"I'm so stupid, really. I only knew that Dick might stay in this game for the sake of the Champions League, but I really didn't expect that he would rather let the team show up at Anfield tired than defeat him in this game. We." -Barcelona head coach Rexach said.
Of course, the above sentence is a joke, but when Barcelona's head coach Rexach got Atletico Madrid's starting lineup, he did have thoughts similar to the above sentence.
"Atletico Madrid plans to kill us at home For this reason, they would rather let the main team appear in the Champions League match tired! We can't let them do it! Although Atletico Madrid with the full main team is very strong, we have recovered our strength this season ! We will definitely win this game! Because we are a new Barcelona, ??a Barcelona that can start to attack the league championship!"
The Barcelona players nodded. At the beginning of this season, Barcelona has indeed begun to rebuild. The landmark event is that their captain, Guardiola, the fourth player created during the Cruyff era, left on a free transfer this summer. Barcelona, ??which means Barcelona's reorganization, Saviola's joining also means that Barcelona will gradually introduce some fresh blood.
In fact, from a historical point of view, Barcelona has gradually begun to reorganize since last summer, but they took some detours with Riquelme. The original purpose of releasing Rivaldo and bringing in Riquelme was to use Riquelme Ermei built a new team with a new core, but Riquelme did not adapt well to life in Barcelona, ??so it was not until Ronaldinho was introduced that the real reconstruction began.
If you want to rebuild a strong team, the old and young players left behind will naturally have to be eliminated - this is a normal thing. Even though Rivaldo was in excellent form at the time, his contract was terminated. Fate, after Laporta took office, Riquelme and Saviola, the iconic introductions of former chairman Gaspart, were also loaned out continuously until their contracts expired.
It's just that at this time, neither Rivaldo nor Saviola knows what kind of situation they will face next. They have performed well in the league this season, and the World Cup will be ushered in after the season. Of course, they hope to perform well and get the opportunity to participate in the World Cup. For every player, they will not let go of any opportunity in the World Cup.
Saviola has many competitors in the national team. Argentina¡¯s forward competition is extremely fierce. In the center position alone, there are powerful centers such as Batty, Crespo, Palermo, and Cruz. Saviola Although he can also play as a second forward, he also faces competition from Ortega, Lopez and others. If he does not perform well in Barcelona, ??he may not be available in next year's World Cup.
Although Rivaldo will not fail to qualify for the World Cup in theory, the situation faced by the Brazilian national team in this World Cup qualifier is too chaotic. Several head coaches have been changed, and there are also several international players who have entered and left the national team. Ten, who can guarantee that the Brazilian national team will definitely enter the World Cup? Who can guarantee that Rivaldo will be selected for the World Cup squad? So even he has to perform well to win a place in the World Cup
This is also to a large extent the reason why Barcelona has performed very well since the beginning of this season.
Now, inspired by Rexach, they still have a lot of fighting spirit to participate in this game.
When the players from both sides appeared in the stadium, the Atletico Madrid fans at the Calderon Stadium began to cheer for Atletico Madrid with constant shouts. Recently, Atletico Madrid has returned to the top of the standings through consecutive wins, and they are naturally even happier¡ª¡ª They won't think about the next Champions League game and whether there will be anything wrong with all the main players playing in this game. They just want to see victory after victory.
"Atletico Madrid sent all their main players This is not a strange thing at first, but you have to know that since the beginning of this season, except for the last round of the first stage of the Champions League group stage, when Dick has already qualified, In the other five league games before the start of the Champions League group stage, he had to rotate at least a few main players, even if it was an away game against Valencia! However, in this game, Dick sent out all the main players! Is it because the opponent is Barcelona? If this is the case, Dick, the head coach, has a bit of a grudge mentality"
"Atletico Madrid is now three points ahead of Barcelona and ranked first in the league. In fact, even a draw in this game is acceptable. However, Dick sent all the main players and worked hard to get three points. Maybe it's because he feels the threat from Barcelona, ??but he is about to participate in the second stage of the Champions League group stage, and he is placed in a very even team.In the case of a uniform death group, this approach seems somewhat questionable. "
"I understand Dick a little bit. After all, Atletico Madrid has lost a lot of points in the league. Although everyone is losing points, if Atletico Madrid can beat their opponents in this game, Atletico Madrid will be six points ahead of Barcelona." , and at the same time, it can well stabilize its position in the standings. The Champions League group stage is important, but after all, it is a group stage, and there is no need to grab all the points. As long as you can finally qualify in this group, maybe Dick will win. He made such a decision because he has strong confidence in his team's performance in the Champions League."
In the voice of the commentator, the game kicked off - in the shouts of Atletico Madrid fans, the two sides started fighting in the midfield from the beginning!
Baraja followed Rivaldo closely from the first moment, while Makelele sat in the midfield to block back and forth. With the defense solidified, Atletico Madrid seized everything from the beginning. Attack of opportunity, trying to open a gap in Barcelona's relatively weak defense.
Atletico Madrid is now very familiar with this tactic. Whether it is playing against Deportivo La Coruna or Manchester United, Atletico Madrid uses this kind of solid midfield to reduce the pressure caused by the opponent's offensive line, and then continuously uses offense to press the opponent. A relatively weak defense line to gain an overall advantage - these three teams all have some problems in the defense line due to various reasons. Deportivo is because the central defender is aging, and Manchester United is not doing well after Stam left. To make up for the shortcomings, as for Barcelona, ??their defense is an old problem, but in the past, their midfield control ability was relatively strong. Such flaws are not too easy to catch. Now that Guardiola is gone, Xavi still has some problems. Nen, Atletico Madrid far outperforms its opponents in terms of midfield control, so they can naturally easily gain control of the midfield, and then tear apart the opponent's defense with constant attacks!
When Atletico Madrid players launched a fierce attack on Barcelona on the court, Rexach looked at the Atletico Madrid players who had an absolute advantage in the midfield with some surprise, and a thought flashed in his mind - Atletico Madrid actually Has it become so powerful?
To be honest, after passing the baptism of two rounds of games against Manchester United, the strength and confidence of Atletico Madrid players have indeed been improved enough, especially in the midfield cooperation, which can suppress the four-man Manchester United midfielder who is playing at full strength. , Atletico Madrid's current strength has indeed increased a lot, but the current situation on the court is not because Atletico Madrid is too strong, but because Barcelona's midfielder has been weakened a lot!
If it were the previous Barcelona, ??with Guardiola's dispatch in the midfield, Cocu's protection, and Rivaldo and Figo on the wings as shoulders, such a lineup would not be better than the current one in terms of balance or other aspects. Atletico Madrid is worse, or even better. However, now that Guardiola has left, it will take time for Xavi to replace him. Only Cocu's protection is left, Rivaldo focuses more on offense, and Luis ?Enrique is also a wide attacker, and Saviola and Kluivert are active in the frontcourt. What else can Barcelona's midfielder do?
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????OUT? This is too difficult for them!
After Atletico Madrid took advantage of the midfield, Barcelona's deficiencies in the defense became very obvious. Especially when Puyol did not play due to injury, Barcelona's defense began to become extremely difficult. stand up.
Although Puyol is basically fixed at left back now, replacing Sergi who is starting to look a little aging, he is of great help to Barcelona's defense. His bravery and fighting spirit can always give Barcelona's defense a boost. Bringing vitality, now that he is gone, Barcelona's defense is just a mediocre Gabri, three old guys, plus Bonanno who can become a bomb at any time
The biggest weakness of the Argentina national team now is the goalkeeper position. Whether it is Bonanno or Burgess, their performance is very unstable. Bonano does not have an absolute main position in Barcelona now, but after Hesp left After that, Barcelona never found a trustworthy goalkeeper. They changed a lot of people, but there were not many useful goalkeepers.
In the 23rd minute, it was a low-level mistake by Bonanno that led to the loss of the ball - Vicente made a pass from the wing. Bonanno went out to get the ball but missed it. The ball just fell to Jardel's side, Jardel almost Just like a conditioned reflex, he raised his foot and poked, and the ball flew into the gate of Barcelona!
There were thunderous cheers in the stands. Seeing that Atletico Madrid was leading Barcelona at home, Atletico Madrid fans were naturally happy. Dick also smiled on the sidelines - what he did was not wrong. Instead of letting the substitutes struggle with Barcelona, ??it would be better Use all your strength to make a thunderous strike and kill the opponent completely.The first is to improve morale, and the second is to determine the advantage. Barcelona looks very strong now, but it is a paper tiger, full of flaws and weaknesses. As long as one is caught, the seemingly huge Barcelona will collapse!
Reixac shook his head helplessly. This season, Barcelona's goalkeeper has not given him any peace of mind. The first main goalkeeper was Burgess, but Burgess was scored after making several mistakes. In the cold palace, the Frenchman Dutrul, who once became the main goalkeeper last season, became the starter. However, although Dutrul made few mistakes, his ability was limited. Then the teenager Reina, who became the main goalkeeper, originally performed well, but After making two mistakes in the Derby of the Century, the team lost and was relegated to the sidelines. Boggs once again became the main goalkeeper. His performance in the last league game was okay, but he started making mistakes again in this game!
How can we play this game if the goalkeeper is unreliable?