Chapter 283: The striker is better

The late start of La Liga also brings a disadvantage, that is, teams like Valencia who participate in the Champions League often encounter double games for a week at the beginning of the league. The reason why Cooper kept the combination of frontcourt players in the first few games was that in addition to finding a better combination, let as many players play as possible, so that the whole team will slowly get up and so that the main players will not be overworked.

One league, one Champions League, one Champions League - Valencia will play six games throughout September, and the home match against Lyon on September 28 is the last game of the month.

For Valencia, this game is also very important. If you win this game, then Valencia will win all against the three opponents in the group, and there will basically be no problem qualifying.

In the first two games, Valencia's advantage was quite large, defeating Olympiacos easily at home. Although he only beat Helenfin away, he perfectly controlled the situation on the field from beginning to end. Compared with the first two opponents, Ligue 1 runner-up Lyon seems to be heavier in weight.

Lyon is not the giant team that has dominated the Ligue 1 consecutively after a few seasons, but it has already had the prototype of that team. Although Juninho has not joined Lyon yet, the trident formed by goalkeeper Cupe, forward Marle and former Barcelona striker Sony Anderson and Govu are the guarantee of their scoring. They won and lost in the first two rounds of the game, which is Valencia's biggest opponent in the group stage now - after all, Olympiacos has lost at Valencia's feet before.

Cooper continued to use the tactic of letting Tiger retreat. This time the forward was replaced by the agile Sanchez, and behind him was Zahovic, who was more powerful. Aimal sat on the bench - Valencia's situation is good in the group stage, and Cooper can continue to test his new lineup.

During the game, Tiger continued to control the midfield. Juninho had not come yet, and Lyon's midfield could not compete with Valencia at all. However, like the previous games, Valencia took the initiative in the midfield, but failed to seize the opportunity in the frontcourt. In the 38th minute, Sanchez received a long pass from Tiger and broke into the penalty area to create a penalty. However, the penalty kick shot by the penalty expert Dieta was unexpectedly saved by Lyon goalkeeper Cupe, and Sanchez's supplementary shot was also missed, which made all the fans of the court feel extremely regretful.

It was not until the second half that Zahovic showed his value. Tiger dispatched the ball to Kili in the backcourt, and Kili made a beautiful straight pass. After Zahovic received the ball, he pushed the goalkeeper in the far corner and scored the only goal in the game. Valencia won three consecutive victories in the Champions League group stage and continued to rank first in the group stage.

He won all three games and did not lose a single goal. Compared with his performance in the Champions League last season, Valencia has less passion but more stability.

Of course, Valencia fans are happy to achieve such results, but they are still a little dissatisfied because the Tiger they liked, Tiger, who brought them countless passion and excitement last season, has been doing more support in the midfield since the beginning of this season, and only scored two or three goals, which makes them feel a little unhappy...

"Tiger always brings a lot of goals to play with a shadow striker. Although it is very happy to win, it is sometimes boring to see only one-to-zero victory... I know we are not Real Madrid, but we seem to have the ability to pursue some beautiful victory."

An interview with fans published in a local newspaper in Valencia has largely proved the current voice of Valencia fans.

Even Valencia's chairman Garcia found Tiger. While affirming his performance this season, he also expressed his vaguely that Tiger's position should be a little earlier. Such a famous striker who can bring a lot of goals seems a waste to put it in the back organization...

Cooper originally wanted to continue experimenting, but the fans' voices and management's opinions were something he had to pay attention to. Moreover, although Valencia controlled the midfield and won a lot during this period of game, the winning process made people feel uneasy. After all, a one-to-zero victory can easily turn from a three-pointer to a point, as long as the luck is a little bad.

The purpose of the game is not just to control the situation on the field, but the ultimate goal is to win the game...

"Tiger, I think you have to go back to your previous position next." Cooper said to Tiger a little apologetically. When he discussed with Tiger, he agreed to Tiger's request for a pullback organization, and Tiger did a pretty good job, but the situation of weak forwards seems to be more serious than the organization's midfield.

Tiger grabbed his head and wanted to retreat to play the organization. It was his own idea and his higher pursuit of himself. The team also provided great cooperation. However, after these games, Tiger also discovered that insufficient scoring ability in the frontcourt was a big problem. Compared with the midfield, it seemed that he needed himself more in the frontcourt.

Even the ambitious people have to succumb to reality, not to mention that Cooper's actions did not make Tiger feel a little wronged.

"No problem, coach, as long as the team needs it, you can play any position." Tiger replied readily.

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On October 1, in the fourth round of La Liga, Valencia faced the promoted team Las Palmas at home.

What excites Mestalia's attendance rate this season is exciting. Although this game is just an ordinary league game, and although the opponent is just a promoted player in the relegation zone, Mestalia is still full in this game!

Before the game began, Valencia fans still welcomed the players who played in this game with their traditional "cut" sound!

The commentator on the scene began to report the starting lineup of the home team Valencia. After each name was called out, Valencia's fans would use their greatest voice to express their welcome!

"Goaler, Saint Diego Canisales."

"cut!"

"Defender, Anguema, Ayala, Pellegrino, Caboni."

"Midfielder, Baraha, Aimal, Vicente, Mendieta."

He still gave warm applause to the young player Vicente and Valencia's fans who joined this season. Although he cannot replace Gili's position now, the handsome face of this young man and the speed of Fengchi Electric on the court is the easiest to arouse the fans' favor!

Not hearing Tiger's name in the midfield made Valencia's fans start to ignite hope - will they see Tiger appear in the forward position in this game?

Obviously, the live commentator also knew what the fans wanted to know the most. He specifically kept it in a silence. The first one reported the name of another striker: "Forward, Zahovic."

The stands were in an uproar - it was not that they had any opinions on Zahovic, but that in the previous game, Zahovic basically replaced Tiger's shadow forward position, and Tiger did not play because of the average effect after playing center - could it be that Tiger would not start in this game? Was he injured? Or was it because of other things?

“…Tiger Lee.”

The on-site commentator reported the name of the last starting player. The entire Mestalia Stadium was quiet for a second, and then suddenly burst into cheers like a landslide and tsunami!

Cooper finally pushed Tiger to the front line again after five games!

The cheers at the scene proved how popular Cooper's move was. At least every Valencia fan is looking forward to this moment!

However, there are also many calm Valencia fans muttering in their hearts, Tiger and Zahovic play forward, what kind of weird combination is this? Is Tiger at the front and playing center like he did away game against Real Madrid?

However, in fact, in this game, Tiger did return to the position of the shadow forward, and Zahovic played on the center.

Although Tiger is not bad in his ability to fight against and head, he is always a technical player. He cannot take the initiative to pursue physical confrontation with the opponent's defenders and then find space for shooting. Zahovic is different. He does not lack the ability to fight against.

Although Karu is a high center forward, he is young and has insufficient experience, and his skills are also a little rough, which is not very compatible with Valencia's offensive style.

After Las Palmas' players knew that Tiger was a striker, the head coach's words emerged in their minds - cutting off the passes from other Valencia players to Tiger, and Valencia's offensive threat will be reduced by half!

But, is it really that simple?

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It won't be that simple.

Although Tiger now wants to pursue the game where he can play his greatest role in the retreat organization, based on his current characteristics and Valencia's current situation, his most suitable position is still the second striker. In this position, he can fully display his excellent dribbling skills and scoring ability, as long as he has enough opportunities to get the ball.

However, the ability of Las Palmas players is not enough to reduce the number of goals he takes on the court too much.

So in this game, the poor newly promoted team suffered a tragic massacre.

In the 22nd minute, Tiger scored his third goal in the La Liga this season and his fifth goal in the official game. This is a typical Thai-style goal. After receiving a straight pass from Aimal, Tiger took the ball and turned around and broke through a defender and broke into the penalty area. Then, before the other defenders formed an interception, the ball flew into the dead corner of the goal like a shell, one to zero.

Three minutes later, Tiger received a cross from Vicente who was inserted on the left, forced the ball down and then cleverly knocked the ball back to the front of the door. Zahovic, who was inserted, flew out first and kicked the ball into the goal, 2-0.

This goal was also Zahovic's first goal in La Liga. His two goals were completed in the Champions League. After all, he is still a capable player, especially his scoring ability is indeed good.

After the start of the second half, Las Palmas, who was two goals behind, was forced to launch a counterattack. Anyway, he was already behind two goals, and he lost a few losses. It would be better to push the attack and have some opportunities.

However, this approach is just to make their goals lose more.

In the 60th minute, Tiger shot a long shot with excellent angle and strength at the front of the penalty area, and the ball directly spun into the dead corner of the goal, three to zero.

After scoring the goal, Tiger smiled at Zahovic - the angle of this goal is similar to the angle of the first long shot when he bet with Zahovic before, and the shot is the same way - Zahovic certainly knows what Tiger means, and this is Tiger proof that the goal is not just luck...

However, for Zahovic, Tiger's approach is a bit superfluous. Since he lost that bet, he would not say anything else. Even if Tiger only won him by luck that time, Zahovic would not have any objection to the result...

Seeing the three goals leading, Cooper replaced three players in a row, Karu replaced Zahovic, Alberda replaced Amar, and Aurerio replaced Caboni. Valencia has sufficient staff this season, so the players have to have a chance to play, right?

Norwegian center Karu is lucky. He scored the goal when he first represented Valencia. After playing in this game, he scored a goal quickly after taking the bench. In the 64th minute, Tiger passed the ball to Alberda. Alberda passed Vicente diagonally. Vicente broke through and created a free kick near the sideline. Mundeta took the penalty and hung it into the penalty area. Karu headed the ball from a close distance and scored four-to-zero.

After leading four goals, Valencia was a little relaxed and was scored by the opponent in the 80th minute. However, before the end of the game, Tiger received the ball in the top of the penalty area and made a beautiful pass in the wide half. Vicente's characteristics were fully demonstrated. He drove the ball 30 meters and then shot angrily at the front of the penalty area, scoring the fifth goal of the game.

Five-to-one! Valencia defeated his opponent completely and won three consecutive games in the league. This result also allowed them to quickly return to the second place in the standings, only one point behind two goals in this round, defeating Barcelona's La Coruna!

After four rounds, the other two giants were not particularly good. Real Madrid ranked fourth with two wins, two draws, eight points, while Barcelona only won two games and lost two games, miserably ranked ninth...

All Valencia fans are praising the outstanding performance of Tiger and Valencia. They have only lost one game since the beginning of this season, and have won all other games. Compared with the stuttering in the league after the start of last season, they are simply in the sky and under.

However, in the next fifth round of the league, Valencia stopped winning streak. After wasting most of the opportunities, they only tied with Villarreal one-to-one away. However, Tiger still showed his value. The only goal in the game was that they scored. In this round, Real Madrid defeated La Coruña three goals at home and jumped to the top of the standings. Valencia used this draw to tie La Coruña with the advantage of goal difference, and still ranked second. Barcelona, ​​who had average performance before, showed their strength, swept Real Sociedad 6-0 away and jumped to fifth place.

In the next Champions League game, Tiger used a goal and an assist to help Valencia defeat Lyon 2-1 away and achieve four consecutive wins in the group stage. At the same time, because Olympiacos was defeated by Helenfin, Valencia led Olympiacos by six points and had already secured a place to advance. At the same time, as long as they lost to Olympiacos instead of three goals away, they could get the first place in the group.

Compared with the smooth flow of the club, Tiger's performance in the national team was not very good, and the situation of the English national team was not very good. In the final game of Wembley's demolition and reconstruction, England lost to Germany 0-1 at home, leaving a bad ending. This was also England's first game in the 2002 World Cup European qualifiers. With Germany, Greece, Finland and Albania in the same group, England is unwilling to play the playoffs again, which also makes the loss to Germany not easy to walk on the road ahead.

Next, they were tied by Finland 0-0 away, and only scored one point in two rounds. England's performance in the qualifiers was as bad as ever. This time they relied on Sweden's help to enter the playoffs. Will they still have such good luck this time?

In these two national team games, Tiger's performance was not the only mediocre performance. The entire national team did not have a fixed tactic. Keegan's performance was extremely bad in the two games. He seemed to have done nothing in the national team. England was completely disorganized on the court. After one loss and one draw, Keegan, who was unbearable to pressure, resigned from his position as head coach of the England national team, and like his predecessor, Hollier, left a mess...

For English fans who are proud of their Premier League results and their outstanding performance in the European arena, the national team is the most embarrassing topic for them - they are not without good players, Tiger is one of the strong contenders of the World Footballer and the European Golden Ball Awards. Beckham made it into the roster in both competitions, but their outstanding performance is in the club. In the national team, there is no good environment for them to perform well, which is something that no one can deny.

Lack of tactical awareness and tactical literacy has always been a flaw for the head coach of England. Although the next official match of the England national team will start in March next year, the FA still has time to find a new coach, but for the English national team that has always insisted on using their own coaches, they are no longer available now...
Chapter completed!