Chapter 192 Local Defense Level Attack
北京时间10月26日晚上10点，距离切尔西下一场比赛，英联杯1/8决赛还有1天时间。

The tight schedule forced Mourinho to adjust the intensity of training. A game like the EFL Cup is not important, but it is actually quite important. If you say it is important... it is not that important.

Including the FA Cup, these two competitions have a very notable feature, that is, if you don’t win the championship, all the previous games are in vain!
So, since we have reached the knockout stage, Mourinho will definitely use the entire main lineup!
"Beep!"

Brown blew the whistle, and the players walked towards Mourinho one after another. Because they had just trained their endurance not long ago, according to Mourinho's habit, the intensity of the recent training must not be too high, so the players were in a more relaxed mood today and walked more casually.

Terry put his arm around Jiang Yuan's shoulders and said, "Jiang, the Golden Boy Award candidate list will be announced in a few days. Do you have the confidence to give it a try?"

"Golden Boy Award?"

Jiang Yuan raised his eyebrows. As a professional player, the words "Golden Boy Award" were not unfamiliar to him.

The Golden Boy Award was founded by the Italian newspaper Turin Sports in 2003. The award is given to young players under the age of 21 who play for European clubs and is known as the "coming of age ceremony" for top rookies.

"I remember this thing is for those under 21 years old. I might have more opportunities in a few years."

Hearing Jiang Yuan's "modest" speech, Terry curled his lips and said, "What's the big deal? Your performance this year is phenomenal. The Champions League Golden Boot, this is the level of the Golden Ball Award!"

"Hey, Terry, please stop teasing me about the Champions League Golden Boot. I told you, I was just lucky in the first few games of the group stage, I will be caught up later."

Jiang Yuan felt helpless, 3 goals in 7 games, not only the media wanted to praise him, but even his teammates also praised him. The most amazing thing was that Jiang Yuan's teammates were not like the media, they could physically attack him, because they could see each other almost every day.

At this time, Hazard, who was walking behind, heard the conversation between the two and trotted forward a few steps to the position next to Jiang Yuan: "Jiang, believe me, whether you can make the waiting list is not a question worth considering for you. Think about whether you have a chance to win the award!"

"Why do you say that?"

After listening to what Hazard said, Jiang Yuan suddenly became interested.

You know, as his good friend and predecessor in the field of football, Hazard always has some information that Jiang Yuan doesn't know. Of course, it doesn't mean that Hazard is willing to take the initiative to learn about the information, but he has experienced many things personally.

For example, next, Hazard shared with Jiang Yuan his experience of selecting the Golden Boy Award in 11.

"At that time, I was still in Lyon. You should know Lyon, it is a French Ligue 2650 team. Not as good as Chelsea, but not bad either. The value will affect the selection of the Golden Boy Award. I remember that I was 19 million euros at that time, and my performance in the season was not bad. But there was a monster back then, Mario Gotze, who was worth 3000 million euros at the age of . I didn't compete with him."

Hazard looked calm and composed. He was not the kind of person who would regret something he couldn't get.

"Um……"

Jiang Yuan lowered his head and thought for a while. If that was the case, he did have a chance. But it also depended on what these European reporters thought. After all, there had been no examples of players under the age of 18 winning the Golden Boy Award. The youngest was Messi in 2005, when the Argentine was only 18 years and 5 months old.

To be honest, 17 is a bit young for the Golden Boy Award. 18 or 19 is just right!

“Don’t be nervous”

Hazard patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder and said, "Your chance of winning the award is much greater than mine did back then."

"Don't be so lazy, are you taking a walk?"

Suddenly, Mourinho shouted loudly, interrupting the chattering of more than 20 players, and everyone quickened their pace and ran over.

Mourinho was a little disappointed with the players' performance, but he didn't say much and went straight to the topic of today's training.

Brown was holding a folder in his hand with a serious expression: "In the game the day before yesterday, we can see the importance of defense, especially when we are leading. I always emphasize defense, but it is undeniable that our defense has big problems."

"Snapped!"

Brown and the folder: "Of course, everyone's problems are different. Let's train separately first, and then regroup."

Brown then divided the players into groups A, B, C, D, and G. The number of people in each group was different, but the players in the same group all had some connection on the defensive end.

Among them, Jiang Yuan and Zouma were divided into Group C. Because of the young players in Group C, the coaching configuration is very high and they are directly led by Mourinho himself.

The Portuguese coach called Zuma and Jiang Yuan aside, then took some logo plates from the box and placed them on the ground: "Jiang, little Kurt, do you know why you two are in the same group?"

Jiang Yuan and Zuma looked at each other, and then Jiang Yuan asked tentatively: "Because we can all head the ball?"

"Ha ha!"

Mourinho laughed: "Sure enough, your brain is not smart"

Jiang Yuan: Uh...

"Ivanovic was injured recently, so Zouma needs to temporarily play as the right back. You two are on the same path. You have played two games, but you haven't noticed it yet?"

Mourinho pointed out the problem. Jiang Yuan thought about it. Indeed, since Ivanovic temporarily withdrew from the team's roster, Zouma has been playing as a right back. Although the Frenchman's performance as a full-back is not as good as Ivanovic, it is still acceptable. After all, Zouma is tall and strong, and can help Jiang Yuan solve some problems that he cannot handle himself.

"Ok, so what do you need us to do?"

Zuma smiled brightly.

"No hurry. Jiang, let me ask you a question first. Do you remember the game the day before yesterday? When you faced Kouyate on the right, you didn't have the advantage in physical confrontation, so you looked very tired when defending. Do you remember what I asked you to do at that time?"

"Forehead……"

Jiang Yuan touched his nose and tried to defend himself: "Damn it, the game the day before yesterday was so intense that I didn't hear it..."

"Fuck you!"

Mourinho kicked Jiang Yuan on his elastic butt. This was not a game, so Mourinho would not be shown a yellow card for kicking the butt. The only response he got was Jiang Yuan's wailing.

"Jiang, if you find that you are not in an advantageous position in the confrontation, then don't take on the main defensive task. Move to the left and let Zuma go up. This is a critical moment, come on!"

Mourinho squatted down and fiddled with the three marking discs on the ground. The tactical blackboard was in the room and he didn't take it out, so Mourinho simply used the marking discs to simulate the scene.

"Local defense, it's a very simple principle. During the game, the two of you are very close to each other for a while, especially when the opponent throws the ball out of bounds. Kurt may even run in front of Jiang. At this time, Jiang, I need you to go back from the side and make up for the position lost by Kurt."

After listening carefully, Mourinho began to simulate a scenario where the second team's wingers and full-back combination competed with Jiang Yuan and Zouma on a sideline ball.

As top league players, Jiang Yuan and Zouma have strong learning abilities and can quickly implement the tactics Mourinho mentioned within 10 minutes.

The core of Mourinho's tactics is to cover the position. When the full-back goes forward to defend, the winger needs to protect the full-back. This defensive tactic is limited to Chelsea's right side. Why doesn't it work on the left side? Because the two players on the left, Hazard and Azpilicueta, do not have enough stamina to execute the cover tactic.

Even later, Mourinho showed Jiang Yuan a series of replacements. Sometimes Matic and Fabregas would come to the wing to assist in defense. At this time, William needed to fill the position of defensive midfielder, and Jiang Yuan could use his advantage of being closer to the frontcourt to run over and pretend to be William.

At this time, if the team completes a steal in the backcourt, Chelsea's success rate in heading the ball in the frontcourt will be greatly increased due to the presence of Costa and Jiang Yuan.

"Beep!"

Mourinho gathered the players together, and then the overall tactics were explained to the players by Mourinho himself.

As a former athlete, Mourinho brought his characteristics as a Portuguese player into his coaching career. This is why Mourinho places great emphasis on the overall team. In his view, man-to-man defense is effective, but the local defense based on this, including the overall defense, is the key to becoming a strong team.

If you do man-to-man defense well, you can only gain a foothold in the second-tier leagues at best. If you want to become a strong team in the top five leagues, defensive cooperation between players is crucial.

Jiang Yuan has speed, tackling ability, and strong confrontation ability, which makes his 1-on-1 defensive ability very outstanding. However, Mourinho made it clear in the tactical meeting that Jiang Yuan can chase back to defend, but if Jiang Yuan is regarded as the center of gravity of the right side defense, it is definitely a big mistake.

Because no matter how strong Jiang Yuan's tackling ability is, the high-risk nature of tackling will not change. Once a tackle fails, Jiang Yuan's position will be no different from the road.

"Jiang, listen carefully!"

Mourinho called out Jiang Yuan's name in front of everyone. There are many players in Chelsea who like to make tackles, and Jiang Yuan is the most representative one. Mourinho was making an example of him.

"I don't care about tackles and pressing during offense, but if it's defense, you have to observe carefully before tackling. If there's no one behind you to help you defend, then don't go down to the ground!"

"This……"

Jiang Yuan licked his lips: "Jose, I can't do anything except tackling the ball..."

"Ha ha!"

Jiang Yuan's words made the players laugh, but Jiang Yuan was not wrong. Except for tackling, his other defensive skills were not applicable in the top league.

"If you can't do it, don't do it!"

Mourinho reminded Jiang Yuan: "Just don't stretch your legs. If I were an attacking player and there was a super fast person following me, I would be very nervous. Remember, stealing is never the key to defense. What you need to do is to restrict the attacking players. As long as the restriction is good, all you have to do is wait for the opponent to make a mistake!"

It has to be said that as a coach, Mourinho's ability to read the game is better than that of Jiang Yuan, a nobody.

Hazard nudged Jiang Yuan with his hand: "Just learn from me. Watch me stretch my legs when I'm defending. Momentum is the most important thing!"

Jiang Yuan spread his hands and said, "Eden, do you call that momentum? That's clearly passive defense."

"No, you don't understand. Passive defense is for better offense!"

Hazard has his own unique insights into the transition between attack and defense.

"Okay, stop making noise!" Mourinho clapped his hands and the players immediately quieted down.

"The schedule is quite busy, so we won't train this afternoon. Let me say something. Now we have already finished 10 league rounds and the Champions League group stage is also halfway through. At the beginning of the season, we changed our formation. To be honest, I was very surprised by your learning ability. From last place to fourth place in the league now, please applaud yourselves."

what?
Everyone was a little confused by Mourinho's move. Everyone looked at each other, and everyone hid their hands behind their buttocks, refusing to take them out.

"Shit, I told you to applaud, so hurry up and applaud!"

"oh oh!"

"Clap clap clap!"

After a burst of inexplicable applause, Mourinho continued his speech: "You have paid a lot for the team, so we have re-entered the Champions League zone, but I want to ask, are you satisfied as long as you can enter the top four?"

Hazard, who was hiding behind Jiang Yuan, nodded, but fortunately Mourinho did not see it.

"Not satisfied!"

As the captain, Terry answered for the players. In order to prepare for the game, he only drank one 1ml bottle of Japanese mojiko beer every day in the past two days, which was exactly what Mourinho said just now.

Gave a lot to the team!

“Not satisfied? But I’m telling you now, if you want to achieve better results, your current efforts are not enough.”

"After training, we went straight to the bar, found two white models each, and slept until 2am the next day to rush to training. I admit that you are all absolutely talented players to be able to stand here, standing on the grass of Cobham base. But the problem is, if this is the case, fourth in the league and the last 10 of the Champions League, this is our limit"

"Want to get better results? Sorry, please give more for this team and for the fans who support us. Well, this afternoon's training ends early, relax your muscles and prepare for tomorrow's game!"

Mourinho and Brown walked towards the office building. They had some tactical matters to discuss.

The players looked at the two coaches' leaving backs and were speechless for a while.

Last season's championship trophy seems a bit heavy. Chelsea can get it, but they can't carry it.

……

"Zhuangdianertai! Zhuangdianertai!"

"Here is the live broadcast of the 2015-16 English League Cup quarter-finals, Stoke City vs. Chelsea"

"Before this game, the home team Stoke City had won three consecutive games in the Premier League, while the visiting team Chelsea ranked fourth in the league with a total of 19 points."

"Okay, without further ado, let the game begin!"

"Now let me introduce you to the starting lineup for this game. First up is the home team Stoke City!"

Stoke City (4-2-3-1)

Defenders: Bardsley, Shawcross, Wolscheid, Muniesa
Midfielders: Glenn Whelan, Charlie Adam, Afellay
Forwards: Mame Diouf, Walters, Arnautovic
Goalkeeper: Bartland
Head coach: Mark Hughes
"Then it's the visiting team Chelsea. Because of the injuries of Courtois and Ivanovic and Fabregas' red card suspension, there are some changes in Chelsea's starting lineup today. But the overall formation is still the most popular 4231 in the Premier League."

Chelsea (4-2-3-1)

Defenders: Baba, Terry, Gary Cahill, Zouma

Midfielders: Mikel, Oscar, Willian

Forwards: Hazard, Diego Costa, Jiang Yuan

Goalkeeper: Begovic

……

Stoke City was founded in 1868, which is longer than the traditional giants Manchester United. Although the foundation and paper strength are far inferior to Stoke City, as a mid-table Premier League team in the past 10 years, Stoke City's strength should not be underestimated.

Stoke City has a very cool nickname, "Sky City", which is because this team is very good at high-profile tactics, and likes long passes and throwing grenades from out-of-bounds balls. In addition, the players are generally tall, so Stoke City does not need to control the ball or tactics at all.

Just pass the ball from the wing, and then a few forwards will go forward to grab the ball!
This tactic sounds stupid, but because of its unique style of play, it often makes many Premier League teams suffer. Especially in the second round of the league, Stoke City tied with Tottenham Hotspur, one of the BIG6, away from home, which caused quite a stir at the time.

"Hoo, hoo-hoo!"

In Chelsea's counterattack, Jiang Yuan hurried forward on the right. The full-back Muniesa facing him was only 1 meters tall, but the left winger Arnautovic was 92 meters tall. I don't know what Mark Hughes was thinking when he put a center forward on the left.

Jiang Yuan's choice for such a tall player is to avoid him whenever possible. In order to avoid physical collisions with Arnautovic, Jiang Yuan often needs to go a long distance on the right.

"River!"

As usual, William found an opening and made a long arc pass that bypassed Afellay and rolled in front of Jiang Yuan.

"Wow!"

bet365 burst into screams from the fans. Although the stadium only has 3 seats, this did not dampen the fans' passion at all.

"despair!"

Jiang Yuan stretched out his right foot and touched the ball with the shoe outside his right big toe. While taking the ball off his feet, he suddenly exerted force with his ankle and pushed the ball forward.

"Jiang Yuan is trying to break through on the right, and in front of him is No. 5 Muniesa. This Stoke City full-back is good at both offense and defense, and is especially good at stealing the ball. Let's see what choice Jiang Yuan will make against Muniesa, and move towards the bottom line little by little."

"Eh? What's going on with Arnautovic? As the left winger, Arnautovic made a cross run in the backcourt. Arnautovic appeared in the defensive midfielder position. Isn't it a waste of the player's energy to run like this? Or does Mark Hughes have other plans?"

"No matter what, let's look at the right side first. Jiang Yuan's acceleration after the sudden stop was noticed by Muniesa, and the two of them were in a stalemate on the right side. Hiss, isn't Zuma coming up? If it was Ivanovic, he would have run to the back to support Jiang Yuan. But because Zuma's speed is not advantageous, he did not run to the back to support Jiang Yuan. The person who came was William!"

"Jiang Yuan pointed diagonally forward, he wanted William to help him complete the task of going to the bottom. Well, in the end he didn't go to the bottom, Jiang Yuan pulled the ball, and the ball came to William's feet!"

After getting the ball, William turned around near the right sideline without any hesitation, and then kicked the ball to the middle.

"Get in quickly!"

William shouted loudly, and at the same time Jiang Yuan started running. The two cooperated with each other. William passed the ball to help Jiang Yuan cut inside, perfectly avoiding the pressure brought by Muniesa's assisting defense to Jiang Yuan's running position.

Jiang Yuan caught the ball before it rolled to the top of the arc, and then met someone he never thought he would meet at the top of the arc.

Arnautovic!
Stoke City's left winger ran directly to the defensive midfielder position. Looking at the original defensive midfielder Charlie Adam, he was playing house with William on the wing.

Jiang Yuan took the ball and walked inside little by little. He looked up at Arnautovic who was more than 1 meters tall in front of him. Helplessly, Jiang Yuan put his left hand behind his butt, which meant he asked for support.

“Here!”

Hazard reacted immediately, running from the left to receive Jiang Yuan's return pass. Hazard stopped and passed the ball to the right, and William stretched his foot. The Brazilian's excellent sense of the ball helped him to get the ball off.

William dreamed of last season when he was still playing as a right winger. A few bicycle kicks scared Muniesa so much that he retreated repeatedly. But maybe it was because he hadn't played in this position for too long, William then passed the ball directly to Volscheid's feet, which was so appetizing.

“xuuuu——!!”

The home team fans seized the opportunity and booed William, who was helpless in doing anything about it.

After playing as an attacking midfielder for more than two months, William has been transformed by Mourinho, and now he can only protect the ball and dribble.

As for dribbling past the defense… the ball can pass through, but it’s hard to say whether the person can pass through.

"William made a mistake! The ball went directly to Volscheid. Haha, Volscheid didn't react to the sudden gift and passed it to Adam. Wait, why did Arnautovic and Adam switch positions again?"

“Hiss—I think I understand.”

The commentator of CCTV5 suddenly realized that although Adam Charlie and Arnautovic are a left forward and a left midfielder respectively, when Chelsea launches an attack on the right, the distance between Arnautovic and Adam will be very close.

At this time, Adam and Arnautovic can exchange positions with very little running, and because Adam is fast, even though he has changed players, Jiang Yuan is still being guarded.

As for why the position had to be changed, most of the fans in the live broadcast room understood it after the last attack.

Arnautovic is tall and can easily be fooled by the extremely fast Jiang Yuan when defending on the wing. However, if Arnautovic can temporarily move to the top of the arc, he can use his body to block the position of Jiang Yuan after he cuts inside, thus preventing Jiang Yuan from completing his shot.

On the offensive end, Arnautovic can have a real impact on Zouma's defense.

It can only be said that Mark Hughes not only guessed Chelsea's lineup today, but he even found an almost perfect solution.

"hiss--"

In front of the visiting team's bench, Mourinho stood with his hands in his pockets, wrinkles on his face and white hair on his head.

Obviously, in today's tactical arrangement, the home team Stoke City has the upper hand!
……

(End of this chapter)