Football: After listening to the advice, I became the strongest free man! - Chapter 373

c373 The “Tikitaka” trend set off by Barcelona

Chapter 374 The “Tiki-taka” trend set off by Barcelona

The three midfielders who remain in the team need to gain the trust of the new coach as soon as possible.

Vincent Iborra, who joined in 2013, will serve as the team’s captain in the new season, but the appearance rate of last season’s captain Reyes (free transfer to Espanyol) is not ideal.

Although Iborra was an absolute main force in the league under the former coach Emery (he played very little in the Europa League last season), the team now has many choices and everything has to start from scratch.

Frenchman N’Zonzi, who secured the position of the main midfielder last season, is Krechowiak’s first choice partner in domestic and intercontinental competitions. As the first choice for defense in the midfield, his position will not be challenged much.

Another 22-year-old Uruguayan teenager, Cristoforo, was almost written off for the season last season. He had some performance opportunities as a substitute in the midfield last season. In the new season, facing an overcrowded lineup, he may be loaned to other teams for training.

Last season’s captain Reyes transferred to Espanyol on a free transfer, and Danish veteran Dehri will not return until January next year.

The only wingers left are Konoplyanka and Vitolo.

However, considering the tactical choices of the new coach Sampaoli and the fact that many new players on the front line can play as guest players, there is no shortage of personnel.

Moreover, Vitolo and Konoplyanka were both the main players on the two wingers last season, but Vitolo’s characteristics do not fit Sampaoli’s previous style, and his playing time in the new season may be affected.

Konoplyanka suffered a rather unsuccessful European Cup trip and needs time to cheer up. Last season, he failed to show the highlight performance of the 2014-2015 season in the intercontinental arena, and the number of times he served as a main player in the league is gradually decreasing.

The main striker Gameiro transferred to Atletico Madrid, and the veteran who had few opportunities to play transferred to Swansea in the Premier League.

Sevilla has also invested a lot in the reconstruction of the front line in the summer window.

Vietto, a former member of the Argentina national youth team, joined the team on loan from Atletico Madrid. Last season, he failed to show the outstanding performance in the Colchoneros that he had in Villarreal.

But he is still very young (22 years old). If he can find himself in the 2014-2015 season in Sevilla, he may continue to play at the Pizjuan Stadium (Sevilla has the right to buy out).

Franco Vazquez joined from Palermo in Serie A for 15 million euros.

This price is equal to the price that Sevilla brought Negredo from Real Madrid in the 2008-09 season, and it is also the highest price in Sevilla’s history. It can be seen that the expectations of the Argentine are very high.

Vazquez has been the absolute core of Palermo in the past two seasons, scoring a total of 18 goals and assisting 17 goals. He may appear in the position of attacking midfielder or second striker.

Ben Yedder, who transferred from Toulouse for 9 million euros, is an efficient shooter. He has been able to score 15+ goals and 5+ assists in Ligue 1 in the past four seasons. However, considering that his compatriot Gameiro was not very adaptable in the early stage of coming to La Liga from Ligue 1.

Whether Ben Yedder can quickly conquer the Pizjuan Stadium remains to be tested in actual combat. The three new players have their own characteristics and outstanding strength. Juan Muñoz, who was promoted from the B team of Sevilla last year, may have a slim chance.

Leganes avoided the treacherous play-offs. In the last round of the Western Second Division last season, with Simanovsky’s corner kick assisting central defender Insua to score, Leganes defeated Mirandas 1-0 away. Leganes entered the La Liga with the second place in the Western Second Division season.

In the same year that Getafe and Rayo Vallecano were relegated to the Western Second Division, the Madrid region welcomed a new top league team, which is also the fifth in history.

Leganes and Getafe are “neighbors” geographically, and their previous matches in lower-level leagues were somewhat like derby.

However, since Getafe was promoted to La Liga, Leganes has not had many opportunities to compete with its neighbors, and this time it can finally be considered proud.

In fact, Leganes did not show any signs of promotion until the end of the first half of last season. At that time, the other two promoted teams, Osasuna and Alaves, were at the top, and Cordoba and Zaragoza also had opportunities.

Leganes, which is good at defense, began to exert its strength at the end of last year, and continued to the first half of 2016. The two four-game winning streak was full of gold content, and the performance of winger Simanovsky was particularly eye-catching.

However, in the sprint stage, the unexpected loss to Uesca at home in the third-to-last round (Leganes only lost two games at home last season) temporarily slowed down Leganes’ pace of creating history.

Then they ushered in a life-and-death battle, and the opponent was Real Oviedo, whose morale was low but points still had a chance to be promoted.

Gabriel scored first, but less than five minutes later, Oviedo got a penalty kick. Fortunately, goalkeeper Serantes, who had the second lowest goal loss rate in the Spanish Second Division last season, saved the penalty kick, ensuring that the team took three points away from home.

This was a crucial victory, because Tarragona, who was third before, had narrowed the points gap to 1 point.

In the next two rounds, Leganes won again and finally secured a direct promotion spot.

As the 61st team in the history of La Liga, it is not easy for Leganes to stay in the top league. Of course, there are also small-town teams like Getafe, Eibar, and Villarreal that have established themselves in La Liga.

Leganes, a satellite city of Madrid, has a total population of 200,000, 5,000 registered players (including men and women), and 230 amateur teams, which is much more than Eibar and Villarreal.

Previously, three clubs failed to survive their debut season and never returned.

The most recent case was the Andalusian team Jerez in the 2009-2010 season (in 2013, it was sentenced to bankruptcy and relegated from the Spanish Second Division three levels. It has been in the fifth-level Spanish league-Andalusia Regional Championship for two seasons and has not been promoted).

What will be the ending of Leganes in May next year? Let’s wait and see.

Asher Garitano may be the only coach in La Liga this season who has zero top league coaching experience.

When he came to Leganes in 2013, the team was still in the Spanish Second Division B Group (third-level league).

After leading the team to successfully promote to the Spanish Second Division, he successfully retained his position in the 10th place in the first season, and last season he sent Leganes to La Liga in one fell swoop.

Asher also won the best coach of the Spanish Second Division last season with his outstanding performance. In the two seasons in the Spanish Second Division, Leganes first relied on the tactics of defensive counterattack. After that, Asher repeatedly used the strikerless formation. The team successfully entered the La Liga after getting the most goals and the best home record in the Spanish Second Division.

However, after losing several offensive rotation players in the new season, it is still unknown how much power the Spanish Second Division can play in La Liga.

The old goalkeeper Pina, who has played for two seasons, transferred to the Spanish Second Division Uesca on a free transfer in the summer window. Leganes loaned the young goalkeeper Brunoli who played for Sampdoria last season from Juventus.

The team still has not found the third goalkeeper, and it is not ruled out that he will be temporarily transferred from the B team.

The main goalkeeper Serantes came from the Baccarat youth training. After playing for Bilbao’s second team for three seasons, he transferred to Leganes in 2014 and gradually secured the position of the main goalkeeper.

In the 2015-2016 season, he played 41 times and conceded 38 goals, only more than Girona’s goalkeeper Becerra, and unfortunately failed to win the best goalkeeper in the Spanish Second Division.

However, the La Liga test that this Basque boy has to face is unprecedented for him. In the King’s Cup last season, Leganes encountered the La Liga team Granada, 2-2 in two rounds (eliminated with fewer away goals), and the goalkeeper was the veteran Pina.

Pablo Insua, the young player who renewed his loan from Deportivo La Coruna in the new season, and the captain Martin Mantovani are still the only choice for the main central defender. The two played together 35 times in the Spanish Second Division last season.

The new aid 31-year-old Algerian international Mejani (joined on a free transfer) has rich game experience.

Although Leganes has only three genuine central defenders, coach Asher has always liked to change the position of the players, and there are still many players who can play this position in the team, so Leganes did not waste too much of its not rich transfer funds.

Last season, the left side was the weak point of Leganes’ defense.

Both left-backs Ruiz (joined Cádiz in the Western Second Division) and veteran Soriano (joined Uesca in the Western Second Division) left in the summer transfer window. In the new season, the team loaned Marin from Villarreal and introduced Diego Rico from Zaragoza.

Judging from the performance in the preseason, 19-year-old Adrian Marin is more likely to occupy the team’s starting position, while 23-year-old Diego Rico has no experience in the top league and may serve as a substitute for a period of time at the beginning of the season.

Leganes’ right side can be regarded as retaining the configuration of last season: Victor Diaz stayed in the team, and substitute Bustinza was bought out from Bilbao and signed until 2019.

Victor Diaz played well in the first round against Celta. In the 75th minute, he seized the opportunity in front of the goal and fell to the ground to shoot to help Leganes win the La Liga debut.

Although Leganes’ midfield combination is basically fixed in the Spanish Second Division season, they still need experience in the top league.

New player Ruben Perez played as a starter in Granada last season. He came from Atletico Madrid’s youth training and played 129 La Liga games.

The arrival of Ruben Perez is most likely to replace Albert Martin, the defensive midfielder who has been in Leganes since the Spanish Second Division B season.

The positions of the other two main players last season, 27-year-old Sastre and 22-year-old Brazilian teenager Gabriel, are very stable.

The latter continued to be loaned to Leganes from Juventus this season. In the Spanish Second Division last season, he fully played the role of midfield organizer and attacker, which was also an important factor in the team’s breakthrough.

Leganes’ substitute in the middle is David Timur. Timur contributed 2 goals and 2 assists in the key stage of the promotion last season.

The three-man attack combination of Pena, Simanovski and Omar Ramos, who left the team, scored a total of 29 goals last season (the team’s total number of goals was 54).

In the new season, the left-footed wing combination of Simanovski and Omar Ramos who stayed in the team will be the biggest weapon for Leganes to show their offensive ability in La Liga.

Toni Dovale and the versatile player Unia Lopez who just loaned from Bilbao will serve as their substitutes.

Last season, the two rotating center forwards Guilhermo (loaned back to Bilbao) and Borja Lazaro (free transfer to Uesca) both left in the summer window.

Miguel Gredo, who was introduced by Leganes from Sporting Gijon, is a bit out of tune with the overall style of the team. His flexibility and speed are slightly inferior to the two who left the team.

Although the Venezuelan teenager Mazis, who was loaned from Granada, is not as experienced as Gredo, he has a balanced left and right foot and a speed advantage, and seems to be more adaptable to Leganes’ tactical system.

The Spanish national derby is imminent, and this La Liga top battle has also been called “international team PK quasi-Spanish team” by many media.

Last season, Real Madrid topped the La Liga and Champions League, but the international recruitment ideas have continuously weakened the local elements of the Galacticos.

In contrast, Barcelona under Xavi intends to reuse the younger generation to regain the blood of the Bullfighting Legion.

In the upcoming World Cup journey, “Barcelona’s old friend” Enrique’s selection of players will naturally focus on Catalonia.

The Spanish national team is a veteran team in European and even world football. It was officially established in 1913, appeared in the Antwerp Olympics in 1920 to start the international competition journey, and won the silver medal in its first Olympic Games.

Spain signed up for the third World Cup as early as 1936, but had to withdraw due to the sudden civil war.

In 1950, the team won the first group in the first stage of the World Cup, but only finished fourth in the final four rounds with 1 draw and 2 losses.

Spanish football has a slightly derogatory nickname “laggard”. The team is strong on paper, but it can never laugh to the end in international competitions.

After winning the European Cup in 1964, the matadors waited 44 years before being crowned again in the 2008 European Cup.

However, this time, thanks to the “Tiki-taka” trend set off by Barcelona, ​​the Spanish national team won the 2008 and 2012 European Cups and the 2010 World Cup, becoming the first team in football to win three consecutive intercontinental championships.

After 2013, the Spanish team fell into decline. The team failed in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, and then lost in the round of 16 in the 2016 European Cup and the 2018 World Cup. It stopped in the semi-finals of the 2020 European Cup, and even lost to France in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final. In terms of performance, it is still not comparable to its peak period.

Spain is still in a period of renewal at this stage, and coach Enrique is the core of the team’s rebirth.

Enrique of red and blue blood

The national derby is familiar to Luis Enrique, the head coach of the Spanish national team.

Enrique, 52, has played for Real Madrid and Barcelona in his playing career. He played for Real Madrid for 5 seasons and won 1 La Liga championship and 1 King’s Cup championship. Later, he joined Barcelona as a free agent in the summer of 1996.

At that time, he complained that he was ignored at the Bernabeu. After joining Barcelona, ​​Enrique became the darling of Camp Nou. He once took off his clothes to celebrate after breaking Real Madrid’s goal in the national derby. In 8 seasons at Barcelona, ​​he helped the team win 2 La Liga and 2 King’s Cups, and wore the captain’s armband at the end of his career.

After retiring, Enrique first coached Barcelona B team, and then went to Roma and Celta to lead the team. In 2014, he returned to take over Barcelona and led the team to win 1 Champions League, 2 La Liga and 3 King’s Cup in 3 seasons.

After the farce of Lopetegui’s dismissal at the 2018 World Cup, Enrique was ordered to take charge of the Spanish football team, and a new era of Spanish football began.

As an old friend of Barcelona, ​​Enrique’s tactics are also based on passing and controlling, pursuing high possession and high pressure offensive football.

However, with the retirement of stars such as Xavi and Iniesta, Enrique’s style of play has been greatly weakened, and the team often stagnates in the offensive third zone.

On the other hand, Enrique’s use of players is also controversial, and his idea of ​​”light on Real Madrid and heavy on Barcelona” has also been criticized by fans.

Nepotism or no one available?

Barcelona players are currently Enrique’s focus. Busquets and Pedri’s midfield combination is as stable as a rock, and the other midfield spot may be given to Gavi, Koke or even Thiago.

On the defensive line, naturalized player Laporte is the main force, and Barcelona’s Garcia and Villarreal’s Pau Torres will compete for another central defender position.

There is more controversy on the front line. Morata is the undisputed center forward. As for the wingers, the questioned Ferran Torres is still as stable as a rock. Another identity of this Barcelona winger is Enrique’s daughter’s boyfriend. As a “son-in-law”, Enrique’s use of Ferran has also been labeled as nepotism.

Due to injuries to Oyarzabal and Fati, Enrique does not have many options left.

Real Madrid has one of the best players available for the Spanish team in this World Cup. A healthy Carvajal is likely to be selected, but Asensio, who is in mediocre form, is likely to be abandoned.

Since Ramos bid farewell to the national team, the Real Madrid element in the Spanish team is gradually dissipating.

The first favorite in the “group of death”

Spain is in Group E with Germany, Costa Rica and Japan in this World Cup. This group is not an absolute death, but it is not easy to qualify.

Costa Rica, the first opponent, once had the feat of beating the top three teams to qualify in the 2014 World Cup. The match against Germany will determine the team’s promotion situation, and Spain will have a natural advantage against the Japanese team, which also takes the technical route.

Under normal performance, it is not a problem to qualify in the top two, and the promotion order is even slightly higher than that of the German team in the same group.

Of course, in terms of paper strength, Spain should at least lock in a place in the quarterfinals this time.

The two giants in the Galicia region (Real Deportivo and Real Celta Vigo) have always maintained strong league competitiveness at the end of the last century and the beginning of this century.

However, due to the lack of emphasis on youth training, Celta’s foundation in the league is not very solid. In the first 45 years of La Liga, Celta only contributed 27 Spanish national players, the most famous of which is former Real Madrid full-back Salgado.

The famous Russian star Mostovoi played in Celta’s previous glorious era: he joined in 1996 and played until 2004. Together with national team player Karpin, he formed a midfield duo and led the team to the King’s Cup final in 2001 (lost 1-3 to Real Zaragoza), and finished the 4th place in the league in the 2002-2003 season, the highest ranking in the team’s history.