Grass roots glory

Chapter 187 This competition is an opportunity for young people
This counterattack was extremely threatening, but it was also the only time that Inter Milan threatened Neuer's offensive in the opening stage of the game.

Twenty to ten minutes before the game, Schalke's high press really made Inter Milan a little at a loss.Although occupying the advantage in possession rate, Sneijder, the core of the frontcourt attack, rarely took the ball. When Cambiasso and Motta were pressed, the first thing they thought was not to pass the ball forward and break the game with offense. Instead, pass back to your own defense.And the central defender Samuel almost made a mistake when receiving the ball and was cut off.

It stands to reason that such low-level mistakes should not occur on a champion team like Inter Milan, but since this is the pre-season preparation period, there is a very reasonable explanation: poor state.

This is also the difficulty that giants generally encounter on the eve of the season. After all, the previous season was long, and most players still have the task of the national team after the end of the season. The qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa are still in full swing. Not all players are idle.

The state of Schalke 04 seems to be unaffected, because they are not considered wealthy, although counting Zhou Tiancheng, there are five international players.But it's nothing compared to a giant like Inter Milan that almost spends the entire first team on a FIFA match day.

Coupled with Magath's high-intensity devil training, it is completely normal for Schalke to be in a better state than Inter Milan at this stage.

However, seeing the situation being suppressed for a long time, Mourinho couldn't sit still.Especially under the high pressure of Schalke's midfielder, the midfielder couldn't hold the ball, and there was a disconnection phenomenon, which was unacceptable to him.Standing on the sidelines, waving his fists, he shouted angrily: "Control the ball!"

Inter Milan players also want to control the ball, but their bodies are not in the best condition. Even if they realize it, their bodies react a little slower. With Schalke's almost close-fitting high-pressure press, it is really not that easy to control the ball.

In the first half, Schalke had an absolute advantage in terms of statistics. Although the ball possession rate was at a disadvantage with 40%, Magath deliberately sacrificed the ball possession rate in exchange for a quick and active counterattack.Correspondingly, Schalke actually twice as many shots as Inter Milan.

The only regret is that the Schalke strikers' shooting sights were not good in the first half.After Asamoah cut in from the wing, his short-range shot from a small angle and Rakitic's outside cut were slightly out of the post.

Despite not rewriting the score, Magath praised everyone at half-time.The coaching staff of the pre-season warm-up match values ​​two points, one is the degree of integration between the new players and the team, and the other is the physical condition of the players.Both of these points have met Magath's expectations, and the newly joined Holtby's running distance is second only to Zhou Tiancheng.

"Everyone performed very well, if we calm down in the second half, we can win."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, a little unbelievable, the devil has changed his nature?

……

The second half started again, and Magath asked the left forward Asamoah to approach the center. Today, the state of the two Inter Milan central defenders is obviously different. Samuel stopped the ball many times in the first half. Gart realized that there must be a chance to attack the middle lane intensively.

Although Inter Milan almost conceded a quick counterattack in the first half, Schalke 04 did not have any intention of defending. Zhou Tiancheng overwhelmed halftime and participated in the attack at the beginning of the second half. This is an obvious signal.Not only do not defend, but also attack violently!

Schalke 04 shifted their offensive focus to the middle, and as expected, they found an opportunity in just 5 minutes of the second half.

Rakitic made continuous cross passes in front of the penalty area, attracting Lucio, the pillar of Inter Milan's defense, to the left side of the penalty area, and then released a flat oblique pass into the penalty area. Although Kuranyi did not reach the goal in the middle The ball, however, attracted Samuel's attention. At the same time, Zhou Tiancheng threw off Mota's defense, quickly ran to the back of the penalty area, and took advantage of the situation without defense to volley, hitting Cesar. Caught off guard, the ball passed his right fingertip and flew into the net.

Assistant coach Hollerbach raised his arms and cheered: "Oh yeah! Felix, Zhou's kick is so beautiful!"

Magath, who had been sitting firmly on the coach's bench, finally made a statement. He stood up and clapped his hands happily twice, and said lightly: "It's a bit creative."

In the game, Magath is not used to beaming, but Hollerbach has been with him for five years and knows him completely. At this time, his mood is definitely not as calm as he showed, and he said with a smile: "Felix, you Just pretend, it’s really boring to be tense like this. Scoring goals is a happy thing, and when I’m with you, I feel that my passion has weakened sharply.”

"We are only leading by one goal now, and we are not happy, let alone our opponent is Inter Milan." After Magath finished speaking, he asked his assistant: "Bernd, do you know what is the biggest difference between a coach and a player?"

Hollerbach was taken aback for a moment. He really hadn't thought about this question carefully, so he could only shake his head.

"As a player, passion is necessary. Because they only need to be themselves, passion can help them mobilize their emotions. But as a coach, being too emotional will be bad. Calmness is a compulsory course for coaches."

Although Hollerbach disagreed in his heart, he couldn't find a reason to refute for a moment. He opened his mouth and finally said; "Well, maybe you are right."

Magath narrowed his eyes slightly, appearing extremely confident: "Just watch, the facts will prove it."

There is still the second half of the sentence that Magath did not say; if Inter Milan collapses like this, Serie A may be downgraded to a second-tier league.

It's not that Magath lacks self-confidence, but that he has a basic judgment in his heart: the Serie A championship will never be so simple.

And the facts did not exceed Magath's expectations.Mourinho replaced Pandev with Serbian international Stankovic in the No.60 minute. The two have little difference in wing breakthrough ability, but Stankovic is obviously better in the accuracy of wing passes. .

After just 3 minutes, Mourinho's substitution was immediate.

Stankovic received the ball from Sneijder on the left, took advantage of the setback in rhythm to shake Rafinha, and at the same time spotted the running position in the middle of the penalty area, passed the ball accurately to the top of Milito's head, Millito Under the marking of Hewedes, Toto handled it skillfully, did not fully exert his strength, leaned back slightly, and threw the ball into the goal with a flick of the header.

When Magath saw the score was equalized, he remained calm. He was not surprised by this situation, but his subsequent adjustments made Hollerbach feel inappropriate.

He is going to replace Matip and replace Hewedes.

"Is this okay? Will it hurt Benedict's confidence?"

Magath said lightly: "Is it so fragile to be able to play the main force in the championship lineup?"

"Then why don't you consider Jiang? Offense is the best defense. Don't you always believe that?"

"Hey, old man, you really know me very well." Magath smiled lightly, but then changed the subject: "Even if Jiang is replaced, the effect will not be obvious. His chance is in the next game, and I will let him Compete for speed with those old guys from AC Milan!"

No. In 60 minutes, Matip replaced Hewedes.

This substitution surprised Marcel Leff: "It seems that Magath's substitution routine is really different. Slomka has never adjusted the defense... Magath is building his own direct line, Joe. El Matip was the young defender who single-handedly brought him into the first team when he took over."

While He Wei introduced Matip, his tone was expectant: "Joel Matip is a young defender who has just been promoted from Schalke U19 to the first team. Magath has always used young players very much. In this game, Can Jiang Hao, another 19-year-old Chinese player who has just joined the first team, have a chance? Magath was very optimistic about these two U19 players before the game."

Since Jiang Hao entered the first team, the Chinese media has also been secretly paying attention to him.To be honest, Jiang Hao is luckier than Zhou Tiancheng, at least he hasn't played yet, the domestic media have high expectations for him.Unlike Zhou Tiancheng last season, no one knew who he was until he proved himself with his performance.

On the field.

Half an hour after the game, Matip showed the strength of a newborn calf not afraid of tigers. Although the experience of the first team game is still a blank sheet of paper, he was stunned by his excellent physical fitness and defense like brown sugar. Milito.

This kind of defensive performance is still enough to impress Magath. Although he received a yellow card due to lack of experience, everyone has the first time, not to mention that Matip's contribution after playing far outweighs his mistakes.

Of course, Zhou Tiancheng's wide-ranging raids in the midfield also contributed to the 10:1 draw within 1 minutes.

Next will be a penalty shootout - the rules of the World Football Challenge do not allow a tie, and a tie within regular time will be decided through a penalty shootout.

The five Schalke players Kuranyi, Rakitic, Zhou Tiancheng, Westermann and Altintop all scored steadily, while Neuer made a penalty kick in the third round of the penalty shootout. With Cambiasso's penalty kick, Schalke finally beat Inter Milan 5:4 on penalties.

Interestingly, after the game, many American college students from Stanford University even blocked Schalke and his party at the school gate, hoping to get Zhou Tiancheng's autograph.What made Zhou Tiancheng speechless was that most of them were track and field enthusiasts!Even the college student who used the Bolt analogy in the stands asked a very weird question, which made Zhou Tiancheng confused: "Hey, buddy, is the track and field team very promising?"

Zhou Tiancheng was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head decisively: "Football is a skill."

"No, no, that's not the case." The guy was quite sure: "I think you're just fast, especially when the whole court returned to defense and galloped, I was dumbfounded."

Zhou Tiancheng smiled politely, but didn't reply. He really had nothing in common with someone who wasn't even an amateur football fan.

But this scene made Jiang Hao feel unbalanced: "Brother Cheng, if you run fast, you can still become fans. What's the reason? No, let's find time to compare, your speed is obviously not as good as mine."

"I admit this, you are indeed faster than me."

Jiang Hao finally got some comfort in his heart, and Zhou Tiancheng added the second half of his sentence: "But the key question is whether he can play."

Jiang Hao held his breath in his chest and almost vomited blood.

……

Magath's strategy against his second opponent, AC Milan, is completely different. AC Milan's average age is 30.5 years old. From this average age, it can be seen that this team has rich experience.Although the legendary defender Maldini retired, Nesta, Zambrotta, and Karadze, veterans of Milan's 03 champion generation, are still leading the defense. The team's defense still has a solid foundation.

But after all, time is not forgiving, and increasing age brings the accumulation of experience, but it will inevitably lead to physical sluggishness.So Magath planned to use Jiang Hao, a speed killer, in this game from the very beginning.

In the training for the past few days before the game, Jiang Hao has been placed in the first team. At first he thought it was a normal rotation in the team's training, but it has been arranged like this for two consecutive days, and he still can't detect any abnormalities, unless he is against him. Didn't even think about it.

"Hey, Brother Cheng, what do you think the devil means? Is he going to give me a chance?"

The day before the game, the last tactical training session was divided into groups, and Jiang Hao secretly asked.

"I'm not a roundworm in his stomach, where do I know where to go? But don't think too much, play normally, and let him decide if you can."

In the last training session, Hollerbach’s attention was largely on Jiang Hao. After the training, he quickly reported the situation to Magath. Then, when everyone was packing up their equipment, Magath and Jiang Hao were present. Simple communication was carried out.

"Jiang, your performance in these few days of training has exceeded my expectations. Are you ready to play?"

Jiang Hao affirmed that he was not used to the "devil" Magath face to face, but he was still frank: "No problem, coach, I have always been ready to come off the bench."

"Substitute? Hehe... Originally, I planned to let you start the next game, but in the end you were only ready to come off the bench. It seems that I have to think about it again."

"Hey... what? Coach, you let me start?"

Magath looked at Jiang Hao's surprised look, and was slightly dissatisfied: "Why? It shouldn't be such a surprise, right? I have always emphasized to you that the game is not a task for eleven starters. I gave Joel a chance to perform in the last game. This is your turn. You and Joel are the two best U19 players. I believe my vision is not wrong. This kind of warm-up match is an opportunity for young players like you, so I will be fair. As for whether you have opportunities in the future, it depends on your own performance. But I am not a very patient person. So I will not give many opportunities, because the opponent will not give you many opportunities to make mistakes. Although this sounds cruel, But this is the first-team professional arena, if you can't grasp the opportunity, you can only be eliminated. So, it's up to you!"

A sense of urgency rose in Jiang Hao's heart, and at the same time he had more anticipation: "Don't worry, coach, your vision is correct."

PS: A chapter of [-] words, updated today.

The World Cup has reached the quarterfinals, and in the final stage, we will also play quiz with prizes.

I sent the specific quiz method to the book friend group (group number: 652508017). After all, the number of words here is charged, so I won’t say more.

Welcome everyone to join the group quiz, there are red envelopes waiting for you.Continuous distribution.

(End of this chapter)