Chapter 83 — Terrifying Bayern, Multi-layered Attacks
Group stage qualification as steady as a dog,
After qualification you play the universe,
Year after year in the Champions League last 16,
Then you get thoroughly beaten,
Bitter? Think about Wenger leading the team,
Hurting? Think about your club getting thrashed,
...
...
20 February 2013,
With music mocking "your club has collapsed" playing in his head, Xia Qi walked hand in hand with the ball boy into the home of the Bundesliga giant FC Bayern Munich — the Allianz Arena.
All that ran through his mind were the teasing lines about Arsenal above.
The Champions League is Arsenal's pain!
Wenger had prepared for this match for a long time.
He cared so much that the ever-gentle professor looked a little anxious and restless.
After shaking hands with Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, he paced back and forth on the touchline with furrowed brows, looking like a nervous rookie manager.
By contrast, Heynckes looked completely relaxed, chatting and laughing with his assistants.
That was the theme at the Allianz at the moment: the 75,000-seat stadium was full.
Fans smiled like flowers; countless huge Bayern flags waved wildly across the stands...
With the Champions League anthem, bodies swayed to the music, laughter spread in all directions...
It was a festival,
A happy red ocean!
"Penguin Sports!"
"Penguin Sports!"
"Dear viewers, welcome to the Penguin livestream, on time for the first leg of the 2012–2013 UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
I'm your old friend Zhang Lu,
I'm Zhan Jun.
Tonight's game sees Bundesliga rulers Bayern hosting Premier League leaders Arsenal.
This is not only a clash of two league leaders, but also Arsenal's chance for revenge.
Bayern are very strong this season. The veteran coach Heynckes has built a perfect 4-2-3-1 system.
There are three forward threats clustered around the pivot. This season's signing from Wolfsburg, Mario Mandžukić, is tactically useful and hugely important.
He is not only an excellent penalty-area finisher but also brings defensive qualities. He has superb aerial ability; his style is aggressive and cunning — Heynckes' favorite.
"Match is about to start. Coach Zhang, please introduce tonight's starting lineups to the fans."
"Okay."
"Home team FC Bayern Munich in a 4-2-3-1:
Their goalkeeper is the fifth defender who always pushes forward — Manuel Neuer.
Right-back is the Germany and Bayern captain — Philipp Lahm.
The center-back pairing is Jérôme Boateng and Brazilian iron-back Dante. Their combination brings both pace and physicality; rock solid.
This season is Boateng's second at Bayern. He is cool-headed, excels at man-marking, has unbeatable aerial power, and world-class tracking and covering.
If nothing unexpected happens today, Boateng will be the one marking Xia Qi.
Left-back is the only-20-year-old David Alaba — don't be fooled by his youth. This season he has already played 27 matches for Bayern and is an important part of Bayern's iron defense.
The double pivots are Bastian Schweinsteiger and Spain's Javi Martínez.
Schweinsteiger is the timing metronome for Tottenham of attack-to-defense transitions. (note: phrasing preserved)
Javi Martínez, who joined for €40 million this season, is Bayern's defensive anchor.
One attacks and one defends, their roles are clear and that's a key reason Bayern lead the Bundesliga by a wide margin.
Right-sided attacker is Dutch speedster Arjen Robben. Robben was hit by injury early in the season and missed several matches, but since returning his form has exploded: in five matches he had eight assists and scored eleven goals.
Robben is a big-game man and treads the high-stakes stage regularly. Tonight Arsenal's back line will face a massive test and must be extremely careful.
The attacking midfield role is Toni Kroos, Bayern's on-field commander with top-tier passing vision...
Tonight's left-sided attacker is the versatile Thomas Müller. Heynckes actually prefers Allianz king Franck Ribéry here, but Ribéry got injured in pre-match training.
Under Heynckes' tactical system, Müller often appears as an attacking midfielder or on the right wing; tonight he can play left as well, but it's not his best position.
Arsenal might make something of that.
The center-forward is Mario Mandžukić. Mandžukić is Bayern's biggest discovery this season — his presence is why Bayern are far ahead of Borussia Dortmund in the league.
Arsenal will field a 4-5-1 tonight:
Goalkeeper: Martínez.
Left-back Kieran Gibbs, center-backs Per Mertesacker and Samuel Umtiti paired in the middle, Aurier at right-back.
Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla continue as the double pivot.
Xia Qi plays left attacking midfield, Jack Wilshere as the attacking-mid pivot, and Theo Walcott at right attacking midfield.
Mario Balotelli is the lone forward.
If I grade the three lines for both sides, I think:
Position... Bayern ... Arsenal
Goalkeeper... 9.8 ... 8.5
Defence... 9.3 ... 8.7
Defensive midfield... 9.7 ... 8.5
Attack... 9.5 ... 9.3
Striker... 9.5 ... 9.5
So I feel Arsenal's attacking midfield and forwards are about on par with Bayern, but their defensive end is a little inferior, especially the defensive midfield which is a whole level down.
Therefore tonight Arsenal will be passive."
"Alright, fans, the players are standing on the center circle ready to kick off."
Beep!
"Match start. The team in dark blue is Arsenal; they attack from left to right on your screen. The team in red is Bayern..."
...
On the pitch
"Ding dong"
"Please host select 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Please choose pitch position: A Forward, B..."
"A."
"Detected your team's current predicament. Matching host with [Dragon's Roar, Tiger's Howl] attribute."
"Dragons battle in the wild, tigers roar in the forest; host has azure dragon on the left and white tiger on the right, the overlord fills the chest, host possessed by overlord, strength like lifting mountains, spirit covering the world..."
"Please choose 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode'"
Beep!
Mandžukić laid the ball back to Toni Kroos and surged forward.
At the same time Bayern's wings, Robben and Müller, also rushed forward.
On Arsenal's side, Wilshere was marking Kroos. Facing Wilshere's pressure, Kroos acted very calmly.
Before Wilshere could fully pounce, the ball was moved to Schweinsteiger.
Balotelli closed Schweinsteiger down; the ball returned to Kroos.
It looked like both sides were doing "useless work," but actually, after those two passes Bayern's front line had already reached their intended positions.
Wilshere lunged at Kroos again; Kroos rolled the ball and did a Marseille turn to evade Wilshere's challenge.
Just as he thought to leave,
Xia Qi burst in on an angle and stretched out a leg to poke the ball.
Kroos realized he was being double-teamed and, not daring to be sloppy, shifted the ball from his right to his left foot, turning his right shoulder toward Xia Qi.
At the same time he executed a no-nonsense long pass.
"Beautiful long pass."
"Kroos' fundamentals are solid; he can deliver a long ball even in a very tight space."
The ball skidded along the turf toward Müller on the left-front.
"Müller drops swiftly."
"Arteta steps up to intercept."
Arteta made a big stride right, waiting for Müller to run into the space.
In such moments, stillness precedes motion; being proactive matters.
Müller knew this and suddenly braked in his sprint.
Arteta could no longer stay still; if he didn't pounce forward, Müller would have time to pick out a pass.
Arteta lunged forward.
The tempo changed.
Müller waited until Arteta committed, then released the ball not to Mandžukić in the middle but to the flanks — into the narrow space behind Arteta and near the touchline.
Arteta felt a chill and turned to see who was behind him.
"Thump thump, thump thump..."
A dark shadow moved like a drumbeat, slashing past Müller and Arteta.
Bang!
It was Alaba!
This David Alaba — who looks a bit like Liu Xing — making a run to the far post is a very effective Bayern scoring method.
Cazorla had to mark Mandžukić; no one helped Arteta from behind, and Arteta had to turn and chase.
At this point,
Alaba was already clear, sprinting to the byline.
At the same time in Arsenal's penalty area,
Two uninvited guests arrived:
Mandžukić had crashed into the small box and Kroos was in the large box.
"Bayern's attacking combinations are polished and ferocious; Arsenal's back line looks a little frantic..."
Wenger sat in the dugout biting his fingernails.
A sign of tension.
Heynckes sat with a notebook, scribbling diagrams.
Alaba did not cross at that first moment — Heynckes' tactic was not that simple.
Alaba waited until Arteta sprinted toward him, then once more placed the ball into the space behind Arteta.
But this time the man who received it behind Arteta was Müller.
"Oh no! Arsenal's right wing has been torn apart by Bayern."
Müller!
The famed Müller, arguably the best second striker among active players, had slipped free.
Arsenal's defense had a huge opening from the start.
Unmarked Müller calmly nudged the ball slightly to the right, so that when, playing out of his unfamiliar left-side role, he shot his angle would be larger.
Then he struck with the inside of his foot, whipping the ball.
The ball received side spin and a fierce rotation and flew toward Arsenal's goal.
A curler!
Targeting the far corner!
The ball threaded around the bodies in the box and zipped toward the far corner.
Arsenal keeper Martínez threw himself wide but could not get a fingertip to it.
Martínez's forehead creased with stress; he thought: I'm done for.
Then,
Boom!
With a huge sound the ball struck the angle between post and crossbar and bounced out over the byline.
All the Arsenal men sighed in unison, relieved.
Martínez wiped the cold sweat from his brow — he was even more of a rookie than Xia Qi.
Tonight's match was his first Champions League game and Xia Qi's first knockout match in the Champions League.
Just now his debut had nearly become a nightmare — terrifying!
"Bayern's attacking layers are clearly defined."
"The decoy runners in the box are deceptive. Müller's timing was perfect — just a touch unlucky."
"Arsenal's back line faces a world-class forward test."
"Coach Zhang, what if Aurier steps out of the box to defend?"
"If Aurier comes out, the defensive numbers in the box will be reduced, and Mandžukić and Kroos and even Schweinsteiger could transform into real finishers. Mandžukić isn't a static target man; he can play pivot or run in to score, so you must take him seriously."
"This kind of variable attack is very hard to defend. It's best to break it apart in midfield. Dortmund, Real, and Barca all deal with Bayern like that."
"But Arsenal can't; their midfield is too weak. Wenger should really strengthen the defensive midfield, but this position is globally scarce. Those Wenger likes are non-sellable or too expensive..."
Bayern made a statement from the opening whistle.
They made Arsenal clearly aware of the Champions League's intensity and cruelty.
The Premier League may be the world's number one in publicity, but it isn't necessarily the highest in tactical or technical level.
At least Real and Barça were on a different plane.
Near the center circle Xia Qi thought: if we lose tonight, I'll suggest to Wenger I play as the defensive midfielder when we get back.
Anyway, I'm on one-click AFK. Even if I had to play as goalkeeper, I'd be Buffon's distant uncle.
I'd be far better at defensive midfield than Cazorla.
I just fear Wenger won't permit it — this academic coach,
High EQ: poor adaptability under pressure,
Low EQ: lacks willingness to gamble.
Everything is based on theory and data... a strength, but also a weakness.
Play continues.
Martínez launched a goal-kick.
Bayern did not drop back. This wasn't disrespect — high pressing with no retreat had become the Bundesliga mainstream.
In 2013 the Premier League claimed to be the world's top league, but tactics and technique were not at their peak.
Later, with Mourinho and Guardiola entering the Premier League it was cemented as top. In 2013 and the following years, La Liga was arguably the highest-level league competitively.
Real and Barcelona represented the highest level at that time. Although Bayern of this period was one of the strongest single-season teams in history, overall the Bundesliga was behind La Liga and the Premier League in strength.
But the Bundesliga produced a large number of excellent coaches, making it the tactically most advanced league.
Returning to the pitch:
Because Bayern's players didn't retreat and Kroos had dropped back to the area near Xia Qi, it became especially noticeable.
Although Xia Qi still stood expressionless three meters ahead of the center circle,
Inside his head it was a storm with a bit of secret delight.
Bayern had actually put their trump card on Kroos to mark him.
A little pride!
Martínez's goal-kick went straight to Xia Qi, and Xia Qi was thankful he was in one-click AFK mode.
Xia Qi's momentary distraction didn't stop his body surging forward.
Kroos was "ordered" to mark this season's hottest rookie Xia Qi; he had been sizing Xia Qi up, seeing the newcomer's "keep away" face.
Kroos himself was also cold-blooded. The two of them stood there without exchange — the less they communicated, the easier it was to lose focus.
Suddenly Xia Qi darted like a rabbit.
Kroos reacted late and chased, but one step slow and every step slower!
After Xia Qi hit his position he leaned back to use Kroos as a support, extended his long leg and gently shoved backward.
He passed the ball to Wilshere, then turned and charged toward Bayern's goal.
A very interesting scene unfolded: Kroos did not try to overtake or disrupt Xia Qi's run; instead he hung behind Xia Qi.
That meant there were still defenders in front to deal with Xia Qi.
Wenger understood Bayern's defensive strategy and turned to look at Heynckes.
At that moment Heynckes watched the field tensely. Xia Qi's Premier League goal tally had already reached 50, effectively locking down the European Golden Boot.
A forward like that is not to be taken lightly by anyone.
Heynckes chose to assign more defenders — no shame in that!
On the pitch,
Wilshere saw Xia Qi about to be caught in a ring. The ball that should have been played back to Xia Qi after a wall pass was held.
Wilshere took the ball and drove forward himself.
He'd barely gone two steps when Schweinsteiger closed him down.
That man bullied people with his strength and stopped Wilshere dead in his tracks.
Like a truck stopping a car.
From the bench, Kevin De Bruyne clenched his fists and told himself he must build his muscles. If it had been him, he wouldn't have been able either.
Xia Qi moved toward Wilshere, and Kroos, who had been shadowing Xia Qi, immediately stepped up in front of Xia Qi.
Wilshere had limited choices: either drop a diagonal pass to Arteta or play to Walcott.
Wilshere chose Walcott. The ball arrived at the little tiger's feet;
Javi Martínez slid in clean and scooped the ball to Schweinsteiger.
Bayern immediately launched a counterattack...
(END CHAPTER)
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