Chapter 48 Controversy

Chapter 48 Controversy

Croatia's performance was surprising, and another strong dialogue in Group C began immediately. The Spanish team was obviously better, but after the exchange of blood, Italy's strength was obviously not as good as that of South Africa in 2010. Measured by performance in the World Cup.

In the end, after a fierce battle, Italy drew with Spain 1:1. When the game ended, almost all European mainstream media praised Italian coach Prandelli. After all, with today's Italian team value, tactical maturity and The player's reputation is far less than that of Spain. It is an amazing achievement to escape from the game against Spain.

Although some Spanish media tried to use words such as "ugly" and "intense defense" to obliterate Italy's record, the fact is that Italy did not rely on shrinking defense to defeat Spain. Defense is not just a method of stacking the bus.

Obviously, the key to Italy's ability to draw with the powerful Spain in a mournful manner lies in the huge success of tactics.

Some Spanish media said: "Spain's inability to penetrate Italy's dense defense exposed the team's inability to deal with teams that piled up buses in front of the goal."

But are Italy really full of buses?

Maybe not.

Some media always believe that the opponent that Spain cannot defeat is a "passive, ugly and huddled defense." However, what Italy played this time was definitely not a dense huddled defense.

Compression and shrinkage are just one word difference, but there is a world of difference.

The former is positive, the latter negative.

But how big the difference is between the two?

In this game, when it comes to passing and controlling the ball, Spain does have an overwhelming advantage over Italy.

But what about the goal?

The opportunities obtained by the two teams were actually similar. Although Spain missed several scoring opportunities due to Torres, Italy also had Motta's header and Barcelona's single missed goal. In terms of absolute scoring opportunities, Italy had many.

There was a lot of difference in ball control, but Italy left few opportunities to its opponents and also got many opportunities for itself. This is because Italy's offensive organization is relatively efficient, and on the other hand, Italy's defensive organization is very good.

Four years ago, in the quarter-finals of the European Cup, Italy drew 0:0 with Spain. Until the 120th minute, they unfortunately lost on a penalty kick. They used a "shrinking" defense.

Of course, the Italian team also got many scoring opportunities through fast breaks in that game, but in terms of defense, the Italian team still adopted the traditional method of shrinking the penalty area.

There were as few as four or five defenders in the penalty area, and as many as six or seven defenders. Even if the opponent only had one attacker, Italy retreated into the penalty area.

However, in the past four years, the team led by Xavi, Iniesta and others has become more cooperative and more sophisticated. Facing Spain, simply using the method of piling up buses in front of the goal has long been unworkable.

When the "turtle style" defense no longer works, changing ideas and defensive philosophy has become a proposition for the whole world. How can we defend against these masters of Western-style passing and control?

The Belgians have inspired the whole world, and Prandelli, who is very familiar with Belgian football and has worked with Belgium's number one star Deegan for four years, found inspiration.

After the game, Prandelli also said publicly: "The tactics for the game with Spain were inspired by the Belgian team and Fiorentina. When I was coaching in Florence, I often encountered players with the same style as the Spanish team. Barcelona, ​​that's what we did at that time, but in today's game, we have to play even harder!"

It is precisely because of the experience of merging with Barcelona when he led the team in Florence that four years later in the 2012 European Cup, Italy was weaker than four years ago. Four years ago, Pirlo Buffon was in his prime, and four years later they are both older. Four years ago, Italy still had a large number of world-class superstars such as Cannavaro and Gattuso. Four years later, Italy will look like a civilian country.

And the opponents are stronger than four years ago. The Spain four years ago was still a team with no competition experience. Although the Spain four years later has no honors to reflect their strength, there is no doubt that in the In terms of strength, they can already be called the master of kings.

How will Italy get through this time?

The answer given by Prandelli is two words: forward!

The opponent is coming? The defender presses forward! The opponent has the ball? The whole team rushes forward!

In a word, the defenders did not retreat into the penalty area, and the midfielders did not retreat in a wide range. Instead, they boldly pressed forward and fought fiercely with Spain. They did not retreat, retreat, or give up an inch of ground!

So why does Italy adopt this style of play?

Wouldn't it be safer to retreat all players into the penalty area and block the gaps in the penalty area to make the goal safer?

In fact, when the Italian defenders press forward and the midfielders retreat, they can "compress" the space, and this compression compresses the space of Spain's attacking midfielders.

In fact, the Belgians did this in the 2008 European Cup finals and the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, Belgium's tactics at that time were criticized by countless people as ugly and backward, so few people followed suit.

The advantages of this Spanish team are obvious. The team has a large number of outstanding world-class stars such as Silva, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta and so on.

If they are given enough space, they will be able to decide the game. Therefore, Italy learned from the Belgians and improved it. They put the defense line first and the midfielder retreated, thus completely compressing the thirty-meter area. In a local area, Italy had six or more players flanking them, so the Spanish masters were struggling.

Take Iniesta as an example. In the past, Xiaobai was very graceful and cruising around freely, but in this game against Italy, he really lived like a year. Wherever he went, there were two or three people in front of him. , attacked him fiercely, wanted to take the ball, and four or five thick legs immediately swamped him. Therefore, Iniesta was very depressed during the battle. Most of the time, he was knocked down by a touch, and then sat down. Sulking on the ground.

Of course, this "compressing" space play is not only used in defense. In terms of offense, the Italian team is also compressing space.

In this game, the Italian team scored a goal. In fact, there were only five players involved in the attack. In the same area, the Spanish team participated in the defense with eight players.

However, the Italian team adopts the method of "compressing space". All six people are locked in a small area very close to each other, so there are many routines for cooperation in a small area.

By the end of this counterattack, the Italian team had formed a 4-on-5 advantage in a local area. As the Italian team compressed the space and formed a strength advantage in the local area, it was naturally difficult for Spain to prevent it.

Of course, many times, Italy's defense is carried out directly in the opponent's half. During the game, Maggio, as a full-back, is already pressing the opponent in the opponent's half. After stealing the ball, he does not pass the ball behind him, but directly launches an attack. , thinking about launching a counterattack on the spot all the time. This extremely aggressive pressing style really shows the courage of the Italian team. How can this kind of defense be called a "bus in front of the goal" defense? Woolen cloth?

Today's Italian style of play is neither a rough style of "logging" or "invading", nor is it a passive defense of "shrinking" or "building a bus".

On the contrary, Italy, the master of defense, uses two words to defend: forward!

In the past, Italy defended in the penalty area, but now it defends outside the penalty area. In the past, Italy defended in the backcourt, and now it defends in the frontcourt. In the past, Italy's defensive approach was to retreat and retreat, but now it is to move forward.

This is a huge change in football tactics in this era. In the utilitarian era of football, every team will pay special attention to defense when they enter the game, especially the European powers.

But compared with around 2004, when shrinking defense was popular all over the world, the mainstream idea of ​​defending football now is to defend the enemy from outside the country, and to establish the defense line as far away from the goal as possible. First, specifically to block Iran. Secondly, a "midfield forward swingman" like Nesta makes it easier to organize counterattacks and fast breaks on the spot.

Therefore, if people still say that Italy will pile up buses in front of the goal and defend passively, that is unreasonable. Defense can also be active. To defend Spain, it is not just a pile of buses. You can also be more brave. Some, can also be a little more aggressive.

Overall, although this game was very intense, it still felt a little dull due to the lack of enough goals. But it doesn't matter, there will always be someone to add some comedy elements to the game.

Before the start of this European Cup, someone once said that the starting lineup of the Azzurri is 9 ordinary youths + 1 artistic youth + 1 2B youth. There is no doubt that the last young man who is a bit of a two-in-one must be Barlow Terry.

In the whole game, Balotelli was by no means the best player, and he could even compete for the "honor" of the worst player, but this does not prevent people from paying attention to him. At least Super Mario made the tense game more tense. A comedy, whether in Manchester City or the Italian national team, he is always a child and refuses to grow up.

More than one person has compared Balotelli to Peter Pan on the football field. In fact, it's not that Balotelli doesn't want to grow up, it's just that his world can never be equated with real life, so he always makes people feel so special.

As Italy coach Prandelli said, recruiting Balotelli in the European Cup was a big risk. Facing Spain in the first game of the group stage, Prandelli finally decided to continue taking risks and placed Balotelli in Joining hands with Cassano in the starting lineup.

All Spanish players are seasoned players, so they took turns provoking Balotelli in various ways. Starting from the second half of the first half, Balotelli became impatient and received a yellow card.

After adjustments at halftime, Balotelli's impetuous mentality seemed to have improved. At this time, a huge opportunity came to him.

In the 53rd minute of the game, Ramos' big move allowed Balotelli to successfully steal the ball and get a single chance. Facing Casillas in the penalty area, Balotelli could have become the hero of Italy.

However, at that moment, Barcelona suddenly froze, neither shooting nor passing. He was still on the spot, but the ball was intercepted by Ramos who came from behind. Prandelli on the coaching bench immediately despaired. Three minutes later, Barcelona Lotelli was replaced by Di Natale.

Balotelli walked off the field and chattered on the bench, as if explaining why there was an instant short-circuit. After the game, some media joked: "Balotelli seemed to have been waiting for a light year."

The fans also began to use their imagination. Bashen was thinking about where to set off the fireworks tonight. He was thinking about what is the coolest celebration move, a lob? Or get past Casillas? This was a problem, and just a minute later, Di Natale, who came on as a substitute, gave Balotelli a vivid lesson.

In the same single shot, the latter calmly pushed and scored. The shooter and the naughty boy seemed to be in two different dimensions at this moment. Balotelli sat on the bench and watched his teammates celebrate, and this scene, in his design Nakahara himself was supposed to be the male lead.

Balotelli, who refused to grow up, had a European Cup debut that obviously didn't go so well. Fortunately, Italy didn't lose and he didn't get a red card. It didn't look like everything was going bad.

When will this time bomb in Italy's formation detonate?

Whether it explodes in one's own locker room or ignites it inside the opponent's gate is still a question.

Apart from ridicule, should we also treat Balotelli with tolerance?

As the Italian media said: "He always makes people worry, but he also brings surprises, doesn't he?"

Therefore, Balotelli still has a chance in future games. The European Cup has become a stage for the post-90s generation to emerge, and how can all this be without Balotelli.

However, if Balotelli really wants to become the protagonist, he'd better learn from his big brother Di Natale what attitude to use towards the game.

In this game, veteran Di Natale, who came on as a substitute, knocked on the Spanish team's door with his first touch of the ball. This 34-year-old veteran is indeed awe-inspiring.

In the 61st minute of the game, Pirlo dribbled the ball in the midfield and suddenly accelerated to throw away the defense. Then he sent an exquisite through ball. Di Natale inserted into the penalty area and directly faced Casillas, but he was not like Barlow. Turley hesitated like that, but Di Natale had already adjusted his position during the run. Then he calmly shot the lower right corner of the goal and scored. Casillas, who was out of reach, could only watch the ball go into the net.

No fancy moves, no surly character, the simple Di Natale told Balotelli what the real killer is.

Like Balotelli, Di Natale also had Cassano's support on the other side. Like Balotelli, he also chose to ignore Cassano, but unlike Balotelli, Di Natale Talay shot, with a wonderful lob past Casillas' fingers.

Di Natale himself was also very happy about this goal: "Pirlo gave me a great pass and I seized the opportunity, which makes me very happy."

Although he only came on as a substitute, Di Natale was more concerned about the interests of the team: "The head coach decides who to start, and all I have to do is try my best to seize the opportunity when I get it."

In the 2008 European Cup, Italy was eliminated by Spain on penalty kicks in the quarter-finals. Di Natale, who missed the penalty kick at the time, was also one of the sinners of the team's elimination. Today he finally completed his redemption: "I I still remember the missed penalty against Spain, so today is a very special moment for me. Spain has many world-class champion players, but we are no less good. It was an exciting game. "

This goal obviously also helps Di Natale compete for the main position. Currently in Italy's forward line, Cassano has firmly locked the main force. Although Balotelli got the start today, his performance was disappointing. Moreover, After "Ba Shen" appears, no one can guess whether he is a god or a devil.

Therefore, instead of sending Balotelli who doesn't know whether he will hurt others or himself, Prandelli might as well choose to trust Di Natale. This little striker will never disappoint. I hope that I can write some miracles in international competitions in the twilight years of my career.

Pirlo, who provided an assist for Di Natale, also proved to everyone in this game that Xavi is not the best passer in world football, and he is the same.

Although there were not many opportunities for the two to face off directly during the game, it can be seen from the number of threatening balls that the more experienced Pirlo still has a lot to learn from Harvey.

After two games in Group C, what is surprising is that Croatia is ranked first in the group. Although Spain or Italy can hand over the top spot at any time in the next round of games, at least for now, Croatians can now look down on those powerful people who once stood above them.

Spain and Italy ended in a tie. This result is indeed a bit surprising, but of course it is reasonable. It is a contest between spears and shields. Such a result is the fairest to either party.

The only one that is struggling is Ireland. After experiencing the misfortune two years ago, this time it was not easy. Under the leadership of gold medal coach Trapattoni, they came to the stage of international competitions. Originally, they wanted to show off well, but The results were obviously very surprising to their expectations.

Although they only played one round in the group stage, it is basically certain that the Irish are really here to make a fuss this time. They were also the soy sauce party before the game. Now they basically can only watch the Croatians go. Get the group to show up, and it's time for them to participate.

Despite the current situation, I believe that after watching the game between Spain and Italy, people should be more optimistic about the prospects of Spain and Italy.

Although the Croatians are worthy of admiration, in the face of strength and strong mental power, they can only stand aside