The High Press Was Hitting Its Stride-How Did Tang Long's Long-Range Shooting Compare to Alonso's?
Guardiola, who was sitting in the stands, was still immersed in Tang Long's anticipation of his runs during halftime, but he has gradually come to his senses.
His attention was once again focused on Inter Milan's possession-based tactics.
This time, he gave up his vacation and traveled all the way to the Olympiastadion Berlin, just to scout Tang Long.
With Inter Milan playing a possession-based style of football in this match, Guardiola's interest has only grown stronger.
He wanted to see what role Tang Long could play in Inter Milan's possession-based tactics.
While Guardiola was pleased with Tang Long's anticipation of the header run, the Spain coach was more interested in seeing how Tang Long would perform under the possession-based system.
In the first half, Guardiola failed to find many highlights due to Inter Milan's overall performance.
From a tactical standpoint, Tang Long shouldn't be weaker than Xavi Alonso, Bayern's current starting midfielder, right?
Otherwise, even if Bayern Munich were to bring in Tang Long, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
After all, Guardiola wasn't sure if he and the Bayern management could convince Tang Long to come to Bayern as a substitute, given that Inter Milan's key player was coming to Bayern as a substitute.
However, Guardiola quickly saw the bright spot!
Just five minutes into the second half, Inter Milan's midfield press quickly dispossessed Sevilla.
After midfield maestro Banega received the ball, his two teammates Biluotuo and Reyes, immediately moved closer, attempting to form a triangular formation.
But Reyes was a step too slow, and his position was immediately pushed aside by Guarin, who rushed out and cut off the passing lane on the left.
"Keep a close eye on the passing lanes on the right!"
Tang Long gave Medel a command and immediately moved closer to Banega!
Banega rose to fame at a young age, winning the Copa Libertadores with Boca Juniors and the gold medal for Argentina's U23 men's football team at the 2008 Olympics.
However, his football career was not smooth sailing after he joined La Liga.
In the winter of 2014, he was even loaned back to Newell's Old Boys in the Argentine Primera División División by Valencia, and then returned to Sevilla six months later.
At the prime age of 26, Banega was loaned back to Argentine Primera División team. He must have a weakness – he holds onto the ball too long!
Facing Tang Long's pressing, Banega attempted a 180-degree turn, but Iniesta did the same, spinning around Tang Long's lunge.
With passing lanes on both sides blocked, Banega's most logical passing option was actually a back pass to his own defensive midfielder Mbia.
He wanted to challenge Tang Long and show off the Inter Milan player who had scored the equalizer with a header.
27-year-old Banega originally wanted to dampen the spirits of 18-year-old Tang Long.
Unexpectedly, just as he turned 180 degrees to 90 degrees, Tang Long hooked his foot over, and with a thud, he Banega fell over.
"Ju--"
The referee hesitated for a second, but ultimately blew the whistle.
Tang Long shook his head at the referee, then held up one index finger and waved it to indicate that he had touched the ball.
Guarin and several other Inter Milan players surrounded the referee, demanding an explanation.
Guardiola, watching from the stands, also believed the play was not a foul.
He felt that the referee might have let Banega off the hook out of consideration for technically skilled players.
"That's hilarious, referees in the Bundesliga would never call a goal like that," Guardiola chuckled.
Although Tang Long's tackle ended in a foul, Inter Milan's midfield pressing at the start of the second half caught Guardiola's eye.
The passing and possession tactic is divided into two aspects: passing and possession.
The ultimate goal of passing is to maintain possession, and possession is not only derived from passing, but also from defense!
Even Barca, who primarily play a possession-based style of football, cannot keep the ball under control at all times during a match.
It's okay to let the opponent have possession of the ball; the key is to minimize the time the opponent has possession of the ball.
Pressuring, compressing the opponent's passing space, and making tackles to win back possession are also essential parts of a possession-based system.
Tang Long's steal, in terms of both timing and defensive move, bore a resemblance to Busquets'.
If Inter Milan's initial foray into the sport only caught Guardiola's eye, then...
Five minutes later, Guardiola applauded as the team pressed again!
In the 60th minute of the second half, Inter Milan had possession of the ball.
Guarin, positioned in the defensive midfield position, looked up and took a couple of steps, but finding no good passing options, he simply dribbled the ball and continued to advance, attempting to compress Sevilla's defensive space.
Guarin's choice wasn't wrong, but his mistake was walking on rough ground.
I meant to move forward one meter, but I accidentally moved forward more than two meters!
Sevilla's defensive midfielder seized the opportunity, making a tackle and passing the ball to Banega before Guarin could control it.
This was a steal by Sevilla!
"Surround them, don't retreat!"
As Tang Long forcefully swung his right hand forward, three Inter Milan players rapidly approached Banega like magnets.
Having learned from his previous experience of being defeated by Tang Long, Banega was much more cautious this time.
He dared not dribble past his opponent again, and instead immediately made a cross pass, attempting to pass the ball to Krychowiak.
The moment the ball is passed out, it will instantly break up the encirclement of three Inter Milan players, and expose a huge gap in Inter Milan's backfield.
But his teammate Krychowiak was already ready to receive the ball.
But a second later, he sullenly and gritted his teeth as he ran back— Tang Long had intercepted the ball!
As soon as Banega stretched out his leg to make a cross, Tang Long anticipated through his body language that the ball would be passed to the left.
What if the defensive distance is too far and your legs aren't long enough?
Then let's use a tackling tackle!
Tang Long, anticipating Banega's pass, executed a sliding tackle to intercept the half-rolling ball.
Coincidentally, the sliding tackle, originally intended to intercept the ball, inadvertently resulted in the player inserting their shoe into the ball, turning it into a lob pass.
The ball sailed over Banega's head and flew straight towards the left flank.
Shaqiri sprinted down the left flank and cut the ball back just before it went out of bounds.
This defensive play drew applause from the Olympiastadion Berlin.
Amidst the applause of tens of thousands, Guardiola's voice also rang out:
"Okay, okay, very good!"
Guardiola exclaimed "Good!" three times in a row with delight.
In Guardiola's traditional philosophy, mispassing is not a terrible thing.
Even a Barca midfield trio like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets can make passing errors when playing against La Liga relegation teams – this is unavoidable.
Mistakes are inevitable, but the key is that after a mistake, the players must immediately swarm in and intercept the ball in the shortest possible time.
If you retreat and try to set up a defensive formation, you are completely giving up your desire to control the ball and handing it over to the opponent.
In 2013, the season when Guardiola first arrived at Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga from Barcelona, this tactic of having several players immediately swarm the opposing player with the ball after losing possession once puzzled Bayern players.
Kroos, Gotze, Ribery, and others were quite puzzled.
If you fail to get to the ball and lose your position, wouldn't a huge gap be left if the opponent passes the ball out?
Why not take a step back, proceed cautiously, and then plan the next offensive?
Moreover, such frantic tackling for the ball is extremely taxing on the players' stamina!
But Guardiola, drawing on his own experience coaching Barca, solemnly told the Bayern players:
"If you want to play more easily, conserve your energy, and maintain a good competitive state, pressing immediately after losing possession is the most convenient way!"
"Imagine if the opponent gains possession of the ball, you'll have to run back and forth following their players, which will require more physical exertion than if you were pressing them after losing possession!"
Guardiola's explanation was a revelation to the Bayern players.
Ultimately, that season, they displayed a dominant passing and possession style in the Bundesliga, easily winning the Bundesliga title with a nearly 20-point lead over Borussia Dortmund.
In Inter Milan's recent pressing tactic, Tang Long's anticipation of the ball's trajectory during defense once again impressed Guardiola.
His sliding tackle, in particular, showcased his excellent physical attributes, which is exactly what attracted Guardiola!
If this were happening at his own Bayern Munich club, the 34-year-old veteran Xavi Alonso would never have made such a defensive move.
That tackle could easily have strained Alonso's thigh.
Just as Guardiola was praising Inter Milan's pressing tactics, Inter Milan had already launched a swift counterattack.
Tang Long's sliding tackle inadvertently turned into a pass. After the ball reached Shaqiri's feet, the Switzerland star did not choose to control the pace of the game, but instead dribbled forward directly.
Shaqiri is not tall, but he is extremely fast, and his small, quick steps dazzle his opponents.
Given space, he'll advance relentlessly like an atomic ant!
He flicked left and right, getting past the defensive midfielder Mbia!
Keep pushing down the flanks!
Shaqiri dribbles the ball!
This time, his ball control was a level above Guarin's, perfectly utilizing his speed advantage to get past right-back Aleix Vidal.
(Switzerland star Shaqiri used his speed to overpower his opponents)
"He's going to cross!"
Like the fans around him, Guardiola couldn't help but stand up.
Inside the penalty area, Guarin, who is 1.84 meters tall, and Bonazzoli, who is 1.85 meters tall, are ready to contest the header.
Sevilla's two tall center-backs were also on high alert.
Then, something unexpected happened!
Shaqiri did cross the ball, but instead of a high cross, he used the instep of his left foot to execute a low, sweeping cross!
What's even more commendable is that the ball wasn't swept into the penalty area, but unexpectedly swept towards the edge of the penalty arc.
"Tang can shoot from a distance now!"
Seeing Tang Long charging forward at the edge of the penalty area, Guardiola was filled with anticipation.
Despite center -Carrizo rushing out, Sevilla's defensive midfielder Krychowiak also charged towards Tang Long, and both players made blocking moves;
Moreover, this shot was extremely difficult for Tang Long to execute from the side, using his weaker left foot.
But Guardiola wanted to see Tang Long's long-range shot!
Because in Bayern's squad, Xavi Alonso often scores spectacular long-range goals from the edge of the penalty area.
Guardiola wants to see if Tang Long can rival Alonso in long-range shooting.
However, what happened next caused Guardiola to suddenly cover his head with his hands...