Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

After Barcelona fell behind, it was thought that the whole team would start to get nervous, but unexpectedly, the whole team of Barcelona still did not wake up. The most obvious one was that Giuly, who had been absent for a long time due to injury, had not yet regained his form. He was completely unable to suppress Osasuna's firepower on the left, and instead allowed the opponent's left midfielder Delport to frequently assist, with three dangerous crosses in the first 30 minutes.

And when the game came to the 33rd minute, Delport created a threat again, this time taking a free kick in the middle and passing the high ball into the penalty area... Then Valdes made a mistake again!

Valdes didn't even get the ball this time, but fortunately David Lopez's header back near the baseline was unreceived and was cleared by Puyol in time.

Valdés's trick scared the Barcelona team and fans into a cold sweat...

However, Barcelona's counterattack has been ineffective, mainly because there are too many mistakes in the midfield and frontcourt, and the opponent's five midfielders are all strong players. When they can't keep up with the skills or speed, they decisively commit fouls - Osasuna committed 5 fouls in the whole game. With the fragmented rhythm of the game, it became more difficult for Barcelona to open up the situation.

During the half-time break, Rijkaard adjusted the tactics. Seeing that the Barcelona team was not in good shape, he could only ask for a more direct and crisp play to avoid too much entanglement with the opponent.

So in the second half, Barcelona won some opportunities.

In the 46th minute, Belletti's long shot from 30 yards on the right was bravely saved by Osasuna goalkeeper Ricardo.

In the 48th minute, Motta made a straight pass and Eto'o successfully made an offside move, but goalkeeper Ricardo made a timely tackle to clear the ball.

However, in the subsequent games, the impatient Barcelona fell into the offside trap frequently, while Osasuna continued to play steadily and insisted on defensive counterattacks.

In the 53rd minute, Barcelona's defense suffered an unexpected loss of players. Belletti was injured while chasing back and could not continue the game. He was replaced by Oleguer.

Not long after this substitution, Osasuna controversially expanded the score in the 59th minute. Baldo passed the ball directly to Milosevic, and Edmilson made a tackle in the penalty area to block Milosevic's shot... But after Milosevic poked the ball away, he fell down without any physical contact!

However, Milosevic's diving was too realistic, and the referee was not careful and decisively awarded a penalty kick. He also showed Edmilson the second yellow card of the game and sent him off the field. It's really a blessing that never comes alone...

Osasuna accepted the gift with a smile. Valdés moved ahead, but Puñal took the penalty kick and shot it into the middle. Osasuna led Barcelona 2-0 at home.

Later, Rijkaard quickly replaced Giuly with Larsson as the center forward. However, Osasuna, who were leading by two goals, were in great form and continued to threaten Barcelona's goal through counterattacks.

In the 62nd minute, Baldo knocked the ball back from the right bottom, David Lopez passed the ball to the far post, and Delport volleyed with his left foot from 8 yards in front of the goal on the left side of the penalty area, but it missed the near corner.

In the 66th minute, Baldo made a fake move to get past Puyol who was defending and broke into the left side of the penalty area again. Fortunately, Oleg made a timely tackle and shoveled the ball out of the sideline.

When the game was about to reach the 70th minute, the Barcelona team suddenly woke up from their dream; perhaps they had just adapted to the rhythm of playing with one less player.

In the 68th minute, Ronaldinho's father had a flash of inspiration. After passing two people on the left, he lobbed the ball behind the defense line. Larsson, who came on as a substitute, cleverly made an offside move. The latter broke into the left side of the penalty area and faced the goalkeeper who came out 12 yards in front of the goal. He calmly shot the ball, but unfortunately the ball hit the post and went wide of the near corner!

This was Barcelona's best chance in the game, and Ricardo and a group of substitutes who were warming up on the sidelines were all holding their heads in regret.

However, Barcelona still scored a goal in the 72nd minute. It was Ronaldinho's father who made a penetrating pass after dribbling the ball on the left side. Larsson successfully made an offside again and broke into the left side of the penalty area. This time, his left-foot shot from 7 yards in front of the goal did not miss the target and hit the bottom of the far corner accurately.

Larsson scored his eighth league goal of the season, helping Barcelona to pull one goal back and bring the score to 8-1.

With the same straight pass and the same running position, Larsson finally hit the far corner this time; the efficiency of scoring a goal every 86 minutes on average is really not an exaggeration. The Swedish veteran's goal rate in the league is even higher than Eto'o and Ronaldinho.

However, including this assist to Larsson, Ronaldinho's father has already received 13 assists in the league. Including the Champions League, the Brazilian elf has sent 17 assists this season. Add to that his 20 goals on all fronts, and Ronaldinho is really as terrifying as a god this season.

In the 79th minute, Rijkaard played his last card of the game. With one man less and behind in the score, he had to balance defense and seek a chance to break the deadlock, so... Iniesta replaced Deco.

Belletti's injury and Edmilson's red card completely disrupted Rijkaard's substitution plan. Ricardo Richie ended his warm-up on the sidelines and returned to the bench: "There is absolutely no chance for me to play and turn the tide in this game."

The final injury time lasted 5 minutes.

In the 91st minute, Barcelona was still trying to equalize the score. Larsson pulled to the wing and made a cross. Facing the defensive wall, Eto'o with his back to the goal could only stop the ball with his chest and shoot towards the middle. Iniesta followed up in the middle and shot with his left foot from 20 yards, but the angle was too straight and was confiscated by goalkeeper Ricardo.

Finally, with the last minute of the game, Motta was sent off with a red card for a flying tackle on Weber from the wing. Barcelona lost to Osasuna 1-2 and suffered the bitter fruit of defeat.

……

At the press conference after the game, Osasuna coach Aguirre excitedly talked about the key to their victory: "We didn't let them play smooth football. We started pressing from the moment they passed the ball. The court was very uncomfortable for them, and we were full of motivation... We surrounded every Barcelona player, didn't let them run, didn't let them pass the ball easily to the front line... In the end, we won."

Yes, Osasuna's tactical arrangement and execution were very successful, limiting Barcelona to only 8 shooting opportunities in this game.

Rijkaard, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. He first comforted and praised the team: "The team tried their best, but unfortunately they failed to achieve a good result. The team fought until the last minute and tried every possible way to change the result of the game, even if there were only 10 and 9 players left to tie the score..."

Then the Black Swan expressed dissatisfaction with the penalty in this game: "Osasuna is very physical and fortunately got the advantage in the score... We couldn't find our own rhythm. After falling behind 0-1, we thought we could turn the score around, but the opponent's second goal and one of our players being sent off affected the team... There are also big questions about the penalty we were awarded."

Finally, the Barcelona coach still looked forward calmly: "I think the team's operation is still fine... Now we have to keep working hard. Facing the next opponent, we still have the advantage in points and confidence."

Yes, even though Barcelona lost 1-2 to Osasuna away from home, suffering their fourth league defeat this season, the Catalan team still maintained a huge lead of 4 points over second-placed Valencia and third-placed Real Madrid; and after fighting against their last rival Osasuna, Barcelona's schedule will be smooth, and Rijkaard is even expected to basically lock in the La Liga title before the national derby.

……

In addition, Valdés, the culprit of Barcelona in this game, also defended his mistakes: "The first goal was due to bad luck. The opponent was about to pass the ball to the side of the second goal post, but the strong wind kept the ball high in the air. It was an unlucky accident... Although someone was sent off, Barcelona never raised their hands to surrender. We were thinking about equalizing the score every moment."

However, his Barcelona teammates did not blame Valdes. In the second day's training session at Barcelona, ​​Max and others joked with Valdes and encouraged him to get over the mistake in time.

Ricardo, who was having fun with everyone, did not blame Valdes at all. As the saying goes, if you walk by the river, you will get your feet wet, especially for a team like Barcelona that often moves its defense to the midfield. Moreover, Barcelona is leading by so much in the league this season, so Valdes must be allowed to relax and let everyone have fun. At least the whole team will have an excuse to get dinner, right?

However, Ricardo also saw that many media still focused on Valdés' mistakes: "Although Valdés himself has repeatedly expressed his absolute confidence in himself, his three fatal mistakes at critical moments have made his prospects of representing the national team in the World Cup in Germany quite bleak."

"Earlier, Aragones, who has been committed to the rejuvenation of the national team, once set his sights on Valdés, believing that the young man could be ranked after Casillas and Reina as the national team's third goalkeeper."

"With the return of the old national team goalkeeper Cañizares this season, Valdes, who has repeatedly made mistakes, no longer seems to be so confident in the competition. On Monday, many Spanish stars gathered in Madrid to shoot a series of advertisements for the national team. The players who participated in this shoot have a high chance of getting tickets to Germany this summer, but among those faces full of longing, people saw the calm Cañizares, but not Valdes, who always has a resolute expression on his face."

……

However, there is some good news for Barcelona before the next round of the league starts: Barcelona defender Edmilson, who received a red card in the last round of La Liga, was pardoned by the Spanish Football Association. Since the red card was cancelled, he will be able to participate in the next round of La Liga against Real Sociedad.

In Barcelona's away game against Osasuna on Sunday, Edmilson was judged to have tripped the opponent's striker Milosevic in the penalty area. Barcelona was not only awarded a penalty, but Edmilson was also given a second yellow card. After the video confirmed that Milosevic was diving, Barcelona appealed, and the Spanish Football Association made the above ruling on the matter today.

However, another Barcelona player who received a red card in that game, Thiago Motta, will be suspended. Also unable to participate in the match against Real Sociedad are the injured Messi, Xavi and the newly injured Belletti.

As expected, Ricardo, a versatile substitute in multiple positions, was successfully selected for the squad for the away game against Real Sociedad.

March 2006, 3, Saturday, although compared to the continuous rain last weekend, Barcelona had sunny skies today, but this time the entire Barcelona team had to get up early in the morning to gather and take the train to the away game.

This round's opponent, Real Sociedad, is located in San Sebastián, the capital of the Spanish province of Guipúzcoa. Its home stadium, Anoeta, can accommodate 32,076 people.

Although both are located in the Basque Country, the coastal city of San Sebastian is farther away than Pamplona last weekend, about 567 kilometers from Barcelona, ​​and it takes more than 5 and a half hours by train. Therefore, the Barcelona team set off earlier and also had to stay in the away stadium for a day.

In addition, fortunately, Real Sociedad's performance this season is not too strong. Before this round, it was only ranked 14th in the lower half of the league, but it should not worry about relegation. Therefore, the media generally believed that Barcelona would win the away game without bloodshed.

Due to the arbitration of the Spanish Football Association, the yellow card for the Serbian diving that led to the Brazilian foul was cancelled, so Edmilson continued to start. Van Bommel replaced Motta, another player who was suspended for a red card, and Oleger, Larsson and Van Bronckhorst also replaced Belletti, Giuly and Sylvinho respectively.

In other positions, Rijkaard still used the configuration from the previous game.

After the slump in the last game and a week of adjustments, Barcelona regained its form at the beginning of this game and quickly got into the rhythm.

So Barcelona took the lead in the 8th minute. The forward trident cooperated smoothly in the frontcourt. Eto'o's movement engaged the defense, Ronaldinho's father made an accurate pass behind the defense on the left, Larsson made a diagonal run and successfully made an offside, calmly stopped the ball 7 yards from the right side of the penalty area and pushed the ball into the far corner. The cooperation and movements were very coherent and done in one go!

This was the Swedish veteran's ninth league goal of the season, helping Barcelona to lead the home team Real Sociedad 9-1 shortly after the start of the game.

Real Sociedad tried to replicate Barcelona's goal in the 12th minute, but the forwards were not good enough. Mikel Alonso passed the ball behind Barcelona's defense, and Scobo also made a diagonal run to beat the offside, but his low shot from 8 yards on the right side of the penalty area was blocked by Valdés's legs.

However, 5 minutes later, Barcelona's defense encountered another accident. Mexican veteran Marcos suddenly strained his left leg while defending and could not continue the game. Rijkaard quickly sent rookie Li Qi into the game and Edmilson retreated to the central defender position.

Li Qi was able to come on as a substitute so early, and the team was already leading. He was very happy to be able to play back to the central midfield position. He was determined to perform well and try to help the team defeat the opponent.

……