The Devils' first game in April is at Camp Nou, which is both pressure and opportunity for Southampton.
The pressure certainly comes from Barcelona's top record in recent years. However, after Guardiola resigned, Barcelona's performance was indeed not that good. Guardiola's last season was to reach the semi-finals. At that time, they were the defending champion and were finally defeated.
Eliminated by Chelsea, they also reached the semi-finals last season, but were swept by Bayern 7-0 in two rounds.
It is said that after Southampton eliminated Bayern, the local Southampton media was already promoting that Southampton could win the Champions League this season - the reason is simple, they eliminated the defending champion, because in the past five seasons
In three seasons, they defeated the defending champion team in the knockout round to win the championship. Barcelona, the champion of the 2008-09 season, defeated the defending champion Manchester United in the final, and Inter Milan, the champion of the 2009-10 season, defeated the defending champion Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Chelsea, the champion of the 11-12 season, defeated the defending champion Barcelona in the semi-finals. Only Inter Milan was eliminated by Schalke in the knockout round of the 10-11 season. Chelsea, the defending champion last season, failed to win the group stage very miserably.
come out.
However, not many people recognize this, because it is indeed too far-fetched...
Although Southampton's elimination of Bayern was surprising, they were much like Schalke 04 in the 10-11 season, eliminating the defending champion but ultimately failing to enter the Champions League final.
At least that's what Barcelona fans think now.
Although they performed poorly in the league this season and were suppressed by Atletico Madrid, they still have a chance to win the Champions League and the league. Messi scored six goals in the group stage, two games
Each scored one goal in the knockout round, and the total of eight goals was quite strong, but it was just not as exaggerated as Cristiano Ronaldo, who fired like crazy this year.
With Messi here, Barcelona has nothing to fear.
On this day, the Camp Nou was packed with seats. The roars of nearly 100,000 Barcelona fans almost filled the sky. Fortunately, the Southampton players have experienced a lot over the years. They have been to too many famous stadiums in the Premier League.
, even if it is not as big as Barcelona, it will not have much impact on them.
After all, the Spanish fans are not that crazy, they are just shouting on the field, and the Barcelona fans are not that fierce, that is, they were as fierce as they were against Figo...
So Southampton's players are not afraid.
"There is nothing to say about Barcelona's tactics. Guardiola's imprint is too obvious, and the coaches behind them are just Xiao Gui and Cao Sui. So we just use our own playing style, strengthen our running, and be ready for fast breaks at any time. Their midfielder
The defenders are weak in confrontation and running. Suppress them and kill them." Ji Ya was doing the final mobilization in the locker room. The players waved their fists. The next three games are very important. Their first game
But you have to perform well.
After the players from both sides came on the field, Ji Ya did not exchange pleasantries with the opponent's head coach Martino. He was not familiar with the opponent and did not think the opponent had any abilities...
To be honest, after Guardiola left, Vilanova did a good job, but unfortunately he was ill. Martino was not even Barcelona's first choice at this time. They wanted former Barcelona player Enrique to coach, but Enrique
He still had a contract with Celta Vigo, so he chose Martino. Facts have proved that Martino has a very difficult time leading Barcelona. Barcelona's smooth offense has become very difficult under his coaching.
And in Kiya's view, the coaching ideas of many South American coaches have fallen behind. Although they have a close relationship with Latin countries, in the face of the football revolution launched by Guardiola, European coaches have followed quickly, but South American coaches
But most of them are dull.
This is actually a microcosm of the fact that South American football is gradually being left behind by Europe. From the coaching of the first team to the training of young players, they have begun to fall behind and do not even have the opportunity to catch up.
Among the new generation of coaches, those with potential are basically from Europe. The only South American coach, Simeone, has been playing in Europe for a long time when he was still playing football. Although he started coaching in Argentina, his thinking has never left the European coach.
.
But even Simeone was defeated by Noriya in the Europa League, which made Noriya even less interested in South American coaches.
"Players from both sides have already appeared! Southampton sent out their usual 4-3-3 formation, with goalkeeper Navas, defender Klein, Font, Otamendi, Luke Shaw, midfielder Casemiro,
Mkhitaryan, De Bruyne, forward James Rodriguez, Lukaku, Suarez! And Barcelona also sent a 433 lineup, goalkeeper Pinto, defender Alves, Pique,
Mascherano, Alba, midfielder Busquets, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas, forward Neymar, Messi, Iniesta! Barcelona's lineup is still star-studded!"
"It looks very gorgeous, but the midfield is a bit unbalanced, and the defense is not as solid as in previous years. Neymar has not been able to integrate into the team well, and Cesc Fabregas seems a bit out of place in their formation...
...It’s been three years, and they haven’t discovered that Cesc Fabregas, who is used to the British style of play, is no longer adaptable to their style of play?”
Noriya thought in his mind, it's like Southampton is also playing ball control now, but in fact it is different from Barcelona's ball control. Their foot skills are not so detailed, but they pay more attention to quick passing and opening up.
The opponent's defense line creates opportunities through large-scale movements.
There are too many examples of Spanish players who are used to playing in English-style arenas but find themselves unable to adapt when they return to Spain. For example, Arteta is one example. He played very well in the Scottish Premiership and then returned to La Liga, but his performance was poor.
After a complete mess, he returned to form after returning to the Premier League, helping Everton reach the top four in the Premier League, and now he is the core of Arsenal.
Fabregas is also facing this problem now. His characteristics are always incompatible with the more delicate Barcelona style of play. This is not a problem of his ability, but purely a problem of style.
And because of Fabregas' fame and status, Barcelona has no choice but to continue to use him, and it makes no sense not to use him.
So this is Southampton’s opportunity, and it’s also Kiya’s opportunity.
When the referee blew the whistle to start the game, the match between the two sides immediately became intense.
Barcelona kicked off, and then they started passing the ball around in midfield, looking for opportunities.
Messi and Neymar constantly get the ball in the frontcourt and then use their skills to create opportunities.
Southampton's players did not rush to press, but retracted their defense and waited for Barcelona to attack.
The two rounds of the game are still very long, so there is no need to rush.
