Chapter 230: Unlucky Ferreira Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Without Robben, Chelsea was less of a threat to Tang En. Otherwise, this game would have been difficult for him. The Forest team"s offense mainly depended on the flanks. If Chelsea had had Arjen Robben, the Forest team"s attacks from the flanks would be suppressed. But now...
Joe Cole was not really a left midfielder. His placement in the left midfielder position was due to a lack of a better option; if such a gifted athlete were to play as a replacement, the player himself and the fans would certainly not agree to it. However, if he wanted to have his first public showing on the team, he could not be in the middle of the midfield, because that area belonged to Lampard and Makelele. Therefore, Joe Cole only had two options: warming a seat in the subst.i.tutes" bench, and sucking it up to play for a position that was unfit for him so that he could make an appearance in the game. He chose the latter.
He was completely restricted on the left flank. He could not break through without speed, and if he were to lean towards the middle, he would constrict the s.p.a.ce of his teammate, Lampard, which made his playing very awkward. Mourinho obviously knew this, so when Arjen Robben was still playing, Chelsea"s main offense focus was on the left flank. For this game, the focus was switched to the right flank.
Another problem cropped up as well. Duff on the right flank was left-footed. Although he could handle the right flank on occasion, it was not at all the position he was best at. On the left flank, he could use speed and continuous change in direction to shake off his opponent, and then cross directly. On the right flank, he would use speed to cast off his opponent; then, he would have to flip the ball to his left foot with his right foot, and then cross. The best time to pa.s.s the ball was often lost at that juncture. It would completely turn into a situation where he had to battle the Forest team"s defense, and his speed advantage would be useless.
So, what was Chelsea relying on if the team could not attack through the flanks? For a long pa.s.s from the backfield to the front, the powerful Drogba was their man; Kežman could be his cover, and then Lampard would plug in to make use of a long shot to seek a scoring opportunity, or Didier Drogba, with his strong physique, could take the ball and attack.
This later became the most frequently used offensive routine for Chelsea, and it was in its fledgling stage in this game against the Forest team.
Tang En knew about Drogba"s formidable strengths and specifically arranged for Piqué to mark the Ivory Coast giant. However, Piqué alone could not rea.s.sure Tang En, because the young Spaniard was far less experienced than Drogba. So he counted on George Wood to a.s.sist whenever he had a chance.
As for the defense in the midfield, Makelele"s offensive threat was nearly nonexistent; the main trouble was Lampard, but he could be handed over to the veteran, Albertini, to defend against.
Then the Forest team used their sharp offense on the flanks to suppress Chelsea"s wings.
This Chelsea team seemed powerful, but in fact, it was not without its weaknesses. Paulo Ferreira was one. If the Forest team used him well, it could open the door to victory through him.
Despite his outstanding performance in the UEFA Champions League and the fact he was selected as Europe"s best right back last season by the UEFA officials, he had not acclimatized since his arrival in the English Premier League. His defensive ability was lacking, and he was not determined enough in his offense. Tang En was well aware of all these problems, as he was now familiar with every Chelsea player.
Mourinho wanted to cultivate his own disciple at Stamford Bridge, but he had chosen the wrong person.
※※※
As a new member of the team, Ferreira had been under a lot of pressure lately. He came to Stamford Bridge under the aura of being Europe"s best right back last season, but now he needed to work hard to prove that he did not rely on his relations.h.i.+p with Manager Mourinho in order to join the Blues lineup.
Before this game, the Chelsea fans had already expressed their dissatisfaction with this right back, who seemed less than rea.s.suring. Ferreira knew that if he continued not to show good performances, even Mourinho would run out of trust in him someday.
But the more he thought about it, the worse his performance became. He seemed to be caught in a vicious circle: perform badly, get chewed out by the media and the fans, try to prove himself, be unable to focus on the game as a result, continue to perform poorly, get slammed by the media and the fans… the more he wanted to prove himself, the more he was unable to focus on the game, and the worse his performance was.
In this way, Ferreira, who was vivacious at the UEFA Champions League final, was never seen again.
Tang En was certainly not the angel to save Ferreira. Instead, he was going to give Ferreira a shove while he was in the process of falling.
The Forest team"s attacks today would all go through Ribéry. Duff had initially tried to break through alone to create opportunities for Chelsea, but he soon found that Ferreira could not hold up on his own.
The Frenchman, Franck Ribéry, realized that the right back in front of him could only be led by the nose, and that every time he took the ball to face the Portuguese, he felt certain that he could bypa.s.s him.
"Ribéry receives the ball, watch his movements… he"s accelerating!"
None of the Forest players went up to coordinate with Ribéry. They were all in front of Chelsea"s goal, waiting to receive Ribéry"s cross. These players seemed to be aware that Ferreira would be broken through.
When he stepped back, Ferreira saw Ribéry suddenly take off and promptly strode over to block the Frenchman"s oncoming path. On the hand, Ribéry immediately switched the ball with his left foo, and turned his body to cut inward.
Ferreira was undeterred at this point. He forcibly turned his center of gravity and planned to keep sticking to the Forest team"s Number 7 to give his other teammates time to come up and lend support.
And what was Ribéry best at? He continually changed his direction. After seeing Ferreira"s actions, he thrust the ball directly between Ferreira"s legs, used his speed to force a breakthrough past his opponent, and successfully rushed past him!
Ferreira turned too slowly, and when he turned around, he just saw Ribéry"s back. In that moment, an image of him warming the subst.i.tutes" bench suddenly flashed across his mind.
No... I can"t lose here, I can"t let him break through, otherwise it"s all over. My future, my prospects... My...
Don"t think about the past!
Ferreira roared within and lifted his foot to slide tackle the Frenchman.
Caught off guard, Ribéry fell to the ground. The football rolled out of the end line and a deafening hiss rang out from the stands. The referee"s whistle could not even be heard amidst the thunderous hissing.
Upon seeing this, Twain rushed out of his seat, waved his fist and growled, "Good work!"
Almost at the same time, Mourinho slammed his tactical board to the ground. "F**k!"
The famous English referee, Graham Poll, who was refereeing this game, did not run to the scene of the incident. Instead, he ran to the spot for the penalty kick in the penalty area.
"Looking at the direction of Poll"s finger... This is a penalty kick! Without a doubt! We don"t know what Ferreira was thinking at that moment, but this is a penalty kick! He shoveled Franck Ribéry in the penalty area."
The Chelsea players were agitated. One by one, they surrounded the referee to explain to him that Ferreira"s foul had happened outside the penalty area and that Ribéry just fell inside the penalty area ...
But Poll ignored them, moved the crowd aside, ran towards Ferreira, who was still sitting on the ground, pulled a red card out of his pocket, and flashed it to him.
There was a ringing in Ferreira"s head, and he knew he was finished.