The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 274: Pressing Offense and Counter-Attacking Defense

What position does Van Gaal hold in Aldrich's mind?

To put it simply: he's impressive!

This kind of admiration isn't just a starstruck perspective from an onlooker; it's Aldrich viewing him as a living textbook on how to become an outstanding head coach.

In the past, he spent the most time in the Netherlands, not just observing Ajax's training and matches up close, but also meticulously studying over two hundred game tapes from Van Gaal's era at Ajax.

Van Gaal transformed Ajax, upgrading the traditional 4-3-3 formation to establish a system using large diamonds and small triangles, creating a multi-dimensional tactical structure that made their advantages crystal clear.

Ajax under his guidance had a number four position, but it was completely different from the quarterback in American football or Barcelona's number four.

In Ajax, the number four role was filled by a versatile defender or defensive midfielder—acting as a defender during defensive plays and switching to a midfielder in attack, converting the formation from 4-3-3 to 3-4-3.

Van Gaal proposed the idea of a deeper organizational core as early as the early '90s, and it was bolder than Cruyff's theory of a defensive midfielder as the focal point—he used a center-back to orchestrate the attack!

During that time, Ajax's formation featured four large diamonds and countless small triangles, including the goalkeeper; they became passing options and dominated matches entirely through passing. No player was allowed to hold the ball for too long or stray from the tactical system.

Given this, it's easy to understand why Van Gaal often clashed with Rivaldo; the greater a superstar's freedom to play, the less room Van Gaal allowed for that. Aldrich thought Van Gaal was right on this matter because, as a coach himself, he wouldn't tolerate players who disrupted the team's tactical integrity.

After taking charge at Barcelona for less than six months, how effective had Van Gaal been in remodeling the team?

At least, he didn't dare let the team attack in a 3-4-3 formation against Millwall.

In the thirteenth minute of the match, Van Gaal stood up to instruct his Barcelona players to start pressing hard!

Soon, Aldrich noticed that Barcelona's attacking structure became increasingly clear, the small triangular formation evident as they tried to use tight passing to wear down Millwall's energy while looking to find a crack in their defense.

However, every time they attempted to push forward, their advances came to an abrupt halt.

Millwall had at least four defenders and three midfielders dropping back when defending, with the wingers shadowing the full-backs to disrupt their build-up play.

This tactic was inherently about pressure; as Millwall's defense compacted, Barcelona's seemingly harmless side-to-side passing became futile.

As a result, the stars began to showcase their skills: Figo cut inside down the flank, only to be met by El Gra's fierce tackle. After Schneider collected the ball, he scanned the situation in front of him and then passed it to the running Nedved.

Before Guardiola could close him down, the Czech international passed the ball back to a more retreating Ballack.

Van Gaal urged his players to regain possession immediately. They rushed towards the man on the ball, and Ballack had already planned his next move before receiving it. He launched a long ball to the left flank, where Larsson dropped deep to collect it. The extraordinary right-back Reiziger hadn't advanced quickly enough and was caught off guard.

They all knew that Larsson was Millwall's biggest threat, not just because he was the top scorer in Europe last season, but because just six months ago, he had destroyed Barcelona with two goals in Rotterdam.

So, they all kept a close eye on Larsson.

However, the Swede was sly today. After receiving the ball, he made a direct pass behind Reiziger.

The tiny box king, Van Nistelrooy, understood the play perfectly and raced forward to claim the ball.

The biggest flaw in a pressing style is the large gaps it leaves at the back.

If the defenders don't push up to create passing options, the pressure diminishes. But if they press up, they risk being hit on the counter-attack, leaving huge spaces behind. This style requires top defenders and disciplined defensive midfielders to protect those spaces. Guardiola couldn't halt Nedved's pass in time, allowing Millwall's counter-attack to brew, which set the stage for a series of problems.

Van Nistelrooy got there first on the left side just outside the penalty area, turned sharply before Kutó could close in, and laid a square ball into the middle. After passing, he fell to the ground, but he had successfully delivered the ball.

Nedved sprinted into Barcelona's penalty area after receiving a back pass from Ballack, and his timing was perfect. As the goalkeeper Baía and defender Abelardo rushed in to block the angle of his shot, Nedved laid the ball across.

Shevchenko raced in, just beating Sergi to the ball and nudging it into the open net.

A hush fell over Camp Nou!

"Shevchenko opens the scoring! Millwall's whirlwind counter-attack has dismantled Barcelona's defense! The visiting Millwall leads by one goal, and Barcelona is already teetering on the edge of a cliff! If they can't turn this around, they'll fall into the abyss—Millwall has driven Barcelona into a corner!"

Shevchenko dashed towards Nedved after scoring, jumping into his arms as they celebrated in front of Barcelona's goal!

Van Gaal maintained his composure, while Aldrich showed no change of expression—not even a smile.

He stood calmly at the sidelines with his hands in the pockets of his coat.

The players were used to glancing over at the bench, and when they saw Aldrich's reaction, they understood that they couldn't let their guard down—leading a match didn't mean they could take it easy.

It had only been twenty minutes.

As the players encouraged each other with raised fists while returning to position, they reminded one another to stay focused, never let their attention waver.

Barcelona ramped up their attacking intensity, but Millwall stood firm like a solid wall.

On the field, the situation felt as though Barcelona was more active, while Millwall resembled a swamp; anyone or anything that entered dangerous territory would get swallowed up.

After studying Van Gaal's triangular passing system, Aldrich didn't adopt that attacking style. Instead, he did the opposite—applying that triangular concept to his defense. With a chain-link defense, Millwall's compact defensive system became a small triangle, surrounding opponents while moving fluidly through the match to maintain their positional advantage.

They seldom use offside tactics unless they're up against a team with a top-notch playmaker at the core. In those situations, they squeeze their midfield line to apply pressure on the playmaker, which helps them better predict the opponent's passing timing and the forward's runs, thus raising their chances of successfully creating an offside—just like in last season's first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona's spiral offensive system needed opponents to rush out for the ball to create deeper spaces, but Millwall ensured the safety of the forty-yard danger zone before their goal with a somewhat static defensive approach. Outside of that forty-yard area, they could pass all they wanted; it was Barcelona, not Millwall, who needed to find the back of the net.

Almost thirteen years later, today, Mourinho, sitting next to Van Gaal, would use a nearly identical approach to lead Inter Milan to triumph over Van Gaal's Bayern Munich.

Seventeen minutes later, despite seeming to dominate, Barcelona hadn't managed a single threatening shot. Giovanni misplaced a pass, and Makelele intercepted the ball, delivering a low long pass toward the forward Van Nistelrooy.

The Dutchman received the ball near the center circle, tapped it to one side, and then sent a through ball down the left.

Larsson cut inside, racing alongside Reiziger.

As the game progressed, the distance between them grew further and further. Since Cotto had rushed back to cover Larsson's path, Reiziger decided not to foul.

But after a few touches, Larsson passed the ball to the right. Shevchenko rushed in from the other side, caught the ball, rushed into the penalty area, and then shot a shot without any obstruction at all!

The ball rolled along the grass towards the bottom left corner of the goal. Baía dove but was a step too slow; the ball slipped through his arm and into the net.

"Shevchenko has scored his second! The Ukrainian forward is on fire today; such a skillful and quick striker is exactly what Barcelona fears!"

Many fans in Camp Nou held their heads in disbelief.

The first half wasn't even over, and they were already two goals down!

Shevchenko ran toward Larsson again, and the two strikers embraced before simultaneously opening their arms to Van Nistelrooy as he approached for a hug.

"Barcelona sent over at least seven players into attack, yet they haven't had a single dangerous shot, while Millwall attacked with just two or three and already scored twice. It's a classic battle between attacking pressure and counter-attacking tactics, and it appears the English manager Hoare is outclassing them."

Both head coaches today were quite unusual.

Barcelona conceded two goals but Van Gaal remained unshakeable.

Millwall led by two goals, yet Aldrich was unfazed.

Leading by two is the most precarious mindset. Aldrich still showed no signs of celebration, only slightly lifted his chin as if to scoff at the entire Camp Nou, displaying a posture of confidence.

Circumstances sculpt heroes; Aldrich believed Van Gaal's great success at Ajax stemmed from unique historical factors.

The Ajax he led was before the Bosman ruling, where the club's absolute authority over players allowed him to manage a large group of talented athletes. In a time when players were at a disadvantage, they were unlikely to defy him and had no choice but to obey.

Thus, Van Gaal was able to see his idealized tactical philosophy perfectly executed by the players.

However, in the post-Bosman era, the egos of superstars grew, and his rigid management style became difficult to apply seamlessly.

During the season, while Barcelona dominated Real Madrid, Aldrich believed this was less about Barcelona becoming stronger and more about Real Madrid shooting themselves in the foot.

This season, La Liga entered a new era; although Madrid played four fewer matches than last season, their points were nearly thirty less than under Capello! Even if you discount those four games for twelve points, that's still over fifteen points less than last season!

Despite undeniably overtaking Real Madrid in direct confrontations, Barcelona remained the team with the most losses among the top six in La Liga and tied for the fourth most goals conceded! This emphasizes just how poor their defense is.

This poor defense stemmed from the large gaps in pressuring tactics; if they couldn't maintain control, they risked being shattered by a counter-attack.

As for the much-discussed 3-3-3-1 formation, it was just a numbers game. The essence still lay in the role-switching between the defensive midfielder and defender. If that player couldn't make the transition perfectly, the already fragile defense would appear even weaker.

This pressing style demands a high level of team synergy, which is why after several years of collaboration, Ajax clinched the European title, followed by another appearance in the finals, narrowly losing to Juventus.

The subsequent Dream Team at Barcelona was heavily influenced by Dutch football, but only that group of players who had played together for years, even over a decade, could maximize the tactical effects.

Once this system encounters top teams before reaching maturity, unforeseen challenges arise—Van Gaal's European coaching record at Barcelona stands as the best testament to that.

Still, attacking football is the most marketable, which is why fans cherish this Barcelona.

Aldrich didn't intend to engage in a battle of style today.

Barcelona could take home the accolades for flair; Millwall was only here for the three points.