Chapter 422 The Value of Su Dong
Regarding Barcelona's decline this season, Cruyff pointed out the crux of the problem in his post-match column, and believed that there were two main aspects.
On the tactical level, Barcelona's three lines are a bit too stretched this season, which has weakened the team's control. In addition, except for Sudon and Marcos Senna, only Giuly and Iniesta are more active in counter-attacking. The data of Ronaldinho, Deco and Xavi are much weaker than the same period last season.
You know, last season Deco was the player with the most eye-catching defensive statistics in Barcelona, but this season it is obviously not the case.
The players did not actively engage in counter-attacks, which in turn proved that the condition of several players had indeed declined.
Especially Ronaldinho, his performance this season has been somewhat unsatisfactory.
Head coach Rijkaard is different from Cruyff. He is unwilling to criticize Ronaldinho and Deco in public, even when the media asked him face to face whether he knew that Ronaldinho went to a nightclub with Deco after returning from London?
Rijkaard said it was normal for players to decline in form and he believed that the players had the ability to self-regulate.
Although there was no public criticism, everyone was surprised to find that Ronaldinho and Deco were not on the 18-man squad for the away game against Real Betis.
These two players were neither injured nor suspended, so why were they not in the squad? Rijkaard explained that he thought the two players were too tired and needed a rest.
"Then why is Su Dong, who has more playing time and is younger, on the roster?" the media reporter continued to ask.
They just wanted to force Rijkaard to tell them some truths that everyone knew but had not been confirmed.
But Rijkaard just refused to say.
"Su Dong's situation is different. He has been the team's most important core player for the past two seasons. Needless to say, he has scored eight goals in four games this season. He has almost scored most of the team's goals. He is the team's best player and the key to the team's victory."
No matter how the media pressed the issue, Rijkaard refused to say anything that was unfavorable to the players, in order to save Ronaldinho's face. But in the Barcelona locker room, everyone knew that Ten Cate had evidence to accuse Ronaldinho and Deco of going to a nightclub to party before the game.
Ronaldinho and Deco also apologized in the locker room and accepted Rijkaard's punishment.
…………
…………
In the away game against Real Betis, Barcelona not only lost Ronaldinho and Deco, but also Sudon and Marcos Senna in the starting lineup. This was mainly to prepare for the Champions League group match in the middle of the week.
Although they were playing away from home and had lost four main players, Barcelona still launched a fierce attack from the very beginning and even almost broke through Real Betis' goal at one point.
In the tenth minute, the Real Betis defender fouled Larsson in the penalty area and was awarded a penalty by the referee.
Larsson took the penalty kick himself, but he focused too much on the angle and hit the ball directly onto the post.
In the 20th minute, Xavi used a free kick from the right to assist Van Bommel with a header in the penalty area, scoring the first goal for Barcelona.
Afterwards, Real Betis launched a crazy counterattack, but in the 36th minute, Barcelona received a wonderful pass from Giuly and Larsson missed another chance to score.
And this time Barcelona was punished.
Assuncao assisted with a free kick, and Juanito headed the ball into the goal to equalize the score.
After that, no matter how Barcelona attacked, Rijkaard even replaced Edmilson with Iniesta in the 46th minute, letting Van Bommel play as a defensive midfielder, with Iniesta and Xavi partnering in midfield.
As a result, the game still did not improve.
In the 65th minute, Rijkaard finally lost his patience and replaced Larsson with Su Dong.
It only took Su Dong three minutes to make everyone see his value.
…
"Barca were passing the ball back and forth on the perimeter."
"Xavi passed the ball to Giuly, who tried to break through but failed and passed it back."
"Iniesta gets the ball and carries it forward."
"Send a straight pass!"
"pretty!"
"Su Dong used his body to push Rivas away, stopped the ball and rushed into the left side of the penalty area at a very fast speed!"
"Just shoot with your left foot!"
“The ball goes in!!!”
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Just three minutes into the game, Su Dong scored against Real Betis with a brilliant shot."
“Two to one!”
"We can clearly see from the slow-motion replay that Iniesta's pass, Sudon's stop and turn, and quick start were so fast and so good that Rivas couldn't even stop it."
"After dribbling the ball into the left side of the penalty area, Su Dong shot directly with his left foot."
“He’s very proficient with both his left and right feet!”
"Barça once again took the lead."
"The absence of Ronaldinho and Deco is not a big deal. As long as Suarez is there, Barcelona's goals are guaranteed."
…
Rijkaard quickly made his final substitution of the game.
Messi replaced Giuly.
This is also to save strength for the Champions League group match in the middle of the week. Giuly's performance this season is still very good.
No one expected that Messi changed the course of the game again, and in an even more beautiful way, after only three minutes on the pitch.
Xavi suddenly made a diagonal pass outside the 30-meter area and sent the ball to the right.
Messi got the first chance and headed the ball directly to Iniesta who was coming from behind.
Xiaobai didn't wait for the ball to land, he pushed it directly into the penalty area.
Su Dong, who had already reached the position, caught up with Iniesta's pass and shot with his right foot without stopping the ball.
The ball passed through the goalkeeper's lower right corner and went into the Real Betis goal behind him again.
Three to one!
Su Dong scored twice!
But what is even more amazing is that this ball, from Xavi's long pass to Su Dong's goal, never touched the ground from beginning to end.
After the goal, Su Dong, Messi and Iniesta hugged each other on the sidelines.
The three of them often play this kind of cooperation in training or indoor football games, but this is the first time in the game, so they are very excited.
The most difficult and also the most entertaining thing about this goal is that it did not land.
If it doesn’t land, the opponent won’t be able to defend!
…
After leading 3-1, everyone thought the game would be over.
But what was unexpected was that at the last moment of the game, when Su Dong symbolically pressed the ball, Assuncao made a mistake when passing the ball back to the goalkeeper. Messi seized the opportunity, dribbled past the goalkeeper and shot into the empty goal.
The young Argentine player ran all over the field in excitement and was almost beaten.
In the end, Barcelona defeated Real Betis 4-1 away.
…………
…………
After the game, Mundo Deportivo regarded Sudong's coming on as the key turning point in Barcelona's away victory over Real Betis, believing that the team could do without Ronaldinho, Deco, or even anyone else, but not Sudong.
"Having scored ten goals in five games, this 21-year-old Chinese superstar has reached a terrifying level!"
"He has become one of the great stars with his amazing performance!"
Mundo Deportivo believes that with Su Dong's current performance, there will be no suspense about this year's FIFA World Footballer of the Year Ballon d'Or.
However, while defeating their opponents, Barcelona's defense once again caused concern.
Marcos Senna was rotated, Edmilson played as the defensive midfielder, Van Bommel and Xavi pushed forward, but the Brazilian players did not perform at a satisfactory level, which is why Rijkaard replaced him with Iniesta at halftime.
In addition, the combination of Van Bommel and Xavi also did not work.
In Rijkaard's first season as Barcelona coach, he established a midfield iron triangle, with Cocu falling behind and Davis and Xavi in the middle. This midfield helped Barcelona catch up in the second half, and it is also what Rijkaard has been maintaining.
But now it seems that Van Bommel is not capable of playing the role of Davis, and Edmilson is not Cocu.
On the contrary, after Iniesta came on the pitch, Barcelona's offensive organization improved significantly in the second half, which led to many media outlets, including Daily Sports, calling for Iniesta to be promoted to the starting lineup after the game.
Su Dong also publicly expressed his support for Iniesta in an interview, "I think he is capable of taking on more responsibilities. He is an incredible player. I have a very good understanding and a great pleasure in cooperating with him."
Regarding Ronaldinho and Deco, Su Dong said that the two were not punished by the head coach with internal suspension as the outside world said, but were resting.
"This is an arrangement we have already made. From mid-August to now, we have been playing almost all the time, even two games a week. The physical consumption is very large, so sometimes we need to rotate and rest. This time it is Ronaldinho and Deco's turn, which is also normal. Next time it will be my turn."
Regarding the absence of two teammates, Su Dong said that it definitely had an impact on the team's performance, but other players made up for the shortcomings well.
"Xavi was always there, and Iniesta and Messi were also very commendable players. They made me feel at ease. It was definitely a little different without Ronaldinho and Deco, but I think they did a great job."
On the contrary, Su Dong did not comment on Esquero, who played the whole game as a winger, mainly because his performance was not outstanding. What should Su Dong say? As if to prove that there was indeed no problem as the outside world said, Barcelona's official website quickly released some training photos of Barcelona preparing for the Champions League group stage. In the photos, Su Dong, Ronaldinho and Deco were playing games and joking on the field. In particular, the scene of Su Dong and Ronaldinho arm in arm was enough to make people believe that there was no conflict between the two of them.
The Brazilian superstar doesn't seem to have any signs of being banned or suspended, and all signs seem to prove that it is just an ordinary rotation.
…
Rijkaard seemed to have heard Su Dong's call, and he did make adjustments in the Champions League group match against Udinese at home in the middle of the week.
Iniesta and Messi start at the same time! Ronaldinho also returns to the starting lineup!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
