Chapter 161 Italy

When the players of the two teams entered the stadium, the Belgian fans at the scene immediately burst into cheers, and they saw Degan at the front of the team.

There is no doubt about the role of Degan in Belgium. As long as Degan is on the field, Belgium is a completely different team, and they have the hope of winning.

Lippi, the coach of the Italian team, still stood on the sidelines with a blank face. Half an hour ago, he got the Belgian team's playing list and knew that Degan would play, but the moment he saw Degan walk on the field, his heart was still tight.

The two teams stood on the court and played the national anthems of the two countries. Degan stood on the court and was also thinking about how to deal with the strong enemy of Italy on the way to the championship.

The Italian team at the 2006 World Cup in Germany left a very deep impression on the world. Under Lippi's conditions, Italy played very beautiful football while adhering to their own characteristics.

If Digan has to find the most threatening person in the Italian team, it must be Lippi. His scheduling of the team is like an arm finger.

When he was hospitalized, Degan also asked people to find videos of the previous group matches in Italy, and he knew the opponent in front of him very well.

In this World Cup, the basic formations used by the Italian team are 4312 and 4321, but Lippi, a tactical master, will sometimes change to 3313 and 4411 at any time according to the situation on the field.

For example, in the first match against the U.S. team in the group stage, when the situation was deadlocked 1:1, he replaced the striker Piero with a central defender Zacaldo and changed it to 3313 to strengthen the offensive force.

In the semi-final match against Germany, in order to strengthen the control of the midfield and change the offensive means, Lippi changed 4312 into 4411 and 4222 in overtime, and finally won at the last moment.

It can be seen that the old coach Lippi is indeed very targeted in the arrangement of troops. He is rich and colorful in the changes of the formation. He can adjust the changes of offensive and defensive personnel in a timely and reasonable manner, and knows how to use them.

In the previous six games, all the 23 players of the Italian team, except for two substitute goalkeepers, came on the stage, which can be said to be their best.

Judging from the basic formation used by the Italian team, the midfield of the three-back is the core of their offensive and defensive transformation. The change of the Italian team's basic lineup is only on the forward line. When 4312 is used, the two strikers are Tony and Gilardino. When 4321 is used, the striker Gilardino is removed and a former midfielder, Camoranesi or Aquinta, was added.

The other players in the basic lineup are: goalkeeper Buffon, four defenders are Zambu luota, Grosso, Cannavaro and Materazzi, three stable back players are Gattuso, Pirlo and Perota, and one main front midfielder is Totti.

The biggest feature of the Italian team is the strong and stable midfield, which is a significant feature of this lineup. When defending, the three midfielders form a stable barrier in the midfield, and the four defenders have their own characteristics. Pirlo is the core players when attacking, and the two full-backs Grosso and Zambrotta will plug in in time.

When using 4321, Tony is the first target of the attack, with Perota and Totti hidden behind him. The three midfielders will move horizontally and wait for the opportunity to insert forward to find a fighter attack, forming a midfield combination of up to seven people.

When 4312 is used, the two strikers, Gilardino will pull the side or detour point, and there are as many as six midfielders. The large number of midfielders, random response and multi-point attacks are the distinctive characteristics of the Italian team.

The Italian team scored 11 goals in the six games before this World Cup. Judging from the scoring time, the distribution is very even. Four goals were scored in the first half, five goals were scored in the second half, and two goals were scored in overtime against Germany.

Judging from the distribution of goalkeepers, it is also very average. 11 goals came from ten players, including three goals from the defender, six goals from the striker, and two goals from the midfielder.

From the perspective of attack type, as Degan said in the locker room before, using the positioning ball attack is an important offensive means for the Italian team. They have scored six goals through the set-piece ball, scored two goals through the position attack, and quickly counterattacked three goals. Among them, the header scored four goals, all from the match of the set-piece. he.

The area where the Italian team launched the attack is mostly on the left and right sides of the front court, and the last pass is in various forms. The main assists are Pirlo and Totti, with four and three assists respectively.

So defending against Italy's positioning ball and cutting off the connection between Pirlo, Totti and the midfield are Belgium's main homework today.

In terms of attack, the Italian team can only be regarded as passing. What really made Digan feel threatened was their defense. In the previous long game, the Italian team only lost one ball in total, or Zakardo's own goal.

From the tactical arrangement, Lippi's team basically has no tactical mistakes. The own goal is also the goal lost by the opponent's side pass and the defender grabbing the siege, which is completely a technical problem of playing football.

Defense is a recognized strength of the Italian team. The team-oriented defensive strategy is not only in line with the development principles of modern football, but also a magic weapon for the Italian team to win.

The first barrier of the Italian team's defense is a frontcourt interception and blocking between a striker and two front waists. Once the first line of defense is broken, the whole team will immediately retreat to the midfield and backfield, and the front midfielders will continue to pursue, while the three midfielders in the midfield will form a strong chain defensive barrier, Gattuso and Pierre Lo and Perota have their own advantages.

Gattuso is a well-deserved master of breaking, while Pirlo is the planner of the defense and attack. Perrotta is the player with the best defensive awareness and physical strength in the Italian team.

If the second line of defense is broken through again, Cannavaro, the captain of the middle, is the first choice to grab points and make up positions. The tall central defender is responsible for staring people and grabbing air power. The two full-backs are responsible for protecting the middle road in time. In addition to the last defense line, the Italian team also has the best goalkeeper Buffon, who is on the top. Buffon is worthy of being the best goalkeeper, showing amazing defensive ability.

Therefore, the Italian team's defensive strategy relies on collective efforts and also reflects unique characteristics: first, with regional chain defense as the main, combined with close attention, the defender's task is clear and the action is decisive.

Second, the three lines are closely connected and the overall action is the same. When the current front line is blocked and intercepted, the forward line will form a middle barrier in time. When the current guard line is defending, the defender line will be centered on the ball, attacking, filling and protecting in time, so that the defensive rhythm of the whole team is clear.

Third, the Italian team does not use a single retreat defense, but always maintains the strength to counterattack in the frontcourt. In the game, he is good at using the conversion rhythm between defensive retreat and counterattack pressure to curb the opponent's counterattack and attack, and always maintain offensive pressure on the opponent.

Let's go back and analyze the Italian team's free kick tactics. The Italian team's free kick in the front court is basically arranged by Totti and Pirlo. The way of free throws also changes according to the different areas of the free throw point, the distance and the defensive position of the defender.

can be roughly divided into three ways. First, when the free throw is within 30 meters away from the goal and close to the middle road, Totti and Pirlo cooperate. The former shoots directly and vigorously, trying to score directly or hit the defender, resulting in refraction of the line, and other attacking players grab the goal.

Second, when the service location deviates from the goal and is on both sides of the side, the penalty team member passes the ball diagonally, enveloping the players to run and attract the defense. Tony, Materazzi, Gilardino and other players head the ball in the middle or behind the goal. When playing against the United States, the Italian team used this tactic, with Gilardino scoring a header.

Third, when serving a free kick near the bottom line of the front court, the striker restrained the defender in the penalty area. The free thrower passed the ball to the front of the arc of the penalty area in the middle, and the other players inserted a long shot. Using this tactic, although the goal is not scored, it also poses a great threat to the opponent's goal.

While using the positioning ball as the team's biggest offensive weapon, the Italian team's defense of free kicks in the backcourt, Lippi has also made special deployments, mainly focusing on the human wall and the opponent's main attacking players. Pay attention to the control of the rear and both sides of the human wall to prevent the opponent from playing cooperation. For high-altitude balls entering the goal area, players with excellent header skills and height advantages compete for the top or the goalkeeper to attack and get the ball. Due to the good defense and clear responsibilities, the opponent's free kick did not pose much threat to the Italian team's goal.

The Italian team can stand out without being favored before the game, and its technical and tactical application must have a unique side. In terms of attack, he pursues multi-point flowering, and uses all skills and tactics of long passes, short passes and medium passes equally. In defense, he pays attention to the collective battle of the midfield, and the interception and steal performance is excellent.

Head coach Lippi is even better at using it. He can use his generals accurately and reasonably, give full play to his strengths, find problems in time on the field, and accurately find solutions to problems.

Especially under the strong pressure of the "telephone door" scandal in Italy, the Italian team can reach the finals. Head coach Lippi is indeed a master in terms of personnel management and stimulating players' fighting spirit.

Multi-point attack and team-oriented defensive strategy are the biggest characteristics of the Italian team's game. France has Zidane, Portugal has Fergo, Brazil is full of stars, but Italy does not have complete "core" players, but they rely on collective strength to reach the finals, relying on them. Overall.

Italy is a little special among the world-class strong teams. His overall strength is not inferior to any opponent, and their tactical research is quite developed, but they still insist on defending and counterattacking against some opponents who are far weaker than themselves, which is their weakness. The most prominent feature is that their possession rate is always surprisingly low in Italian games.

The last time Italy won the World Cup was in 1982. Some players in the lineup have a long life, such as Baresi and Bergomi, who are rare elderly players. At that time, their playing style has been affected so far.

The Italian football tradition seems to have always been clear and prefer results.

Just as AC Milan and Juventus entered the Champions Cup final in 2003, both sides seemed to be more willing to drag the game into the penalty shootout. After the game, the Spanish media ridiculed that the two Italian teams should enter the finals and let them play the penalty kick to determine the championship after the opening whistle. Football is becoming more and more utilitarian. Moreover, Concrete defense is Italy's national treasure, and defense is also an art. In terms of resource endowment, Italy never lacks good defenders and good goalkeepers.

Of course, for tactics, Italy has never given up innovation and has been striving for breakthroughs. However, after many years of immersion**, the traditional playing method has become familiar. It is easy to operate and knows how to kick with closed eyes, so the traditional ingredients are well preserved.

For the characteristics of players, pay attention to the football talents who have come out of Italy over the years. Among them are the best goalkeeper, the best defender, and the best striker in the world, but there are few world-class midfielders.

The midfielder of the Italian national team has two characteristics. One is that the Apennine Peninsula is rich in No. 9 players, such as Baggio, Zola, and now Piero and Totti, but there is a lack of No. 10 players with organizational skills.

Second, some of the well-tech ones are mostly engineering-type waists, but there has never been a good winger. This kind of back is very different from other countries' backs in terms of attack. They mainly threaten the opponent's goal by long passes and long-range shots. It is rare to see them rush into the penalty area many times to shoot like Lampard and Gerrard.

The winger has a new Camoranesi, which is imported from Argentina. The Italian style prefers to let the wingers attack on the sidelines.

The lack of some distinctive players is also the weakness of the Italian team.

The Italian team has been unfavorable in recent competitions. In 2002, it met South Korea. After taking the lead, it was even before the end of the game, and suddenly died in overtime and was eliminated.

In 2004, the European Cup did not even qualify for the team. It had unique skills, but there were not enough opportunities to perform. After the results table was subdued by the crowd, it was really not intended to make steel and turn into softness around the fingers.

However, after watching the previous semi-finals between Italy and Germany, the most intuitive feeling for Degan is that with artistic defense, Italy can continue to win.

In the semi-final between Germany and Italy, after Germany was eliminated, the live broadcast camera keenly captured the tears of a German female fan.

Indeed, with the rapid progress of the German team in this tournament, German fans can be said to be one of the happiest and happiest fans.

In contrast, Italy has stlegated all the way, maintaining the "slow heat" tradition of participating in the competition, but broke out in the semi-finals.

2:0 score continued the German team's record of "invincible" in the World Series finals, and also created a sad moment for German fans.

In the last game, the Italian team had nothing to do with its impeccable defense. If the striker had not missed the opportunity to shoot alone many times, the score would have embarrassed the Germans.

Facing the Italian team's "reinforced concrete defense line", "German chariot" has few opportunities in the whole race. More importantly, Italy's tight defense system has deprived the German team of their ability to control the game in the previous games.

The winner of the game was that the Italian team played their own style, while the Germans lost themselves, making the "Blue Army" the final winner again.

As a traditional strong team in world football, the Italian team has always been good at defense and interpreting defense into an art. It can be said that defensive awareness has been integrated into the blood of every generation of Italian players.

One of the most obvious examples is that Gattuso, as a midfielder, has a remarkable performance as a guest central defender after Nesta's hand.

In this World Cup, you can often see the opponent's fatal passes and breakthroughs that are repeatedly destroyed by Italian players at the last minute. No matter how accurately the opponent runs and intersperses, there will be Italian players around them.

Especially in the first match between Italy and Germany, the scene of Steinger being "besieged" by five Italian players while dribbled the ball, which once became a new network "hot map" and was also the most vivid interpretation of the Italian team's aggressive defensive posture.

Even if the opponent breaks through layers of defense, he still has to face Buffon, the world-class goalkeeper of the Italian team. His high catch and low blocks ensure that the Italian team's goal will not be easily captured.

Of course, relying on pure defense does not ensure Italy's victory. It can be seen that the real core of the Italian team in this tournament is not the previous Totti, but Pirlo, who, like Buffon, who has made many world-class saves, is a phenomenal player of the current Italian team.

Relying on Pirlo's careful scheduling in the midfield, the Italian team can switch the intensive defense to an effective attack, and his calmness on the court is a reassurance for the whole Italian team.

From the "golden boy" Rossi, to the "melancholy prince" Baggio, to the current Pirlo and Buffon, core players continue to emerge in Italy and lead the Italian team to move forward.

Analysis of the way of victory of strong teams such as Italy and Germany is to adhere to their own style of play and style, and continue this style with generations of players. While sticking to tradition, traditional strong teams are also constantly sharpening and improving their playing methods with the times.

Digan wants to lead the Belgian team to win this victory. In the final analysis, the biggest troubles are three: the tactical master Lippi, the Italian-style tight defense, and the Italian set-piece attack.

It seems simple, but it is another thing to operate in practice, and Italy has weaknesses, and Belgium is more troublesome. Degan believes that Lippi must have seen that he is a very shrewd person. He will definitely grasp these weaknesses of Belgium and then release them infinitely in his hand. Big.