August 29, Sardines Stadium, Santander, northern Spain.
Less than five minutes before the start of the game, Rijkaard and chief assistant coach Tenkat were both standing on the sidelines. One pretended to be calm with his hands in his pockets, while the other looked around anxiously, as if asking for help, forming a very tense situation.
An obvious contrast.
Racing Santander's Sardines stadium is very different from other stadiums. Due to design problems, the visiting team's coaching bench and bench are both semi-underground. In other words, you can't see the field clearly from the coaching bench.
Moving and static.
So an interesting scene emerged, that is, the visiting team coaches either accepted such an unfavorable situation, or took the initiative to seek help from the home staff, such as asking for two plastic chairs and sitting directly on the sidelines.
This doesn't look good, and it's not comfortable, but it's better than not being able to see the situation clearly.
But tonight, Barcelona also encountered a problem, that is, there were no staff around.
Tenkat was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot and couldn't keep calm at all. On the contrary, Rijkaard put his hands in his trouser pockets and looked calm. He even reassured his assistant from time to time, indicating that he wanted to
Take it easy, don't rush.
"This is their little conspiracy, don't worry about it!" Rijkaard said with a faint smile.
How could Tenkat not care?
This is Barcelona’s first game of the new season!
What was the team like in the first half of last season? Rijkaard and Tenkat almost didn't make it through the winter break.
They made a comeback this season and spent a lot of money to bring in a group of stars such as Su Dong and Deco. If the team continues to fail to improve, then the two of them may really have no choice but to take the initiative to resign and apologize.
Racing Santander's Sardines Stadium has never been a happy place for Barcelona. In January this year, in the first game of the winter break, Barcelona lost to Racing Santander 0-3 at this stadium.
After the game, Rijkaard was almost dismissed from his position as head coach by Vice Chairman Rosell and was forced to hand over his coaching seal.
In the end, it was Laporta and Cruyff, one inside and one outside, who tried their best to suppress Russell. Only then did Rijkaard's coaching manage to survive, and only then did Barcelona rise in the second half.
.
"I don't believe it. You really don't care at all. If you really didn't care, you wouldn't be standing here!" Tenkat replied angrily. He knew he was in a hurry, but he really was.
Rijkaard looked at the rebellious assistant and understood clearly, but did not respond. He knew that Tenkat had this kind of character.
How could he not be anxious or care?
He was once forced into a desperate situation here. Although he came back from the dead, he could never forget the despair he felt at that time.
This season has a lot at stake and it's the first game of the league. How could he not be nervous?
What's even worse is that Ronaldinho is injured and absent, Edmilson joined the team with a suspension, and Sylvinho has not yet obtained an EU passport, so he must occupy a foreign player quota in the Soviet Union.
Next, the Brazilian left back can only be excluded from the squad.
In this situation, would Rijkaard be nervous?
But what's the use of being nervous?
With Ronaldinho absent, Barcelona's frontcourt offense can only rely on Sudong.
He asked Iniesta to take the Brazilian's place as the team's left winger, forming a trident with Sudong and Giuly. Deco, Xavi and Motta formed the midfield triangle, with Van Bronckhorst, Marcos and Pu
Joel and Belletti formed the back line, and Valdes served as the team's goalkeeper.
His biggest expectation now is Su Dong!
Barcelona's strategy is to fly with both wings. Whether it can fly depends on Su Dong!
But this is Su Dong's first official game after joining Barcelona.
Carrying a record transfer fee of 80 million euros, carrying a mountain of pressure, and the expectations of many fans, can Su Dong, who will not turn 20 until mid-September, be able to carry it?
Can he handle it?
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Su Dong stood on the court, looking quite relaxed.
This kind of relaxation is more of a mental relaxation.
He knew that this was his first game since joining Barcelona, and that everyone's attention would be on him when Ronaldinho was away, but he still felt relaxed.
Or it should be said that he has become accustomed to this mentality of playing with pressure and responsibility.
Turning his head and looking at Iniesta, who was standing with him in the middle circle with a rather nervous look on his face, Su Dong couldn't help but laugh.
He had often heard about Iniesta from Messi, and knew that this direct descendant of Barcelona's youth training was not from Catalonia. He even almost left Barcelona and switched to other teams before, but
In the end he chose to stay.
With his outstanding performance in the warm-up match and his comprehensive characteristics, he can play the positions of attacking midfielder and left winger. In addition, Luis Garcia switched to Liverpool, and he was finally able to play the main role in the first round of the new season.
"Are you nervous?" Su Dong asked with concern.
Iniesta raised his head and looked at this star who was younger than himself but had already created the highest transfer fee in the history of world football. He was filled with admiration. After hearing his question, he nodded slightly.
"It's okay. When you don't know what to do, just pass the ball to me!" Su Dong told him confidently.
Iniesta was slightly stunned, but soon understood Su Dong's thoughts.
"Thanks."
"Why are you so polite?" Su Dongman replied nonchalantly.
Iniesta looked at Su Dong gratefully and found that he was really tall and strong. Just looking at him like this, thinking of what he just said, he really felt a sense of security in his heart.
A feeling of being protected.
But unfortunately, Su Dong and he were both born in 1984, four months later than him.
It seems inappropriate for an older person to be protected by a younger person, but Iniesta didn't feel the slightest bit inappropriate at this moment.
Su Dong was also very sincere, making him unable to resist at all.
"Are you scared?" Iniesta asked suddenly.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Su Dong looked at Iniesta, smiled slightly and said: "I used to be scared, but now... not anymore."
"Why?"
"Because I found that fear is actually useless, so before every game, no matter how important it is, no matter how strong the opponent is, I will hide my fear and nervousness deeply, hiding it in a place where even I can't find it.
to the place.”
Iniesta didn't understand. Where could he not even find himself?
Seeing Iniesta's silly and cute appearance, Su Dong couldn't help but laugh. He reached out his hand and touched the head of Iniesta opposite him. The Spaniard was about the same height as Messi, and he felt like it.
It turned out to be very convenient.
"You give me an assist and I'll tell you!"
After touching it, Su Dong found that the Spaniard's head was quite comfortable to touch, not inferior to the Argentinian's long hair.
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When the game started, everyone was surprised to find Rijkaard and Tenkat sitting on two white chairs.
This is particularly conspicuous in a green football field.
The two coaches of Barcelona must have also felt the gazes from everyone present, which was very awkward and on pins and needles.
But once the game started, they quickly forgot all this.
…
After all, it was the debut of the new season, and both teams started cautiously.
Needless to say about the home team, facing the powerful Barcelona, it is difficult for them not to be cautious.
Barcelona's problem is more itself. Ronaldinho's absence means that Barcelona's entire offense must be re-aligned.
It is also a good approach to start cautiously and steadily, and slowly break in to allow players to gradually find the rhythm of the game.
But in the seventh minute, Barcelona, playing away from home, took the lead in launching a threatening offensive.
After Iniesta got the ball on the left, he dribbled the ball and forced a breakthrough. Under the entanglement of the opponent's two defensive players, he sent a direct pass and sent the ball to the left side of the penalty area.
Sudong used his body to squeeze away the opponent's central defender Casa, received a direct pass from Iniesta on the left side of the penalty area, stopped the ball and volleyed directly with his left foot, scoring the first shot of the game.
This shot was powerful and heavy, the ball was fast and the angle was very tricky, forcing the opponent's goalkeeper Awat to fly and fight hard to save the ball, blocking the ball out of the baseline with one hand.
"Wow!" Su Dong clenched his fists with both hands and roared.
The 18,000 fans in the stadium all screamed in surprise.
If this goal were scored, it would be really scary!
Rijkaard and Tenkat on the sidelines both stood up from their chairs, not even paying attention to the fact that the chairs behind them fell over. However, when they saw that Su Dong's furious shot did not go in, both of them were a little disappointed.
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"Barcelona's attack was very beautiful. Whether it was Iniesta's breakthrough pass from the left or Sudong's powerful volley in the penalty area, it was particularly impressive."
"It's worth noting that both of these players were born in 1984."
Although he didn't score a goal, when Su Dong turned around and ran out of the penalty area, he still gave Iniesta a thumbs-up gesture from a distance.
Bravo!
Iniesta applauded Su Dong with a smile on his face.
It seemed that he was no longer as nervous as before.
Sometimes, football matches are like this.
Shooting is not just for scoring goals, it also has a calming effect in many cases.
Just like this time, Sudong's shot made Iniesta clearly know that he performed well and that this kind of pass can create a shooting opportunity.
And with Su Dong's shot, Barcelona's offense began to come alive.
Just a minute later, Su Dong retreated to get the ball and hit back. Deco suddenly stepped in. After receiving Su Dong's pass, he rushed directly to the edge of the penalty area and suddenly shot a long shot, threatening again.
Racing Santander's goal.
Unfortunately, the shot missed slightly.
Two consecutive attacks allowed Barcelona's players to gradually stabilize their position and mentality.
The game began to proceed in an orderly manner. Deco, Xavi and Motta patiently controlled the midfield and the ball. Sudong, Iniesta and Giuly kept running in and out of the frontcourt, waiting for opportunities.
Barcelona's goal-scoring machine began to operate slowly, with all its components tightly integrated and connected to each other.
Racing Santander quickly fell behind and was forced to defend tightly.