In the last few minutes of the first half, Poland players began pressing frantically.
The Italy Team also temporarily changed their tactics, retreating from a high position to a low position, passing the ball around in their own half until the referee blew the whistle.
With the first half ended, both sides entered halftime.
In the locker room, the Italy Team was summarizing the first half.
Overall, their performance in the first half was excellent, generally achieving the tactical effects that Maniero wanted.
But there were still issues.
For example, Pavovsky’s goal.
On the one hand, Pavovsky’s individual ability is indeed strong, but on the other hand, it is also related to Italy goalkeeper Areola’s playing habits.
For that goal, Areola was almost rushing out of the penalty area.
What does this indicate?
Does it show that his ability to attack is strong?
That’s right.
But it also shows that he ventured too far out.
It’s not to say he moved far from the goal, on the contrary, he was too close to the goal, meaning when he needed to attack, he had to run for a long time.
For that goal, if Areola’s positioning had been a bit farther out, around the penalty spot or even near the penalty area, Pavovsky would not have had the chance to shoot the ball, as it would have been intercepted by Areola beforehand.
This is the disconnection impact that high ball control has on the defensive line. To reduce this adverse effect, special requirements for the goalkeeper’s positioning are needed.
"Areola, you need to boldly step out of the penalty area!" Maniero said, "Our defensive line is very high, which gives the opponents ample counterattack space. But if your positioning is far enough forward, many of their long passes can be intercepted by you beforehand."
"Of course, this tests your judgment. Whether you should bravely go out to disrupt their scoring attempt, or retreat quickly to the goal line, these require your own judgment."
"However, I must remind you, when the opponent has the ball, watch out for their ultra-long lob shots."
Maniero doesn’t want Areola to become just a backdrop for others’ spectacular goals.
This would be almost a fatal blow to a young goalkeeper.
"Furthermore, everyone, especially all players in the middle and front field, you need to pay attention." Maniero clapped his hands to attract everyone’s attention, "In the second half, as time progresses, the Poland Team will become more and more impatient, and their intensity in pressing will greatly increase."
"At this time, it’s unrealistic to expect perfect high ball control."
"I allow the distance between the front, middle, and back lines to stretch, with the defensive line appropriately retreating, to achieve more composed ball control. But this also increases the difficulty of passing, requiring everyone to position themselves more actively."
"You need to get used to this active positioning, even the three forwards up front must participate in dropping back to receive the ball."
"Moreover, once the opponent intercepts the ball in the middle and front field, don’t hesitate, all players in the middle and front field should press up! We need to pressure them at a high position."
"Don’t be afraid of our attacking formation being disrupted because of this. We have players who excel in chaotic battles. Whether it’s Morici or Sevajos or Lu Yang, they all have the ability to quickly find deadly attacking paths in the crowd."
"So for the second half, my only requirement for you is to increase your running, whether it’s to receive passes or to defend!"
Next, Maniero detailed the rules for pressing.
Pressing is a term that many people know, referring to the restriction and pressing of opposing players by your own teammates holding the ball.
But pressing actually has its own systems.
Man marking is one method, and zonal defense is another.
Through the long evolution of matches, these two have gradually merged.
Because standalone man marking or zonal defense is easily exploited by opponents to find gaps.
The two must integrate seamlessly to achieve the best defensive effect.
And this requires a defensive core to step up!
Most players are responsible for defending their own zones, but one player alone often cannot completely block the opponent and needs the help of neighboring zone players.
But neighboring players have limited mobility and can only help temporarily. Once the opponent moves away from the area where the neighboring player is located, those players are no longer willing to abandon their duties easily.
At this time, the importance of a defensive core with a running range almost covering the entire field becomes evident.
His field of activity is extremely wide, and no matter where a teammate’s zone encounters a ball-holding opponent, he can quickly rush over and act as the main defender to suppress and challenge the opponent.
And once the ball is moved, he also needs to follow up immediately, continuing to apply pressure and coordinating with teammates in the new area.
In the backfield, the core generally executes the pressing because the original backfield players need to prevent themselves from getting out of position.
In the middle and front field, pressing can be executed by the local teammates, while the defensive core can stand in a better position to prevent losing position.
In short, there are still many details involved here.
A short halftime break naturally cannot arrange everything, but establishing a defensive core is not an issue.
When the time comes, the defensive core will direct the middle and front field defense.
And in the entire Italy Team, having such strong running ability and decent defensive ability, knowing when to appear in the right position, is only Lu Yang.
The larger the range of running, the higher the requirement for a player’s sense of position.
So theoretically, players with a greater range of running can undertake more positions on the field.