Mister Legend

Chapter 379
Let's put aside the matter of the winter transfer window for now. After all, the activities of Italian football during this month are really lacklustre. If you want to add a few words, you have nowhere to write, so you have to shift your focus back to the game.Just in the last two days of January, when the Premier League teams were still aggressively recruiting to improve their own strength, the two first-leg contests of the Coppa Italia semi-finals this season started silently.

On the night of the 30th, AC Milan and Juventus, the two most successful teams in Italy, played a first game. Although the Rossoneri, whose form has begun to recover recently, is still a little weak in terms of strength, but with the advantage of the home court and the players Their tenacious style finally drew the mighty old woman 0-0.Gattuso's tactics and on-the-spot response received unanimous praise from the outside world after the game. Even though the draw made the away game in the second round still very pessimistic, at least in everyone's mind, AC Milan has gotten rid of the previous continuous downturn The unfavorable situation, began to embark on the right path.This also brought greater variables to the subsequent games. Maybe they really have a chance to counterattack all the way. At least most of the Rosenners have seen the hope of the team's rise.

The next day was Atlanta's home game against Turin, but this matchup, which was always considered to be of equal strength by the outside world, was robbed of the limelight by a sudden news at noon that day.Atlanta coach Gasperini said in an interview with the local media "Bergamo Echo" that he may leave Atlanta, which immediately attracted the attention of the entire Italian football world.

Jia Shuai said: "I am here now because I chose the plan of the team chairman Mr. Perkasi a year ago. If I can fulfill the chairman's wish, I will naturally stay. But if the club's strategy changes, Then there is no point for me to stay. His plan is to have three or four big players in the team and then promote young players from the academy. Now the team is no longer like this. I don't agree with that. Nothing. Doubt, this Atalanta team is strong, but compared to the team, the performance of the transfer market has weakened. Although the club invested some money in the summer, it is far from a year ago, which has to be disappointing. .”

From Gasperini's words, everyone can easily analyze why he has the idea of ​​​​leaving the team at this time. If the coach can't see the hope of future development, he will naturally have great dissatisfaction.However, compared to the civil strife in Atlanta, everyone is still more looking forward to where Jiashuai will be next home once he is really not going to stay.After all, this is the third local strength faction ranked in the selection of the best head coach last year. It single-handedly brought the Son of the Sea God, who is not very strong, into the European competition, and also made the team's players' skills and worth both skyrocket. , Conte Jr. and Casey not only became the stars of Serie A, but also benefited from high-value transfers for the club. I believe that many clubs hope to sign this late-blooming coach.

In terms of the direction of public opinion, few people criticized Gasperini for not exposing the club's internal discord, because everyone believed that Atlanta chairman Percassi had not fulfilled his promise first.And even under such difficult conditions, Jiashuai did his best to let the team reach the Europa League knockout round and the Coppa Italia semi-finals. A kind of heroic plot that only appears in movies has been reflected in reality. , which made the fans stand behind the "underdog" almost one-sidedly, cheering for him.

However, the head coach's remarks still affected the players' performance on the court to some extent. Although the home team did not show their full strength in this game due to some injuries and the reasons for the weekend league, Alex The absolute main players on the three lines, including Hondro Gomez, Kristante, Berisha, Palomino, Marcielo, and Hartbauer, have all entered the starting list, which shows that they are still very excited about this game. important.

For the Turin team, Li Moody did have some hesitation before the game, wondering if he should give his best today.Because the Red Bull will be a guest at Luigi Ferraris Stadium in four days to challenge No. [-] arch-rival Sampdoria.Giampaolo's team currently has a strong impact on qualifying for the European League, so it is bound to seize every opportunity to surpass Roma and even Inter Milan in front of it, and will naturally use [-]% of its ability to fight against itself .The Turin team, which seems to be doing well at present, does not have much room for error. Because they have to be distracted from the European competition, their lead in the league may not be as strong as it was. In Li Moody's plan, in Juventus, Naples and other strong teams are allowed to lose points, but in the face of other teams, it is necessary to win as much as possible to ensure that the Champions League tickets for next season are always the team's first goal.

However, at the club meeting on Tuesday night, the chairman Urbano Cairo suddenly proposed to temporarily shift the main direction of attack to the domestic cup. It was really embarrassing for all the members to be included in the championship.If there is no chance as in the past, that's all. This season, the Turin team went all the way to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, and they were lucky enough to draw the weakest opponent. The hope of advancing to the final seems to be considerable. big.

Once successfully advanced, it means that they will be only one step away from the final championship. In a game that determines the outcome, the team may really have a chance to successfully reach the top.Therefore, the club executives represented by the chairman hope that the head coach of the team can devote the main energy to the cup competition on the basis of ensuring that the league does not experience a cliff-like decline, and strive to win a championship for the Red Bulls after a lapse of 25 years. Honor, which will greatly promote the status of the club.

This suggestion, combined with the fact that nothing was achieved last season, really made Li Mudi shaken in the team's focus on several goals. He did not think that the Turin team had much chance to play in the European League, which was rated as the strongest in history by the outside world. To win the championship, similarly, there is basically no hope for winning the Serie A this season.Then, while ensuring the third place in the league, should he launch a full impact on the Coppa Italia? After thinking about this question all night, he still came to a conclusion.It doesn't matter whether it is to follow the wishes of the club chairman, or it is short-sighted and only sees the immediate interests. Anyway, at noon on Wednesday, Li Moody's announcement of the starting lineup expressed his determination to win this game. All core players All out.

On the day of the game, there was a heavy fog in the urban area of ​​Atlanta. The visibility was only less than 30 meters at the worst time. The two teams were always preparing to receive the notice of the postponement of the game.Fortunately, a gust of southerly wind blew in the evening. Although it lasted for a short time, it still had some effect, blowing away the fog and making the semi-final kick off on time.However, some fans of the home team in the field even ignored the harsh weather conditions and burned some fireworks, which caused the smoke situation in front and behind the goals of the two teams to be extremely serious, and this also indirectly interfered with the sight of the two goalkeepers, which buried the final result of the game. Foreshadowed.

In the 3rd minute after the opening, when the defensive players could hardly see the frontcourt situation clearly, the Turin team in the away game made a fantastic start. Benassi's through put Immobile on the left side of the center Got the chance to dribble forward with the ball at high speed.He passed the home team's Swiss central midfielder Freuler and broke into the penalty area, and then used a dexterous fake to shake past the central defender Masiello, leaving only Atlanta goalkeeper Berisha as a defender in front of him.Near the penalty spot, the opponent’s goalkeeper couldn’t see every detail clearly due to the foggy conditions. Under such conditions, Turin No. 10’s right-footed shot naturally went into the lower right corner of the goal without any suspense. , The score was also rewritten to 0 to 1. Could the home team's start be worse than this?
Atalanta, who got off to a bad start, immediately launched a counterattack. The 3-4-1-2 formation they used today was intended to strengthen the control of the midfield, so under the instructions of the head coach, they came out strongly and chose to return after taking the lead. The visiting team that withdrew pressed back to the half.However, due to the poor sight conditions and the opponent's overall defense, the home team players did not create any offensive that could threaten the goal of Turin for a long time. It was not until 10 minutes into the game that they gradually adapted. They could only cooperate within 15 meters, which made the atmosphere in the arena erupt into a small climax.

No. In 203 minutes, Dutch midfielder De Roon sent a diagonal pass from the right side of the front field. Swiss forward Cornelius failed to stop the ball in the middle of the penalty area. The ball rebounded under his feet and hit it just behind him. On the outstretched arms of the visiting team's central defender Goldaniga, Atlanta players raised their hands to signal to the referee that this was a foul in the penalty area and demanded a penalty kick.The on-duty referee Paul Valeri was disturbed by the fog and was not sure that he had seen what happened. Fortunately, with the addition of VAR in the new season, he can make judgments by watching the video playback on the sidelines. Two minutes later, the referee who returned to the field blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot with gestures. Immediately there were applause and cheers from the fans in the stadium.

Goldaniga, who knew what he had just done, did not go to the referee to argue. Although the handball was unintentional at first, he made a subconscious hitting action the moment after the contact. What can be complained about.However, the Turin central defender, who looked downcast, became extremely excited after 30 seconds because his teammates helped him avoid the ending of becoming a sinner.Atalanta's number one star and Argentine short striker Gomez's right-footed shot was unexpectedly thrown sideways by the brave Cassie and then firmly pressed under him. The home team equalized the score this time. The opportunity to declare was completely lost.

The Atlanta players who missed the penalty kick fell into a trough of emotion, and the visiting team seized the opportunity to hit consecutive sharp counterattacks, almost expanding their lead. No. In the 208th minute, Baselli dribbled the ball from the right and made a pass. Immobile overwhelmed the home team's defender in the penalty area and formed a push shot. Unfortunately, there was still some interference and the ball went above the crossbar. No. 306 minutes, Immobile's brilliant performance again, he dribbled the ball straight in from the right and then made a pass. Falke, who came from the transposition, stopped the ball on the left side of the penalty area and knocked across. Kocevic volleyed vigorously with his right foot from the edge of the penalty area, but was blocked by the Atlanta central defender Toroy who flew to block the hole of the gun. Then Benassi's second shot missed the post and surprised the home team. All in a cold sweat.

Before entering the intermission stage, the two sides were evenly matched in terms of ball possession rate, but the shooting data was slightly ahead of the Red Bulls. Moreover, due to the harsh weather conditions, the two teams also made more mistakes, and the pass success rate was even higher. Below 80%, the overall quality of the game is actually not very high.

After the change of sides, amidst the cheers of 407 fans at the scene, Atlanta finally recovered its normal state and began to attack the opponent's goal. No.[-] minutes, Gomez got the ball on the left side of the penalty area and chose to shoot with his right foot. He wanted to use the fog to make a surprise attack, but the ball was still firmly held by Casey and was not left for the home team. any opportunity.

In 1 minute, it was still Gomez's breakthrough from the left. He used continuous fake moves to get rid of Silvestri's entanglement, and kicked the ball towards the goal like a pass and a shot. Casey was paying attention to the opponent who was outflanking the center. The forward, but found that the ball went straight to the top of the near corner.Although it was predicted that the ball might be slightly higher than the crossbar by a few centimeters, the Turin goalkeeper, who did not dare to be careless, returned to the defense in time and hit it out of the baseline with both fists.

Seeing that the team was still unable to start the situation, Jiashuai adjusted the playing personnel. Slovenian center Ilicic and 19-year-old Gambian striker Barrow from the youth team came off the bench one after another to strengthen the home team's offensive strength. No.80 Two minutes later, local striker Petania also got the chance to play, and the home team's formation has become a crazy 3-3-4.But this kind of operation also caused a lot of loopholes in their own defense. After the game entered the last 10 minutes, the two sides created a lot of chances to attack the goal, but unfortunately they couldn't grasp it.

No.803 minutes, Immobile dribbled the ball from the left side of the frontcourt. After cutting inside, he used continuous speed changes to get rid of the defender's marking. He shot with his right foot from the top of the arc in the penalty area. The ball brushed the left post and went out of the baseline. Five minutes later, the young Barrow shot with his left foot on the edge of the penalty area, but Cassie, who attacked decisively, tried his best to block it, trying to keep the city intact.The Atlanta team, which was always threatened by the opponent's counterattack, could not use all its strength to attack, and the Turin team, which wanted to strengthen its own defense, could not invest more troops in the offense, so the fighting between the two sides continued until the end of stoppage time. The last moment also failed to change the score on the field.

In the end, after 90 minutes of fierce fighting, the Red Bulls defeated the Son of Poseidon 1-0 in the away game, taking the lead in the two rounds of semi-finals. very happy.

(End of this chapter)