Chapter 2324 - 591: The Clubber Link-Up, the Skyward Hero
"Bro, it was an accident."
Xavi glared at Ramos, who chuckled awkwardly and explained.
What he usually wanted to do most was to hit Puyol and Xavi.
Plus, Xavi fouled Van Bommel, his club teammate, and Ramos felt a sense of time-space confusion.
He thought it might be his subconscious desire to hit Xavi affecting his actions.
Ramos decided to hold back a little.
After all, if he hit a teammate and got a red card, those damned reporters would certainly say it was to give the Netherlands team a break, implicating Huang Kaiwen.
That’s something Ramos didn’t want to see.
The local player count was increasing.
Running to create space.
Bosque almost instantly realized the Netherlands team’s strategy.
When Xavi fouled, there were several players around Van Bommel to support.
This indeed increased the defensive pressure at the time, but if relying on stamina to defend, what would the Netherlands team use for the offense?
He watched Huang Kaiwen’s interview before the match, could it be that the Netherlands team’s tactics hadn’t been decided beforehand?
The Netherlands team started organizing again after a rear-court kickoff.
Bosque soon widened his eyes.
Defense line!
The Netherlands team’s defensive line was higher than before, no longer a low positional defense.
No wonder it felt like there were so many local players for the Netherlands team.
But breaking the established defensive system might cause problems for the Netherlands team?
The Dutch players also have good skills.
At least in organizing an attack, their ability to release the ball quickly was up to standard.
This is also related to the characteristics of Dutch football.
Spanish players kept pressing, and Van Bommel passed the ball to the left flank.
Kuyt took the ball and immediately pushed it forward.
Sneijder’s position was technically a winger, but he dropped back deeper.
Every player on the Netherlands team got a manual from Huang Kaiwen on positioning and analysis of the opposition.
Yes.
Before Huang Kaiwen received the starting lineup from Spain, he had already guessed roughly who would start for Spain.
There was practically no variability there.
Iniesta was always used as a winger, the midfield consisted of Xavi, Alonso, and the "shadow player," and there were hardly any changes to the defense line.
At most, Fabregas playing as a forward was a bit unexpected.
The Barca framework was there, and Spain’s defense was the same.
Facing the pressing from Xavi and his old teammate Ramos, Sneijder didn’t dare to hold the ball for too long.
But Ramos’s speed in intercepting was faster than he expected.
When Sneijder swung his leg, Ramos was already side-blocking in front of his ball.
The football bounced high towards the center.
Players from both sides engaged in a fierce scramble.
The ball bounced up and down in the air, and before David Silva could turn around, it hit his waist and landed at Robben’s feet.
Robben immediately cut inside and delivered an accurate left-footed pass.
Sneijder, who had advanced to the center, was directly through on goal.
"Sneijder!!!!!"
Four Spanish defenders were chasing behind Sneijder.
Without Puyol, no one could cover for Piqué.
Huang Kaiwen couldn’t help but tilt his head and nod vigorously.
This was exactly as he predicted; Piqué was the most obvious flaw in this defensive line.
Robben’s through ball was fast, and Sneijder was close to the goal, it looked like he could take a shot.
Huang Kaiwen also held his breath.
Closer.
At the edge of the big penalty area, Piqué had already chased back.
Sneijder’s long shot was directly palmed away by Casillas.
The entire stadium seemed to follow Huang Kaiwen’s action, unable to hold back a sigh.
What a pity.
Ultimately, it’s not the peak Sneijder.
Two years ago, this shot would have been of better quality.
Sneijder also walked back somewhat regretfully.
"It’s okay, there will be more chances!"
Huang Kaiwen clapped and shouted to the field.
Sneijder immediately squeezed out a smile towards the sidelines.
On the stands, Raul showed a worried expression.
Although the way he left Spain was disgraceful, almost kicked out of the national team by Bosque.
Seeing familiar jerseys, he couldn’t help but cheer for the players.
But today, the Netherlands team’s positioning made him feel a sense of déjà vu.
Van Persie pulled wide, Sneijder on the wing moved to the center.
Thinking back to when Huang Kaiwen was at Real Madrid, it seemed like they switched positions similarly.
Bosque soon spotted the problem too.
The Netherlands team was running to create space, but it wasn’t to defend.
Instead, it was preparing to attack!!!
The offensive line retracts, the defensive line presses forward.
With more running and coordination, the Netherlands team was demonstrating a true total football approach.
He couldn’t be sure of this judgment at the start of the match.
But the Netherlands team’s performance made it quite close.
He was a bit curious, with the Netherlands team always liking to delay match time, how would they play after 90 minutes?
Xavi had the ball and immediately faced pressing from Kuyt and De Jong.
One was stiff, the other flexible.
De Jong’s pressing was fierce and decisive, yet mixed with truth and falsity.
As a master’s holder in economics, Nigel De Jong showed considerable intelligence in his defense.
Kuyt was like something Löw couldn’t shake off, no matter how he rubbed his fingers together.
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
What made Xavi uncomfortable was that Kuyt seemed to be waiting for him to turn in place.
At this moment, he didn’t dare try it and immediately made a turn-back pass.
Busquets had just received the ball when he passed it on to Xabi Alonso.
Both teams’ formation diagrams weren’t very accurate.
Spain had a single defensive midfielder, but Alonso and Busquets’s positions would change with the situation on the field, making it unclear who was holding the last position.
This time, Alonso chose a deeper position to receive the ball because his long pass could directly deliver the ball to the front line.
Unlike Chelsea and such tough teams, Spain’s frontline didn’t have strong aerial capabilities, so his passes had to be extremely precise.