Chapter 113: Analyzing the Opponent

  In the end, Gao Jun surprisingly threw out a defensive strategy against Messi. "Messi's footwork and dribbling are too powerful, it is impossible to completely defend him, after all, Argentina has many strong players, we can't send three people to guard him for the whole game. So our defense can only try to minimize his threat. As an excellent forward with certain organizational skills, Messi poses a threat mainly through four means: breakthroughs, shooting, passing and organization. I will analyze them one by one below."

  "Messi's breakthrough is unstoppable, but we shouldn't put psychological pressure on ourselves because of this. Not only us, but even stronger teams can't stop him, it's just that he's so good. However, everyone should know that the breakthrough itself cannot create a threat, and it must be followed by subsequent actions to complete it, among which the most deadly is shooting. According to data, Messi's shooting success rate is the highest among Argentine players who have shot more than 5 times, so we try not to let him shoot. If it's really unavoidable, then it's better to let him shoot from a distance, because Messi's long-range shooting ability is not strong...". Gao Jun paused for a moment and continued, "And if Messi pulls to the side, we must also be vigilant. If he chooses to pass into the middle, due to Argentina's lack of height in the front court, unless the passing accuracy is extremely high, it will not pose a threat. And Messi's passing accuracy has not reached Beckham's level yet. Even if it's a ground pass, as long as our central defenders don't lose their position, the route of the ball he passes into the penalty area from outside is too long, and we still have a great chance to intercept it successfully, so this attacking method doesn't need to be worried about too much. Messi's biggest threat on the wing is still shooting after cutting inside, or attracting multiple defenders and then passing the ball to his teammate who makes a run behind to complete the shot, which requires extra attention..."

  "But no matter what, Messi is always the most threatening when he's active in the middle of the road, and his attacks on the middle of the road all start with a breakthrough. Messi's breakthroughs in the middle of the road can be roughly divided into two types: one is horizontal shaking off, mainly to pull open space, create conditions for himself to shoot or make vertical breakthroughs. Since Messi's success rate of shooting from a distance is not high, we can try to push him outwards as much as possible, but also leave him with the opportunity to shoot with his feet, tempting him to waste his chances. Although this also comes with the risk of losing possession, the probability is still much smaller than letting Messi break through and shoot again. A super star like Messi is worth taking a gamble on. Of course, if Messi retreats to organize in midfield, that would be the most beneficial for us. Although his vision and passing are not bad, we can adopt a foul tactic in midfield, relatively speaking, it's much easier to deal with him than when he's on the front line. Of course, we need to control our movements well, try not to get cards, especially red cards."

  "High, you will definitely become an excellent head coach in the future." When Klausten heard this, he couldn't help but praise and encourage everyone, saying, "The Argentine team is very strong, but my soldiers are not weak either; Messi is very fierce, but our High Army is even more fierce. Messi has only scored 4 goals so far, while our High Army has already scored 9 goals. What's the use of his fancy breakthroughs? In the end, it still depends on scoring goals to win or lose on the football field, so everyone must have confidence!"

  "It seems that being low-key is no longer possible......", Gao Jun was speechless for a moment after hearing this, but in order to achieve his own lofty ideals, which seemed almost impossible to realize, he couldn't always be low-key. Moreover, considering the overall strength gap between China and Argentina, if his performance in the final couldn't surpass Messi's, then China would have no chance of winning at all. Besides, with age growing, Gao Jun's advantage of having played football for over a decade would also gradually decrease, if he can't beat Messi now, when Messi's skills mature in the future, he will be even more unbeatable......

  On July 2, the day before the World Youth Championship final, a consolation match was played between the two semifinal losers. The stronger Brazilian team won 2-1, and as a result, many European media outlets became even more optimistic about Argentina's chances of winning the title.

  Most professionals also generally favor the Argentine team, on the one hand because they trust Messi, the super newcomer from Barcelona, and more importantly, there are many powerful teammates around Messi. On the other hand, Yu Hai, China's second attacker after Gao Lin, is unfortunately absent, even if Gao Lin is really stronger than Messi as shown in the data, it will be difficult for the Chinese team to beat the star-studded Argentine team.

  Especially noteworthy is that although this Argentine team has already had many players who became famous at a young age, the team's atmosphere has always been very united, with great internal cohesion and a well-established overall style of play, making them one of the most difficult teams to face.

  However, despite this, everyone is still very much looking forward to the U20 World Cup final on July 3. Before the game, there were over a hundred scouts from European clubs in the stands, and it wasn't just scouts - several head coaches from Eredivisie clubs even came personally. As for youth training coaches and transfer officials, there were even more. But what suddenly made Arsenal's chief scout Steve Rowley change color was the appearance of an old man with a shock of white hair...

  "Bayern actually sent him over too? Are they willing to pay a high price, so they asked him to come and evaluate it? This is going to be troublesome!" Steve Rolly thought with an ashen face, "No way, I must remind the professor to raise the quote as high as possible from the start to scare away competitors. Otherwise, once Bayern makes up their mind, we absolutely can't compete..."

  Indeed, Bayern Munich in Germany has always been "stingy", but as the world's most financially healthy giant club, its financial resources, especially its cash payment ability, are far beyond what a second-tier giant like Arsenal can match. Once Bayern's management really decides to spend big money to poach players, no one except for a few super giants like Real Madrid will be able to compete.

  What's even more worrying for Steve Rolley is that Bayern sent someone over only now, obviously not for anyone else, the target can only be Gao Lin, who shone brightly in this World Youth Championship. The intention of sending that person is also obvious, because he is the greatest shooter in world football history...