On the evening of May 24th, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
This year's Coppa Italia final happens to be the 60th, which has attracted great attention from the entire Italian football world.
As early as the beginning of the season, the Italian Football Association specially modified the competition system to commemorate this Italian Cup. The final was changed from the original two rounds to the current single-game decider. At the same time, the final venue was arranged at the first Italian Cup.
Cup final venue.
The Stadio Olimpico in the capital Rome.
According to the highest voice from the media and fans before the season, this should be the peak showdown between Roma and Inter Milan.
In the past three seasons, the Italian Cup finals have always been Inter Milan versus Roma. Inter Milan won two of them. Last season, Roma defeated Inter Milan and won the championship.
Before the season, everyone felt that Roma should still face Inter Milan.
But who would have thought that a Naples force would emerge halfway through.
…
To say that Naples reached the Italian Cup final, they also provoked a huge figure before the game.
That is Napolitano, the current president of Italy.
The president who took office in 2006 was born in Naples and is also a die-hard Naples fan.
De Laurentiis is also considered to have great skills. After reaching the Coppa Italia final in Naples, he contacted the president through unknown channels and actually invited him to the final to supervise the battle.
Also sitting in the stands of the Stadio Olimpico for the final were guests such as Italian Olympic Committee President Petrucci and Italian Football Federation President Abate, both of whom are important figures in Italian sports.
As for Inter Milan, president Massimo Moratti did not attend, but asked his sister to represent Inter Milan.
But Blanca, the Nerazzurri's technical director, attended the final.
In Naples, in addition to President Napolitano, football king Maradona was also invited to attend the Italian Cup final.
This was the original agreement between De Laurentiis and the players, and it was also something Maradona had agreed to in Castel Volturno. After hearing that Naples had reached the final, Maradona readily accepted the invitation to attend.
The numerous guests made the entire final even more grand.
Before the game, the Italian Football Association also held a brief celebration ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Italian Cup final.
…
Naples still uses its best 4-2-3 formation to face the match tonight.
Goalkeeper: Handanovic.
Defense: Vargas, David Luiz, Bonucci and Lichtsteiner.
Midfield: Biglia and Rakitic at the back, Di Maria, Hamsik and Sanchez in front.
Forward: Cavani.
This is also Naples' main lineup this season.
Inter Milan adjusted its starting tactics and faced the match with a 4-5 formation.
Goalkeeper: Cesar.
Defense: Maxwell, Chivu, Burdisso and Maicon.
Midfielder: Cesar, Vieira, Stankovic, Zanetti and Balotelli.
Forward: Suazo.
When Gao Shen saw the positions of Inter Milan players in the locker room, his first reaction was surprise.
Because he discovered that Mancini actually put Balotelli on the right.
Inter Milan actually changed their formation on the spot and adopted an unfamiliar 4-5 formation. This was something he did not expect.
"What does he want to do?" Gao Shen asked in confusion.
He originally guessed that Inter Milan would still adopt the four-three-one-two approach they are best at, at best just adjusting the players' roles. He didn't expect Mancini to play such a big role.
Look at Balotelli, he is positioned directly on the right side of the center line, obviously he is going to play on the wing.
Naples coaches were also puzzled.
"Could it be a surprise soldier?" Carlo asked cautiously.
Gao Shen shook his head, does this look like a surprise soldier?
…
As soon as the game started, Naples took the initiative.
This is their signature tactic, attacking from the start.
Inter Milan defended steadily, but after Naples kicked the first shot of the game, Inter Milan also launched a quick counterattack in the third minute.
When Suazo got the ball, he attracted the defensive attention and sent a pass straight to the right, which is Naples' left.
Balotelli stepped in at high speed and tried to counterattack, but the referee raised the flag to indicate offside!
When he saw this, Gao Shen somewhat understood Mancini's intention.
"Is he a bit out of his depth? He actually pinned his hopes on a seventeen-year-old general." Gao Shen shook his head and sighed.
Mancini's tactics really disappointed him. Gu Xi
Unexpectedly, after all the changes, the result was a huge gamble on a seventeen-year-old guy.
Balotelli is a genius, Gao Shen admits this, but is he worth such a big gamble?
Gao Shen doesn't think so, especially the seventeen-year-old Balotelli.
Therefore, Gao Shen immediately walked to the sidelines and signaled Biglia and Vargas to pay more attention to Balotelli.
Restrict him!
Don't let him break through and cut inside easily!
Gao Shen's instructions quickly reached the court, and Naples players quickly got the news.
At the same time, Gao Shen asked David Luiz and Bonucci to control Suazo.
In fact, in terms of personal ability, Suazo is not too strong. Let alone the two central defenders of Naples teaming up, even in a one-on-one duel, Gao Shen has confidence in his players and killing Suazo is not a problem.
Balotelli is only seventeen years old and has always played as a center forward. Now that he is asked to play as a winger, he is really not used to it.
In fact, even in the 2012 European Cup, when Balotelli was at his peak, Pirlo's long diagonal pass did not allow Balotelli to dribble the ball forward, but allowed Balotelli to advance with the ball.
He goes directly to attack the opponent's defense.
What's more, there was an increasingly mature Cassano beside Balotelli at the time.
But now, Mancini wants to use Balotelli as a winger.
Gao Shen really can't figure out what Mancini wants to do?
Perhaps, like the entangled emperor before a certain Champions League final in the future, he always wants to change his formation to create a miracle.
…
With Gao Shen's adjustment, Balotelli was contained on the right.
Gao Shen knows Balotelli very well and knows that this young player is crazy. The more you make him yell, the more energetic he will be.
So, he let Vargas and Biglia contain him severely several times in a row, and several frontal breakthroughs were intercepted and blocked. Balotelli started to feel a little anxious, especially without the support of his teammates.
, the more I play, the less confident I become.
As for Suazo, after advanced adjustments, the distance between him and Balotelli has been widened.
Inter Milan's two centers began to work independently, lacking contact and naturally unable to create threats.
From the 30th minute of the game, the game was completely under Naples' control.
In the 31st minute, Cavani responded after receiving a pass from his teammate in the penalty area. Hamsik followed up with understanding and fired directly, but the angle was too right and was saved by goalkeeper Cesar.
However, Rakitic, who came up from the back row, grabbed the ball at the top of the penalty area, started to hit again, and still shot a long shot.
This time he directly penetrated Inter Milan's goal and opened the scoring for Naples!
One to zero!
Then Naples started a siege mode against Inter Milan and planned attacks again and again.
Inter Milan was forced to switch to a shrinking defense, and this shrinking defense made it difficult for the two forwards in front to create a threat, exacerbating the isolation of Balotelli and Suazo.
In the second half, the game changed sides and Mancini tried to replace Stankovic with Pele who was not performing well.
The reason is very simple. When we lost the ball in the first half, whether it was Hamsik's long shot or Rakitic's goal, both were at the front of the penalty area, but Stankovic failed to appear in time on both occasions.
Protect large restricted areas.
But the substitution did not change the situation on the field.
Napoli continues its onslaught against Inter Milan.
Especially after fifty-five minutes, the gap in physical fitness between the two teams was already very obvious.
Inter Milan's morale is low and its players are not confident. As a result, the more they play on the court, the less confident they are, the more they play, the less energetic they are, and their physical energy consumption is greater. Naples, on the other hand, completely controls the situation and rhythm on the court, completely suppressing Inter Milan.
beat.
In the 59th minute, with support from Cavani again, Hamsik received a pass from the Uruguayan center and scored from close range, giving Naples another victory, 2-0!
It can be said that at this point in the game, the situation has basically stabilized.
Inter Milan was simply unable to make a strong counterattack against Naples.
…
"Naples showed a high technical and tactical level tonight, but Inter Milan did not have the strength to play as a strong Serie A team. It seemed that they lacked confidence and lacked the desire to win."
"I believe that all Italian fans watching this game will be disappointed with Mancini and his Inter Milan."
"Although Gao Shen and his Naples received a flood of boos at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, they still performed at the highest level and showed greater strength."
"It seems that Mancini is no longer able to stop Gao Shen from ascending to the supreme throne at the Olympic Stadium in Rome!"
"This will also be Napoli's second Italian Double Championship after 1987."
"If Naples back then belonged to the football king Maradona, then twenty years later, after going through bankruptcy and reorganization, Naples has been reborn from the low-level leagues. It is a team that completely belongs to
A sophisticated team.”
"Every player in this team was personally selected and cultivated by Gao Shen. It can be said that they are tailor-made for his tactics. This allows Naples to always play a very integrated offensive.
football."
"With the Serie A and Italian Cup wins this season, we have absolutely reason to believe that Serie A is ushering in a new era, and the traditional power structure in the past will be completely broken."
"From now on, the Napoli team trained by Gao Shen will definitely become an emerging force that cannot be ignored in Italian football."
"Especially after tonight!"
Even the commentator could see that tonight Mancini not only lost a final and a championship, but also lost Inter Milan's confidence and fighting spirit.
