Midfielder Ruler

The Spanish Super Cup is an annual football tournament in Spain in which the Spanish League champions play against the Copa del Rey champions as the opening match before the start of the new season. The difference from other league Super Cups is that if the La Liga and Copa del Rey champions are played by the same The winning team will win, and the opposing team will be replaced by the Copa del Rey runner-up.

In the past 2013-2014 season, Atletico Madrid was the league champion and Real Madrid was the Copa del Rey champion.

It happened that the two teams had many key contests last season. Atletico Madrid won the opportunity in the league and eventually won the league championship, while Real Madrid won key games in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League and won the final championship.

Especially in the 2013-2014 Champions League final, Atletico led almost to the last second of stoppage time, but Real Madrid's last attack relied on Tang Zheng's powerful header to top the ball into the goal, and the countdown was absolutely tied.

It was Tang Zheng's perfect countdown that enabled Real Madrid to win the tenth Champions League title in the club's history!

Closer to home, before the 2014-2015 La Liga season, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid took the lead in launching a strong dialogue, which naturally attracted the attention of fans around the world.

The number of Real Madrid signings this season is less than in the previous two seasons, but the quality of the signings is very high. They have introduced the top scorer of the Brazilian World Cup, James Rodriguez, and the World Cup-winning midfielder Toni Kroos.

The star quality of Atletico Madrid's signings may not be as good as Real Madrid's, but the quality is not necessarily that bad. The nine players they introduced are all quite capable.

Against this background, the Spanish Super Cup before the start of the 2014-2015 La Liga season has attracted much attention.

Barcelona, ​​which lost all four majors last season, is also paying attention to the two rounds of the Super Cup. Enrique, who took over as Barcelona coach this summer, even brought his assistants to the Bernabeu Stadium, the venue for the first round of the Super Cup, to observe closely the strong contenders for the new season's league championship for the first time. Confrontation.

Real Madrid, which is sitting at the Bernabeu at home, has a full lineup. The official formation is the 423 formation used last season, with goalkeeper and captain Casillas, defenders Marcelo, Ramos, Pepe and Carvajal. .

The double midfielder Modric partners with Xabi Alonso, the three forwards are Cristiano Ronaldo, Tang Zheng and James Rodriguez, with Benzema at the front.

The official formation of Atletico Madrid is 442, with veteran goalkeeper Moya, defenders Siqueira, Godin, Miranda and Juanfran, and four midfielders Saul, Gabi, Mario Suarez and Cork, double forward Raul Garcia partners with Mandzukic.

In fact, after the game started, the positions of the players on both sides were somewhat different from the official formations given before the game. The positions of the Real Madrid players were more like four-four-two.

Atletico Madrid players are positioned like a 4-5 formation.

The lineups of both sides of the game have changed in some positions compared to last season, but the technical and tactical content is quite high.

The Atletico Madrid coached by Simeone is still very defensive and very iron-blooded. Even when visiting the Bernabeu Stadium, they dare to make controversial defensive moves.

Therefore, the boos at the Bernabeu Stadium never stopped, and the referee Marienko's enforcement standards seemed to support the defensive moves of Atletico Madrid players. Tang Zheng, Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez were successively blocked. Atletico Madrid players did not express much when they were knocked down.

CCTV 5 does not have the authority to broadcast the Spanish Super Cup. Chinese fans can only watch the game live through LeTV or other local TV stations. Even though it is already past four in the morning, the enthusiasm of domestic fans has not weakened at all.

However, the game was intermittent and a bit disappointing.

Of course, fans who have paid attention to La Liga in the past two seasons know what most of the games will be like, but there is no shortage of exciting scenes.

Tang Zheng, Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez were knocked down by Atletico Madrid defenders in succession. Cristiano Ronaldo, who was injured, and James Rodriguez, who was eager to express himself, were both knocked down. I consciously hold back my kicks for fear of getting injured.

Tang Zheng didn't have such worries. He still organized the midfield and frontcourt attacks according to the rhythm of past games.

Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez both stopped kicking, and Real Madrid's midfield and frontcourt offense became no longer smooth. In order to maintain the offensive, Tang Zheng had to increase the coverage area and maintain the three-dimensionality of the frontcourt offense. .

Standing in front of the home team's coaching bench, Ancelotti frowned, not knowing how to break Atletico Madrid's nearly full-field defense.

Headache!

※※※

In fact, Ancelotti is quite fortunate that Turkish international Arda Turan did not appear in the starting lineup.

Once Atletico Madrid's midfielder accumulates Gabi, Koke, Alda Turan, Thiago and Raul Garcia, Atletico Madrid's midfield defense will be even stronger. Even if Tang Zheng is on the court, he must avoid his sharp edges to ensure football control.

Despite this, Real Madrid did not break the deadlock before the end of the first half, and the two sides entered the locker room with a score of 0:0.

The on-site director's close-up shots were continuously shown to the Real Madrid players, and the players, including Tang Zheng, all looked worried.

Obviously, they don't know if they can beat Atletico Madrid at home.

If Atletico Madrid cannot defeat Atletico Madrid at home, then Atletico Madrid, which has increased its recruitment this season, will show its terrifying fangs when it returns to its home stadium, Calderon Stadium...

The fifteen-minute intermission went by in a blink of an eye. In the second half, the team changed sides and fought again.

What is surprising is that before referee Marienko blew the whistle for the second half, Real Madrid took the lead in making substitutions, with Toni Kroos replacing Cristiano Ronaldo.

The broadcast screen quickly showed to the home team's bench. Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sitting on the bench, had a strong ice pack tied to his left knee.

In other words, Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted not because of some unfounded disagreement between the generals, but because Cristiano Ronaldo's old injury recurred. In order not to affect preparations for the new season, he chose to rest for the sake of insurance.

Of course, this has a lot to do with the movements of Atletico Madrid's defensive players.

Without Cristiano Ronaldo in the frontcourt, the offensive ability was greatly reduced, but the subsequent formation changes made by Real Madrid are eye-catching.

Toni Kroos, who came off the bench, appeared on the right side of Xavi Alonso, playing as a three-back midfielder with Modric. Tang Zheng and James Rodriguez played as a double front midfielder, with Benzema at the front. .

In the specific position of the three defensive midfielders, Xavi Alonso is at the back, and Modric and Toni Kroos are closer to the double attacking midfielders Tang Zheng and James Rodriguez, making the midfield and backcourt The connection between the midfield and the frontcourt is smoother,

Tang Zheng's running coverage is still very large. With Cristiano Ronaldo being replaced, as the team's third shooter, he must shoulder more offensive responsibilities.

With Toni Kroos coming off the bench, Tang Zheng is under a lot of defensive pressure, and he can free up more time on the offensive end.

However, Simeone has studied Real Madrid's offensive tactics very thoroughly, and the tactics with Tang Zheng as the core of the midfield are completely restrained. Atletico Madrid captain Gabi is almost inseparable from Tang Zheng, so much so that LeTV commentator Dong Lu joked: "Gabby Bi is Tang Zheng's personal bodyguard. Even if he goes to the bathroom, he will always follow him and hand him a precious tissue when needed."

In the tenth minute of the second half, Atletico Madrid made the first substitution adjustment of the game, with No. 7 Griezmann replacing No. 26 Saul.

Griezmann, who came off the bench, did not appear in the left midfield position where Saul originally sat. Instead, he ran straight upfield and stood behind Mandzukic, acting as a second forward.

It is not difficult to see that Simeone's substitutions, which are ridiculed by most media and fans as only defensive, are aimed at offense!

Even if we are a guest at the Bernabeu, we must step up our offensive!

※※※

Atletico Madrid, who intended to strengthen their offensive, did not get a decent chance. Real Madrid's formation has changed from the original 4231 to the current 4321. The three midfielder system allows the core area in front of the double central defenders Pepe and Ramos to be safely obtained. Assure.

Griezmann has strong ability with the ball at his feet, excellent breakthrough and shooting skills, but it is difficult for him to stand out among many Real Madrid defensive players.

Real Madrid, who are sitting at home, still have the initiative. In addition to booing when Real Madrid players are violated, the Real Madrid fans in the stands often make huge shouts in tacit understanding to cheer for the Real Madrid players on the field.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

There were continuous loud shouts above the Bernabéu Stadium, but Real Madrid's offense was never able to directly threaten Moya's goal attack, and even the offense dropped significantly compared to the first half.

Not scoring when you are in a good position is a taboo in football matches, so many Real Madrid fans are worried.

The reason why Real Madrid did not win the league championship last season was because they failed to score points in the two rounds of Madrid derby at home. If they get even one point in the first round of Madrid derby, Real Madrid will be the final league champion.

Of course, the decline in offensive attack has something to do with Toni Kroos's distribution of ball rights. His playing style seems to be somewhat incompatible with Real Madrid's tactical system.

The on-site director gave a thoughtful call to Di Maria who was sitting on the bench during a dead ball. With the addition of James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos, Di Maria's playing time, as Real Madrid's main player last season, suddenly increased. Less, so transfer rumors are endless.

When Cristiano Ronaldo went off due to injury, Real Madrid would rather send Toni Kroos to change the formation than replace Di Maria, which basically means that there is no place for Di Maria in Real Madrid's starting lineup in the new season.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour into the second half, the score still has not changed. Atletico Madrid has made two substitutions.

In addition to making passive substitution adjustments at the beginning of the second half, Real Madrid has not yet made a second adjustment, so the on-site director who knows the ball frequently takes care of Ancelotti, who is standing in the home team's coaching area with a frown on his face.

Real Madrid did not make its second substitution adjustment until the 78th minute of the game. Di Maria, who has been subject to transfer rumors, replaced Modric. Real Madrid's formation changed from 4321 to the usual 4231. .

It has to be said that Real Madrid's offense has been significantly strengthened after returning to the 4-2-3 formation, especially when the offense is not organized by Toni Kroos.

Simeone studied Real Madrid's tactics thoroughly before the game. Why didn't Ancelotti study Simeone's tactics thoroughly before the game?

Toni Kroos has just joined Real Madrid and has not integrated well with the team. The offensive organization will seem a bit slow and inefficient after passing him. Therefore, Di Maria came off the bench to bring Ancelotti's latest tactical thinking.

When the offense comes to the frontcourt, it is no longer organized by Toni Kroos, but directly by Tang Zheng to find a solution.

Di Maria came on as a substitute for just three minutes and Real Madrid broke the deadlock.

Tang Zheng received a direct pass from Xabi Alonso in the Atletico Madrid half-circle area and passed Gabi. Then without making any adjustments, he passed a long pass with his right foot to find Di Maria who was diagonally inserted into the ribs. After getting the ball, the outside instep of his right foot quickly handed the ball to Carvajal, who came in at high speed from the right.

Real Madrid's offense was very smooth from Tang Zheng to Carvajal, basically one shot, so Atletico Madrid's defense was not fully organized yet.

Carvajal quickly swept the ball to the center from the right side of the penalty area, and Benzema completed a poke before Godin blocked it.

Goalkeeper Moya subconsciously stretched his foot to block the ball at the near corner. He blocked the football, but instead of blocking it from the baseline, it flew to the far corner of the goal. James Rodriguez, who just ran to the far end of the goal, swung the ball to the left. foot, kicking the ball towards the goal that is no longer guarded...

"Ouch-ouch——"

Suddenly, the Bernabeu Stadium fell into endless madness.

The Super Cup is the appetizer of the new season. If Real Madrid can defeat its strong rival Atletico Madrid, the team will be more confident in the new season!

James Rodriguez, who scored the goal to break the deadlock, became the new darling of the Bernabeu Stadium. Incited by the on-site announcer Albert, they chanted James Rodriguez's last name: "—— James!!"

James Rodriguez, who was experiencing the madness of the Bernabeu for the first time as an owner, seemed very excited. He opened his arms and ran all the way, performing a cathartic slide-kneel celebration.

This... is his first goal in Real Madrid career!

But the madness at the Bernabeu Stadium did not last long. As a defensive midfielder, Toni Kroos made a serious mistake during the running-in process. His cross pass was passed directly to Griezmann.

Although Griezmann's counterattack shot did not result in a goal, Atletico Madrid won the first corner kick of the second half.

Cork took a corner kick, and Raul Garcia beat Ramos to head the ball into the goal to equalize the score.

The fanatical atmosphere at the Bernabeu Stadium was reduced to a minimum, with only the away fans from Atletico Madrid hysterically chanting for the goal to vent their joy of equalizing the score.

When the game restarted, Real Madrid had a clear intention to exceed the score again before the end of the game. However, they did not score a goal until the end of the game. The two sides ended the first round of the 2014 Spanish Super Cup with a score of 1:1.

At the end of the game, the close-up shot of the live broadcast did not show the players who scored the goals on both sides, but instead showed Toni Kroos.

This picture does not mean how well Toni Kroos performed. On the contrary... his presence seems to seriously affect Real Madrid's normal offensive and defensive transitions.

Ancelotti looked gloomy. The home draw with Atletico Madrid will definitely cast a shadow on the second round of the Super Cup three days later. In addition, Cristiano Ronaldo is injured and Toni Kroos is slow to integrate into the team...

Headache!