"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the highlight match of the seventh round of the 20042005 La Liga season. Deportivo La Coruna will be facing Sporting de Gijón at home, "Duan Xuan said.
"Sporting de Gijón is facing a personnel crisis in this game. Mata is injured and Carlos is suspended. Coach Li Ang's team is facing the strong Deportivo La Coruna. The situation is not optimistic," Liu Jianhong said.
CCTV chose to broadcast the game between Sporting de Gijón and Deportivo La Coruna live. This was the first time CCTV had broadcast a Sporting de Gijón game since the start of the new La Liga season.
In fact, the live signal provider of La Liga had originally planned to broadcast the home game between RCD Espanyol and Barcelona. However, after communicating with the provider, CCTV asked for the away game between Sporting de Gijón and Deportivo La Coruna.
This was because the previous few La Liga matches that were broadcast live on CCTV had average viewership ratings. On one hand, it was because the La Liga matches were too late. The earliest matches would only start after midnight. On the other hand, the popularity of the La Liga matches could not be compared to the Serie A and the English Premier League at this time. In addition, the fans were looking forward to Sporting de Gijón's games. They called CCTV and asked for the live broadcast of Sporting de Gijón under Li Ang.
The game between Sporting de Gijón and Deportivo La Coruna kicked off at 2: 45 a.m. Beijing time. It was already late. CCTV also wanted to see if the live broadcast of Sporting de Gijón's game would be better than other games. If the ratings were good, they would try their best to get the live signal of Sporting de Gijón's game.
"The game is about to start. We have the starting lineup of both teams. Deportivo La Coruna's lineup is not surprising. It is the same lineup as last round. Now Deportivo La Coruna's lineup is complete. Super Laco is beginning to show their strength! "
On the TV screen, Deportivo La Coruna's starting lineup was displayed.
Goalkeeper: Molina.
Rear defensive line: Pablo, Martín César, Andrade, Capdrella;
Midfielders: Mauro Silva, Bellerón, Victor Sanchez, Sergio.
Forwards: Pandiani, Luke.
"… Mauro Silva, Victor, Sergio, Bellerón, Pandiani, Luke …" Duan Xuan took a deep breath and said, "Deportivo La Coruna's strongest lineup.
*****
"Well, let's see Sporting de Gijón … Pay attention! Due to Mata's injury and Carlos' suspension, Sporting Gihon's lineup has undergone a huge change. "Liu Jianhong raised her voice.
"First of all, there is an adjustment in the rear defense. In the right back position, the young Serbian defender Ivanovic is back on the bench. Manager Li Ang has chosen Dorado to start. It seems that in the face of a strong opponent, he still chooses to trust the experienced Dorado more."
"In the midfield, Li Ang has arranged for Marcos to start. This young player, who performed very well in the Segunda División last season, will take on the heavy responsibility of Sporting de Gijón's defense in the midfield today. In addition, the young player Mata is injured and absent, giving the Croatian young player Modric a chance to start. Different from Mata, Modric has a certain level of defensive ability, which can relieve the pressure on the veteran Albertini to a certain extent!"
At the same time, Sporting de Gijón's starting lineup was displayed on the TV screen.
Goalkeeper: Valencia.
Rear Defense: Dorado, Hierro, Pepe, Grosso.
Midfielders: Marcos, Albertini, Modric, Ribéry.
Forwards: Dinatale, Diego Milito.
"Sporting de Gijón's lineup is still too weak compared to Deportivo La Coruna, which has a lot of big names." Liu Jianhong said. At this time, the camera zoomed in on the away team's technical area. Li Ang stood on the sidelines with a slight frown.
*****
When Irueta received the starting lineup of Sporting de Gijón before the game, he saw two changes in Sporting de Gijón's lineup. He had a little impression of Modric. This Croatian young player had many chances to come on as a substitute this season and had scored goals.
However, Irueta's impression of Modric was limited to this. Obviously, in his eyes, there was a big gap between the strength of a young player like Modric and the star players of Deportivo La Coruna that he had in his hands.
As for Marcos, who was in the starting lineup today, Irueta did not pay too much attention to him. On one hand, Marcos had only been given two chances to come on as a substitute this season. Moreover, this player's characteristic was that he was content to defend in the midfield and backfield. He rarely stood out and did not attract too much attention.
The game started five minutes ago. Deportivo La Coruna's offense was fierce because they started the game first. They could take advantage of their strength to keep the ball on their side. Possession of the ball meant that the initiative was temporarily in their hands.
Another reason for Deportivo La Coruna's fierce offense was the absence of Carlos. Marcos was not the type of player to sweep the field. His specialty was to defend steadily in the middle. In this way, it was easy to give the opponent space to launch an attack. If it was Carlos, he would sweep the field frantically, which would create more chaos in the opponent's midfield organization.
As for Modric, the Croatian young player who was given a chance to start for the first time, he seemed a little nervous today.
*****
Bellerón took the ball and faced Modric's interference.
The Spanish midfielder knocked the ball to the left as if he was going to break through from his side. When Modric's center of gravity was attracted over, he beautifully pulled the ball with the inside of his foot and then gently pushed it past Modric.
However, Bellerón wanted to continue to move forward. A foot came over and the tip of his foot touched the football. The football bounced on the turf and went out of the sideline. It was a sideline ball from Deportivo La Coruna.
"Cheer up!" Albertini came up and patted Modric on the shoulder.
Modric gritted his teeth. The manager asked him to protect Albertini, but now he needed Albertini to help him fill in the gaps. This made the Croatian young player feel a little ashamed.
Li Ang saw this scene in the technical area and shouted at Modric, "Relax, what are you nervous about?"
Li Ang shouted in Croatian. Modric immediately understood. Then he turned his head and saw the manager jumping on the sidelines. "What are you nervous about?"
After being scolded like this, Modric clenched his fists hard and took two deep breaths. He actually felt a little better.
Chapter 326: The Most Difficult Kind of Opponent
"Modric was a little out of form in the first five minutes of the game. His position allowed Deportivo La Coruna's players to break through many times, "Spanish national television commentator Dagestino said.
"This is the Croatian kid's first start. He seems a little nervous," González joked. He joked, "Hey, kid, you can't do that. Coach Li Ang is watching from the sidelines. Didn't you see how anxious he was just now?"
With his words, the director replayed the scene of Li Ang jumping and shouting on the sidelines.
"He's under a lot of pressure."
"Yes, Deportivo La Coruna's offensive at the beginning made Manager Li Ang's butt leave his seat in the technical area," Dagestino said with a smile.
Bellerón pulled the ball beautifully and tried to break through Modric again. However, this time, Modric showed his fierce side. With a slide tackle, he knocked down Bellerón along with the ball.
The referee gave Modric a verbal warning, which caused Deportivo La Coruna's strong dissatisfaction.
Then, Bellerón's free kick went straight for the goal. The football drew a beautiful arc and slightly deviated from the right post. Li Ang was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat.
"This won't do." Li Ang gritted his teeth. The team had been passive and would lose the ball sooner or later. They had to fight back.
*****
Sporting de Gijón's first attack in the game came into Deportivo La Coruna's half in the 11th minute of the game.
Pandiani received Sergio's pass in the front field. He turned around and after a little adjustment, he directly shot a low shot.
After the football left his foot, in mid-flight, Bellerón suddenly stretched out his foot and the football changed direction.
This made Sporting de Gijón's goalkeeper, Valencia, almost desperate. When Pandiani shot, Valencia made a judgment and made a save. Now, the football changed direction and flew to the other side. There was nothing he could do.
"Hierro! Hierro! He's in the position where he should be! "
In front of the goal line, a man appeared there. It was Hierro!
He stopped the football from crossing the line. Not only that, the former Real Madrid captain did not panic and release the ball with a long kick. Instead, he directly handed the football to Albertini, who had retreated to the top of the penalty area arc.
When Albertini received the ball, he considered his next move. He made a long pass in the backfield.
In the front field, Diego Milito did not jump up to compete with Martín César for the header.
The Argentine striker ran back cleverly and faced the football. When the ball fell, he jumped slightly and pressed the football down with his chest. Then he pressed down with his right foot and firmly pinned the football, which was ready to bounce up, to the ground.
Martín César pushed him from behind, but Milito still managed to control the football under his feet.
After the football was under control, Milito made a move to turn around, but he passed the football to Di Natale, who came over to receive him. Then he turned around and ran into the penalty area.
At this time, Li Ang had emphasized before the game that Deportivo La Coruna's center back, Martín César's shortcoming of slow turning, was exposed.
Di Natale, who received the ball, sent the ball over the top. When Milito received the ball, Martín César had just turned around.
*****
"Beautiful! Sporting de Gijón's counterattack is fast! "
Li Ang also stretched his neck to look at the field. He had just been talking about counterattacking, and now it was an excellent opportunity to fight back. Milito only needed to dribble two more steps and he would be in the penalty area.
Then, he saw two men rushing over. One rushed toward Ribéry, who was running in the air, and the other man fiercely shoveled from the side.
When the football was shoveled out, Milito fell to the ground as if he was cutting down a tree.
"Damn it, foul!" Li Ang roared on the sidelines.
The referee just pointed to the sideline, indicating that it was a sideline ball.
Milito got up and protested to the referee, but the referee just shook his finger at him and pointed to his eyes. He said that he saw it clearly and there was no foul!
Li Ang cursed on the sidelines. He was obviously very dissatisfied with the referee's decision. For Sporting de Gijón, if they could get a set piece in the front field, it would be a very good scoring opportunity. It must be known that their team had a set piece master, Albertini.
The one who stopped Milito was the Brazilian veteran, Mauro Silva.
*****
Li Ang glanced at the veteran. He did not expect the old guy to be so active. Then he glanced at Pablo, who had just pounced on Ribéry.
He shook his head. He hated a team like Deportivo the most. They were very good at offense, but also very good at defense. Such an opponent was very difficult to deal with. They were not like Real Madrid. Real Madrid advocated offense. The most terrible thing about them was their attacking ability. However, Real Madrid had always been bad at defense.
On the other hand, Deportivo La Coruña's defense had always been good, which could be seen from the way they filled in the gaps.
Watching Laco's game, the most intuitive feeling was that Mauro Silva and the right back, Pablo, were everywhere on the field.
Pablo, needless to say, was an absolute tough guy. He defended decisively and fiercely. He was like a leopard.
Li Ang even felt that Mauro Silva, a Brazilian, was the strongest defensive midfielder in the history of Brazil. He was very valiant in his tackling, and the timing of his interception was accurate. It was difficult for the opponent who was entangled by him to handle the ball comfortably. He was also very accurate in his prediction and interception of the opponent's passing route. He was not tall, but he jumped well and often succeeded in the midfield. In the 1994 World Cup, the combination of him and Dunga was the key to the Brazilian team's advantage in every game. In the final against Italy, they destroyed more than a dozen of the opponent's attacks, which made Baggio, Donadoni, and the others very depressed. He was absent from the 1998 World Cup due to injury. In addition to Dunga's declining form, the Brazilian team's control of the midfield was much worse.
Another good thing about Mauro Silva was that he was extremely stable in his control of the ball. When he was in control of the ball, the opponent often had to commit a foul to steal the ball from his feet. The accuracy of his passing and the overall situation were also very good. He rarely made mistakes in his passes. In this regard, Li Ang felt that Mauro Silva was very similar to Manchester United's Keane.
For example, in Deportivo's away win against Real Madrid in the 2002 Copa del Rey final, Mauro Silva was already 34 years old, but he was unusually outstanding in his confrontation with Real Madrid's midfield masters. He rarely made mistakes in his control of the ball and his defense was extremely strong. In the end, he also annoyed Zidane and Raúl. He was one of the contributors to Laco's victory.
Now, Mauro Silva was already 36 years old, but he was still so fierce.
Then, Sporting de Gijón's sideline ball, after Ribéry received the ball, he dribbled the ball along the side, trying to get rid of Pablo's entanglement. In the end, he barely passed the ball, and the football was received by Deportivo's goalkeeper, Molina.
F * ck!
Li Ang cursed in his heart. Faced with such a Deportivo, Sporting de Gijón's offense would be difficult to be effective. Even if they wanted to use a defensive counterattack to steal the chicken, it would be extremely difficult.
If they were unable to put pressure on Deportivo's offense, Sporting de Gijón's goal could be under new threat at any time based on the offensive shown by Deportivo at the start of the game.
However, with Pablo and Mauro Silva, it would be very difficult for Sporting de Gijón to tear apart Deportivo's defense!
He had to find a solution as soon as possible.
PS: Two in one chapter.
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