Chapter 38: Keep attacking me!
Before the game, the whole world knew that Real Madrid needed to attack, and they also knew that Wenger would definitely deploy targeted tactics against Real Madrid's offense, and even set traps to make the Galacticos fall at Highbury Stadium.
As it turned out, Wenger did adopt a more balanced, even defensive lineup and tactics.
Real Madrid did take the initiative and adopted an offensive tactic from the start.
But no one would have thought that Real Madrid would be so determined to attack.
From the very beginning, the Galacticos adopted a strenuous running and covering approach to pressure and close down Arsenal.
Although the Gunners were prepared, they still found it difficult to resist the aggressive Real Madrid, especially after Raul's close-range header, which made everyone break out in a cold sweat.
If it weren't for Lehmann's desperate save, Real Madrid would have equalized the score.
Real Madrid continued to suppress Arsenal, making it almost difficult for the Gunners' ball to pass the center line.
The entire team, from front to back, from Negredo to Raul to Beckham to other players, even Zidane, who is tall and rarely runs, fought hard in this game. He could be seen everywhere on the left, middle and right lines.
Wherever the ball is, there Zidane will be.
This makes people feel that they are not planning to play the whole game?
You know, a football match lasts for 90 minutes. If we play so hard now, what will we do in the second half and the final stage?
But Real Madrid seemed to have no scruples and madly engaged in pressing and oppression, showing a determination to fight to the death.
At first, everyone thought that five minutes of pressing would be enough, but five minutes later, Real Madrid was still running and pressing.
After ten minutes, everyone noticed that Real Madrid still showed no signs of stopping. Arsenal was still pressed in the half, fighting hard and resisting stubbornly.
Fifteen minutes into the game, Real Madrid began to show some signs of not being able to sustain, but they still did not retreat.
Gao Shen has been standing on the line of the coach's command area from the beginning to now, motionless.
He is the head coach and cannot play, so this is the only way he can let the players know that he stands with them.
Negredo stopped the ball too long in the frontcourt and passed it back hastily, passing it directly to Fabregas, who quickly rushed forward with the ball and passed it to Henry who retreated to receive the ball.
Henry was a man of great skill and courage. After getting the ball on the left rib, he quickly got rid of De La Red's entanglement. Without waiting for Ramos to come forward, he quickly sent a straight pass to behind Ramos.
Ljungberg advanced at the fastest speed, got ahead of Elguera, kicked the ball towards Real Madrid's penalty area, and accelerated to catch up, creating a beautiful one-on-one opportunity.
In an instant, the entire Highbury Stadium was boiling.
This was Arsenal's first threatening counterattack in the game.
In the previous few times, all were stifled by Real Madrid in their own half.
This time, Elguera's interception was obviously a beat slower and was directly broken through by Ljungberg.
The Swede quickly chased after the ball. Casillas found it difficult to make a decision with this ball and did not dare to attack rashly.
At this critical moment, Ramos, who had just pounced on Henry, chased back at an extremely fast speed. Before Ljungberg rushed into the penalty area, he stuck his body to Ljungberg, pushed him away, and then stood between Ljungberg and the ball.
The Swedish star lost his balance and fell directly into Real Madrid's penalty area, and pulled Ramos to the ground.
Casillas left the goal and rushed out to grab the ball.
Highbury Stadium fell silent!
Is it a penalty?
All eyes were on the referee, Lubos from Slovenia.
Rubens just waved at Ljungberg , indicating that this was not a foul.
Suddenly, there was a barrage of boos at Highbury Stadium.
…
Gao Shen was on the sidelines, gritted his teeth secretly.
Even though he seemed relaxed just now, he was still very nervous inside.
If a penalty was awarded, Real Madrid would really be finished in this game.
Sometimes football matches are like this. Even if you are fully prepared, when you actually get on the field, it still depends on the players' on-the-spot performance, and even on the referee's decision at that moment.
Therefore, what the head coach can do is to maximize the team's room for errors.
Glancing at the home team's coaching bench, Gao Shen discovered that Wenger was very dissatisfied with the penalty and was protesting to the fourth official, which immediately made him secretly feel proud.
Wenger's actions at this moment proved that he and Real Madrid posed a threat to him and made him feel pressured.
Is there any stronger proof than this?
"Elguera still lacks confidence." Assistant coach Maqueda came to Gao Shen and sighed.
Gao Shen nodded. Elguera was a little hesitant during the defense just now.
In fact, this is very normal. Since Hierro left the team, Real Madrid has replaced defenders one after another. Even the world-class Samuel and Woodgate, or the next World Footballer of the Year Cannavaro, didn't they all lose confidence as they played for Real Madrid?
Not to mention local youth players like Pavon, Raul Bravo, Ruben and Mejia.
Apart from Ramos who has a big heart, which central defender of Real Madrid in recent years is an exception?
If it was just one or two, it could be explained as individual reasons, but so many people, especially players like Woodgate, Samuel and Cannavaro who all showed world-class performances again after leaving the team, proves that the problem lies with Real Madrid.
So, can Gao Shen blame Elguera for lack of confidence?
"How about we take it slow?" Maqueda suggested.
He was very worried that if they continued to press and oppress like this, Real Madrid would collapse first before Arsenal.
But Gao Shen shook his head firmly, walked to the sidelines resolutely, shouted the players' names, signaled them to continue to press forward and continue to suppress Arsenal. At the same time, he asked Ramos to pay attention to his back and keep a distance from Elguera, and also asked Beckham to retreat appropriately.
All of this indicates a profound attitude.
Keep pressing, keep oppressing, keep attacking!
…
Victory or defeat depends on this battle!
This is what Gao Shen has instilled in Real Madrid players over the past few days through pre-match mobilization and in-game adjustments.
Everyone felt his determination and will, which was to break Arsenal's goal in one go.
If we can't score against Arsenal, let Arsenal score against us!
Real Madrid has no way out!
Everything was doomed after we lost 0-1 at home in the first leg.
But Gao Shen also made adjustments.
Negredo actually didn't have any advantage over Senderos.
Even though Senderos suffered psychological trauma from the abuse by African Andy Lau, the central defender's physical fitness and ability are still very strong, so Wenger entrusted him with important tasks at a young age.
Negredo couldn't gain much advantage over Senderos, which resulted in Real Madrid's tactical fulcrum in the frontcourt being relatively weak.
Gao Shen made adjustments to let Zidane move forward.
Zidane is a very special player.
Fans all over the world should have the impression of him as a classic attacking midfielder, but this is just a label.
If we analyze Zidane carefully, we will find that he is not suitable to play as attacking midfielder, because he is 1.86 meters tall and has a very strong body, almost like an iron tower. Among top players, physical fitness like him is quite rare.
His footwork is very delicate, especially his ability to use his body to receive the ball with his back and turn around to get rid of the opponent, which is world-class. His ball control, dribbling and dribbling are also world-class. More importantly, his running ability is also not weak. The training at Juventus has made him have excellent defensive awareness.
Former French national team coach Jacquet has said more than once that Zidane's potential has not been fully tapped at Real Madrid.
What this sentence means is that Real Madrid only brought out Zidane's offense, but failed to make the most of his running and defense.
Such a comprehensive player seems to be placed on the front line and play a more important role, doesn't it?
Then why is Zidane an attacking midfielder instead of a striker?
The problem lies precisely in his body.
With a tall and strong body, although his African ancestry gives him amazing flexibility, it inevitably leads to a high center of gravity and slow movement frequency. Coupled with his lack of speed and explosive power, Zidane is not suitable for appearing on the front line.
This is undoubtedly a pity.
But his strong body, top-notch back-to-the-basket and turn-around skills, and delicate ball-handling skills...all of these have created a superstar who almost never loses the ball after getting it in his prime.
Even though Zidane is no longer at his peak, his abilities are still there.
Gao Shen pushes him up now because he wants him to play to his advantage and make up for the lack of ball possession in Real Madrid's frontcourt after Negredo was restrained.
This set of tactics was also practiced in yesterday's targeted training.
It can be said that in this style of play, Zidane has gained absolute freedom.
…
Twenty minutes into the game, Arsenal began to play back and forth with Real Madrid and began to cross the center line frequently.
But Real Madrid is still struggling.
As soon as they got the chance, they immediately formed a siege in the frontcourt, trying to block Arsenal in the half.
Arsenal also took advantage of a defensive lapse by Real Madrid and had a shot, but it went wide.
When the game entered the 22nd minute, Felipe competed with Hleb for the ball on the right, winning a throw-in opportunity for Real Madrid. The Brazilian left-back quickly threw the ball into the field.
After Negredo chested the ball, he took it off with his back and quickly passed it back to Gravesen, allowing the defense to reorganize .
After several passes, the ball reached the right and was handed to the retreating Beckham.
After receiving the ball on the right side, the England midfielder looked ahead and quickly made another long diagonal pass.
The ball crossed most of the field and landed accurately on the left side of Arsenal's penalty area.
Zidane appeared in this position without knowing when. He kicked the ball lightly from mid-air. Facing the double-team of Eboue and Kolo Toure, he managed to bring the ball out and quickly passed it back to the front of the penalty area.
Raul quickly came back and was about to shoot when Gilberto Silva came out from the side and tripped him and the ball right in front of the top of the arc.
Referee Rubles blew the whistle decisively and gave Gilberto Silva a yellow card.
The entire Highbury Stadium was once again filled with deafening boos.
Real Madrid won a free kick in a very good position in the frontcourt.
Zidane and Beckham naturally stood at the penalty spot.
