz away.

The match attracted the attention of many media and fans from all over Germany and Europe, and even around the world.

After the last round of the Bundesliga against Wolfsburg, Hamburg is already seven points ahead of second-place Bayern Munich.

If Hamburg can beat Mainz at the Opel Arena in this league game, no matter what the result of Bayern Munich's game is, Hamburg will win the championship two rounds in advance!

That would allow Hamburg to devote all their energy to the Champions League and German Cup for the rest of their lives, fighting for the treble.

This psychological sense of letting go of an event will certainly go a long way in helping Hamburg win the Champions League and the German Cup.

Just considering that 3 days after this round of the Bundesliga, Hamburg will usher in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals with Atletico Madrid, Pan Yi still sent a lineup dominated by rotating players.

After all, the Champions League is the most important!

But Tuchel's Mainz side will not rest on their laurels.

On the one hand, they don't want Hamburg to step on their corpse to become Bundesliga champions and celebrate the title in their stadiums.

Mainz, on the other hand, are currently eighth in the league and are in contention for qualification for next season's Europa League.

As a small team, if they have the opportunity to participate in European competitions, they naturally have to give it their all!

……

In today's world football, when it comes to coaches who like to use a back three, they may mention Conte, Van Gaal, Bielsa and others.

But if it's specific to say that he likes to use the 343 formation the most, it has to be Tuchel.

In Pan Yi's previous life, Tuchel took over Chelsea midway through and then went all out to implement the 343 formation.

This style of play immediately changed the chaotic situation of the Frank Lampard era of constipation in attack and poor defending, and helped Chelsea go all the way to Champions League glory.

So, who was the first to invent 343, a formation that looked a bit "strange" at the time, in the "ancient" era when the 442 formation was the most popular?

This question is not difficult to answer, because the person who invented this formation is simply too famous.

He is the legendary coach in Barcelona's history - Cruyff.

Cruyff, the then head coach of Barcelona, found a phenomenon in specific practice: the vast majority of teams in world football at that time were using the 442 formation, and if the same 442 formation was used to respond, a 1-on-1 situation would be formed at the back.

But for Barcelona, who are excellent on paper, only three defenders are needed to deal with the opposing attacking players, and there is no need to send as many as four players.

Against this backdrop, Cruyff has had the courage to make a change, adding a player to the forward line and bringing a central defender to the midfield to assist in the midfield.

Cruyff usually gives this player the number 4 shirt, which is the famous "number 4" in the history of football tactics.

The number 4 was Cruyff's greatest contribution to football tactics and a key link in the 343 formation he created.

Although the number 4 will appear in many defensive areas in the midfield, he does not need strong physical confrontation ability and excellent foot skills, but has certain requirements for speed.

This speed does not necessarily refer to the player's ability to run, but more to the ability to scrutinize the situation on the field and the ability to play quickly in the middle of a crowd.

To put it more simply, Cruyff's No.4 in his tactical philosophy needs to be intelligent, dare to play the ball and have a good "God perspective".

Since then, players in this position may not have worn the number 4 shirt, but they will still be referred to as "number fours" – for example, Pep Guardiola, Xavi and Andres Iniesta can all be up to the task.

In Cruyff's tactical philosophy, this set of 343 formations does not have an absolute sense of the core of organization and attack, and many players in different positions can take on the responsibility of attack and defense under certain conditions.

For example, the playmaking task can be done by Koeman, who can play the ball at the back and can match some of the top midfielders at the back.

On top of that, the likes of Paco Buckro, Laudrup and Pep Guardiola can all take on the task of carrying the ball forward.

Unlike the once popular three-guard system in Italian football, Cruyff's 343 has less of a tight defensive meaning and more of an all-out attacking arrogance.

Even the three defenders on the back line are not exactly "defensive" and will sometimes be appropriately involved in the attack.

Cruyff's contribution to the 343 formation continues to influence world football to this day, reflecting the different philosophies of Dutch and Italian football.

Today, the 343 formation is known for its comprehensiveness with sharp offense and large defensive interception area, and is playing an increasingly important role in the football tactical arena.

Tuchel is a big fan.

And his original intention of using the 343 formation is slightly different from Cruyff.

In the face of the 442 formation that was popular in the early years, the vast majority of teams will use two centre-backs against the opposition's two strikers, which seems to be a matter of course.

But for the head coaches of some middle and lower teams, the giants often have top-level superstars, and there is obviously no way to meet the defensive requirements of the head coach by relying only on some mediocre central defenders for 1-on-1 defense.

In this context, increasing the number of defenders seems to be the most direct way to improve the quality of defense.

As a result, some managers have made a groundbreaking breakthrough by using a back three in a number of games against the giants, which, combined with two wing-backs who have dropped sharply, can effectively cover much of the central midfield.

In other words, when Cruyff used 343, he wanted to reduce one guard and add one striker to strengthen the attack;

Managers of smaller teams like Thomas Tuchel want to add a centre-back and use more centre-backs to play against the capable strikers of the big teams.

As a result, the 343 formation has suddenly become extremely applicable in the current tactical landscape, and it is not surprising that it can win the favor of many managers.

For any team that emphasizes the balance of attack and defense and the transformation of attack and defense, 343 can exert great energy at both offensive and defensive ends, and its rapid circulation also fully reflects the increasingly important "sense of speed" in modern football.

At the same time, because the back 3 and back 5 are naturally easy to switch, the manager also has more options when it comes to tactical scheduling.

Is it offensive or defensive? Just look at where the two wingbacks stand.

Moreover, the 343 formation is also very conducive to the head coach to control the overall situation, not just the transition between attack and defense.

For some teams, blindly assigning too many responsibilities to players can lead to confusion in the offensive and defensive systems, given the overall lack of strength.

In this context, many head coaches are more advocating the "separation" of offense and defense, more colloquially, that is, let the defenders do the defensive things well, and let the offensive players do the offensive things.

The presence of three central defenders gives the team a relatively solid control at the back, which can effectively defuse the opponent's pressing during the ball stage.

Even if the opponent increases the defensive strength, it can also be retreated in a wide range through two relatively free midfielders, making the backfield a "trapezoidal" five-man passing control system.

With three central defenders as a backstop, the two wingbacks don't have to worry too much about the wing defense in the attacking state, and can safely move forward to the opponent's defensive third zone, forming a wing-center combination with the three strikers that already exist in the front.

The presence of two wing-backs doesn't necessarily mean you have to take the ball along the flanks and sometimes run off the ball to draw the attention of the opposition's defence.

Once the wing-backs are inserted into the opponent's defensive heartland, they will inevitably force the opposition to send a group of 2-3 wide defenders to limit their further advances.

In this case, the defensive pressure on the three strikers who are relatively close to the middle is reduced, and the wing-backs create more space for their central teammates to pick up the ball by running off the ball, whether it's a direct long-range shot from the periphery or a more subtle combination of small areas in the middle.

In the choice of three-man group attack tactics in the middle, the biggest advantage brought by the 343 formation can be perfectly reflected - because the three forwards can cooperate with each other in a relatively small area, even if the opponent arranges multiple defenses, it is difficult to achieve the point of being comprehensive in a short period of time.

Normally, the centre-forwards will press the opponent's small penalty area as soon as possible to force the two centre-backs next to them to retreat, and the two adducted wingers can easily take the ball at the top of the box and deliver the ball before the opposition midfielder is in place.

Thanks to the presence of a back three, the two full-backs, who originally had to take on a lot of defensive tasks under the back four system, will be freed up.

They can push forward sharply in attack and even become two wingers for the team;

They can also retreat to the back line under certain circumstances, becoming the team's two full-backs, changing the original three-back formation into a five-back formation with more defensive coverage.

"So, why is such a good formation still not as popular as 4231, 433, or even 442 in today's world football?"

At the tactical meeting, after listening to the past and present life of the 343 formation told by "Teacher Pan Yi", many coaches raised such questions.

"All formations are good and bad, and 343 is no exception." Pan Yi replied, "The reason for this formation is that this formation has relatively strict requirements for the players' personal strength, tactical adaptability and the concept of the head coach. Once used incorrectly, not only can it not enrich the team's technical and tactical system, but it may even have a negative impact. ”

Then Pan Yi began to talk about the weaknesses of the 343 formation.

This was also the focus of the tactical meeting.

Because they're going to use the 433 formation to deal with Tuchel's 343!

Knowing the opponent's weaknesses and then attacking them with your own strengths is the way to win a game.

"It's true that the 343 formation is easier to play a flashy attack that makes people shine, but its many limitations are also very obvious."

"First of all, the 343 formation is on paper, although there are as many as four players in the midfield, but the two wing-backs on either side don't actually belong to the midfield for a long time, and help the midfielder to help organize and schedule."

'In other words, even though the two wingers can drop back to assist, there are only two players in midfield for the vast majority of the time.

"For a team with limited individual midfielders, using only two players to defend in such a vast area is bound to bring huge hidden dangers."

'Even in the process of organising the attack, the two midfielders did seem a little too thin.

"In this case, once our defenders pile up and surround and press, Mainz's mediocre midfielders will find it difficult to pick up the ball, and even be snatched away by our players in a short period of time, thus giving us the opportunity to counterattack......"

Another big disadvantage of the 343 formation is the side defense problem that Pan Yi often emphasized.

As we all know, there is a very obvious reliance on wingbacks in the 343 formation, and the final decision also depends on the outflanking of the wingbacks at the back post.

Under this premise, the problem of insufficient numbers in the midfield will be further amplified.

Although there are three defenders in the backfield, because the side defense is too weak, two of them must be pulled to the side in a defensive state, which will lead to a huge rib gap in the middle!

In addition, the 343 formation has high requirements for the individual ability of players in some positions (mainly wingbacks), and the offensive and defensive will also show a serious sense of separation at some times, which is not conducive to the rapid return of the position in the state of switching from attack to defense.

These are the points that Hamburg can exploit against Mainz and the key to beating Tuchel!

……

When the coaching staff shook hands before the game between Hamburg and Mainz, Tuchel felt a sense of fur for some reason.

He felt that the coaches in Hamburg looked at him a little confused, as if he was not wearing clothes.

Although Tuchel thinks it is polite to look into the other person's eyes when shaking hands;

But these people in Hamburg are too polite, right? He stared at it and smiled indescribably.

How did he know that this was because Pan Yi had analyzed his tactics too clearly in the pre-match tactical meeting, so that when everyone looked at Tuchel now, they felt that the whole person had been seen through......

And after the official start of the competition, this was indeed verified.

After nearly twenty minutes of probing between the two sides, Hamburg began to exert force.

The midfield three, consisting of Makoto Hasebe, Paulinho and Calhanoglu, easily took over control of the midfield against Gaiss and Soto in the middle of Mainz.

And after Mainz's attack failed, the gaps in their ribs were revealed under the high pressure of Hamburg.

Calhanoglu saw the opportunity to send a through stopper, and Wu Lei began to use his speed to break through and go straight into the penalty area.

With Mainz's wing-back Park Joo-ho already assisting at this point, it was difficult to get back into position, and their right centre-back Stefan Bale rushed over to defend.

But Wu Lei's shooting action was also very fast, and before Stefan Bell came close to him and leaned against his body, he stabbed the ball directly with his toe and stabbed the ball into the far corner of the goal.

After completing the shot, Wu Lei was also knocked to the ground by Stefan Bell from the side.

Seeing Wu Lei's sudden shot with almost no warning, the goalkeeper Karius, who was blocking the near corner, was a little caught off guard.

By the time he reacted and fell to the far end, the ball was already in front of his eyes and into the far goal.

Seeing Wu Lei's goal, the commentator of Hamburg TV on the commentary seat roared and shouted frantically:

“GoooooooooooooooooooooLLLL……”

"The ball is in! In the 25th minute, Wu Lei kicked the ball into Mainz's goal! ”

"Wu Lei opened the scoring, and Hamburg led Mainz 1:0 at the Opel Arena!"

"The Bundesliga champions are beckoning us!"

"Long live Wu Lei, long live Pan Yi, long live Hamburg!"

The Hamburg players and fans celebrated wildly, while the Mainz players who conceded the goal were extremely depressed.

In fact, for this game, the Mainz coaching staff led by Tuchel also made a lot of careful preparations, and made targeted restrictions on the players in Hamburg.

For example, Hamburg's forward line, who Mitrovic asked to mainly mark the defense, who would make up the defense, how Wu Lei's line was positioned, who grabbed and which dragged behind, were all properly arranged.

20 minutes ago, they did look successful in keeping out the Hamburg attack.

However, as if the game ahead of Hamburg was just a warm-up, it was only after 20 minutes that it began to really get into shape.

And once Hamburg started to push hard, Mainz's previous deployments seemed to be in vain, and Hamburg soon scored.

Tuchel gritted his teeth and decided to give up the attack and settle down.

So his 343 suddenly became a 541-like position.

As a result, the resistance to the Hamburg offensive increased dramatically.

Players from both sides piled up within 30 meters of the Mainz goal, and the penalty area was densely packed with figures, and even the long-range shot of the Hamburg player could not fly to the goal at all, and they were blocked in the middle of the gun hole or stretched out their legs to clear the siege.

As a result, neither side could score again for the rest of the first half, and Hamburg went into the break with a score of 0:1, with Hamburg temporarily leading.

After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

After the adjustment at halftime, Mainz's defensive counterattack played more solid and layered.

In the face of Mainz, which was like a bus, Hamburg sacrificed a sharp weapon to break the bus - high-altitude bombing.

Isn't Mitrovic on the field?

And with the midfield completely controlled by Hamburg, Hamburg's 45-degree crosses from the wing are also very frequent.

If you can't pass it with one kick, then one more kick, then two more kicks, and then three kicks......

Finally, in the 78th minute, Dick Mike's cross went right to Mitrovic's head, and the Serbian center forward turned the ball down because it was too difficult to shoot directly with his back.

And not far from Mitrovic, the unguarded captain of Hamburg, Westermann, volleyed directly outside the box without stopping!

The ball drilled into the goal like an arrow, and goalkeeper Karius didn't even react, he turned his head and watched the ball drill into the goal.

The Mainz fans who had just been booing Hamburg suddenly fell silent, and the entire Opel Arena was as silent as death, except for a few Hamburg fans and commentators from various TV stations who were shouting wildly.

On the court, Westerman, who scored the second goal for Hamburg, also rushed to Pan Yi excitedly and gave him a hard hug.

Other teammates also gathered around to celebrate.

Although it was still far from the end of the game, it was a goal that sealed the victory.

Because the situation of the game doomed the opponent to dare not fight back, if Mainz really dared to put his forces into attack, Hamburg would probably score more goals.

In fact, this is also true.

After scoring two goals, Tuchel really had no choice but to step up his attack.

But then the number of defenders at the back dropped to only three, the gaps on the ribs and on the wings were greater, and the passing at the back became much more difficult.

In the 88th minute, Mainz goalkeeper Karius wanted to pass the ball to the defender with his foot, but found that both sides were pressed by players from Hamburg.

So he wanted to throw the ball with his hands to launch a fast attack, but he made a mistake in his busyness, and when he threw it, Mitrovic blocked it with his foot and was directly blocked into the goal.

0：3！

Hamburg leads Mainz by three goals and the game has been won!

Thousands of Hamburg fans sang and danced in the stands holding models of the Bundesliga winner's salad plates, ignoring the feelings of the Mainz fans.

And many Mainz fans have already started to leave the stadium early, too lazy to watch the celebration in Hamburg.

The three-goal lead and the temptation to win the title ahead of schedule made the Hamburg players on the pitch look a little absent-minded.

Finally, in the 90th minute, Mainz finally took advantage of a mistake in Hamburg, and Gu Jizhe made a steal and passed to Shinji Okazaki, who crossed the middle to score a face-saving goal through Choupo-Moting.

But that didn't help the outcome of the whole game.

After three minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the match, and Hamburg beat Mainz 3-1 away to win the 2013-2014 German Bundesliga two rounds ahead of schedule!

After the match, the Mainz players and fans left the stadium one after another, leaving only the Hamburg players and fans who had won the championship to celebrate in the Opel Arena.

After all, it was an away game, and the atmosphere when winning the championship was not as strong as at home.

There wasn't even a formal award ceremony!

But that didn't stop the Hamburgers from venting their excitement.

Although they were mentally prepared, when the moment really came, all the Hamburg coaches, players and fans were so excited that some of them even shed tears of emotion.

More than a year ago, when they were still struggling in the relegation zone, who could have imagined that they would have such a beautiful situation today?

Soon, they found the biggest contributor to this great achievement - Pan Yi!

Pan Yi was thrown high into the air by a group of people, and then fell down.

Trumpet!

"Grass! You bastards, none of you have reached out to pick me up??!! ”

(End of chapter)