Chapter 333: Provocation from Ibrahimovic
After two weeks, La Liga resumed the battle and ushered in the seventh round.
Barcelona will challenge their city rivals Espanyol away, while Real Madrid will challenge Real Betis away.
The Galacticos, who played the game two hours earlier, drew 1-1 with Real Betis away from home and still failed to get rid of the current predicament. Barcelona, on the other hand, won a narrow 1-0 away victory over Espanyol with Sudong assisting Deco to score a goal in the ninth minute.
Although it is a derby match, it is not important compared to the Champions League group focus match against Juventus in the middle of the week.
Whether it was Su Dong or Ronaldinho, they both played leisurely and did not try their best.
Perhaps affected by the Champions League match in the middle of the week, Valencia lost 1-2 to Sevilla at home in this round.
This has led to Barcelona currently winning seven games in a row and getting 21 points, ranking first in La Liga, while Valencia, which is in second place, has only 14 points, seven points behind Barcelona.
I have to say, this is already a pretty big gap.
As for the Galacticos Real Madrid, they are ranked eleventh in the standings with ten points, and there is no sign of bottoming out and rebounding for the time being.
…
As Barcelona's strongest opponent in the Champions League group stage, Juventus beat Messina 2-1 at home in this round of Serie A. Capello's team ranks first in Serie A with five wins and one draw this season, three points ahead of second-placed AC Milan.
It is worth mentioning that, including the two games in the Champions League group stage, Juventus only won by one goal in five of the eight official games this season, two of which were 3-0 wins against Brescia and Sampdoria respectively, and one was 1-1.
This also makes many people wonder about Capello's coaching.
It's not possible that every game is so lucky that they can win by just one goal, right? After the game against Messina, Juventus's generals and coaches were interviewed by the media and were full of confidence in the home game in the middle of the week, saying that Juventus would beat the opponent at home and establish a leading advantage in the group stage.
"I watched their derby against Espanyol yesterday. It was obvious that Sudon and Ronaldinho were holding back their strength, obviously preparing for the Champions League in the middle of the week. This is enough to prove that they are worried and afraid of us."
Capello spoke highly of Barcelona's strength, especially the offensive football the team has played this season, but he still believes that the odds are 50-50 against Juventus.
"Barcelona has the kind of superstars who can score goals for them at any time. After Su Dong's arrival, Barcelona's frontcourt offensive means and scoring efficiency have been greatly improved, which makes their offense more threatening. Compared with before, Barcelona is now a more dangerous opponent."
"However, we are in very good shape and have been preparing for this match for a long time. I think we will play a wonderful game at home."
Perhaps feeling that the words of head coach Capello were not strong enough, captain Piero said in an interview with the media that Barcelona's visit to Turin did not bring any shock to them.
"Yes, we are about to meet the most aggressive team in Europe this season, but that doesn't matter. We just need to knock them out like we did two years ago. Don't forget, we won at the Camp Nou!"
Del Piero said that this season Juventus has strengthened its lineup and its overall strength has made a leap forward. "I believe we can become the protagonist of the Champions League!"
Ibrahimovic, the Swedish center forward who has performed well in Serie A this season, has shown a very strong desire to win. He said he was excited about the upcoming match against Su Dong.
"In the national team match not long ago, I have entrusted Larsson to help me pass a message to Su Dong. I will score a goal in the game and I hope he will not let me down."
“I think this game comes at the right time. We really need a game like this to motivate everyone!”
After two rounds of group matches, both teams won two consecutive games.
In the next third and fourth rounds, the teams will play home and away games, which will inevitably become the key battles for the group stage ranking. Whoever can win these two key matches will be able to gain an advantage in the group ranking.
…………
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With the crucial decisive battle approaching, unfavorable news comes one after another.
The derby between Barcelona and Espanyol has always been exciting. In the two derby matches last season, the referee issued twelve and six yellow cards respectively, which was astonishing. This is why Rijkaard repeatedly reminded the players to be careful before the game.
He would rather lose the derby in the end and just hopes that the players can fully participate in the crucial battle against Juventus.
But the bad news continues.
During the two-week national team match, Brazilian midfielder Edmilson injured his ligament and will be out for at least half a year, which made the situation even worse for Barcelona, which was already full of injuries.
In the match against Espanyol, captain Puyol collided with his opponent Morales and suffered a severe impact on his left knee. He is likely to miss the Turin battle.
Ronaldinho's ankle has not fully recovered yet, and he played two consecutive national team games before...
What's worse is that French winger Giuly was sitting on the bench in the match against Espanyol. However, when he was examined the next day after the game, it was discovered that his injury in the national team had worsened and he could not play against Juventus.
Coupled with the previous chronic illness, this made it even more difficult for Barcelona's first team, and the lineup was also stretched.
The most important thing is the right winger.
…
Su Dong sat in Rijkaard's office, listening to Black Swan and Ten Cate introducing the team's current situation.
The reason why I wanted to talk to him privately was that Ronaldinho was not in good shape when playing against Espanyol.
This is not surprising. Who can be in good shape after traveling long distances continuously? It can be said that the two-week national team match day seriously interrupted the overall state of Barcelona and its players, and even caused injuries.
"According to the feedback from the team doctor, Ronaldinho and Puyol are very likely to participate in the game, and we will also include them in the squad for the trip to Turin," Rijkaard introduced.
Su Dong nodded, this was what he should have expected.
Both players are very important to Barcelona.
"The biggest problem now is the right side. Giuly definitely can't play, so we don't have many good options. We can either let Larsson go to the wing. He is a scorer and has no breakthrough ability on the wing. If he goes to the wing, the attack on the right side can only rely on Belletti, and the defense behind him will be a big problem." Ten Cate analyzed.
Barcelona is the same as Real Madrid in its essence, both of them advocate offensive football.
"Another option is young players, Iniesta and Messi. They both played against Espanyol. You saw their performance. What do you think personally?" Ten Cate asked with concern.
As the team's number one center forward, when Ronaldinho is not in good form, Su Dong is the team's backbone.
Consulting his opinions and finding a partner that suits him is what the head coach should do.
It's all about winning, isn't it? Su Dong didn't answer immediately, but thought about it carefully for a while before looking at the two coaches in front of him.
"If I'm not mistaken, Juventus' defense line from left to right should be Zambrotta, Cannavaro, Thuram and Zebina." Su Dong was also paying attention to Juventus' movements.
Cannavaro and Zebina were both introduced this season. The former became the main player right after his arrival, while Thuram switched to central defender and partnered with Cannavaro. As a result, the two of them were unstoppable. Zebina played as right back in order to keep a close eye on Ronaldinho.
"In this case, Messi is not suitable to start. He can't compete with Zambrotta for the time being, but he is suitable to be a substitute and a surprise player in the second half."
Messi's physical confrontation is still too weak. Although he has been training with Su Dong for a period of time and has made considerable progress, he is limited by his original physical condition and the fact that he is weak. His physical progress is not particularly obvious. It can only be said that he is making slow progress.
Su Dong has asked Professor Lacasco to prepare a nutritional diet for Messi. He must help this little brother get his body in shape no matter what. Otherwise, he will always look sickly. How can he play football?
Rijkaard and Ten Cate were both a little surprised because they had heard that Su Dong and Messi had a close relationship.
In fact, they originally wanted to ask Su Dong's opinion, and they were already prepared to persuade Su Dong to make Messi a substitute.
But I didn’t expect that Su Dong would bring it up himself.
"Between Larsson and Iniesta, I would suggest Iniesta."
"Why?" Rijkaard asked with interest.
"Iniesta is not fast, but he has good breakthrough ability, handles the ball well, and has a wide range of movement. He can cooperate with me, Deco, Xavi, or Belletti who comes from behind."
Tenkat nodded, glanced at Jaccard, and said, "But his offensive threat is much worse than Larsson's."
"Facing a team like Juventus, creating opportunities is more important than scoring!" Su Dong expressed his opinion.
…
After leaving Rijkaard's office, Su Dong didn't know what choice the head coach would make in the end.
Is it Iniesta who has a better ability to create opportunities?
Or Larson who has better scoring ability?
"Hey, Sue!"
When he walked to the corridor, he could hear Messi and Iniesta calling him from the indoor football field from afar.
Just now the three of them were a team, but after Su Dong was called away, they were left with one person missing.
Su Dong walked over, holding one with one hand, and pulled Iniesta and Messi to his side.
"Work harder in training today and tomorrow!" Su Dong patted their shoulders and reminded them.
Iniesta and Messi are very smart people. They understood Su Dong's meaning immediately. They also knew that it must be Su Dong who spoke for them in front of the head coach, so they nodded continuously.
When he looked at Su Dong again, his eyes were full of gratitude.
No matter how well you play and how well you get along with each other on weekdays, it is not as important as helping each other at the critical moment!
(End of this chapter)
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