Alien Recovery
Chapter 119: Alien Recovery
"Kaka's unexpected midfield shot hit the crossbar. Kahn's attention wasn't focused, and he nearly became a German sinner..."
"Unfortunately, Kaka came close to breaking the record for the fastest goal in World Cup history. There was just a bit of luck between him and the goal..."
The German players were shocked and immediately counterattacked.
Perhaps the most lasting impression of Germans is their rigidity and discipline.
How rigorous can they be?
Here's an example: At the beginning of the pandemic, the German government strictly prohibited gatherings of more than 1,000 people, so Germany organized many concerts with exactly 999 attendees...
This isn't just a paragraph, it's news.
One thing's for sure: I can really play.
This approach extends to the field in almost a paranoid tactical discipline.
Everyone is like a cog in a machine, perfectly matched and meticulous.
And Kahn, standing at the team's last line of defense, is the first gear to turn when the machine starts.
He fiercely threw the ball to Metzelder.
Metzelder dribbled from the side and passed diagonally through midfield, then sprinted quickly towards Brazil's goal line.
Schneider received the ball in midfield and passed it to Bode on the wing, evading Kleberson's defense.
This 33-year-old veteran left-back can play almost anywhere on the wing. With age, he has lost some speed and sharpness, but his wealth of experience allows him to compensate. To counter Brazil's Cafu, he passed the ball to Metzelder's feet.
With just a few touches, Germany pushed forward towards Brazil's left side of the penalty area.
Metzelder couldn't match Carlos Dobi, but quickly got the ball in front of the goal.
Whether it's the audience, players, or coaches, they all immediately began looking for Klose.
Klose, 24, is making his World Cup debut and has already scored five goals, all headers, including a hat trick against Saudi Arabia in Germany's 8-0 victory.
Keywords: debut match, header hat trick... a somewhat stereotypical protagonist template.
He positions himself in the penalty area, where even towering defenders like Lin Menghan, with a height advantage of one meter eighty, struggle to contest his aerial dominance. One can only imagine the terrifying combination of his awareness, positioning, shooting, and jumping abilities.
It's hard to imagine how spectacular it would be if he teamed up with a Beckham.
To limit his headers, Scolari even instructed the entire team's defenders to undergo special header defensive training before the match and devised specific containment tactics.
From this attack perspective, this key arrangement has proven effective. Klose, as flexible as an eel, has changed positions twice but failed to evade the defenses of Edmilson and Lucio. Even when he managed to take off, the ball didn't quite connect.
Junior stopped the ball with his chest in the far corner and passed it directly to Cafu.
Cafu swiftly passed the ball to Kleberson without hesitation.
Kleberson cleverly flicked the ball and passed it to Ronaldinho after navigating past Jeremys.
Ronaldinho struggled under the pressure from Harman and Schneider to keep possession. Kaka quickly came to his support. After a tussle with the two, Ronaldinho finally shook off the German defenders. From the left side, he approached the German team's penalty area.
The Germans reacted swiftly, as they had rehearsed countless times. Link and Ramello shadowed Ronaldo, while Metzelder and Schneider, back in defense, pursued Ronaldinho. Harman and Flins were tasked with marking Kaka.
German coach Waller had double coverage on each of Brazil's front trio.
Without Barak, their offensive capability has dropped significantly, but defensively, the German team is as formidable as a heavily armored tank.
Ronaldinho managed to get past his marker and attempted a technical move, but the Brazilian team's first true offensive attempt ended without a shot on goal.
Both sides began settling into the match gradually, aligning with many pre-game analyses that Brazil would focus on attack while Germany would prioritize defense.
This was Kaka's most challenging game since his natural talent took him to the global stage.
At just twenty years old, his physical prowess hadn't yet peaked, yet even against the tough players in England, he didn't find himself at such a disadvantage. Now, against the Germans, he felt almost powerless.
Not that they were stronger than the English, but their defense was more organized and suffocating, effectively severing the connection between Kaka and Ronaldinho, turning the midfield into a quagmire.
This is where the importance of experience becomes evident.
Whether in Sao Paulo or with the national youth team, Kaka had never faced a situation like this, whereas Ronaldinho, polished in European football, quickly adapted his strategy.
He frequently moved to the flanks, pushing the attack wide, thereby abandoning the midfield.
Fortunately, Brazil's midfield also had two formidable barriers in Gilberto and Kleberson, preventing Germany from organizing attacks through the center.
Barak's absence proved fatal to Germany.
And Ronaldinho, now operating on the wings, finally began to exploit his technical superiority.
As we all know, creating opportunities through the wings is often easier than breaking through the center.
In the twelfth minute, a German defender passed the ball. Kleibersen received it and quickly passed it to Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho drove down the left and penetrated the penalty area. He took a left-footed shot.
The timing was good, but it lacked power, and Kahn easily caught the ball.
Two minutes later, Kaka, learning from his teacher, pulled to the right, receiving a long diagonal pass from Carlos, knocking it back to Cafu and rushing forward.
Cafu made a long pass, returning the ball.
Kaka made an incisive move, but this time the German defenders were tightly marking the goal, leaving him no room to shoot. Fortunately, Ronaldo anticipated the play and was in position to receive the pass.
From the start until now, Ronaldo had only touched the ball twice and hadn't been very involved. This caused the Germans to almost forget the threat posed by the world's top striker.
They soon remembered the danger he posed.
Ronaldo feinted to stop the ball, but as it rolled over, he abruptly turned and left it behind, fooling Link, who neither marked him nor intercepted the ball, left standing helplessly.
Ronaldo flicked the ball with his left foot and brought it under control. Ramello faced him head-on but didn't dare to challenge him, waiting until Flins was in position to intervene.
Just as Flins was about to make a move, Ronaldo suddenly shifted the ball with his right foot and pulled it back. Evading his attempted tackle, he deftly rolled the ball past him and completed a smooth nutmeg.
Frings made a desperate attempt to reach the ball that Ronaldo played, but like lightning, Ronaldo took a half-step ahead and touched the ball first.
With a swift turn, executing the Marseille turn.
Flins was bypassed, and Ronaldo faced Kahn head-on.
The planet's fiercest spear met the planet's toughest shield.
Ronaldo had just steadied himself and was about to execute a feint when Kahn anticipated his move, diving in and gathering the ball in his arms just as Ronaldo was preparing to shoot.
Ronaldo's foot was clipped, causing him to stumble to the side.
All eyes turned to the referee.
The bald referee shook his head, signaling no penalty.
The game continued.
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