Chapter 488: Chapter 488

After Pirlo moved to Major League Soccer in the United States,

Juventus’ midfield gradually shifted from a technical to a more physical style.

French star Pogba inherited Pirlo’s central role in the midfield.

Although his passing distribution and vision are not as good as Pirlo’s,

his physical strength and coverage far exceed Pirlo’s, making Pogba play more like a box-to-box all-around midfielder rather than a traditional defensive midfielder.

Because he has a stronger desire to move forward, his attacking style is also more direct!

Juventus’ midfielder Sturora is a protector with a meat grinder style.

He possesses midfield tackling abilities comparable to Gattuso’s, making him a fierce enforcer. This update ıs available on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽

And as the oldest among the three midfielders, Marchisio’s role is equally crucial.

This season, Allegri has made slight tactical adjustments to Marchisio’s role.

Pogba focuses on attack, Sturora on defense, and Marchisio acts as a connector, transitioning between offense and defense.

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this statement; this role is extremely difficult to play. If one lacks significant football intelligence, robust stamina, some physical toughness, and appropriate passing skills, they will struggle in this position.

However, with his years of football experience, Marchisio quickly grasped Allegri’s tactical intentions.

Allegri greatly appreciates this Italian veteran’s football intelligence, so for this match, he assigned him a new tactical task—to mark Tang Long the entire game.

"For this match, you don’t need to go anywhere. Even on offense, stick close to Tang and don’t let him move an inch!"

The clever Marchisio quickly realized that Allegri was aiming for a trade-off!

In football tactics, man-to-man marking throughout the game is not uncommon;

such a strategy is usually applied to the opponent’s key players.

For example, Messi often encounters full-game following from a defensive player.

However, Allegri clearly wasn’t satisfied with just that!

He knows that Tang Long’s threat usually lies in the moment of transition between attack and defense. If they only defend tightly but then leave Tang Long when attacking,

once possession is lost, it gives Tang Long the space to handle the ball, and danger often arises in that instant!

This is the issue Allegri repeatedly faced when playing against Inter Milan and Manchester City.

So, the Italian coach decided to go all in and play big!

No matter whether in offense or defense, Marchisio, you don’t need to watch the ball or your teammates’ positions. Just stick to Tang;

wherever he goes, you go, cling to him like a sticky candy.

Even if Marchisio disconnects from the overall Juventus system and they play short-handed offensively, it doesn’t matter;

as long as Tang Long is neutralized, the tactic is 100% successful, illustrating Allegri’s trade-off mentality.

"Okay, boss, don’t worry, I know what to do."

So, as soon as the match started, a bizarre scene unfolded!

No matter where Tang Long went, Marchisio followed him closely like a bodyguard, occasionally making physical contact.

In an effort to shake off Marchisio’s tight marking, Tang Long once retreated further and further back, almost to his own penalty area, thinking he had finally lost Marchisio’s tail.

Unexpectedly, Marchisio, originally in a defensive midfield position, continued to follow Tang Long. He not only left his defensive line but kept pressing Tang like a forward, staying with him near the opponent’s penalty box.

Caballero passed the ball to Tang Long, and Marchisio immediately pressed tightly to interfere with Tang’s turn.

Tang rubbed the ball back with the outside of his foot to the incoming Demichelis, and then moved forward.

But Marchisio kept tightly on Tang’s heels. Demichelis wanted to pass back to Tang to continue playmaking, but seeing his teammate marked closely, he had to pass to another center-back, Kompany, to switch play to the left flank.

"Tang, when you hit the clubs, do those girls follow you around like I do?"

"Are the clubs in the United Kingdom fun? How do they compare to those in Milan? Do you have a new girlfriend?"

"I heard you made the front page of The Sun twice in one month, congratulations, you hit the jackpot with that wave of publicity."

Not only did Marchisio stick physically close to Tang Long, but he also continually verbally harassed him.

Initially, Tang Long chatted back here and there, but eventually, as he grew tired of it, he simply stopped responding.

But Marchisio never intended to have a conversation; his goal was to be a mosquito buzzing in Tang Long’s ear, hoping to distract him and disrupt his focus on the football match.

Occasionally, Marchisio would deliberately use provocative language to try to anger Tang Long!

"Can you introduce me to Sky Sports’ Dilata? I really like her too. She’s so lovable she wouldn’t mind another boyfriend."

In the 25th minute, Manchester City launched a quick assault!

The attack was initiated by center-back Demichelis.

While his foot skills and vision aren’t as strong as Ranocchia’s, he’s still the best ball-playing center-back Manchester City can field.

This direct pass found Kolarov, who was advancing on the left!