Chapter 181 – There Is No Number of Cases (3)

181

The concept at the beginning of the first half of the Korean national team was clear.
Unlimited pressure.

The pressure line leading up to the opponent’s camp was virtually unlimited pressure.

“Whoa, whoa, friends. Wasn’t it too aggressive from the start?”

The Argentine player, who quickly passed the ball to the side at the Korean player’s terrifying appearance, trembled.

Of course, Korean players can’t understand because it’s Spanish.
Daniel Baleno shook his head as he watched the Korean player shrug his shoulders and run towards the ball again.

“I am surprised. I thought Korea would come out aggressively.”

It is obvious that this is a tactic used by a weak team in terms of power.
Counterattack after defending the Bodo line of the weak team. Or stop the bus.

Isn’t it a Korean team that has a good team specialized in counterattacks to sit down defensively? The Argentine coaching staff expected Korea to come out with a counterattack. It was pretty wrong, though.

‘Even so, this is too aggressive.’

As he thought, Korea’s forward pressure was extremely aggressive. To the point of being considered excessive.

At first glance, the words “Front pressure” And “Aggressive” May seem incompatible.
But in football, it’s good enough. Rather, forward pressure and aggressiveness are inextricably linked.

Pressing is obviously an act close to defense.
However, ‘front pressure’ is different. Beyond simply blocking the opponent’s attack, defense is defense, but it can be said that it is defense for the sake of attack.

The opponent’s camp, especially the forward pressure starting from the final third, was one way to seize the ball from the highest position possible and lead straight into an attack.

As there is a saying that the most dangerous time in defense is when the ball is taken away during defense, it is natural that a threatening opportunity arises when the ball is taken away from a position close to the goal.

The tactic born from this idea is the famous “Gegenpressing”.
The very tactic famous for forward pressing.

When coach Jurgen Klopp conquered Europe with Gegenpressing, how aggressive was the team he led.

That’s why it’s aggressive
An extremely aggressive tactic that far exceeded Argentina’s expectations.

‘But clumsy.’

Obviously, I was surprised by the opponent’s unexpected tactics, but that’s all.
Daniel Baleno was laughing at Korea in his heart.

Forward pressure is a tactic that can satisfy both offense and defense, as the saying goes, ‘defence for offense’.
Theoretically, it could be said to be a near-perfect tactic.

But where is reality equal to theory?
High line… For example, the theory itself that presses strongly from the opponent’s final third to make it impossible for the opponent to advance the ball, and if the ball is captured, immediately leads to an attack, is great, but… If the theory could be implemented on the ground as it is, all soccer teams would be using Gegen Pressing.

There is a big problem with forward pressing.
One is the depletion of physical strength of players who have to constantly run for strong pressure starting from the high line.

“Turn around calmly! Let’s tame these angry boars!”
“Hey Roddy! Shall we play a bullfighter?”

If you meet an opponent that does not work under pressure, you will be swayed endlessly.
Just like right now, when you either break the pressure with your outstanding individual skills or break the pressure with your skillful passing play.

Korean players constantly rushing at each other and Argentinian players leisurely exchanging passes between them.
Despite the obvious contrast, the Korean coaching staff were still ordering intense pressure.

“Let’s start slowly. Hey, Rope! Get ready to run!”

And the second problem.
The higher the pressure, the higher the line. In other words, the back line of allies is empty.

It’s simple when you think about why manager Jurgen Klopp has been weak against fast players throughout his career.
It means that even the creator of ‘Gegenpressing’ and the director who achieved the greatest success couldn’t escape this problem.

‘Great. Beating this wild boar… Now… Uh, can’t you? It almost got into trouble.’

Daniel Baleno, who was about to fire a long pass to Rodolfo Haimes, who was digging into the space behind Korea’s high defensive line, quickly passed the pass back.

The moment I tried to be relieved by beating one person, I glanced around with an instinctive sense of danger, and only then did I see the opponent’s goal.

‘I almost got caught off guard.’

If he tried to make a long pass as it was, it was clear that the Korean player watching from the side would jump right in and cut it.

Daniel Baleno thought that Korea’s organizational skills were better than he thought.

Unlike club teams, which always keep pace, the national team cannot be organized well due to the nature of the national team, which keeps pace in a very short time, but the Korean national team was quite tricky.

Pressing in football is basically a team movement, not an individual movement.
It’s not even neighborhood soccer, and there’s no way you’ll be pressured by running like a pack of dogs at a player who catches the ball.

Pressing alone at the professional level is of no avail.
The ball is faster than the person, so when pressure comes in, just pass it.

Of course, the pressure in the pro should be seen as a movement in team unit tactics, not individual players.

What you can see right away is one or two players approaching the player who caught the ball, but the team-like movement of blocking the pass path and marking the opponent player in an invisible place is parallel.

No, if you go into detail, even the number of players pressing and the direction and method of pressing all have team promises.

In that sense, Korea’s forward pressing organization is excellent for a national team, but compared to the well-organized forward pressing of a professional team… Well.

‘Shit. Why? It’s definitely harder than you think, but… However, it is not an insurmountable organizational power. But why… ?’

Breaking away from pressure requires a team-like movement, but from the point of view of Argentinian players with good personalities, it is not to the extent that they cannot break through the pressure of Korean players.

It must be so… It is not collapsing under Korea’s forward pressure, but it is not able to break through.

Just look at Rodolfo Haimes right now.
He constantly digs into the space behind the Korean defense, but he has never received a proper pass.

Doing a sprint without stalling is very hard work.
It’s physically exhausting, but it’s also mentally exhausting.

Of course, it would be better than the Korean players who put unlimited forward pressure like crazy dogs, but it wouldn’t be easy to sprint without a promise.

In Daniel Baleno’s field of vision, breathing heavily, the image of a teammate kicking the ground was reflected.

Daniel Baleno tried to send a long pass to his teammate who was gradually getting tired, but he missed every opportunity due to the horror felt at every decisive moment.

Strangely, the attack doesn’t go away… For Argentina, it would be okay to finish the first half like this. No matter how strong the Korean players are, they won’t be able to run like this in the first half and play like they do now in the second half.

Then, if you aim for that time and save up his stamina through pass play, you will be able to achieve an easy victory…

‘I can’t do it like this.’

I couldn’t wait like this for my colleague who was nervous right in front of me, as well as the appearance of my colleagues around me.

We are not argentina
Winner Argentina.

To struggle against the Korean national team, which is only an Asian team, with only the goal of reaching the round of 16?

‘I can’t do that. This time… !’

The moment I was aiming for an opportunity while exchanging hand gestures with my colleagues, a good chance finally came.
When Rodolfo Haimes appropriately digs into the space behind the defense, the ball comes right under his feet.

A visceral sense of danger struck again this time, but—

‘Now… Oops, danger… What!?’

It was an instant

The Korean player, who had been passively participating in the pressure unlike other players, suddenly rushed in, perhaps because he had been concentrating on attacking.

This is the player who has repeatedly emphasized that he is the player to be most careful of.
I heard that the defensive skills are not good, but the pressure is applied at an unexpectedly sharp timing and at appropriate intervals.

However, the sharpened senses saved him from a single crisis.
Because he reflexively dragged back the ball he was about to kick, the Korean player’s foot brushed past the empty space where the ball had just been.

After the dangerous moment passed, Daniel Baleno, who got another chance when the opponent passed by, was about to throw a pass this time.

“No! Pass it the other way!!”

With the screams of his comrades—

—Chaw!!
An unexpected tackle came in.

An amazing tackle that only steals the ball.

“I stole it! Enter!!”

* * *

I wondered if this would happen when the coach first explained the tactics to prepare for the game against Argentina.

The formation was the familiar 4-2-3-1, but it was a modified tactic with senior Yoon Hyuk in the center of the 2nd 3rd, attacking midfielder.

The purpose was simple.
When pressing forward, senior Yoon Hyuk blocks the opponent’s pass that is aiming for the space behind the defense, a chronic weakness.

It was a role that I was able to take on because I was a senior Yoon Hyuk who had excellent overall defense skills, but especially excellent judgment and predictability.

The player who makes the most cuts in the Bundesliga is senior Yoon Hyuk.
Will the players make a pass that is not stupid and will be blocked by the opponent? Even in an attack situation?

Even so, the fact that he recorded the most pass interceptions proves that he has excellent judgment and predictive power, as well as excellent physical ability to perform them.

That’s why the coach appointed senior Yoon Hyuk as an attacking midfielder.
For a defensive role, not an offensive one.

Our plan was to reduce the space by driving the opponent’s ball to the side with constant forward pressure, and then I, who was passive to participate in the pressure, rushed in and took it.

It seems like something rough, but the coach, who saw me surprisingly good at defense during training, pushed ahead, saying that since it would be difficult to beat Argentina with normal play anyway, we had to use a stratagem.

The ability he raised while playing as a central midfielder is so helpful.

And now.

If our forward pressure didn’t work, we would have scored a goal quickly or faced a dangerous situation.
If that happened, we decided to give up this game quickly, but surprisingly, Argentina couldn’t break through our forward pressure.

On the contrary, we were not able to create a decent attacking opportunity compared to using physical strength.

In the car that I wanted to consume only our stamina like this, I noticed that the opponent was frustrated and tried a long pass from the side with less pressure.

Now!

‘Great! The timing was perfect— huh?’

I thought it was perfect, but I got caught on a simple drag bag and passed my opponent.

The moment I wanted to perish like this,

“I stole it! Enter!!”

Senior Yoon Hyuk, who has been backing up behind the players who press forward and blocking the opponent’s pass path, won the opponent’s ball accurately and quickly passes it to me.

The movement just before running to steal the opponent’s ball became a blessing in disguise, and the feet that received momentum accelerated in an instant.

When I received the ball delivered in the exact running direction, it was in front of the penalty box.
The goalkeeper is seen when he takes the ball out between the legs of an opponent who is belatedly extending his foot. One shot fake towards the goalkeeper lowering his stance with a look that he would never miss.

“… !!”

His posture collapsed.
Realizing that he has been tricked, the goalkeeper changes his stance, loses his balance, and sits awkwardly as the ball passes by him like a bullet.

Goal.
It was the opening goal.