Chapter 520 Volume 4 The Storm George Wood's Final

There was deafening chants at the Camp Nou when Barcelona came on the pitch, and the chants turned to boos when the Nottingham Forest players were introduced on the radio. This is the case in away games, and the players are used to it.

When Tang En stood in front of the coach's bench, there were constant boos and curses from the stands behind him. Chris Lark came over, wanting to hand over the Apple IPOD in his hand to Tang En. Tang En waved his hand and refused: "No need, David."

"Those cursing..." Chris Lak pointed to the stands behind him.

"It's nothing, I don't understand Spanish anyway. That's the benefit of learning one less foreign language..."

That's what he said, but it's impossible for Twain not to understand the word "FUCK" that is used all over the world. But he didn't want to use headphones to escape the boos of the away game today, because this is not an ordinary league game, and the opponent is not dispensable Reading. This is the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and the opponent is Barcelona. He must hear how strong the Nou Camp's booing is, and feel the opponent's fear for himself.

Yes, Twain regarded this as the fear of Barcelona. Why are they booing and cursing so loudly? Because of the panic hidden in their hearts, they were worried that if their team really lost to Nottingham Forest at home...so they could only use crazy boos and insults to interfere with the Forest team's game.

Tang En shrugged, old fashioned.

Chris Lark sat back. He didn't want to stand on the sidelines and be a target for Barcelona fans, being scolded along with Twain. Tang En didn't care that it was due to his good mental quality, he hadn't cultivated to that level yet.

Just as Tang En and Chris Lack were talking on the sidelines, the players on both sides of the field had already started to shake hands with each other.

Ronaldinho is followed closely by the cameras. He is the well-deserved core of the current Barcelona team and the key figure in determining the outcome of this game.

Facing this constantly provocative opponent, the happy Brazilian also put away the smile on his face and shook hands with the opponent solemnly. When he walked in front of George Wood, he took an extra look.

Compared with the Forest team they played against, this Forest team has some new faces, but he still knows most of them, except this George Wood who is still very strange. He just heard the coaching staff tell him that this guy is very aggressive in defense and told him to be more careful in the game. He doesn't know anything else.

A handsome young man with wheat-colored skin and slightly long black curly hair. Looking at the appearance alone, he may be more like a movie actor than a rough defensive midfielder. In his impression, those players in England who play football very "dirty" must have ferocious faces, fleshy faces, cyan stubble on their chins, clean hair that highlights half an inch of their character, and their eyes are wide open for nothing staring at you.

This man in front of him has completely subverted his previous influence on England players...

He held out his hand and shook it with George Wood's.

These are very strong hands...

※ ※ ※

"Compared to last year's Champions League final, Barcelona hasn't changed much, and Nottingham Forest has introduced a lot of newcomers. But for this game, Tang En sent almost all of the old combinations from last season. Ruud van Nistelrooy and Van der Vaart is sitting on the bench. After joining the Forest team for half a season, these two have proved their strength and occupied a solid position. Coach Twain put them on the bench in this game. What is it? consider?"

"It's like this... I think the media's analysis is very reasonable. Tang En's big words before the game were just to divert everyone's attention. This game will be very difficult to play in the away game. He let the main players sit on the bench , is actually to protect these important players and prepare for the return to Nottingham's home game in the next round. After all, this game was aroused by his series of declarations before the game. If his players are injured during the game, it may be It’s not worth it. Everyone knows that Forest’s first-team team is the smallest among the 20 teams in the Premier League, and they can’t stand the toss of injuries.”

What the La Liga guest commentator said also makes sense. Look at the current lineup of the Forest team. On the defensive line, because Ayala has already represented Valencia in the Champions League, he is not eligible to represent Nottingham Forest in this game.

In such an important game, Twain could only send out the pair of young central defenders Pique and Kompany. This is also the main evidence that makes the Barcelona media think that Twain is talking big. They didn't think that just relying on these two children, they could defend against the attacks of Ronaldini, Eto'o, Messi and others.

"Pique is an excellent player who came out of Barcelona's youth training camp La Masia. We recognize his talent, but he is still a little tender against an opponent like Barcelona in the Champions League. Kompany? As a young man, he His performance in the Forest team is not bad, but he is too young, not yet twenty years old! Tony Twain is really unavailable." That special guest was originally responsible for commenting on the La Liga game, because the game It was held in Barcelona, ​​so he was invited by the TV station to be a commentator. Apart from a few game videos, what he knew about the Forest team was the media reports. In terms of true understanding, he might not know as much as Tang Jing who was standing in the press box.

"Let's look at the seams again. There is no experienced shooter like Ruud van Nistelrooy, but another young man! Danish striker Niklas Bendtner. He has been selected for the Danish national team...but what about the Danish national team Level?" The sarcasm in these words is obvious enough. "Eastwood is a good striker, but after the injury he's not consistent...and only good. I think the only real star in this starting XI is Franck Ribery, He is an excellent player who can decide the direction of the game. Rijkaard must also be able to see that, as long as Ribery is dead, the Forest team's offense will not be a threat. Then face the kid's defense, Barcelona fans It's about scoring goals, not whether they're going to be scored."

The half-assed commentator completely ignored George Wood, who was wearing the Nottingham Forest captain's armband. Fortunately, this is a commentary and commentary for Spanish domestic audiences, otherwise Nottingham Forest fans would definitely point at the TV and scold this man.

Almost next door, the commentators and commentators from England were also worried about Tang En's formation.

Such a lineup is almost the same as last year's finals. The Forest team did not beat Barcelona last year. Can they still beat Barcelona this year? The difference between them and their Spanish counterparts is that they did not ignore George Wood: "Of course, we have George Wood in this game. But so what? Wood is a defensive midfielder, and his task must be to assist the defense - after all The two central defenders of the Forest team are too young-speaking of which, Wood is young enough, but his stable performance on the field always makes us ignore that he is only 21 years old. Wood's task is defense, so what about offense? Do? Neither the playmaker Van der Vaart nor the main center Ruud van Nistelrooy started the game... This is really a puzzling arrangement. Relying on Ribery alone? Ribery's performance this season is slightly lower than the previous two seasons ... All in all, it's a very worrying game. We certainly don't want to see England's representative Nottingham Forest lose away. No one likes to lose - although in the domestic league, this team is very impressive. Hate……"

While everyone was puzzled by this formation, Twain stood on the sidelines, accepting boos from hostile fans.

Only he and the Forest team's coaching staff know why he made such an arrangement.

Why not use a new player who joined the team last summer? It's not about saving strength for the second round, nor is it about worrying about those players being injured. Tang En had other considerations. He spent so much time before the game to stir up the hatred of Barcelona in the players and make them understand what a huge shame it was to lose to this team last year. But these only work for old players. For those new players who have not experienced the humiliating defeat of last season, such incitement is somewhat strange in their eyes, and the effect is not obvious.

In away games, momentum is the most important thing. Twain let people who had experienced failure start first, in order not to waste the momentum he had incited. So Ruud van Nistelrooy and van der Vaart are not injured or sick, and their state has not declined, and they still have to sit on the bench.

Only those who have experienced that unforgettable failure will desperately want to win the game and prove themselves again.

※ ※ ※

When the commentator was chattering and analyzing that the Forest team had lost, the game had already started. Because Nottingham Forest kicked off first, the referee's whistle had just sounded, and they were drowned in the huge boos of the Nou Camp.

Eastwood passed Bendtner's kick back to Mikel Arteta and ran forward himself. The Nou Camp can accommodate nearly 100,000 people, and the boos were overwhelming for the Nottingham Forest players, but no one would have weak legs in this situation. Now this forest team has Tang En's unique "stubborn energy", which is a bit like a spring. The harder the opponent presses, the stronger the rebound will be.

It may be okay for the Barcelona fans not to boo. The harder they boo, the stronger the Forest team's belief in revenge.

After Arteta stopped the ball, he did not rush forward. Eager for revenge is eager for revenge. As a midfield commander on the field, the necessary calmness must be maintained.

He passed the football laterally to captain George Wood.

The information that Barcelona has learned is that George Wood is an excellent defensive midfielder. He forms a solid barrier in front of the central defender. Speed ​​and explosive power, as well as the physical ability to run to death.

That's all the information can be summed up. As for his offensive ability, the intelligence in Rijkaard's hands didn't mention a word.

The football rarely stays at Wood's feet for more than half a minute. He always passes the ball quickly and rarely dribbles the ball, whether it is horizontal or vertical dribbling...

The Barcelona coaching staff believes that this person will only cause a little trouble to their offense, and they don't care about him at all defensively. So they put the focus of their defensive work on dealing with Ribery.

After Arteta passed the ball, he ran forward, which attracted the attention of the Barcelona midfielder. Judging from the experience of last year's Champions League final, at this time, Wood, who is a defensive midfielder, should pass the ball to the forward. Arteta inserted, let the Spaniards organize the attack. Where is Wood? After passing the ball, stay in the backcourt to prevent the opponent from stealing the ball and counterattacking.

For more than two seasons, the Forest team's midfielder has almost always followed this routine. The only difference is that George Wood's partner may change. Albertini first, Arteta later, and van der Vaart this season . If Wood is suspended due to a red card, his work will be handed over to Albertini or the Chinese player Sun Jihai. Tang En will give them the task of focusing on defense-this man is a conservative coach in his bones. Barcelona coaches and will be kicked out by critical fans within a month.

So after figuring out the usual routines of the Forest team's midfield, as long as George Wood is cut off from the other midfielders, the Forest team's offense will be paralyzed. It doesn't matter who Wood passes to, but who receives the ball.

In this game, because it was a home game, Rijkaard formed his best and favorite 433 attack formation. None of the three midfielders was dedicated to defense, and all of them were offensive players. This lineup mainly relies on powerful attacks to suppress the opponent's midfield, so when Arteta advanced, the three Barcelona midfielders just let him go and handed it over to the defenders behind. They believe that as long as the ball returns to their feet, they can firmly control the rhythm of the game.

Ronaldini ran towards himself, seemingly trying to steal the ball? Wood glanced at his opponent in this game, swung his leg and passed the ball.

Rijkaard saw this scene off the court and leaned forward again on the back of the chair. Exactly as the intelligence said, George Wood can do nothing but defend.

Now the matter is simple, and it becomes how Barcelona blasts the Forest team's goal as soon as possible in the "half-court offense and defense", causing them to have a chain collapse.

Ronaldinho saw that the football was passed out, but he didn't turn around to chase it. Defense is not his job. You can't expect an artist to do a mason's job, can you?

But just when he was about to pass by Wood, he saw Wood running straight forward!

How is this going?

After Arteta received the football, he didn't take a step, and kicked the football back, which happened to fall at the feet of George Wood who was going forward!

"Barcelona wants to attack Nottingham Forest at home, and Tang En's team doesn't want to defend away! George Wood drives forward!"

Arteta's sudden return of the football to George Wood did surprise Barcelona. But if they were deceived so easily, Barcelona would not be Barcelona anymore. They quickly adjusted their defensive goals, and this time they directly aimed at George Wood, who is "not good at dribbling".

Their idea is very simple, Wood will not dribble, and it is easy to break his ball. Fortunately, he broke Wood's ball and launched a counterattack directly, avoiding facing this fierce defensive midfielder.

Just as Puyol pounced, Wood passed the ball again. He didn't pass to Arteta who was closest to him, nor did he pass to Ribery who was close to him. Instead, he made a diagonal pass of nearly 30 meters, passing the football directly to the right. Ashley Young there.

"This... is really a precise pass!" The commentator sighed after opening his mouth for a long time.

He didn't brag, the ball was indeed passed accurately, and Ashley Young stretched out his foot in a high-speed run and hooked the football.

Seeing this scene, Tang En, who was standing on the sidelines, glanced back at the bench, just in time to meet Albertini's gaze, and they both laughed at the same time. The hard work of most of the season has not been in vain.

After Ashley Young took the ball, he attracted the attention of the Barcelona players. No one noticed that George Wood, who had passed the ball, did not run back to defend according to the "convention", but continued to move forward.

Facing Barcelona's left-back, the new world champion Italian Zambrotta, Ashley Young went forward without fear. Then, at a very short distance, he suddenly cut in with a spike. Zambrotta reacted quickly, and immediately blocked Ashley Young's line of breakthrough.

No chance?

No, Ashley Young didn't even think about driving the ball into the penalty area. He glanced down the middle and passed the ball directly.

This is not a high pass in front of the goal, this is a low pass from outside the penalty area...

"George Wood—WOOOW! How dangerous!"

The person who rushes to the center and shoots without stopping the ball is not Ribery, nor Arteta, nor Eastwood... but George Wood, who is the least likely to appear in this position and make such a move .

His direct shot was slightly higher than the crossbar, which shocked Valdez into a cold sweat—he jumped up vigorously, but missed the football. Seeing that the football seemed to fall into the net, unexpectedly, it did not fall, but went straight. flew out.

Although it hurt a little from the fall from the air, Valdez breathed a sigh of relief. If someone gets in with the first shot in the opening game, I will be ashamed...

"Ah! What a pity! What a pity!" the British narrator was eager to swear to show the intensity of his pity. "It's rare that George Wood shot such a high-quality long shot. Barcelona was completely unprepared. At the top of the penalty area, when Wood shot, there was no Barcelona player around!"

Tang En walked back, and Chris Lark said to him: "It seems that George is very motivated today."

Tang En chuckled and glanced at the Barcelona coaching bench next door: "Of course, he has been waiting for this match for almost a year. This is his Champions Cup final."