Chapter 385 Triple Crown

"Tony Kroos is seriously injured"

In a stand of Wembley Stadium, Diego Simeone and two assistants, Borges and Ortega, were sitting here.

The purpose of their trip was to inspect Southampton on site.

Liverpool is undoubtedly a very qualified touchstone. In this final, both sides gave their all, providing them with the opportunity to observe Southampton's strength up close.

Just opposite their stands, the Southampton first-team players who were not included in the match roster were all sitting together in suits, and it was easy to find Toni Kroos among them.

The young German player had a conspicuous white bandage on his left foot and looked quite depressed.

"I have been keeping an eye on him since I entered the stadium. He has not gotten up since he sat down. His teammates beside him bought him drinks and hamburgers. It seems that this is really inconvenient."

After all, Boggs was a goalkeeper, so his eyes were extraordinary. He could see the situation on the opposite side clearly even across the field.

Diego Simeone couldn't help laughing, "It's a good injury"

Now, he finally confirmed that Toni Kroos was indeed seriously injured.

There are only three days left until the Europa League final. Looking at Toni Kroos' current condition, even if he gets better tomorrow, it will be difficult for him to adjust to his current state before the Europa League final.

On the other hand, in this game, Southampton's defensive midfielder Matic performed very steadily, with good defense and organization, showing amazing strength. So from the perspective of the head coach, Bielsa has absolutely no reason not to use Matic.

"I'm afraid Liverpool's game is over," Diego Simeone shook his head and sighed.

Originally they were all hoping that Liverpool could have a bigger game than Southampton.

Unexpectedly, the Saints won without much difficulty.

Ortega nodded and said, "Southampton's three midfielders are extremely strong, with a wide coverage and full of layers."

After a pause, he began to analyze.

"Matic always lingers at the back, protecting the defense. He hardly moves forward. Strootman and Vidal are relatively free, confident in the defense behind them, covering the area from penalty area to penalty area, running back and forth very actively."

"Relatively speaking, Dalglish's tactical attainments have not kept up with the development of football tactics today."

Diego Simeone smiled and said, "He hasn't coached a top team for more than ten years. He is no longer able to keep up with the times."

Football tactics are developing rapidly. A tactic that was invincible last year may be completely suppressed by the opponent this year.

Just like Barcelona, ​​the extreme ball control tactics have made Barcelona a system of its own, and have raised Barcelona's youth training to an unprecedented level, and also brought Barcelona unprecedented glory.

But this is just the bright side.

But what about behind?

When the youth training cannot provide strong reinforcements, the new players introduced by Barcelona always need a long adaptation period, and some even cannot adapt at all.

Also, if this extreme tactic is restrained by the opponent, then congratulations, don't expect to turn things around in a short period of time.

When did Cruyff's dream collapse?

After losing 0-4 to Capello's AC Milan in the Champions League final.

In this battle, everyone found a way to restrain Barcelona's Dream Team.

The following year, Barcelona had just stepped out of the group stage when they were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the first round of the knockout stage.

It was also in this year that Barcelona lost 0-5 to Valdano's Real Madrid.

It was after that battle that Barcelona entered a dark and turbulent period. It was not until the new century, during the Rijkaard era, that the so-called Dream II was organized.

But there was a full ten years between the first and second phases of the Dream Team, and Barcelona had been adjusting and exploring all the time.

The style of the Dream II team was relatively diverse, but during the Guardiola era, Barcelona's style of play once again went to extremes, with a mad pursuit of ball control tactics, which were taken to the pinnacle.

But Diego Simeone had a feeling that Barcelona's tactics would soon fail.

On the one hand, there are certainly player factors, but on the other hand, more and more teams have found effective ways to restrain Barcelona.

For example, Mourinho's Inter Milan, Allegri's AC Milan, Wenger's Arsenal, etc., have all once restrained Barcelona's tactics. Although it did not last long, these are firmly remembered by professional coaches.

Never ignore the tactical research and analysis done by professional coaches who make a living.

In the field of professional coaches, there is never a shortage of obsessed lunatics like Bielsa and Benítez, who are obsessed with football 24 hours a day and constantly switch roles between restraint and counter-restraint.

This has promoted the rapid development of football tactics.

After leaving the coaching front line for a year or two, many head coaches inevitably find that their tactics are out of date when they return.

For someone like Dalglish who returned to coaching after retiring for more than a decade, his tactics are far behind the times.

"The simplest one is that Toni Kroos is injured, Matic comes on, Liverpool cannot play Spearing no matter what"

Ortega was very positive in his criticism of Dalglish's tactics.

“This is a stupid failure”

Simeone nodded and said: "Matic is staying back, Vidal and Strootman cover a large area, so we should put on a midfielder who can cruise in their three-man defense area, hold the ball, and pass the ball."

At this point, Simeone and Ortega looked at each other and nodded almost in unison: "Diego"

After they finished speaking, they both burst into laughter.

Atletico Madrid has such a player.

"Diego alone may not be enough, Turan and Adrian should both play"

With Simeone's outline, the midfield and frontcourt of Atletico Madrid's usual 4-2-3-1 tactics have been completed.

Falcao is the unshakable first choice striker

"The only trouble is the central defender," Ortega said worriedly.

After hearing this, Simeone frowned.

The most amazing thing about Southampton this season is their two center forwards, Ibrahimovic and Drogba.

These are the world's top centers.

It is very difficult for other teams to have one, but they have two at once.

These two centers were in incredibly good form in the past season.

Ibrahimovic scored a total of 43 goals in all competitions in the past season, and achieved success in all fronts except the English League Cup.

Drogba is not far behind. Including the two goals in this game, his total number of goals this season has reached 42.

The goal-scoring competition between the two ace center forwards has always been the most talked-about drama of Southampton in the past season.

Can Atletico Madrid's central defenders Godin and Miranda stop these two world-class center forwards?

"Then we'll follow the old rules. We'll start by stealing a goal from him, and then we'll defend."

This is also Simeone's most common trick

Atletico Madrid's outstanding performance is not due to the team's superior strength, but due to its pressing and defense

Ortega also nodded, "This is the only way"

Who said I am not as strong as my opponent?

No one expected that after Kuyt came on in the 55th minute, Dalglish seemed to have given up the game.

It was not until the 88th minute that he made his second and third substitutions.

But at this time, the end of the game was very close.

Liverpool lost the FA Cup with a score of 0-3.

When the referee Dodd blew the whistle to end the game, the whole Wembley Stadium was boiling.

All the Saints fans rushed out of their seats and cheered at the top of their lungs towards the stadium.

At this moment, the same thing must be happening in front of countless televisions.

Not just in the UK, but in Europe and around the world

"Let us congratulate Southampton for successfully defending the FA Cup title"

"This is the most amazing feat in the history of English football. They won the FA Cup in two consecutive seasons as a third-tier and second-tier league team."

"What's even more amazing is that this team also won the League Cup and the Championship this season."

"Although it is not very appropriate to say this, I personally feel that Southampton deserves the title of the treble"

"Especially considering that Southampton also reached the Europa League final this season, if they win the Europa League, they will complete a Grand Slam. They will not only create a new history in English football, but also open up a new history in European football."

"This is Southampton's manager, the Argentine madman, Marcelo Bielsa"

"During his two seasons as coach of Southampton, he injected the blood of crazy offensive football into this team on the south coast of England. He brought an amazing and gorgeous football feast to Southampton."

"We have every reason to believe that the next season of the Premier League will become even more exciting and more suspenseful because of the emergence of Southampton."

Football games are so cruel

Everyone, all eyes, are on the winner

No one cares about the cries and tears of losers. They leave the court sadly.

All Southampton players, led by captain Neuer, walked to the bottom of the stands where the fans were, thanking the fans for making the special trip north with the team to cheer for the team.

At this time, Saints fans suddenly put up a long banner in the stands, covering most of the second-tier stands of Wembley Stadium.

The banner is printed with anthropomorphic cartoon images of the four trophies: the English League Cup, the English Championship, the FA Cup and the Europa League.

What’s interesting is that the cartoon characters of the first three championship trophies have all put on Southampton’s iconic jerseys, lined up in neat rows, and walked forward holding Southampton’s team flags high.

On the other side, a naked cartoon of the Europa League trophy was covering its vital parts and running over quickly, as if it was about to join Southampton's team.

The whole banner is vividly painted, very realistic and interesting.

There is also a sentence below, "Please pay attention, it is running towards us very quickly"

This action of the fans in the stands immediately caused everyone in the audience to burst into laughter.

Especially the players in the stadium, they all gave thumbs up to the fans in the stands.

Not surprisingly, this huge banner was created by the Saints Harry Fans Club

At the scene, spotlights flashed frequently. Some were from the cameras in the hands of reporters, while others were from the mobile phones and tablets in the hands of fans. Without exception, they all wanted to remember this impressive scene.

At this time, the sound of drums began to sound, becoming heavier and louder.

Next, the fans of Saints Harry's Supporters Club began to sing the Southampton team song in unison.

At first, then they were singing.

But gradually, more and more people joined the chorus.

In the end, even the players and Southampton executives on the podium stood up one by one and joined the chorus.

At this moment, football is no longer just football