bigabreads Chapter 555 The devil's schedule kicks off
Chapter 555 The devil's schedule kicks off
Chapter 555 The devil's schedule kicks off
After AC Milan narrowly beat Parma 3-16 on March 3, Allegri's brows never came down.
The draw to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League is second, after all, it was after April.
What makes him frown is the devil's schedule that the team is about to usher in!
On March 3, in the 22th round of the league, they challenged the "Blue Eagle" Lazio away.
On the 26th, in the 30th round, they will continue to challenge "Violet" Florence in an away game.
On the 29th, in the 31st round, they played against "Flying Donkey" Chievo at home.
Immediately afterwards, on April 4, the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals, the home challenge to the "Bed Sheets" and "Spanish gangsters" Atletico Madrid.
There is a game every two days, and whether it is Lazio and Fiorentina, the top six in Serie A, or Atletico Madrid, which currently leads La Liga, they are not opponents that can be easily defeated!
But that's not all of the devil's schedule:
In April, in addition to the leagues that AC Milan regularly participates in every weekend, there are two semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, and the opponent is still the strong Fiorentina!
Counting the two rounds of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with Atletico Madrid, and the two UEFA Champions League semi-finals that may continue to participate, the total number of games AC Milan will participate in... can reach up to 10 games!
"What kind of structure is the brain of the group of officials of the Italian Football Association?!"
Allegri looked at the dense schedule and couldn't help but curse:
"It's just an insignificant Coppa Italia. Why do we have to play home and away in the semi-finals?! This is a waste of time, energy, and life!"
Gianmeka Melegati, the head of the medical team, also reported to him with concern:
"Such a dense schedule is definitely a huge test for our physical fitness! In fact... many players including Kaka, De Jong, Mexes, Essien, Montolivo, etc. Muscle problems, some people's physical condition can no longer be relieved by rotating a game."
Allegri looked at the physical fitness test sheet in his hand full of players' names and symptoms, his eyebrows, eyes and mouth were all squeezed together, forming a huge "囧" character:
"Let them get over it. Raising troops will last a lifetime. Now is the time when the club needs them to do their best. As a professional player, you should treat every game as the last game in your life, even if your spine is injured. Even if you can only be in a vegetable after playing this game, you must fight until the end!"
——Allegri didn't even think about these awe-inspiring chicken soup for the soul. He just waved to Melegatti and said a little tiredly:
"I see, I will discuss it with others and rearrange the training and game intensity of each player."
-
Playing 30 games in 10 days, even Long Shute may not be able to complete such a task.
Therefore, the AC Milan club had to apply to the Italian Football Association to adjust the schedule of a league match and a Coppa Italia semi-final to May.
But as we all know, the level of the Italian Football Association is about the same as that of England, Argentina, and China. They are best at putting on a posture of being the only one in heaven and earth, and everyone must play the game according to my rules, and ignore any requests. reason.
And from a historical point of view, the domestic support of the AC Milan club seems to be inferior to that of Juventus...
But Galliani's public relations still played a little role. The Italian Football Association still made a compromise, postponed a league game in late April for two weeks, and reached an agreement with Milan and Florence:
If AC Milan is determined to enter the semi-finals of the Champions League, the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia can also be postponed appropriately.
After all... Milan is the only face of Italian football in the Champions League, and the Football Association is unwilling to be ridiculed by their counterparts in Spain and England. You can get a huge bonus, this kind of money that is almost free...why not? !
I almost forgot, Milan legend, vice-captain Albertini... is now the vice-chairman of the Italian Football Association, it is not difficult to adjust the schedule for his old club, right?
He is not the 19th-ranked pension-type vice chairman! -
If Long Shute joined AC Milan in search of challenges and excitement, then during this period of time, he did experience such a feeling.
Although AC Milan has himself, Kaka, and Balotelli, the three of them should be called top players, plus Shalawi, Salah, Muntari, Montolivo, Essien, Germany With Rong, De Sciglio, Abate, Abbiati and other quasi-first-tier or second-tier players, Milan's lineup is not too weak, but when they have maintained a winning streak and led the entire league, all opponents have no doubts They will be regarded as the key points and studied carefully.
None of their opponents will fight against them. Almost all league teams will put on a tight defense in front of them. They even scramble to achieve the first great achievement of tying Milan...
Long Shute has also encountered such a situation in Bayern, but the overall atmosphere of the Bundesliga does not respect defense. Even small teams rarely defend to the death throughout the game, and Bayern's overwhelming offensive firepower is enough to guarantee them in the game In the league, AC Milan obviously can't do the same thing.
So Long Shute really felt a lot of pressure.
Since this is what he is after, he enjoys the pressure willingly now.
Perhaps pressure can really be transformed into motivation, and those mental attributes that have slowed down in growth have been slowly improved under the pressure of pressure.
With the passage of time, calmness, concentration, leadership, and even teamwork have all reached their full value in day-to-day training and competitions.
Under his leadership, Milan City spent the last three league games in March without any risk.
The away game swept Lazio 4-2, and Long Shute made a pass and shot.
3-1 beat Fiorentina, Long Shute scored twice.
The opponent in the last match was Chievo, who was ranked 16th. Long Shute, who had fought successively, finally got a rest, and Kaka replaced him as the tactical core.
But this time Milan almost capsized.
Although Kaka led the team to an early 2-0 lead, they were pulled back by Chievo in the 87th minute. Allegri and Longshut almost jumped up!
You know... At this time, Milan's three substitutions have been used up. Ah Jiong, who originally thought that the overall situation was settled, never thought... that his team would be suppressed by Chievo in the last 3 minutes!
Fortunately, there are many veterans in the Milan formation. Emmanuel Sen stepped forward at this time, giving full play to his good dribbling characteristics on the wing, using his small body to protect the ball in the corner flag area, no matter how the opponent pressed. , just not moving at all...
When it came to stoppage time, Milan even played hooligans:
Nocerino and Essien surrounded Emmanuel Sen from the left to the right, protecting the ball like a sandwich. The Chievo players wanted to split them with a knife!
Even Kaka lay down on the turf for half a minute...
However, he didn't pretend to be injured, but he couldn't run anymore, his legs were cramped directly, and he had to accept simple treatment and relaxation from the team doctor.
Fortunately, their painstaking efforts were not in vain after all. AC Milan won the game with difficulty and maintained the momentum of the league winning streak to 31 rounds.
This record is terrible enough, with 93 points, they have almost locked the league championship seat.
The pressure came to Juventus' side.
Allegri frowned every day because of the intensive schedule, but how could Conte's life be easier?
The schedule of the league is similar, Juventus has just experienced the domestic war with Fiorentina in the Europa League, and they only advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-1 score.
Juve's only advantage... is that they don't have to think about the Coppa Italia - they were knocked out by Roma in February.
In the last three rounds of the league at the end of March, under the pressure of a tight schedule, the Old Lady also played very hard:
In the first game, relying on Tevez's lore, they narrowly beat Catania, the bottom-ranked deputy squad leader, 1-0, but Conte was expelled in the first half because he protested loudly against the referee's penalty, and Chased by the Football Association for two games...
In the second game, when the coach was unable to command, it was Tevez who scored twice to help Juventus beat Parma 2-1.
In the third game, Conte continued to sit on the sidelines, and Carlos Tevez was also suspended due to accumulated yellow cards. The second defeat of the entire season!
The difference between Juventus and AC Milan... finally changed.
10 points turned into 13 points!
With only 7 games left in the league, the 13-point gap is enough for Juventus to give up catching up!
The only championship they may win this season is the Europa League!
Expanding the lead, the Serie A championship is almost guaranteed, and the players of AC Milan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They can temporarily put aside the league affairs.
Because Atletico Madrid has arrived in Milan!
March is over!
But the devil's schedule that belongs to them... just kicked off!
(End of this chapter)