Xu Zhu's Successor's Football Journey

Chapter 543 Ecuador
Ecuador team.

This is an out-and-out upstart team in South American football. Similarly, this World Cup is their second consecutive World Cup finals, but don't underestimate this South American plateau team. Traditional South American teams such as Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile have all fallen at their feet.There are no superstar players in the Ecuador team. It is difficult for ordinary fans to find players whose names they have heard of in their entire lineup.

But despite this, the Ecuadorian team still has their pride, such as high center Delgado, or the dexterous Cavides.

These two players are like two sharp daggers in Ecuador. Any team that despises Ecuador will bring cruel results.For example, the Croatian team in the Korea-Japan World Cup four years ago paid a heavy price for their contempt.

Agustín Delgado was born in 1974. He is 32 years old this year. This high center forward is 188 cm tall and weighs 83 kg. On the green field, such a player is as fierce as a tank.
At just 19 years old, Delgado was called up to the national team by the head coach.

In 1998, Delgado represented Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers. He only scored 2 goals due to his lack of experience in major competitions, and Ecuador was also continuously moved by his opponents.Four years later, Delgado became Ecuador's ace striker. In the previous two years, he had been playing for the Necasa team in Mexico. Many fans remembered him because he was seen in the first Club World Cup in 2000. He rode thousands of miles alone, broke through the city of Real Madrid, and helped the Necasa team win 1-0.

After that, Delgado has been outstanding. In 2001, he scored 14 goals in the Mexican League. He performed very well in the Ecuadorian team. , He continued to become a super killer who became a discolored super killer with goals.

In 2002, Delgado led Ecuador to participate in the World Cup in Korea and Japan, and tied with Argentine striker Crespo for the top scorer in the South American qualifiers.In the same year, he moved to Southampton in the Premier League with a value of 350 million pounds, becoming the first Ecuadorian to play in the Premier League, but his life in England was not good. He played a total of 143 minutes in the first team. With one goal, he underwent two major operations on his knee, and then he returned to South America, and joined his current club Barcelona after turning around several clubs.

And now at the age of 32, Delgado, who has become a veteran, is still the sharp knife of the Ecuadorian team. He has not scored many goals, but most of them are worth a lot of money, and most of them are final decisions.

The South American media called Delgado a "dazzling black whirlwind" and "an unstoppable goal machine".

In the group match of Group A, Delgado scored the winning goal in the team's game against the Czech Republic. He is the most important contributor to Ecuador's group qualifying.

Because of this, many media reminded the England team before the game to be careful of the "black whirlwind". Perhaps Delgado is not well-known in Europe, but in South America, his name almost represents a goal.

This point is somewhat similar to Wang Li.

During the warm-up before the game, England players and Ecuadorian players had a meeting. No one could have imagined that Owen, a "standard low-key good man" who rarely speaks in the team, would know Delgado and they would fight each other. Say hello.

This scene looked a little weird, and Wang Li also asked about it.

It turned out that in the season when Delgado joined Southampton, he scored a goal for Liverpool. In that game, he performed very well. Unfortunately, he was injured a week later and was unable to play in the Premier League. middle play.

It was also in that game that Irving met Delgado, and the two exchanged jerseys.

"Be careful with that big black guy, he's strong."

When his England teammates asked about Delgado's strength, Owen pointed to the top of his head and said: "His header is very good. I think they will definitely look for opportunities with high lobs. You have to be careful."

Hearing this, the expressions of the English players were not very good, and they were even a little worried.

The main reason is that Ferdinand was injured!

In the England team, Ferdinand is the general who defends high-altitude balls. In this regard, even John Terry is far behind. As for Campbell?That old guy is not taken seriously now, even if he plays, I'm afraid he won't perform well.

If it weren't for the fact that the reported World Cup player quota could not be changed, McLaren even wanted to recruit two more defenders.

Before the World Cup, there were seven defenders in the England squad: Gary Neville, Ashley Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Campbell, Bridget and Jamie Carragher.

And now that Ferdinand is injured, only Campbell, Terry, Carragher and Gary Neville can play central defenders. Among them, Campbell's performance in training is not good. After all, this veteran is old. Restricted, his ability to intercept high-handed balls is not very strong.

As for Gary Neville, he is better at playing full-backs than central defenders. McLaren recruited him into the England team because he also took a fancy to his ability to intercept on the wing.

Therefore, after Ferdinand was injured, England's defense was very problematic.

Even the England players were a little worried about this. When they heard that Delgado was very good at heading the ball, they felt that it would not be easy to win the game smoothly.

"It's good that we get more than them!"

Seeing the worried expressions of his teammates, Wang Li said, "They can't defend against us. Even if there is a strong one, they can't be our opponents. Are we not strong?"

Hearing this, his teammates let him go, and Halilson, who always called himself a rookie but was 'very despicable and insidious' in his heart, also spoke in support: "Yes, Alan, we are the strongest! "

The England players have already boosted their morale and are ready for a decisive battle with Ecuador.

At the same time, at the press conference before the game, McLaren seemed very low-key. He was very aware of the flaws and deficiencies of the England team in his heart. Go for the winning chips.

With this mentality, Mr. Gentleman Coach, of course it is impossible to break the news of any hot news.

Seeing this situation, the media were very disappointed. They put their hopes on the Ecuadorian coach Suarez, and they hoped that the Colombian coach could break some news.

It seems that Suarez is better than McLaren, at least he does not speak the official language.

"This is a very difficult game for us and a challenge to the team's history. The game will definitely be very difficult and tactically demanding."

"The England team is a traditional strong team in Europe and the world. They are a member of the knockout rounds every year. We are in the knockout rounds for the first time. In the eyes of most people, we have no chance, but we will do everything we can to win. victory!"

Regarding the question about England's No. 21 black-haired boy mentioned by the reporter, Suarez commented: "He is a real genius. The 5 goals in the two World Cup group matches have proved everything. I want to meet him a lot. Like his coach, I also deployed a lot of tactics to limit his performance."
At the press conference, apart from a few compliments from Suarez, there were not many bright spots. The atmosphere between the two teams was very calm, and they seemed to be waiting for a real contest on the pitch.

Gottlieb Daimler Stadium, Stuttgart, Germany.

The surrounding area of ​​the stadium has been completely occupied by fans, and they have been looking forward to the next game for a long time.Half of these fans are local German players, and there are thousands of England fans and hundreds of Ecuadorian supporters. In addition, tourists from many other countries who come to Germany also occupy a large part of the stands.

This is the knockout round of 16, so the atmosphere of the game is much hotter.Due to the appearance of the England team, the fans present quickly evolved into supporters of the England team, and the majority of them were female fans, just because Wang Li had already trotted out of the player tunnel on the field——
"England's No. 21 young player Alan~~~King~~~~!!!!"

With a long roar from the commentator, the atmosphere immediately reached a climax. Almost all the fans shouted Wang Li's name at the top of their lungs, and Beckham and others who played together, their supporters also had a Most of them turned to support Wang Li.

Perhaps, before the World Cup, Wang Li’s reputation was not at this level, but in the first two group matches, his performance won him a lot of support. The World Cup has always been the best time for players to show themselves , because many people who don't pay attention to European football will also pay attention to the World Cup.

Now, almost all the people watching the World Cup all over the world know Wang Li's name, because as long as they watch the World Cup, there will always be a TV commentator who will mention the name "Alan Wang" one day. I will specifically mention Wang Li to compare with the performance of the players on the field.

This makes Wang Li's reputation more and more influential.

As for the names of other English players, the on-site commentator just passed them by, even for Beckham and Irving. Perhaps having a player like Wang Li in the England team is a tragedy for other players.

For the Ecuadorian players, the commentator was even more vague, because he simply read the list of players, and the commentator had never heard the names of these players, even the team's top scorer Delgado.

After all, he is not well known in Europe.

After welcoming the 'Wang Li Ceremony', the on-site commentator began to work, and he began to introduce the starting players of the two teams to the audience.

The England team is still in the 442 formation that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. The striker Irving and Wang Li are partnered, the midfielder Gerrard leads, other players include Beckham, Joe Cole and Hargreaves, and the defender is Jay. M. Carragher, John Terry, Gary Neville and Bridget.

In this game, due to the injury of Ferdinand, Bridget finally got a chance. He became the starter, while Phil Neville and Campbell all sat on the bench.

Halerson also sat on the bench. McLaren gave him a chance in the last game, but Halerson failed to score, and he couldn't replace Irving.

As for Liverpool's leading striker Crouch?
This tragic man was revealed by the media before the game that his girlfriend was driving his sports car and had sex with his ex-boyfriend, and was secretly photographed by others. He wore a green hat.Also because of the 'Girlfriendgate' incident, McLaren was very worried about Crouch's state of mind, so he was not included in the big list at all.

Ecuador is also 442, but obviously they care more about defense. In the 442 formation, only Delgado is a real forward, and the other striker, Cavides, is even more defensive than offensive.

Ecuador played a defensive counterattack, and they had to play like this. As a weak player, it is definitely not a wise choice to play against the England team with the strongest offensive firepower.

In addition to the forward line, the other players in Ecuador are Valencia, Mendes, Ayovi, Tenorio, Ambrosi, Dela Cruz, Hurtado, Espinosa, goalkeeper It's Bellaforte.

In this farce, with the referee from Norway blowing his whistle, the game finally started.

The game had just begun, and the England team, led by Wang Li, launched a violent offensive frenzy towards Ecuador's half, taking advantage of Ecuador's shaky foothold! !

Under McLaren's tactical style, England's offense has improved a lot. The team is all about offense. When the formation is opened, the two full-backs will also be on the field. The midfielder in the middle will be slightly delayed. This style of play is very open and looks a little dangerous, but England's fierce attack makes up for this. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for any team to take advantage of the opportunity to launch a violent counterattack.

At least the South American plateau players in front of them are not capable of doing this.

This tactic looks very smooth and is worth admiring, but from a tactical point of view, McLaren's style of play is more suitable for the strong to defeat the weak.

This means that the epee has no sharp edge, great skill and no workmanship.

However, if you encounter a team with the same strength as the England team, this style of play will obviously suffer. Epee is good, but when the opponent is also an epee, there is no skill in swordsmanship, and it will definitely not be as good as others Powerful and clever play.

Of course, these are things McLaren needs to consider.At least there is no need to consider related matters in this game, because Ecuador is not an epee.

For England fans, it's an exciting game right now, as their team is bombarding Ecuador.

The game has just started, and the England team got a shot opportunity in the first attack. This is the opportunity created by Gary Neville who plugged in. After getting the ball from the front of the center line, Neville made a long pass , Accurately found Wang Li's point, Wang Li made a through kick on the right side of the big penalty area, and passed the ball directly to the small penalty area line.

After that, Owen came in from behind——
"Owen!!! Shot!!!.It's a pity" From the tone of the on-site commentator, I knew that the goal was not scored.

It wasn't that Owen's shot missed, but that at the moment he shot, an Ecuadorian defender tackled the ball from the side. If Owen hadn't reacted in time, I am afraid that he would follow in the footsteps of Lampard and Ferdinand and go to the hospital. cultivated here.

".Only 2 minutes into the game, England's offense directly threatened Ecuador's defense. Michael Owen almost scored a goal!"

"It seems that the players of the England team are in good condition today. They played with the momentum of the England team. I think Ecuador's game today is really difficult."

The golden boy Michael Owen's shot seemed to be the start of England's all-out attack. After that, the England team's offense became more and more rapid.

Seeing the situation on the field, Ecuador coach Suarez couldn't help worrying. Before the game, he thought that England's offensive ability was very strong. Team competition but no psychological pressure, after all, the two teams are very strange to each other.

In the World Cup, the opening game should have been about adapting to each other. He felt that as long as the team can hold the first half and take the opportunity to find opportunities to score goals, then Ecuador may still win.

But in the current situation, England launched a large-scale offensive as soon as it came up.

This kind of game was beyond his expectation, and he couldn't help worrying about the team. If the England team scored first, the team would be even more difficult to play.

But the game on the field is still going on, and these are beyond Suarez's control.

Soon, the England team got another chance. This time it was Wang Li. With the support of his teammates, he finally received a pass near the penalty area line. Many fans who valued Wang Li could even imagine the next scene—— Take the ball!shoot!
Wang Li's choice was beyond the expectations of the fans, he directly chose to shoot.There was no stopping the ball at all. After observing the surrounding situation, Wang Li faced the rolling football, turned around and volleyed directly!

This is called a real cold shot!

Ecuador's goalkeeper Bellaforte didn't respond at all. Although the angle of the shot was not tricky, the football still got into the net from Bellaforte's hand.

(End of this chapter)