Valencia's first team only has twenty-three players, which is considered a small number among the first teams of many teams.
Changsheng needs to ensure that every position is competitive, but does not want to raise idle people, so twenty-three people is just the right number.
It's just that he didn't expect that he would be hit by a wave of injuries this season.
As a result, he is now stretched thin.
Before the second round match against AC Milan, he only had 18 people at his disposal, which was exactly the number required for the roster. There were even three goalkeepers among these 18 people. Usually David Rangel was the goalkeeper.
It is impossible for the team's third goalkeeper to get a chance to be included in the squad, but he was included in the squad for winning this game because he needs someone to make up the numbers.
But in fact, Chang Sheng has no one to replace him with.
Everyone knows this situation, so it's no wonder that they don't expect Valencia to be able to make a comeback at home.
Perhaps only the Valencia players themselves believed it.
In the past two weeks, Chang Sheng has continuously instilled in them the belief that "we can reverse this situation", and it has almost become a habit.
Even if they almost couldn't make up the list of eighteen people, they never doubted this.
Because as long as they think of the humiliation they encountered at the San Siro Stadium, they will be full of fighting spirit and eager to defeat AC Milan and prove to the world that they are all wrong!
※※※
Before the second round of the game, the war of words between the two sides did not stop for a moment.
Berlusconi once again talked about winning, and his big mouth will never stop offending people.
"I heard that Valencia is planning a coaching change recently? I think they are right. Now their development has entered a bottleneck period, and Chang is not a good solution candidate... They were eliminated by us in two seasons.
, which shows that his ability and experience in the Champions League are still lacking. Ancelotti is a good choice, but we will not let Carroll go, he is a priceless treasure! Hahaha!"
In the end, he thought he was being humorous and laughed.
He is adding fuel to the fire.
Discussions about whether Chang Sheng should leave have been rampant in the past two weeks. At this time, Berlusconi publicly supported Chang Sheng's departure, which pushed the discussion to a climax.
When interviewing Chang Sheng, a reporter even asked him whether he would leave Valencia next season.
Chang Sheng said: "My mission is to play well in the current game. You should ask the future me about the future. It has nothing to do with the current me."
"What do you think of Berlusconi's words..."
"Berlusconi doesn't talk nonsense once or twice anymore. I'm used to it. Aren't you used to it?"
In the end, Chang Sheng insisted that his team could eliminate AC Milan: "I heard that you all think that if Valencia wants to eliminate AC Milan, they can only pray for a miracle. But what I want to say is that miracles are done.
, it’s not something you pray for. Miracles will only favor those who won’t give up until they die! Not cowards who talk about ‘impossible’!”
"But people have to be rational. After conceding three goals in the first round... it is really difficult to advance..."
"It's just three balls, not thirty. What's impossible?" Chang Sheng snorted. "We'll see if we can do it!"
※※※
Ancelotti did not express any opinion on Chang Sheng's words, nor did he express any opinion on his boss's provocation. He was silent and low-key, not attracting any attention at all.
But a small detail still exposed his true inner thoughts.
Generally speaking, the team will leave for the away game one day in advance to adjust to the time difference, eliminate travel fatigue, and adapt to the venue.
For example, when Valencia, the winning team, goes to play AC Milan away from home, it starts on Monday, and the game is on Wednesday night.
It stands to reason that AC Milan should be like this too.
But they didn't do that.
The game was on the evening of April 7th. AC Milan only arrived in Valencia on the afternoon of April 6th. Then they went directly to the Mestalla Stadium. After an hour of adaptation training, they returned to their hotel.
of hotels.
This is AC Milan's preparations.
In fact, there is nothing wrong with them staying in Milan. After the 28th round of the league, they have accumulated 69 points, ranking first. Roma, second in the league, has 61 points, and the difference between the two sides is eight points. It is difficult for Roma to threaten them.
AC Milan.
Naturally, they did not stay to prepare for the weekend match against Empoli.
It can only seem that they feel that the game against Valencia is not important.
We won the first round with three goals, how can we still lose 0:4 in the away game? Even if the opponent scores four goals, it doesn't matter, we only need to score one goal to eliminate the opponent.
The situation has become one-sided and Valencia has only a dead end.
So instead of going there so early, it’s better to train and rest in Milanello.
In front of the media, Ancelotti still behaved very cautiously.
After arriving in Valencia, he attended the pre-match press conference and said: "Valencia is a strong team and we must take it seriously. Everything is possible on the football field and we cannot be arrogant and underestimate the enemy."
But that's what he said, but in fact he couldn't control the team's mentality at all.
The Italian media are very optimistic.
"We led by three goals in the first round, and now AC Milan can use defensive counterattacks to deal with Valencia very calmly... I am very confident in AC Milan's defensive counterattacks. To be honest, I am not looking down on Valencia.
, but football is a very realistic sport, and I can’t think of any other way Valencia could reverse..."
"Gazzetta dello Sport" said this when analyzing this game.
"... Valencia will face Milan, the most powerful team in the 21st century at Mestalla! This team is advancing rapidly in both the league and the Champions League, and anyone who stands in their way will be ruthlessly crushed!
Whether it's Roma or Juventus, they have already tasted this, and now it's Europe's turn!"
"...I don't think Valencia's forwards have the ability to break through Milan, the best defense in the world. Experienced and high-level defenders such as Maldini, Nesta, and Cafu will block Valencia every time.
Shoot! And Kaká and Shevchenko are very comfortable in counterattacks and will pose a great threat to Valencia’s goal!”
The entire Italian media seemed very relaxed.
No one believed that Valencia could complete the comeback at home.
※※※
What did Chang Sheng say at the press conference before the game?
"We can do things you can't even imagine!"
It's just such a simple sentence, without any useful information, how to do it? I didn't say it.
Everyone just wanted to boo him.
Chang Sheng feels that he has said everything that needs to be said, and it is useless to waste words with the media here. If he has this time, he might as well analyze the weaknesses of AC Milan to the players in the tactics class.
The night before the game, the two teams had two completely different preparation situations.
In the hotel where AC Milan stayed, the tactical meeting ended early. Ancelotti just announced the starting lineup for tomorrow's game, and then told everyone what they knew.
Then he announced his disbandment.
The huge lead made him feel that there was no need to push his players too hard. Although he said it very cautiously, there was no need to be too nervous. These were players who had experienced many battles and were rich in experience.
, know how to adjust your state and mentality.
It's better to let them relax for a while, which will help them perform better tomorrow.
In the hotel where I stayed in Valencia, the lights in the conference room were always on.
After the players had dinner at the hotel, they went directly into the conference room. The lights were on from 9:30 to 11:30, a full two hours!
These are the four longest tactical meetings Valencia players have ever had.
To ensure nothing goes wrong.
Tomorrow's game is too important, and neither Chang Sheng nor the players dare to muddle through.
Chang Sheng didn't say anything impassioned that could make the players' blood boil.
Now he only talks about tactics and the pros and cons of both sides.
"AC Milan's defense is the same as Roma's defense, conceding the fewest goals in Serie A this season. Their defense is very strong, each one is experienced and has excellent level. But this does not mean that they have no weaknesses. On the contrary, their defense
Their weaknesses are huge and fatal. So as long as we seize their weaknesses, we have a great chance of making a comeback at home. Remember, guys, I am not bluffing when I say we can come back, I am sure of it!
"
"From the week of the Milan Derby when the Champions League resumed, to now, AC Milan has conceded nine goals in the last eight league games. As the competition becomes more intense, this solid defense line at the beginning of the season has now had a big impact.
Slippery. Their biggest problem is age. This defense is too old. Pancaro is 32 years old, Cafu is 33 years old, Maldini is 35 years old, and Costacurta is 38 years old.
Nesta is twenty-seven years old. He is younger than Nesta, but he is often injured. He only returned from injury in the last round of the league. At the beginning of the season, when these people were in good physical condition, AC Milan’s defense had experience and strength.
Advantages, but as the league and Champions League come to an end, and the number of senior players gradually increases, the disadvantages of this defense line's aging have become apparent. In recent times, AC Milan has almost had double cheeks every week. The fatigue of Pancaro's arrival
No one could have imagined that starting from the 24th round against Sampdoria, Pancaro started every game in the league, Champions League and national team, playing nine games in a month. On the other side, Cardo
Fuggen has been the main force from the first half of the league until now. Only in the middle of the week when the Italian Cup is the Italian Cup, the Brazilians can get some breathing space. Although Maldini got a complete week of rest on the national team match day
Time, but for the thirty-five-year-old, he has been playing as the main force without rotation until now, and his physical fitness has reached a limit. The other central defender position is played by Costacurta and Nesta in turns.
Once Towers catches up to a double match in a week, there will definitely be problems with performance, and Nesta’s two performances after returning from injury were not very good..."
Chang Sheng began to analyze AC Milan's defense problems for the players in great detail.
"There are also problems with Ancelotti's tactics. Although the media said that AC Milan will definitely advance as long as they defend and counterattack in this game. But I don't think Ancelotti will choose to defend and counterattack because he advocates a pressing style of play.
The method is to seek the best opportunity through forward kicking. However, once the ball is lost and turned to defense, it often gives the opponent a lot of space. I remember Pancaro once revealed AC Milan’s tactics, which is to press the two full-backs.
They are involved in the attack, forming multiple points of support in the midfield and frontcourt. This is the core of Ancelotti's offense. In defense, he relies on two central defenders with extremely strong personal abilities, but they often get ahead of their opponents.
Goal."
"Ancelotti will definitely do this again and completely destroy us with offense in the away game. I think even if Ancelotti wants to play defensive counterattack, he will only do so after scoring a goal first in the game. This is safer, after all.
There are ninety minutes in a game, and if you hand over the initiative to your opponent right from the start, that's not Ancelotti's style."
Don't ask why Ancelotti, who was so sure of winning, would choose to attack instead of counterattack when leading by three goals in the first round, because he just knew.
Having traveled back in time, he has deep memories of many things that happened in world football in the past. Especially things like this that shocked the entire European football world.
In the same season, the same quarter-finals, but the opponents were different. At that time, AC Milan faced Deportivo La Coruna. They played 4:1 in the first round. Deportivo had an away goal, but
It's meaningless, AC Milan won by three goals.
How similar is it to your current situation?
What is unexpected is that in the second round, Ancelotti did not choose to defend and counterattack, but continued to attack... As a result, everyone knows what happened next. AC Milan was defeated by Deportivo 4:0
, with a total score of 4:5, they were eliminated!
No one knows why Ancelotti continued to attack instead of choosing a safe defensive counterattack.
Chang Sheng doesn't know either, but he only needs to know that Ancelotti wants to do this, and he doesn't need to know why he does it.
"In Ancelotti's formation, Seedorf is called the left midfielder, but he is actually a free man. The entire attack and defense on the left depends on Pancaro... Everyone, watch this ball." TV in the conference room
The video of the AC Milan match carefully edited by Rudy Gonzalez was playing on the machine. "This is the match between AC Milan and Mona. This goal was lost because Pancaro did not come back after attacking. Nesta made a supplementary
To the left, Simic made up for the middle, exposing the vacuum on the right...Look at this again..." Chang Sheng used the remote control to fast forward. "The same goes for conceding a goal against Sampdoria. Liberate Seedorf
, it can indeed activate the offense, but it weakens the defense on the left... Therefore, AC Milan's left is their weakness. We must focus on utilizing it in tomorrow's game. The focus of our offense is their wing!" (
To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)