The Midfield Master

Xia Ze and Gao Bo replaced Zhang Xizhe and Yu Dabao respectively. Xia Ze played in the attacking midfielder position, partnered with Zheng Zhi and Huang Bowen in the midfield; Gao Bo played in the center, and the center Gao Lin moved to the left wing In the position, the formation of 4231 is still maintained.

After the two played, because they had only practiced together with the teammates of the national team for two days, there was no tacit understanding between them, and the teammates did not trust the two teammates under the age of 20 too much.

Therefore, before 70 minutes of the game, Xia Ze and Gao Bo still had few opportunities to get the ball, and the Chinese team failed to create any opportunities to equalize the score.

"Dazhi, give the ball to Xia Ze and let him organize it!" Fu Bo watched for more than ten minutes, frowning, and finally couldn't help but speak.

With Fu Bo's instructions, coupled with Xia Ze's technical and tactical ability on the field, his teammates began to trust him and were willing to pass the ball to Xia Ze.

After Xia Ze got more players, the Chinese team's offense was completely revitalized. Both Gao Bo and Gao Lin got a lot of chances to score goals.

It's just that today's luck didn't seem to be on the Chinese team's side. Although they worked hard for halftime, they still couldn't tie the score.

With the whistle of the referee, the Chinese team lost 1-2 in the away game. Although Xia Ze and Gao Bo made their national team debuts, they failed to help the team recover from the defeat.

"This game is over. The Chinese team lost 1-2 to Iraq in the away game, and entered the Asian Cup in Australia next year with the second place in the group. Although we lost this game, we can see Now that young players are slowly rising, the prospect of the Chinese team will get better and better in the future..."

Liu Jianhong said in the studio full of expectation that although the national football team lost this game, he did not have as many grievances as before, because he saw the role played by Xia Ze and Gao Bo after they came on the field.

After the referee's whistle sounded, Xia Ze took off his shirt and walked quietly on the court.

The cheers of scattered fans in the stands came to the ears, and the greetings between teammates and opponents around him became a scene in his national team debut.

While shaking hands with the opponent, Xia Ze looked at the opponent's goal, and then looked up at the scoreboard, 1 to 2, after all, he failed to help the team win.

"This is football. It is impossible for all good things to fall on your head. The debut in Maritimo is perfect enough, and it is enough to play for the national team. And this game is just a Routine business, right to be careful of some regrets in my heart."

Xia Ze walked quietly on the court, comforting himself in his heart.

...

The next day, after the Asian Cup qualifiers, the national team disbanded. Xia Ze and several overseas players flew back to their respective clubs directly from Doha.

Because of the international match day, the league will not restart until next weekend, so they can all get more opportunities to rest and recover their already tired bodies.

Back in Funchal, Xia Ze and Zhang Wei went to the club for training the next day. The teammates still laughed and laughed during training, but the head coach Martins looked sad.

"Carlos, what do you think should be done?" Martins frowned and asked the assistant coach next to him, Carlos Jorge.

"I didn't expect the Football Association to arrange the game in the middle of the week. Our players haven't recovered very well." Jorge also frowned.

"That's not what I'm worried about now. Now that we are behind Benfica, if we continue to fight on two fronts, it will be quite unfavorable for us to compete for third place."

"You're thinking?"

"Well, since the opponent is Porto, our chances of defeating them to advance are slim, so we might as well stop here and concentrate on dealing with the league."

"That might be a good idea."

Martins did not answer, but looked at the many players on the training ground, lost in thought.

Portuguese Super League teams have to participate in two cups a season, plus the league is a third-line battle. In addition to the Portuguese League Cup,

And the Portuguese Cup.

Now that the Portuguese Cup has reached the round of 16, Maritimo drew lots to play away against Porto in the round of 16. The game will be played on March 12. And there will be another Portuguese Super League game in 3 days, and Maritimo is still playing away.

Maritimo players who originally had two weeks of rest during the international match day, because of this schedule, the rest time was cut by nearly a week, and they had to return to the rhythm of double matches a week.

Before the international break, Martins was already aware of the fatigue of the players in the team. They also lost to Braga away to third place in the standings a week ago.

If they want to compete with Benfica for the remaining place in the Champions League, they must concentrate on the league games. They cannot just finish the League Cup (the final will be held in April) and fall into the Portuguese Cup. The game is troubled.

So Martins made an important decision on this day: Maritimo gave up the Portuguese Cup.

After discussing his decision with the coaching staff, he finally got the approval of the board of directors and sent most of the substitute players to play in the Portuguese Cup away game against Porto.

Xia Ze, Zhang Wei and other main players did not travel with the team, and Maritimo also lost 0 to 3 to Porto, ending his journey early in the Portuguese Cup.

On the same day, the rival national team in the same city eliminated their opponents after a hard fight and advanced to the top 8 of the Portuguese Cup.

However, this very normal strategic abandonment of the game was made a big fuss by Maritimo's rival National Team. Through their official news media, they issued an article questioning Maritimo's passive competition.

This article by the national team once again set off an uproar in Portuguese football. The media reprinted and commented one after another, and different media with their own opinions expressed their opinions one after another.

"I think Maritimo's head coach did the right thing this time. Everyone knows that Maritimo has risen strongly this season. Their lineup is not as strong as the top three in the Portuguese Super League, and it is even better than Braga, which ranks fifth. It's also not as good as it is.

From their loss to Braga last week, it can be seen that the two-line battle has had a great impact on them, and the players are exhausted.

"For those who have just escaped the pressure of two-line combat, they certainly don't want to fall into such a crisis again. I think it is not a big deal for Martins to send most of the substitute players to Porto.

"Give up a cup game and concentrate on striving for the third position in the league. I believe that if the national team is placed in this position, they will do the same." The host Christine took the lead in speaking for Maritimo.

"I don't agree with you, Christine."

Figo is sitting opposite Christine. This is a talk show: "Maritimo, as a professional football club, should be prepared enough to face all difficulties, send substitute players intentionally, give up the game like this His behavior is obviously against the principle of fair competition."

...

People from all walks of life in Portuguese football representing different points of view have expressed their opinions on this matter. Although the opinions of supporting and criticizing Maritimo are in a balanced state, public opinion still puts Maritimo club under a lot of pressure. The atmosphere in the training is also quite heavy.

Maritimo's fans are very supportive of their team's choice. After Xia Ze said that the team is under a lot of pressure, Monica will organize fans to hold signs outside Maritimo's training ground every day, expressing her support for the team. support.

The behavior of these fans also infected the players and coaches in the team. They won the league three days later under great pressure. At the press conference after the game, Martins threw out his carefully prepared rhetoric :

"I am very fortunate that we won today and were not driven by Benfica. Before the season, our team was considered to be relegated from the Portuguese Super League, but now we are clinging to the top three of the Portuguese Super League, and even have Chance to fight for a place in the Champions League, if that's how we count negative games, then I have nothing to say.

"The lineup I made against Porto was based on that game and today's league, which we lost.

"Although we have defeated Porto before, in my eyes, the team is far from being able to wrestle with Porto, and this failure is only expected.

"My team will face important battles such as the league and League Cup finals. I hope my team can perform well in these two events. Thank you everyone."

After Martins' remarks came out, everyone suddenly realized that public opinion was also tilted in favor of Maritimo for no other reason:

If Maritimo, who is currently ranked fourth in the league this season, reached the final of the League Cup, and conquered the Dragon Stadium, intends to play passively, then what are other teams?

What Martins said turned the pressure of public opinion on the team into motivation, allowing the team to seize a point loss by Benfica in the league in the next month, overtake their opponents again, and return to the league third position.

It's just that the difference between the two sides is still only one point, and if you are not careful, you may be overtaken by the opponent.

Another League Cup semi-final was also held in mid-March. Benfica fought for 120 minutes. In the final penalty shootout, they eliminated Porto, the leader of the Portuguese Super League, and joined Maritimo in the final.

The field of competition between these two teams, extending from the league to the League Cup final, can be said to have become a highlight of Portuguese football this season.

The pointer of time has turned to April 2014. Maritimo and Benfica scored the same points in the Portuguese Super League, ranking third with a goal difference advantage.

The final of the Portuguese League Cup will be held on Saturday, April 12 at the Porto Dragon Stadium. Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 88