Chapter 63: A good start to the year (explosive chapter)

December 2005, 12 was a Saturday, so New Year's Day and New Year's Eve in 31 fell exactly into the critical time period for Chiara to provide logistical support!

So Ricardo's New Year's Eve ceremony this year was different from previous years. He and Chiara "crossed the night together", but Chiara, wearing a new dark blue lace outfit, straddled Ricardo... However, the important thing was that the two people who were close to each other were very happy...

There was no conversation that night. The next night, Riccardo sent Chiara to the airport to return to Milan. He was reluctant to let her go. They had a long argument and agreed to spend the next year, oh no, the Chinese New Year, in the same way. Then they said goodbye reluctantly...

Then Ricardo soon ushered in the first round of the Spanish King's Cup quarter-finals. Ricardo was determined to travel with the team to Zamora in the northwest of Spain to challenge the third division team Zamora. This season, Zamora is a team in the northern zone of Group B of the Spanish Second Division; this Western Second Division B is equivalent to the Spanish Third Division, and this Third Division is divided into four groups based on geographical location.

两队原定于1月4日晚间进行的比赛要提前至1月3日晚上举行，因此巴萨将不得不在2日晚间就启程前往萨莫拉。而之前大部分身在南美与非洲的球员放假归队的日期都是定在了2日。宽宏大量的巴萨俱乐部没有要求球员们提早结束假期，而是按照原计划给非欧洲的球员们多留3天假期以更好陪伴家人们，一起享受圣诞和元旦假期。

Therefore, Ronaldinho, Messi, Motta and ten other first-team players will miss this game. Against such a Spanish Second Division B team, Rijkaard's main purpose is not to show off his team, but to examine the substitutes. Therefore, Ricardo is likely to start in this game.

(Voiceover: Maybe they wanted to give up strategically, just like last season... But last season, they were messed up by Ricciardo and had to play one more round...)

……

From the opponent's perspective, since the opponent is Barcelona, ​​the fans of Zamora, a team in the third-level Spanish Second Division B, are very enthusiastic!

The streets of Zamora have been filled with a festive atmosphere these days - not only the excitement of the double egg holiday, but also the anticipation for the La Liga giants. In addition to greeting each other with Happy New Year, the most talked about thing among the pedestrians on the street is the match with Barcelona.

On the morning of New Year's Day, it was as cold as an ice cellar outside the ticket booth in Notre Dame Square next to the stadium, but fans lined up in long queues starting at 6 a.m. just to get a ticket.

Because it was still the Double Egg Holiday, the ticket booth was not open until 11: am. There were also many fans wearing Barcelona jerseys in the queue. As expected, the Dream Team II has been in the limelight recently, with a huge base of fans all over the world, not to mention in Spain? !

At the beginning of the new year, thousands of tickets were sold out in just a few hours, leaving only the outside tickets. According to unnamed gossip and unverified statistics, the Zamora Club's ticket revenue from this game alone reached 12 euros, which is equivalent to its income for half a year...

The home game against the super club is a carnival for the small club and its fans!

Of course, if there is a chance to play against the top European giants, even if it is a friendly match, any non-European club and fans will attach great importance to it, just like a festival. Of course, only Chinese clubs look down on it, which shows the precipitation, tolerance and pattern of a great country!

……

Although Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi and Deco were absent, Rijkaard could still use a 4-3-3 formation because of the presence of Ricardo:

The goalkeeper position was replaced by the second goalkeeper Jorquera, No. 25, in the starting lineup, replacing Valdés;

The defense line is led by captain Puyol (No. 5), Belletti (No. 2) and Van Brongthorst (No. 12) as wingbacks, and Oleguer (No. 23) and the captain as central defenders.

No. 4 Marcos was pushed back to the defensive midfielder position, forming a new midfield iron triangle with No. 18 Gabriel and No. 24 Iniesta;

No. 66 Li Qi got another chance to start as a left winger, forming a new forward trident with No. 14 Esquero and No. 8 Giuly!

Li Qi was very excited to get another chance to start, even though it was in the King's Cup. "Last season, my first appearance was also in the King's Cup, and I had a wonderful assist!" Li Qi thought happily, "In this game, I will play as Ronaldinho's father's left winger, maybe I will have a chance to set new records..."

However, it was the home team that created the first threat. In the 2nd minute of the game, the home team's striker Omar made a long shot from 25 yards on the left, which was a stunner, although the ball went wide of the far corner.

Although Barcelona responded one minute later, Li Qi broke through on the left and passed the ball to Gabriel, who made a long shot from 1 yards away from the goal on the right side of the center. Unfortunately, the powerful shot was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper Vilchez and went out of the bottom line.

However, I don’t know if it’s because they just returned from a long vacation, most of Barcelona’s players are still sleepy, no no, they haven’t found their form yet; or maybe the home team is particularly excited facing a star team, it was the little-known Zamora team that broke the deadlock in the 5th minute!

The home team made a long pass from the backcourt, and Zamora's winger Sciaco took the ball and rushed into the right side of the penalty area. He easily dribbled past Belletti and decisively pushed the ball into the far corner from 10 yards. Holkera, who made his second appearance this season, had no way to deal with this low shot aimed at the 10-yard corner.

The goal was lost within five minutes of the start of the game. Could it be that Barcelona's failure in the second round of the King's Cup last season is really going to be a thorn in their throat?

Rijkaard stood up a little uneasily and looked down at his watch. There was still time, but the problem was that it was an away game, the field and weather conditions were not very good, and when to equalize the score was crucial to the overall battle! Rijkaard waved his hand, indicating that he should go all out to attack!

The Barcelona team, which was behind in the score, began to fight back with all their strength, especially Li Qi, who started to jump up and down again, striving for performance: "We must make it to the next round, otherwise we will have fewer opportunities to play..."

However, Li Qi's attacking mode on the left wing is completely different from Ronaldinho's father. The latter creates opportunities for teammates by holding the ball to attract defense or by making wonderful breakthroughs himself, while Li Qi seeks opportunities to break through the defense by running at all costs and making excellent passes and cuts, constantly cooperating and interweaving with teammates...

However, Zamora's team often hoarded more than 8 people in the backcourt defense, which made it difficult for Barcelona's players to gain offensive space, while the home team took the opportunity to launch a quick counterattack to threaten the visiting team's goal.

Therefore, facing the dense defense with all players retreating, and with the teamwork not particularly tacit, Li Qi's playing style is indeed difficult to produce a highlight performance... Instead, it was the teammates in the midfield and backcourt who frequently created threats through long shots and set pieces.

In the 8th minute, Marcos' long shot from 30 yards in the center was high.

In the 11th minute, after receiving the pass from Li Qi, Iniesta did not continue to play in-depth cooperation. Instead, after Li Qi took away the defender, he passed the ball to the other side in front of the penalty area. Belletti took a long shot from 25 yards on the right. Unfortunately, this low shot with his left foot did not have power and was blocked by Vilchez.

In the 17th minute, Van Bronckhorst made a long pass from the right free kick to the far post. Oleg got the ball on the left side of the small penalty area and headed the ball from 5 yards in front of the goal. Unfortunately, it was saved by Vilchez at the bottom line.

In the 21st minute, Esquillo received a lob pass from Li Qi in the penalty area, but he controlled the ball with difficulty under the pressure of the defensive players. He could no longer pass it directly to Li Qi who was making a forward run, so he could only pass it back. This time it was Van Bronckhorst's turn to shoot with his left foot from 25 yards on the right, but the shot was again confiscated by Vilchez because the angle was too straight.

However, Barcelona, ​​which was in a siege, still created good opportunities and almost equalized the score in the 27th minute.

The defenders were led away by Li Qi and Giuly, and Gabriel received the ball from Marcos and made a clever straight pass in the middle. Esquillo successfully made an offside and faced the goalkeeper who came out from the right side of the penalty area with 12 yards. He calmly shot the ball, but unfortunately the ball hit the right post and went wide.

However, hard work pays off, and Barcelona finally equalized the score in the 37th minute. Puyol made a long pass from the backcourt, Esquillo retreated to get the ball, and then passed it horizontally to Marcos. After the Mexican stopped the ball, he calmly sent a surgical pass into the middle of the penalty area, which directly broke through the opponent's defense line that had been tightly defended since the start!

Van Brontehorst made a high-speed run and easily scored by pushing the ball into the far corner with his left foot without stopping the ball 12 yards in front of the goal in the penalty area.

Rijkaard finally sat back in the coaching booth, feeling relieved. "At least we tied the score in the first half. We should still have a good chance of winning the game! Damn it, oh no, it's Vamos!"

Li Qi, who came late to celebrate with his teammates, recalled that the key pass to the Dutch was not from a traditional midfielder like Iniesta or Gabriel, but from Marcos: "It seems that Dad Marcos was in good shape in this game! I wonder if he ate a lot of Mexican sea cucumbers during the holiday..."

Not long after, Barcelona came back. In the 38th minute, Esquillo and Li Qi played a straight pass and a diagonal run. The Spanish striker received the straight pass on the penalty area line and got a chance to score! Unfortunately, his low left-foot shot from 14 yards on the left side of the penalty area went wide of the goal.

(Li Qi quickly turned around and retreated with regret: "Damn, he missed my assist! How many chances has this guy missed in this game? He is not good at seizing opportunities...")

Then in the injury time of the first half, after Li Qi received the breakthrough pass from Iniesta, he used a personal breakthrough attack that was relatively rare in the first half: a wonderful series of stops and passes followed by a Marseille turn, breaking through the opponent's two defenders and successfully reaching the left bottom line of the penalty area. After aiming at the empty space in the penalty area, he made a high cross.

The ball went over the goalkeeper and the defenders' heads and fell to the far end. Esquiro, who was lying in ambush at the far point, jumped high and headed the ball 8 yards in front of the goal! Unfortunately, the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out of the bottom line...

(Like Esquiro, Li Qi held his head in his hands, unable to believe that such a good opportunity was missed: "Damn! Another one, missed my assist again!")

The two sides entered the half-time break with the score tied and Rijkaard made no adjustments.

In the second half, Barcelona continued to intensify their offensive and beat up Zamora's team. The home team's fans seemed to like seeing their home team being beaten up by the Dream Team II, and they kept cheering excitedly, as if to say: Don't give me face, beat him up... Resist! Fight back... Brother, he actually dared to fight back, keep beating him up, use force...

In the 48th minute, Li Qi pulled away the defender and passed the ball to Van Bronckhorst who came from behind. The latter shot directly with his left foot from 25 yards on the left, but the ball went over the goal.

In the 54th minute, Van Bronckhorst made a cross from the free kick on the right, and Marcos was lucky enough to get to the front post. Unfortunately, his heel shot from 6 yards in front of the goal lacked power and was directly confiscated by Vilchez.

In the 55th minute, Barcelona pressed the ball all over the field. Li Qi rushed forward at high speed, forcing the opponent's goalkeeper to make a hasty clearance error. Esquero intercepted the ball on the left side of the penalty area, but Esquero's direct shot from a small angle slipped out of the goal again.

(Like Esquilo, Li Qi once again held his head in his hands. Seeing that such a good opportunity was missed again, he couldn't believe it again: "Damn! Brother Esquilo, this is the Nth time!")

In the 63rd minute, Rijkaard finally made a change in his tactics, with Van Bommel, who had recovered from injury, replacing Gabri.

In the 75th minute, Li Qi once again sought to cooperate with Esquillo, but after Li Qi passed the ball forward and led the defensive players away, Esquillo faked a pass, created an opening and shot directly with his right foot into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area on the left. Unfortunately, the ball hit the post and went wide of the goal.