Yang Yang once asked Van Gaal a question, why is football round?

Of course, this question is not about why the football used in the game is round, but about why football games are full of unpredictability and there are always various accidents?

Van Gaal's answer is that because people are playing football games.

Tactical routines and formations are both dead, rational, but people are alive and emotional.

People are changing all the time, and the team is composed of eleven people. The subtle changes of each individual affect the overall team. The subtle changes of the eleven people will even turn into drastic changes of the entire team.

Reflecting on the court is that one pass, a tackle, a foul, or even a sentence can change the trend of the game, because it does not only affect one or two people, but one team, or even two teams.

The more people there are, the more unpredictable it is, and the fewer things an individual can change.

"Why can basketball produce Jordan, but football cannot?"

Van Gaal did not tell Yang Yang the answer at that time, but later, Yang Yang slowly explored and understood slowly.

Because there are only five people in basketball, there are eleven people in football.

The more people there are, the harder it is to change the game with the power of individuals.

It's like in a war of hundreds or thousands of people, a person is extremely small and insignificant.

But just like a war, when one side suffers a great defeat for some reason, it will turn into a one-sided massacre.

There are many reasons for this kind of failure, including various.

But football is different from war. It is a competitive sport, so there is an intermission break.

These fifteen minutes are not only to give players of both sides some rest time, but also to calm down both sides of the game, think carefully, analyze the gains and losses of the first half, and prepare for the second half.

...

Liverpool entered the break with a four-to-zero lead.

The players walked into the player channel amid the cheers of Liverpool fans.

Everyone had an excited smile on their faces, and it was obvious that the first half of the game made them all feel proud.

"This is definitely the most exciting first half this season, and it is even better than the first half against Barcelona, ​​because there are enough goals!" The commentator shouted loudly.

Yang Yang and his teammates walked into the player passage, went down the stairs, and went straight to the home team's locker room.

Some took off their clothes and wiped their bodies; some sat on chairs with golden swords and asked the club's massage staff to come up to serve; some couldn't sit still and stood there and walked around; some sat directly on the long table in front of the seats.

All kinds of pictures in the locker room will definitely be shocked if they are transmitted outside.

...

"This team has no experience." Xiavey Alonso said lightly, but with a smile on his face.

Obviously, he scored a goal and it felt pretty good.

"Roma is not a strong team in Serie A. This is their first time in more than 20 years to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. This year, there was a telephone gate incident in Italy, which made Roma take the opportunity. In addition, he was lucky to draw lots, so..." Gerald said.

Judging from the results of the group stage, Roma is not good, with three wins, one draw and two losses, and got tens of them, qualifying as the second in the group.

Of course, this has to be seen separately. If it is compared with AC Milan, Roma's performance is indeed very good, because AC Milan got tens, but ranked first in the group, and Milan's opponent is a fraction worse than Roma.

In the knockout round, Roma was also lucky and won the weakest among the top eight groups.

Although Lyon has been dominating Ligue 1 for a long time, in fact, everyone knows that Ligue 1 has been even less competitive than Eredivisie in recent years. At least Eredivisie has produced teams such as Ajax and Eindhoven, which have the strength of European quarter-finals and semi-finals.

So, Roma eliminated Lyon with a total score of 2-0 in two rounds. After 23 years of separation, he entered the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the first time.

This is why many media reporters said in the pre-match analysis that Rome lacks experience.

The knockout matches in the Champions League are two completely different competition systems, and the opponents they encounter are completely different in the game strategies.

Whether it is a Roma player or head coach Spalletti, they obviously lack such experience.

"The team's own characteristics, coupled with the head coach's tactical style, and lack of experience, have caused this team to be unable to stop. They actually play against us when we play rhythm and form!" Yang Yang shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Roma did not pay much attention to how well he performed in Serie A, but judging from this game, this team really has no concept of controlling the rhythm. They attacked as soon as they came out, and after conceding the ball, they also attacked, and kept playing against Liverpool.

But the problem is that Liverpool has enough confidence.

Not only because Anfield is here, but also because midfielders like Gerald, Xavi Alonso and Mascherano are in charge, which makes Roma unable to stop Liverpool's midfield suppression at all.

After playing against Arsenal three days ago and Mascherano and Xavi Alonso played together, the two double midfielders also performed well in this game, setting up an unbreakable barrier for Liverpool's midfield.

...

The players discussed the first half in the locker room. Although they did not make a big splash, they were still confident.

After all, he was already leading four goals in the first half, but Gerald reminded his teammates from time to time, don't be careless.

The Istanbul miracle back then was created by Liverpool, and no one wanted to give his opponent an Anfield miracle.

Yang Yang noticed Mascherano, walked over, and grabbed Argentina's back waist tightly.

"Javier, look, Harvey and Steven scored goals in the first half, Dick and Peter scored goals, and you and me were the only ones!"

After Yang Yang said this, everyone in the locker room immediately looked at Mascherano with a smile.

"I'm the defensive midfielder." Mascherano said, grabbing his head.

"You can also score a goal. In the last game, you missed a goal?" Yang Yang said this, and everyone in the locker room suddenly remembered.

It was a long shot, and the quality was quite high, but it just didn't make it, which was a pity.

"If you enter one, your career will be blooming." Yang Yang encouraged with a smile.

When Gerald heard this, he immediately hissed, "When Yang said this, I remembered it, Javier, you haven't scored a goal in your career yet?"

"Have you scored a goal in your career?"

"Oh my god, I'm twenty-two. I've played professional football for four or five years and haven't scored a goal?"

"Really or not?"

Everyone suddenly started to talk.

Although scoring goals is indeed not an easy task as a midfielder and a defender, it is a bit unreasonable to say that you have not scored a goal in four or five years, especially in Argentina and Brazil, which love offense.

You know, when Mascherano debuted, he played as a midfielder or even a midfielder, but later he became more and more behind.

"I testify that he really has never scored the goal." Yang Yang said with a smile, "So, I suggest that we will help him get one in the second half."

Yang Yang's proposal immediately received a response from everyone.

After all, I have never scored a goal in my career so far, which is indeed quite miserable.

More importantly, how could others oppose Yang Yang’s proposal?

"The front of the penalty area, you should pay more attention to running in the second half. I will pass the ball to you, do it if you have the chance, and try to get one!" Yang Yang patted Mascherano's shoulder with encouragement and smiled, but he felt a little proud in his heart.

This is what Ronaldinho did to Messi at the beginning, but unfortunately Messi didn't score.

How could Yang Yang think that one day he could help his teammates like Ronaldinho?

The Argentinian was moved because he knew that Yang Yang was actually helping him.

The last time he played Aston Villa, he played the whole game, and had a long shot but failed. The next day in the gym, he just complained casually, saying that if he scored, it would be the first goal of his career. Unexpectedly, Yang Yang remembered it.

"But we have to agree to only enter one, not more. I have to work harder to enter one in the second half."

Yang Yang's words immediately made a burst of laughter in the locker room, but no one questioned him.

Because no one dared to deny that although Yang Yang did not score, all four goals in the first half came from his assists.

"Will we help you get one?" Gerald asked with a smile.

Yang Yang nodded openly and said, "Okay, that's up to you!"

...

After Benitez entered the locker room, he was very satisfied with the players' mental outlook.

Regarding the first half, Espanyol said that the team played well in the first half, but there are still many things that were not done well enough.

First of all, the team's offensive speed should be faster, especially the offensive and defensive conversions, which must be faster.

"The characteristic of Rome is fast, we must fight fast with fast."

Benitez gestured very decisively, "I guess Roma will definitely seek to stabilize the rhythm in the second half, but you have also seen that this team will easily lose the rhythm, so we have to play fast from the beginning and drag the game into a fast pace."

Fast-paced offensive and defensive battles have always been the strength of Premier League teams, because this is how the entire Premier League is played.

On the contrary, the Serie A has always been playing relatively slowly.

So, once the game reaches a fast pace, Roma will not be able to escape.

"In addition, our midfielder should be properly pressed and put more pressure on the opponent and cannot retreat too far. Although we lead four goals, we must not be careless. Don't forget that two years ago, it was because our opponent was careless that we reversed our opponent and won the Champions League."

Benitez also emphasized his tone, showing his importance to this point.

He is obviously worried that the team will relax their guard after leading four goals, which is definitely a taboo.

The strength of the two teams may be somewhat different, but not as big as four goals. Liverpool can play Roma in the first half so that he can't resist. But if he is careless in the second half, who can guarantee that Liverpool will not be beaten to pieces by his opponent?

Yang Yang was also very cautious after hearing this.
Chapter completed!