The Era of Emerald

PS1: This is an update on Monday, a little bit late, I hope readers don't pay too much attention to the update time, and I promise not to stop updating...

PS2: Let me talk about the book friend group here. The group numbers are three, seven, zero, five, four, nine, nine, one, nine. The verified answer is NTR Knight, um, that's it.

Italy took on the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, something most didn't expect before the start of the Euros.In their view, the opponents Italy is most likely to encounter should be the Czech Republic or Germany, not the most powerful Oranje in the group of death!

In fact, the reason why Italy encountered a strong opponent of the Netherlands level after qualifying in the group stage is mainly the fault of the current Dutch coach Ed Vokat.If it weren't for this guy who replaced Robben with a brain cramp in the group match against the Czech Republic, it would have been impossible for the Netherlands to be chased by the Czech Republic for three consecutive goals and successfully come back, let alone fall to the second place in Group D, making Orange The Legion met the defending champion early in the quarter-finals.

It is precisely because of this that the Italian players can be said to be very depressed at this time.They didn't expect that the Netherlands would be so weak this time. With the backbone of the team and no injuries, they couldn't even get a top spot in the group, and they were even defeated by the Czechs with a two-goal lead. Staged a big reversal!

If he had known this would happen earlier, he might as well have let go of the water in the group stage and qualified as the second place in Group C.No matter how you look at it, the Czech Republic is much easier to deal with than the Netherlands.This is what the Italian players thought when they learned that their opponent in the quarterfinals was the Netherlands.

Although many fans who like the Czech Republic do not want to admit this, it is true.Although the Czech Republic has well-known stars such as Pavel Nedved and Rosicky, and their strength can be regarded as top-notch in Europe, the Netherlands is much better than the Czech Republic in terms of lineup thickness and overall strength, and it is also more difficult to deal with. .

The reason why the Netherlands has never achieved the results people expected is that on the one hand, the problem of internal strife within the team has not been properly resolved, and the contradictions between colored players and white players have caused serious damage to the combat effectiveness of the Oranje. On the other hand, it is because the recent two head coaches have always been convulsed at critical moments, holding a good card but always unable to make the team show its corresponding strength, and sometimes even take the initiative to make trouble...

Therefore, during this period, the Netherlands repeatedly failed in international competitions, not because their opponents were stronger than them, but because they were always busy fighting internally, and their fighting power was wasted in vain.

Think about it, everyone, the only time the Netherlands has no internal fighting in the past ten years was in the 98 World Cup in France, and that time the Oranje team also won their best record since the 78 World Cup-World Cup No.4, and In the semi-finals, they fell at the feet of Brazil in the penalty shootout because they lacked four main players.It can be seen from this that how many good opportunities for the Netherlands to win the championship were wasted because of the infighting among the players and the lack of strength of the head coach.

However, compared with the unlucky Italian players in their hearts, most fans and the media are looking forward to this game.After all, this is the first time the two sides have faced each other in an international competition since the European Cup in 2000. At that time, Italy relied on its tenacious defense and Santoldo's bravery to eliminate the Netherlands, which was highly expected to win the championship. The beams under it can be said to be deep.

It is precisely because of this consideration that, in the eyes of many Dutch fans and the media, this quarter-final is undoubtedly a battle of revenge for the Dutch.Of course, the Italian fans and the media obviously don't think so. Instead, they think that the Netherlands, the loser four years ago, failed to beat Italy at the peak of the year, and it is naturally even more impossible now!

On June 6, the Algarve Stadium was full of people.Because soon, the peak duel between Italy and the Netherlands will be staged here!

By the way, unlike most stadiums, the Algarve Stadium is not located in a certain city, but was built between the two cities of Faro and Raleigh, and the name of the stadium comes from its location. the Algarve region.However, as a well-known summer resort in Europe, the climate here is indeed very suitable for football matches. At least the players will not affect their health due to high temperature or other factors.

After all, although the famous Liverpool coach Shankly once said that football is higher than life and death, not many people will really choose football between life and football.

Although the group match against the Czech Republic and the extremely conservative employment strategy made Dutch fans strongly question Advocaat's coaching ability, and therefore are not optimistic about the prospects of the Netherlands in this European Cup, but in this crucial battle, the fans They temporarily put aside these prejudices and united to cheer for the team.

However, when the Netherlands' starting lineup for this game was announced, the fans were still very disappointed with Advocaat, who had been labeled conservative.Perhaps because the head coach was too afraid of Italy's sharp and fast counterattack, and did not have enough confidence in his own offensive power, so in this quarter-final, he sent a starting lineup that obviously paid more attention to defense .

Goalkeeper Van der Sar, left back Van Bronckhorst, center backs Stam and Frank De Boer, right back Reziger, this defense has been together for nearly eight years, and the relationship between the players There is no need to say much about the tacit understanding; in the midfield, Cocu and Davis partnered in the midfielder, and AC Milan general Seedorf was in the middle to organize; on the forward line, Robben and Van der Meyde separated on the left and right wings, and they will shoulder the responsibility of the center. The king of the penalty area" Van Nistelrooy's task of delivering shells.

It can be seen from Edvocaat's formation that the head coach's employment ideas are quite rigid.Even though the glory of the Ajax youth army was nearly ten years ago, he still clings to these aging veterans, and refuses to give more to the young players who have already made a name for themselves. More chances to prove yourself.

Therefore, although the midfield configuration of the Netherlands can be said to be star-studded and full of tacit understanding, in fact, Frank de Boer and Rezig, the two main players that Advocaat relies on, are already very old at this time. Well, Cocu and Davis, who are in decline after the age of [-], are still firmly in control of the midfield, while Van der Vaart, Van Bommel and Didier can only watch teammates on the bench or even in front of the TV. Performance, this cannot but be said to be a great irony.

No matter how inexperienced they are in competitions, they are still stronger than Bosvelt and Zenden, right?Advocaat's conservative and veteran employment strategy cast a shadow over the revenge battle that Dutch fans were looking forward to before the game even started.