"Ahh

Located in Brussels, on the training ground of the Belgian national team, there was a sudden scream, and the players who were originally practicing offensive and defensive drills were zhanzhu, Valasiak sat on the ground with a panicked expression on his face, and it was the team's home defender, the core of the defense, who was holding his leg and moaning in pain.

When the head coach Antienes, who was supervising the training on the sidelines, heard this scream, his body trembled subconsciously, and François, the assistant coach who acted as the referee, rushed to the scene of the incident early.

"Vincent! How does it feel!? ”

Valasiak on the side also panicked, at a loss, but said repeatedly: "I'm ~~~~~~ this ~~~~~ I didn't mean it!" I ~~~~~~~"

François looked at Kompany with a painful expression on his face, and then at the calf that had been somewhat deformed, and his hair was about to stand on end, although he was not a doctor, he could also see that Kompany was not lightly injured.

Antienes also walked over, took a look, and suddenly his heart was cold, although he had not yet gone to the hospital for diagnosis, but looking at Kompany's calf, he knew that in the match with Portugal, Kompany was afraid that he would not be able to catch up.

What to do without Kompany?

You must know that Kompany is now the No. 2 star of the Belgian national team, and he was the absolute core of the backline a few years ago, and even the veteran Van Bitten can't compare to him.

Now Kompany is injured and who will take his place.

Degan also ran over at this time, looking at Valasiak, who was about to cry with a look of self-blame, he also knew that the other party did not mean it, the collision between the two people just now was Kompany who forcibly stretched his legs when he could barely get the ball, and the accident happened.

"Simon! Don't worry, we all know it's not your fault! "As the captain, Digan doesn't want Valasjak to have any psychological burden because of this incident.

Valasjak grabbed his hair with a look of chagrin: "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I ~~~~~~~ I didn't know it was going to happen! ”

Degan smiled comfortingly at Valasiak, patted him on the shoulder, and walked over to check on Kompany's injuries, at which point the team doctor was also called, took a brief look, and then lifted Kompany into the ambulance that rushed to hear the news.

Antienes' face was gloomy, without Kompany, the anchor of the sea, and the life-and-death battle with Portugal had not yet been fought, Belgium's qualifying form had been covered with a layer of frost.

"Rod! It's a terrible situation! ”

Digan also smiled bitterly, he will go to Lisbon tomorrow, but he didn't expect to be attrition before the war, and it was the team's defensive core who was injured.

Perhaps because of Kompany's low profile, people ignore his value, but as a member of Belgium, Degan is well aware of Kompany's value.

Kompany can be called the anchor of the Belgian team's back, whether it is man-marking, or defending high-altitude balls, among the central defenders in the entire Shijie football world, he can be called outstanding.

And Kompany's ability to grab points is still very strong, and when there are set-pieces, Kompany's header is also a big offensive weapon for the Belgian team.

It is precisely because of the presence of Kompany that Digan can lead the team to attack with confidence, and now that Kompany is injured, and it looks like the injury is still very serious, who should carry his position?

Hojkens has always partnered with Kompany at central defender, but Hojkens' height is not dominant, only 182CM, and without Kompany's protection, he can't complete the difficult task of prevention and control alone.

Then it is necessary to find a tall partner for Hojkens, Van den Boure and De Vlanders are suitable candidates, although both are not far from Kompany, but there is no other way.

Van den Boray also became famous very early, he had already entered the first team of Anderlecht at the age of sixteen, he was tall and had excellent heading ability, the only thing he lacked was turning speed, he had been playing for Belgian giants Anderlecht before the Shijie Cup, and after the Shijie Cup, he moved to Italy, first for a season at Lazio, and then to Genoa this summer.

However, Van den Boray was also injured before, and he barely played a few games in the first half of this year, so no one can guarantee his current form.

De Vlandrey now plays for Roda JC in the Eredivisie, is the team's main central defender, and his ability is no problem, but he is old and his state is up and down.

Although Kompany has not yet been diagnosed, both Degan and Antienes have to prepare for the upcoming match, and who to choose to replace Kompany will be enough for them to have a headache.

That night, Kompany's injury report was delivered to Antienes, who suffered a fractured calf and needed to be out of action for at least three months before he could train with the ball, and it was uncertain when he would be able to play.

Although Antienes had already guessed, when the exact report came to him, he was still a little unacceptable, and it was clear that Kompany could not count on this match.

"Coach! There is no other way but to accept reality! "Digan is also having a headache now, Kompany is injured, and it is definitely a big problem for Belgium's tactical jihua, not only for the national team, but also for the club, although Fiorentina still have Dainelli, Ujfarusi, and even the youngster Ranocchia, but Kompany's position is not something that anyone can replace.

Antienes also knew: "But who should we replace Vincent now!?" ”

He is the head coach of the team and knows better than Degan the current situation of Belgium, which is more ageing than it was two years ago, and there are only a few people to rely on.

The front line relies on Degan to score, the back line relies on Kompany to defend, the midfield fights with the opponent, and now the core of the defense is down, who will take on the responsibility of the team's defense.

Although Van Den Boray has an advantage in height, he is too young, his state fluctuates, he is emotional during the game, and he is obviously not the best candidate, but De Flemish is too old, and it is okay to serve as a substitute, and if the main force is the main force, it probably can't be called a game, and he has to face a superstar like Camuro in this game, whether the veteran can cope with it, Antienes's heart is completely bottomless.

Who can take Kompany's place?

Degan was also pondering, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and a person's name sounded one by one. Vermaelen!

Perhaps for the current Belgians, the name Vermaelen is still a little unfamiliar, but in the future, he will be the backbone of the Belgian national team, and the center-back combination with Kompany is praised by countless people as the most insurmountable wall in Shijie football.

Vermaelen began his football career at his club in Antwerp, Belgium, and in 2004 he began to wander away, making his first stop at neighbouring football club Ajax.

However, Vermaelen's first season at Ajax was not successful, and compared to the young and famous Kompany, he obviously did not have the talent to look forward to, and in the first season, he only played once in the game against the underdogs Heningdan, although Ajax won the Eredivisie that season, but it had little to do with Vermaelen.

In the 2004/2005 season, Ajax sent Vermaelen on loan to Eredivisie club Waalwijk, where he was not a regular but still made 13 appearances and scored twice. A season later, Vermaelen returned to Ajax for a breakthrough when he became a member of the Ajax first team and won the Dutch Cup.

Vermaelen's career then began to go smoothly, and after Van der Vaart's departure, he became Ajax's captain on the pitch, and by this time he was already one of the most Haode defenders in the Eredivisie.

As a centre-back, he has excellent frontal defensive ability, and although he is not outstanding in height, he has excellent bounce and landing point judgment, and his header is not inferior to that of any opponent. It's not very fast, but it can keep up with the rhythm of most opponents and has excellent positional sense, but it lacks the speed of reflexes in the fill-in. Level-headed, but not easy to mess with.

It was in the summer of 2009 that Vermaelen really became famous, when there were rumours that Premier League club Arsenal were interested in Vermaelen. Adams immediately denied that he was a transfer target for Arsenal and said that Vermaelen was not suitable for Arsenal, but then Arsenal suddenly announced on their official website that the club's first and only signing this summer was officially completed, after undergoing a medical examination by the team doctor, the captain of Ajax, the then 23-year-old Belgian defender Thomas. Vermaelen has officially joined Arsenal and the two sides will sign a long-term contract for an initial transfer fee of 10 million euros, which will later rise to 12 million euros.

Following Toure's move to Manchester City, the duo of Vermaelen and French defender Galla became the first choice at the back for Arsenal. On 15 August 2009, Vermaelen put aside the controversy surrounding him with a header in his first game in the Arsenal shirt.

As Arsenal's only signing in the summer of '09, Vermaelen won praise for his outstanding performances, and manager Arsene Wenger was even surprised that the Belgian was able to adapt to Arsenal's defensive system so quickly.

At the end of '09, Vermaelen was nominated for the Best Athlete of Belgium for his outstanding performance at Arsenal.

Although Vermaelen is not yet the backbone of Arsenal's defense, he has performed well at Ajax, and Deegan believes that the willingness to be favored by Arsene Wenger can not be worse.

When Digan said the name, Antienes was stunned for a moment, then thought for a while, and asked with a puzzled face: "Thomas. Vermaelen! I know he's doing a good job at Ajax, but he's not yet 22 years old, so I want to say if he'll be able to handle the load! And our game against Portugal is tomorrow~~~~~~"

Deegan smiled: "Coach! Don't forget, I'm not even 22 years old! ”

Degan knew what Antienes was worried about, not Vermaelen's age, in fact, to talk about age, Van den Boray was younger, and what he was worried about was destroying a system.

Belgian fans have mythologized the Belgian national team at the 2006 Shijie Cup, and the consequences of any member are immeasurable.

Although Antienes is the head coach of the team, he does not dare to take this risk!

And most importantly, Vermaelen had never played for the national first team before, and he was able to carry the load, and Antienes really didn't know what to do.

"Coach! We don't have a lot of options right now, and I think young people should be given more opportunities! ”

It's not that Belgium is without outstanding young players, but these future Mavericks are still too young, such as the future Belgian super talent Eden Hazard, who is only 16 years old now, and others like Fellaini, Dembele, Vertungen, and Devore are also only in their twenties.

Degan is also an emotional person, if he can, he also wants to go to the European Cup with these old teammates to have a good time, but this time Kompany's injury made him realize that the renewal of the Belgian national team is imperative.

If they want to make a difference at the European Championships, or even lift the trophy, they will have to make a decision to build a younger, more productive team, rather than standing still as they are now.

Although it may seem a bit ruthless to do so, football is like this, survival of the fittest, and if Degan wants to lead Belgium to more brilliant results in international competitions, then he must form a real Red Devils in his mind.

Rather than the success of the 2006 Shijie Cup, as it is now, Belgium at this time looked like a delicate vase, once knocked and touched, the whole thing immediately fell apart.

Looking at the current Belgian substitutes, how many can top up at critical moments?

The answer is none!

If you look back at Degan's experience in the national team, you can see that as long as he plays, he almost has to play the full 90 minutes, because in the Belgian national team, there is no one who can come up and take over his task.

Seeing that Antienes still didn't speak, Degan persuaded again: "Coach! I think if Vermaelen can be captain at Ajax, at least he has a mature mentality, at least he has to be better suited than Anthony [Van den Boray]. ”

Although it was a bit difficult to make this decision, in the end Antienes nodded and approved of Degan's suggestion: "Alright! Rod! I hope you're right, we really don't have any more options right now, I'll send a letter to Ajax right now to get Vermaelen to join the national team! ”