Deportivo La Coruna, on the second day of Wang Ai's return, ushered in the opponent of the 31st round of La Liga, Real Betis.When the two sides met in the first half, Wang Ai happened to be injured in the Champions League group stage against Monaco and failed to play, and the two sides shook hands 0:0.And this time, Wang Ai had just flown back from China thousands of miles away, and his physical fitness was poor, so Irueta still placed Wang Ai on the bench.Even if Wang Ai said that his physical fitness was fine, Irueta did not agree, and Pablo, who was sitting next to him, explained with a smile: "You just came back, take care of it, you are needed for Wednesday's game." ”The old captain Fran, who was sitting on the other side, also smiled and nodded, and Wang Ai noticed that Iruetta's command of this game was a little absent-minded.It seems that the ambitions of the Basques are no longer satisfied with what is going on in Spain.Laco's best result in the Champions League is the quarter-finals, and although the champion doesn't dare to think about it, how can he have to have a semi-final, right?
If you want to enter the semi-finals, you must first step over last season's Champions League title, and beat Laco with a 4:1 AC Milan in the last game!
No wonder Irueta is absent-minded, let alone a stubborn old man, even if anyone looks at the next match between the two sides now, he will not think that Deportivo La Coruna has any chances, the gap between the two sides is too big.From the point of view of player value, "Marca" once calculated that AC Milan's player value is higher than Real Madrid as a whole, and it is more than three times that of Deportivo La Coruna.Not to mention the respective histories of both sides, AC Milan is a giant in all of Europe, while Deportivo La Coruna is not a giant in Spain, at most it is a strong team that has only risen in recent years.The difference between the two sides is like diamonds and crystals, gold and brass.Judging from the history of the two sides, it is not surprising that Laco was beaten 4:1 in the last game, because when the two sides met in the Champions Cup last season, AC Milan also played Laco 4:0.Facing last season's European champions, Deportivo La Coruna are not favored even with their Rey.Although many people thought that Laco might win this game, it was fantastic to have three goals ahead of a team with Inzaghi, Shevchenko, Pirlo, Seedorf, Cafu and others, and still have to leave the opponent empty-handed.Under the absent-minded response of Deportivo La Coruna, the match with Real Betis was not shocking, and even the fans of Riazo were not very excited, and finally won 3:2, and the last goal was temporarily sent on the field to help Wang Ai get back into shape, and assisted Victor to complete.After the game, the whole team did not take a holiday, and almost immediately threw themselves into the rhythm of preparing for Wednesday's Champions League game, Irueta not only repeatedly watched AC Milan's recent two draws in Serie A against Chievo and Modena, but also received the support of some unexpected people, such as Luis Suarez, the current senior adviser to Inter Milan and the only Ballon d'Or winner in Spain, who gave Irueta a lot of advice.For the sworn enemies of the same city, Inter Milan definitely has the "spirit of internationalism"!
The whole team was deeply ashamed and upset about the mistakes made after the opening of the second half of the last game, and for the lessons that the veteran Ancelotti taught to Laco and Iruetta.Because Laco's stars are actually not bad, the reason why they are "cheap" is largely not their skills but their character, the most typical example is Real Madrid's Beckham, is his skills worth his 60 million euros?
Under the rules of commercial football, skill is only one part of the value of a star, and off-pitch buzz is also important because it will bring huge commercial income to the player and his club.Laco's group of stars was able to be favored by Rondoiro and bought with the financial support of a poorer club, mainly because their commercial value was not high.But from the point of view of these players, the more players with less off-field news, the more obsessed they are with pure football skills, and the more they look down on "fancy guys" like Beckham.Therefore, there is a lot of anger at the media touting AC Milan and looking forward to the prospect of AC Milan meeting Real Madrid in the semi-finals and winning back-to-back titles in the final: We haven't played yet, just like we're dead?
Of course, Irueta was not convinced, but he knew that whether he could have the last laugh was not whether he would be ruthless, so he prepared for the battle very seriously.In the team's training, he highlighted four men: left winger Luque, right winger Victor, left wing-back Pablo and right wing-back Romero.Because he is keenly aware that AC Milan has no wingers!
This is a fatal flaw!
AC Milan's squad relied on the habitual right-back Cafu, left wing-back Seedorf and left-back Pancaro on the left flanks, but Gattuso on the left side was more adept at defending than attacking.AC Milan's middle is extremely strong, from Sheva, Tomasson, Inzaghi on the forward line to Kaka and Pirlo in the front midfield, to Nesta and Maldini in the central defenders, relying on the control of Pirlo, Kaka and Seedorf, AC Milan has a lot of points in the midfield, but the wing attack is very dependent on Cafu's insertion and Seedorf's penetration, and the rest is mainly to assume the function of wing defense.This is a weakness compared to Laco, who has a regular striker as a winger.Alberto Luke and Victor Sanchez were both strikers in other teams, but in Laco's 4231 formation, they were not suitable for fulcrum centre-forwards, so they became wingers.But in terms of attacking ability, Laco's wide side is stronger than AC Milan's current wide equipment.Therefore, Irueta made up his mind to play on the wing in this game, he inspired Luke and Victor, asking them to crush Cafu and Pancaro in the first half, especially Cafu, and asked the 27-year-old Luke to fight with the 34-year-old Cafu at all costs, and strive to solve the battle in the first half!
At the same time, he sent Pablo and Romero on the pitch, and decided to use the experience and skills of these two veteran players to assist Victor and Luke behind the two wings, and actively inserted to increase the intensity of the opponent's wings.Defensively, he deployed Sergio and Mauro Silva, who specialised in the opposition midfield engine Andrea Pirlo and the energetic Kaka.As for Sheva, he asked Andrade and Naibet, the two main central defenders, to take advantage of the characteristics of the forward pressure of the formation to actively create offsides, and abolish the speed advantage of Sheva to become famous.The atmosphere of the tournament continued to heat up in the small town, and finally reached a climax the day before the competition.The club's three giants came out one after another, and Irueta made a public vow: "If we advance, I will walk to the Galician Cathedral on my knees!"
”President Rondoiro said: "You just have to work hard, everything has me!"
”Vice Chairman Ramon generously said in the face of the media's provocation: "We are going to die, and we will die heroically!"
”The high-spirited atmosphere in the fishing port of Lyon and the fierce speeches of the Big Three ignited the passion of the poor country of Galicia and, incidentally, changed the attitude of the local media.In the newspaper published on April 7, the day of the main game, instead of the key words of the past few days, such as "impossible" and "next season", the question was almost unanimously asked: "Why not?"
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