Football: Starting from the Ronaldo Template

Chapter 387: Blitz Barcelona
Two days before the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Barcelona players came to Manchester, the city that once left them with regrets.

The current Barcelona head coach Setien felt mixed emotions when looking at the newly renovated Old Trafford.

Because he didn't know what to do to beat Manchester United.

Barcelona has many problems at this stage, such as the management and technical director's mindless signings, several head coaches failing to innovate technical and tactical skills, and the main players being relatively old.

Looking at Barcelona's current lineup, Suarez's competitive state in the frontcourt has obviously declined, and Griezmann, who was bought at a high price, has a good level but cannot integrate into the system.

Midfielders such as Busquets, Vidal and others are no longer young, while De Jong is young but also lacks experience.

Let’s talk about the most important Messi. Even though he is older, he is still competitive enough.

But the problem is that he has too many roles. He is a striker and a midfielder, an organizer and a explosive point, and also the first captain of Barcelona.

This is not good.
If you are positioned as a striker, do the job of a striker. If you are positioned as a midfielder, do the job of a midfielder.

Of course, it's not impossible to have both, as long as the players' abilities can keep up.

Now Messi runs 6-7km per game on average. How can he have both?
Setien understands that Barcelona needs a major overhaul. If Messi is still the core, veterans such as Busquets, Rakitic, Alba, etc. must be cleared out, and the physical advantages of young people must be used to make up for Messi's running problems.

However, the management's meaning is very clear, they don't want to continue to revolve around Messi.

Alas, Setien sighed silently and took his players to the training field.

Half an hour later, Messi stood on the field again. He recalled the game last season and couldn't help feeling regretful.

If they can beat Manchester United, will they have a chance to win the Champions League?
But unfortunately there is no if in the world.

Fortunately, football is a sport that gives people the opportunity to make up for regrets, and the two teams met again after a year.

This time, Messi wants to defeat Manchester United, advance to the Champions League semi-finals, advance to the Champions League final, and win the Champions League Cup.

Not only that, he also wants to make a bid for the Golden Globe Award.

It's just that he kept all these words in his heart and had no intention of saying them out loud.

Far away at the Carrington training base, Mourinho pointed to the front of the tactical board, where Messi and Suarez were, and said:
"What is different about Barcelona from five years ago? The answer is that the intensity of the frontcourt pressing has decreased, or in other words, this ability is lacking. The root cause is the physical fitness of the strikers."

"In modern football, where offense and defense are the primary premise, if there is a player in the frontcourt who does not press, the pressing effect of others will tend to zero infinitely."

"In other words, nine pot lids cannot cover 9 iron pots. When Barcelona's frontcourt pressing is ineffective, we can press in return."

Mourinho drew three big circles in the midfield.

"Here, here and here, use our physical and physical advantages to drag the game into a fragmented rhythm. After the counter-steal, we will launch a quick and efficient counterattack on the spot. If we can find Chu, we will find Chu. If we can't find Chu, we will go to the bottom and smash it into the penalty area. Don't forget to pay attention to controlling the perimeter."

"After talking about offense, let's talk about defense. Barcelona's offense is very slow, not as sharp as before, and they always look for Messi without thinking. All the balls have to pass through his feet."

"We counted the data from previous games. Messi touches the ball 74 times per game, the highest in Barcelona. But you have to know that he only runs 6.8km per game, so this is a very pathological data. Our response is also very simple."

"As long as he gets the ball, he will immediately charge at three defenders. Even if he can't get the ball, he will knock them down. Even if he was in his prime when he was young, he wouldn't be able to perform well."

"Frequent counterattacks after steals, as long as we can seize the opportunity, we can take the lead at the start. Therefore, there is no need to defend in this game, the formation should press forward and attack Barcelona!"

Mourinho put down the marker, looked at Chu Feng and said in a deep voice: "Barcelona players like to play with fire in the backcourt with the ball. If there is a chance, try to steal the ball. Maybe there will be an unexpected surprise."

"I understand!" Chu Feng grinned.

Before, he was worried that Mourinho would play a conservative counterattack, but fortunately, Mourinho rationally analyzed the characteristics of the two teams and made the most correct decision to play a head-on attack.

In recent years, there has been a saying that Barcelona is a dragon at home but a worm away from home. If Manchester United cannot beat Barcelona at home, there may be some accidents away from home.

Of course, Chu Feng also has selfish motives. He wants to score more goals and break Ronaldo's Champions League goal record.

Therefore, counterattack is the best tactic.

"Okay, let's do some basic training tomorrow. Don't forget to rest early."

Mourinho waved his hand and turned away.

Chu Feng and his teammates stayed and continued to discuss the details of the game.

"Because Barcelona's pressing is so weak, we need to spread out when we advance, so that we have more passing options and a more comfortable environment for handling the ball."

"Sandro, Barcelona's full-back Semedo is used to standing forward, so when we press high, you don't need to care about him and follow the premise to maintain the pressing system."

"Also, the cross doesn't have to be complicated, just pass it in front of me. I am confident that I can suppress Barcelona's double central defenders. Of course, if multiple players come to assist, you can look for teammates at the back."

"."

Two days later, the Champions League match day arrived and Manchester became noisy.

When Migu Sports was conducting an off-site interview, it found that a small group of Barcelona fans were surrounded by countless Manchester United fans. It looked like they were in a group fight?

"Hello, what's going on over there?"

A reporter from Migu Sports asked a Manchester United fan who couldn't squeeze in.

"He said that Chu Feng scored so many goals against weak teams."

"and then?"

"Then we said that of the 25 goals Messi has scored so far, 14 were scored against the bottom teams, and they said Chu Feng's Champions League goal tally was fake."

"and then?"

"Then we said that even Messi couldn't achieve this number."

"and then?"

"That's all. They're so arrogant, how can I not beat them up? The police will be here soon, I have to hurry over!"

After saying that, he squeezed into the crowd with all his might and kicked any Barcelona fan he picked up.

Soon, riot police intervened, separated the two sides, and took away the troublemakers and the injured.

In fact, this kind of thing is very common before a game. After all, in a passionate atmosphere, it is easy to get into a fight because of a quarrel.

When the sun was setting, a bus with the Barcelona team logo drove up, which immediately caused deafening boos and countless middle fingers.

Pique's face was a little pale. He recalled that the last time he came to Old Trafford, he was made a clown by Chu Feng.

The crotch pass, the lob, the pendulum move... almost every move he made was different.

The type of forward who has delicate dribbling and strong impact is the type he fears the most.

His partner today is still Lenglet, that sucking guy.

As he thought about it, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

At the pre-match press conference, Setien said calmly:

"Manchester United is one of the strongest teams in Europe and even in the world. They beat Real Madrid not long ago, but we are not afraid of them."

"This comes from our own strength. We have the best players in the world and a stable tactic." "So even if most of the outside world is questioning us, we are still confident of winning the game."

That’s all Setien can say. Is he going to surrender before the game? If so, he might be sacked tomorrow.

In another meeting room, Mourinho's speech was simple:
"I have played against Barcelona many times before. At that time, they were used to playing offensive football with passing and controlling the ball. I didn't expect that they have not changed after so many years."

"But this kind of tactics is fine against weaker teams, it will not have any effect on Manchester United. We will simply win this game."

"So are you and your team afraid of Messi?" the Sun reporter began to add fuel to the fire.

"Fear?"

Mourinho sneered, then looked down coldly and said, "No, Old Trafford carries the glory and dreams of all Manchester United people. The proud Red Devils will never be afraid of any opponent. This was the case with Barcelona, ​​which once had the King of Football Maradona, and it is the same with Barcelona, ​​which now has Messi."

The match he was talking about was the second leg of the European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals 32 years ago.

In the first leg, Manchester United lost 0:2 to Barcelona. In the second leg at Old Trafford, the legendary captain Robson became a hero, scoring twice to equalize the score, and then Stapleton scored the winning goal.

Manchester United eliminated the arrogant Barcelona with a total score of 3:2, creating the biggest upset in football that season.

In the players tunnel.

Chu Feng noticed that the little ball boy had been looking at Messi, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Luisa, do you want a jersey or autograph?"

"No, I'm wondering when you will win more Golden Globe Awards than him." Luisa answered crisply.

Chu Feng: “.”

This kid, saying this in public, isn't he deliberately trying to attract public opinion?

"Don't think about it. Wait for me in the stands after the game. I'll leave my game-ending jersey for you."

Chu Feng rubbed Louisa's head.

Messi next to him didn't say anything.

Rakitic's face was full of anger.

He felt that Luisa disrespected Messi, but it was low to argue with a child, so he could only hold back his anger and wait until the game to vent it.

boom! ! !
As the UEFA Champions League theme song sounded, the referee made a gesture and led everyone forward.

"Don't kill Bayern, thank you Barcelona!"

"You want to wipe my factory!"

"Kick Barcelona, ​​kick Barcelona!"

"Kick Bayern Munich!"

"."

"Good evening, viewers!"

"Now broadcasting for you is the first leg of the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-finals!"

"Manchester United vs Barcelona at home!"

"Here are the starting lineups for both teams!"

"Hey, Zhang Zhi, we saw that Barcelona adopted a 1 formation that was only used once. Does Setien have any special arrangements?"

Zhan Jun asked.

"Hehe, this is because Manchester United's three-defensive-midfielder system has weak defensive points on the flanks. Barcelona should want to control the ball in the middle and then let the full-backs advance to take advantage of the deep space."

Zhang Lu smiled, paused for a moment, and then continued: "But if Barcelona's midfield can't pass the ball, this lineup will be very dangerous, because it also exposes the gaps on the wing, and Manchester United can attack after stealing the ball."

"To put it simply, the game today is not on the wing, but in the crowded midfield. Whoever can occupy the midfield will have the advantage."

Upon hearing this, the fans in the live broadcast room immediately posted comments to express their thoughts.
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[Not only that, the three lines of the 442 formation are parallel, with clear spatial divisions. The defense is completed by players protecting each other and blocking the horizontal space, which requires a lot of running from the players. Is Setien dizzy? ]
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[Why didn't Barcelona play De Jong, but played Busquets and Rakitic? 】
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[Because the cooperation between De Jong and Busquets was so poor, people who didn't know would think they were playing two different games. It would be easy to have problems against Manchester United with such intensity.]
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What about Griezmann?
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[He can't integrate into the Barcelona system and always steals the ball from Messi. Now he can only play as a substitute and wait until Messi is exhausted. ]
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[It seems that Barcelona is really bad, and Manchester United is going to have a disaster! ]
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[Come on, Xiao Chu! Barcelona fans say he is inflating his stats, so let’s do some good on Barcelona! ]
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【come on! 】

The camera returns to Old Trafford, and the players of both teams have taken their positions.

Beep! ! !
With the referee's whistle, the game began.

Barcelona has the ball!

When Messi passed the ball back to Rakitic, Manchester United pressed forward madly like a hungry beast.

High pressing!

The intensity was at full blast from the start, not giving Barcelona time to adapt.

Rakitic quickly passed the ball to Semedo, but Matic's positioning forced Semedo to pass the ball back.

Barca has a very bad habit.

When they face high pressure, they always pass the ball down the middle instead of passing it over the top.

If it was Barcelona ten years ago, there would be no problem in playing like this. Instead, they could use continuous passing and cutting to quickly transport the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt.

But it really doesn’t work now.

The football came to Busquets' feet. He dribbled the ball sideways to pass it, but couldn't find a suitable receiving point.

So, B Fee and Chu Feng, who started the game, attacked from the front and back!
Bang! Busquets was knocked down directly, and this time, without waiting for him to perform realistically, the referee crossed his hands to indicate that it was okay.

"B Fee received the ball and moved forward, looking for Sandro on the side! Semedo had no time to return to defense!"

"Pique was forced to break through while filling in the position, and Sandro went down the bottom and passed the ball to the far post!"

"Mahrez! Beautiful spike, passing Lenglet, then a reverse triangle to find Chu Feng!"

At Old Trafford, under the gaze of more than 60,000 fans, Chu Feng stepped hard on the grass and stepped forward.

Bang! He withstood Rakitic's impact and chopped down with his right foot like a battle axe!

There was a loud bang that shook the heaven and earth, and the football turned into a cannonball and fired towards the goal!

Ter Stegen stood there in a daze.

His mind went blank, and when he turned around mechanically, he only saw the surging web.

1:0! ! !

"Pretty!"

"The goal went in!"

"Manchester United steals the ball in the frontcourt and attacks Barcelona in 1 minute and 58 seconds!"

(End of this chapter)