Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Thirty-two-year-old Henry felt his calves trembling slightly; the last time he felt this way was during the 2005-06 Champions League final.

He took a deep breath of fresh air and his gaze involuntarily drifted to Messi standing beside him.

The other person's expression was very calm, and they were not nervous at all. In fact, they were quite relaxed, with only a firm look in their eyes.

Looking at number eight across the way, Henry noticed that the other man seemed much more relaxed, showing no sign of tension whatsoever. It was as if, for him, this wasn't a life-or-death battle, but rather an ordinary game he was playing with his friends in the neighborhood.

No wonder these two stand out among a group of young players. They can remain calm and composed in such an important occasion. It would be hard for players with such a big heart not to rise to the top.

Perhaps the difference between me and these people lies in my mindset!
"Dad, come on!"

Henry felt a warm current flow through his heart as he recalled the scene of his daughter, Taya, who had just celebrated her third birthday today, giving him a farewell kiss while clenching her little fist to cheer him on.

Today is his daughter's birthday, and Henry plans to give her a special gift!

For a striker, there's no better gift than scoring a goal!
Behind Henry, Iniesta's expression was very serious.

Today marks his 50th Champions League appearance for Barcelona, ​​and he hopes to commemorate this special match with a victory.

But the strength of his opponent meant that his wish would be difficult to achieve.

Moreover, due to injuries and his inability to fully recover, it was difficult for him to perform at his best in the game.

But when he looked back at his two towering teammates standing behind him, Iniesta felt a sense of security.

As the coach said, as long as they can successfully contain the opponent's number eight, Barcelona will definitely win this game.

"Barcelona's starting lineup has undergone significant changes today!"

"Yes, Guardiola did not continue to use young Busquets, but put Yaya Toure back in the starting lineup. In addition, another adjustment Barcelona made in midfield was to also bring Keita on!"

Barcelona's formation for this match was 4-2-3-1, with Yaya Toure and Keita forming the double pivot in midfield, Xavi orchestrating the play in the center, and Henry and Iniesta on the left and right flanks respectively.

Messi plays a forward position, but he actually drops back to the center during the game.

Based on this analysis, Barcelona's formation is actually a strikerless formation.

Eto'o has not performed well in the last two games, and he also suffered a minor injury in the last match.

Out of caution, Guardiola did not include him in the starting lineup, but instead boldly used a new tactic.

Guardiola had a clear plan: to play against a team like Real Madrid, which relies heavily on counter-attacking defense.

We must completely shut down the opponent's mid lane and not give them the slightest chance.

The reason Barcelona failed to beat Real Madrid in the first two matches was that they couldn't stop Real Madrid's counter-attacks.

In this match, he not only arranged two defensive midfielders to limit Lin Feng and protect his own defense, but also intentionally increased the number of midfielders. When Messi also dropped back to the center, Barcelona had as many as six midfielders.

With such a dense midfield lineup, he refused to believe that Real Madrid's midfield could find any opportunities.
With the referee's whistle, this highly anticipated match officially began.

Thanks to their victory in the previous match, Real Madrid's confidence was significantly boosted in this game, and they launched a major attack on Barcelona immediately after kickoff.

Real Madrid's aggressive start caught Barcelona players somewhat off guard. Just one minute into the game, Yaya Toure fouled Lin Feng in midfield, giving Real Madrid a free kick in the attacking third.

The ball was about 35 meters from the goal, a little too far, but still within Lin Feng's shooting range.

Faced with such an opportunity, Lin Feng, who had not scored a free kick in the previous two games, naturally would not let it pass.

With a whistle from the referee, he unleashed an extremely unpredictable free kick with his right foot—an S-shaped free kick!

Not only was the trajectory of this ball unpredictable, but its power was also beyond imagination.

Valdes dived to his right, touched the ball but dropped it, and Raul followed up with a shot that was brilliantly blocked off the post by Pique on the goal line!

Just one minute into the game, Real Madrid nearly created a goal!

Raul, devastated by his missed opportunity, clutched his head and knelt in the penalty area, his face filled with frustration.

Lin Feng, who also missed his chance, couldn't help but shake his head when he saw the ball blocked.

The distance was still too far, and the ball flew a bit too far, not at the angle he expected. Otherwise, Valdes would have had no chance to make the save at all.

However, Lin Feng was not discouraged by this. The competition had just begun, and there would be plenty of opportunities!
Even before the match started, he had a strong feeling that he would definitely score from a free kick!
In the second minute, Lin Feng took a corner kick from the left.

Real Madrid executed a tactical corner kick combination, but unfortunately their cross was intercepted by the opposing defender.

In the 4th minute, Real Madrid's attack once again advanced into Barcelona's 30-meter danger zone.

Benzema received the ball with his back to goal at the edge of the penalty area and passed it back to Raul, whose low shot from outside the box went just wide of the left post.

In the first five minutes, Real Madrid launched a relentless attack, almost overwhelming Barcelona.

Barcelona, ​​known for their ball control, barely touched the ball in the first five minutes.

Many viewers who had just turned on their TVs found this very strange, because it didn't look like Real Madrid at all; it looked more like the opposing Barcelona team.

But no matter what, as long as they see their team dominating the opponent, even if they don't score but just see shots on goal, Real Madrid fans are still excited and cheer loudly.

However, Mourinho, standing on the sidelines, couldn't help but frown when he saw his team dominating possession but failing to score.

Although Real Madrid's attack was very exciting, they didn't actually have many truly excellent chances, except for the one Lin Feng took from a free kick.

Apart from that one time, Lin Feng was almost silent on the court. This was not because Lin Feng was in poor form or performed poorly.

It was entirely because he was being targeted by the opponent. Mourinho had observed carefully that Lin Feng was always surrounded by at least three players who were subtly double-teaming him. Moreover, one of Keita and Yaya Toure was always closely marking Lin Feng, not giving him any space to receive or pass the ball.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Guardiola, who was standing not far away.

How much does Guardiola fear Lin Feng?
They actually set up such a tight defense?

This treatment is truly the highest form of respect!

Without Lin Feng's direct involvement, Real Madrid's attack, though lively, rarely produced any truly outstanding opportunities.

If they continue to dominate without scoring, they might be caught off guard and launch a counterattack.

With that in mind, Mourinho waved his hand, signaling his players to retreat and defend. Since the initial attacking tactic had failed, there was no need to waste energy on blindly attacking in the attacking third.

Given Real Madrid's away goals advantage, he only needs to focus on defense and prevent the opponent from scoring to remain undefeated in this match.

Being on the court, Lin Feng's feelings were more profound than those of others off the court.

Yaya Toure and Keita are both defensive players with abundant stamina, excellent physical qualities, and a knack for running.

Being targeted by them made life quite difficult for Lin Feng.

But he did not give up. Since the enemy had a dense concentration of troops in the middle lane, he would go to the side lanes.

If the flanks are still not working, then retreat proactively.

If all else fails, then leverage your physical strengths and actively run to find space and opportunities.

Without hesitation, in the 7th minute, Lin Feng moved to the left wing and completed a short one-two pass with his teammate, successfully getting rid of Keita's defense before dribbling the ball inside from the wing.

Seeing that Keita had been beaten, Yaya Toure quickly came up to cover for him.

But Lin Feng didn't give him that chance. Before the opponent could rush over, he suddenly unleashed a powerful shot from 30 meters in front of the goal!
The shot came very suddenly, and Valdes in front of the goal only jumped up hastily after the ball flew over.

If the ball hits the target area, he definitely won't be able to touch it.

Unfortunately, the shot went wide of the right post.

"Mark your man closely and don't let him get the ball on the wing!"

Although the opponent's shot didn't go in, Guardiola, standing on the sidelines, was still very dissatisfied with the team's defensive play.

In his view, the previous defense had failed to contain Lin Feng and instead allowed the opponent to successfully shoot, which was already a failure.

If Keita and Yaya Toure maintain high concentration, strictly adhere to their tactics, and closely follow Lin Feng throughout, the opponent will have absolutely no chance to kick.

Unfortunately, neither of them managed to do that.

Keita chose to obey Guardiola's call unconditionally, while Yaya Toure, though outwardly complying, still harbored some resentment.

There are already two teammates on the side lanes. If he moves over there, won't the middle lane be empty?
If the opponent suddenly shifts their attack to the other side and launches an attack from the right, Barcelona's left defense will be in trouble without his support.
He and Keita together can indeed limit Lin Feng, but Lin Feng is not the only one who can pose a threat to Real Madrid.

Guardiola seemed oblivious to all of this, simply issuing him orders as if treating him like a robot, which greatly displeased Yaya Toure.

Of course, what made Yaya Toure even more unhappy was that Guardiola actually used a newcomer like Busquets, while abandoning a top midfielder like him who had been established for a long time and was in the prime of his career.

Am I really inferior to a newcomer in his early twenties?
Barcelona is Barcelona after all. After withstanding Real Madrid's fierce attack in the early stages, they quickly organized a counterattack.

In the 10th minute, Iniesta dribbled through the middle and passed the ball to the right side of the penalty area. Messi cleverly cut past Thiago Silva and, before Mascherano could cover, poked the ball with his right toe from 7 meters out.

When Real Madrid fans saw Messi's shot, their hearts almost stopped.

At that distance and from that position, that shot was absolutely deadly!
However, faced with such an almost impossible shot, Casillas transformed into a goalkeeper, quickly getting to the ground and deflecting the ball out of bounds with one hand.

Despite Casillas's hand touch, the ball barely grazed the near post and rolled out of bounds, demonstrating just how threatening Messi's shot was!
【Saint Casillas!】

[The goalkeeper is amazing!]

Holy crap, how did they manage to save that shot?!

Online, fans who watched the save were in an uproar.

Even though fans have watched countless games, such an incredible save still leaves them in awe!

From any angle, this was a sure goal, but in the end, the goalkeeper saved it!

[People have been asking who the best goalkeeper currently playing is, and I think based solely on this match, Casillas undoubtedly deserves the title!]

[I also vote for Casillas. Although Buffon, Cech, and others are all very good, Casillas' performance over the past two seasons has been simply phenomenal. If he can maintain this form for a few more years, I would call him the best goalkeeper after Yashin!]

On the sidelines, Mourinho and Guardiola made almost identical faces, holding their heads in their hands.

The difference is that Mourinho was shocked and clutched his head because of a defender's mistake, while Guardiola was frustrated and clutched his head because Messi's shot missed.

How could we let him score?

"How could that ball not go in?"

These are the thoughts of the two head coaches after seeing this goal.

Mourinho was very dissatisfied that his defenders failed to stop Messi, allowing him to advance all the way into the penalty area and even beat the center-back.

Although they saved the ball, if the team continues to make such mistakes, they may not be so lucky next time!
Although Casillas is in good form, you can't always rely on the goalkeeper to have a superhuman performance when defending, right?
Barcelona had just completed an attack and were about to press Real Madrid again, but unexpectedly, Real Madrid launched a counterattack.

In the 12th minute, Lin Feng, who was originally on the left wing, suddenly moved to the right wing.

This side was Yaya Touré's defensive zone. Despite his dissatisfaction with Guardiola's arrangements, the Ivorian rushed to the flank to provide support.

Seeing this, Lin Feng took the initiative to move towards the middle lane to create space for his teammates.

Barcelona's players continued to focus their defense on Lin Feng, preventing him from suddenly cutting inside and shooting like before.

However, Lin Feng did not do that. Instead, after observing Ramos's attack from the corner of his eye, he quickly passed the ball to the wing and completed a crossover with his teammate on the wing.

With the full-back position taken away by Lin Feng, Ramos dribbled freely all the way, forcing Pique to come out of the penalty area to defend him.

Although Ramos looks fierce, he is not a fool.

He's not Messi, he doesn't have that kind of dribbling ability, so Ramos didn't choose to continue his breakthrough, but instead passed the ball to Lin Feng, who had moved forward to the right flank near the corner of the penalty area.

Lin Feng had already spotted the gap in the opponent's defense while moving, and was preparing to pass the ball across to the middle to assist his teammate who was making a run into the box when he was tackled by Yaya Toure, who brought the ball down on the edge of the penalty area.

The crowd erupted in uproar, and all eyes turned to the referee.

A foul in that position could very well result in a penalty kick! (End of Chapter)