Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

Chapter 106 105 - Liverpool FC versus Brighton FC (Part 3)



Liverpool's equalizer came through a goal from Declan, their center-forward, and yet this was a tight game with every move being decided down to the smallest detail. The game was expected to stay close, but Liverpool's goal seemingly stunned the Brighton team.

In the next fifteen minutes, two more goals came. One of them came from Oliver Park, their right-winger. Taking advantage of the fact that the marking was stronger on Declan and therefore weaker on him, Oliver cut into the middle and finished with his left foot into the corner of the goal.

Their third goal wasn't much different. It wasn't a huge mistake on Brighton's part, but once again they failed to expect what might happen, and Leo Carter, Liverpool's left-winger, dribbled past two men in the box and shoot from close range.

The score was 3-1 to Liverpool, making the friendly match much more stressful than anticipated.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Tense expressions crossed the Brighton players' faces. There was disappointment, irritation, and a slight desperation. It was easy to see a score that would make a Liverpool win impossible.

Also, the Brighton team, although fighting valiantly to stay in the game, were becoming visibly affected by the series of quick runs from Liverpool's forwards.

Eddie, the Brighton manager, was watching the game from the sidelines and could see the expressions on the faces of his team's players. Luckily, in friendly matches like this, the teams' managers usually agreed to take a rehydration break at half-time — and it was a good thing it came five minutes after Leo Carter's goal.

At the twenty-fifth minute, the referee blew the whistle, giving the players a break to drink some water and try to understand where they were going wrong.

Eddie gathered the surrounding team, while Alex and Kader handed out bottles of water to the boys. Sweat dripped from their tired faces, yet they were all looking at Eddie because they knew the situation wasn't easy and felt that Eddie knew how to solve it.

"Right, lads, let's talk about those fifteen minutes of blackout we had there." Eddie crossed his arms, getting even bigger than he normally was. "First thing: who here saw and realizes what happened?"

Denis wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm before answering. "I think... we focused too much on blocking Declan before the goal and we focused too much after he scored the first goal. That opened up spaces for the points."

"Perfect, Loki. You can't deny that Declan is a tremendous danger in front, but what makes Liverpool a tricky team is how they know how to use that tight marking on Declan to their advantage." Eddie said.

"It's like putting a silver dragon with blue eyes as a face-down card." Loki commented, and everyone looked on uncomprehendingly.

"That's right, Loki!" Alex snapped his fingers and agreed.

Daniel, who was the main defender and never got forward, was visibly frustrated and tired. "But coach... What do we do then? If we leave Declan unmarked, he'll score goals. If we point, as we did, the points stand out."

Eddie gave a slight smile. "The idea here is always to think about the "what ifs" as well. Declan's good, but if he's marked a lot, he'll drop back a bit, try to play the ball, play the ball around and so on. That's what we saw too. So we need a strategy that reduces his chances without neglecting the others. Does anyone know how we're going to do that?"

Lucas Tanaka had an idea, so he raised his hand.

"Go ahead, Lucas. You don't even have to raise your hand."

"Coach, what if we divided the field into action zones? Like, instead of everyone just wanting to stay in the area that their position covers, we occupy each area of the field, thinking about where they're going to get to and stopping them in their tracks."

Eddie put a hand to his chin. "That's good, Lucas. It makes sense. Dividing the field into zones allows us to cover the spaces better, blocking the points before they even realize it. That way, the marking on Declan is also more controlled."

"Am I the only one here who doesn't understand what that means?" Raphael asked. "How would that work in practice?"

"I'll try to simplify the idea, guys." Alex held up a blackboard. "Let's talk a bit about what we call positional soccer and non-positional soccer. Does anyone know the difference?"

Raphael, confused, raised his eyebrows and exclaimed: "All I know is that I run to where the ball is... That's enough, isn't it?"

A soft laugh spread through the group, relieving some of the tension.

"Well, yes and no, Raphael. In positional soccer, each player has an area of the pitch that he protects, attacking and defending within his specific zone. It's a way of maintaining a clear organization and avoiding holes in the defense. But there's a catch in that..."

"What catch? It's basic soccer," said Denis.

"This organization can limit us," explained Alex, drawing on the board to illustrate the concept of zones on the pitch. "If each of you stays stuck in your own area, a team that knows how to play the ball well will exploit the gaps between positions, like Liverpool did with Declan today. They draw you into a zone and, when they see the opportunity, someone quicker comes into the free space we've left to mark Declan."

"So... we need something different. We need to cover the pitch, not just our positions." Raphael said.

"Exactly, Rapha," confirmed Alex with a nod, encouraging the boy. "That's where non-positional soccer comes in, i.e., the idea of 'action zones' that Lucas suggested. In this style, you're ready to leave your zones if necessary, as long as you cover the spaces where the ball is together and monitor the opponent's movements, who may try to spin the game."

Alex scribbled lines showing different areas of play and, pointing to each one, said the name of a player, showing how they could move quickly without losing cover. The boys' attentive eyes followed the movement of the pen, absorbing every detail of the strategy.

After Alex's explanation of how their game would work, Lucas, who was excited to be playing soccer in a non-positional soccer strategy for the first time, had his eyes shining and repeated something he'd heard in the future to his classmates.

"This is how it's going to work, guys. When we're without the ball, we're going to chase the ball like a nice, juicy piece of steak. Imagine we haven't eaten meat for three years — we're going to chase that ball until we knock it out of their feet!"

The analogy made some laugh, and Lucas didn't stop.

"And when the ball is ours... Ah, that's different. We'll pass the ball from foot to foot, savoring every touch and making them run after us until they run out of breath. We'll keep control and be calm, because we already know the way to the goal."

Arthur tapped Lucas on the shoulder. "I want to see that. Now I finally understand the plan."

Eddie nodded, satisfied that the mood had returned to normal. "Well, boys, that's it. It's about thinking as a unit from now on. You're like a machine, with each cog working so that the other can fulfill its role. Now, get back out there and show that we're a hungry team!"

On returning to the pitch, Brighton had a different synergy. Right from the first touches of the ball, Declan, Liverpool's center-forward, positioned himself in the middle of the Brighton defense, already troubling them, but the ball was still in midfield.

When Kieran Doyle, Liverpool's attacking midfielder, got hold of the ball and raised his head in search of alternative passing options, he faced a frightening sight — three Brighton players were running towards him at the same time. He hesitated, taken aback by this scene, and even more by the synchronicity of their advance. For a moment, he was also paralyzed.

It was then that Lucas intercepted the ball with a tackle. Without wasting a second, he launched an attack. Lucas raised his head and saw Denis on the left, running free, so Lucas sent the ball to Denis, who received it with the inside of his left foot and returned the ball to the quick Lucas, completing a table to get past one opponent.

The connection between the Brighton players was visible now. They anticipated each other's moves, like long-time partners.

What's more, Declan, still in the middle of Brighton's defense, saw Daniel and Luiz Fernando advancing up the defensive line along with Aidan and Loki. At first, Declan thought they were adjusting the defensive line to get him offside and compact the field, but when Aidan and Loki passed the midfield line and kept running forward, he realized they were actually planning to attack with eight at the same time. Complete madness.


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