Midfielder Ruler

The 2013-2014 Copa del Rey final will be held at 9pm local time in Spain on April 17 at the Mestalla Stadium, Valencia’s home stadium.

Although the match time was midweek and the match venue was a neutral venue, Real Madrid fans and Barcelona fans were very active and came to the outer square of the Mestalla Stadium early to cheer for their beloved teams.

Despite this, the Mestalla stadium was not as full as expected until around 7pm.

This time point is already two hours after the end of daily working hours in Spain, and the domestic transportation in Spain is quite developed. Two hours is enough for Real Madrid and Barcelona fans to come from their respective cities to the Mestalla Stadium, the capital of the Valencia region. Cheer for your favorite team.

About an hour and a half before the start of the game, the two teams took buses and parked at the designated parking space at the Mestalla Stadium.

This is not the first time for Tang Zheng to come to the Mestalla Stadium. The first time to come was in the 17th round of the league this season, which was the last league game before Christmas last year. Real Madrid was a guest at Mestalla and defeated the home team in a thrilling 3:2 way. In Valencia, Tang Zheng once scored a goal, so the Mestalla Stadium is still a good place for Tang Zheng.

The Mestalla Stadium is a large professional football stadium that can accommodate 55,000 fans. Although this stadium cannot be compared with the Bernabeu and Camp Nou, it is a sacred place that is difficult to surpass in the hearts of Valencia fans. temple.

Closer to home, the Copa del Rey final held at the Mestalla Stadium is quite beneficial to Barcelona, ​​which has been in poor form recently. First of all, Cristiano Ronaldo missed the 18-man roster for the Copa del Rey final due to a knee injury. In addition, the left Defender Marcelo is also on the list due to soleus injury.

Perhaps Marcelo's absence has little impact on Real Madrid, but Cristiano Ronaldo's absence is a huge hidden danger for Real Madrid.

In the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Westfalenstadion, if Tang Zheng hadn't scored twice within five minutes, there would have been a big question mark as to whether Real Madrid could advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League this season.

First of all, Cristiano Ronaldo has excellent foot feel this season. He has scored an astonishing 13 goals in ten games in the Champions League. If it were not for the two rounds of the Champions League quarter-finals that were plagued by injuries, his goal number could be matched. It tied the record of 14 goals scored in a single season of the Champions League held by Altafini, Messi and Tang Zheng.

An hour before the start of the game, both sides of the game received the official starting lineup of each other.

Real Madrid's official formation is 4231. The goalkeeper is still guarded by Casillas. The four defenders are Coentrao, Pepe, Amos and Carvajal.

The double defensive midfielder is Xavi Alonso partnered with Tang Zheng.

The three forwards are Di Maria, Modric and Isco, with Benzema at the front.

Barcelona adopted a traditional four-three-three formation. The goalkeeper was Pinto, replacing Valdes who was unable to play due to injury. Also unable to play due to injury was central defender Pique. His position was replaced by Bartra, partnering Masche. Llano, the two full-backs are Jordi Alba and Alves.

The three midfielders are Xavi, Busquets and Fabregas, and the three forwards are Iniesta, Messi and Neymar.

Tang Zheng also learned from assistant coach Clement that Sanchez was not included in the starting lineup. He felt very sorry for this. He knew the ability of his friend Sanchez very well, but Martino actually abandoned him...

However, Tang Zheng is quite happy that Barcelona did not send Sanchez, because Sanchez's fighting spirit is what Barcelona lacks most in its current sluggish state.

Without Sanchez, Barcelona would not be able to shine with the fighting spirit that makes people shine.

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Half an hour before the start of the Copa del Rey final, the Mestalla stadium was already packed, and deafening cheers resounded throughout the stadium.

Real Madrid fans wearing white jerseys and Barcelona fans with red and blue stripes are clearly distinguishable. They sit in the north and south stands of the Mestalla Stadium, and then move in order. In the middle are neutral fans who have no stance.

Of course, many of these neutral fans are wearing the red home jersey of the Chinese men’s football team. They are Chinese studying and working in Spain. The reason for coming to the Mestalla Stadium to watch the Copa del Rey final is simple. Just cheering and cheering for Tang Zheng.

In fact, this kind of scene can be seen in many La Liga and Champions League matches. Therefore, many foreign commentators will make fun of China, the most populous country in the world. It is true that wherever you go, there are Chinese people.

It is worth mentioning that there was a brief ceremony before the start of the Copa del Rey final, in which Juan Carlos, the current King of Spain, spoke, advocating the spirit of friendship first and competition second.

Not long after, with the referee Laos blowing his whistle, the 2013-2014 Spanish Copa del Rey final was officially announced: "Beep~"

Messi kicked the ball to Iniesta and then ran forward. After receiving the ball, Iniesta did not pass it forward. Instead, he pulled the ball and turned to face his own goal. Then he handed the ball to Xavi and controlled it. Rhythm.

Central 5 commentator He Wei seemed to have discovered a new world. He changed his voice and said: "Barcelona's tactics seem to have changed a lot. They are much less aggressive than in the past. Is it because they are afraid of Real Madrid's quick counterattack?"

Indeed, Tang Zheng did not appear in the central midfielder or attacking midfielder position in this game, but as a defensive midfielder, partnering with the experienced Xavi Alonso.

Tang Zheng has an excellent positional sense. He is very stable when playing as a defensive midfielder and can play a one-man role in defense in the middle. Coupled with Xavi Alonso's experience, it is understandable why Barcelona choose insurance. control the rhythm.

Real Madrid did not defend passively as imagined, but actively defended aggressively, so much so that Barcelona players, who had been in a sluggish state recently, would feel uncomfortable facing a pressing defense and make mistakes.

The fact that they suffered two consecutive defeats in the Champions League and the league had nothing to do with Messi, but that Atletico Madrid and Granada's active pressure was very effective, frequently disrupting Barcelona's offensive rhythm.

Modric's defensive ability may not be comparable to Tang Zheng's, but his tactical execution ability and running ability are top-notch, so active pressure in the midfield and frontcourt can put enough pressure on Barcelona's brains, Xavi.

Fabregas' organizational skills are also not weak, but his ability is still a bit behind Xavi. Therefore, Barcelona's offense did not go smoothly at the beginning. Instead, it was almost counterattacked by Real Madrid's on-the-spot counterattack.

As Real Madrid counterattacked on the spot, Tang Zheng's position gradually began to improve, and Real Madrid's offense became more and more threatening.

In the third minute, Tang Zheng suddenly stepped forward and received Modric's diagonal pass at the front of the penalty area. He made a slight adjustment, and then suddenly made a cold arrow. The football flew close to the ground and flew towards the goal. Goalkeeper Pinto did not make any reaction, but the football also Instead of rolling into the goal, he scraped against the right post of the goal and rolled out of the baseline, crashing into the billboard behind.

Two minutes later, it was Tang Zheng again, who took advantage of a corner kick opportunity to force goalkeeper Pinto to make a world-class save.

"Oh oh oh——"

Tang Zheng continued to create threats, so much so that Barcelona coach Martino stood on the sidelines and frequently made complaining body movements.

The atmosphere was fanatical, and the Barcelona players on the court were helpless, so they didn't notice the reaction of head coach Martino.

Even if they took a step back and noticed Martino's actions, they would not have much psychological fluctuations, because as Barcelona was eliminated from the Champions League, Martino basically lost control of the locker room.

Fortunately, compatriot Messi still supports Martino, otherwise Martino would have packed up and left.

At the same time, Central 5 commentator He Wei said with excitement: "Tang Zheng is in very good condition. Although he is playing as a defensive midfielder in this game, he has an extraordinary ability to read the game and can often make the most of it. Appeared in the right place at the right time, if it weren't for bad luck, I think Real Madrid would have taken the lead!"

Of course, it's not that Barcelona didn't create opportunities, but Messi, who has been in a sluggish state recently, failed to grasp it. His shot from the penalty spot missed the goal post.

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Ten minutes into the game, taking advantage of a dead ball opportunity, Martino pulled left back Alba to explain a few words, which he then conveyed to his teammates on the field.

Immediately, Barcelona's offensive rhythm suddenly accelerated, and Messi got more opportunities to get the ball.

But Messi had just broken through Modric and Di Maria, and was about to speed up to break through Xavi Alonso when Tang Zheng appeared in sight.

Perhaps out of instinct, Messi forgot to accelerate the breakthrough, but jumped up subconsciously.

Tang Zheng was not surprised by Messi's avoidance. He swept the ball to Di Maria while falling to the ground.

With his back to the direction of the attack, Di Maria realized Alves' uphill grab and directly handed the ball to Modric with the arch of his right foot. Modric, who received the ball, did not take the ball forward himself, but completed it with Di Maria. A 'one-two' sent the ball into space behind Alves.

Tang Zheng, who had completed the key interception, did not stop on the spot. He stood up quickly, started on the spot, and ran diagonally towards the far end.

Only then did Messi realize that he had just made an unforgivable mistake on the offensive end, but he did not stand still, but took the initiative to defend.

To be more precise, he was chasing after Tang Zheng.

However, Messi found that his impressive speed was not as good as that of Tang Zheng, who was over 1.9 meters tall.

During the process of empty running, the distance between the two people not only did not shorten, but actually became longer and longer.

Di Maria turned around and accelerated to catch the ball in one go. Center defender Mascherano had to pull to the wing to make up for the huge gap left by Alves' reckless attack.

Di Maria, who had dribbled the ball past the center line, did not dribble again, because Mascherano had blocked his straight-line acceleration and inward angle. He raised his left foot and made a wide-range transfer. The football came to the right. Isco's feet.

As Mascherano moved to the right, Bartra and Alba automatically moved in, leaving a large gap on the right side of Real Madrid's attack.

What's interesting is that after receiving the football, Isco did not accelerate forward, but actively slowed down.

"this……"

German Sky commentator Marcel Leif was stunned when he looked at the broadcast screen. It was not until a white figure suddenly appeared in the lower left corner of the broadcast screen with the big Arabic numeral '10' behind it that he suddenly shouted: "Don— —”

At this moment, Isco suddenly took the ball and accelerated toward his ribs. Tang Zheng accelerated from behind Isco towards the baseline in a tacit understanding.

Behind Tang Zheng is Messi, who is chasing after him.

Isco suddenly cut inside and immediately attracted Alba's attention. Bartra had to pay attention to Benzema's running, so that Tang Zheng, who inserted behind, was not noticed.

"Uuuuuu——"

The area of ​​the stands near the left side of Barcelona's half-court defense belonged to Barcelona fans, so they burst into loud boos.

Isco has a very good tacit understanding with Tang Zheng. With Albane in an inside position, Isco used the outside instep of his right foot to pass the ball to Tang Zheng's path at high speed.

Perhaps the boos disturbed Isco. His passing force was too strong and too close to the sideline, which meant that Tang Zheng had to turn a corner and go outside the goal to chase the ball.

Just after turning a corner, Messi, who was chasing after him, finally caught up with Tang Zheng.

Martino, who was standing in the coaching area of ​​the home team, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even if Messi is not a professional defensive player, at least Barcelona is not at a disadvantage in terms of defensive numbers. As long as Messi does not take the ball easily, Busquets can make up for it. , Real Madrid's offense can basically be transformed into a positional offense.

But after Tang Zheng stabilized the ball, he exaggeratedly raised his right foot, ready to pass the ball. Messi was not a defensive player to begin with, nor did he have a good defensive awareness, so he subconsciously extended his left foot to block Tang Zheng's right foot. A 45-degree cross from about thirty meters away from the baseline.

However, Tang Zheng missed the pass. He quickly put down his right foot, pushed the ball inside with the instep of his outside foot, and then started.

Immediately, Messi realized that he had been fooled and quickly put down his left foot to chase Tang Zheng. However, Tang Zheng was explosive and consciously blocked his position while running. Therefore, Messi, who rarely helped defend, was blocked by Tang Zheng's strong body. behind.

Alba had no choice when retreating. Busquets and Cesc Fabregas, who were relatively slow, had not yet returned to their defense. He had to put pressure on Tang Zheng head-on.

Messi took the game very seriously. When he lost his defensive position, he chose to reach out and tug on Tang Zheng's jersey to prevent him from starting completely.

While chasing the ball, Tang Zheng looked up at the penalty area, then stretched his left hand back, pulled Messi's jersey in front of him, and pushed forward.

Therefore, Messi, who was not strong enough, was pulled forward a few meters by Tang Zheng. Referee Laos, seeing that Messi had committed a foul first and the two of them were pulling each other, simply allowed the game to continue. Tang Zheng, who was chasing the ball, Zheng raised his right foot and made a quick pass.

The football bypassed Alba and Bartra at the front point and flew to the back point.

Mascherano and Di Maria faced the football at the same time, but Di Maria was obviously faster than Mascherano, so his momentum was stronger. He dived about fourteen meters away from the goal on the left side of the penalty area. Mascherano wanted to reach out and it was too late.

Tang Zheng's quick cross from the right accurately found Di Maria, who headed the ball towards the far corner of the goal.

Goalkeeper Pinto made a subconscious save, but helpless with the power and angle of Di Maria's header, he could only declare that it was beyond his reach...