Chapter 4: The Decisive Battle
In the high sky and clouds of the pampas, passionate and unrestrained tango, this is the most direct impression that distant Argentina brings to the fans, the culture here has bred a distinctive, wild and unrestrained Argentine players, from Kempes, Caniggia to Redondo, Batistuta, fans see a kind of wild beauty from them, they seem to have a kind of wind elegant, wind light, wind wild, long hair is their logo. Watching Argentine players play football is like galloping on the pampas, with long hair moving in the wind, chic and casual and revealing a kind of wild and uninhibited, which is exactly the Argentine football style.
From the day modern football was born, Argentina was considered a country rich in football talents, from Maradona to Batistuta to Messi, contributing one talented player after another to world football.
Argentine players have delicate skills, flexible passing, tacit cooperation, and can often play beautiful balls on the court, so they are very favored by fans.
The biggest feature of Argentine football is to pay attention to short pass coordination and ball control, in a small area, through the cooperation to break through the blockade, is a typical "small fast", in the past ten years, due to more and more integration with European football, the speed of Argentine football has gradually increased, in the South American power is a relatively fast-paced team.
In the history of Argentine football, they have won the World Cup twice, the Copa America is second only to Brazil, and in the Olympic Games, Argentine football has also left a very strong impression on people.
Historically, the Argentine football team has participated in the Olympic Games six times, including four finals, in Amsterdam 1928 and Atlanta 1996, Argentina lost to Uruguay and Nigeria and finished second, and in the football final of the 2004 Athens Olympics, Argentina defeated Paraguay 1-0 and won the Olympic gold medal for the first time in history.
In order to prepare for the Beijing Olympic Games, head coach Battista took the Argentine U20 World Youth Championship champion squad as the team, and recruited a group of stars such as Messi and Riquelme to form a strong team.
Most of the players in the Argentine Olympic team play in the top leagues of Europe and Argentina, and have stars such as Messi, Riquelme, Sergio Aguero and Gago.
However, head coach Battista said that if the Argentine Olympic team wants to win the Olympic gold medal, it cannot only rely on the individual ability of the stars, but should learn from the successful experience of the Athens Olympics and rely on the whole to compete with other world teams.
"Yes, we have a group of players with great individual ability, but Argentina should not rely on individuals to compete for gold medals, football is a collective sport and the most important thing is that we need to form a fighting unit."
Now they have only one goal to win the gold medal one by one and successfully defend their title at the Olympics.
North. At 12 o'clock on August 23, Beijing time, the 29th Beijing. The men's football final of the Beijing Olympics will officially start at the National Stadium "Bird's Nest".
In this game, Argentina followed the semi-final lineup, goalkeeper Romero, four defenders Zabaleta, Pareja, Garay and Monson, midfielder Mascherano, Gago as the back, Messi and Di Maria on the wings, captain Riquelme as the attacking midfielder, and Aguero on the forward line.
The Belgian side continued to feature the same squad as in the previous game, with goalkeeper Eric Bailly and Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Kompany and Poconioli in parallel at the back. In midfield, Marouane Fellaini and Naeng played in the back, Martens and Demur on the wings, and Digan partnered Mirallas up front.
Just three minutes into the game, Argentina almost took the lead, Messi broke through the middle, Aguero burst into the right side of the penalty area, and fell to the ground under the pressure of Poconioli, although Aguero raised his hand to signal that Poconioli had fouled, but the referee did not say anything.
In the sixth minute, Belgium also had a good chance to score, Milaras was tripped by Pareja, Belgium got a free kick, Digan was 28 meters in front of the goal, the free kick was directly low, and it was confiscated by Romero, who reacted quickly.
In the ninth minute, Di Maria was tackled in the middle, and Argentina also got a free kick opportunity, Riquelme took a free kick from 20 meters in front of the goal, and the result was slightly higher.
Then, in the twelfth minute, Degan was on the right side of the penalty area, received a pass from Demur, and volleyed from a small angle, which was slightly higher.
The game only started for more than ten minutes, the two sides were not conservative on the court, played very intensely, and wonderful attacks appeared frequently, so that the fans on the scene were also very enjoyable to watch.
On the field, the two teams played beautifully, and the Chinese fans in the stands began to exert their power again, and the shouts of "Xie Yalong is out of class" resounded in the sky.
On the VIP seat, as the invited guest of this game, Xie Yalong's face became more and more ugly, he originally wanted to fight for another political achievement in this Olympic Games, but he did not get the political performance, and the Chinese Olympic team failed to qualify for the group stage, with one draw and two losses, and the record was dismal.
In the 24th minute of the game, Martens and Vermaelen combined on the right side to pick up a cross to the middle, and Deegan followed up in time 7 meters in front of the goal, and a header hit the goal, which was picked up by Romero and flew off the crossbar.
Just a minute later, Digan picked up the ball on the left and Demur got the back kick and fired a powerful left-footed volley from 25 yards in front of goal, which was met by goalkeeper Romero.
Looking at the offensive of the Belgian team, it is even more fierce than the Argentine team, which advocates offensive football, and there is a great tendency to completely destroy the Argentine team and never stop.
Not to be outdone, the Argentine team is also waiting for opportunities to counterattack while resisting the offensive of the Belgian team, especially Messi, who is very active on the field.
The previous loss to Deegan in the Champions League made Messi's heart full of unconvinced, and he was not going to participate in the Olympics, but after learning that Deegan had announced that he had joined the Belgian Olympic team, he didn't even report to Barcelona, and immediately announced that he had joined the Argentine Olympic team.
The two sides fought for 30 minutes, due to the hot weather at noon, the physical consumption of the players of both teams was very large, and the referee made it extremely rare for the players of both sides to go to the sidelines to rehydrate, and the game was suspended for a few minutes.
After the players of the two teams returned to the field, a battle continued, Belgium team in the 34th minute, continuous danger, Demur down the left low cross, but in front of the goal outflanking Mirallas leaked the ball, the back point of the Digan shovel, but kicked on the post, Argentina escaped a section.
But Belgium's attack did not end there, the football that popped up in the penalty area was once again picked up by the Belgian players, and the attack continued, Martens' low cross from the right was missed by two central defenders, but Mirallas at the back post was obviously unprepared, and the ball bounced off his right foot and was picked up by the goalkeeper Romero of the Argentine Olympic team.
In the 40th minute, the Argentine team also organized a wave of offensive, Messi ran wildly with the ball on the side, and the defenders of the Belgian team could not stop him from advancing at all, allowing Messi to calmly start the ball on the side, but Aguero's header was obtained by goalkeeper Bailly.
In the 45th minute, Di Maria was 35 meters away on the left side, and suddenly volleyed with his left foot at a small angle, and was again lifted out of the near post by goalkeeper Baili, after the corner kick, Riquelme knocked back, and Gago was 28 meters in front of the goal, and the powerful shot was blocked by Kompany's body.
With Gago's missed shot, the first half of the game ended, the score between the two sides was still 0:0, and judging from the situation on the field, it was difficult to say who had the advantage on both sides.
In the locker room, Deegan and his teammates all had the same expression, playing in such a hot weather, it is definitely a big test of physical fitness, as soon as they enter the locker room, everyone is drinking water, replenishing water, salt, otherwise, whether they can hold on in the second half is a question.
For the team's performance in the first half, the head coach of the Belgian Olympic team, Desaart, seemed very satisfied, the Argentine team is the favorite to win the Olympic Games, and it is very rare for the Belgian team to be able to attack the opponent on the field for so long.
However, this is not what Desatre wants, what he wants is victory, it is the gold and jade.
After the start of the second half, the Argentine team suddenly attacked, Mascherano counterattacked in the middle was blocked, but Messi got the ball with his left foot and plugged into the gap, Aguero broke into the penalty area with a single knife, but Belgian goalkeeper Bailly attacked in time to defuse the Argentine team's attack.
The Argentine team failed to attack, followed by the Belgian team immediately returned the color, Digan received the ball from Bailly's hand, ran directly with the ball, and after passing three defenders of the Argentine team in a row, he pushed the shot, Romero surrendered, but unfortunately the football hit the goal post, and Belgium missed a good opportunity to score again.
Before the Belgian players could be annoyed, Argentina's attack immediately began, Zabaleta knocked back on the right, Messi pulled the ball with his feet, turned to get rid of the defense, and 20 meters in front of the goal, a powerful left-footed volley was blocked by the reacting Belgian goalkeeper Bailly.
The offensive of the two sides made the fans at the scene addicted, but without a goal to embellish, people were anxious, and no one wanted the final of the Olympic Games to be decided by penalty shootout.
Just when people were anxious for the first goal, the Belgian team finally broke the deadlock on the field in the 58th minute, Na England backfield left-footed long-distance direct pass to instigate a counterattack, Digan burst into the left rib to face the attacking goalkeeper Romero, on the penalty line, calmly left foot pick score, 1:0!
After the goal, Deegan rushed directly to the stands on the sidelines, pointed to the stands, and patted his chest hard.
No one knows what Deegan means, only one person understands, that is, Park Ji-yeon, who met Deegan yesterday, she was also anxious for Deegan just now, after Degan scored, she also jumped and jumped excitedly, as for Digan's promise yesterday, the little girl did not expect Deegan to be able to fulfill it, until Deegan rushed to the edge of the stands.
There are so many people in the Bird's Nest, and Di Gan actually found Park Ji-yeon's location accurately, which made Park Ji-yeon also excited.
“OPPA! Fighting! ”
Park Ji-yeon's cheering was drowned out by the cheers of tens of thousands of fans at the scene, but Deegan heard it, smiled at Park Ji-yeon's position, turned back to the court, and hugged his teammates in celebration.
Belgium scored, the deadlock on the field was broken, and now it was the Argentine's turn to be anxious, but in the panic, the Argentine players also made more mistakes.
Gago's pass was cut off by Fellaini, and then a pass found Digan, who received the ball and went straight into the box, but Milaras's limp push on the left side of the box was easily collected by Romero.
Argentina coach Battista then replaced the average Aguero with Sosa, and after Sosa came on the field, he immediately got the chance to equalize, Di Maria sent a low cross from the right, Sosa was 4 meters from the goal, and the shovel shot missed the near post!
In the 67th minute, Di Maria instigated the attack again, broke through the ball on the left rib, Sosa has been outflanked in front of the goal, as long as Di Maria can pass the ball out, Sosa can have a hundred ways to score the ball, but at the critical moment, Kompany risked eating cards, rushed directly to trip Di Maria, and Kompany also received a yellow card for this foul.
The Argentine players were very dissatisfied with the referee's decision, and surrounded the referee to protest, but the referee insisted on his decision.
In the 69th minute, Argentina opened a tactical corner kick on the right side, Messi cut inside with the ball, and volleyed with his left foot in the corner of the penalty area.
In the 74th minute, the Belgian team crossed the ball from the right side, and the outflanked Mirallas in front of the goal was interfered with by goalkeeper Romero and failed to touch the ball.
At this time, Deegan suddenly posted a discussion, and the two best players in this Olympic football competition had a face-to-face battle for the first time in the final.
Messi wanted to break through directly, but was stuck in the position by Deegan in advance, although Degan's defensive ability is average, but the huge size makes Messi's way forward completely blocked, Messi wants to pass the ball, but as soon as the ball is out of his control, he is cut off by Degan.
Subsequently, Digan poked the ball forward, blocked Messi behind him, cut directly inside, blocked in the face of two defenders, stabbed his left foot to the middle, after Mirallas received the ball, he immediately passed back, Digan did not wait for the ball to be stable, directly in front of the goal 15 meters, a volley, the football drilled between Garay's legs, and directly crashed into the dead corner of the goal.
2:0!
Belgium basically sealed the win.
It was predicted that the game would be a battle of dragons and tigers, and the process of the game was indeed very exciting, but the 2-0 score still showed the strength of Belgium.
Even with Messi, Riquelme, Aguero and many other stars in charge, Argentina has no way to confront Belgium led by Degan!
Then, unwilling to lose, the Argentine team launched a fierce attack around the Belgian team's penalty area, and in the 77th minute, Messi stepped from the feet of Naeng and broke into the penalty area with a single knife, Kompany struggled to chase it down, and the tackle was destroyed, although Messi and other Argentine players protested loudly, but the referee only signaled for the game to continue.
The slow motion also replays Kompany's passing action just now is indeed very clean and neat, even if the referee wants to help, because Messi's fall action performance is too much, obviously after the training of the film, Messi has not yet reached the point of the actor.
In the 82nd minute of the game, Argentina had another chance to save face, Messi crossed from the left, Sosa was about to score with a cushion in front of the goal, but Bailly reacted quickly and pressed the ball under him.
In the end, Belgium maintained their 2-0 advantage until the end.
After the game, all the players of the Belgian team, who won the gold medal, rushed into the field to cheer and celebrate, and Degan, as the biggest contributor to the team's victory, was surrounded by his teammates.
Even the Argentine commentator couldn't help but sigh: "Although we have always thought that Messi will be the successor to Maradona's mantle, but now it seems that Digan may be more suitable for this title, looking at his current results, it is unimaginable, this is a 23-year-old player can have, two Serie A titles, two Champions League titles, two Italian Cup titles, a European Cup champion, and the Olympic gold medal, maybe in the next ten years, no one will be able to threaten his position." ”
The tone of the Argentine commentator seemed very lost, and even more lost than him was Messi, who lost again, although he tried his best, but in the end he lost.
Messi's performance in this game is absolutely world-class, he has caused a lot of trouble for the Belgian team on the offensive end, but "both Shengyu, He Shengliang", Messi's biggest sorrow may be that he was born in the same era as Degan.
Then came the medal ceremony, where bronze medallist Ronaldinho also arrived, and next season, the Brazilian talent will be competing with Digan in Serie A.
Looking at the gold inlaid jade on his chest, Di Gan's mood couldn't help but be excited, although the five-star red flag slowly rose in the stadium, but to be able to participate in this Olympic Games in person, it was enough for Di Gan.
After the game, when everyone had left the field, Digan made another move that surprised everyone, only to see him walk to the sidelines, remove the gold inlay from his neck, and hand it to a young girl in the stands.
People were stunned, completely unaware of Degan's relationship with the girl.
Park Ji-yeon was also stunned, looking at the gold inlaid jade in her hand, she really didn't know what to do!