Chapter 20: Locker Room Trouble!
In the stands, the Real Madrid fans continued to shout. At this moment, Tang Jue entered his own world, which was his habit, completely rejecting the sound of the outside world before shooting.
In the high-speed dribble, Tang Jue was like a white lightning bolt, flying past the right side of Wiese, and easily hit the football into the goal!
Antonini, the commentator of the Spanish sports station, shouted: "The ball is in!" The score became 2-0! β
"Don scored a staggering 21 goals in the Champions League last season, his first goal of the season and his first Champions League goal for Real Madrid!"
"It was the first goal of his Champions League legend at Real Madrid!"
"It was a perfect display of his skill and speed, which is his typical style of scoring. Scoring past the goalkeeper was once Ronnie's style as a young man. As he got older, Ronnie changed his style, often hitting the far corner from the left side of the box. β
"Don has inherited Ronnie's mantle and become a new generation of strikers who rely on speed and skill to dominate the field!"
"The Bernabeu is cheering, they are cheering for their new king!"
Don was by no means too excited after the goal, perhaps in his opinion, this goal was not a little difficult and not worth ecstasy. His teammates congratulated him and surrounded him, and Tang Jue hugged them.
Tosic crossed his waist, panting, and looked at Tang Jue with frustration in his eyes. After Tang Jue picked the ball past him, he didn't give up and kept chasing. chased all the way, and still did not change any result, but he did not regret it, since he stood on the court, he had to fight for even one ten-thousandth of hope.
Tosic knew that the speed of the Dao was very fast, but not so fast. He also had some tiny grass clippings on his face. It was brought up by Tang Jue who ran quickly.
What to do? With fouls?
It seems that this is the only way to contain him.
Tosic had this self-question in his mind.
On the sidelines, the Catalan regional media reporters were pale, and Tang Jue's ball was a slap in the face, hitting them in the face. Before the game, they were still saying that Tang Jue's good performance in La Liga is not a big deal, and the important test is the Champions League.
The first half of the game is not over yet, Real Madrid is already 2-0 up at home, and these two goals have a lot to do with Tang Jue. An assist, a goal, this is the stats that Don Jue handed over.
"Okay. Even if you win this game, it's not a big deal. After all, Real Madrid are a big club, and it's not news to qualify from the group. After entering the knockout round, the test really comes. That's when our chance came! β
They thought so, and their faces slowly returned to normal. They consoled themselves as the number one striker in the world today. It's normal to score goals in a match. He's not going to be at a high level all the time. It must not be. Everyone has periods of fatigue. Every team will run into the devil's schedule, and that's when it's chance.
β¦β¦
The reenactment began, and Werder Bremen, who were two goals behind, did not collapse because of this. Continue to fight tenaciously against Real Madrid. With two goals, Schuster took command from the sidelines, allowing the Mulberry to slow down the attacking tempo. In his opinion, the opponents in the Champions League are stronger, and now it is necessary to prepare for the strong teams in the future.
Real Madrid's overall strength is slightly worse than that of the strong teams, so if you want to go far in the Champions League, defense is the most important thing. There is a popular saying in European football - the Champions League knockout game relies on defense!
He now has to prepare for the knockout rounds, with a rehearsal. He thinks 2-0 is a good opportunity for a rehearsal.
Schuster immediately paid the price for his conservatism, and Bremen bombarded Real Madrid from above. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Rosenborg beat Cannavaro and scored Diego's cross into Real Madrid's goal.
The score became 1-2 and Bremen narrowed the difference!
Antonini, a commentator for Spanish sports station, criticized: "Real Madrid became unenterprising after leading 2-0, and after getting the ball, they did not launch a quick counterattack, and reversed the ball in the middle and back, delaying the attack. Schuster played in many Champions League games as a player, but as a coach it was his first Champions League appearance. β
'He's been coaching at a small club before and hasn't had a chance to play in the Champions League. It can be seen tonight that CalderΓ³n has gone awry with the choice of coach. Schuster's first Champions League game was very average, and after taking the lead, he was too conservative and conceded goals, which was a payment for experience. β
Schuster stood alone in the command area, his face solemn. In the stands behind him, there were fans shouting at him: "Damn Germans, attack, attack, Real Madrid wants to attack, not defend!" β
On the pitch, Rosenborg was very excited, this is the Bernabeu, it is so cool to score here. He ran wildly, howling wantonly.
Catalan journalists on the sidelines are full of spring breeze, and there is something to write for tomorrow's commentary.
Calderon frowned slightly, Bremen's strength is average, and such an opponent is like this, how will he fight when he encounters a strong team in the future? Is it going back to last season, that ugly defensive counterattack?
So how do you deal with the anger of the fans?
β¦β¦
The game restarted, and before the coach re-instructed, Real Madrid's pace was still not fast, and they pushed forward unhurriedly. By the time they moved the football to Bremen's front, someone else's defence was already in place. Real Madrid's attack is bogged down.
Bremen were in high spirits after scoring a goal and they seemed to have found a way to deal with Real Madrid. So as soon as they got the ball, they moved the football to the front court through long passes, and used the advantage of high altitude to bombard Real Madrid's goal.
Casillas became the busiest man, leaping high again and again to defuse the high-altitude bombardment of Bremen. In the 43rd minute of the first half, Flanez made a big foot near the center circle and passed the football into the Real Madrid penalty area. Rosenborg took a few steps forward and jumped up to fight for the top!
Casillas had already run out of the goal line, and at this moment he also jumped up and hit the ball with both fists!
Casillas succeeded, knocking the ball out of the box with his double fists over Rosenborg's head. However, Rosenborg's head was pressed against his right eyebrow bone.
"Ah......h A scream. Casillas clutched his head and fell to the ground. The referee blew his whistle decisively and signaled for a foul on Rosenborg.
When the Real Madrid player stepped forward to inquire about Casillas' injury, he found that he was already bleeding profusely. The referee signaled for the team doctor to come into the field immediately to treat the injury.
Real Madrid fans are full of worries that if Casillas goes off injured and the game is played in such a conservative way, the outcome will be unpredictable.
Schuster immediately asked second goalkeeper Cordina to prepare for the event. Casillas was immediately lifted off the pitch by the team doctor, and after it was determined that he would not be able to play, Cordina came on.
Casillas' departure had an impact on the Real Madrid players, and the Real Madrid defenders became a little nervous. In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Marcelo's mistake almost allowed Bremen to equalise.
Three minutes after stoppage time. The referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half. Real Madrid fans finally breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't expect this game to turn out like this. In the fourth minute of the opening game, Henry broke through the opponent's goal, and ten minutes later, Tang Jue expanded the score to 2-0 through a quick defensive counterattack. Everything seems to be going very well.
However, Real Madrid, who were two goals ahead, began to become unmotivated. Slowed down the pace. Went on the defensive. Bremen launched a high-altitude bombardment. And in the thirty-second minute of the first half, with Rosenborg's header, the score gap was narrowed to one goal. To make matters worse, Casillas went off injured.
In the second half, if Real Madrid continued to be conservative. Then no one can say for sure what the outcome will be.
β¦β¦
The atmosphere in the home team's dressing room was not very good, and the players looked at Casillas' empty seats and had ominous thoughts in their heads. Some players even remembered the first game of the Champions League in the previous three seasons, when they did not score a single goal and were scored nine goals by others. Could it be that when you return to your home stadium, you still can't escape the fate of losing your first game in the group stage?
A few players turned their heads to look at Tang Jue, thinking in their hearts: Will he agree?
At this time, Tang Jue was brewing his emotions, and he had something to say to the coach.
Schuster began to sum up the first half, not mentioning that it was conservative that led to the change of the situation, but instead asked his players to focus on defense in the second half, and he even asked the strikers to return to their own half when defending. In addition, when attacking, it is necessary to move forward step by step.
Henry closed his eyes and thought to himself: damn Germans, why are you so stubborn!
Tang Jue frowned, this style of play has proven to be ineffective in the first half, why don't you return to the style of play at the beginning, attack aggressively, and suppress the opponent?
Tang Jue slowly raised his head, looked at Schuster, and said slowly and loudly: "Coach, I have an opinion on your tactical arrangement. β
As soon as these words came out, the players' faces began to be exciting, which was to contradict the coach and have a clashing rhythm. Ribery let out a long breath, ready to speak when necessary, in support of him.
Tang Jue has always respected the coach very much, whether it is in Milan or in the French team, and has never said such a thing in the dressing room. There was another factor in this, he was mainly thinking about how to break the opponent's goal, and he didn't think about tactics at all.
In Milan, there are the horses, Pirlo, Gattuso and others in this role, and in the French team, Thuram, Makelele and others play this role. But there are very few veterans of Real Madrid now, Cannavaro is one, but his performance has been very average recently, and he did not play this role for his own consideration.
Tang Jue thought that he should take on this role, and this was the first time in his life.
Schuster frowned, and thought to himself: It's coming! Sure enough, they still came, and they all said that the giants were as deep as the sea, the water was very deep, and there were many big names, and they would even gather to drive the coach away.
The dressing room is the manager's turf and is the place to show his authority. Now someone is coming to challenge him, and it's tactically. What are the tactics? Tactics is the coach's thinking, the core of a coach.
"You say!" Schuster said expressionlessly.
Tang Jue left his seat, took two steps forward, stood in the middle of the locker room, looked at Schuster with straight eyes and said: "What did we think about in the opening game to open up the situation quickly and lead by two goals?" We don't rely on defense, we rely on offense. I think we should attack the opposition as we did in the first three La Liga games. β
"I remember when you first came to Real Madrid, you said to stay away from ugly football. We had an exchange of views before the season and eventually reached a consensus on the balance of attack and defence. β
'After you scored two goals, you started to be conservative and that tactic proved unworkable in the first half. What did we have to hold on to in the second half? β
Ribery nodded and said, "Yes, we should attack like we did at the beginning of the game!" β
Casillas was not there, and Guti, as vice-captain, knew that now he had to make a statement. So he said, "Coach, I think what Don said makes sense, you should think about his advice." β
The rest of the squad was not involved, especially the substitutes, who were not in the dressing room and would have been even less likely to play if they offended the manager.
Schuster's brows furrowed even tighter, if he accepted Tang Jue's suggestion like this, then where would his face be placed, and where would his authoritative position be placed? How will he coach this team in the future?
"This time they can oppose it, and if it succeeds, then they will have to do it more often in the future." Schuster thought of this, and the stubbornness in the blood of the Germans was vividly displayed.
"Tactical discussions don't take place in a game, they wait until after the game. I won't change my mind! Schuster looked at Tang Jue and said coldly.
Tang Jue's brows furrowed even tighter! (To be continued......)