Chapter 132 Opening of the Semifinals
May 3, 2017, Italy, Juventus Arena.
This is the home stadium of Juventus, which was relocated in 2011. It is the only stadium in Serie A that is fully owned by the club.
The entire Juventus Arena has a seating capacity of 41,000. It is not a large home stadium in Europe, but the furnishings are extremely exquisite.
With 4,000 parking spaces, 64 private rooms, 275 press seats, 3 locker rooms, 21 coffee bars, and 8 food sales outlets, this stadium truly applies convenience and comfort to the stadium.
The stadium is very new, even stepping on the turf feels very comfortable, obviously it is well maintained.
It's just that this is very unfriendly to Juventus players, Tottenham players and the surrounding Juventus fans.
As opponents in the Champions League semi-finals, Juventus fans don't hate Tottenham, but they definitely don't like it.
After all, between the home team and Tottenham, there will definitely be a team eliminated. They are not eliminated like the home team, so it can only be Tottenham.
…
The starting lineups of both sides appeared on the big screen.
Juventus (3-4-1-2)
Goalkeeper: Buffon.
Defenders: Chiellini, Bonucci, Barzagli.
Midfielders: Alex Sandro, Pjanic, Marchisio, Alves, Dybala.
Frontcourt: Mandzukic, Cuadrado.
…
Tottenham Hotspur (3-4-3).
Goalkeeper: Lloris.
Defenders: Wilhelm, Alderweireld, Danny Rose.
Midfielders: Yi Le, Kanter, Elkeson, Thomas Carlos.
Frontcourt: Higuain, Ibrahimovic, Sun Xingmin.
The lineups of the two sides were laid out, and the characteristics appeared immediately.
Zhan Jun said with a smile: "Juventus is still afraid of Tottenham's midfielder. They deployed a large number of troops in the center and rear, obviously preparing to play the traditional Italian defensive counterattack."
"Alves is not only good at defending, but also good at breaking through from the wing. He has 5 assists in this Champions League and ranks 10th in the assist list.
"Obviously, the Juventus manager was trying to play defensively to lure Tottenham players into the Juventus half and play a space behind them."
Zhang Lu chuckled and said: "But the problem with this tactic is to gain a foothold in the midfield first. Tottenham's midfield has performed well this season, and it is also one of the best lineups in Europe. It depends on whether Juventus can resist it." Stop the pressure."
After a pause, Zhang Lu continued: "Secondly, Tottenham's formation. They have also made some changes. The four backs have become the traditional three backs, which has increased the ability of the midfield."
"These two teams are interesting, one wants to defend and the other wants to attack!"
…
Since the home jerseys of the two teams are similar, Tottenham wore the away jersey.
The Juventus players looked solemnly at the Tottenham half, especially Yi Le, who was wearing the No. 21 jersey.
The strongest midfield commander in the Champions League at this stage feels like Alexander!
For Juventus, since Pirlo left,
They have no real organizers.
Pogba is considered a good candidate, but he can't lack the vacancy after Pirlo's departure. Everyone knows that this Frenchman is not a core material.
Today's Juventus midfielder is very poor, how bad is it?
The fans ridiculed that none of them could beat anyone!
Yes, Juventus' midfield is expensive, but they are strong in the front line and defense.
This is also the focus of their survival.
But who doesn't want an excellent midfielder to sit in, just like Tottenham in front of them, they are never confused during the game, because someone will always tell them how to play next.
This is a factor that Juventus did not have.
For the Juventus midfielder, at this stage, Pjanic barely maintains the rhythm of the midfield, but his coverage is limited and his position is low, and he lacks organizers in the frontcourt.
This made Juventus have to let Dybala, the striker, retreat and put him in the position of central midfielder to organize and connect, but it is okay to play against weak teams, but it is very reluctant to play against strong teams, let alone Tottenham Sitting on a team with '200 million midfielders'.
Under Allegri's coaching, Juventus has always been a defensive midfielder, an engineer and a frontcourt organization. Pjanic is the backcourt organizer, so when the ball is passed to the opponent's half, Juventus will not will kick.
But the problem is that this team has metaphysical points, some guys will always run to unbelievable positions, and the ball really passes through.
But this is always a factor of luck. Everyone understands that if Juventus wants to become stronger, their midfield shortcomings must be resolved.
And Juventus is actively operating Yi Le's transfer, which is also to get Yi Le, the most powerful midfielder at this stage, and solve Juventus' weak midfielder problem.
At that time, Dybala will be completely liberated.
…
Tottenham also have tactical changes.
First of all, the two speedy wings of Higuain and Sun Xingmin will have a great impact on Juventus, and secondly, Ibrahimovic will play the role of a standing center in this tactic.
Tottenham's midfield will continue to deliver shells, and Ibrahimovic's task is to score key goals.
After the warm-up, the players from both sides returned to the locker room to prepare.
Villas-Boas made a short pre-match speech, and then the starting players ran to the player tunnel to stand in line.
The game is on the verge of breaking out.
In the arena, with the cries of the live DJ, the entire Juventus Arena was boiling.
Players from both sides neatly divided into two queues and walked out.
Their expressions are extremely dignified, and the camera takes close-ups of each player's face, especially stars like Yi Le and Buffon.
Everyone understands that this is the semi-final of the Champions League and they are only two games away from the final.
As long as they win the game, they will go to the Champions League final, which represents the highest level in Europe.
At this moment, no one will give up.
Their one-season effort will bear fruit after three games, and no one wants their efforts to betray them.
After the routine side selection session ended, the players of both sides did not run to their respective halfs, but took a group photo for a public service advertisement.
This is an advertisement calling on the masses to reduce the suicide rate, which has skyrocketed in Europe in recent years.
Players from both sides took pictures with each other's shoulders, and finally started to run to their respective halfs.
Everyone settled down, and the referee stood in the middle circle and looked down at his watch. After about ten seconds, he blew the whistle to start the game.
At the same time, the commentators in the live broadcast rooms of various countries shouted excitedly:
"The match begins! The match begins! The UEFA Champions League semi-final, Juventus' home game against the Premier League upstart Tottenham Hotspur has officially begun!!—"
Tottenham serve first.
Right after the start of the game, they launched a raid.
Ibrahimovic passed the ball to Yi Le, Yi Le passed the ball to Kanter, and immediately ran forward.
He found that Juventus' defensive strength was almost all around the strikers.
Therefore, Yi Le immediately raised his hand and asked for the ball!
Thomas Carlos did not hesitate, he directly made a long pass.
Yi Le watched the football fly towards him, while the Juventus defenders ran towards him.
Yi Le stepped forward, and with this slight unloading action, he didn't stop the ball directly, but asked the ball to hit Elkeson on the side directly.
Afterwards, Yi Le directly bypassed the defensive player and suddenly started to speed up.
Elkeser knew it well, and he was knocking back against the football again.
The football passed to Yi Le, and Yi Le volleyed without hesitation.
"Yi!! Shot!!!!"
In England's bbc live broadcast room, the commentator Gavin couldn't help getting up and howling excitedly.
The entire Juventus Arena fans craned their necks as they watched the ball fly towards the Juventus gate.
The volley was sudden.
At this time, Buffon made a brave save and dragged the ball out with one hand, while he fell to the ground fiercely and groaned.
He ignored the pain in his body, stood up and scolded loudly:
"Brace yourself! It's the Champions League semi-final!!!—"
Buffon had lingering fears. The shot just now almost scored a goal. Fortunately, his reaction was not bad.
Yi Le chopped off his feet resentfully, obviously not very satisfied with the shot.