Chapter 14: The ambition to win La Liga

After an away win in the Copa del Rey, Atletico Madrid will face one of the biggest games of the season – a league home game against Barcelona. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

In the current La Liga standings, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are tied on 49 points and are in the first group of the league. Behind them, Real Madrid is third in the league with 44 points.

After the halfway point of the league, the battle for the league title is only between these three teams. Athletic Bilbao in fourth place has only 33 points, and is behind Real Madrid by 11 points.

So, this game is worth six points - the winner will overtake their opponents by three points and take the top spot in the league standings!

It's no wonder that Simeone made a relatively large rotation in the Copa del Rey, and this game is a game that cannot be lost for both sides.

News of Atletico Madrid's 2-1 win over Valencia was quickly drowned out by the news of the game. In the Spanish media, the most concerned about this round of La Liga is, of course, the direct dialogue between the two teams at the top of the standings.

Moreover, there is a hostile relationship between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in itself.

When it comes to the relationship between the two cities of Madrid and Barcelona, and even between the two regions of Madrid and Catalonia, it can be described as a mixture of grievances and fire.

Historically, the tradition of Castile, where Madrid is located, was a contempt for commerce and was a fanatical Catholic region. Catalonia, on the other hand, was mercantilist and Protestant. If that's all there is to it, then these are just two regions with different personalities, and there is no hatred at all.

In 1473, Madrid's army began to expand in all directions, and the first to suffer was Barcelona, which had amassed a great deal of wealth thanks to its commercial traditions. Barcelona, with its tradition of self-government, was forced to submit to the army of the Spanish king, and the city was almost destroyed. It was at this time that Barcelona and Madrid, which represented the Spanish crown, became enmity.

The destruction of Catalonia by the Spanish army has been repeated throughout history.

As a result, as the first and second largest cities in Spain, there has always been a strong opposition between the two cities.

At the end of the 19th century, football spread to Spain, and the antagonism between the two sides continued on the football field.

In the general impression, when it comes to Spanish football, one has to mention the "Spanish national derby" - the match between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

But as a team in the Madrid region, there is no shortage of mutual hatred between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

In the eyes of Atletico Madrid fans, beating Barcelona is just as important as beating their city rival Real Madrid!

In this game, what kind of lineup Simeone will send, if you say it before this, there is actually nothing to guess, because Atletico Madrid's main lineup is relatively fixed, they are not like Barcelona or Real Madrid, even the bench is full of superstar players.

However, due to the midway of Li Qingshan's joining, it seems that Atletico Madrid's starting lineup can have some suspense.

Li Qingshan, who has just joined the team, scored two goals in the team's first two games, showing super high scoring efficiency. As a result, the media in Madrid also have different opinions about whether Li Qingshan can start. Some believe that Simeone will seek stability and continue to use the fixed line-up of the first half of the season in such an important game. However, there are also those who believe that Simeone will make a slight change and create some surprises in this game.

There was a lot of speculation in the media, but Simeone himself had already decided on the starting line-up for this match two days before the game.

He called Villa and said directly: "David, I need a high point in this game, so I will send Lee to start." ”

That's Simeone's style, when he talks to the players, he always looks at each other, he is honest and calm. No one will lie to Simone, and he won't lie to you.

Villa nodded, showing his understanding. As a veteran, he has a mature mentality and will not have any objections to the coach's reasonable arrangement. Moreover, the tough Simeone was able to explain this matter to himself, which is enough to express the coach's respect for the veteran.

Simeone, of course, would not consider putting Diego Costa on the bench, and this season, Diego Costa has come out of nowhere, scoring 19 league goals after 18 league games. Even if the dialects of the whole of Europe are only comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo and Suaris. A striker who is in such a hot form, Simeone naturally will not abandon it. In this case, he can only choose between Villa and Li Qingshan.

One of the key training subjects within Atletico Madrid these days is set-pieces. The core of the set-piece is undoubtedly Li Qingshan, who has a strong deterrent in the penalty area.

Simeone is very clear about the difference in strength between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, and if the two sides set up a position to attack, Atletico Madrid will definitely not be Barcelona's opponent. Since 2010, the two teams have met 6 times in the league, with Barcelona winning 6 and losing 0, scoring 18 goals and conceding 4 goals, with an absolute advantage. And because of Barca's style of possession, they were able to keep the ball at their feet for most of the game, leaving Atletico Madrid with relatively few attacking opportunities. Therefore, Simeone's arrangement in this game is also based on defense, and during this time, the most basic tactical principle that Simeone repeatedly emphasized is very simple: zero goals conceded! Defending is the responsibility of everyone on the team. From the center forward to the goalkeeper, each player has to take on the defensive task. As for the attack, it naturally relied on counter-attacks and set-pieces.

In the set-piece attack, Li Qingshan is naturally better than Villa.

And in these days of training, it can also be seen that Li Qingshan is competing for a huge advantage in heading, he seems to be able to grab a point every time, and the success rate of his header is terrifyingly high, in this case, as long as you create more set-pieces and create more opportunities for side crosses, so that Atletico Madrid's offensive threat will naturally not be weak.

Because of Barcelona's lack of overall height, and Butzkes, who is okay in height, is not good at heading points. In the Barcelona squad, the only reliable anti-aircraft player is Pique. Moreover, Atletico Madrid's two central defenders, Godin and Miranda, are both good set-piece attackers, coupled with Diego Costa's impact in the box, Barcelona's head is destined to be their weakest link, and Simeone is pressing the block on the set-piece this time.

This game is almost the key that can determine the trend of a season, and although Atletico Madrid does not have a goal on their lips, in the hearts of everyone, the ambition to break Barcelona and Real Madrid's La Liga Champions League this season has never stopped burning.

On January 12, 2014, at the Calderón Stadium, Atletico Madrid's ambitions will be extinguished by a touch of cold water, or will it burn more and more. It wasn't until the end of the game that it was noticed.