Chapter 45: Who Rises and Falls (1)
PS: Thank you for the reward of the Lord of Light, the Song of the Saints
Thank you nguice for the reward, thank you. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info
October 30th, half past two in the afternoon. The players had just warmed up from the stadium. Chen Zhun is ready for the last mobilization.
Chen Zhun saw that the starting players were all sitting down in their positions, cleared their throats, and said loudly and full of energy: "Guys, a team full of miracles appeared on the European continent in August, do you know which team?" β
Someone shouted, "It must be Southampton!" β
The team members laughed loudly when they heard his shout, and then lined up with their palms.
Chen Zhun shook his head and said, "No, no, it's not the Southampton team. β
The players were stunned when they heard Chen Zhun's negative answer, and their minds searched for another team, that is, the Greek team that created a myth at this year's European Championship. But this answer was also denied by Chen Zhun. Both results were incorrect, and the players didn't know what was sacred.
Chen Zhun said at this time: "It's the Iraqi team, the fourth place in the men's football competition at the Athens Olympics. Iraq beat favourites Portugal and Costa Rica in the group stage to defeat favourites Portugal and Costa Rica respectively in the group stage, and despite losing their final game to Morocco, they still finished top of Group D, becoming the first Asian team to win and qualify from the group, before beating Australia in the knockout round to reach the last four. Isn't that a miracle? Who of us would have thought that such a team, which didn't even have a training ground, would go so far. You know, Iraq is a country that is devastated by war. It is by virtue of their strong willpower and fighting spirit that they have come to where they are today. β
At this time, the players suddenly realized that it was the Iraqi team, and if you think about it, no one would associate the words Iraqi team with the Olympic semi-finals before the Olympics. But the Iraqi team proved that, even though their country has been changed beyond recognition, they want to bring a glimmer of hope and happiness to the Iraqi people living in dire straits.
Chen continued: "The reason why I am telling you the story of Iraq is to show you that all teams are not invincible. We were Iraq today and we were opposite the mighty Arsenal team. The world says we lost, is it because Arsenal is strong? What bullshit logic is this! I don't believe Arsenal are better than us!! If we want to be a strong team, a frightening team, we have to trample on these teams that the world thinks are very strong!! Today we have to show them who can easily beat Southampton!! Chen Zhun couldn't control his emotions in the end, and his voice was close to hoarseness.
The players listened enthusiastically, and the manager was right. Why Southampton can't beat Arsenal, we just have to see who is strong and who is weak.
Chen Zhun saw the confident and enthusiastic looks on the faces of the team members, and sighed in his heart that this speech was really not prepared in vain, and it hurt me to memorize this sentence for two days. Chen Zhun thought of the Iraqi team again, this is really a miracle team, and then in the 2007 Asian Cup, the Iraqi team went all the way and finally won the championship, such a performance once again amazed the world.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Highbury Stadium was packed. Fans are looking forward to a 51st unbeaten streak.
"Hi everyone, this is Sky Sports, I'm Martin Taylor. Today's game is a match in the 11th round of the 2004-2005 Premier League between Arsenal and Southampton, and the biggest attraction today is undoubtedly whether Arsenal can continue their unbeaten run. Let's take a look at the starting line-ups of both sides. Both teams made changes to their starting line-ups today. For Arsenal, the goalkeeper is Jens Lehmann, and the back line is Ashley Cole, Kolo Toure, Pascal Sigan, Lauren Emetta. Patrick Vieira was partnered in midfield with 16-year-old Francisco Fabregas, a major change for Arsenal, with Jose Reyes and FrΓ©dΓ©ric Ljungberg still the two wing-backs. Up front, Thierry Henry was up front and Dennis Bergkamp roaming behind him. β
Martin Taylor paused and continued: "Southampton started today with goalkeeper Niemi and the back line from left to right with Le Sox, Michael Anderson, Klaus Lundkvan, Jason Dodd. The midfield quartet is David Plutton, John Delap, Neil McCann and Fabrice Fernandez. Instead of the usual James Beatty and Kevin Phillips pairing, David Winston in the forward line today was replaced by Peter Crouch and Jamie Vardy, who were also tall and fast, something that no one had expected before. It was also Jamie Vardy's first Premier League game, with James Beatty, Kevin Phillips and Marian Pajas on the bench at Southampton. β
Chen Zhun looked at the players on the field who were ready to kick off, and he lined up Vardy and Crouch to let them fight, and frantically tried his best to disrupt Arsenal's backline. In the past few days of training, he has also told the players that the core idea of this game is fierce defense.
Referee Messias blew the whistle for the start of the first half. The first is the home team Arsenal kick-off, Arsenal kick-off did not rush to attack, but patiently poured his feet at the back and firmly controlled the ball at his feet. But this lasted only a few seconds. By the time the ball reached the back, Jamie Vardy and Crouch had already pounced on Chloe Toure as he was about to get the ball. Kolo Toure is a seasoned man, but he rarely sees such a frantic rush from the start, and he kicks the ball forward to be on the safe side.
Chen was pleased with the performances of Jamie Vardy and Crouch, clapping and shouting good, good. Arsene Wenger, on the other side, was on the bench and didn't pay much attention to the press just now.
As the game progressed, the Arsenal players gradually felt the defensive atmosphere from the Southampton players. Every time the midfielders get the ball, there will always be two or three Southampton players to wrap up, and the rest of the Southampton players are one-on-one defense around the possible receiving Arsenal players, and the Southampton players have a lot of defensive additional actions, although every tackle is towards the ball, but the scene is basically to bring the ball down with people.
Arsenal did not launch a few effective attacks in the first fifteen minutes of the game because of Southampton's almost frantic tackle defence, and basically after half-time either the ball was cut off or people were brought down. Southampton's price was only a yellow card for Jamie Vardy.
Arsene Wenger, who had been on the bench just now, could no longer sit still, and he saw Southampton's players savagely bring down their players again and again, but the referee only gave a yellow card. Wenger protested several times, but was warned by the fourth official not to do so.