Sunderland's next opponent, Leicester City, was clearly worth Zhao Zhao's time to study.
After all, they were the defending Premier League champions!
And their legendary journey, in his previous life, had also made Coach Zhao's heart surge with emotion, and it could be said that they were Coach Zhao's role model in this life.
Before 2013, Leicester City had even been stuck in the EFL Championship and League One for ten years, having no connection with the Premier League at all.
At that time, they even contributed a famous scene in the EFL Championship promotion play-off, which was getting a penalty in the final moments of the match against Watford, but missing it, and then being counter-attacked by the opponent, getting eliminated after a last-minute goal!
After sending off Harry Kane from the team, in the 2013-2014 season, Leicester City finally returned to the Premier League as the EFL Championship champions.
In the 2014-15 season, Leicester City was once considered a sure bet for relegation, spending 140 days at the bottom of the Premier League. But they won 7 of their last 9 games, completing a great escape!
And in the subsequent 2015-2016 season, the miracle began with the signing of the Italian Claudio Ranieri, nicknamed "The Tinkerman."
Under normal circumstances, this team, which had barely avoided relegation last season, would certainly not be favored by anyone.
Before the season began, the odds for Leicester City to win the Premier League were as high as 5000 to 1!
What does this concept mean?
Betting companies offered the same odds for events such as "Kim Kardashian becoming US President before 2020" and "Obama starting to play professional cricket after leaving office"...
"Leicester City winning the Premier League title" once seemed just as absurd as these, but ultimately, it incredibly came true!
At the end of the season, Leicester City incredibly won the Premier League title two rounds early with a record of 22 wins, 11 draws, and 3 losses, becoming the sixth Premier League champion team, and also the club's first top-tier League title in its 132-year history!
Most of the players and the Coach in this team, it can be said, came from humble backgrounds.
The team's top scorer, Jamie Vardy, was still playing in amateur League five years ago;
Mahrez, who won the Premier League Player of the Season award, started his career in the seventh-tier League in France;
Captain Wes Morgan didn't taste top-tier League football until he was 30;
Andy King, who won League One, EFL Championship, and Premier League titles with the team, was released by Chelsea's youth academy over ten years ago;
And of course, Kante, who was still playing in the French third division in his early 20s.
And Coach Ranieri, who had coached in many countries' Leagues, had always been without a League title, basically struggling to avoid relegation.
Such a team, however, won the championship in the highly competitive Premier League, which can be said to have created the biggest miracle in world football this century!
Of course, from Zhao Zhao's perspective as a transmigrator, a large part of the reason Leicester City was able to win the title in the 2015-2016 season was due to the weakness of the traditional Premier League powerhouses.
Leicester City's winning points total was only 81 points, just higher than Manchester United's 80 points in the 2010-2011 season, making it the lowest winning points total in the Premier League in the past decade.
And what's even more frightening is that the points from the second-place team onwards were only around 70 points.
This shows how chaotic this Premier League season was and how unstable the performance of the strong teams was.
Even if one of the BIG6 had performed a little more normally, there would have been no need for the despair caused by the later Manchester City with 100 points; as long as they could get around eighty points, Leicester City would not have been able to succeed in their upset.
Take this season, for example; only 33 rounds have been played, and Conte's Chelsea already has 78 points...
But then again, you have to be strong yourself; if the BIG6 all faltered, then why wasn't it Southampton or West Ham United that won the title, but Leicester City?
This is undoubtedly inseparable from Ranieri's command and the collective explosion of potential from his players.
However, an explosion of potential cannot last forever.
A dark horse is a dark horse, and not a white horse, precisely because it lacks sustainability—in other words, if you can be consistently strong, you are no longer a dark horse, but a truly strong team.
This season's Leicester City, in fact, had little change in its main lineup framework, with only Kante leaving for Chelsea.
But facing the pressure of multi-front competition, they still collapsed in the League.
By round 25, Leicester City's record was 5 wins, 6 draws, and 14 losses, with only 21 points, placing them 17th, just one point above the relegation zone.
At this point, the club's management finally decided to sack the meritorious Coach Ranieri, and assistant Coach Craig Shakespeare took over.
In the subsequent matches, Leicester's form improved, and they have now accumulated 37 points after 33 rounds, placing them 12th in the standings.
However, as there is still a theoretical possibility of relegation, Leicester City will definitely go all out when they come to the Stadium of Light!
With their squad from last season's championship, if they truly play to their level, they will still be very difficult for Sunderland to deal with.
"This Leicester City's defensive counter-attack is very sharp; we cannot be careless."
In the meeting room at the training base, Zhao Zhao was also discussing the opponent's tactics with the coaching staff.
On the tactics board beside him, various circles and lines were densely drawn, representing Leicester City's players and their running routes.
And on the large screen in front of the conference table, recent match videos of Leicester City were being shown.
Before each match, Zhao Zhao would explain the opponent's tactical Ideas to the Coaches in detail, and then they would discuss solutions together.
Finally, the corresponding training tasks would be assigned, allowing the players to practice according to the latest tactical instructions.
This is what Zhao Zhao does before every match.
"Ranieri's tactical characteristics have always had a strong Italian style—tough and stable, with defense first."
"Although he is no longer with the team, the team still uses his Italian-style defensive approach, combined with traditional English long-ball counter-attacks."
"In defense, they habitually concede possession. When attacked, every player in the attacking third, except for striker Vardy, will retreat to their own half, narrowing the distance between them."
"Players form groups of two, quickly double-teaming and pressing the ball towards the wings, forcing the opponent to attack from the flanks, sending the ball into the box from the sides..."
At this point, assistant Coach Breswell looked up and asked, "Isn't that very similar to our tactics when we played Manchester City?"
"Similar, but not entirely. Firstly, we sometimes still attack, but they don't; their defensive counter-attack is very resolute, and they won't change it even against weaker opponents like us."
Zhao Zhao continued with a smile, "Also, when we played Manchester City, we basically defended all over the pitch, but Leicester City will still press high up the pitch; Vardy is a very aggressive striker, full of wildness."
Of course, Vardy's role is not just high pressing.
His speed and finishing ability were also key factors in Leicester City's unexpected rise last season.
And the reason Leicester City plays a resolute defensive counter-attack is also closely related to Vardy's characteristics. Playing a positional game would not bring out his strengths!
"Once Leicester City's defenders win the ball, within a few seconds, Leicester City players enter counter-attack mode, with a transition speed from defense to attack that is unmatched in the Premier League."
"The player who wins the ball will not hesitate to play a long pass to find Vardy, who has already started his run, or Mahrez, who is rapidly surging forward on the other side, quickly forming a numerical advantage in the counter-attack."
"Shinji Okazaki, who starts from midfield and follows up quickly from behind, will press the opponent's defender on the other side, attracting their attention and creating space for the second wave of attacking players behind him."
Vardy, Mahrez, Shinji Okazaki—these three are Leicester City's most important attacking points.
Overall, Shinji Okazaki is responsible for feint attacks, Mahrez for breakthroughs, and Vardy for quick sprints and shooting.
To defend against Leicester City's attack, you have to defend against these three.
Then Zhao Zhao concluded:
"Actually, Leicester City's tactical system is not complex; their attack relies on powerful counter-attacks, and their defense relies on immediate counter-pressing in the attacking third and traditional man-marking in numbers in the back."
"And to break through such a defense, we must be patient and utilize the space on both wings to find breakthroughs."
"Then, midfielders can also quickly circulate passes near the opponent's box to tear apart their defense."
Breswell looked up again: "Isn't that how Manchester City played against us?"
Zhao Zhao laughed loudly: "Exactly! Last week, we used the strongest shield to defend against Manchester City's spear; now, we will use the sharpest spear to pierce Leicester City's shield!"