Youth Version of AC Milan

June 28, 2005, 17:30.

The Dutch Youth World Cup semi-final between the Chinese team and the Argentina team officially kicked off.

Because the two teams in the other half of the bracket were relatively weak, many considered this match the true final of the tournament.

Whoever won this game would secure the ultimate Championship Trophy!

Due to the presence of Messi, this match attracted widespread attention across Europe.

As the crown jewel of the Barcelona youth academy, a future core player, and a future King of football anointed by countless legends of the Football World, Messi's influence in European football was extraordinary.

Countless fans had traveled specifically for Messi; they unfurled banners and slogans in the Stands supporting him, and some even held up portraits of Messi, looking like fanatical religious devotees.

But that didn't mean a damn thing!

When it came to sheer numbers, the Chinese had never been afraid of anyone!

The combined total of European fans and Argentina team fans in attendance didn't even reach half the number of the Chinese team fans.

The Chinese team fans had once again turned this stadium into their own home turf!

A massive crowd of fans had traveled all the way from home just to cheer for their team in person!

Nothing could stop the passion of the Chinese fans!

When the national anthem played before the match, the loud and majestic singing echoed over the stadium, leaving the foreigners stunned.

The Chinese team fans stood tall with pride, their momentum not losing out in the slightest.

You have Messi, I have Lin Feng and Chen Tao, what are you acting so tough for?

Thanks to the previous two matches, especially the outstanding performance against the Brazil Team, Lin Feng was now somewhat famous in the European Football World.

Therefore, many media outlets hyped this match as a peak duel between two supreme geniuses, with some even suggesting that the result of this game could influence the recipient of the Golden Boy Award to be presented later that year.

Although Messi was very famous, he had only just been promoted to the First Team by Rijkaard.

Last season, Messi made 9 appearances for the First Team and scored only one goal.

Such statistics were clearly not very impressive, and trying to compete for the Golden Boy Award with those numbers was almost impossible.

Therefore, he desperately needed a significant Championship Trophy to help him secure this year's Golden Boy Award.

There was no better stage than the Youth World Cup!

This was the best stage for young players, and defeating all competitors here was undoubtedly the best way to prove himself.

The same logic applied to Lin Feng; if he could lead his team to defeat Messi and win the Youth World Cup, then the Golden Boy Award would no longer be out of reach for him.

Lin Feng, on the pitch, wasn't thinking that far ahead. Even if the Ballon d'Or were placed in front of him, it wouldn't be as important as winning this match.

No matter how many individual honors he won, it might not be enough to save the National Football Team.

But if the China Youth Team could take home this Youth World Cup title, the outcome might be different.

"CCTV, CCTV, you are now watching the live broadcast of the 2005 Youth World Cup semi-final, China versus Argentina."

Inside the CCTV studio, Huang Jianxiang quickly introduced the starting lineups for both sides.

The China Youth Team's starting lineup for this match was:

16-Yang Cheng; 4-Zheng Tao, 2-Zhao Ming, 5-Feng Xiaoting, 17-Tan Wensong; 20-Cui Peng, 10-Chen Tao, 7-Zhao Xuri, 8-Zhou Haibin, 23-Lin Feng, 11-Zhu Ting.

Up front, Klopp chose neither Dong Fangzhuo nor Gao Lin, who had started the previous few matches, but instead opted for Zhu Ting, who possessed great speed and high work rate.

Combined with Lin Feng, who was also known for his speed, the China Youth Team's intention to play a Counter-Attack was obvious.

The Argentina team's starting lineup today didn't change much from the previous match, with only minor adjustments in specific positions.

For example, putting Gago in the starting lineup; the intention was clear: to increase the intensity of their midfield press.

Gago had performed exceptionally well in Argentina's previous match against the Spain team. Under the frantic pressing from him and his teammates, the Spain team's luxurious midfield fell into chaos, with Fàbregas and David Silva being completely frozen out, ultimately leading to their elimination by the Argentina team.

In this match, the head coach of the Argentina team clearly wanted to replicate the tactics from the previous game, as the Chinese team also had two excellent midfielders.

But after the match started, he was a bit Stunned.

"Why did their number ten move to the Defensive Midfielder position? Wasn't his initial Positioning that of an Attacking Midfielder?"

It wasn't just him who was confused; even the China Youth Team fans were baffled.

At first, they thought Chen Tao was just dropping back to receive the ball, but they didn't expect him to stay there!

"Why has Chen Tao dropped back so deep?"

"Brothers, I'm a bit confused. Is Chen Tao an Attacking Midfielder or a Defensive Midfielder now?"

"It should be... a Defensive Midfielder, right?"

"Why does this formation look a bit like Ancelotti's Christmas Tree formation?"

Facts proved that Klopp definitely wasn't just talking; he had truly copied the tactics of AC Milan.

Even the iconic 4321 Christmas Tree formation of AC Milan had been copied over.

After watching the match between Argentina team and Spain, he guessed that the opponent intended to target their midfield, especially Chen Tao.

Chen Tao's ability in Physical Confrontation was not outstanding; if he were truly entangled by the opponent, his performance would certainly plummet.

Coincidentally, Pirlo often encountered such problems at AC Milan, which was why Ancelotti moved him from the Attacking Midfielder position further back.

However, a Defensive Midfielder has to shoulder defensive duties, and Pirlo himself did not possess much defensive ability.

Therefore, Ancelotti paired Pirlo with the butcher Gattuso to protect him.

Isn't that a coincidence?

The China Youth Team happened to have a Chinese version of Gattuso—Cui Peng!

Of course, there was still a huge gap between the Chinese version of Gattuso and the original.

So Klopp also arranged Zhao Xuri in the Defensive Midfielder position to further strengthen the protection for Chen Tao.

You want to strangle Chen Tao, right?

Get past his two personal bodyguards in front of him first!

After the match started, Gago was completely numb!

The opponent ran so far back, retreated so deep, and had a whole bunch of teammates protecting him.

In contrast, he was deep in enemy territory alone, unable to hold his ground; how was he supposed to steal the ball?

What made his scalp tingle even more was that he couldn't just leave him alone.

If you ignored him, Chen Tao could use his broad vision and precise passing to continuously supply ammunition to the China Youth Team's frontcourt teammates.

As it happened, the China Youth Team's frontcourt trio were all the type of players with great speed; whenever they sprinted, the entire Argentina team would be on edge, terrified of following in the footsteps of the Brazil Team.

Gago was furious; he signaled to his teammates, telling everyone to grab their gear and charge together!

There is truth to the saying that there is strength in numbers.

With so many people swarming in, it didn't matter if Chen Tao had two bodyguards.

But according to the law of conservation of numbers, if there are more people in one area of the pitch, there must be fewer in another.

When the Argentina team committed heavy forces to surround and press Chen Tao, Lin Feng, who was positioned as an Attacking Midfielder, was liberated.

He had enough space in front of him to exploit.

And exploiting space was exactly what Kaka was best at!

Is Kaka strong?

Of course he is strong, one could even say ridiculously so!

But is Kaka hard to defend?

Actually, it's not that hard; as long as you don't give him enough space to move forward and don't let him reach his full speed, he is easy to defend.

But once there is space everywhere on the pitch, and he has a top-tier midfielder like Pirlo assisting from behind, Kaka is practically a living nightmare. Unless you foul him, no one can stop him!

You even have to foul him early; otherwise, once he gets running, you won't even be able to catch up to him.

Now, Lin Feng was waiting for an opportunity, the perfect opportunity for a counterattack!