In the 2022-2023 Champions League 1/8 knockout match between Manchester City and RB Leipzig, Guardiola did not make any player adjustments when he could have 5 substitutions! This move has caused widespread controversy, but history has proven many times that substitutions are risky and substitutions need to be cautious!
Today we will take stock of a few classic cases of failed substitutions!
1. Bayern – 99 Camp Nou rout
In the 98-99 season, Heathfield took charge of Bayern Munich for the first time. That season, Bayern won the league championship in one fell swoop! And also reached the final in the Champions League! The final faced Ferguson's Manchester United.
The two sides met at the Camp Nou, Bayern Munich took the lead early, and in the opening six minutes, Jankel won a free kick in front, Basler took the lead and curved a shot that Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel could not reach. In the subsequent matches, Bayern has been occupying the initiative on the field, threatening Manchester United goals many times, but they could not go any further, which also laid the groundwork for the subsequent big reversal!
In the 80th minute, Bayern made a substitution, and the veteran Mateus was replaced, and he wanted the old captain Mateus to enjoy the joy of winning the title early on the bench, but it became a nightmare! Mateus's all-game free man's style of play gave the United players a headache, and the replaced Fink was decent. After Mateus came off, the United players broke free from the biggest threat of the game and began to show their power, eventually scoring two goals in stoppage time. The first of those goals was because Fink was unfavorably cleared, and Sheringham seized the opportunity to score the equaliser! At this time, the Bayern players were in chaos, and soon Manchester United took advantage of the corner kick opportunity to score the second goal, staging the Camp Nou miracle and becoming the first treble in Premier League history! And Mateus retired with regret of not winning the Champions League!
2. Bayern – lost the title on the doorstep in 2012
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus once famously said, "Man cannot step into the same river twice", but some things happen bizarrely twice!
In 2011-2012, Bayern Munich under the leadership of the old coach Heynckes, all attacked, but the result was very obscure, Bayern successively broke in the German Cup and the league, and won two runners-up in a row! Fortunately, in the Champions League, they made it all the way to the final, and more importantly, the final venue is their home stadium! The time and place are favorable, it can be said that all three! The opponent stumbled all the way to the final, and the team is aging Chelsea!
The game did develop in the direction expected by Bayern, Bayern from the beginning of the game, with the help of the home fans to occupy the field initiative, crazy bombardment of Chelsea's goal, the tide of attack was once suffocating, Chelsea until 34 minutes of the game, Juan Mata completed a symbolic shot! Although the two teams exchanged white rolls in the first half, the situation on the pitch made every Chelsea fan dare not be optimistic, not the fiasco, perhaps what they prayed for at the moment!
Bayern were still in the lead in the second half, Chelsea were almost passively beaten, and by the 83rd minute, Thomas Müller received a pass from Kroos and sent the ball into the net, and the almost perfect performance of the whole game Cech could not do anything about it. Shortly afterwards, goalscoring hero Müller was replaced, defender Van Beeten came off the bench, this substitution directly sent a signal that Bayern should defend with all their strength, Chelsea players began to find opportunities in attack, 88 minutes, Torres won a corner kick opportunity, Chelsea used this opportunity by Drogba to score an equaliser, the two teams then exchanged white rolls in extra time, in the penalty shootout, Drogba hit a fatal blow, complete the redemption, Bayern once again missed the Champions League champions!
3. Argentina – 06 World Cup backdrop
Argentina in 06 is not inferior to the 2022 World Cup winner in terms of lineup, but the lineup is more reasonable, and the three lines are all big names, and it is one of the favorites to win the World Cup.
And the host Germany is the imp home, Ram, Podolski, Mertesack, Schweinsteiger and others are all U23 members. The two sides met in the quarterfinals.
Argentina under Peckermann with Riquelme as the tactical core, the team is relaxed in attack and defense, and swept the Serbian team 6-0 in the group stage, and the young Messi scored his first World Cup goal in this game!
At the beginning of the game, although the German team had the advantage of home turf, the Argentines took the initiative early on the field and firmly controlled the football at their feet, and the Germans were exhausted. Although there were no goals in the first half, Germany were still buzzing in front of goal, and shortly after the start of the second half, the Argentine took the lead and Riquelme took advantage of a corner kick to assist Ayala to score. The German team had no way to face the Argentine's possession on the field, and when the Germans were worried, Peckermann solved the problem for them!
Peckerman replaced Riquelme, the core of the field, in the 72nd minute, and wanted to stay in the semi-finals, but it turned out to be self-defeating. After lacking a core of possession, the Argentine began to play like a headless fly, while the German saw the situation and attacked with all his might, taking advantage of his height advantage and opening a high-altitude bombardment, Klose equalized in the 80th minute, and then neither side was able to rewrite the scoreline. After extra time, a penalty shootout, the Argentine hated to go out!
The above cases are caused by the manager's typical self-cleverness and blind substitution, perhaps it is not incomprehensible that Guardiola does not substitute!