Starting from playing as a defensive midfielder for Real Madrid

On the evening of September 15th, in the star-studded Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, players from the two teams who had finished their warm-up were jogging back to the tunnel to prepare for the final mobilization and preparation before the start of the game.

Li Ang not only surprised many outside media, but also obtained the starting qualification as expected by many Real Madrid fans.

The Western media only think that Mourinho is still too bold.

Li Ang performed very well in the first two rounds of the league, and he seems to be a calm-tempered and calm-minded player.

But the Champions League is the Champions League after all. Let a player who is only 19 years old and has almost no experience in top competitions start playing as a defensive midfielder in the Champions League.

It can only be said that the madman is worthy of being a madman. This card does not follow the rules at all, and he is really not afraid of adding a burden to Li Ang.

A more "normal" approach would be to let Li Ang sit on the bench first in the Champions League group stage.

The first two or three games gave him 20 to 30 minutes of playing time in each game.

After Li Ang becomes familiar with the rhythm and pressure of the Champions League, we will look at his performance as a substitute and finally decide whether to start him in the last three rounds.

At least this is how most coaches take care of the young players they value.

A top talent like Rooney, who started in his first Champions League game at the age of 18 and even scored a hat-trick, is rare to find.

Li Ang looks good at the moment and has good development prospects.

But compared with the top geniuses like Lu Xiaopang who had explosive talents back then, it can only be said that they are not on the same level.

The opinions of Real Madrid fans are different from those of the Western media.

After all, they are more familiar with the characteristics of the players in their own team, especially after watching the first two rounds of the league in the new season.

Compared with Gago who is willing to defend but cannot keep up with his physical fitness, and Khedira who can keep up with his physical fitness but is always out of position when he goes forward.

At present, Alonso's best defensive midfielder partner is indeed Li Ang.

Therefore, Mourinho's choice of starting Li Ang was basically expected by most Real Madrid fans.

As for game experience and pressure, Mourinho dares to start Li Ang and has enough confidence in Li Ang to come.

So what else do these fans have to say?

Solid support for the little lion coming out of Castile and that's it.

However, there is one thing that neither the media nor Real Madrid fans have figured out.

That is, in the starting eleven list submitted by Real Madrid before the game, in addition to Liang and Alonso, there is also the name of Khedira who did not perform well in the last round of the league?

Could it be that in this game, Li Ang and Khedira partnered with double midfielders, and then placed Alonso's position in a prerequisite?

With deep confusion and doubts, Real Madrid fans can only hope that the game will start as soon as possible, and then they can figure out what Mourinho's idea is.

At 20:40 in the evening, with huge cheers erupting at the Bernabeu, players from Real Madrid and Ajax followed the referee team and stepped onto the court.

Li Ang was still standing behind Alonso, and he flashed past in the live broadcast.

But that look that looked particularly calm and steady made countless Real Madrid fans feel a lot more at ease in their hearts instantly.

"The live camera showed Li Ang, his face is like a flat lake! There is no nervousness on Li Ang's face. This mentality is really good!"

In the studio of ESPN Sports Station in Singapore, Zhan Junzheng, who was commentating on today's game, was amazed at Li Ang's calmness.

Zhan Jun has long been paying attention to Li Ang, a young player who was still playing in Segunda División at the beginning of this year and caused a stir in the country, but now has become an important role in Real Madrid's first team.

The Chinese players who studied in Europe and abroad in the past few years are now returning to their home countries, and those who have no chance have no chance.

Many domestic fans subconsciously pay more attention to the young players who are still training in Europe.

And a "talented young player" like Li Ang, who has nothing to do with domestic football, stood out in the Real Madrid youth training camp based on his own strength and was successfully promoted to Castilla.

It is the only one of its kind, no one in a thousand miles.

Zhan Jun actually still regrets the "tragic" personal decision Li Ang made at the beginning of the year.

It can be said that domestic public opinion was very unfriendly to Li Ang at that time.

There are many voices of support, but there are also many voices of criticism and even abuse.

To put it bluntly, judging from the public opinion at the time, if Li Ang failed to play in Europe in the end, then his return to China would basically be equivalent to retirement.

Because domestic clubs "dare not" sign a contract with him.

Even if his strength is among the best in the country, no team dares to ask for him.

But despite such pressure, Li Ang gained a firm foothold in Segunda División, and finally got the main position of Real Betis, helping the team successfully advance to the first division!

At that time Zhan Jun was sincerely happy for Li Ang.

If you don’t come back, then you won’t come back.

Zhan Jun is aware of the big muddy football environment in China.

They, people in the industry, usually have trouble saying anything and can only silently wish the brave and decisive Li Ang a smooth career path.

But he never expected that after a few months, he would be able to commentate on the Champions League game played by Li Ang on behalf of Real Madrid!

Who would have thought of this before.

Li Ang's domestic public opinion environment even improved rapidly because he was promoted to Real Madrid's first team.

The group of angry fans is still huge, but in comparison, there are more domestic fans who support Li Ang.

After sighing in his heart, Zhan Jun looked at the players from the two teams who had already lined up to shake hands and greeted the players, and also quickly introduced the starting situation of the two teams to the audience.

"Real Madrid's Mourinho deployed a more offensive 433 formation today.

Goalkeeper Casillas.

The defense line is arranged from left to right, namely Marcelo, Pepe, Carvalho and Arbeloa.

In the midfield, Leon and Alonso unexpectedly continued to play together as a double midfielder. Before the game, the media speculated that Khedira, who might be delayed to partner with Leon, appeared in the central midfielder position.

On the forward line, Cristiano Ronaldo is on the left, Di Maria is on the right, Higuain is the center, and Benzema and new aid XX are on standby on the bench."

Along with Zhan Jun's commentary, the players on both sides gradually moved towards their positions after the captain selected his side.

Leon and Khedira are not as incompatible as the outside world imagines.

On the contrary, at this moment, the two of them were almost head to head, still covering their mouths and actively communicating with each other. It was not obvious at all that they were direct competitors as advertised by the media.

Mourinho stood on the sidelines and looked at the new midfield trio he had arranged today.

To be honest, during the pre-season training, he never thought that he would field such a main midfield combination.

But there was no way. During the previous training match, the combination of these three brought him and the entire Real Madrid coaching staff a great sense of surprise!

So much so that he couldn't resist the temptation to directly use this midfield combination. After two training sessions, he directly put a dead person who was originally introduced as the main player on the bench.

With a talented attacking midfielder, Real Madrid's offense may indeed be smoother and smoother.

But rather than making the entire midfield more powerful and balanced on both ends of the offense and defense, Mourinho no longer cares about the idea of ​​​​the attacking midfielder.

He feels that he has found the right "key" to compete with Barcelona in the new season!

This Champions League group stage is a very suitable tactical preview.

He was looking forward to whether Real Madrid's new midfield combination, which he had inadvertently created and was jokingly called the "hard trio" by Li Ang, could suppress Ajax's five-man midfield.

If the three of them really do it, Mourinho will be at least 70% sure.

Two seasons, he only needs two seasons. When this new midfield combination is almost adjusted, he can win La Liga and Europe.

Back to the days when Real Madrid ruled!