this is 2010 Champions League semi-final first leg at the Barcelona and we played with Judy Caesar in goal we played with the back for my con Lucio saml and Zanetti and then we had during the game a different positioning in relation to the to the movement of Barcelona players and to the our analyse of our difficulties and after also analyzing our possibilities of of hurting the opponent's is a two leg is a two leg the first leg at home and obviously we know that the second leg in Barcelona would be even more difficult match for
us to play but basically this was mod and cambiaso and Schneider a toe and and Pandav and Diego Milito and in some moments of the game we bring fun they've more to the inside and hit room or close to Diego and being most occupying the central zone with almost with almost a diamonds but giving it to the chance to try to be more close to to Diego but this was the basic the basic situation Barcelona at that time even still today even before that the back for and then busquets charvak kata Iniesta was not starting
the starting the game and then Ibrahimovic was the striker this was Pedro and this is the guy I forget the name some some play that they had messing with this was the guy and was was with him that we started by analyzing and trying to predict the game and to trying to anticipate them and trying to anticipate the problems at that time they had ebrill a nine and fixing the center-backs and Messi was playing from the right but obviously obviously with the freedom to go to many different to many different areas Daniel others was the
player to to go forward all the time and to try to create this situation this situation here our decision basically was what we are going to do when this situation happen of Messi going in between the lines and always going forward are we going to get Zanetti on Zanetti on messy but then you will be dragged out of position and then others will be all the time in here and then pandava way too they are going to end playing almost as as left back what how are we going to to resolve this situation and the
situation for us was was very very clear which was he cannot play alone when he come in between the lines so this player here must be a player totally in control of this area here always in communication with the left back and there is a moment where he becomes yours and I stay in the zone but if in a certain moment you were attracted by other positions and Messi goes into these positions in between the lines you have to decide to go but then if you decide to go you have to defend always so there
was a combination of of ideas but basically everything was around not let Messi play I remember after the game [Music] the press was was telling about using a word in Italy they were using the word gappiya that that I think the real translation is about you know like like a jail like a jail - too messy because in the end we didn't play man-to-man but Zanetti Mota Cambiaso everybody was was was responsible for any position that Messi could could go even if messy sometimes was trying to go more to this side here he would always
go and then Schneider was going to close so our defensive approach was based on this positional problem and probably the only positional problem that we had a part of that we just need to be to be really compact and don't give them don't give them too much too much space they are going to have the ball more than then as much more than us obviously because many many times they were moving the ball without hurting and we must be mentally strong to cope with with that let them have the ball but not creating many chances
for us the second part of the plan was exactly how to hurt them how to hurt them because he's a first leg at home we need to win the match we need to score goals obviously that's the strategy to hurt them was in our tacking transition the moment we the moment will recover the wall and we knew of course the way of of their building up going with Albers and Maxwell forward really really wide and giving lots of up spaces and then because we were always trying to make it compact and bringing Pandav air to
alter the insides and to make it a very compact area letting the ball go to the sides and then when they define the side then we decide that this is the trigger for us to for us to press and the point the pointing in here was even if we don't have the white player in in in a clear position to attack these spaces behind max length and Alvis was to get layers into these positions from the compact block we had not to be afraid to attack these spaces where we we are going to to hurt
them and and we had Mikan that was absolutely phenomenal that night attacking these spaces against the player that we knew very very well Maxwell very strong with with the ball but not so strong in the recovering of these of these spaces Alvis of course the culture of Barcelona was for always to to go always in depth in depth in depth and attacking the spaces that normally opponents were going to give them because of Messi coming to the to the inside and then we needed to attack this bases where who y'all NPK they were very they
were very exposing and we we knew that there was very strong on the defensive transition in the opposition of so we knew that the place is where they lose the ball they were very very strong by trying to press and push it up and close every possible space but then we knew that also because that was not the kind of challenge that they had to face week in week out in the Spanish league they were not so good coping with the spaces and we had very fast people we had very fast people attacking the spaces
and we had people with the right mentality and the right coaching of arriving into these positions so we were fundamentally going from a defensive low block but going very very strong with three four five players into attacking positions in the in the transition and and it worked I think I think it work and it's quite hard to say when we had 30% of ball possession and the opposition had 70 but I think we were more clothes more clothes we had much and not not chances chances but opportunities that we can read we had more after
the 3-1 we had more chances to score the fourth then then to be really really in trouble we were we were totally in control the second goal is exactly what I was saying before Barcelona very strong and very well educated to the moment they lose the ball to try to press and to try to kill immediately the opposition country attack because this is the area where they want to play all the time and we were educated to attack the spaces behind them so in this situation here we had always lots of players ready to attack
the space behind both fullbacks which player should attack these spaces anyone in this case the player that attacked the space was Milito and then when the ball reach Millett Windy's area here is a question of who is going to arrive as Adam and we were very adapted and very coached and also with the right mentality and the right effort and the right ambition to make people arrive in here so when the ball gets into a player here in this case was Milito now the point is looking at this or many whites how many oranges are
going to get into the scoring position and I I know that this is the guy that is going to arrive which is which is Mikan is going to arrive in here but we have also to give sequence of these I think we have also planned EV and and maybe Schneider also coming so we after that ball to Minato we managed to put two or three players more was neither and a tour Schneider and and and and panned of arriving arriving also here plus the incredible run of my cone how many of them they were arriving
was more difficult for them I think Kate the busquets they couldn't cope with this with this run I think Maxwell and Messi or Pedro in this position they never thought that my cone was going to arrive so the second and the third goal they had this similarity of house hurting them in the attacking transition
