"I think this is a waste of time! This team called San Remo doesn’t reach the level where they can test or exhaust AC Milan." In the stands, several professionals are whispering.
They are from Liverpool, including members of the Liverpool coaching staff, scouts, and some external technical personnel.
Any top-tier football match is no less than a war.
The open and covert strife in the Champions League doesn’t merely involve manipulation in the draw.
Nor is it limited to tricks in the visiting team’s locker room, or at the hotel where the visiting team stays, etc.
Those are behind-the-scenes operations, unspeakable, and not worth advocating.
What truly reflects the relationship between football and war lies in pre-match preparation and research of the opponent.
AC Milan has this Italian Cup final before the Champions League final, which may give them the title of double cup winners, but it may also allow them to be prematurely studied by their opponents.
The ultimate purpose for the Liverpool entourage’s arrival here is to provide effective information to the coaching group back home.
Perhaps some think watching past match videos is enough for tactical analysis?
Why come to see it live?
Moreover, AC Milan’s opponent in this match is terribly weak, watching it might yield nothing.
But form has continuity; the research value of the latest match is tremendous.
Field study allows observers to see much that is beyond the camera’s view.
"Calm down, what we want to see is not how AC Milan plays after San Remo takes the lead." The leading man in this group spoke up, "Although saying this might hurt someone’s feelings, I believe that facing the true AC Milan, we might not do better than San Remo!"
"There is a hard gap in strength between us and AC Milan, I hope everyone can face this fact!"
"Of course, we are far stronger than San Remo, but against AC Milan, trust me, we very likely will play the role of San Remo."
"The first half is about to end, I need all the detailed data from the first half. When the situation is greatly advantageous, whether AC Milan will show any flaws is the reason why we’re here."
"Otherwise... purely tactical analysis, do you think Mr. Head Coach won’t do a good job at that?"
The man is named Kara Beko Laird, Liverpool’s chief assistant coach.
Unlike the others, he is not part of Liverpool’s current head coach’s original collaborative team; he is a coaching talent cultivated by Liverpool themselves, jokingly called Liverpool’s heir.
Previously, he served as the head coach of Liverpool’s youth training team.
This year, Liverpool’s head coach parachuted in, and Laird’s main role is to help him quickly grasp the Liverpool locker room, coordinating relations between the head coach and players, the team, and upper management.
It can be seen that Laird has done very well, helping the head coach stabilize Liverpool’s situation without affecting his authority, allowing Liverpool to reach the Champions League final with a not-so-strong lineup.
Although reaching the final, everyone’s openly crediting Liverpool’s current head coach.
But privately, Liverpool’s internal personnel know that four-tenths of the credit belongs to Laird.
After Laird finished speaking, the people beside him immediately sorted some data reports and then reported to him.
During the ten minutes of halftime break, while others are resting, Laird operates at full power.
One seemingly useless piece of information flows through his fingertips.
"AC Milan’s players have a strong desire to win or crush weaker teams; after securing a 3-0 score early, they did not retract their offensive!"
"They intensified their attacks, fully utilizing the width of the field, frequently switching between the left and right flanks, with quite effective results!"
"Praxedes has become their left flank’s offensive engine, even though he is a left-back, he’s done part of the winger’s work. This has brought significant pressure to San Remo, but at the same time exposed gaps behind him."
"Izalelt can execute precise short passes and combinations in a small area, but when he initiates attacks as the core, he usually prefers simpler offensive methods. Many of his strengths rely on his amazing speed and enviable dribbling that shows human-ball unity, being efficient and direct."
"Nonetheless, it also means that to match Izalelt’s traits, AC Milan’s midfield, during an attack, won’t choose overly complicated options. They do not often utilize dazzling combinations."
"If the opponent has interception experts, the football passed to Izalelt becomes easier for the opposition to intercept, unless Izalelt retreats deeper. Of course, Izalelt possesses strong advancing abilities, he is not afraid to retreat, yet this would make AC Milan’s offense less smooth and less suppressive."
"San Remo has one Latu Yidi, he has accomplished two interceptions thus far, because of this reason. But one Latu Yidi is not enough, unless he were five years younger. Or... another proficient interceptor could cooperate with him in defense."
"Unfortunately, such capability... Versachi lacks it, Morici seems to recognize this point, but he cannot simultaneously handle the core tasks on both offense and defense; no one can achieve this."