long live football

"Argentina's form doesn't look good."

"It is difficult to accurately pass the ball from the midfield to the frontcourt, and the counterattack organization is not fast enough. It seems that there are still many people in Argentina who have not entered the game. First-class forwards, second-rate midfielders, and third-rate defenders , This is a relatively fair evaluation of Argentina's three lines by various countries, but in fact, the current performance of Argentina's midfielder is not even as good as the second-rate, and the first-rate striker is not worthy of the name. UAE..."

The game has been going on for 10 minutes.

The favorable situation on the field is occupied by England, while Argentina is a little stiff, but because most of the players in the Azzurri have experienced the baptism of the top European leagues, and many of the main players are still playing for the giants, so under their efforts , at any rate did not concede consecutive goals.

Maradona looked nervous.

He first tightened his grip on the glazed bracelet around the four fingers of his left hand—the mascot Maradona specially selected for this World Cup—then he couldn’t help but walk back to the coach’s bench and hugged his grandson Benha It was bright.

Benjamin, born to Maradona's daughter and the famous star Aguero, who is less than one and a half years old, is also one of the mascots of the Argentine team in South Africa. When Aguero played in Atletico Madrid, as long as there was Benjamin Atletico always wins every time he appears in the stands, so in this World Cup, Maradona brought his grandson with him and placed them on the coach's bench or stands as a good luck booster for Argentina.

Having been in close contact with the two lucky equipment, Maradona felt much calmer in his heart. He walked to the sidelines again, clenched his fists, and started the usual action of cheering the players on the field.

The English commentator said with disgust: "Maradona is undoubtedly the most favorite person in this World Cup to steal the spotlight. Whenever he appears on the court, we will collapse to see him as much as possible in both ears. Wearing three diamond stud earrings on his body, and a Hublot watch on his left and right hands like a nouveau riche, it seems that he can’t wait to put all his belongings on his body. We will also see him wearing that watch in every World Cup game. Wearing a gray suit with a silver tie, not changing any other clothes for half a month, and then doing all kinds of exaggerated body movements on the sidelines..."

After a pause, the English commentator said with a hint: "At the end of 2007, Maradona was exposed by the media to owe tens of millions of dollars in debt, but after only [-] months after he became the head coach of Argentina, he will I don’t have any debts anymore, I still wear a famous brand, smoke cigars, drive a famous car, wear a famous watch... You know, the Argentine Football Association’s salary for the national team coach is only [-] US dollars per month..."

The camera lens scanned the Argentine coach's bench, and stopped in front of the England coach's bench by the way.

The voice of the English commentator immediately became enthusiastic: "The latest survey data from the BBC shows that more than 1500 million fans in England are watching this war between England and Afghanistan, 1500 million! Nearly one-third of the population of England! With so many people anxiously sitting in front of the TV watching the national team's game, it is impossible to achieve this just by winning, and the charm of Alston has fascinated men and women all over England."

At the same time, the Argentine narrator also criticized righteously: "Auston changed his clothes again. Today is Tom Ford's latest 2010 autumn and winter men's wear. This suit was served at London Fashion Week earlier this year. Just debuted, Oston has been wearing different clothes every game since the World Cup—no, it should be said that he is wearing different clothes every day, and the frequency of changing clothes is shocking.”

"What did Auston think of the World Cup? A show? It is said that the two boxes of luggage that the German team airlifted for Loew were filled with identical blue sweaters. I bet the luggage that the England team airlifted for Auston Surely more than three boxes, no, maybe five boxes..."

……

On the court, the game went to the 35th minute.

Messi went straight from the front of the penalty area, Higuain quickly inserted, and a volley in front of the goal was saved by goalkeeper Joe Hart.

England launched a quick counterattack.

With a compelling momentum, they pressed towards the Argentine half.

Messi turned around and ran towards the middle circle in a hurry.

As the tactical core of the team, one of his tasks is to intercept the opponent's attack in the midfield.

To be honest, Messi is not good at intercepting midfielders, and he has worked very hard on this job.

But where the responsibility lies, no matter how hard you work, you have to fight hard.

Relying on the advantage of speed, Messi quickly caught up with the English player with the ball.

Beckham kept dribbling forward with the ball.

Messi harassed from the side, delaying time and creating opportunities for other teammates to return to defense.

If someone pinches from the other side at this time, maybe the two can jointly break the ball from Beckham's feet.

But before other Argentine players rushed over, Beckham made the choice he had made countless times in the game-pass!

A missile-like accurate long pass came to the Argentine penalty area!

The fans in the stands suddenly exclaimed!

Just as they expected, a red figure arrived with lightning speed!

Michael Owen!

In the last second, the fans had just seen the football land in the Argentine penalty area.

In the next second, the football has already raised an arc and flew towards the Argentine goal!

"Michael Owen——" the England commentator stretched his voice to cheer for the team.

But the football was played high!

The goal saved Argentina, again!

All the Argentine players on the field were in a cold sweat.

Their hearts hung in their throats, and they couldn't go up or down.

Although the goal is temporarily safe, the Argentine players have no sense of security in their hearts.

The tacit understanding shown by the whole England team in the game is like a sharp knife tied with a thin thread hanging above their heads. They don't know when it will fall, and they don't know when they will give them a fatal blow.

Obviously compared to the lineup, the Argentine team is not inferior to England, but the sense of powerlessness is getting heavier and heavier.

……

Maradona made a big mistake in his tactical setup.

This is the feeling that the Argentine team on the field brought to Karl.

Messi's role in the Argentine national team turned out to be to play the midfield organizer.

The core of Argentina's previous midfielder was Veron. In any national team game, Veron played the role of engine and organizer.

But maybe it's because Veron is too old, or maybe it's because of Maradona's preference for Messi, he replaced Veron with Messi, let Messi act as the soul of the Argentine midfielder, and sort out the team's offense route.

Probably similar to Barcelona's Harvey?

Let Messi play Harvey, probably only Maradona can come up with such an idea.

Messi is obviously better at breakthroughs.

It is really a foolish move to let him control the team's rhythm and launch an offense.

Maradona probably regards Messi as he used to be - when he was young, Maradona was indeed good at organizing and attacking, and at the same time he could play the role of interception in the midfield, otherwise he would not be able to mix in the club. At the same time, he played the soul of the national team to help Argentina win the World Cup.

But Messi?Messi is just Messi, not a copy of Maradona.

Worse, no, worse for Argentina, and even more surprising for England - Maradona using Messi as Xavi and Tevez as Messi .

The Argentine team is so rote, if England can't win the game today...

Carl is going to let them run naked in the streets of London collectively to apologize.

……

The first half ended with a score of 1:0, and England temporarily took the lead.

Intermission.

There was a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in the England dressing room.

Although they only led by one goal in the first half, the England team, who had grasped the rhythm of the game, felt great, and they were also full of confidence in the second half.

Karl first focused on the unity and tacit understanding of the players, and then praised Rooney who scored the goal.

Rooney smiled shyly and contentedly.

Carl clenched his right fist and said forcefully, "Although your performance in the first half was already good, I hope you will be even better in the second half!"

"A more solid defense! A more tacit cooperation! A more accurate pass! A sharper breakthrough! A more deadly shot! No matter what happens in the second half of Argentina, as long as you get better and better, the victory must belong to England. !"

All Three Lions players suddenly agreed.

In the Argentine locker room, the atmosphere was a little tense.

As soon as Di Maria stepped into the goal, he was criticized by several teammates: "The kick is too bad, is this the quality of Real Madrid players? It is so disappointing to lose the ball and pass the ball in place. .”

Higuain, who was also a Real Madrid player, couldn't help but interjected: "Angel is not a scapegoat, so don't blame him for everything, okay?"

Di Maria also defended himself: "The position I am playing now is a position I have never played before. In addition to attacking, I have to put a lot of energy on defense. I think I have worked hard in the game, but you... ..."

Several players who played in Argentina's domestic league snorted coldly, and were about to escalate the quarrel.

Maradona, who was pushing through the door, interrupted all this.

"What were you guys discussing just now?" The atmosphere in the locker room was so strange that Maradona, who was a little nervous, also noticed something was wrong.

No one speaks.

A bit of embarrassment appeared on Maradona's face.

He feels that the current Argentine locker room does not respect him as much as it did half a month ago.

Now all the players are hiding themselves together.

If he had known that the assistant coach had come back to the locker room earlier, if Mancuso had heard any secrets, he would definitely have reported them to himself.

Regret and irritability invaded Maradona's thinking, making him a little reluctant to say warm words of encouragement, so he directly commented on the player's performance in the first half: "Demi, count yourself, How many times have you made a pointless transitional pass without the ball when no one is pressing within five meters? Otamendi, I thought you were invisible in the first half, Di Maria , I don't see any signs of you integrating into the team, Rodriguez, you move too little off the ball..."

Under Maradona's high-pitched accusations, the entire Argentine team fell silent.

They listened obediently.

They didn't respond.

An idea gradually appeared in the minds of many people.

'We didn't feel like a team at all. ' they thought.

……

In the second half, the two teams changed sides and fought again.

Lampard volleyed vigorously from 30 meters in front of the goal, and the football was saved by goalkeeper Romero.

Romero raised his foot to hit the ball, and the ball fell to Heinze's feet.

Heinze sent a diagonal pass from behind, Messi followed up and took the ball in the middle.

After breaking through to England's half, Messi was forced to pass the ball to Rodriguez.

From this moment until Argentina attacked to the front of the penalty area, Messi never got the chance to get the ball.

In the 49th minute, Ferdinand stretched out his foot and tripped Tevez who was about to break into the penalty area.

The referee immediately issued a yellow card to him and awarded Argentina a free kick.

Terry stretched out his hand and pulled Tevez up from the ground. After apologizing, he stood aside with a smile on his face.

Although he got a yellow card, it was worth it to prevent an extremely threatening attack from "The Beast" outside the penalty area. Doing interception will become very troublesome.

Next, Terry just needs to pay attention not to allow himself to back cards before the end of the game, resulting in being sent off with a red card.

As for the cumulative yellow card to red card suspension?Don't worry about this at all.

In order to prevent outstanding players from missing the final due to red and yellow cards - such as Caniggia of the Argentine team in the 1990 World Cup, Costacurta of the Italian team in 1994 and Ballack of the German team in 2002 - FIFA specially modified the rules of red and yellow cards before the start of the World Cup. The red and yellow cards received in the group stage and the quarter-finals only lasted to the quarter-finals. cancel all of them.

In other words, as long as he survives this game, Terry will be a brand new and clean Terry again.

The referee signaled that free throws could begin.

The Argentine team was caught in a brief controversy over the choice of free throws.

According to the pre-match arrangement, Messi should be the first penalty shooter in the Argentine team.

But Tevez insisted on taking the free kick on the grounds that the free kick was made by himself.

Although not as famous as Messi, Tevez is also a world-class striker, and he thinks his request is reasonable.

Messi thought for a few seconds, and finally fell silent.

He is not good at competing with others for anything.

What's more, when Tevez asked for a free throw just now, Messi saw many teammates expressing with their eyes that they were on Tevez's side.

Tevez's free throw technique is actually good, but the penalty spot is not very good.

The Argentine striker's powerful volley was finally blocked by the England team's wall.

For a moment, Messi felt dissatisfied.

'If I come to punish, maybe I can get in? ' The idea lingered in his head like a virus.

……

The Argentine team on the field showed an increasingly scattered temperament.

It seems that although they wear the same jersey, they are not a group, but separate.

"The Argentine team is like a mess."

Everyone saw it.

Maradona scratched his hair outside the field and yelled anxiously towards the field.

The England team took advantage of the situation to launch another attack of theirs.

In the 55th minute, Rooney suddenly sent a cross after receiving the ball from the left, and Owen sent a vigorous volley in the middle of the ball!

The Argentine goalkeeper made a full save, and Romero hit the football with his arm to the right of the penalty area!

"Great Romero!" The Argentine commentator applauded Romero loudly.

But as soon as his words fell, another accident occurred on the court!

Lampard appeared on the right side of the penalty area and shot towards the ball!

"Lampard's follow-up shot—"

The roar of the England commentator made everyone raise their hearts to their throats: "GOOOOOOOAL!"

Romero turned and stared dumbfounded at the ball in the net.

"2:0! Lampard widened the score for the team, and England's chances of winning are getting higher and higher!"

Maradona outside the field held the glass bracelet on his chest and muttered to himself.

Perhaps he was praying?

But God cannot help Maradona, only himself can help him.

The Argentine team quickly made a substitution, but instead of replacing Burdisso with Inter Milan's main defender Samuel as the fans imagined, they replaced defender Otamendi with midfielder Pastore.

Maradona may have seen Messi's inability to instigate the offense, and wanted to replace it with a midfielder to fight for more Argentine possession.

But what he didn't expect was that the replacement of a defender made the already anxious Argentine defense even more anxious.

"Beckham - passing the ball -"

Beckham sprinted towards the Argentine defense and delivered his own pass with lightning speed.

In the eyes of outsiders, the process of his breakthrough-finding a neutral position-passing the ball was incredibly fast, and it didn't take a few seconds to add it up.

"Could it be that Beckham's golf quotient gets taller as he gets older?" This is the common thought of many fans at this moment.

But Beckham himself knew that he didn't think at all when he chose to pass the ball in the open!

Because the two Argentine players opposite him are Burdisso and Demichelis, and these two, as Karl repeatedly emphasized during the intermission, are the weakest part of Argentina's defense!

Before the football hit the ground, a red figure approached him faster and faster with the speed of the wind!

"Back to defense!" Maradona yelled from the sidelines.

The reminder he gave Burdisso to the two was already a beat late, Owen had already got out of the two bodies, and he was about to touch football!

The football landed, and Irving rushed to it!

"It's so beautiful! The people and the ball are almost in sync!"

Without adjusting his shooting posture, Owen just raised his right foot and kicked hard at the ball!

Romero stretched his body in the air as hard as he could!

The football drew a beautiful arc, and got into the goal steadily!

"Long live! Long live Owen! Long live England!!!"

London, Liverpool, Manchester... The same cheers came from bars large and small in England!

3: 0!

There are even 10 minutes before the end of the game!

Karl made gestures outside the field, indicating that the players can slow down the pace appropriately, save energy, and secure the victory.

……

In the 60th minute, Karl also made a substitution.

Baines replaced Ferdinand.

Ferdinand was out of breath when he left the field, but his expression was very happy.

Carl shook hands with him and said, "Thank you."

Ferdinand walked to the bench with a satisfied face, put on his coat and began to watch the performance of his teammates as a spectator.

During the game, England's rhythm was a bit slower than before, but the offense continued.

In the 66th minute, Rooney passed two people from the left and made a pass from the bottom. Beckham outflanked the goal and scored easily.

4: 0!

Another victory for England!

The Argentine commentator was furious: "Burdisso and Demichelis are like big colanders! All the offenses of the England team leaked through them! Maradona's employment is simply a mistake! Why didn't he send Sa Muel on the field? Samuel is the main force under Mourinho at Inter Milan, and his defensive ability is definitely not a problem! But such Samuel is sitting on the bench, with Argentina guarding the goal on the field It's Burdisso who keeps leaking the ball!"

The air on the field almost suffocated Messi.

From the start of the game to now, he has worked hard enough and has never stopped running, but he still failed to bring the team a goal.

Just because he is very uncomfortable with his current position.

In Barcelona, ​​his teammates are willing to pass the ball to him. The teammates attract the opponent's firepower through running positions, giving Messi the opportunity to give full play to his strengths such as getting rid of others. In this way, when he breaks through to the goal, whether Messi is Whether he scores a goal by himself or assists a teammate again, it is very smooth and easy.

But in Argentina, he himself needs to play the role of attracting firepower, and then assists other teammates.

Especially the teammate he served was Carlos Tevez who had a bad relationship with him...

Tevez feels like Ibrahimovic to Messi.

Too individual, too bloody, rebellious, and full of the temperament of Laozi who is number one in the world.

And Messi himself is as quiet and peaceful as plain boiled water. He is not good at dealing with people who are too personal.

Messi and Ibrahimovic just can't get along, and naturally it is impossible to be friends with Tevez.

But they are so incompatible that they want to cooperate most closely on the court.

Without tacit understanding, how to cooperate?

This may also be the real reason why the Argentine team looks like a mess: the core of the frontcourt and the core of the midfield cannot coexist at all.

Up to now, Carlos Tevez has been fighting alone most of the time.

Messi and his cooperation are very few.

Now that the team is getting more and more behind, the defense has been pierced by England like a sieve.

Messi was also angry.

He decided to really fire himself before the game was over.

……

Messi is a man who knows how to persevere.

And people who know how to persist, in other words, are also called stubbornness.

Messi began to break through with the ball more and more alone.

Many people noticed his difference, but the situation in Argentina couldn't be worse, so neither Maradona nor his teammates interfered with his behavior.

It is very difficult for a person who plays alone on the football field to succeed.

Even Messi, it took a long time to get a better offensive opportunity.

84 minutes.

The game is almost over.

The England team with a four-goal lead has sealed the victory, and after fighting for more than 80 minutes, everyone has different degrees of exhaustion.

Gerrard passes the ball to Sturridge.

Messi arrived at lightning speed, and as soon as he stretched out his foot, he broke the ball.

Then he turned around quickly, confused Sturridge behind him, and took advantage of the opponent's lack of reaction, changed the direction and passed people quickly.

Messi's feet dance like a butterfly wearing a flower, and his movement with the ball to break through is incredibly dexterous.

Terry faced Messi and stole it with his feet.

Messi didn't rush, and with a flick of his ankle, he sent the football out of Terry's crotch.

Then he shifted his center of gravity and passed Terry to the left.

Behind Terry is the empty restricted area.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart has struck.

"Single knife!"

Hart is still too inexperienced compared to Messi.

Messi shook Hart away very easily, facing the empty goal, he pushed with his right foot——

"The goal was scored! Argentina got back a point!"

The Argentine fans in the stands began to applaud.

But their cheers were less than enthusiastic.

Because they know that Messi's goal is only to restore some face for Argentina, but it cannot save the overall situation.

The Argentine team is destined to lose tonight.

Messi himself knows this well, so he didn't celebrate after seeing the football go into the net.

lonely.

This is how Messi feels at the moment.

Although in a noisy stadium, tens of thousands of people gathered around, and there are hundreds of cameras.

But Messi just felt lonely and lonely.

Seen from a distance, the figure standing alone in front of the England goal looks like a confused little boy.

Carl touched his chin and gave such a judgment.

Messi is probably the most distinctive player in the world right now.

Not only in talent, but also in other aspects.

It is a consensus that all players must meet Bole if they want to become a star.

But after being discovered by Bole, almost all the stars started their own hard work. Their careers were all made with their own legs and sweat. Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Beckham, Owen and even Rooney, their Apart from talent, the most important factor for career success is hard work.

Even if they leave Bole and the environment in which they grew up, these people can develop very well.

But Messi's growth is inseparable from the escort of outsiders.

He is the most talented star in the world, yes, but he cannot be alone.

Messi does not have that kind of leadership temperament, or the aura of domineering, he cannot survive alone in an environment full of thorns.

He needs a good environment and a coach who can consider all aspects for him, and then he can fly very high, so high that everyone looks up to him.

But if the tight protection is lost, Messi will immediately be at a loss.

Although Maradona is a good coach to Messi, he cannot provide the other side with the same environment and protection as Barcelona.

So although Messi is still that Messi, he can't bring his club status to the national team.

"Messi's goal of saving one point does not make the score of the entire Argentine team higher, but makes the team more divided." When the heat of the goal passed, commentators from many countries said pertinently: "Argentina is not Messi’s one-man team is a collective. When the collective cannot be united and the players can only do their own thing, no matter how strong the individual is, they cannot make the collective go very far..."

The English commentator's closing remarks were more narrow:

"At the beginning of this World Cup, the biggest topic about the Argentine team was that Maradona had publicly announced to the media that if he could really bring the Hercules Cup back to Argentina, then he would play in the capital Buenos Aires. Stretching to celebrate this great victory."

"Although after Maradona made this statement, female fans from all over the world expressed that they did not want to see the middle-aged naked football king, but the Argentine coach insisted on his own opinion. He really wanted to make Argentina the world champion. , I also really want to run naked after winning the championship."

"Very fortunately, or regrettably, with Argentina eliminated by England, there is no reason for the old horse to run naked."