Chapter 147: The Twin Peaks of the Roman Empire
On the sidelines, the people directing the game for both teams became assistant coaches.
The director, who loves to watch the fun, frequently cuts the camera to Mourinho and Spalletti's faces.
However, the players on the field were much more honest.
The referee is serious about this, treating the yellow card as a poker card. Who would dare to commit a crime against him?
The two coaches did not make any contingency plans in advance. Mourinho was lucky because it was a home game and the club staff quickly brought him communication equipment.
On the other hand, whenever Spalletti picked up his mobile phone to talk, the Roma fans around him would shout in unison to disrupt the conversation.
Think about it, you are on the phone with hundreds or thousands of people around you shouting at you and disturbing you, how can you make the call... So in the end he could only shout to the team coach in the stands, and then let the coach pass the message to Domenichini.
In the 73rd minute, Napoli made a substitution.
No. 11, the Mexican striker Lozano, who is worth 30 million euros, replaced Politano, and No. 7, the North Macedonian midfielder Elmas replaced Zielinski.
Two of the four attackers in the frontcourt were replaced, but Spalletti's determination to win the game remained unwavering!
However, after the game continued, Roma players immediately noticed the changes.
Lozano, who replaced Politano, was a positional substitution and played as a right winger, while the new player Elmas did not stand in the middle as a front midfielder. His activity area was almost all on the left, replacing Insigne as the left winger, allowing Insigne to change positions and run more freely.
After football entered the 2010s, the traditional No. 10 player became increasingly rare, and after entering the 2020s, it was almost impossible to find him.
Due to the improvement of players' comprehensive abilities and the diversification of offensive methods, the range of activities of offensive players is also expanding.
For example, the center forward is now not only responsible for scoring in the penalty area, but also for retreating to support, attracting the defense to pass the ball to the wingers of his own team, and even pulling to the wing to launch an attack, or directly scoring with a long shot outside the penalty area.
In response, the parallel midfield is used less and less, and the single defensive midfielder or even double defensive midfielder is used more frequently.
In addition, the zonal man-marking defensive tactics were regarded as "orthodox", just like Mourinho's tactical style, which directly led to the space in the middle being squeezed into pieces, causing more and more teams to focus on creating offensive opportunities on the flanks.
This also led to the direct extinction of classic attacking midfielders like Riquelme.
In today's pace and confrontation, it is difficult for this traditional No. 10 player to survive. The most typical example is James Rodriguez, who shocked the world in the 2014 World Cup and won the World Cup Golden Boot Award.
After joining Real Madrid, except for his excellent performance in the first year, his data in all aspects began to decline sharply in the following seasons. This was largely because in the confrontations at the level of the top five leagues, especially facing the strong defensive players of other giants, the technical advantages of the classic attacking midfielder were not enough to make up for the weaknesses in speed and confrontation.
Once the opponent becomes familiar with your characteristics and starts to defend against you in a targeted manner, it will become very difficult for you to play against us.
Players like this, those who are fast are basically transformed into wingers, while those who are slow but have good physical strength can retreat to play as organizing midfielders.
If you are not physically fit...
James Rodriguez left Everton at the age of 29 and could only play in the Qatar League in West Asia...
On the field, facing Napoli's adjustments, Roma further shrank the backcourt space.
As long as the ball does not enter the penalty area, pass it randomly on both sides. After entering the penalty area , immediately launch pressing and double-teaming in a small area.
The game entered a tense state and the defense was tight. Chen Xiaoliang used a physical recovery card as usual.
Stamina recovery card 2→1
Liu Yue: "Today's goals scored by both teams were actually based on the individual abilities of the players. Whether it was Xiaoliang's 0-degree arc shot at the start or Insigne's lob shot from the back post, it did not mean that the team failed in defense.
And now that they have scored a goal, Roma has also stepped up their care for Insigne, so just now they sent Anguisa forward to organize the game, and they also wanted to increase the number of people in the frontcourt.”
Shi Qingsheng: "I think with Roma's current style of play, it is basically impossible for Napoli to score another goal, but if Roma just keeps defending like this, it will be extremely difficult for them to win."
As a former international player, Liu Yue did not leave any glorious experiences worth remembering when he was playing football. Instead, a video of him being scolded by General Fan in a certain game has been circulating to this day.
But as a football commentator, he is still very professional.
But Shi Qingsheng was born as a football fan, and he started out by commentating on the Eredivisie and gradually worked his way up to become a host.
However, what the fans criticized was not his professional commentary and his unreserved identity as an AC Milan fan, but that since Guan Zeyuan came to the Penguin live broadcast room, he seemed to have been infected with the physique of poisonous milk...
As soon as he said this, he was immediately criticized by the fans in the live broadcast room, who asked him to shut up or stop criticizing Napoli.
In the 77th minute, Ospina took a goal kick and after three passes and two falls to the midfield, Ruiz passed the ball to Insigne in front of him. Insigne received the ball with his back without turning around and directly passed it to Lozano on the right.
And Lozano, who received the ball, once again let the Olympic Stadium in Rome see why every Napoli player can take two steps forward.
The Mexican who had just come on the field immediately broke through from the right.
Zalewski, who is also known for his running ability, focused his interception on cutting inside, but Lozano was not only fast but also had plenty of stamina, but he chose to force a cut inside.
Before Zalewski could adapt to this new opponent, he suddenly accelerated and cut to his left side, ready to shake him off and rush to the side of the penalty area!
This scared Zalewski. If he was allowed to pass, he would rush directly into the penalty area!
Helplessly, Zalewski subconsciously stretched his legs.
Lozano's right leg was tripped by him, and he immediately lost his balance and rolled on the ground several times, holding his knee.
“Beep!”
The referee blew the whistle and gave the Polish teenager a yellow card.
Napoli also got a free kick in a good position on the right side.
Joao immediately proposed a substitution, replacing Zalewski with Binya.
Insigne stood at the penalty spot.
Napoli has players with good footwork, but they don't have anyone who is good at free kicks.
To this end, Roma's five central defenders defended closely and kept a close eye on Napoli's attackers who rushed into the penalty area.
Insigne took a short run and pushed the ball to the middle with his right foot!
It's Ruiz!
What is this for? Long shot?
Chen Xiaoliang immediately blocked him and completely blocked his shooting route!
"Ruiz received the ball without adjusting, and used the arch of his foot to cushion it!"
"It's a pass!"
"The ball went to the left goal post!"
"The Napoli attacking players who were just walking back immediately ran back as soon as the ball was passed!"
"This turned out to be a carefully planned tactical free kick!"
"Kulibaly has Mancini firmly under him!"
"Header!"
“The ball goes in!”
"In the 79th minute, Koulibaly scored with a header and reversed the score!"
"I just mentioned Roma's defense!"
"You can't just keep defending like this! Sooner or later you're going to lose the ball!"
"If we don't find a way to solve the offensive problem and only defend without attacking, how can we win the game?"
"It's only been a few minutes! It's almost as if the words have come true the moment you finish speaking!"
Seeing Roma lose the ball, Shi Qingsheng kept shouting in the live broadcast room, completely forgetting what he had just said.
Barrage:
[TMD, if it wasn’t for the original sound of the stadium, I really want to mute it! ]
[Is Penguin dissatisfied with having too many members and calling out this kind of people for commentary? ]
[Guan Zeyuan admits defeat, this poisonous milk takes effect in two minutes]
[Can you please shut up? Please, you keep talking nonsense. You read the player's number wrong, you say the name wrong, and you keep praising AC Milan and criticizing Inter Milan. Can you please stop talking? Or let Liu Yue speak alone.]
…
On the field, Koulibaly rushed towards the Napoli fans who traveled with the team, and other players also ran over and celebrated wildly together!
Spalletti immediately turned into a look of contempt, standing among a group of Roma fans who were booing him, and applauding and celebrating!
Clap? Anyway, he was already in the stands, and the referee couldn't do anything to him if he clapped, so he might as well clap as hard as he could!
On the other side, Mourinho sat in his seat dissatisfied, frowning and looking at the field without saying a word.
Just like what he experienced in his previous clubs, especially Real Madrid and Manchester United, which can be said to have the most fans in the world, once his bus tactics did not achieve a lead in the score and an acceptable result, he would be strongly opposed by the club's hardcore fans.
Although in Rome, since the club's reputation and past achievements are far inferior to Real Madrid and Manchester United, the fans' expectations and demands are much lower and their tolerance is much higher, but being beaten like this at home still caused dissatisfaction among many fans!
Even the players on the field could feel that some of the boos from the home team's fans were directed at them.
While waiting for the Napoli players to return, Chen Xiaoliang took Cesco aside and talked to him about something.
The referee blew the whistle, Cesco kicked off, and the game continued!
After Pellegrini received the ball, Anguisa rushed over.
Naples doesn't want to give Roma any chance to breathe!
After all, the time has come to 81 minutes. If we can hold on for another ten minutes, we can achieve 9 consecutive wins!
Pellegrini pulled the ball back and looked around.
Binya and Karsdorp didn't dare to join in at all, and Veretout was exhausted, and had to conserve his remaining strength to deal with defense.
He had no choice but to pass the ball back to Chen Xiaoliang.
Because he is the only one who always looks like he has just entered the court, with endless energy.
Chen Xiaoliang poked the ball with his toes and it flew to the front right.
This is about dividing the sides!
Rui stuck closely to Zaniolo, and Zaniolo's starting speed was slowed down a bit, and it seemed that he could not catch up with the ball.
A man rushed out from the side! It was Cesco!
Ramani, who was supposed to be marking him, had no choice but to follow him, but he didn't dare to follow him all the way to the sidelines.
In a double center-back system, if one center-back marks a player to the sideline, it is tantamount to handing over the team's central defense to others.
But Spalletti gave him the order to guard Cesco the whole time.
At this moment, he was in a dilemma whether to go up or not.
Cesco would not give him a chance. With the bonus of the tacit understanding system, receiving the ball from Chen Xiaoliang greatly improved all his technical attributes.
With a height of 194cm, he rushed forward without any fancy moves, he just dribbled the ball to start!
Speed is Ramani’s biggest weakness!
Before, he was stuck to him and found it difficult to sprint at full speed. Now that he was pulled to the sideline and free, Cesco completely accelerated!
Zaniolo and Abraham took a look and immediately rushed into the penalty area!
Di Lorenzo and Rui followed closely!
Cesco rushed into the penalty area and swung his right foot towards the goal.
Abraham shovel shot from the back post!
Just a hair's breadth!
Although the ball didn't go in and no corner kick was taken, all the Roma fans in the stadium seemed to be ignited and started cheering again!
They saw hope, at least the team attacked again!
Sesco pulls to the side? Then flanks through the middle?
Spalletti quickly called his team's coach in the stands and shouted to him how to deal with the situation.
However, the Roma fans around him almost rushed over and threw themselves on him, shouting loudly to disrupt their conversation.
For safety reasons, the security guard nearby persuaded the coach to leave and warned Spalletti not to convey tactics in a similar way again.
Of course, the security guards on the scene are naturally also Roma fans!
Spalletti had no choice but to take out his mobile phone and type in the information word by word.
But at the age of 62, his eyesight was obviously presbyopic. When he was punished, he was in such a hurry that he forgot to bring his reading glasses with him. It was really difficult for him to look at the tiny letters on the screen!
Ospina kicked off the field and the ball came to Ruiz's feet again.
He took a few steps forward, fooled Pellegrini with a beautiful feint, and then moved to the left.
Just as he was about to pass the ball directly to Elmas, a lightning-like figure flashed in front of him.
Ruiz quickly protected the ball. He had already seen that the red man in front of him was not only fast and good at defense, but also had abnormal physical strength. He could make a long pass without paying attention, and it was so accurate.
If he steals the ball in this position, there might be another quick counterattack from the wing, and the team would be in danger.
In a flash, he passed the ball back, and the position behind him was Rui's area.
But the moment the football left the inside of his foot, he was almost petrified!
He forgot that in addition to Zaniolo, Roma also had another player move to the wing!
Cesco was right in his passing lane!
Tacit understanding, and tacit understanding!
The tacit understanding system not only increases the technical attributes of both players in the passing of the ball, but also improves the degree of cooperation between the two players in assisting each other, positioning, and supporting each other in offense and defense!
When Cesco saw Chen Xiaoliang coming to the wing to defend Ruiz, he did not choose to double-team him, but instead blocked Ruiz from behind.
When Zaniolo saw Cesco coming, he had already given up his position on the wing, and Rui, who was guarding him, also left with him.
This back pass error made Cesco's front area once again become an empty grassland!
Sesco spurred his horse and rushed out immediately!
"Cesco dribbles the ball forward!"
"Cesco enters the penalty area!"
"Cesco is already in shooting range!"
Seeing that the dangerous situation was about to happen again, Ramani didn't care about anything else and just shoveled it down!
However, just after he stretched out his leg, Cesco immediately withdrew his right foot and pushed the ball sideways.
Cesco did not rush forward to take the penalty, but passed Ramani.
"Ramani was fooled!"
"Chance!"
"Cesco shoots with his left foot!"
"Sesco!!!"
Ospina rushed out and stretched out his hands to expand the coverage area.
Cesco pretended to make a powerful shot, but he aimed between Ospina's legs, stepped back and pushed the ball into the net!
2 to 2!
In the 83rd minute, Roma equalized the score!
All Roma players ran up and hugged Cesco!
Mourinho also cheered!
Spalletti had just sent the text message when this incident happened on the court. He threw his phone away in anger, yelled at his own coaching bench, and kept making gestures!
Shi Qingsheng repeatedly shouted in the live broadcast room: "Beautiful! This ball is really beautiful!"
Liu Yue calmly analyzed: "At the end of the game, Roma was still able to make changes in offense, which was quite difficult.
I don't know if it was a tactic they used in training or if the players themselves took the initiative to seek change, but in any case, Cesco, who had been in the middle for a full 80 minutes, suddenly launched two side attacks, which caught Napoli, who had not been under much defensive pressure tonight, off guard and they were not prepared at all.
In addition to the obvious decline in physical strength and Ruiz's back pass error, the Napoli players who were originally preparing to attack failed to keep up with the speed of switching from offense to defense, and were directly attacked by Cesco, who made a 30-meter run and scored.
Many people compare him with Dortmund's Norwegian striker Haaland, calling him the new Haaland. I think there are indeed some similarities between the two.
Mourinho has always been criticized for coaching new players, perhaps Chen Xiaoliang and Cesco can help him break this inherent label. "
Barrage:
[When Shi Qingsheng doesn’t speak, he still speaks very well]
[That’s right, he just yells there]
[Comparing Cesco and Haaland, is that an exaggeration? 】
[It was only because both of them became famous in Salzburg Red Bull and their positions and physical conditions were similar that the media hyped it up.]
[Haaland scored 10 goals in the Champions League in the first two seasons , and 27 goals and 8 assists in 28 Bundesliga games last season. Cesco is still a long way behind]
[Haaland played in the Bundesliga at the age of 19, and Cesco played in Serie A at the age of 18. Next year, Roma will strive to enter the Champions League, and Cesco will have a bigger stage]
[You all only care about Cesco. It was Chen Xiaoliang's blocking that caused Ruiz to make a mistake in his pass.]
[Ospina's goal was shot through, and he sat on the ground depressed for a while. This shot was really cool! ]
[The doctor said I have rheumatism and cannot watch such a wasteful goal]
