Chapter 47 Who is the soy sauce party?

Chapter 47 Who is the soy sauce party?

When the 2012 European Cup group draw was announced, there was a heated discussion about the death of Group B. At the same time, Group C, which was slightly weaker than Group B, was positioned as: "Italy and Spain will advance without any suspense, and Croatia and Ireland will travel in the third round of the group."

Although people are not optimistic about Ireland's qualifying prospects, Irish coach Trapattoni is still confident.

Coach Trapattoni said: "There are many Irish fans who will come to watch the national team's games. We cannot live up to the expectations of these fans. They all spend money to come here to support the national team. We must perform wonderfully. We must not let everyone down."

Due to the existence of two powerful enemies in Spain and Italy, Trapattoni believes that if Ireland wants to advance, it must win the first game against Croatia.

"Winning the first group match will be crucial. Croatian players are indeed better skilled than us, many of them are playing in the Premier League and the Bundesliga, and Croatia's international rankings are also higher than ours, but that doesn't mean they are certain. To win, I have played against many strong teams in the past and beaten them, we have a good team and if we perform well, I believe Ireland can advance to the quarter-finals of the European Cup."

Compared with the confidence of the Irish, the Croatians seem a bit low-key. It seems that they are more like coming to the European Cup to make soy sauce.

However, on the third match day of the European Cup, after the first game, people were surprised to find that the Eastern European Plaid Army used their tenacity and perfect performance to tell the world: We are not soy sauce party.

Since Croatia became independent, they amazed the world when they participated in the European Cup for the first time. The 1996 European Cup was the first time Croatian participated in a major competition independently. The world remembers the feat of Suker and Boban who led the team to the knockout stage in their first participation.

This is not enough!

In the 1998 World Cup in France, Croatia, led by Blazevic, went straight to the semi-finals of the World Cup. The classic showdown in which they eliminated the German team in the quarter-finals has been mentioned countless times in the past few years.

If Thuram hadn't suddenly gone berserk and scored two goals in the semi-finals that year, they might have reached the final for the first time in the World Cup, and France's history of winning the championship would have been rewritten.

In the last European Cup, Croatia's showdown with Turkey in the quarter-finals was an epic swan song. The Croatians were only one step away from advancing to the semi-finals of the European Cup for the first time.

Looking at the just-concluded Croatian 3:1 match against Ireland, the Croatians did not have an absolute advantage in terms of statistics. However, the Eastern Europeans who focused on efficiency still defeated Ireland led by gold medal coach Trapattoni without any blood, and then faced Italy. , Spain, who can guarantee that the Danish upset will not happen again.

Croatian coach Bilic brings the tenacity, passion and strength of his personal character to his players, while Trapattoni brings his stability and patience to Ireland. It is obvious that Bilic's influence on the Croatian team Bigger.

Eastern Europeans have always been strong. They are not afraid of powerful enemies and will not compromise with power. It is their character to become stronger when faced with a strong force. Croatians have always had the element of unwillingness to admit defeat in their blood. I believe that when facing Spain and Italy next, they will win. The Gezi Army will not just surrender.

In short, Croatia, with three points in hand, has a great chance of qualifying. They have never been a soy sauce party!

Croatia defeated Ireland 3:1 and won the first victory in Group C, taking the initiative to qualify. In this game, Croatia coach Bilic arranged right back Joel Luka to serve as central defender, allowing captain Srna to return to his familiar role. The full-back position allowed Rakitic, the youngster who shined four years ago, to serve on the wing, and Vukojevic served as the defensive midfielder in the middle position. The Croatian midfield position strengthened control.

Trapattoni's starting lineup was nothing new. Just like what he announced a few days ago, Ireland's numbers 1 to 11 all appeared. Due to the suddenness and unpredictability of his moves, Trapattoni lost one first. trick.

In this game, Ireland's formation is still their usual 4411, with Kevin Doyle advancing forward and Robbie Keane attacking behind. The two full-backs and full-backs create threats on the wing.

Croatia's formation seems ordinary, but it is also different. Their formation is more concentrated and focuses more on possession of the ball. Most of the midfielders are positioned further forward. Their formation is more like 4132, among which Vukojevic's Positioned very deep, his protection of the defense is very important, and the other three midfielders can devote themselves to the attack. In the frontcourt, Jelavic attacks the defense to create gaps, and Mandzukic, as the second forward, Gained more opportunities and created more threats.

Srna, the captain of the Croatian team, has been playing as a right midfielder for the national team in the past few years, but obviously he performs better at the right back position. It is not good for him to be too forward.

Taking advantage of the space created by the frontcourt players, Srna touched the ball in most cases without anyone interfering with it. His advantage on the wing was further demonstrated, while Rakitic went to the ball many times. The running position in the middle also gives Srna more space, and he can even make easy passes.

The Croatian team's most threatening offense in this game mostly came from the right wing of Srna and Rakitic. Their continuous offense created a lot of opportunities.

Of course, Srna's passing accuracy is not very high, but he created a lot of defensive pressure on the Irish team, which also reduced the pressure on offensive players in other positions to a certain extent.

Strinic and Perisic on the left got more crossing opportunities, especially Perisic, whose cross produced Croatia's third goal.

Ireland's biggest problem is the continuous mistakes of the defense, which completely destroyed Trapattoni's pre-match deployment. The core of Trapattoni's tactics is a solid defense, but Croatia easily scored two goals. Both goals came from the weakness of the defense.

Originally, Ireland's tactic was to defend solidly and then use set-piece opportunities to score goals. That goal also reflected Ireland's set-piece ability.

But in mobile warfare, Ireland is indeed no match for Croatia, especially when the defense line makes repeated mistakes, and there is no way.

The key reason for the continuous mistakes of the Irish defense was the defensive layout in the opening stage. Facing forwards like Mandzic and Jelavic who did not have outstanding skills, the Irish defense closed too much and gave their opponents too much space.

Maybe this strategy is right for teams with poor skills, but the Croatians are happy to see this kind of defense. Facing the shrinking defense line, the Croatians use more cross-ball tactics and use the aerial work of the two forwards. The ability to threaten opponents. If the Irish's formation can press a little outward, Croatia's kicking will be more difficult.

Due to defensive mistakes, Ireland's offense was even more disappointing. They didn't control the ball very much at all, and the simple and crude old style of play reappeared.

But what is strange is that the Irish captain in the European Cup passed more passes than before. The Croatian forwards' active fighting in the frontcourt forced the Irish defenders to pass the ball and could only use clearance passes to complete the offense.

Especially the two central defenders of Ireland, the passing of Dunn and Ward is simply unbearable. If there is any bright spot, it can only be Doyle. He worked hard in the frontcourt and won many free kicks. This is Ireland's most threatening offense. Keane was flying everywhere, but he barely touched the ball, Duff was marked by Vukojevic, and McGeady even disappeared.

In the second half, the situation was basically the same as in the first half. Ireland's defense continued to shrink without any change. Just like the opening, Ireland conceded the ball again not long after the beginning of the second half. This was still the same problem. It was too easy for the Croatians to pick up the ball. Although Ireland still has nearly half time to recover the score, but seeing the development of the situation, everyone will feel that Croatia has won surely.

Croatia keeps the ball securely, but what about Ireland?

There is no plan B at all. Their tactic is to kick the ball with big feet. It is almost impossible to equalize the score when they are behind. Trapattoni finally replaced all his forwards, but there was no chance. After all, their offense The threat mainly comes from set pieces, which is inherently a gamble on success rate.

This was not a wonderful game. There were too many defensive mistakes and set pieces that affected the enjoyment of the game. This may be the way the Irish expected to play, but the one who made the mistake was the Irish team itself, which was under heavy pressure from Croatia.

Bilic's team played very well. They knew their advantage lay in their skills, so they controlled the game with simple short passes and easily entered the opponent's penalty area.

Modric's movement was very erratic, connecting the team from left to right. Rakitic and Srna on the right performed eye-catchingly. Srna took advantage of the gaps created by his teammates and made many passes. Although Croatia's next They faced huge tests in the two games, but they have proven that they are not easy to mess with.

On the green field, there is always a team or a person who leaves too many impressions on the fans and the media. Of course, what they rely on to be remembered is nothing more than their unique characteristics.

For example, when talking about Beckham, people will think of his omnipotent right foot.

For another example, when it comes to Italy, people will immediately think of the copper wall-like defense.

For example, if you think about England, the words "long pass and long pass" immediately come to mind.

And Bilic's Croatia also has its own unique skill that it is best at, and that is header. Facing the strong Irish team in this game, Croatia's 3:1 victory was considered an easy win, and their magic weapon for headers is Showing off again, three goals, two from headers, and all from the head of striker Mandzukic.

There is actually no suspense just looking at this score, but those who have been paying attention to Irish football for a long time may know something about it. The team's style of play is very similar to that of England. It is also a traditional British style of play. The only goal in this campaign also came from a header. , that is to say, Croatia has the attitude of "making trouble on its head".

Such a Croatian team is like the "Stoke City" in the European Cup. When the latter competed in the Premier League, it was a well-known "grenade team". The team has many players over 190cm, and there are several He is a good long-range thrower, and coupled with the traditional British style of play, headers have become one of his fatal weapons. The reason why he can have a place in the Premier League is that this trick has been tried and tested.

Whether it is Stoke City or now Croatia, they are both "a new trick that can be used all over the world", but can such skills and tactics be supported in world football?

This is indeed a difficult question to answer. A single killing move may have an obvious effect, but there are also opinions that hold the opposite view, such as "a team that can only header" or "a team that cannot header". There are endless questioning voices.

So should this kind of fresh move on the green field be supported?

The answer is yes.

A game is about success or failure. To defeat the enemy in one way is the team's technical and tactical arrangement. Since a single characteristic can defeat the enemy many times, there is no reason to abandon it.

Isn't it true that today's Croatia is following its own characteristics and making the "header" killer move work repeatedly?

When the victory has been achieved and the characteristics have been formed, who will say that Italian defensive football is ugly, and who will say that the English style of play is boring. In the same way, "one trick can be used all over the world", which can be regarded as a big problem on the football field. The essential.

In the end, the side with higher quality had the last laugh, and Modric became the key player in this game. In this game, Modric's impact on the game was in two aspects. First, he controlled the game with his passing; The passing helped the team control the midfield well and gave Croatia the advantage.

Ireland tried to stop him and even asked Keane to interfere with him, but this had no effect. Modric's position was too high. If someone was sent to mark him, Croatia would gain more space. Ireland's defense line It will be even more powerful, and Mandzukic's aggressive counterattack and Rakitic who likes to lean towards the center have also caused a lot of trouble for the Irish.

In addition, Modric also created many threats in front of Ireland's penalty area. Of course, a large part of the threat came from Ireland's defense, which allowed Modric to take the ball too freely.

People may miss the Irish's active defense in the qualifiers. If it can still be done like this, Modric's passing and control will be affected, and Croatia's offensive threat will suddenly decrease.

Modric is more like a commander in this game than a player who can only deliver fatal blows. He doesn't provide many assists, just like Spanish midfielder Xavi. He always felt ineffective on the court, but he appeared in every corner.

In the 33rd minute of the game, Modric tested Irish goalkeeper Given with a long shot. Unfortunately, the angle of his shot was too straight and the ball was confiscated by the goalkeeper.

In the 43rd minute, it was Modric's unexpected long shot that caused Irish defender Ward to make a mistake in the clearance. Jelavic seized the opportunity and scored the team's second goal.

Croatia's third goal also benefited from Modric's transfer from the outside.

Throughout the game, Modric had the highest number of passes among all the players on the field. It was by relying on these precise passes that Modric calmly controlled Croatia's offensive and defensive rhythm. He was like Croatia's remote control. He controls the speed of the team's offense.

This European Cup is Modric's second time participating in this event. In the European Cup four years ago, Modric, who was still playing for Florence at the time, was regarded as a potential new star. Unfortunately, Croatia failed to win in the quarter-finals. The ball was narrowly defeated by Turkey. Four years have passed. Modric, known as "Little Cruyff", has grown into a world-class midfielder through the training of the Premier League. Not only is his position unshakable in the club, he is also in Croatia. He is the key core in controlling the team. It is because of his presence that Ireland, which has many famous Premier League players, is so vulnerable. It can be said that the key to distinguishing the two teams lies in Modric.

Originally, after the end of last season, many teams wanted to buy Modric, and Modric was even ready to leave. But when Deegan basically decided to join Tottenham, Modric immediately decided to stay.

"It was Deegan who brought me so many honors, and now it's time for me to repay him!"

This European Cup is like a testing ground. While Modric is serving his motherland with his best performance, he is also telling Deegan that although the two have been separated for two years, he is still the efficient engine of Florence. Still qualified to stand behind Deegan and become his best partner.

Snapped!

Deegan turned off the TV and looked back. His teammates were all crowded in his room. Seeing that Deegan seemed to be preparing to say something, they all fell silent.

Since head coach Wilmots was ousted by Deegan, Deegan has been the unyielding authority in the team, and no one has tried to challenge his position.

"Did anyone expect this result before the game?"

Deegan waited for a moment and then continued: "There is no technical content in this game. I am not letting you watch this game to learn the Croatian playing style. There is nothing worth learning. In fact, this game has nothing to do except Mo. Except for Delic, everyone else performed very poorly. What I want you to see is that on the football field, only the more active people will win the final victory! The Irish were timid from the beginning of the game. Facts They are not as confident as they say. Looking at his defense, it is simply digging his own grave. In comparison, the Croatians obviously know how to use their characteristics better and are more brave in the game. What about us?"

Deegan then talked about the Belgian team: "Some of you are still thinking about the previous game. If this is the case, we will not have to play in the next games, because those who are afraid cannot win. Now that we have won, I ask you to forget everything in the past and listen to me from now on. If anyone has objections, please keep it in your heart. I don't want to hear different voices, understand?"