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Is it a blessing or a tragedy for Italy to get through with the help of the Dutchman and face Spain, an opponent they haven't lost in 88 years and one of the best teams in the group stage of this tournament? Many of Italy's biggest names are confident that their national team will make it through, but Donadoni seems to have prepared for the worst. In fact, when the smoke cleared, looking back at those pre-game mood curves, maybe some were already destined.

'Spain are very strong, they have a lot of quality players, and more importantly in the national team these players have never won the same honour as in the club, so they are more hungry for victory. Donadoni is clearly "conservative" on the field, compared to the victory over France in the final round of the group stage, the Italian coach said: "The French team is stronger, but Spain has better skills and is faster. ”

Historically, Italy can be regarded as the bitter opponent of the Spanish team, but the most recent meeting between the two sides was back in the 1994 World Cup, and Donadoni also experienced that victory as a player, who can remember the events of 14 years ago so clearly, I vaguely remember that I didn't play well in that game, and certainly did not provide any special experience to my team. Donadoni recalled, "After so much time, both teams have changed a lot, and the once sweet memories are redundant, and you have to start from scratch." ”

In Andrea Pirlo's absence, it was clear that the Italian team was having unprecedented difficulties in organising their attack. After all, Aquilani, De Rossi and Perrotta don't have the big picture and the ability to pass the ball in the Milan midfield, within the Italian team. The coach and players have even acquiesced to an "ugly" game in advance. Speaking before heading to the pitch, Zambrotta said: "Our goal is to limit their space if you get thrown off. Then put them down. Donadoni was ready to take the penalty, "I can tell everyone that I have already decided on the penalty and it won't be too unexpected."

The Italians don't care about the glory of the past, and the younger disciples of Aragonés don't believe in history, and they have respect for the world champion rather than fear it.

'Italy is Italy, they've won a lot of trophies, they're the real favourites, but we've played well so far. Casillas is low-key enough. However, stars including Fernando Torres and Puyol are convinced that Spain can finish the game in 90 minutes.

Indeed, the excellent performances in the previous three games have given Spain unprecedented confidence, and coach Aragonés was full of confidence in an interview with Pravda: "We have nothing to learn, now it is our turn to win." "In the 1994 semi-finals, Spain lost 2-1 to Italy, and Enrique was elbowed by Tassotti to break the bridge of his nose, and now the Spaniards are actually stepping into the quarter-finals with revenge. Villa, who has already scored four goals, said before the game: "I don't want to say it's revenge, but Enrique wants us to win, and in the United States he suffers like the whole country suffers. Not only because we lost, but because he broke the bridge of his nose. ”

It was to be expected that a quarter-final would be so hot, and a few days ago Tasotti complained to the media: "I have apologized countless times, but they still hold me back." I'd love to know what they want. ”

The Spaniards wanted a fate-shattering revenge, and Tarsottti's old buddy Donadoni was right across from them.

Before this game, though. There is still a lot of optimism in Italy, and Sacchi believes that Italy can always erupt in the face of adversity. 'The Spanish backline hasn't been really tested so far, so it's been a good defence. Wait for the counter-attack and we can win this game and I predict Toney will get the scoresheet. The famous "pipe coach" Bealzot simply said, "Italy 2-0 Spain, and finally meet Portugal in the final." ”

The final quarter-final of the 08 European Championship was played at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria, and the top of Group D, Spain, met Italy, the second place in Group C.

The 120 minutes were played cautiously on both sides, and the game was uneventful, with Italy's Di Natale even booing his home fans for deliberately delaying the game. It wasn't until the game entered the final penalty shootout that the fans who were already drowsy were refreshed.

After the pick-up, the penalty shootout began in front of the goal in front of the stands where Spanish fans gathered. Spain took the lead, Villa, who had already scored four goals, shot the ball into the bottom left corner of Buffon, the Italian goalkeeper misjudged the direction, and Spain easily hit the first goal. Italy's penalty was scored by Grosso, who scored the last goal of the World Cup-winning penalty shootout, and the "great left-back" scored easily with his left foot into the left goal, but Cassie judged the right direction but couldn't make a save. The score was 1-1 and the two teams were drawn.

In the second round, Spain sent Cazorla, who came on as a substitute in the second half, and Spain's No.12 calmly pushed the bottom left corner of the goal to score, and Buffon misjudged the direction again. The Italian team sent De Rossi, who also scored a penalty in the World Cup final, the Roma teenager shot a half-high ball on the left, Casillas judged the ball correctly and saved the ball sideways, at this time Buffon, who was standing on the edge of the goal, was already nervous and did not dare to look at the ball, but turned his back to De Rossi and Casillas. The score was 2-1 with Spain leading.

In the third round, the Spanish team's defender Senna took the penalty, and the captain of Villarreal shot decisively to the middle corner of the goal, Buffon made another mistake, and Spain hit all three goals in the first three. The third appearance of the Italian team was substitute Camoranesi, the Juventus winger scored in the upper right corner of the goal, although Cassie judged the right direction, but the ball was fast and the angle was tricky, and he could only look at the ball and sigh. The score was 3-2, with Spain leading.

In the fourth round, Spain's Guiza took the penalty, as the top scorer in La Liga last season, but the penalty kick was not what Guiza was good at, and sure enough, his shot to the right of the middle was blocked by Buffon, and Spain missed for the first time. Italy were represented by Di Natale and the Udine winger's shot to the right of the goal was saved by Casillas. The score is still 3-2. However, as long as Spain is awarded a penalty in the next round, the matadors will win. King Carlos I of Spain in the stands after Cassie saves a penalty. Ignoring the etiquette, he stood up and cheered on the Platini side of the podium.

Fifth round. Spain were represented by No.10 Cesc Fabregas, and the Arsenal youngster would have eliminated Italy as long as the Arsenal youngster had to hit, and finally Cesc Fabregas's penalty successfully deceived Buffon and fired into the bottom right corner of the goal. The Italian goalkeeper was completely on the wrong side as Spain progressed to the last four and their next opponent will be Russia, who knocked out the Netherlands.

After the match, King Carlos I of Spain and the Queen went down to the dressing room to congratulate Casillas, Carlos I said. Casillas changed history and promised to fight the team to the end.

In his post-match press conference, coach Aragonés fully affirmed the efforts and expressions of all the players, and also revealed the secret way to curb Italy's aerial superiority and even win on penalties.

'I asked the players to try to slow down the pace of the game and let Italy play at our pace. Aragonés was very proud of the results of his tactics at the beginning of the press conference, "Although both of our teams are not very good in attack, or even not very positive, I am not in a hurry about the shape on the field, and I have repeatedly told the players not to pursue speed. It was a wonderful game, so to speak, and our purpose has been achieved. ”

In addition to his control of the tempo on the field, Aragonés also praised several key players in particular. "Casillas's performance was very good, he watched the video of the penalty before the game, studying himself and his opponent. This is the honor he deserves. Aragonés continued, "Except for Cassie. The two centre-backs were also very good, and they managed to limit the Italian's aerial superiority. Tony in particular, he did almost nothing, Senna was also a key player in the game, from the defense to the fill-in, and even to the first leg of the attack, it was fantastic, and I am grateful to all the players for their efforts today, the victory should be theirs. ”

In fact, Casillas's hard practice penalty kick did not just start before this game, according to Spanish reporters, as early as the Spanish team group stage, Cassie asked Reina, who was good at saving penalty kicks, the two penalized each other, and lost the treat, the purpose is to learn Reina's skills in penalty kicks, today, Cassie finally made a huge gain after handing over the tuition. And the veteran coach Aragonés also has his own unique opinion on the personnel who take the penalty kick, he revealed: "Why choose Villa and Senna, as well as Cazorla, because in the previous penalty training, their table is very good, and their feet are also worthy of my trust, even if Torres is not replaced, maybe I will not let him take a penalty, everything has to be measured according to the state." ”

It seems that the old coach's meticulous observation has paid off, facing the semi-final opponent Russia, Aragonés just said lightly: "As long as we play our own style, don't think about the previous results, don't think about the opponent's state, stick to our own style, winning is the goal, and all I have to do is do my job, just like this game." ”

In today's Italian team, where the "star flavor" is a little insufficient, Buffon is both the captain and the number one star.

In the eyes of many, Gianluigi Buffon is the number one goalkeeper in the world. But does Buffon have any shortcomings? The answer is: penalties. After saving Mutu's penalty in the group stage, "Milan Sports Newspaper" did not hesitate to give the name of "Saint-Buffon" to the world's No. 1 goalkeeper, and firmly believed that Buffon would protect Italy to the final, but he could hide for a while, and Italy finally fell to the penalty spot.

In the history of Buffon's World Series for Italy, Buffon has played in the '02 World Cup, Euro '04, '06 World Cup and '08 World Cup. In these four tournaments, Buffon encountered two penalty shootouts, in the two penalty shootouts, the opponent shot 9 penalties in the face of Buffon, Buffon only saved one, and the remaining 8 times all judged the wrong direction!

In tonight's penalty shootout, Spain took five penalties, except for Guiza's penalty shot at a poor angle and was blocked by Buffon, the other four penalties, Buffon saved in the wrong direction. In the first round, Villa hit the bottom left corner of the goal, and Buffon saved to the right; In the second round, Cardoso hit the left corner of the goal, and Buffon saved to the right; In the third round, Senna hit the ball directly above the goal, and Buffon pounced to the left. Fifth round. Cesc Fabregas slotted into the bottom right corner and Buffon pounced on the left. Full battle. Gianluigi Buffon only saved the penalty that Guissa had taken, and Guisa was a little lacking in angle. This time Buffon made the save.

As a counter-example to Buffon, Casillas judged the right direction three times in Italy's four rounds of penalties, twice sealed the ball, and once because Grosso took the penalty so hard that Cassie was helpless. It can be said that in the PK between these two first-class goalkeepers, in the penalty shootout, Casillas's table was much higher than Buffon's. Cassie's 75 percent directional accuracy is more than three times higher than Buffon's 20 percent.

Of course, this has something to do with the difference in the technical characteristics of the two goalkeepers. Gianluigi Buffon has never been the kind of goalkeeper who excels by relying on quick reflexes, and like Pagliuca in the past, Buffon has an excellent sense of position in front of goal, accustomed to constantly moving himself to block the opponent's shooting angle. Casillas' sense of position is not as good as Buffon's, but his instantaneous reaction speed is stronger than Buffon's.

The numbers are proof of this: in 120 minutes today, Buffon has moved a distance of 5,570 meters. Casillas, on the other hand, is only 4,020 meters, and the number of jù speaks for itself.

Of course, Buffon is not good at saving penalties, and there is another factor: psychological shadows. Strictly speaking. At the beginning of Buffon's fame, he was also a penalty saver. There was once such a scene in Serie A: Veron wanted to use a "spoon" to hang Buffon, although Buffon fell to the ground and was deceived. But he forcibly supported his body again, and stood up again to block Beron's "spoon".

At the 2002 World Cup, Gianluigi Buffon also saved a penalty from South Korea's Ahn Jung-hwan. But. From a losing experience, Buffon began to turn into a "penalty dwarf".

It was the final of the 2002-03 Champions Cup. Juventus and AC Milan went into a penalty shoot-out, with Dida's watch excellent for AC Milan to win, while Gianluigi Buffon was the underdog. Since then, Buffon has had a psychological shadow, which Buffon admitted at the 06 World Cup: "When I was a kid, I always dreamed of being able to decide who was the winner in a penalty shoot-out, but after the Champions League defeat to Milan, my opinion changed. I now hope that we can try to avoid that as much as possible. ”

It's a pity that people are not as good as heaven, and the penalty shootout still happened. In Euro 2000 and the 2006 World Cup, Italy won two penalty shootouts in a row, and in the end, Buffon ended up being a loser......

Although Spain qualified for the semi-finals of an international tournament for the first time in nearly 25 years, he will not change his determination to step down as head coach after the European Football Championship.

The 69-year-old said before the start of the European Championship that he would leave the Spanish national team after the tournament, but he would not leave football and could go with a club team.

"I'm very proud because now that my work has been positively evaluated by everyone, I'm even more proud to have so many important players," he said. But I've told the Spanish Football Federation and the media that I'm going to leave after the European Championships, but I'm still going to leave when the game ends. ”

Aragonés continued: "So I want to thank those who supported me when I was in a difficult situation, but those criticisms were also good for me, so I would also like to thank those who did not support me, whose attitude made me often reflect on my choices and determinations. ”

Regardless of whether the Spanish coach stays in office or not, all the media have been optimistic about Spain in the next semi-finals.

A mysterious "Super Polar Bear" stunned the whole of Europe in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands, and with their amazing all-round strength and the superior individual ability of stars such as Arshavin, they easily dismembered the "Clockwork Orange" that had previously been difficult to meet opponents, which led most media outlets to quickly list them as true favorites to win the championship.

Unfortunately, their opponents in the semi-finals were Spain, Russia's biggest nemesis in the theoretical sense of the word.

If there is one team in the other 15 teams of the European Championship that can contain the current Russian team that is amazing, skilled and in great form, it must be Spain.

The reason is simple, the Russians' blazingly fast attacking football is based on first-class individual skills and overall possession, and even the Dutchman's individual skills and overall coordination are much inferior to them. However, Spain is the only team that is superior to the Russian team in terms of individual skills and overall coordination, and when the "Super Polar Bear" meets the "Super Matador", the latter has more capital to win.

Some people say that the individual skills of the Portuguese team will not be worse than the Russian team, yes, but the Portuguese team's ball control and overall coordination in the front court are still inferior to the Spanish team; It would be true if someone said that the "German tank" would not be worse than the Russians in terms of overall coordination, but the Russian's individual skills and ball control were significantly better than the slightly stiff Germans. At the moment, only a team like Spain can outperform the Russians, both individually and collectively. And once the Spaniard controls the ball and the situation, the Russian will not be able to play his own characteristics and strength.

Spain had already relied on Villa's "hat-trick" to humiliate the Russians 4-1 in the first group game, and although the players represented by Xavi and Cesc Fabregas admitted that the first game was not a problem, and there was an element of luck in the Spanish team's big win over their opponents, the Spanish team used their technical superiority to occupy a real advantage in the game.

Although the Russians had more possession than Spain (who spent 56% of their possession time, a few) that few teams could do with Espanyol, they were still slightly inferior to Spain in terms of the level of coordination and one-on-one skills on the pitch.

"We won't make the mistake of the first game against Spain, we gave the opponent too many one-on-one chances, and in this case the opponent has a good chance of winning," said the Russian captain Simak. And Arshavin, the core of the Russian team's attack, also said that they will not make the same mistake again, and although the Spanish team counterattacked strongly, the Russian team will still use a resolute attack to solve the opponent.

It's just that in practice, it's hard for a player like Arshavin to get his hands on the ball easily – the Spaniard will try to keep the ball at his feet as much as possible. "The key to winning [this] game is not only to have more possession than the opposition, but also to learn how to use possession to the advantage," Xavi said. You can imagine the "polar bear" with a good martial arts body slowly losing his fighting spirit under the control of the "matador", and gradually revealing his flaws.

However, although the Spanish team can contain the opponent in theory, they must also have a premise in actual combat to achieve such an advantage, this premise is that their coach Aragonés does not make a "stupid move", after all, in the face of the magical coach Hiddink, it is only too late to make a mistake and want to make amends, and the tactics and substitutions that the Spanish coach currently likes are very unclear in their thinking, which also limits the advantages of the Spanish team in a large way.

The main thing is that he always puts the talented commander Cesc Fabregas on the bench and always brings him on the pitch with Xavi, the playmaker who can be the most powerful in the middle of the field with Cesc Fabregas. In this way, neither the starting 11 nor the 11 adjusted in the second half can really exert their power, and the Spanish team's most proud positional attack and one-kick ball coordination are constrained by unreasonable tactics, but give the opponent room to exert power.

The Spanish team has the absolute upper hand in the all-time match against the Russian team with 4 matches, 3 wins and 1 draw. Four years ago in the European Championships, they beat Russia 1-0 thanks to a goal from midfield maestro Belleron.

Although the Russians have shown a huge physical advantage in recent games, this is not only because they have done scientific and effective physical training before the European Championships, but more importantly, they have controlled the situation with their technical superiority against Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands, and their quick passes have exhausted their opponents. However, against Spain, the Russians are likely to run after the ball, so their physical advantage will be limited.

In short, as long as Aragonés is not confused, the possibility of the Spanish team knocking out their opponents and reaching the final is very high. (My novel "The King of Flower Balls" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there will also be a 100% lottery gift for everyone!) Open WeChat now, click on the "+" sign in the upper right corner to "add friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up! (To be continued......)