Chapter 54: Mu-style buses
On February 2, the winter transfer of European football, which began in January 2009, officially ended. The www.biquge.info is not at all as spectacular as last summer's transfer window closed, and it can't compare to the craze of half a year ago.
Although Manchester City brandished cheques and burned money, there was no sky-high transfer in the end, and in the end, it was Huntelaar who joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of 27 million euros and became the transfer "king" this winter.
Overall, there haven't been too many exciting transfers this winter, and it can be described as "thunder and rain".
Compared with previous years, this winter's Premier League giants have not moved much, and Manchester City, which is supported by an Arab consortium, has become the protagonist in this year's transfer market, with 23 million euros to introduce De Jong, 13 million euros to introduce Bellamy, and the arrival of Given, Manchester City has become a "big money burner" in this winter's transfer market.
However, the rumored sky-high transfer Kaka did not come to fruition in the end, which may also be Manchester City's permanent regret.
Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United and other mid-stream and lower-tier teams have also made big splashes this winter, with Tottenham spending heavily to buy back Defoe and Keane Jr., and also snatching Palacios from Manchester United and bringing in Cudicini from Chelsea, which has performed impressively.
West Ham United spent nearly 10 million euros to get Serie A star Nsereko. In addition, Portsmouth and Aston Villa have also brought in Pennant and Heskey respectively, and even promoted Mastoke City have spent £3.5 million to bring in former England international Beattie, which has performed well.
The big teams are living on a budget, and only Manchester United have confirmed the transfers of Tosic and Rajjadzic, which can be regarded as an investment for the future. Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have all moved, and the winter of the traditional big four can be described as quiet.
Blake could have had a player transfer, but he only went in and out, and it had little impact.
La Liga, the most deserted transfer market in the big four leagues this winter, has seen no movement from leaders Barcelona, with only Real Madrid spending huge sums to bring in Huntelaar and Diarra – yes, Las Diarra in Black's squad.
Last summer, with the addition of Flamini, Diarra's position at Blackburn Rovers began to become awkward, in Lippi's main 4-4-2, the absolute main midfield was Alonso and Lampard, Duff and Bale rotated on the left, and Cristiano Ronaldo on the right.
Diarra was a member of Blackburn's rotation, and the Blues were the backs before his play, as well as Cambiasso and Ballack, who were more attacking players, and Diarra was not dominant in the battle with Flamini in the team's fourth midfield.
So when Diarra received a call inviting him to join Real Madrid, he scolded the caller because he didn't believe Real Madrid would take a fancy to him.
But perhaps it was the addiction to "Taobao" from Blackburn Rovers in the past few years, or perhaps the belief that Diarra would really become the next Makellele, so Real Madrid submitted a transfer offer of 20 million euros to Blackburn.
After Monchi turned €20 million into £20 million, Arthur, who shouted "incredible", nodded happily.
Following Diarra's departure, Lippi moved Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers to the first-team squad for training, and the Blackburn Rovers reserve captain, who can play both centre-back and midfield, will be the perfect filler to fill the void left by Diarra's departure.
In addition, Real Madrid also signed Fauber on loan from West Ham United before the transfer window closed. However, looking at the entire La Liga, Real Madrid is more like a lonely one-man show, which seems a little lonely.
No one at Blackburn Rovers is focused on winter reinforcements, partly because Arthur doesn't like to bring in halfway through the season to upset the balance of the team, and partly because of a big game.
On February 24, Jose Mourinho led his team to face his old club, and this game is destined to be the most exciting game of the beginning of 2oo9 football.
But being hot doesn't necessarily mean it's good-looking.
"Arthur, is this your football? So boring! A long-legged beauty grumbled from the court seat next to Arthur.
"Hehe, no way, that's José's style." Arthur also had a headache and said, "Fortunately, I fired him a long time ago." ”
In the face of the fierce Blackburn Rovers this season, Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho chose to focus on defense, both pressing in front and retracting the half, and even the 35-year-old veteran Cruise was also given an important defensive task.
Blackburn have been the best sprints and runners in the Premier League this season, pressing very fiercely up front, but after the opening, Inter decided to treat them the way they wanted, with Ibrahimovic, Crews and other midfielders pressing in Blackburn's half, making it difficult for the Blues to attack from the back.
However, as the game progressed, the fitness of the Inter Milan players declined, and Mourinho judged the situation to move the defensive line back, offering the classic bus tactic - four defenders lined up in front of Cesar, the tall Marcheni was in front of them, Vieilaco was waiting for the opportunity to run to make up for the defense, and Deco, who was the front midfielder, also had to return to his own half to participate in the defense.
What's even more surprising is Kroos, the Argentine, who is about to turn 35, not only has to complete the task of pressing in the front court, but also retreats to his own half from time to time to reduce the defensive pressure of his teammates, and even steals the opponent's attacking player like a midfielder, at the cost of fouls!
Coupled with the Swedish Tower's retreat to the center circle, Mourinho put out an 11-man "bus" at Inter Milan in the half, giving the Blue Devils little room to attack, forming an airtight iron-blooded defense.
'When we get back at home, we're definitely not going to let the game be so boring.' Arthur explained to today's girlfriend Ashley Greenney.
Ashley Greeney is not famous, but Arthur thinks that the best-looking actress in "Twilight" is not the heroine Kristen Stewart, but the female number two Ashley Greeney.
Arthur, who became the largest investor in the "Twilight" movie in this life, naturally met Ashley Greeney, and after the first part of "Twilight" brought Arthur a lot of money, Arthur invited several of the film's protagonists to visit Europe - of course, Ashley Greeney was Arthur's main target.
When his girlfriend Emma Watson was filming the new "Harry Potter" again, Arthur had the idea of stealing again.
Jose Mourinho proved once again with a 0-0 game that if he wants to defend with all his heart, it is very difficult for anyone to crack his iron bucket formation - in Mourinho's football philosophy, defense always comes first.
And it is none other than Mourinho who makes the term "swing bus" famous all over the world.
In the 2004-05 Premier League season, Blackburn Rovers were held to a 0-0 draw by Tottenham at home. Speaking after the game, Mourinho attributed the failure to score to Tottenham's unenterprising conservative tactics, saying disdainfully: "As we Portuguese are used to saying, they parked the bus in front of the goal."
Since then, the "swing bus" has been carried forward because of Mourinho, whether it is the coach or the fans, as long as they encounter the opponent to engage in secret defense, they will be ridiculed as "swinging the bus".
The bus is also nicknamed the "turtle formation" by many fans, which refers to the concentration of multiple defenders in the penalty area to block the opponent's attack. Later, the fans simply misinterpreted the defensive counterattack as "swinging the bus".
Interestingly, although Mourinho is a "gunner" who swings the bus, he himself has become a "bus enthusiast". Whether it is at Blackburn Rovers or Inter Milan, whenever he encounters a strong opponent, Mourinho will offer a heinous "bus formation", and the defensive line is airtight.
In the face of the attacking madness of Blackburn, Mourinho once again interpreted the toughness of the bus tactics, and he even put Stankovic, Vieira, Marchini and Deco in the starting lineup.
Lippi said after the game that he had expected Mourinho to play this game, but at the same time said that he could not do anything about this tactic: "We used a lot of tactics, but we just couldn't score. ”
To defend, Mourinho retreated the defence deep and laid it flat. Whenever Blackburn tried to push forward, Inter's formation would assemble in front of the penalty area.
6-3-1, Inter completely gave up possession, possession of only 30%. However, Blackburn, who had 70 per cent of the possession, had little to crack, with just six of their 25 shots on target.
One set of stats is telling, Blackburn Rovers made 46 crosses in the game, only 10 of which were on target, while Inter Milan's 65 clearances were successful!
This kind of game content once again put Mourinho on the cusp of "anti-football". Of course, Mourinho himself certainly doesn't think so, he thinks Inter Milan's low-key defense is what they can, "Against a crazy Blackburn Rover, it's very difficult to be unbeaten. ”
However, when the referee blew the final whistle of the first leg, Arthur's helpless expression was written with confidence.
Back at the Theatre of the Roses, Arthur's team will definitely attack, and when the time comes to face Blackburn, who has the advantage of being at home, the Muslim bus may no longer be able to hold on.
Lippi was very happy with the 0-0 scoreline, but he still said after the game: "It's not the result I wanted before the game, but I don't want to play the second leg when the score is down. A dull draw is not a favourable score for the team playing at home in the second leg, but it will help us in the end. ”
Jose Mourinho is a little worried about Inter's future, "If we can score at the Rose Theatre then we have a chance to qualify, but if we are still prevented, we are likely to be eliminated. ”
However, Inter Milan is not a good kind now, Mourinho's team has 28 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss this season, which is currently the team with the most points among the European giants.
Who will die in the Rose Theater, everything is still unknown. (To be continued.) )