Chapter 211: The Alpine Trap
October 28, early morning, Beijing, China.
A bar located in Xicheng District and is well-known among the capital's fans, with crowds of people and bustling noises.
The air was filled with strong smell of alcohol and the energy gathered in the enclosed space. Anyone who walked into this could feel a wave of heat coming.
But unlike other bars, at this time, everyone in this bar is standing in front of a large TV.
On TV, pre-match advertisements from CCTV Sports Channel are being played.
In the tenth round of the La Liga that has attracted national attention, Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid at home and will soon kick off.
As a giant La Liga flagship, Barcelona is also widely loved by fans in China, but tonight, most fans here, and even the vast majority of domestic fans, only support one team, that is Atletico Madrid.
A sound of Dangdang came from the bar, attracting the attention of everyone in the bar.
"Tonight, if Atletico Madrid wins again, you will eat and drink here without any money!"
A young man, about twenty-five or six years old, stood behind the bar and announced loudly.
This good news immediately caused cheers from everyone in the entire bar.
"Captain is mighty!"
"That's great, captain!"
"Captain, Captain, I love you, just like a mouse loves rice!"
If Gao Han was here, he would have been surprised to find that the bar owner who announced that he would treat him was the captain of the amateur team that day?
His name is Xiang Tianming, a rich second generation. His family is engaged in real estate business, but he has no interest in this industry. Instead, he has liked football since he was a child. During college, he formed an amateur team with a group of like-minded friends and was well-known in Beijing.
After graduating from college, I started my own business and opened this fan bar.
Since the last time he was lucky enough to get Gao Han's guidance in the park, Xiang Tianming has admired Gao Han so much that he became Gao Han's die-hard fan. Since the Spanish Super Cup, he has announced the same decision in every Atletico Madrid game.
As long as Atletico Madrid wins, all the wine and food in the bar will be free.
At first, he was just to cheer up the atmosphere with a group of regular customers in the bar and was happy.
But unexpectedly, the bar became famous in one fell swoop and became popular in Beijing, attracting more and more fans.
Not to mention that the competition day is almost crowded and there is no water splashing in, even on non-match days, the place is full.
Although Atletico Madrid won consecutive victories in the new season, every month, the bar not only did not lose money, but its profits soared.
Because of this, Xiang Tianming simply continued this tradition.
This shrewd young man in Beijing has even begun to think about renting out the adjacent shops, opening them up, and expanding the bar's operating area.
Amid the cheers of everyone, the sound of the TV came from the bar speakers.
"Welcome to CCTV, please watch."
"What I am going to offer you is the focus of the 10th round of the La Liga season, Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid at home."
"The game is about to begin. Before we wait for the live broadcast signal, I will review these two teams for you."
"First of all, the home team Barcelona, the traditional La Liga giants, currently ranked fifth, and the results are not very ideal. The head coach Lexacci is also under pressure. Moreover, they just fought against Lyon for 90 minutes away in the mid-week Champions League group stage. Finally, with Rivaldo's goal at the last moment, they defeated Lyon 3-2."
"After three days, we have another tough battle, and Barcelona has no advantage in the schedule."
"In contrast, Atletico Madrid also participated in the UEFA Cup this season, but this week it was just a round break and had more time to prepare for the game. Gao Han, the head coach from China, said before the game that although the team is playing away, they are determined to make three-pointers."
"Here, we also wish Gao Han a victory again!"
"Okay, we've received live broadcast signals from Europe."
"What we're seeing now is Barcelona's starting lineup."
"This season, Barcelona has a characteristic: they are all in the 442 formation at home, and they are playing in the 4231 formation away, one with heavy attack and the other with balance. In this game, Rexac also arranged the 442 formation again."
"The goalkeeper is Argentina international Bonano, the left back of the defense is Italian international Francisco Coco, the two central defenders are Debord partner Christenval, and the right back is Barcelona's youth training Puyol."
"The two midfielders dragged behind in the middle, Xavi partnered with Coku, Rivaldo on the left side, Luis Enrique on the right side, and Saviola and Cruivit on the double striker."
"Usually, if you play 4231, Lexac will take Saviola and go to Ovemas, and let Rivaldo change his midfielder position. This may also be his move to change the lineup in this game."
"Let's come and have a look at Atletico Madrid."
"The goalkeeper is Peter Cech, the defense is Yankulovski, Carvalho, Pablo Ibanes and Dario Serna, and the main center back Marchena was suspended due to the red card in the last round."
"The three midfielders in the midfield are Deco, Xavi Alonso and Marcos Senna. It is worth mentioning that former Barcelona captain Guardiola did not appear in the starting lineup, and even did not make the roster."
"According to media reports in the Catalonian region, this is because Guardiola had a verbal agreement with head coach Gao Han before joining Atletico Madrid, and he did not want to face his old club."
"However, before the game, Gao Han clarified in an interview with the media. He admitted that there was indeed such an oral agreement, but Guardiola took the initiative to look for him before the game, saying that if the team needs it, he is willing to fight Barcelona for Atletico Madrid, but Gao Han said that he hopes Guardiola will stay in preparation for the second leg of the League Cup in the middle of the week."
"Atlético Madrid's frontcourt trident, Kaka, Villa and Torres."
"The home team Barcelona has drawn and lost two draws and one loss in the past three rounds of the league, but the away team Atletico Madrid is in a state of great success. It has won nine consecutive victories in the new season, not only breaking the league start record that has been blocked by Spain for 40 years, but it is also constantly breaking this record."
"Before the game, head coach Gao Han also expressed confidently that the team will continue this state."
"But Barcelona coach Rexac promised fans that Barcelona will be invincible at Camp Nou."
"Now, let's see who will win this game."
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At the beginning of the game, Atletico Madrid did not seek stability first like other teams who were visiting the Camp Nou Stadium.
Gao Han's team has put up a big push from the beginning, and has a stance of attacking with all the might and vowing to attack Barcelona to the end.
Especially the high-pressing defense that the Bedding Legion is best at has forced Barcelona to temporarily retreat to the half.
But Atletico Madrid was unreasonable. In addition to the trident in the frontcourt, Deco and Marcos Senna also actively put pressure forward, and even two full-backs actively stepped forward to participate in the pressing and oppression.
This made it difficult for Barcelona to hold the ball from the beginning of the game.
On the contrary, Atletico Madrid firmly controlled the ball in his hands with a fast and slow rhythm, constantly testing Barcelona's defensive position.
Rexach frowned when he watched on the sidelines.
As long as Barcelona reveals its flaws, Atletico Madrid can create a threat.
"This damn guy, he doesn't play according to common sense at all!" Rexach cursed angrily.
What he calls common sense is that he should shrank his head away and not make a rash move.
Which team that came to Camp Nou would attack from the beginning like Atletico Madrid?
"Tell the player to stabilize first, hold on to the situation, and don't leave the position easily."
As soon as Rexach explained, the assistant coach immediately ran to the sidelines to convey to the players.
Atletico Madrid is best at this kind of infiltration attack that takes advantage of the situation.
Cruyff wrote in his column that the most threatening thing about Atletico Madrid is two points.
One is when you control the ball, you use the player's cross-change running to open up the defensive players and create defensive loopholes.
Another thing is that when the opponent controls the ball, he uses three back midfielders to strictly guard the formation, forcing the opponent to find it difficult to create a threat in the middle, and has to move to the side to create an offensive width.
But in this way, the formation has to be opened and the defensive loopholes will be larger than usual. Once Atletico Madrid intercepts the ball and instigates a counterattack, it will be quite dangerous.
Lexach also carefully studied Cruyff's words and naturally knew the dangers.
Therefore, the strategies he gave were also very targeted.
Since Atletico Madrid is going to attack at the beginning, I will hold on to it first, let you attack and then hit you against you.
But gradually, as time passed, he noticed something was wrong.
Atletico Madrid not only dominated the rhythm on the court, but even snatched away the ball possession that Barcelona has always been proud of.
I saw that on the court, once Atletico Madrid lost the ball, they immediately accelerated the pace and grabbed the ball back in the shortest time.
But once they got the ball, when the first counterattack failed to work, they played very steadily, and even slowly controlled the ball in the middle and backcourt, turning their feet back and forth.
This scene happened at the Camp Nou Stadium, which directly made the fans in the stands furious.
This is just showing off your skills, do you know?
Who doesn’t know that the one in Europe is our Barcelona!
What does your penis mean when you play ball control in front of us?
The fans in the stands were boiling and booed, but on the court, Atletico Madrid sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and continued to control the ball slowly.
Especially Gao Han, who was standing on the sidelines, looked at Lexach, and even grinned.
His annoying look seemed to be saying, don't you always claim to be taking possession of the ball as your life?
Now, your life is in my hands. Want it?
Come and get it!
Lexach was a little angry, but his reason told him not to be fooled.
With the frontcourt stars not actively participating in defense, Barcelona can only press forward to the defense line to have a chance to get back the ball.
Isn’t this just happening to fall into the trap of Gao Han?
Chapter completed!