After fifteen rounds of the league, Ibissevic, as the team's top scorer, scored twelve goals. He scored twice twice and a hat-trick. German media shouted that "Super Ibis" is back, and Italian media also reminded Allegri to pay attention to this Bosnia and Herzegovina scorer in the game. In recent seasons, Bosnia and Herzegovina players broke out collectively, first Ibissevic, then Salihovic, and then Dzeko from Wolfsburg emerged again.

In this game, Hoffenheim arranged a forward combination between Ibissevic and Van Nistelroy, which was enough to attract the attention of AC Milan. Ibissevic is in good shape. In the Bundesliga derby before this game, Ibissevic just scored twice and scored five goals in three rounds of the league. Van Nistelroy is the second-place scorer in the Champions League scorer list, second only to the legendary shooter Raul. These two people are in good shape and the other is experienced, and it is really a headache to combine.

Therefore, the Milan media reminded Allegri to pay attention to Hoffenheim's forward.

Allegri did pay attention. In the Bundesliga this season, Hoffenheim scored forty-five goals after fifteen rounds of matches, making him the strongest attacking team in the entire European continent. Among these forty-five goals, the three forwards Ibissevic, Van Nistrui and Obasi scored a total of twenty-three goals, more than half of the team's total goals. The forward is the main force in Hoffenheim's scoring. How could Allegri not pay attention?

The day before this game, Rangnick announced the starting lineup in advance. Anyway, there are only eleven Hoffenheim's starting lineup, and the media can guess it. It is better to be more confident when it is announced in advance. When Allegri saw Ibisek and Van Nistruei's partner, he knew that this must be taken care of. These two are powerful forwards with strong personal abilities. Their speed is not fast, but their impact is strong. The disadvantage of personal speed can be compensated by Hoffenheim's overall speed advantage.

There is no need to take a long-distance sprint with football, Hoffenheim's midfield rarely passes them with a super long pass of 15 to 20 meters in advance, allowing them to use their speed advantage to chase the ball and get rid of the defender's defense. They only need to run to the right position and then sprint forward for five to ten meters to catch the ball and form a single shot. Hoffenheim's midfield has a Chu Zhongtian, so he can achieve this. Salihovic is just an excellent passer, but not a master who controls rhythm and dispatch.

Allegri asked the team's back line to strictly guard against Ibissevic and Van Nistruei. He guessed that although Hoffenheim's midfielder is strong, the strength is in the passing organization. The forward must be able to shoot and complete a fatal blow. Rangnik has Ibissevic and Van Nistruei, and there is also Obasi on the bench. It's not a decoration, right?

If he thought so, it was exactly what Rangnick wanted.

Rangnick knows that Hoffenheim has a strong attack power this season and has attracted the attention of the entire Europe. As a forward combination that scored more than half of the team's goals, Van Nistrui, Ibissevic and Obasi are naturally well-known and will be paid attention to by the opponent's head coach.

Since that's the case, let them be used as the target to attract the opponent's defensive firepower, and the real killer moves are left to those midfielders who plug from the back. In fact, Rangnick's tactics are not new. In world football, such offensive tactics in the back row are very commonly used. But although not new, the effect is very good. Football tactics are originally combined with limited tactics to form infinite possibilities.

In this game, Ibisevic and Van Nistroy were at the front, running back and forth without any effort, pretending to be the illusion that Hoffenheim would be the main attacking front line. At the same time, he could firmly push AC Milan's back line in front of the goal, providing a broad space for Chu Zhongtian and others who were inserted behind the midfield to let them play. It can be said that they can beat multiple shots in one fell swoop.

For this tactic, Rangnick focused on training the team's midfielders' shots. Whether it was a long shot or a powerful shot in the penalty area, he practiced repeatedly, and tried not to off-target in the game. You should know that there are not many tactical opportunities. Once the opponent understands Hoffenheim's tactics, he will make corresponding adjustments quickly. Allegri is not a waste. After all, he is also the coach who coaches AC Milan now ranked first in the Serie A standings. He once beat Mourinho and won the Italian coach of the year selected by his peers.

The honor and strength are actually not weak. AC Milan's performance was so unbearable before, mainly because he just took over the team, and the injury was full of camp and tactics were incompatible, so he lost to Real Madrid and Hoffenheim one after another. However, it was strange that AC Milan has always been like this in recent years, with a very bad start. Then after losing several important games, he suddenly rose up and caught up, and in the end he was able to catch up with a good position. This may be the characteristic of a team with many veterans - slow heat. Slow heat in the game, and a little slow heat in the season.

※※After ten minutes of the game, AC Milan gradually grasped the initiative on the court. After all, this is their home court, and they should perform better here than the away team. They have gained more and more shooting opportunities, and each shot can make Milan fans at San Siro Stadium cheer. If you only listen to the sound and don’t look at the picture, TV viewers will think that AC Milan has already made Hoffenheim’s goal sieve.

Actually, Hoffenheim was indeed a little embarrassed during this period, but they were still under their expectations. Rangnick warned his players that it would be very difficult to play away games, especially at San Siro Stadium. So the whole team was mentally prepared to be suppressed by the opponent here for a while.

But you can't always be beaten. Hoffenheim is good at attacking. It's not that they can't defend at all. But once they defend for a long time, they will inevitably have many flaws. At that time, they are stretched in defense and can't defend here or there. Therefore, Hoffenheim must find a way to counterattack, which is quite in line with their characteristics - fast!

Just a few sharp counterattacks will make AC Milan restrained.

Now all they lack is opportunity.

Rangnick was right before the game. They really need to be patient in the game. In such a situation where they are besieged, they really need patience.

Pirlo dispatched the team's offense and divided the football into the wing. Zambrota rushed up, he was a left-back, but when the team besieged Hoffenheim, his position was more like a left-back.

AC Milan is so pressing up. Is it really bullying that he can beat Hoffenheim at home?

While defending, Chu Zhongtian carefully observed the opponent's movements. He noticed that Zanbrotta was thirty-three years old, and his age would never allow him to rush like this in the whole game. In the 2006 World Cup, he was incredible and rushed left and right on the wing, almost alone taking charge of the Italian side corridor. In recent years, as he grew older, his condition has declined, and his assists on the wing are not as sharp as before. He rarely assists so crazy.

It seems that Allegri asked the team to score a goal as soon as possible.

But this is also an opportunity for Hoffenheim.

Can't wait for the opponent to complete an offense before counterattacking. AC Milan is experienced. After completing the offense, they quickly returned to their second half to set up defense. They knew that their average age was older than Hoffenheim and the players' physical fitness was not advantageous, so they did not use the full-game pressing tactic that consumed extremely physical strength like Hoffenheim. Therefore, to fight their fast counterattack, they had to cut off their balls. While they were unable to quickly turn from the offense to defend, use Hoffenheim's overall speed to give AC Milan a thunderous blow.

It is a way to grab the ball with your body, but Pirlo, the core character of AC Milan's offense, is often at a low position. If you go up, there will be a gap behind you. Who is Pirlo? How can he not be able to use such obvious gaps?

Therefore, the best defensive method is not to go up and grab the ball, but to pre-judgment where AC Milan will pass the ball, then get stuck on their pass route and cut the football off the middle.

This is interception.

Interception and steal are different. Stealing is more about rushing up and snatching the opponent's ball-holding player, and then directly pulling the football off the opponent's feet. However, with the development of modern football tactics, the offensive core gradually moves backward, and the effect of doing so is getting smaller and smaller, and the risk the defense has to take is getting bigger and bigger - just as Chu Zhongtian was worried, when you rush up and steal the opponent's organizational core, you may not have run to the opponent, and the gap left behind will be exploited by the opponent, resulting in a series of loopholes and gaps, just like a hole in a piece of cloth, tearing bigger and bigger.

Another reason why steals are becoming more and more difficult and cost-effective is the change of rules. Modern football's dependence on the body is far more than before, but rules have more and more restrictions on physical contact. Many "reckless" confrontations are called fouls, and the current punishment standards do not encourage fierce steals, so Mascherano - this classic steal-type midfielder - was the person who ate the most cards in the Premier League last year.

In such a situation, the importance of interception is highlighted. Modern football tactical changes have made the dependence on fast short passes within 30 meters in front of the goal exceed any period. Although many teams do not set classic midfielders, the pass that organizes offensive solutions is mostly completed 30 meters in front of the goal. The two sides have accumulated a large number of troops here, so they naturally need to penetrate quickly short passes to open up the situation. Those who are slow will only conceal the ball.

Under such tactical changes, steals have become interceptions. The number of passes increases, and the probability of intercepting passes increases, increasing the chance of the opponent's passes. The time to hold the ball becomes less, reducing the chance of direct steals, and reducing the chance of losing the ball under one's own feet.

However, the interception is far from the excitement of the steal, so it is obvious. An interception will not make fans cheer, but in the stands in England, the cheers for a critical steal cannot be compared anywhere else.

Another reason why interception is more useful than stealing is that intercepting a pass is always better than stealing the opponent after receiving the ball, because there is no need to give the opponent a free kick in a dangerous position or the risk of taking a card, and you will get the ball right immediately. If it is a steal, the ball may roll to the feet of other players. And the chance of launching a quick counterattack after interception is greater, and you can quickly turn from defense to attack. This is very useful for today's Hoffenheim. What Hoffenheim needs is to try to quickly send the football behind the opponent. Interception is obviously more reasonable than stealing.

Attention to interception is also one of the development directions of world football tactics. Taking the Premier League as an example, four teams, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, use interception more than steals in the game, and the average number of successful steals per game is declining.

However, interception is easy to say, difficult to sit up. How many people can appear in the right position at the right time and then block the opponent's pass? The essence of interception is the sense of position, that is, the ball quotient. It appears in the right position at the right time. In this regard, Chu Zhongtian has a natural advantage.

Another person with outstanding abilities in this regard is famous. He is the retired Frenchman Marklele. The Frenchman's magical function has been widely circulated in football. He is actually an interceptor. He never rashly presses on him, but is only ready to end his opponent's attack in the middle.

In Hoffenheim, the steal work is now more handed over to Sana. This kid is born a murderer. His aggressive steal seems to have asked for your nickname. At worst, it is a leg, but that is actually a deterrent.

With Sana as a bodyguard, Chu Zhongtian's role in defense is an interceptor. His bug-like ability to play jade plates, excellent position sense, and physical ability to run can often allow him to appear in key positions and make critical interceptions.

At the same time, he has one more advantage than Marklele. Marklele himself is not good at attacking. After blocking the ball, he must pass it to other midfield teammates, who are responsible for organizing the offense. The team has an extra procedure when it goes from defense to offense, and the speed of the offense will inevitably be affected.

But Chu Zhongtian did not need this procedure. He was both an interceptor and a creator. He transformed into an interceptor machine in defense. Once the football was blocked, he immediately transformed into an offensive organizer. The football could go directly to the most threatening area from his feet without having to turn another hand from him. Sometimes, he might have to turn several hand. When the football passed, the space that was quite threatening before was filled by the opponent's defense line... He did not believe that AC Milan players would only pass the ball from the back. If they wanted to break through Hoffenheim's goal, they would always pass the ball in the 30-meter area. Too much pass and too dense space would be a good opportunity for him to intercept.

※※※After fifteen minutes of the game, the statistics so far reached by the TV screen, AC Milan had the upper hand with six shots, and Hoffenheim had no achievements except for the threatening shot at the opening. During this period, AC Milan was completely pressing Hoffenheim to play.

However, in terms of the number of threatening shots, Hoffenheim is not at a disadvantage. They and AC Milan both scored two goals and tied. AC Milan had more shots, and there would definitely be fewer threatening shots here, otherwise Hoffenheim's goal would have been passively opened.

Pirlo was afraid of Chu Zhongtian and Sana's defensive ability, and was not too far ahead. However, as the game went on, the score was still 0:0, and he had to move his position forward. After all, if it was too far away from the opponent's dangerous area, the pass would always be not very accurate. The error of long passes on the football can be required to be within a larger range, but short passes must be more accurate, especially in the penalty area and the front of the penalty area. A little bit larger may cause the final result to be completely different. Pirlo knows this well, so he has to treat it carefully. Of course, his long passes are very accurate, but it cannot guarantee that they are accurate every time to the target he wants to pass, which is not bad.

It's better to lean on it, short passes are safer.

After fifteen minutes, the score was still 0:0. Chu Zhongtian noticed that when AC Milan was attacking, Pirlo did not pass the ball in front of the center circle, but pressed into the 30-meter area. After passing the ball, he did not retreat, but instead responded. This is the signal that he wants to further participate in the offensive organization.

Chu Zhongtian and Sana looked at each other and said nothing, but the tacit understanding made Sana understand what he was going to do, so he nodded.

Chu Zhongtian leaned over quietly. He wanted to fight back. He wanted AC Milan to know that even if Hoffenheim was fighting away, it would definitely be difficult to squeeze soft persimmons!

Pirlo received the ball that Ibrahimovic passed back to him. Ibrahimovic just now planned to use his skills to make a breakthrough, but under Hoffenheim's tight defense, his footwork was not effective.

After receiving the ball, Pirlo decided to pass the ball to the middle of the front of the penalty area. The person there was Seedorf. Seedorf had the ability to shoot a long shot and could also make a short pass to organize the attack. Wherever he got the ball, he was very threatened.

However, when he passed the football over, he rushed out with one foot and intercepted the football!

"Chu! He got the ball! Pirlo's intention to pass the ball was too obvious! He made a mistake!"

When faced with wonderful interceptions, the commentators would only say that they were caused by the passer mistakes, but they did not mention the interceptor's credit. This is why many people think that people who always appear in the right position to block the football are just lucky, not capable.

Because of AC Milan's continuous siege, several of their lines have been compressed very tightly, so there are large spaces behind them.

Isn’t this an opportunity?

"Oh no..." Pirlo saw the football "passed" to Chu Zhongtian's feet, and immediately knew that the situation was serious. He did not return to defense but rushed forward immediately, hoping to cut off the opponent's ball as soon as possible. Even if it couldn't be cut off, he would interfere with him at the most and not let him pass the football in front as soon as possible. Everyone is the midfield commander, and Pirlo knows too much about what Chu Zhongtian will do next.

Pirlo was still slowing down after rushing on it. Chu Zhongtian intercepted the ball with his left foot, followed by his right foot and sent the ball to the side. Quaresma inserted at high speed and received the ball the moment before the football rolled out of the sideline!

"Here you come! Hoffenheim's quick attack!!"
Chapter completed!