Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

171 – The Final Stage

171

Most European leagues that implement the spring season usually end in May.

However, the true final match that concludes the 34/35 season continues until June. The Champions League final.

Naturally, the attention to this match is enormous.

There’s no other game to watch. The league is over, and there’s no game to watch, so what’s the point?

In fact, smaller European leagues or leagues outside of Europe are still in progress, but people are interested in the major European leagues, not some distant peripheral league.

And the tournament is the UEFA Champions League.

The stage that determines the best team in the world, and in fact, the best team in the world.

Not just in football, but in any sport, the title of “world’s best” garners attention, and it’s no exception in football, the world’s most popular sport. For fans who claim to know football, this is a match that can’t be missed.

So, the attention of the entire world is focused on the 34/35 UEFA Champions League final, held at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Bavaria, or Fußball-Arena München in UEFA terminology.

The stage is set for the third El Clásico of the season between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

＜ 34/35 UEFA Champions League Final ＞

Barcelona: Real Madrid

Fußball Arena München

[Barcelona 4-1-2-3]

FW: Destiny Kosiso / Iker Rodriguez / Jose Marsa

CM: Pablo Lopez / Leo Martinez

DM: Miguel Gomez

DF: Alexis Olmedo / Joo Ji-tae / Madu Murcia / Pau Berges

GK: Hector Port

[Real Madrid 4-4-2]

FW: Fernando Alvarez / Michal Zuk

MF: Francisco Gento / Carlos Sanchez / Esteban Valde / Federico Munez

DF: Luciano Castel / Jose Antonio Ramon / Bernd Schuster / Andrejinho

GK: Georges Monbert

Real Madrid had been working on a new tactic for two weeks, from the last match to the Champions League final.

In the first half of the league match, they played a compact 4-4-2, similar to Simeone’s style, but lost. In the second half, they played freely and attacked, but still lost.

It’s not that the tactic was wrong, but rather the players made mistakes. However, since they lost both matches, they couldn’t justify it.

If the Real Madrid coach was incompetent, he would say, ‘We’ll do better if we stick to our plan,’ or ‘If we reduce our mistakes.’ But Raul Harke was a capable coach who could establish a new plan.

Moreover, they had two weeks to prepare for the final.

Since it was their third match against Barcelona, the analysis was already complete. Raul Harke prepared a special strategy for the match against Barcelona.

The result was this.

A return to 4-4-2. Of course, it wasn’t the same 4-4-2 that failed in the first match. This time, it was a more centralized and Barcelona-specialized tactic. It was the so-called ‘diamond’ 4-4-2 that had been abandoned.

Unlike the general 4-4-2, which lines up four defenders and four midfielders in two rows, this tactic deployed four central midfielders in a diamond shape.

Naturally, by placing many players in the center, the team’s central control became stronger, but it also meant taking the risk of leaving space on the sides.

A characteristic of modern football is that it prioritizes balance over maximizing advantages. It’s not about highlighting individual abilities but rather covering weaknesses.

In the past, each player focused on their position, but in modern football, even attackers need to know how to defend, and defenders need to know how to attack.

The same applies to tactics.

In the past, extreme tactics that sacrificed some aspects to highlight others were popular, but modern tactics have evolved to minimize weaknesses. Under the advanced analysis system, exposing weaknesses means taking a much greater risk than in the past.

The diamond 4-4-2 that Real Madrid adopted was no exception.

The risk of leaving space on the sides was greater than the advantage of gaining central control, making it an abandoned tactic.

By using this tactic, Real Madrid acknowledged Barcelona’s superiority and deliberately left a huge weakness on the sides, aiming to thoroughly control the center.

It was an intention to thoroughly block Joo Ji-tae’s central control.

Joo Ji-tae’s control had always failed. Even Real Madrid couldn’t control him. So, instead of trying to control Joo Ji-tae again, they aimed to thoroughly block the center, assuming they couldn’t control him.

“This way!”

“Joo, go the other way!”

In this match, Barcelona made slight changes to their lineup. Young Destiny Kosiso replaced Mark Guigu on the wing, and Leo Martinez replaced Arnau Pradas in midfield.

However, their basic style remained the same. Barcelona, who built up their game around Joo Ji-tae, didn’t record a single shot on target until the 10th minute of the first half.

“Turn back!”

“Get stuck on him!!”

The first reason was that Real Madrid’s players controlled the center, and Ji Zhitao was busy passing to the sides. The second reason was that Real Madrid’s two-top, each playing a different role, showed an unexpected synergy.

Fernando Alvarez, who was fast, strong, technical, and had good decision-making, always stayed around Ji Zhitao, but instead of blocking him, he openly targeted the backspace. Michal Zhuk, a tenacious and powerful striker, stuck to Ji Zhitao like glue, blocking him.

In fact, there was nothing special about this situation. Ji Zhitao was very familiar with it.

However, the fact that Fernando Alvarez, who had recently been shining brightly and had scored over 60 goals this season, added an extra layer of specialness.

Even Ji Zhitao couldn’t prepare for Fernando Alvarez in advance, so he had to always be mindful of the backspace. Moreover, Michal Zhuk, who was like a sticky note, was also a problem. It was easy to shake him off, but the opponent would quickly regain their distance and continue to block.

If the opponent was blocking from a distance, Ji Zhitao could break through quickly, but the subsequent play would be blocked. Real Madrid controlled the center, and even if Michal Zhuk didn’t break through, they could still attack from the sides. However, Fernando Alvarez, who only targeted the backspace, was a concern.

It was still early in the first half, and the side attacks were going well, so it seemed okay to continue like this… But the problem was that even if they broke through to the opponent’s camp, they couldn’t pose a decisive threat.

In the end, to score a goal, they had to break through the center, but Real Madrid had thoroughly blocked the center.

At this point, an effective method would be to use a tall striker to create a cross or a mid-range shot, or to create a gap through dribbling…

“The cross is no good. The high cross is blocked from the start, and the low and fast cross is well-defended by the opponent’s fullbacks. Shooting from mid-range is also blocked by the crowded center… In the end, it’s all about dribbling.”

There was no need to force a breakthrough alone.

In modern football, dribbling may seem like a solo act, but it’s actually about using the off-the-ball movement of surrounding teammates to distribute pressure. Adding a simple 2:1 pass to this would be the icing on the cake.

However,

“Koshi and Hose were caught.”

Barcelona’s side attackers were suppressed by Real Madrid’s two fullbacks.

Real Madrid’s two fullbacks, Luciano Castel and Andrejinho, who focused on blocking low crosses and cut-ins on the sides, proved why they were the best in their positions.

This situation continued for over 25 minutes in the first half.

It was easy to bring the ball into Real Madrid’s camp through the empty sides, but in reality, they couldn’t find space in Real Madrid’s camp and could only make backpasses.

At this point, Barcelona’s solution was for their back players to suddenly infiltrate and secure numerical superiority, creating a gap in the opponent’s defense block—

“Hey, be careful!!”

Ji Zhitao, who had failed to break through the opponent’s midfield again, lost the ball and was quickly countered by Real Madrid.

Even if they adopted a 4-4-2 formation, narrowing the gap and compressing the center, they could have used the exceptional dribbling and passing abilities of Esteban Valde, who was positioned at the top of the diamond, to create a sudden and intricate counterattack.

Indeed, Esteban Valde accurately delivered the ball to Fernando Alvarez, who had infiltrated the backspace, but Ji Zhitao was also quick to react.

“Ah…!”

Fernando Alvarez and Ji Zhitao engaged in a fierce battle, and the former used his strong body to collide with Ji Zhitao, but…

“Slow down.”

Ji Zhitao, who was skilled in clever tricks, couldn’t be surpassed.

As Fernando Alvarez’s blocked elbow flailed wildly, Ji Zhitao’s fist, which was naturally swaying, grazed past Fernando Alvarez’s ribcage.

The reaction was quite dramatic.

Fernando Alvarez stumbled for a brief moment. Although it was a short stumble, it created a significant gap in the high-speed chase.

“Kua!”

Ji Zhitao, who had secured the ball first, passed it to the goalkeeper and blocked Fernando Alvarez with his back.

“Huh, huh… Coward.”

“Hey, stop blowing air into my ear! What’s wrong with you? Even if I’m handsome, I’m married. Go bother your wife’s butt instead of mine.”

“What, what!?”

Fernando Alvarez’s face turned bright red with anger, even in the ball competition and the tackle.