Chapter 346 The red star shines on Istanbul!
·
Ge Lei Sen Gu Dong
Chapter 346 The red star shines on Istanbul!
On June 6, Rome was assembled and flew to Istanbul.
Going there 5 days in advance is also to allow the team to fully adapt to the local weather and venue, and to gradually adjust both physically and psychologically to the final state.
Speaking of Istanbul and the Champions League final, it may be known to everyone, and everyone knows it.
Atatürk Olympic Stadium, named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of Turkey, was completed in 2002. It was rated as a five-star stadium by UEFA in 2004 and opened in 2005. In [-], the first competition after its completion was ushered in - the Champions League final of that year.
On May 5 of that year, Liverpool and AC Milan, also from England and Italy, met here. Needless to say, the game experience created by the two teams is destined to be recorded in history forever.
It's just that I didn't expect that after 18 years, two teams from Italy and England would meet here.
There is also a coincidence in this.
Roma's away jersey this season is a red letter on a white background, which is the same as Liverpool's away jersey that year, while Manchester City's away jersey this season is a combination of red and black diagonal stripes, which is engraved from the ancient jersey of AC Milan.
In the 1960s, the then Manchester City coach Malcolm Alisson took the initiative to change the team's jersey to red and black in order to let the team follow the example of AC Milan at the time. After that, Manchester City won consecutive top league championships. , FA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup and other awards ushered in the club's first golden period.
而在2011-12那个著名的”9320“赛季，阿圭罗在下半场补时第93分20秒绝杀女王公园巡游者、帮助曼城夺得英超首冠，那个赛季球队的客场球衣同样是红黑间条衫。
Therefore, the purpose of Manchester City using such an away jersey this season is self-evident.
In addition to the jersey, there is also the successor. Everyone knows that Chen Xiaoliang started his career under Gerrard's command, but obviously the fans of the two sides have completely different ideas. The fans of Rome naturally hope that Chen Xiaoliang will copy Gerrard and lead the team to beat the strong enemy. Epic performance, while Manchester City fans hope that Chen Xiaoliang will put on skateboard shoes in the game, copying Gerrard's famous slip and fall scene...
Just one day after Rome arrived in Istanbul, Manchester City also flew over. Like Rome, the Blue Moon team has a neat lineup and no injuries. This also increases the possibility of Guardiola deploying troops. , but it also added a lot of difficulty to Rome's preparations.
For Guardiola, who is used to working hard in big competitions and likes to win by surprise, Mourinho and his team really can't guess what kind of starter and what kind of formation the opponent will send.
But the method is always more difficult than the difficulty. Since you can't guess it, then use enough preparation time to rehearse all the possibilities.
Even the plan for tactical drills took into account different scores leading or falling behind.
For example, how to play when leading 1-0, and how to play when 2-0. At this time, Manchester City will definitely reduce ball possession appropriately and increase the frequency of direct attacks.
And when one or two goals are behind, Manchester City will definitely use the ball to pass the time and reduce the number of times Roma may attack. How to play at this time is also the key subject of the Roma team's drills in the past two weeks or so. .
In the training ground and meeting room, Mourinho repeatedly conveyed a mentality to the players, which is to be pragmatic.
The value of Manchester City is double that of Roma. The front, middle, back and even the goalkeeper are all world-class players. From the perspective of team self-confidence, and competition training, Guardiola, who has coached Manchester City for many years, has obviously shaped a new spiritual core for this club.
Facing such opponents, the players must lower their stance, forget about their Serie A champions, those opponents who were killed in the league by chopping melons and vegetables, and those famous scenes spread by fans. They will fight against the next decisive battle. It doesn't matter half a dime.
Roma’s ball possession rate in the game is bound to be significantly lower than that of Manchester City. In more cases, players need to defend according to the rhythm of Manchester City. At this time, it is very important for the mentality. It is necessary to keep the lineup compact and judge the ball transmission. Direction, keep your attention on the movement of players without the ball.
And Chen Xiaoliang also told the players in the locker room that he will do everything to defend with everyone, break Manchester City's midfield control, and hope that everyone will stick to the word "persist" under any circumstances.
Only when you succumb to the word "failure" is the real failure.
The day before the game, Mourinho was the first to accept the interview at the routine press conference, and Chen Xiaoliang was dragged by him to participate.
The name Guardiola has always been a topic he can't get around, even if he wants to avoid it, the reporter will not let him go.
Facing this former companion, later old enemy, and now an opponent who is more like a stranger, Mourinho obviously has not forgotten the past.
After all, the last time the two met two and a half years ago, Manchester City beat Tottenham 3-0 at home.
And that season, Guardiola led the team to win the Premier League championship, and Tottenham only ranked seventh in the league. Mourinho was swept out by Levi before the League Cup final, and Tottenham became the only team he failed to win the championship. .
Mourinho: "I don't know what he thinks, but tomorrow night is not the two of us, or at least, not just the two of us."
"He knows me well, if he's going to be honest, and I know him well."
"He's definitely going to say something that doesn't matter before the game, and then he's doing everything behind his back trying to beat me."
"I believe that tomorrow night will be very special for him. After he came to Manchester City, he spent more than 10 billion pounds to buy people. Someone calculated that even if the net expenditure was more than 7 million pounds, so I wonder why he has been buying people. So far they have not been able to lead Manchester City to the Champions League."
At this time, a Times reporter asked: "But statistics show that in your entire career, you spent a total of 17.5 billion euros and bought 108 players, while Guardiola spent 16.1 billion and bought 67 players in total. , but he won two more championships than you..."
Mourinho's face changed instantly. He didn't expect that the reporter came prepared and deliberately followed his words to find fault.
After pausing, smiling confidently, and unscrewing the water bottle to drink tactically, he immediately counterattacked: "I started my first job as a head coach in September 2000, and I have stayed at 9 clubs, including Chelsea. Twice, in addition to the giants, there are also Portuguese clubs like Leiria that you may not have heard of."
"As you all know, I came up from translation step by step. Not everyone is like him. The first team he coached with a golden key in his mouth had Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Espresso. Too."
"As you said just now, I have been coaching for 23 years, and he has been coaching for 15 years. I am only more than 1 million euros more than him. This includes the Barcelona team. Who can't win the championship if they go to such a team? Look Vilanova, of course, I will not be disrespectful to the deceased. You can also look at Luis Enrique and see what he brought with Rome and the Spanish national team. Four words, nothing, but such You can still win all the trophies at Barcelona."
"And Bayern, I remember Heynckes left him a treble, the result? Did he lead Bayern to win the Champions League?"
"You are good at statistics, so you can do the math. If he coached for 23 years like me, how much would he spend? How much did each championship cost?"
Facing the head coach's crazy shooting, Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help laughing on the sidelines. Even when the Portuguese was obviously angry, he reached out and patted Mourinho on the back, and after Mourinho's cannonball finished Afterwards, he took over the press conference and answered some preparations in a calm and steady manner, but he still didn't mention a word about the transfer.
Half an hour later, Guardiola walked in.
Faced with the reporter's confidence in winning the championship, this should be the third time he has thrown out his consistent "Jordan theory" this year, which means that Michael Jordan, one of his idols, has not been in every season throughout his career. Can win the championship, the important thing is to continue to attack the championship and ensure that there is always the strength to win the championship.
This is obviously decompressing the team, and is actively lowering the expectations of the outside world. After all, in the football circle, there has always been a saying that "everything will die". Since he took over Manchester City, Manchester City has ranked first in the odds of the Champions League every year. But every year is not satisfactory and can't reach the top.
The next step was to respond to Mourinho's ferocious firing. Guardiola didn't say much:
"Jose Mourinho, he's always been a winner, of course, in a press conference, I've never seen anyone beat him on this occasion, even if he just led the team to a big defeat, It’s also possible to make people think that the person who won the big victory at the press conference is actually him.”
"I don't have much to say about him, he's always trying to irritate me, just like he has irritated other opponents in the past, but no matter what he says, we will still play our own football according to our own plan."
"There can only be one final winner, let's see you after the game."
Guardiola is obviously more interested in Chen Xiaoliang than a few words to Mourinho. He praised Chen Xiaoliang without hesitation, calling him an unprecedented super genius, and even exaggerated to say:
"I even sometimes feel that there seems to be some device on his body that can make him improve with a single click. In short, his growth is incredible."
"When we usually praise other talents, we will say that this person was born for football, but I started to pay attention to him from the second half of his time in Glasgow. The three years of competition made me feel as if football was invented 100 years ago. For many years, it was just waiting for him to appear, football was born for him."
"Maybe you will think it is exaggerated, but I used to be a good midfielder. What he showed in the game is definitely not something that a person on earth can do, just like we called Ronaldo an alien back then. His future will be brighter than that of anyone who came before."
It was the reporter from the Times just now, who obviously didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, and asked a tricky question: "Do you mean that without Chen Xiaoliang, it would be impossible for Mourinho to achieve such success in Rome?" ? After all, half an hour ago he said that your success at Barcelona was all due to the talent."
Guardiola smiled and said: "He is right, if I have received so much compensation after being fired in my life, I don't have to worry about not being able to find a job, and I can say whatever I want .”
Then get up and leave.
This air-to-air confrontation completely blew up the atmosphere of the final on the afternoon before the match.
Unlike the ten-minute interview between the two, fans from all over the world, birds and melons from all over the world, Roma fans and Manchester City fans, and even Serie A fans and Premier League fans quarreled fiercely on countless web pages, forums, and social groups.
Soon, Chelsea fans and Barcelona fans started a friendly discussion about the "Stamford Bridge tragedy" and greeted each other's family members. Even Beckham fans and Maldini fans quarreled, saying which country's A handsome guy is responsible for a man's appearance...
The whole world started to make noise because of this game.
The night before the game, Chen Xiaoliang finally sorted out the system. In the last round of the league, he shot two passes and was elected the best player in the game. He got 14 training points (0 → 14) and 2 physical recovery cards (3 → 5) and 3 breakout points (7 → 10).
并且这18天内抛开比赛和旅途、16天的训练、加练、包括使用体力恢复卡的个人加练，一共为他又攒下了66点训练值（14→80）（体力恢复卡5→3）。
为了凑整到80也是想在赛前再多提升一点盘带（16→17）（训练值80→0）。
On the afternoon of June 2023, 6, the final was quietly approaching.
Istanbul has become the busiest city in Europe. According to official statistics, 30 people flocked to this thousand-year-old city because of the final.
They are distributed in various squares, parks, bars, and pedestrian streets in the city, waving flags, blowing plastic horns, and even fighting with the opponent's fans in the street after getting drunk.
Near the Ataturk Stadium, the roads were even more impenetrable, and the buses of the two teams had to rely on the local police to clear the main road in advance to enter the stadium.
Countless people waited on the sidelines to see if they could get a ticket or two that they could afford.
When getting off the bus, the reporters on both sides began to flash their flashing lights, and the club customized the top luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli for each team member in advance.
Of course, this is the business agent Pinto was talking about. He is not generous enough to spend the club's money to buy a set of clothes worth 3 euros for each team member.
As the birthplace of the Renaissance, Italians are far more accomplished in fashion and art than football. The players in Rome got off the bus one by one, which immediately made many female reporters stare wide-eyed.
Some reporters even said on social media that before the game started, Roma had already led 1-0 in terms of temperament and appearance.
When they came to the locker room, everyone put on the final jersey with the Champions League trophy and final characters printed on the chest, and then stepped on the court to warm up before the fans entered.
Chen Xiaoliang was jogging, stretching, and doing simple laps with the team members while observing everyone.
The teenagers Perrone and Volpato, who were not on the starting list, were so nervous that their limbs became stiff, and their movements were extremely uncoordinated like robots. This did not surprise him. ,
Kva and Celik, who started the game, were also a little nervous, especially Celik, who has already won Ligue [-] and Serie A championships, but facing the Champions League final, he still couldn't restrain his excitement.
Chen Xiaoliang himself was also very excited. After all, this is the highest stage for professional players at the club level. He kept feeding the players with stiff movements, said some relaxing jokes, and even took the initiative to press their shoulders and arms to make them try their best. relax.
At this time, Dybala, Spinazzola, Patricio, Matic and other veterans who have won the World Cup, European Cup or major championships began to play a significant role in stabilizing the morale of the army. They helped Chen Xiaoliang Drive other teammates into the state together, don't care about the success or failure of the final, and try to mobilize the best state.
Finally, it was the locker room talk.
Mourinho delivered one of the most cherished locker room speeches in his career:
"I am 60 years old, and the oldest among you is only 35 years old. Most of the rest are 25 or 26 years old, and even your captain is only 19 years old."
"You all have unlimited futures, unlike me, who is already an old man, but believe me, an opportunity like today may only come once in a lifetime, those giants have almost won the championship of this tournament, we can go here It's really not easy."
"I'm not telling you how important victory is, but I want to tell you how important it is to have no regrets in life."
"I have looked back at my career countless times, and maybe you are the same. Every time I look back, I always find something, and then tell myself that if I did this or that at that time, the result might be different."
"But believe me, I haven't looked back once and said to myself, if only we had been better then, it would have been fine."
"People don't regret what they have done their best, they only regret that they didn't try their best. I don't want you to look back on today in ten or 20 years from now."
"Remember, this game tonight is the same as all the games you have experienced before. It is a life-and-death battle, but tonight is a little more cruel, so don't think about being a good guy. A good guy won't win anything in the end. "
"The group of people on the opposite side will not show mercy to you. They will do everything possible to destroy your will. If you want to win, you must be a bastard!"
"Finally, what has to be said and done, we have said and done this season, we are ready for everything, and then, lads, good luck!"
Chen Xiaoliang didn't say anything else, he just stood up and waved his hands, all the team members formed a circle, just like when he first arrived in Rome and brought the slogan of the villain from Glasgow:
Chen Xiaoliang: "Manchester City!"
Everyone: "Go to Tamma!"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Manchester City!"
Everyone: "Go to Tamma!"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Rome!"
Everyone: "Champion! Champion!!! Champion!!!"
After shouting, Chen Xiaoliang walked to the door of the locker room, looked back at everyone, nodded, and turned to open the door.
Foti handed over a team flag to Chen Xiaoliang, and he led the players out of the locker room. After a corner, they came to the player tunnel, where Manchester City players were already waiting.
Surprisingly, there is Guardiola.
The Spaniard stood at the end of the team, deliberately keeping a distance from his players, as if he didn't want to put pressure on the players, and he seemed to be waiting for someone.
The answer was soon revealed. Seeing Chen Xiaoliang coming out, Guardiola took the initiative to come over and extended his right hand to him.
Chen Xiaoliang was taken aback for a moment, and then immediately recovered.
He didn't deliberately pretend not to see it, and walked over without hesitation, but didn't extend his hand.
Guardiola was obviously not surprised: "Just shake hands and get to know each other in advance."
Chen Xiaoliang didn't look back, he saw the players of Manchester City looking back at this time.
He said loudly: "Handshake is fine, when I celebrate my victory after the game!"
After saying this, many Manchester City players couldn't help laughing at their head coach's hot face and cold butt.
After passing the end of the Manchester City team, Harland, who was shaking his feet and flexing his muscles, turned his head, folded Chen Xiaoliang with a silly smile, and then he stood on the right and stretched out his left hand.
This time Chen Xiaoliang didn't refuse, and stretched out his right hand to shake hands with him.
Both of them used strength when shaking hands, the kind of strength that would not hurt each other but was enough to express determination.
Once together, they share and then look at each other and smile.
In front of Harland, Chen Xiaoliang looked at every Manchester City player, followed by Grealish, Mahrez, Stones, Kyle Walker, Ake, Akanji, Dias, Rodri, Ed Sen, and the team's vice-captain at the front, De Bruyne, who served as the captain of today's field.
De Bruyne, standing at the front, remained motionless, as if in air defense, as if he hadn't noticed the Roma players coming over.
Soon, the fourth official signaled for both to enter the field, and then under the sound of the huge microphone broadcast on the field and the burst of cheers from the fans in the field, 22 people from both sides entered the field one by one!
The huge Champions League LOGO is covered in the middle circle, and more than 20 caddies stand evenly while holding one hand.
The starting lists and formations of the two sides were displayed on the screen, and the broadcast teams sent to the scene from more than 30 countries delivered the commentary in various languages to about 9 million people through TV and Internet signals.
In the real-time data released by UEFA, more than 1.5 million people watched the game in the early morning on the various official platforms of the Red Country alone, and the 12% ratings have also become 26% of the Red Country's Spring Festival Gala in recent years. The highest ratings after a live broadcast.
Zhan Jun: "The highly anticipated 2022-23 UEFA Champions League final is about to begin!"
"The two sides formed their usual formations today when facing major competitions this season!"
"Roma did not adopt a five-back formation as some media predicted. Mourinho still adopted the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been used the most this season!"
"Goalkeeper Patricio!"
"The back four from left to right: Spinazzola, Gwadiol, Mancini, Celik!"
"The double defensive midfielder has changed, and the veteran Matic and Wijnaldum will start together!"
"There is no change in the four-man frontcourt. It is still the left winger Kvaratsheria, the right winger Dybala, the center Sesco and the captain Chen Xiaoliang who is the all-around midfielder!"
"For Manchester City, looking at the current UEFA formation chart, Guardiola has set up a three-back formation that has been very effective this season!"
"Goalkeeper Ederson!"
"Left central defender Ake, central defender Dias, right central defender Akanji!"
"The double midfielder is Rodri's partner, Stones, who plays a cameo as a midfielder. This season, Stones' cameo as a midfielder is very effective, and he is called a 'lumbar guard' by the outside world!"
"In the position of the winger, Guardiola has changed. The right winger did not use Bernardo Silva, who was in good form before, but started Kyle Walker!"
Zhang Lu: "This is obviously arranged for Kwa. In this way, Akanji, Stones and Walker can cover the right side. It will be very difficult for Kwa to use his breakthrough ability. difficulty."
Zhan Jun: "The left avant-garde is still Mr. Glarish!"
"Two central midfielders, De Bruyne is on the right, and captain Gundogan did not start today, but let the B seat appear on the left central midfielder position!"
"The one at the top is naturally the team's number one killer this season, 'Majin Buu' Harland!"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, today's highlight is to see Xiao Liang's direct confrontation with Harland in the game."
Zhan Jun: "For this game, we also invited two guests, namely the former national football captain and General Fan! There is also the well-known e-sports live broadcaster Guan Zeyuan!"
When seeing this formation before the game, Mourinho was not too surprised. The only uncertainty is Kyle Walker.
Guardiola had used Kyle Walker in the right forward position before, but due to the recent serious private life problems of the England international, it was revealed that he had many affairs, and he was an illegitimate child. The frequent use of the three-center back system has greatly reduced his chances of playing as a right back.
Obviously, this arrangement is used to target Roma's number one hot spot on the wing, Kwa, who is worth 8500 million euros.
Akanji, who originally played as a right center back, can play as a right back. He has no fear when facing a winger. There are almost no wingers in Europe who dare to say that they can definitely pass him one-on-one. In addition, there is Kyle Walker who can retreat , Let Mourinho give Kwa and Spinazzola most of the time in the tactical arrangement before the pre-match training.
On the field, when he walked into the field, Chen Xiaoliang saw fans waving five-star red flags in many places in the stands, and he waved to a nearby Red Country fan.
He even saw a male fan from the Red Country among a bunch of Roma fans, probably because he didn't buy the Roma jersey that was out of stock, he entered the field wearing a red shirt with "For the Tribe" printed on it, and sat down. Among the fans in Rome.
The two sides lined up, shook hands, captains exchanged team flags, guessed sides, and returned to their positions. Everything was the same as any previous game.
"Beep!"
Zhan Jun: "The referee Marcniak from Poland blows the whistle, and the Champions League final officially begins!"
De Bruyne pushed the ball back, past everyone, to goalkeeper Ederson, and City's formation immediately began to press forward.
On Roma's side, the wingers on both sides took the initiative to follow Manchester City's overall forward pressure and retreated. Sharing the defensive pressure with the full-backs is an important task tonight.
The premise of defensive counterattack is defense. Once the score is behind, the opponent will pass the control more patiently, making it more difficult to score goals.
Sesco also took the initiative to retreat, and his goal today was the area in front of Manchester City's midfielder and central defender.
Chen Xiaoliang, on the other hand, flexibly chooses the area to cover and the object to steal based on the position of the ball and his own judgment.
After receiving the ball, Edson walked forward for a short distance. After seeing that the frontcourt was basically in position, he drove directly to the left side of the frontcourt to find Harland, who was leaning on Matic one-on-one.
Today, Mourinho is willing to take a risk and send Matic to start. Knowing that his aging rate has declined seriously, he is looking at his experience. Sending a group of young players in such a game can easily cause serious inner conflicts when there are twists and turns in the process. shake.
At this time, Matic is close to Harland. If he is better than bounce and explosive, then he is 2 years old in less than 35 months. , he is still good enough to give this young man a lesson.
He first hid his hands between the chest and back of Harland and himself, and pulled the clothes behind Harland hard, but he found it more obvious, and then immediately went to pull Harland's tight belted ball pants.
The moment Harland took off, Matic yanked hard and immediately let go, and raised his hand specially, showing that his movements were very clean. Harland was blocked from taking off, and he fell to the top, and the ball fell further behind. Celik's feet.
Celik didn't look at the direction anymore, and directly drove out to the midfield. Besides, near the center line, Chen Xiaoliang and Cesko both ran to the landing point, attracting Ake and Rodri.
Rodri, who is 191 in height, supported Sesco, and Ake, who was 180 in height, resisted Chen Xiaoliang. The pressure they received was completely opposite.
Rodri relied on experience and physical fitness. Although the height difference was 4 centimeters, he still took the lead from Sesco.
But Ake, who made his debut as a left back, was surprised to find that he was standing against a wall that couldn't move at all!
"What does this brat eat? It's so hard?!"
He hurriedly looked back and saw that Seat B and Grealish had rushed over to support him, and continued to restrain Chen Xiaoliang with all his strength.
The ball landed above Rodri, and he headed forward, but he couldn't reach far because he was influenced by Sesco.
Chen Xiaoliang pouted his butt and caught Ake, rushed back a few steps to catch up with the ball, and when he was close to stretching his legs to steal the ball, he pushed the ball to the right side of his body and made a standard Harvey turn around!
"Oh!"
"Papa papa...!"
Roma fans exclaimed and applauded in unison for this clever small-scale escape.
Seeing that Chen Xiaoliang started to dribble the ball in the middle, Rodri, Ake, and Grealish did not stop, and all pressed towards Chen Xiaoliang.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Chen Xiaoliang was taken aback by this battle. Today it seems that the comer is not good, and Guardiola must have made sufficient targeted plans for himself!
The problem is that in front of him at this time, Cesko is beside him and has not left Rodri. Dybala and Kova did not rush forward because they retreated to help defend, and he did not have any shots.
So Chen Xiaoliang gently pushed the ball forward to the left, preparing to use his speed to rush out of the encirclement and wait for his teammates to plug in.
I didn't expect to throw the ball out, and I just ran two steps to catch the ball, when a huge force that seemed familiar came from the left side of my body!
He wobbled a bit and couldn't stand still, and fell down!
Chen Xiaoliang looked back in disbelief, he wanted to know which god was able to knock down himself who had few opponents in terms of strength and confrontation. Harland!
Not only Chen Xiaoliang himself was surprised, but Roma's players and coaches were also surprised.
They fell one-on-one on the ground, a scene they hadn't seen for a long time.
As for Chen Xiaoliang himself, the last time he felt such great power was the Belgian player who "give it all" from Inter Milan!
"Beep!" The referee Marciniak whistled and awarded a free kick to Rome.
Matic didn't wait for the others to recover, rushed up and kicked the ball to the front left!
The role of the veteran is here. Before Manchester City returns to the defense, hurry up and send a free kick!
Kwa has already appeared on the left, and his side is one of tonight's opponents, the Swiss international Akanji.
Akanji, who is worth 3000 million euros, passed in front of Kwa the moment he adjusted after receiving the ball, bent over and turned sideways, and put on a defensive posture.
Kwa knew that he had to move forward as soon as possible. Once he was delayed, Kyle Walker, who didn't know where he was behind him, but was definitely returning to defense quickly, would soon appear beside him to double-team.
Tonight is his dream stage. He wants to prove to the world that a child from an ordinary Georgian family can also stand on the highest podium of professional players through his own efforts!
After two steps of probing, seeing that Akanji had sealed off the sidewalk breakthrough route, Kewa immediately cut inward and walked in. As soon as he turned around, he found out of the corner of his eye that Kyle Walker had indeed chased him within less than behind him. 5 meters away.
When Akanji saw him cut in, he immediately retreated to the left and back. In the system of three central defenders, what the wide central defenders have to do, especially when he is in the upper position and very high in the attack, is to delay the opponent as much as possible. Accelerate the offensive rhythm and buy time for the rest of the defense players to arrange the defensive formation.
Blind kicks will only open the door to the empty defense.
Kewa kept rushing obliquely, and Akanji was always retreating at the same speed as him. On the surface, although he could not stop the advance of the Roman winger, Kyle Walker had already run to the right rib of his penalty area.
And Kwa dribbling the ball diagonally towards the center will eventually fall into the crowded pile of defenders in the center.
Sure enough, as predicted before the game, the right midfielder Stones has fallen on the right side of Dias, in fact forming a double center back formation, while Rodri, B seat and Glarish and others over there They are also returning to defense at full speed, and beside them is Chen Xiaoliang who is sprinting like a shooting star!
Kewa knew that he couldn't take it anymore, and if he took it again, he would fall into Akanji's trap. Not only would he encounter more defenders, but he would also hinder Chen Xiaoliang's running route.
But Akanji's position is very clever, and there is Kyle Walker who has already run straight ahead of him on the left side. Once he changes direction to the left at this time, he will also face a situation of one against two.
At this time, a red-clothed teammate from the right appeared in the corner of his vision. He made a strong straight pass with his right foot and pushed the ball over!
Dybala took advantage of the situation and rushed straight to the ribs of the penalty area on the right!
Ake here just now was not in place to defend against Chen Xiaoliang, and central defender Dias blocked him.
Although Dias is the central central defender in the three-central defender system, at this time due to the fall of Stones, he has changed to 4-4-1-1, so he is blocked when there is no defense on the left, and he does not have to worry about the penalty area The center is unguarded.
Zhang Lu couldn't help admiring in the penalty area: "In just ten seconds, so many Manchester City players completed the formation change while running at high speed. Guardiola's tactical training is absolutely at its peak."
In Pep Guardiola's team, there has never been a clumsy central defender, and Dias, who plays the mainstay of the defense in Manchester City today, is of course no exception.
Although the absolute speed is not fast, facing Dybala, who is also not good at absolute speed, the Portuguese defender's high defensive hardness and strong one-on-one ability can be well played.
Dybala naturally knows where he is strong and where he is short. The counterattack is all about efficiency. He must either play the ball or simply stop and play positional warfare.
But today the head coach arranged that in order to prevent Manchester City from playing a quick counterattack in the opening game and attacking their own defense that is not fast enough, unless it is absolutely necessary, the final goal of the offense is not to fall into a positional battle.
Dybala took a false step forward, and Dias immediately stepped back.
Just at this moment, Dybala instantly pulled the ball to his left foot and cut inward to the middle.
Dias hurried forward, but Dybala had already stretched his bow and set his arrows to shoot!
Dias didn't stretch his legs to block, the distance was too far, and he was already blocked in the front, Dybala can only shoot from the far corner, and he believes that this is not good for the goalkeeper Ederson behind him A difficult thing.
However, half a second later, Dias regretted it!
Because Dybala kicked the ball with his left foot at the wrong speed, it was not a powerful arc shot from the inside of his foot at all!
Dias immediately turned his head to look, he was puzzled, there was no one in Rome in the restricted area, who was this passed on to?
He was right. At the moment when Dybala made the pass, there was no one there, but after the ball flew out, people appeared!
When Dybala, who was 5 meters away from the penalty area line, passed the ball, Chen Xiaoliang had already reached the top of the penalty area. Rodri and Ake really got to know the player who asked his head coach to wait in the player tunnel before the start of the game. How abnormal is the speed of the people from the Red Country shaking hands.
At this speed, it is clearly three points faster than the fastest Kyle Walker in the team!
Edson realized something was wrong and immediately abandoned the goal to attack. Chen Xiaoliang raised his head and glanced at the ball that was falling in front of him!
It’s not enough to raise the leg to shoot. Edson, who 100% needs to kick the ball with all his strength after touching the ball, is not a problem of fouling and Edson’s injury, but at this distance and relative speed, even if he hits the ball, Might also be thrown by Edson.
If the legs are not good, then there is only the head. Chen Xiaoliang ran out two more steps and jumped with all his might!
The narrow road meets the brave to win!
Edson clasped his fists and hit the ball, Chen Xiaoliang jumped to the top of the ball!
The two were about to collide, Chen Xiaoliang closed his eyes, and felt that the top of his head hit the ball, and then there was a violent impact, the force spread from the top of his head to his shoulders and upper body!
Even though Chen Xiaoliang was dizzy after landing, he opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the goal for the first time!
He didn't know if the ball was touched by Edson, but he saw it crossed a suffocating parabola like a lob, fell from a high place, fell again, and flew towards the goal!
Just when the ball seemed to pass through the goal line, a blue figure jumped up and kicked the ball hard!
"yeah!"
"oops!"
The fans of the opposite sides in the east and west stands immediately uttered completely different shouts!
It's Kyle Walker!
He chased all the way back from the frontcourt, did not give up until the last moment, and used his own speed to rush to the goal to make a clearance!
The ball flew high and was picked up by Edson, who looked pained and desperately got up to chase back.
Although everyone had their own judgments based on common sense, they all looked at the referee Marciniak!
"Beep!"
With a hurried whistle, Marchniak pointed to the middle circle!
"yeah!!!!!!"
The fans on the red and yellow side jumped up as if they were going to overturn the stadium!
Mourinho couldn't hold back his excitement either, he clenched his hands tightly and shook back and forth on both sides of his body, shouting loudly.
Zhan Jun: "My God! The goal was scored! Only 43 seconds into the game, Roma got off to a fantastic start!"
General Fan: "This is an opportunity made out of force, not a chance. If anyone is replaced, if the speed is slower, or if the courage is less timid and dare not go head-to-head with the opponent's goalkeeper, the goal will not be scored. Dybala doesn't even have a place to pass, Xiaoliang is beautiful, really beautiful!"
Zhang Lu: "Manchester City, still underestimated Xiaoliang's speed and hard work, but they defended the ball well. The midfielder used three people to double-team, but when Harland came back and fouled, it was given to Ma. Tich’s chance to serve a free kick quickly, this quick serve completely disrupted Manchester City’s defensive rhythm, a group of people in the middle were chasing Xiao Liang, how many people can catch Xiao Liang who has no ball at his feet?”
Guan Zeyuan: "We thought of all kinds of possible scenarios before the game, but we really didn't expect the game to start in this way! From Matic's free kick to Xiao Liang's final header, there were only three kicks in the middle transfer."
Zhan Jun: "This is the final of the Champions League. We saw many fans of the Red Country in the stands waving national flags!"
De Bruyne stepped forward to ask the referee, but Marciniak said that the goal line technology will not lie. Sure enough, the Hawkeye projection of the ball crossing the goal line in the air as a whole on the screen was released.
Roma fans cheer again!
Chen Xiaoliang originally wanted to have a passionate celebration, but the collision just now was indeed a bit violent. Fortunately, the system did not indicate that he was injured. He lay down for a while before standing up, twisting his neck, hugging and celebrating with his teammates who ran over, and then turned his head Thanks to the fans who came to support.
At this time, a song written in a language unfamiliar to Xiaoliang sounded from the stands behind the bench in Rome:
"Xiao Liang~ scored a goal!"
"Xiao Liang scored a goal!"
"Old egg! Old egg! Old~ egg!"
Chen Xiaoliang turned his head and saw that the fan wearing "For the Tribe" was also hooking up with the compatriots beside him, singing and dancing side by side.
He waved to the group of fellow villagers, and gave thumbs up with both hands.
The surrounding Roma fans didn't know what the Reds were singing, but they knew the melody. Seeing Chen Xiaoliang's approval, they hummed along with them. More and more people joined in, and the whole stadium could hear them. singing.
General Fan seemed to be infected by Zhang Lu, he smiled, and said away from the microphone: "Cena, you really are an old bastard!"
The director of the live broadcast cut the camera to the stands, and the famous football stars and legends from various European countries in the VIP area had different expressions.
Robert Mancini, Southgate, followed by Zidane, Beckham, and Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as Totti, Kompany and others.
Finally, the camera fell on Gerrard who was applauding.
Zhan Jun: "There are rumors that because Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp failed to lead the team to the European competition this season, and Fenway Group is unwilling to provide a huge amount of money to meet his requirements for the team's lineup transformation next season, the German coach has May take the initiative to resign and choose to take a break."
"And once this happens, Liverpool will seriously consider choosing Steven Gerrard as the team's next coach. This is why the soul of the Liverpool team has not accepted coaching invitations from other clubs after leaving Aston Villa!"
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20190929010837958] for the 6 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club for the 4 monthly tickets of [Old Gods Burning New Lamps]!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Visible Invisible Man] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Meng Yi Jiang Nan 55] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Yu Xiang] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [, Qiushui Changge] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20210301104142892062] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20210301106536471304] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20190429103241157] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the club executive director [orientbas] for the monthly pass!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Gentleman Youxing] for the monthly pass!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Ruhuan Daqian] for the monthly pass!
(End of this chapter)
On June 6, Rome was assembled and flew to Istanbul.
Going there 5 days in advance is also to allow the team to fully adapt to the local weather and venue, and to gradually adjust both physically and psychologically to the final state.
Speaking of Istanbul and the Champions League final, it may be known to everyone, and everyone knows it.
Atatürk Olympic Stadium, named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of Turkey, was completed in 2002. It was rated as a five-star stadium by UEFA in 2004 and opened in 2005. In [-], the first competition after its completion was ushered in - the Champions League final of that year.
On May 5 of that year, Liverpool and AC Milan, also from England and Italy, met here. Needless to say, the game experience created by the two teams is destined to be recorded in history forever.
It's just that I didn't expect that after 18 years, two teams from Italy and England would meet here.
There is also a coincidence in this.
Roma's away jersey this season is a red letter on a white background, which is the same as Liverpool's away jersey that year, while Manchester City's away jersey this season is a combination of red and black diagonal stripes, which is engraved from the ancient jersey of AC Milan.
In the 1960s, the then Manchester City coach Malcolm Alisson took the initiative to change the team's jersey to red and black in order to let the team follow the example of AC Milan at the time. After that, Manchester City won consecutive top league championships. , FA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and League Cup and other awards ushered in the club's first golden period.
而在2011-12那个著名的”9320“赛季，阿圭罗在下半场补时第93分20秒绝杀女王公园巡游者、帮助曼城夺得英超首冠，那个赛季球队的客场球衣同样是红黑间条衫。
Therefore, the purpose of Manchester City using such an away jersey this season is self-evident.
In addition to the jersey, there is also the successor. Everyone knows that Chen Xiaoliang started his career under Gerrard's command, but obviously the fans of the two sides have completely different ideas. The fans of Rome naturally hope that Chen Xiaoliang will copy Gerrard and lead the team to beat the strong enemy. Epic performance, while Manchester City fans hope that Chen Xiaoliang will put on skateboard shoes in the game, copying Gerrard's famous slip and fall scene...
Just one day after Rome arrived in Istanbul, Manchester City also flew over. Like Rome, the Blue Moon team has a neat lineup and no injuries. This also increases the possibility of Guardiola deploying troops. , but it also added a lot of difficulty to Rome's preparations.
For Guardiola, who is used to working hard in big competitions and likes to win by surprise, Mourinho and his team really can't guess what kind of starter and what kind of formation the opponent will send.
But the method is always more difficult than the difficulty. Since you can't guess it, then use enough preparation time to rehearse all the possibilities.
Even the plan for tactical drills took into account different scores leading or falling behind.
For example, how to play when leading 1-0, and how to play when 2-0. At this time, Manchester City will definitely reduce ball possession appropriately and increase the frequency of direct attacks.
And when one or two goals are behind, Manchester City will definitely use the ball to pass the time and reduce the number of times Roma may attack. How to play at this time is also the key subject of the Roma team's drills in the past two weeks or so. .
In the training ground and meeting room, Mourinho repeatedly conveyed a mentality to the players, which is to be pragmatic.
The value of Manchester City is double that of Roma. The front, middle, back and even the goalkeeper are all world-class players. From the perspective of team self-confidence, and competition training, Guardiola, who has coached Manchester City for many years, has obviously shaped a new spiritual core for this club.
Facing such opponents, the players must lower their stance, forget about their Serie A champions, those opponents who were killed in the league by chopping melons and vegetables, and those famous scenes spread by fans. They will fight against the next decisive battle. It doesn't matter half a dime.
Roma’s ball possession rate in the game is bound to be significantly lower than that of Manchester City. In more cases, players need to defend according to the rhythm of Manchester City. At this time, it is very important for the mentality. It is necessary to keep the lineup compact and judge the ball transmission. Direction, keep your attention on the movement of players without the ball.
And Chen Xiaoliang also told the players in the locker room that he will do everything to defend with everyone, break Manchester City's midfield control, and hope that everyone will stick to the word "persist" under any circumstances.
Only when you succumb to the word "failure" is the real failure.
The day before the game, Mourinho was the first to accept the interview at the routine press conference, and Chen Xiaoliang was dragged by him to participate.
The name Guardiola has always been a topic he can't get around, even if he wants to avoid it, the reporter will not let him go.
Facing this former companion, later old enemy, and now an opponent who is more like a stranger, Mourinho obviously has not forgotten the past.
After all, the last time the two met two and a half years ago, Manchester City beat Tottenham 3-0 at home.
And that season, Guardiola led the team to win the Premier League championship, and Tottenham only ranked seventh in the league. Mourinho was swept out by Levi before the League Cup final, and Tottenham became the only team he failed to win the championship. .
Mourinho: "I don't know what he thinks, but tomorrow night is not the two of us, or at least, not just the two of us."
"He knows me well, if he's going to be honest, and I know him well."
"He's definitely going to say something that doesn't matter before the game, and then he's doing everything behind his back trying to beat me."
"I believe that tomorrow night will be very special for him. After he came to Manchester City, he spent more than 10 billion pounds to buy people. Someone calculated that even if the net expenditure was more than 7 million pounds, so I wonder why he has been buying people. So far they have not been able to lead Manchester City to the Champions League."
At this time, a Times reporter asked: "But statistics show that in your entire career, you spent a total of 17.5 billion euros and bought 108 players, while Guardiola spent 16.1 billion and bought 67 players in total. , but he won two more championships than you..."
Mourinho's face changed instantly. He didn't expect that the reporter came prepared and deliberately followed his words to find fault.
After pausing, smiling confidently, and unscrewing the water bottle to drink tactically, he immediately counterattacked: "I started my first job as a head coach in September 2000, and I have stayed at 9 clubs, including Chelsea. Twice, in addition to the giants, there are also Portuguese clubs like Leiria that you may not have heard of."
"As you all know, I came up from translation step by step. Not everyone is like him. The first team he coached with a golden key in his mouth had Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Espresso. Too."
"As you said just now, I have been coaching for 23 years, and he has been coaching for 15 years. I am only more than 1 million euros more than him. This includes the Barcelona team. Who can't win the championship if they go to such a team? Look Vilanova, of course, I will not be disrespectful to the deceased. You can also look at Luis Enrique and see what he brought with Rome and the Spanish national team. Four words, nothing, but such You can still win all the trophies at Barcelona."
"And Bayern, I remember Heynckes left him a treble, the result? Did he lead Bayern to win the Champions League?"
"You are good at statistics, so you can do the math. If he coached for 23 years like me, how much would he spend? How much did each championship cost?"
Facing the head coach's crazy shooting, Chen Xiaoliang couldn't help laughing on the sidelines. Even when the Portuguese was obviously angry, he reached out and patted Mourinho on the back, and after Mourinho's cannonball finished Afterwards, he took over the press conference and answered some preparations in a calm and steady manner, but he still didn't mention a word about the transfer.
Half an hour later, Guardiola walked in.
Faced with the reporter's confidence in winning the championship, this should be the third time he has thrown out his consistent "Jordan theory" this year, which means that Michael Jordan, one of his idols, has not been in every season throughout his career. Can win the championship, the important thing is to continue to attack the championship and ensure that there is always the strength to win the championship.
This is obviously decompressing the team, and is actively lowering the expectations of the outside world. After all, in the football circle, there has always been a saying that "everything will die". Since he took over Manchester City, Manchester City has ranked first in the odds of the Champions League every year. But every year is not satisfactory and can't reach the top.
The next step was to respond to Mourinho's ferocious firing. Guardiola didn't say much:
"Jose Mourinho, he's always been a winner, of course, in a press conference, I've never seen anyone beat him on this occasion, even if he just led the team to a big defeat, It’s also possible to make people think that the person who won the big victory at the press conference is actually him.”
"I don't have much to say about him, he's always trying to irritate me, just like he has irritated other opponents in the past, but no matter what he says, we will still play our own football according to our own plan."
"There can only be one final winner, let's see you after the game."
Guardiola is obviously more interested in Chen Xiaoliang than a few words to Mourinho. He praised Chen Xiaoliang without hesitation, calling him an unprecedented super genius, and even exaggerated to say:
"I even sometimes feel that there seems to be some device on his body that can make him improve with a single click. In short, his growth is incredible."
"When we usually praise other talents, we will say that this person was born for football, but I started to pay attention to him from the second half of his time in Glasgow. The three years of competition made me feel as if football was invented 100 years ago. For many years, it was just waiting for him to appear, football was born for him."
"Maybe you will think it is exaggerated, but I used to be a good midfielder. What he showed in the game is definitely not something that a person on earth can do, just like we called Ronaldo an alien back then. His future will be brighter than that of anyone who came before."
It was the reporter from the Times just now, who obviously didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement, and asked a tricky question: "Do you mean that without Chen Xiaoliang, it would be impossible for Mourinho to achieve such success in Rome?" ? After all, half an hour ago he said that your success at Barcelona was all due to the talent."
Guardiola smiled and said: "He is right, if I have received so much compensation after being fired in my life, I don't have to worry about not being able to find a job, and I can say whatever I want .”
Then get up and leave.
This air-to-air confrontation completely blew up the atmosphere of the final on the afternoon before the match.
Unlike the ten-minute interview between the two, fans from all over the world, birds and melons from all over the world, Roma fans and Manchester City fans, and even Serie A fans and Premier League fans quarreled fiercely on countless web pages, forums, and social groups.
Soon, Chelsea fans and Barcelona fans started a friendly discussion about the "Stamford Bridge tragedy" and greeted each other's family members. Even Beckham fans and Maldini fans quarreled, saying which country's A handsome guy is responsible for a man's appearance...
The whole world started to make noise because of this game.
The night before the game, Chen Xiaoliang finally sorted out the system. In the last round of the league, he shot two passes and was elected the best player in the game. He got 14 training points (0 → 14) and 2 physical recovery cards (3 → 5) and 3 breakout points (7 → 10).
并且这18天内抛开比赛和旅途、16天的训练、加练、包括使用体力恢复卡的个人加练，一共为他又攒下了66点训练值（14→80）（体力恢复卡5→3）。
为了凑整到80也是想在赛前再多提升一点盘带（16→17）（训练值80→0）。
On the afternoon of June 2023, 6, the final was quietly approaching.
Istanbul has become the busiest city in Europe. According to official statistics, 30 people flocked to this thousand-year-old city because of the final.
They are distributed in various squares, parks, bars, and pedestrian streets in the city, waving flags, blowing plastic horns, and even fighting with the opponent's fans in the street after getting drunk.
Near the Ataturk Stadium, the roads were even more impenetrable, and the buses of the two teams had to rely on the local police to clear the main road in advance to enter the stadium.
Countless people waited on the sidelines to see if they could get a ticket or two that they could afford.
When getting off the bus, the reporters on both sides began to flash their flashing lights, and the club customized the top luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli for each team member in advance.
Of course, this is the business agent Pinto was talking about. He is not generous enough to spend the club's money to buy a set of clothes worth 3 euros for each team member.
As the birthplace of the Renaissance, Italians are far more accomplished in fashion and art than football. The players in Rome got off the bus one by one, which immediately made many female reporters stare wide-eyed.
Some reporters even said on social media that before the game started, Roma had already led 1-0 in terms of temperament and appearance.
When they came to the locker room, everyone put on the final jersey with the Champions League trophy and final characters printed on the chest, and then stepped on the court to warm up before the fans entered.
Chen Xiaoliang was jogging, stretching, and doing simple laps with the team members while observing everyone.
The teenagers Perrone and Volpato, who were not on the starting list, were so nervous that their limbs became stiff, and their movements were extremely uncoordinated like robots. This did not surprise him. ,
Kva and Celik, who started the game, were also a little nervous, especially Celik, who has already won Ligue [-] and Serie A championships, but facing the Champions League final, he still couldn't restrain his excitement.
Chen Xiaoliang himself was also very excited. After all, this is the highest stage for professional players at the club level. He kept feeding the players with stiff movements, said some relaxing jokes, and even took the initiative to press their shoulders and arms to make them try their best. relax.
At this time, Dybala, Spinazzola, Patricio, Matic and other veterans who have won the World Cup, European Cup or major championships began to play a significant role in stabilizing the morale of the army. They helped Chen Xiaoliang Drive other teammates into the state together, don't care about the success or failure of the final, and try to mobilize the best state.
Finally, it was the locker room talk.
Mourinho delivered one of the most cherished locker room speeches in his career:
"I am 60 years old, and the oldest among you is only 35 years old. Most of the rest are 25 or 26 years old, and even your captain is only 19 years old."
"You all have unlimited futures, unlike me, who is already an old man, but believe me, an opportunity like today may only come once in a lifetime, those giants have almost won the championship of this tournament, we can go here It's really not easy."
"I'm not telling you how important victory is, but I want to tell you how important it is to have no regrets in life."
"I have looked back at my career countless times, and maybe you are the same. Every time I look back, I always find something, and then tell myself that if I did this or that at that time, the result might be different."
"But believe me, I haven't looked back once and said to myself, if only we had been better then, it would have been fine."
"People don't regret what they have done their best, they only regret that they didn't try their best. I don't want you to look back on today in ten or 20 years from now."
"Remember, this game tonight is the same as all the games you have experienced before. It is a life-and-death battle, but tonight is a little more cruel, so don't think about being a good guy. A good guy won't win anything in the end. "
"The group of people on the opposite side will not show mercy to you. They will do everything possible to destroy your will. If you want to win, you must be a bastard!"
"Finally, what has to be said and done, we have said and done this season, we are ready for everything, and then, lads, good luck!"
Chen Xiaoliang didn't say anything else, he just stood up and waved his hands, all the team members formed a circle, just like when he first arrived in Rome and brought the slogan of the villain from Glasgow:
Chen Xiaoliang: "Manchester City!"
Everyone: "Go to Tamma!"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Manchester City!"
Everyone: "Go to Tamma!"
Chen Xiaoliang: "Rome!"
Everyone: "Champion! Champion!!! Champion!!!"
After shouting, Chen Xiaoliang walked to the door of the locker room, looked back at everyone, nodded, and turned to open the door.
Foti handed over a team flag to Chen Xiaoliang, and he led the players out of the locker room. After a corner, they came to the player tunnel, where Manchester City players were already waiting.
Surprisingly, there is Guardiola.
The Spaniard stood at the end of the team, deliberately keeping a distance from his players, as if he didn't want to put pressure on the players, and he seemed to be waiting for someone.
The answer was soon revealed. Seeing Chen Xiaoliang coming out, Guardiola took the initiative to come over and extended his right hand to him.
Chen Xiaoliang was taken aback for a moment, and then immediately recovered.
He didn't deliberately pretend not to see it, and walked over without hesitation, but didn't extend his hand.
Guardiola was obviously not surprised: "Just shake hands and get to know each other in advance."
Chen Xiaoliang didn't look back, he saw the players of Manchester City looking back at this time.
He said loudly: "Handshake is fine, when I celebrate my victory after the game!"
After saying this, many Manchester City players couldn't help laughing at their head coach's hot face and cold butt.
After passing the end of the Manchester City team, Harland, who was shaking his feet and flexing his muscles, turned his head, folded Chen Xiaoliang with a silly smile, and then he stood on the right and stretched out his left hand.
This time Chen Xiaoliang didn't refuse, and stretched out his right hand to shake hands with him.
Both of them used strength when shaking hands, the kind of strength that would not hurt each other but was enough to express determination.
Once together, they share and then look at each other and smile.
In front of Harland, Chen Xiaoliang looked at every Manchester City player, followed by Grealish, Mahrez, Stones, Kyle Walker, Ake, Akanji, Dias, Rodri, Ed Sen, and the team's vice-captain at the front, De Bruyne, who served as the captain of today's field.
De Bruyne, standing at the front, remained motionless, as if in air defense, as if he hadn't noticed the Roma players coming over.
Soon, the fourth official signaled for both to enter the field, and then under the sound of the huge microphone broadcast on the field and the burst of cheers from the fans in the field, 22 people from both sides entered the field one by one!
The huge Champions League LOGO is covered in the middle circle, and more than 20 caddies stand evenly while holding one hand.
The starting lists and formations of the two sides were displayed on the screen, and the broadcast teams sent to the scene from more than 30 countries delivered the commentary in various languages to about 9 million people through TV and Internet signals.
In the real-time data released by UEFA, more than 1.5 million people watched the game in the early morning on the various official platforms of the Red Country alone, and the 12% ratings have also become 26% of the Red Country's Spring Festival Gala in recent years. The highest ratings after a live broadcast.
Zhan Jun: "The highly anticipated 2022-23 UEFA Champions League final is about to begin!"
"The two sides formed their usual formations today when facing major competitions this season!"
"Roma did not adopt a five-back formation as some media predicted. Mourinho still adopted the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been used the most this season!"
"Goalkeeper Patricio!"
"The back four from left to right: Spinazzola, Gwadiol, Mancini, Celik!"
"The double defensive midfielder has changed, and the veteran Matic and Wijnaldum will start together!"
"There is no change in the four-man frontcourt. It is still the left winger Kvaratsheria, the right winger Dybala, the center Sesco and the captain Chen Xiaoliang who is the all-around midfielder!"
"For Manchester City, looking at the current UEFA formation chart, Guardiola has set up a three-back formation that has been very effective this season!"
"Goalkeeper Ederson!"
"Left central defender Ake, central defender Dias, right central defender Akanji!"
"The double midfielder is Rodri's partner, Stones, who plays a cameo as a midfielder. This season, Stones' cameo as a midfielder is very effective, and he is called a 'lumbar guard' by the outside world!"
"In the position of the winger, Guardiola has changed. The right winger did not use Bernardo Silva, who was in good form before, but started Kyle Walker!"
Zhang Lu: "This is obviously arranged for Kwa. In this way, Akanji, Stones and Walker can cover the right side. It will be very difficult for Kwa to use his breakthrough ability. difficulty."
Zhan Jun: "The left avant-garde is still Mr. Glarish!"
"Two central midfielders, De Bruyne is on the right, and captain Gundogan did not start today, but let the B seat appear on the left central midfielder position!"
"The one at the top is naturally the team's number one killer this season, 'Majin Buu' Harland!"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, today's highlight is to see Xiao Liang's direct confrontation with Harland in the game."
Zhan Jun: "For this game, we also invited two guests, namely the former national football captain and General Fan! There is also the well-known e-sports live broadcaster Guan Zeyuan!"
When seeing this formation before the game, Mourinho was not too surprised. The only uncertainty is Kyle Walker.
Guardiola had used Kyle Walker in the right forward position before, but due to the recent serious private life problems of the England international, it was revealed that he had many affairs, and he was an illegitimate child. The frequent use of the three-center back system has greatly reduced his chances of playing as a right back.
Obviously, this arrangement is used to target Roma's number one hot spot on the wing, Kwa, who is worth 8500 million euros.
Akanji, who originally played as a right center back, can play as a right back. He has no fear when facing a winger. There are almost no wingers in Europe who dare to say that they can definitely pass him one-on-one. In addition, there is Kyle Walker who can retreat , Let Mourinho give Kwa and Spinazzola most of the time in the tactical arrangement before the pre-match training.
On the field, when he walked into the field, Chen Xiaoliang saw fans waving five-star red flags in many places in the stands, and he waved to a nearby Red Country fan.
He even saw a male fan from the Red Country among a bunch of Roma fans, probably because he didn't buy the Roma jersey that was out of stock, he entered the field wearing a red shirt with "For the Tribe" printed on it, and sat down. Among the fans in Rome.
The two sides lined up, shook hands, captains exchanged team flags, guessed sides, and returned to their positions. Everything was the same as any previous game.
"Beep!"
Zhan Jun: "The referee Marcniak from Poland blows the whistle, and the Champions League final officially begins!"
De Bruyne pushed the ball back, past everyone, to goalkeeper Ederson, and City's formation immediately began to press forward.
On Roma's side, the wingers on both sides took the initiative to follow Manchester City's overall forward pressure and retreated. Sharing the defensive pressure with the full-backs is an important task tonight.
The premise of defensive counterattack is defense. Once the score is behind, the opponent will pass the control more patiently, making it more difficult to score goals.
Sesco also took the initiative to retreat, and his goal today was the area in front of Manchester City's midfielder and central defender.
Chen Xiaoliang, on the other hand, flexibly chooses the area to cover and the object to steal based on the position of the ball and his own judgment.
After receiving the ball, Edson walked forward for a short distance. After seeing that the frontcourt was basically in position, he drove directly to the left side of the frontcourt to find Harland, who was leaning on Matic one-on-one.
Today, Mourinho is willing to take a risk and send Matic to start. Knowing that his aging rate has declined seriously, he is looking at his experience. Sending a group of young players in such a game can easily cause serious inner conflicts when there are twists and turns in the process. shake.
At this time, Matic is close to Harland. If he is better than bounce and explosive, then he is 2 years old in less than 35 months. , he is still good enough to give this young man a lesson.
He first hid his hands between the chest and back of Harland and himself, and pulled the clothes behind Harland hard, but he found it more obvious, and then immediately went to pull Harland's tight belted ball pants.
The moment Harland took off, Matic yanked hard and immediately let go, and raised his hand specially, showing that his movements were very clean. Harland was blocked from taking off, and he fell to the top, and the ball fell further behind. Celik's feet.
Celik didn't look at the direction anymore, and directly drove out to the midfield. Besides, near the center line, Chen Xiaoliang and Cesko both ran to the landing point, attracting Ake and Rodri.
Rodri, who is 191 in height, supported Sesco, and Ake, who was 180 in height, resisted Chen Xiaoliang. The pressure they received was completely opposite.
Rodri relied on experience and physical fitness. Although the height difference was 4 centimeters, he still took the lead from Sesco.
But Ake, who made his debut as a left back, was surprised to find that he was standing against a wall that couldn't move at all!
"What does this brat eat? It's so hard?!"
He hurriedly looked back and saw that Seat B and Grealish had rushed over to support him, and continued to restrain Chen Xiaoliang with all his strength.
The ball landed above Rodri, and he headed forward, but he couldn't reach far because he was influenced by Sesco.
Chen Xiaoliang pouted his butt and caught Ake, rushed back a few steps to catch up with the ball, and when he was close to stretching his legs to steal the ball, he pushed the ball to the right side of his body and made a standard Harvey turn around!
"Oh!"
"Papa papa...!"
Roma fans exclaimed and applauded in unison for this clever small-scale escape.
Seeing that Chen Xiaoliang started to dribble the ball in the middle, Rodri, Ake, and Grealish did not stop, and all pressed towards Chen Xiaoliang.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Chen Xiaoliang was taken aback by this battle. Today it seems that the comer is not good, and Guardiola must have made sufficient targeted plans for himself!
The problem is that in front of him at this time, Cesko is beside him and has not left Rodri. Dybala and Kova did not rush forward because they retreated to help defend, and he did not have any shots.
So Chen Xiaoliang gently pushed the ball forward to the left, preparing to use his speed to rush out of the encirclement and wait for his teammates to plug in.
I didn't expect to throw the ball out, and I just ran two steps to catch the ball, when a huge force that seemed familiar came from the left side of my body!
He wobbled a bit and couldn't stand still, and fell down!
Chen Xiaoliang looked back in disbelief, he wanted to know which god was able to knock down himself who had few opponents in terms of strength and confrontation. Harland!
Not only Chen Xiaoliang himself was surprised, but Roma's players and coaches were also surprised.
They fell one-on-one on the ground, a scene they hadn't seen for a long time.
As for Chen Xiaoliang himself, the last time he felt such great power was the Belgian player who "give it all" from Inter Milan!
"Beep!" The referee Marciniak whistled and awarded a free kick to Rome.
Matic didn't wait for the others to recover, rushed up and kicked the ball to the front left!
The role of the veteran is here. Before Manchester City returns to the defense, hurry up and send a free kick!
Kwa has already appeared on the left, and his side is one of tonight's opponents, the Swiss international Akanji.
Akanji, who is worth 3000 million euros, passed in front of Kwa the moment he adjusted after receiving the ball, bent over and turned sideways, and put on a defensive posture.
Kwa knew that he had to move forward as soon as possible. Once he was delayed, Kyle Walker, who didn't know where he was behind him, but was definitely returning to defense quickly, would soon appear beside him to double-team.
Tonight is his dream stage. He wants to prove to the world that a child from an ordinary Georgian family can also stand on the highest podium of professional players through his own efforts!
After two steps of probing, seeing that Akanji had sealed off the sidewalk breakthrough route, Kewa immediately cut inward and walked in. As soon as he turned around, he found out of the corner of his eye that Kyle Walker had indeed chased him within less than behind him. 5 meters away.
When Akanji saw him cut in, he immediately retreated to the left and back. In the system of three central defenders, what the wide central defenders have to do, especially when he is in the upper position and very high in the attack, is to delay the opponent as much as possible. Accelerate the offensive rhythm and buy time for the rest of the defense players to arrange the defensive formation.
Blind kicks will only open the door to the empty defense.
Kewa kept rushing obliquely, and Akanji was always retreating at the same speed as him. On the surface, although he could not stop the advance of the Roman winger, Kyle Walker had already run to the right rib of his penalty area.
And Kwa dribbling the ball diagonally towards the center will eventually fall into the crowded pile of defenders in the center.
Sure enough, as predicted before the game, the right midfielder Stones has fallen on the right side of Dias, in fact forming a double center back formation, while Rodri, B seat and Glarish and others over there They are also returning to defense at full speed, and beside them is Chen Xiaoliang who is sprinting like a shooting star!
Kewa knew that he couldn't take it anymore, and if he took it again, he would fall into Akanji's trap. Not only would he encounter more defenders, but he would also hinder Chen Xiaoliang's running route.
But Akanji's position is very clever, and there is Kyle Walker who has already run straight ahead of him on the left side. Once he changes direction to the left at this time, he will also face a situation of one against two.
At this time, a red-clothed teammate from the right appeared in the corner of his vision. He made a strong straight pass with his right foot and pushed the ball over!
Dybala took advantage of the situation and rushed straight to the ribs of the penalty area on the right!
Ake here just now was not in place to defend against Chen Xiaoliang, and central defender Dias blocked him.
Although Dias is the central central defender in the three-central defender system, at this time due to the fall of Stones, he has changed to 4-4-1-1, so he is blocked when there is no defense on the left, and he does not have to worry about the penalty area The center is unguarded.
Zhang Lu couldn't help admiring in the penalty area: "In just ten seconds, so many Manchester City players completed the formation change while running at high speed. Guardiola's tactical training is absolutely at its peak."
In Pep Guardiola's team, there has never been a clumsy central defender, and Dias, who plays the mainstay of the defense in Manchester City today, is of course no exception.
Although the absolute speed is not fast, facing Dybala, who is also not good at absolute speed, the Portuguese defender's high defensive hardness and strong one-on-one ability can be well played.
Dybala naturally knows where he is strong and where he is short. The counterattack is all about efficiency. He must either play the ball or simply stop and play positional warfare.
But today the head coach arranged that in order to prevent Manchester City from playing a quick counterattack in the opening game and attacking their own defense that is not fast enough, unless it is absolutely necessary, the final goal of the offense is not to fall into a positional battle.
Dybala took a false step forward, and Dias immediately stepped back.
Just at this moment, Dybala instantly pulled the ball to his left foot and cut inward to the middle.
Dias hurried forward, but Dybala had already stretched his bow and set his arrows to shoot!
Dias didn't stretch his legs to block, the distance was too far, and he was already blocked in the front, Dybala can only shoot from the far corner, and he believes that this is not good for the goalkeeper Ederson behind him A difficult thing.
However, half a second later, Dias regretted it!
Because Dybala kicked the ball with his left foot at the wrong speed, it was not a powerful arc shot from the inside of his foot at all!
Dias immediately turned his head to look, he was puzzled, there was no one in Rome in the restricted area, who was this passed on to?
He was right. At the moment when Dybala made the pass, there was no one there, but after the ball flew out, people appeared!
When Dybala, who was 5 meters away from the penalty area line, passed the ball, Chen Xiaoliang had already reached the top of the penalty area. Rodri and Ake really got to know the player who asked his head coach to wait in the player tunnel before the start of the game. How abnormal is the speed of the people from the Red Country shaking hands.
At this speed, it is clearly three points faster than the fastest Kyle Walker in the team!
Edson realized something was wrong and immediately abandoned the goal to attack. Chen Xiaoliang raised his head and glanced at the ball that was falling in front of him!
It’s not enough to raise the leg to shoot. Edson, who 100% needs to kick the ball with all his strength after touching the ball, is not a problem of fouling and Edson’s injury, but at this distance and relative speed, even if he hits the ball, Might also be thrown by Edson.
If the legs are not good, then there is only the head. Chen Xiaoliang ran out two more steps and jumped with all his might!
The narrow road meets the brave to win!
Edson clasped his fists and hit the ball, Chen Xiaoliang jumped to the top of the ball!
The two were about to collide, Chen Xiaoliang closed his eyes, and felt that the top of his head hit the ball, and then there was a violent impact, the force spread from the top of his head to his shoulders and upper body!
Even though Chen Xiaoliang was dizzy after landing, he opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the goal for the first time!
He didn't know if the ball was touched by Edson, but he saw it crossed a suffocating parabola like a lob, fell from a high place, fell again, and flew towards the goal!
Just when the ball seemed to pass through the goal line, a blue figure jumped up and kicked the ball hard!
"yeah!"
"oops!"
The fans of the opposite sides in the east and west stands immediately uttered completely different shouts!
It's Kyle Walker!
He chased all the way back from the frontcourt, did not give up until the last moment, and used his own speed to rush to the goal to make a clearance!
The ball flew high and was picked up by Edson, who looked pained and desperately got up to chase back.
Although everyone had their own judgments based on common sense, they all looked at the referee Marciniak!
"Beep!"
With a hurried whistle, Marchniak pointed to the middle circle!
"yeah!!!!!!"
The fans on the red and yellow side jumped up as if they were going to overturn the stadium!
Mourinho couldn't hold back his excitement either, he clenched his hands tightly and shook back and forth on both sides of his body, shouting loudly.
Zhan Jun: "My God! The goal was scored! Only 43 seconds into the game, Roma got off to a fantastic start!"
General Fan: "This is an opportunity made out of force, not a chance. If anyone is replaced, if the speed is slower, or if the courage is less timid and dare not go head-to-head with the opponent's goalkeeper, the goal will not be scored. Dybala doesn't even have a place to pass, Xiaoliang is beautiful, really beautiful!"
Zhang Lu: "Manchester City, still underestimated Xiaoliang's speed and hard work, but they defended the ball well. The midfielder used three people to double-team, but when Harland came back and fouled, it was given to Ma. Tich’s chance to serve a free kick quickly, this quick serve completely disrupted Manchester City’s defensive rhythm, a group of people in the middle were chasing Xiao Liang, how many people can catch Xiao Liang who has no ball at his feet?”
Guan Zeyuan: "We thought of all kinds of possible scenarios before the game, but we really didn't expect the game to start in this way! From Matic's free kick to Xiao Liang's final header, there were only three kicks in the middle transfer."
Zhan Jun: "This is the final of the Champions League. We saw many fans of the Red Country in the stands waving national flags!"
De Bruyne stepped forward to ask the referee, but Marciniak said that the goal line technology will not lie. Sure enough, the Hawkeye projection of the ball crossing the goal line in the air as a whole on the screen was released.
Roma fans cheer again!
Chen Xiaoliang originally wanted to have a passionate celebration, but the collision just now was indeed a bit violent. Fortunately, the system did not indicate that he was injured. He lay down for a while before standing up, twisting his neck, hugging and celebrating with his teammates who ran over, and then turned his head Thanks to the fans who came to support.
At this time, a song written in a language unfamiliar to Xiaoliang sounded from the stands behind the bench in Rome:
"Xiao Liang~ scored a goal!"
"Xiao Liang scored a goal!"
"Old egg! Old egg! Old~ egg!"
Chen Xiaoliang turned his head and saw that the fan wearing "For the Tribe" was also hooking up with the compatriots beside him, singing and dancing side by side.
He waved to the group of fellow villagers, and gave thumbs up with both hands.
The surrounding Roma fans didn't know what the Reds were singing, but they knew the melody. Seeing Chen Xiaoliang's approval, they hummed along with them. More and more people joined in, and the whole stadium could hear them. singing.
General Fan seemed to be infected by Zhang Lu, he smiled, and said away from the microphone: "Cena, you really are an old bastard!"
The director of the live broadcast cut the camera to the stands, and the famous football stars and legends from various European countries in the VIP area had different expressions.
Robert Mancini, Southgate, followed by Zidane, Beckham, and Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as Totti, Kompany and others.
Finally, the camera fell on Gerrard who was applauding.
Zhan Jun: "There are rumors that because Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp failed to lead the team to the European competition this season, and Fenway Group is unwilling to provide a huge amount of money to meet his requirements for the team's lineup transformation next season, the German coach has May take the initiative to resign and choose to take a break."
"And once this happens, Liverpool will seriously consider choosing Steven Gerrard as the team's next coach. This is why the soul of the Liverpool team has not accepted coaching invitations from other clubs after leaving Aston Villa!"
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20190929010837958] for the 6 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club for the 4 monthly tickets of [Old Gods Burning New Lamps]!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Visible Invisible Man] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Meng Yi Jiang Nan 55] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Yu Xiang] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [, Qiushui Changge] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20210301104142892062] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20210301106536471304] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [book friend 20190429103241157] for the 2 monthly tickets!
Thanks to the club executive director [orientbas] for the monthly pass!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Gentleman Youxing] for the monthly pass!
Thanks to the executive director of the club [Ruhuan Daqian] for the monthly pass!
(End of this chapter)
