These five players were Ribéry, Quagliarella, Arturo, Filippo, and Di Donato.
Ribéry didn’t need long shot ability temporarily; his main identity was a wide attacker, so He Tianqi assigned “Fast Horse” to him, allowing his already outstanding speed to go a step further.
Filippo was a target man striker, primarily serving a tactical role.
He Tianqi wouldn’t give him the right to fire from long range.
Di Donato was the front-court core, but a jack of all trades and master of none.
He Tianqi planned to gradually replace him with Modric.
Arturo and Quagliarella played the same position and had the same attributes.
The former had rich experience and was stronger.
But the latter had a higher talent ceiling.
He Tianqi ultimately gave “Basic Long Shot” to Quagliarella.
“Arturo, move!
You need to move actively!
You can’t stand still in place!” He Tianqi yelled a few times.
This was why he didn’t give Arturo a patch.
Relying on his age, relying on having played in Serie A, relying on having stayed at Inter Milan for a year, he completely ignored directions and played like a lazy lord on the pitch.
Even at thirty-seven, Quagliarella played more actively than this Arturo!
…
Soon, He Tianqi’s debut arrived.
December 8th, Potenza VS Palermo.
Before the match, many fans were paying attention to this game.
And at the scene, over ten thousand fans poured in to watch.
This was the football atmosphere in the home of the world’s number one league.
You have to know, this was Serie C!
Of course, this also had to do with the media’s promotion.
La Gazzetta dello Sport: “He Tianqi Takes Over as Firefighter, Becomes the Youngest Head Coach in the History of Italian Professional Football Leagues!”
Corriere dello Sport: “Misfortune May Be a Blessing in Disguise!
He Tianqi Could Be Dismissed Within Five Days at the Earliest!”
La Repubblica: “Youngsters Help Youngsters!
He Tianqi Sparks Controversy by Including Multiple Young Players in the Matchday Squad!”
Tuttosport: “Lippi Calls on Everyone to Watch Palermo’s Match; He Hopes Fans Will Know Why Juventus Rejected He Tianqi, Instead of Believing the Rumors That It Was Because of His Personal Conflict with He.”
It was precisely because these eye-catching news reports made people spread the word that this match had such high popularity.
And with the blow of a whistle, the match officially began.
Palermo’s starting lineup today was:
Arturo, Filippo Brienza, Chiellini, Di Donato, Ribéry Accardi, Bricca, Vidic, Lucarelli
Sicignano
On the bench were Modric, Ashley Young, Quagliarella, and other players.
The commentators didn’t think highly of He Tianqi’s arrangement:
“He Tianqi’s 4-4-2 here should be aiming to liberate Ribéry, making it convenient for Ribéry to reach the baseline and cross, fully utilizing Filippo’s height and heading advantage.”
“He still thinks of Italian football too simply; this arrangement reeks of a crude English flavor.”
Forty-five minutes later, the players from both sides entered the dressing room to rest.
The score was still zero to zero.
But on the pitch, Potenza had completely suppressed Palermo, with a possession rate as high as sixty-three percent.
This was primarily because the Palermo players were unfamiliar with the formation, resulting in several major mistakes during this period.
Fortunately, the center-back Vidic performed excellently, preventing the opponent’s goals using tackles, blocks, and tight marking.
But if this continued, it was only a matter of time before Palermo conceded.
As for the attack, even the team’s only previous bright spot, Ribéry, seemed slightly subdued in this match.
Inside the dressing room.
He Tianqi was relatively satisfied with the team’s performance.
With four defenders facing three center-backs, the midfield was naturally at a disadvantage, so being suppressed by the opponent was inevitable.
But the team also got opportunities to hit on the counter.
So although the situation looked ugly, they did not lack opportunities to truly kill the match.
The only problematic issue was the team’s midfield core, Di Donato.
The twenty-five-year-old Di Donato and He Tianqi had known each other since the Italian U18 national team.
Their national youth team produced many star players and even superstars, holding a very high value.
But there were also useless ones.
Like He Tianqi, who stayed in the Juventus youth setup the whole time and failed to win opportunities to play in official matches.
(He Tianqi: Motherf*cker!)
Di Donato also lacked talent; he chose early on to struggle in the lower leagues.
His strength was about at the top among “Player-level.”
Playing in Serie C was definitely no problem, but that was about it.
He didn’t have the excellent vision and passing awareness that a true midfielder should possess.
He was more like a weakened version of a wide attacking midfielder.
If there were no specific tactical coordinations, it was like putting a high-scoring winger in the midfield; it looked like you were using a stronger player, but in reality, the role he played was worse than putting a slightly trashier traditional midfielder there.
“Modric, go out and warm up.
I’ll sub you on later.” He Tianqi said directly, “Di Donato, you come down and rest a bit.
This substitution is for tactical purposes, don’t let it weigh on your mind.”
(Modric: Trashy midfielder???)
Di Donato also frowned, clearly finding it hard to accept.
He Tianqi didn’t have time to care about this.
A head coach doesn’t need to explain substitutions to players, but he did explain, which was already giving Di Donato a lot of face.
He Tianqi opened the tactical board: “In the second half, our focus is on defense.
Arturo, I need you to participate in the defense.”
Arturo didn’t respond, seemingly not caring much.
“When we complete a successful defense, don’t knock the ball around in the back, look for Modric immediately.”
“Give the football to him.”
“Modric, you control the rhythm of the counterattack, but the faster the better.”
“Ribéry, you should have already figured out the situation on the right wing.
In the second half, I need you to continuously charge and kill on the right.”
“No one in Serie C can stop you, understand?”
“As for after you get past them, you can cross to find Filippo, or you can pay more attention to the movement of our players around the top of the arc.”
“Chiellini, focus on protecting the space behind Ribéry and Modric.”
“Brienza, Accardi, your running range needs to increase, and your defensive area needs to shift to the right side.
But when the opponent shifts their attack to our left wing, you must rush back immediately to delay them!”
“Alright, I’m done talking.
Who has questions?”
The dressing room was completely silent; most people were still digesting He Tianqi’s content.
They hadn’t experienced this kind of hardcore tactical breakdown in a long time.
For most Serie C matches, the coach just says one sentence: “Play well.”
Assistant coach Arrigoni quietly rolled his eyes.
Is explaining it so professionally and meticulously going to be useful?
Do you think you’re the only one from a big team?
You didn’t even think about whether these players can understand it?
Even if they understand, can they execute it?
When you realize that all of this is casting pearls before swine, you’ll know that saying a thousand words is less effective than letting them play on their own.
This is the correct way to operate in a lower league like Serie C!
Soon, fifteen minutes passed.
The second half began.
The commentators immediately noticed something was wrong:
“Palermo made a substitution?”
“Subbing on Modric for Di Donato?
How could they make this substitution?”
“Di Donato is Palermo’s midfield core, is he injured?”
“No!
We can see Di Donato looking sulky on the bench.”
“What exactly is He Tianqi doing?
Does he even know the significance of this match?”
“If Palermo loses, they will fall out of the promotion zone!”
(END CHAPTER)