Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"Hmph, these guys only realize they're not putting in the effort when they're about to be replaced. What were they doing before?"

Seeing that Raul and Huntelaar had suddenly started to work hard, Mourinho snorted angrily.

These guys deserve a good talking-to. If they showed even half the attitude they have in national team matches, Mourinho wouldn't have had to resort to this drastic measure.

He sent Benzema and Higuain to warm up, not only to prepare for substitutions in the second half, but also to send a signal to the forwards on the field that he was not satisfied with their performance.

Judging from Raul and the other person's reactions, they understood their own hint.

But Mourinho was still angry because he felt that as professional players, these guys should have shown this attitude towards the game, instead of waiting for him to scold them before they behaved.

Mourinho has never coached a national team, and he was never selected for the Portuguese national team when he was playing football because his skill level was too low.

Lacking national team experience, he couldn't quite understand the players' thoughts and concerns.

Players' performances at club and national team levels are drastically different.

Players at the club are just like working animals, clocking in and out, getting paid to do their jobs.

You get paid for what you put in; you can work for someone else, but you can't risk your life.

But the national team is different. When players put on the national team jersey and stand under the spotlight to face teams from other countries.

A sense of mission to fight for the country and a sense of national pride arose spontaneously. At this moment, they were no longer fighting for themselves, but fighting on behalf of their nation and their motherland.

It is precisely because of this strong sense of national honor that so many players risk injury to fight for every possession in national team matches, and even insist on playing despite being injured and needing pain-relieving injections, completely disregarding their own careers.

Moreover, the sense of accomplishment from national team matches far exceeds that from club matches. Once they defeat strong opponents on behalf of the national team, or even win honors in a major international competition, they become national heroes and are admired and praised by countless people.

Even their own names might be written into history books.

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, this is the ultimate manifestation of the highest level of human need—self-actualization!

Who could possibly refuse?

Of course, there are exceptions. If a national team consistently loses games and the players receive not flowers and applause but insults and criticism from fans when they participate in national team matches, then the situation might be reversed. They might not put in their best effort for the national team but work their butt off for their clubs.

……

Towards the end of the first half, thanks to the efforts of the two forwards, Real Madrid's attacks came wave after wave.

In the 40th minute, Real Madrid won a free kick in the attacking third.

Lin Feng attempted a direct shot from the free kick, but unfortunately the ball was blocked by the wall.

Compared to La Liga teams, Chelsea's overall height is significantly greater, and their defensive wall is also much taller, greatly increasing the difficulty of direct shots.

Two minutes later, Chelsea responded with a free kick.

Ballack unleashed a powerful free kick from 30 meters out, but just like Lin Feng's previous shot, his effort was blocked by the wall.

Pepe felt a buzzing in his head after being hit by the ball, as if he had been hit hard with a hammer.

He couldn't help but feel a chill of fear; if he had been hit by a ball with that kind of force when he wasn't prepared, he probably would have ended up in the hospital.

In the 44th minute, Drogba finally found an opportunity to shake off his sister-in-law's entanglement and successfully set up a teammate.

After receiving the ball, Malouda made a run down the left flank, entered the penalty area, and unleashed a diagonal shot, which was somewhat forced and went wide of the goal.

In first-half stoppage time, Huntelaar miraculously intercepted Lampard's pass, but then his own shot from outside the penalty area went high and wide.

The first half ended with Real Madrid leading 1-0.

The result was barely acceptable to both sides; Real Madrid took the lead, while Chelsea held their goal and prevented the opposition from extending their lead.

However, both Real Madrid and Chelsea will be looking to score more goals in the second half, which means the second half will be even more intense.

Inside the locker room, Mourinho, with a stern face, immediately criticized the players who had performed poorly in the first half.

Huntelaar was the first to be affected. Although he played very actively in the final stages of the first half, his lackluster performance clearly failed to meet the coach's expectations.

As for Raul, because he had scored a goal and was a veteran of the team, Mourinho gave him some face and did not criticize him in public.

The players also harbored considerable resentment towards Mourinho's criticisms.

They strictly followed Mourinho's pre-match tactics in the first half, but the situation on the field was not as Mourinho had analyzed.

They originally planned to attack behind Ashley Cole, but the opponent rarely pushed forward to assist in the first half, which resulted in them not having many opportunities.

In addition, Chelsea's midfield protection is very good. After losing the ball, midfielders such as Essien, Ballack, and Lampard will immediately sweep in the midfield to prevent Real Madrid from launching a counterattack.

With their play restricted, Real Madrid's passing options were unable to make timely passes, hindering their counter-attacking efforts.

Once they lost their speed and were forced into positional play, Chelsea's impenetrable defense gave Real Madrid a real headache.

No wonder Chelsea have conceded so few goals in the Premier League this season. Their defense is so tough that even they have to struggle. How many teams in the entire Premier League can break through it?
"Chelsea will definitely attack in the second half; they want to score even more than we do!"

How could Mourinho possibly admit that his tactical arrangements were wrong?

At this point, he could only stubbornly insist on his own point of view.

In his view, Scolari will inevitably succumb to the temptation of scoring away goals and allow Chelsea to launch an attack at some point.

If Chelsea can secure an away goal at the Bernabéu, their chances of advancing will become incredibly bright.

But no one knows when this old fox will strike. If the opponent finds a 0-1 score acceptable and pins their hopes on winning the second leg at home, wouldn't Real Madrid have wasted their chance?

After halftime, the two sides switched sides and resumed the game.

Mourinho had just returned to the coaching bench when he heard some bad news.

"News from Camp Nou: Barcelona are up 4-0."

"puff!"

"Cough cough!"

"How much, how much?"

Upon hearing this, Mourinho was so startled that he spat out all the water he had just drunk, choking and coughing violently, his face filled with disbelief.

This scene was captured by the cameras on site, immediately attracting the attention of commentators from various television stations. Martin Tyler of Sky Sports was particularly curious after seeing Mourinho's expression:
"Something happened on the sidelines. Mourinho looked very shocked, probably because he heard some surprising news!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than his partner, Andy Gray, received a message from the director:

"Breaking news: Barcelona are now leading Bayern Munich 4-0 at Camp Nou."

"What? 4-0? Andy, you must be playing an April Fool's joke on me."

Taylor's face was full of astonishment and shock, it was hard to tell whether it was an act for the sake of the show or genuine shock.

“No, no, no, Taylor, I’m not kidding. To be honest, I was incredulous when I saw the score, but it really is true.”

Many fans were surprised and skeptical of the news, so they switched to the live stream of another game.

However, the 4-0 score at the top of the screen proved that it was all true.

In this match, Barcelona perfectly demonstrated their terrifying strength to the world. The so-called Bundesliga giants looked like helpless children in front of them, and were almost completely dominated by Barcelona throughout the game.

Messi scored just nine minutes into the game, and then assisted Eto'o to score again in the 12th minute.

Towards the end of the first half, Messi seized another opportunity, extending the lead to 3-0 in the 38th minute.
Five minutes later, Henry extended the lead to 4-0.
In just one half, Barcelona completely crushed Bayern Munich, the pre-match favorite to win the title.

The huge gap of 4 goals not only killed the suspense of this game, but also killed the suspense of the next game.

The match wasn't over yet, but the news had already caused an earthquake in European football.

Bayern Munich was widely considered the favorite to win the title before the tournament, but no one expected them to be beaten so badly by Barcelona.

Before the match, there might have been some doubts about Barcelona, ​​but after this game, probably no one will dare to question their strength!
……

Barcelona's strength has deeply worried Mourinho. If Real Madrid gets past Chelsea, there is a very high chance they will face Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final next leg.

With the upcoming El Clásico, Real Madrid could potentially play three consecutive matches against Barcelona within a little over a month.

In the first half of the season, Real Madrid already struggled against Barcelona, ​​and only managed to escape Camp Nou unscathed thanks to Lin Feng's outstanding performance.

Now facing a fully evolved and stronger Barcelona, ​​Mourinho frankly has no confidence.

But it's too early to think about these things now; they haven't even dealt with their current opponent, Chelsea, yet!
After the start of the second half, Chelsea's players noticed a significant change in Real Madrid's attacking tactics.

There were fewer crosses from the flanks and more short passing combinations in the half-spaces.

In the 47th minute, Lin Feng delivered a pass from the flank, and Raul took a shot directly from the edge of the penalty area, but unfortunately the shot did not pose a threat to Cech and was easily saved by the opponent.

But Real Madrid were not discouraged. In the 49th minute, Lin Feng came to the left and completed a one-two with Marcelo who was making a forward run. He pretended to dribble down the wing, but after the defender blocked his way, he suddenly cut the ball sideways, dribbled to the middle, and then took a long shot after creating an angle at the edge of the penalty area.

The shot came suddenly, and Cech's view was blocked by his defending teammate, making his reaction a beat too slow.

But Cech's physical attributes are too outstanding. His height of 1.96 meters and wingspan of 2.1 meters give him a huge range of defensive capabilities.

Lin Feng's shot was deflected off the goal frame by Cech's fingertips just as it was about to cross the goal line.

Chelsea fans watching the game were so terrified by the save that their hearts nearly stopped. When they saw Cech make the save, they were overjoyed, chanting Cech's name wildly and wishing they could worship him.

"Well done, Peter!"

"You saved that shot? You're amazing!"

His teammates rushed forward to give Cech a high-five, but he didn't respond. Only then did they notice that Cech was gripping the fingers of his left hand with his right hand, and his face showed great pain.

"What's wrong with you? Are you hurt?"

"Where is it injured? Is it your wrist or your finger?"

Even with gloves on, it was still too difficult to block Lin Feng's shot with just his fingers.

This guy's shots are known for their power and sharp angles, making them difficult to save.

It was also thanks to Cech's tall stature that they had any chance against any other goalkeeper.

But Cech paid the price for it; he fractured his left middle and ring fingers in the save.

Upon seeing that someone was injured, the referee stopped the game and allowed Chelsea's team doctor to come onto the field to treat the player.

Scolari's face turned grim; Cech was a pillar of strength for this team.

If he leaves the field due to injury, Chelsea's defensive quality will drop significantly.

But it was too late to regret it now. Scolari could only call over the substitute goalkeeper, give him some instructions, and then have him warm up.

Despite his injury, Cech wanted to continue playing through it, knowing that leaving the field now would be a huge blow to the team and could even shake his teammates' confidence.

However, his injury needs to be treated as soon as possible. A fracture is no small matter, and continuing to fight with the injury will only worsen the injury and cause greater damage to his body.

Moreover, the fingers are connected to the heart, and the intense pain from a finger injury can seriously affect a player's performance.

Even if Cech insists on staying, his ability and performance will be greatly affected, and he may not only fail to help the team, but also drag it down.

Under pressure from the coach, teammates, and team doctor, Cech had no choice but to comply with the coach's instructions and was substituted by backup goalkeeper Cudicini.

Upon seeing Cech injured, Mourinho on the sidelines jumped to his feet, looking towards the pitch with a worried expression.

It's clear that Mourinho is also worried about his former protégé.

He had personally witnessed the incident where Cech was seriously injured, nearly costing him his life due to a foul by Reading player Hunter.

Mourinho is a very protective person. After that match, an enraged Mourinho raged at the press conference, accusing Reading of committing a foul that was murder, and used his influence to pressure FIFA to ban Hunt for life.

A few months later, when Chelsea faced Reading again, he assigned Terry to keep a close eye on Hunt and instructed Ballack to take good care of him.

In that match, Hunt was almost constantly fouled, like a toddler practicing walking, spending most of his time rolling and crawling on the pitch, while Chelsea delivered a resounding 6-0 victory, ruthlessly crushing their opponents and avenging Cech.

Unfortunately, what's done is done, and even if revenge is successful, it can't undo the damage.

That serious injury had a huge impact on Cech, and it can be said to have changed Cech's life.

Before his serious injury, Cech was on the rise and was making a run for the title of the world's best goalkeeper.

Despite his continued impressive performance after the serious injury, Cech could never return to his peak form and had to wear a specially made helmet to protect his head, which was missing a piece of skull, in subsequent matches. (End of Chapter)