Chapter 531: The strength of the Italian team!
"At the end of the first half, the score was 2:0. Thanks to Lin Quan's two wonderful goals, Spain temporarily took the lead over Italy. I think Coach Conte may have to think carefully about how to play in the second half!"
During the half-time break, several commentators on the Italian TV station's commentary booth automatically began to put themselves in the role of Italy and offer advice to Italy.
"We will definitely attack in the second half. The result of the first half has proved that passive defense will not lead to good results. If they don't want to be eliminated in the round of 16, they must show their true ability in the second half!"
"That's right, our attacking from both sides of the flanks is very powerful and has proven itself in previous games. In addition, Pelle on the front line has a very obvious height advantage. As long as the attack from the flanks can be successful, it will be easy to create scoring opportunities!"
The height of the Spanish team on the field is an obvious shortcoming. Since they cannot compete with you in footwork, just play simply and straightforwardly, using simple and rough methods such as physical attacks and headers to deal with Spain.
This might work wonders! Conte actually thought of this, so during the halftime break, he specifically emphasized in the locker room that the next attack should be centered around Pelle.
Of course, it is not enough to just arrange offensive tactics, the problems on the defensive end must also be corrected.
"De Rossi, your task in the second half will be heavier. I want you to keep an eye on Iniesta and help your teammates defend Lin Quan as much as possible!"
De Rossi nodded heavily. Lin Quan had a large range of movement and often entered his defensive area.
Since the head coach has made the request, he will naturally do his best to do it well.
"Damian, I will substitute you around the 65th minute of the second half. After the second half starts, you will observe the actions of the opponent's No. 10 carefully from the bench. After you come on the court, your main task is to keep a close eye on him. I allow you to use all means, including fouls!"
Damian, who currently plays for Manchester United, immediately lit up when he heard the coach's arrangement.
As a member of the Red Devils, he has been abused by Manchester City in the Premier League many times.
So Damian has long wanted to find an opportunity to take revenge on the other party! Although Damian is not very famous, his strength is not weak, and he also has his own unique personal style.
He is very aggressive in defense and particularly likes physical confrontation, for which he often commits fouls or even gets cards during games.
In the first few games after he joined Manchester United, whenever he started, he would definitely get a yellow card. He was considered the yellow card king! The reason why Conte didn't dare to let Damian start was because this kid loved to get cards. He was worried that if he let Damian start, he would accidentally get two yellow cards, which would put the team in an irreparable situation.
But if he is a substitute, there will be no such concerns.
In the 65th minute, if the team had equalized the score, there would be no need to take the risk of him going up.
But if the team is still ahead, then why worry? Just give it your all!
…
Italy was discussing how to deal with Spain. On the Spanish side, Bosque was also reminding the players not to underestimate the enemy, to stay highly focused and to go all out to win the game.
The old coach was very excited at the moment. Lin Quan's outstanding performance in this game gave him hope of defending the European Cup.
If they can successfully defend their title, Spain will make history and become the first team to win three consecutive European Cup titles.
And this will be another entry in his merit book. When he retires in the future, even if he does nothing, these honors in the merit book will be enough for him to live on for a long time.
Bosque is already thinking about his retirement.
He plans to retire after coaching the 2018 World Cup. By then he will be 68 years old, which is the retirement age.
Moreover, by that time, the golden generation of the Spanish team will probably withdraw from the national team on a large scale, and the team will need to be torn down and reset for a comprehensive renewal.
As an old man in his seventies, he does not have the energy to complete such a big project, so this kind of work should be left to younger and more energetic coaches.
As for the new head coach of Spain after he retires, Bosque actually has a perfect candidate in mind, and that person is none other than Manchester City's current head coach - Guardiola! If Spain's glory began with passing and controlling football, then their decline must also be related to passing and controlling football.
As the man who has gone the furthest in passing and controlling football, Guardiola is undoubtedly the most suitable person to take over as Spain's head coach.
Moreover, his relationship with Lin Quan also makes it easier for him to gain the support of veteran players, allowing him to let go and do whatever he wants.
Thinking of this, Bosque felt that after the European Cup was over, he would find time to have a good talk with Guardiola.
Considering Guardiola's current brilliant achievements at Manchester City, he will not force it if the other party is unwilling to take over the Spanish national team.
Considering that even in 2018, Lin Quan is still very young, with his strong personal strength, he will have no problem temporarily holding up the sky for Spain.
At that time, the worst that can happen is that the old coach can grit his teeth and hold on for a few more years, or let Enrique, who was born in Barcelona, take over.
…
The fifteen-minute halftime break ended quickly, the two sides exchanged venues and the game continued.
After the opening, Conte stood on the sidelines, staring at the Spanish team's every move.
He wanted to judge the opponent's tactics in the second half based on the Spanish team's movements at the beginning of the game.
Should they continue to attack aggressively like in the first half? Or should they stop after gaining the advantage? The opponent's choice will determine whether Italy's tactics will work!
After the start of the second half, Spain's desire to attack seemed to be less strong.
After getting the ball, they passed the ball back and forth more often in the midfield and backcourt, and the number of forward passes decreased significantly.
This discovery made Conte breathe a sigh of relief!
Spain has chosen to play it safe, which is not a bad thing for Italy.
Although it will increase the difficulty of Italy's attack, the opponent's reduced desire to attack will also significantly ease the pressure on Italy's defense line, allowing them to devote more manpower to the attack.
Five minutes into the second half, fans at the Stade de France began to notice that Italy's attacks were increasing in number.
In particular, they frequently used Parolo and Giaccherini to run in and out of the Spanish flank area.
Italy's forward line combination is a typical one-tall-strong combination. Pelle is tall and strong with excellent physical fitness, which gives him a strong ability to hold the ball with his back.
Eder is not tall, but he is fast, agile, and has excellent finishing ability.
As long as he is given the chance, he can kill the person with one blow.
Italy's midfield is indeed not as luxurious as Spain's, so they wisely gave up the complex passing and coordination in the midfield, and simply and roughly passed through the midfield quickly, and then gave the ball to the forward.
This simple and quick style of play poses no small threat.
In the previous match against Belgium, Belgium's luxurious midfield was defeated by the Italians' tactics and eventually lost to Italy 0:2.
Italy, having tasted the sweetness, now obviously wants to replicate the last game against Spain! In the 58th minute of the second half, Italy launched a counterattack from the left wing. After De Sciglio dribbled the ball down the bottom line, he passed it back to the front of the penalty area. Giaccherini, who came in from behind, made a long shot, which was saved by De Gea.
In the 63rd minute, Italy counterattacked again from the wing. This time they lifted the ball into the penalty area. Pelle overpowered Spanish central defender Pique and jumped high to head the ball.
It's a pity that his header missed the target and the ball went over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Italy's attack returned.
After successfully intercepting the ball, De Rossi launched a counterattack on the spot. He quickly passed the ball to Eder, whose shot was blocked by Alba's outstretched leg.
The ball was caught by Florenzi on the outside, and the latter's long shot hit the defender and bounced out of the baseline.
Italy took a corner kick, and Pelle almost got another chance to head the ball under the defense of Pique and Morata.
Fortunately, De Gea predicted the landing point in advance and took the ball away steadily.
The Spanish fans in the stands were terrified. The Italian team's attack in this round was very fierce, one wave after another, leaving no chance for the team to breathe.
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This team is completely different from the team in the first half.
Many Spanish fans have begun to face up to the strength of this Italian team. Although the score on the field is 2:0, the strength gap between the two teams may be smaller than this score difference.
With the strength shown by Italy in this game, if they had not met Spain in advance, they would have made it to the quarterfinals or even the semifinals! If the Spanish fans re-examined their opponents because of Italy's wonderful performance, the Italian fans and a large number of French fans on the other side were disappointed when they saw that Italy's wave after wave of attacks still failed to break through the Spanish defense.
Spain's defense is much more tenacious than they imagined. When Italy used this method against Belgium in the last game, Belgium was already stunned.
However, they did not gain much advantage against Spain.
This won't work. Although the offensive momentum is fierce, the lack of goals is a big problem. After all, Italy is still behind! Therefore, Italy, which is striving for change, made the first substitution.
They replaced winger Florenzi with number 4 player Damian.
This substitution left the fans at the scene, especially the Italian fans, a little confused.
Italy is behind now, why replace an offensive player with a defensive player?
Florenz at least has an excellent cross, which can play a significant role in the offense.
But Damian does not have such ability. His advantage lies in defense, but now the team needs goals, not defense!
"Is Conte getting old and confused? I don't understand this substitution at all!"
"Yes, it's only the 65th minute. Florenzi is neither injured nor exhausted. In the counterattack just now, he also sent a good cross to Pelle. I really don't understand why Conte replaced him at this time?"
Many fans at the scene and in front of the TV began to question Conte's substitution. They couldn't understand Conte's intention.
However, after seeing Conte's substitution, Spain's coach Bosque's expression became extremely solemn.
Was Damian targeting Lin? Was Conte doing this to completely kill Spain's counterattack point so that he could attack Spain without any worries? The facts soon proved his guess. After Damian came on the court, Italy's defensive intensity against Lin Quan increased by more than a level.
This guy was like a mad dog, chasing Lin Quan all over the world. Not only did he follow closely, but he also kept talking trash and doing little tricks.
Lin Quan is the offensive core of Spain. Seeing that he was being closely guarded by the opponent, his teammates naturally did not dare to give the ball to him.
But in doing so, they fell into the trap set by the Italians.
Lin Quan was keenly aware of this, so he took the initiative to retreat and stretched out his hand to make a request.
"Ramos, give me the ball!"
Seeing that it was Lin Quan who took the initiative to reach out for the ball, Ramos passed the ball to him without hesitation.
Although Lin Quan has a follower by his side, Ramos believes that with Lin Quan's strength, he can easily get rid of the other party.
Just as Lin Quan was about to receive the ball, Damian immediately approached him, seemingly wanting to launch a sneak attack when he was off guard.
Lin Quan was well prepared and was waiting for this moment. When the opponent stretched out his foot, he quickly pulled the ball and turned around, doing it in one smooth move.
After failing to intercept, Damian decisively fouled and pulled Lin Quan down.
Lin Quan did not waste time lying on the grass. After being pulled down, he stood up quickly and prepared to take a free kick to catch the opponent off guard.
But Damian was prepared and blocked the ball in advance, and even "accidentally" kicked away the ball that Lin Quan had placed.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I just did it carelessly!"
The referee did not give him a card for the foul but gave him a verbal warning.
Damian was very honest in front of the referee, looking like a good student who recognized his mistakes and reflected on them seriously.
Lin Quan, who was watching coldly from the side, had to admit that this guy was actually quite an actor.
I just don't know how he compares with Busquets and other top students from La Masia Academy of Television and Film?
"Lin, leave this guy to me!"
Seeing that Lin Quan was being entangled by this guy, Buskes volunteered to help Lin Quan.
Haha, kid, you are still a little naive to play with these in front of me, Old Buskes! Lin Quan nodded, not rejecting Buskes's kindness.
He doesn't like to use various tricks, so it's better to leave this kind of opponent to the experienced Busquets and others to deal with!
(End of this chapter)