"Juander is going to give it a go!"

In the manager's office at Liverpool's Melwood training base, Jesterdam smiled and said this to the head coach and the rest of the coaching staff, looking confident.

Liverpool's coaching staff is made up of Spaniards due to Benitez's connections, and Juander Ramos is no stranger.

"It's a problem that all managers have to face when they coach Real Madrid, and that's to prove themselves!" Benitez hit the nail on the head: "It doesn't matter how good you are at other teams, but at Real Madrid, at the Bernabeu, you need to prove yourself again, the players and the manager. ”

Benitez's eyes lit up as he said this.

Everyone in the world knows that he is a Real Madrid fan through and through, growing up.

The Aruche district, southwest of Madrid, is known as a paradise for immigrants and a famous slum in Madrid, where Rafael Benítez grew up chasing the ball in the alleys of the neighborhood.

His family was very poor, and his parents were born in cheap houses in Aruche, but strangely enough, the whole family preferred Real Madrid and the Bernabeu in the far city centre to the Atletico Madrid and Calderón stadiums, which were closer to the south and represented the poor and working class.

Rafael Benitez played in the Real Madrid academy and later made his debut in the Real Madrid academy as a coach, then went on a study tour in Italy before making his debut at Tenerife and making a splash.

He has never hidden his desire to one day return to the Bernabeu and become the owner of this stadium and this huge team.

Therefore, every time he leads the team to Real Madrid, Benitez is very energetic, he used to be the same when he was at Valencia, and now he is also in charge of Liverpool, because he is eager to prove himself in front of this beloved team!

The Champions League is undoubtedly the best platform!

A platform that has a special meaning for all Real Madridians!

……

From the moment Juan Ramos took the initiative to respond to Ferguson and fight psychological warfare against Benitez, Benitez and his assistants have been well aware that their next opponent will only choose one tactic, and that is to take the initiative.

At the Bernabeu, the fans demand more than just winning, they want to win beautifully, to win spectacularly.

If Ramos wants to help him get a permit to stay at Real Madrid, the best option is to play in the Champions League, beat Liverpool, and break through the curse of the Champions League round of 16, which is undoubtedly the best choice.

'Real Madrid have been in very good form lately. Tactics analyst Duff McDonoff took over: "Since the 2-0 defeat at Barcelona on December 13, they have won nine in a row so far, including against the likes of Villarreal, Valencia, Real Mallorca and Deportivo La Coruna. ”

"In the last two rounds, Real Madrid's form has been even more explosive, first beating Sporting Gijón 4-0 away, and then beating Real Betis 6-1 at home, scoring 10 goals in two games and conceding only one, this form is really intimidating."

Juan de Ramos is indeed a very strong manager, and after taking over halfway through, he brought very obvious and profound changes to Real Madrid, the most obvious of which is the improvement of the defense.

In the last two rounds, the team's attacking firepower has improved significantly, which is not good news for Liverpool.

"This is the confidence of Juander to dare to take the initiative!" Benitez said with a frown.

McDonov nodded: "Huntelaar can't represent Real Madrid in the Champions League, if there is no accident, it should be a combination of Higuain and Raul, Robben plays on the right, Marcelo plays on the left, and the middle is a combination of Las Diarra and Gago." ”

'Juande has always been very good at attacking from the wings, whether it's Sevilla or Tottenham Hotspur, attacking from the wings has always been his most important tool, so we need to contain his wings, especially Robben's side.

Speaking of this, Benitez looked at Mark Waller, "How is the player recovering from injury?" ”

"Crouch definitely won't be able to play, Yang Yang and Gerrard are both recovering well and can participate in the team's joint training, but the last game is ......"

Mark Waller obviously doesn't dare to judge this easily, because many things are not easy to say at the moment.

The big battle is imminent, Yang Yang and Gerrard are the core combat strength of the team, and the injury of the two players is a big loss for Liverpool, especially Yang Yang, if he can return before the key battle, then Liverpool's situation will be completely different.

Benitez has a whole set of mature plans for Real Madrid, that is, defensive counterattacks.

Yang Yang's speed is currently Liverpool's most lethal counter-attacking weapon, although Gareth Bale's speed is also fast, but in terms of individual ability and on-the-spot performance, the Welshman is still quite far away from Yang Yang.

Benitez frowned and thought for a while, "I need to talk to Yang Yang when I go back." ”

…………

…………

The day before the race, in the evening.

When Liverpool's plane arrived in Madrid, Benitez led his players out of Madrid's capital airport, where manager Juan de Ramos was given Liverpool's squad at Real Madrid's Valdebebas training base near the capital.

"Yang Yang and Gerrard both appeared in the eighteen-man roster!" The assistant coach said worriedly.

Both superstars have been injured, but the situation is completely different.

Yang Yang was injured in the national team game, and after more than a week of rest, his injury is not very serious, and he may come back at any time, as for Gerrard, he was injured last weekend, and he is old and sick, and the problem is not serious.

How will Benitez arrange these two superstars?

This is a problem that the Real Madrid coaching staff has to face.

Although Juander Ramos took the initiative to provoke psychological warfare before the game, the outside world was not optimistic about Real Madrid.

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit said he was more optimistic about Liverpool because despite a setback in the league that failed to win Manchester City, Rafael Benitez's side are always surprising in cup competitions.

"What's more, Yang Yang is the most decisive top superstar in European football at the moment!"

Former Real Madrid coach and current England national team coach Fabio Capello also said in an interview with the media that Yang Yang will become Liverpool's most dangerous player.

"In order for any team to defend Yang Yang, it must put in extremely hard work, and at the same time, it must also sacrifice offensive strength, because in today's world football, no one can defend Yang Yang in a one-on-one situation."

Capello also jokingly suggested to his successor, hoping that Ramos would issue a pistol to every Real Madrid player, because only by using the top of the gun can he withstand Yang Yang.

But just this afternoon, Ramos openly said in an interview with the media, "We only have a plan to defend Liverpool, but not a plan to defend Yang Yang, because for us, just staring at Yang Yang alone cannot guarantee anything, and it is meaningless, Liverpool has other more threatening players." ”

This is what Juan de Ramos said to the outside world, but in fact, within the team, one of the main points of this afternoon's training session was to arrange for the players to conduct defensive drills around Yang Yang.

Right wing-back Sergio Ramos is undoubtedly the player entrusted with the task.

Captain Raul said in an interview with the media that he believes that Sergio Ramos can prevent Yang Yang, but at the same time hinted that it will not be easy, and even said that Real Madrid does not rule out the use of foul and kicking tactics in order to stop Yang Yang.

"Yang Yang's type of player is always kicked more than other players, which is normal, because a lot of times, the players who defend him really have no other way to stop him than to foul."

It is clear that in Juande Ramos' team, there are two different narratives, internal and external.

This is not surprising at all, because Yang Yang was the first person in football at the time, and no one can ignore his threat on the field.

Even if it's as strong as Real Madrid!

……

"According to the information we got from the UK, I heard that before the team left for Madrid, Benitez and Yang Yang had a private chat for an hour, and no one knows what they talked about, but one thing is for sure, Yang Yang is expected to start."

When Juander Ramos heard the news, his eyebrows furrowed even tighter.

This is obviously not a piece of news he wants to hear, although he has been preparing to defend Yang Yang, but that is just in case.

If he could, he would prefer that Yang Yang continue to be injured, and it would be better not to play.

"Where's Gerald?"

"I don't know, after entering the squad, it is estimated that it will be a substitute."

Crouch is not in the squad and Kuyt is likely to start, but the question is, how will Benitez play this game? Is it to continue to take the high position to press and oppress, as before? Or do you opt for a more resolute defensive counter-attack?

Real Madrid's offensive firepower in the last two rounds is indeed bursting, but Liverpool is not Real Betis, let alone Sporting Gijón.

Whether it is in Sevilla or Tottenham Hotspur, Juan de Ramos has deeply understood the power of Benitez and the horror of Yang Yang, a superstar, which is why he is so worried.

'We don't have a choice, we have to try to win Liverpool at home to make sure we have a chance to qualify away.' Juander Ramos said with a calm face, "If you can't win at home, then you won't have a chance away." ”

Everyone nodded their heads after hearing this.

The scary thing about this Liverpool team is that they are very consistent and have a good balance in attack and defence.

"In any case, prepare for the worst and prepare for the game, tomorrow's tactical preparation will focus on how to defend Yang Yang, especially on the right side of Sergio Ramos."

And all the people were worried.

There wasn't much they could do in the moment they didn't see Liverpool's starting tactics.