Chapter 45: Advancing to the World Cup in Germany

The Silver Fox Lippi decided to change the formation to 4-4-2, replacing Gilardino who did not perform well in the whole game, letting Totti go to the top of the front line, Zambrotta also moved forward to play on the left wing, and Camoranesi played on the right wing, so that both wings would fly together!

Keep it simple, pass the ball from the wing, rush to the middle and outflanking, break that layer of membrane, oh no, that layer of paper!

Then it was right-back Zaccardo who replaced Gilardino...

"Damn, boss, look here, I've been warming up for so long! Zaccardo is a defender, and I'm a legitimate offensive player! If you want to think about losing your virginity, oh no, scoring a goal, you can give me priority..." Ricardo was so anxious that he couldn't help but complain on the sidelines.

Although the Italian team seemed to be missing a striker, their attack was more fierce: Zambrotta and Grosso on both sides took turns to advance, making the Slovenian defense look miserable!

This game completely became a showcase for Totti and Pirlo's talented footwork, as well as a training session for the Italian forwards to adjust their aim... and a sideline observation session for Ricardo.

In the 78th minute, Italy finally broke the deadlock! Camoranesi broke through the middle and passed the ball. Grosso received the ball and rushed into the small penalty area from the left, then passed it high to the back post...

It's the TV commentator's turn again:

"Camoranesi dribbled beautifully...cut inside..."

"Good ball, pass...Grosso..."

"Grosso fakes...good shot, break through!"

"Inside...near the bottom line..."

"Cross the ball! At the back post..."

"Zaccardo!"

"Ditch oooooh! Ditch oooooh! Ditch!"

"Zaccardo! Zaccardo! Zaccardo's header helped Italy score the first goal!"

"The Italian team attacked for most of the game and finally scored a goal...Italy will qualify early..."

"Congratulations to the Italian team. Let's first watch this wonderful header through slow motion replay..."

Italy's substitute right back Zaccardo made a quick run forward, received Grosso's cross from 7 meters in front of the goal, and headed in the goal! The ball went straight to the top corner of the goal, and the goalkeeper had no way to stop it...

This was a connection between the two full-backs. Zaccardo, who made a run from behind the Slovenian player, was completely unmarked and attracted the attention of Luca Toni and Totti. Zaccardo's diving header was also very decisive!

……

Ricardo, who saw Zaccardo's goal from the sidelines, also silently swallowed his previous complaints...

"There's nothing we can do about it. Scoring a goal is the truth, winning is the loudest voice. Boss, you're right..."

Ricardo Lich: Starting order -1…

……

And as expected of an Italian coach, Lippi knew when to stop. After Zaccardo scored, he immediately replaced Pirlo with De Rossi to strengthen the defense.

Then in the 85th minute of the game, the team remembered Li Qi, who had been warming up on the sidelines for most of the game, and replaced Camoranesi with Li Qi to further enhance the team's running ability and defensive enthusiasm on the wing.

Then in the 87th minute, Vieri replaced Luca Toni, disrupting Slovenia's counterattack rhythm, delaying time, and allowing Vieri to find his form...

This Italian striker has not been in very good form recently. It has been almost two months since the start of the new season, but he has yet to score.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Vieri received a through ball from Totti in a counterattack, then he lay in the penalty area and shot wide of the post under the pressure of several defenders...

Then, in the last minute of stoppage time, Vieri succeeded in getting back on the offside, and his direct pass with Li Qi was just right. However, Vieri did not stop the ball well and made too many adjustments with his feet. After dribbling past the goalkeeper, although he was facing an empty goal, the angle was very small, and his forced shot missed the target again...

Li Qi complained in his heart: "Brother Popo, you might as well pass the ball back to me... that way you can at least get an assist... unlike this, where both of us scored a goal and got no assists..."

It can be said that Vieri missed two good scoring opportunities in just 3 minutes...

Vieri also used these 3 minutes to earn himself the lowest score of the game...

But after the game Lippi specifically defended Vieri and said: "For me, Vieri is still one of the best strikers in Europe. No, to avoid exaggeration, I would say he is one of the best strikers in Italy."

But this is no longer relevant to the overall situation. Italy qualified as they wished: the final result of the game was that Italy beat Slovenia by one goal.

The best player of the game was Grosso, who had a key assist and many outstanding performances!

……

At the post-match press conference, Lippi concluded: "I admit that my players and I had the same idea: don't take risks. This idea affected our performance to a certain extent, but we still controlled the game..."

"The transition to a more balanced 442 was the right thing to do. We didn't give our opponent a single chance... I am satisfied that when a beautiful scene comes, we will continue on this path... But you also know that a beautiful scene is the most difficult for us."

So far, Lippi's national team has remained unbeaten in 12 games, with 7 wins and 5 draws. The last loss happened to be against Slovenia. A coach with good results is naturally right in everything he says...

……

That night, Ricardo received a bunch of congratulatory text messages, including from his parents, brother, Sarafina, Julian, Raiola, Pimenta and others, all of whom congratulated him and the Italian national team for reaching the World Cup finals, as if they all tacitly agreed that he would definitely be called up next summer...

This time Chiara's congratulatory message was a little interesting. It was a selfie of her wearing a white girl's shirt and a green one-piece skirt, and then asked Riccardo to guess where the other color was? (The colors of the Italian flag are green, white and red...)

This white shirt is so thin that the armor inside can be seen through... It seems to be a lace 1/2 cup style...

"I haven't seen it before. It looks like it's newly bought." Ricardo couldn't help licking his lips...

……

接下来是3天后，于10月12日晚间对阵摩尔多瓦的比赛了，也是2006年世界杯预选赛欧洲区进入小组赛的最后1个比赛日。

For Italy, which has already secured first place in the group and advanced to the World Cup finals, Wednesday's match against Moldova is basically a pure training match: Totti and Gattuso are suspended, and Nesta will miss the game due to a thumb injury.

Therefore, Lippi will send out almost all substitutes and also found Li Qi to give advice before the game:

"Ricardo, you will be the starter in the next game..."

"If nothing unexpected happens, you will play the entire game..."

"Let your brothers rest for a while, they are too tired..."

"You are still young, and your first-team duties are not too heavy..." (What a lie...)

"Although we have already advanced, this game is played at home and we still have to give an account to our countrymen and fans."

"Your first task is to consolidate the defense and stabilize the rhythm... If you do it well, I will think more about the World Cup next year..."

Ricardo was thinking: Huh? Just starting to make big promises?!

But he answered loudly: "Got it, boss! No problem, leave it to me!"

……

In addition, before the game, Ricardo also talked to Vieri for a while. After all, he was the big brother who took care of him in the club - although at that time, Super Popo saw Ricardo as a little kid - and old Li Qi was also a big fan of Vieri...

Christian Vieri was born on July 1973, 7 in Bologna, Italy. He has dual Italian and Australian citizenship. He is 12 meters tall and weighs 1 kilograms.

In 1999, he set the highest transfer fee record in world football with a transfer fee of 5000 million US dollars, so some people called him Mr. 900 billion lira (the exchange rate at that time corresponded to 5000 million US dollars).

But the Apennine tank is the best interpretation of Vieri, who has superb shooting skills, sharp awareness and strong body!

Vieri has strong explosive power and impact, and comprehensive skills with both feet, among which the left foot is more lethal. At the same time, with his strong body, Vieri also has a keen ability to grab points. Since his debut, he has been regarded as one of the best center forwards in Italian football.

In addition, watching Vieri play also has a strong visual impact and violent aesthetics. You can often see Vieri jumping or sprinting with several opposing defenders hanging on him, and then scoring the ball! It's so manly...

Ricardo was determined to have a chance in this game and to help Vieri find his form and break the shackles of his inner demons or goal drought.

……

对阵摩尔多瓦，意大利继续沿用4-3-1-2阵型（上轮比赛后里皮大大说过的4-4-2呢？！看来都是烟幕弹啊……）：

The goalkeeper is No. 12 De Sanctis;

The back line from left to right is: No. 3 Grosso, No. 16 Materazzi, No. 15 Bonera, No. 13 Zaccardo;

The iron triangle in the midfield is led by No. 4 De Rossi, with No. 17 Diana and No. 18 Ricardo Richie;

The front trident is attacking midfielder No. 20 Del Piero, and forward partners No. 21 Vieri and No. 19 Iaquinta.

(Del Piero’s injury is also intermittent, and it seems that he has never recovered. His condition is also very average...)

Therefore, Lippi's task for Li Qi is to guard the midfield with De Rossi, and let the other big brothers find their form!

……

However, in this game, the big brothers' condition was really terrible... Especially Vieri... He was once a god-level figure, but with his age and injuries, he is no longer as brave as he used to be.

For Vieri, the beginning of this game was a continuation of the nightmare he had in the league and against Slovenia. There were opportunities everywhere, but he just couldn't seize them:

First, there was a shot and a header after the opening, which missed two crosses from Li Qi and Zaccardo. Then Grosso's cross slipped past the empty goal, and Vieri failed to keep up with the pace.

Then, in the 23rd minute of the game, Piero's free kick was finally shot into the net; but Popo's goal was considered offside by the referee.

In response to this, Vieri lost his temper. In the close-up shot, there was no anger, no argument, just a wry smile on his face.

Afterwards, Li Qi made another wonderful through pass! Vieri was a little slow to start, and the opponent's defender got the ball away first...

It was obvious to the naked eye that Vieri's self-confidence was disappearing little by little, but Li Qi was still thinking of a way to feed his big brother a cake...

The game reached the 70th minute. Li Qi and De Rossi cooperated with each other in the midfield, broke through the opponent's dense central defense, and then made another penetrating straight pass!

However, this time Li Qi did not pass the ball directly to Vieri. Passing it directly to Vieri would not be effective as there were defensive players following him and he was not in good shape either. It would be better to pass the ball to Del Piero on the side first!

However, the weight of Li Qi's pass seemed a little too heavy, and it was a bit inappropriate for Del Piero to cut inside and shoot after receiving the ball.

So Del Piero went down the left side, passed the opponent's defender and made a low cross!

The ball passed the goalkeeper's fingertips, but Vieri almost missed such a chance that even his grandmother could score from 5 meters in front of the goal...

I didn’t dare to shoot directly the first time, and I didn’t control the ball well. I adjusted the ball the second time before I controlled it. Fortunately, I managed to carefully push the ball into the empty goal before the opponent’s defender made up for it…

This can no longer be explained from a technical point of view. Vieri has suffered a psychological setback... but no matter what, he scored a goal after all.

Li Qi’s wish was fulfilled, but he also felt a little helpless. Is this what it’s like when a hero grows old?

Of course, this goal came at the right time. As Lippi said after the game: "The goal is very important for his psychology."

It seems that Moldova is indeed one of Vieri's favorite opponents. Eight years ago, it was against this opponent that Vieri scored the 8th goal for the Italian national team.

Of course, the Vieri of today is no longer the Vieri of the past.

After scoring the goal, Vieri seemed to relax a lot and his performance also improved: Gilardino, who had just replaced Iaquinta, headed the wonderful pass that Vieri gave him, otherwise Popovich would have received an extra assist tonight...

……

But afterwards, Li Qi might not care about Vieri because his embarrassing moment had come.

Originally, he, De Rossi and Diarra executed Lippi's strategy almost perfectly throughout the game, firmly suppressing Moldova in the half. Until the 78th minute of the game, Moldova had not had a single shot.

Ricardo also kept Lippi's instructions in mind and rarely joined the attack. He always covered the defense or organized the attack near the midfield. He participated in the attack by passing directly to Vieri or Del Piero...

But when the game reached the 79th minute, Moldova scored a goal!

And this goal also made Li Qi lose his temper...

After Moldova took a goal kick, the backcourt made a long pass to the side. Zambrotta, who came on as a substitute for Grosso in the second half, kicked the ball out of the sideline for safety reasons. There was nothing wrong with that.

Then Moldova's powerful throw-in to the edge of the penalty area was headed away by Materazzi, which was no problem...

However, the Moldovan players who were lying in wait outside the penalty area directly shot the ball into the Italian team's net in the form of a world wave when they fought for the chance ball... Diana was the one who was responsible for the fight, and was a little slow, but he also interfered, and there was not much problem...

Li Qi was still protecting on the other side... and saw the ball whizzing into the blind spot in the upper right corner of the goal like a cruise missile...

Li Qi looked towards the coaching booth helplessly... "Boss, this ball is not my fault, right? There is nothing we can do about it..."

Lippi: …

Fortunately, within 5 minutes, the Italian team took the lead again.

In the 84th minute of the game, Li Qi intercepted the ball from Moldova and passed it to Diana. Diana made a lob pass to Vieri in the penalty area, but was broken by Moldova...

At this time, Li Qi, who was ambushing outside the penalty area, also grabbed the ball in advance. However, Li Qi did not shoot directly from a distance. Instead, he turned on the "explosion point mode" and calmly used the arch of his foot to pass the ball diagonally over the top into the penalty area again...

However, it was not towards Vieri who was surrounded by defensive players, but towards the far end on the other side where there was no one guarding.

The speed and arc of the ball were just right, the goalkeeper couldn't get out, but Gilardino, who came on as a substitute, was able to catch the ball. Gilardino pushed the ball into the near corner with his right foot from 5 meters in front of the goal!

Italy took the lead again, and the score of 2 to 1 was also the final score.

Fortunately, Lippi was quite satisfied with Li Qi's performance after the game. With Italy controlling more than 60% of the ball, he also had 6 steals, a pass success rate of 90%, and a calm assist for the winning goal. The responsibility for the goals conceded was not mainly on Li Qi.

So Lippi still gave Li Qi a reassurance: "Go back to the club and perform well, try to play more games, and don't get injured..."

Li Qi was very happy: "Okay, boss! Got it! I will definitely perform well..."

……

But when he returned to the club, Ricardo finally realized what was happening: "Damn it! The old fox didn't make any promises!"

"Before the game, he just said to think about it more, but he didn't say what to think about more..."

"After the game, he just told me to perform well and not get injured..."

"It was all just my own imagination!"

"And I even lied to myself that I was grateful to the warriors for their willingness to die for me..."

"I guess all the young players are fooled this way..."

……