Chapter 198: Declining Nobility in Italy

Chapter 198: Declining Nobility in Italy

The last quarter-final match of the 2008 European Cup was staged at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria. Spain, the top player in Group D, met Italy, the second place in Group C.

Spain, with a well-organized lineup, still sent their strongest lineup. On the Italian side, Donadoni once again ignored the Fiorentina gang. At this moment, even the Italian media, which is hostile to Fiorentina, couldn't help but sigh: Donadoni really brought Florence helped to travel to the European Cup.

After the start of the game, both sides played very cautiously, and the game scene has been very flat. Although Spain really wanted to settle the battle within the regular time, the Italian team, who had made up their minds to defend to the death, set up an iron barrel formation in their own half , Di Natale was even booed by the fans in his country because he deliberately delayed the time during the game.

Even Digan, who came to watch the game in person, felt his teeth ached. The kick was too shameless, shameless and not shameless. Put it aside for now. In the end, Donadoni achieved his goal and dragged the game Entering the final penalty shootout, it was at this decisive moment that the fans who were already drowsy finally regained their spirits.

After the challenge, the penalty shootout started at the goal in front of the stands where the Spanish fans gathered. The Spanish team took the lead in taking the penalty. Villa, who had already scored four goals, was the first to take the penalty. The ball hit Buffon's lower left corner , the Italian goalkeeper completely judged the wrong direction, and Spain hit the first goal easily.

For the Italian team, Grosso, who scored the last goal of the World Cup penalty shootout, took the penalty. The "great left back" hit the left goal with his left foot and easily scored. Cassie judged the direction, but failed to save. The score was 1:1, the two teams drew.

In the second round, the Spanish team sent Cazorla, who came off the bench in the second half. The Spanish team's super substitute calmly pushed the lower left corner of the goal to score, but Buffon misjudged the direction again.

The Italian team sent De Rossi, who also scored a penalty kick in the World Cup final. As a result, when the Roman teenager was on the field, Degan's heart trembled and he was nervous. Brother Dashi was nervous. As expected, De Rossi Casillas made the right decision and saved the ball from the left half. The score was 2:1 and Spain took the lead.

De Rossi, who missed a penalty kick, knelt down directly on the ground, holding his head in his hands, with an unbelievable expression on his face, while Casillas, who made great achievements, raised his arms and shouted that he had helped Spain control its destiny in his hands.

Degan also let out a long sigh. History has not changed. Out of personal feelings, Degan still hopes that Italy can change its fate against the sky and win this game, but it is a pity that Italian football is really sick. The incident almost destroyed Italy's national league. Coupled with the youth training fault, the outstanding young players in Italy have almost completely disappeared. How can such an Italy compete with the mighty Spain.

In the third round, the Spanish midfielder Senna took the penalty. Like Degan, Senna is also a Brazilian. After Villarreal became famous, he joined the Spanish international. In the end, the captain of Villarreal shot decisively into the goal. At the corner of the road, Buffon misjudged again, and Spain hit all the first three goals.

The third player of the Italian team was Camoranesi, who came off the bench. The Juventus winger withstood the pressure and scored from the upper right corner of the goal. Although Casillas judged the right direction, he had no choice but to look at the ball because of its fast speed and tricky angle. Sigh. With a score of 3:2, Spain continues to lead.

In the fourth round, the Spanish team Guiza took the penalty. As the top scorer in La Liga last season, the penalty kick is not what Guiza is good at. Sure enough, the ball he shot to the right of the center was blocked by Buffon, Spain's first time miss.

Spain missed, and the opportunity came to the Italian team. Di Natale was the fourth to come on the field. The Udinese winger shot the ball to the right of the goal. The ball was judged correctly by the brave San Casillas again. The Italian team Missed the best opportunity to tie, the score is still 3:2, as long as the next round of penalty kick Spain, Matador will win.

In the fifth round, the Spanish team played No. 10 Cesc Fabregas. In this European Cup, Fabregas can only come off the bench, but in the limited time, he still played a great role. This penalty , as long as the King of the Emirates hits, Spain will eliminate Italy and advance to the semi-finals. In the end, Fabregas withstood the pressure. He successfully tricked Buffon with his penalty kick and shot it into the bottom right corner of the goal. The Italian goalkeeper completely missed it. Lost the direction and lost the game.

Spain, as in the original history, successfully entered the semi-finals, and their next opponent will be Russia, which eliminated the Dutch team.

Seeing the Spaniards cheering for victory and the Italian players dejectedly on the court, Degan couldn't tell what kind of feeling it was.

When he was leaving the stadium, a reporter spotted him, and Degan didn't refuse, and accepted the interview happily, but the first thing Degan said was to bombard Donadoni!

"In the position of head coach of the Italian national team, Donadoni is the worst in my impression. Before the group stage, Italy's plight, he did not learn his lesson at all, and only complained that there were no more players to choose from. , hell! I only see my brothers in Florence are almost frozen on the bench, they are all members of the Fiorentina treble, but in the eyes of Donadoni, there is no place for him at all, I don't understand why this is happening, Giampaolo, Ricardo, they are very good players and deserve a more solid place in the Italian team, but how are my brothers treated? Italy Out, Donadoni should bear the main responsibility, he is a coward who can only complain!"

For the winning Spanish team, Degan gave a high evaluation: "They performed very well and have made great progress compared with the Spanish team two years ago, but I am not worried. They will meet in the final. When it comes to them, it doesn't make any difference to me whether the opponent is Spain or Russia!"

Degan has already started to think about his opponent in the final. Obviously, the Turkish team he will face in the semi-final is not in his eyes at all.

"The Turks, I'm not worried about them. They did perform well in this European Cup, but with their strength, it is still difficult to advance to the final. First of all, I have to ask whether I agree or not!"

Degan showed his arrogance in front of the reporters as always, while his brothers had to accept a disappointing defeat. The Italian team lacked Pirlo. In this game, they could only defend passively. Although the Spanish team Dominant on the scene, but the biggest contributor to helping Spain win the final victory is goalkeeper Iker Casillas. It was he who saved two penalties in the penalty shootout and sent Spain to the European Cup. In the semi-finals, it was he who rewritten Spain's embarrassing history of not defeating Italy in official competitions in 88 years.

When Guisa missed a penalty kick following Italy's De Rossi, all the Spanish players in the audience looked very frustrated, but only Casillas' eyes remained firm. Immediately afterwards, he saved Di Natale's point The ball, Cesc Fabregas completely sent Spain to the semi-finals in one fell swoop.

The last time Iker Casillas saved a penalty in a major competition was back to the Korea-Japan World Cup. He himself said: "The game between Korea-Japan World Cup and South Korea may be my last penalty memory, but obviously, this game I played better in the game, standing in front of the goal I am sure we will advance to the semi-finals, and for Russia, I can only say that we beat them 4:1 in the group stage, although they played very well against the Netherlands yesterday , but I still have confidence that Spain can reach the final."

Speaking of which, Spain and Italy are not the darlings of penalty shootouts, and this time Casillas' performance completely overwhelmed Buffon. The Spanish captain also led the team to rewrite the history of 88 years of shame. Casillas once again proved himself He is the best goalkeeper in the world, and in his eyes, it is not just the semi-finals of the European Cup. Although this is their best result, the championship is their ultimate goal.

After a suffocating penalty shootout, Spain finally sent the world champion home early. While Casillas, Cesc Fabregas and others were ecstatic, the Matador Corps also quietly broke the spell. Curses are meant to be broken. Since the whole of Europe is to be conquered, of course these so-called curses must be conquered first. Perhaps this Spain is destined to make history.

Since winning the runner-up in the European Cup in 1984, Spain has never reached the semi-finals in international competitions. Italy has created the best record in Spanish football in the past 24 years.

After four games, Spain's forwards performed very well, but it can be clearly seen from the Spanish team's tactical system that the midfielder is the key to their smooth journey to the semi-finals. Among them, compared to Xavi, Iniesta, and David Silva, Senna's performance may not be eye-catching, but there is no doubt that this once marginal task for the Spanish team has now become a solid midfielder for the Spanish midfielder. barrier.

From a fringe player in the World Cup in Germany to an absolute main force today, Senna's progress in the past two years is obvious to all. It is precisely because of his stable performance that Calagones decisively abandoned the former number one favorite Albelda. And after these few games, I believe no matter how harsh people will admit, Senna is an irreplaceable midfield barrier in the Spanish tactical system.

Using a technical midfielder and passing the ball to control the midfield is a style of play that Calagones has persisted in for several years. But to maintain the balance of the team, there must be a pillar-type midfielder. This is a test for Senna. He must intercept the opponent's midfielder and pass the forward line, and he must protect the backcourt as much as possible.

As Albelda's substitute, in the first two group matches and today's quarter-finals, Senna played very well, very well limiting the connection between opponents De Rossi and Aquilani and the striker trident.

The Spanish media once described Senna as Makelele of Calagones, but compared to the old French midfielder, Senna has a good attacking power, and the skilled Brazilian is by no means a brute. As an offensive and defensive conversion hub, Senna is still the team with the most passes in today's game, even more than Barcelona's dual-core Xavi, Iniesta and winger Silva.

In addition, Senna also has a long-range shot. In this game, Senna had the opportunity to solve Italy within the regular time. If it were not for the help of the goal post, perhaps Senna would become the biggest hero in Spain today.

Calagones was also very satisfied with Senna's contribution after the game: "He is the key to winning this game. From defense to filling, and even to the organization of the first attack, he is very good."

When the Brazilian team suffered from the lack of a good midfielder and had to let Arsenal's iron bench Gilberto Silva and Wolfsburg's second-rate midfielder Josue continue to stand out, they gave Spain a high-quality offensive and defensive midfielder like Senna. It's hard to imagine.

Of course, it is not the first time that Spain has benefited from Brazil's foreign aid. In the past, Donato, Catania and others were also extradited from South America. In the next round against Russia, whether Senna can limit Arshavin's performance will be whether Spain can go further. key.

It is rare for the Spanish team to have the last laugh in the penalty shootout, and it is not the first time that the Italians have fallen in front of the penalty shootout. This time they watched the Spaniard advance to the semi-finals of the European Cup. History has since ended, but after the game, Italian coach Donadoni still said stubbornly: "I have done everything I can, and I am proud of my players."

Many people will think that Donadoni is complaining because of the loss of Cannavaro before the battle and the suspension of Pirlo and Gattuso before the game against Spain, but the Italian does not think so. He even said: "Pirlo and Gattuso's replacements Aquilani and Ambrosini have been very good. All players have performed well, but luck is not on Italy's side."

In fact, the performances of Aquilani and Ambrosini can only be regarded as passing. Although Donadoni thanked the players for their efforts, the disappointment expressed in his words is also obvious. After all, the 1988 record was destroyed in the No one will be happy if it is in their own hands.

Donadoni also confessed his loss, and even said sorry to the media: "I can only say that my feeling is disappointment, and I also say sorry to all Italians, but the players and I have done what we can We should be praised for everything we have done. Spain is a very good team. Their physical fitness and skills are very good, but the next step will be a severe test for them. Maybe they can reach the final or win the championship. I wish them all the best. Spain!"

When a reporter relayed Degan's evaluation of him after the game to Donadoni, the Italian coach immediately flew into a rage: "He doesn't understand anything at all, he is just a player, and his responsibility is to play well on the pitch. Instead of pointing fingers at other people's work, he thinks I buried his Fiorentina team-mates, that's just his idea, I will only choose the most suitable players to play, not listen to his nonsense!"

Donadoni continued to be stubborn, but this should not reflect the fact that the World Cup champion was blocked from the semi-finals of the European Cup.

It is not surprising that Italy was eliminated. The reason why the world champions were able to remain strong in the subsequent European Cup was mainly because they continued the very competitive team that won the World Cup.

Of course, Italy also retained the foundation of the world championship this time, but one thing is different from the past. Italy in the World Cup in Germany is the "oldest" world champion in 44 years. Now these world champions have gone through another two years. Continue growing.

For veterans, the increase in age is naturally accompanied by a sharp decline in state. Materazzi and Zambrotta are typical. Therefore, although the team is still the same as it was two years ago, the combat effectiveness has far regressed. The team certainly cannot be compared with Italy in the World Cup.

And when the state of the veterans is declining day by day, Italy lacks fresh blood who can step up in time. In this European Cup, only two "new international players" can be called Pazzini and Montolivo. Most of the time, he can only act as a cheerleader on the bench.

Most of the remaining positions are still dominated by world champions whose level has been seriously inferior to the previous ones, which exposes the problem of insufficient Italian reserve forces, which is actually caused by the decline of Serie A.

In the past nearly 20 years, Serie A has been considered the most difficult league in the world, and the stars it has trained are also extremely combative. In fact, in the past 20 years, almost every team that has performed well in the World Series has not lacked core players from Serie A, such as the Dutch Three Musketeers, the German Troika, Baggio, Bierhoff and Serie A. Zidane and more.

But in the semi-finals of this European Cup, apart from Digan and Kompany who played for Fiorentina, there is no Serie A player, which is unique in the world competitions in the past 20 years. This phenomenon fully reflects that the level of Serie A has undergone a serious decline, and Serie A stars are no longer the guarantee of performance.

The current Serie A is no longer the most difficult league. Last season, Inter Milan was thriving. This season that just ended, Fiorentina won the championship strongly. How much the team contributes.

There are no outstanding young players to emerge, even if there are, Donadoni dare not let go of using them, and can only continue to rely on the world champion cautiously.

Italy's exit disappoints fans who like Italian football, but the fans will not criticize the players too much, because they are world champions and national heroes, so who should take the blame for this, Donadoni is of course the best candidate .

It is difficult to send charcoal in the snow, but it is easy to throw stones into trouble.

The outstanding representative of the Italian young coach who was touted by the media before, immediately became a sinner in people's eyes after losing the game against Spain.

In fact, as the media said, Donadoni is a good coach, but he is really incapable of leading the Italian team forward. Before Donadoni became the Italian coach, he did not have any outstanding coaching experience. After taking office, Lippi The coaches of the two world champion teams, Bearzot and Bearzot, are like two mountains pressing on Donadoni.

When Donadoni led Livorno, the team was very distinctive. Donadoni also wanted to bring out an Italian team of his own, but his tactics were often criticized by Lippi, Bearzot, and even authority The reporter, the left and right of the big names in the team, and Donadoni, who lacked his own opinions, finally brought out a "four different" Italy.

The Italians are going home. Perhaps the World Cup champion two years ago should be put in a safe instead of being brought out to talk about things at any time. The glory of two years ago cannot save Italian football from its current decline.

Although the media will find many reasons for the defeat of the Italian national team, whether it is Cannavaro's injury or Donadoni's misconduct, they are actually just appearances and excuses for failure. The real reason lies in Italian football. A landslide in overall strength.

No matter how strong the team is, it will get old, and if there is no excellent fresh blood to supplement it, it will be useless even if Lippi comes out again. To make Italy stand up from the failure, we must start from the root cause, only the rise of Serie A, Italian football could be reborn.

Perhaps Italian teams have often performed very well in the UEFA Champions League in recent seasons, but anyone with a clear mind should be able to see that, except for the season that just ended, Fiorentina won the championship all the way strong , AC Milan, which won the Champions League three times within five years, is actually so-called brilliance, which is accompanied by a lot of luck, especially the recent two Champions League wins, in fact, it depends on the outstanding performance of the brothers Digan and Kaka. And in this season, AC Milan was completely beaten back to its original shape.

Fiorentina can be regarded as a representative team of Italian football in the past two years, and the Viola Legion has indeed contributed many outstanding players to the Italian national team, such as Antonini, Abate, Maggio, Motta, Ledesma, Monte Tolivo and Pazzini accounted for almost one-third of the Italian national team. Unfortunately, in the European Cup, only three of them got the chance to play. Pacini scored a goal and Monto Livo failed to perform in an unfamiliar position. As for Motta, he played soy sauce happily in the European Cup.

However, it is obviously unrealistic to expect a Fiorentina team to provide blood for the entire Italian team, and Donadoni simply does not look down on the "waste" provided by Fiorentina. If Italian football wants to revive, it still has to rely on the entire league. However, at present, it will take a long process.

It can be predicted that in the next few years, Serie A will still be a two-horse battle between Fiorentina and Inter Milan, closely following the tightening AC Milan, and Juventus, which has not yet recovered its vitality. If you want to participate, you will have to wait at least a few years after that.