champion godfather

Chapter 570 Volume [-] Storm Albertini-Style Pass

"This is the first time in the history of AC Milan that they have played against Nottingham Forest, and it is also the first time that they have played against Nottingham Forest in the Champions League final. For them, the Forest team is a strange opponent, even though it is from England like Liverpool. In this game AC Milan wore white jerseys and attacked from right to left. White jerseys always seem to bring them good luck. AC Milan won the Champions League in 1963, 1989, 1990 and 2003 in white jerseys. And this stadium also has good memories for AC Milan, and even for the current Forest team captain Albertini. In 1994, AC Milan beat Barcelona 4-0 here, which severely damaged the Barcelona dream coached by Cruyff. team." After the start of the game, the commentator took the time to introduce some background knowledge to the TV audience, and analyze from the side which of the two teams is more likely to win the championship.

"The referee of this game is Van der from Germany. He has not officiated the game that Nottingham Forest participated in, but he has officiated the AC Milan game. AC Milan won all five games! These circumstances may explain this game to us. Does AC Milan have a better chance of winning?"

"I have a different opinion, Steve. If you look at the historical record, Nottingham Forest has reached the final three times and won the trophy twice. Their success rate of winning the championship is a little higher than that of AC Milan. I don't think those historical data can explain anything. , the winner of this game does not rely on historical data, but their level of performance in this game. If AC Milan thinks they will win, then it is likely to capsize... Such a situation appeared in this Champions Cup Many times, and of course not against AC Milan. I think the coaches of both sides have a deep understanding of this."

When guessing the side before the game, Maldini beat Albertini, so the Forest team won the kick-off.

Before the game, everyone thought that the Forest team would continue to stick to the defensive counterattack they were good at in such an important game, but judging from the opening minutes, the Forest team was very proactive-the kick-off against AC Milan's The goal is under siege.

Two shots in 5 minutes, both within the frame.It has shown countless people that the Forest team is equally capable of playing a threatening offense.

Is the forest team going to play offensive football against AC Milan in this game?
That's really strange. How could Tony Twain, who enjoys a "prestige" in European football for his conservatism, give up defense in such an important final and choose a risky attack?

Ancelotti decided to stand still. Judging from the Forest team's performance in the past five minutes, he still couldn't figure out what Tang En was planning.Is the 5-minute attack because the Forest team really intends to attack, or is it just a normal offensive launched because the forest team players are under their feet for most of the 5-minute football?

He needs to keep watching.

What he had expected before was that the Forest team would definitely implement a defensive counterattack in such an important final, just like they have come along the way, relying on a solid overall defense and a fast counterattack to defeat the opponent.This made him think a lot.

AC Milan is not afraid of pressing the teams that come out to attack them, but they have nothing to do with the teams that stick to the penalty area.

If the Forest team really wants to press out and attack, Ancelotti can't wait for it, that will only speed up the opponent's failure.If the Forest team still insists on defensive counterattack, Ancelotti has also made arrangements. What AC Milan has been doing for more than a week is to practice how to break the opponent's dense defense.

Before the game, Ancelotti warned his disciples that no matter what tactics the opponent uses, they only need to stick to their own football rhythm, deal with the opponent patiently, find an opportunity to make another fatal blow, and the game will be won.

This is very similar to what Tang En said to his team. Does it mean that the heroes of both sides have the same views?

After 5 minutes, AC Milan regained control of the ball, and Ancelotti saw that the speed of the Forest team's retreat was not as fast as he thought.

Most of the time, Nottingham Forest counterattacked on the spot in the frontcourt. If the forwards failed to counterattack, instead of waiting for their teammates to intercept the ball and pass it to them, they turned around and ran back immediately. Continue to participate in the defense.In addition to the on-the-spot counterattack in the frontcourt, the midfielder was also very aggressive. George Wood ran without hesitation. From one end to the other, No. 13 could be seen in almost every corner of the midfield.Beside him, assisted by veteran Albertini.

"The whole court is pressing?" Ancelotti frowned and muttered, he was still not sure.

Judging from the few games he observed the Forest team, the Forest team seems to be more accustomed to recovering the penalty area at once, and then shrinking to the 30-meter area, allowing the opponent to pass from outside.It's no wonder that Twain was criticized by the media for "conservative play and ugly scenes". Although this kind of shrinking football can bring victory, many people really disdain it.

Ancelotti looked at the back of the Forest team again. Although the frontcourt and midfield players were very busy, the people on the back line had no intention of coming up to help. coming offensive.

Seems a bit out of line?

Ancelotti thought so.The midfield and the frontcourt are very close, but the distance between the backcourt and the midfield is a bit large... Aren't they afraid that the space in between will be used?
The head coach of AC Milan carefully recalled the performance of each line of the Forest team after the opening 5 minutes. The frontcourt and midfield were very active in the offense, which made people think that they were going to play offensive football.But the back line never overwhelmed the center line, and the two full-backs didn't make the main attack... Tang En chose Leighton Barnes, who had a better defense, at the left-back position, instead of Gareth, whom he preferred. S. Bell.

It seems that the defense is still the keynote?

Ancelotti is observing, and AC Milan's field commander, brain, and midfield commander Tapirlo is also observing.He also saw that there seemed to be a "fault zone" between Nottingham Forest's midfield and defense, which could be used...

Thinking of this, Pirlo took the opportunity to readjust the football at his feet and winked at Kaka who was looking back at him.

Kaka understood and inserted there.

At the same time, the football flew out from Pirlo's feet and rolled towards Kaka quickly against the turf.Ribery shoveled halfway, but shoveled empty.

Kaka looked back and saw the football rolling towards him, but at the same time he also saw something else—a person.

The red jersey of Nottingham Forest is very eye-catching on the field, and George Wood rushed to Kaka with the football.

The ball must be caught, but this person doesn't seem to be easy to avoid.Kaka decided to protect the football and take it hard with his body.

He received the ball, used his skills to pass the football over, shielded it in front of him, and then...then he was pushed to the ground by Wood from behind...

"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded along with the boos of the AC Milan fans.

"George Wood's foul! It seems that this game will be Wood closely guarding Kaka!"

Kaka lay on the ground, waiting for his teammate Inzaghi to pull him up, he was very helpless.Although it is not obvious from the outside, the other party is indeed stronger than he imagined.

Pirlo ran over and prepared to take a free kick.He has no regrets about the interruption of this attack. At least he got a free kick in the front court, and he seems to know why the opposing coach dared to leave such a gap between the defense line and the midfield...

Because there is the number 13 who can't run to death and is physically strong.

With this person, the blank area is no longer a blank area.

After figuring this out, another question that puzzled Pirlo arose: Tony Twain actually didn't need to let Wood take on such a big responsibility, he only needed to shrink the overall team shape back.Why on the one hand, he requires the frontcourt to press, but on the other hand, why does he not allow the defense to come up to cooperate with the defense?

Pirlo decided to continue looking for answers during the game.

Let's take this free kick first.

Wood's foul was very timely. If he waited for Kaka to bring the ball up before fouling, on the one hand he would be close to the goal, and on the other hand he might have to use a behind-the-back tackle to stop the whirlwind Brazilian. It's as simple as a free kick.

Tang En told him to place the foul spot farther away from the dangerous area, and Wood always kept it in mind.

The distance the free kick was played on the TV screen - 34 meters from the goal.

If you hit the goal directly, the success rate is not high, and Pirlo decided to pass the ball.

Maldini appeared in the Forest team's penalty area.The last time AC Milan met Liverpool in the final, the first goal of the opening game was scored by Maldini, which was also a set kick.

This is Maldini's eighth appearance in the final of the European Champions Cup. He hopes to make this experience a legend, and let's score another goal!

Maldini and Ness are both among the crowd in the Forest team's penalty area, waiting for the chance to score with a header.

The Forest team's reunion Ruud van Nistelrooy returned to the penalty area to defend, and it seemed that this was an all-man defense.But when everyone didn't notice, Ribery quietly ambush near the center line.

Tang En turned his head and smiled at Tang who was sitting next to him. He didn't say anything. Tang understood what he meant, so he didn't say anything either.

Albertini led Ashley Young and van der Vaart to form a three-person wall, blocking the ball, and everyone else returned to the penalty area to defend, especially George Wood, who followed Kaka every step of the way.

Kaka has seen this kind of treatment a lot, he didn't take it seriously, and walked in with Wood in circles.At this time, he is not the end point of the attack, the key is above the head.

After Pirlo placed the football, he backed away. He found that the forest team's human wall was too close, and waved his hand to signal the referee to come over.

Van der naturally saw it too, and he ran over to warn Albertini, asking them to put the wall back and take two steps back.

Albertini obligingly complied.But when Van der Sar turned around and walked away, he and two teammates came up with small steps - this is experience... I will not honestly retreat enough distance to let your free kick go to me It's over, that's the best thing ever!

As he said before the game, when the game started, he forgot that he was once an AC Milan player. In every detail and from every angle, he only considered the Forest team.

Pirlo has also seen a lot of things that the referee's requirements are obedient and contradictory.Anyway, he didn't intend to shoot directly, just move the free kick forward a little bit, and he will be fine if he kicks the ball higher. It is not worthwhile to waste time pestering the opponent on this.

A whistle, the referee signaled that Pirlo can open the free kick.

Pirlo intends to rub the football up and go around the wall, but he obviously underestimated Albertini's court wisdom. The moment he kicked out, Albertini led Ashley Young and van der Vaart to sprint forward , When the football flew out, the distance of ten yards ([-] meters) had been shortened to eight yards.Pirlo's football is still on the rise and has not reached the highest point. It is impossible to avoid the sudden forward wall. The football hits Van der Vaart's head and jumps high. ...

Pirlo raised his arms to the referee to protest the opponent's behavior of the wall.

This can pose a problem for the referee.Unless the slow motion is replayed, it is really hard to tell whether the wall moved before Pirlo kicked the ball or after the kick... The referee chose to be silent. He thought it was after Pirlo kicked the ball, which is a reasonable use of the rules. ...

Seeing that the protest was invalid, Pirlo rushed up to grab the ball and launched an attack on the spot.

This time he was stuck by Albertini, and the landing point no longer belonged to him.

Albertini suppressed Pirlo, turned his head to observe the situation, and then looked up to watch the football fall.He could tell from his physical feelings that Pirlo was not reconciled to this, he was squeezing in desperately, trying to get a spot.Albertini would not give him such a chance, he opened his arms to protect his position.

When he was still in AC Milan, Pirlo was regarded as his successor, because the two of them had similar roles in the midfield and had similar playing characteristics.In normal training, Albertini is always happy to pass on his abilities to the opponent, and he is also proud and proud of being able to train another midfield commander for the team.

At that time, he never thought that his students would become rivals with him on the court, and they would have such a fierce collision.

He didn't expect that in the future he would teach another person how to be a "midfield commander" who can control the rhythm of the game...

The ball fell, Albertini and Pirlo jumped up at the same time.

Pirlo already knew that he was doomed not to grab the ball, but he could interfere with Albertini's possession of the ball and prevent him from comfortably controlling the ball before launching a counterattack.This is the forest team's chance to counterattack, and any fool can see it. Captain Maldini, Nesta... his teammates are returning to defense, and he wants to buy them time.

As a former teammate, he certainly knew how powerful the person in front of him was.If he is in good condition, he must not be allowed to easily control the football. Let him control the football, which means controlling the rhythm of the game...

Albertini felt the impact from behind in the air, and he had to work hard to keep his balance, otherwise he would lose the ground...For his current body, this is somewhat difficult, and he can only make up for it with technology.

Pirlo wanted to force Albertini into the air and use the header to deal with the football, so that his teammates would have a great chance of grabbing the ball, and those who returned to the defense would have time.

But Albertini chose to stop the ball with his chest, and he still stopped the football with his chest under Pirlo's close press.At this moment, his skills and experience played an important role.

But after all, his body is not as good as before. Under Pirlo's constant impact, he feels that he has to use all his strength to protect the ball, let alone control the ball and then pass the ball...

He needs someone to help him share.

Just when he couldn't hold on any longer, he saw George Wood.

Without hesitation, he passed the football to his second "student".

Pirlo suddenly felt that there was no pressure in front of him, Albertini turned around and ran away suddenly, the football was not under his feet!So where is it?
Number 13!
George Wood came up with the ball, and Pirlo didn't even have time to think, and he reacted entirely on his body's instinct-he pounced on Wood again.

When Wood saw Pirlo rushing up, he passed the football. His goal was Albertini, who had gotten rid of the defense.

The Forest team wants to play a fast break, and the dribbling and adjustment are not allowed, because that will give the opponent the most needed time to return to the defense.

After a clean pass, the ball returned to Albertini's feet.Only now did Pirlo have time to use his brain to think about the problem-he found it was bad.

There is no one marking Albertini now!
"Defend him..." he shouted back, and at the same time he saw Gattuso rushing towards the goal, the stone in his heart fell...

Forest team has George. Wood, we also have Gattuso!

Albertini is familiar with everyone in AC Milan, whether it is Pirlo or Gattuso, when he saw Gattuso rushing up, he suddenly swung his foot and made a long pass!

The football flew over Gattuso's head and flew towards the side.

Franck Ribery, who had been ambushing there before, received the football.

This seems to have been planned a long time ago. It took only a short time for the Forest team to switch from defense to offense, and it was completed in three passes.It perfectly demonstrated the efficient football concept that Twain pursued.At this time, AC Milan's defenders had just run across the middle circle - Maldini and Nesta are not defenders who are good at speed.

Ribery received the ball, but he didn't entangle with the opponent's full-back Odo on the wing, waiting for his partner to step in to respond, he accelerated the breakthrough the next moment he stopped the ball, and threw Odo who had just come up behind.

"Sharp breakthrough, from Frank Ribery!" There is no need to make a fuss and announce that Ribery successfully broke through Odo. The Frenchman has already proved that he belongs to the world with his performance in the past few seasons and the World Cup level player.

Break through Otto?Isn't that a very normal thing?
Franck Ribery did not break through along the sidewalk. After he picked up his speed, he slashed into the middle.This makes it more difficult for Odo to catch up. If he only breaks through on the side, he can push Ribery out of bounds, and the space Ribery can use will be very narrow.Now in the middle, it is up to Odo to stop Ribery...

Because it is a hasty return to defense, there are not many AC Milan players in the defensive position. There is enough running space in front, back, left, and right. Ribery has a bright future ahead of him.

Nesta and Maldini have already returned to the front of the penalty area. They can see that Ribery is going deep alone, so they are not afraid of the opponent's counter-offside. It is most suitable to deal with forwards who rely on speed to break through alone.

Having entered the 30-meter zone, a stern alarm sounded over the defense zone of AC.

Maldini dragged behind, and Nesta pushed forward.

How could Ribery fail to see what they were thinking?Nottingham Forest itself is an outlier in the Premier League. The head coach takes pleasure in studying various defensive tactics. How could they, as players, not understand defense?

Ribery didn't give Nesta time to push up, he suddenly kicked and shot from 25 meters away from the goal!

Without any preparatory work before, the speed in the high-speed dribbling became his run-up force, and the football passed Nesta's side like a fired shell.

call--

gust of wind.

The football bypasses Nesta and Maldini, who is building a strategic depth behind, draws an arc that is clearly visible to the naked eye, and then circles the tip of the right finger of Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, hitting the far end The inside of the post, and then...

Everyone saw it, the ball bounced into the net.

"Boom—" The Olympic Stadium in Athens exploded instantly as if a volcano filled with TNT explosives.

"Only 8 minutes into the game! Only 8 minutes! Nottingham Forest took the lead! Who would have thought that AC Milan's defense was so vulnerable? A long shot from 26 meters from the goal pierced Dida's ten fingers...God! Nottingham Forest They showed their confidence in winning the championship with practical actions! Franck Ribery, at this moment, he is the hero in the hearts of Nottingham Forest fans!"

Seeing the football go in, Ancelotti turned and punched the plastic shield of the coach's bench.At the same time, on the other side, Tony Twain was also doing the same movement with him.

The former is due to the annoyance and anger of losing the ball, while the latter is due to excitement and excitement.

"1:0! Only 8 minutes into the game, we are leading!!" The commentator from England became a Nottingham Forest fan at this moment. "The great Franck Ribery, Zidane II!"

"0:1, only 8 minutes, AC Milan fell behind, it's really unlucky...Although Ribery's long shot is wonderful, but I would say that Demy's long pass is the highlight of this attack!" The Italian commentator was annoyed, but he still praised Albertini from their country. Maybe this would make him feel a little better?
Maldini has no time to be upset about conceding the ball, he has seen such scenes a lot.He just stared at Demetrio Albertini, who was celebrating with the Forest players.

He is also very familiar with the balls that Demy passed to Ribery. When he was in AC Milan, he did not know how many times he had to watch such passes every season. Some of them turned into goals in the end, and some were a pity.Among the people who received his pass were Basten, Marcelo, Bierhoff, Shevchenko, Roberto Baggio...etc, and now Ribery.

Once he only passed this kind of ball to people wearing Milan jerseys and Italian national team jerseys, and now he is passing the ball to Milan's enemies.

——I really want to beat Milan, and I will go all out to beat you and help the Forest team become the champion.This is the testimonial I want, you understand, Paul?
Of course I get it, Demi...

Well, I'll give you a testimonial match you want!

Paolo Maldini lifted the collapsed captain's armband again, turned and walked back to the goal, ready to kick-off in the center circle.

(End of this chapter)