Football career: From winning the championship to becoming a legend

Lippi will make a major rotation in the match against Ivory Coast. Compared with the starting lineup that beat the Netherlands 4-1 last weekend, Lippi made 6 changes: Ricardo got the chance to start again! His long-distance shovel shot at the last minute left a good impression on the boss, so he got some candy...

Lippi mainly wanted to examine the substitute lineup, and also to balance the needs of the top clubs - the starting lineups of Milan and Juventus cannot be too different, but the starting lineup still maintains the 4-3-3 tactical system. Piero made his 71st appearance for the national team.

Italy's starting lineup is:

Goalkeeper Abbiati;

The back line from left to right is Grosso, Materazzi, Barzali and Zaccardo;

The iron triangle in the midfield became Li Qi, Pirlo and De Rossi;

The forward trident is Del Piero as the attacking midfielder, with Gilardino and Iaquinta at the front.

After the game started, the pace of both sides was relatively slow, but both sides were hiding murderous intent in their unhurried passing...

In the 3rd minute, Drogba took the lead and forced Italian goalkeeper Abbiati to make his first beautiful save!

Drogba used his body to break through Zaccardo's defense in Côte d'Ivoire's quick counterattack, then carried Zaccardo and made a direct cross. Another Ivory Coast striker Didane headed the ball into the goal!

This powerful header was saved by Abbiati and went out of bounds.

The Italians immediately created a scoring opportunity. Gilardino retreated and passed the ball to Del Piero, whose arc shot from the edge of the penalty area was saved by goalkeeper Boubacar.

Later, De Rossi and Li Qi played a wonderful short pass in the middle of the midfield, and this attack almost helped the Italians take the lead.

Pirlo received the pass from Li Qi in the defensive crowd and passed it directly to Del Piero on the right side of the opponent's penalty area. In the so-called Piero area, the Juventus striker made another wonderful arc shot, and the ball went straight to the dead corner...

This curved shot left the goalkeeper helpless. Boubacar could only watch the ball quickly turn to the far corner, but the ball hit the back of Ivorian defender Kolo Toure who came to defend and bounced out of the baseline.

However, in the following games, Ivory Coast still maintained a strong sense of pressure on the Italian defense. They continued to push forward and threaten, trying to control the game at the end of the first half. Drogba also tested Abbiati with set-piece shots many times...

However, the combined central barrier of Li Qi and De Rossi did not give the Ivorian team too many good opportunities.

In the second half of the first half, neither side made any progress and the game went into halftime in a tie.

During the halftime break, Lippi made 5 substitutions, almost replacing half of the team. Oddo replaced Zaccardo, Diana replaced Pirlo, Gattuso replaced De Rossi, Luca Toni replaced Gilardino, and Camoranesi replaced Del Piero.

The formation was changed to a 4-4-2 formation led by Luca Toni and Iaquinta, with Li Qi moving from the center to the left midfielder or left winger. Li Qi also received new instructions from Lippi to participate more in the attack in the second half, attacking the Ivory Coast defense from the wing and then passing the ball.

Li Qi, who switched to the left, continued to create threats to the opponent at the beginning of the second half. With the assists of Grosso, he repeatedly broke through the opponent's defense and delivered a lot of ammunition to the two center forwards.

In the 52nd minute, Li Qi's cross from the left found Luca Toni. Toni stopped the ball in the middle and did not shoot directly but sought cooperation with Iaquinta. Unfortunately, the latter's dribbling was not smooth enough after offside, and he was blocked by the opponent's defender after hesitating and missing the opportunity.

In the 55th minute, Li Qi and Grosso cooperated to make a cross from the wing, but this time the ball found Acuna.

This time, Acuna wanted to return the favor. After stopping the ball, he also did not shoot directly. Instead, he tried to pass the ball to Luca Toni who was in a better position... But unfortunately, this pass was discovered by Kolo Toure and intercepted.

(Li Qi couldn't help but complain in his heart: Two big brothers... can you stop playing? Just shoot the ball, playing fancy tricks is not your specialty...)

In the 62nd minute, Lippi saw that the attack on the left was improving, so he replaced Grosso with the new force Zambrotta and continued to strengthen the attack on the left!

But it is like this sometimes. When you have the upper hand but fail to score, it is easy for the opponent to successfully counterattack.

Ivory Coast took the lead in breaking the deadlock in the 69th minute. After being pressed by Li Qi, Ivory Coast right back Boca made a long pass behind the Italian defense line. (In fact, Li Qi thought Boca just lowered his head and kicked the ball away)

...But fortunately, the ball drew a beautiful arc and landed right in the empty space behind the Italian center line combination...

No one expected that the Ivory Coast team, which had been suppressed in the second half, would suddenly organize an attack like this!

At this time, Drogba rushed out of the crowd like a sharp arrow, advancing with the ball at high speed into the Italian penalty area, using his body to resist Barzagli's pursuit, and then shot the ball into the top of the goal with his right foot from 7 yards in front of the goal...

Abbiati was helpless against such a violent facial cumshot at such close range.

Côte d'Ivoire unexpectedly leads Italy 1-0.

After conceding the goal, Lippi actually had the leisure to change the goalkeeper, replacing Abbiati with Amelia. This was also the first time that the Livorno goalkeeper played for the Italian national team.

After Italy fell behind in the score, they stepped up their offensive, especially Li Qi's side, who flew up and down and created many scoring opportunities in succession, but unfortunately their attacks in front of the goal were always just a hair's breadth away.

However, after a long attack, there will still be some gains, although there is some luck involved.

In the 85th minute, Zambrotta and Li Qi cooperated with each other and made an overlapping assist. After breaking through the defense, they crossed the ball from the left. This time, the cross found Luca Toni again, but Toni made a mistake under the pressure of the opponent's defender and failed to stop the ball or shoot well...

However, the unstoppable ball or the somewhat outrageous shot caught all the defensive players by surprise. They were stunned for a moment and did not clear the ball immediately. Instead, Diana, who came in from behind, picked up the ball 2 meters in front of the goal and shot into the near corner to score. Italy was lucky enough to finally equalize the score!

1 to 1, both sides returned to the same starting line.

In the 88th minute, Camoranesi created another opportunity: after Luca Toni received Li Qi's through ball, he took the ball with his back in the middle of the penalty area and passed the ball to Camoranesi very well, but Camoranesi's shot was bravely saved by Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacca.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Diana passed the ball to Gattuso in a counterattack. Gattuso passed the ball directly to the side. After receiving the ball, Li Qi rushed into the penalty area at high speed. When he was about to shoot, he was tackled by the opponent's defender!

This ball was suspected to be a penalty kick, and Li Qi, who was sitting on the ground to appeal, confirmed that this ball was definitely a foul!

Li Qi observed at the breaking point: the opponent did not touch the ball at all, but directly knocked him down. However, the referee did not make any comments, and the referee's authority was unshakable...

Li Qi had no choice but to shake his head and quickly stand up to continue the game, otherwise he might get a yellow sapphire card if he appealed again.

The slow-motion replay of the subsequent TV broadcast also confirmed that Li Qi's appeal was valid. Li Qi's breakthrough was indeed brought down by a foul, and it should definitely be a penalty kick.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Italy missed another chance: this time it was Diana who received a pass from Li Qi and dribbled into the penalty area from the middle. At the corner of the penalty area, Diana shot a low shot into the far corner, but unfortunately the power and angle of the shot were not good enough, and the opponent's goalkeeper struggled to hold the ball on the goal line...

The ball may have crossed the line, but the referee indicated that there was no goal, and the slow-motion replay on TV could not confirm whether it had completely crossed the line; then the referee quickly blew the whistle to end the game.

At the end of the game, both sides shook hands in a tie with a score of 1-1.

Although Ricardo did not get any assists or goals in this game, he continued to make successful breakthroughs on the left and suppress the opponent's formation, which were very impressive. Lippi was very satisfied and after the game he praised the young man's fighting spirit and outstanding performance, as well as the suspicious missed penalty.

Under Lippi's leadership, the Italians remained unbeaten in all competitions throughout 2005; this is also a result to be proud of.

……

After returning to the club after the national team match day, Ricardo could feel that the atmosphere in the club was different from usual. From top to bottom, even the doorman was filled with the smell of gunpowder as if a big war was about to break out!

Tomorrow night is the first round of the Spanish national derby of this season.

Tonight, the newly assembled Barcelona team will once again travel to challenge Real Madrid away from home!

Before the team even set off, the war of words between the two sides had already begun on the Internet and in the media!

Among them is the current Bulgarian national team coach Stoichkov, who has never concealed the fact that he is a staunch anti-Real Madridist - I hate everything about that white club from the bottom of my heart.

Before every Spanish derby, this former Barcelona player always speaks out. While defending the team he once played for, he never forgets to criticize Real Madrid. This time he predicted the result of the Spanish derby: "Barcelona will not only win the game, but also win by a landslide. Real Madrid will be crushed by Barcelona. Why can Barcelona win by a landslide? Because Barcelona's lineup is more comprehensive and the players are in better shape."

The Bulgarian Thunderbolt then went on to spur the players on, saying: "After Barcelona wins this game, they will be 4 points ahead of Real Madrid, which will have a decisive impact on the La Liga. Will Real Madrid fans put pressure on Eto'o? There is nothing to worry about. As long as Eto'o gets going, he can change the game. He will definitely score a goal at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid fans can boo if they want..."

Before the century war, Eto'o was a figure followed by the media; everyone wanted to use him to provoke a war of words between Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​because Eto'o made his debut in La Liga from Real Madrid, but was not valued by Real Madrid.

After Figo leaves Spain, Eto'o will inevitably become one of the biggest protagonists in the battle of the century.

Although Helguera called on Real Madrid fans to unite against the Cameroonians, Eto'o said he was not afraid of boos. In order to stimulate Real Madrid, he also predicted the score: "Barcelona will win 2-0, Deco will score one and I will score one. In fact, no matter who scores, the most important thing is that Barcelona wins, even if Valdes and Puyol score; if Puyol scores, then we will definitely win."

Regarding the game, Cameroonian Cheetah Eto'o also said: "I know how to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. I used to represent Mallorca, and I hope to represent Barcelona this time."

In Mallorca, Eto'o was the nemesis of Real Madrid. He not only scored goals, but also took away 3 points. In the 02/03 season, Mallorca, led by him, won 5-1 at the Bernabeu. In the 03/04 season, he led Mallorca to a 3-2 away win over Real Madrid. In both games, Eto'o scored.

This time, Eto'o returned from the national team a day early to prepare for this weekend's century-long battle; this also made Rijkaard very satisfied.

Barcelona godfather Cruyff also expressed his views on this round of national derby in an interview with Catalonia's TV3 on Wednesday evening: "As for the result of the game, I think Barcelona can at least get a draw. Barcelona gives people confidence and calmness. This team has all the possibilities to win. If they can draw the opponent away from home and beat the opponent again at home, it will be a great advantage in the competition for the championship."

However, Cruyff has never been a score-oriented person, because he believes that "the result of the game is secondary, and the most important thing is whether the two teams can work together to present a wonderful game."

In addition, Schuster, who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, is optimistic about Real Madrid: "This is the most interesting game. Real Madrid is one of the few teams that can cause damage to Barcelona because they have many first-class players. Moreover, this time they are fighting at the Bernabeu, which gives Real Madrid an advantage. I think Real Madrid can beat Barcelona at the Bernabeu."

Ronaldo, an alien who plays for Real Madrid, warned Eto'o before the game: "He will get the treatment he deserves... I don't know how Real Madrid treated him. After leaving Real Madrid, he said some not-so-smart things..."

Baptista, who had just joined Real Madrid, continued to fan the flames: "Ronaldo... there will never be another player like him. We have to take good care of Eto'o in Saturday's game because he is very fast, but for me, Ronaldo who is 100% in form is more decisive than Eto'o..."

Spanish Prime Minister and famous Barcelona fan Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made a score prediction for the century battle: "3-2, Barcelona wins! I think the two teams will be tied 2-2 in the first half, and then Barcelona will score the winning goal in the second half."

……

Ricardo, who just joined Barcelona's youth team last season, has not had much of an impact in the 04/05 season. After all, he was still in La Masia in the first round of last season, and he was just promoted to the first team in the second round, and has not had much chance to show up in the first team.

After getting to know the older guys this season, I realized how exciting pre-matches are? Can even mouth cannons be so exciting?

However, in this national derby, Rijkaard still did not include Ricardo in the squad, and missed it again...

So Ricardo quickly called Chiara, who had just finished her period, to accompany him and help him calm down... or to accompany him to talk nonsense...

The two seem to be different types of cannons. Chiara's seems to be more intense, and she may not need to use her mouth to fight at any time...

Anyway, Ricardo prefers it...

……