Chapter 193 Such a large defensive formation, always…
Real Madrid's double victory over their nemesis Lyon in the Champions League Round of 16, returning to the quarterfinals after a six-year absence, quickly became a hot topic on social media. Real Madrid fans worldwide went wild, expressing their joy online, and the club was immersed in a celebratory atmosphere for the next few days.
Florentino Pérez generously awarded the coaching staff and players double the winning bonus and the Champions League qualification bonus, showcasing the club's financial strength. However, the players didn't even have time to squander the bonus, because just three days after playing Lyon, there was the Madrid derby against Atlético Madrid in the 29th round of the league.
On March 18, the day before the Madrid derby, the draw for the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals was held in Nyon, Switzerland.
In the 2010/11 Champions League season, the Premier League continued its strong performance from the previous seasons, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur occupying three of the eight quarter-final spots. La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona took two spots, and the remaining three spots were occupied by defending champions Inter Milan, Bundesliga's sole representative Schalke 04, and Shakhtar Donetsk from distant Ukraine.
Of the eight teams eliminated in the Round of 16, Arsenal and Bayern Munich's exits were the most regrettable for fans. Arsenal, also a technically skilled team, unfortunately faced a formidable Barcelona, splitting the series at home and away, but was eliminated due to a lower goal difference. Meanwhile, Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and defending champions Inter Milan played to a 3-3 draw on aggregate, but Bayern Munich left the Champions League in defeat due to away goals.
Roma's double defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk and AC Milan's loss to Tottenham, who were making their Champions League debut, highlight the decline of Serie A.
The draw used a mixed eight-team format, with teams from the same country no longer avoiding each other, and teams that had met in the group stage also no longer avoiding each other. After the four groups of opponents were drawn, the upper and lower halves of the bracket were drawn again, with the two quarter-final winners from each half automatically becoming the semi-final opponents.
Mourinho flew to Switzerland to attend the draw ceremony, while his assistant coach led the Real Madrid team to watch the ceremony in the tactics room.
Before the ceremony began, the bored players started speculating about Real Madrid's opponents.
“First, let’s rule out Shakhtar Donetsk. UEFA won’t be so kind as to leave Shakhtar Donetsk to us. Then, let’s rule out Barcelona. If we meet Barcelona in the quarterfinals, the hype won’t be as good as we’d like. We need to go to the semifinals at least,” Fino said first. “Manchester United and Schalke 04 are more likely. Whether it’s Cristiano Ronaldo returning to Old Trafford or Raul returning to the Bernabéu, it would be quite sensational.”
Alonso shook his head: "There will definitely be an all-English match in the Premier League. UEFA won't want too many Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals. It's most likely Manchester United vs. Chelsea. Tottenham has too little European experience. Whether it's Manchester United or Chelsea, playing against Tottenham is almost like a free pass. They probably won't get UEFA's favor."
Alonso subtly implied that Manchester United and Chelsea, like Real Madrid, are UEFA's thorn in their side, so how could they possibly be given a free pass? Trying to take advantage? No way!
"Inter Milan is also a possibility. Mr. Mourinho and Sneijder facing their former club would generate a lot of buzz," Kaka added.
"So, Tottenham also has players who transferred from Real Madrid. Van der Vaart has been doing very well for Tottenham this season." Ramos stroked his chin.
"Excluding Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk, Chelsea, and Manchester United, that leaves Inter Milan, Schalke 04, and Tottenham Hotspur as choices," Fino concluded.
Cristiano Ronaldo added an idea: "But Barcelona might face Inter Milan. It was Inter Milan who eliminated Barcelona in the semi-finals last season, so we could create a revenge scenario."
"I hope we can draw Schalke 04, I miss Raul!" Casillas prayed earnestly.
"Want to take a gamble?" Arbeloa couldn't contain his desire to be the bookmaker, and with the assistant coach present, he added, "20 euros each, just for fun!"
It's fine to play around with it.
Based on the analysis just now, the players tacitly avoided Barcelona, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Chelsea, and only placed bets on Tottenham Hotspur, Schalke 04 and Shakhtar Donetsk.
As for why so many people still placed bets even though Shakhtar Donetsk was ruled out, it's because people were willing to lose the 20 euros in the hopes of bringing good luck to Real Madrid.
The lottery ceremony began just as everyone had placed their bets.
Infantino drew Real Madrid as the first team, which made everyone present nervous, because the next team to be drawn would be Real Madrid's opponent.
When Infantino announced Tottenham Hotspur's name, a thunderous cheer erupted in the tactics room; it was a great draw.
Tottenham is a good opponent. They are a regular in the UEFA Cup. This is the first time in Tottenham's history that they have entered the Champions League. They are still a newcomer.
The second group of opponents drawn were Chelsea and Manchester United. UEFA indeed arranged an all-English Premier League match. Alonso even guessed the opposing team perfectly.
Fino and Alonso gave each other a high five.
The teammates were also very satisfied. It was great that an all-English Premier League match had worn down a strong team so early.
The opponents drawn in the third group are Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Various disgruntled voices rang out in the locker room. Having a sugar daddy makes all the difference, huh? The weakest team was assigned to Barcelona, a sure thing!
The remaining two teams, Inter Milan and Schalke 04, automatically became the final group of opponents.
After drawing the opponents, Infantino then conducted a draw for the other half of the bracket. Inter Milan vs. Schalke 04 and Chelsea vs. Manchester United were placed in the upper half, while Real Madrid vs. Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona vs. Shakhtar Donetsk were placed in the lower half.
Real Madrid and Barcelona have been drawn into the same half of the competition. If Real Madrid gets past Tottenham in the quarterfinals, their opponent in the semifinals will be Barcelona.
In the tactics room at Real Madrid's training ground, the players looked at each other in bewilderment.
According to the schedule of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League, Real Madrid will host Barcelona in the 32nd round of La Liga on April 16, the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be on April 20, and the two Champions League semi-finals will be on April 27 and May 3 respectively. In other words, Real Madrid and Barcelona will play four games in just 18 days.
That's exciting!
The hype surrounding the Champions League quarter-final draw was almost entirely focused on the Chelsea vs. Manchester United clash and the high probability of Real Madrid and Barcelona playing four matches in 18 days. This left Tottenham fans, who are also in the Premier League and will face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, extremely dissatisfied.
Are we the only Premier League teams without any prestige? What do you mean? Are you looking down on us? Are you already assuming Real Madrid will beat us and reach the Champions League semi-finals?
We made it to the quarterfinals in our first Champions League appearance, while Real Madrid took six seasons to reach the quarterfinals again. Aren't we all starting from the same point?
Tottenham fans are itching to get their team to teach Real Madrid a lesson.
On the evening of March 19, in the 29th round of La Liga, Real Madrid's away game against Atletico Madrid ended in victory for Real Madrid. Fino and Benzema each scored a goal, while Aguero pulled one back for Atletico Madrid near the end of the game.
After playing against Atletico Madrid, it was the first international break of 2011, and the players returned home to fight for a place in the European Championship knockout stage.
Upon returning to the club, Real Madrid hosted Sporting Gijón at the Bernabéu Stadium for their 30th round league match.
To conserve energy for the Champions League match three days later, Mourinho fielded a large number of substitutes in this game. Despite Sporting Gijón's tight defense, Real Madrid still managed to score a goal from a corner kick, securing another 3 points.
On April 5th, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will kick off with Real Madrid hosting Tottenham Hotspur.
In this match, Real Madrid continued to use the 4-2-3-1 formation they used against Lyon. Casillas guarded the goal, Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho and Marcelo formed the front line, Khedira and Alonso partnered in the double pivot, Fino occupied the central midfield position, Ronaldo remained on the left wing, Di Maria replaced Kaká on the right wing, and Adebayor replaced Benzema as the lone striker.
Kaka still doesn't like playing on the wing, but he's been trying to adapt. That's how it is at Real Madrid; players only follow instructions and adapt to their positions. No player can choose their position at will, and no one is special.
After Kaká recovered from his injury, Mourinho gave him several opportunities in the league and the Copa del Rey, and he performed very well, gradually winning Mourinho's trust.
Today, Kaká made his first appearance in the Champions League this season.
Tottenham used a 4-4-1-1 defensive formation in this match, and manager Redknapp clearly ignored the fans' clamor. His formation alone showed his fear of Real Madrid's attacking line.
The midfield defense increased its width laterally, and together with the backline, the eight players formed a tight protective net in Tottenham's half.
This will most likely be a tough attacking game, Mourinho thought to himself. He stood on the sidelines, chewing gum expressionlessly, observing the Tottenham players on the field, waiting for the game to begin.
After the referee blew his whistle, Real Madrid, having gained possession, quickly passed the ball to Fino after a few passes.
Fino dribbled the ball forward a few steps from the center, and before he could match up with Modric, he passed it to Ronaldo on the left flank. Ronaldo cut inside from the left flank towards the center, dribbled past Tottenham's center-back Dawson, and shot directly.
The shot was too rushed and lacked power, allowing Tottenham's goalkeeper Gomez to easily collect the ball.
Gomez took a run-up and launched a long ball into Real Madrid's backfield. Crouch lost the battle with Ramos for the ball, and Ramos headed it to Khedira on the left flank.
Real Madrid players began to gradually penetrate into Tottenham's half through short passes. After crossing the halfway line, Fino and Kaká dribbled past each other with one-two passes. Just before reaching the outside of the penalty arc, Fino did not pass the ball to Kaká on the right, but instead unexpectedly passed it to Ronaldo on the left.
Cristiano Ronaldo evaded Dawson and Gallas on the edge of the penalty area and took another shot, which was saved by Gomez and went out of bounds.
Less than three minutes into the game, Ronaldo had two shots on goal. Although neither shot was of high quality and neither resulted in a goal, Real Madrid's ability to easily break through Tottenham's defense twice exposed Tottenham's defensive problems. Tottenham's two defensive lines seemed to be somewhat ineffective and not as reliable as they appeared. They had defensive width and density, but their defensive strength and toughness seemed insufficient.
Mourinho stroked his chin on the sidelines. Such a massive defensive formation couldn't possibly be made of paper, could it? Not sure, let's wait and see!
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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support! [starry-eyed]
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