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

Chapter 368: Honorable Defeat, Post-match Review

Although it is not the first time to lose.

However, this time the loss was not in the league or Europa League as happens every year.

But it’s the European Cup held every four years!
If we are eliminated, we will have to wait another four years before we can play on such a stage again.

Moreover, with the European Cup final just around the corner, the team was dragged into a penalty shootout by its opponents despite having the upper hand, and eventually lost the game.

Both the process and the result made Ling Feng feel mixed emotions.

Regret? Reluctance? Disappointment?
There are.

The key is that he has tried his best in this game.

However, football is a team sport.

The reason for losing the game cannot be summarized in just a few words.

The reason why they lost this game can be said to be that their teammates missed a lot of shots and failed to seize the many great opportunities Ling Feng created;
It can be said that the team’s defense was not strong enough to limit Ronaldo’s double;

It can also be said that head coach Hodgson's tactics are very conservative. Why not play a more offensive 442 and send both Kane and Vardy forwards?

It can even be said that Portugal's bus parking was too ugly and their counterattacks were too reliable;
It can be said that Rooney missed the crucial penalty kick, ruining the team's efforts throughout the game.
But if you lose, you lose.

No matter how many excuses and reasons there are, it will not affect the outcome of the loser.

However, how to view failure is more important!
Someone once said that it’s not that people always like to impose depressing plots in football stories, but that every young man needs to climb over one mountain after another before stepping onto the stage he has longed for countless times in his dreams!

This head-on confrontation with Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the highest mountains that Ling Feng must climb.

It was just that the first attempt to climb over it failed.

Success is just accidental, failure is the norm in life!
Looking at Ronaldo and his teammates in the distance, Ling Feng's eyes gradually glowed with a more determined light.

Besides, isn't this what he has always dreamed of? !

You know, many people don’t even have the chance to challenge Ronaldo head-on.

Not only did he stand in front of Ronaldo, he was just a little bit away from defeating him!
Although defeated, it is still glorious!

Besides, if Ronaldo could be defeated so easily, he would not be the last Ballon d'Or winner in the Premier League, the all-time top scorer of Real Madrid, and one of the two greatest players in football.

You know, this Portuguese player is the player with the strongest desire to win in football!

none of them!

Although I lost this time.

But next time, he firmly believes that he will climb over this mountain called "Cristiano Ronaldo" with a stronger attitude!

. . .

As the Portuguese players were thanking the fans for their victory, the English players could only come to the pure white stands with heavy hearts to express their gratitude to the fans.

After completing the last interaction with the fans in this European Cup, everyone returned to the player tunnel and the locker room.

Except Rooney.

As the captain, he took the initiative to accept interviews after the game.

In front of the media, Rooney also took responsibility and took the blame for being eliminated:
"The boys played very well, especially Ling Feng, who has become the most reliable player in the team. But the team couldn't go further. As the captain and the one who missed the penalty, I have to take responsibility for this."

"Although we are disappointed with the result, we are also pleased with the process and performance of the team. As the youngest team in this European Cup, we played our own football and style,"

"I firmly believe that the team has a bright future!"

When saying this, Rooney's face could not hide the lonely expression which was also a bit heartbreaking.

Anyone who has watched the game can see that when Rooney is on the field, his influence on the game has seriously declined.

He doesn't know whether he will still be in the team's future plans after this European Cup.
In the post-match press conference, Hodgson also highly praised the team's performance and relieved Rooney of the pressure from public opinion:

"Even a great striker like Roberto Baggio could miss penalties."

"Wayne is our captain and our leader. Without him, the team wouldn't be here today."

"It's my fault that the team is out. The team has done a great job."

As an old coach who has traveled around the world, Hodgson knows the nature of the British media too well.

In the 1998 World Cup, Beckham's red card made him the sinner of all England.

The media's criticism almost ruined this outstanding young man who had the potential to become the captain of the team.

If it weren't for Ferguson and the team's careful protection, and the support of his coach and teammates at that time, Beckham might have remained silent.

Perhaps there would not have been the treble of Manchester United a year later, nor would there have been the free kick against Greece in 2001 that lifted England into the World Cup.
Therefore, in order to protect Rooney and this young team, Hodgson took the initiative to take responsibility.

Of course, as the team coach, Hodgson was also questioned by the British media:
For example, why not use Kane, why not change the formation to 442, and directly let Ling Feng play as right winger from the beginning, etc.
In response to this, the experienced Hodgson answered them one by one.

After spending the post-match time in silence, the Three Lions players took a shower and changed their clothes, then quietly walked out of the lighted stadium and boarded the team bus.

On the way back to the hotel, the car was quiet.

Wearing headphones, sitting quietly in a window seat, Ling Feng looked at the scenery outside the window and the Portuguese fans celebrating on the street from time to time, and couldn't help but look back on his first European Cup trip.
In fact, from the very beginning, he really didn't think that this England team could make it to the semi-finals.

To put it bluntly, this England team relies entirely on itself for offense and entirely on numbers for defense.

Without me, England's offense would not be able to suppress the opponent.

The already unreliable defense will be under greater pressure, resulting in more goals being conceded.

indeed.

As Ling Feng's strength and reputation grew, he has transformed from a small butterfly at the beginning into a big butterfly that can influence the Three Lions' tactical system and the outcome of the game!

It was also because of the appearance of Ling Feng that Hodgson did not do anything weird like letting Kane take the corner kick, and he did not lose unexpectedly to Iceland in the round of 16.

Instead, they defeated Northern Ireland and beat the golden generation of Belgium, reaching the semi-finals of the European Cup again after 20 years, tying the best record in recent decades!
Although they eventually lost to Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo and were eliminated in the semi-finals.

However, with such a lineup, achieving such results is beyond expectations.

If Ling Feng hadn't carried the team throughout the whole process and used all his strength, England would never have been able to go so far!
But he is only one person after all.

Football is a game for eleven people, sometimes even fourteen people.
Of course, it is hard to accept losing to our old rival Portugal again in a penalty shootout.

Whether it's the players, the fans, or the media who are never afraid of trouble.

It is foreseeable that tomorrow's British football will be very lively.

Captain Rooney, the only player who missed a penalty, will inevitably become the target of media attacks.

Just like Beckham who missed a penalty 12 years ago and became a national criminal
. . .

After dragging his tired body back to the hotel, the English Football Association's chairman, Dyke, came to greet him with a group of staff. It seemed that the English Football Association's leader was very happy and greeted him with a smile.

In fact, it was quite fun.

Talking about winning the championship is just empty talk in front of the public and the media.

Although they were eliminated by Portugal again, they still failed to break the penalty curse.

But being able to reach the semi-finals and even almost make it to the final has already met the expectations of the English Football Association.

After all, there are too many young players in this young Three Lions team.

Moreover, most of them are participating in the European Cup for the first time and lack experience in major competitions.

Two years later, when talented young people like Ling Feng, Kane, Sterling, Dale and Ali have grown up, I can’t imagine how strong this new Three Lions team will be!
Therefore, the English FA is also relatively satisfied with Hodgson's coaching results.

After having a sumptuous dinner together, English Football Association Chairman Dyke and head coach Hodgson also took the stage to give speeches.

It's nothing more than clichéd words of recognition and encouragement.

Finally, the England players returned to their respective rooms and began to digest this cup journey.

When I returned to the room, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

After the game, Ling Feng received many text messages from friends on his mobile phone, as well as calls of comfort from his parents and girlfriend.

However, just when he was about to talk to Vardy and review the situation, Mourinho actually called him personally!

"Hello, Ling?"

"José?"

"it's me."

Ling Feng originally thought that Mourinho called to comfort his wounded heart and to promote Manchester United at the same time.

As a result, when Psy called, it was not to comfort him, but to review the game with him!
First of all, Mourinho expressed his respect for Hodgson's coaching level.

Then, he changed the subject and pointed out that Hodgson's use of Ling Feng was wrong:

"If I were England's head coach, I would make you the absolute tactical core of the team both on and off the pitch."

"No matter how experienced the other players are or how high their status in the locker room is, you are the only core player on the court!"

“Everyone else has to play around you!”

As one of the best head coaches in today's football world, Ling Feng was flattered by Mourinho's recognition.

In fact, in the match against Portugal, among the starting players in the frontcourt, except for Vardy who volunteered to create space and run for Ling Feng, Rooney and Sterling actually had a sense of vying for credit.

Sterling is better, Ling Feng's tactical position and reputation in the team are higher than his.

At most, he failed to break through, so he quickly passed the ball back to Ling Feng, allowing him to organize the attack and also do some empty running.

The key lies in Rooney!
As the captain and right winger, Rooney, who should have created space for Ling Feng, became the finisher with the most shots among the frontcourt players in this game!
Although among the four players in the frontcourt, Rooney's shooting skills are second only to Vardy.

However, the more he wanted to prove himself in this game, the more unstable his mentality became.

In addition, when he saw Ronaldo score a goal, he became even more anxious and wanted to fight back with a goal.

You know, Rooney must be on the list of players in the world who are most reluctant to lose to Ronaldo.

However, his persistence slowed down the team's offensive rhythm.

If Rooney had been replaced earlier and replaced by Lingard, who is more willing to make runs and pull the ball, the offensive momentum in the frontcourt would have been increased.

Then, both Ling Feng and Vardy will be able to get more space and opportunities to directly attack the goal!
However, Hodgson replaced Sterling with Sturridge, who was more independent and needed the ball more.

In short, a big lone guy replaced a small lone guy.

As a result, the offensive tacit understanding and cooperation in the front court became even more of a one-on-one fight.

They could only rely on Ling Feng and Sturridge to blast from both sides to create opportunities.

This is also the reason why Vardy had almost no chance to touch the ball at that time.

In addition, due to Danny Rose's unexpected injury, Hodgson was forced to use his last substitution.

Otherwise, replacing Vardy with Kane, and then retreating to cooperate with Ling Feng, can still create some opportunities.

In short, even though England finally had a serious organizing midfielder like Ling Feng after so many years, Hodgson did not let other players play around him.

Moreover, Ling Feng had to do the work of three roles on the field alone: ​​attacking midfielder, winger and forward.

It is necessary to take the ball and organize the team, and also to see through the gaps in the opponent's defense and send threatening balls;

He also needs to blast the ball on the wing, roam around to meet teammates, and even attack the goal to complete the supplementary shot.
If his endurance hadn't reached 91, he wouldn't have been able to last until overtime or even the penalty shootout!

After bluntly analyzing the reasons and details of England's defeat, Mourinho also analyzed where Portugal won.

Although Portugal's strength on paper is not as good as England's, their tactics are pragmatic, focusing on defensive counterattacks and letting Ronaldo make the final move.

Others either defend and intercept, or pass the ball to Ronaldo.

The core idea of ​​the tactics is to grab the ball in the backcourt and give it to Ronaldo!

Then others either create space for Ronaldo or feed him the ball.

Sometimes, simple tactics are the most effective!
Finally, Mourinho did not forget to give Ling Feng some advice:

"Ling, you are still too selfless!"

"If you want to lead the team to victory and compete for the Ballon d'Or, you have to be more selfish in front of the goal!"

"Also, I noticed that your left foot hasn't improved much compared to last season."

"You know, the ability of the inverted foot is an important factor that restricts you to become more unrestricted. Look at Cristiano, he can shoot high-quality shots with both feet."

"I suggest you learn from him and practice your left foot every day."

After chatting with Ling Feng for more than an hour, Mourinho hung up the phone reluctantly.

However, until the end, Mourinho did not show any intention of letting Ling Feng join Manchester United.

For Ling Feng, Mourinho's move touched him deeply.

However, what he didn't expect was that just as Mourinho left, another unexpected call came in:

"Buenas noches (Good evening), this is Perez"

(End of this chapter)