Football: My AI System Provides Max-Level Predictions
Chapter 185 - 156: Dreaming Back to 2005, the Legendary 460 Formation Reappears!

Chapter 185: Chapter 156: Dreaming Back to 2005, the Legendary 460 Formation Reappears!

Rome is playing a no-striker tactic!

They don’t have a traditional center forward.

If you have to define their formation, it’s similar to 460.

Inter Milan’s coach Mancini is very familiar with the no-striker tactic Rome is using tonight.

His thoughts were instantly pulled back to Serie A ten years ago.

This inevitably brings up Mancini’s old rival in the battle for the Serie A title a decade ago, Spalletti.

In 2005, when Mancini first took charge at Inter, Udinese’s coach Spalletti received an offer from the Rome club and officially became the coach of the Red Wolf.

Old fans who love Serie A wouldn’t forget: at this time, Rome was in a rare low point for the club.

The team management was chaotic, outstanding players were leaving in large numbers, and at this time, Rome’s management had repeatedly failed with new coaches. Spalletti’s arrival was essentially the management’s last gamble to get the team back on track.

Fortunately, the Rome team found their proper leader with this coaching decision.

After Spalletti took charge, he swiftly led the team out of their plight, changed the team’s tactics to an offensive style, helping the team finish fifth in the league by the end of the 2005-2006 season.

In the 2006-2007 season and 2007-2008 season, he also helped the team secure second place in the Serie A in two consecutive years.

Notably, in February 2006, Spalletti led the team to an astonishing 11 consecutive wins!

It could be said that during the period when Juventus was silent due to the Calciopoli scandal, the Serie A league almost became the "dual powerhouse era" of Inter Milan and Rome.

Juventus and AC Milan fell behind early, Napoli was still lost in Serie B, and the entire Serie A was essentially between Inter and Rome.

Although he failed to lead Rome to defeat Inter and claim the Serie A crown, this bald coach Spalletti’s tactical contributions to Serie A are undeniable.

He has been recognized by FIFA as the earliest adopter of the [no-striker formation]!

The concept of the no-striker tactic has been included in the coaching examination materials at various levels by FIFA.

Spalletti believes that not setting a forward doesn’t mean a passive attitude towards offense.

On the contrary, he hopes to create a more layered attack by strengthening mid-field control of the ball.

The no-striker formation Spalletti used was 460, and it was mainly because at that time, Rome club had only Totti as a strictly defined excellent forward.

To improve performance, Spalletti crafted this no-striker formation sweeping the Apennine specifically for Rome’s prince Totti.

In this formation, Totti serves as the most advanced pivot in midfield and doesn’t participate in the team’s defense, while the two side midfielders use their decent ball control and start speed to stretch out the opponent’s defensive line aiming to expose gaps, while Totti and central midfielders perform flexible movements to pull apart the opponent’s defense.

(From 2005 to 2010, the 460 formation in which Rome was strong for a period, any of the five frontfield players could act as a center forward)

According to Spalletti’s thinking at the time, the Italian international Totti, adept at ball control and precise shooting, naturally positioned himself at the front of the central midfield.

Behind him, the two central attacking midfielders are Perrotta and Pizarro, while the single defensive midfielder standing in front of the central defenders is De Rossi.

On the flanks in midfield, the Black Mountain player Vucinic, with his decent starting speed and passing awareness, served as the left midfielder.

And Mancini, excellent in dribbling ability, appeared more in the right midfield position on the team.

In the defensive line, Meeks and Juan were the central defenders, and the Italian international Tontetto and Panucci acted as the full-backs for the team.

Overall, the main guiding philosophy of the no-striker formation was forward insertion!

Since there was no nominal center forward in the penalty area, this formation relied more on frequent runs from midfield players for offensive routines, thus demanding a significant level of stamina for midfielders, central and even side midfielders.

The reason Rome could sweep through Serie A with the 460 at that time was largely because their side midfielders were incredibly functional.

Whether it was the diligent Perrotta, the perceptive Vucinic, or the decently dribbling Pizarro, they all had very strong running abilities and forward insertion awareness.

These players could quickly change their positions to become wingers or center forwards within 3-4 seconds!

Meanwhile, the team’s absolute core Totti could swiftly follow up to cover.

Yet across the entire Rome team, besides Totti, the original 460 no-striker formation didn’t have an absolute superstar of a player.

But why was it that Spalletti could compete with Inter as the only Serie A team capable of challenging them during the Calciopoli period with such a modest lineup?

The key was Totti!

The crux of the no-striker formation lay in Totti alone.

When Totti held the ball in the central midfield, he would inevitably draw 1-2 opponents to press ahead tightly on him.

At this point, the central and side midfielders could fully exploit the exposed gaps left by the advanced opponent defense line to insert forward.

After Totti passed to the sides or made a through ball, he would immediately make a secondary forward insertion to shake off his markers in midfield.

This way, the team could quickly form a 3-4 person attack combination in a short period, a "from nothing to something" offensive routine capable of catching the opponent’s defense off guard in an instant!

Mancini, familiar with the Rome team that once competed for the title with him, thoroughly understood this once-popular no-striker tactic.

He keenly observed that the no-striker tactic being played by Rome tonight is actually a "castrated version" of the no-striker tactic.

Who was it castrated of?

Totti!

Totti sat expressionless with a white towel over his shoulder on the bench, drinking water~

Ten years later, the castrated Totti from Rome’s no-striker tactic, judging by tonight’s performance, revolves mainly around running!

Especially the five or six players upfront, they were just running the chaos.

It was just now, with Nangland and Pjanic’s chaotic position swap in the middle that forcefully stretched Inter’s formation, creating a long-distance dash in the open space by Gervinho, who, after beating three people, caused an own goal by the Inter defender.

Compared to Rome’s no-striker formation ten years ago, the emphasis on running is much greater in Rome’s no-striker formation now!

Why is that?

It’s still because Totti was castrated!

Ten years ago, in the peak of his career in his 30s, once Totti had the ball, he could attract at least two or even three opponents to block him.

Once Totti advances unimpeded and is given ample space to pass and shoot, it’s bound to be a disaster!

Totti had an incredibly strong desire to score at that time. He scored 26 goals in the 2006-2007 Serie A season, earning both the Serie A Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot, and was Rome’s main scoring threat.

Thus, Totti’s presence made Rome’s strikerless formation play with great fluidity.

Other players on the flanks didn’t need to run excessively; Totti drew so much attention from opponents, leaving them huge gaps.

But now, Totti is old!

Born in 1976, he’s already 39 years old.

There are rumors that this is his last season in Rome, after which Totti will retire, bearing the enormous honor of being a one-club man, and join Rome’s management.

Therefore, even though the game had just begun, Mancini had long reached a conclusion in his mind. He covered his mouth and turned to assistant coach Herrera, saying:

"A strikerless formation without Totti is a pseudo-strikerless formation. Their young players up front will exhaust their energy with excessive running."

Herrera thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Exactly, boss. Plus, I’ve noticed that their midfield might be a bit seasoned and know how to run, but as for their three forwards, they’re just clueless black lads, running around with nothing but brute force. We just need to withstand the first half and keep the score unchanged; in the second half, as they get exhausted, the opportunity will definitely be ours!"

Mancini sneered, "Hmph, no need to wait until the second half; after 35 minutes, when they hit the bottleneck period, we can seize the opportunity to equalize!"

Inter quickly began to shrink their formation.

The distance between the three lines became tighter, and the forwards pulled back about ten meters.

Tang Long’s adjustment was even more significant—he retreated from the attacking midfield position straight to the defensive midfield spot, closer to Gualin and Medel.

Live stream room.

-[Did Tang Long retreat again?]

-[That’s right! His position is clearly defensive midfield!]

-[An attacking midfielder placed behind! Mancini is using this tactic again!]

-[It’s not just Tang Long, Inter’s entire formation is retreating; are they going for full-field defense now?]

-[Hey, this can’t be right! The game has just started, and they’re already defending? Can we even watch this game now?]

-[It’s really incomprehensible; Inter is the one trailing. Logically, it should be Rome leading 1-0 that’s playing defensively.]

-[But Rome isn’t defending! They have possession and continue to attack, why not enjoy it?]

-[At this rate, Rome might score another goal.]

-[This is Inter’s home stadium, Meazza, what is Mancini thinking? Is he giving up the three points? This is really hard to understand!]

Not only were Chinese fans watching remotely via TV expressing their dissatisfaction.

Even the 80,000 Inter fans present at the scene were booing loudly!

This was the first time in recent months that fans at Meazza stadium had booed the home team.

It should be noted that in their first league encounter, Inter had decisively defeated Rome 4-0 away.

How come they are back at their home, and they’re shrinking back at just a one-goal disadvantage?

They even pulled Tang Long back to the defensive midfield position.

It’s not about losing a game; in the first ten rounds, Inter had lost more than half, and Inter fans aren’t the type to bash their team for losing.

But losing isn’t what’s scary; it’s about how they lose, whether it’s decisively or cowardly.

Rome, although second in Serie A, only below Juventus, still pales in comparison to Juventus in strength. Against Rome, Inter should stand confidently in terms of both value and player capability!

Fans are calling for a blue-and-black spirit that never gives up!

"Tang! Push forward, don’t retreat!"

"Go to the frontline, we need you to score!"

"Pair up with Icardi on the frontline!"

"Help us turn this around, Tang, score a hat-trick!!!"

On the field, Inter players resembled receding tides, retreating one after another.

The most threatening player, Tang Long, silently retreated to the defensive midfield position.

Under the bright lights at Meazza, his shadow elongated on the green field, seemingly drawing an invisible gap between him and the Rome players.

Seeing this, Rome players couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, slightly relaxing their tense nerves.

Gervinho on the flank was like a proud dancer.

After surpassing three players, his eyes glistened with a touch of arrogance, as if saying:

"Tang Long’s retreat is merely a fear of my speed, avoiding a direct confrontation with me on the frontline flanks."

However, only Tang Long truly understood the truth.

He lightly adjusted the black philosophical mask on his face.

His sharp eyes in the defensive midfield position near the center-back traced every detail on the field like a hawk.

The positioning of Inter players, the movements of Rome players, all were within his control.

"Ha-ha, just a little bit more, that was splendid!"

Rome’s winger Gervinho was like a magic master, nearly making Podolski lose his balance with a rainbow flick.

Unfortunately, the ball was like a wild horse, slightly overpowered, and dashed out of bounds.

At this moment, Tang Long’s eyes focused on Gervinho like a leopard locking on its prey.

In his mind, various scenarios flashed like lightning—

He had clearly seen the breakthrough point for Inter to launch an attack, just like a hunter spotting a prey’s weakness, waiting for the right moment to deliver a fatal blow!

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