Chapter 86 From "Little Makelele" To "Little Alonso", It only Took Him One Year

The three rookies made the depth of the first team bench very happy for all the Real Madrid coaching staff, including Mourinho.

Before the start of this season, Real Madrid's player list seemed to have enough players and a thick bench.

But Khedira didn't play a single league game and he was already lame (really).

Granero's transformation into a defensive midfielder is very slow and he is still adapting. He can't be relied on for the time being.

Not to mention Altintop, Mourinho is still very troubled by him and doesn't know how to use him.

Sahin, this unlucky guy got injured just when he was about to be transformed and promoted by Uncle Bird, and he was injured for three months.

So from this point of view, among the 24-man first team list of Real Madrid, there are four midfielders, two of whom are injured and two are decorations. Currently, they rely on 20 players to fight on two fronts.

If Li Ang hadn't been tough enough, he would not miss any league or Champions League games and his state was still above the level, Mourinho would really be worried.

Now three players have been promoted from Castilla, plus Nacho, Real Madrid's front and back fields have been strengthened.

At least for now, Mourinho does not have to worry about the front and back fields being injured and no one available.

And my brother's return from injury before the tenth round of the La Liga against Villarreal made Mourinho feel relieved.

Good guy, this guy has been lying for two months and finally can participate in training!

However, Mourinho did not dare to let Khedira play directly after returning from injury.

So in the match against Villarreal, Mourinho simply let him rest for a while and did not put him in the 18-man roster.

In addition, Mourinho also made some adjustments to the starting lineup before the game.

The biggest adjustment is naturally the defensive midfielder position.

Like Li Ang, Alonso has not rested since the start of the new season and has played every game until now.

Alonso, who was born in 1981, will soon be 30 years old. Although he is in good health, he is not meant to be worked hard like this.

After two consecutive reminders from the team doctor, Mourinho was entangled and finally made up his mind that Alonso must be rested in this round of the league.

Therefore, Li Ang became the only defensive midfielder for Real Madrid in this round of the league.

After all, Las Diarra cannot play behind.

If he plays behind, Ramos and Pepe will definitely complain to Uncle Bird after the game because of his habit of sticking to the ball and his weakness in air defense.

So in the end, Mourinho directly arranged a starting midfield combination with Li Ang behind, Granero and Las Diarra as central midfielders.

Well, it seems to be effective in training. After all, Ramos in the backcourt can make long passes, and Granero in the front and Di Maria who retreats can also meet the needs of advancing on both sides of the midfield.

But after all, it has not been tested in the game. Mourinho does not know how this new midfield trio can play.

However, he was quite confident in Li Ang's ability to cover the bottom.

"If it doesn't work, let Las Diarra withdraw and play with him as a double defensive midfielder, so that at least the defense can be stabilized first."

Mourinho, who had made tactical alternatives first, was still at ease.

On the day of the game on October 26, when there was still an hour before the game started, Real Madrid finally released their starting lineup for today.

Villarreal was directly shaken by Mourinho's swinging tactics.

Alonso and Callejon were substitutes, Di Maria did not play in the midfield, and Las Diarra took over Li Ang's sweeping midfielder position.

The current coach of the Yellow Submarine, Miguel, looked at the Real Madrid starting lineup in his hand and felt uncomfortable.

Because this starting lineup means that the tactical targeting they have made in the past few days is almost in vain!

He can't change the tactics on the spot now, right?

He can only watch while playing and slowly make tactical adjustments.

Miguel, with some luck, subconsciously looked at the Real Madrid players who were warming up at the Bernabeu.

To be precise, he looked directly at Li Ang, the only player in Real Madrid who could play in the midfield.

"Perhaps, this is a point we can use today."

An hour later, with the whistle of the referee on duty, the tenth round of the La Liga between Real Madrid and Villarreal officially started.

And the La Liga commentators from various countries were also introducing the big changes in Real Madrid's lineup today to their audiences.

"Alonso still needs to take a break. He and Li Ang jointly supported Real Madrid's midfield defense at the beginning of the league, but he is getting older after all. Only by taking a break occasionally can Alonso have sufficient physical strength and energy to prepare for the next tighter schedule."

"Yes, so we can see Li Ang playing as a defensive midfielder today. This is the first time in Real Madrid. It can only be said that Mourinho still has sufficient confidence in Li Ang. The game has begun! Zhuang Radio, Zhuang Radio! Dear audience friends, welcome to watch"

He Wei and Xu Yang teamed up again today to bring Real Madrid's league commentary to Chinese fans.

Today's Real Madrid's league started very late.

In Spain, the game almost started at 9 o'clock in the evening, and in China it was already 4 o'clock in the morning.

To be honest, it is very tiring to watch such a game.

Many younger fans are okay, but older fans feel it is really hard to endure.

But in the end, the number of fans who chose to stay up late to watch the game is not less than usual.

Today, Li Ang is not only firmly in the starting lineup of Real Madrid, but also wins every game. In addition, Real Madrid already has many stars in the team, so domestic fans feel that it is worth staying up late.

"Real Madrid lined up a 4-3-3 starting formation today.

Goalkeeper No. 1 Casillas.

The back line from left to right are No. 12 Marcelo, No. 4 Ramos, No. 3 Pepe and No. 17 Arbeloa.

In the midfield, No. 10 Li Ang is behind, and in front of him are No. 11 Granero and No. 24 Las Diarra.

The starting combination of the forward line is No. 7 Cristiano Ronaldo, No. 9 Benzema and No. 22 Di Maria."

"Villarreal lined up a 4-4-2 starting formation.

Among them, goalkeeper No. 13 Diego Lopez.

On the back line"

Xu Yang, who took over the conversation, once again introduced the numbers and names of the players on both sides.

At the Bernabeu at this moment, facing Real Madrid who kicked off first, Villarreal did not get scared right away, but routinely pressed in Real Madrid's half.

Real Madrid also began to pass the ball in the backcourt without panic.

It's OK to start the game with a long kick and make a test attack, but that looks too rough, and it's not the opening tactic that Real Madrid likes to play now.

Li Ang stood in the position where Brother Long used to stand, and he felt proud.

He has been imitating and learning for more than a year, and has also been playing assistant to Brother Long and Master Pi for more than a year.

Now, it's finally his turn to start and control the team himself!

He must let the Villarreal players who are pressing see what it means.

Steady!

Li Ang looked at Villarreal striker Rossi who was rushing towards him, and he didn't have much idea of ​​dribbling away.

After a decisive and calm pass back, Li Ang stretched out his hand to make a tactical signal, allowing Marcelo on the left to directly insert.

Then he quickly moved to the empty space left by Marcelo's forward insertion.

After receiving the ball, Pepe knocked it horizontally to Ramos, who had a stronger passing ability.

Ramos, facing the pressure of another Villarreal striker Marco Ruben, also passed the ball to Li Ang, who was now on the wing and could safely receive the ball.

Li Ang's footsteps never really stopped. He was observing frequently, and he dribbled forward the moment he received the ball.

He almost shook off Marco Ruben's pursuit in one step!

But Li Ang was not too sticky to the ball. After shaking off the pursuers, he moved inward to the center line, and then used a quick short pass to pass the ball to Las Diarra who raised his hand on the right side of the midfield.

At this moment, Las Diarra, who was standing on the weak side of Villarreal's midfield defense, could continue to advance with the ball comfortably.

Mourinho smiled after watching Li Ang's opening operation, and Alonso, who was sitting on the bench, was full of satisfied praise.

If it were him, after completing a pass with the central defender and slightly shaking off the opponent's forward's pressure, he could directly use a long pass to dispatch the ball.

It is fast and convenient, and it can also catch Villarreal off guard.

But this does not mean that Li Ang's performance just now was a delay in the organization rhythm.

On the contrary, Li Ang was able to sort out the backcourt ball route very well while avoiding his current shortcomings, and his performance can be said to be quite outstanding.

What kind of midfield god is Alonso? The players in the football world who can compare with his organization skills and long pass ability can be counted on one hand.

So his performance itself is at the level of a top organization core, and it is normal that Li Ang cannot compare with him.

But compared with the organization cores of the mid- and lower-level teams in La Liga, Li Ang is not bad at all, at most he loses a long pass.

Vision, short pass, range of activity, and fairly good ball control and protection ability.

Unknowingly, Li Ang, who has been in the top league for more than a year, has also walked such a long way on the road of transformation and growth.

So much so that Real Madrid fans who are used to seeing Li Ang sweeping and intercepting are now surprised.

He can be a intercepting machine to sweep the midfield and protect the core of the organization, and he can also drag back to organize the ball and support the organization in the rotation lineup.

What kind of "Little Makelele" is this?

In the future, just call Li Ang "Little Alonso"!

Miguel, who was thinking about doing some pressing articles on Li Ang just now, has given up the idea now.

To see whether a defensive midfielder is easy to target, you can see it from the opening performance.

Facing the pressing of two forwards, he is not panic, the ball is methodical, the running range is large, and the short pass is accurate.

Well, Miguel thinks that if Li Ang comes to his team, he can directly bring Villarreal back to the top four in La Liga with Borja Valero.

With such ability, seeing that Li Ang is not a person who likes to make trouble and carry dangerous balls, Miguel can only sigh secretly.

Villarreal failed to press at the beginning, while Real Madrid gradually took control of the initiative in the midfield with Li Ang's continuous interweaving and precise short passes.

It has been proved that Granero's performance is still good if he is not allowed to lag behind to do the dirty work.

After seeing that Las Diarra was forced back by the opponent because of too much dribbling in the first advance, Li Ang passed the ball to the left side of the midfield more.

This is the first time that Granero has a chance to start this season, and he dare not waste the opportunity like Las Diarra.

His forward pass is very accurate, and his cooperation with Marcelo is not delayed.

With Granero's secondary arrangement and distribution of offensive ball rights, Real Madrid's attack on the left side started quite quickly.

After all, it is a wing combination of Marcelo and Ronaldo. If they attack with all their strength and have the ball, it is not a problem to break through all the way!

In the past, Marcelo's defensive problems were always criticized by the media. Today, with Li Ang, a more mobile midfielder, helping him to position and defend, he is no longer a hidden danger in Real Madrid's defense.

"There is nothing wrong with Li Ang's organization! So stable!

I don't know if the audience still remembers that just over a year ago, when Li Ang was promoted to the Real Madrid first team by Mourinho, his nickname was still 'Little Makelele'.

At that time, the Spanish media only praised him for his defensive talent, and Li Ang at that time had nothing to do with organizing the midfield.

But I think that after today's game, no media will say that Li Ang is just a defensive engineer!"

"Haha, or in other words, Li Ang is still a defensive engineer, but he is a defensive engineer who can transform into an organizing midfielder at any time!

This is the same as Alonso who is currently sitting on the bench. He can defend and attack. Li Ang can improve so quickly, and Alonso has made a lot of contributions!"

He Wei and Xu Yang cooperated with each other to praise Li Ang again.

This growth talent is really necessary to praise. In addition to Li Ang, there is no other young midfielder in today's football world who can change so much in one year.

As soon as he debuted, you can basically tell whether he has talent in offense and organization, and how high his talent is.

Li Ang is a special case. He debuted as a pure defensive midfielder, but after a year of learning and practice, he developed a set of organizational skills!

It's no wonder that Milan fans still miss Li Ang.

After all, Li Ang's organizational ability began to grow by leaps and bounds after he came to Milan last season.

Fans of any team would be reluctant to let such a young midfielder with obvious growth talent leave the team.

"The attack on the left side didn't penetrate this time, so pass it back first. Ronaldo's choice is no problem. Stabilize the ball first. Hey, Li Ang rarely comes in, he's raising his hand to ask for the ball!"

"Li Ang is asking for the ball, look at his choice to come in this time!"

After He Wei praised Li Ang, he put his energy into the game again. Xu Yang was speechless at this time. It was basically He Wei telling a stand-up comedy.

But seeing Li Ang's move to come in, the two of them got excited together, and Xu Yang quickly recovered from the power-off state!

Granero just received the return pass from Ronaldo, and then he heard Li Ang's shouting in his ear. He didn't hesitate much and made a horizontal pass back.

Li Ang looked at the football rolling towards him, but did not continue to advance with the ball directly. Instead, he took a deep breath, stopped the ball and immediately sent a long diagonal pass to the right!

Because he saw the defensive gap of Villarreal when he was advancing.

They have accumulated too many defensive forces on their right side, which is the left side of Real Madrid.

Ronaldo still brought too much defensive pressure to Villarreal's defenders.

And after the entire defense line tilted to the right, there were too many spaces that could be used on the left side of their half.

Li Ang's long pass ability has not reached the average line of La Liga midfield organizers, but the passing line has far exceeded it.

Not being able to send a perfect and accurate long arc pass does not mean that Li Ang cannot send a qualified long pass with enough advance.

At least now that he has seen the opponent's defensive gap and believes in Di Maria's personal ability, Li Ang dares to make a try!

This long pass is very much in the style of Alonso, flat and fast. It can be seen from this that after returning to Real Madrid, who is the main person that Li Ang imitates when practicing long passes.

Di Maria's starting speed is as fast as ever, and Li Ang's tacit long pass also surprised him.

Well, this surprise is a little bit too big, but Di Maria can still accept this advance amount.

It's better than watching Las Diarra lose the ball twice before!

Di Maria didn't dislike the opportunity, and ran wildly on the right side, and finally caught up with the ball before it was about to go out of the baseline.

The home court of the Bernabeu gave a burst of surprise cheers, and the Villarreal defenders who were caught off guard by this sudden change also quickly surrounded Di Maria.

The angel did not show any fear at all, and he first dribbled and changed direction near the baseline to pass the submarine defender Rodriguez.

After breaking into the penalty area, Di Maria pretended to shoot directly, which attracted two defenders, Zapata and Musacchio, to intercept.

But he changed his shot to a pass in the next moment, and passed the ball directly to the back of Villarreal's goal with a light and chic pass!

Benzema, who was covering in the middle, helped Ronaldo block Zapata, the defender who wanted to turn back to defend.

So after adjusting his pace, Ronaldo easily jumped up and overpowered Villarreal's 1.76-meter-tall full-back Katara!

Bullying people with dislocation without martial ethics?

Wrong, Ronaldo is also a winger. Isn't it reasonable for a winger to face a full-back? This is very reasonable!

Katara, who looked confused, hadn't jumped fully yet. Seeing Ronaldo's jump height almost half a meter higher than his own, his brain crashed directly!

Diego Lopez also wanted to be a hero and saved Ronaldo's close-range shot.

But the speed of this ball is just like a cannonball!

If I have to describe it, this ball is like a slam dunk, it’s not a head shot, it’s a “head dunk”!

Lopez waved his hands in vain, but in the end he didn't touch anything, and the football had already created a white net in the goal behind him!

Bernabeu cheered passionately for this beautiful offensive cooperation!

Amid the screams and shouts of the whole audience, Li Ang also put down his hanging heart, grinned and ran to the front court, joining his teammates in celebration.

The live camera was very timely and aimed at him again.

It seemed to remind everyone:

From "Little Makelele" to "Little Alonso".

This boy only took one year!

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