Chapter 201: Being a stranger in a strange land, the background is Joe Hart again
At that moment, the goal was replayed repeatedly on the screens of fans from all over the world who were watching the game, including those in the Red Country, Italy, Scotland, Portugal, England, Brazil and other places.
Especially for Slovenian fans, Cesco has become the number one star and national pride of this Mediterranean country adjacent to Italy.
They have always believed that the 19-year-old striker can achieve the same achievements as Lewandowski and Drogba in the future.
The perfect replica of Rooney's amazing overhead kick in front of them made them more convinced that this was not only possible, but could be achieved very soon!
Many of the Roma players, whether they were running from the field or rushing over from the bench, ran with their heads in their hands, unable to believe what they had just seen.
They grabbed Cesco, shook him wildly, and shouted at him. At that moment, Cesco was a god in their eyes.
Being a stranger in a strange land, the background is Joe Hart again.
The old England goalkeeper put his hands on his hips, feeling helpless.
He knew in his heart that a goalkeeper like him who was famous for his quick reactions when he was young, especially one who liked to use more extreme positioning and rely on his own reaction ability to save the ball, would easily experience a decline in overall competitive strength as he got older and his condition declined.
But he really didn't expect it to drop so much.
Last season, when Mourinho was still at Tottenham, he did give Joe Hart opportunities.
But also in the European war, facing the little-known Austrian team Linz in the Europa League group stage, Hart was hit by two long-range shots by the opponent in one game.
It seems to be bad luck, but in fact it is related to the technical characteristics he formed when he was young.
Simply comparing the peak level of his career, Tottenham's number one goalkeeper Lloris is not as good as Joe Hart in his peak years.
But for most head coaches, especially those who are determined to win the championship in a long season, a good goalkeeper is not about making those incredible saves and saving those balls that seem impossible to save, but about controlling all the shots that should be controlled .
A truly good goalkeeper is one who can make great saves without making any mistakes.
Both Guardiola's coaching team and Mourinho's coaching team have analyzed the situation with Joe Hart, and when he went to Turin to play in Serie A, the coaches there also gave him Buffon as a role model, but unfortunately, he is over 30 years old and it is difficult for him to change his technical habits.
Taking a one-on-one save of a near-corner shot as an example, goalkeepers such as Lloris and Buffon will prioritize blocking the near corner, blocking it as completely as possible, and then leave the preparatory action for the save to the far corner.
The advantage of doing this is that when there is no shooting space in the near corner, the opponent can only shoot at the far corner, and they don't have to guess the opponent's shooting intention.
But the downside is that because the position is too close to the corner, once the opponent's shot from the far corner is very tricky or extremely fast, the saving distance will not be enough and it will be easy to be scored.
However, in real games, it is not the goalkeeper's responsibility if the opponent penetrates the defense, and it cannot be entirely blamed on the goalkeeper if the opponent kicks the ball into the more difficult far corner. But if the near corner cannot be defended, it is definitely the goalkeeper's responsibility.
Goalkeepers in their prime like De Gea and Courtois will leave a small gap in the near corner and stand more towards the far corner.
This is based on their super fast save reaction.
Although this will give the opponent a small chance to shoot at the near corner, it will also shorten the distance to save the far corner and increase the success rate of the save.
Especially after De Gea's technical feature of using his feet for close-range goalkeeping was widely replicated, this positioning method of deliberately leaving some distance was also used by more young goalkeepers.
The problem with Joe Hart is that as he gets older and his reaction slows down, he did not choose the safer position of Lloris and Buffon, and then use his rich experience to make preparatory movements in advance to pounce on the side deliberately left open, but still chose the position of De Gea and Courtois.
This resulted in him frequently conceding goals from opponents on both sides, and in the eyes of the head coach, he was in an awkward situation where he could not save the shots he should have, and could not save the shots he should not have.
The same goes for long shots.
Apart from Rooney's amazing overhead kick, there were many long-range shots that seemed to be from the shooters' amazing goals, but in fact they were all from Joe Hart's failed positioning choices.
Take the classic match between England and Sweden as an example. Before Ibrahimovic scored a long-range overhead kick, he also scored a direct free kick.
In that case, the human wall was conventionally positioned in front of the near corner, and the goalkeeper's position is usually towards the far corner.
This is the standard configuration for free kick defense, that is, using a human wall to block the closer side, while the goalkeeper directly defends the other side that is farther away but not directly exposed by the human wall.
This is also because it is quite difficult for a free kick to perfectly bypass the goal wall and then fall into the near corner.
Even now, in order to prevent the opponent from sneaking in with a low shot from under the wall, a player will be placed under the wall specifically to block the low shot.
And Joe Hart stood directly in the middle of the goal while defending that ball.
This position choice cannot be said to be wrong, because there is no absolutely correct answer to the goalkeeper's position. When facing a player with extremely high free kick skills, the goalkeeper standing in the middle of the goal can indeed take into account both sides of the goal at the same time, preventing the opponent from actually bypassing the wall to take high-level free kicks, which is also reasonable.
But the key lies in the goalkeeper's own condition and level.
When Joe Hart was young, with his reaction, height and arm length, he might have been able to cover all directions, but at that time, he had already begun to decline.
As a result, Ibrahimovic shot the ball into the far corner with a powerful volley from the right side of the wall. The ball bounced twice on the ground. Although Joe Hart, who was in the middle, stretched his body and rushed out, he was still a beat slow to react and the ball rolled directly into the goal.
Again, the opponent scored a world-class goal, bypassing the human wall and rapidly falling into the blind corner. It was not the goalkeeper's fault, but if the opponent gave up the side without the protection of the wall and directly hit the "empty goal", it was all the goalkeeper's fault.
And that long-distance overhead kick was the biggest example of Joe Hart's failed positioning.
In that game, Sweden counterattacked with a long pass from the backcourt. In front of Ibrahimovic, England's central defender No. 5 Gary Cahill had clearly taken a position. Even if the ball fell, it would be difficult for Ibrahimovic to get the first point. Moreover, on Ibrahimovic's left, another central defender No. 16 Shawcross, who came on as a substitute and had plenty of energy, was also approaching.
There were no Swedish players around Ibrahimovic either.
In this situation, Joe Hart, who was standing forward to prevent a quick counterattack, still chose to run outside the penalty area to head the ball away, leaving the goal to the two central defenders, which was a big mistake.
It is obvious that this kind of defensive method of abandoning the goal had not been practiced before the game. Gary Cahill, who was confused, stood there the whole time, and Shawcross did not rush to the goal at the first time.
The England players were all watching Joe Hart's performance. The key point was that he jumped high but failed to head the ball far away.
Everyone knows what happened in the end. After Ibrahimovic's back-heel shot flew out, Gary Cahill was still there. Shawcross rushed towards the goal to block it, but it was too late.
Of course, people did not blame Joe Hart later because no one could have predicted that Ibrahimovic would score such an incredible long-range overhead kick. But if Joe Hart retreated immediately and left the defensive task to Cahill and Shawcross who were already in a favorable position, Ibrahimovic would not have had a chance to shoot at all.
Celtic fans also applauded for Cesco's wonderful goal.
However, the applause continued for a long time.
Zhan Jun, Liu Yue, and many fans were wondering in the live broadcast room:
Are Celtics fans that generous?
It was not until the live broadcaster put the subtitles on the screen that Zhan Jun explained to the fans that the game had entered the 33rd minute and several Celtics fan associations, after reaching a consensus with the club, jointly called on fans at the scene to applaud Chen Xiaoliang.
Many people also held up pre-printed slogans and banners.
After seeing the subtitles and content, everyone realized that rather than being a tribute to "old rival" Chen Xiaoliang, it was more of an expression of strong dissatisfaction and opposition to "that incident."
"Celtic Club and Roma No. 33 strongly oppose the establishment of the European Super League"
However, this part should have been shown during the normal game on the field, and the Celtics' bench would have applauded and expressed their opinions, but unexpectedly, Cesco scored his own goal half a minute ago...
The camera swept to the second-floor box. Although Celtics owner Banker had a dull look on his face, he was also clapping in a "gentlemanly" manner.
Chen Xiaoliang was also confused at first, until he saw some slogans and then he understood what was going on. While walking back after celebrating, he clapped and extended his hand to greet all the fans in the stadium.
But don’t think that because of this incident, Celtics fans will treat Chen Xiaoliang as one of their own.
One is one and two is two.
When we have a common enemy, we are comrades-in-arms, but the rest of the time, we are still mortal enemies!
Since the clock on the scene jumped from 33 to 34, Celtics fans began to cheer for their team again, and whenever Chen Xiaoliang got the ball, there would be bursts of boos.
After the two midfielders Callum and Matteoli were marked by Veretout and Chen Xiaoliang, their chances of getting the ball were greatly reduced.
As a countermeasure, the two Celtics wingers took on more of the task of passing the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt, while the remaining midfielder Lian Yang could only retreat significantly to help with the support.
As a result, not only will the defense on both sides be prone to loopholes, but the smooth and frequent short passes between the three Japanese internationals and Horta will also become distant due to the retreat of Hatate Reo.
The Celtics' offensive pressure was suddenly greatly reduced.
As the pressure on defense eased, it meant that the two wing-backs, Malacia and Zalewski, had the opportunity to press forward.
However, Roma's offense still maintained a simple style of play, advancing to the frontcourt as quickly as possible, shooting when there was an opportunity, and then quickly returning to defense, waiting for the Celtics to press forward next time.
However, if Joe Hart always becomes a background figure, it is also due to his own shortcomings. For Roma, the goalkeeper is also a major hidden danger.
After all, Fozzato was a goalkeeper who had not played for a long time and was appointed in an emergency. At such a critical stage in the middle and late stages of the season, he suddenly replaced the injured Patricio and he himself was actually not ready.
In the 43rd minute, the Celtics relied on the left-back Taylor's interception and the passing and cutting between the flag bearer Reio and Horta to slowly press the ball to the left side of the penalty area.
Seeing that the number of defenders on the wing was weak, Zalewski retreated directly into the penalty area to defend.
High cross?
Mourinho said before the game that if Celtic's small forwards, who are just over 1.7 meters tall, wanted to make high crosses from the wing, they could just let them do it.
What the defensive players should pay priority attention to is their sudden advances and retreats in the penalty area, their attempts to score in front of the goal and their inverted triangle shots after receiving low crosses.
Seeing that the flag bearer Reio cut to the left and made a tentative breakthrough in the ribs, not preparing to go down, Zalewski moved sideways to guard the inside line, defending him on the outside, following the opponent's footsteps and retreating step by step, maintaining a defensive distance.
Suddenly, the flag bearer Reio leaned to the right and made a gesture to cut inside. Zalewski quickly took a step to his left to block the breakthrough route.
With this step, Zalewski completely released his right side.
Next to Reio Hatate, Hota made a high-speed run, and Reio Hatate pushed the ball to him!
After receiving the ball, Horta changed direction and headed into the penalty area.
Seeing that he was about to approach the near post, Zalewski was startled and immediately turned around and rushed towards Horta! And the right center back Mancini also blocked him!
And with this move, the flag bearer Reio was left alone again.
Horta firmly adhered to the principle of not having physical contact with the opponent. When the two were approaching him, he knocked the ball back to the flag bearer Reio who had moved several steps to the middle of the penalty area.
At this time, Dairan Maeda and Kento Furuhashi were both wandering in the middle, Smalling and Ibanez couldn't get away at all, and at the front of the penalty area, Callum was already in position, Veretout and Matic blocked the front, and had no time to assist the flag bearer Reio.
The flag bearer Reio, who was left alone, took a step forward and prepared to kick the ball!
Zhan Jun: "Smolin, come up and block!"
"It's a fake move!"
"The flag bearer Reio dribbled past Smalling and passed the ball to Furuhashi Kengo in the middle!"
"The Celtics' top scorer is ready to shoot!"
"Fozzato has rushed out!"
"Mancini, who rushed back on horseback, and Ibanez, who was standing beside him, also pounced on him!"
“Shoot!”
"It's still a fake move!"
"Pass it to the unmarked Maeda Dairan on the right!"
“Shoot!”
"Ouch! Why is it still a fake move!"
"Malaysia tackle!"
"Foul! The referee blew the whistle!"
Liu Yue: "This ball is too complicated. Just now, the flag bearer Lianyang had no space in front of him and he was in the penalty area. He could have shot directly."
Zhan Jun: "That's right. Even Furuhashi Kengo, who received the ball later, could have just shot after receiving it, but it seems that they still want to increase the success rate of the final shot. To put it bluntly, they want to pass the ball into the goal before they are satisfied."
Liu Yue: "That move by Furuhashi Kengo just now not only fooled Ibanez, but also fooled goalkeeper Fuzato. Maeda Dairan could have shot directly after receiving the ball. These Japanese players were too careful, too careful."
Zhan Jun: "Let's see, after listening to the opinions of the video referee team, the referee showed Malaysia a yellow card and awarded Celtic a penalty!"
As the fans in the stadium cheered and some Roma players complained, the referee remained indifferent and blew the whistle to ask the irrelevant players to leave the penalty area.
As the Celtics' top striker, Kento Furuhashi naturally took the free throw.
Everyone on and off the Roma field was worried about Fuzzato, including himself, who was also feeling very nervous.
"Which side?" Fuzato thought for a moment, and cast an inquiring look at Chen Xiaoliang, who was standing outside the penalty area with a serious face.
The match against Atalanta completely established the Reds' supreme position in the locker room except for Mourinho. He stepped forward when there was no goalkeeper, turned the tide, and actually led the team to win the promotion victory.
He did everything a leader should do, and naturally gained everyone's trust.
Although the Roma players later knew that Nuno Santos' note was just a psychological warfare prop to fool the opponent, Chen Xiaoliang was the perfect actor.
Such a hasty and inexplicable penalty forced Fuzatto to ask Chen Xiaoliang for advice.
But the referee kept blowing the whistle to drive the players out of the penalty area, and Chen Xiaoliang had no way to "go against the wind" and go in. If he did that, he would definitely be rewarded with a "Golden God of War Card" by the referee.
Amid the whistles and the cheers and curses coming from the stadium, he couldn't hear what Fuzzato was saying in gibberish in Portuguese.
I just seemed to hear words like "direction" and "is it okay".
Chen Xiaoliang knew that Fuzato was asking for his opinion, but how could he know where the Japanese were going to kick.
After hesitating for a moment, he thought that since Fuzato had already made up his mind, he should support him. Maybe he would guess right. Anyway, no matter how powerful the goalkeeper is, there is no way to save a penalty kick.
What's more, even if he had suggestions, he couldn't say them in front of so many Celtics players.
So he looked at Fuzzato, pointed with his index finger, and gave a thumbs-up, meaning believe in yourself, you will definitely succeed!
“Beep!”
Romanian referee Istvan Kovac blew the whistle.
Furuhashi Kengo turned his head to look at the ball on the penalty spot, then took a deep breath and started a run-up!
