"Compared to the front line, positional switches among midfield players occur more frequently and earlier," Lu Yang spoke passionately, "but that's not the kind of switching I'm talking about today, because the switching I'm referring to is different from what everyone understands."
In the front line, the left winger might play on the right side for a bit, the right winger might play on the left side, and occasionally the central forward might take on the winger positions, which has some effect, but not that much.
The reason is that there are fewer players in the front line, and it's almost always a situation of fewer players facing more defenders.
Don't even mention outnumbering the defense in the front; even a three-on-three or three-on-four situation is often considered advantageous.
Thus, even if the opponent makes a defensive mistake, the player's personal ability far outweighs tactical bonuses at this stage.
That's why a super forward relies on personal ability, not team tactics.
A forward line that relies on strong team tactics won't be recognized and will be seen as system players who struggle when away from that specific tactic.
This saying holds in traditional football.
Conventional midfield position switches are similar to Kaint's sweeping, Morici's forward insertion, and Lam's dragging-back — the roles of the three midfielders are clear, so their positioning isn't restricted.
But what Lu Yang desires in midfield rotations is basketball-style cross moves and positions.
Essentially, it's about disrupting the opponent's defense.
But not in Lin Huang's chaotic way of disrupting defenses, instead, it's through a scientific, replicable, organized, and premeditated cross-rotation to disrupt the opponent's defense and create opportunities.
In this system, players don't need too much individual brilliance; just following the established tactical runs can create excellent attacking opportunities.
This greatly increases the team's attacking power, allowing ordinary players to pose a significant threat.
It's not like traditional football teams that heavily rely on the play of stars.
It no longer requires Morici to exhaust every option to find direct passes and routes when holding the ball.
Nor does it need Lu Yang to repeatedly sprint and probe without the ball.
It will make all players understand what they should do at that moment.
Of course, this kind of tactical arrangement exists in football, but it's usually on a small scale.
For example, in Flank Combination and the like, the number of participants generally doesn't exceed three. When the number increases, it's challenging to maintain tactical effectiveness. Because football and basketball have one major difference: the level of control players have over the ball.
No matter how good a football player controls the soccer ball, they don't have as strong control as an ordinary professional basketball player over the basketball.
With various crossovers, behind-the-back dribbles, spin moves, Europe steps, dream shakes, Sam Golds, crossover dribbles, and so on, even if soccer has countless technical moves, it's tough to lose control of a basketball, but hard not to lose control of a soccer ball.
This isn't a gap between basketball and football but a gap between hands and feet!
The basketball is rarely out of the athlete's control, while the soccer ball often is.
So, with more players and more passing, mistakes inevitably increase.
Even with five outstanding passers like Morici, the coordination achieved isn't as strong as five basketball players playing with their hands.
What Lu Yang wants to achieve is using the numerical advantage in the midfield.
To perform basketball-like coordination.
By utilizing player movements to draw defensive players to specific positions, thereby manipulating the opponent's defensive line like puppets, creating and seizing lethal opportunities.
Some football teams have this, but it's not Arsenal's flashy style; it's Manchester City under Guardiola!
Guardiola demonstrated to World Football that whatever 235 or 325, they're all meaningless!
If you dissect football in detail, and play basketball in the midfield area, you are invincible!
But this requires the entire team to possess extremely high passing, control, and even shooting skills, tactical understanding, and team chemistry, all of which are demanding. And there shouldn't be players with overly fixed playing styles to influence this kind of crazy cross-rotation.
Especially the central forward!
The position of the central forward in football is particularly distinctive, almost second only to the clear-cut position of the goalkeeper.
But in basketball rotations, all five positions can switch roles, including centers who need to run outside the three-point line for pick-and-roll rotations.
In football, it's rare for a central forward to be positioned in the defensive midfielder area during an attack.
This has been a longstanding characteristic, whether in public perception or player development. The central forward should shoot, stay close to the penalty area, act as a pivot, occasionally play wide, etc.
No central forward can embrace Guardiola's philosophy to participate in rotations at the defensive midfielder position, tearing the opponent apart.
That's why there are no super forward players emerging from Guardiola's team, nor can super forwards fit into it.
For a player with Messi's style to connect and intertwine in the front line feels like a significant sacrifice for a central forward to football fans.
But what Guardiola wants is far more than this!
After listening to Lu Yang's explanations, Sotu was fine with it; he didn't believe a bunch of players who play football like basketball could emerge in World Football.
But Maniero's eyes lit up!
Playing basketball with eleven people is certainly challenging.
Playing basketball across the entire pitch on a football field is also challenging.
But... if the area was confined to a small region between the central midfield and frontcourt, with around five participating players, wouldn't the feasibility greatly increase?
Conventional football coordination traditionally involves two or three players, today it's just a couple of extra players, which is entirely acceptable given the players' abilities and understanding.