Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

When the game came to the 76th minute, the situation on the field suddenly changed. A coordination error in the front court of Sevilla gave the home team a rare counterattack opportunity. Calvo made a cross from the right, and Portillo, who was loaned from Real Madrid, headed the ball from 10 yards in front of the goal and scored his seventh league goal of the season.

Tarragona's third shot in the second half, fifth shot of the game, and the only shot on target of the game, helped the home team score the first goal and lead the visiting Sevilla 1-0.

Sevilla, which was behind, could only continue to intensify its attack, but the more anxious they were, the more confused they became, and the more mistakes they made. Instead, there were frequent coordination errors in the midfield and frontcourt, which gave Tarragona more counterattack opportunities in the final period of the game. It was only because Palop was focused and resolved the dangerous situations several times, otherwise Sevilla would have lost more than one goal.

In the end, Sevilla suffered an unexpected defeat in the away game for the first time in nearly eight rounds, while Tarragona won consecutive games.

Ricardo also looked regretful. With 12 rounds left in the game, he missed a rare opportunity to establish a points lead and still lost to one of the weakest teams in the league. It will only become more and more difficult from now on.

In the future, Sevilla will have to compete in the European Championship, the Copa del Rey and the League, which is the most compact schedule compared to Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid and Valencia. Barcelona still has to deal with the Copa del Rey, Valencia also has to deal with the Champions League, and Real Madrid only has the League to play.

Moreover, Sevilla's next league opponent is also the strongest among the other competitors, and they will directly confront Real Madrid and Valencia...

But there is still a consolation prize. Although the top teams Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid did not win this weekend, Valencia, who are right behind them, also lost the golden opportunity to catch up. The Bats only managed to draw 1-1 with Osasuna away from home with Morientes' header at the last moment, so they still have a 3-point gap with Barcelona and Sevilla after the game.

The day after the league, Ricardo first met with his personal training team, assessed the recovery of his groin strain, and did simple rehabilitation training, confirming that he should be able to return before the Euro Cup match in midweek.

Indeed, Ricardo had only been back for one day of training when Juan Ramos included him in the squad for the expedition to Ukraine. Although he will not be in the starting lineup, Sevilla, who were tied by two goals in the first leg, really needs all the strength possible, and Ricardo's organizational ability on the offensive end is indeed what the team needs most at this time.

The entire Sevilla team arrived in Donetsk, one of the most important industrial cities in Ukraine, a day early to prepare for the game the next evening.

Donetsk, located in the southeast of Ukraine, is the fourth largest city in Ukraine and the first special economic zone established in Ukraine. It is 1000 kilometers away from both Kiev and Moscow. It has a superior geographical location, complete port, railway, road and aviation facilities, and is also an important sports and cultural center.

Founded in 1936, FC Shakhtar Donetsk is also an important business card of the city. As a veteran team in the Ukrainian League, on par with Dynamo Kyiv, it often appears in European competitions and has also provided a large number of talents for the Ukrainian national team.

However, the player who most attracts Ricardo's attention in the current Shakhtar team is Dario Srna, who has just secured the starting position as right back. He is a must-buy in the Football Manager game!

This Croatian international, born in 1982, is 1 meters tall, with outstanding skills and speed. Although he has not yet grown into the core of the team, he is already the main means of attack from the flanks of the Miners.

In addition to Srna, there is another football manager in the Shakhtar team, the Brazilian midfielder Matuzalem. Born in 1980, the defensive midfielder has skilled skills and strong defense. In the first round, he made Sevilla suffer and even scored a penalty. He is expected to start in this game and is not an easy character to deal with.

Before Ricardo had time to get to know this beautiful city better, after a simple training session, it was time for the game. At 2007:3 on the evening of March 15, 19, the battle between the two sides was about to break out.

After being forced to a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg, Sevilla's away game against Shakhtar Donetsk was destined to be a dangerous one. Juan Ramos attached great importance to this game and sent out a 4-4-2 starting lineup with all the main players available, except Li Qi.

The goalkeeper is veteran No. 1 goalkeeper Palop;

The left and right fullbacks of the back line are No. 6 Adriano and No. 4 Alves, and the double center backs are No. 19 Dragutinovic and No. 2 Navarro;

The left and right wings of the midfield are No. 25 Maresca and No. 15 Navas, and the double defensive midfielders are the main No. 11 Renato and No. 8 Paulson;

The two forwards are No. 12 Kanoute and No. 10 Fabiano.

Li Qi, who had just returned from injury, and Puerta, Korzakov, Alfaro, Escude and David started on the bench.

After the start of the game, Sevilla took the initiative and launched an all-out attack, while the Shakhtar team retreated to the other half of the field and played a steady defensive counterattack. After all, the situation in the first round was there, and a draw with less than two goals meant nothing to Sevilla, while the Shakhtar team just had to avoid losing the ball first.

But obviously, the Miners did not realize before the game the powerful impact that the defending champions would unleash when they were on the verge of despair.

In the first half, Sevilla's two wings played very well, especially on the right side where Alves and Navas were, who frequently fired into the home team's penalty area.

Unfortunately, Sevilla's forward line was a bit fussy today, and several shots hit the side net or hit the goal post. Italian star Maresca even had a powerful header that hit the goal post directly. And midfielder Renato even had two shots from the middle of the penalty area, but the angles were too straight and they went directly into the goalkeeper's arms...

Juan Ramos was so anxious that he kept pacing back and forth in the visiting team's coaching booth, but it was obvious to the naked eye that the home team's defense was crumbling and could be breached at any time...

But fate is sometimes so magical. In the first half, Sevilla had a total of 15 shots, 6 of which hit the target, but still failed to score a goal; however, the home team Shakhtar Donetsk changed the score with the first shot in the second half, the fourth shot of the game.

After a fierce first half, the two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 0-0. Although Shakhtar Donetsk failed to score in the first 45 minutes, Juan Ramos was satisfied with his team's performance. They kept pressing the home team and bombarded them. It was only a matter of time before they scored.

The lack of goals could be due to luck or the weather. Although Ukraine is no longer covered in ice and snow in mid-to-late March, the nighttime temperature of around zero degrees is extremely uncomfortable for the visiting team coming from the warm Mediterranean coast. But Juan Ramos believes that once Sevilla's attackers warm up and adapt to the cold climate, goals will come one after another!

However, from ancient times to the present, countless experiences and lessons have told us that we should never set flags casually, as there is a high probability that we will be slapped in the face.

In the 49th minute of the second half, the home team took advantage of a set-piece opportunity in the frontcourt. Belik made a cross from the left, and Brazilian midfielder Matuzalem advanced into the penalty area. In the crowd 7 meters in front of the goal, he flew to grab the ball, and with an imaginative scorpion kick, he used his heel to volley the ball into the far corner of the goal...

Paulson, who was in charge of marking, and Palop, who was the goalkeeper, had no way to deal with Ji's magical shooting posture and angle. The whole team stared in a daze as the ball drew a beautiful stinging arc and fell into the net.

The miners used their second shot on target to change the total score to 2-3, which means that Sevilla needs to score at least 2 goals to have hope. Defense is no longer meaningful for Sevilla, and they must go all out to attack! Even if the score is 2-3 or 3-4, the key is to score as soon as possible!

Therefore, Juan Ramos changed his original decision of waiting until the 60th minute before making substitutions, and quickly sent everyone on the bench to warm up, preparing to make substitutions in advance; especially for Li Qi who had just returned from injury, Juan Ramos only planned to give him 5 minutes of warm-up time before preparing to come on as a substitute.

However, just as Li Qi was standing on the sidelines, tying his jersey, checking his shin guards, and preparing to go on the court, Sevilla's fierce attack finally paid off.

In the 53rd minute, after cooperating with Navas, Alves made a cross from the right side, and Maresca made another successful run and dived to score a header! This time Maresca did not miss the chance again, and the ball bounced off the ground and went into the net! This time it was the goalkeeper of the Miners team who was helpless. Srna, who was responsible for marking Maresca, had no way to deal with the diving Maresca, after all, this guy didn't even care about his face...

Sevilla tied the score to 1-1, which rekindled Sevilla's hope of advancing. But if this score remained until the end, Sevilla would still be eliminated due to fewer away goals; so it was not enough, Sevilla had to continue scoring goals.

So Juan Ramos didn't hesitate and sent Li Qi on the field, replacing the defensive midfielder Paulson. He didn't defend, but focused on attacking. Li Qi, who was good at reading the game, just came back to assist in the defense of the back line. Anyway, the home team mainly played counterattacks, and Li Qi, who was fast, just helped to chase back...

After Li Qi came on the pitch, he immediately took over the organization of the ball in the midfield. Sevilla's offensive organization became much more organized, and they were no longer just attacking from the flanks. Short passes and through passes were also added in the middle.

However, although Sevilla put more pressure on Shakhtar, the home team lived up to its name and was very able to withstand pressure. They did not collapse even after being surrounded and beaten for more than ten minutes. Several balls slipped past the goal and were not allowed in. Srna also performed a save on the goal line.

Fabiano, who had received Li Qi's long pass, had already dodged the goalkeeper's attack. When he saw the ball was about to roll into the bottom of the net, Srna, who was chasing back at all costs, slid and cleared it on the goal line! It was all because Fabiano's left foot didn't kick hard enough...

Just when Li Qi was planning to repeat the same trick and make another feint to the east and attack in the west to break open the Miners' tight defense, the home team's luck suddenly broke out and they scored again with a simple counterattack.

In the 83rd minute of the game, Shakhtar Donetsk's backcourt player Srna disrupted Maresca's forced breakthrough. This ball was suspected of a foul, but regardless of whether the referee blew the whistle or not, Matuzalem, who picked up the ball first, swung his leg and made a long pass over the top from the backcourt, avoiding Li Qi who rushed over immediately: if it succeeds, it will be a counterattack, if it fails, it will be a clearance to waste time.

At this time, the only striker of the Miners was in the offside trap. Suddenly, the two central defenders of Sevilla who pressed forward to the midfield line raised their hands to indicate offside, and were about to ask the ball boy to return the ball and organize the attack again.

However, the striker of the Miners team did not even think about receiving the ball. Instead, the Brazilian international Elano, who came on as a substitute in the second half, rushed in from the left wing of the second half, successfully beat the offside, stopped the ball and rushed into the penalty area from the left rib. Facing the goalkeeper who was attacking and Navarro who was chasing back in a hurry, he calmly shot a low shot with his left foot from a small angle into the near corner, surpassing the score again.

Seeing that the linesman did not raise the flag and the referee indicated that the goal was valid, Dunga's favorite player rubbed salt into Sevilla's wounds with a goal at the end of the game. This ball almost killed the game. With about 10 minutes left in the game, the Miners changed the score to 2-1 and took the lead again.

But the defending champion did not give up, and Juan Ramos reacted immediately and made a desperate move. Not long after the restart, he replaced Dragutinovic with Korzakov, playing with three forwards and leaving only Navarro as a central defender; he had to score a goal!

Oh my god, in fact, when Elano scored the goal, the whole Sevilla team was a little desperate, and Li Qi was no exception. The home team had been shrinking in their own defensive third zone, playing a dense defense, and breaking a dense defense has always been a world problem. Many strong teams find it difficult to be effective unless there is a clear generation gap in the strength of the two teams.

But the strength of the Shakhtar team is not weak. In the semi-finals of the League Cup last season, Sevilla played against the Shakhtar team. On the same away field, Sevilla only drew 2-2 with the Shakhtar team. Although they beat the opponent 3-1 when they returned to their home court, the two sides also had some understanding of each other.

This match was also a revenge match for the Miners. It can be seen that they made many targeted arrangements for Sevilla's tactical play, and they were all very effective. So although Sevilla's lineup was upgraded compared to last season, they were at a disadvantage after two rounds, and were even on the verge of being eliminated...

Li Qi also had a headache. It was not that he had no strategy. After all, Sevilla still suppressed the Miners and created many opportunities. The main problem was that there was not much time left.

Li Qi still forced himself to calm down. After all, the situation was not much different from before. Sevilla still needed to score at least one goal. It was just that originally one goal would give them a chance to eliminate their opponent, but now they had to score one goal to play overtime. However, the other players of Sevilla were already blood-thirsty. They didn't care at all. They would just throw the ball into the opponent's penalty area or rush into the opponent's penalty area with the ball...

Li Qi was helpless. He couldn't control the game. The ball was out and couldn't come back. It was hard to stop his teammates from rushing forward with explosives in their arms. But there was an advantage to being on top. His teammates would not give up and would keep going forward. After all, at the last moment of the game, especially when miracles needed to be created, morale was the most important thing. At this time, tactics and technology were useless. Only morale and belief were the most important.

So Li Qi understood and felt at ease. Just do it. He just retreated more to provide support and protection, so as not to let the home team steal another ball. He also kept intercepting the Miners' clearances, and then passed them to Korzakov who had more energy or Alves who was more confident in passing.

It was Li Qi's decision that allowed him to observe the entire game from his position outside the gourd, and it was even the best scene of this season's League Cup!

It was already the 4th minute of injury time when Navas used up his last bit of energy to once again break through the wing and win a corner kick.

But everyone knows that this corner kick should be the last attack of the game. The referee has been looking at the watch frequently and may blow the whistle to end the game at any time.

Seeing that the defending champion was about to be eliminated, the home team fans were ready to welcome the victory, and it all depended on the last corner kick opportunity of the white Sevilla! Even the Sevilla goalkeeper had rushed into the Miners' penalty area to prepare for the header. Outside the penalty area, only Li Qi was left at the top of the gourd ready to make up for the leak.

At this time, Eva, who was resting her head on her thighs in front of the TV, had already despaired, but she still refused to turn off the TV and was reluctant to carry the already sleeping Sofia back to bed, still looking forward to a miracle in the end. Of course, Eva prayed that her lover Li Qi would score the equalizer at the last moment...

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