Chapter 8: Silver Saddle Shining on the White Horse Galloping Like a Shooting Star "CCTV, CCTV!" "Dear viewers, you are now watching the live broadcast of the 2005 Netherlands World Youth Championship quarter-finals, China vs. Brazil!" "This game will be commented on by Huang Jianxiang!" "Let's take a look at the starting lineups of the two teams first..." Before the game started, Huang Jianxiang quickly introduced the starting rosters of both teams to the audience. "Compared to the starting lineup in the previous game, the National Youth Team made some adjustments in some positions." "Lin Feng, who performed amazingly in the last game, is on the starting list as expected." "In the midfield, Zhao Xuri replaced Hao Junmin in the starting lineup. The midfielder from Dalian Shide has excellent defensive awareness and outstanding physical confrontation ability. He can improve the toughness of the national youth team's midfield." "In addition, Zhao Xuri has a good long-range shot, which may bring some changes to the national youth team's offense." After the game started, the Brazilian team took the lead in attacking the Chinese national youth team.
Compared with the national youth team players, the Brazilian players have obviously better footwork skills. Just two minutes into the game, Brazil created a shot. Leonardo tried to head the ball into the goal after receiving a cross from his teammate, but it went over the crossbar. But before the national youth team could breathe a sigh of relief, the opponent's attack soon came back again. Several Brazilian frontcourt players made continuous passes and cuts in a small area at the top of the penalty area, disrupting the national youth team's defense and then passed the ball directly into the penalty area. The opponent's forward took the opportunity to shoot the ball towards the goal. Fortunately, Yang Cheng was very focused and fell to the ground in time to save the ball. The game had just begun and the National Youth Team had already fallen into a huge disadvantage! Compared with their previous opponent, Germany, Brazil's style is completely different. This is a team whose players have more outstanding individual abilities and more delicate footwork. Their playing style is passionate and unrestrained, and their creativity is unbridled. When facing them, the national youth players' weak single-point defense capabilities were fully exposed. Especially on the two flanks, the opponent had a very high success rate in one-on-one attacks on the flanks, making the two flanks of the National Youth Team unable to take care of themselves. In the 8th minute, Brazil made a cross from the bottom of the wing, and Tardelli's shot in front of the goal was blocked by Yang Cheng. In the 13th minute, Brazil's Popo cut in from the wing and passed the ball directly to the left side of the penalty area. Sobis's shot was slightly off target. In the 19th minute, Rafael's long shot hit the crossbar, causing exclamations from the audience. During this period, the national youth team goalkeeper Yang Cheng became the busiest person on the field. If it weren't for his outstanding performance and the fact that the national youth team didn't lose the goal, the national youth team would probably have fallen behind by now. But if the trend continues, it is only a matter of time before the National Youth Team loses the ball. The palms of the Chinese fans watching the game were sweating due to nervousness, and their hearts were pounding! As expected of the Brazilian team, they are very oppressive! Many people recalled the horror of the Chinese national football team being dominated by the Brazilian team in the World Cup group stage three years ago.
The different situations of the two teams on the court are also reflected in the coaches of both teams. On the sidelines of the court, the head coach of the Brazilian team sat leisurely in the coaching seat, chatting and laughing with the assistant coach beside him, looking very relaxed. On the other hand, on the national youth team's side, Krauchen couldn't sit still. He stood on the sidelines, staring at his players on the field with a serious face, his brows almost twisted into a knot. This won't work, it's too passive. Something has to change! Thinking of this, Krauchen waved his hand and gave the order to change the formation. After receiving the order, the national youth players began to retreat actively, gave up the fight in the midfield and frontcourt, and switched to defensive counterattacks. Krauchen actually doesn't like the defensive counterattack style of play because he thinks it is too utilitarian and will stifle the creativity of young players. In comparison, he still prefers the pressing tactics of German football. But this game is very important to the team and himself. If they lose, the consequences will be disastrous. If he was fired, all the hard work and efforts he had put into this national youth team would be wasted! Based on his understanding of the Football Association, once he leaves, this national youth team will definitely be ruined by those bugs in the Football Association. This group of young people should have had a brighter future, and old man Ke didn't want to see their talents go to waste. And there is another very important reason why he chose the defensive counterattack tactic, that is Lin Feng's speed! In the past, the national youth team lacked players as fast as Lin Feng. Even if they wanted to launch a quick counterattack, they couldn't do it quickly. But with Lin Feng's joining, everything has changed! The Brazilians were even more disdainful when they saw the Chinese national youth team retreat and launch a defensive counterattack. In their view, defensive counterattack is a tactic only adopted by the weak, and the strong simply disdain to do so. The other party did this, obviously he is cowardly and afraid! And this trick is useless to them. As strong players, the Brazilians believe they have enough means to blast open their opponents' goal! With this arrogant mentality, the Brazilian team launched a more fierce attack on the national youth team's goal. Due to the active retreat of the National Youth Team, the Brazilian team possessed the ball longer and had more shots. But to the Brazilians' surprise, their offensive threat began to decline. The Brazilians are good at one-on-one duels, but after the National Youth Team took the initiative to shrink, it was difficult for them to find opportunities for one-on-one duels, and they almost always had fewer players against more. In this case, the National Youth Team's defense, which was previously fragile, began to become indestructible. The Brazilians tried their best, but they could only push their attack to a distance of 30 meters at best, and then they could not push any further. In desperation, the Brazilians had to try long shots from outside the penalty area. But every time they took a long shot, the National Youth Team players around them would come forward to interfere in time, making the quality of their long shots very poor. Although the Brazilians still had the advantage on the field, the situation was completely different from when the game just started. After seeing the changes on the court, Krauchen showed a relieved smile on his face.
Although the individual strength of Brazilian players is strong, they are not strong enough to fight one against two or even three. In a one-on-one match in a relatively open space, they naturally have the advantage. But once their space for movement is compressed and they are double-teamed by taking advantage of the number of defensive players. Then they will no longer be able to create threats, and may even be found by the National Youth Team to steal the ball and counterattack because of their shortcomings such as sticking to the ball and indecisive passing. In the 27th minute, National Youth Team midfielder Cui Peng cooperated with left back Zheng Tao to successfully intercept the ball on the wing. Cui Peng passed the ball immediately to Chen Tao who retreated to receive the ball. Before Chen Tao retreated to receive the ball, he had already observed the positions of his teammates in the frontcourt. At this time, Lin Feng and Gao Lin were both accelerating towards the opponent's penalty area. After Chen Tao took a glance, he made a long pass and sent the ball to the front court. This ball was not intended for forward Gao Lin, but for winger Lin Feng. Chen Tao had a good idea and passed the ball very accurately. But he underestimated Lin Feng's speed, and the ball was not given enough lead time, so Lin Feng had to brake and slow down to catch the ball. By the time he received the pass from Chen Tao, the opponent's defensive player had already taken position. Seeing that there were no good opportunities, Lin Feng could only force the ball to the bottom line and made a cross, letting his teammates in the penalty area try their luck. Gao Lin jumped very hard, but in front of the two tall central defenders of the opponent, he had no way to get the ball to land. "Oh, what a pity!" "Chen Tao's pass was too short!" "If the transmitted power is a little stronger, Lin Feng might be able to obtain a single sword directly!" The fans sighed and felt that the National Youth Team had missed a great opportunity. Chen Tao himself was also a little embarrassed. He knew that Lin Feng was fast, but he didn't expect it to be so fast. Could it be that this guy was holding back in the last game and didn't try his best? Not only Chen Tao was shocked, but also Krauchen and the Chinese coaching staff. "When did this kid become so fast?" "That sprint just now was so fast, like lightning!" "Lin Feng, Lin Feng, what a wind-chasing boy!" Although the Chinese national youth team did not score a goal in this attack, it gave the Brazilian team a scare. The opponent's No. 23 is too dangerous! but…… Why do I feel so familiar with No. 23? Seeing him play football was like seeing a senior they were familiar with...
"My goodness, I will definitely pass you a good ball next time!" When Lin Feng retreated to his own half, Chen Tao specifically shouted to him. Now that he has seen Lin Feng's speed, he can pass the ball forward with confidence next time. Lin Feng couldn't help but smile when he heard Chen Tao's words: This guy is quite thoughtful! No wonder Chen Tao became the captain of Shenyang Jinde at such a young age. This guy is not only good at football skills, but also has a delicate mind. He can fully perceive and take care of other people's feelings. He is also very responsible and is born to be a leader. …… The Brazilian team, frightened by the counterattack of the Chinese Youth Team, became much more obedient in the next few minutes. But when they saw that the National Youth Team no longer launched such a threatening attack, they quickly returned to their old ways and forgot about the threat of the National Youth Team's counterattack. The first half was almost over, and facing a weak team like China, they had yet to score a goal, which made the Brazilians feel a little embarrassed. As a result, they launched an even more frantic attack on the national youth team's goal. But sometimes, the more anxious you are, the less likely you are to score. The Brazilians attacked for a long time but failed to score. In fact, because so many players were involved in the attack, their backcourt became even more empty. There is a price to pay for leaving the defense empty. In the 37th minute, the National Youth Team intercepted the ball in the backcourt again. The thrilling scene ten minutes ago was repeated! The difference is that this time Chen Tao gave enough lead time when passing the ball. The silver saddle shines on the white horse, rustling like a shooting star! Lin Feng strode away, shaking off all pursuers and rushed into the penalty area with the ball. Alone! (End of this chapter)