Chapter 92 — The Great Battle Is About to Break Out…
After the Arsenal–Tottenham match, Mario Balotelli's hat-trick didn't get the lion's share of praise, Kevin De Bruyne's assist-laden hat-trick didn't get the lion's share of praise, and Xia Qi's excellent performances at both ends of the pitch didn't get the lion's share of praise either.
Surrounded and showered with compliments by the press was Arsenal's head coach — Arsène Wenger.
Wenger hadn't expected that one tactical tweak of his would become the talk of Britain and the whole of Europe.
The 3-4-3 formation is actually a fairly ordinary setup.
But Wenger had refined it: he used three defensive midfielders — that was one of the hot topics.
Football lineups usually have a single holding midfielder or a double pivot; Arsenal's three-man holding midfield was unique.
What interested the media most was Arsenal's "run-and-gun" tactic.
The forwards run — and they really run.
The midfielders pass — and they really pass.
One after another, goals came reminiscent of Inzaghi-style finishes, making the coach's brilliance outshine the players'.
Attack wins the fans' hearts!
People assumed Arsenal's three holding midfielders were for defense, but it turned into a goals carnival!
Arsenal fans went mad, hysterically chanting Wenger's name.
The British press went berserk;
European football was shaken.
2013 became a year of tactical revolution and a tactical explosion.
Pep Guardiola, reflecting and improving on Barcelona's Tiki-Taka, went abroad to join Bayern Munich.
Jürgen Klopp's "gegenpressing" concept made Borussia Dortmund a new European force to be reckoned with.
The unorthodox José Mourinho tried to inject attacking elements into an otherwise impregnable defensive system at Real Madrid.
Diego Simeone experimented with his "mad dog" style at Atlético Madrid.
Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte and Simone Inzaghi emphasized defense while increasing offensive investment, so the old 3-5-2 was repackaged as something new.
Now add Wenger's run-and-gun.
Compared with other tactics, Wenger's run-and-gun and Guardiola's new Tiki-Taka were the most popular — simply because they looked great.
Arsenal fans felt overwhelmed by sight and sound; before they could even recover from debates about the run-and-gun, news about Bayern swamped them.
Bayern arrived in London three days early, turned down Chelsea's invitation, and set up at Tottenham's training center.
Enfield was swarmed by the media.
But Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes imposed a closed-door order!
That sense of imminent clash only dialed up the media and fans' anticipation.
Rumors about Bayern easily racked up tens of thousands of clicks.
One leak from inside Tottenham's training center — "Bayern to massacre Spurs 8–0" — trended.
A busybody found Xia Qi and asked his opinion.
Xia Qi replied blandly, "Poor Spurs."
Seeing Xia Qi walk into the base without looking back, the busybody shouted after him, refusing to give up: "Bayern scored eight goals! Their attack is fiercer than yours. Aren't you worried?"
Xia Qi waved a hand behind him and put on a hoarse voice:
"Kids, that's just Spurs."
Fans gathered outside the Colney training base burst into laughter.
Xia Qi was imitating Sir Alex Ferguson. In the 2001–02 season Manchester United played Spurs — the weakest of the Big Six — and Spurs started fiercely, scoring three in the first half.
Down 0–3 in the dressing room, Ferguson saw his players' blank faces and gloomy mood.
He put on a relaxed face and said, "Kids, that's just Spurs."
United heard him, thought, "Right — just Spurs, nothing to fear," and in the second half they came out and struck five times to win 5–3. From then White Hart Lane earned the nickname "Three-Goal Lane."
Xia Qi's antics eased the minds of worried Arsenal supporters.
They asked, "We'll beat Bayern, right?"
"Relax! At home in London, Arsenal are kings!"
That night The Evening Standard ran the headline: "Relax! Arsenal Are the Kings of London," previewing tomorrow's Champions League round-of-16 second leg and guessing the likely starting XIs.
Bayern's lineup was easy to predict: certainly a 4-2-3-1.
The key question was, with Franck Ribéry back, where would Thomas Müller play?
Arsenal were likely to use 3-4-3 — wasn't Wenger's tactical tweak made for tonight?
Xia Qi returned to his boarding house. Alice asked, "Xia, how are you all going to line up tomorrow?"
"3-2-5!"
"What?! Isn't that a 5-2-3? Isn't 3-4-3 way stronger?"
Xia Qi pulled Alice closer, tugged her ear and exclaimed: "It's 3-2-5 — a variation of 3-4-3."
With the new generation of attack-minded coaches — Guardiola, Klopp, Conte, the Inzaghi brothers — formations evolved. Traditional formations weighted toward strong defensive lines and light attack—442, 541, 4-3-2-1—then after Guardiola and Klopp's success, formations like 4-2-4 and 3-2-5 began to trend.
Actually both shapes existed back in the thirties and forties; the new generation merely redefined them.
Alice rubbed her ear and asked, puzzled: "Five forwards? Who's going to supply the passes?"
"Mind your own business, fake fan."
A fan named Jack patted Xia Qi on the shoulder: "You're going to have it tough tomorrow — you'll run like 15 kilometers, won't you?"
Xia Qi replied proudly: "About 18 kilometers." He turned to Alice and said, "Look at your dad — a real fan. All gun fans — what a difference in people…"
"Shut up, none of your business…"
"Alice, tomorrow's my birthday. Can you score me one goal?"
"One hundred quid."
"What?"
"One goal — £100. No haggle."
"I'll tell on you…"
Jack laughed: "I'll give five hundred."
"Jack, that's the price for a pretty girl. You? Add two zeros at the end…"
"Alice, bring me my boxing gloves…"
"You two are busy — I'm going upstairs to rest."
"Ha ha…"
…
Arsenal vs. Bayern was scheduled for Friday night.
UEFA deliberately staggered European league fixtures so more fans could watch the match live on TV.
Pre-match market research showed fans ranked Arsenal vs. Bayern as the most-wanted Champions League match to watch.
Next was Barcelona vs. AC Milan.
Reportedly 176 countries applied for broadcast rights; even football-obsessed Brazil bought the feed.
More than 200 TV booths were set up at the Emirates Stadium.
This was a hugely watched game.
On matchday the area outside the Emirates was a red-and-white sea early on. Scalpers had tripled ticket prices and wore the "take it or leave it" faces.
Vendors' stalls were crowded; best sellers were beer and throat lozenges, then Arsenal flags and player stickers…
Fans usually bought jerseys and scarves at the club shop; street vendors couldn't move that stock.
Compared with a derby, the Emirates atmosphere was exuberant but relaxed; fans treated it like a festival.
Alice was dressed up prettily; she'd come not with her parents but with friends.
At a stall she paid two pounds and had the Arsenal crest stuck on her left cheek and Xia Qi's face on the right.
The face stickers weren't painted with markers — they were adhesive decals. Peel off the film and the design stuck to the skin.
They were cheap: ten stickers for one pound usually; tonight one sticker was one pound — even more profitable than scalpers, but with better word of mouth. At least sellers got a "thank you" after the sale!
…
Arsenal left early to avoid traffic, and fans made way for them — the journey was smooth.
In the dressing room they didn't warm up immediately — too early a warm-up risks chilling before kick-off.
Players did their own pre-match rituals: some listened to music, some played games, some texted, some chatted…
Half an hour later Xia Qi and the others began to warm up.
Wenger went to the press conference with Mikel Arteta.
During warm-up Xia Qi spotted Franck Ribéry — Bayern would likely attack down both wings tonight.
Back in the dressing room,
players changed and adjusted gear carefully. Every player meticulously checked his shin guards; even the usually-rowdy Mario Balotelli was serious.
Wenger returned and didn't interrupt their routine.
He waited until everyone was ready, then clapped to get their attention.
"This match is very important for us. We've prepared for tonight for a long time.
But now I want you light — forget for a while that this is a knockout game.
Enjoy the match with a relaxed mind and show the results of our training…"
On the other side of the pitch,
Jupp Heynckes: "Children, for now forget the 2–4 scoreline — go and slaughter your opponents.
Yes, I said slaughter.
Do you know why? Our opponents are afraid of us.
They fear we will reverse and beat them, so they changed their formation.
They gave up what they're best at, which is why tonight will be a slaughter.
Enjoy the match, children."
…
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Penguin Sports live. Welcome to our coverage at 1 a.m. on Saturday of the 2012–2013 Champions League round-of-16 second leg, Arsenal hosting Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich."
"I'm commentator Zhang Lu."
"I'm your old friend, Zhan Jun."
Zhan Jun: "Tonight is crucial for Arsenal. In the last eight years they've been knocked out at the round of 16 seven times. This season they've made solid progress and lead Bayern 4–2 from the first leg. There's a real chance to break the round-of-16 curse and reach the quarter-finals."
"For Bayern, the Bundesliga isn't enough; the Champions League is their true pursuit…"
Zhang Lu: "Many storylines tonight: will Arsenal's formation change succeed? Will Ribéry play? If he does, can Bayern's wings fly together?
Can Xia Qi handle the holding midfield role? Arsenal's three cores versus Bayern's two-man midfield…"
"…Ladies and gentlemen, players are waiting in the tunnel. I'll now announce the starting lineups.
Bayern 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
Defenders: David Alaba, Dante, Jérôme Boateng, Philipp Lahm
Midfield: Javi Martínez, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, Franck Ribéry, Arjen Robben
Forward: Mario Mandžukić
Substitutes: Thomas Müller, Luiz Gustavo, Mario Gomez, …
Arsenal 3-4-3
Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martínez
Defenders: Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Samuel Umtiti
Midfield: Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Xia Qi, Kevin De Bruyne
Forwards: Lukas Podolski, Mario Balotelli, Theo Walcott
Substitutes: Jack Wilshere, Serge Aurier, Olivier Giroud…"
In the tunnel the theme song of "our club has collapsed" played; hearing "we're playing Barça, we're playing Bayern…" Xia Qi couldn't help but laugh.
Shortly thereafter they walked out to deafening cheers.
Taking advantage of a moment before Arsene had fully focused, Xia Qi looked up toward the "C" stand where Alice sat.
Compared with warm-up, the stands were now packed…
Arsenal fans shouted the players' names passionately.
After entering, both teams lined up for the photos and shook hands.
When those formalities were done,
a ding sounded in his mind:
"Ding dong."
"Please choose 'Training' or 'Match' mode."
"Match."
"Please choose pitch position: A Forward, B Midfield…"
"B."
"Please choose midfield role: A Attacking Midfielder, B Wing Back, C Holding Midfielder."
"C!"
"Please choose holding-midfielder type: A Playmaking No.6, B Defensive No.6."
"A."
"Detected team predicament; matching host to [Swan Star] attribute."
"Offensive enough to break walls; defensive enough to be rock steady — the most versatile hexagonal warrior, the Black Swan, the ceiling at the holding-midfield position…"
"Please select 'Autonomous Mode' or 'One-Click AFK Mode.'"
The broadcast began showing close-ups of players on the pitch, and under each player's shot the season's Champions League stats appeared.
First Bayern players… then Arsenal players.
Every Arsenal player shown on the big screen drew loud cheers.
The loudest cheers were for Xia Qi and Emiliano Martínez.
When Xia Qi's face appeared on the screen many girls shouted, "Husband! Husband!"
The broadcast director stirred things up and immediately cut to the VIP box.
Xia Qi's rumored girlfriend, Emma Watson, appeared in the shot.
Watson saw herself on camera and waved elegantly. A round of boos greeted her. She didn't get angry; she smiled and waved again.
In block C, Alice's girlfriends looked at her enviously. "They look perfect together."
Alice frowned slightly: "Xia Qi said they aren't in a romantic relationship."
"Really? Is it one-sided love from Watson?"
"Maybe Xia Qi's keeping both options open…"
"What? Alice, Xia Qi and I are just ordinary friends…"
The broadcast also showed Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke and Bayern's eternal legend Franz Beckenbauer.
When Beckenbauer appeared on the big screen the boos were deafening…
Obviously Arsenal fans didn't welcome him sitting near their owner.
Beep!
The match began...…
(END CHAPTER)
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