Yang Yang once asked Van Gaal a question, why football is round!

Of course, this question is not to ask why the football used in the game is round, but to ask why the football game is full of unpredictability and all kinds of accidents.

Van Gaal's answer is that because football is played by people.

Tactical routines and formations are dead and rational, but people are alive and emotional.

People change all the time, and the team is composed of eleven people, and the subtle changes of each individual affect the team as a whole, and the subtle changes of the eleven people can even be transformed into the drastic changes of the whole team.

The reaction on the pitch is that a pass, a tackle, a foul, or even a word can change the course of a game, because it doesn't just affect one or two people, it's one team, or even two teams.

The more people there are, the more unpredictable they become, and the less they can change.

"Why can basketball produce a Jordan, but football can't?"

Van Gaal didn't tell Yang Yang the answer at the time, but later, Yang Yang slowly groped for himself and slowly understood.

Because there are only five people in basketball, there are eleven people in football.

The more people there are, the harder it is to change the game with individual strength.

It's like in a war of 100 or 1,000 people, where one person is incomparably small, insignificant.

But just like in a war, when one side is defeated for some reason, it becomes a one-sided slaughter.

And the reasons for this rout are many, varied.

But football is not like war, it is a competitive sport, so there is a halftime.

These fifteen minutes are not only to allow the players on both sides to get some rest, but also to be able to calm down the opposing sides, think about it, analyze the gains and losses in the first half, and prepare for the second half.

……

Liverpool went into the break with a 4-0 lead.

The players walked into the tunnel to the cheers of the Liverpool fans.

Everyone had excited smiles on their faces and it was clear that they were all proud of the first half.

'It was definitely one of the best first halves of the season, even better than the one against Barcelona because there were enough goals!' The on-site narrator shouted loudly.

Yang Yang and his teammates walked into the players' tunnel, went down the stairs, and went directly to the home team's locker room.

Some stripped naked and wiped their bodies; Some of them sat on chairs and let the club's masseuses come up to serve; Some can't sit still, standing there and walking around; Others sat directly on the long table in front of their seats.

There are all kinds of pictures in the locker room, and if they are transmitted outside, it will definitely be shocking.

……

"This team doesn't have a lot of experience." Xavi Alonso said lightly, but with a smile on his face.

Obviously, he scored a goal and it felt pretty good.

"Roma are not a strong team in Serie A, this is the first time they have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League in more than 20 years, and this year there was a phone gate incident in Italy, which allowed Roma to take advantage of the situation, and the draw was lucky, so it ......," Gerrard said.

Judging from the results of the group stage, Roma is not good, with three wins, one draw and two losses, and got ten points and qualified as the second in the group.

Of course, this has to be looked at separately, if it is compared with AC Milan, then Roma's performance is indeed very good, because AC Milan got ten points, but they are in first place in the group, and Milan's opponents are worse than Roma.

When it came to the knockout rounds, Roma were also lucky, drawing Lyon, the weakest of the eight group winners.

Don't look at Lyon's continuous dominance of Ligue 1, but in fact, everyone knows that the competitiveness of Ligue 1 in recent years is even worse than that of the Eredivisie, at least the Eredivisie has Ajax and Eindhoven teams with the strength of the top eight and four in Europe.

As a result, Roma eliminated Lyon 2-0 on aggregate over two legs, reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time after a 23-year absence.

That's why many media reporters said before the game that Roma lacked experience.

The knockout stage of the Champions League and the league are two completely different formats, and the opponents and game strategies are completely different.

Whether it is the Roma players or the manager Luciano Spalletti, there is a clear lack of such experience.

"The characteristics of the team itself, coupled with the manager's tactical style, coupled with the lack of experience, caused this team to be a little unable to contain it, and even played against us when we were playing rhythm and form!" Yang Yang shook his head and smiled bitterly.

He didn't pay much attention to how Roma performed in Serie A, but judging from this game, this team really has no concept of controlling the rhythm, attacking as soon as it comes up, and attacking after conceding the goal, and has been playing against Liverpool.

But the problem is that Liverpool have enough confidence.

Not only because this is Anfield, but also because the midfield has the likes of Steven Gerrard, Xavi Alonso and Mascherano in midfield, which makes it impossible for Roma to stop Liverpool's midfield press.

Following the success of Mascherano and Xavi Alonso against Arsenal three days ago, the duo also stood out in this game, erecting an impregnable barrier for Liverpool's midfield.

……

The players discussed the first half of the game in the dressing room, and although they didn't make a big fuss, they were somewhat confident.

After all, there was already a four-goal lead in the first half, but Gerrard reminded his teammates from time to time not to be careless.

The Istanbul miracle of the year was created by Liverpool, and no one wanted to give their opponents an Anfield miracle.

Yang Yang noticed Mascherano, walked over, and grabbed the shoulder of the Argentine midfielder hard.

"Javier, you see, in the first half Harvey and Steven both scored, Dick and Peter also scored, it's just you and me!"

As soon as Yang Yang said this, everyone in the locker room immediately looked at Mascherano with a smile.

'I'm a midfielder who pulls back. Mascherano said, grabbing his head.

"You can score goals too, didn't you miss a goal in the last game against Aston Villa?" As soon as Yang Yang said this, everyone in the locker room suddenly remembered.

It was a long-range shot, and the quality was quite high, but it didn't go in, which was a pity.

"Enter one, and your career will blossom." Yang Yang smiled and encouraged.

As soon as Gerrard heard this, he hissed, "When Yang Yang said this, I remembered it, Xavier, you haven't scored a goal in your career, right?" ”

"Haven't scored a goal in your career?"

"Oh my God, I'm twenty-two, I've played professional football for four or five years, and I haven't scored?"

"Really?"

The crowd immediately began to discuss.

Although it is true that scoring goals as a midfielder and defender is not an easy task, it is a bit of an exaggeration to say that you haven't scored a goal in four or five years, especially in Argentina and Brazil, which are very attacking.

You know, when Mascherano debuted, he played as a central defender or even a midfielder, but later he played further and further back.

"I testify that he really didn't score." Yang Yang said with a smile, "So, I propose, in the second half, we help him score one." ”

Yang Yang's proposal immediately received a response from everyone.

After all, I haven't scored a goal in my career so far, which is really miserable.

More importantly, how could others oppose Yang Yang's proposal?

"The front of the penalty area, you pay more attention to running in the second half, I'll pass the ball to you, do it when you have the chance, and strive to score one!" Yang Yang patted Mascherano on the shoulder and smiled encouragingly, but he was also proud in his heart.

This is what Ronaldinho did to Messi at the beginning, but unfortunately Messi did not score.

How could Yang Yang on that day think that he would one day be able to help his teammates like Ronaldinho?

The Argentine was moved in his heart, because he knew that Yang Yang was actually helping him.

The last time he played Aston Villa, he played the whole game, had a long shot but didn't score, and the next day in the gym, he just complained casually, saying that if he scored, it would be the first goal of his career, but Yang Yang remembered.

"But, we have to say okay, only one, not more, I have to work hard to score another one in the second half."

Yang Yang's words immediately caused a burst of laughter in the locker room, but no one questioned him.

Because no one dares to deny that although Yang Yang did not score, the four goals in the first half were all assists from him.

"Do you want us to get one for you too?" Gerald asked with a smile.

Yang Yang nodded generously and said, "Okay, then it's up to you!" ”

……

When Benitez entered the dressing room, he was very happy with the spirit of the players.

For the first half of the game, the Spaniard said that the team played well in the first half, but there were still many things that were not done well.

The first is that the team's offensive speed should be faster, especially the offensive and defensive transition, it must be fast.

"Rome is characterized by being fast, and we have to fight fast with fast."

"My guess is that Roma will try to stabilize the rhythm in the second half, but as you can see, this team can easily lose its rhythm, so we have to play fast at the beginning and drag the game into a fast pace. ”

Fast-paced attacking and defensive battles, which has always been the strength of Premier League teams, because the whole Premier League is played like this.

On the contrary, Serie A has always been slower.

So, once the game gets into a fast pace, then Roma can't run away.

"In addition, our midfield should be pressed up properly, give more pressure to the opponent, and not retreat too far, although we are four goals ahead, but we must not be careless, you must not forget, two years ago, it was because our opponent was careless that we reversed the opponent and won the Champions League."

Benitez also accentuated his tone, showing that he took this seriously.

He was obviously worried that his team would let their guard down after a four-goal lead, which was definitely a big no-no.

There may be some gap between the strength of the two teams, but it is not as big as four goals, Liverpool can play Roma in the first half and is powerless to resist, but if he is careless in the second half, who dares to guarantee that Liverpool will not be beaten by the opponent?

Yang Yang was also very cautious after hearing this.

He couldn't guarantee the others, but he himself wouldn't dare to be careless no matter what.