Chapter 30: The Battle of Portugal and Belgium

Chapter 30: The Battle of Portugal and Belgium

"After hundreds of years of slavery, the Belgians have raised their heads again. Courage has restored its reputation, the law has been restored, and its flag is as old as before. Your strong and brave hands are no longer to be swayed. On your ancient flag engraved By: King, law and liberty! O Belgium, O dear mother, to you we give our hearts and hands. To you we also offer our blood, and we wish you eternal spring! You live semi-eternally in splendor, eternally united , invincible. Our slogan shall live forever: King, Law, and Liberty!"

The Stadium of Light in Lisbon, which used to be the venue for the 2004 European Cup, will be held here today in the final round of the European Cup qualifiers. Portugal will face Belgium at home.

The Belgian national anthem "Song of the Brabant" was played, and tens of thousands of Belgian fans from all over the world sang in unison. On the court, Vermaelen sang hoarsely, tears rolling in his eyes.

Really played, really fought for the country as the main force!

Vermaelen's chest was about to burst with excitement at the moment. He had imagined such a scene before, but all this was still far away from him at the time, but now he really stood on the field, wearing the Belgian team Like a fighter, fighting for the honor of the motherland, he could no longer restrain himself, his chest was filled with desire, and tears fell.

The on-site cameras faithfully recorded all of this. After the game, the scene of Vermaelen crying while singing the national anthem also became the most classic scene of the year.

"Is Thomas too nervous!" Francois asked softly.

Antiiennis' expression was a little dignified, and he replied after a while: "No! He's just very excited!"

Although Antiiennis explained Vermaelen in this way, he was still beating drums in his heart. Although Vermaelen is not too young, and he is the captain of Ajax, this is his first job after all. The second international competition, if ~~~~~

Antiiennis didn't dare to think about the rest.

On the court, Digan and Ronaldo stood face to face, and the referee standing aside could clearly feel the fierce sparks between the two of them, the air was about to be burned, like two peerless masters Just like in a competition for internal strength, whoever speaks first loses.

Digan's eyes were stern, but his mind was empty. When he saw Jin Maoluo, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty, especially his girlfriend Irina was wearing the Belgian flag and cheering for him from the stands.

In the end, Ronaldo couldn't bear Digan's icy eyes: "Welcome to Lisbon Hell!"

Digan returned to his soul in an instant, he could hear Ronaldo provocation clearly, and couldn't help complaining in his heart: Isn't there anything new?

hell?

Damn you!

Digan smiled, very easily: "You have found a good nest for yourself, you don't need to thank us, although we came to hell to save you today!"

Depend on!

This sharp-tongued guy!

Ronaldo gritted his teeth. Of course, if the rules allowed, he wanted to bite Digan even more.

jealous?

Jin Maoluo is indeed jealous of Deegan, younger than him, more championships than him, handsomer than him, handsome? All right! Ronaldo does not admit this, but Digan's girlfriend is indeed more beautiful!

Ronaldo thought, his eyes couldn't help but drift towards the direction of the stands. He didn't know if it was luck or what, but he actually saw Irina at a glance.

What a stunner!

All the good cabbage was overwhelmed by Brazilian ghosts and animals.

Digan also turned a corner following Ronaldo eyes.

Yaya is very good!

How dare you. **Lao Tzu's woman.

After discovering Ronaldo dirty intentions, Degan felt his fighting power soared, and almost shouted: "I want to defend the fruits of the revolution."

Digan didn't shout out, but one person got impatient: "I know you guys sympathize with each other, but can you finish the pre-match ceremony first?"

While the referee was talking, he fiddled with the coins in his hand boringly!

Sympathy!

Referee, you are blind!

Digan was so disgusted that he almost vomited, and Jin Maoluo's facial muscles twitched.

All right!

toss a coin!

The God of Gamblers Digan won again, and Ronaldo was completely defeated.

Shake hands?

The two touched their fingertips as if they were worried about being infected by bacteria. One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers. The same era does not need two kings. Although the two have little contact and even have a common economic person, but in this world of football The roles played in this drama are destined, the two of them will never be friends for the rest of their lives, they can only be enemies, and they are still the kind of enemies who hate each other.

The referee was also speechless for a while, and now he can only pray for 90 minutes to pass safely, and then go back to each house and find each mother.

The referee blew his whistle, accompanied by cheers from the fans, the game started, and the Belgian team took the lead in attacking. In this game, Antiiens formed a 451 formation, with only one Digan at the front.

This is something that can't be helped. In terms of the strength of the two sides, Belgium is obviously at a disadvantage. If they want to win, the first thing they need to do is defend well. Digan also agreed with this.

For Belgium's midfield position, Antiiennis ranked the five most trusted generals after he took office. Gour, Van der Heiger, and Valasijak formed a beastly waist group, and Simmons and Bufer divided the two wings.

The defense line from left to right is Van der Haeg, Vermaelen, Heukens and Van Buyten, and the goalkeeper is still Proto.

The Portuguese team also has a 451 formation, but their tactics are more aggressive. The goalkeeper is Ricardo, the defense is Miguel, Pepe, Carvalho and Ferreira, the midfielder Petit, Deco, Maniche, Ronaldo and Quaresma, the striker is Pauleta.

If it weren't for being an opponent, Degan would feel sorry for the Portuguese team. There are a lot of world-class stars hoarding in the midfield, but there is no forward who can carry the banner of offense. For so many years, either Gomez or Paul Leta, either Pauletta or Gomez, there are only two people in exchange.

In the past, double strikers were a tradition in Portuguese football. Eusebio and Torres, the famous Portuguese striker combination in the 1960s, and Nene and Fernando Gomez, the famous Portuguese striker combination in the 1970s.

These Portuguese legends built the myth of double strikers, which is a proud part of Portuguese football, but Scolari has no interest in converting to Portuguese football. His philosophy only has the concept of a single striker. Ronaldo's success during the World Cup It made him believe that the formation of a single forward with two or three forwards who are slightly behind is the most lethal. What's more, there are so many midfielders in Portugal. At the beginning of Portugal's first game, he found that the contribution of the forward line was so small and the lethality was so weak that the team's offense was blinded after entering the opponent's penalty area to a large extent, and it was impossible to maintain a continuous attack Ability.

In the end, Scolari found out desperately that he just wanted to change his tactics, and he couldn't send two forwards, because he had no supply at all.

In the list announced before the game, Portugal has five forwards, but Ronaldo and Simao are still in the national team, and the more important position is the position of winger. In fact, the only regular forwards in Portugal are Pauleta and Nuno. . Gomez and Postiga trio.

In this game, after picking and choosing, Scolari finally chose the old man Pauletta as the starting forward. The Pauletta of the first class seemed a little at a loss in front of the tall Belgian. He had no chance to play calmly. Neither Pettit nor Deco could support Pauletta.

In the World Cup, Pauletta often encountered the same situation. He continued to work hard without getting rewards, but he still had to endure the boos of his own fans. Often under heavy pressure, Pauletta performed poorly. He was also obviously frustrated, and couldn't even complete a simple back-up stop in the latter part of the game.

The Portuguese once again showed the world their biggest weakness: this is a team without a striker.

Pauletta can secure the top spot in Ligue 1 in Lyon. Lyon can win consecutive championships in Ligue 1 and perform well in the UEFA Champions League. Of course, it cannot be said that he cannot be supported. , but Pauletta is a typical shadow striker, who can only play a role under the support of a strong striker. In the Lyon team, the tall Norwegian center Karou plays this role, and who is there in the Portuguese team? Can play such a role?

In actual combat, Pauletta, who has no advantage in physical fitness and speed, had to act as a single arrow, hitting the opponent's tall defense line frequently like an egg hitting a stone, and the outcome is self-evident.

Look at Rooney's tragic fate as a single arrow in the England team, who has similar characteristics to him and is still stronger than him in physical fitness.

A team without a striker may not be incapable of becoming a big player. For example, the French team is a famous midfield team. Even though their team has such super forwards as Papin, Ginola and Henry today, the tactics of the whole team The style of play is still tightly organized around a strong midfield line. As long as the midfielder is strong, the striker's performance is normal, extraordinary or even abnormal, and it has little to do with the result of the game.

But this style of play is obviously not suitable for the current Portuguese team: the pivot of midfield control is the front and rear midfielders. The midfielders of the Portuguese army, regardless of Costinha or Maniche, can only be regarded as competent role players. Playing the role of the retired veteran Cotto's offensive and defensive transition hub and backcourt barrier; whether it is Deco or Ronaldo as a cameo, both have their weaknesses that are difficult to overcome: Deco has a simple style of play and a good sense of position, but after all, he is an outsider and lacks leadership. Temperament; Jin Maoluo has more than enough ability, but not enough general demeanor. You can count on him to perform at a super level, but it is really difficult to put the burden of commanding the entire army on his shoulders.

It should be admitted that Scolari, a master tactician, has tried his best to cook a table of delicious meals in the face of the pile of seasonings lacking salt and oil.

With no front and a midfielder who only sees the individual and does not see the whole, the old coach has no choice but to sacrifice his two ribs and use the team's most lethal full-backs and full-backs to insert assists from the overlapping of the two wings, looking for the killing opportunity to win, Germany Almost all the goals of the Portuguese army in the World Cup were achieved through this method.

But this tactic is a double-edged sword. The full-backs and full-backs who overlapped to attack the opponent's wing threatened the opponent's goal while also opening up the hatchback of their own defense. This is why they were eliminated by Belgium.

Portugal is rich in forwards in history, Eusebio, Gomez, Futre are all famous, but the weakness in other positions prevents them from going further; now this team has the best in Portuguese history in many positions players, but it happens to be a team without a striker.

After all, as a small southern European country whose football soil is far inferior to that of France and Spain, it is difficult to be as comfortable as these neighboring countries in the selection and formation of lineups. To achieve today's results, the coaches and players have tried their best.

Originally Pauleta planned to quit the national team after the World Cup, but the European Cup qualifiers started, and Scolari, who had no striker, could only invite Pauleta out of the mountain again.

But in the opening seven minutes, the Portuguese team attacked twice, and they were terminated at Pauleta's feet. Scolari shook his head again and again.

On one side is the Golden Retriever, and on the other side is the Quaresma~~~~~It's still~~~~~ Cow! ?