On Monday night, the Real Madrid captain, Raúl, held a team meeting to organize the meeting in the form of a gathering.
The players dressed casually came to a high-end restaurant in the city for the gathering.
After eating and drinking, the waiter removed the tableware from the table and poured everyone a fragrant specialty drink. The main theme of the meeting began.
Raúl went straight to the point. "Guys, we are about to play the El Clásico against Barcelona this weekend. I believe you all know about Barcelona's performance this season. We have some problems. Now we need to calmly analyze the state of the team. Everyone should unite and strive to win at the Camp Nou. Everyone should be well aware of the consequences of losing. We are now eight points behind Barcelona. If we lose, the gap will widen to double digits!"
Casillas immediately said, "We first have to improve the defense. Barcelona will be the strongest opponent we have faced this season, and we have been defeated twice by Juventus. The situation of the rear defense must be improved!"
Cannavaro said helplessly, "The rear line is always exposed to the opponent's guns. How can we improve it? The defensive line is so long, and we only have two legs. The opponent only needs to simply pass and run, and we can't do anything. "
Guti was unhappy when he heard that and said, "Our tradition is to attack. The midfielders must follow up and plug in. If they always stay in the backfield, the offense in the front can't break the situation. What do you think we should do?"
Cannavaro immediately retorted.
"But the offense is not effective, and the opponent frequently counterattacks. Our midfield defense exists in name only!"
Gago did not dare to speak in this kind of meeting. He was very afraid to participate in this kind of "war" within the team!
Because he was not under the protection of a powerful group.
Raúl saw that Cannavaro and Guti were about to erupt into a quarrel. He immediately stopped and said, "We are here to solve the problem. First of all, we need to be united. Please calm down."
At this time, Qin Xiong spoke.
"I think there are also problems in the offense, but the root of the problem is the mentality. If anyone thinks that I am above my teammates on the field, please tell me. If you think that I do not put the interests of the team first, please tell me. I will apologize and I will correct it."
The purpose of Qin Xiong's words was to make everyone reflect on themselves instead of criticizing others.
Cannavaro and Guti were not wrong about the defensive line.
The only problem was that Diarra, who did not attend the meeting today, was recuperating!
Last season, the combination of Guti and Diarra was balanced. Diarra specialized in defense, and Guti participated in the offense. No matter how unreliable the rear defensive line was, at least the rear defensive triangle system would not have problems. It could ensure that Real Madrid's rear defensive line was in a stable state most of the time.
This was a fatal flaw!
It was very difficult to reach a consensus with just a few words.
Qin Xiong believed that the bigger problem was not whether the lineup structure was balanced and reasonable, but that the morale of the team was broken.
There was no point in simply discussing defense, especially when it came to Real Madrid's tactical style of attacking instead of defending.
When the attacking group could not bring about strong offensive pressure and the ability to shape the situation, the rear defensive line was naturally in danger.
Robben and Van Der Vaart did not say a word. Snede, who was sitting next to Qin Xiong, said, "I think we still have to be calm and patient in the game, pay more attention to our teammates' movements, and create more opportunities for our teammates like before."
Robben and Van Der Vaart found it harsh, but they did not want to cause any more waves in such an atmosphere of the meeting.
It wasn't the first time that the Dutch gangs had been fighting their own battles.
During the period when they carried the team forward, they were praised to the sky by the media and enjoyed the vanity of the fanatical support of the fans. But when the team's situation took a turn for the worse, they only wanted to rely on themselves to turn the tide, but they ignored whether they could really carry the team!
Failure would lead to conflicts, and mutual blame had become the norm in the locker room.
It could not be said that Bosque did not have enough deterrence to suppress the Dutch side. It had to be known that not all the previous managers of the Dutch national team could make the Dutch players obedient. Internal problems always existed.
In the whole of European football, perhaps the Dutch players were the most unruly and difficult to tame.
"What we have to do now is to be united, have a unified idea, and put team honor first!"
Raúl made the final decision.
The Real Madrid players sitting around the table nodded. At least on the surface, everyone had reached an agreement.
Not only were the Real Madrid players holding a meeting, but the coaching staff was also having a headache over the technical and tactical design of the El Clásico.
Although Qin Xiong was back in the team, Bosque did not think that Real Madrid could compete with Barcelona head-on!
There were many reasons. The most important was that Real Madrid's lineup was not complete. The team did not have a high degree of tacit understanding since the new season. Players were injured every two or three days. There was no set of 13 or 14 players to make the team achieve a near-perfect level of tacit understanding.
There was also the factor of playing in an away game. When Real Madrid was in deep trouble, their confidence was obviously not as good as Barcelona's.
What about the state of the players as individuals?
Whether compared to Messi and Qin Xiong, Eto 'o and Raúl, or Xavi and Guti, and so on, Real Madrid was at a disadvantage in terms of positioning!
How could they compete head-on with Barcelona?
What could they use to go head-to-head with Barcelona?
Was it hot-blooded?
Would Barcelona's drive after coming out of the trough be weaker than Real Madrid?
Bosque discussed with the coaching staff for a long time and finally formulated a tactic that he thought was the only one that could compete with Barcelona.
Defensive counterattack!
The situation was stronger than the players, and they had to bow their heads!
It was as if the Champions League group stage finale in the middle of the week had been forgotten by the Spanish media.
Of course, Barcelona had locked in the top of the group, and Real Madrid had also advanced ahead of time. Although there was a slight possibility of reversing Juventus to top the group, the probability was always too slim.
While Real Madrid needed to win at home, Juventus also needed to lose to a weakling like Bate Borisov.
How was it possible?
Real Madrid faced a challenge from Zenit at the Bernabéu in the middle of the week.
Qin Xiong came on in the last 30 minutes of the second half and assisted Higuaín to score the third goal of the game.
Real Madrid won 3: 0 at home against the desireless Zenit, and Juventus drew with Bate Borisov at home.
The Champions League group stage was over.
Juventus had 12 points.
Real Madrid had 12 points.
The two teams had the same points, but Juventus relied on the advantage of the home and away double victory over Real Madrid to beat the defending champions to the top of the group.
After the end of the Champions League game, the eyes of the entire Spain and even Europe began to focus on Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium.
The countdown to the start of the 234th Spanish Derby began!
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