Chapter 719 Returning to the Finals
"Barcelona-Reversal"
"Barcelona-Reversal"
"Barcelona-Reversal"
The entire Camp Nou Stadium was filled with calls from the stands, and more than 90,000 Barcelona fans were shouting such a very simple slogan with all their strength. Even from the big screen, many young fans, who may be only three or four years old, were riding on their father's neck and shouting.
This is a very different game, and everyone knew it clearly before the game started.
Since losing to Tottenham Hotspur a week ago a disastrous defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona fans have been organizing and planning this game. Many Barcelona fans and official members are responding positively. They want to build the Camp Nou Stadium into a strong backing for Barcelona's reversal in this game.
Looking up, the stands around Camp Nou were everywhere, densely packed like ants, but what was even more terrifying was that their clothes were very neat, separated by red and blue, representing Barcelona's red and blue jerseys, neatly appeared in every stand area of Camp Nou.
In addition, in addition to the main stand, many fans raised a yellow card on the second floor of the other three stands. This is the color of Barcelona's away jersey. In addition to forming the Catalan flag, the cards more importantly form a slogan, "Barcelona reverses Barcelona", which happens to be the three stands.
Before the entire Camp Nou Stadium started, the fans were already shouting at the top of their lungs. They only had a slogan, "Barcelona - Reversal", everyone was shouting, without any noise, and in the Camp Nou Stadium, you were in a vast ocean.
The fans' voices are repeated again and again, just like the huge waves rising high in this vast ocean, swallowing you up.
For all Barcelona fans, they have no other choice. This is the best way and means to support the team. They hope to use their shouts to arouse the fighting spirit and spirit of the fans, let them fight for this jersey on their body, and give them the courage and determination to reverse Tottenham Hotspur at home.
The shouts of more than 90,000 fans, and the promises of players shouting when facing reporters and media before the game to strive for a reversal. All of this was gathered in this game with only 90 minutes.
At the beginning of the game, Barcelona were indeed angry to reverse the situation. After the game, they took the lead in using their home advantage and launched an offensive against Tottenham Hotspur again and again, striving to defeat their opponents at the beginning of the home court.
Ye Qiu's arrangement of troops in this game also showed his cautiousness and caution away. The goalkeeper was Cech, the defense was Marcelo, Kompany, Thiago, Silva, and Kyle Walker with better defense skills, the midfield was Vidal, Pirlo and Phil Jones, and the frontcourt was Ribery, Cavani and Messi's trident combination.
After the passiveness after the game, Tottenham Hotspur made sufficient psychological preparations before the game, so he did not panic. Instead, he continued to adopt tactics similar to the first leg of both sides, and still blocked Barcelona's ball-control area in the middle line of both sides, making the near-center circle the most intense stalemate for both sides to compete for the ball.
Barcelona players also feel like they are putting their heads to death. They stubbornly want to plan the offensive at home. They have changed their previous experiences and lessons that were not hard enough before | After the first half, they devoted themselves to the offense and tried hard to create opportunities. They almost spared no effort to run and press.
Under such almost crazy pressing and oppression, Tottenham Hotspurs cannot achieve any effect at all and can only take a defensive move.
Although Barcelona has the advantage, they have never been able to effectively penetrate Tottenham Hotspur's defense, especially Barcelona has actively attacked the two wings before. However, this time, Ye Qiu arranged for the start of Kyle O Walker, who has better defensive ability and stronger physical fitness, has always had three players in the back line. In addition, there is an interception area composed of Vidal and Phil O Jones in the midfield, the defense has not become a problem, and Barcelona has always found it difficult to find effective offensive means.
When Van Persie was frozen in the frontcourt, Barcelona's offense lacked penetration. They lacked the ability to attack and could only be blocked in the center line time and time again by Tottenham Hotspur.
The embarrassing person seemed to have changed to Tottenham Hotspur, and the Barcelona fans in the stands were shouting wildly, because they believed that as long as the team continued to play in this trend, there was a great hope of scoring. Even if it could not be reversed, at least they had to play Barcelona's momentum and restore the team's dignity and pride.
But all of this was declared shattered in the 43rd point of the game.
Still attacking diagonally, still still in the midfield and backcourt. Thiago Silva passed a long pass to find Ribery. The latter used his speed to tear away Puyol's defense. As soon as he was about to form a breakthrough, Puyol had to take action to pull Ribery down, got a yellow card, and also gave Tottenham a free kick.
Pirlo took the penalty himself, Kompany headed the ball from the back of the penalty area, goalkeeper Valdes reacted quickly and saved the ball, but there was a chaotic battle in the penalty area. Phil O-Jones grabbed the ball in the melee and shot hard.
This goal before the end of the first half completely made all Barcelona players lose their fighting spirit and hope, because according to this score, they must score seven goals in the game to reverse Tottenham Hotspur, which is almost impossible to complete.
After the second half of the kick-off, the situation turned around. Less than two minutes after the game started, Messi got the ball from the right and cut inward, shot in a curved shot from the inside of his left foot, winning another goal for the team.
After consecutive goals, Tottenham Hotspur made an offensive, and Barcelona had completely lost their fighting spirit and began to turn to the defensive.
Ye Qiu called on the sidelines to actively participate in the offense, and took advantage of Barcelona's unstable foothold and strive to score another goal. Guardiola quickly made adjustments and had to choose to deal with it. Moreover, in this situation, what he thought was no longer a reversal and advancement, but to preserve Barcelona's dignity.
Realizing that the overall situation was settled, Ye Qiu did not intend to take advantage of the victory, but instead thought about letting the main players get rest, using opportunities to train new players, and arranging substitutes to find their state, while also retaining their strength for the league.
So, Hazard and Raul came on as substitutes one after another, and Cavani and Messi were replaced. In the 70th minute, Ye Qiu was already very clear that Barcelona had basically given up, so he wanted to make the last substitution.
"Let Alves go on." Just as Ye Qiu turned around and glanced at the bench, Roland Shepars, who was very familiar with him and knew him, walked up to him and reminded, "He was very unhappy when he didn't start in this game."
"That's the team's tactical needs." Ye Qiu felt that nothing was wrong. After being carved by Mauro Tasotti, Kyle O's Walker's defense was indeed much better than Alves, and his figure and strength were also very good, and his flexibility and speed were also excellent. Therefore, Ye Qiu arranged for him to play in this game to help the team defend.
"I know, but you also know, who doesn't want to play such a focus battle?" Roland said with a giggle.
Sometimes in the eyes of the coaching staff, the players are like a group of children. They will get angry because they don’t get a chance to play. At this time, you have to guide them like you are to treat them, rather than just being tough.
"Let him warm up and replace Kyle or Walker," Ye Qiu nodded. He was not a rather unreasonable guy like Ferguson. He also knew how to adapt because he knew very well that it was a good thing for players to want to play, proving that players have fighting spirit and motivation.
As for the players being dissatisfied with the head coach, it is normal. When they don’t get a chance to play, it is normal to have opinions. Slowly, when they get the opportunity to prove themselves, the relationship will naturally ease.
So after Alves warm-up, Ye Qiu arranged for him to play directly, and at the same time he carefully reminded him.
"Daniel, be careful and don't win cards anymore." This is also one of the reasons why Ye Qiu arranged for Alves to be substitute. If he got another yellow card, he would miss the Champions League final, so the overall situation in the first round was decided. It is reasonable to arrange for Kyle or Walker to start in the second round, after all, it is to allow Alves to play in the Champions League final.
But the Brazilian right-back nodded and agreed to Ye Qiu on the sidelines. Less than two minutes after he came on the court, he pushed the Barcelona midfielder from behind while defending Iniesta, resulting in a severe warning by the referee and a yellow card. Alves vented his dissatisfaction with the referee and Iniesta, believing that Iniesta was faked to fall.
"Okay, enough, Daniel." Thiago Silva rushed up quickly, holding on to Alves who wanted to put pressure on the referee and continued to argue for himself, "You are crazy, are you crazy?" In the end, he almost yelled.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this foul was intentional, and the subsequent quarrel was also intentional. He wanted Ye Qiu and the coaching staff on the sidelines to know clearly that he is very angry and dissatisfied now because he does not want to sit on the bench in such an important game.
Even, as the agent said, this is Ye Qiu putting pressure on behalf of the club, and if he doesn't renew his contract, he won't play.
Alves was yelled by Thiago Silva, and looked at the sidelines and found that Ye Qiu and the coaching staff who had been standing on the sidelines were sitting back in the coach's seat. For some reason, a sense of fear surged in his heart, but he knew very well that as the agent said, he had to express his attitude and a very firm attitude.
Only in this way can he win the rights he deserves, because renewal will be the last contract of his career. Tottenham Hotspur also agreed to sign with him to retire, but the two sides could not reach an agreement on salary. Alves hoped to be higher than Messi and Ribery, at least to be equal, because he did not have the high business income of these two superstars, but he felt that his performance on the court was no worse than them, and his role on the team was not inferior to them.
But Tottenham Hotspur is willing to raise his salary, but it is lower than the two of their players. The team's captain Thiago Silva is the first salary of the team, and it also promises to increase efforts to help him promote his business image and sponsorship, such as in his native Brazil.
The negotiations between the two sides have been in stalemate for more than half a year. Alves refused to give in, and Tottenham Hotspur is also not to be outdone.
Originally, Ye Qiu would almost never intervene in such negotiations, because Tottenham Hotspurs were all handed over to Peter Nean and Ron Gurley in this regard. Ye Qiu only submitted a player's evaluation and analysis report as their reference. However, when the team considers the player's salary, it is impossible to use performance on the court as the only reference factor, and other aspects must be considered.
Outsiders didn't know what happened in Alves's turmoil. They thought that Alves was eager to make contributions after he came on the court, and seemed irrational and calm enough, and felt sorry for him missing the final.
Tottenham Hotspur relied on Ribery to create goals with two left breakthroughs, helping Raul and Hazard to break through Barcelona goal respectively, locking the score at 40
In this way, Tottenham defeated Barcelona 40 away and sent the La Liga giants to the Champions League with a total score of 0, while he entered the Champions League final.
This is also the second time Tottenham Hotspur returned to the Champions League final after two seasons away from the Champions League final.
After the game, Tottenham Hotspurs all faded away from the impact on the Alves storm, and ignored the slack work of Alves who disappeared after more than 20 minutes of playing. He happily celebrated the team's return to the Champions League final. He was excited to be interviewed by the media on the sidelines and shouted slogans of striving to win the championship.
In the stands at Camp Nou Stadium, Barcelona fans were helpless, sad and even cried. They had never suffered such humiliation. They scored nine goals by the opponent in two rounds and had no power to fight back. Could this be the arrogant Barcelona a season ago?
It is obvious that the fans are all dissatisfied, and they even continued this dissatisfaction to the team's flag, Guardiola.
Ye Qiu walked to the sidelines and hugged every player who walked off the court with enthusiasm. In addition to Alves, the Brazilian deliberately avoided Ye Qiu, perhaps because of embarrassment, or because he wanted to express an attitude, that is, his attitude of not regretting what he did.
No one noticed this, and no one knew that there were some conflicts within the team after Tottenham Hotspur’s big victory. Except for Tottenham’s locker room, they all knew exactly what was going on, but no one would say it.
Tottenham Hotspur returned to the Champions League final, which became the focus of major newspapers around the world the next day, but what shocked fans around the world even more was their way of returning to the Champions League final stage, that is, the nine-goal slaughter of Barcelona, which is definitely a shocking and powerful attack power.
From Napoli in the quarterfinals knockout stage, to AC Milan, and then to Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur's performance is better than the other round. Many media even believe that Tottenham's condition and performance have been arranged by Ye Qiu and the coaching staff before, because not long ago, the media disclosed that Ye Qiu had formulated a very detailed plan for the team to win the championship.
Ye Qiu denied this statement in an interview with the media. He said that the team's situation has changed rapidly and the plan will never keep up with the changes. However, he also admitted that after years of accumulation, the team has indeed accumulated a lot of experience in many aspects and has also established a set of adaptation mechanisms.
But no matter what, Tottenham's outstanding performance still made them the number one favorite to win the Champions League this season. Even on the next day, Bayern Munich eliminated Real Madrid by relying on a penalty shootout and entered the final, and occupied a home advantage in the final against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Champions League final this season was held at Bayern Munich's home court and at the Allianz Stadium.
But as many European football commentators said, home advantage does have a certain effect, but in such a critical game, whoever can laugh to the end depends on strength and on-the-spot performance.
The Champions League final allowed Tottenham Hotspur to pull out from the two-line battle and start to devote himself to the Premier League. Because after the final round of the Premier League ended, there was just one week left before the Champions League final, Tottenham Hotspur still had very plenty of time to prepare.
After the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, the team returned to London and went to Birmingham three days later to challenge the relegation team Aston Villa away. As a result, the two sides tied in this game, which caused the team to lose the ball because of the main right-back Alves' careless clearance. Moreover, the Brazilian performed very badly throughout the game and got the lowest score in the game.
Ye Qiu criticized Alves in person in the locker room after the game. He believed that Brazilians should reflect on their performance and attitudes. In the face of Ye Qiu's criticism, Alves dared not refute and remained silent.
This draw is also Tottenham Hotspur's eighth draw this season, but it also led to the team being overtaken by Manchester City in the standings, and in turn lagging behind Manchester City one point and temporarily ranks second in the standings.
But soon, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Bolton 4l away in the 34th round of the mid-week rematch. Alves did not even make the roster. The outside world gradually realized that there seemed to be a conflict between Brazil's right-back and Ye Qiu, so rumors of the Brazilian leaving the team gradually appeared in the newspapers, even though Tottenham Hotspur kept denying it.
After winning Bolton, Tottenham Hotspur returned to the Premier League leader and led Manchester City by two points.
In the 37th round of the league, Manchester City reversed the Queens Park Rangers with two goals from Aguero and Dzeko at home, while Tottenham defeated Fulham 0 at home. The two sides continued to maintain a two-point gap, and the suspense of winning the championship was left to the last round.
Chapter completed!