"Crazy" Belsa reshapes Leeds United.
After Leeds United 16 returns to the Premier League, a street connecting Trinity Shopping Center and downtown commercial street in Leeds will also be hung with a new signpost-the signpost will read "Marcelo Belsa Road".
Named a street after a head coach, you can imagine what role Belsa played in Leeds United's overtaking process.
In fact, in the long years when Leeds United struggled in League One and the British Championship, the team changed five bosses and hired 15 head coaches, which witnessed 28 teams entering the Premier League-it was not until the arrival of Belsa in 20 18 that everything really changed.
Belsa (right) is the most admired coach of Guardiola (left).
Bole in the eyes of three handsome men
In all fairness, compared with many famous coaches of his time, Belsa's teaching achievements don't look particularly dazzling: in 2004, he led Argentina to win the Athens Olympic Games, which was the peak of his life, while at the club level, he only won league titles in his hometown of Newell, old boys and sarsfield.
Even though he has never coached a top European club, in the eyes of a large number of champion coaches, Belsa is a god.
The first time after Leeds United succeeded in overtaking, Guardiola said: "The best coach in the world came to the Premier League." In Pochettino's eyes, this fellow countryman and elder influenced his coaching career just like his old father. "Without his guidance, my understanding of football still stays at a fixed and narrow level."
Atletico Madrid coach Simone also said many times in an interview that the person who helped him the most was Belsa ... A group of the best coaches in Mesozoic worshipped him, which easily made you want to explore the charm of Belsa's tactics.
If the distinctive features of Belsa football can be simply summed up in two words-attack. Paris Saint-Germain player Herrera recalled his days playing in Athletic Bilbao (when Belsa was the coach), saying: "The coach told us that attack is the best defense, and the way to win in the football field is to score as many goals as possible and score more goals than the opponent."
Belsa likes to sit on the sidelines and instruct.
The choice of "madman"
This football philosophy was most vividly interpreted in the 25th round of the British Championship in June+February last year, 5438. Leeds United beat Birmingham 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 away ... Belsa's team led by two goals at the beginning until it was equalized, and then continued to lead until the 95th minute of injury time. Leeds United continued to press Birmingham players to make an own goal -5-4, and the game was only then.
Indeed, in Belsa's dictionary, you can't find conservative options. As early as when he coached Newell old boys, he was called a "madman" by the players because of his obsession with attack-in order to create possible attack opportunities, Belsa even arranged for the goalkeeper to kick the goal out of the sideline intentionally, but he quickly formed an unexpected transition between attack and defense by forcibly grabbing the ball.
The number closely connected with Belsa's attacking football is "33 13". This formation was rarely used in the past and now, but it became the password to release Belsa's offensive power-setting the front waist and emphasizing the cover of the flank. 33 13 can put more people into attack, and more teams can cooperate in the middle of the wing.
However, this kind of formation play requires high physical fitness and tactical execution of players. When the player's running ability drops, the defensive pressure is not small when switching ... Belsa once said, "Give me 1 1 robot, and I will win everything."
Herrera recalled, "When I coached Bilbao in Belsa, I saw many players in the team vomiting immediately after training because we were really exhausted."
In the 20 1 1-20 12 season, Ferguson's Manchester United was defeated by Bilbao in the Europa League 1/8 final. After the game, Sir Alex Ferguson admitted: "This is the best running team I have ever seen in my coaching career."
Belsa led Leeds United back to the Premier League after 16.
Every cell advocates attack.
After coming to Leeds United, Belsa promoted a special training method in the team-killing the ball.
Set up five zones on the court. Players will run at full speed and keep chasing the ball. If the ball falls outside the area, some members of the coaching staff will throw it back. Phillips, a Leeds United player, said: "This is the most difficult training project I have ever experienced in my career."
Belsa admired his tactical thinking. He once said: "There are no teams with 33 13 unsuitable, only players with 33 13 unsuitable."
Lunali, who plays football in Newell, believes that Belsa's understanding of football is 20 years ahead of the times, and he was familiar with it before the world started a high-level snatch.
It is worth mentioning that when Guardiola first took over Barcelona, he flew to Argentina to consult Belsa, and they talked for 1 1 hour. Although the formation of Guashuai Dream Team 3 is different from that of 33 13, the concept of high-level robbing people is exactly the same.
A similar story happened to Zidane, who also flew to Marseille at the beginning of his coaching and needed the guidance of Belsa. In Simone's mouth, "Belsa advocates attacking in every cell."
Although Atletico Madrid in Simone is far less open than Belsa's team, there are similarities in letting high-intensity running cover the whole stadium and constantly putting pressure on opponents.
Of course, no tactics are perfect. Belsa's high demands on physical fitness sometimes make the team lack stamina in the long-term league, and when the attack can't be opened, his defense will bear more pressure.
Compared with the careful preparation before the game, the on-the-spot adjustment of the "madman" is not excellent. You can conclude that this is an extension of Belsa's paranoid personality. He tends to be a person who doesn't hit the south wall and never looks back.
It is precisely because of such a series of inflexibility that Belsa, regarded as a master by his peers, has not been favored by European giants, and it is probably difficult for big-name players of giants to be controlled like 1 1 robot-but in Leeds United, all this is not a problem.
Belsa's tactic is to attack.
Leeds United 100 Best Coach
In his first year as a coach at Leeds United, Belsa started playing with five players under 2 1. This team is young, eager and needs an uncompromising guide.
It is precisely because these players obey Belsa's strict admonition ideologically and physically that Belsa's tactics can be carried out most effectively-Leeds United is the only team that was asked by the head coach to come to the base for training as usual in the off-season of COVID-19 epidemic.
Although this move was once opposed by the club's medical department, some players expressed their incomprehension, but the "madman" allowed the players to reserve enough energy and stood at the commanding height in the sprint stage after the rematch.
The data shows that Leeds United's possession rate in this season's championship is as high as 64%, which is the highest among the 24 champion teams. Their key passes per game (12.2), goals to create opportunities (199), shots per game (16.2), shots per game (8.9), goals conceded (34) and many other data are the first in the British crown.
Since he coached Leeds United in the summer of 20 18, Belsa has led the team to participate in 98 official games and won 54 games, with a winning percentage of 55%. He also became the head coach with the highest winning percentage since Leeds United 100 was established.
It can be said that the charm of Belsa's high-pressure ball control attack was once again displayed in the championship.
Leeds United must be very happy to meet Belsa in 16 years; Belsa also has reason to be happy. In his 60 s, he can continue to prove that his football concept has room for display. For Leeds fans and spectators all over the world, next season may be more worth looking forward to:
Everyone wants to know whether Belsa can play in the best football league in the world.
Proofreading: Liu Wei