Chapter 85: Champions League Weaklings
With the whistle of German referee Herbert van der Leyen, Real Madrid, who took the lead in kicking off, did not pass the ball back to their own half. Instead, Raul received the kick-off from Negredo and rushed forward with the ball directly to Juventus' half.
Not only the attackers in the frontcourt, but also the entire midfield and backcourt pressed forward at the same time.
Zidane crossed the center line in the first time and received the pass from Raul. After being entangled with Vieira and Emerson, he firmly protected the ball and quickly passed it back to the left to Felipe.
The Brazilian left-back stopped the ball along the left sideline, first made an abrupt stop, then suddenly started, trying to force a breakthrough through Camoranesi who was returning to defense, but was followed by Juventus's wingers, who fell to the ground and tackled him, knocking him down directly, and the ball was shoveled out of bounds.
The entire Bernabeu was first filled with boos, and then with cheers.
The boos were for Juventus, and the cheers were naturally for Real Madrid.
Felipe grabbed Camoranesi's hand, got up from the ground, and without saying much, walked straight to the sideline. After picking up the ball, he signaled his teammates to press forward .
At this moment, the entire midfield and frontcourt of Real Madrid, including the double defensive midfielders Gravesen and De La Red, have all crossed the center line, with only the two central defenders Woodgate and Ramos remaining in their own half.
This made all the Real Madrid fans at the scene shout even louder.
Look at the opening posture, it is definitely the rhythm of swallowing Juventus in one bite!
Even the guest commentator on TV felt that "Real Madrid showed an aggressive momentum from the start tonight, and it seemed that they really wanted to seize the initiative at the Bernabeu."
…
Felipe's thrown ball was headed back by Vieira, but Real Madrid players controlled the second landing point.
Juventus' defense was very fast, and as soon as the ball was controlled by Real Madrid, they had already set up a defense line outside their own penalty area.
When it comes to coaching defense, Capello is definitely one of the best in the world.
Gao Shen was secretly impressed in his heart.
He stood on the sidelines, without saying a word, with his arms folded over his chest, watching the game intently.
Real Madrid's attack did not have much effect this time, and Juventus' defense was by no means that easy. It was broken by the opponent's one or two tentative attacks, but Real Madrid played very patiently.
After several passes , Real Madrid began to reorganize the attack, but Juventus still defended very firmly and intercepted the ball in front of the penalty area.
After grabbing the ball, Juventus quickly launched a counterattack with a long pass.
Ibrahimovic got the first point in front, but before he could stop, he was disturbed by Woodgate and was forced to pass the ball back to Emerson in the midfield.
Zidane pressed Emerson and Vieira, making it impossible for these two world-class Juventus midfielders to easily get and pass the ball. They could only pass the ball to Camoranesi through the wing, but soon the ball was intercepted by Gravesen and Felipe.
The two teams began to steal the ball back and forth near the center line.
The game was intense and fast-paced, with the ball changing hands frequently, but no one was able to create a threatening shot.
Real Madrid didn't have their first shot of the game until the sixth minute, a long shot from Beckham outside the box that failed to threaten Buffon's goal.
Juventus was in an even worse situation. They didn't have a single shot in the first ten minutes.
The most impressive attack by the Zebras in the first ten minutes came in the 10th minute, when Ramos failed to steal the ball and chased Ibrahimovic, and the two collided in front of the penalty area.
Interestingly, when Ramos fell to the ground, Ibrahimovic just staggered and was fine.
Then, the German referee gave Juventus a free kick in the frontcourt.
Gao Shen, who was standing on the sidelines, smiled bitterly helplessly when he saw this scene.
Woodgate is prone to injuries, and Ramos is arguably the strongest player in Real Madrid, but he was unable to gain any advantage over Ibrahimovic, so in terms of physical confrontation, Real Madrid was badly crushed.
And there is Da Fengxian, who can be said to be the epitome of a perfect center.
In terms of physique and technique, this guy is impeccable, but it's this awareness...
Well, it's not bad, at least it's better than the guy who set fire to his own mansion.
Just as Gao Shen thought of this, Juventus took the free kick.
I don't know whether it was agreed upon beforehand or Ibrahimovic just came up with the idea. Anyway, he seemed to be covering for his teammates, but after he rushed forward, he just kicked the ball and hit.
If you had made a threat, it would have been easy to deal with, but you just hit the human wall directly.
You wasted the direct free kick opportunity right in front of the penalty area.
Gao Shen was amused by what he saw.
He likes Ibrahimovic at this moment.
Don't worry, Da Fengxian, I will definitely fulfill your glorious title of a weakling in the Champions League!
…
Capello was so angry that he shook his head.
He really couldn't figure out what the brain circuit of this Swedish boy was like.
If you want to shoot, then just say it. It was obviously a cover, but you suddenly kicked it like this and wasted the good opportunity.
Should we say he is willful or brainless?
Capello is also speechless about players like Ibrahimovic. Sometimes he makes you hate him so much that your kidneys hurt, and sometimes he makes you happy to the sky.
The football hit the human wall, and Real Madrid intercepted the ball and quickly launched a counterattack.
Negredo got the first point, but before he could stop, Cannavaro snatched the ball away.
When it comes to one-on-one defense ability, Cannavaro is really impeccable.
Afterwards, the game situation returned to the situation of a stalemate between the two sides.
The football was flying back and forth on both sides of the center line.
The more Capello looked at it, the weirder it seemed.
"Italo, do you feel that Real Madrid is a little strange tonight?" Capello asked with a frown.
Gabiati turned his head and saw the lights of the Bernabeu falling on Capello's glasses, as if they were coated with a layer of wisdom.
"Is it strange?" Gabiati felt it was strange.
Not surprising.
This is the result of changes and improvements made to Real Madrid after Gao Shen took office.
If it were more than a month ago, Juventus would have crushed the Real Madrid team that played against Arsenal in the first leg.
Given Real Madrid's current lineup and their form this season, it would be good enough to maintain such a balance with Juventus.
Capello glanced at his assistant and stopped talking.
What's so strange about it?
They looked very aggressive. Except for the back line, all the players had pushed past the center line. The players also fought hard. Even Zidane actively participated in the counter-attack. The whole team was very motivated.
But the problem is that no truly threatening attack was launched.
Is Juventus' defense too tight?
Capello is confident about this, but the question is, it shouldn't be to this extent, right?
We made such a big fuss, but in the end we didn't launch any decent attack. It's been fifteen minutes and we only had two shots. How shameful!
Capello really wanted to walk over to the home team coaching bench and ask the Chinese boy: Is this what you said is the fatal loophole of our Juventus?
Is he bluffing? Am I overthinking?
…
Twenty minutes passed quickly.
Real Madrid began to retreat.
Given the age structure, physical condition and physical fitness of Real Madrid players, there is no way they can maintain high-pressure defense throughout the game.
This is understandable.
The shouts from the Bernabeu gradually faded.
Many old fans probably saw the clues. Real Madrid's offensive was all talk and no action, and did not create much threat.
Could it be that this was the level of that Chinese kid? His true colors were revealed?
But one thing Real Madrid did quite well.
That is, although the team retreated, the overall formation was still maintained at a very high level, the four lines remained compact, and the players' tactical execution was in place. Whether it was Negredo and Raul's pressing on Juventus' back line, or Zidane's suppression of Vieira and Emerson, it made it difficult for Juventus' midfield to pass the ball, and they could only go to the wing.
Camoranesi's side was closely controlled by Felipe and Gravesen. Juventus tried several times but failed. Nedved on the left was also disturbed by Beckham.
The Czech midfielder began to leave the left side more often, running to the left rib, and even to the empty space in the middle to receive the ball.
This has actually been Juventus' tradition for many years.
From Zidane to Nedved, both players played the role of left attacking midfielder.
In other words, they look like left midfielders, but they actually function as attacking midfielders.
If this had happened a year or two ago, there would have been no problem at all.
At that time, Nedved was in his peak form, with amazing running ability and high level of game commitment, which enabled him to always return to his position in time when defending.
But in the past year, Nedved's condition has been much worse than before.
He is already thirty-three years old.
…
The game is still going on in an intense and dull manner.
Everything seemed normal, and no one had the means to easily break through the other side's defense.
In fact, many people, including Capello, began to doubt that what Gao Shen said before, that he must score against Juventus at the Bernabeu, was just empty talk with bluffing.
But in the 28th minute, Nedved appeared in the middle. After receiving the ball, he was closely pressed by De La Red and tried to pass the ball to Trezeguet in front of him.
Unexpectedly, Ramos suddenly moved forward, exerted force suddenly, and intercepted the ball first.
After intercepting the ball, the Real Madrid center back did not pass the ball immediately, but continued to move forward.
Nedved just wanted to return to his position, but when he saw Ramos rushing towards him with the ball, his first reaction was to steal it from him!
Do you really think you are a striker?
Nedved rushed forward to counter-attack, but Ramos passed the ball to Zidane who retreated to receive the ball.
Emerson and Vieira both put pressure on Zidane, and no one dared to be careless.
After Zidane protected the ball with his back, he chose to pass the ball back to Gravesen who ran to the open space and raised his hand to ask for the ball.
Many people overlook one point, that is, Gravesen was once the core of Everton's organization. He not only has a long shot, but also has good passing ability.
The Danish bald man stopped Zidane's pass comfortably and quickly passed it with a big foot.
The ball crossed most of the field and fell from the left side of Real Madrid to the right side.
Beckham chested the ball and rushed directly into Juventus' penalty area.
This transfer was made quickly, Real Madrid was well-targeted, while Juventus responded hastily.
When Beckham approached the right side of the penalty area, Vieira and Emerson had not returned to their positions yet. Chiellini was forced to rush forward immediately, fearing that Beckham would pass the ball.
Beckham pretended to pass the ball, tricking Chiellini into blocking it, but he suddenly passed the ball to the right baseline.
I saw a white figure moving quickly along the right sideline.
