When Koeman was watching Li Mingyu's performance in the first half, he saw Li Mingyu's running and passing, and suddenly an ordinary-looking man popped into his mind, Xavi.
However, Li Mingyu's position is on the left wing, far away from the coaching bench, so Koeman has never seen it clearly.
But at the back, Li Mingyu suddenly came to the midfield, and then moved to the right wing. All of a sudden, Koeman could clearly see the series of actions of Li Mingyu.
With every pass and every move, Li Mingyu makes it most comfortable for his teammates to catch the ball and pass the ball. At the same time, he also makes it difficult for the opponent's players to steal. Players who want to defend Li Mingyu have to worry about one thing and not the other.
Therefore, Koeman wanted Li Mingyu to try the position and playing style of Xavi.
However, Koeman still has some doubts in his heart. Why didn't he see that Li Mingyu has such ability in the two friendly matches?
Li Mingyu I can't tell him directly, I just got this ability too!
The second half of the game begins.
"Hey! Let's see, Barcelona's lineup has undergone some changes. Li Mingyu's position seems to have been moved to the midfield. The frontcourt is now a double forward tactic of Griezmann and Messi. The midfield is a classic diamond shape. Positioning, Li Mingyu stood in the midfielder position, which was a very bold attempt. It seems that the head coach Koeman must have been surprised by the pass after Li Mingyu retreated in the first half, so he wanted to try a new style of play."
"Barcelona seems to have not played this style of play for many years. Ever since that man left, Barcelona no one is qualified for this position."
"I don't know if Li Mingyu can adapt to this position. Koeman's adjustment is quite bold."
"Anyway, the team is already two goals ahead, and Espanyol is not that aggressive, so it makes sense for Koeman to experiment with a new lineup!"
"I hope Li Mingyu can perform in this position!"
"Let's look forward to it together!"
Qatar.
Capital Doha.
Al Sadd Club.
A man with a beard is sitting on the sofa. The TV in front of him is playing the local derby between Barcelona and Espanyol.
Xavi Hernandez Creus.
Currently the head coach of Al Sadd team.
After retiring in May 2019, Xavi became the head coach of team Al Sadd.
Xavi was sitting on the sofa, watching the midfield replay with bright eyes.
The content of the replay is exactly Li Mingyu's retreating midfielder to organize the attack in the 40th minute of the first half.
"This kid is quite interesting!"
Xavi murmured to himself.
Because he saw the shadow of himself in Li Mingyu.
It was in this position that I started to launch every attack.
Every move he makes is purposeful.
By interacting with the passes of every teammate in the frontcourt, he tore the opponent's defense back and forth, and finally created a gap. He used his fatal passes to kill the opponent.
Since leaving Barcelona, Xavi has never experienced the feeling of being able to pass the ball to the opponent's goal.
I don't have any resentment towards Barcelona and Xavi. I left because my state and physical condition were really out of touch with Barcelona. Forcibly staying at Barcelona would not be beneficial to either party.
Therefore, Xavi and Barcelona broke up peacefully. When they left, the Barcelona club held a huge farewell ceremony for him to bid farewell to one of the greatest players in the history of Barcelona.
The second half of the game begins.
Li Mingyu, as an organizer, began to run actively to connect the team.
What shocked all the Barcelona players was that since Li Mingyu moved to the attacking midfielder position, they felt very comfortable and relaxed when they kicked the ball.
Because as soon as they receive the ball, they will quickly see Li Mingyu appearing not far away from them.
This kind of mindless way of playing football is so valuable for football players.
There is no need to have other thoughts in your mind, just pass the ball to Li Mingyu.
Among them, the two people who have the deepest experience are naturally Messi and Busquets. They and Xavi can be regarded as old partners.
If you don't look at Li Mingyu's appearance and number, it is definitely Xavi.
Not only did Barcelona play very freely, but Espanyol also felt tremendous pressure.
Although Barcelona attacked very quickly in the first half, it gave everyone the impression that they relied on their strong personal strength to end the game.
But at the beginning of the second half, some of the old players in Espanyol suddenly felt like they were back in the La Liga league many years ago. At that time, when facing Barcelona, all the teams felt like the football was growing on their feet.
tiki-taka.
This is the football tactic that Barcelona is famous for.
In 2006 World Cup, Spain Channel 6 announcer Andres Montes said when describing Spain National Team's tactics against Tunisia: "Estamos tocando tiki-taka tiki-taka."
"Tiki-taka" is actually an onomatopoeia, used to describe the sound of players making quick short passes on the field.
The core of this tactic is actually the triangle offense.
Three players need to stand in different positions on the field. When one player gets the ball, the other two players need to run, so that the player with the ball has at least two points where he can choose to pass the ball.
After losing the ball, the offensive triangle will turn into a defensive triangle, quickly guarding the ball holder.
Therefore, when Barcelona was the most powerful, some people jokingly said that it is best to keep the ball at Barcelona's feet. If it is at your feet, it will be even more dangerous.
The greatest thing about Xavi is that he can use his movement to form a triangle offense between himself and any player.
He is like a Dinghai magic needle, passing the ball, catching the ball, passing the ball again, and catching the ball again, all by himself, but the person passing the ball can be anyone.
This is what Li Mingyu on the court did.
First, he passed the ball to Pedri, and then he quickly moved to a position that made both the opponent's players very uncomfortable. He received the pass from Pedri. When the opponent's players surrounded him, he quickly released the ball and passed the ball to Messi in front.
He ran out of the encirclement again, came to another small space, and received the return pass from Messi.
The three people formed two triangle attacks, directly tearing the opponent's defense to pieces.