Soccer: The Road to Extraordinary

Chapter 489
After a good start with three consecutive victories in the league, Granada's league journey has come to a short stop.

Granada also ushered in the first real test of the season - the Champions League.

This is the first time in the history of the Granada team in the Champions League, and their first opponent in the group stage is Roma from Serie A.

The Roma team is very familiar to fans all over the world.But to Yan Feng, the Roma team is still a strange team.He is not a fan of the Roma team, and since he entered professional football, he has not paid much attention to how other teams are doing.Naturally, I don't know much about the current Roma team.

As for the Roma team, although they have almost become the second in the millennium in Serie A in recent years, their strength must not be underestimated.The tough style of Roma will be the test of this Granada team.

Are Granada really as strong as they appear on paper?Can their offense still be sharp when facing a strong defensive opponent?Who is the stronger captain of the two teams and who has more leadership qualities?

These are the debates and questions that the outside world has about the two teams in this game.

"Judging from the previous three league games, the Granada team is still very strong. It's just that this is their first time participating in the Champions League. As rookies, it's hard to say if their performance is really good."

"In the Granada team, only Modric and Vidal are players with experience in the Champions League. Others, even their captain Yan, have not experienced it. Their first game, facing a strong team The result of the Roma team is not optimistic."

"The defensive ability of the Roma team is not comparable to that of the Spanish team. Facing a tougher and more solid defense, the Granada team's seemingly good offense is likely to show its true colors."

The outside world is not very optimistic about Granada's first Champions League game.Even the most supportive Spanish and Chinese fans are cautious.

Although the performance in the previous La Liga games was gratifying, but at the level of the Champions League, everyone still dare not be too confident.

"I don't know if the Granada team can perform well. Roma's defense may make them run into a wall." After all, this is the first time, even if the fans have great confidence in the Granada team, they will inevitably be worried in their hearts.

"Two captains, Pelosi is stronger? Or is Yan Feng stronger?"

"It must be that Pelosi is stronger, he is more experienced, and he has more leadership qualities." This is the attitude of Roma Ball.

"I also said, of course it is Yan Feng. He is younger, physically better, and has stronger impact." Naturally, Chinese fans want to support themselves.

The respective captains of the two teams, Yan Feng and Pelosi, are also the focus of attention from the outside world.Even in the eyes of many people, the two people in the same position are both defenders and captains, and they are similar in many aspects.The only thing that makes people feel that each has their own advantages is the ones mentioned above by their respective fans.

As for who is stronger, it is still necessary to know after the game.

As the subject of the topic, Yan Feng naturally heard various judgments from the outside world.For Pelosi, Yan Feng still has a little understanding.And these understandings mainly come from the fact that the Italian team was defeated by the Swedish team in 17 and missed the World Cup qualification.

"Why replace me? What we want is to win, not to keep a tie!" Perosi refused the assistant coach's request to warm up and prepare to play. This matter, Yan Feng's image is still very deep.

Yan Feng is still very surprised that a classic team like the Italian team is eligible for the World Cup.It is precisely because of this that he feels a pity for the Italian team.At the same time, he also agrees with Pelosi's ball.

The same position, plus the attitude of daring to express different views, Yan Feng appreciates it very much.As for, Yan Feng is still looking forward to confronting this upright guy.

Back to the team, the Granada team attaches great importance to the Roma team.After all, this is their first appearance in the Champions League and they really want to do well.At the same time, they also want to see what level they have reached now.Only withstood the test of the Roma team, they really have the confidence to face the La Liga championship.

"The first game of the Champions League, go all out!" This is the slogan of the Granada team.Don't be high-profile, and don't show weakness.

After the whole team flew to Rome, they didn't go outside for a leisurely play, but quickly threw themselves into intense preparations.

A few days later, the game arrived as scheduled.

The Olympic Stadium in Rome, the home stadium of the Roma team, was flooded with countless fans on the day of the game.Next to the many Roma fans, there is also a fan belonging to the Granada team.

This time, many Granada fans went to Rome with the team.And these fans are not just local fans in Granada, many of them are local Chinese students studying in Rome.There are even some rich Chinese fans who flew over from China.

As an away fan, the number of fans is naturally far from being comparable to that at home.But the small number of fans still made Yan Feng and others who were playing in the away game feel very encouraged.

"Look, there are so many people supporting us, how can we let them down?" Yan Feng was the first to express his opinion.Naturally, his words were quickly supported by other players.

After some entrance ceremony, the game finally started.

As the visiting team, and the first Champions League match, Pirlo chose to defend.This has the support of the players.After all, it is the first battle, so everyone is more or less inclined to be cautious.

4231 formation, the usual formation of the Granada team.Sander is still at the front, Modric is the midfielder, Martial and Mahrez are the two full-backs, and Yan Feng and Lin Fan are behind.The back line is McTaki, Ingarsen, Longban, and Vidal.Benkovich was not used, but the more experienced Longban was used.

This is the most balanced and well-structured formation for Granada.

The Roma team, which is playing at home, has a more offensive formation-433 formations.Captain Pelosi sits in the middle, and Dzeko, Udell, and Shalawi form Rome's offensive trident.

After the start of the game, the Granada team seemed more cautious.But the Roma team, which has home court advantage, is much more proactive.They look, more aggressive.

"Destroy them. Let them understand that the Champions League is not so easy to mix." Roma captain Pelosi called for the first offensive.

The Roma team has a high momentum and their offensive looks oppressive.It's just that Granada's defense is not something they can underestimate.Naturally, Roma's first attack did not pose much threat.

When it came time for Granada to attack, Perosi had his eye on Modric. "Let these Spaniards taste our Roma defense. Modric will leave it to me."

Although the Granada team is a rookie in the Champions League, after all, the madness in the summer transfer market is still very eye-catching, and it is impossible for the Roma team to ignore it.After research, the Roma team understood that Modric was the key to Grana's attack.

Pelosi stared at Modric, and his main task in this game was to freeze Modric, the core of the Granada team.

Since Pelosi is about the same age as Modric, he doesn't suffer from his footsteps.But his stronger body and tough guy style did cause Modric a lot of trouble after being entangled.

Granada's first attack, Modric was quickly brought down by Perosi after getting the ball in the frontcourt.Not even a chance to organize.

After another kick-off, Granada's offense also failed to create any threat under the tough defense of the Roma team.

In the first back and forth, neither side was able to create a threat.But we can see the same tough defense on both sides.

After the initial trial, both sides had a preliminary understanding of their opponents.After discovering that Granada's defense was solid, Roma were not in a hurry.

In the first 10 minutes, the two sides looked like they were competing with their own defensive capabilities.After the understanding was almost the same, the two sides stepped up their offensive efforts.

Since the Roman team's formation is an offensive formation, their offensive looks naturally stronger.However, the tacit cooperation between Yan Feng and Lin Fan made the Roma team's attack in the center basically abolished.This allowed Roma to strengthen their attack from two sides.

For such a situation, the Granada team has long been accustomed to it, so they are still working hard on the defense of the wing.In the case that the two full-backs do not make big mistakes, it seems that the Roma team's offense wants to achieve the desired effect, which is still not very realistic for the time being.

In fact, in the past two seasons, Roma's offense has not been so ideal.Even in Serie A, they are not particularly strong.

Facing Granada's strong defense, Roma's offensive formation was not very effective.After discovering this, the Roma team turned to strengthen the defense first.There is no need for substitutions, and they can flexibly change formations in offense and defense during the game.

The Roma team has stepped up its defensive investment, and in this way, the resistance of the Granada team's offense has been even greater.

Under Perosi's entanglement, Modric was limited in connecting the ball, so naturally he was unable to exert his full strength.

The soul of the offense is restricted, which has greatly affected the Granada team's frontcourt offense.The most obvious thing is that Sandel, the top arrow, received significantly less support than in previous games.

Another obvious manifestation is that the frontcourt players began to play more alone.Especially the two wingers, Martial and Mahrez.They are all people who are extremely confident in their skills.

Martial and Mahrez have more time to hold the ball, and the number of times they try to break through is also increasing.Their strong individual abilities really give them an advantage in one-on-one.But the defense of the Roma team is not leading individuals, they are supported by a very good defense as a whole.

The two horses can break through one, or even two, but they can't break through the defense of more people.They have outstanding personal abilities, but they are not Maradona.The result of more individual fights is that Granada's offensive often ends at their feet.

Granada couldn't find any loopholes in Roma's defense, and Roma couldn't break through Granada's defense.This put the two sides in a stalemate.The game is also more inclined to compete whose defense is stronger and who is less likely to make mistakes.

The end result was that in the first half, no one could do anything to anyone.

The second half, after a break and adjustment, started soon.

After the resumption of the game, both sides made changes.

Oddly enough, the two sides seem to have reversed.Granada changed to a more aggressive 433, while Roma switched to 4231.

The swapped formation also means a change in the mentality of both sides.Obviously, the Granada team is more confident, but the Roma team is also more cautious.

It became 433, the personnel did not change, Yan Feng was still in the middle, and Modric moved to the right.In this way, Granada's offense can be launched from both sides.Both Modric and Lin Fan can do this.

On the Roman side, Perosi faced Yan Feng.The captains of the two sides finally faced each other directly.

Soon after the start of the second half, Yan Feng and Pelosi faced each other.When these two strong men met, it was naturally a spark hitting the earth.

Although Pelosi is older, but he is not afraid at all, facing Yan Feng, he is still very fierce.

Although Yan Feng admires the opponent very much, the best way to appreciate the opponent is to defeat the opponent with all his strength.

As the game progressed, Yan Feng and Luo Peixi collided again and again.That kind of physical collision, watching the fans have a feeling of a train collision.

The collision of the two captains also drove the players on both sides, which made the intensity of the game rise linearly.

The Roma team is a tough team, and although the Granada team seems to have become technically streamlined after Modric arrived, they are also very tough in their bones.

In this way, the game entered a climax, and the fierce and tough confrontation made the scene exciting.

The increase in physical confrontation and the intensified competition in the midfield have made the game more prone to fighting unconsciously.

It's both good and bad for Granada, though.The good thing is that they will have a physical advantage at the end of the game; the bad thing is that their smooth offense has been greatly affected.

Pirlo and Modric naturally want to change this situation, but the situation of the game is not something that can be done just by thinking.Most of the players on the field have to invest in this consumption.

When the game lasted 80 minutes, Granada's physical advantage really appeared.So they pressed hard.

But to their surprise, the Roma team, which was greatly depleted in physical fitness, did not catch it without a fight.After changing some people, Roma's defense is still very tenacious and tough.

Especially their captain Pelosi, who kept gritted his teeth and tried his best to fight.Under his leadership, the Roma team maintained their tenacity and fierceness until the last minute of the game.

Faced with the tenacity of the Roma team, Granada's fierce offensive has never achieved results.Although there were more opportunities in the second half of the game, they just couldn't really break through the Roma defense.

In the end, the game ended with a score of 0:0.

A game that was more than intense, but without goals.This is Granada's Champions League opener.

(End of this chapter)