Super Prophecy Master

Chapter 387 Missing a Totti!
The British and Italian media's hype for the game is, "Before the knockout round, the Premier League and Serie A will collide in advance!"

This statement is not an exaggeration.

In the top 32 of the UEFA Champions League this season, there are four English teams, three Italian teams, and seven teams occupying six groups. Only Group D has two national teams at the same time, Millwall and Rome. , It is also the only chance for the English team and the Italian team to meet in the group stage.

The media of the two countries paid close attention to the game, but in fact, both teams were very cautious about the game and kept a low profile.

For Millwall, Roma is an unfamiliar team. Even if they played a warm-up match with Udinese, they have limited understanding of Italian football. Roma is more than one step better than Udinese. Be cautious.

Same goes for Rome.

After entering the 21st century, Roma does not have much experience in the Champions League. It is possible to participate in the Champions League this season thanks to the 'Phonegate' incident. The Roma Club was also involved. Obtained the qualifications to participate in the Champions League, at the same time, also dug Pizarro from Juventus.

In this regard, Rome is still very lucky.

However, Rome has little experience in the Champions League and has not played any brilliant records in history. Millwall is a new team. In the first two rounds, Millwall defeated Valencia and Shakhtar Donetsk in a row. Winning by a big score is enough to make them vigilant.

Before the game, the head coach Spalletti said, "Millwall is very strong. They were the Premier League champions last season. So far this season, they are also ranked first in the Premier League. In the first two rounds (Champions League), they have won by a large margin. , especially the away win against Valencia, proves that they will be very strong opponents."

"This round we are playing away from home. We must give our best 100% to hope for three points."

"Playing against Millwall is a test for the whole team. We need a victory, which will improve our qualifying situation. The whole team is also ready and will work hard to fight for it."

As the game approached, Zhang Yang also talked about Roma, "Rome is a strong team, we must be cautious! The team lacks European experience, and it is the first time to play an official match with an Italian team, but I think James Luca's experience will help us, he has played for Juventus and knows Roma well."

"The game hasn't started yet. It's meaningless to talk about the outcome. I can only say that we will do our best."

The low-keyness of the two head coaches made the media of both countries feel sorry. They tried their best to hype the game and gave the game a "special meaning", but the two head coaches were "holding back", and what they could report was attractive. It's very small.

On November [-]th, the game at Neal Stadium officially started.

No matter how low-key the two coaches are, the game has attracted countless attention. Even the media in other countries have noticed the game. Among Millwall and Roma, at least one team will qualify, and they also want to see their opponents in advance play.

The game has a great impact on the group situation.

If Roma can defeat Millwall, the competition in Group D will become very fierce. Roma, Valencia and Millwall will form a three-wizard competition for hegemony, otherwise Millwall will be alone with nine points. Leading other competitors, Roma's qualifying situation will become very bad.

Before the start of the game, Zhang Yang was in the locker room and said to all the players, "We have won two games in a row in the group stage. It seems that the results are good, but other teams also have opportunities. If we lose the game, Roma will catch up. Rencia will also catch up, and the advantages of the previous two victories will be wiped out in one fell swoop."

"So what to do, do you understand? Keep a good attitude, play according to the tactics, and try not to give your opponent a chance."

"If we can get three points, we will almost qualify!"

Millwall's group situation is very good, with six points in two games, and nine points if they win the next game, and Rome has lost a game, and it has opened up a six-point gap with Millwall, and the remaining three games It is almost impossible to catch up in the game, so after winning this game, Millwall will basically finish qualifying, and there will be no pressure in the next game.

But it's not easy to win.

Rome lost to Valencia at home, and Millwall defeated Valencia away. Considering the relationship between victory and defeat, it seems that it is not difficult for Millwall to beat Rome.

But football doesn't work that way.

One game is different from one game. If Valencia plays against Rome again, they may not be able to win. In addition, even if Valencia can easily beat Rome and Millwall can easily beat Valencia, it does not mean that Millwall can easily beat Rome. Seoul can easily defeat Rome.

When the game started, Millwall realized this.

Rome is not easy to deal with.

Roma is a midfield-focused team. Last season, Roma reached a point where there were no forwards available, but the league has won consecutive victories, relying on the strength of the midfield.

Totti is the core midfielder of Roma.

When talking about Rome, you must talk about the 'Prince of Rome' Totti. In the minds of many fans, Totti can represent Rome. His personal ability is quite strong. Physically strong, free kick is its unique skill.

In the World Cup that just passed, Totti, as the core midfielder of the Italian team, led the national team to win the World Cup.

In the star-studded Italian team, Totti can become the core midfielder. It can be seen how outstanding his ability is. The head coach Spalletti has a lot of experience in using Totti. He created a way for Totti to advance alone. The style of play, when Roma has no striker, the offensive efficiency is hardly affected.

Now Roma still focuses on the midfield.

Rome's starting lineup is a 4231 formation. Totti plays as a central midfielder and a single core. Among the two midfielders, De Rossi is the offensive and defensive hub. Pizarro has just joined the team to assist De Rossi in defense. Can give a lot of support to teammates in front.

The midfield triangle composed of three is enough to put tremendous pressure on the opponent.

Millwall realized within 10 minutes of the game that the 'dual-core' tactic had lost its effect for the first time. In the midfield competition with Rome, Millwall couldn't even gain an advantage. Laniff is still Livermore, technically can not be compared with De Rossi, Pizarro, let alone the headache Totti.

Roma has achieved an overwhelming advantage in midfield technology.

However, Roma's advantages are not all-round. The problem they encountered was defense. Millwall's offense was hindered, and it was not easy for Roma to gain an advantage in offense.

Livermore is a big difficulty. His constant running has formed a line of defense at the front of the penalty area for Millwall, and it has also caused a headache for the Roma players. They found that this tall man is too strong, and he seems to be tired from running. .

They thought of Gattuso of AC Milan.

Gattuso is like this, running around arbitrarily and unreasonably, relying on abundant physical fitness, he can create tremendous pressure on his teammates.

Rome did not expect to come to London, but also encounter such an opponent.

From the overall point of view of the game, Roma still has an advantage, mainly because their players are more skilled, especially Totti, who caused a lot of trouble for Millwall's defense. When Totti got the ball, no one would Know if you will choose to break through.

Livermore's one-on-one defensive ability is good, but when he meets Totti, he is worse. His technical ability is not in the same weight class as Totti, and it is impossible to make up for it only by relying on his body.

Zambrotta defended frequently, but the attacking side was always advantageous. Totti could choose to take the ball by himself or pass the ball to his teammates. Roma's continuous attack posed a huge threat to Millwall's defense.

If it's just a defensive crisis, it's not a big problem, but Millwall's offense is also hindered.

Roma's defense is very solid.

Roma's steady back four, coupled with De Rossi and Pizarro's two defensive midfielders, make the backcourt management airtight, and it is too difficult to rely on passing and cooperation to break through the defense.

Looking at the game in front of him, Zhang Yang also knew what Millwall was missing.

"Less Totti!"

If Millwall also has an all-around Totti, playing Roma will become very easy.

Of course, it’s not just Totti, it’s also okay to replace it with other people, such as Ronaldinho, future Messi, C-Ronaldo, Kaka, etc. In short, Mill Volvo lacks a real all-around core than Roma.

If there is a core with outstanding skills, on the basis of the team's skilled cooperation, who can personally dribble the ball to complete the breakthrough, Roma's defense line will not appear so stable.

This is Zhang Yang's conclusion after careful observation for a long time.

Roma's defense is quite Italian-style. Every player is in a regional position. They firmly control their position and the formation is never chaotic. In other words, it is difficult for opponents to find loopholes.

To briefly describe it, for example, Darren Bent needs to face one or two defenders when he gets the ball, Braniff will also face one or two defenders when he gets the ball, Pires and Simpson on the wing are the same , they took the ball forward and had to face Roma's defense.

When there are defenses in every position, it is not easy to rely on cooperation to penetrate the defense.

If the team has an all-around player who can pass through quickly, what can be done after the pass is over, and when facing a defender's defense, he directly dribbles through and breaks through, and Roma's defense will naturally be breached.

Zhang Yang found that the team had nothing to do, because they didn't have that kind of player.

In Milwaukee's frontcourt, Darren Bent, Simpson, and Pires occasionally make breakthroughs, but their skills are still not up to standard, and dribbling is not what they are best at. Faced with double-teaming by two defensive players, losing the ball is almost inevitable.

This is where the problem lies.

Looking at the game in front of him, Zhang Yang thought carefully about the countermeasures.

The game on the field is no longer something that can be solved by 'supernatural powers'. If the team fails to break through Roma's defense for a long time, the game situation may become more and more passive...

(End of this chapter)