Bakambu was not there, and Augusto was more on the front line, but the effect was surprisingly good. The so-called good effect is not only for Augusto, but also for Guoan's teammates.
In the games eliminated by Evergrande and before, Genesio's definition of Augusto was still a midfielder, and in the formation of the diamond-shaped midfielder 442, Augusto played the left midfielder. But this position restricts the play of Augusto and Guoan.
One of the biggest problems is the defense, the two midfielders on the left and right of the diamond midfield need to pay more energy at both ends of the attack and defense, the attack must be organized, can touch the ball, can be plugged in, and the defensive end has to withdraw to assist the full-backs on the same side, but also to make up for the gap in the ribs, in this regard Augusto is reluctant.
Therefore, why do many people feel that Li Lei is blown up by his opponent, because Li Lei has to face the opponent's two-on-one most of the time.
Augusto's defense itself is very emotional, when happy, even a big flying shovel, when unhappy while shaking his head and walking back, the opponent has shot, he will not look up. Such a defensive mentality doomed him to the closer he got to his goal, the more dangerous his side was.
What's more, augusto's physical strength and state decline is obvious, his ability to run widely has declined very quickly in the past two years, and he can't come back from attacking, on the one hand, the emotional reasons just mentioned, on the other hand, it is the constraint of physical fitness.
Through the match with Evergrande, the outside world has more doubts about Augusto, and Genesio will not fail to see the problem, but Augusto has a large brand in the team and a stable position, and he cannot be directly discarded as he is dealing with Yu Dabao. Moreover, Augusto's personal skills and abilities can still be counted on by the team at certain critical times.
After losing to Evergrande, Genesio's biggest change was his trust in Fernando and the importance he attached to Zhang Xizhe, and from the perspective of the game since then, he basically determined the idea of choosing three of Zhang Xizhe, Li Ke, Chi Zhongguo and Fernando as midfielders, these four people can be regarded as both offensive and defensive, even the most offensive and defensive Zhang Xizhe is more worthy of relying on than Augusto in terms of defensive willingness and position.
The three midfielders in front of the four defenders can be determined, and Guoan's defense is obviously much more stable. So the remaining question is what to do with Augusto?
The final answer is, go to the front.
Relatively speaking, the forward is the position that relies most on the team system, and this also means that the forward is the position that is the least destructive to the team system. Augusto's style of play has always been awkward in the Chinese Super League, so simply put him in the farthest position from the team system. On the front line, Augusto can play more freely.
Augusto is one of the few major players in Guoan who likes to pull the edge and also has the ability to attack on the side, his speed is not fast, but his body is still quite good, coupled with his unique ball control technology and rhythm, he can become a weapon for Guoan to tear apart opponents' flanks. In the front line, Augusto's freedom is actually greater, he can go to the left, can also go to the right, but also in the middle to complete the organization and shooting, this kind of pulling is of course good for the attack, the most important thing is that such a wide range of activities, if limited to the offensive end, is good for Augusto's physical fitness, and it is also good for guoan's defense.
In the past, at Bayer Leverkusen, Augusto actually played more as a winger or forward. Later, after an injury, his technical characteristics began to change, under Corinthian coach Tite, Augusto was a free man in midfield, he did not have a fixed position, using a wide range of running, responsible for connecting all the midfield players and activating the entire team's attack.
But in the Chinese Super League, there is no need for such a position, because most of the teammates around him are not as good as him, the team needs him as the core, needs him to control the ball, protect the ball, pass the ball, rather than just play the characteristics of receiving. As a result, Augusto has been awkward in Guoan. It wasn't until Vieira came to the team and took on the core of the team that Augusto was able to play a certain personal role.
But with the decline of physical function, the midfield free man is no longer suitable for Augusto, so the position of the front field free man came into being.
In the two games of Augusto's forward freeman, Genesio's choice in the forward line is more Alain or Wang Ziming, because Alan himself is not a pure center, he can move on both sides when he is young, and is a winger role. As you age, you lose your ability to break through, but you can still find a gap in the front with experience and awareness. As a result, Alain himself is a striker with a relatively high degree of freedom. The same is true of Wang Ziming's characteristics, the young striker who has received the true transmission of Bakambu's running position, he is quite characteristic in terms of pulling, he can act as a single arrow, and sometimes pulling to the side also has a certain effect. In this way, it is better suited to Augusto's constant need to switch positions on the wing and in the middle.
The only one who played less happily was Vieira, because in this case, Vieira could not cling to the position of the core forward in the middle, he sometimes had to go to the wing, either on the right or on the left, and even sometimes had to be in the middle as a so-called pivot arrow.
In this match with Melbourne, Vieira was not happy, in addition to the opponent's strong pressing, although he still contributed assists, but the overall sense of presence was much worse than before. In the last game against Seoul, more than ten minutes after Vieira came on, he did not get too many possession opportunities.
Fortunately, Vieira's tactical literacy is high enough and his personal skills are good enough that he can switch his position according to Augusto's position, whether it is left or right, he can create opportunities in the ribs.
After pushing Augusto to the front, guoan's midfield actually became the center of gravity of the team, and the positions of four defenders and three midfielders were "sitting" very stable, without the previous top-heavy feeling. Especially with Fernando, the confrontation ability of the backcourt has been significantly improved, and if he and Zhang Xizhe appear at the same time, the threat of forward balls and forward insertions has also been greatly improved.
Genesio's previous balance of attack and defense began to slowly become possible after Augusto reached the front.