Midfielder Ruler

Chapter 62: A gap

On the first match day of the 2013-2014 Copa del Rey semi-finals, Real Madrid faced local rival Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. After 90 minutes of fierce battle, the double-header ended with 0:0.

At the regular press conference after the game, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti implicitly stated that Atletico Madrid's style of play completely gave up offense and was very negative.

This sound reached Simeone's ears, and he said bluntly: Give up the offense completely? Don't forget that if we hadn't been unlucky, we should have won!

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid played against each other twice this season, losing in the league and drawing in the Copa del Rey.

Although Atletico Madrid's playing style is not good enough, it is definitely the most effective technical and tactical style.

Their defense is different from Mourinho's bus in front of the goal. The players have greater running coverage and they play with enough enthusiasm.

Once there is a chance to counterattack, there will be a lot of people rushing to the frontcourt.

Even if the first wave of quick counterattacks failed to pose a direct threat to the opponent's goal, the next two waves of attacks would rely on their numerical advantage to pose a greater threat to the opponent.

It can only be said that Atletico Madrid is not good enough to play against a strong team, but football matches are not about the process but the results.

In the two-leg knockout round, an away draw was a very good result.

Real Madrid, who had a draw at home, had no extra time to focus on the Copa del Rey semi-finals that had ended. They had to continue to face Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu three days later.

On the second match day of the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 at home, making a good start for the two-leg knockout round.

In the blink of an eye, Real Madrid's home league match against Villarreal arrived.

I don’t know if it was affected by the draw with Atletico Madrid at home three days ago. Real Madrid, who once again sat at the Bernabeu, failed to defeat the menacing Villarreal.

2:2

This is the final score as the whistle sounds at the end of the game.

Tang Zheng performed well and contributed a goal, but Cristiano Ronaldo's condition seemed to have fluctuated. Isco once created a penalty kick, but he did not score it.

The day for the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals in the 2013-2014 season has arrived. The first game to be played is Real Sociedad vs. Barcelona at home.

Although Griezmann helped Real Sociedad open the door to victory, Sanchez's goal helped Barcelona equalize the score.

The 1:1 score did not change in the subsequent game time. In the end, Barcelona took the lead in entering the King's Cup final this season with a total score of 3:1.

The game hasn't even started yet, but Real Madrid players are already feeling the overwhelming pressure.

Starting from the league's 1:1 away draw with Athletic Bilbao, the following league games against Atletico Madrid and Villarreal at home in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals failed to win.

A wave of three consecutive draws in all competitions may not have a great impact on other teams, but as Real Madrid is the top giant in world football, the draw is too obvious and is easily criticized by major media.

Coupled with two consecutive draws in the league, the point difference between them and Atletico Madrid reached four points. Barcelona also caught up with the points with Real Madrid, but continued to rank third because of the relationship between victory and defeat.

In fact, the one who should be responsible for the home draw against Villarreal should be head coach Ancelotti. He did not pay too much attention to the domestic league and instead focused with the coaching team on the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final away challenge to Atletico Madrid. game.

The shift in the center of gravity makes players less focused on the league.

As a result, the home team lost points again.

However, losing points in the league has become a fact. In addition to the media's insistence on this, the focus of Ancelotti's coaching team and players has successfully shifted to the second round of the Copa del Rey in the upcoming 2013-2014 season.

※※※

On the day of the game, the Calderon Stadium, which can accommodate 54,000 people, was packed with seats. Atletico Madrid fans wearing red and white striped shirts almost enveloped the entire stadium.

Real Madrid fans wearing white and scattered Chinese fans supporting Tang Zheng only account for a small part of them.

They are like an ark in a vast ocean, very inconspicuous.

The players on both sides are still in the warm-up stage, and Atletico Madrid fans seem to have been affected by the iron-blooded coach Simeone, and the deafening cheers continue.

Even when the players returned to the locker room to prepare for the next game, the cheers generated by Atletico Madrid fans in the stands did not decrease.

Before the game starts, the first names announced by the on-site announcer are the visiting team players and coaches.

Uuuuuu——

As a result, deafening loud boos swept the entire audience, so much so that Tang Zheng couldn't bear it anymore.

This shows how powerful the momentum that erupted at the Calderon Stadium was.

When the home team players and coaches were announced, the same deafening effect had the opposite effect, because the sound made by the home fans was cheers, which gave the home team players a strong sense of belonging and fighting spirit.

-Diego!!!

Players from both sides followed the referee into the field. When Simeone just walked out of the tunnel, the deafening cheers became as loud as a tsunami.

Simeone not only has a huge impact on the team, but also has a particularly obvious motivating effect on the home fans in the stands.

Atletico Madrid's ability to lead Real Madrid and Barcelona by four points this season is closely related to Simeone's coaching ability.

In addition, the Copa del Rey entered the semi-finals and the Champions League also entered the top 16.

In the 2011-2012 season when he just took over, he led Atletico Madrid to the final Europa League championship with the same team left by Manzano.

As the most passionate coach in today's world football, Simeone is very good at inciting fans' excitement, so when he heard the huge momentum created by the fans, he turned around and waved his arms up and down towards the fans in the main stand. , meaning I hope the fans can be more powerful.

as expected!

The huge cheers like a mountain roar and a tsunami completely filled the sky in the photo album. Even in the downtown area a few kilometers away, the shouts from the Calderon Stadium could be heard.

The last game of the Copa del Rey semi-finals of the 2013-2014 season started at the Calderon Stadium. Atletico Madrid, who kicked off the ball first, did not give up control of the football as quickly as expected. Instead, they relied on the tacit cooperation of the midfield and frontcourt players to knock the ball over. Guide Real Madrid's defensive core area.

Koke's distribution of the ball was very accurate. He received Gabi's cross pass and immediately passed the ball without stopping. The right back Juanfran followed up in time and then passed the ball directly.

Atletico Madrid's offense shifted from direct passing to direct crosses in such a short time that the entire defense did not have time to react.

At this critical moment, Tang Zheng appeared in a key position in time. He came up from behind and headed Juanfran's cross to Diego Costa over the baseline.

The blitz Atletico pursued suddenly turned into a corner kick.

Diego Costa has already jumped high and is about to swing his head to attack the goal, and there is no defensive player around him to close in time, which means that Juanfran's well-timed cross is very likely to result in a goal.

result……

Tang Zheng grabbed the food from the tiger's mouth and cleared the ball.

This made Diego Costa very depressed and stared at Tang Zheng's back for five seconds before leaving.

Tang Zheng didn't have time to pay attention to Diego Costa's attention. He encouraged his teammates like a captain, asking them to focus on the game!

At the same time, Diego Simeone in front of the home team's coaching bench shook his head. He had planned to attack first before the game.

Many people have the impression that Atletico Madrid has a tough defensive attitude that is constantly running, so Simeone decided to do the opposite and wanted to catch Real Madrid off guard.

The effect is indeed very good, but Simeone never took into account the amazing ability of reading the game and concentration of his favorite disciple Tang Zheng.

※※※

German Sky commentator Marcel Leif said excitedly: Don's concentration in the game is always the best. If Atletico Madrid's attack were replaced by another team, it is very likely to rely on blitzkrieg to score a goal!

PPTV commentator Su Dong marveled: Tang Zheng used his extraordinary sense of danger to help Real Madrid escape less than a minute into the game! His arrival rate and success rate of defense are really surprising! You know He is an attacking midfielder, not a defensive midfielder!

The implication is that Su Dong is dissatisfied with the delay in the arrival of Real Madrid's double midfielders Xavi Alonso and Khedira.

At the same time, it also expresses that the two central defenders Ramos and Varane are not concentrated enough in defense. How can they give up guarding the shooter Diego Costa in defense?

Real Madrid's defensive focus has greatly improved after experiencing this dangerous situation in front of the goal. In addition, Atletico Madrid's tactical thinking is to seize the opening. If the blitz fails, they will return to the track and honestly retreat to their own half, waiting for opportunities to counterattack.

Compared with visiting the Santiago Bernabeu, Atletico Madrid can get twice the result with half the effort by playing defensive counterattack at home, because the home fans can bring them huge energy and can also bring certain interference to the visiting team Real Madrid.

The deafening boos made the visiting team Real Madrid players easily disturbed.

Although most of Real Madrid's players are experienced in many battles, in the final analysis players are still human beings and are susceptible to interference from off-field factors.

Competitive players like Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo did not feel any difference, but the overall sluggishness of their teammates made them seem to be outside the group and unable to perform at their own level.

After all, Atletico Madrid is not an ordinary unknown person. Under Simeone's training, Atletico Madrid is now very effective.

While ensuring defense at home, they can also play content on the offensive end.

This kind of fierce Atletico Madrid is what the home fans want to see.

Real Madrid's first threatening attack came from the connection between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo. Tang Zheng moved to find a way to attack. He suddenly passed the ball at 45 degrees, and Cristiano Ronaldo alertly moved to Gore. Ding completed the header in front of him.

The young Belgian goalkeeper Courtois reacted quickly and fell to the ground to block the ball from the baseline.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not score a goal but posed a threat to the goal, gave Tang Zheng a thumbs up after expressing his regrets, indicating that the pass was good.

The next direct corner kick taken by Xabi Alonso still posed a certain threat. Tang Zheng beat Felipe and Diego Costa to head the ball towards the goal. Goalkeeper Courtois made a save, but did not touch it. football.

However, the ball did not score a goal. The ball flew off the baseline on the right side of the goal post, shocking the home fans into a cold sweat.

The on-site director gave Tang Zheng a close-up shot, and then gave Simeone a close-up shot.

Tang Zheng looked regretful, but that was to be expected.

Simone was different. He frowned because he smelled a hint of danger.

And this feeling comes from his proud disciple, Tang Zheng!

So Simeone came closer to the sideline, shouted at captain Gabi, and then made a tactical intention that only the other party could understand.

This scene happened to be captured by the on-site director. The Madrid TV commentator who is familiar with Simeone said worriedly: If the guess is correct, Diego Simeone should feel a sense of crisis. After all, Real Madrid has never been an easy team to deal with. 0:0 away from home is certainly a good result, but returning home also means we can’t concede goals easily, otherwise we are likely to be eliminated due to few away goals.”

Simeone did not return to the coaching bench, but stood in the home team coach's command area, keeping an eye on the situation on the field.

Real Madrid still dominated the game with its strong control. Simeone's team seemed to rigorously complete all the tactics arranged before the game, but he always felt that Tang Zheng would explode at any time.

As the game progressed, Tang Zheng took the initiative to change positions with his teammates when he could not find an opportunity.

He, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Di Maria are all changing positions.

It might be difficult for an ordinary player to adapt to this change, but Tang Zheng can easily get used to it.

He has speed, body, and skills, which makes Felipe and Juanfran complain endlessly.

Especially when Tang Zheng enters the penalty area to fight for the top, the pressure he brings is huge.

Except for goalkeeper Courtois, who is 1.98 meters tall, players like Godin and Miranda are less than 1.9 meters tall, and Tang Zheng has abnormal jumping ability. Many times, he cannot compete with Tang Zheng for the top and can only choose to interfere.

Being able to defend successfully once or twice does not mean that it will be successful every time.

In the blink of an eye, the game came to half an hour.

The fanatical atmosphere at the Calderon Stadium did not decrease because the score did not change. On the contrary, the home team fans also burst into loud cheers from time to time in support of Atletico Madrid, who was relatively passive on the field.

In the 32nd minute, Tang Zheng saw Cristiano Ronaldo attacking on the left, and he acted like a left wing-back as before.

Cristiano Ronaldo cooperated well, he gave up the wing and cut inside.

Left back Marcelo pressed forward to protect Cristiano Ronaldo, not giving Atletico Madrid a chance to counterattack.

Cristiano Ronaldo took the football two steps to the right and then quickly passed the ball to Tang Zheng in the opposite direction.

Cork quickly filled the gap left by Juanfran. Tang Zheng did not give Cork a chance to catch up. He first made an upper body swing to accelerate toward the baseline, and waited until Cork's center of gravity changed and then moved the ball back. With a push and a push from the arch of his right foot, the football came to the feet of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was returning.

Juanfran and Godin are a bit far away from Cristiano Ronaldo, and Gabi and Thiago are naturally close.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in Atletico Madrid's stable defense.

Simeone, who was standing in front of the home team's coaching bench, saw it, and Tang Zheng saw it too.

Because... Atletico Madrid's defensive focus is too focused on its right side, so that the left side is wide open.

So Tang Zheng quickly shouted and signaled Cristiano Ronaldo to pass the ball back.

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