Simeone stood with his arms crossed, his mouth slightly agape, watching the chaotic situation on the field. This visual impact was severely disturbing him.
He didn't know what tactics Real Madrid was playing.
Why were they playing so chaotically?
Before Christmas, Real Madrid's positional play was still stable and the most difficult tactic to counter.
After Christmas, everyone seemed to be letting loose, making it difficult for him to understand.
Firstly, Real Madrid gave him the feeling that there was no clear attacking core, no clear organizational core.
Everyone was running aimlessly!
Sometimes, Kroos, who was the midfield orchestrator, would push to the very front for a shot.
Sometimes, Benzema would suddenly drop back to his own half to receive the ball.
It seemed as if there was no clear division of positions; in football, there's a concept of positioning and covering.
But the hell, isn't the interchange between a center forward and a defensive midfielder too damn wide?
Yet, this tactic, if it can even be called a tactic, gave him a strange feeling.
No core, so damn, everyone is the core!
Whoever has the ball is the core; Suker was even pulling wide to create space for the player in possession.
No tactics, but they could play multiple tactics.
One second, Real Madrid was making long passes between the backfield and the front, the next second, the forward line was playing short-pass penetrations near their own penalty area.
One second, they were playing central penetrative through balls, the next second, they suddenly attacked from both wings?
Finally, there was the organizational issue.
No organization!
The game was in disarray!
But Real Madrid, by some strange twist of fate, always managed to get shooting opportunities, threatening their goal.
And the Atletico Madrid players, each of them was running blindly, completely swept into Real Madrid's rhythm, as if they didn't know how to play.
Finally, there was the Head Coach!
If he were Real Madrid's Head Coach, he would immediately stop this chaotic style of play, emphasizing discipline, organization, and positioning.
But what was Leidup doing?
Not a single tactical term was uttered; he was just applauding and cheering from the sidelines.
Are you a Head Coach or a spectator who came to watch the game?
Simeone had seen many classic tactics and knew how to respond to them.
But this kind of tactic would leave anyone bewildered!
And it was damn effective!
So, what exactly was going on?
Simeone rubbed his temples; he wanted to find the essence of the problem from the details. But... it was too chaotic! So chaotic that he couldn't find any pattern.
Suker was also watching the players on the field, who were in a complete mess.
Real Madrid was in disarray!
Atletico Madrid followed suit!
Sometimes, several of them would even huddle together, fighting for the ball like beginners; the scene was simply an eyesore.
Suker grinned,
This XJBT tactic was still brought out by Zidane.
Regarding this, Suker summarized it.
Characteristics of the XJBT tactic:
First: No core means multiple cores. Opponents will not be able to suppress key players through focused marking.
Second: No tactics means multiple tactics. Switching back and forth between long-ball attacks, short-pass penetrations, and attacks from both wings, leaving opponents unprepared.
Third: No organization means no organization. In chaotic situations, win the game through the individual abilities of star players or set pieces, delivering a decisive blow.
Fourth: Due to no core, no tactics, and no organization, the Head Coach's main job is not to arrange tactics, but to boost morale and unite the team!
Suker could feel Atletico Madrid's confusion and powerlessness.
After all, anyone encountering this tactic for the first time would be dumbfounded!
Any tactic will have clear characteristics and rules.
Just like martial arts moves, countering move by move is the rhythm of professional matches.
But Real Madrid abandoned the so-called moves, throwing a barrage of wild punches, and Atletico Madrid was directly bewildered.
Real Madrid fans had mixed feelings.
If you say they didn't play well, each player displayed amazing individual skill, and occasional brilliant combinations and dribbles made people applaud.
But if you say they played well, they occasionally rushed together to fight for the ball, damn it! Their community football matches wouldn't even have such a ridiculous scene.
"Tuck in! Tuck in the defense! Don't go out!"
Godin roared.
They couldn't find Real Madrid's attacking focus at all; it seemed like everyone was a core, driving towards the penalty area with the ball, creating a lot of trouble for them.
Most importantly, Suker was still lurking like a tiger.
His touches were still so few, but just standing there was intimidating.
If Suker received the ball, at least they would know Suker was going to threaten the goal.
But now, Suker wasn't doing anything, just watching.
This felt even worse!
They not only had to defend others but also had to reserve some energy to pay attention to Suker.
Bang!
As the president of Real Madrid, he naturally came to watch the first match after this major change.
Against a strong opponent, Real Madrid won by surprise.
Florentino couldn't tell exactly how they won, but as long as they won, that was enough.
Although these two goals seemed to be due to luck, this also indirectly generated Topical.
They could win the game and generate discussion!
It could be said that this match resonated with Florentino.
"Played really well!"
Florentino said with a smile, then turned his head: "What tactics are we playing?"
Inside the box, a group of strategists, experts, and consultants fell silent.
Tactics?
What the hell tactics!
XJBT, probably!
The match quickly entered halftime, and the Atletico Madrid players left the field with confused expressions.
Even now, they still couldn't figure out how Real Madrid played the game.
In contrast, Real Madrid's locker room was a scene of boisterous celebration.
"Awesome! That was so much fun to play! I love this kind of proactive dribbling. Always making me track back to defend is just the worst!"
Benzema laughed, "Let's keep it up in the second half. I feel like we can score in the second half!"
Bale also showed a subtle smile.
He also had a great time playing in this match. Although his range of activity was on the wing, he was still able to threaten the opponent's goal.
Like Benzema, he felt that he could score if they played for a little longer.
"Fullbacks, don't push up too far forward all the time," Suker said, taking a sip of water. "Several times, I had to track back!"
Getting used to this tactic can really get a player hyped up.
Just like Marcelo, who went wild in the attacking third and couldn't track back in time.
Ultimately, Suker quickly tracked back to help, but was out of position and received a yellow card for it.
Marcelo was also a bit embarrassed. He knew Suker was talking about him, but the offense was too exhilarating, and after playing for a while, he simply couldn't stop.
Suker was very clear that this tactic was easy to get carried away with. If no one called a halt, it was easy for everyone to rush forward.
After all, this thing doesn't have clear divisions of positions, functions, etc., so it's easy to get confused and ultimately forget the essence of the tactic.
"Very good, we played very well in the first half. Whether it's possession or other aspects, we are far ahead. Especially the offensive threats from all lines are showing. We just need to keep going, continue in the form of teamwork, believe in ourselves, believe in our teammates!"
Listening to Leidup's speech, Suker couldn't help but grin.
Sure enough, the Head Coach of this tactic is just for show. As long as he can shout 'awesome,' he's mainly there for the atmosphere.
Coincidentally, Leidup and Zidane are really suitable for this job.
On the other side, in Atletico Madrid's locker room, Simeone was worried to death.
What kind of football was Real Madrid playing? In such a chaotic situation, how did they manage to get two goals?
To say they were disorganized, yet it seemed like there was some connection.
To say they were chaotic, yet it seemed like there was a central point of attack!
However, Simeone currently couldn't see the problem at all.
"In the second half, we defend!"
There was no other way. When unable to figure out the opponent's strategy, they could only rely on defense to hold them off.
Once they withstood the attack, they could use counterattacks to gain hope for a goal.
Of course, this was also a last resort, only able to slow down Real Madrid's offense and create more time for themselves to study the tactics.
Although Simeone wasn't very confident he could find the problem within 45 minutes.
But now, he could only try this!
So, what exactly was this tactic? It was clearly chaotic, but it seemed to be very effective.
Simeone also encountered this problem for the first time and couldn't react immediately.
It would have been better if they had started with a defensive formation right from the start.
Simeone couldn't help but feel some regret. If he had known, he would have played more conservatively.
It's not like now, where they've conceded goals and are also being suppressed in terms of the game.
In the second half, both teams switched sides and resumed play.
After the match began, Real Madrid continued to use their previous tactic.
But very quickly, they noticed something was off.
Atletico Madrid tracked back very deep, giving Real Madrid almost no space to break free in their own half, and even the penetration distance for passes was very small.
"This is a deep defensive block, preventing us from continuously pressing in their half," Zidane said with a frown.
Leidup, beside him, asked, "What do we do?"
Zidane thought for a moment and said, "Bale is useless on the field now. His advantage is speed, but Atletico Madrid won't provide him with a runway. Without enough distance, his speed won't kick in!"
"So?" Leidup asked, "Just tell me the conclusion, who do we substitute in!"
Zidane: "…Di Maria, his technique…"
Before he could finish explaining, Leidup turned and waved to Di Maria, "Go warm up!"
Zidane: "…"
Once Di Maria finished warming up, Leidup handed Di Maria over to Zidane, letting the latter arrange the tactics.
Since it was already like this, Zidane didn't act coy.
"In a moment, you'll go on and take Bale's position. My request for you is simple: use your speed to deliver the ball towards the center!" Zidane patted Di Maria's shoulder and said, "You let Srna support you in the half-space. If they are spread out, you go it alone! Understand?"
Zidane's tactical arrangement was simple and clear, and it suited Di Maria's taste perfectly.
"Understood!"
Di Maria said definitively.
In the 61st minute, Di Maria came on as a substitute, and Bale was replaced.
Di Maria seemed extremely excited when he came on. He covered his mouth and first communicated with Srna, then ran to Suker for a brief exchange.
Suker raised an eyebrow slightly.
This meant they were going to start playing long balls and crosses.
At the same time, he could create goals again with his heading ability, and even if his heading wasn't perfect.
Suker, Benzema, and Di Maria could all penetrate into the penalty area.
Moreover, Zidane also emphasized returning to Mourinho's tactical system, no more random play!
From these coaching arrangements, Zidane still had some substance.
At the very least, his in-game command ability was very good, using his game reading ability to bring changes to the field for them.
The match restarted.
Di Maria hadn't been given an offensive role for a long time. Under Mourinho, he had been constantly switching positions with frustration. Now that he had finally returned to the wing, his desire to perform naturally increased greatly.
From a left-wing throw-in, Marcelo threw the ball to Suker. Suker chested the ball down, immediately turned, and hit a volleyed pass.
The ball traversed the pitch, transferring to Di Maria's position on the other side.
Seeing the ball, Di Maria instinctively jumped up with both feet, retreated slightly, and chested the ball down.
At the same time, he nudged the ball up with the top of his left foot. Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke moved quickly and immediately closed in.
Watching Di Maria hold the ball in the air, Koke's eyes lit up, and he immediately rushed forward to press.
But at this moment, Di Maria actually used his left foot again to flick the ball towards the front of the wing.
This was two consecutive touches with the same foot in a very short time.
A flick and a pull!
Just like a Elastico in the air!
"Oh~~~ Di Maria!!! The Angel has arrived!!"
González felt his scalp tingle when he saw this move.
The Real Madrid fans in the stadium also suddenly cheered loudly.
Regardless of whether it resulted in a goal, this technique alone was enough to excite them.
At this point, Di Maria suddenly burst into the penalty area, continuously performing step-overs over the ball, dazzling Atletico Madrid's fullback.
Suddenly, he pushed the ball horizontally towards the byline. Before the opponent could catch up, Di Maria crossed his feet, actually wrapping his left foot around his right foot and powerfully curling the ball towards it.
A rabona cross!
This series of moves left Atletico Madrid's defenders stunned.
Benzema held off Godin and Miranda tightly, unable to compete for the header.
Although the ball didn't fly high, he was also unable to move.
But at this moment, a figure suddenly burst into view.
He jumped very high, almost bending over from top to bottom, delivering a fierce header.
The ball, with immense force, rapidly slammed onto the goal line and bounced into the net.
"Gooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!"
"Goal! Goal! Suker! Hat-trick!"
"However, Ángel Di María's performance in this attack was fantastic!"
"An aerial Elastico coupled with a rabona cross, oh my God! He just came on for only 1 minute and completed an assist in such a spectacular fashion!"
"Of course, Suker's goal was excellent and very timely, but I'd rather give the applause to the Argentinian, thanks to Di Maria for his brilliant dribbling performance!"
On the field, after scoring, Suker suddenly turned and lifted Di Maria onto his shoulder, rushing towards the corner flag, and directly tossed him in front of the fans.
Even Suker thought this move was incredibly cool!
The most crucial thing was that it also resulted in a goal. This was just too awesome!
Awooo-wooo-wooo-wooo-wooo~~~!!!
Soon, Benzema, Kroos, Srna, Casemiro, and others rushed over, shouting.
They were also stunned by Di Maria's series of moves.
The aerial Elastico was one thing!
But a rabona assist was simply too flashy!