Chapter 135 Liverpool beyond recognition (April 5464)
As the head coach of Liverpool, Frenchman Houllier is also ill-fated.
At the turn of the century, he created a small brief moment of glory as Liverpool's manager.
Under his leadership, Liverpool achieved five crowns. Of course, this five crowns was far inferior to Barcelona's six crowns later, because these five crowns were all champions of various cup competitions, among which
There are also useless competitions such as the Community Shield and League Cup.
But in any case, for Liverpool at that time, such results were indeed considered acceptable.
You must know that that season, except for the league championship, Liverpool won every other championship.
League Cup champion, FA Cup champion, Community Shield champion, European Super Cup, and UEFA Cup champion.
That was during the Premier League era, when Liverpool was at its best. Of course, it wasn't after Benitez became Liverpool's head coach.
But there will be no Benitez era now.
So now Houllier has become Liverpool's meritorious coach.
Originally, based on his results, he could have continued coaching at Liverpool. Unfortunately, his health failed and he had a heart attack, so he had to leave Liverpool.
Two successful seasons at Lyon have brought Houllier back into the spotlight of Liverpool FC.
So after struggling for several seasons but achieving nothing, Liverpool Club invited this "meritorious coach" back.
Just like that, unlike in the memory of winning, Houllier entered the palace for the second time and became the head coach of Liverpool again.
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Houllier only became Liverpool manager this season.
Obviously, he is not fully familiar with Liverpool yet.
After spending several seasons away from Liverpool, he feels unfamiliar with this team.
In fact, let alone Houllier. Even the winning team is unfamiliar with this Liverpool.
Because Benitez did not come, the strong Spanish character in Liverpool's team was naturally gone. Xavi Alonso did not go to Liverpool, but to Real Madrid. Luis Garcia is not in Liverpool's team either. What else?
Torres, Reina, Arbeloa... none of these Spanish players joined Liverpool.
Chang Sheng took over Benitez's guns and likes to buy Spanish players wherever they go. Now Lazio is jokingly called "the most Spanish team in Italy" by the media. You must know that Liverpool used to be "the most Spanish team in England"
"oh……
Without so many Spanish players, Liverpool will not play Spanish-style delicate football. Instead, they will continue to play their traditional British football style.
Gerrard is the core of the team, and Owen has left Liverpool long ago and has not come back.
On the forward line is Kuyt, who is not very good at scoring goals, but is very diligent and will often drop back to help the team defend, creating the genre of "defensive forward".
Nowadays, Liverpool's main scoring method mainly relies on Gerrard's deep penetration. Although there is no Benitez, Gerrard's offensive talents have still been developed. His deep penetration and long-range shooting have become Liverpool's signature
Scoring skills.
This Liverpool scoring method is a bit monotonous, so Chang Sheng believes that this team is destined to not go further in the Champions League.
In the last round of the group stage, Liverpool defeated Debrecen at home and currently ranks first in the group.
But everyone knows that it cannot be counted.
Debrecen is the weakest team in this group, and there is nothing exciting about defeating them at home.
In the league, you may be able to win all over the world with one move, but in the Champions League, this will never work.
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Facing a Liverpool that had changed beyond recognition due to his arrival, Chang Sheng didn't feel any guilt at all.
And he also plans to beat them at home. He is so merciless.
In the game against Liverpool, Changsheng did not rely on extravagance and fielded the strongest lineup at home.
Although this Liverpool team is as strong as Benister's Liverpool, their offensive style is monotonous. But Liverpool, as a traditional English team, still has their advantages.
That is super strong willpower.
Liverpool is a very resilient team.
The mental strength reflected in the Istanbul night was not instilled in them by Benitez, but innate to them. This is why Liverpool can become a giant, this is their wealthy gene.
If you underestimate them, you will die miserably.
They will never give up until the last moment of the game.
This kind of team may not win the championship, but it will have no problem at all if it kills a strong opponent in one game.
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Lazio, who played their main team, had a fierce match at home with Liverpool, who also played their main team.
The Spanish-style delicate ground coordination is matched by the traditional English-style long pass and lob.
The conclusion is... Lazio's Spanish ground coordination is more advantageous.
Moreover, on the back line, the center back pairing of Jose Passarella and Chiellini are very good at heading the ball. Liverpool's long passes and lobs have no effect on them.
Gerrard was also closely guarded by Ledesma, which made him uncomfortable.
Gerrard's skills are not very good. As long as enough pressure is put on him, he lacks the ability to get rid of the defense.
In the 38th minute, Gotze broke the deadlock for Lazio.
This is his first Champions League goal this season.
"Mario Gotze!! A beautiful personal performance! He is so flexible among Liverpool's defenders that he is like a slippery fish that cannot be caught! In front of Gotze, Liverpool's tall central defenders appear to be
Such clumsiness! He opened the scoring for Liverpool! Now the score is 1:0! Liverpool is in the lead!"
Amid the cheers of the commentator and the home Lazio fans, Gotze ran with open arms to celebrate the goal.
At this time, no one even thought of mentioning David Silva.
Even the TV broadcast did not give David Silva any meaningful close-up shots.
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After Gotze's goal, Liverpool's offensive became more intense. They were not affected by the loss of the ball and seemed very calm.
Maybe they have seen this kind of scene too many times.
It is also when their spirits come into play.
The entire Liverpool team was still high-spirited after conceding the ball, and launched a fierce offensive into Lazio's penalty area with full energy.
Kuyt was still running tirelessly. Gerrard also stepped in again and again.
Those Liverpool fans who came with the team also sang the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" in the stands to encourage the team.
They didn't say at all that the team was lagging behind or that they weren't playing well, and they just booed them.
They are always with their team, and that is the true meaning of "I love you even when I win, and I love you even when I lose."
But in a football match, it’s not just spirit and love that determine the outcome.
When the strength of both sides is about the same, spiritual things can play an important role.
But if there is a huge disparity in strength between the two sides, then forget it... The spirit is not omnipotent.
Football is played with your feet, not your brain.
Liverpool's strength is obviously inferior to Lazio.
There is almost no position where they have players who can surpass Lazio.
Even Gerrard, the biggest star in their team, had no advantage at all in front of Lazio's midfielder.
After the two sides changed sides in the second half, Lazio surrounded Gerrard in the midfield and forced him to lose the ball. Then Lazio launched a counterattack and Cazorla scored another victory for Lazio.
2:0!
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Although Liverpool still did not give up and continued to attack. However, the technical gap between the two sides left them with no energy, but they could not use it.
Until the end of the game, they were unable to get even a single goal back.
The final score was 2:0, Lazio defeated the former Premier League hegemon Liverpool at home.
The red storm that once swept across Europe has now fallen to this level, which is really sad.
But this is football, professional football.
No one or any team can dominate for a long time.
Even Lazio themselves don't know when their dynasty will be ruined.
Chang Sheng shook hands with Houllier after the game. Houllier praised Lazio's performance, with envy in his words.
In fact, this time he entered the palace for the second time. He also wanted to promote technical football in Liverpool. However, Liverpool has been playing English football for a long time, and some concepts have been deeply ingrained. It is difficult to change at the moment. We can only take it slowly.
Of course Chang Sheng could understand the meaning of Houllier's words.
Sooner or later, English football will surrender to mainland football. This is an inevitable trend. Among the traditional strong teams in England, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have completely turned to the mainland football faction. They emphasize skills at the feet, make do with the ground, and gradually
Abandoning the high-flying style of traditional English football.
In addition to these three teams, there are more Premier League teams trying to integrate into the mainland football group.
This is the evolution trend of football tactics. Which football tactics can help the team win better will be sought after and welcomed and become a trend.
Any football tactic appears for the pursuit of victory. I have never heard of any football tactic that is purely for the sake of looking good. Even if there is, such tactics have no vitality and will be eliminated soon.
How did the prototype of tikitaka appear? There is a very interesting saying that this kind of ball possession tactic first appeared in England, and it is different from the current tikitaka. People think that the current tikitaka represents good looks, but at first football people
The passing and possession tactic was not invented for the sake of looking good, but out of a very utilitarian idea.
In 1872, the England team went to Patrick to participate in the first international football match in football history. The players of the opponent Scotland team all played for Queen's Park Club (note: the current third-tier team in Scotland, not Queen's Park Rangers in England). Scotland
People knew that they were far inferior to England in terms of weight. They realized that if they adopted the long passing and lobbing style that was common at the time, they would be very disadvantaged, so they decided to use an extreme kicking method.
There is no direct evidence to prove this, but according to Richard Bilarti of the Scottish Football Museum, it is likely that this is what happened when a group of Queens Park players decided that they had to surround themselves with
Opponents kept passing the ball to keep the English away from the ball to prevent these big guys from scoring.
The strategy worked. England, with a longer tradition and a much larger pool of players to choose from, were clear favorites, but the game ended in a scoreless draw. “Team England,” Glasgow Herald
" wrote, "They have a comprehensive advantage in terms of weight. Their average weight is 12 kilograms more than the Scottish team (of course, it is a slight exaggeration), and their speed is also faster."
One of the great things about the Scottish team playing on home soil is their excellent teamwork.
This is the original prototype of tikitaka.
Used by the Scots to defend in order not to lose.
When people find that offensive tactics or defensive tactics can help them win the game, they will choose this tactic.
Some people say that Barcelona has persisted in tikitaka for more than 20 years. Even if there is no championship, they have not given up. This is not easy. They are a counterexample that today's football is becoming more and more utilitarian, and they have brought a breath of fresh air to the football world.
It is indeed not easy, but this does not mean that they are not utilitarian.
First of all, Barcelona is a La Liga giant. They have no shortage of championships. Even in the years when there was no Champions League, they often won the league championship and the Copa del Rey.
These champions can prove that the path they insist on is right. Champions League champions need some luck, they just need to wait for their luck.
If Barcelona is a second-rate team in Spain, and the purpose of participating in the league every year is to strive for a European qualification, and there is no championship at all, then can this team still persist in tikitaka for more than 20 years?
That's impossible to say... (To be continued...)
ps: It was really hard. When I went to the toilet, I squatted in the toilet with my tablet and coded. I wrote about a few hundred words.
But it’s really uncomfortable…
This chapter is presented!
I would like to take this opportunity to borrow some monthly passes from everyone!
