Chapter 677 - UEFA Super Cup (4)
PS: First of all, I asked for a recommendation vote here, thank you......
After a fifteen-minute half-time break, the two sides switched places.
As the endless breakthroughs and goals in the first half made all the fans who watched the game addicted, it also invisibly raised the expectations of the fans.
After all, many fans were disappointed at first when they heard that the UEFA Super Cup final was a civil war between two Serie A teams, because they had the impression that Italian teams were believers in one-to-zero doctrine, and it was impossible for them to play pleasing football if they were extremely conservative.
However, Fiorentina and Vicenza in the first half completely changed some people's perceptions, and made many realize for the first time that Italian teams can also play this kind of exciting game.
In fact, Italian football started out on defense only for practical purposes, but it accidentally went off the rails of this path, giving the illusion that as long as the Italian team participated, the game must be dull.
Now, with the rise of teams such as Fiorentina, Vicenza, Udinese, Lazio and Roma, who often take the initiative in the game, the impression fans have of Italian teams has changed imperceptibly.
Of course, taking the initiative doesn't mean that they will relax their focus on defence, they just don't abandon the approach of abandoning attack and defending purely to prevent the opposition from scoring goals, as many Italian teams have done in the past. It has become a defensive system that focuses on the players on the offensive end.
For example, Fiorentina and Vicenza, supported by Fiorentina, combine the zone defense theory proposed by Sacchi with the traditional Italian chain defense to build a complete defensive system, and when this system is not chaotic, the offensive matter will be considered.
So, while it looked like Fiorentina and Vicenza were both aggressive in the first half, there weren't really many holes in their defensive formation during the game.
The reason why there were two goals in the first half was more because of the outstanding individual ability of Vieri and Ronaldo, as well as Toney's physical condition and Larsson's keen sense of goal, otherwise it is difficult to say whether the game can score so far.
Due to the wonderful performances of the two teams in the first half, many people are full of expectations for the second half of the two teams!
However, there are also many fans who are worried that after a frantic first-half attack, the managers of both sides will choose to act conservatively in the following games because they are worried about conceding goals in this one-off game.
However, these fans' fears quickly came to naught as the second half began, as the players on both sides did not concede a lot of goals and became more conservative, but became more and more active on the pitch as time went on and as the game progressed!
The reasons for Vicenza's choice to attack have already been analysed before, so I will not mention them here; The reason why Fiorentina did not choose to defend and counterattack, but played against the opponent, is mainly because the Vicenza offensive has continued to ferment, and whether its own back line can always be so strong and not make mistakes is still a big question mark.
After all, players are also human beings, and human beings make mistakes, so no matter how impregnable a defensive line is in the eyes of outsiders, once there is a mistake, it is quite a fatal thing.
Therefore, an unreasonable style of play like Vicenza that breaks through the wing and crosses directly to find a center forward is the biggest headache for Fiorentina, because it really tests the ability and concentration of the two central defenders.
In the second half, Vicenza still used the most simple and crude tactical play, persistently crossing from the Fiorentina penalty area; Toney and Larsson battled over and over again with Nesta in the box for the ball, fighting for every chance to shoot on goal.
It has to be said that Vicenza had quite good luck, and soon after the start of the second half, they changed the situation on the field with such an attack!
In the 58th minute, Odor received Cancherski's return pass and crossed the ball high, Stamm's header was cleared but was grabbed by Ballack to the landing point of the ball, the latter shot directly on the periphery of the penalty area, the ball hit Makelele's leg and produced a change of line, and Toldo, who was ready, hurriedly changed his saving posture to block the ball out of the goal.
Because Toldo's save was rather rushed, the ball was not saved by him, but bounced back into the box. At this time, Larsson once again ghostly appeared at the landing point of the ball, and the Fiorentina players watched as the Swedish striker scored from five meters in front of the goal, rewriting the score to 2-1!
At this point, Vicenza finally completed the comeback to Fiorentina on the scoreboard!
In the unfavorable situation of being reversed by the opponent, the Fiorentina players did not panic much, nor did they get anxious because the score was behind. Although the Purple Lily has fallen behind in the past two years, the rich game experience has made up for it, making the players realize that only by playing steadily can they better play the advantages of Fiorentina's strength, so after the game restarted, the Fiorentina players launched a steady attack towards the door of Vicenza!
Vicenza was in a period of fatigue after nearly an hour of onslaught, and his attacking ability on the flanks began to decline, and the threat of the attack was far less than it was at the beginning of the second half.
In the 68th minute, Fiorentina, who regained the advantage, tore through the Vicenza back line with a continuous pass from the front, and Ronaldo, who had missed a one-on-one chance before, completed the fatal blow to bring the two teams back to the same running line!
After the equalizer, Fiorentina did not relax, but planned to directly win the rather difficult opponent in front of him in one go, completely killing the suspense of the game!
In the 72nd minute, Fiorentina won a free kick in front, and Redondo, who was in charge of the penalty, suddenly passed the ball to Carlos on the edge of the wall, who volleyed directly from a small angle on the left side, but the ball was blocked by the reflex Balota with his legs!
In the 77th minute, Effenberg suddenly got up and volleyed hard from 28 meters from the goal, Balota flew to the rescue, and Onopko showed his quality as a first-class central defender this time, kicking the ball out of the bottom line in time before Vieri who made a follow-up shot!
Taking advantage of this rare deadball opportunity, Capello and Guidolin immediately began to transfer their troops on the field.
The former replaced the physically exerted Cancherski with Lauren, moved the defensive Odor forward, and replaced Ambrosini with Coyce to strengthen the defense in the middle of the field; The latter replaced Ljungberg with Iran international Madavecchia and then brought on Zanetti for the slightly more silent Makelele.
Perhaps for insurance reasons, neither manager used up the last substitution, but stayed in his hands in case of emergency.
In the ensuing period, while both players had a few chances, it was a shame that those shots did not turn into the one they were desperately looking for.
In the end, when the referee blew the whistle for the end of the second half, Fiorentina and Vicenza were tied 2-2 in 90 minutes of regulation time, and the game officially entered extra time!