From this, it could be deduced:
Quagliarella, who has “Basic Long Shot”…
Filippo, who has “Stepping Ball Technique”…
Modric, who has “Basic Outside of the Foot”…
Chiellini, who has “Backing”…
…could not equip any skills for the time being.
Ultimately, He Tianqi assigned “Pull Ball Turn” to Di Donato.
On one hand, Di Donato was one of the players with the strongest individual abilities in the team’s front and midfield aside from Ribery, and both he and Filippo should be at the peak of “Professional-level.”
On the other hand, Di Donato’s technical characteristics matched perfectly with “Pull Ball Turn.”
He Tianqi’s plan for him was to use his individual technique in the central areas of the pitch to complete breakthroughs and draw defenders in tight spaces, creating opportunities.
This complemented Modric, whose primary focus was passing.
Finally, this was also He Tianqi’s reward for Di Donato, a former teammate, strongly supporting him.
Taking a stance is always a high-risk, high-reward endeavor.
And the team card “Backcourt Passing” paired with “Positional Defense” would allow Palermo to sit back and defend much longer; it was good stuff.
However, all of these still required training to take effect.
Including “Right Wing Attack”—in fact, the team still hadn’t fully digested it yet.
This was also why Palermo couldn’t defend against Perugia.
Give Palermo another month, and they should be able to hold their ground defensively against teams like Perugia.
…
December 23, Serie C Round 22.
Also the last match before the winter break.
Carmignani led the team at home to welcome their opponent’s challenge.
Everyone thought this was a match with no suspense.
After all, if this Palermo team could get a four-game winning streak under an “ignorant” assistant coach like He Tianqi, what more could they do with the champion coach Carmignani personally taking charge?
However…
Palermo, having initially adapted to the four-defender system, exhibited a rejection reaction to the three-center-back system.
Vidic, who had consistently performed excellently, made back-to-back mistakes.
The War Knight Chiellini, who had risen to prominence in the previous few matches, also dreamed back to the beginning of the season, turning into a massive leaky sieve.
As for the Commander of the Knights of the Apocalypse, Modric, his performance was practically criminal.
Di Donato and Ribery performed slightly better, but didn’t bring any practical help to the team.
Ultimately, Palermo regrettably lost the match.
They slipped to sixth in the standings, falling out of the promotion zone.
The fans at the stadium erupted into continuous boos.
They even started cursing the players and coaches, throwing flares onto the pitch.
The scene was chaotic for a time, only subsiding after Carmignani collapsed from a sudden heart attack.
Fortunately, Palermo sent him to the hospital in time, and Carmignani was resuscitated.
But after this ordeal, it was impossible for him to serve as head coach again in the short term; he needed one to two years to recover.
Carmignani personally called the team president Zamparini, recommending He Tianqi to become Palermo’s new head coach.
Zamparini said he would consider it.
In fact, he wanted to invite a more mature head coach.
He Tianqi’s record with the team was beautiful, but the stint was too short, and he was too young.
It ultimately made people feel he was unreliable.
At least most fans still leaned toward having a mature coach take over the team.
Don’t mind that the fans were calling him ‘sweetie pie’ when they were winning a few days ago.
If there really was a better choice, He Tianqi would turn into ‘Madam Niù’ in a minute.
At a critical moment, a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport changed the public opinion environment.
It was an exclusive interview Barbara conducted with AC Milan star Andrea Pirlo.
Barbara: “Congratulations, Andrea, you helped AC Milan turn the tables on Juventus, becoming the champions of the first half of the Serie A season!”
Pirlo: “This wasn’t my effort alone; it’s the effort of everyone—all my teammates, the staff, and especially the head coach.”
Barbara: “We know you had a less-than-expected stint at Inter Milan; what made you shine brightly again at AC Milan?”
Pirlo smiled: “The change in position was key for me.
Thanks to Mr.
Ancelotti for considering my suggestion and moving me back to a defensive midfield position, which allows me to better control the whole game.”
Barbara: “So this magical tactical arrangement of moving the attacking midfielder back came from yourself?”
Pirlo repeatedly shook his head: “No, no, no.
Fans who follow me should know that I played defensive midfield back in Brescia, and the effect back then was just as good as it is now.”
“This originated from my teammate in the Italian national youth team from my earliest days, He Tianqi.”
Barbara feigned ignorance: “Is it the Sicilian Pope He Tianqi, who was uniquely gifted since childhood, skipped a grade as a player to enter the Italian national youth team, led the team to win the UEFA European Under-19 Championship and the FIFA World Youth Championship…
(five minutes later)…
and who is now retired and serves as the head coach who led Palermo to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals?”
Pirlo beamed with joy: “Yes!
His current title is just too cool!”
“His tactical accomplishments are extremely high.
Although I am not qualified to evaluate a head coach’s level—for instance, Mr.
Ancelotti and He Tianqi are not on the same level as coaches at all.”
“But speaking purely from a tactical standpoint, I think He Tianqi is second to none.”
“It’s not just me; I believe every football practitioner who has had long-term contact with him will come to this conclusion.
You can go ask Buffon, ask Nesta, ask Gattuso; they can all prove this.”
“Similarly, his coaching at Palermo proves this as well.”
Barbara: “His coaching situation at Palermo is currently unclear; it is said Palermo intends to look for a new head coach.
So do you think He Tianqi could find a position within AC Milan’s coaching staff?”
Pirlo immediately shook his head: “Please!
Don’t do that!
We agreed to play football together, and then he turns around and becomes our coach?
I can’t accept this kind of super seniority.”
“He could return to Juve; I’d really like to see the brilliant expression on Buffon’s face then.”
Barbara’s original intention was to build momentum for He Tianqi, and then open the back door to help He Tianqi find a job as a youth team coach at AC Milan.
She never expected this report to spark heated discussions across Europe.
Because Italy at this stage was the world’s number one league, and AC Milan was currently first in the Serie A standings.
Pirlo was AC Milan’s new midfield core, the biggest discovery of AC Milan this season, and highly likely to become the best midfielder in Serie A this season.
According to football equations, it can be concluded that Pirlo = the best midfielder in the world.
(Jorginho: I finally found my template!)
And half a year ago, Pirlo was still sitting on Inter Milan’s bench.
The one who truly turned decay into magic wasn’t the famous coach Ancelotti as everyone thought, but the “fledgling coach” He Tianqi!
Is this dramatic enough for you?
If it were just one person’s words, that would be one thing.
But soon, several other Italian stars successively confirmed this point.