Nine and a half

Chapter 66: St. Petersburg's Elegant Strike

St. Petersburg, Russia.

The plane flew through thick clouds and landed at Pulkovo Airport.

"2 degrees Celsius?"

"Isn't October the dry season here? Why is it raining?"

"The cold here is a little different from the cold in Rome."

A steady drizzle.

Biting cold.

The Roma club is very afraid of the cold.

In the early 21st century, Capello once said: Roma and Lazio are the two clubs that are most afraid of the cold. As long as they play at night, their strength will decline. It has nothing to do with whether the players are locals. If you live in Rome for a few months and then go to a colder place, you will not be able to bear it.

People walked out of the airport entrance one after another.

Dozens of fans gathered outside the cordon, and raindrops flowed down the trembling posters, wetting their clothes and hats.

The Roma coaching staff and players were deeply moved and gave every fan an autograph and a photo.

The bus slowly drove out of the airport.

St. Petersburg has a unique charm in the night rain.

Faintly, one could hear a Russian symphony.

Enrique looked at the rain outside the car window and said, "When we get to the hotel later, ask someone to buy some white pepper."

White pepper?
Ivan suddenly realized: "Yes, it's the trick Van Gaal brought from the Netherlands! Stuff white pepper into your sneakers to keep out the cold during the game! Damn, it's too cold."

The old men on the coaching staff nodded, but in their hearts they decided to buy a few bottles of wine first.

Totti and Pjanic held a tablet together and analyzed Zenit's game video.

When the Zenit coach appeared on the screen, Totti listened to the sound of raindrops hitting the car window and couldn't help laughing: "When Roma played against Chievo in the rain, I said snails are most active after heavy rain. Spalletti said I was uneducated and made up a metaphor."

The current Zenit coach, Spalletti, once coached Roma for four seasons.

His signature "wolf pack tactics" creates a very beautiful scene, and the continuous attack is very powerful.

But.

After coming to Russia, he found that the "wolf pack tactics" were not suitable for Zenit, so he improved it and came up with the "giant bear tactics".

Gao Qi wrote and drew on A4 paper.

Morata leaned his head closer and asked in confusion: "You mean if we play high pressure like we did at the Bernabeu, then Roma's high defense will be under a lot of pressure?"

Gao Qi nodded.

He was somewhat thankful that he had played in these two seasons: the tactical framework of football had developed to a bottleneck, but the "backhand adjustments" were still in the juvenile stage of evolution, and there was no need for too many "breakthroughs" in a 90-minute game.

If you were born a few years later, for example in the 15-16 season, you would have a headache. In the "era of the backhand" when a hundred flowers bloom, a butterfly 433 formation of the opponent alone could lead to more than a dozen adjustments and variations. The 90-minute peak showdown was a constant "building" and "destruction".

Ten years later, football may return to the current "first-hand era".

"Yes."

"We can't play like we did against Real Madrid, where Zenit started with the goalkeeper to break the high pressure, even the central midfielder would withdraw to serve as a receiving point, the passing line was very short, they did not pursue the overall rhythm change in the advancement phase but directly broke the pressure net from the wing,"

Gao Qi folded the A4 paper and stuffed it back into his schoolbag.

Morata thought for a moment and said: "From the perspective of the defensive height of the team without the ball, we restrained Real Madrid, Real Madrid restrained Zenit, and Zenit restrained us."

"Taking into account the bad weather, it's no wonder the boss is so unsure. Zenit is really difficult to deal with in this group."

"It's okay, I'm here."

Gao Qi took out a book called "Collection of Soviet Jokes" from his schoolbag and began to read it with great interest.

He trains hard every day and has improved several attributes that are suitable for the Russian climate:
【Environmental adaptation module: B.】

【Header: 84↑↑. 】

【Bounce: 75. 】

Zenit suddenly became rich in the past few years.

In 2005, Gazprom bought out the controlling stake in the club and then spent money lavishly to recruit new players.

In the 2007/08 season, Zenit ushered in its most glorious era, winning the Russian Premier League championship, the Europa League championship, and in August of the same year defeating Manchester United to win the European Super Cup.

How do they balance the team's salary structure?

The answer is: imbalance.

Any old player who has objections to the new players’ salaries should get out.

If there is any sign of chaos in the locker room, the club's top management will forcibly "suppress" it.

Without gossip reporters having the opportunity to break the news, Russian Premier League teams will simply publicly name the players causing trouble on their official websites.

This is the simple, crude and efficient Soviet style.

Part of the reason may be that the bosses are all oligarchs and do not focus on business development.

10 month 5 day.

The Petrovsky Stadium is surrounded by water.

There is no huge momentum.

Thousands of spectators were scattered in the stands.

The photographers and reporters on the sidelines were even more excited than the fans.
It was really too cold, and it happened to be a rainy night, which completely dampened the enthusiasm of the local fans.

The ratings are very high. When the weather is bad, Russian fans prefer to stay at home and watch the game.

"This is the live channel of ESPN Champions League."

"Bringing to you the second round of the 2012/13 Champions League group stage."

"Zenit vs Roma at home!"

"Red Wolves raid St. Petersburg at night!"

"In recent seasons, many famous stars have joined the Russian Premier League, such as Eto'o, who received the highest annual salary in the world in the Russian Premier League!"

"Since the Russian big boss proposed it, why has it been silenced? Major oligarchs and energy companies have invested heavily in Russian Premier League clubs."

"Football is a war in peacetime, and it is also their war against the West in recent years. Forget it, let's get back to the game!"

Player tunnel.

The Roma players rubbed their hands to keep warm, wearing long-sleeved jerseys and gloves, and breathing out white air.

Zenit players were wearing short-sleeved jerseys and looked calm.

Morata looked at the strong back of the Hulk and couldn't help but exclaimed in Castilian: "Oh my God, how can there be such a big butt?"

Gao Qi whispered, "Don't stare at other people's butts like that, it's rude."

"It's okay, he doesn't understand what I say."

Hulk's broad shoulders suddenly shook, he turned around, patted his butt, and gave the two of them a bright smile.

Back of the queue.

Kjaer looked at Castan who was shivering with cold, raised his foot and asked, "Do you have enough white pepper in your sneakers? I'll take out some more and share it with you?"

The clever Brazilian center back shook his head again and again: "This is the devil's home court! We will experience unprecedented difficulties in this game."

"More difficult than the battle at the Bernabeu?"

"Nonsense, Zenit has no locker room problems, and they also restrain us tactically, plus it's a cold and rainy night."

Thousands of home fans sang the team song hard.

The melody and style are very close to "Defenders of Moscow".

The heroic and high-spirited singing made Enrique, who was standing in the command area, strangely feel as if he was "surrounded by the Allies and defeated in Leningrad."

Bastard.

No wonder the winning rate of Bundesliga and Serie A teams in this land is so low.

the other side.

Zenit coach Spalletti, wearing a suit and standing with his hands behind his back, his round bald head shows a bit of wisdom.

The passionate Champions League BGM sounded.

The referee team led the players from both teams out of the tunnel.

"Oh?"

"Zenit players entered the stadium holding various stray animals!"

“And ducks.”

"The club recently cooperated with a charity rescue organization and used this action to call on everyone to care for stray animals."

"There are a lot of homeless people in St. Petersburg. I hope Zenit players can carry homeless people into the stadium in the next game!"

The huge UEFA Champions League star-shaped flag on the center circle was slowly removed.

Players from both teams lined up and performed the pre-match ceremony.

There were no stray animals in Roma's side, the players were holding the caddies.

Totti tried hard to hold back his laughter.

The whole person was blocked because his caddie was taller than him.

This scene also made the EPSN commentator laugh and cry.

"The Russian kid is very well developed. He can cover the 1.8-meter-tall wolf king!"

"Dutch star Sneijder has also encountered this kind of thing."

Accompanied by the referee's whistle.

The game officially begins.

"The following introduces you to the starting lineups of both sides."

"The players wearing blue jerseys attacking from left to right are Zenit, and their formation is 4-3-3!"

"Goalkeeper: Malafeev."

"Defenders: Anyukov, Zianov, Lombards, Yanbayev."

"Midfielders: Denisov, Witsel, Shirokov."

"Forwards: Bystrov, Korzakov, Hulk."

Comment area.
-
[Wow! So many men, so many strong men! It feels like they are going to destroy Rome.]
-
[I understand. Players whose names don't contain "夫" are all powerful foreign players! ]
-
[Hulk had a very good performance in the Portuguese Super League before, scoring 36 goals and providing 26 assists in a single season, which attracted competition from Arsenal, Real Madrid and Chelsea. As a result, he joined the Russian Super League. ]
-
[That explosive-haired midfielder, Witsel, is also a talented star. He could have gone to Real Madrid in the summer window, but his original club asked for a huge sum. Real Madrid then turned around and took Modric from Tottenham for 3000 million euros and didn't want him.]

"The ones wearing black jerseys attacking from right to left are Roma, and their formation is 4-4-2!"

"Goalkeeper: Stekelenburg."

"Defenders: Florenzi, Kjaer, Castan, Balzaretti."

"Midfield: Pjanic, De Rossi, Totti, Lamela."

"Forwards: Gao Qi, Morata."

The pace of the game is slow.

The red football was passed slowly.

Roma players stepped onto the field yesterday but still couldn't adapt.

The strength of passing, receiving and dribbling the ball is difficult to master in a harsh environment.

The Petrovsky Stadium was built in 1924, and during the several renovations over the past eighty years, no consideration was given to covering it with floor heating.

For Roma players, it is a complete "devil's home field".

A steady drizzle.

The water drops fell on my body and it was freezing cold.

"Oh? Gao Qi was running and white steam came out of his head!"

"There was a violent collision. He and Denisov both fell to the ground. Why was the latter sneezing? It was white pepper!"

The 20th minute of the game.

The entire Roma team has adapted to the venue and climate.

They pressed forward in force.

The Zenit players calmly passed the ball back to the goalkeeper, while the formation suddenly retreated.

The talented midfielder, Witsel, retreated to the top of the penalty area, turning his head to observe while quickly directing the defense: Roma's forward pressing strategy was very traditional, after attracting the movement of the opponent's two forwards, they directly broke through from the middle.

Gao Qi did his homework first.

He reminded Morata not to press too deep alone.

The two players ran back and forth, shortening the distance between themselves and their own midfield line behind them, and increasing the depth and density of the central pressure network.

“This stage is so boring!”

"The problem with Russian Premier League teams is that they play at a slow pace, which slows down the opponent's pace as well."

"If Gao Qi and Morata run and press as usual, then Zenit, who are defensive and have the advantage of passing the ball, will use quick short passes to break the pressure net from the middle!"

"Now, Zenit is forced to pass the ball to the wing and can't pass it, facing the pressure of 6-2-2."

"Zenit couldn't get the ball out from the backcourt, and Roma couldn't get the ball in the frontcourt."

Command area.

Enrique sat in the coaching booth, his legs shaking with cold.

Mixed emotions: This tough opponent is more difficult to deal with than the Galaxy Battleship.

The Roma coaching staff was depressed: in such an extreme game environment, it is not easy to come out unscathed.

The other side.

Spalletti is in no hurry.

He believed that the physical fitness of the entire Roma team would drop quickly in the cold and rainy night.

The 30th minute of the game.

The Zenit goalkeeper kicked the ball far away.

Water splashes.

The football floated to the left side of the center circle.

"Hulk!"

“Highly recognizable big butt!”

"It's rare to see such a strong winger!" "Tough Assassin!"

Hulk rushed to the landing point and raised his foot to unload the ball.

His broad shoulders shook violently, and Kjaer, who was pressing forward, was knocked over by his butt!

The Danish center back looked horrified: What the hell is this ass?

Followed by.

Zenit's giant winger, like a bull, twisted his terrifying big butt and dribbled the ball towards Roma's half.

Thousands of home fans couldn't help but exclaim.

The smart Brazilian central defender, Castan, filled in the position in time.

He didn't grab the ball easily.

Instead, he wanted to drive the Hulk to the sidelines to relieve the pressure on the goalkeeper.

Castan has also done his homework: although Hulk looks so strong, his footwork is not bad, and combined with his big butt, his success rate in dribbling past opponents in the Champions League in the past two seasons combined is very high.

"We can't let Hulk get a chance to shoot from long range!"

"He can fire a powerful shot at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour from 110 meters away from the goal!"

"Wow! His thighs are thicker than my waist!"

"I heard that Hulk's chairs are all specially made."

A few seconds later.

Hulk's dribbling accuracy was not good enough and he made a mistake.

If his ball sense was a little better, the Hulk might not have come to the Russian Premier League to be the big brother. He would have gone to the top five leagues to play as a main player long ago.

Roma's defense forced him to the wing, and Castan not only resolved the danger but also helped Roma get a throw-in.

Hulk is angry.

He slapped himself and jumped a few times on the spot.

"Don't be in a hurry, Roma. Be careful of the water on the field."

"Push forward slowly."

"Pjanic is taking his time to sort things out. Zenit plays low defense and only steals the ball within 30 meters."

"Oh, Hulk is here, he's taking advantage of Pjanic's slow passing speed!"

Hulk has a high degree of freedom in Zenit, with maximum firing rights, and he is also very active in defense.

In the Russian Premier League, he earns the fourth highest salary in the world and plays very hard.

Pjanic was knocked to the ground by the big butt.

The ball was dropped.

Totti responded in time and snatched the ball from Hulk.

Snapped!
A straight pass found Gao Qi in the middle.

As soon as the football entered the 30-meter area, the Russian man immediately launched a fierce pressing attack.

Before Gao Qi received the ball, he saw Morata heading towards the empty space on the right side of the penalty area.

There is no way to transmit it.

Witsel moved sideways to block the connection, and two big Russian men approached.

The moment Gao Qi caught the ball.

Snapped!Snapped!
There were heavy blows to the chest and back.

Russian Super League players have very strong physical fitness and have grown up in hand-to-hand combat.

"so close!"

"Gao Qi stumbled and brought the ball sideways to the left side of the penalty area."

"Totti, Pjanic and Morata headed into the penalty area!"

"You can pass the ball now, Gao Qi!"

On the green field.

Several Roma attacking points are already in position in Zenit's penalty area.

Zenit is not panicking.

Not too many people were deployed to press Gao Qi to prevent gaps in the defense line.

Gao Qi dribbled the ball on the left side of the penalty area, with only Witsel in front of him.

Move left.

Bring it to the right.

Get up!

The afro midfielder in front of him kicked out to intercept at the same time.

"Fake Fax Button!"

"Baggio is possessed!"

"Gao Qi is moving towards the middle again. Is he going to cut inside?"

"No chance!"

"Zenit's defense has shrunk."

"He passed the ball back to Kjaer who came up to support!"

"Did Kjaer see the gap created by Gao Qi? Go left. Too slow."

Back to the moment of doing it.

Gao Qi went to the left again, because there was already a teammate in the middle of the penalty area, and if he went over there, it would squeeze the attacking space.

Kjaer was a beat slow.

There was no overhead pass over the wall.

Gao Qi could only retreat to the left and receive the short pass from the Danish center back.

The black jerseys were stained with mud.

There can be no rush.

You can’t be impatient in positional warfare.

Command area.

The old men from the Roma coaching staff all leaned forward.

"almost."

"almost!"

"Zenit's defense is not high-end enough. They are slow to make up for the gaps in their defense."

"coming soon."

A few seconds later.

Witsel decided not to intercept anymore, and suddenly increased his pace, shortened the distance, and made a steal.

Gao Qi quickly stretched out his body to protect the ball.

Snapped!
The ball was passed back to De Rossi who came over to support.

De Rossi wanted to take a long shot, but the wall of Russian men as strong as bears made him give up the idea.

"Correct."

"Gao Qi has retreated to a perfect position, so he can make a long shot!"

The Roma vice-captain was very experienced. When two Zenit players came over, he passed the ball to Gao Qi on his side.

Set up the cannon!

Everyone thought that what would happen next would be a long-range shot into the crowd.

Gao Qi pushed the ball sideways.

The empty space on the right side of the penalty area more than ten seconds ago was opened up again.

A flaw appears!

Adjust your posture.

A golden shadow suddenly appeared in the field of vision.

Samba No.10.

Snapped!
At the moment of lightning.

The movements of the man and the shadow completely overlapped.

The football left his left foot like a sharp blade.

Zenit's defense cracked like glass and then shattered!
Witsel stood there in a daze. Even if he grew a pair of wings, he would not be able to block this sharp pass.

A diagonal pass from the left rib to the right side of the penalty area!

The right amount of force.

Precise lines.

Perfect timing.

Too late!
It's too late!

Right side of the penalty area.

Florenzi splashed water all the way and gently lifted his feet!

The sharp trajectory of the football changed and it spun lightly into Zenit's net.

0:1! ! !

Thousands of fans in the stands couldn't help but exclaim in unison.

On the green field, the Chinese boy, who was covered in mud and had white steam coming out of his head, gave an assist that was simply so elegant.

Gao Qi let out a breath.

The shadow of Samba No. 10 in front of him was blown away.

Brother Zico is great. He taught me how to deliver the most deadly pass even in a tough battle on a cold and rainy night.

Buy his jersey later!
Florenzi rushed towards Gao Qi excitedly.

Splashes of water!

While running, my feet suddenly slipped and I fell!
"So handsome, Gao!"

“Let’s go!”

"I never thought I would score my first Champions League goal so soon!"

The guy didn't even bother to wipe the mud off his face. He just gave a thumbs up with an excited tone.

His teammates quickly helped him up and ran towards the away stands together, even though there were only one or two hundred Roma fans there.

"Florenzi broke the deadlock on the field!"

"Gao Qi perfectly demonstrated his qualities of ball protection, confrontation, passing and running, organization and connection, and the fatal pass during this attack!"

"He's becoming more and more like a qualified number nine and a half!"

"I hope Gao Qi can cherish his golden years to hone his skills and enrich his arsenal step by step like the legendary stars of all ages."

"In positional warfare, keep teasing your opponent, and when the time is right, strike hard."

The ESPN commentator was muted again.

Comment area.

Barrage flying.
-
[Gao Qi saw Morata asking for the ball a dozen seconds ago and hesitated.]
-
[A tactical fulcrum in the frontcourt who can withstand confrontation and get the ball, and now he has also developed a passing aircraft carrier! ]
-
[Zenit's defense did a great job, and Gao Qi caught the fleeting flaw.]
-
[The constant short passes made me anxious, but luckily Florenzi didn't miss the ball in the end. ]
-
[Yes, it was all short passes on the ground at close range. It was raining heavily, so it was easy to deviate from the route if the distance was a little far.]
-
[Enrique will definitely say: "Gao Qi has implemented my football philosophy." ]

Courtside.

Enrique was excited, but also looked at Ivan with a puzzled look.

"You taught passing?"

"Are you stupid? This assist is not La Masia at all! The control of penetration is different, the style is different."

Talking and talking.

The two did not dwell on this issue and continued to celebrate!

The other side.

Spalletti touched his bald head in frustration.

He originally thought there were only two ways to score: a header or a penalty.

I didn't expect Gao Qi to be able to deliver such a penetrating and fatal pass in such an extreme environment.

Next game.

All the Roma players were unable to fight anymore as it was cold and raining.

The entire army had to retreat to the front of the restricted area.

Keep your defense low.

Zenit’s tactics are very strong in breaking the pressure net and are very restrained against high defensive lines, but they have no way to deal with low defensive lines.

Statistics from the past three seasons show that Russian Premier League teams rank last in their ability to reverse a situation. This has something to do with their tactical style. They are good at counterattacking and fighting each other, but not good at breaking defenses.

"The Hulk" twisted his big butt, ran actively, and fired a long shot as soon as he got the ball.

Bah!
Bah!
Bah!
The Roma players' butts were blown to pieces, but still failed to convert it into a goal.

As time goes by.

Spalletti switched to long passes.

It's a pity that Roma's high points are too fierce. In positional warfare, the two big center forwards can be used as central defenders in high-altitude defense.

finally.

The referee blew the whistle to end the game.

Zenit 0:1 Roma.

Gao Qi is one step closer to advancing to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

(End of this chapter)