super storm

Chapter 525 The iron tree blossoms

Yang Yang once asked Van Gaal a question, why is football round!

Of course, this question is not asking why the football used in the game is round, but asking why football games are full of unpredictability, and there are always various accidents.

Van Gaal's answer was, because football is played by people.

Tactical routines and formations are dead and rational, but people are alive and emotional.

People are changing all the time, but the team is composed of eleven people. The slight changes of each individual will affect the team as a whole. The slight changes of those eleven people will even turn into drastic changes for the entire team.

The reaction to the field is that a pass, a tackle, a foul, or even a word can change the trend of the game, because it not only affects one or two people, but one team, or even two teams.

The more people there are, the greater the unpredictability, and the less individuals can change.

"Why can basketball produce a Jordan, but football can't?"

Van Gaal didn't tell Yang Yang the answer at the time, but later, Yang Yang slowly figured it out and understood it.

Because there are only five people in basketball, but there are eleven people in football.

The more people there are, the harder it is to change the game with individual power.

It's like in a war of hundreds or thousands of people, one person is insignificant and insignificant.

But just like a war, when one side is defeated for some reason, it will become a one-sided massacre.

There are many, many different reasons for this failure.

But football is different from war. It is a competitive sport, so there is an intermission.

These 15 minutes are not only for the players on both sides to get some rest time, but also for both sides to calm down, think about it, analyze the gains and losses in the first half, and prepare for the second half.

……

Liverpool went into the break with a four-nil lead.

The players walked into the player channel amid the cheers of Liverpool fans.

There were excited smiles on everyone's faces and it was clear they were all proud of the first half.

"This is definitely the most hearty first half of the season, even better than the first half against Barcelona, ​​because there are enough goals!" The on-site commentator shouted loudly.

Yang Yang and his teammates walked into the player tunnel, went down the stairs, and went directly to the home team locker room.

Some took off their clothes and wiped their bodies; some sat on the chairs and let the club's massage staff come up to serve them;

If the various pictures in the locker room were spread outside, they would definitely be shocked.

……

"This team has no experience." Harvey Alonso said lightly, but with a smile on his face.

Obviously, he scored a goal and it felt pretty good.

"Roma is not considered a strong team in Serie A. This is the first time they have entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League in more than [-] years. This year, there was a Calciopoli incident in Italy, which made Roma take advantage of the trend. In addition, the draw was lucky, so..." Gerrard said.

Judging from the results of the group stage, Roma is not good, with three wins, one draw and two losses, they scored [-] points and qualified second in the group.

Of course, this has to be looked at separately. If it is compared with AC Milan, then Roma's performance is indeed very good, because AC Milan scored [-] points, but ranked first in the group, and Milan's opponents are worse than Roma.

When it came to the knockout round, Roma was also lucky, winning Lyon, the weakest team among the top eight teams.

Don't look at Lyon's continuous domination of Ligue [-], but in fact, everyone knows that Ligue [-] is not even as competitive as the Eredivisie in recent years. At least the Eredivisie has Ajax and Eindhoven, which have the strength of the top eight and top four teams in Europe.

As a result, Roma eliminated Lyon with a total score of 23-[-] in two rounds. After [-] years, they entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time.

This is why many media reporters said during the pre-match analysis that Roma lacks experience.

The knockout rounds of the Champions League and the league are two completely different competition systems, and the opponents and game strategies they meet are also completely different.

Whether it is the Roma players or the head coach Spalletti, they obviously lack such experience.

"The team's own characteristics, coupled with the head coach's tactical style, coupled with inexperience, caused this team to be a bit unstoppable. They even played against us when we were playing rhythm and state!" Yang Yang shook his head and smiled wryly.

He didn't pay much attention to how Roma performed in Serie A, but judging from this game, this team really didn't have the concept of controlling the rhythm.

But the problem is that Liverpool has enough confidence.

Not only because this is Anfield, but also because there are midfielders like Gerrard, Xavi Alonso and Mascherano in the midfield, which makes Roma unable to stop Liverpool's midfield suppression.

After playing Arsenal three days ago, Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso shined as a partner, the two double midfielders also performed very well in this game, erecting an unbreakable barrier for Liverpool's midfield.

……

The players discussed the first half of the game in the locker room. Although they didn't talk too much, they were more or less confident.

After all, they had already led by four goals in the first half, but Gerrard reminded his teammates from time to time not to be careless.

The Istanbul miracle that year was created by Liverpool, and no one wanted to give the opponent an Anfield miracle.

Yang Yang noticed Mascherano, walked over, and grabbed the shoulder of Argentina's lower back.

"Javier, look, in the first half Harvey and Steven both scored goals, Dick and Peter also scored goals, it's just you and me!"

When Yang Yang said this, everyone in the locker room immediately smiled and looked at Mascherano.

"I'm a defensive midfielder," Mascherano said, scratching his head.

"You can also score goals. Didn't you miss a goal in the last game against Aston Villa?" When Yang Yang said this, everyone in the locker room immediately remembered.

It was a long-range shot, and the quality was quite high, but it just didn't make it, which is a pity.

"Enter one, and your career will blossom." Yang Yang encouraged with a smile.

When Gerrard heard it, he immediately hissed, "I remember what Yang Yang said, Javier, you haven't scored a goal in your career, have you?"

"Never scored a goal in your career?"

"Oh my god, I'm already 22. I've been playing professional football for four or five years. Haven't I ever scored a goal?"

"real or fake?"

Everyone immediately started talking.

Although as a midfielder and defender, scoring goals is indeed not an easy task, but it is a bit unreasonable to say that he has not scored a goal in four or five years, especially in Argentina and Brazil, which love offense for four years.

You know, Mascherano played as a central midfielder or even a midfielder when he debuted, but he played more and more backwards later.

"I testify that he never scored a goal." Yang Yang said with a smile, "So, I propose that we help him score one in the second half."

Yang Yang's proposal immediately received a burst of response from everyone.

After all, he has never scored a goal in his career so far, which is indeed quite miserable.

More importantly, how could others object to Yang Yang's proposal?
"At the front of the penalty area, pay more attention to running in the second half. I'll pass the ball to you. If you have a chance, do it and try to score one!" Yang Yang patted Mascherano on the shoulder encouragingly and smiled, but he felt a burst of pride in his heart.

This is what Ronaldinho did to Messi at the beginning, but it's a pity that Messi didn't score.

How could Yang Yang think that one day he would be able to help his teammates like Ronaldinho did?

The Argentine was moved because he knew that Yang Yang was actually helping him.

The last time he played against Aston Villa, he played the whole game. He had a long shot but missed it. In the gym the next day, he just complained casually, saying that if he scored, it would be the first goal of his career. Unexpectedly, Yang Yang remembered it.

"However, we have to agree that we will only score one, not more. I will work harder to score one in the second half."

Yang Yang's words immediately caused laughter in the locker room, but no one questioned him.

Because no one dared to deny that although Yang Yang didn't score a goal, all four goals in the first half came from his assists.

"Then shall we also help you enter one?" Gerald asked with a smile.

Yang Yang nodded generously and said: "Okay, then it depends on you!"

……

After Benitez entered the locker room, he was very satisfied with the mental outlook of the players.

For the first half of the game, the Spaniard said that the team played well in the first half, but there are still many things that are not good enough.

First of all, the team's offensive speed must be faster, especially the offensive and defensive transitions must be fast.

"The characteristic of Rome is speed, and we must fight fast with speed."

Benitez gestured very decisively, "I guess, in the second half, Roma will definitely seek to stabilize the rhythm first, but you have also seen that this team can easily lose rhythm, so we have to play fast at the beginning and drag the game into a fast pace."

Fast-paced offensive and defensive battles have always been the strengths of Premier League teams, because the entire Premier League is played like this.

On the contrary, Serie A has been playing relatively slowly.

Therefore, once the game enters a fast pace, Rome will not be able to escape.

"In addition, our midfielder should press up properly to put more pressure on our opponents, and we can't retreat too far back. Although we lead by four goals, we must not be careless. Don't forget that two years ago, it was because our opponents were careless that we reversed them and won the Champions League."

Benitez also emphasized his tone, showing that he attaches importance to this point.

He is obviously worried that the team will let down their vigilance after leading by four goals, which is definitely a taboo.

There may be some difference in strength between the two teams, but it is not as big as four goals. In the first half, Liverpool can beat Roma powerlessly, but if they are careless in the second half, who can guarantee that Liverpool will not be beaten by their opponents?

Yang Yang was also very cautious after hearing this.

He has no way to guarantee others, but he himself dare not be careless no matter what.

(End of this chapter)