Unlike Mourinho, Leidup and Zidane both have Real Madrid ties.
Zidane was even the previous generation's star player for Real Madrid, a big enough name to command respect from these stars.
The most crucial thing isn't 'commanding respect,' but making friends.
That's right!
It's about making friends!
Leidup barely manages anything; he's just an interim coach, here to slack off as before.
His main focus is peace and harmony, a 'you're good, I'm good' approach.
Zidane, however, wants to achieve things, so he's more proactive.
For example, on the first day of training, Zidane took out his small notebook and communicated with each player individually.
"Marcelo, I think you should learn to make more forward runs. I've watched your games; if you always stay in the backfield, it will negate your offensive performance. So, you can make appropriate forward runs!"
Listening to Zidane, Marcelo was overjoyed.
Before, he also wanted to make forward runs.
But between him and Srna, someone had to stay in the backfield; they couldn't play with both full-backs flying forward.
Mourinho didn't allow such an all-out attacking style.
But Zidane encouraged him to make forward runs.
"Can I really?" Marcelo asked excitedly.
"Of course." Zidane patted Marcelo's shoulder; "I believe in you, you are the world's best left-back!"
These words immediately made Marcelo feel lightheaded.
Turning around, Zidane then approached Pepe.
"Pepe, you are the world's best right center-back."
Zidane's coaching style mainly revolved around encouragement.
He'd tell everyone they were the world's best; even for Casemiro, he'd say Casemiro possessed the talent to become the world's best defensive midfielder.
No one dislikes hearing good things, especially the numerous stars at Real Madrid.
Therefore, under Zidane's repeated affirmations and encouragement, their goodwill towards Zidane rapidly increased.
"Is this okay?" Srna grinned; "Aren't you afraid of making people too overconfident?"
Suker turned to look at Srna; "Are you overconfident?"
"Of course not!"
Suker asked again; "Does it feel good?"
"Yes!"
Suker smiled; "Then that's all that matters!"
Zidane possesses his own coaching techniques; although some call him a 'mystic coach' and his tactics are incomprehensible, it cannot be denied that Zidane has something unique!
Praise is also a coaching method!
Under Zidane's praise, at the very least, these guys became more confident.
Furthermore, as a former top midfield maestro, Zidane has a strong ability to read games; he knows when to field which player.
Perhaps, setting aside Zidane's pre-match arrangements and system building capabilities.
Purely on his substitution level, it is absolutely exceptional!
In the original timeline, Zidane frequently performed miraculous substitutions, with players scoring within minutes of coming on.
Therefore, Suker still approved of Zidane!
Zidane can be considered a 'demon blade' among Head Coaches.
Not following the usual path, relying on the system Mourinho left behind, plus Zidane's game-reading ability, Real Madrid might play some eye-catching matches.
Of course, Zidane's system construction and tactical arrangements were somewhat lacking.
After all, he was the originator of indulging players and directing the 'XJBT tactics' (random play tactics).
His main approach was to spoil them!
Play however you want to play!
As they played, the opponents got chaotic, and Real Madrid also got chaotic!
But in the chaos, Zidane was often able to use substitutions to suddenly achieve a 'finishing touch' effect.
On the field, an internal training match was underway.
As Suker just got the ball, Zidane's voice rang in his ear.
"Suker! Dribble past him! Show your performance, don't hesitate, you are Real Madrid's number one star, you should implement your strong ability, go! Take him down!"
Under Zidane's encouragement, Suker truly made the left wing a chaotic mess.
His main focus was not passing unless he lost the ball!
But even with such play, Zidane was still encouraging Suker to dribble.
Finally, Suker himself couldn't stand it anymore and had to pass.
But every time Suker passed, Zidane would loudly cheer from the sidelines, constantly applauding, shouting 'great pass'.
But this was just an ordinary ground pass for a transfer!
What kind of great pass was this?
Suker felt quite awkward listening to it!
However, some people were indeed pumped up by the encouragement.
For example, Benzema, Bale, and Marcelo.
They were incredibly active!
Especially Marcelo, after dribbling and advancing, he would immediately retreat at full speed.
His running enthusiasm was incredible.
He even made continuous dribbles on the wing, back-heeling to Suker, taking volleys, and so on, all of which were cheered.
Bale, not to mention, directly transformed into a Ferrari on the wing, his bursts were incredibly intense.
Previously, Bale wasn't very fond of retreating to defend.
But with Zidane's repeated phrases:
"Beautiful interception!"
"Clean tackle!"
"Oh~ Bale! You're simply amazing!"
In this encouragement, Bale gradually lost himself, and didn't even need teammates to remind him; he would sprint back at full speed to defend.
It was as if he bore unshirkable responsibility if his team conceded a goal.
Benzema, not to mention.
His efficiency directly went up.
With his elusive runs, he made the opponent's defense a complete mess.
Suker stood on the sideline and watched.
This internal training match gave him only one feeling.
'Chaos'!
It was too damn chaotic!
Sometimes, Suker didn't even know how these guys were playing, where they intended to pass?
But in the chaos, they were able to score goals!
Because it wasn't just them who were chaotic!
The opponent's defense was even more chaotic!
With this kind of disruption, the defense was in disarray, and Suker, Benzema, and Bale were all able to score goals using their individual abilities.
To be honest, after a training match.
He didn't know what they were practicing.
He also didn't know how they scored goals or how they won the internal training match.
But they just played in a muddled way, and then they won.
"What kind of garbage was that?" Ramos was almost swearing.
"Damn it! Bale ran into open space, but instead of passing to Bale, he passed to Suker who was surrounded by people?"
Benzema: "Just tell me, did it go in or not?"
Ramos, red-faced and stifled, turned his head; "And Bale, you had no shooting space from that angle, wouldn't a diagonal back pass have been better?"
Bale: "But I scored! I chipped it with the outside of my foot, I was very confident!"
Ramos pursed his lips; "Marcelo, are you a forward now? What are you doing dribbling past people in the attacking third? And dribbling past three people at once, what if you lose the ball?"
Marcelo looked up; "But I created a chance for goal!"
Ramos felt stifled.
That's it!
That's the feeling!
It was clearly not right, clearly chaotic, clearly unreasonable.
But damn it, they just scored!
What the hell kind of training match was this!
Suker was silent on the side.
He couldn't understand it either.
Take the first goal, Benzema abandoned Bale who was in open space and passed to himself. At that time, there were three people around him, but Benzema's through ball not only went through Ramos's legs, but also his own, perfectly arriving in front of him.
And Casillas was standing on the right side of the goal, blocking Bale's shooting space.
No one expected Benzema to pass that way, and yet it was perfectly placed.
Suker casually poked the ball and scored.
Bale's shot was even more exaggerated, almost a zero-angle shot.
The inverted triangle overlap was certainly locked down, but compared to Bale, the shooting angle was larger.
But this guy insisted on doing it himself, and he even chipped it with a curve similar to Maicon's.
Marcelo's goal was even stranger.
This guy dribbled and broke through, but as he dribbled, he basically had no passing space, taking himself into a dead end. But he still forced a pass, and the ball hit Coentrão's shin, creating an own goal.
None of these three goals were reasonable.
But they just went in!
If you say it was all luck, you can't really say that.
But there was definitely an element of luck.
How exactly the goals were scored, it couldn't be replicated, nor could it be predicted.
For example, Benzema's through ball.
Not only Ramos didn't expect it, Suker didn't either.
"Alright, that's enough for today, we'll continue training tomorrow, your performances were all very good."
Zidane and Leidup clapped on the sidelines, signaling dismissal.
The Real Madrid players walked into the locker room one by one, looking bewildered.
Ramos stood in front of his locker, thinking left and right, but just couldn't figure it out.
"No! Is he sick?" Ramos said with a bitter expression: "Why would he pass like that!"
Frustrating!
It was too damn frustrating!
A goal like that was enough to bother him for days.
"Chaotic yet able to score." Pepe also shook his head; "I've never seen anything like it!"
Srna calmed down a bit, and after a moment of thought, he said, "To be honest, it's really uncomfortable playing like this."
Hearing this, Ramos and Pepe quickly nodded in agreement.
It was more than just uncomfortable!
It was pure torture.
"Every single one of their passing choices is full of unpredictability, so I don't think it's just good luck, and they aren't playing according to their original passing patterns at all."
After a pause, Srna said, "For example, Bale's zero-angle curve!"
"I had Suker marked, you and Pepe restricted Benzema, Kroos also pushed forward, but from his position, I could have completely intercepted it." Srna grimaced, "In fact, I had already slowed down, already prepared to intercept, I was certain he would pass like that!"
Casillas suddenly raised his hand, "I also took a few steps forward; I thought he was going to sweep it across the goal, so I could clear it immediately!"
"But Bale shot," Srna nodded, "His choice was completely different from our thinking, but precisely because of these things, we conceded a goal."
"This… this…" Ramos was a bit frustrated, "Isn't this just XJBT?!"
Suker's voice faintly rang out.
"So we need the XJBT tactic!"
Everyone turned to look at Suker in astonishment.
Suker waved his hand, "Don't think about it too much. Let's get a good feel for it tomorrow. If we can still score goals, then it means this tactic really has some effect."
After a pause, Suker whispered, "Although, I also don't know how it's played out!"
The next day, at Real Madrid's training ground.
After yesterday's internal training match and subsequent summary, the Real Madrid defenders looked full of energy.
They had done some mental preparation, intending to thoroughly experience this so-called XJBT tactic.
The match quickly began.
Initially, the pace of the game was quite normal.
Probing was done when needed, and passes were made when needed.
But as the pace quickened, the style continued to deviate.
In the 21st minute, Suker suddenly received the ball in midfield, turned, and began a solo breakthrough.
He broke through along the central axis, using his excellent dribbling skills to sprint towards the penalty area.
As he neared the penalty area, Ramos and Pepe suddenly closed in, intending to trap him.
But soon, they saw Benzema to their side.
"Careful!"
Pepe warned.
Ramos gritted his teeth and moved a step to the left.
Just this one step created a slight gap between the two of them.
Suker feigned a pass, suddenly twisted his waist, pushed the ball forward sharply, and followed with his body, squeezing through.
Catching up to the ball again, Suker tapped it with his foot, and the ball went into the net.
After scoring, Suker didn't celebrate; instead, he turned and looked at Benzema in surprise.
"Why did you run over there?"
Benzema blinked, "I don't know, I just felt there was an opportunity there!"
Suker pondered for a moment; he felt it was strange, yet somewhat familiar.
He put on Inzaghi's Awareness, turned his head, and shouted, "Let's try again!"
Ten minutes later, Ramos and Pepe were sandwiching Benzema.
Benzema looked up at the falling ball, gently cushioning it with his instep, while simultaneously guiding the ball between his legs, letting it pass through.
At this moment, a figure suddenly burst out from the side.
Swish!
The ball hit the net.
Ramos, Pepe, and Casillas all stared blankly ahead.
Sudden pass, sudden movement.
What was this?
Ramos immediately shouted, "Wasn't that offside?!"
Pintus, who was standing on the sideline as a linesman, slowly shook his head, indicating that Suker was not offside.
From the sideline, Leidup also tilted his head, looking confused.
"How was this played?"
Zidane, who was nearby, stroked his chin, remaining silent.
After a moment, Zidane said, "We are still using the system left by Mourinho, but I encourage the attacking midfielders to use their individual abilities to create opportunities. If you ask me how it's played out, I'm not sure either. It's like those wonderful chemical reactions; the cooperation of the forwards seems chaotic, but there's a mysterious connection and understanding."
Leidup: "I only saw chaos!"
"Chaos might be an illusion," Zidane said, "After all, it's been this effect for two consecutive days. There must be some characteristics here that we don't know about, or even that the players themselves have overlooked."
After a pause, Zidane praised, "However, Suker's positioning is superb, just like Inzaghi!"
Five minutes later, Suker backheeled the ball inside the penalty area, stopping it in place.
Benzema shot and scored.
Three minutes later, Suker suddenly jumped up and scored with a header.
Ten minutes later, Suker unleashed a powerful shot from outside, scoring again.
"Damn it! I know!"
Srna excitedly swore!
They had all been tricked!
These guys had messed up the situation; their chaotic and incomprehensible movements were all damn illusions!
The only goal was to get the ball to Suker!
"Mark Suker! Stick to Suker! Two men on him, stick to him tightly, bite him for me!"
Srna roared excitedly, and immediately Suker was double-teamed.
Then, no matter how the opponent moved or caused trouble, they just focused on man-marking Suker.
Soon, they found that these guys couldn't score anymore!
"FXXK!!" Ramos also realized it.
"They rely on Suker's finishing! What damn movements, what bizarre passing routes, what dribbling, it's all fake. They're just freeing up Suker, and then relying on Suker's individual ability to create goal-scoring or shooting opportunities!"
It was like a Russian nesting doll!
Layers of wrapping, layers of deception.
A complex tactic, dazzling movements, but at its core, it was a simple as can be.
Get the ball to Suker!
Of course, this was also Suker deliberately revealing it, with continuous passing and receiving, actively showing himself to everyone. Otherwise, they would still be confused by Benzema and these guys.
As Ramos and the others saw through the flaw, Benzema and Bale couldn't help but laugh.
Suker also shook his head with a smile.
Of course, this also benefited from their previous practice of forward line combinations. Centered around this, they slightly modified it and added a lot of deception.
The movements were fake!
The complex passing was also fake!
Even the dribbling was fake!
All of this was to divert attention, draw the defense onto themselves, and thereby free up Suker.
Allowing Suker a brief moment to touch the ball in dangerous areas, and Suker could score goals with his finishing ability.
But the deceptive nature of this tactic was that Suker could hide within it, initially using passing and cooperation to help Benzema and Bale gain immense attacking pressure.
Presenting an illusion of scoring from all three lines.
And when Ramos and the others' habitual thinking was misled by this illusion, they would reveal its core, passing the ball to Suker at crucial moments.
Suker didn't touch the ball much, so they didn't think this was a change caused by Suker.
But its ultimate core was to find every way possible to get the ball to Suker.
"Using deceptive movements to enhance Suker's finishing ability, so that's it." Leidup turned to Zidane and praised, "So that was your plan!"
He saw that Zidane actually had a look of sudden realization.
Once the core was found, breaking this tactic became simple.
However, this was also why Suker deliberately exposed it. In an official match, Suker could hide, making it difficult to make a quick judgment.
At the very least, it would require some study.
After all, this was the essence of the 'XJBT tactic'!
Suker didn't understand it himself at first; it could be said that the first day was purely a fluke.
But in the evening, they gathered together and had a good chat, only then discovering the key issue and exploiting it.
The core of this tactic was to reduce Suker's touches, allowing Suker to complete the finishing touch at crucial moments.
It's a bit like the concept of a pure striker!
But it's extremely deceptive, and the opponent won't react for a while. This allows Real Madrid to flexibly apply other tactics on this basis, making it impossible for the opponent to defend against and even more confusing.
However, there is also a problem, which is strong offense and weak defense.
Therefore, it puts an extra emphasis on the ability of the defensive line!
It even requires considering the timing of its use.