"Although we have to attack in the second half, I want to remind you to pay attention to the England team's counterattack."
Lippi could already guess what tactics Twain would use because the situation was too obvious. After a one-goal lead, Twain could sit in the backfield and wait for the Italian team to attack, and he would play defensive counterattack. For Lippi, who had studied him, this was not a surprising tactical arrangement. If it was his team with a one-goal lead, he would also make the same choice as Twain.
Therefore, Italy's focus in the second half was not only on the attack, but also on guard against England's quick counterattack.
"The players who lose the ball will counterattack on the spot, and the players in other positions will quickly retreat to defend. If necessary, foul in the front field. In short, do everything you can to prevent them from playing a quick attack. "
During the entire halftime interval, Lippi only explained the tactics and did not say anything like "hold on for another forty-five minutes and get the championship title." He was almost seventy years old and knew that such words had no effect on the Italian players. Italian football was about tactics, not psychology.
※ ※ ※
Tony Twain was still talking to the players, but James Vaughn did not listen to a word. He already felt that he would not get any chance to play today. He also did not think about why it was like this. Now he felt like a spectator, like Mitchell. It was just that Mitchell was suspended for accumulating yellow cards, and that was an irresistible reason. And himself? He was inexplicably pressed to the bench by the manager, and did not get any explanation …
This was really too frustrating!
Des Walker nudged Twain and gestured to him with his mouth, asking him to pay attention to Vaughn's condition.
Twain then saw Vaughn, who was a little depressed.
This was not the effect he wanted …
Twain looked down at his watch. It was almost time, and he waved to the players, "Go on, guys. Don't let yourself have any regrets in the last forty-five minutes. "
Vaughn heard this, and he smiled bitterly in his heart. They might not have any regrets, but what about him?
"Vaughn, stay for a while." Twain suddenly called his name.
Vaughn froze for a moment, and his feet stopped. His teammates looked at him and Tang En, but they didn't say anything. They didn't even whisper to each other. They just glanced at each other and left.
In their hearts, the boss should indeed give Vaughn an explanation. It was too cruel to press him, who was in excellent form, on the bench and explain everything.
The two of them stayed in the changing room, quietly waiting for the people around them to leave. Vaughn looked at Tang En, but Tang En cast his gaze outside the locker room.
After everyone left, Twain retracted his gaze and looked at Vaughn.
Tang En tried hard to find traces of anger in Vaughn's eyes. What made him a little disappointed was that his dejection seemed to have won.
Vaughn also thought that the Boss would explain to him why he was not in the starting lineup this time. He did not expect Tang En to just say one sentence.
"Don't be in a hurry to take off the T-shirt under your jersey."
With that, Twain gestured for Vaughn to leave first.
Vaughn walked out of the locker room in confusion. It was not until he entered the stadium from the players' tunnel that he was awakened by the loud noise in the stadium. He understood one thing — would he have a chance to play in the second half?
But after understanding this matter, he did not know what kind of mood he should be in. Happy or … dissatisfied? Since he was going to play, why was he not in the starting lineup, but as a substitute? But what was worth being happy about was that he finally saw some hope.
After Vaughn, Tang En also walked out. He walked back to the technical area. Des Walker looked at him and asked, "How did the discussion go?"
"I just told him not to be in a hurry to change." Twain shrugged. If this attitude was seen by those who sympathized with Vaughn, they would definitely hate him to the point of gnashing their teeth.
Walker also smiled helplessly and said, "Aren't you afraid that he'll hate you to death?"
"That's exactly what I wanted." Twain replied with a straight face.
For the sake of the championship trophy, what was it to be hated to death by a player? Was there a lack of people in this world who wished that he was dead?
※ ※ ※
After the restart of the second half of the game, Italy obviously strengthened their interception and pressure in the midfield. England's midfielders could feel that they could no longer calmly hold the ball for more than ten seconds like they did in the first half before considering whether to pass the ball or dribble the ball. The Italians' close pressing made them very uncomfortable. If they hesitated even a little, the ball under their feet would be intercepted.
At this time, the importance of "fast release of the ball" that Tang En repeatedly emphasized was reflected.
Everyone must observe the situation on the field before receiving the ball and know the positions of their teammates and the enemy. That way, when the football comes, they can immediately know what to do next, and not wait until they receive the ball to observe the route.
For the past two years, Tang En had been doing this kind of practice in the England team. No matter what style those players had in their respective clubs, they had to play according to this kind of requirements when they came to the England team. Those who could not meet the requirements would be gradually eliminated. No matter how talented they were, how famous they were, Tang En was determined to drive out the players who did not meet Tang En's requirements and were unwilling to change. Even if the media complained and spoke ill of him, he was not moved.
Until now, there was an England national team that listened to him.
When he told his players at halftime that he needed to pass the ball quickly, the players did not panic.
Under the Italians' pressing and pressing forward, England's midfield became very simple. George Wood and Gerrard sat in the middle and were mainly responsible for passing the ball forward in the offense. The two side midfielders were more like wingers in the offense. It was Agbonlahor who retreated back, connecting the front line and the midfield line together. Their positions were very flexible.
During the defense, England's midfield collectively retreated to form the first line of defense in front of the back line, trying to resolve the Italians' offense outside the penalty area.
The two teams' pressing was very intense, and fouls were indispensable. Both managers told their players to foul when necessary. As a result, the second half of the game was frequently interrupted by the referee's whistle. It seemed that neither side's offense could play smoothly.
Lippi found it difficult to find a flaw in the England team's defense. That guy, Tang En, was clearly a true disciple of Italy's reinforced concrete chain defense, even though he did not know who taught him.
When England was defending, Rooney had to retreat to the vicinity of the circle. Starting from him, England's defense was closely linked to each other, and it was tightly interlocked.
Even though Paloschi was pulled to the side, the middle was not empty. Foti was watched by Terry the whole time, and he was rarely able to get rid of the other side to get any decent chances.
Lippi realized that to break through such a tight defense, what he needed to do was not to pin his hopes on a flash of inspiration from a player, but on a set piece.
Thinking of this, Lippi paid attention to the time. The second half had already started 17 minutes ago. The score was still 0: 1, and his team was behind. If he wanted to make adjustments, he had to do it early. This was not the time to care about someone's reputation.
He looked at the players sitting on the substitutes' bench, and then pulled his assistant manager Ferrara over. "Go and ask Balotelli to warm up."
※ ※ ※
Just like Tang En pressed Vaughan to the bench, Balotelli did not appear in Italy's starting list, which was a little surprising. After all, Balotelli was a very unique attacking player, and he was also quite famous. But the treatment that Tang En and Lippi received was completely different. Everyone was questioning Tang En's decision, but they expressed understanding for Lippi.
It was very simple, Balotelli's decision to transfer to Nottingham Forest was wrong from the start. He was unhappy at Inter Milan, so he transferred to Nottingham Forest, but as Nottingham Forest gradually declined in the past few years, his personal form and reputation were greatly affected. Moreover, Italy's national team manager always had a tradition of not paying much attention to players who played abroad.
Balotelli originally had a place in the national team's starting lineup, but now he was reduced to the position of a substitute. This caused many Inter Milan fans to sigh, lamenting that fate made a fool out of people.
Lippi's substitution of Balotelli at this time was naturally because of his free kick footwork. Because everyone had more fouls, and at the same time, Italy currently had the upper hand in the offensive. Most of the fouls were in England's half of the field, and most of the free kicks were offensive. Balotelli's appearance would always bring new hope to the team's offense.
In addition, he was considered a Nottingham Forest player, and should be able to help the team to understand Tony Twain's thoughts more or less …
Balotelli stood on the sidelines, waiting to go on. Lippi had already told him his task half a minute ago. It was very simple, use his own skills to create opportunities to break through, and leave the free kicks and corner kicks in the front field to him. He must make good use of these free kick opportunities to find a way to break through England's tight defense.
※ ※ ※
Twain saw Balotelli standing next to the fourth official, and he thought for a moment, searching for information about this Italian in his memory.
Nottingham Forest's results in the past two seasons were average, and this black player's position in the team's main force was becoming more and more stable — after all, he spent 35 million pounds, which manager would dare to easily put him on the bench? It was a pity that he was not able to use his personal ability to help the team improve their results, and instead, his state was fluctuating as the team's results declined.
He himself was not very happy, and this summer, he had been clamoring for a transfer, and he might go to Manchester United to look for his mentor, Mourinho.
Lippi must have taken into account the large number of free kicks that Italy had obtained by bringing him on …
He had to remind the players on the field to pay attention to where the fouls were …
He also got up and walked to the sidelines, called Wood's name, and asked him to bring his latest instructions to the players on the field.
"Pay attention to where the fouls are!"
In reality, there were not many people who had high hopes for Balotelli, except for Lippi, who brought him on.
After all, this season, Balotelli's form was too unstable. When he was good, he could score a hat-trick in a game, and turn the tide, but when he was bad, he could make the live commentator suspect that the Forest team did not sign him up for the game.
And to make matters worse, such bad moments occurred more often in the last season.
But Lippi did not think so, so before he let Balotelli go on the field, he pulled him to give a very detailed explanation. He told him what to pay attention to, and what to do, and authorized him to take all the free kicks. It could be seen that Lippi had high hopes for Balotelli.
Unfortunately, the first time Balotelli took the ball after coming on the field, he did not live up to Lippi's high hopes — when he stopped the ball, he directly stopped the ball to George Wood on the opposite side.
Suddenly, the stands burst into laughter from the England fans. John and Bill even sang Balotelli's praises, which was obviously to remind everyone of the relationship between the two men.
"Does Balotelli think he is still wearing the red Nottingham Forest jersey? He actually directly stopped the ball to George Wood on the opposite side. And I can see that Wood is a little surprised about his mistake … Ah ha! " Motson mercilessly ridiculed Balotelli, even though he was likely to have cheered for Balotelli's beautiful goals in the league many times.
And the Italian commentator could not bear to see this embarrassing scene, and he could not bear to see this embarrassing scene.
There were conspiracy theorists among the Italian fans, who must have thought that Nottingham Forest inexplicably snatched Italian football's new golden boy from Inter Milan, must have been for this day. For the final, they deliberately planned to get rid of Balotelli two years ago.
Now it seemed that they had succeeded!
This idea made many Italians gnash their teeth in hatred of the English, and then think about the fact that the manager of Nottingham Forest and the England team was Tony Twain, then it was even more likely! Maybe all of this was planned by Tony Twain! Otherwise, why would he go to Nottingham Forest, and not Manchester United, where Mourinho, who knew Balotelli better?
Sure enough, they would do anything to win …
※ ※ ※
Because of that mistake, now whenever Balotelli took the ball, there would be a burst of laughter in the stands, and it was all directed at him by the England fans.
He really did not know how Lanzafame, who was replaced by Balotelli, would feel when he saw this scene from the bench. In fact, what was more interesting was what Lippi was thinking now …
Twain laughed on the sidelines, and he was a little proud. Balotelli's mistake was a blow to the Italian team's morale, and it also shook the confidence of the Italian teammates in him.
He did not know why Lippi took the risk to send Balotelli, even though Balotelli was good at free kicks, it was not worth it. After all, in the previous UEFA European Championship, Balotelli did not play much, and his performance was very average. In the technical statistics, there were no other numbers to show, except for one assist.
Had the Silver Fox gone senile for a moment, or did he really have some deep and farsighted plans?
"I think it was a stupid move to bring on Balotelli. If Italy ends up losing the final, this substitution will definitely be used by the media after the game. "
"I think England can take advantage of this opportunity to attack and try to score another goal, and then the victory will be set. The English people can start celebrating their first UEFA European Championship in history in advance. "
"Balotelli's performance at Nottingham Forest was very average, and this summer he had a disagreement with the club's top management, and he wants to transfer. These transfer rumors have clearly affected his mood and form. Lippi really did not think it through to let him play … "
"Lanzafame's performance was standard, and he contributed a lot in the defense. What was Lippi thinking to replace him just like that, and replace him with a Balotelli who did not let go at all? "
The commentators from the various countries did not mind taking this opportunity to add insult to injury.
"Lippi is really old, and he actually made such a mistake in such an important game … It really makes people sigh, the years really do not forgive people, he is after all a sixty-eight-year-old man …" There were even people shaking their heads and sighing, as if it was really a very regrettable thing.
And the main character that they were talking about was sitting calmly in the manager's seat, and you could not see anything from his calm face. He did not frown because of Balotelli's mistake, nor did he anxiously get up from the sidelines to berate the team. He did not do anything, like a statue.
This old Italian man who looked a lot like Paul Newman was really getting more and more handsome as he got older. That calm and steady temperament of a gentleman had naturally been revealed.
His performance on the pitch had instead increased a little confidence for the Italian players on the pitch.
Even the manager did not panic, why should we panic?
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