Chapter 1913: Ginger is still spicier
When the last Chinese player who went out to warm up returned to the locker room, head coach Jorge Dillon closed the door to the locker room. The noise outside was reduced, but it could still be heard.
Even though there were many walls, the frenetic and noisy atmosphere in the Crown Stadium was still unstoppable.
"Did you hear that song during the warm-up?" Dillon asked through translator Yu Jintao. "It's that song you are very familiar with."
Yu Jintao directly announced the answer for him: "It is "Singing the Motherland."
Everyone nodded to show they heard.
During the warm-up, the stands were almost full of fans from both sides, so the atmosphere was very lively, even compared to the official match.
Fans from both sides have already begun to create an atmosphere in advance.
Fans from both teams were singing.
The fans of the home team sang louder, but the songs of the Chinese fans could still occasionally break out from the "surrounding" of the opponent.
Especially the song "Singing the Motherland" has a catchy melody that is so familiar to everyone and is almost engraved in everyone's genes.
"This song is a victory song. It is usually sung after we win the game. Why was it sung during the warm-up before the game this time? I was wondering, is it because even our fans Don’t think you can win this game? ”
The players of the Chinese team were a little surprised. They didn't expect that Dillon would understand the behavior of the Chinese fans from this perspective... They were simply moved when they heard this song, and they really didn't think in the direction the head coach said. .
However, before the game, the media around the world were not optimistic that the Chinese team could win, which is also true.
After all, their opponent is the defending champion + host + FIFA's second-ranked Spanish national team.
This BUFF stack is almost full...
Portugal, also the host country, lost to Norway in the opening game, which also served as a reminder to Spain. In addition, Hulay plays for the Madrid Pirates. The Spanish internationals are either teammates with Hulay or have played against Hulay in games and are very familiar with Hulay's abilities.
Therefore, there is almost no possibility of underestimating the enemy, and preparations must be sufficient.
In terms of paper strength, the Chinese team lags behind in all aspects except on the front line.
In terms of mentality, the opponent does not underestimate the enemy but also takes it seriously.
The time and place are not favorable, and the people and people are not on the Chinese team's side - Spain's home stadium, the Crown Stadium, which can accommodate 85,000 people, has more than 50,000 Spanish fans. It is said that Chinese fans only bought close to 20,000 tickets. 20,000 to 50,000, Spanish fans are more than twice as many as Chinese fans.
Thinking about it this way, the Chinese team may be able to score goals with Hu Lai's superb opportunity catching ability, but the gap in overall strength, especially the deficiencies in defense, should still cause the Chinese team to concede more goals...
While the offensive lineup is Asia's top, or even world-class, the Chinese team's defense may only be higher than the Asian average.
"But I know, and you guys know too. Our goal in this game is to defeat them! To the outside world, the Chinese team's draw with Spain is a victory, but to us, a draw is a failure!" Dillon waved his arms vigorously, Yu Jintao followed him and made the same movements, speaking loudly in the same tone.
"After the start of this World Cup, except for the first game, most of the games were uneventful. The teams that deserved to win all won...it was as bland as pure water, with no taste at all. Let's give them a little excitement. Yes, give the whole world a surprise!”
After boosting morale, Dillon began to reiterate some tactical points that needed attention:
"Ramirez has been confirmed to miss this game due to his unrecovered injury. But judging from the previous warm-up matches, Borja has obviously made special arrangements for this situation. They have magnified their ability to control the ball. They have the advantage of controlling the ball instead of defending - after all, the ball is at their feet, so they don't have to worry about defense. At the same time, controlling the ball can also better consume the opponent's physical strength, because the physical strength required to grab the ball is higher than that of the opponent. The pass catcher is much bigger”
Dillon has already drawn the opponent's players' positions on the tactical board.
Then he clicked on the Spanish national team’s No. 6 player:
"Rosas is the core of their midfield and the 'eye of the formation'. Without Ramirez, Rosas' protection has plummeted, so we have to focus on attacking him on the field. You have to play Be tougher! Go up to him immediately and use your body to hit him and interfere with him! Don't be afraid of fouling him! Afraid of getting cards. We must cut off the connection between him and other Spanish players, especially him and Campuzano. The two of them are midfield partners in Catalonia and have worked together for many years. Don't look at it. Don't defend until he passes the football. You must judge the blocking position in advance..."
"In addition, if we lose the ball, we must quickly organize a counterattack on the spot and regain the ball as soon as possible. Once Spain is allowed to control the ball for a long time, the game will fall into their rhythm, and we can only be led away. The defensive formation will be disrupted.”
"After regaining the ball, the offensive advance should be as simple as possible, moving forward through the two wings and then toward the center. Don't back-and-forth in the midfield to increase the risk of being intercepted by the opponent."
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"If we lose the ball, we have to quickly return to defense. The two wings of the Chinese team are very threatening. They will definitely launch a quick attack through speed and hit directly behind our defense. They have very efficient shooters, so they have no We need to compare the ball possession rate with us in the midfield and backcourt. If we cannot defend in time, resulting in a lot of space in the defense, we may lose the ball.”
After talking about the tactical requirements, the head coach of the Spanish national team Kily Borja began to give his final instructions.
"I don't think the Chinese team will believe that we will take them lightly. They know that we value them, and we know that they know that. So there are no 'surprises' or 'unexpected' in this game. It is pure competition of strength. . But I’m different from the outside media. I don’t think it’s simple. In terms of strength, we have to beat the Chinese team. Although the Chinese team is ranked far lower than us, each of you must put the Chinese team on the same level as us. Only in this way can we defeat them. Pay attention. , I said 'possibly'."
When saying this, Borja's expression and tone were very serious.
“In football, the outcome can never be determined before the game starts. Regardless of what the pre-match odds and expert analysis say about us, before the final whistle blows and before the final score is announced, we cannot be thought to win. So we must not relax until then, stay focused and go all out! This is our first game in this World Cup and we must win!”
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When the players from both sides walked out of the locker room one after another and came to the tunnel to wait to play, Hulay did not stand honestly in his team, but walked to the Spanish team and greeted them warmly.
It was as if he was the owner of this stadium.
"Ha, Joaquin, long time no see! Are you taking the captain's place today?" Hu Lai put his arm around Joaquin Vela's shoulders. If it weren't for the fact that the color of his jersey was different from the opponent's, he would have blended in perfectly.
Then he turned to Rosas, the core midfielder of the Spanish team, and said with a cupped hand: "Brother, please be noble for a while, but be gentle!"
Then he turned around and pointed at Ion and said: "When I return to the club, you must treat me to dinner! To comfort my injured heart..."
Ion had a question mark: "Why me..."
Before he could finish his words, his clothes were tugged by the center back Nuno Sequeiros next to him. Ion immediately shut up when he came back to his senses.
In the end, Spanish goalkeeper Rodrigues Baccar, who was wearing the captain's armband, came forward to drive Hulay back to the opposite side: "Okay, Hulay. We are all familiar with it. There is no need to play these tricks and focus on the game." Itself.”
Hu Lai's expression changed when he returned to his team. His expression, which had been resentful just now, instantly returned to normal.
"Are you going to sword dance again?" Zhang Qinghuan, who plays football in Sarria, understands Spanish, so he completely understood what Hu Lai meant.
"Is sword dancing ridiculous? I'm not Xiang Zhuang." Hu Lai rolled his eyes at him. "But Lao Di is right, they did not underestimate the enemy. It is definitely not that they show that they do not underestimate the enemy, but they really value us."
"Then this game will be difficult to play..." Liu Yan, the starting center back next to him, frowned and said.
"Actually, there is no difference. It would have been difficult to play against the defending champion." Wang Guangwei comforted his central defender partner.
Liu Yan was very impressed that Zhang Qinghuan could still chat and laugh with Hu Lai before the game started: "Brother Huan, you are so stable."
Although he is no longer a newcomer to the Chinese team, he still felt uncontrollably nervous before the game started.
Hu Lai was unhappy when he heard this. He glared at Liu Yan: "Why don't you praise me?"
Liu Yan quickly defended: "No, Hu Lai, do you still need to praise me? You are extremely talented..."
Chen Xingyi came up and said, "I understand, you said Hu Lai was born cheap."
The surrounding Chinese team players burst into laughter.
Liu Yan also laughed, and the original tension in his heart disappeared little by little.
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"What are they talking about? Is it so funny?"
"The laughter is a bit exaggerated. Is it to cover up the nervousness?"
"You can't say that. With Hu here, the atmosphere in the team is good."
"Yes, he is a master of atmosphere adjustment..."
Although the Spanish players couldn't understand what the Chinese players were talking about, they could understand the laughter and the expressions.
It is obvious that the Chinese team players have a good mentality, otherwise they would not be laughing so heartily before their first World Cup game.
"So expecting the Chinese team to be nervous and thus perform abnormally is just a delusion of the ignorant media and overly optimistic fans."
A voice sounded behind the Spanish internationals, and everyone turned around to find captain Juan Ramirez wearing a sports coat.
"In this game, everyone should show their best competitive state and go head-to-head with the Chinese team! They are more than just stupid!"
After Ramirez said this, he walked straight to the Chinese team, and then he put his arms around Hu Lai's neck.
The Chinese team’s laughter stopped abruptly.
Hulay turned around in surprise, only to find that it was Juan Ramirez, his captain at the club.
"I think I should say hello to you before going to the stands to watch the game, Hu." Ramirez said calmly and with a smile on his face.
Then, without waiting for Hu Lai to reply to him, he let go of Hu Lai, walked towards Zhang Qinghuan, and greeted him.
Zhang Qinghuan plays for Saria. The two are direct opponents in club games, so they are very familiar with each other.
After greeting the two most familiar people, Ramirez shook hands with each Chinese team player one by one, smiled and said hello.
No matter how many people he knew or were familiar with, he didn't miss any of the eleven players in the Chinese team's starting lineup.
After doing all this, he did not go back to his team, but went straight to the exit of the player tunnel.
During the whole process, Hu Lai didn't have time to respond to his greeting just now.
"Ramirez is telling you that he is the master of this place." Zhang Qinghuan said clearly.
"I know." Hu Lai looked at Ramirez's back and nodded.
He looked back at his teammates and found that the expressions on some people's faces had become serious again, and the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere just now was gone.
"You are still smarter when you are older..." Wang Guangwei said with emotion, "This is the real captain."
He felt that he just wore the captain's armband and was still far from becoming a "real captain".
Then he saw Hu Lai looking at him.
"Team King."
"What?" Wang Guangwei frowned. After seeing Ramirez's demeanor just now, he felt that the name Hu Lai sounded a little harsh.
"When the coin guesses later, you want the right to kick off."
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PS, the World Cup plot is about to begin. We will still have the same plot as the last World Cup. The game will be updated three times a day and other times once a day.
So starting from tomorrow, three updates! (End of chapter)