Football giants

Chapter 123
Stepwood Training Base.

The new training base has only just completed the structure and outer walls, and it is surrounded by iron frames.

When night fell, looking out from the youth team training building, it was dark and scary.

Although Southampton attaches great importance to youth training, there is no way to equip the youth team with the high-standard treatment of the first team. However, in terms of entertainment and training facilities, the youth team and the first team are still treated equally.

In other words, what the first team has, the youth team will have.

It's like an entertainment room.

The area of ​​the entertainment room in the youth team training building is even larger than that of the first team, and their TVs are also larger than that of the first team.

Before every game, there will always be young players from the youth team sitting in front of this big TV.

Tonight, Southampton's away game against Arsenal is no exception.

When they saw the team owner Yang Huan playing drums for the Southampton players through the TV screen one by one, the entire entertainment room was blown up. Everyone watched this scene in disbelief.

At the same time, they can hear the movement from the Emirates Stadium in London through live TV.

The Southampton fans completely suppressed Arsenal in terms of momentum.

Even if they only have more than 3000 people.

But Arsenal has tens of thousands!
But at this time, the number of people is not the key, the most important thing is to unite and unite people!

"Master Huan is doing well!"

"Yes, at least we suppressed Arsenal in terms of momentum."

"When the momentum is won, the game will be much easier to play."

"That's right. The most fearful thing about this kind of competition is to be intimidated from the beginning."

"Arsenal is a style of ball possession, don't let them get too comfortable with the ball, so momentum is very important."

The players in the entertainment room were talking about it, and everyone's face was written with concern for this important game far away in London.

This is the first time that Southampton has directly challenged the top football team in England. Each of them wants to know whether the team they play for has the strength to challenge the top teams?
Or, how big is the gap?
Jorge Bernardo Griffa was also sitting in the rec room, along with Ramon Madoni, the team's chief scout, and some other youth academy coaches and employees.

Everyone is also very concerned about the situation of Southampton in the northern expedition.

With the whistle of the referee Philip Dodd, the game officially kicked off.

I saw Southampton set up their formation almost immediately, pressing towards Arsenal's half.

Philip Dodd blew the second whistle in less than 20 seconds after blowing the first whistle, which was the kick-off whistle, and sentenced Southampton midfielder Vidal to Cesc Fabregas for a foul near the center circle.

But Arsenal's free kick failed to stay in Southampton's half. Benatia headed back to the penalty area. Neuer kicked wide. The Brazilian genius Neymar took the ball before Arsenal's half and used his personal ability to attack Sagna's right.

"Belsa is going to attack against attack!" Ramon Madoni saw Bielsa's opening tactics.

But it also sparked quite a discussion in the rec room, especially among the coaches.

"Although Arsenal's offense is not particularly outstanding, they are a Premier League team after all, and their style of play has always been very gorgeous. They are very particular about ball control and technique, and they are playing at home. As the visiting team, it is too risky for us to rush forward and play against each other."

"Yeah, no matter how you say it, it's currently the third-ranked team in the Premier League, and that's Arsenal!"

"Playing against Arsenal in the away game, this is simply a life-threatening game!"

"I don't think so. We are a weak team. If we play against a strong team, we must win first. Otherwise, how will we play this game?"

"That is, if you don't play like this and let Arsenal control the ball, you will definitely be finished."

There was a lot of discussion in the entertainment room, and the players watched the game while listening to the analysis of the coaches.

After all, many of this group of coaches are more than ten years old, or even decades old. They have a lot of experience, and they can analyze a lot more than them by watching the game.

"Jorge, what do you think?" Someone asked Griffa.

Jorge Bernardo Griffa's football quality is recognized among this group of people.

"Normal start!" Griffa replied indifferently.

"We have been playing League One for a long time. Although the players are very strong, League One is always League One. There are many things that cannot be compared with the Premier League. For example, high-intensity games. If Arsenal control the rhythm, then we have no chance of winning."

After Griffa analyzed this point, everyone immediately understood.

This insight is indeed very thorough. The strength of players and teams is indeed important, but in a football game, the most important thing is to see how much strength your players and team can exert.

Suppose you have 20.00% strength, but you can only play [-]%. If you meet a team with only [-]% strength but [-]% play, you will still lose.

Can you say that the strength is not enough?

It can only be said that the on-the-spot performance is not good, or the state is not good.

The head coach's formation and on-the-spot command are also one of the important factors that determine the team's performance.

"Bielsa is actually not stupid, he is very shrewd. He decided to take a risk to gamble. Only by betting can he have a chance of winning. However, he did not arrange for Isco to start, but Schneiderlin. This is just a clever move."

As soon as Griffa finished speaking, Ramon Madoni took the words with a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, many people say that Bielsa is a die-hard, and even directly labeled him a die-hard, making him seem like he will never know how to adapt. As everyone knows, Bielsa is constantly seeking changes in every team, every season, and even every game."

As fellow Argentines, Ramon Madoni and Griffa both know Bielsa better than outsiders.

"The most important thing in this game is the midfield. If you suppress the Arsenal midfield led by Cesc Fabregas, Wilshere and Alexander Song, then the chances of winning this game will be great. If you can't suppress it, it will be over!" Griffa's very incisive analysis and prediction.

Ramon Madoni kept nodding, "So, Schneiderlin is more suitable to start than Isco."

Even though it was said so, everyone still had a doubt in their hearts.

That's Arsenal, can Southampton's midfield hold it back?
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"From the beginning of the game, the two sides played very fiercely, the rhythm was very fast, and the ball was exchanged frequently."

"It can be seen that neither side has the slightest reservation, and both adopt the tactics of attacking and attacking."

"Southampton is very courageous. At the Emirates Stadium, they dare to play face-to-face with a team like Arsenal."

"This is Southampton's manager, Marcelo Bielsa."

On the big screen at the Emirates Stadium, a close-up of Bielsa's head appeared. The Argentine squatted habitually in front of the coach of the visiting team, with his round head on his head, and focused on watching the game ahead.

At the beginning, the two sides were still exploring more, since they were not familiar with each other after all.

Southampton's high-intensity central and frontcourt pressure caused a lot of trouble for Arsenal. They had many opportunities to get the ball, but they still failed to launch an effective offensive. On the contrary, Southampton, who played away, scored into Arsenal's 30-meter area several times, but could not effectively threaten the penalty area.

"It looked like neither side was able to create good chances to score."

Southampton tried to open an offensive channel from Neymar's left side several times, but Arsenal obviously strengthened the defense on the right side. Even the midfielder Alexander Song frequently pulled to this side to help defend, which made Southampton's offensive unable to create a threat.

On the contrary, Arsenal, after all, has more experience and is playing at home. After the opening, they quickly stabilized their position and showed their own threat.

Among the Arsenal's three midfielders, Alexander Song dragged back, Fabregas rushed forward, and Wilshere was cruising between the two, but with Schneiderlin lagging behind to protect the defense line and the front of the penalty area, Fabregas did not have many opportunities in front.

On the contrary, Vidal and Strowman suppressed Wilshere very well, making it difficult for Arsenal to operate effectively in the midfield.

Cesc Fabregas is a very clever player, and as soon as he realized this, he immediately dropped himself back from the front.

In the 8th minute, Fabregas retreated to take the ball, Schneiderlin hesitated and did not follow up immediately.

After the Spanish midfielder got the ball, he cooperated with Wilshere. Without any defense, he went straight to the front of the penalty area, looking for Van Persie who pulled out of the penalty area.

The Dutch striker stopped the ball and turned to go straight. Walcott, with lightning speed, passed between David Alaba and Benatia and went straight to the goal.

Throughout the Emirates Stadium, everyone's hearts were lifted.

Yang Huan even stopped beating the drum.

Many Southampton fans even covered their faces, not daring to watch what happened next.

Countless Arsenal fans rushed out of their seats!
One-handed!

As long as Walcott catches the ball, it's a single shot!

That's a goal!
Neuer has been very focused, but when he sees Fabregas pass the ball to Van Persie at the front of the penalty area, he is ready to prevent the Dutchman from suddenly kicking the ball and preventing him from passing to other teammates.

Especially Walcott and Nasri on the wings.

When he saw that Van Persie really passed the ball, and then saw that Walcott used lightning speed to tear open the defense of his teammates, he reacted immediately, abandoning the goal and attacking!

I saw Neuer quickly rushing out of the small penalty area. His strong and even slightly obese body, but with an unbelievable flexibility, his eyes were fixed on Walcott.

Walcott was also looking at Neuer. He had absolute confidence in his speed, but he never expected that Neuer's attack would be so decisive, without even the slightest hesitation.

If you continue to rush up like this, will you collide?Will it hit the goalkeeper?

With such a thought flashing through his mind, Walcott couldn't help hesitating, especially when he saw that Neuer hadn't rushed to the best position, but had already flew to the ground and made a stretching movement to make a save. He immediately stopped his speed.

The ball crashed into Neuer's arms, and the German's pair of big hands held the fiercely spinning ball tightly, not allowing it to resist at all.

In the stands, seeing this scene, the Arsenal fans couldn't help but sighed in unison.

If it was a second later, or even less than a second, Walcott's single-handed kick would have been done!
Damn Neuer!

The fans of Southampton burst into applause, and a kind of joy of surviving the catastrophe filled everyone's heart.

"Neuil!"

"Neuil!!"

"Neuil!!!"

All the Southampton fans were shouting.

Not only in the stands of the Emirates Stadium, but also those Saints fans waiting in front of the TV, they are also shouting.

Neuer slowly got up from the ground, the ball was still firmly in his hands.

"What the hell is going on with you? There is such a big gap, are you blind? Didn't you see it?"

Neuer yelled at his teammates in front of him.

Including Benatia, Schneiderlin, Varane and others, all of them were drunk by him and bowed their heads.

If this ball is lost, they are all responsible.

But it is difficult to say who is fully responsible, after all, it is the gap exposed by the running of the Arsenal players.

"Okay, all go up, let's counterattack!"

Neuer came to the front of the penalty area with the ball in his arms, pointed in the direction of Arsenal's goal, and shouted encouragement loudly.

At this moment, the German goalkeeper showed the aura and awe that a top goalkeeper should have.

The Southampton players immediately rushed to the frontcourt.

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(End of this chapter)