Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 362: A fanboy of Ronaldo, and then joins the mortal enemy, right? !
"Hey guy!"

"long time no see!"

In the player tunnel, when he saw Luo Ge smiling and taking the initiative to shake hands with him, Zheng Lingfeng immediately smiled back and stretched out his right hand.

“Chris, it’s an honor to see you here!”

“Hahaha, I hope we can put on a wonderful game.”

"I think so!"

After the greetings, Ronaldo patted Ling Feng on the shoulder and then walked forward.

Watching Ronaldo come to the front of the queue and shake hands and greet Rooney, Ling Feng suddenly felt as if he was in another world.

Clearly, two and a half years ago, I was just an ordinary football fan who waited in front of the TV late at night, watching the famous football stars display their talents on the green field through the live broadcast signal;

And now, he is about to step onto the semi-final stage of the European Cup, ready to compete with one of the two greatest players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo!

Is there any football story more exciting than this? !
This made Ling Feng think of a very appropriate advertisement.

That was a six-minute commercial that Nike shot specifically for Ronaldo before the European Cup, called "The Switch"

The content of the advertisement is roughly about how when Cristiano Ronaldo was participating in a national team match, he collided with an English teenager named "Lee" on the sidelines, and then their souls were exchanged!
The advertisement then narrates from two perspectives: Ronaldo with a boy's body, and "Li" who enters Ronaldo's body.

On the one hand, the "Li" who entered Ronaldo's body slowly mastered Ronaldo's strong physique through muscle memory.

On the other hand, Ronaldo, who entered the body of a teenager, started from scratch with a firm will!
He started from street football and moved into the professional arena, and then step by step from the Championship and the Premier League to the England national team.

There was an inspirational journey of a group of max-level bosses returning to the novice village to level up again!
At the end of the commercial, the two people whose souls had been exchanged met again at the top of the national team friendly match!
This commercial fully demonstrates why Cristiano Ronaldo was able to rise to the pinnacle of football from a young boy on the small island of Madeira and become one of the two greats in football!
Ronaldo returns to his youth and uses his hard work and sweat to tell everyone:

Even if I lose everything, I will still start from scratch and try my best!

Strictly speaking, the English teenager "Lee" who regards Ronaldo as his idol is a believer in Ronaldo's spirit.

Even though he inherited Ronaldo's strong physique, talent, and wealth, he did not pursue pleasure and indulge in it.

Instead, he learned from his idol and worked hard to adapt to and master the body he had always dreamed of.

The spirit promoted in the commercial is passionate and full of positive energy.

However, what almost made Ling Feng leave Bengbu was that Li, who regarded Ronaldo as his idol, finally joined Manchester United's city rival Manchester City after some efforts!
Damn, you idolize Ronaldo and then join your mortal enemy, right?!
Little black guy?!

After complaining, Ling Feng still made a reasonable guess:
Since Nike is Manchester City's jersey sponsor, it would be more convenient to obtain the copyright of Manchester City's jerseys and have Manchester City stars appear on the jerseys.

Manchester United is the sponsored team of Nike's arch-rival Adidas and will definitely not appear in Nike's own commercials.

It is worth mentioning that in this commercial, several England internationals signed to Nike, including Ling Feng, Kane, Sterling and Barkley, all appeared.

However, during the filming, they didn't need to actually play a football game. They just each shot a segment of playing football in the studio.

Then through post-production, we can synthesize a clip of the England and Portugal national teams competing on the field.

Therefore, Ling Feng did not meet Luo Ge when filming the commercial. It was only when the commercial was broadcast that he saw the scene of himself and Luo Ge competing in the commercial.

So, strictly speaking, this European Cup semi-final was not his first encounter with Rogo.
However, those are just details.

In Ling Feng's opinion, this creative advertisement is not only a small gift to every fan, but also a "portrait of experience" that he can empathize with.

Like the other protagonist "Lee" in the commercial, he also played all the way from the Championship to the Premier League and then to the Three Lions.

This sense of déjà vu is so immersive!

The only difference is that the soul in his body is not Cristiano Ronaldo's, but an oriental soul that has obtained a plug-in!

When watching this commercial, Ling Feng also thought about this question:

If I, as an ordinary fan, could really exchange souls with a football star.

So, who would he most like to swap with?

And Ling Feng would choose Kaka without hesitation!

Without him.

Just because he is handsome and a great football player!
Just like myself!
"Next, let's welcome the players from both teams!"

At this moment, the DJ's introduction in the stadium and the sudden cheers in the stadium brought Ling Feng back to his senses.

Slightly retracting the slight smile on his face, Ling Feng followed the team and walked into the lighted stadium.

The next second, overwhelming cheers came over us!

The two teams lined up and soon the national anthem was played.

As the biggest star of the tournament, the photographer on the scene was very tactful and pointed the camera at the Portuguese captain.

When Ronaldo's handsome face appeared on the big screen at the scene, the entire stadium suddenly erupted in cheers that resounded through the sky.

Not only Portuguese fans were cheering for their national hero, but many English fans also applauded the son of Manchester United who once brought them fond memories.

After all, many English fans are old fans of Manchester United.

However, when the camera playfully pointed at the last peak of the England team, there was a lot of cheering from the stands.

Soon, with a long whistle from the German referee, the first semi-final of the 2016 European Cup in France, the "England-Portugal Battle", officially began!

England took the first kick-off.

As Vardy passed the ball back to Ling Feng behind him, everyone in the lighted stadium saw a somewhat strange scene:
That is, except for Ronaldo, other Portuguese players did not press forward!

"Portugal did not seem to have the intention of pressing forward, but instead used the center line as the dividing line of their defense zone"

"Obviously, Portugal's stance is very pragmatic."

Just as the commentator said, Portugal did firmly implement the pragmatic tactics formulated by the coach from the first second of the game.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos, described by The Guardian as a "pragmatist"

Under his rule, Portugal has always relied on defense and relied on Ronaldo's personal ability to resolve the battle.

And this gloomy old coach, at the pre-match press conference, in front of the media, gave England a mouthful of poisonous milk:
He claimed that England had a lot of great young talent and had a better chance of reaching the final;

Then he publicly praised Ling Feng's talent and importance to England in front of England captain Rooney.
Whether it is true or false, Santos knows very well that England has obvious advantages in both offensive ability and player physical fitness.

Moreover, considering the age of the team, if they press forward, it will only make the already not very good physical strength deplete faster. Therefore, his idea is very pragmatic. Just put on a defensive counterattack posture and wait for England to attack!
Although the formation is 4141, when it comes to defending, the entire formation is a complete squat 451!

Except for the center forward Cristiano Ronaldo who was at the front, all the players retreated to the half court.

Ronaldo will not waste his energy pressing.

Instead, he roamed in the rib space in the front court and between the two central defenders, like an extremely patient hunter, waiting for the opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
Neither Hodgson nor the Three Lions players were at all surprised by Portugal's "bus" tactics.

They just conduct the teaching step by step.

However, once the ball crossed the halfway line, they were pressed by the Portuguese players.

Once the ball is passed back, the Portuguese players will retreat and will not continue to rush for the ball.

This hedgehog-like tactical routine is not unfamiliar to Ling Feng, who plays for Leicester City.

Of course, he also knew very well how difficult such a defensive counterattack tactic was.

Portugal piled up too many defensive forces in the backcourt, and the space was compressed to a very small size.

It is very difficult to play effective passing and cutting coordination.

As the tactical core of England, Ling Feng was, as always, subject to the zone's joint defense.

Portugal's single defensive midfielder Danilo and two midfielders Sanches and Joao Mario surrounded the player through a triangle formation.

Once Ling Feng gets the ball, the three will immediately double-team him, forcing him to pass the ball.

However, Ling Feng was not surprised. He just kept running out of the "cage", either moving to the left or to the right.

Then he took the ball and made adjustments outside Portugal's position, constantly passing the ball to the sides, stretching Portugal's overall defensive formation.

Portugal is not in a hurry, and England is even less anxious.

This game is destined not to be as exciting as the one against Belgium.

What they need to do is to slowly consume the Portuguese players' mental and physical energy through passing and controlling the ball. When the opponents' physical strength declines and their minds are tired, their chance will come!
Patience is the key to life.

The same goes for competitions!
. . .

"The game soon reached the 20th minute, and neither side had completed the first shot on target."

"I have to say that both sides played very cautiously in this game."

The first twenty minutes of the game disappointed most of the fans.

Dull and dreary!
To put it simply, England pressed forward as a whole, constantly passing the ball back and forth outside Portugal's position, and then occasionally making a breakthrough on the wing or a long shot from the outside.

In 20 minutes, England controlled as much as 60% of the ball.

Facing Portugal, which retreated to the half court and gave up the ball, England, which was known for its rough technique, actually started to play passing and controlling the ball!

Of course, compared to the Spanish team, their pseudo-passing and control will still result in many mistakes.

When a pass is missed or a long shot goes wide, possession of the ball changes.

Portugal, which had the ball, was not in a hurry to attack forward, but instead passed the ball to both flanks as much as possible.

Then attract England's troops to move to both sides, allowing Ronaldo, who retreats to the middle to receive the ball, to have more space to get the ball.

Portugal's tactical tradition of focusing on the flanks is well known.

This Portugal team also focuses on the flanks.

Although the two wingers Adrien Silva and Nani who started this game are not as good as Figo and Ronaldo who has changed to play as a center forward, they are able to tear through the defense through their personal abilities on the wing.

However, they were still very skilled in small-scale cooperation on the wing.

The 18-year-old prodigy Sanches and Joao Mario in the middle will also frequently move to the side.

Of course, giving up the central attack and concentrating the troops on the flanks is for one purpose:
Cross!

If England allow them to get the ball on the wing, they will immediately kick the ball to the middle or sideways, looking for the man wearing the number seven jersey, the best finisher on the planet!
For this Portugal team which can be said to be in a period of transition, Ronaldo is their battering ram!

However, after a season of full attendance and continuous overtime, Ronaldo's physical condition is not ideal.

In addition, he was isolated and had no help around him. Facing the double-team of two traditional English central defenders, Smalling and Cahill, he was simply unable to calmly take the ball and turn around to face the goal.

However, with his age increase and the change of his role on the field, Ronaldo has long since changed from the winger who was fast and skilled in footwork to the unstoppable finisher in front of the goal today!
He would not foolishly get caught up in a muscular tangle with the opponent's central defender, but would frequently retreat to support the defense, and then act as a fulcrum to play some flank passes and cuts with Sanchez in the middle or Nani who cut inside.

Nani has been Ronaldo's striker partner in the national team for many years, and the two have some tacit understanding.

However, Nani, who is already 29 years old, has been in serious decline in form. His speed and dribbling lethality have obviously decreased, and his explosive lethality on the wing is not as good as it used to be.

But his brain is much more normal now.

At least he won't do the offside move of stealing a teammate's empty goal again.
As Portugal's biggest discovery in this European Cup, Sanchez's performance is really eye-catching!
Although he is only eighteen years old, he possesses a maturity that is different from his peers.

Can hold the ball, have physical confrontation, can advance, can intercept and steal
It is no exaggeration to say that it has both offensive and defensive capabilities!
The performance in the last match against Poland even made many media outlets exclaim:

He is like the Pogba of Portugal!
As the starting player in this game, Sanches also wants to use his outstanding performance to help Portugal reach the final again.

When the game reached the 24th minute, he finally had the chance to show himself!

Rooney's sudden shot from the edge of the penalty area was slightly higher than the crossbar.

Portugal goalkeeper Patricio passed the ball to left-back Guerrero, who dribbled the ball forward for a few meters before making a straight pass to Sanchez.

Facing Henderson who was defending him, the Portuguese prodigy didn't show any courtesy and directly started to make soup!
Henderson didn't expect him to be so rude. After reacting a little bit slow, he subconsciously moved his body to defend.

However, in the physical confrontation with Henderson, Sanchez was not at all inferior.

His feet were like glue, and he controlled the ball firmly.

He carried Henderson forward for several meters, and before Milner came to assist, Sanchez made a diagonal pass to Ronaldo who had moved to the left at some point.

When he arrived at the familiar ball-holding area, Ronaldo suddenly exuded a strong murderous aura.

Even when facing the double defense of Walker and Smalling, he did not hesitate at all.

I saw him riding a small bicycle, pushing the outside of his right foot to the right, dribbling sideways for two steps, increasing the shooting angle, and directly kicking a very high-quality long shot!
(End of this chapter)