Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions
Chapter 93: Not This One Either? Icardi Was So Angry He Smashed the Remote Control!

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Not This One Either? Icardi Was So Angry He Smashed the Remote Control!

According to the positioning of Florence players in the 4-3-3 formation.

Badley is located right in the center of the midfield, acting as the metronome linking the front and back lines, and is the first organizer of the attack.

Diament is positioned on the left side of the front line, while Ilicic is on the right side.

The positioning of these three players forms an inverted triangle shape.

Now this triangle begins to move in its original shape.

Continuously switching positions in a clockwise direction.

This tactic was uniquely devised by Florence’s head coach Montella a week before the match.

The aim is to disrupt Inter’s players’ vision and break their man-to-man marking scheme.

Sure enough, the dynamic interchanges of these three players caught Inter’s defenders off guard.

When the player you are marking leaves the position, do you follow or not?

Tang Long’s AI engine has been fed a large amount of match footage.

Even without AI system prompts, Tang Long keenly noticed that beneath this arc-shaped major switch lies a hidden sharp edge, precisely Florence’s black center forward, the Senegalese Babacar.

"Switch to zonal marking immediately, and assign someone to mark Babacar!" Tang Long shouted loudly.

Tang Long’s words carried two pieces of information: first, the defensive line as a whole should temporarily switch from man-to-man marking to zonal marking; second, the defensive strategy for Babacar remains man-to-man.

Because only in this way can they minimize the disruption to their defensive positions caused by the opponents’ interchanges.

Tang Long’s voice was so loud that all his teammates heard it.

Inter’s central defender Ranocchia, who was marking Babacar closely, glanced at Tang Long in confusion.

What are you meddling in defensive matters for?

Man-to-man marking was personally deployed by Mancini before the game. If the coach didn’t say to change it, no one can make alterations.

"Everyone, stay focused!" Ranocchia yelled.

Seeing their captain Ranocchia’s response, fellow defenders like Juan, Dambrosio, and Nagatomo naturally defaulted to continuing with man-to-man tactics.

The result was disastrous!

The Japanese fullback Nagatomo is stronger in attack and weaker in defense.

He was originally supposed to mark Ilicic, who then dribbled and switched positions, naturally making Nagatomo follow him.

Halfway through the run, Badley has already charged towards the left flank!

Ilicic gave an early pass to his teammate Badley!

Nagatomo turned around and thought, damn it! Not good, my position is empty!

Then he made a fatal defensive mistake—abandoning his half-mark on Ilicic, he turned from the arc top middle back to the left flank to chase Badley.

This desire to cover both head and tail left Ilicic, in the center, unmarked in an open area.

Badley waited just for this moment!

He passed back with an inverted triangle, using a highly twisted, abnormal body posture, to forcefully hook the ball back to Ilicic.

"Inter’s arc top is empty!"

"Medel is covering, but it’s too late, Ilicic has plenty of space to swing his leg for a shot!"

"Quick, block it!"

"Ranocchia had no choice but to charge out!"

"Ilicic shoots—no, he passed?"

"Babacar! Babacar receives the ball!"

"It’s over, one-on-one, nobody was marking him..."

This feigned shot and real pass, Tang Long had used countless times at the top of the penalty area arc to deliver threatening passes to his teammates.

This time, when he saw Florence’s Ilicic make the move, he too was astounded by such a genuine execution of the move!

The action was so realistic that our captain Ranocchia was completely deceived by it.

Babacar pushed the far corner, calmly scoring solo!

Conceding a goal in the 14th minute, goalkeeper Handanovic angrily fetched the ball from the net and slammed it hard onto the ground!

The tall Slovenian had no responsibility for this goal; what angered him was his backline’s weakness, giving the opponent such an easy one-on-one chance.

"Concentrate, everyone concentrate!"

He shouted the same words as Ranocchia.

Ranocchia stood dejected, hands on his hips.

Is it really a matter of concentration?

Tang Long knew inside that it wasn’t about concentration; the root of the problem was the failure to timely switch from man-to-man to zonal marking.

Nagatomo, who was out of position, only had that level of defensive ability; if he wasn’t covered, pulling out would lead to disaster.

Mancini quickly noticed the telltale signs.

During the dead-ball interval as Florence players celebrated, he hastily called defensive leader Ranocchia over to impart his strategies.

Ranocchia listened intently with a serious expression and nodded.

As he passed by Tang Long, he slowed down to say, "Tang, you weren’t wrong to yell; we should’ve switched to zonal marking. I was careless."

"No worries, keep going, Babacar must be tightly marked. They’ll flit around like flies, but ultimately, their target is still Babacar," Tang Long said.

It seems Mancini and Tang Long shared the same assessment.

Unfortunately, Mancini’s timely adjustments were of no use once play resumed.

After those successful 15 minutes in the first half, Florence, having achieved their strategic goals, temporarily pulled back.

In Serie A, taking the lead and then switching to defense is a tactic favored by many coaches.

Though unattractive, it often proves effective.

Inter’s counterattack continued, fiercely attacking for 25 minutes without equalizing the score.

In truth, Inter’s link-up play on the wings and through the middle was quite seamless.

Though the Franchi Stadium isn’t large, with a capacity of only 40,000, its turf quality is excellent and is recognized by UEFA as an A-grade stadium.

On the smooth turf, Inter managed at least three threatening attacks, two of which directly fed the ball into the penalty area.

The problem lay with the lone striker Podolski!

In this match, Icardi was suspended due to severe disciplinary issues.

Among the remaining three forwards, Palacio is too old, and Bonazzoli too young.

The 30-year-old Podolski, at the peak of his powers, is the only one capable of starting as a lone striker.

In previous matches against weaker teams, Podolski had no problem playing solo upfront.

The former Prince of Cologne in the Bundesliga boasts extensive experience in intercontinental tournaments, knowing how to handle double or more markers, either maintaining control of the ball or using positioning to create space for teammates.

But today’s Podolski appeared unusually sluggish.

From his running posture, his aggression toward hot zones was not on par with Florence’s two central defenders, Savic and Rod.

If this could be related to his form adjustment.

Then the clear opportunity missed shortly before halftime exposed a fatal flaw in the German striker—

Weak foot!

In that play, Savic’s positioning at the top of the penalty area was clearly to block Podolski’s left foot, leaving his right open.

And indeed, Podolski’s right-footed shot, even though it was merely fifteen or sixteen meters from the goalkeeper, was ridiculously off target. The shot’s power was two levels below that of his preferred left foot, and the goalkeeper caught the ball cleanly standing still.

Savic and his central defensive partner Rod clapped hands, seemingly pleased with this pre-rehearsed defensive tactic.

"What kind of shot was that? The accuracy was completely off-balance! German’s XX! He’s utterly unworthy of pairing up with Tang,"

Icardi, watching from his home in Milan, furiously threw the remote at the TV, spewing expletives at Podolski, who was holding his head in frustration on screen.

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