Chapter 186 Group B
Chapter 186 Group B
After the three rounds of Group A, the results have already come out. Belgium and Turkey joined hands to qualify, and the European Cup trip between the declining giants Czech Republic and the host Switzerland had no choice but to come to an end.
Croatia, which has already qualified in Group B, does not dare to take it lightly. If they do not want to face Belgium with Digan, they must strive for the top spot in the group.
In this game, the Polish team they need to face may only qualify in theory. The final result is fixed at 1:0, and Croatia won.
This extremely dull game should have been forgotten by the fans long ago, but one person made this game forever recorded in the annals of international football. This person is Klasnic.
As the first player in the world to return to the field after a kidney transplant, Klasnic scored the first "kidney fighter" goal in the history of world football.
In order to cope with the next knockout round, Bilic hid most of the main players in this game, because even if it is a substitute lineup, Poland cannot deal with it. Klasnic, who did not get a chance to play in the first two games, made his debut.
Klashnic also became one of the few bright spots in this game. From the beginning of the game, the shooter showed a strong desire to win.
The scene recorded in history was staged in the 53rd minute of the game. Planic made a low pass from the left. Klasnic, who had been knocked down by the defender before, quickly got up and shot low with his left foot. It pierced through Borutz's fingers.
This is the first major goal scored by Klashnic for Croatia. It is also his first goal for the national team since October 7, 2006. "Goal.
After the goal, Klasnic knelt down on his knees and howled. The Croatian fans shed tears and shouts for him. Soon after Klasnic was replaced, the left-footed slugger won warm applause from the fans again.
Klasnic's career was smooth sailing at the beginning of his career. In the summer of 2001, he moved from St. Pauli to Werder Bremen and has been playing for the Parrots ever since.
Elton, Klose, and Klasnic's partners have changed one after another, but only he dedicated all his love to Bremen, and the word "traitor" will never be related to him.
In the three years from 03/04 to 05/06, Klasnic scored more than 10 goals in the league. His 13 goals helped Bremen win the Bundesliga in the 03/04 season.
However, all the good things were shattered in an instant. On December 17, 2006, Klasnich suddenly announced that he was suffering from renal failure after halfway through the Bundesliga season. Klasnich then underwent a kidney transplant. The kidney caused severe rejection in his body.
After his condition stabilized slightly, Klasnich underwent a second kidney transplant operation. The kidney source came from his father. This operation was very successful. Klasnich finally got rid of the shadow of weekly hemodialysis for the rest of his life.
On November 24, 2007, a day that will always be remembered by Klasnic, the Croatian finally returned to the Bundesliga after 11 months in a 2-0 away win over Cottbus at Werder Bremen.
Klasnic's state was not affected by a year's rest. 20 days later, he scored twice in Werder Bremen's 5:2 sweep of Leverkusen.
Throughout the season, Klashnic played 16 times and scored 7 goals. The average scoring rate of 0.44 per game is definitely not low. On March 26, 2008, Croatia warmed up and drew 1:1 with Scotland. Plaid shirt debut.
"We are all happy to have him again after so many things," Bilic told a news conference after the game. , it's an honor story**, thanks to him for the goal, yes, all the Croats have to thank him, he did it, he really did it!"
Klasnic was also very excited after the game: "I said before that being able to return to the court is like a gift from God. This is like a dream. I want to thank God for allowing me to continue to live and continue to play. I am very proud to be part of Croatia and I hope the coach will consider me in the quarter-finals."
Warriors who can face blood are worthy of respect, but Klashnic, who never abandons or gives up on football and life, is even more worthy of people's admiration. This strong man does not need pity, but applause and respect.
Just like Klasnich deserves respect from the fans is Croatia, where he played. No one was optimistic about them before the game, but after the European Cup started, they beat Austria 1:0, Germany 2:1, Poland 1:0, Croatia Advancing to the knockout round as the number one in the group, the result of winning all three games also makes people seem to see the lattice army of the French World Cup 10 years ago.
Ten years is enough to complete a cycle in the football world. In these ten years, the Croatian team has completed the transformation from heyday to regeneration.
When Bilic turned from a bad boy on the field to the commander in chief of the Croatian coaching bench, the glory of Croatia seems to be re-displaying with the return of the golden generation.
The 1998 World Cup in France was the most glorious moment for the Croatian team. They made it out of the group stage steadily and took advantage of the first round of the knockout round. They won Romania with a goal in a not-so-good state. Croatia focused on In the war against Germany, Germany ended 3:0 teasingly, and what ended was the fabulous strength of the German team.
In the semi-final against the host France, Asanovic, the core midfielder, picked a pass, and Suker pushed France to a cliff. If Thuram's kick from behind Boban can't be counted as a foul, Croatia won't have to complain about Thuram's one more attack on Giarni. Possessed shot, let Croatia fall one step away from the World Cup final.
Beautiful things are always fleeting. The powerful Croatia became weak after Boban, Suker and other figures who were enough to be recorded in football history quit. After that, Croatia almost became a forgotten term.
In 2008, Bilic returned to people's sight with the medal of the third place in the world ten years ago, and the Croatian team completed Nirvana.
It is true that Modric and others are not as good as Boban back then. Petric is not Vlaovic, and it is more difficult than Suk, but Bilic's team pays more attention to teamwork.
Croatia beat Austria 1-0 in the first game. Croatia's arrogance before the game and embarrassment in the game made them the object of ridicule. Changed to a surprised expression, eliminating the need to shut up. In the third game, they beat Poland with a substitute lineup, and Croatia qualified as the first in the group stage with three wins and three wins.
Dark horse, the biggest dark horse in this European Cup, the Croatian team once again made the term dark horse seem synonymous with strength and dignity.
William Hill is snobbish, and when Croatia surprised everyone with their performance, their odds have risen to fifth, with odds of 7.00 second only to favourites, Spain, Holland, Portugal and Germany.
After the game against Poland, coach Bilic spoke again: "I'm glad we gave our fans another reason to celebrate, but we should have won more."
Will not be satisfied with temporary victory, Croatia, a dark horse that has never been humble, is proud of its own loneliness, but has the strength to make everyone admire.
While Croatia advanced, the German team finally withstood the pressure in a critical life-and-death battle. Ballack's heavy artillery also became a booster for the German team to qualify.
In 2004, in the first game after Klinsmann took office in the German team, it was decided that Ballack would replace Kahn as the new captain of the German team, and that game was in Vienna. Now four years have passed, Ballack returned to Vienna, and with his free kick, the German team defeated Austria 1-0 and broke into the quarterfinals of the European Cup. Vienna also witnessed the process of the German leader from ascending to the throne to taking off.
Starting from the unknown midfield rookie in the 2000 European Cup, Ballack started his growth career in the German team. In 2002, Ballack established the core position of the midfielder. He helped Leverkusen win the "Sanya King" and he also had an eye-catching performance in the summer World Cup. He and Kahn teamed up to send the German team to the World Cup final. Ballack scored the only goal of the game in the quarter-finals against the United States and the semi-finals against South Korea, helping the team advance to the final.
But unfortunately, Ballack had to miss the final due to accumulated yellow cards, and the German team without Ballack seemed to have lost the soul of the midfielder. In the end, they lost to Brazil 0:2 and lost the World Cup champion. Lack can only look up to the sky and sigh. In that World Cup, Germany fell short, but it succeeded Ballack.
2004 was a mixed year for Ballack. In the European Cup in the summer, although he scored goals, he was unable to avoid the fate of the German team being eliminated in the group stage.
But after Klinsmann took office, Ballack was elected as the new captain of the German team. From then on, the German team began the "Barack era", and the German chariot also entered revival and glory under the leadership of Ballack.
In the 2006 World Cup, although Ballack did not score again, his role in the team was more obvious. In the end, Ballack led the team to win the third place in the World Cup and wrote a song "Summer Fairy Tale". In that World Cup, he fully established his leadership position.
Now, after two years of Chelsea career, Ballack once again led the German team to appear in the European Cup. At the age of 32, his role in the German team is still irreplaceable.
In the end, when the German team was in danger of being eliminated, it was Ballack who stepped forward again. In Vienna, where he witnessed him becoming the captain of the German team, he knocked on the top eight of the European Cup with a wonderful free kick. Send the German team to the knockout round.
Ballack, who roared after the goal, let Vienna witness his leadership and unparalleled arrogance. This midfielder, who has participated in 84 national team games and scored 37 goals, is leading the German team to a new glory. .
In the German national team, Ballack's excellence on the field is not only reflected in the goals. Judging from the statistics after the game, Ballack also has an overwhelming advantage. Teammates create scoring opportunities. In addition, Ballack's full-court running is also very active, covering almost every area of the court.
In addition to one goal, Ballack also had two threatening shots. When the German team's performance in the game was sluggish and the sports battle was weak, Ballack helped the team break the deadlock with a free kick and scored the final goal. victory.
On the court, Ballack is the well-deserved leader of the German chariot. Off the court, Ballack also showed his leadership qualities. Before the game, he dared to scold his teammates and his girlfriend in front of the media for not being aggressive in the hotel, and dared to challenge the coach. In addition, Ballack also called his teammates to hold a player meeting to express their opinions on the team's problems. Today, Ballack is consciously assuming more and more responsibilities. , His influence on the team is also increasing day by day.
Ballack's goal fulfilled the German team's 12-year European Cup quarter-finals dream. They failed to qualify for the European Cup group stage for two consecutive years and finally appeared in the knockout round again. Next, the German team led by Ballack will face Diablo. Gan led the Belgian team. In the previous Champions League semi-finals, Ballack's Chelsea lost to Digan's Fiorentina. Now, the two meet again, and Ballack is bound to look forward to successful revenge and lead the German team to a higher goal. The goal is to launch an impact. The leader of the German team will follow the glorious footsteps of the predecessors of the national team and move forward step by step.
Ballack knocked on the door of victory for the German pair. However, looking at the entire game, it was not Ballack who performed the best in the Germanic Legion, but someone else, and this person was Lahm.
The only bright spot of Ballack in the whole game can only be regarded as this stunning free kick, and what is more displayed in Ballack is a kind of cohesion and dominance as the captain. He roared and roared many times during the game, reminding himself It is precisely this kind of unity that allowed the German chariot to advance to the quarter-finals. Perhaps the organizing committee also saw such dominance after the game and gave the German captain the best of the game.
Lahm's outstanding performance is more on the technical level. In this game, Lahm returned to the left and seemed to have regained his sense. It can be said that the Germans did not perform well in the whole game, and Lahm was the only one. Lighting up the audience, the defense on the left was impeccable, and his speed and breakthrough were also fully displayed in the offense. Even after creating the free kick that remembered the score, Lahm once again cooperated with his teammates and directly went in. , but the linesman's offside misjudgment ended the offense.
In the European Cup in Portugal in 2004, although the German team failed to qualify, Lahm became the biggest discovery of the German team in that summer. One goal, and finally by virtue of his excellent performance, he was selected into the best team and was nominated for the World Footballer of the year.
In this game, the German team's overall performance in the first half was substandard. Lahm could only help the team to clear the siege in the second half, and was unable to exert his excellent assist ability at all.
However, in the second half, Ram suddenly showed his strength. In the 49th minute of the game, Ram broke through from the left to the front of the penalty area. After being brought down by the opponent player, he won a free kick for the German team. Taking the lead and changing the passive situation on the field.
Lahm's flashes can't make people ignore the downturn of the German team since the start of the European Cup. Although Ballack's goal saved the whole team and the coach Loew, however, a member of the German chariot is stepping forward. In the abyss of depression, that person is forward Gomez. Now Gomez has completely made Love lose his patience, and entering the starting lineup again in this game is also the last chance Love gave him.
Three hours before the game, the German newspaper Bild announced the starting lineup of the German team. Unlike Friedrich's entry into the starting lineup, Gomez still occupies the starting center position, which is surprising. In the game, Gomez In the first half, the kick in front of the empty goal will definitely make Loew completely lose his patience with him. The battle with Austria will also become the Waterloo for Gomez to get out of the main list.
Loew still let Gomez start in the game against Austria, which obviously gave him enough face and gave him a chance to prove himself in the end. However, the missed goal and the end of the midway replacement are enough to indicate that in the 1 match against Belgium In the /4 finals, Gomez will no longer qualify in the German team's starting lineup.
Gomez's downturn is just a point, but the weakness of the German defense line is really to the point where people can't bear to look directly at it. In the first match against Poland in the group stage, the German team's defense line exposed many loopholes. Lehmann almost gave the opponent a chance to make up shots due to several mistakes in catching the ball. In addition, the side of the German team has also become the opponent's main breakthrough. It's just that the Polish players' counterattack ability is limited, so they didn't score a goal.
In the second game against Croatia, it can be said that the loopholes in the German team's defense were exposed. Take advantage of these two loopholes to score two goals.
That's why Loew made substitutions in the third game against Austria, replacing Janssen with Lahm and Friedrich at right-back.
However, the German team's defense problem has not been fundamentally improved. The state of the two central defenders is still disappointing. In the first half, Metzelder pulled down Hannik in the penalty area and was almost awarded a penalty. However, his state is still not good. The best, was caught by the opponent to break through several loopholes, and the defense was very embarrassing.
Mertesacker was intercepted shortly after the start of the second half, and almost gave the opponent a one-handed chance. Fortunately, the opponent was not fast enough and Mertesacker counter-robbed.
And Friedrich's right flank also seemed very mediocre. Not only did he fail to provide effective support to the frontcourt players, his defense was still frightening, and the opponent seized several opportunities to successfully break through.
In addition, although Lahm on the left had an eye-catching performance in this game, he broke through to the frontcourt many times and made several threatening passes, but the defensive problem was still not effectively resolved. Since Podolski hardly participated in the defense, this The pressure on Lahm's defense was not light, but fortunately, Austria's frontcourt attackers were also not good at shooting, which allowed the German team to keep the goal.
Compared with the 2006 World Cup, today's German team's defense can be said to have fallen short of standards. In that World Cup, the combination of the German team's two central defenders Metzelder and Mertesacker was perfect. The game also conceded only one goal, and played as well as ever in the knockout stage. It can be said that in addition to the strong offensive power in the frontcourt, excellent defense is also one of the important factors to ensure that the German team advances to the semi-finals and wins the third place.
But today's German team seems to be timid, not daring to press forward boldly on offense, and lacks confidence and lack of coordination in defense. This mentality also brings huge psychological pressure to the German defense players. Make it difficult for them to perform better.
Judging from the current defensive performance of the German team, only Lahm has performed well, and the rest of the players are obviously not in the best condition, or even playing abnormally.
The limited depth of the bench is destined to make it difficult for the German team to have more changes and adjustments. At present, the only player in the German team's defense who has not played is Westermann from Schalke. Surprise people in the future.
And with Loew's conservative personality, I am afraid that he will not make major adjustments to the existing lineup. Therefore, in the knockout stage, the German team still has to rely on this unreliable line of defense. I am afraid they can only hope that the defensive players can regain their excellent form as soon as possible.
However, after entering the knockout stage, the German team's defense may not be as easy as it is now. The defeat against Croatia is enough to sound the alarm for Loew's team, not to mention that their opponent is Belgium, which has the most terrifying offensive weapon in the world, Digan.
Dealing with Croatia's risk combination is full of loopholes. Facing Digan, who has sharper breakthroughs and more comprehensive skills, if the German team's defense line still performs poorly in the group stage, I am afraid it will not escape the fate of being "broken" by the opponent.
All right! The Germans won, but even as a regular fan, after watching enough of the game, Degan was very, very disappointed by the dull and chaotic process.
Before the start of this European Cup, many people are predicting which teams are capable of winning the championship. The German team has been repeatedly mentioned, but today's German chariot performance is even worse than the previous game.
In the first 10 minutes of the game, the German players also showed their overall tactical execution on the court, but when the hosts used the home court to exert pressure, their performance was almost useless. If there are any bright spots in the German team in this game, there is only one Lahm.
Two years ago, in the World Cup in Germany, the vigorous German team did not appear on the field today. Digan basically did not feel that the German players showed enough desire to win, including captain Ballack, Almost all players lack the desire to win this game. They seem to be reluctant to complete the pre-match tasks. However, if Degan is still facing such a team, winning does not seem to be a problem.