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发帖数: 52 | 1 More and more details are emerging from the new book on PepGuardiola,Pep
Confidential: The Inside Story of PepGuardiola's First Season atBayern
Munich.It's fitting that on the 10-year anniversary of LionelMessi's
senior Barcelona debut, a fascinating story aboutMessi's positional change
surfaced.
ViaThe Telegraph, in author Marti Perarnau's study ofGuardiola
for the book, he was told a story about howGuardioladecided to move
Messifrom the wing into the "false-nine" position in 2009.
And that's whenMessibecameMessi.
On the night before an ElClasicoin Madrid,Guardiolahatched a
plan where he felt Madrid could be exposed by movingMessiinto the
centre of the park in more of an attacking-midfield role.
He phonedMessilate the night before the match, andGuardiola
filled him in on the idea to swap positions with SamuelEto'o10 minutes
into the match to bamboozle Madrid's defenders.
Per the passage:
At 10.30pm there is a gentle knock at Pep's office door and a 21-year-old
LeoMessicomes in. The coach shows him the video, pausing it to point
out the empty space. He wants his player to make that space his own. From
now on it will be 'theMessizone.'
'Tomorrow in Madrid I want you to start on the wing as usual, but the minute
I give you a sign I want you to move away from the midfielders and into the
space I just showed you. The minuteXavior AndresIniestabreak
between the lines and give you the ball I want you to head straight for
Casillas' goal.'
It was a secret between the two. Nobody else would know about the plans
until Pep explained to TitoVilanovathe following day in the team
hotel. Just minutes before kick-off,GuardiolatookXaviand
Iniestato one side and told them.
Barcelona went on to thrash Madrid 6-2 the next day, andMessiwould
stay in the false-nine position to well-documented success. |
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