Football: Starting from the Ronaldo Template

Chapter 395: Against Juventus
2020 4 Month 25 Day.

Turin.

As the third largest city in Italy, the capital of the Piedmont region, the largest automobile production base in Europe, and an ancient city with a long history.

Of course, it is also the home ground of Torino and Juventus.

Today, Chu Feng and his teammates came here to prepare for tomorrow's Champions League semi-final.

Their opponent is not the declining Torino, but the current Serie A champion Juventus.

Juventus, founded by a group of students in 1897, is the team that has won the most Serie A titles to date and is also the first team in history to achieve all three major cups.

As for the three major cups, which ones are they?
Champions League, European Championship and European Cup Winners Cup!

Two years ago, Juventus welcomed a player from Real Madrid in Spain who was the record holder for goalscoring in the Champions League.

Chu Feng looked through the bus window and saw Cristiano Ronaldo doing his classic celebration move on the mural outside.

When the Portuguese came to Juventus, he declared that it was to help them win the Champions League, but two years later, Juventus has not yet advanced to the final.

There are many reasons for this, including insufficient midfield strength, no one passing threatening balls, weak backcourt defense, flaws in the tactical system, etc.

Now, they spent 500 million euros in penalty clause to invite Sarri, who is good at building offense, and spent hundreds of millions of euros to buy back Pogba.

So what's missing?

No Champions League trophy.

This year they have come all the way to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and with the belief that they must win, they are determined to beat Manchester United.

For Juventus players, these two games are not to be lost. Pogba was kicked out by Manchester United, and he must be very depressed.

Ronaldo wants to win the Champions League again and dispel the outrageous claim that he is where he is today thanks to the platform.

Of course, there are many other reasons to want to win.

For example, he wants to defend the Champions League goal record, avenge Manchester United's block on his three consecutive championships, satisfy his inner desire to win, and so on.

And Manchester United fans also have reasons to win.

The game hasn't even started yet and there's already an uproar online.

The feud between Manchester United and Juventus may date back to the last century.

"Juventus advanced?"

That was the question Gary Neville asked after a home draw with Bayern Munich during the 1998-99 season.

That year, it was a miracle that Juventus made it to the knockout stage, as they only won their first victory on the last day of the group stage.

After getting a positive answer, Neville's reaction was very interesting. His face became very distorted and painful, like a man being looked down upon by a tall woman, appearing very unconfident.

This was the sense of oppression that Juventus brought to major European clubs at the time.

They had previously reached three consecutive Champions League finals, and despite losing two of them, Lippi's team was still considered the benchmark of European football in the late 3s, and beating them was equivalent to winning the Champions League.

In the 1996-97 season, Juventus and Manchester United were placed in Group C.

When Manchester United visited Turin, Ferguson sighed: Before kick-off, I stood in the player tunnel, and compared with Juventus' players, we seemed very small.

Neville also wrote in his autobiography: When you stand next to Juventus players, you can't help but feel fear.

It was undoubtedly lucky for Manchester United that they lost by only one goal in the end.

Neville later said self-deprecatingly: This game should have been 10-0. This is the most difficult game in my career.

Indeed, Manchester United didn't even have a single shot on target in that game.

However, as time went on, Ferguson's red empire was established and Manchester United was no longer afraid of Juventus.

The most impressive match was naturally the two thrilling Champions League semi-finals in the 1998-99 season.

In the first leg, Juventus led until 90 minutes at Old Trafford, but in the final moments, Giggs scored a goal to help Manchester United score the equalizer, keeping the suspense of the entire series.

In the second leg, Juventus was in high spirits at home. In less than 10 minutes, Inzaghi scored two goals in a row, extending the total score to 3:1.

But in the next nearly 70 minutes of the game, Ancelotti's team was completely suppressed by Manchester United. Manchester United scored three goals by Keane, York and Cole, achieved a major reversal and advanced to the final.

The rest of the story is well known to everyone. In the Champions League final, Manchester United played against Bayern and created a miracle night at Camp Nou.

Later, European football entered a three-way competition among Real Madrid, Bayern and Manchester United, while Juventus slid into a trough after its peak, and the two teams had few opportunities to meet again.

Now that they meet again, there are still many topics to talk about, such as Ronaldo, Pogba, etc., and the fans are arguing with each other.
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【Juventus will return to the top of Europe! 】
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[Bullshit, they paid the penalty fee to sign Sarri, who Chelsea didn't want, and said they wanted to build the strongest offensive system in Europe, but they were pinned to the ground and slapped in the face by Lazio! ]
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[Anyone who has watched Juventus' games knows that the combined goals and assists of the two wingers are not even double digits. If it weren't for Ronaldo and Dybala taking turns to keep Juventus alive, Inter Milan would have taken the top spot in the standings long ago! ]
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[And Pogba, even though he is praised as a great player, he is actually very lazy. He and Cuadrado are the only two of them. They attack by walking, defend by walking, and they can defend with their eyes instead of using their bodies! ]
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[I still think Manchester United will win away! ]
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[I don't know how Mourinho will deploy his troops. I feel that 4-3-2-1 is not a good formation for Juventus. Too many players are piled up in the backcourt, which makes the offense weak, especially the two wingers are underutilized.]
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【我觉得大概率会变阵，4-4-2或4-3-3都行。】
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[Chu Feng has now scored 15 goals in the Champions League, and he is only two goals away from tying Ronaldo's record, which means that if he can score a hat trick, he can break the Champions League single-game goal record away from home! ]
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【expect! 】

Two days later, at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, as one of the few teams in Serie A that owns a stadium, Juventus was able to maintain its dominance for such a long time, which had a lot to do with this magnificent stadium.

Pre-match press conference.

"Criticism against me? Maybe I stepped on their 'balls'!"

"I said before I took over as Juventus coach that our goal this season was the league and the Champions League. Although the process was a little tortuous, fortunately the result was good and we managed to stay at the top of the standings."

"Kicked out by Manchester United? That is groundless speculation without any basis. I took the initiative to give up coaching Chelsea because my dream has always been to play in Serie A."

"When Nedved contacted me, I knew that this team, with the best players in the world, would be the best team for me to realize my dream."

"I know Manchester United is strong, the whole world knows it, but Ronaldo's fighting spirit and competitiveness will inspire Juventus players and make them fight for victory."

Old smoker Sarri said confidently.

Another dressing room.

"Mr. Mourinho, Pogba said in an interview with the media that he would be doubly happy if he could beat Manchester United. Do you have anything to say about this?"

The Guardian reporter asked.

"Um no."

Mourinho chuckled.

Is Pogba qualified to have an argument with himself?

He didn't even bother to respond.

For him, the best response would be to beat Juve on the pitch.

And in his expectation, there are measures against Pogba.

After all, that kind of passive defensive attitude will leave big gaps in the back line, which will also give Manchester United many opportunities.

"As for Chu breaking the Champions League goal record, do you think he can achieve it tonight?"

The reporter asked again.

"Of course! He is the best player I have ever seen in history!"

Mourinho raised his eyebrows and said firmly: "I am lucky to coach him and I believe he can break the record. Of course, this is my idea. There is no 100% in football matches. Anything can happen."

In the visiting team's locker room, the Manchester United players gathered in a circle, and Chu Feng said loudly to his teammates:
"We all know why we're here: to win!"

"Winning three consecutive Champions League titles is a great goal, but also a very difficult one to achieve. We have to overcome many difficulties!"

"In this game, Juventus is first in the Serie A standings, they also have Ronaldo and Pogba, you should know how powerful they are." "But what I want to say is that since we have decided to achieve that difficult goal, then we can only become the strongest in Europe!"

"So, let's defeat our opponents and return with victory!"

"Manchester United!!!"

After Chu Feng finished speaking, he stretched out his hand, and his teammates put their hands on top of him, roaring with great excitement.

"come on!!!"

When they walked out of the player tunnel, Chu Feng saw a familiar face - Cristiano Ronaldo.

Both of them were wearing the No. 7 jersey, but the meaning was different. They nodded to each other as a greeting.

As for Pogba.

No one on the Manchester United team paid any attention to him. They all treated him as air. After all, that palace drama was quite chilling.

Even though they have won so many championships together, they are still trying to force the club to abdicate for their own benefit.

Of course, if a person does not take care of himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. Pogba’s behavior may not be wrong.

But he harmed the interests of the group headed by Chu Feng.

Then whoever loses will have to admit defeat and leave, but Pogba didn't have the last laugh.

Soon, when the UEFA Champions League theme song sounded, players from both teams walked out of the tunnel.

"Good evening, viewers!"

"Now live for you is the first leg of the 2019-20 Champions League semi-final!"

"Juventus vs Manchester United at home!"

"The top of Serie A versus the top of the Premier League, two teams with a history full of grievances, what kind of scene can they play today?"

"Here is the starting lineup for you!"

"The one wearing the black and white striped shirt is Juventus. Sarri arranged a 4-4-2 formation. The goalkeeper:"

"What people are most concerned about is Ronaldo's starting lineup. Next to him is Higuain who has returned from injury. Dybala suffered a calf strain in the league last week and is now sitting on the bench."

"Hey, there's a conspicuous banner in the stands that says: We've won the Serie A title for nine consecutive years!"

"Let's not talk about this banner for now, let's look at Manchester United's starting lineup. Mourinho arranged a 4-3-3, goalkeeper:"

"As many fans have speculated, Mourinho has chosen to add more wide players and use the width of the pitch to strengthen the attack."

"Chu Feng still plays as a center forward, but we don't rule out switching positions in the game. After all, he has performed well on both wings."

The camera turns to the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

Beep! ! !
With the referee's whistle, the Champions League semi-final kicked off.

The fans at the scene suddenly burst into thunderous cheers.

"Wow, the usual caution of Serie A teams is not seen in Sarri at all!"

"Cuadrado quickly moved forward, received the pass from Bentancur, and passed Matic directly!"

"Hey, beautiful! Kanter's assist was so timely and contributed a key steal!"

"The ball is caught by Matic, Manchester United must counterattack quickly!"

The camera quickly panned forward and locked onto Grealish, who was dribbling forward quickly!
Because of Cuadrado's forward run, Juventus left an empty space on the right side.

Therefore, before crossing the half-court line, he did not encounter any obstacles. By the time Bernardeschi came to defend, he had already passed the ball to Chu Feng who was waiting in the middle.

Facing De Ligt's steal.

Chu Feng changed his line twice in a row, created space for shooting, and kicked directly!

Bang!
The football was like an arrow shot from a bow, drawing a sharp trajectory and whizzing towards the Juventus goal!

Before the fans at the scene could even exclaim, they saw Szczesny reach out and just barely push the ball over the crossbar.

"A sudden long-range shot almost scored a goal!"

"Through Manchester United's counterattack, we can see that their tactics should be to attack the left flank, which is where Pogba is!"

"As for why, it must be because Pogba is weak defensively and is used to pressing deep when attacking."

"I just don't understand why Cuadrado is still allowed to play as a full-back. Are they trying to learn from Liverpool and suppress the attack with offense?"

"But the situation is different!"

Zhan Jun couldn't help but complain.

Liverpool has Salah and Arnold, two fast players with full offensive potential.

And at that time, Rashford was on the wing for Manchester United.

What now?
Grealish has a positive defensive attitude and almost abnormal physical fitness. How can Cuadrado break through?

Sure enough, after Juventus resumed the attack, Cuadrado was intercepted and Manchester United launched a counterattack on the spot.

If Grealish hadn't been a little slow in handling the situation, Chu Feng would have had another chance to face Juventus' defense.

"Don't play with fire in the backcourt!"

"Quickly pass the ball to the midfielders and let them organize the advancement. Don't always think about showing off!"

The old smoker Sarri was in a bad mood and cursed at Cuadrado.

The Colombians seemed to be awakened by the scolding. They stopped sticking to the ball and shooting, but instead defended honestly.

But another problem arose for Juventus.

The advancement speed is too slow.

Every time Pogba has the ball, Matic will get close to him to limit his performance.

At the same time, Manchester United will press simultaneously to cut off his connection with his teammates.

"Pjanic! Herrera is going to confront him, it will be hard for him to withstand it!"

"Still sent the ball out!"

"C Ronaldo! Are you going to turn around? No, Kante suddenly rushed forward and stole the ball from the side and behind!"

"Juventus' offense is difficult to advance. From the previous few waves of attack and defense transitions, it can be seen that Ronaldo, who is already 35 years old, can hardly carry the team alone as before. He must seek support from his teammates!"

“But what’s with Higuain’s big belly?”

"Did he learn from Hazard during his injury and not control his diet and exercise scientifically?"

"Ten minutes into the game, there was still no goal, but the intensity was increasing."

(End of this chapter)