Godfather of national football

Chapter 89 Argentina's classical attacking midfielder
When the scorching sun came down at noon in BJ in August, there was only one word for that feeling - hot, and the final of the Olympic men's football team was held under such hot conditions.

This should be done for the global broadcast of the Olympic Games and the closing ceremony, but the disadvantages are obvious. The players are very uncomfortable with playing at noon.

The best time for professional players to play is around 8 pm. Perhaps because of this reason, the pace of the game was a bit slow after the start, and the Argentine players seemed a little sluggish. The Chinese team was afraid of the opponent's super strength and retreated across the board after the start.

The Bird's Nest was full of seats in this game. After the opening, the cheers of the fans resounded through the sky, but after 5 minutes, as the scene became dull, the cheers of the fans also weakened.

Li Guo looked at the time-sharing statistics and found that Argentina's ball possession rate was 80%, which should be expected before the game.

The core of Argentina's organization is Riquelme. Riquelme's nickname is the midfielder magician. He once played in Barcelona, ​​but he failed to gain a firm foothold in La Liga. The most important point is that he belongs to the classic midfielder and has first-class passing skills. However, Riquelme has a fatal flaw, that is, he does not go back to defend.

In the fast-paced, total defense European football, Riquelme's attacking midfielder is outdated, but in the Argentine national team, Riquelme has always been reused and is Argentina's midfield metronome.The role is similar to Zheng Zhi of the Chinese team.

Before the game, whether it was Robin Dutt in reality or Allardyce in Li Guo's coaching support system, they all reminded Li Guo that only by defending Riquelme can the Chinese team win, and even defending Riquelme is more important than defending Messi.

For this reason, Li Guo specially arranged for Fonso to man-to-man to defend Riquelme. Fonso followed Riquelme closely and cruised 5 meters away from him.

But Fonso soon realized that he thought things too simply, and the captain of Argentina was not so easy to defend.

Mascherano passed a straight pass to Riquelme, and Fonso immediately stuck it up. Riquelme bent his back and protected the ball. Riquelme's protection of the ball is very characteristic. It seems that he will lose the ball at any time, but if Fonso doesn't foul, he really can't get it.

This is the skill of the classical midfielder, first-class passing, first-class ball control, and first-class ball protection.

"Stretch your legs, Fang Suo, why don't you stretch your legs," Li Guo said to himself, but Chen An on the side heard him, "Li Guo, it's not that simple. A midfielder like Riquelme has already mastered ball protection. It seems simple to you, but you can't win it."

Sure enough, Fang Suo was in a hurry at the end, and he really fouled. Argentina won a free kick.

Riquelme is playing the ball, and the Chinese fans are a little anxious. Everyone has watched the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and they still remember Riquelme's footwork. The ball was really accurate!
On the court, Li Weifeng was directing the defense. Except for Chen Gelin, who stayed in the Argentine half to maintain awe, the other players of the Chinese team retreated to their own penalty area to defend the free kick.

Li Guo was a little nervous on the sidelines, the ball was suitable for Riquelme's right foot, and the Argentine big men in the penalty area were also in place.

After a small run-up, Riquelme kicked the ball, and the ball flew into the Chinese team's penalty area in a clear arc. Immediately, the air defense alarm sounded in the Chinese team's penalty area. The first person to jump was Yin Di, the first height of the Chinese team's defense line, but the ball seemed to deliberately avoid the middle of the Chinese team, and Yin Di missed the ball.

Then there is Mascherano, who is also the key defensive player of the Chinese team. Zhou Dun kept a close eye on Mascherano. Under Zhou Dun's strong interference, Mascherano did not hit the ball.

When several important figures in Argentina were being stared at by the Chinese team, an unfamiliar figure appeared out of nowhere. He headed hard from the back and the ball hit the near corner of the goal. Wang Dalei was helpless against such a close-range header and the goal scored!
The fans at the scene didn't know that this man was called Zabaleta, and he was an Argentine central defender until they watched the big screen.

*****
After Argentina scored a goal, the scene was completely silent. The audience in front of the TV thought that their TV was broken and suddenly there was no sound, but it was not. The scene was so quiet and the weather was too hot. The Argentine players did not celebrate the goal.

Li Guo also used this time to call the players back to drink water, "It's okay, they are Argentina, and they are the defending champions. We were scored by the defending champions, which is expected."

"Head..." Mu Fei yelled, but he didn't dare to say it again.

Li Guo didn't ask, probably out of frustration. The ball was conceded so early, and it was an unsolvable free kick. It is conceivable that the players felt depressed, but the game is still going on, and there is no time for sorrow.

"The 8 people watching you, and the hundreds of millions of people watching you in front of the TV, these are our advantages. Today you are not football players, but fighters. Today is also the last day of the Olympic Games. Be a hero for a while."

Under Li Guo's encouragement, everyone nodded their heads, their eyes regained a little enthusiasm, and the game continued. Chen An walked over and said, "Li Guo, the instigating work is good, the boys are working hard."

But Li Guo was not so optimistic, "It's not that simple. Argentina is much stronger than the teams we met before. Now I can understand why they can kill Brazil in the semi-finals."

"Actually, the silver medal is acceptable to the people of the whole country," Chen An comforted.

"No, I can't accept it." Then Li Guo looked at the players on the field, "I don't think they can accept it either."

"Ten years later, 10 years later, when everyone talks about the BJ Olympics, they will only remember who the champion is, and no one will care who the runner-up is."

"Li Guo, I just like your unyielding and unreasonable spirit. This may be the reason why I followed you from China to Germany, and then from Germany to China."

Li Guo laughed, enjoying himself while suffering. The situation on the field did not change at this time. The Chinese team was squeezed and struggled in the 30-meter area of ​​their own defense. Chen Gelin couldn't get the ball at all.

Riquelme's calmness, Messi's sharpness, Di Maria's erratic, Mascherano's tenacity, the Chinese team can only grit their teeth at this time!
At this moment, Li Guo began to incite the fans. Li Guo raised his arms high and swayed up again and again. He wanted the fans to get high. No matter how passive the field was or how hot the weather was, with the encouragement of the Chinese fans wave after wave, the Chinese team finally passed the ball, and Chen Gelin was chasing the ball with Mascherano.

(End of this chapter)