Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

The two teams drew in the first half, and the entire Sevilla team was in a very depressed mood, and entered the halftime break together with the Espanyol team who were very grateful and optimistic...

However, in the second half, Sevilla, who had been patiently and carefully trained by Juan Ramos, showed a different style from the first half as soon as they came back.

How should I put it? Although in the first half, Sevilla's offensive was like a storm and made the Spanish team breathless, Sevilla didn't seem to be able to balance their breath. In the last shot, they were always a little impatient. In the second half, the rain stopped and Sevilla's rhythm began to slow down a bit, but the last shot was accurate again...

Just like the big win over Bilbao in the previous round, Sevilla, who had been depressed for 45 minutes, finally showed their strength in the second half and started scoring consecutive goals shortly after the kick-off.

In the 50th minute, Li Qi again attracted the defense at the top of the pitch and calmly passed the ball to the right wing. Navas received the ball and adjusted it calmly before making a cross. Korzakov headed the ball to the near corner after making a forward run. Although the ball was blocked outside the goal line by Kameni again, Puerta, who was arranged by the head coach to make more frequent forward runs and threaten the goal during the halftime break, followed up in time and volleyed the ball into the upper corner of the goal, helping Sevilla successfully open the scoring account, 1-0!

After Puerta scored, the entire Sevilla team breathed a sigh of relief, finally opening up the situation. However, Li Qi also let go of the pressure in his heart, and was no longer afraid of mistakes and made bolder moves.

So just 3 minutes after Sevilla broke the deadlock, Li Qi made a fake dunk through the middle, fooled the top defender and broke into the penalty area...

At this time, in the stands of the stadium, there was a bearded uncle in a suit and sunglasses who was watching the game intently. Someone in the audience had already recognized him. He seemed to be a scout for a certain overseas giant. It was unknown which player he had taken a fancy to, or which star the sponsor behind him wanted to purchase...

I couldn't catch his eyes behind the sunglasses, and he was deliberately covering his hand with the notebook he was occasionally writing and drawing, while at the same time he was distracted by the commentary on the radio...

"Renato made a diagonal pass to the right... Navas received the ball... Li Qi came over to receive it..."

"Navas and Li Qi made a cross pass... Oh! No, Li Qi faked a dunk and turned around to flash into the penalty area..."

"Opportunity! One-on-one! Kameni attacks!"

"Beautiful! Li Qi dodged past and it's an empty goal! Push shot!"

"Ditch oooooh! Ditch oooooh! Ditch!"

"Sevilla scored the second goal of the game within three minutes. It was 2-0, two goals ahead of the visiting Espanyol team, which had no power to fight back!"

"And Li Qi finally scored a goal. He missed several chances in the first half, and then he focused on passing the ball."

"After Puerta broke the deadlock in the second half, Li Qi's footwork seemed to be smoother. At least he was not as urgent as when he handled the last shot in the first half. This time he just took the ball by surprise."

"When Navas passed the ball to Li Qi who came to the corner of the penalty area and crossed with Li Qi, everyone thought that Li Qi would focus on organizing the connection as before and would kick the ball to Navas' forward line again. If it succeeded, it would be an extremely exciting cooperation."

"But Li Qi obviously had a richer imagination. He faked a pass with his back to the goalkeeper, followed by a fake dribble, a Cruyff turn, and took advantage of Navas's movement. Not only did he deceive all the defensive players around him, he also rushed directly into the penalty area and faced the goalkeeper immediately."

"Then Li Qi did not shoot hastily like he did in the first half. Instead, he made a shoulder fake move to deceive the goalkeeper's center of gravity, and then made a fried meatball along the baseline and dribbled past the attacking Kameni."

"Although the angle is very small, it is still not difficult for Li Qi to shoot at an empty goal at this level."

"It's a pity for Kameni. His performance in this game was extremely wonderful, almost perfect. He made many saves and kept the goal intact. But unexpectedly, the situation changed suddenly in the second half. Sevilla scored twice in a row within three minutes..."

However, after conceding two goals within three minutes, the Espanyol team was not in a hurry and did not think about attacking.

Everyone felt that the score of 2-0 had basically determined the outcome of the game; because in this game, Espanyol did not even think about attacking.

There was no Tamdo, no Luis Garcia, and even no Pandiani. Against Sevilla, Espanyol coach Valverde excluded all his attackers from the starting lineup, regardless of whether they were suspended or not.

From the beginning of the game, the Spaniards didn't seem to think about winning. Their goal should be to get a draw or not lose too badly.

It is an inevitable choice for Espanyol to give up this league game, because for them, it is much easier to ensure that they defeat Bremen and advance to the UEFA Cup final, and then win the championship to ensure the qualification for next season's European war than to fight for a place in the UEFA Cup next season in the league. After all, there are 4 to 5 teams in the league competing with them for the European war places, and they are not in an advantageous position in the points ranking.

The Spaniards' tactic of giving up attacking made it very easy for Sevilla and their attack posed no threat at all.

In the first half, Sevilla had more than 60% of the ball possession and an overwhelming advantage in the number of shots. The Spaniards did not have any decent shots in the first half. However, the Spaniards survived the first half with this tactic of perseverance, thanks to goalkeeper Kameni who performed exceptionally well in this game. In the first half of the first half, the Cameroonian goalkeeper saved several shots that Sevilla was sure to score.

However, just when Valverde thought his team could get 1 point with this conservative tactic, Puerta and Li Qi stepped up and scored two goals in a row; but Valverde did not intend to change his tactics, especially since he had already used two substitutions in the first half due to injuries, not to mention that he did not bring any attackers to the away game...

Juan Ramos was thinking quickly. Since the advantage was so obvious and the opponent seemed harmless and had no resistance, he would definitely replace some of the main players to rest and prepare for the second round of the UEFA Cup semi-final next week! After all, although there was an away goal in hand, the score of a draw in the first round was not enough for Sevilla to be careless.

So when the game reached the 60th minute, Juan Ramos replaced Navas with Maresca and Li Qi with Alfaro, intending to just cooperate with the opponent and finish the remaining 30 points.

But not long after Sevilla made the substitution, probably after the restart, the situation on the field changed again.

In the 62nd minute of the game, Alfaro, who had just come on the field, made a mistake in dribbling the ball and the ball was intercepted by the Spanish midfielder. This time, the Spanish team did not blindly kick the ball away, perhaps because they felt that Sevilla's pressing after leading by two goals was not as oppressive as before; so the Spanish team tried to control the ball and came to the frontcourt after three passes and two falls.

However, the ball was still nearly 40 meters away from Sevilla's goal, but Sevilla's defense had an obvious negligence.

Due to tactical requirements, Sevilla's overall formation was very high, and the defense was naturally moved forward; but before that, Sevilla's midfield and frontcourt were very aggressive, and under Li Qi's command and dispatch, it was difficult for the Spaniards to cross the half court, let alone advance with the ball; so while the defense was very high, the home team did not press the Spaniard's midfield closely, nor did they choose to commit a decisive foul, but allowed the Spaniard's substitute Julian to send a diagonal pass directly to the Sevilla defense from the right...

Corominas, who was temporarily transferred from the second team, succeeded in the offside trap cleverly. After all, without pressure and interference, the simplest diagonal pass or straight pass and diagonal pass, such classic textbook cooperation, is not difficult at all for professional players.

Facing the attacking Palop, before he could get close to him, Corominas did not hesitate and kicked the ball! This is the characteristic of the second team players. Although they will be nervous, they will follow their instincts when they are nervous. They will take action when they have the chance!

The ball flew past Palop who was halfway on the goal like a cannonball, and then just hit the bottom of the net in the upper corner of the goal. If it was another three or five centimeters higher, the ball would probably have been too high, but such a powerful shot from 22 yards away from the goal would be difficult for the goalkeeper to deal with as long as it hit the range.

However, no one expected that the Spaniards' first organized attack in the second half would bear fruit. This was also the first time the Spaniards hit the goal in the entire game, and they scored a goal. The score came to 2-1, just one goal short. It seemed that the game was suspenseful again...

Although Juan Ramos did not think that Espanyol had a chance of a comeback, and this ball was most likely a fluke, because Sevilla made a substitution and the defense was collectively distracted and made mistakes, which allowed Espanyol to seize the opportunity... But such lessons must be accepted humbly, otherwise it is possible that they will capsize in the gutter.

So in the 65th minute of the game, Juan Ramos used up his last substitution. Alves came on to replace Puerta, Maresca went to the front line, and Alfaro played as the left midfielder with less pressure, so that he could better play his flexibility and dribbling skills.

After the substitution, Sevilla did not give the visiting team any chance and secured the victory in the 74th minute.

Hinkel threw the ball out of bounds on the right side of the frontcourt. Alves, who came on as a substitute, passed two players on the right side and rushed to the bottom line to sweep the ball to the middle of the penalty area. Marty followed up and leaned on the defender to stop the ball beautifully and turned around, then directly connected with a left-footed shot, and the ball also hit the dead corner of the upper corner of the goal. This ball was even more exciting than the violent shot that Corominas had just scored. It was a powerful shot after half a turn and ten-point angle!

3 to 1, Sevilla finally won all 3 points without any suspense. Sevilla, who achieved consecutive victories, continued to closely follow the league leader Barcelona with a gap of 1 point. Sevilla's desire for the league championship continues.

After the game, the Andalusians can prepare for the life-and-death battle in the UEFA Cup semi-final against Osasuna at home next week with a relaxed mood.

Espanyol suffered three consecutive away defeats, but Valverde probably doesn't care too much. It was a pleasant surprise that the substitute lineup could score a goal away from home. They still have to go all out to play in the UEFA Cup semi-final in four days. Winning the UEFA Cup is the top priority.

After this game, Sevilla's games in April are all over, but before they can rest for a few days, on the evening of May 4, they will usher in the first battle of May, and the first game is a focus battle, the first and second legs of the UEFA Cup semi-finals, a life-and-death battle with Osasuna, whoever wins will advance to the final.

Three days after this UEFA Cup match, on the evening of May 3, Sevilla will return to the league and travel to challenge Real Madrid. This is a key battle for the league title. The winner will continue to chase Barcelona and still have a chance to win the championship. The loser will basically say goodbye to the league championship with only five rounds left. If the two teams tie, Barcelona will wake up laughing in their dreams...

Immediately after the battle with Real Madrid, three days later, on the evening of May 3, Sevilla returned to their home court to face the challenge of Super Laco again. This was the second round of the King's Cup semi-finals. Fortunately, in the first round, Sevilla won 5-9 away from home, which has laid a good foundation for the second round. As long as the collapse is not too extreme, this game can be said to be the only game in May for Sevilla to rotate and rest.

Because as long as Sevilla has not given up the league, no matter what the result with Real Madrid is, every weekend's league will be a focus battle to retain the hope of winning the championship; and if Sevilla's journey in the UEFA Cup goes smoothly, they will also play the UEFA Cup final on the evening of May 5.

Finally, on the last day of May, before the national team match day, there is a King's Cup final waiting for Sevilla, if nothing unexpected happens...

Therefore, Sevilla may have to play 5 games throughout May, which is only one game less than in April, and almost every game is a key battle for the championship, including away games against Real Madrid, double games against Super Laco (home game in the Copa del Rey semi-final and away game in the 8th round of the league), and tough opponents such as Zaragoza for a European Cup spot!

It can also be said that Sevilla’s efforts throughout the season will have to be judged in May. After all, how easy is it to chase the championship on three fronts?

Most of Sevilla's core players are already quite tired. Fortunately, Juan Ramos has been insisting on rotation and reduced the amount of training in each class in April. Otherwise, the main lineup would have collapsed long ago. Many players will be on the injury list. After all, the team doctor has given many warnings, such as Kanoute, Alves, Navas, Renato, Li Qi, Paulson, Adriano and Navarro who played more games in the middle...

Sevilla's control of injuries this season is also the key to the team's hope of winning the championship on all three fronts by the end of the season.

However, the intensive schedule in April also left Ricardo with no time to spare, especially the disgusting journey of three consecutive away games, which directly ruined the team's physical strength and condition, so Sevilla's away record in April was also very poor...

Throughout April, Ricardo had no time to deal with Sarafina and Julian; if Chiara hadn't flown over to visit them, they would probably have been able to flirt with each other through text messages, and in the end, Eva, who was close to them, got the upper hand.

Ricardo couldn't even take care of his girlfriends, let alone attend the activities arranged by the brands he endorses. He had originally planned to attend two days of commercial activities arranged by Nike, Coca-Cola and Tissot in Madrid in April; but Ricardo simply couldn't spare the time, so the brands had to send teams to Seville for studio shooting.

Although Seville is already the fourth largest city in Spain, it is not an international aviation hub after all, and there are indeed fewer flights. It is also more than 500 kilometers away from the Spanish capital of Madrid... This is a bit inconvenient.

So several of the endorsing brands felt a little regretful and arranged for Ricardo to be loaned to Sevilla for a season; but fortunately, Sevilla performed well and made rapid progress on all three fronts. The heat of the championship race lasted until the end of the season, which gave several of the endorsing brands the opportunity to be exposed, which was considered an explanation.

In addition, Ricardo has basically promised to attend the U21 European Championship in the summer. In the summer of 2007 when there are few international competitions, this is good news for several of Ricardo's endorsement brands. Competitions bring excitement, which is better than taking a vacation to travel.

So Ricardo remembered that after an away game in April, Raiola seemed to have called him in a half-awake state, saying that Nike seemed to want to take the lead in moving Ricardo from Barcelona to another top club sponsored by Nike in the summer, and it seemed to be the one that had been interested in him before...