The Godfather of Football

When the bus with the AC Milan team logo arrived at the player tunnel of White Hart Lane, AC Milan players got off the bus one after another under the leadership of head coach Ancelotti, and Tottenham fans greeted them with overwhelming boos and even insults, because White Hart Lane was too simple and the player tunnel was exposed to the fans.

Faced with this very strong provocative behavior of Tottenham fans, AC Milan was helpless, because they obviously wanted to anger AC Milan in this way, and for this group of experienced players, they would not be provoked by the other side.

Younger players such as Kaka and Pato simply put on headphones and listened to music, while veterans such as Maldini and Dida did not even look at the indignant fans, and got off the bus directly and walked into White Hart Lane.

Nesta's absence due to injury is definitely a huge loss for AC Milan's defense. What makes AC Milan even worse is that they just lost 2:3 to Juventus away, which makes AC Milan further and further away from the Champions League qualification for next season.

But as Ancelotti said, no matter what, Tottenham Hotspur must be defeated first in this game.

And AC Milan's biggest asset is experience. They have far more European war experience than all Tottenham Hotspur players combined. This is their huge advantage, and the strategy they will adopt in this game will continue to defend and counterattack.

Ancelotti, who was walking in front, was a little worried and frowned, because he knew the current situation of the team very well. On the other hand, Tottenham Hotspur, Ye Qiu was obviously saving his strength for this game, so in the FA Cup match last weekend, Tottenham Hotspur did not try their best at all, but used all substitutes and youth team players to play.

But even so, they were lucky enough to hold on to the 1:0 score in the away game. Kompany and Mike Dawson performed very well, and Gareth Bale scored the only goal for Tottenham Hotspur, eliminating Portsmouth.

Playing away and running out of energy, these two difficulties are like two heavy mountains pressing on Ancelotti, making him a little breathless, and what makes Ancelotti even more headache is how the team can stop Tottenham Hotspur's attack? After all, this is White Hart Lane!

In the stadium that they are most familiar with, any team is often able to play its strongest strength, while AC Milan is playing away, and the venue is very unfamiliar. The environment and game atmosphere are obviously not good for AC Milan. These are the difficulties that AC Milan must overcome.

After walking into the locker room and changing clothes, AC Milan was greeted by overwhelming boos and curses when they walked out of the player tunnel. The crazy fans of White Hart Lane entered the stadium early. They were playing the role of the twelfth player and trying every means to interfere with and influence AC Milan.

"Wow, no way, so close?" As soon as they walked out of the player tunnel, AC Milan's players felt the pressure of the tsunami brought by Tottenham Hotspur fans, and the most intuitive feeling was the distance between the stadium and the stands.

Although there is no track between the grass and the stands of the San Siro Stadium, there is also an open space buffer. There is no direct intersection between the two, but some obstacles and barbed wire. However, the White Hart Lane Stadium of Tottenham Hotspur is different. The grass and the stands are almost within reach. There is almost no other obstruction except for the billboards that can be jumped over at any time.

It is conceivable that if you are standing on the sidelines to throw a throw-in or take a corner kick, you have to worry about whether someone will rush out from behind you and punch you hard from behind? Or kick you directly in the ass?

They certainly don't know that since the Hillsborough tragedy in England, all the home stadiums of English teams have removed the barbed wire, so as to ensure that fans in the stands can be transferred to the stadium at the necessary critical moment.

Ye Qiu likes this home stadium design very much, because it can give the visiting team the greatest psychological pressure, so at his request, the Olympic Stadium was designed with this in mind, ensuring that the team can remove the track and field track after the renovation and turn it into the team's bottom stand.

Not only that, when designing, the stands were designed to be at a 34-degree angle from the beginning. This angled design can ensure that even if the team builds a third stand in the future, the fans on the second and third stands can get the best viewing effect of the game, and can also create a home atmosphere to the maximum extent.

Many elements in this regard must be considered at the design stage, because once you put it into use, it will be difficult to renovate it, and the cost is also a huge amount of money, which is not cost-effective.

"Hi, Kaka!" After walking out of the player tunnel of AC Milan, Ye Qiu also walked over with a smile and greeted his old acquaintance Kaka.

"Ha, Mr. Ye Qiu!" Kaka also smiled and hugged Ye Qiu. This was his first time at White Hart Lane.

Ye Qiu patted Kaka's shoulder, "You have to be careful tonight, I won't show mercy!"

Kaka smiled and didn't say much, but his eyes were full of provocation.

"Hello, Mr. Ancelotti!" Ye Qiu walked over and shook hands with Ancelotti, "Welcome to White Hart Lane!"

Then there is Pirlo. When Ye Qiu was coaching Chelsea, this player once wanted to bring him in, but on the one hand, AC Milan was unwilling to let him go, and on the other hand, Pirlo never thought about leaving Milan, so in the end he did not can achieve success.

As AC Milan entered the stadium, the atmosphere in the stadium immediately became heated.

"Viewers, welcome to watch the second leg of the quarter-finals of the 2007/2008 UEFA Champions League that we are broadcasting live for you at the White Hart Lane Stadium in London, England! "

"Now the players from both teams have finished their warm-up. After returning to the locker room to rest, they are waiting in the player tunnel to enter. This is the referee of this game, Plautz from Austria, who is also a very experienced referee. international referee."

"Now we will introduce to you the starting lineups of the two teams for this game!"

"Tottenham Hotspur's starting lineup for this game is very tidy. Although they have just played an FA Cup semi-final and successfully reached the FA Cup final, Ye Qiu was not there in that match. Give your best in the game, but focus on preparing for this Champions League knockout round.”

"The goalkeeper is Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech. With his outstanding performance at Tottenham Hotspur in the past two seasons, the Czech has become one of the top goalkeepers in Europe and even the world; the defense line from left to right is Peru International Vargas, Norwegian central defender Hangeland, Brazilian central defender Thiago Silva and Brazilian right back Alves.”

"Tottenham Hotspur's defense has always been criticized before, but it has performed very well recently, but the Champions League and the Premier League are obviously different. I just don't know whether they can withstand the pressure from AC Milan’s test!”

"The midfield is still composed of Modric, Mascherano, and Cesc Fabregas. After Tottenham Hotspur's biggest core player Beckham was absent due to injury, the English midfielder has still He was not able to return to the game, but we noticed that he was sitting in the stands during this game, cheering for his teammates.”

"The frontcourt trident is Tottenham Hotspur's most proud offensive line at present. French left winger Franck Ribery, Dutch center Robin van Persie, and Argentinian right winger are like Maradona II. Known as Messi, this trident has been invincible for Tottenham Hotspur this season.”

"As you can see, Tottenham Hotspur are playing at home and have strong men and horses. Moreover, the biggest test for AC Milan in this game is whether they can withstand Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking tactics after the start, because this is Tottenham Hotspur’s signature tactic.”

After the on-site commentator analyzed Tottenham Hotspur's starting lineup, the players from both teams walked out of the player tunnel and walked into the stadium under the leadership of the referee. The scene immediately burst into overwhelming cheers. All Tottenham fans are cheering for their team.

"Tottenham Hotspur wear white jerseys and black shorts, which are also their traditional colors, while AC Milan still wear their iconic red and black arrow striped shirts, which is very easy to distinguish."

"AC Milan's starting lineup for this game was slightly affected. Nesta came off due to injury in the first round of the match between the two sides and was unable to appear in the lineup for this game, while Ancelotti was unable to appear in the lineup for this game. It’s a tactic of 4312.”

"The goalkeeper is Karachi, the defense is Favalli, Kaladze, Maldini and Odo, the midfielders are Ambrosini, Pirlo and Gattuso, the attacking midfielder is Kaká, and the two forwards are Paolo Tuo and Inzaghi.”

"Compared to the youth of Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan's player lineup appears to be relatively mature and more experienced, but many of the main players in the team are over 30 years old, including Maldini. , veterans like Favalli, so for AC Milan, how to use their experience advantage and limit Tottenham Hotspur's physical advantage is very critical, and Tottenham Hotspur is bound to use their own Better at a more impactful, fast-paced style of play.”

"Also, one thing to note in particular is that Tottenham Hotspur's front three attack is very sharp. Franck Ribery is the top scorer in the Premier League this season, and Robin van Persie and Messi have also scored goals. Quite a bit, the three players have formed the strongest offensive combination in Europe this season, with versatile play styles and tacit cooperation. This is a big challenge that AC Milan will encounter when defending! "

"Ye Qiu said at the pre-match press conference that Tottenham Hotspur will maximize their home court advantage in this game and maintain the fast-paced style of play of the Premier League team to defeat the aging AC Milan. , and he also analyzed that the biggest threat to AC Milan is that they can slow down the rhythm of the game when facing any opponent, enter into their familiar rhythm of ball control, and then find the right opportunity to suddenly launch a quick attack. Use Kaka’s speed to suddenly accelerate and threaten.”

"In fact, in the first round, Tottenham Hotspur played very well, and it was a pity that they failed to win away from home in the end, but after a duel, both sides will definitely be more experienced. We know whether Ancelotti can effectively contain Tottenham Hotspur's attack this time."

It was at this time that the two sides in the stadium finally finished guessing and preparing. The referee blew the whistle to start the game, but it was obvious that the start of the game surprised everyone.

"Pirlo took the ball and passed it to Kaka. Kaka wanted to break through with the ball, but when he couldn't, he passed it back to Gattuso!"

"Hit the goal directly. Oops, Thiago Silva blocked Gattuso's left-footed long shot with his body, but the ball still fell at Milan's feet. Then he passed it to Kaká and distributed it to the wing. Pato, great defense, Vargas blocked the ball from the baseline.”

"Both sides played relatively calmly in the first few minutes, focusing on stability, but the competition for the ball was fierce. AC Milan gained possession of the ball and quickly launched a series of attacks. This time the attack was very If there is a threat, just look at Pirlo’s corner kick!”

"Play forward, Maldini, header, then back, Inzaghi hits the near corner, dangerous!!!"

"Cech, catch it!!!"

"Great Cech, he saved Inzaghi's shot!!!"

"It's too dangerous!" The on-site commentator was a little bit in shock. "AC Milan's corner kick was very threatening. Fortunately, Cech's position was very timely. Inzaghi's shot was a little light. Cech saved the ball directly!”

"Tottenham Hotspur looks a bit suppressed now and can't attack offensively!"

Ye Qiu, like all the fans at the scene, applauded Cech's positioning and saves, but he didn't think it was a problem with the team's defense, nor did he think it was Cech's own performance. Of course, , there is no doubt about the excellence of the Czechs.

Maldini had no angle at all for this shot. He could only choose to ferry. Inzaghi was surrounded by defensive players. He had to take action immediately, and the angle of the shot had been blocked. He could only Playing from the near corner, Cech quickly moved to the left post to save the ball. This was his prediction of the defensive loopholes and his tacit cooperation with his teammates.

It is impossible for any defense to completely block the opponent's attack. The opponent will definitely have a chance to kick. Therefore, a very important responsibility of the goalkeeper is to be able to see the point where the opponent may break through and block it. And Cech's current The performance is clearly better than in the past and very comprehensive.

Tottenham Hotspur couldn't seize possession of the ball, mainly because Modric couldn't hold the ball. So when Ye Qiu saw Cech standing up holding the ball, he immediately made a downward gesture to indicate to slow down. Steady first.

Then he told Messi to return to the midfield to support the team's midfielder to get the ball.

Messi's ability to hold the ball is very good. It is almost difficult to throw the ball at his feet. This is a very valuable quality. Even Ye Qiu once thought about it. If he is allowed to hold the ball in the most defensive area, , that is definitely a nightmare for all defensive players, and will also be another improvement for Tottenham Hotspur's offense.

But for now, his most important thing is to carve out the team's midfield.

As Tottenham Hotspur adjusted, Messi retreated to the midfield to get the ball, and Alves stepped forward more aggressively. At the same time, Ye Qiu allowed Cesc Fabregas to move up and directly become the forward This is a very typical tactic of using the front midfielder to steal the back midfielder. Ye Qiu even felt that if he could really reach the semi-finals, he would use this tactic to deal with Liverpool.

After all, Xavi Alonso's effect on Liverpool is the same as Pirlo's effect on AC Milan, and Xavi Alonso's ability to prevent pressing is not even as good as Pirlo, so if this trick is effective against Pirlo If so, then it will definitely be effective for Xavi Alonso. The next thing to do is to make adjustments in some other aspects.

Pirlo's passing success rate this season has been around 80%, and even once was 88%. This is a very scary passing success rate, so AC Milan's offense is also very threatening, but Ye Qiu's game The goal given to Fabregas in the game is to push Pirlo's passing success rate to around 70%, or even below.

It can be said that the organization that Ye Qiu has high hopes for is Modric. After the opening, Modric performed poorly, causing Tottenham Hotspur to lose possession of the ball and Cesc Fabregas had to retreat. This is what Ye Qiu is doing. The reason why a set of tactics did not work, so he was forced to use Messi to retreat to support the midfielder to get the ball, and tried his best to continue to compete with AC Milan for possession of the ball.

So, after making the adjustment, Ye Qiu made a gesture of wiping the neck of Fabregas, signaling him to kill Pirlo as soon as possible. At the same time, Roland continued to stare at AC Milan's passing data, especially Pirlo.

As long as Pirlo's passing success rate declines, AC Milan's overall passing penetration will be finished, and the one will go up and down, which means that Tottenham Hotspur's ball possession rate will increase, and the team's possession rate will increase. The ball time improved again and the initiative was regained.

Fans certainly can't see this, but they can clearly see that after almost breaking Tottenham Hotspur's goal in the 11th minute, Tottenham Hotspur's midfield and frontcourt pressed very fiercely, and AC Milan's pass The number of errors in catching the ball is increasing, especially for Pirlo, who has been frequently interfered by Cesc Fabregas and often has to rush the ball.

For the sake of safety, Ancelotti hired Ambrosini and gave up Seedorf. This left AC Milan's midfielder without a role that can take the ball. Although the defense has been strengthened, when it comes to ball control, , Ambrosini does not have Seedorf's ability.

Because of this, Ye Qiu used Fabregas to press Pirlo, and carried out a layered deep press from the front court, which caused problems in AC Milan's passing penetration. In many cases, they even had to take too many direct long passes from the backcourt.

Everyone knows that such long passes have a high error rate, so every time the ball reaches Tottenham's half, it is immediately handed over to Tottenham, because neither Inzaghi nor Pato is obviously good at competing for headers.

As Tottenham's possession time increases, the pace of the game gradually speeds up, and the ball rights are quickly transferred to each other, often constantly exchanging the ball within a minute, and the players run back and forth, consuming a lot of physical energy.

And this is the rhythm that Ye Qiu wants!

At the same time, it is also the rhythm that can most drag down AC Milan!