In the past few days, the most interesting place for Guardiola is not on the training ground, but on the side of the team doctor. Iniesta and Milito were injured in the match against Espanyol, of which Iniesta was slightly less injured, and the team doctor said at that time that he could catch up with the game against Nottingham Forest, so after the game of the century against Real Madrid, he began to care about this problem, for fear that there would be a recurrence at that time.

Andres Iniesta is the team's current midfield playmaker, and he and Xavi have only sorted out Barcelona's attack in the midfield. Barcelona are considered to be the most beautiful team on the planet at the moment, and it is the two of them who owe it.

When it comes to dealing with the aggressive Nottingham Forest, Pep Guardiola wants no one to lose.

Except for Gabriel. In addition to Milito's serious injury, he does want to come up with the strongest squad to deal with Tony. Donn, the tiger.

Two days before the race, the good news finally came. After a detailed medical examination of Andres Iniesta, the team doctors confirmed that he is well enough to play in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Pep Guardiola is relieved.

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Despite the fact that the two teams are facing a life-and-death battle, there is already a smell of gunpowder between the two managers. But the relationship between the players is not as bad as outsiders think. Pique, a Barcelona player who has played for Nottingham Forest for many years, although many of his former teammates have left Nottingham Forest, there are still a few people who have a good relationship with him, such as Bale and Lennon, as well as his former central defender partner Pepe at Nottingham Forest.

Fortunately, Donn wore it a few months earlier, otherwise he didn't know what a wonderful feeling he would have in his heart when he saw Real Madrid's main central defender and Barcelona's main central defender talking and laughing together......

Of course, there are also media hyped up this relationship, and when the Nottingham Forest team arrived in Barcelona, Pepe was asked such a question in the interview. Pepe bluntly stated that he and Piquee are very good friends: "...... We had a good chemistry on the pitch and I enjoyed that time. Of course, I'm also working well with Kompany, Woodgate, etc...... But he's leaving, and I think it's normal, after all, he's coming out of La Masia...... What happens when it's time for the game, you ask? Of course I won't show mercy, friendship is friendship, the game is the game......"

Pique also echoed Pepe's words: "...... Yes, I remember playing at Nottingham Forest. But I was in my right head and knew what it was. You don't have to doubt my loyalty to Barcelona, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen to leave Nottingham Forest in the first place. Maybe I'll treat them to a meal after the game, but until then I just want to beat them. ”

He was also asked by reporters how it was like to work with Donne, and because the Catalan media had recently said that Donn had been very aggressive, some of the remarks were completely enough to frame a sincere attack and slander, which made Piquet a little angry - loyalty to the team aside, in terms of loyalty to the manager, Guardiola is not able to catch up with Toney. Donn's place in Pique's heart.

So he decided to put aside his previous "no comment" attitude and say something good for Donn: "Tony. Donn is a charismatic head coach who seems to have an aura of magic that can make you attracted to him. In fact, there are many critics in England for his style, but his players are always on his side. ”

The Catalan media were not satisfied with such an answer, and they wanted to hear the voices of the Barcelona players who were united in their hatred, rather than such "outliers". So someone asked: "But every player who left Nottingham Forest didn't seem to say anything good about him......

Pique smiled: "Am I not one?" ”

"And what about Rabbi Guardio?"

It's a trap that Piquee carefully navigates: "Both of them are very good managers, I've had the privilege of playing under them and they've both won the European Cup. "Pique's in Tony. Donne won two European Trophies under his side, and under Pep Guardiola, he lifted the trophy for the third time last season. So when it comes to the experience of winning the Champions Cup, he may have more experience than many of his teammates in the current team.

Piquee could be the only Barcelona team to play against Nottingham Forest and Toney. Don has a goodwill player too. The other players didn't speak well when they were interviewed.

"There's no doubt we're going to win."

"I want to get a win."

"We're the defending champions!"

……

And so on and so forth, making people feel that Barcelona is simply bursting with confidence.

Tony on this. What does Don think of this master of psychological warfare?

"The louder the shouting and the more nonsense they say at this time, the more they prove that they are weak-minded, and they must use this bluff to find some confidence in themselves. And me? Never talk nonsense before a game. He was so light that he defused Barcelona's angry attacks, although many Catalan media ridiculed him as a slap in the face: "If he 'never talks nonsense before the game', then maybe the end of the world is coming." Fans in China and Barcelona denounced Donn as "thick-skinned to be the Great Wall", and on the Internet he scolded Nottingham Forest fans who they called "hillbilly nouveau riche" and appeared in large numbers with the rise of Forest.

That's what Donn said, and that's what he did. At the start of the team's arrival in Barcelona, he refused to be interviewed from unknown sources, and outsiders could only find out what the manager was doing through Pierce. Bruce's Nottingham Evening Post. Despite this, the information he revealed to this "royal reporter" was pitiful.

He was focused on preparing for the game and was going to have a big fight at the Camp Nou.

The media complained about "Tony. Don's little secret time is here again, I really don't know why he likes closed training so much. But what makes the media even sadder is that despite Tony. Don drove them away like flies, but they did flock to them like flies that saw a cake. To put it more bluntly - they're really cheap.

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On April 16, after a month of repeated hype, countless war of words between the two sides, mixed with several heavyweight mat matches such as the Barcelona derby, the Spanish national derby, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, this high-profile Mars collision with the earth battle is finally about to start.

By this time, all the noise seemed to have disappeared all at once, and no one jumped out to spit on each other, whether it was on the Forest side or on the Barcelona side. At this time, if they are still obsessed with winning or losing in their mouths, they are not qualified professional players.

When it comes to the game, it is only 90 minutes of the game that can determine who can be proud and who can only hang their heads with their tails between their legs. If you don't want to be trampled in the mud and humiliated after the game, you can put all your mind on the game.

※※※

Tony. Don is in the plush away dressing room at Camp Nou, giving his players one last reminder and special advice.

'Andres Iniesta, he and Xavi are the heart of their playmaker. More attention must be taken. Don't give them too much space and time to get the ball in front of the penalty area. Our wingers have to pay attention to the assists of the opposing full-backs, especially their right side, our left side, and the defensive task today is quite heavy. Alves and Messi are both concentrated here. But I'm not asking you to be on the defensive, because that's not going to work. Hit back when the time is right and tell Barcelona that if they dare to press up, we will dare to fight back! ”

Donn's expression was serious, as were his players. No one would take such an opponent lightly, let alone on the opponent's home turf.

Today's Barcelona lineup is probably a little inadequate, and it has to be described as "terrifying".

On the tactics board, Donn drew the opponent's starting list he had just gotten:

Goalkeeper Valdés, centre-backs Piquet and Puyol, right-back Alves and left-back Lahm from Bayern Munich this summer. Three people in the midfield, Yaya. Toure dragged behind, with Andres Iniesta and Xavi leading up front. In the middle of the three strikers is Bojan, on the left is Silva, who was once favored by Donn, and on the right is Messi.

The 34-year-old has left the club, while Samuel Eto'o has been rumored to be sold every season and has remained in the team, although his regular position has been replaced by Bojan. The speed weapon he was proud of had gradually rusted with age, except for the mouth, which was no longer as brave as it used to be.

This time, Donn does not intend to hand Messi over to Wood, because there are two people in the middle, Xavi and Iniesta, and it is impossible to get out of the way for them. So the main responsibility for Wood and Thiago will be in the middle, playing against the two playmakers. Messi handed it to Barnes and Matthias. Fernández, as well as others to take care of.

At the same time, there is no small pressure on the right side of the defense. Silva is not a vegetarian and Lahm is also a full-back who is good at assisting.

Coupled with a flexible Bo Yang, it is really a headache in the face of such an attacking lineup, what should the defending side do to be thorough and not show flaws.

If you really play against Barcelona, I am afraid that there are few teams in the world that can get out of it all. Don cleverly chose to defend and counterattack, placing heavy troops in the midfield and backfield, strictly defending and cooperating with the whole team.

"You have to make sure you get in shape and don't let their passes mess up. The full-backs don't have to be too inward, which will give them the opportunity to play on the wing, and Messi and Silva are all kinds of masters. In the ribs we have George and Thiago. The range of activities should be appropriately increased, but don't lose your position. ”

"Guys, this game is very demanding defensively. But that doesn't mean we don't focus on attacking, the goal of away games is not to not lose, but to score goals and score more goals. When you're on the defensive, be careful to think about attacking at all times. But on the premise of defense, we can't give too much support to the attack, which requires you attacking players to figure out their own way, but no matter what you do, you must be resolute. Push forward when you get the chance! Don't think about whether this attack can be played into such a boring question, you just make the football closer to the opponent's goal, and that's success! As long as we can cause enough trouble, Barcelona's attacking momentum will naturally wane. There is no pure offense or pure defense in this world, we must be more patient than our opponents! ”

After saying the technical and tactical points that need to be paid attention to, Tang En threw away the marker in his hand. "Alright, guys. Let's talk about something less boring. Would you be surprised if I said I wasn't sure we'd win this season? ”

It is clear that most of the players are not surprised, and it is clear that they also have a certain level of understanding of their own quality.

"I've always had the impression of being arrogant, but I'm never blindly arrogant. When did I say we would win the championship and didn't? No, not once. He said, shaking his head. But I can't ask you more this time. Barcelona are really strong now, I think even stronger than last season when they won the Champions Cup. Don said this with a solemn face.

But there were objections. Eastwood laughed and said, "Hey, boss." You're kidding us, right? I've never seen you so scared of any team in all my years......"

Tang En glared at him: "It's not that I'm afraid. I am never afraid of opponents, but I hope you do not become blindly confident, which will only push us into the abyss of darkness. To be honest, I didn't want to make any finals this season, so I'm happy to meet Inter Milan and Barcelona in two rounds in a row – I don't have to wait until the final to get a chance to meet one of them, which is great! I ask you to play every game now as if it were the final, no matter how far we can go in the end, it doesn't matter! Pointless! ”

The leader was uncharacteristically unusual, not to boost everyone's morale before the game, but to say something that belittled him too highly, which was really incomprehensible to the players...... But when they saw the serious expression on the leader's face, it was definitely not pretended, and they also erased the smile from their faces, leaving only a frowning brow and a sharp gaze. They always believe in the boss, and since the boss says so, then they do it.

"Fight Barcelona as if they were finalists, and play any opponent behind them as if they were finals! That's all I ask of you. ”

The players ended up taking to the pitch with such emotions, with Don and Don coming back behind.

"What is this?" Don asked.

"Barcelona are really strong, so I have to play a little trick. The mourning soldiers will win. Don smiled slyly. Tell them not to think about what to do in the future, to play as a final, to use all their strength in every game, and then when they suddenly want to stop and take a breath, look up and see - wow, it's already the final! ”

"So have you ever thought about a championship or not?"

"If it's all in the final, why are we going to go all the way to finish runner-up?" Don turned his head to look at his partner, an unpredictable glint in his brown eyes.

(To be continued)