Chapter 334: What's so difficult about scoring a goal?
On the evening of October 20th, at the Alpi Stadium in Turin, Italy.
In the third round of the Champions League group stage, Barcelona will challenge Juventus away.
After all, it was an away game, and the team was full of injuries, so Barcelona played more cautiously away from home.
Juventus was more active. Capello did not make any new changes to the starting lineup, but he made very interesting adjustments to the players' positions.
The front line is still the double striker combination of Ibrahimovic and Piero, but in the midfield, Nedved rushed forward and played the position of attacking midfielder, suppressing Barcelona's midfielder behind the two forwards, and also joining the attack from behind.
Blasi, Emerson and Camoranesi form the defensive midfielder.
Juventus' formation looks like 4-3-1-2.
This was somewhat unexpected for Barcelona.
Rijkaard's lineup is nothing new, it is still Barcelona's regular 4-3-3 formation.
The goalkeeper is Valdes, the defense is Van Bronckhorst, Oleger, Puyol and Belletti, the midfield is Marcos in the back, Deco and Xavi in the front, and the front trident is Ronaldinho, Sudon and Iniesta.
Between Iniesta and Larsson, Rijkaard finally chose to listen to Su Dong's opinion.
Facts have also proved that Iniesta is more in sync with the team, has a better understanding of cooperation, and is more skilled in passing and receiving the ball.
But Juventus' style of play surprised Barcelona a little, and they played more passively from the beginning.
Ibrahimovic was particularly active.
Just four minutes into the game, the Swedish center forward received a long pass from Zambrotta and tried to break through the offside trap, but was called offside.
Ibrahimovic was so angry that he argued with the referee for a while before going back.
In the eighth minute, Zambrotta made another cross from the left, and the Swedish center headed the ball from close range, but it was slightly higher.
Soon, Zebina made a straight pass and Piero almost had a one-on-one opportunity.
It wasn't until the tenth minute that Xavi made a long shot for Barcelona, but it was a bit off target.
Juventus quickly responded, with Ibrahimovic's shot being caught by Valdes.
From the beginning of the game, Juventus suppressed Barcelona, especially Nedved and the three defensive midfielders, which made Barcelona's midfield very painful and it was difficult for the midfield to launch threatening attacks.
Ronaldinho was closely guarded by Zebina on the left, while Iniesta on the right was more focused on retreating to support the midfield and defending Zambrotta who frequently attacked. This made it difficult for Barcelona to create opportunities on the flanks.
With the middle being suppressed and the flanks lacking threats, Barcelona's attack can be imagined.
…
Su Dong was alone at the front.
Wherever he went, Cannavaro and Thuram followed him.
At first, Su Dong did not take them very seriously, after all, they had competed against Cannavaro when he was at Inter Milan. But unexpectedly, after coming to Juventus, under Capello's training, the combination of Cannavaro and Thuram became very difficult to deal with.
Even Cannavaro's entire mental outlook has changed.
He seemed to become very confident and decisive.
Just as Su Dong was thinking about how to receive the pass from the backcourt, a cry of surprise suddenly broke out from the Alpi Stadium.
A long pass from the midfield sent the ball directly into Barcelona's penalty area.
Ibrahimovic took advantage of his height to overpower Puyol and Oleguer, grabbing the best landing spot and heading the ball back to the front of the penalty area. Nedved followed up and shot without stopping the ball.
The shot was very powerful and came at a tricky angle.
Valdez is out of reach.
One to zero! The home team is leading temporarily! Su Dong was a little surprised watching from the midline. He didn't expect that Juventus' attack would be so simple and crude.
He made a long pass directly to Ibrahimovic, and after grabbing the first point, Nedved followed up to grab the second point and scored a goal.
It’s a simple trick, right? But it works! …
After scoring a goal, the Juventus fans at the scene cheered excitedly for a long time.
Although Juventus' offense has been criticized this season, and some even believe that Capello always lacks aggressiveness and overemphasizes defense after leading by one goal, it is undeniable that as long as they score, Juventus has never lost! It's not because of the small number of games, but because Juventus has an unbreakable steel defense.
As long as we score first, we can wear the opponent out!
Don't believe it?
Look at how frustrated the Barcelona players looked after losing the ball.
Before conceding the goal, they couldn't break through Juventus' goal and it was difficult for them to create a threat. What could they do after conceding the goal?
After celebrating with his teammates, Ibrahimovic walked back to the center line and grinned at Su Dong.
"I said I would beat you!" the Swedish center pointed at Su Dong provocatively.
Su Dong looked at his teammates around him, then at the complacent Swedish center, and felt a little angry.
"Don't be so proud. You didn't score that goal."
Ibrahimovic was in a very good mood and was still smiling. "Don't worry, wait, I will score a goal."
"Then wait until you get in!"
After saying that, Su Dong ignored him.
"Hehe, wait, I'll score a goal for you!" Ibrahimovic hummed inwardly behind him.
Su Dong turned around and left with a serious expression. He would never give up.
Ibrahimovic's goal just now really stimulated him. This kid has been provoking him since he joined Juventus in the summer, and then asked Larsson to convey a message. Although Larsson said that this kid is just a nerve-racking and unruly thorn, and there is no need to bother with him, Su Dong still wants to teach him a lesson in his heart.
If he is not taught a lesson, then everyone will use him as a target in the future, and he will be hit by arrows every day. However, Juventus' goal just now really gave Su Dong inspiration.
When it comes to playing center forward, Su Dong is better than anyone else!
…
Rijkaard, like Benítez, is a head coach with very obvious strengths and weaknesses, but the two are completely opposite.
Benítez has very high tactical qualities and a very distinct tactical style. He knows exactly what he wants and is familiar with the tactics of various teams. Coupled with his personality, no matter what happens at any time, he can always come up with solutions with ease.
But this also brings another problem, that is, he is very demanding of his players and is not good at communication. Without Yestdam as a lubricant, he can't get along with anyone.
Rijkaard is the opposite. The Black Swan is a player himself. Although he has some football ideas of his own, he seldom restricts the players. Instead, he lets them play freely, especially the players in the frontcourt offense. He basically does not give any advice, but just points out how he wants to play in general, and lets the players figure out how to play themselves.
The advantage is that the individual role of the player is highlighted and becomes very important, and the personal performance will be outstanding, but the disadvantage is that when the team encounters trouble, he basically does not make any adjustments.
In other words, he couldn't come up with a good solution.
So, on weekdays, when you see him sitting on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed, don’t think he is sure to win. In fact, it is because he has no other options. Since he has no other options, he should just be open-minded and let the players worry about it! The same was true in the match against Juventus.
After the starting lineup is arranged, he basically doesn't take charge of anything. At most, he reminds the players on the sidelines. As for how to play on the field and how the players should perform, those are problems that the players should solve themselves.
Taking advantage of the restart, Su Dong found Ronaldinho and Iniesta and expressed his thoughts.
Soon, Su Dong's ideas were conveyed to the midfield and backcourt, and everyone including Deco, Xavi, Marcos, Puyol and others knew about it.
…
After the game resumed, Juventus began to hide.
This is also Capello's style.
Once you are ahead, just hide and let your opponent press forward to attack. First put yourself in an undefeated position, and then counterattack your opponent.
According to his theory, as long as I don't lose the ball, I won't lose! I have to say, Capello is the only one who can be so successful in this way!
But unfortunately, he didn't survive for long this time.
Unfortunately, the Barcelona he met also had a center forward who was even better than Ibrahimovic and had a more obvious tactical role.
"Su Dong!!!"
When an exclamation came from the live broadcast, Su Dong was standing outside the top of the penalty area, with his back to the direction of attack. He used his body to hold up Thuram and held up his chest to stop the long pass from Xavi in the midfield.
As soon as the ball landed, Su Dong immediately turned to the right, taking two small steps to the right with the ball, instantly attracting the attention of Thuram, Cannavaro, Emerson and Brasi around him.
When Juventus's defensive players in the midfield and backcourt paid attention, Su Dong suddenly made a short pass.
I saw a slippery and thin figure quickly rushing in from the ribs, receiving the pass from Su Dong, and then directly into the penalty area and rushing to Cannavaro's side.
Before Cannavaro turned around, Iniesta made a sideways pass with his right foot as he saw Zambrotta approaching.
The ball passed from behind Cannavaro and Thuram to the left side of the penalty spot.
Ronaldinho, who was just outside the penalty area, quickly entered the penalty area. When Iniesta's cross came in front of him, the Brazilian superstar shot the ball.
Even though Buffon is a world-class goalkeeper, and even though he reacted early and dived to the side, the Juventus goalkeeper was still powerless in the face of Ronaldinho's close shot.
One to one!
Ronaldinho jumped up with excitement and rushed to the sidelines to celebrate.
Su Dong and Iniesta also rushed over at the first moment.
Less than ten minutes after conceding the goal, Barcelona equalized the score!
…
When Su Dong returned to the center line and met Ibrahimovic again, the Swedish center had a gloomy face, but he himself was cheerful and smiling, and he even felt like he deserved a beating.
"Isn't it just scoring a goal? What's so difficult about it?"
Ibrahimovic almost went crazy!
(End of this chapter)
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