Chapter 107: Cage Tactics
Starting from the Finnish youth tournament, Gao Jun, this old monster disguised as a regular player, has been achieving good results with his rich experience and skills that far surpass those of his peers, leaving an impression on these young players that "we are very strong", thereby boosting their confidence. The young players also have more growth potential than the national team players who are at least adults under his command, so after gaining confidence, the progress of their skills is much faster, and with stronger strength, it is easier to achieve better results, thus finally forming a virtuous circle.
The more talented the player, the greater the benefits gained from it, and Yu Hai is undoubtedly one of the biggest beneficiaries. At just 18 years old, his brilliant performance in this game will establish the confidence that "I am not inferior to excellent players of the same age around the world", or even "I am better than them". This will open up a path for him to grow rapidly. However, if it weren't for the hard and scientific training over the past five years, today's sudden rise would be impossible...
Due to the good performance of the Chinese youth team in this World Youth Championship, more and more fans are paying attention to them. One obvious proof is that the number of Chinese fans who came to watch this quarter-final at Corklede Stadium has increased significantly.
The Chinese team seized the opportunity to launch a successful surprise attack at the beginning of the game, taking advantage of the opponent's defensive formation not being fully in place, and scored a beautiful goal. Not only did they successfully gain the lead, but also instantly ignited the passion of the fans in the stands. Under the enthusiastic support of the fans, the young Chinese team became more and more excited as the game went on, and even when facing the Netherlands' desperate counterattack, they were not at all inferior on the field...
The most eye-catching performance, of course, was Yu Hai, who finally broke free from his shackles and gave it his all. The Dutch team had thought that Yu Hai was only a threat on the counter-attack, but when they discovered that he also had decent breakthrough ability even in tight spaces, they were unable to adjust their defensive strategy quickly enough. After all, they were just a young team, and their ability to adapt was far inferior to that of experienced adults. As a result, Yu Hai's swift and agile ball-handling broke through the Dutch team's backline, turning everything upside down...
Yu Hai once again cut into the penalty area, shaking off one or two defenders with a horizontal move, and shot! Unfortunately, the opposing goalkeeper made a precise judgment and blocked the ball! Huang Jianxiang sighed in regret, also mentioning the attacking soul of the national youth team, Gao Jun, saying "If that was Gao Jun's shot just now, it would have definitely scored."
"This is natural, Gao Jun's stature is half a head shorter than Yu Hai's, and his agility is much stronger. This kind of breakout method is what he is best at, and it must be done more smoothly. Not to mention the difference in shooting accuracy between the two. Tao Wei echoed with a sentence, and once again affirmed Yu Hai's performance, "But no matter what, Yu Hai has such agile movements despite his large stature, which is really not easy. Moreover, from today's performance, Yu Hai's shooting technique, which he was not very good at before, has also made significant progress. This shows that he has been working hard to improve himself, and this kind of spirit is really rare among Chinese players..."
However, not long after the Chinese youth team missed another scoring opportunity, the two men couldn't help but think of Gao Jun again. But in this game, the Dutch coach seemed to have eaten a steel heart and was determined not to give Gao Jun any freedom to move, because his ability to seize opportunities was simply too terrifying...
According to the statistics of this Youth World Cup so far, Gao Jun has almost scored a goal every two shots, including his relatively weak headers and several high-difficulty non-standard shots. In contrast, other Chinese players need 6-7 attempts to score a goal, while forwards can only manage about 1 goal in 5 shots (in fact, this is still a performance that requires peak physical condition). Therefore, the Dutch coach's strategy was very clear: to completely shut down Gao Jun. To achieve this, they were willing to have one player follow Gao Jun from start to finish, while another defensive midfielder kept an eye on him at all times. As soon as Gao Jun crossed the midfield line, he would be intercepted by two players, and once he entered the 30-meter area in front of the goal where he could pose a greater threat, he would definitely be trapped in a "cage" formed by at least three Dutch players. It was clear that they wanted to completely shut him down.
The Dutch team did this, of course, had to pay a not small price, whether it is the offensive ability or defensive system will be severely affected, but the Dutch team's head coach thought that the youth team's excellent performance since the start of the game was entirely due to the presence of Gao Jun, as long as he was thoroughly sealed off, the youth team would become disorganized, however, it was clear that he made a misjudgment...
"Gao Jun is strong, but facing the Netherlands' tight defense, it's hard for him to play...". Yu Hai looked at Gao Jun who was tightly marked and his eyebrows furrowed slightly, but in his heart, a new emotion emerged. "Finally, the time has come for me to become the team's main player! Dad, mom, Coach Xu, everyone who cares about me, please watch closely, I'll show you the results of my hard work over the past five years!"
"Did you all see that? Everyone saw it, right? Without making any fake moves, he simply relied on accelerating, decelerating, and then accelerating again to continuously get past three Dutch players. If the opponent hadn't fouled him, Yu Hai would have made a solo run into the penalty area. This kid is incredible! His previous performances were already quite good, but compared to today's, it's like he's a completely different player...". Huang Jianxiang watched Yu Hai's brilliant performance with excitement and cheered loudly, then suddenly thought of something and asked Tao Wei with a twinkle in his eye, "By the way, who do you think Yu Hai's dribbling style resembles?"
Tao Wei thought for just a few seconds before finding the answer, "Hernandez, it's him. And come to think of it, the two of them do have some similarities - both are big guys with incredibly fast speed. Is it because of this that Yu Hai learned Hernandez's way of dribbling past people? He can find players with similar characteristics to himself to imitate, rather than directly imitating those world-renowned superstars. Just on this point alone, Yu Hai is already a step ahead of the vast majority of young players, especially among Chinese players - there are really too few like him who are diligent in using their brains..."
