super storm

Chapter 802 Benitez's Routine

During the team lunch time, Florentino brought Valdano, Zidane and other Real Madrid executives to the hotel to visit the team.

Hearing that there were fans disturbing the players' rest outside the hotel last night, Florentino apologized to the players, saying that the management will learn from the lesson and will definitely pay attention next time to ensure that the team can have a comfortable and quiet resting environment.

At the same time, Florentino also encouraged the team to perform well and try to win an away game to expand their lead.

"I want to say that the reason why Barcelona fans come to influence us can also be seen in turn. They are indeed afraid of us. This proves that we have enough strength to threaten the opponent or even defeat the opponent."

Florentino also communicated with Yang Yang, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Raul, Casillas and other core stars in the team one by one, especially with Yang Yang. When he talked privately, he hoped to see Yang Yang's best performance tonight.

"Whether it's against Real Madrid, or you, or me, it's a crucial game."

Yang Yang understood what Florentino meant, and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, I will do my best."

"Then I'll leave it all to you!" Florentino urged.

Subsequently, Valdano and Zidane also communicated with Yang Yang successively. The former urged him to take the initiative to assume the responsibilities of the team's number one star and core leader in the game, and to be more proactive in the game.

This is also a problem for Real Madrid now.

Raul and Guti have already lost their main positions. According to the tradition of Real Madrid, Iker Casillas has played the longest time in the team, and he is still in the team's youth training, so it is logical that Iker Casillas is given the captain's armband on the field.

But here is the problem. Casillas is a goalkeeper. It is fine if he is in his own half, but if he is in the opponent's half, it is difficult for Casillas to take care of both. This is also the disadvantage of a goalkeeper as the captain on the field.

On the one hand, Real Madrid's historical traditions cannot be changed, and on the other hand, there are indeed practical problems. Therefore, Real Madrid has always let Casillas serve as the captain of the field, but at the same time, it also intends to arrange Yang Yang as the leader of the team's frontcourt.

Zidane told Yang Yang the experience of several derbies he played in the century, including the incident of Figo being thrown a pig's head at the Nou Camp.

"Whether it's the harassment last night or the interference in the stadium tonight, they all have one purpose, which is to affect your performance. Therefore, the best way to retaliate is not to fight back in person, but to break their goal."

Yang Yang nodded in resignation.

Zidane himself has suffered in this regard, so what he said is still worth learning.

However, Zidane also admitted that the current Derby of the Century is completely different from their Derby of the Century.

Newspapers this morning revealed that this world-renowned derby of the century will attract more than one billion spectators around the world, and the Camp Nou has already received applications from nearly a thousand reporters from 170 media outlets in [-] countries to report on the spot.

These data far exceed the Century Derby in previous years.

In addition to the media, the entire city of Barcelona is also boiling.

As early as a month ago, the second-class ticket for the Century Derby at the Camp Nou was already as high as [-] euros, but it soared to [-] euros last week, and it was more than [-] euros yesterday.

It can be said that this is a focus match that has attracted worldwide attention. All the media and fans around the world are focusing on the two teams, and they all want to witness the peak match between the two most expensive top giants in the world.

La Liga's official promotional slogan is also very confident, "A super showdown that is more influential than the Champions League final!"

And all over the world, countless media and fans are also reporting and discussing this game.

This is not just a top game in Spanish and European football, but also a grand event in football all over the world.

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When the team stepped into the Nou Camp, the whole stadium was booed overwhelmingly.

The game has not yet started, and the two sides still have the last training session before the game, but the stands are already full of people. Barcelona fans occupy an overwhelming advantage, but there are also some visiting Real Madrid fans who are stubbornly resisting.

Yang Yang is observing the training of the opposite Barcelona, ​​focusing on observing their players.

Similarly, Barcelona's Xavi and Messi and others were also observing the Real Madrid players on the field. When they saw Yang Yang and Raul and others, they all nodded one by one and greeted them from afar.

The duel on the court will not affect each other's dealings with each other off the court, which is a gentleman's demeanor.

Guardiola and Benitez also stood in front of the coaches of the home and away teams, observing the opponent's player lineup, guessing the list of starting lineups that may be sent next.

Before the game, the two sides played smoke bombs.

Guardiola took the initiative to show weakness, repeatedly emphasizing that Barcelona is four points behind Real Madrid, and must show the best performance at the Nou Camp to beat Real Madrid, and even losing is not surprising.

Benitez said that Real Madrid will take the initiative to attack at the Nou Camp and will not choose to be conservative just because the opponent is Barcelona.

But the outside world generally believes that the two coaches are not telling the truth.

Guardiola is playing at home and will definitely not let Real Madrid go easily, while Benitez is playing away. Facing a mature and stable Barcelona team, taking the initiative to play against an away game is an act of suicide.

But no one is sure what kind of tactics the opponent will adopt.

It wasn't until after the training session that each other returned to the locker room to make final preparations that the starting rosters of both sides were freshly released.

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Goalkeeper Valdes, the defense is Abidal, Pique, Puyol and Alves, the single midfielder is Busquets, the midfield is Keita and Xavi, and the frontcourt is Iniesta, Henry and Messi.

This is Barcelona's starting lineup for this game, but it is still unclear how they will stand on the court.

Seydu Keita has performed quite well in recent games, scoring four goals in two rounds. Such a report card makes him a star that Barcelona relies heavily on in the midfield, and he can also give the team strong support in defense and offense.

"I watched all the Barcelona games this season. Due to Iniesta's injury, Seydu Keita has been the main midfielder this season. He has played almost all the games and performed quite well, especially in La Liga."

"But I also found some problems, that is, when Seydu Keita was on the court, his combination with Harvey obviously couldn't spark. Compared with Iniesta, it was still much worse. Whether it was the overall organization of the midfield, or the ability to control the ball and rhythm, it was obviously not as good as Iniesta."

"This is a point that we can exploit, we need to press the opponent properly in the midfield, force them to make mistakes, and we take the opportunity to play behind."

"In a word, we must try to compress Barcelona's passing space and try to force them into the middle."

Benitez's game strategy is very clear. Through the defensive level, Barcelona's passing and possession of the ball cannot form an effective penetration, and then try to push their offensive line to the middle.

In the midfield, the double midfielder combination of Xavi Alonso and Mascherano can be said to be the strongest double midfielder in the world. Whether it is organization or defense, Real Madrid is full of confidence in them, especially Mascherano.

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When Real Madrid got Barcelona's starting lineup, Guardiola also got Real Madrid's starting lineup.

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, Arbeloa, Vermaelen, Pepe and Ramos in defense, Xavi Alonso and Mascherano in midfield, Kaka in the center, Yang Yang, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robben's trident combination in the frontcourt.

It can be said that the starting lineup of Real Madrid is generally not surprising.

The only big surprise was Arbeloa.

Both Maxwell and Marcelo have performed well this season, but Benitez arranged for the original right back Arbeloa to play the position of left back in this game. This must be a move against Barcelona's right winger Messi.

Guardiola remembers very clearly that after Arbeloa joined Liverpool from Deportivo, his first game was in the knockout round of the Champions League round of [-], away to Barcelona, ​​and in that game he was in the left back position, freezing Messi almost perfectly, which made Arbeloa famous in the first battle.

Since then, Arbeloa, who is right-footed, has played left-back, generally used to freeze the opponent's reverse-footed right-winger.

"Benitez's trick is a bit old-fashioned." Vilanova smiled disdainfully.

Guardiola nodded, "The routine is a bit old, but we also have to guard against it. Arbeloa has successfully frozen Messi, so we can't be careless."

"At that time we didn't have Alves." Vilanova said lightly.

The right back of Alves is very special. During his time in Sevilla, he was a dragon on the right. He was jokingly called the core of Sevilla's organization and the source of the team's offense, but he played the position of right back.

This is a disadvantage, but in turn it can also be seen as an advantage.

Inserting in the back row is more conducive to him seeing through the opponent's defensive loopholes.

After joining Barcelona, ​​the cooperation between Alves and Messi has become more and more skillful and tacit. It can even be said that Barcelona's offensive side is the sharpest and Guardiola's most confident offensive channel.

His original idea was to let the right attack suppress Real Madrid's left, thereby restricting Yang Yang.

"Judging from the current starting lineup, we can't see whether Benitez is going to attack or defend, but one thing is certain, we can't make a mistake in preemptive strikes." Guardiola said firmly.

"After the opening, let Alves and Messi try their opponents on the right side, and control the rhythm of the game by the way."

For Guardiola's arrangement, Vilanova deeply agrees.

(End of this chapter)