632 Goodbye, Dream Team II!

May 20, 2007, 20:50 p.m., Barcelona, Camp Nou

When the game entered stoppage time, Rijkaard felt relieved, and the nerves that had been tense were released at this moment, and he couldn't help but let out a hot breath. ＂＂

Turning his head sideways, he saw Guardiola sitting next to him in the coach's box, and the short-headed Barcelona flag obviously felt the same ease, smiled at Rijkaard, shook his head and said: "What a disaster!" ”

Rijkaard laughed and nodded sympathetically, what a disaster!

From the 31st round of the league, Real Madrid defeated Valencia, Barcelona lost to Villarreal away, and the gap between the two teams was shortened to 3 points, and the situation in La Liga was completely reversed.

In Cruyff's words, the entire public opinion feels that he is a Robin Hood, and it is very unfair to Barcelona to support Real Madrid by robbing Barcelona.

Rijkaard immediately convened a mobilization meeting after the defeat to Villarreal, and he hoped that all the players would be able to stabilize the situation, and everyone must put aside their previous suspicions and devote themselves to the team's championship victory.

"Anything will wait until we hold on to the La Liga trophy!" This was Laporta's statement at the mobilization meeting.

After that, the game between Real Madrid and Barcelona began to grab points.

In the 32nd round, Real Madrid defeated Athletic Bilbao 4:1 away, although Athletic Bilbao's high school striker Llorente pulled a goal back for Athletic Bilbao in the 81st minute, but at that time Real Madrid had already led Athletic Bilbao 3:0 with two goals from Ramos and Villa.

After Llorente's goal, substitute Guti also scored another goal to help Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 away.

Yang Cheng's team did play very well at key moments, this is their last eight consecutive wins, which is a huge pressure for Barcelona because they feel all the time that Real Madrid will win and we must win.

This psychological burden puts a lot of pressure on the players.

But Barcelona's strength is really good, at the Camp Nou, with Eto'o's goal, Barcelona defeated Levante 1-0, it is worth noting that at the critical moment, Ronaldinho and Eto'o worked together, and the two completely shattered the rumors of their feud through this goal.

After the game, Rijkaard and the two superstars also said that there is no contradiction in Barcelona!

A week later, Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 2-0 away thanks to goals from Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto'o, leaving the pressure on Real Madrid, who play a day late, against direct rivals Sevilla.

Real Madrid, who is playing at home, has not left the slightest hand, and Real Madrid, which only has a line in La Liga to compete for, staged a strong attack at a critical moment at the Bernabeu Stadium, completely beating Sevilla and defeating Sevilla 3:0.

In this game, Jakaard went to the Bernabeu to watch the game in person in order to inspect Alves, and he and Pep Guardiola were surprised by Real Madrid's sharp attack, because they can see how terrible Real Madrid's attack is.

Real Madrid's players have a solid technical foundation and rarely make mistakes with the ball and passes, which is not surprising in La Liga, but the question is, if the offensive and defensive speed of La Liga is adjusted to the Premier League level, how many teams can do this?

Real Madrid can!

To put it in the simplest and most understandable way, Real Madrid has the delicate technical coordination and wonderful creativity of La Liga, the speed of the Premier League's offensive and defensive conversion and the ability to strike quickly and endlessly, as well as the almost unbreakable defense of Serie A, and the terrifying overall coordination ability and high morale of the Bundesliga. …,

Although there are still big deficiencies in the current Real Madrid team, such as the lack of attacking ability of the full-backs and the lack of speed in the midfield, the battle they have played under the overall strategy has been completely stronger than Sevilla. Silva was completely suppressed, full of mistakes.

After the game, Rijkaard said to Pep Guardiola, "We see a terrible opponent growing fast!" ”

Guardiola did not give an answer to this, but everyone could see the seriousness of his expression.

After 33 rounds, Barcelona ushered in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, but in the first leg of the 5:2 lead, the second leg of Madrid, but was beaten by Getafe 4:0, from Real Madrid to Getafe Soldado performed well, scored twice, but also fell to Barcelona after the game, thinking that this team is nothing more than that.

Barcelona came under pressure like never before after this game, but three days later, they thrashed Atletico Madrid 6-0 at the Stadio Calderón in Madrid, making all doubts about Barcelona completely disappear.

Under great pressure, Barcelona completed an outburst, and after the game, almost all the media praised Rijkaard's team, believing that with four rounds of the league remaining, Real Madrid had no chance against Barcelona, who had adjusted their form.

Real Madrid also bloodied Huelva 5-0 away in this round, but in the case of Barcelona not making mistakes, it is meaningless for Real Madrid to score more goals, so the three-point gap between the two teams has not changed.

Now, in the 35th round of the league, Real Madrid's home win against Espanyol is a day later than Barcelona, but Barcelona, who played a day earlier, is also under pressure, because Real Madrid is unlikely to drop points at home, so Rijkaard's team does not have any chance to make mistakes.

Played 90 minutes, 1:0!

The game was ugly, the score was thrilling, the only goal was a penalty, Ronaldinho was fouled by the opposing defender when he was playing with Eto'o on the left just three minutes after the opening, the referee gave a penalty, and the Brazilian took the spot.

All of this seems to confirm that the team that does not perform well but can always win is undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship.

…………

…………

"Can you imagine that damn Yang Cheng's expression right now?" Rijkaard asked with a smile.

Guardiola smiled, tilted his head, and what came to mind was Yang Cheng with a face like a bitter melon, laughing, "Maybe, you can see it in the newspaper tomorrow." ”

Rijkaard stood up, stretched and walked out of the dugout, the game continued, but there were only 2 minutes of stoppage time, for this, Real Betis, who had no counter-attacking ability throughout the second half, was not expected by anyone at all, it was just a formality.

But out of a cautious attitude, Rijkaard still walked to the sidelines to remind his players to be careful and not to let up.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Real Betis played a counter-attack, Edu passed, Brazilian striker Sobis took the ball and was fouled by substitute Edmilson, Real Betis won a free kick in front.

The range is relatively long, although Real Betis has a free kick expert like Brazilian midfielder Assunsan, it is impossible to shoot directly, and the game has been played for 91 minutes, and many Barcelona players are no longer physical, so the return defense is a little slow and a little slack.

But at this moment, as soon as Asunsang arrived at the position, he directly and quickly issued a free kick and kicked the ball out.

The arc of the ball was not high, but it passed through Barcelona's sparse defense and fell behind, and Brazilian striker Sobis didn't know when he had quickly passed through the entire backline, got a quick free kick from Assunsan, and then probed into the box and fired a low shot through Valdés! ..., at this moment, not only the Barcelona players on the pitch were stunned, but even Rijkaard on the sidelines felt incredible.

What's going on?

How can such a simple free kick defense, such a simple quick free kick by the opponent, how can a goal be scored?

After his eyes widened, and then looked at the almost godless expressions of the 11 Barcelona players on the field, Rijkaard's fist that wanted to vent was released.

"What a *** disaster!" The black swan scolded angrily, turned around and walked back.

Guardiola, who came out just now to celebrate the victory, also scolded indignantly after hearing the referee's whistle.

After the restart, the game is over!

With the whistle, many Barcelona players knelt on the field, Iniesta and Messi were crying, Puyol kicked the ball away hard, and the whole person lay on the grass to prevent people from seeing his face, and Valdés kicked the post to vent.

Other players stood on the pitch like walking dead, and the entire Camp Nou Barcelona fans were bombarding the team and booing the players.

Rijkaard hid in the home team's dugout, his chin crossed and his eyes looking ahead, he really didn't understand why he was forced to draw at the last and most crucial moment?

But perhaps, he will be able to find the answer in Yang Cheng's column in the next day's Marca newspaper.

…………

…………

"Barcelona's fitness has collapsed!"

This is Yang Cheng's column in the next day's Marca, which defined this game.

"The rest and training in the middle of the season can only adjust and mobilize the physical reserves of the players, and what really affects the team is the pre-season preparation, but Barcelona has not done a good enough job in this area, leaving hidden dangers for the second half of the season, so compared to the first half and the second half, they seem to be two completely different teams, because of the fitness!"

"Aside from fitness, I think one of Barcelona's big problems is that their management has clearly been infected with a strange mentality, and I can't even understand why Barcelona had to give up their rare preparation and adjustment time for the sake of the measly 1.5 million euros in appearance fees after losing 2-0 to Villarreal in the 31st round of the league, and go to Egypt to play a dispensable, but time-consuming and laborious commercial game."

"Perhaps, in the management of Barcelona, they have an idea that Real Madrid is too bad, and Barcelona can trample us to death like an ant casually, but I am happy to announce that the La Liga champion this season will be Real Madrid, it will be Sevilla, but it will definitely not be Barcelona!"

'I have a lot of respect for Rijkaard, but that's as a player and as a manager I can't respect my colleague because I don't think he's playing the role a manager should be in a lot of ways.

"If it were me, I would argue with the club on the basis of team preparation, I wouldn't go to Egypt, I wouldn't create a culture of business in the training ground, I wouldn't allow irreconcilable tensions between the two players I rely on the most, and I wouldn't let someone point fingers at me on the top of my head."

'It's irresponsible to put all the problems on the players, even though they are playing as a direct target of the team, but they shouldn't have to take too much responsibility that they shouldn't have to, Ronaldinho, including Samuel Eto'o, and the other players, who are good enough and the key problem is not them.

"After this game, the only suspense about the La Liga title is whether Real Madrid will win the title or Sevilla will win the title, they are now four points away from us, I don't think we should be careless, as for Barcelona, I can't imagine what a team that has broken down in fitness and fighting spirit can do anything." "Let's get ready to say goodbye to the Barcelona dynasty!" ”

"Goodbye, Dream Team II!"

Rijkaard did not reply to Yang Cheng's comments in the column, nor did his two assistants Pep Guardiola and Neeskens, but the Barcelona player did.

Puyol, as the captain of the team, was the first to stand up and counter Yang Cheng's remarks.

"We can't argue with some guys who are always trying to fight with their mouths, but we can prove with ironclad facts that Real Madrid are still one point behind us, and although the situation is still very bad for us, there are only three games left in the league and we firmly believe that this one point will be the biggest chip for us to win the league title in the end."

Puyol also expressed his belief that Barcelona will win the championship in the end, "The initiative is still in our hands, as long as we win all the remaining three rounds of the league, even if Real Madrid wins all in the end, the championship still belongs to us, so what we have to do now is not to be discouraged, not to hold accountable, but to fight and win the game by all means." ”

Barcelona midfielder Xavi also said in an interview, "We have three games left, we have to stop Real Madrid's counterattack and regain the initiative, which requires all of us to concentrate on playing and take our own responsibilities." ”

"We have to make sure we do our best so that we can get a great victory, and I believe that if we don't win this season, it will be an indelible regret for all of us."

In addition to these two big players, Valdés, Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and others have sounded the red alert for Barcelona, constantly making remarks in the media, saying that the team will do its best to fight to the end.

Yang Cheng's team rested for a day and resumed training the next day, and after hearing the counterattack of these people, he smiled and posted another Weibo.

'I'm pretty sure of the fighting spirit of the Barcelona people and I'm sure they're going to give it their all, but I doubt how much they can play at the moment, a million points doubtful because their fitness breakdown is a very obvious reality and no one can hide it, and how long their fighting spirit can last in a 90-minute game is the second question!'

"From being far ahead to pressing step by step, the gap accumulated over the past few months is unimaginable for the psychological blow to the players, coupled with the physical problem, if they can really do it, then the current gap will not be 1 point, but 14 points!"

The outside media have also stood in two factions, one is in favor of Real Madrid to win the championship, the other is in favor of Barcelona, and both factions are looking for evidence to support their positions.

Among Real Madrid's remaining 3 opponents, Deportivo La Coruna has brought pain to Real Madrid, and the Riazo curse has been refreshed again to trigger Yang Cheng's confidence crisis, but in this game, Real Madrid is playing at home, and the state is also better adjusted and occupies an advantage, but Deportivo still has a certain risk of relegation, and will also do its best.

Zaragoza are also a very difficult team, arguably the most surprising team in La Liga this season, aiming to challenge for a top-four finish in the league, with Mallorca also causing a headache.

It can be said that the strength of Real Madrid's three opponents is not weak, if it is purely from the point of view of strength, Real Madrid's opponent is stronger than Barcelona, plus Real Madrid is currently 1 point behind Barcelona, which makes many people not optimistic about Real Madrid, because as long as Barcelona wins the opponent, Real Madrid has no chance.

Barcelona's three opponents are Getafe, Espanyol and Tarragona, Getafe and Espanyol both beat Barcelona, the former beat Barcelona 4-0 in the Copa del Rey, and Espanyol are Barcelona's derby rivals, and the strength of both teams should not be underestimated.

Barcelona's only away game is Tarragona, a team that has been relegated, disheartened, and a team that everyone thinks is sure to win, so the final round can be said to be almost no suspense, and neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona can drop points against Mallorca and Tarragona.

In other words, the real decision is in rounds 36 and 37.

Judging from the current situation, Real Madrid's morale is like a rainbow, but Barcelona's schedule and opponents are dominant, plus the advantage of 1 point, which makes most of the media still look better at Barcelona, but they have given Real Madrid enough sympathy points, thinking that in the last dozen rounds, Real Madrid has shown stronger strength than Barcelona.

Unfortunately, they have dropped too many points in front of them, making it possible for Real Madrid to become the saddest league runners-up in La Liga in recent years, while Barcelona could also become the most questioned league champions.

But it is clear to everyone that the 37th round will decide who the league championship will be!

*J