Therefore, in an interview before the game, Zhang Sheng seemed very low-key: "Guangzhou Evergrande is a championship team. Although they are now troubled by injuries, no one can ignore their strength. They have Goulart.
With top foreign players, top domestic forwards like Gao Lin, and Guangzhou Evergrande’s home court advantage, we will be vigilant enough.”
Zhang Sheng's words surprised everyone, because now the Dragons are competing in both the league and the AFC Champions League, and their performance is much better than that of Guangzhou Evergrande. He is not a very low-key character. How many words can be said about this?
The credibility is really hard to say.
Even Evergrande fans on the Internet said: "We don't need poisonous milk. I can't even make a roster of 18 people now. Please abuse me lightly!"
Different from being modest in public, in the preparation meeting before the game, Zhang Sheng put forward his requirement to win: "I want to ask everyone, what is our goal for this season?"
"Champion." All the fans present said in unison without any pause.
"Yes. We have only one goal, which is to win the championship. And what is before us now is the most important game. Only by passing the hurdle of Guangzhou Evergrande can we legitimately tell everyone that we are the champions.
Zhang Sheng said with determination.
Then Zhang Sheng gave the reason why he must win: "Although we are playing away from home, I believe everyone knows what the opponent's situation is now. They have not been able to confirm promotion in the AFC Champions League, and they will definitely be distracted; in the league
, they are 5 points behind us and have a lot of injured players. If we cannot win such a game, the championship trophy will not automatically fly into our arms. In this game, we are going to add insult to injury and take advantage of his illness.
His life."
Finally, Zhang Sheng announced the starting lineup for this game. In order to strengthen the offensive, Xiao Yunfan, who has a stronger assist ability, replaced Zhou Zhou, and all offensive players in the frontcourt took the field.
Especially for Nie Jiang, Zhang Sheng gave special instructions: "You also heard what the opponent's head coach said before the game. This time, others will not only treat you as a foreign aid, but as Cassano. I am confident that I can advance in this game."
No ball?"
Nie Jiang also seemed very excited: "Since he used Cassano to ask me, I will show him the level of Cassano!"
Zhang Sheng nodded and said: "Having confidence is a good thing, but don't be too impulsive on the court!"
Nie Jiang chuckled and said, "I know!"
While this game attracted the attention of the coaches and players of both sides, the fans of both sides also showed great enthusiasm. As early as more than a week before the game, the ticketing department of Guangzhou Evergrande announced the tickets for this game.
Even though it was sold out, it did not stop the enthusiasm of the fans. There were still countless fans seeking tickets through various channels.
As home fans, Guangzhou Evergrande fans are okay. After all, many of them have already purchased annual tickets for the team at the beginning of the season. Even those who have not purchased annual tickets, as locals, they still have enough channels to obtain football matches.
ticket.
As a Dragons fan, I feel so pitiful.
As the largest exporter of talents and labor in Hubei Province, Guangdong has always had a large number of Hubei people, and Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, has an even larger number. Although they work in Guangzhou, these people value their local teams after all, so in
There are also enough Longteng fans among them.
It will be much harder for them to buy game tickets.
For this matter, the Longteng Club also specifically contacted the Guangzhou Evergrande Club, hoping that they could provide more visiting team tickets. However, this request was not approved by the other party. They cited insufficient tickets and poor security arrangements for the visiting team fans.
Yu refused.
Hearing the news, Zhang Sheng couldn't say anything. In such a game, the other party didn't find any reason to say that the visiting team's fan area couldn't be opened. It was already done according to the rules, and he couldn't ask for too much.
On the day of the game, Guangzhou Tianhe Stadium, which can seat nearly 60,000 spectators, was full. Originally, according to the regulations of having (throwing) off (pot) (can) doors (hands), the attendance rate for the Chinese Super League game was only
It can be 80%, but there are still some people who have poured into the stadium through various connections, and the number of people present has long exceeded the limit.
In fact, this is also a unique phenomenon in China, that is, the people do not investigate the officials, and as long as nothing happens to you, everything is fine. For example, in Guangzhou Evergrande games, no matter how important the opponent is, the highest number of spectators is always only 399.99 million.
But any fan who has gone to watch a game knows that during important games, there are often people standing in the aisles. During the 15-minute halftime break, it is impossible to squeeze through to go to the toilet.
When the players from both sides were warming up before the game, the atmosphere in the entire stadium had been created very enthusiastically. The visiting team's fan area, which had been empty in the past, was basically full, so even the fans who had an absolute advantage in terms of numbers
Suppressed by the Guangzhou Evergrande fans, the Longteng players could also clearly hear the passionate cheers from their own supporters.
In order to show the importance of this game, in addition to clubs and fans, the Chinese Football Association also expressed its concern. For this key battle, the Chinese Football Association also sent the best referee in the Chinese Super League last season-Tan Hai
, the assistant referee was the best assistant referee in the Chinese Super League last season and the only Chinese referee representative in the 2014 World Cup - Mu Yuxin.
Obviously the Chinese Football Association is ready to throw the blame away. No matter which team loses, they have done their best and no one can complain about the Football Association.
Also paying attention to this game are various broadcast media. CCTV sent the gold medal partner of He Wei and Xu Yang, LeTV sent the famous "crosstalk commentary team" Li Xin and Dong Lu, and Sina Sports sent its top star Huang Jianxiang
After being invited, PPTV also asked Tang Hui and Li Qiang, another cross talk duo in the Chinese commentary industry, to commentate on this crucial battle.
He Wei analyzed the starting lineups of both sides: "Guangzhou Evergrande has already come up with its strongest lineup. Even so, the 18-man roster only has one foreign player, Goulart. We just finished the AFC Champions League.
Captain Zheng Zhi, who lacked physical fitness, and center back Feng Xiaoting were also assigned to the starting lineup. Zeng Cheng's injury has not yet recovered, so he was also assigned to the starting lineup."
"Looking at the Longteng team, basically all members are out. There is a huge gap between the lineups of the two sides!" He Wei sighed.
Xu Yang smiled and said: "It should be said that both sides have their own advantages. After all, Evergrande is playing at home, while Longteng is playing away from home in the AFC Champions League and then playing away in the Chinese Super League. Evergrande's home court advantage is still very obvious."
He Wei also took the opportunity to review Evergrande's home record: "It is true. Since Guangzhou Evergrande entered the Chinese Super League, it has only lost four out of 60 Chinese Super League home games in the first four seasons. Of course, overall the results are better.
It's getting worse. Of these 4 losses, 3 were last season. Even so, the winning rate is very impressive. After all, so far this season, they have maintained an unbeaten record at home. The Longteng team is in Guangzhou.
Evergrande has only won once at home, and that time was the result of all Evergrande substitutes coming off the bench."
Xu Yang also nodded in agreement: "It is a well-known fact that Evergrande's home court is difficult to play, but once the Longteng team can really win the game, I think it will not just be as simple as winning a game, but it is very likely to become the hegemon of the Chinese Super League."
replacement."
He Wei quickly changed the subject and said: "Then let's take a look at the starting lineup of the Dragons. The only change made by coach Zhang Sheng in this game is to replace Zhou Zhou with Xiao Yunfan. Xu Yang, you just finished explaining the Dragons.
AFC Champions League, what do you think of this adjustment?"
Xu Yang expressed his views very clearly: "In my opinion, Coach Zhang Sheng's signal is very clear, that is to attack and score all three points, because Xiao Yunfan is a typical full-back with strong assists, and Zhou Zhou is even more
Most of them are full-backs who are balanced in offense and defense but focus on defense. It seems that coach Zhang Sheng’s actual approach and his humility in the pre-game press conference are completely different.”
"Then let's wait and see the battle at Tianwang Mountain." He Wei concluded.
Soon the focus of the game began with a long whistle from referee Tan Hai.
Guangzhou Evergrande, playing at home, took the lead in kicking off the ball and played very cautiously. The two players Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen, who were standing in the midfielder positions, did not take the initiative to attack forward easily. Instead, they made more use of Feng Xiaoting's good play in the backcourt.
The ball skills are used to find Goulart who is ambushing behind Gao Lin. Cannavaro's tactics are very clear - the Longteng team likes to press the formation, then I will hit you behind.
In fact, this has been Guangzhou Evergrande's usual tactics for more than a year, especially since the start of this season. This can also be regarded as a sequela of Lippi's era.
Since the 2014 season, more and more fans have clearly felt that Evergrande is unable to meet its expectations. Although Lippi and Cannavaro have emphasized the team's mentality and desires many times, fans who have watched the game can judge
, the fighting spirit of Evergrande players has never diminished, but the imbalance of the lineup has made the team's dominance no longer exist. The most important reason is that Guangzhou Evergrande's waist is not strong!
The short-term performance of Diamanti and Gilardino at Evergrande proved that Lippi made mistakes in his recruitment. But the real mistake was that Rene did not make the best use of his talents.
The foreign aid configuration in the 2014 season is different from the peak period in 2013. The biggest change occurs in the midfield. It is difficult to imagine that a dominant team is a team that lacks control. Under normal circumstances, Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen are
Fixed candidates in the midfield, but they cannot play a good protective role on the defensive end when switching from offense to defense. This results in the defenders often directly facing the opponent's high-speed forward. In this case, the defense line has loopholes.
Hundreds of things.
This year has continued the situation last year. The protective effect of the midfielder is getting worse and worse. At the same time, the organizational ability of the midfielder has not improved, and the disconnection phenomenon is obvious. Even if they hired Gao Jun from the Longteng team, who is known for his strong organizational ability,
Couldn't solve this problem.
Cannavaro's Evergrande is rougher than in 2014, with a lot less delicate coordination and a lot more rough long passes. Most of the time Evergrande relies on the flashes of players to score goals during fast breaks, such as Gaola
The unique magic, and Gao Lin's explosion after being pushed to the front line, are based on the players' personal abilities to create local advantages, rather than overall advantages.
Of course, Lippi left behind more than just negatives. The players still maintained extreme self-confidence despite poor conditions and other adverse circumstances, a self-confidence that other teams did not have. This kind of pride and confidence that has penetrated deep into the heart is very important to the ball.
It is very important to the team and helped them survive many difficult games.
Before this game, there had just been a heavy rain in Guangzhou at noon. Although there was not much water on the court, it was very slippery. This situation made the Longteng team a little unprepared, and there were some small mistakes in the continuous passes in the frontcourt.
Mistakes.
However, after getting familiar with the conditions of the field, the Longteng team gradually took control of the situation on the court. Guangzhou Evergrande was suppressed by the Longteng team at their home court.
Less than five minutes into the game, Cannavaro had to stand up from the coaching bench and stand on the sidelines to direct the game.
Cannavaro made a gesture to Huang Bowen, asking him to help Zheng Zhiduo participate in the defense, because it was a bit difficult for Zheng Zhi to face the back-and-forth attacks of Tao Wentao and Lin Feng alone.
Huang Bowen's recovery also means that Guangzhou Evergrande's frontcourt offensive line has shrunk. Zhang Sheng was very surprised by shrinking the formation in the first five minutes. This is not the attitude that a dominant team should have.
.
He Wei, who was in charge of the commentary, was also confused by the changes in Guangzhou Evergrande: "Is this going to be a full recycling? Just recycling at this time? This is not the way a championship team plays."
Xu Yang helped Cannavaro explain: "Zheng Zhi played for more than 90 minutes in the last round of the AFC Champions League. Huang Bowen was the same. They were forced to play. Now the Longteng team's offensive is so
It is correct to be fierce and retreat first to defend, after all, the control of the midfielder comes first."
Sure enough, after Huang Bowen also retreated, the situation of Evergrande's midfield was much better. With his constant running, harassment and interception, Zheng Zhi could put more energy into the organization and sorting of the midfield.
Cannavaro's seemingly conservative tactical adjustment made the game situation slightly more stable, but this adjustment also set the tone for the game - the Dragons will mainly attack and Guangzhou Evergrande will defend.
In the next game, the Longteng team moved its defense closer to the midfield. The two full-backs Xiao Yunfan and Wei Zhimin made even more breakthroughs and became wingers.
Even so, Zhang Sheng still stood on the sidelines and gestured to the two full-backs to move forward.
Seeing Zhang Sheng's gesture, He Wei sighed: "The Longteng team is playing really strong now. There is no team that can play like this at Guangzhou Evergrande's home court in the entire Chinese Super League."
Xu Yang nodded and said: "That's true. Next, we'll see how the Longteng team can be more efficient in their offense."
