At this time, in the stands of the People's Park Stadium, there was a special audience who was also paying attention to this game.

He is the current sporting director of FC Barcelona, ​​Zubizarreta.

This meritorious goalkeeper who played for Barcelona for a long time during his player days, once represented the team and won the UEFA Champions League in the 1991-1992 season, and is also the main goalkeeper of the Spanish national team.

After retiring, he became a professional sportsperson, and in 2010 he followed Rosell to take over the position of sports director of Barcelona Football Club. He was actually the second-ranking figure in Barcelona's management.

Tonight, Barcelona also had a Champions League round of 16 second-leg match, but Zubizarreta chose to come to Hamburg to watch another match. Of course, he had his own purpose.

He just came to observe Pan Yi!

This is preparation for Barcelona's coaching change next season.

The main reason is that the performance of Barcelona led by Martino this season is really not very good.

There are currently 27 rounds in the league, and Barcelona is ranked third in the standings behind Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. The prospect of winning the championship is not very optimistic.

In the Champions League, Barcelona only qualified as second in the group and met Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16. As a result, they lost 1:2 at home in the first round.

Although these results cannot be the final verdict for Martino, Barcelona's top brass can no longer sit still.

They must plan ahead and find a new helmsman for Barcelona!

Their first choice target is current Celta Vigo head coach Luis Enrique.

Enrique was chosen not because of his outstanding results at Celta Vigo.

Enrique's advantage is that he played for Barcelona for eight seasons (1996-97 to 2003-04) as a player and served as captain. After retiring, he served as coach and coached Barcelona's B team for three seasons. Taking over the team is conducive to continuity.

Barcelona's tactical system.

After leaving Barcelona B team, Enrique went to coach Serie A Roma and La Liga Celta. Compared with Guardiola and Vilanova who previously coached Barcelona, ​​he has an advantage because he has already coached.

First team experience.

At the same time, Enrique has a good relationship with Barcelona captain Puyol, which also helps him quickly take over the team.

However, after the two matches between Barcelona and Hamburg, Pan Yi also entered Zubizarreta's sight.

To be honest, it is not unusual to see a team that can beat Barcelona, ​​and Zubizarreta cannot inspect the head coach who beats Barcelona every time he sees it.

But Pan Yi is so special!

His Hamburg actually dared to compete with Barcelona in possession of the ball, and they succeeded!

He finally defeated Barcelona in the way Barcelona is best at and pushed Barcelona to the second position in the group.

This is really surprising.

Generally speaking, those who can defeat Barcelona in La Liga often adopt a defensive and counterattack tactic, compressing Barcelona's ball control space and then seeking to quickly counterattack and score goals.

And Zubizarreta doesn't like this kind of coach. After all, it doesn't conform to Barcelona's tradition, and there is no way to continue Barcelona's passing and controlling system.

Barcelona fans are also one of the most picky fans in the world. They will definitely not accept their team using anti-counterattack tactics to win the game.

But Pan Yi is different.

He can play beautiful passes and win in Hamburg, and theoretically he can do the same in Barcelona!

So Zubizarreta began to pay attention to Pan Yi, and today he specially came to Germany to watch such a powerful dialogue.

After all, if you just play pass control and suppress the offense in the Bundesliga, it is nothing.

But if he can suppress a Premier League championship-level team like Manchester City in a head-to-head match like the Champions League knockout rounds, that speaks volumes about Pan Yi's level.

And so far in the game, Hamburg has really played well!

From the very beginning, they fought fiercely against Manchester City, who were eager to grab points, and had the upper hand.

Manchester City has always been able to play with ease in the Premier League, which is good at fast-paced offense and defense, and full of impact. But today, when they encountered Hamburg, which was attacking with all their strength, they realized what true fast-tempo and impact are.

Even Manchester City's footwork, which they are proud of in the Premier League, cannot take any advantage against Hamburg!

And Zubizarreta also saw that even if Hamburg's backcourt was constantly harassed and oppressed by Manchester City players, they would not blindly move forward.

Whether it is the two full-backs Robertson and Carvajal, or the center backs Van Dijk and Rudiger, including the three midfielders who sometimes drop back to support, they always pass the ball calmly in the backcourt.

They can always find gaps in the opponent's pressure, pass the ball out of the dangerous area through continuous passes, and then organize a new wave of offensive.

Isn't this how Barcelona plays?

When Guardiola was at Barcelona, ​​he emphasized that the offense starts from the backcourt, from the goalkeeper to the defender, and is slowly transmitted up. He will not take big shots unless it is absolutely necessary.

It seems risky to play like this. After all, if the ball is intercepted by the opponent's forward in the backcourt, it will be an opportunity to face the goalkeeper almost directly.

But Barcelona players have such confidence.

Most of their years of training are spent practicing passing and controlling the ball.

Every Barcelona player has very good foot skills, and many of them have practiced together since childhood. They are very familiar with each other and the cooperation is smooth.

And this kind of self-confidence can also make their offense more efficient, because short passes from the backcourt are of course more reliable than running into the middle and letting people grab five or five balls.

Now it seems that Hamburg's players also have the same confidence.

And their pace is faster!

Generally speaking, the faster the pace of the game, the faster the passing and receiving speed, and the turnover rate will inevitably increase.

That's what Manchester City is like now.

They followed the rhythm of Hamburg, so the offense and defense transitioned very quickly. As the players kept widening, the distance between the players also increased.

The further the distance of the pass, the greater the intensity of the pass, the faster the ball speed, and the player's control of the ball will definitely become weaker.

But Hamburg's passing success rate is much higher than Manchester City.

This is not to say that the personal abilities of Hamburg players are much better than those of Manchester City, but because Hamburg players are obviously better at running!

With the substantial increase in running, the distance between Hamburg players is compressed to less than ten meters in most cases, which reduces the possibility of passing errors.

In comparison, Manchester City's running can't keep up, which is why they are more passive now that the game is going on.

This is why Zubizarreta values ​​Pan Yi very much.

Can pass and control, and can run, isn't this...

A combination of Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Moreover, there is another reason for Manchester City's pass turnover rate.

That is, the Hamburg players press very fiercely and are very aggressive!

Look at Vardy on the forward line. He fought so hard. It felt like a bandit was robbing him. A gust of wind passed by and not a single blade of grass grew!

Under such intimidating pressure, it is understandable that Manchester City players make passing and receiving errors or have the ball intercepted.

Hamburg's counterattack after stealing the ball was also very fast. Basically, it would reach Manchester City's backcourt in three passes and two passes, and then form a threatening shot.

This is basically how Hamburg's first two goals were scored tonight.

So, this hamburger can pass and control, run, fight, and counterattack, wouldn't it...

Barcelona+Real Madrid+Atletico???

Isn’t this invincible?

Zubizarreta watched and forgot about classmate Luis Enrique.

If Pan Yi can be acquired, Barcelona's next dynasty will definitely arrive soon!

Think about Messi and Neymar under Pan Yi, as well as Xavi and Iniesta... Wow, it's really picturesque.

With Barcelona's reputation and status in world football, Pan Yi shouldn't refuse their invitation, right?

In addition, Pan Yi approached Messi twice to get the jersey. There are also rumors that Pan Yi is a fan of Messi. With this relationship, wouldn't it be easy to get him?

Zubizarreta couldn't help but have a smile on her face.

He looked at the court again, and now there was a different scene in front of the benches of both teams.

Pellegrini of the visiting team was obviously anxious. He had not sat in his seat since the start and had been standing directing the game.

On the home team side, Pan Yi remained as calm as ever, sitting firmly with his butt firmly on his back, and chatting and laughing with the people on the side.

What is a world-class coach?

This is a world-class coach!

Don't be happy with things, don't be sad with yourself. Those who are famous all over the world must have a strategy in their chest!

…

Under Zubizarreta's watch, Hamburg once again launched a threatening attack.

David Silva wants to pass the ball to Yaya Toure, but the distance between the two is relatively far now, and the passing line seems too obvious.

As soon as the ball was passed halfway, it was blocked by Paulinho and flew into the air.

Kanter quickly stepped forward and tipped the ball to De Bruyne in the gap.

These three Hamburg midfielders can always appear in the right place at the right time, and they can always play well together.

And the last person to receive the ball is often De Bruyne.
To be continued...