Portugal is certainly not a world-wide football powerhouse.{
They will always have a handful of talented players emerging at different times, but they are not enough to support a very luxurious and competitive national team.
Taking the World Cup results as an example, they either did not participate in 70% of the World Cup competitions, or were eliminated directly in the qualifying rounds. The best result was the semi-finals in 1966, and the second best result was to stop in the group stage.
For a country with a population of only about 10 million, the number of football players also determines its stable strength level. As for smaller countries that suddenly achieve good results, it is an accidental outbreak and does not have the significance of overall strength positioning.
The competition in the European Cup is smaller than that of the World Cup. Even so, before the golden generation represented by Figo emerged, Portugal also performed poorly in the European Cup. Most of the time, it failed to qualify in the qualifiers until the golden generation picked up the competition.
After becoming the leader, the record stabilized and stopped in the quarterfinals 8 years ago.
They were blocked from the semi-finals by the Czech team, the dark horse team of the year. They were stopped in the semi-finals 4 years ago and were defeated by the eventual champion France in overtime. Four years later, Portugal also made the history of its national football team.
In the final, regardless of success or failure, this will be a new ranking record for the Portuguese national team in the European Cup.
After three weeks of fierce fighting, the European Cup finally came to the final battle of the tournament, which is also the pinnacle battle.
Fans from England and Portugal flocked to the Stadium of Light in Lisbon.
Across Portugal and in England, countless fans gathered in bars, squares, and in front of the TV. Everyone was looking forward to the war.
The closing ceremony of the tournament is underway at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. No one is paying attention to the entertainment program before the final. This cannot relieve the pressure of fans from both sides. They are all waiting for their teams to create history.
Aldridge appeared on the court early and sat on the coach's bench waiting for the game to start.
In the stands behind him, countless England fans cheered his name.
In the VIP box at the stadium, his family was watching him.
It would be a lie for Aldridge to say he is not nervous at this moment. At least, when an extremely glorious championship trophy is within reach, no one will be upset.
Perhaps it was for this reason that he did not go to the locker room to "infect" the nervousness with the team. He was afraid that he could not help nagging about the pre-game arrangements over and over again, which would not be of any benefit to the team.
When Scolari walked onto the court, Aldridge stood up and walked over to shake hands.
Two years ago, the two met in the World Cup semi-finals. Scolari was unconvinced by the loss and was filled with resentment!
And he always believed that the Brazilian team just lacked luck, not how strong England was. It was because God was not on the side of the Brazilian team.
Two years later, old friends reunited. And it was in the final of the European Cup. This scene was more attractive than Aldridge and Mourinho meeting in the Champions League final after meeting in the UEFA Cup final. Reporter on the sidelines
Focusing on the meeting between the two coaches, shaking hands and taking photos with flashlights never stopped.
The two of them had nothing to say, so they shook hands in court etiquette, patted each other's arms, and turned away, looking as usual.
But secretly, the mood swings are unknown.
Scolari has led Portugal to create a new history, but for this history to be remembered and appear extremely glorious, it is obviously only one step away from winning the European Cup and becoming the king!
At the same time, he did have the idea of "avenging his previous shame" in his heart.
History will only remember the victors.
Two years have passed by in a hurry. People will mention the majestic 3R combination in the 2002 World Cup, but most of the time they will use it to highlight England's magnificent last-minute golden goal. When neutrals lament, they will not mention the Brazilian team.
If the performance is not good and the strength of the team is there, it will naturally escalate to a battle between the coaches. The defeat in Brazil, the defeat by Scolari and the loss by Aldrich.
Old friends reunited in the European Cup, and the two armies faced off again. England was at its peak, and Scolari was no longer leading the Brazilian team. However, the encounter two years ago was mentioned again in the past two days, which seemed to reveal Scolari's secrets.
Scars and painful memories came to mind, and the pain that should have been forgotten long ago became faintly worse.
Aldrich has a relatively calm mentality. He can provoke opponents, but rarely adds insult to injury after a victory. Therefore, he behaves like a strong man and behaves in the same style as a strong man: forgetting his opponent.
Countless people have lost to him, and he will not always take it to heart. Even when they play against each other again, he will downplay past victories, because every football game is independent and does not have the continuity of advantages and disadvantages.
, indulging in the glory of the past will not do any good to the present or the future.
In the packed Stadium of Light in Lisbon, more than 60,000 pairs of eyes were watching the lineups of the England and Portugal teams. Under the leadership of the German referee Merck, the players of the two teams walked into the stadium with their heads high and launched a final challenge for Europe's highest honor.
impact.
"The 2004 European Cup has finally come to the final battle! Today will be a day remembered in football history. Not only will the champion of this competition be born, but also there will be a champion that has never been seen in the history of the European Cup!
Portugal and England have never won the European Cup. This is the first time that the two teams have reached the final!
The two teams have the same record, with 4 wins and 1 loss in the previous 5 games. Both teams have unforgettable performances in this competition. The Portuguese team has defeated Spain, and the Netherlands has defeated such a strong team as England.
The defending champions France and the Czech Republic are such strong opponents, so these two teams are the ones who reached the finals, and they deserve it!"
Ten years later, if people mention the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, they will definitely think that the Netherlands is stronger. But in 2004, most fans would not think that the Netherlands is stronger than the Czech Republic.
Together, a shocking reversal became a classic of this competition.
In the battle, Portugal's path to promotion was low and high, while England played several valuable games, squeezing France out of the knockout round, perfectly defeating Greece, and finally beating the Czechs. England's team is rich in changes and has a completely different style.
The application of techniques and tactics has also become their highlight.
"Let's take a look at the starting lineup for the double serve.
Defenders: Gary Neville, Campbell, Terry, Ashley Cole.
Midfielder: Beckham, Hargreaves-Scholes, Lampard.
Forwards: Gerrard, Rooney.
What is more surprising is that England's starting forward, Owen, was placed on the bench. The 18-year-old genius Wayne Rooney started in the final. Maybe it was because he came off the bench to beat the Czech team in the last game.
Sir Hall took a special liking to him, so he was listed as the main candidate as a reward.
The two most dazzling new stars in this competition are both on the court, Portugal's Ronaldo and England's Wayne Rooney. Interestingly, both of them are players of the Premier League giant Millwall. Since European football has added the most promising players of the year,
After the selection of the best team, there was a saying among fans that 'the best player in half the team is the lion'. It is not surprising that Millwall's supernova is now shining on the top stage of the European Cup."
After seeing Portugal's starting lineup, Aldridge calmed down a little and his nervousness disappeared.
The most critical point he focused on was Deco.
The word unity is easy to say, but in fact it is too difficult. Every family has its own difficulties, and the stronger the team, the more so.
Fame and fortune are not important for a small team. It is easier for a group of elites to work together to conquer the world and unite as one. Everyone does not have the capital to think wildly, but it is different for a strong team. The temptation of fame and fortune follows closely. It is not easy to concentrate on playing football. In addition, as a human being
Contributing to being a green leaf requires too high a level of awareness.
Portugal also has a problem similar to that of England. Rooney must be worried about playing the main role, but what can Aldridge do? He can't figure it out, and Aldridge's words can't change anything.
Portugal's problems stem from Deco.
He is a Brazilian who chose to play for Portugal after obtaining Portuguese nationality. As a result, a familiar master figure gradually disappeared from our sight.
Rui Costa.
No matter Figo once expressed that he did not welcome Deco, or Rui Costa and Deco were quarrelsome, Scolari still insisted on using the Brazilian fellow, depriving Rui Costa of his main position. Deco's performance is obvious to all.
It's not exactly outstanding, but at least it's hard to fault.
Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pauleta, these are all foreseeable and absolute starters for Portugal.
But Deco is still Rui Costa, and Aldridge will be wary of Scolari suddenly starting Rui Costa who is sitting on the bench.
The reason is that Deco's passing creativity is not as good as Rui Costa's, although in other aspects, such as defense, physical fitness, and enthusiasm, he is worse than Rui Costa.
But Deco, who is better than Rui Costa, may not necessarily have the absolute upper hand over English players.
On the contrary, Rui Costa's ability to tear apart the opponent's defense with his wonderful passes and scalpel-like direct passes is something that the England team is absolutely taboo on!
Aldridge didn't think too much about how to defeat Portugal.
History gave him a reference.
The Greek team told him how to play Portugal.
Prevent counterattack!
The Greek team used counterattacks to defeat Portugal, twice!
England's counterattack strength will be stronger than that of Greece, and they will not be unfamiliar with this kind of technical and tactical play. The World Cup was won by counterattack.
So putting aside any style, personal coaching characteristics, and miscellaneous thoughts, Aldridge does not need to think hard and rack his brains to think about what tactics to use to deal with Portugal. Why bother to look far away?
Besides, he no longer had anything to prove.
He just came to plunder the trophy, and it doesn't matter how he did it.
After the two teams took photos of their respective finals, the game officially kicked off.
When Scolari watched the game for five minutes, his face instantly became very ugly.
Mahler Desert.
Aldrich.
Damn it, why are you on guard again?
At the beginning of the game, the pace was not fast, and when Portugal took control of the ball and started attacking, the England team retreated to half-court.
Although the commentator said England were playing 442, they actually returned to their 433.
Beckham and Lampard were at the back, on either side of Hargreaves, with Scholes in the central midfield position, Gerrard and Rooney in the front right.
Compared with the same tactics two years ago, England's defense is stronger because Gerrard is stronger defensively than McManaman, and Rooney is also more aggressive and aggressive defensively than Owen.
Portugal's strength is on the wing.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Figo do not distinguish between left and right, and they can change positions at any time.
But so what if they are good on the wing?
We don’t have to go back to the original question. Offensively, the wings are just auxiliary. The center determines the game. Whether inside the penalty area or outside the penalty area, the threat in the center is much higher than that of the wings.
It just so happened that Scolari had a tactical failure, which was the fatal factor that Portugal most feared in preventing counterattacks.
Paoletta plays as a lone forward.
This forward who is flourishing in Ligue 1 has his best position as second forward and shadow forward.
As a single center forward, it is difficult for him to have room to play.
It's not that he's not strong, it's that he's not playing the most powerful role.
Therefore, Portugal’s stubborn problem is its “weak front”.
This is not based on the player's personal ability. Just like Gerrard can play as a second striker, but if Gerrard is placed at the center position, the effect will be greatly reduced. He can only provide limited support and score in front of the goal? Then
It is impossible to be very efficient at all, because he is the opponent's first marking target, and it is difficult to achieve anything under tight double-team defense.
This is the dilemma that Pauletta faces. There are people on the front line to help him and attract defenses. He can release a huge threat, but it is very difficult for him to rely on him alone.
Originally, Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo tended to be on the wing. Cristiano Ronaldo's threat of cutting inside was higher than Figo, but this was not enough. England shrank back and Portugal needed to activate more attack points.
Candidate.
Deco's speed is relatively stable, but his explosive power is insufficient. His late penetration is not a fatal threat at first. He still prefers to move in a wide range of midfield instead of rushing to the front line.
Therefore, Aldridge is more afraid of Rui Costa's starting lineup. Since it is all about passing the ball, the person who passes the fatal threat ball will naturally play a greater role. In this way, at least when Pauleta is covering for Ronaldo, the delivery of the fatal threat ball will make England
Fear.
After the opening, Portugal's focus was Figo, who seemed a bit "alone".
Frequently making breakthroughs on the wing and sticking to the ball most of the time, this is understandable. In Portugal today, he is the absolute big brother, and everyone else should be his green leaf, even Ronaldo is no exception.
His breakthrough was pretty good, but the England team compressed the space in the dangerous zone. As long as he didn't get over two lines of defense by himself, he basically only passed people on the outside, so he didn't pose much of a threat.
On the contrary, the England team had a golden opportunity to score in the 7th minute after the opening! (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
