Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"Don't panic, it's nothing serious!"

Guardiola quickly regained his composure; the game had only just begun, and it wasn't yet the final stages.

Being down by one goal at this point is not a big deal; they have plenty of time to catch up.

However, this gap in the defense must be filled, otherwise it is very likely that the opponent will exploit it again and again!
With that in mind, Guardiola called Abidal over and gave him some serious instructions.

Abidal knew he had made a mistake, nodding repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice, as if he wanted to remember every word Guardiola said.

After the match restarted, Abidal indeed behaved himself considerably.

Compared to the beginning, he is now less likely to push forward to assist, since Alves on the other side is also a good attacker, and Barcelona has a wealth of attacking talent, so even without him, Barcelona's attacking power will not be affected.

Abidal's absence did have some impact on Barcelona's attack.

Lacking support from the flanks, Messi attempted more individual breakthroughs.

In the 27th minute, Messi dribbled past Diarra and Ramos in front of the penalty area, but was tackled by Ramos on the penalty line just as he was about to break into the penalty area.

The scene erupted in uproar, and Barcelona players rushed to the scene immediately, surrounding the referee and putting pressure on him.

I don't know if Guardiola arranged it this way, but during his time as coach, Barcelona players were very good at one thing: surrounding the referee.

Whether Guardiola actually made this arrangement is unknown, but Lin Feng believes it may have been influenced by tactics.

Barcelona's style of play is a high-pressing attack, with their entire formation pushing past the halfway line. Once they lose possession, if they fail to win the ball back immediately, they are very likely to concede a goal.

Therefore, in actual matches, Barcelona's pressing intensity is very high, which naturally leads to a lot of fouls.

If Barcelona's defenders cannot influence the referee's decisions by putting pressure on him, they are likely to receive cards, or even red cards.

Similarly, Barcelona has many players who excel at dribbling and passing, and given their high number of attacking possessions, their forwards are also vulnerable to fouls from opposing defenders.

Applying pressure to the referee at this point, seeking a ruling favorable to their team, could help them win penalties and free kicks in the attacking third, and the benefits of such rulings are substantial.

Therefore, regardless of the circumstances, it was the right choice for the Barcelona players to collectively pressure the referee.

Seemingly influenced by the pressure from the Barcelona players, the referee showed Ramos a yellow card for the foul and awarded Barcelona a free kick in the attacking third.

Real Madrid didn't seem to realize anything was wrong. Ramos received a yellow card but didn't utter a sound, as if even he felt he deserved it.

At this time, Barcelona did not have a free-kick master in the team. Messi's free kicks were still in the beginner stage and were far from being as strong as they would later become.

Therefore, the free kick awarded to Barcelona did not pose much of a threat, but Barcelona's siege continued.

In the 32nd minute, Henry used his speed to get past Salgado and cut into the penalty area, but his shot from a tight angle was saved by Casillas.

After a tactical corner kick, Yaya Toure's long-range shot from outside the box was easily caught by Casillas.

Although the situation remains passive for Real Madrid, the players' mentality is much better than at the beginning of the game because they have already scored a goal.

Despite the opponent's continuous and fierce attacks, Real Madrid's players remained relatively calm and did not feel overwhelmed.

As the game went on, they gradually adapted to Barcelona's rhythm, and their defense began to stabilize.

Mourinho, standing on the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew it," he said. "No matter how strong Barcelona's attack is, can it be so strong that it's in the sky?"

Real Madrid is no pushover; they are one of the top clubs in La Liga and even the entire top five European leagues.

If Barcelona can easily crush them, then Barcelona might as well quit La Liga and go buy a house in the Champions League!
Mourinho was relieved, but Guardiola's heart began to pound.

In fact, his tactics are quite vulnerable to dense defenses because the space given by the opponent is too small, making it too difficult to make small-scale passing and cutting combinations, and placing too high demands on the players. It is not effective every time.

The reason we dropped points against Getafe was because we couldn't break through their defense.

Real Madrid's overall defensive strength is far superior to Getafe's, placing higher demands on Barcelona's attacking power.

Therefore, in Guardiola's tactics, they would take advantage of the opening stages when Real Madrid players were not used to their tactics to launch a fierce attack, take the lead early, and force the opponent to stretch their formation, giving them more space to implement their tactics.

If Barcelona had scored first, the game would have been completely under their control by now.

If Real Madrid rushes to equalize and launches an attack, the gaps exposed in their backfield will provide Barcelona with plenty of attacking opportunities.

Scoring goals will become much easier, and Barcelona may even secure a resounding victory at home.

But all of this was ruined by Lin Feng's shot!

Thinking of this, Guardiola gave Lin Feng a deep look.

This guy truly deserves to be compared to Messi; his ability to create and control opportunities is simply too strong.

If he could come to Barcelona, ​​then Barcelona would have no weaknesses and truly become an invincible super team.

But Guardiola also knew that this was impossible, as there was no room for another senior player in terms of salary space or tactical position within the team.

Unless someone between Messi and him voluntarily humbles themselves.

Just when Guardiola thought Barcelona might be in for a tough fight, the situation on the field changed again.

In the 35th minute, possession of the ball changed hands several times in a short period of time, and Real Madrid midfielder Sneijder suffered a thigh strain during a fierce challenge and had to be substituted.

This unexpected turn of events caught Mourinho off guard, forcing him to bring on another injury-prone player, Gago, as an emergency substitute to replace Sneijder.

Gago, that unlucky kid, was tackled by Pique in a challenge less than five minutes after coming on.

Seeing Gago lying on the ground, Mourinho's heart sank to the bottom.

No way?
Can't be so unlucky?
Two players injured within five minutes?

I glanced at the bench and realized there was really no one left to substitute!

Fortunately, after being examined by the team doctor, Gago limped back onto the field, giving Mourinho a slight sigh of relief.

But after watching for a few minutes, he couldn't help but frown again.

Gago was in poor condition; his running ability and tackling intensity were far from what they used to be, and he didn't seem to have fully recovered from the collision.

Lin Feng also noticed his teammate's situation and consciously reduced the number of passes he made to Gago, while increasing his support and screens for him.

But in the 43rd minute, Real Madrid's defender, under pressure from Barcelona, ​​panicked and passed the ball to Gago. Before Gago could control the ball, Busquets seized the opportunity to intercept. With just a simple physical challenge, Busquets successfully took the ball from Gago and quickly passed it to Xavi in ​​the middle.

The situation changed rapidly, with Real Madrid's attacking run turning into Barcelona's counter-attack.

Before Xavi received the ball, he had already observed Henry's run on the right wing. The moment he received Busquets' pass, he quickly switched the ball to the right side, giving him ample lead time.

Thirty-one-year-old Henry seemed to have returned to the Highbury Stadium where he was once invincible.

Amid the frenzied cheers of tens of thousands of Barcelona fans at the stadium, Henry sprinted down the right flank, shaking off Real Madrid's left-back Marcelo, and delivered a cross into the center of the penalty area.

Messi went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and chipped the ball over the head of the onrushing Casillas, sending it hurtling towards Real Madrid's goal.

Cannavaro charged toward his own goal, sliding in on the ball inside the six-yard box, but he was a step too late.

The score is now 1-1!

Before the end of the first half, Barcelona finally equalized the score.

If Lin Feng's goal changed the course of the game and tipped the scales of victory in Real Madrid's favor, then Messi's goal has brought both sides back to square one.

The Camp Nou fans went almost into a frenzy after Messi scored the equalizer.

They pounded on the seats, chanting Messi's name as if he were the king of Camp Nou!
Messi responded to the cheers and applause from the fans by kissing the team crest on his jersey.

It wasn't just Messi who scored the goal who was so excited; the other Barcelona players were equally thrilled.

Pique raised his arms high, signaling the fans in the stadium to cheer and applaud even louder.

Iniesta and Xavi caught up with Messi, who had run to the sidelines, and the three embraced.

Henry smiled like a child. Although he didn't score the goal, he seemed even happier than if he had scored it himself.

While Barcelona was celebrating wildly, Real Madrid players were all dejected.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's all my fault!"

Gago apologized profusely to his teammates. Mourinho had substituted him in, but he hadn't been of any help and had only caused his teammates a lot of trouble. He felt extremely guilty.

His teammates, who were initially angry, couldn't bring themselves to lash out at him after seeing his sincere demeanor.

"Fernando, how serious is your injury?"

Lin Feng asked with concern, "If Gago's injury is serious and he can't continue, it would be best for him to go down and rest."

This is not only for the team's sake but also for his own. After all, he is prone to injury and his body is fragile. If he is injured and does not leave the field, he will only make his injury worse and greatly prolong his recovery time. It may even leave him with a lifelong hidden danger that is difficult to cure.

In truth, Gago's professional career was a great pity.

Real Madrid initially signed him for a huge sum of money because they highly valued his talent, but after he joined Real Madrid, he was injured every few days and couldn't even finish a full season.

The coaching staff, who had initially had high hopes for him, naturally dared not place their bets on him after seeing his condition.

As a result, his status in Real Madrid's tactical system continued to decline, from a starter to a rotation player, and finally to a substitute.

If he gets injured again, Lin Feng is starting to doubt whether he will even have a chance to be a substitute.

Real Madrid might sell or loan him out next season and won't keep him with the team anymore.

"It's nothing, just a minor injury. I can keep going!"

Gago seemed to realize that his time at Real Madrid was running out, and like a drowning man, he desperately tried to grasp at this lifeline.

Seeing this, Lin Feng didn't try to persuade him anymore, but he guessed that Mourinho probably wouldn't let him play in the second half.

By the time Barcelona finished celebrating, there was very little time left in the first half.

In the final minute of first-half stoppage time, Gudjohnsen passed the ball down the left wing, and Eto'o's left-footed shot was blocked by Casillas.

The referee then blew the whistle to end the first half, with the score tied 1-1 at halftime.

Judging from the score, the two teams are evenly matched.

However, judging from the current situation, Real Madrid has already shown signs of decline.

"Pepe will come on in the second half to play as a defensive midfielder. Gago, you come down and rest. Let the team doctor give you a thorough check-up!"

As soon as he entered the locker room, Mourinho announced a personnel change.

Inside the locker room, apart from Gago himself, no one else showed any surprise at the substitution.

Gago himself had actually guessed that this would happen, so after hearing Mourinho's arrangement, he did not resist, silently lowered his head, and accepted the arrangement.

Mourinho glanced at Gago once and then never looked at him again, not even with the desire to criticize him, as if the man no longer existed in his eyes.

"We didn't play well in the first half. We didn't press hard enough, and we weren't decisive enough on the counter-attacks!"

"In the second half, I ask you to play more decisively, especially the forwards. You must be able to hold your ground. If you can control the ball and shoot, then complete the attack yourself. If you can't shoot, then find a way to control the ball and pass it to your teammates who are making runs from behind!"

Raul was somewhat troubled upon hearing Mourinho's arrangement.

Is he trying to think of himself as Drogba?
But I don't have Drogba's strong pivot ability!
He calls himself a striker, but he's more like a shadow striker.

Higuain also looked somewhat troubled. Although he was taller than Raul, his ability to hold his position and seize opportunities was not outstanding.

The opposing center-backs were one fierce and the other tall, neither of them looking easy to deal with. Higuain doubted whether he could win a physical battle with the opposing defenders.

Mourinho didn't care about any of that. After giving the tactical instructions, he started explaining the tactics for the second half.

After Pepe came on, Real Madrid switched to a three-defensive-midfielder system.

This can further restrict the opponent's midfield and protect our own defense.

He figured it out: because of the lack of a tall striker, Barcelona's crosses were mostly ground-based, with very few high balls.

In that case, the flanks can be contracted slightly, narrowing the defensive range to the flanks, while concentrating more forces in the center in front of the penalty area to engage the opponent in close combat. (End of Chapter)