Chapter 101 Before the Champions League Final
The entire Italian football was more or less implicated in the Calciopoli scandal, but Ricardo, who went to Spain in the summer of 2004, was outside the vortex and watched the storm unfold.
This may also be one of the reasons why Lippi's coaching team finally included Ricardo in the World Cup roster. Players from overseas are less likely to be implicated in the phone-gate incident and can bring different perspectives and help to the team, especially from the perspective of young players.
However, Ricardo is also the only overseas player to be called up to the squad, but this is probably because not many Italian players have made a name for themselves in overseas leagues.
In any case, Ricardo, who received the notice from Raiola in advance, felt calm and slowly browsed the news, waiting for the announcement of the 23-man roster online.
It didn’t take long before the official website of the Italian national team announced the entire 22-man World Cup roster at around 23 p.m.
There are three goalkeepers, namely No. 3 Buffon, from Juventus Club, born on January 1, 1978, 1 meters tall, weighing 28 kilograms;
No. 12 Peruzzi, from Lazio, born on February 1970, 2, 16 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 14 Amelia, from Livorno Club, was born on April 1982, 4. She is 2 meters tall and weighs 1 kilograms.
There are 8 players in the back line, including No. 2 Zaccardo, from Palermo Club, born on December 1981, 12, 21 meters tall, 1 kilograms;
No. 3 Grosso, from Palermo, born on November 1977, 11, 28 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 5 Cannavaro, from Real Madrid, born on September 1973, 9, 13 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 6 Barzagli, from Palermo, born on May 1981, 5, 8 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 13 Nesta, from AC Milan, born on March 1976, 3, 19 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 19 Zambrotta, from Juventus, born on February 1977, 2, 19 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 22 Oddo, from Lazio, born on June 1976, 6, 14 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 23 Materazzi, from Inter Milan, was born on August 1973, 8. He is 19 meters tall and weighs 1 kilograms.
The midfield lineup consists of seven players, namely No. 7 De Rossi, from Roma, born on July 4, 1983, 7 meters tall, 24 kilograms;
No. 8 Gattuso, from AC Milan, born on January 1978, 1, 9 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 10 Totti, from Rome, born on September 1976, 9, 27 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 16 Camoranesi, from Juventus, born on October 1976, 10, 4 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 17 Ricci, from FC Barcelona, born on June 1986, 6, 6 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 20 Perrotta, from Rome, born on September 1977, 9, 17 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 21 Pirlo, from AC Milan, was born on May 1979, 5. He is 19 meters tall and weighs 1 kilograms.
Finally, there is the forward line, with a total of 5 players selected;
No. 7 Del Piero, from Juventus, born on November 1974, 11, 9 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 9 Luca Toni, from Fiorentina, born on May 1977, 5, 26 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 11 Gilardino, from AC Milan, born on July 1982, 7, 5 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 15 Laquinta, from Udinese, born on November 1979, 11, 21 meters tall, 1 kilograms in weight;
No. 18 Filippo Inzaghi, from AC Milan, was born on August 1973, 8. He is 9 meters tall and weighs 1 kilograms.
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Ricardo has studied this list repeatedly several times. Lippi's national team can be said to be the strongest national team in the past 20 years. These 20 years are counting back 20 years and also counting back 20 years. Whether it is offense or defense, organization or goalkeeper, there are no shortcomings, and there are world-class players and various important role players.
Buffon, the main goalkeeper, will be the best goalkeeper in the world now and in the next 10 years.
The combination of Cannavaro and Nesta on the defensive line reached the peak of their respective competitive form around this World Cup, and Cannavaro, as captain, wrote an immortal legend in the history of defenders.
In the midfield there is Totti in front and Pirlo behind. The former was the prince of Italy in the past decade, while the latter has a brilliant football career for more than 10 years and is getting better with age.
Luca Toni, a late bloomer on the striker line, has been the European striker of the past two years, while Filippo Inzaghi, who has entered the end of his career, has also blossomed in the last few years.
There are also many important role players such as Wesley Grosso, midfield butcher Gattuso and Ronaldo. The Italian national team will have no problem setting up two main lineups to cope with the intensive schedule of the World Cup!
After closing the computer and lying on the bed, Ricardo couldn't help but give a final verdict on Italy's World Cup journey in advance: "With the help of myself, who can stir things up, they can naturally win the championship without any effort! Yeah!"
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Barcelona's original plan was to travel to Paris, France at dusk on Monday, but in order to arrange one more training session in Barcelona, Rijkaard finally decided to postpone the departure date by one day.
These days, Barcelona has a pleasant and sunny weather, so the Dutch coach feels that training in Barcelona will be more effective than training publicly in front of hundreds of cameras in Paris.
So at about 13: on Tuesday, Spanish time, the entire Barcelona team took a flight to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. Soon, the bus took the team to the Waldorf Astoria Versailles Trianon Palace in the suburbs of Paris.
This is a five-star luxury hotel converted from an ancient monastery. It is comfortable and quiet, and there is no business district nearby, so apart from the hotel guests, it is sparsely populated.
This is the ideal place in Rijkaard's mind, because his team can stay in such a place, not only away from the harassment of the media and fans, but also to avoid those players who have many friends in Paris going out late the night before the game.
Although only 18 players were needed, Rijkaard brought all the first-team players to Paris, including Messi, who had not fully recovered from his injury. The Black Swan hoped that all the first-team players would be present when the team won the championship.
In addition, a truck full of Barcelona supplies also arrived in Paris. In addition to the equipment and supplies that must be used every day, the truck also carried an oversized bottle of champagne. France is the homeland of champagne, but the Catalans would rather bring their own champagne to Paris and then open this bottle of champagne with the taste of their homeland after the team wins the championship.
Compared to Barcelona's meticulousness, Arsenal seems a bit unhurried. Not only did the Gunners arrive in Paris later than Barcelona, they are not even prepared to arrange training to adapt to the venue!
Of course, this does not mean that Arsenal is too arrogant, because Henry, Pires and many other Gunners are too familiar with the final venue in France, and coach Wenger often serves as a guest to commentate on the game at the Stade de France.
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The hot sales of tickets reflect the fans' desire for this technical showdown between Barcelona and Arsenal.
On the black market, tickets for the Champions League final have risen to 2000 to 3000 euros per ticket, which is 30 to 50 times the lowest price.
On Monday, two masked gangsters even broke into the city hall of Saint-Denis in Paris with guns, trying to demand tickets from the mayor by force, but they failed in the end.
In terms of public opinion, all sectors see Barcelona as the biggest favorite to win the championship.
Barcelona godfather Cruyff naturally stood on Barcelona's side. He believed that Barcelona's hope of winning the second Champions League trophy in the club's history was only one step away from reality: "As long as the team can play normally and get normal luck, we will definitely celebrate after 90 minutes of the game."
Koeman, the head coach of Benfica, which was eliminated by Barcelona, is also very optimistic about the Spaniard. "I have personally experienced their greatness, and I know very well how terrible this greatness is. It simply takes your breath away... The defense of these two teams is equally good, but Barcelona's offense is stronger on the basis of defense."
If Cruyff and Koeman both have Barcelona resumes and are not credible, then Hitzfeld, who once led Dortmund to win the Champions League, also stands on Barcelona's side: "Spaniards' football is more open, which will give them more opportunities."
Hitzfeld's view was echoed by current Bayern Munich coach Magath. "It is definitely not feasible to defend against Barcelona... It is a pity that Vieira has left. If he was still there, Arsenal would have a better chance of winning."
According to the data from major bookmakers, Barcelona is the favorite in this year's Champions League final.
However, Rijkaard was very low-key about Barcelona being the favorite and was unwilling to admit it: "It would be a huge mistake to think that we are the favorite. The final is unique. Chelsea is a super team in the Premier League. Arsenal's level is not low either. They fought as a whole and only lost two goals in the Champions League. We don't have a psychological advantage."
In addition, in Rijkaard's view, Barcelona's situation will actually be more difficult. "This game is obviously easier for Wenger. Arsenal just need to play a good counterattack. I am the one who has a headache."
When Gunners coach Wenger looked ahead to the final, he praised Barcelona but was full of confidence: "Barcelona is the favorite to win the championship! We are a formidable challenger! We are determined to do our best. We can beat them. This is the final and everyone has a chance. We believe we can be the final winner of the game. My players are aware of the responsibilities on their shoulders, which means they can move towards victory."
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In addition to paying attention to the outcome and trend of the game, many media and interested people are also concerned about whether the Argentine genius player Messi, who has returned from injury, can play in the final.
Two days before the game, Rijkaard said that he had already confirmed 99% of the Arsenal squad, leaving the remaining 1% for Messi.
Messi has arrived in Paris with the team, and Barcelona's team doctor reported that Messi still has the possibility of playing.
Of course, the possibility of Messi really playing is not great, because he has not been on the court for more than two months. Even if the Argentine has fully recovered from his injury, Rijkaard will not let a player who has not played for a long time play in such an important game.
However, as the game time approached, both sides finally announced the final rosters.
Barcelona still uses a 4-3-3 formation, and the starting lineup and match list are as follows:
The goalkeeper is No. 1 Valdés;
The back line from left to right is No. 12 Van Bronckhorst, captain No. 5 Puyol, No. 4 Marcos, No. 23 Oleguer;
The iron triangle in the midfield is No. 17 Van Bommel, No. 15 Edmilson and No. 20 Deco;
The forward trident is No. 8 Giuly, No. 9 Eto'o and No. 10 Ronaldinho.
Sitting on the bench were Li Qi, Larsson, Iniesta and Belletti; Messi was ultimately not included in the roster.
Arsenal used a 4-5-1 formation, and the starting lineup and match list are as follows:
The goalkeeper is German goalkeeper number 1 Jens Lehmann;
The back line from left to right is No. 3 Ashley Cole, No. 23 Campbell, No. 28 Toure and No. 27 Eboue;
The five-man midfield is No. 7 Pires, No. 8 Ljungberg, No. 15 Fabregas, No. 19 Gilberto and No. 13 Hleb;
The single arrow is captain No. 14 Henry.
Other players on the bench include Reyes, Bergkamp, Van Persie and Clichy.
The referee is the famous European referee Hauge from Norway!
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At the pre-match preparation meeting, Ricardo clearly sensed the nervousness of his boss, Rijkaard, and even made an obvious slip of the tongue when arranging tactics without noticing it. Moreover, he did not like to emphasize control and passing and cutting as usual, but instead repeatedly reminded him of defense and physical contact...
"It doesn't look good. The boss seems to be a bit too cautious. We clearly have the advantage. Such a conservative deployment and tactical arrangement may lead to an unfavorable situation... I hope the boss has thought of a backup plan!" Seeing the boss trembling with nervousness, Ricardo couldn't help but start to get nervous as well.
"I hope I can still win the championship smoothly! What was the final outcome? It's a pity that old Li Qi is not a fan of Barcelona or Arsenal, and he doesn't have much impression of such an important final process..."
"It seems that Belletti scored the winning goal? Is it true? He was a starter and a substitute like me..." Ricardo pulled his hair and only remembered this little bit of seemingly useful information.
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