[football] walk side by side

Before the game, Mourinho clearly told Cyril that he would not have a chance to play in this game.So when the starting players walked to the pitch, Cyril followed Mourinho to the bench.

It would be a lie to say that there is no disappointment - the UEFA Champions League is for every young player to show himself to the world, the World Cup, the European Cup is the biggest stage outside of national team competitions, and when the opponent is the famous Galaxy Battleship This opportunity will only become more rare.And once he performs well in this game, the information about this player will definitely appear in the mainstream newspapers of European countries and the inspection lists of top clubs the next day.

But it is also difficult for Cyril to have any complaints against Mourinho. In fact, in this season, Mourinho has given him opportunities that are unimaginable for many players of the same age, whether in the league or in the league. In European competitions, Cyril has always been Mourinho's most preferred midfielder besides Deco.

Failure to play in this game is also due to the fact that Cyril consumed too much energy in the league and the last European game against Partizan.

This also shows Mourinho's policy in the Champions League group stage - not to get three points from Real Madrid, to advance to the first place in the group, as long as he can beat the other two teams, get the chance to advance Quota is enough.

For Mourinho's approach, the outside world has mixed reviews.

Some people think that Mourinho is recognizing the facts and focusing on the overall situation; The team is an insult to the dignity of the Portuguese Super League team.

In this regard, Cyril can only say...the media is still too naive.

When Mourinho told him that he would not have a chance to play in this game, he also left a meaningful sentence by the way: "Don't you want to go to the Bernabeu to play against Real Madrid?"

Analyzing it, this short question can probably draw two conclusions: 1. Cyril will play in the away game against Real Madrid. 2 Porto will play against Galacticos at the Bernabeu.

Throwing out one of the two conclusions will probably drive the media crazy.The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a modern luxury stadium with 12 seats. The tens of thousands of boos during the game are enough to make every player look sideways, let alone a young player.As for the counter attack... let alone, a counter attack with Real Madrid?This is the rhythm of wanting to be sieved by the striker star of the Galaxy Battleship, right?

"The lineups of both sides have not changed much in this game. The striker is still composed of aliens Ronaldo and Raul, the midfielder is led by Zidane, and the defense partners are Carlos, Pavon and Bravo. Goalkeeper Casili Yas. The new aid Beckham sat on the bench, as far as Beckham's position is concerned, his position obviously overlaps with that of Luis Figo, and it is impossible for Real Madrid to use Figo as a substitute... "

The commentator's commentary left many Porto players, fans and coaches speechless.

"...Who arranged this commentator?" Mourinho asked the assistant coach beside him blankly, and the latter shrugged, showing a helpless expression.

To be reasonable, he is still worrying about the thickness of Porto's bench, okay?Can this narrator speak?For a player of Beckham's level, no other team can ask for it. What about Real Madrid?He was thrown on the bench just like that!

Just think about it.

"Cyril?" Mourinho decided not to think about this sad topic. He waved his hand and motioned for Cyril to sit down.Although it was a bit strange, Cyril still obeyed the head coach's instructions, walked over obediently, and sat down between Mourinho and Faria.

Mourinho had no further instructions, he just called Cyril and focused on the game.

At this time, the game has already begun.

Porto played a defensive counterattack, not to mention Real Madrid. Under the influence of the picky white crowd, Real Madrid naturally carried out the offense to the extreme. At the beginning, not many players were involved in the offense, only the midfielders. The defensive players stayed in their positions fairly honestly.

But after 10 minutes of repeated attacks to no avail, Real Madrid pressed even further forward.

Perhaps through the first 10 minutes of testing, I feel that Porto's striker is not too dangerous. Carlos, who is in the defensive position, will play a trick from time to time. As for the players who are already on the striker, Raul is fine. , but Ronaldo has no habit of returning to defense.

"How do you feel?" Mourinho asked suddenly.

Sitting on the coaching bench at this time, in addition to Mourinho and Cyril, there is also Faria from the coaching staff, but Mourinho obviously said this to Cyril, otherwise it would not It's how it "feels".

Cyril doesn't quite understand Mourinho's question: is he asking how he feels about Real Madrid?Or how do you feel about the game?

"Don't be restrained, just say what comes to mind."

Now that Mourinho has said so, Cyril thought about it, and then expressed his feelings bluntly: "Real Madrid seems to be pressing too high?" Neutral.

Mourinho nodded, without leaving the ever-changing stadium: "The whole of Europe knows that Real Madrid's defense is tofu, but there are not so many who can really penetrate the goal in the big competition. Do you know why? "

Casillas?It is undeniable that this excellent goalkeeper is one of the important reasons why Real Madrid does not concede too many goals, but this is definitely not the answer Mourinho wants to hear, but another reason——

Cyril looked at the court at this time.

The defensive counterattack tactics made Porto invest a lot of manpower in the defense, and McCarthy and Delray on the front line had to face the situation of individual combat. The forward looks for an opportunity to shoot.

The football happened to be at Del Rey's feet at the moment.

Ronaldo is nothing to be afraid of. It is an open secret that this superstar who is known as an alien does not like to return to defense. As long as he passes him by speed, he does not need to consider the issue of being pursued.Raul is willing to return to the defense, but he is still a striker in essence, and at most he will add a little interference to Delray's offense.

But in many cases, this little distraction is enough.

In the 15th minute of the game, Zidane broke the ball from Del Rey's feet.

The French midfielder who intercepted the ball swept the field in front of him, and passed the ground ball to Figo on the wing.Figo, who got the ball, was not in a hurry to pass the ball or break through. He paused for a moment, and his eyes kept moving on the Porto players running in front. It just so happened that Maniche did not retreat in time and missed a gap , the Portuguese captain made a decisive decision, raising his foot was a long pass through most of the defensive line!

Where the ball landed, it was Ronaldo who had been wandering in Porto's half looking for opportunities!

Facing this fleeting opportunity, Ronaldo certainly would not miss it.The alien used a beautiful turn to stop the ball and wiped out Carvalho, and then calmly adjusted the angle, raised his foot and shot!

The ball hit the net like a fired shell, and rolled out slowly.

Huge cheers erupted from half of Antas Stadium!

"The goal was scored! Ronaldo opened the scoring for Real Madrid with a beautiful shot! Porto is too negligent, this loophole should not be... Everyone knows that the Galacticos have the best offensive line in the world, once they are given a chance , even Baia is powerless."

The commentator looked a bit embarrassed, but the Porto fans were not particularly frustrated. They still waved their blue and white scarves or flags, loudly cheering for the Porto players.

"Because of the midfielder...?" It is actually inappropriate to answer Mourinho's question at this time, but it would be even more impolite not to answer. The defense line of the team is relatively average, so the victory or defeat between La Liga teams, the midfield duel often occupies a very large proportion, and once the midfield is blown up, it is not far from conceding goals and conceding points."

Cyril didn't wait for Mourinho to give him an answer. In fact, he didn't need to ask the coach for an answer at this moment.He closed his eyes, as if recalling the goal just now, and seemed to be immersed in his own world.

——It was difficult for Delray to steal the ball from his feet, and he would make some excessive movements when running with the ball, but the ball seemed to stick to his feet.This guy's dribbling is the best he's ever seen... none of it.

——The passing has both precision and skillful and beautiful footwork. It is indeed elegant and threatening.The vision and overall situation are also very good, and he grasps the opportunities that are changing rapidly on the court in a timely manner.

——Shooting is also incredibly accurate. Although he does not attack frequently, the occasional shot is enough to prove his shooting skills.

……

After a while, he opened his eyes.It is not so much an evaluation, but rather a sigh that comes from the heart and unconsciously.

"……he is great."

The sudden loss of the ball made it difficult for Mourinho to be in a good mood, and he almost forgot that he was still discussing tactical issues with Cyril. Mourinho exhaled, although he was a little irritable, he still maintained The patience that a head coach should have: "Amazing? Who are you talking about?"

Cyril didn't answer his coach's question quickly, he just raised his head and looked at the green field again.He didn't look at the alien Ronaldo who was showing off his power, nor did he pay attention to the current captain of Portugal's national team.

In his sight, the white clothes flew up in the early autumn wind with the players running, and even the pure black "5" trembled slightly in the sun.

That is Real Madrid's legendary No. 5 midfielder, Zinedine Zidane!

***

"You're right." Mourinho nodded. "Zidane belongs to the classical midfielder. He has a very strong ability to control the rhythm of the team. He is the commander of Real Madrid's offense and can also play a certain role in midfield interception. At this point, you are still very poor Far."

Cyril: "..." Although I also know the facts my husband said, but such a straightforward comment is a bit shocking, okay...

"But having said that, Zidane is originally one of the best classical midfielders in the world. Controlling the rhythm and attacking the engine is the best positioning for the classical midfielder," Mourinho said: "Although I don't want you To be a classical midfielder, but at least in that respect you need to learn from Zidane."

Cyril nodded, and already planned to find a few sets of Zidane's game videos to study after the game, but: "Sir, you...don't want me to be a midfielder like him?"

Mourinho didn't speak, because the game on the court has reached an extremely critical moment.

In the 401st minute of the game, Carvalho, who was defending, succeeded in stealing the ball from Ronaldo with the help of Costinari. He got the ball without delay, and directly sent the ball to Germany, who was not far away in the midfield. division.

Deco, who got the ball, launched another attack.

He used a long and fast through ball. The ball went directly through Ronaldo and Raul, and went straight to McCarthy's feet. Dane and Carlos hurried to defend Del Rey with the ball, but at this time, Deco had already caught up from behind.

Del Rey directly raised his foot and kicked the ball to Deco in the middle of the back, and then ran forward. Deco dribbled the ball to the bottom, and sent another quick cross to McCarthy's feet.

Bravo shoveled, but McCarthy swayed sideways. He turned around and dodged, and he quickly passed to the door with a kick, and collided with Pavon, who was a little slower to react.

The offense was favorable, and the referee didn't blow his whistle.

Carlos desperately wanted to stop Deco in front of the door, and he even secretly used his hands to grab the corner of his clothes.But it was useless, Deco leaned firmly on Carlos who was trying to squeeze him with his body, and it was a powerful volley!

"Porto scored a goal! They tore through Real Madrid's defense with a quick counterattack, and the midfielder Deco scored this crucial goal for them, and now the score is equalized." The commentator couldn't help complaining. : "Although this sentence has been said by many media this season, I still want to repeat it again-letting Makelele go is the worst decision Florentino made this season. one!"

Mourinho said nothing, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Is it because of the speed?" Cyril thought, this goal is very similar to AC Milan's fast attack at the beginning, both of them caught the opponent by surprise with a sudden acceleration of the rhythm, and Porto's attack in front of him is also nothing out of the ordinary Yes, advance steadily, pass, shoot, and finally score.

"In modern football professional leagues, the transition between offense and defense has become faster and faster. Many teams have begun to pay attention to the overall fast pass in the midfield, and Zidane..." Mourinho shook his head: "His skills are indeed worth mentioning, but his speed is relatively slow and does not meet the requirements of a modern midfielder."

Mourinho didn't make it very clear, but Cyril still vaguely understood his implication: With the development of modern football, the classical midfielder is destined to be eliminated. It is necessary to develop in this direction.

"Many players who become head coaches after retirement are mostly midfielders, especially organizational midfielders." When he said this, Mourinho made a gesture to the court to continue to strengthen his attack: "Because In terms of the overall grasp of the game, the head coach is the same as the organizational midfielder, who needs to see and control the team's rhythm, emotions and so on."

Having said that, he pointed to his head with his finger: "Here, it's very important."

Cyril nodded. He understood what Mourinho meant. As a midfielder, he should learn to think more during the game. This is what he is good at and often does, but what he does is not as good as Mourinho. What Neo said was so detailed.

There are still many places to learn.

From this point of view, Mourinho may not have given up on this game. It is obvious that Porto's current tactics in this game are also after Mourinho and the coaching staff think and discuss. the result of.

However, although Mourinho also hopes to win this game, in many cases, the gap in strength is also a link that Porto cannot get around.

Although Real Madrid's defense is really sloppy, in the final analysis, the game is more than who scored more goals. Real Madrid's gorgeous frontcourt offensive line is enough to ensure that they can score more goals than Porto, which is enough.

"... Ronaldo took the ball, he passed Deco! Facing the joint defense of Costinha and Maniche...passed! Now it is Carvalho and Costa in front of the aliens, how will he choose What? Oh! He chose a direct shot! The goal... al! Goal! Goal! Ronaldo scored twice! Real Madrid take the lead again!"

"Al! Raul --! An undisputed long shot! Beautiful world wave! There are still 5 minutes before the end of the game, but the score on the field is already 3:1. Although Real Madrid without Makelele The defense was still poor, but their attacking group more than made up for it, Ronaldo and Raúl broke out in the second half of the game and brought Real Madrid the first 3 points."

"Yes, there is no suspense at this point in the game. Porto does not have the ability to score more than two goals in a row in the last 5 minutes, no matter how bad their defense is...Porto once almost controlled the game. But I have to say that this is the power of a superstar, and the brilliance of a superstar cannot be completely defended by ordinary players. As long as the opponent is negligent, the superstars who are good at seizing opportunities will have a way to turn this loophole into Goal!"

In the stands of the Antas Stadium, Real Madrid fans wearing white jerseys applauded reservedly. In their opinion, the ending of the game was completely expected. As the best club in the 20th century, their Galaxy battleship How could it be possible to lose to a Portuguese Super League team?The only fly in the ointment is the goal that was scored, but considering the tofu dregs of their own defense...

Forget it, as long as you can win.

Amidst the cheers, the Porto players could only smile wryly.

No way, really no way.This point may be felt more deeply by defensive players such as Carvalho, because these superstars defend too hard, with almost zero tolerance.Do you dare to make a mistake?These superstars will directly turn mistakes into goals!

Faced with this result, Queiroz was completely relieved. Now his position is not that stable. If he loses this European war, the angry Mei Linger in the stands will be enough to make him leave.

As for Mourinho, although losing is not a pleasant thing, he can only accept the ending helplessly: what can be done?The lineup is indeed inferior to Real Madrid, and in the second half of the game, Porto did make too many mistakes, which gave Ronaldo and Raul a chance to score.

Because the possibility of losing the game had been considered long before the game, so it can't be called how uncomfortable it is.

After the game of the day, most of the media and newspapers were full of praise for the Galacticos, only some media - such as the Catalan media continued to laugh at the ugliness of Real Madrid, and the media in Lisbon It is while expressing that "everything is within our expectations", while picking mistakes in Mourinho's formation.

Mourinho scoffed at this.

It is true that Real Madrid won this game, but is Real Madrid really impeccable?At least after this game, Mourinho saw many of Real Madrid's weaknesses.

The defense formed by Pavon and Bravo is terrible. The aliens only like to stay in the frontcourt looking for opportunities and don’t like to return to the defense. As a classical midfielder, Zidane’s defensive ability is not as good as Deco’s. Field interception acts as an interference buffer.

Does the superstar policy work?Maybe there is, but Mourinho is sure that Pavon Zidane's policy is absolute shit.How old is Pavon now?Although the position is different, his ability is not as good as Zidane's, and he is not as good as Makelele. For the position of defender, which requires a particularly high level of talent and experience, Pavon is still too immature.

When Mourinho was cold-faced to various reporters and media as always, no one knew that this madman had already begun to think in his heart how to give Real Madrid a blow at the Bernabeu.

However, no one expected that Porto would go smoothly in the next group stage, 3-2 Marseille away, 1-0 Marseille at home, 1-0 Patizan at home, with a total of 10 points, which can be said to be stable The qualifying places for the knockout rounds have been locked.

In this way, the game going to Madrid a week later becomes irrelevant. The two sides can advance together, and there is no need to fight to the death for points.

So the media speculated with confidence that Porto will definitely adopt defense at the Bernabeu, strive for a draw, and advance friendly with Real Madrid.

In this regard, Cyril can only say "...".

He was really curious. The media saw Porto put on an offensive formation at the famous Bernabeu, and if Real Madrid also had the same idea as the media and sent a few substitutes to play... Then the scene is estimated It's even more fun.If you accidentally lose again...

Queiroz will *know* why the Meilingers are known as "the world's pickiest football fans".

But this is all for the rest.

At this moment, the Porto players have boarded the flight to Madrid, Spain, preparing for their final group game of the 2003/2004 UEFA Champions League.

The Real Madrid fans, who were still immersed in the leisurely promotion, did not realize that a war without gunpowder was about to start on their land.