Section 170 The Miracle of Riazor (Act 1: Why Not)
Deportivo La Coruna, with the spring rain, ushered in the 31st round opponent of La Liga, Real Betis, on the second day after Wang Ai's return. When the two sides met in the first half, Wang Ai happened to be in the Champions League group stage against Monaco.
He was injured during the game and could not participate in the battle. The two sides shook hands with each other 0:0. In this encounter, Wang Ai had just flown back from China thousands of miles away and was in poor physical condition, so Irueta still arranged Wang Ai
On the bench.
Even if Wang Ai said that his physical fitness was fine, Irueta did not agree. Pablo, who was sitting next to him, explained with a smile: "You have just come back. I need you to recuperate. I need you for Wednesday's game."
Fran, the old captain sitting on the other side, also smiled and nodded. Only then did Wang Ai notice that Irueta's command of this game was a bit absent-minded. It seems that the Basques' ambitions are no longer satisfied with the performance of the game.
What's going on in Spain? Deportivo's best result in the Champions League is the quarter-finals. Although I don't dare to think about winning the championship, it still has to reach the semi-finals, right?
If you want to enter the semi-finals, you must first overcome the Champions League championship last season. In the last game, they defeated AC Milan 4:1 against Deportivo! No wonder Irueta is absent-minded, not to mention a stubborn old man, just any one
When people look at the next game between the two sides now, they won't think that Deportivo has any chance. The gap between the two sides is really too big.
From the perspective of player value, "Marca" once calculated that AC Milan's player value is overall higher than that of Real Madrid, and more than three times that of Deportivo La Coruna. Not to mention the respective histories of both parties, AC Milan
Milan is a giant in Europe, while Deportivo is not even a giant in Spain. At most, it is a strong team that has only emerged in recent years.
The gap between the two sides is like diamond and crystal, gold and brass.
Judging from the fighting history between the two sides, it is not surprising that Depor was beaten 4:1 in the last game, because when the two sides met in the Champions League last season, AC Milan also beat Depor 4:0.
Facing last season's European champions, Deportivo is not optimistic even with their Rey. Although many people think that Deportivo may win this game, if they want to take the lead, they have Inzaghi and Shevchenko.
The team of Coe, Pirlo, Seedorf, Cafu and others scored three goals and had to let the opponent return empty-handed. It was really fantastic.
Under Deportivo's absent-minded handling, the match against Real Betis was uneventful. Even the fans of Riazor were not very excited. In the end, they barely won 3:2. The last goal was for Wang Ai.
After regaining his form and being temporarily dispatched, he assisted Victor to complete the game.
The whole team did not take a day off after the game and almost immediately got into the rhythm of preparations for the Champions League on Wednesday. Not only did Irueta repeatedly watch AC Milan's two recent draws with Chievo and Modena in Serie A, he also gained some
The support of unexpected people, such as Luis Suarez, the current senior consultant of Inter Milan and the only Ballon d'Or winner in Spain, gave Irueta a lot of advice. Against their rivals in the same city, Inter Milan definitely has the "internationalist spirit"!
Regarding the mistakes made after the start of the second half of the last game, and the lessons taught by the experienced Ancelotti to Depor and Irueta, the whole team felt deeply ashamed and unfair. Because these stars of Depor are actually not bad.
The reason why he is "cheap" is largely not his skills but his character. The most typical example is Real Madrid's David Beckham. Is his skills worth his 60 million euros? Under the rules of commercial football, skills are only the value of a star.
Partly, the buzz outside the stadium is also very important, because it will bring huge commercial income to the players themselves and their clubs. This group of Depor stars can be favored by Lendoiro and use the financial support of the poorer clubs.
The main reason for buying them is that their commercial value is not high.
But from the perspective of these players, this is not the case. The players with less off-field news are more obsessed with pure football skills, and the more they look down on "fancy guys" like Beckham.
Therefore, I am very angry about the media praising AC Milan and looking forward to the prospect of AC Milan facing Real Madrid in the semi-finals and winning consecutive championships in the final: We haven't even played yet, do you think we are dead?
Of course Irueta was not convinced or angry, but he knew that whether he would have the last laugh did not depend on whether he would say harsh words, so he prepared for the game very seriously. During the team training, he highlighted four people.
They are: left winger Luke, right winger Victor, left back Pablo, and right back Romero. Because he is keenly aware that AC Milan has no wingers!
This is a fatal flaw! AC Milan's lineup relies on the habitual right back Cafu, left midfielder Seedorf and left back Pancaro on the left and right wings, but the left midfielder Gattuso is more
Good at defense rather than offense. AC Milan's center is extremely powerful, from Sheva, Thomason, and Inzaghi on the forward line to Kaká and Pirlo in the midfield, to Nesta and Maldini in the center back.
Under the control of Pirlo, Kaká and Seedorf, AC Milan has many ball distribution points in the midfield and frontcourt, but the wing attack relies heavily on Cafu's insertion and Seedorf's penetration. The rest mainly assumes the function of wing defense.
.This is weak compared to Depor, who has a genuine forward who acts as a winger.
Alberto Luque and Victor Sanchez are forward candidates in other teams, but in Depor's 4231 formation, they are not suitable for the center that plays a fulcrum role, so they become wingers. But in terms of offensive ability, Depor's
The wing should be stronger than AC Milan's current wing configuration.
Therefore, Irueta made up his mind to play on the wing in this game. He motivated Luke and Victor and asked them to crush Cafu and Pancaro in the first half, especially Cafu. The 27-year-old Lu
Ke spared no effort to fight against the 34-year-old Cafu, striving to resolve the battle in the first half!
At the same time, he sent Pablo and Romero on the field, and decided to use the experience and skills of these two veteran players to assist Victor and Luke at the back of the two wings, and actively intervened to increase the consumption of the opponent's wings.
intensity.
On the defensive side, he arranged for Sergio and Mauro Silva to focus on the opponent's midfield engine Pirlo and the energetic Kaká. For Sheva, he asked Andrade and Naibet
The two main central defenders took advantage of the forward pressing characteristics of the formation to actively create offside situations and negate the speed advantage that Sheva has become famous for.
The atmosphere of the competition continued to heat up in the small town, and finally reached its climax the day before the game. The three giants of the club came out one after another, and Irueta publicly made a wish: "If we advance, I will walk to the Galician Cathedral on my knees!"
"
Chairman Lendoiro said: "As long as you work hard, I will take care of everything!"
Vice Chairman Ramon said generously when faced with provocation from the media: "Even if we die, we must die heroically!"
The atmosphere in the fishing port of Leon and the fierce speeches of the three giants ignited the passion of the remote Galicia, and also changed the attitude of the local media. In the newspapers published on the day of the race on April 7, a change from the past few days
Keywords mainly focused on words such as "impossible", "let's see next season", etc., but almost unanimously asked: "Why not?"
