Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

"Honestly, you can't possibly not see that Ronaldinho is stronger on the left wing. From Ronaldo's perspective, moving to the right wing would be detrimental to his performance, but from the team's perspective, that's where the best interests are maximized." Guardiola's eyes darted around, clearly indicating he was up to something; this bald guy was shrewd.

What he probably meant was not just that Ronaldo should move to the right wing.

This also includes the idea that Deng Kai should move to the backcourt.

Deng Kaili ignored Guardiola completely.

Gua Tu is in an embarrassing situation.

It wasn't until Gua Tu noticed that Deng Kai had forgotten to serve soup, and then proactively ladled a bowl for Deng Kai, that Deng Kai leisurely began to say, "Under normal circumstances, I don't discuss team-building tactics with the players."

"Unless I'm trying to motivate the players, then I'll talk about the parts related to them."

The implication is that Ronaldinho and Cristiano Ronaldo's positions are none of your business!

"But... I saw your application to join the Trigra-Maxa tactical study group." After finishing his soup, Deng Kai gestured for Guardiola to get him another bowl.

This group was established at the initiative of Duncan, and focuses on tactical research. Current members include Duncan, Triguera, Maksa, Matthäus, Deschamps, Schmeichel, João Pinto, Paulo Bento, and others.

Team tactics, player rotations, and other aspects will all be discussed in this group.

Last year's two matches against Barcelona in the UEFA Cup were the pinnacle of the group, and the match had already earned the team a small reputation in the industry.

The renown of the Saint of Satan also partly stems from this.

After finishing his second bowl of soup, Deng Kai said, "At first, I thought that with your tactical expertise and personal experience, you should be able to understand this move. I didn't expect... you've disappointed me a bit, Guagua."

Guardiola racked his brains, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Wait! You mean... possession of the ball!"

Deng Kai smiled.

No wonder it will become a world-class melon in the future.

That bald guy is something else.

Guardiola launched into a long explanation: "Ronaldinho has a flamboyant playing style, excellent footwork, and a combination of ball control, technique, speed, and imagination. But the more impressive he is, the harder it is for him to pass the ball to someone else as soon as he receives it."

"It's not that he's selfish, but with his individual ability, he can indeed complete many one-on-one challenges. From his perspective, he didn't lose possession of the ball, he accomplished the task of creating threats, and he was even able to score directly, which was a successful attack."

"But from a macro perspective, his prolonged possession of the ball turned multiple threatening opportunities into a single threatening opportunity, which indirectly strengthened the opponent's defense and reduced the team's offensive success rate."

"Even if he improves the offensive success rate through his individual ability, the team's lack of subsequent variations is also a huge loss."

"A pass from a skilled dribbler in a difficult situation has a 5% chance of being a superb pass, but a greater chance of being a bad one."

Deng Kai nodded.

This child is teachable.

Deng Kai and Guardiola left the cafeteria and went to the lounge area to get a Go board: "If Ronaldo goes to the right wing, his inside cuts become useless. His effectiveness is less than half that of the left wing!"

"He can indeed practice crossing on the right wing, playing as a traditional winger or wide midfielder."

"I also believe that he can eventually develop into the world's best right winger."

"But the problem is time!"

"It will take Ronaldo at least two more years to become equally sharp on the right wing. But this year, we should achieve something in the Champions League. I am not satisfied with just qualifying from the group stage."

Guardiola nodded.

Even setting the Champions League quarterfinals as the goal for the UEFA Cup champion would be reasonable.

If this team weren't so young, some people would believe they'd make it to the semifinals.

Deng Kai: "As for Ronaldinho on the right wing, although he didn't play to his full potential, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to perform at 80% of his level."

"Moreover, because he is on the right flank, it is easier for him to create space to the byline, and he will not encounter too strong a defense, and there is usually only one defender. After he gets past his opponent, he has very good conditions for crossing, so he has no choice but to cross."

Guardiola felt he had touched on something deeper in terms of tactics.

Is this... using tactics to limit and guide the players?

Many fans can actually see some of the players' problems.

Zidane would have won more accolades if he hadn't been so temperamental.

Ronaldo's career would have been even stronger if he hadn't been injured.

So-and-so doesn't shoot recklessly, so-and-so doesn't dribble recklessly, so-and-so is willing to pass the ball... There are too many shortcomings that could have been made up for.

But this idea is too simplistic.

People are very difficult to change.

Even the slightest change is extremely difficult.

It's no use who says it.

Many people never see someone truly repent and change their ways in their entire lives.

But circumstances are beyond a person's control; circumstances can mold a player into the shape the head coach desires.

Ronaldinho is a right-footed player, and he is naturally better at going down the right flank than cutting inside.

Even if he has a strong desire to cut inside, the ratio of cutting inside to going to the bottom is at most 40/60, with going to the bottom still accounting for the majority.

If he goes down the wing and then makes a few runs into the penalty area, he can at least maintain a 50% chance of crossing.

That's more than enough.

Because of his exceptional dribbling skills, he definitely makes more runs to the byline than other players.

Similarly, Ronaldinho's frequent crosses don't necessarily mean he'll have much time with the ball, and he'll unknowingly relinquish some possession.

Therefore, this right winger position is indispensable for Ronaldinho; there's no escaping it.

Basically, it's a top-of-the-line version of Quaresma.

He seemed to be in control of the team's attack, but in reality, it depended on whether Deng Kai passed the ball to him, and whether Deng Kai passed it to the byline or to the inside.

As for Cristiano Ronaldo, because Deng Kai was guiding him from the beginning, his off-the-ball ability is quite excellent, and he can flexibly switch between three states: cutting inside, crossing from the byline, and off the ball.

Considering the quality of Deng Kai's passing, Ronaldo also doesn't dominate possession of the ball much in the latter two playing styles.

He plays on the left wing and is a true triple threat, the team's strongest scoring option.

Guardiola rearranged the game and started again, realizing he couldn't beat Kelanche at Gomoku: "What about Kaká? It seems the team's condition for signing him was a starting position."

"Yes, he plays right midfield, I play left midfield, and you play defensive midfield." Deng Kai directly told Guardiola one of the team's two regular formations, the 4-3-3 formation.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Ronaldinho

Deng Kai, Guardiola, Kaka

Evra, Vidic, Barzagli, Maicon

Schmeichel

The main substitutes in midfield are Matthäus, Pepe, Yaya Toure, Deschamps, Veloso, and Paulo Bento, listed in order of preference.

The main substitutes in the backfield are Pepe, Wu Xudong, Fonte, Veloso, and Matthäus, in order of arrival.

The main substitutes in the forward line are Yin Bu, Kaka, João Pinto, Wu Xudong, and Fonte, in order of arrival.

Guardiola pondered for a moment: "You've always played as a right midfielder or right attacking midfielder. Why are you moving from the right to the left? You should know that Kaká is also a left-sided player. This makes it seem like you're deliberately trying to steal my position."

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.