Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

2008年2月6日晚上20时45分，在瑞士苏黎世，意葡大战一触即发。

Both coaches deployed a trident in the frontcourt.

Italy lined up in a 4-3-2-1, Christmas tree formation, with Amelia, Barzagli and De Rossi replacing the injured Buffon, Materazzi and Gattuso respectively, and Riccardo Rich and Di Natale playing as double attacking midfielders.

Donadoni's starting 11 was as follows:

The goalkeeper is number 14 Amelia;

The back line from right to left is No. 22 Oddo, No. 5 Cannavaro, No. 6 Barzagli and No. 19 Zambrotta;

The defensive midfield trio is No. 10 De Rossi, No. 21 Pirlo and No. 13 Ambrosini;

The two attacking midfielders are No. 17 Ricardo Liqi and No. 11 Di Natale;

The center forward is No. 9 Luca Toni.

The last time Portugal beat Italy was in 1976;

In this game, the original main forwards Pauleta and Nuno Gomez were both absent, so Benfica forward Makukula had to start for the national team for the first time. The new captain was Ronaldo, who had just celebrated his 1rd birthday the day before. He and Quaresma were on the two wings.

Scolari chose a 4-3-3 attacking formation:

The goalkeeper is No. 1 Ricardo;

The defense line is No. 31 Bosingwa, No. 16 Carvalho, No. 30 Bruno Alves and No. 3 Canela;

The midfield trio is No. 8 Petit, No. 18 Maniche and No. 20 Deco;

The forward trident is No. 27 Quaresma, No. 38 Makukula and No. 17 Ronaldo.

It started raining in Zurich 2 hours before the game, but fortunately the rain was not heavy and the grass condition was ideal, it just made the grass a little more slippery, which made better use of the passing and control coordination of the ground technical school.

Although the match was scheduled to be held at a neutral venue that will host this year's European Cup, this strong dialogue still attracted a large number of fans and the venue was almost full.

Italy wore the new blue, white and gold-edged jersey designed for the European Cup; Portugal wore a pure red jersey.

In the player tunnel before the game started, the No. 17s of both teams hugged each other and sent their best wishes...

Li Qi: "Little mule, be careful or I'll tackle you!"

Cristiano Ronaldo: "Leo, just watch me pass you and you will be lost!"

Of course, No. 17 in blue and No. 20 in red are also old acquaintances. When they were in Barcelona, ​​Deco also taught Li Qi a lot about playing football and how to behave in society.

Although Deco is low-key, he is one of the leaders who is highly respected by his teammates in the Barcelona locker room.

Li Qi, who has a good boy personality, naturally would not speak freely like he did to his good friend Cristiano Ronaldo. He turned around and greeted Deco warmly: "Brother Deco, please be gentle with your feet."

Deco seemed a little dull and serious in front of outsiders, but he had some good feelings towards Li Qi who always respected him: "Ricardo, you should do your best too. Good luck."

……

The greetings before the game were just a small episode. When the kick-off whistle blew, even if it was a friendly match, at the national team level, it represented the glory and dignity of their respective countries. Naturally, neither side would show any mercy, at least not before the game started or the winner was decided...

Four minutes into the game, Portugal took the lead in launching an attack. Bosingwa made a cross from the right, the Italian defense cleared the ball not far away, and Inter Milan's new signing Maniche's header was confiscated by Amelia.

However, in the first few minutes of the game, Portugal seemed to be slightly at a disadvantage, and then the more experienced world champions took over the game.

Especially in the 6th minute, Italy showed that it had taken the lead.

In the positional battle, Pirlo observed the wing in advance from the defensive midfielder position and made an accurate diagonal long pass.

Zambrotta stopped the ball with his chest on the left, then broke through and made a cross. Toni was disturbed when following up and failed to get the ball...

But Li Qi, who was lying in ambush at the back, followed up in time, shook off the defensive entanglement, and used his chest to knock the ball into the net!

However, the Swiss referee Coville ruled that Li Qi committed handball first and the goal was invalid.

From the slow-motion replay, it seems that Li Qi's handball was completely false...

Li Qi appealed once or twice, and then didn't say much to the referee: It's not worth getting a card for an irreversible penalty, so just treat it as a birthday present for his good friend Cristiano Ronaldo, and let him score a goal at the beginning.

However, during the tens of seconds when Captain Cannavaro was negotiating with the referee, Li Qi stood with his hands on his hips not far away, watching Cowell and thinking about some things and making some arrangements...

Before the game, Li Qi learned about the situation from Bruno Bernard, the head of the European Football Health Development Foundation, which he initiated.

The foundation has been established for a year and a half and has developed well. It has established a stable partnership with UEFA and has begun to become an influential presence in the leagues of some small European countries.

In particular, according to Li Qi's account, Bernard initially focused on infiltrating the organizing committee and refereeing committee of various football associations, and also reached some PY deals with many people and formed interest alliances;

Even Bernard has started to establish a relationship with FIFA President Blatter, who was the special guest of this friendly match and shook hands with Li Qi before the game.

But obviously, Bernard did not do his job well in this game. Of course, it was just a friendly match, which was not important. It was also possible to give some face to other interest groups...

However, Li Qi still decided to ask Bernard to have a good talk with the relevant people and departments after the game. Even if he could not completely prevent some shady hands from reaching out to himself or his team, he should at least let other interest groups know that they would have to pay a heavy price for interfering with his game.

Either don't bother me, or if you insist on coming, be prepared to pay three or four times the price until it hurts!

Only in this way can the interest groups and black hands behind the scenes weigh the pros and cons and influence other games, or give themselves sufficiently generous benefits and consideration in exchange, such as the Champions League or the European Cup...

Okay, let’s get back to the game. These shady PY transactions should not affect the pure and kind readers and our protagonist Riccardo Richie. Let Bruno Bernard handle it.

@

Although Italy took the initiative on the field afterwards, Portugal was also able to create some threats through counterattacks. Generally speaking, it was a 70:30 game with both sides attacking and defending.

Italy missed a good chance to score in the 13th minute.

Oddo made a cross from the right, and Luca Toni attracted the defense again, allowing the unguarded Di Natale to easily get into position!

But the latter's shot in front of the goal missed, no, he didn't even touch the ball!

This is really off the mark...

In the 21st minute, Portugal launched a rare quick counterattack, but it was blocked by De Rossi's tactical foul on Deco before the defensive third zone.

Ronaldo's direct free kick from 30 meters in front of the goal was blocked by the wall and went out of the bottom line.

Then Deco took a corner kick from the left, and central defender Bruno Alves headed the ball, but the ball was slightly higher than the crossbar!

After that, it was Italy's attack again, and the Azzurri played well together in the frontcourt in the 27th minute.

After receiving Pirlo's direct pass, Li Qi, Ambrosini and Di Natale made a series of wall-to-wall passes, dodging the entanglement of Petit and Maniche.

Then Li Qi sent a straight pass to the space between Canela and Bruno Alves, and Oddo made a high-speed run along the side and successfully got past the offside trap!

Then, facing goalkeeper Ricardo who was blocking the near corner, Oddo calmly passed the ball back to Li Qi who was waiting in the corner of the penalty area. Under the interference of Maniche, the latter calmly knocked a low ball from the right side of the penalty area to his teammate who was covering in the middle.

Luca Toni, who was at the first point in the middle, actually held off Carvalho and Bosingwa and let the ball pass!

In this way, the ball rolled in front of Di Natale who was lying in ambush at the back!

Although the ball was passed diagonally and was a bit close to the goal, Di Natale was completely left open...

However, what was incredible to both Li Qi and Tony was that Di Natale's right-footed shot was actually saved by goalkeeper Ricardo who also rushed over from the other goal post, and the ball was lifted out of the bottom line with one hand!

Di Natale's shot was too accurate...

Portugal escaped danger again, which was originally a real chance to score the winning goal; but Di Natale had missed two such good opportunities!

Not long after that, an accident occurred on the Italian side. Zambrotta, who had been very active since the start of the game, strained his right thigh 30 minutes into the game and took the initiative to request a substitution.

Donadoni brings on Grosso as a substitute…

After Zambrotta left the field, Portugal regained some offensive opportunities and the score became about 60-40.

In the 35th minute, Ronaldo's breakthrough on the left was blocked by Cannavaro and the ball went out of the baseline. Portugal took a corner kick from the left side and Quaresma's shot in front of the penalty area was blocked by Luca Toni who returned to defense.

In the 37th minute, Mane cut off De Rossi's reckless through pass and launched a long pass counterattack.

This time, Ronaldo did not take credit for himself, but headed the ball to Macukula, who made a breakthrough in front of the Italian penalty area and shot into the far corner with his right foot.

Fortunately, the ball also missed the left post!

However, when Portugal launched its offensive, Italy finally seized the gap in Portugal's forward defense and broke the deadlock in the first half's stoppage time.

Ronaldo's breakthrough on the right was blocked by Pirlo and Cannavaro; Pirlo then made a long pass to Li Qi on the left to launch a counterattack.

After receiving the ball, Li Qi pretended to cut inside and go to the middle, deceiving Bosingwa's center of gravity, but he shook his ankle and sent a straight pass to the left.

Grosso, who came on as a substitute, made a high-speed run and rushed towards Portugal's penalty area with the ball. He then cut into the right side of the penalty area and shot a powerful low ball across the middle!

The goalkeeper Ricardo and the two Portuguese defenders Carvalho and Bruno Alves who rushed back failed to intercept the ball.

Luca Toni followed up and went around to the back post. From 6 meters away from the goal, he shot the ball into the empty net with his right foot and scored, 1-0!

The Italians happily entered the halftime break with a one-goal lead.

In the second half, Scolari made three substitutions: Nani replaced Deco, Mela replaced Petit, and Paulo Ferreira replaced Canela.

Portugal changed its formation to 4-4-2, playing with both wings flying together, and obviously wanted to use stronger running and breakthrough abilities to disrupt Italy's organization and tear open Italy's defense.

However, before Scolari's adjustments could take effect, Italy expanded its lead shortly after the start of the second half.

In the 51st minute, Li Qi retreated to support Pirlo and made a counter-cut. The former passed the ball to the latter who advanced to assist and defend the middle, immediately deceiving Mela who had just come on as a substitute.

Pirlo dribbled the ball to the top of the pitch, observed calmly and passed the ball over the top in time.

Di Natale successfully avoided the offside trap and advanced to the left side of Portugal's penalty area. He chose not to stop the ball and directly volleyed it to Luca Toni who was covering the middle.

But Di Natale did not pass the ball well. Carvalho flew up and tackled the ball, slightly changing its direction. So Toni could only watch the ball pass over his toes and in front of the goal.

Then Li Qi took the corner kick from the left side, Paulo Ferreira headed the ball away from the front point, and Pirlo, who was lurking outside the penalty area, volleyed the ball with his right foot!

The ball hit the calf of Italian captain Cannavaro at the edge of the small penalty area, refracted and hit the near corner of the Portuguese goal!

Italy leads 2-0!

The double egg gift that Li Qi joked about before the game was successfully achieved...

Italy, which was leading by two goals, completely controlled the situation of the game and played more and more calmly, while Portugal, on the contrary, played more and more anxiously.

Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, was obviously unwilling to fail after his birthday, but his frequent complaints about his teammates had already unbalanced his mentality, and his strength was only 10% of what it used to be.

So 5 minutes later, Donadoni also started to make adjustments to his lineup. Perrotta replaced his club teammate De Rossi, Gamberini replaced Barzagli, and Palladino replaced Ricardo Richie, who was asked by Sir Alex Ferguson not to play the whole game.

After the substitution, Italy continued to create dangerous situations.

First, in the 58th minute, Paladino made a straight pass from the edge of the penalty area, Di Natale made a diagonal breakthrough and shot, but Ricardo subconsciously blocked it with his legs;

Then in the 64th minute, Cannavaro passed the ball to Palladino who was unguarded at the back post. Palladino chested the ball and volleyed it with his left foot, which was very exciting!

But the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo bravely flew over and tried to save the ball, which hit the crossbar and bounced out of the bottom line with a bang!

Then Portugal continued to make substitutions in an attempt to change the situation. Ribeiro replaced Bosingwa and Makukula was replaced by Almeida.

Italy was calm and composed, replacing Toni with Genoa striker Borriello. This was the 20th player to make his debut for the Italy team since Donadoni took office.

Then, after the unmarked Almeida missed Ribeiro's cross, Donadoni replaced Di Natale, who missed many chances in this game, with Quagliarella in the 75th minute, and replaced Oddo, who performed well in this game, with Cassetti.

However, not long after Italy made the substitution, Portugal, which had been in a passive position throughout the game, finally scored a goal to restore hope.

In the 77th minute, Portugal took a quick free kick. Nani made a low pass to the other side of the penalty area. Almeida passed the ball to Quaresma on the left. The latter shot with his right foot near the corner of the penalty area. The ball penetrated Amelia's fingers and hit the top of the goal, 1 to 2!

But just one minute after Portugal ignited the hope of equalizing the score, Italy once again widened the score through wonderful cooperation, this time it was mainly the cooperation of substitute players.

Ambrosini received the pass from Pirlo during the counterattack and kicked the ball directly from the left;

Palladino made a high-speed run forward and volleyed the ball back from the back of the penalty area. Perrotta headed the ball in front of the penalty area. Quagliarella rushed in front of goalkeeper Ricardo and volleyed the ball 5 meters in front of the goal! The ball hit the crossbar and went into the net!

Quagliarella's first touch after coming on the pitch changed the score to 3-1!

In the end, the deflated Portugal was unable to break through the solid Italian defense. At the end of the game, Italy won the friendly match against Portugal with a score of 3 to 1.

After the game, Li Qi shamelessly ran back to the court to exchange jerseys with Ronaldo!

But the two are indeed good friends, and they resumed talking and laughing after the game.

Ronaldo also knew that the shameless Li Qi had no shame at all. It would be too low to argue with him about the outcome of a friendly match. It would be better to go back to the club and let him treat him to a big meal, or ask for two assists?

Well, the latter suggestion is good...

@

In addition, what the heartless Ricardo Richie did not expect was that this seemingly harmless friendly match victory further made Italian coach Donadoni feel more proud.

After all, Italy had many key players missing in this game, and there was no suggestion that any one player was indispensable or outstanding.

In the first and second half, Donadoni replaced 6 players, which is more than half of the team, and one of them was replaced due to a sudden injury.

This made Donadoni think in the post-match press conference that the Italian national team has become a strong whole under his control, and anyone can be missing, Totti, Piero, Gattuso, Materazzi, Nesta or Buffon are not important;

As long as he is in charge, he can play a wonderful offense and win the final victory...

This is definitely floating!

This is not a good sign...