Chapter 158: Pirlo: Youngsters Lack Ethics!
Upon hearing Bosque's words, the players nodded expressionlessly. They had already played a half and a half. If they still held the idea that Italy was weak and easy to beat, they were in for a disaster!
"We'll change our way of playing in the second half!"
Seeing the players' expressions, Bosque knew they were starting to take it seriously. So, he brought out his new tactic and began assigning tasks to the players one by one.
Italy's block defense has a distinctive feature: it maximally compresses the attacking space. Against the player with the ball, they form two chains. The first chain fixes in front of the player with the ball, blocking their passing lanes. The second defensive line, maintaining a proper distance from the first, protects from behind and cuts off the space to receive the ball, preventing the opposing forwards from getting it. This way, they can practically suffocate all opponent's attempts to advance, keeping them out of the penalty area and without shooting opportunities. Additionally, their defensive line doesn't stay static in its position; it follows the moving player with the ball around the field, ensuring the integrity and synchronization of the two defensive lines. This requires very high player skill and coordination among them! If any problem arises at any point, the block defense runs the risk of failing. Probably only a tactical strategist like the Italians would be willing to invest so much effort in training players to devise such a complicated defensive tactic.
The solution Bosque thought of was quite simple: give the ball to Lin Quan and let him act as the focal point. Using his personal skill, break through the opponent's defensive line in a one-on-one situation. Make the other opponent players come to cover him, thus creating space opportunities. Of course, if the opportunity is good, Lin Quan can also attempt to break through the two defensive lines consecutively. This way, he can practically have the chance to directly face the goalkeeper.
When the match started again, the Italian players immediately noticed this change in their opponent. The number 30 of the other team was receiving the ball more frequently and, after doing so, started actively seeking breakthroughs instead of just passing the ball as he had done in the first half.
On the bench, Italy's head coach, Prandelli, frowned. For this match, Italy was clearly prepared, and many of their arrangements were specifically aimed at Spain. A year ago, the 4-0 defeat in the Euro final against Spain had left Italy devastated. Prandelli's insistent attacking play had been criticized by the media and Italian fans after the match. After reflecting on their pain, Prandelli reverted to the block defense of the veterans. When facing strong teams, they couldn't be as foolish as to attack the opponent; instead, they should make the most of Italy's defensive advantage to face the enemy. They already knew the consequences of attacking: the 0-0 draw in the first half had shown it! This tactic really worked! Even Spain, as strong as they are, was forced to stay at zero. Therefore, Prandelli didn't plan to change the tactic for the moment. If he returned to his previous style of play, he feared Italy would be pierced by Spain. The opponent's strength now is even greater than in last year's Euro final!
...
In the 55th minute of the second half, Lin Quan received a pass from Xavi. At this moment, the player marking him turned out to be Pirlo. Pirlo, born in 1979, is already 34 years old this year. In other national teams, at his age, he might not be a starter. But in Italy, Pirlo is the indispensable midfield commander for the team. Without his passes, Italy's offensive power would be halved. However, Pirlo is aging, and his defensive ability is not very strong. Making him face Lin Quan, the dribbling king, is a bit cruel. Lin Quan respects Pirlo a lot as his veteran, but that doesn't mean he will show mercy. Not only will he not show mercy, but he will specifically focus on facing Pirlo. After all, Pirlo is the weakest link in Italy's first defensive line!
Pirlo wears a black armband on his right arm, in memory of the Italian national team forward Bognovo, who passed away due to illness. Italy had requested a minute of silence for Bognovo for all players and fans at FIFA before the match, but the request was rejected by FIFA. Therefore, the Italian players wore the black armband on their arms to show their mourning.
Facing this newcomer of the past year, Lin Quan, Pirlo doesn't dare to let his guard down in any way. The players of the other team may be young, but their ball skills are by no means bad. Before the match, Italy's head coach even categorized Lin Quan as the main threat within the Spanish team. Faced with this kind of Lin Quan, Pirlo could only lament inwardly.
"How's your knee, veteran?" Lin Quan didn't rush to advance with the ball; instead, while moving laterally, he began chatting with Pirlo.
"I'm fine, I'm not a forward, so my knee hasn't suffered much." This statement was actually false. Two years ago, Pirlo suffered a severe injury to his right knee, and for almost two months, he couldn't use his right leg. Although the injury is now healed, if it is fully recovered? That's another story!
"Well, then, it's your turn!" Before Lin Quan finished speaking, he quickly changed direction and tried to pass Pirlo on the left side. Pirlo quickly turned, trying to block his path and prevent Lin Quan from passing. But this was just a feint by Lin Quan. When he saw Pirlo take the bait, he feinted again and, passing by Pirlo's right side, managed to elude him. Seeing how Lin Quan disappeared from his sight, Pirlo could only shake his head resignedly.
The changes of direction and dribbles like these are too fast and unpredictable. Not even I, ten years younger, could stop him! To stop this guy, they would need Gattuso. But where is Gattuso, who always protects him? "Cover him!" Seeing Lin Quan leaving Pirlo behind, De Rossi and Chiellini immediately surrounded him. One approached from the side and the other from the front. There was a small time gap between them, giving Lin Quan the opportunity to face them one by one. With quick ball movements, two changes of direction, and after eluding De Rossi, Lin Quan was about to surpass Chiellini.
The latter didn't give him any chance, and at the moment Lin Quan left De Rossi behind, he decided to clear the ball with a sweep. Chiellini's timing was perfect.
The ball was less than a meter away from Lin Quan, but he cleanly took it away. Seeing his team had stopped this attack, Italy's head coach, Prandelli, sighed with relief.
He applauded the players' performance and encouraged them to continue maintaining that defensive level.
Lin Quan wasn't discouraged. If one attempt doesn't work, then he'll try several more times. In the 62nd minute, Lin Quan again had the opportunity to face Pirlo.
This time, Pirlo learned from the previous lesson. When he saw Lin Quan was going to face him alone, he immediately signaled for his teammates to come help him. If this guy was going to try to dribble, then they should press him hard and, when he tried to pass them, they should clear the ball forcefully. No matter how good his dribbling and ball-handling skills are, it's not possible to evade them all the time. Lin Quan, seeing his opponent wasn't playing fair, decided not to be foolish.
He passed the ball to Iniesta and started walking. De Rossi, who was helping Pirlo, saw Iniesta receive the ball and backed off to mark him. The other Italian players also rushed to get close to Iniesta to block his passing options.
Iniesta didn't pass forward but instead changed the ball laterally and passed it to Lin Quan. Lin Quan, upon receiving the ball, quickly switched from walking mode to dribbling mode. Taking advantage of De Rossi and Marchisio not having arrived yet, he immediately attacked Pirlo.
Pirlo lamented inwardly. This guy really is facing me. My age is double yours, is it really fair for you to use that to intimidate an elder like me? Italian players may be quick in their movement, but obviously not as fast as the ball.
Lin Quan knew his time was limited. He had to seize the opportunity before the other team's players came close to surround him and thus surpass Pirlo. That's why, instead of talking to Pirlo, he decided to make a direct dribble from Pirlo's right side.
The brief previous confrontation made Lin Quan realize that Pirlo's right knee wasn't as healthy as he claimed. By passing him on that side, he knew Pirlo's turning speed would be slow, and he couldn't coordinate with his teammates to intercept him on the first attempt. And that was precisely Lin Quan's opportunity. Chiellini smelled danger immediately and stepped forward to try to intercept Lin Quan.
But this time, De Rossi wasn't in position in time, no one was supporting him from the side. And in a one-on-one confrontation, Lin Quan wasn't afraid of anyone.
Chiellini was a world-class defender, but when he saw the other could touch the ball three or even four times in a second, his expression changed. This terrifying touch frequency meant the other could make more moves in the same period of time.
It was very likely he couldn't keep up with the other and would be surpassed. The other isn't as young, but his ball skills are excellent. Thinking of this, Chiellini concentrated to the fullest and showed his best condition in this match so far. He didn't know if he could stop this guy's attack, but he had to try! Lin Quan didn't waste time in words with Chiellini.
As soon as he approached, he lowered his left shoulder and placed the ball under his left foot. To the left or to the right? Chiellini faced a global dilemma: guess the direction of Lin Quan's dribble! There was only one chance, if he got it wrong, he would be surpassed! Chiellini couldn't decide, so he didn't act.
He stayed still, but Lin Quan didn't. He chose to dribble from Chiellini's right side. This time, Chiellini was sure it wasn't a feint, because the other's movement was already well advanced, he couldn't retract it now, right? Moreover, if he did nothing, Lin Quan would advance and he wouldn't have a chance to catch him. So, Chiellini had to act. But just at the moment he made his move, Lin Quan really withdrew the foot he had advanced, and before Chiellini could react, he surpassed him on his left side. Chiellini had no options anymore, he realized he was wrong, but it was too late.
The other's movement frequency was faster, he could perform more actions in less time. Chiellini's mind could keep up with the other's pace, but his body couldn't. So at this moment, Chiellini could only watch how the other moved away, he couldn't do anything! After surpassing Chiellini, Lin Quan made his way to the penalty area. Despite overcoming several obstacles, the final challenge was the most difficult!
Now he would have to face a world-class goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon. Buffon fixed his eyes on Lin Quan, his position was good, he was about thirty centimeters away from the goal. Buffon didn't choose to come out too much, although that would have better blocked the other's shooting angle. But the other isn't an ordinary player, he's a dribbling master. If Buffon came too close, he could easily be surpassed.
So, he bet that Lin Quan wouldn't continue inward, as Bonucci and Barzagli were already running towards him. He didn't have much time, he only had a second to decide where to shoot the ball. And what Buffon had to do was to stop the ball after the other made a decision.
As Buffon had predicted, Lin Quan didn't continue inward. There was no space and no time. After observing Buffon's position, Lin Quan decisively shot. His shot was a lob, with a very complicated shooting angle.
But Buffon's position from the beginning was very good. After seeing Lin Quan shoot, he immediately dove and stretched fully in front of the goal, forming a wall of sighs. However, the ball's curve was greater than Buffon had anticipated. While watching the ball pass over his fingers, Buffon thought the ball would go behind the goal line.
But before it could land, he heard a thud. The ball hit the post! Buffon was surprised and quickly turned, but he saw the ball rolling into the net. The ball had gone in! Buffon opened his eyes in disbelief, looked at the ball in the net, and then saw Lin Quan running across the field, celebrating his goal.
He had only one question in his head: How did that ball go in? Buffon had stopped countless shots in his life, but he had never faced a situation like this. The replay of the goal on the stadium's giant screen answered Buffon's question. Lin Quan's shot had a very strange trajectory; the ball, after dodging Buffon's fingers, seemed like it was going to pass by the frame, but suddenly changed direction strangely and ended up hitting the inside post before going into the net.
Even Buffon couldn't believe it, and even Lin Quan's teammates on the Spanish team were amazed by that goal. "Lin, how was that goal? Was it luck?" Xavi asked curiously while rubbing Lin Quan's head. "Probably not, right? Didn't he shoot a couple of shots with strange trajectories against France before?" Fabregas recalled Lin Quan's extravagant shot that went wide from a close angle after aiming for the far corner. At first, he had suggested Lin Quan slightly adjust his supporting foot position when shooting, and it worked! So maybe he also had some merit in this goal!
Teammates felt relieved hearing Fabregas's explanation. "Incredible that a shot like that has so much power. I think I should practice that skill too!" Pedro and other offensive players said, who were now eager to try scoring a goal like that. Lin Quan's goal not only helped Spain completely change the game but also increased their scoring streak to 4 consecutive matches.
His personal goal tally also reached 6, putting him three goals ahead of Neymar. It will be increasingly difficult for Neymar to catch up! After trailing behind, Italy finally couldn't continue defending cautiously. They started to increase their offensive strength in an attempt to equalize the score.
And when Italy launched an attack, the importance of the midfield commander Pirlo immediately stood out. After Pirlo sent several dangerous balls and threatened the Spanish goal, Lin Quan stepped forward and appeared in front of Pirlo. The offensive momentum of both teams changed, shifting from Lin Quan attacking and Pirlo defending to Pirlo attacking and Lin Quan defending.
"Kid, I'm not as good at defending, but don't think my attack is the same as my defense!" Pirlo said when he saw Lin Quan in front of him again. Seeing Lin Quan in front of him again, Pirlo felt like he could finally let loose. This guy was as good at attacking as he was; Pirlo didn't believe he could stop him!
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