Godfather Of Champions

Before leading the team to the European Cup, Lippi, the head coach of the Italian national team, accepted an interview on TV. In the interview, the elegant "Silver Fox" held a cigar produced in "Heaven" Tuscany and talked freely, bidding farewell to TV audiences across Italy——

"This is the last time I have coached the national team. After the end of Europe, no matter what results I get, I will leave. Of course, I hope to win the championship. Italy is a team with championship strength. It's just that there is nothing Before it happened, I can't say too much..."

In fact, Italy does not place too much hope on this team. They believe that the host Spain and the French team that has not lost in the qualifiers are more hopeful than Italy to win the championship. If Italy ran into these teams before the final, the outcome would be hard to say.

The Italian pessimism originated from the Brazil World Cup two years ago. In that cup, the Italian team, which was considered the favorite to win the championship before the game, was eliminated and returned home in the group stage. Moreover, the group that Italy was in was not a "death group", which broke out at the time. Unpopular.

The defeat at that World Cup made many people leave the national team, including Pirlo, 35, Cassano, 32, Dorsena, 32, Buffon, 36... Now This national team is re-established, they have nothing to do with the Italian team that won the World Cup in Germany ten years ago.

But Italian football is so strange, every time when the whole world is not optimistic about them, they can always achieve impressive results. For example, the 1982 World Cup and the 2006 World Cup, they are all champions.

Now, they have also reached the final all the way, hopefully winning the European championship. As a team that has won the world championship four times, there is only one aspiration in the highest competition in the continent, which is really inconsistent with their status as a world power team. The Italians hope to write their names in the history of the European Cup for the second time. Although it is generally not optimistic before the game, since it has reached the finals, then it is natural in Italy at this time that the blue fighters led by Lippi can beat England and regain the top of Europe.

In order to cheer up the team and themselves, the Italian media took the game six years ago as an example. In the World Cup in South Africa six years ago, Capello led England to perform well and reached the semi-finals, but met Lippi's Italian team. In the confrontation between the two Italian coaches, Lippi laughed. At last. The Italian media now come up and say-"Look, we have a psychological advantage in playing England."

Such a statement is really far-fetched, but today's Italians just like to hear it.

※※※

Italy is deliberately creating an atmosphere of optimism, but Lippi does not think there is any optimism in this game. As a well-rounded coach, he has seen all kinds of opponents and led the team in countless matches that are not repeated. He has a wealth of experience and he knows that this England is very difficult to deal with.

Although at the beginning of the European Cup, Dunn's team gave a bad impression, and even almost couldn't make it out. But since the game against the German team started, their performance has become better and better. Defeated Germany 2:1, 2:0 ended the 48-year fate of overcoming Sweden, 4:0 victory over the favorite French team, 3:1 eliminated host Spain. Such results are impressive enough. You must know that they are basically the best teams in Europe. On the contrary, Italy's road to promotion is much easier.

The good news now is that England has been competing with strong teams all the way. They must surpass Italy in terms of physical exertion, and the English players are also more exhausted in their mental state. Although Italy has one day less rest than England, they played very easily in the semi-finals.

Lippi's tactics are very simple, and it is not difficult to guess. Before emphasizing offense, first emphasize defense. No matter what you do, defense is the most important thing. England showed their strong offensive strength in the European Cup. Only the game against Wales failed to score. This game is what Lippi needs to focus on. Those teams that lost to England are not too big. The value of, only the game where Wales defeated England is worthy of careful study, from which the password to defeat England can be found.

Lippi has already studied this game. Wales used a defending counterattack, deliberately showing weakness, and then waited for England's pride to underestimate the enemy, and then used their ability on set-pieces to determine the winner. The tactics are simple but very effective. The Welsh coach Tosak took advantage of England's high spirits but pride just after its big victory over Portugal, and developed this tactic, which finally received miraculous results. Their only victory in this European Cup sent them to the top sixteen.

Against the Italian team, Wales did not continue to use the defensive tactics. Perhaps it is because they have completed their pre-match goals, so this game is very relaxed, perhaps Tosak wants the team to show another side, they attacked actively at the beginning, hoping to break the Italian goal. It's a pity that they got an iron plate-even in the face of weak Wales, Lippi insisted on defensive counterattacks. The defense like a copper wall and an iron wall made Wales' offense failed, and it also exposed holes in their defense. Italy seized these holes to counterattack and easily defeated Wales.

Thinking about it now, Lippi may hope that Wales will use the same tactics as England in the game, so that he will have a chance to test how much the team can do in the face of this kind of defense.

He was not sure what tactics Dunn would use when facing Italy.

※※※

"Lippi will definitely stick to the defensive counterattack." Dunn said during a meeting with the coaching staff. "He led the team and played a lot of games. Whenever he wants to raise the flag of offense, he will always die miserably. I personally think that there is a game that is of great reference value for us. I don't know if this game is still there. How many people remember-in a group match in the 2009 South African Confederations Cup, Brazil beat Italy 3-0."

When he said this, several well-informed coaches immediately showed a daze. Everyone remembers that game.

"In that game Lippi had already put in the strongest lineup he could send. He wanted to play against Brazil because he needed to score and win to qualify from the group. 433 was the Italian formation at the time, with Pirlo and Montolivo is dual-core, and there is a De Rossi. But such a lineup performance is horrible. Because Pirlo is old, Montolivo lacks speed and is not good at defending, there is only one De Rossi in the midfield. Confronting Brazil’s Kaka, Robinho, Maicon, Merlot and others. In that game, Italy not only lost the score, but also did not take advantage of the scene. This game brought Lippi a lot. The shock caused him to completely abandon his fantasy. Since then, he has returned to the old way of defensive counterattack..." Tang En talked freely, as if that game did not happen seven years ago, but just yesterday.

"In this final, we can't expect Lippi to make mistakes like he did in the past. I think Lippi will continue to stick to the defensive counterattack tactics. They have players in the frontcourt who can solve the problem alone. As long as they can hold the draw, it is very likely. Victory. We have two options: first, we will try to score as quickly as possible in the game and force Italy to come out and play against us, so that we will have more opportunities." He held out two fingers, "Second, We also retracted to focus on defense, avoiding losing the ball first, and dragging them to a penalty kick to bet on luck."

"Which one do you choose?" he asked.

The coaches were lost in thought.

Generally speaking, the finals of the World Series are usually boring, because most people will choose a conservative approach, first make sure that they don't lose the ball, and then consider scoring. If the coaches of both sides think so, if there is nothing unexpected about this final, it must be extremely boring.

The oldest coach, Tony Carr, a 66-year-old man, was the first to express his views: "I think it’s better to be cautious, Tony. Defense comes first. We must first make sure that it’s not us who lose the ball first. , Before we can consider defeating Italy. In such a final, the side who loses the ball first will become passive, especially when we are facing a team known for its strong defense..."

Dunn did not respond. He neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head in denial. He just turned his eyes on other people, hoping to listen to their opinions more.

"I don't agree with you, old Carl." Steve Wigley disagreed. "I think we should be more active. Lippi would never have thought that we would take the initiative in the finals. He thought we would be like you think. In that way, I think this is exactly what we can use. Take the initiative to attack and get the first goal. We have this strength." He even clenched his fist.

Hearing that someone objected to his suggestion, Carl did not immediately refute, but shook his head with a smile.

“I think it’s better to be conservative. This is the final. We can’t make mistakes, at least we can’t make mistakes first...” Another coach, Steve Getting, said, “It’s not who is better in the finals. But it’s less mistakes than anyone else. Even if the penalty is delayed, we have a chance to win. Just strengthen the penalty kick training these days."

It is now 2:1, and conservatives have the upper hand temporarily.

Dunn turned his gaze to Des Walker. As an assistant coach, he must also express his opinion.

"I agree with Wigley." Walker's opinion is simple.

Now everyone looked at Dunn again. The score between conservative and offensive is 2:2, which is similar.

Dunn didn't give an answer right away, he was obviously hesitant. The conservatives have their reasons, and they are very convincing. The final victory of this kind of finals is the team that makes fewer or no mistakes. If you want to make no mistakes, conservative defense is the way.

It stands to reason that Dunn is the kind of person who can do anything to win and is not afraid of sacrificing the scene. He is not afraid of negative football infamy. As long as he can win the championship trophy, he can trample all those who have scolded him in the quagmire.

But today, Dunn didn't plan to really do this. In other words, it is not intended to just do this.

"What everyone said makes sense, it really embarrass me..." He deliberately made a dilemma.

※※※

George Wood, who had just taken a bath, received a call from Gareth Bale.

"Guess where I am! George!" As soon as I connected the phone, I heard Bell's energetic voice.

"At home." Wood didn't hesitate to play this naive game with Bell, and he casually reported a place name.

"Tsk, you are so boring! I'm in the Maldives! Palm trees and white beaches are ten million times better than the broken weather in England! I love it here! It's good to be out early..." Bell exaggerated.

Mitchell pushed the door in, saw Wood making a call, and asked casually: "Is your mother?"

Wood shook his head: "A noisy little monkey."

Mitchell laughed, he knew who was calling.

"Hey, George!" Bell was unhappy when he heard Wood's words. "I kindly called you, do you treat me like that?"

"What's the matter?" Wood asked directly, ignoring his practice.

"Congratulations on reaching the finals." Bell said sourly. Although he said that it would be good to be eliminated early, in fact he would rather stay in Spain at this time.

"Thank you."

"I heard that your opponent is Italy, I want to tell you something, maybe it will help you."

Wood raised his eyebrows: "Oh?"

"Oh what do you mean!" Bell knew Wood was interested, and he finally grabbed Wood by the handle.

"Okay, thank you. Please tell me."

Bell cleared his throat and fully enjoyed the respect Wood gave before continuing: "If you can tell the boss, tell him it's best to take a more conservative defensive counterattack against Italy..."

"Italy will do the same."

"I know! But this is the final, not a group stage. There is no tie. Even if everyone is defensive, the winner will be won! Penalties! I think this is the best way to determine the champion. We are with Italy. During the match, the top 16 made us a little dizzy. From the coach to ourselves, we thought we could challenge Italy. So we tried to take the initiative, but the result? We lost all our underwear. Lippi is very cunning, he just Waiting for others to attack, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack. This is really similar to the boss, so I suggest the boss do the same. It doesn’t matter if the scene is ugly, and it doesn’t matter if the game is dull. You are not playing for those TV viewers. This method gives you a very high chance of winning the championship. I believe that with you, England’s defense is not a problem. To be honest, if we continue to use the same tactics against you in that game, maybe we can drag them into overtime. , Even a penalty kick. It's a pity..."

Bell was silent for a while, and it was obvious that he had been eliminated from the game.

"If you win Italy, maybe it will be us who will meet with you in the final! At that time, we will have a mental advantage against you! Haha!" For a moment, his voice was full of vitality.

Then Bell told Wood about the players in the Italian team who needed special attention, reminding him to be extra careful with these people in the game. These are the first-hand information that Bell has obtained after the game against Italy. Of course, he knows that the boss is always used to studying his opponents thoroughly, but there should be something new in the information collected from the player’s perspective, even if it’s just one. For a little bit, he hopes it can help to the end.

Finally, after showing off the Maldives scenery and weather again, he was about to close the line.

"George," he called again suddenly.

"Huh?" Wood, who was planning to put down his phone, stopped.

"You must win! You must win the championship!"

"Of course. We are not here to compete for the runner-up."

"Hey, that's good, that's good..." Bell smirked. "When the time comes, I can say-‘Look, we are the only team in the European championship that has not won!’"

※※※

The windows are raining heavily, and the sea in the distance is raging, and the sea is raging, and the amazing waves are hitting the dykes on the shore. The poor palm trees bow their heads in this bad weather, and seem to be in danger of breaking at any time. There was a white mist on the shore, and nothing was seen in the distance.

The huge roar, even if the window was closed tightly, could not be stopped, and it continued to drill into the dim room.

The Maldives rarely has such weather, but it does not mean it will never happen. In the Maldives, the rainy season is from May to November. The strong rainfall brought by the southwest monsoon is like fighting against the dryness brought by the northeast monsoon. There are often strong winds and waves. At this time, travelers can only hide in the hotel room and sigh.

The hapless Gareth Bale dropped the phone and lay on the bed, looking bored at the ceiling. His girlfriend is taking a shower, so he has time to call Wood.

"Damn it! I finally came to the Maldives, but came across this kind of spooky weather...Ah, it's better than Spain..."

※※※

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