Chapter 2031 Dream Beginning
Madrid Pirates captain Joaquin Vela won the kick-off before the game.
When Hulay stood in the center circle with a football under his feet, he looked up at Vesuvius' goal and found the opponent's goalkeeper Jacobs Persson standing on the goal line.
Someone asked on a well-known domestic pretentious website:
"Why has Hu Lai never scored a goal directly from the center circle since the 2030 World Cup?"
Why?
Open your eyes and see for yourself, this is the reason!
Now whenever the Madrid Pirates or the Chinese team kicks off, the opponent's goalkeeper's standard position is on the goal line.
This has become a permanent tactic.
Even though Hu Lai repeatedly emphasized in interviews that his ability to score in the center circle was all due to luck and was not replicable at all, let everyone rest assured.
But as the saying goes, "Hu Lai's mouth is a liar."
The more he emphasized, the less everyone believed him.
So Hu Lai was also helpless.
After both players were in position, the referee looked at his watch and blew the opening whistle.
"The game begins!"
Hulay turned and passed the football into the backcourt, and the football flew straight to center back Danny Drew.
Meanwhile, Vesuvius striker Merlin Ulrich chased the ball towards the Dutch centre-back.
Other Vesuvian players also swarmed over the center line.
Facing the menacing Ulrich, Drew passed the football diagonally to the left with a big foot.
It was given to Farias who was standing close to the touchline.
Because it was too close to the sideline, Farias stopped the ball directly from the sideline under the interference of Vesuvius right back Roberto Accardi.
The Vesuvius fans in the stands let out a burst of gloating laughter.
In recent times, Farias has also been responsible for traffic in European football.
Fans of other European teams do not have as clear a stance as the Madrid Pirates fans regarding his likes on Twitter for fans scolding the head coach. They don’t care who is right or wrong, they just want to watch the fun and don’t think it’s a big deal. Mentality, both sides are booing.
Now that they see Farias making a mistake, of course they want to laugh at him. It would be better if they can make this kid lose his mind.
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Vesuvius, who won the ball, attacked the Madrid Pirates goal.
However, their attack failed and they were quickly defended by Madrid Pirates.
When the ball was at the feet of centre-back Riva Moreno, only one Vesuvian player rushed towards him.
As soon as the ball was passed to Toni by Moreno, two Vesuvian players rushed towards Toni from different angles.
Under their pressure, Tonini couldn't even control the ball and could only choose to pass it directly back to the goalkeeper.
And under the pressure of the opponent, the power of his return kick was quite strong.
Hewel did not dare to stop the ball casually, for fear that the ball would not be stopped properly and the opponent's players would seize the opportunity - just as Tonini passed the ball over, Vesuvius' forward Ulrich also caught up.
Hewel chose to pass the ball directly.
He did not pass the ball to the left wing where the personnel were concentrated, but moved to the right wing.
There is no one there, and right back Ettore Navarro can receive the ball relatively calmly.
But just after Navarro received the ball, Vesuvius' players had already reached him!
"Vesuvius' players are really pressing hard!" He Feng exclaimed.
Upon seeing this, Navarro planned to pass the football to the center, but the Vesuvius players saw through it and stretched out his foot to block the football from the sideline.
Madrid Pirates win a throw-in.
Navarro came to throw, and Tonini stepped forward to respond.
Navarro threw the football to him and immediately a Vesuvian player came up to him.
Tonini followed the trajectory of the football and turned around, trying to stop the ball in one go. As soon as he turned around, he saw a Vesuvius player, forward Merlin Ulrich!
He hesitated and did not immediately pass the football back to Navarro, who met him on the sideline.
Betra quickly stepped forward to press for him.
Toni tried to take the football away, but the other party stabbed it away!
The football was pushed towards the center!
There are no Madrid Pirates players there!
Vesuvius captain Victor Montero strode forward and intercepted the football!
Then he passed the football straight forward into the Madrid Pirates penalty area!
Vesuvius forward Ulrich, who just stole the football, has now entered the penalty area and received the ball!
Fortunately, Danny Drew arrived in time and interfered with his body, preventing Ulrich from maintaining his balance when catching the ball and making more adjustments.
When he started to shoot again, he had lost the space to shoot.
The football hit Drew in the leg and bounced off.
Tonini made up for it and appeared at the top of the penalty arc, turned around and walked the football away, then passed it to Vukovich who was retreating in front.
Vukovich used a "fried meatball" to temporarily get rid of the pressure of Vesuvius players, but he could not pass the football forward and could only pass the football to the side.
Pass to right winger Wesley Hodt who drops back.
Also in the process of passing the ball, Vesuvius' players rushed towards Hodet immediately.
Hodt was forced not to stop the ball and could only pass back to Navarro.
Vesuvian midfielder Hassan Isidi, who was originally chasing Vukovic, immediately dropped the Serbian midfielder and turned towards Navarro.
Navarro was forced to use his big feet to drive the football forward.
Such an offense is of course not of high quality, and the ball can easily change hands.
"Vesuvius played very proactively at their home court! They used a high press to press the Madrid Pirates' ball-carrying players and pass-receiving points in the frontcourt... As an Italian team, Vesuvius has both Italian Football attaches great importance to the tradition of defense, and it is also more passionate on offense..."
Hearing He Feng say this, Yan Kang next to him sighed: "So it makes sense that Vesuvius can lead the Turin Bulls and Insubre by so many points in the league this season!"
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When Hassan Isidi dribbled the ball through the midfield, Tonini followed him and tried several times but was unable to break the ball.
Isdy tried a through ball and found the forward Ulrich in front.
Fortunately, Ion Martinez retracted decisively when defending, blocked Isdy's passing route, and kicked the ball back with his feet.
The football throws a parabola and flies back to the center circle.
Vesuvius' midfielder and captain Victor Montero once again appeared at the ball's landing point, first stopped the ball with his chest, and then passed the ball to the right with the outside of his right foot.
There was Vesuvius right back Roberto Accardi, who stepped in to connect.
When Accardi received the ball, there was no Pirates player around him because the Madrid Pirates defenders were deeper.
Left winger Farias is still in front and has not returned.
After receiving the ball, Arkadi calmly adjusted and observed, and then passed the football back to Ulrich who was pulling away to meet him.
Then he accelerated and moved forward from behind Ulrich, as if he was going to cooperate with Ulrich in a shingle attack.
His movement attracted Madrid Pirates' left back Ion Martinez, who did not dare to attack Ulrich who had the ball easily - he had to guard against Ulrich passing the ball forward after he went up. of Arcardi.
Taking advantage of Accardi's opportunity to attract the attention of the Pirates' defense, Ulrich dribbled the ball diagonally towards the corner of the Madrid Pirates' penalty area.
After attracting Madrid Pirates center back Danny Drew to press forward, he suddenly passed the ball to the space behind Drew!
Vesuvius' Turkish international midfielder Hassan Isidi is cutting in!
At the same time, another forward, Valerio Betra, is holding Pirates' center back Riva Moreno in the middle...
No one can come to defend Isdy!
The latter inserted into the space, received the ball, turned around and shot!
The football flew straight to the far corner!
Faced with this close shot, goalkeeper Haywell was still a little slow when he got down, and his hand failed to reach the football!
He could only watch the football fly from the back corner into the goal he was guarding!
Vesuvius’ home stadium, the Southern Stadium, burst into deafening cheers!
"Ahhhh!" The Italian commentator on the scene had to raise his voice and scream as hard as he could in order to drown out the shouts in the stands of the Southern Stadium.
"Isdi! Isdi! Hassan Isdi! Vesuvius scored! The game has just started less than four minutes! To be exact, it is three minutes and twenty-eight seconds! The best score in the Champions League this season A quick goal was born! It is also the fastest Champions League goal in the history of Vesuvius! ”
"Hey, this ball... this ball?"
He Feng was stunned for a moment when he saw the football flying into the goal. He seemed ill-prepared for losing the ball so quickly.
But how many people can make such preparations?
Spanish commentator Alvarez Sanchez fell silent for about ten seconds after losing the ball.
Ten seconds later, he sighed: "The Madrid Pirates lost the ball too quickly... Vesuvius' start was too smooth! This ball... After the opening, the Madrid Pirates were forced by Vesuvius' high position. It was a bit messy, and the defense was further flattened, losing flexibility and depth. As a result, Ulrich's diagonal pass was so easy to penetrate..."
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The goal was scored in the first three minutes, and the cheers in the Southern Stadium lasted for a long time.
Vesuvius' players also celebrated for a long time.
By the time they returned to their own half, it was already two minutes later.
As they walked back to their own half, head coach Tommaso Renzetti was gesturing to them, reminding them to continue to press high even after taking the lead.
After all, they are only one goal ahead now...
And a one-goal lead is almost equal to no lead.
So when the game restarted, everything was the same as when the kickoff started three minutes ago:
The Madrid Pirates player passed the ball back, and the Vesuvius player rushed forward after the football.
"Vesuvius continues to press high!"
Vesuvius' high press not only focused on Tonini, but also on Farias.
Aiming at Tonini, he wanted to steal Tonini's ball and launch a direct counterattack.
As for Farias, he hoped to anger him, make him lose his mind and calmness, and completely ignite the bomb.
So when Farias caught the ball, Vesuvius' players immediately came up to grab it.
Facing the siege of Vesuvius players, Farias tried to use his excellent personal skills to take the football out of the siege.
However, the Vesuvian players had "no martial ethics" and had no intention of "fair competition" with Farias. Seeing that they could not keep each other, they reached out and pulled down the Argentine winger.
The whistle sounded and cheers followed.
Anyway, as long as Farias is defeated, the Vesuvius fans in the stands will be happy.
Players and fans put double pressure on Farias, hoping to break through the Argentine kid's psychological defense as soon as possible.
Judging from the "Like Gate", it is obvious that Farias is not the kind of person who can hold fire, and it should be easy for him to lose his cool.
Sure enough, Farias reacted violently to this foul committed by a Vesuvian player.
After he got up from the ground, he yelled angrily at the referee, protesting and complaining - he believed that the opponent's foul player should receive a yellow card instead of showing no expression like now.
However, his reaction only received more crazy boos and laughter from the Vesuvius fans in the stands.
There were also Vesuvius fans near his sideline who shouted at him: "We also support Parotti to get out! Haha!"
As for their Italian, whether Farias can understand it is another matter.
If Farias interpreted this as Vesuvius fans mocking him and scolding him, that would be fine.
Because they were literally mocking him.
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Vesuvius was not only targeting Farias and Tonini, they were also actively looking for offensive opportunities.
In the tenth minute, Vesuvius successfully prevented the Madrid Pirates' attack in the backcourt.
At that time, the Madrid Pirates tried to break fast from the right, but Vukovich's ball was interfered by the Vesuvius players and passed too wide.
Center back Wang Guangwei pulled horizontally to the wing to steal the ball.
He used his body to cross in front of Hodt, protecting the football and blocking the Dutchman behind him.
Then he didn't rush to clear the football away with a big kick, but held the opponent and tried to turn around!
The Vesuvius fans in the stands cheered him on as he changed directions continuously to try and get away from Hoddert.
This is actually a bit dangerous, because he is likely to be intercepted by the opponent and directly threaten the goal.
However, risks and returns are also directly proportional.
Although this is somewhat dangerous, if the football is just cleared out of bounds, it still gives the ball to the Madrid Pirates.
Wang Guangwei is unwilling to do this. He still wants to put the football at the feet of his teammates after successfully defending as much as possible, so that the team can smoothly switch from defense to offense.
Finally, when he was about to take the football out of the sideline, Wang Guangwei finally got enough space. At the cost of losing his balance, he turned around and kicked the football towards the midfield.
The ball was picked up by forward Valerio Betra who dropped deep.
Vesuvius fans in the stands cheered and applauded Wang Guangwei's handling.
Betra received the ball and turned around, dribbling the ball laterally.
Toni was right next to him, trying to pull.
But Valerio Betra, the Italian forward, looks short at only 1.83 meters tall, but has strong confrontation ability and a stable foothold.
Tonini pulled a few times, but he couldn't make Betra lose his balance and lose the ball.
He didn't dare to continue pulling - as a defensive midfielder, if he fouled rashly and got a yellow card, he would be passive in the rest of the game - he could only follow Betra and try to catch a glimpse of him. Steal the ball with your feet at the right time.
But Betra didn't give him such a chance. After separating Tonini with his hand, he quickly passed the football to Merlin Ulrich, another forward who was pulling over to meet him.
As a Swiss international, Ulrich is only 1.78 meters tall, but he has excellent foot skills, is good at dribbling, and has strong individual combat capabilities.
After receiving the ball, Ulrich took the ball forward towards Madrid Pirates left back Ion Martinez.
The combination of man and ball was so good that Ion didn't even dare to take a shot easily, so he could only fight and retreat.
Has retreated into the restricted area...
"Ulrich!!"
The cheers in the stands grew louder and louder, reaching their climax when Ulrich scored.
However, although Ion Martinez failed to stop Ulrich, he was always stuck in front of Ulrich and still interfered with the Swiss forward's shot.
So the football missed the short corner...
Although no goal was scored, the stands were filled with applause and cheers from Vesuvius fans.
They have already seen that Vesuvius, after taking a one-goal lead, is gradually gaining the upper hand and completely suppressing the visiting team Madrid Pirates.
"The Madrid Pirates' goal is really dangerous... If we keep playing like this, the Pirates may continue to concede goals!"
When Hu Lixin heard what He Feng said, he secretly glanced at his wife and found that she had no reaction to He Feng's words.
Do you really think that being eliminated doesn’t matter?
"What are you doing?" Xie Lan noticed her husband's glance at her.
"Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing..." Hu Lixin quickly turned his attention back to the live TV screen.
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This is the first time Toni has played as a defensive midfielder in a game. It has to be said that for a player who is used to moving on the wing, suddenly putting him in the middle is indeed a lot of discomfort.
In the past, when he was active on the left wing, because one side was the sideline, he only had to pay attention to three directions.
The habit developed by playing like this for a long time makes him lack a full 360-degree perspective.
Sometimes you don’t notice what’s going on in your blind spots...
Just like this time.
He took the ball at his feet and looked up to observe the situation in front of him, but forgot that what was behind him was not the sideline now...
Hassan Isidi suddenly came out of the blind spot of his vision, stepped forward to squeeze him away, and stabbed the football out!
"Toni was intercepted!"
The cheers in the stands suddenly exploded.
Tonini realized that he had lost the ball, immediately turned around and reached out to hold Isdy's hand, and grabbed it back!
Or maybe he wanted to use a foul to delay Vesuvius' attack - at this time, he didn't care about whether he would get a yellow card or not.
However, before Isdy was pulled to the ground by him, he still passed the football to his receiving teammate, left midfielder Michel De Bruyne.
The referee stretched out his hands and made a gesture of "favorable offense, game continues".
The cheers in the stands got much louder.
"Vesuvius strikes back on the spot!"
De Bruyne received the ball, made a slight adjustment, and shot from the line of the penalty area!
Joaquin Vela rushed up to block his shot, but the football hit him in the calf instead, causing him to change the line slightly!
It was this change of direction that caught goalkeeper Jonathan Highwell off guard!
The football bypassed his fingers and flew to the far corner of the goal!
"De Bruin - GOOOOOOOOOOL!!! Oh my God!"
Even the Italian commentator was shocked.
"The game has only started sixteen minutes, and Vesuvius has already taken a two-goal lead at home! Unbelievable! Unbelievable! What a dream start this is!"
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"De Bruin's shot hit Joaquin Vela's leg, and there was a slight change of line. It was this change of line that prevented Hywell from pounce... Alas!"
After He Feng and Yan Kang watched the replay of Vesuvius' second goal, they both sighed.
It stands to reason that this game is a "Chinese Derby". No matter who wins or loses, there will definitely be a Chinese player reaching the Champions League final.
So they shouldn't have a clear tendency.
However, as someone who has given Chinese football enough face in European football, Hu Lai is still different from other Chinese players. His status in the minds of He Feng and Yan Kang is not comparable to others.
They watched with their own eyes how the pirate dynasty was established step by step.
This dynasty is no longer just about the Madrid Pirates, it also entrusts the feelings of countless Chinese fans.
Now they couldn't bear to watch the pirate dynasty collapse before their eyes.
Although the semi-finals are two rounds, the current score does not mean that the Madrid Pirates will definitely lose in the end.
But the team that once swept across Europe was completely stunned by its opponent's two goals in the first sixteen minutes.
Such a scene was enough to make He Feng and the others feel heartbroken.
The team was in internal strife and was beaten by opponents on the court.
The king of Madrid Pirates was not only pulled down from his throne, but also stepped on his face by his opponent. It was really embarrassing.
Anyone who still has feelings for this team probably doesn’t want to see this scene, right?
In the second round of the quarter-finals, they came back from three goals behind to eliminate Catalonia United. It was very exciting. Many people even thought that "this is the resurgence of the Pirates Dynasty"...
Now it seems that it is actually just the last flashback of this dynasty.
While the Vesuvius players were wildly celebrating the lead, the TV broadcast took the time to give Tonini a close-up shot.
In the close-up shot, Tonini stands at the edge of the penalty area with his hands on his hips.
This goal was caused by him losing the ball.
As a defensive midfielder, his performance in these sixteen minutes can be called "substandard".
Joaquin Vela, wearing the captain's armband on his arm, comforted Tonini: "Don't take it personally, Cardoso. They focused on you..."
Toni didn't speak, just nodded.
He was not satisfied with his performance in the past sixteen minutes, but he was not defeated yet.
After all, he is a thirty-four-year-old veteran. He has experienced hundreds of battles and has rich experience. He is not a kid...
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Seeing Tonini being comforted by Joaquín Vela in the distance, Farias did not feel gloating.
It stands to reason that the worse Toni's performance, the better for Farias.
Because after the game everyone would only scold Toni and regard him as the culprit for the team's elimination, and the firepower on him was naturally reduced.
But Farias didn't think so.
In his opinion, Toni's poor performance was due to the unfamiliarity of the position, which was nothing to laugh about.
He believes that Toni also knows this, so he can actually refuse to play as a defensive midfielder. In that case, even if the team is really eliminated, no one will actually blame him. After all, it is not his responsibility for the captain to be injured during training...
But he still agreed.
Because currently the team really does not have a suitable candidate for the midfielder position.
As a Pirates player, Farias knew inside information that outsiders did not.
In fact, Toni is not simply replacing Juan Ramirez as a defensive midfielder.
Strictly speaking, he was actually replacing Joaquin Vela.
After Ramirez was injured, Joaquin Vela not only took over Ramirez's captain's armband, but also took over the captain's position. He is the one who specializes in defense.
Tonini is taking Joaquin Vela's original position. While helping Bella defend, he also needs to use his skills to assist the team's offense and connect the front, middle and backfields.
This is why Parotti chose to start Toni in this game - initially when the news was announced, many people outside were puzzled by it. They believed that Toni was not a pure defensive player. Parotti asked Toni to start as a defensive midfielder, which was completely due to his illness.
There must be many people complaining about Parotti's personnel arrangement online now, right? These two goals, especially the second one, gave them the courage and evidence to criticize.
Farias didn’t think there was anything wrong with Parotti’s actions. He knew very well the reason why the head coach chose Tonini. Without even knowing it, Farias had already begun to change the overall attitude of the team. Consider and look at the problem from a different perspective.
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"When Parotti announced before the game that Tonini would replace Ramirez as the starting midfielder, it aroused many people's doubts. Now it seems that those doubts are justified...It is obvious that this temporary The Brazilian winger who plays as a defensive midfielder is not very qualified for his job, so he has become the biggest loophole and Achilles' heel of the Madrid Pirates."
The Italian commentator pointedly pointed out the biggest problem of the Madrid Pirates' game.
"I don't know what psychology motivated Parotti to make this decision... He has been criticized this season for being too partial to older players. He will be punished for this issue again in this game. ! However, thinking about it on the other hand, these old players are all meritorious players who helped him achieve three consecutive Champions League titles, and it seems normal to be partial to them. It's just that some of these old players are getting older and their desire to win has faded. I'm sorry for Parotti's trust..."
While he was criticizing, the TV broadcast also clearly showed the camera in front of the Madrid Pirates coaching bench.
Parotti was chatting with his assistant, but both parties covered their mouths with their hands, and no one could understand what they were saying by reading their mouth shapes.
They were indeed talking about Toni, too.
"It is indeed difficult to let a left winger play as a defensive midfielder..." the first assistant coach Jesus Valentin sighed. "Should adjustments be made?"
"Adjustment?" Parotti asked, "What other adjustments can be made? Vesuvius is obviously targeting him. Unless we replace him, there is no way to make effective adjustments."
Having said this, he paused and continued: "I still believe in Toni. Although it is his first time to play as a defensive midfielder. But before this, he also did a good job in defense. How did he defend in training? Farias, we all see it, right?”
Valentine nodded.
Although he is a winger, Tonini has actually taken on more defensive work on the court since he was injured at the beginning of the season. On some occasions he was even able to drop into the full-back position.
His defensive advantage is experience and tenacious fighting, and he will not be easily thrown away by his opponents.
This is also an important reason why Parotti chose Tonini to play as a defensive midfielder.
The outside world seems to be "rushing a duck to the shelf", but in fact Parotti knows very well that Toni can complete the defensive work.
"What he needs is to adapt. As long as he adapts, he will get better... We all know what he can do."
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The celebration time for Vesuvius' second goal was obviously longer than that of the first goal.
This may be because they have different psychological feelings when leading by one goal and leading by two goals.
They weren't very secure when they were one goal ahead.
It's different now.
Not only were they ahead by two goals, this second goal also proved that they had found the biggest breakthrough in the Madrid Pirates formation.
That's Toni.
This is a scoring path that can be replicated - in the next game, as long as he continues to surround Toni and put pressure on him, he will definitely make mistakes again. Vesuvius can also get more offensive opportunities from here. Even if they seize one of them, they can rewrite the score to 3:0.
If they lead by three goals, Vesuvius will be half in the Champions League final.
What?
Do you think Catalonia United thinks so too?
Can that be the same?
Indeed, Catalonia United led Madrid Pirates 3-0 on aggregate in the second leg of the quarter-finals.
The subsequent reversal of the Madrid Pirates was nothing short of miraculous.
But you said it was a "miracle".
Since it is a miracle, can it still happen often?
Therefore, the Madrid Pirates can reverse Catalonia once, but it does not prove that they can reverse it again, especially to perform miracles twice in a short period of time, which is simply unheard of.
Based on this idea, Vesuvius' players were much more excited when celebrating than when they were leading by one goal.
While they were celebrating, Hu Lai was making gestures to his teammates and reminding them loudly:
"Keep calm! It's not a big deal, it's just two goals behind! The game has just started, which means we still have a lot of time to equalize!"
He kept pointing to his temples and at the same time pressing his hands down to signal everyone not to panic.
In fact, the second goal conceded was the result of some panic after conceding the first goal.
If the military morale continues to be unstable, I'm afraid the team will continue to lose goals.
Although Hu Lai is not the captain of the team and does not wear an armband on his arm, at this time, regardless of whether he is the captain or not, as a veteran player, he should stand up.
Wang Guangwei, who ran back to his own half after celebrating, happened to see this scene.
The smile that was still on his face disappeared instantly. He turned to his teammates who were running back with him and said:
"Although we are ahead by two goals, don't be happy too early. We must be vigilant and defend carefully!"
When he said this, he also pointed his finger at Hu Lai.
His teammates looked over and saw Hu Lai comforting his teammates.
Many people also nodded.
In fact, regardless of this incident, they will not relax their defense against Hu Lai.
Even though today's Madrid Pirates no longer have the dominance they once had, Hulay is still the only one on the scorer list, high up there.
Whatever you doubt, don't doubt Hulay's scoring ability.
A 2:0 lead is great, but if Hu Lai gets a goal back and it becomes 2:1, the situation will be completely different. (End of chapter)