The perfect midfield: It starts with never passing the ball to Ronaldo.

Chapter 80 The Quarterfinals Are in Time

Although Italy has lost the glory of its former "mini World Cup," its media influence remains considerable.

This lengthy rebuttal quickly gained traction, and with the Champions League quarter-finals approaching, everyone loved this kind of topical reporting.

At the pre-match press conference, the reporters' first question went straight to the forefront of the controversy.

"Coach Conte, Italian media have recently been comparing Pogba to Porto's Mario."

"They say Pogba is a high-potential player with unlimited potential, while Mario's current stats are padded by hurting the team's overall offense."

Do you agree with this view? Will tonight's match become a duel between two promising young midfield talents?

Conte nodded seriously, then began to retort, "The media's comparisons are meaningless. Paulo certainly has his talent, but he is still a young man who needs to grow."

"He has spent most of this season adapting to the pace of Serie A, and contributing to the team is more important than individual performance."

"As for Mario, although tactical design played a part, his Champions League goal-scoring statistics have proven his potential to become a top attacker!"

"But football is always a team sport, not an individual arena. Juventus is playing against the entire Porto team, not just one player."

Instead of discussing which product is superior, we should think about how to break through their overall defenses!

Conte, dressed in a suit, was very well-mannered and spoke with perfect tact.

Although he highly regards Pogba, as an old-school coach, he doesn't like this kind of rhetoric and doesn't agree with turning the overall competition between clubs into a battle between certain players.

Pereira, on the other hand, gave a barely perceptible sneer upon hearing the question.

Who is José Mario?

"He is currently the top scorer in the Champions League. He plays an extremely important role for both Porto and the national team, helping his team win with goals and assists."

"He's not a player who needs to be compared to anyone to prove his worth; his performance and statistics speak for themselves."

"As for Mr. Pogba, I admit he is a talented young man."

"But tomorrow we will be facing the entire Juventus team, including experienced and great players like Buffon, Chiellini, and Pirlo, not just one young player."

"This high-class player might not even get to play in the first minute of the match; he'll just have to sit on the bench and watch the genius rewrite the score!"

Pereira's remarks were powerful and resounding, demonstrating the coach's composure and full support for his nephew.

The clashes in the public sphere are already intense, but the atmosphere of confrontation among offline fans is clearly even more heated.

At 19:00 PM local time, Allianz Stadium was already packed with people dressed in black and white.

Juventus fans waved scarves and sang "Storia di un Grande Amore".

The roar of tens of thousands of people ignited Turin's Champions League night, the sound waves spreading out like a circular shockwave, causing the iron railings of the away team's stands to tremble slightly.

In comparison, the Porto fans who had traveled all the way from Portugal seemed outnumbered, but they still managed to hang up a huge banner.

On screen, Super Mario, riding a giant dragon, is spearing the zebra army!

"CCTV, CCTV, good evening, viewers!"

"Welcome to the first leg of the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals!"

"We're bringing you live coverage from the Stade del Alpi in Turin, Italy!"

"For the home team Juventus, Conte has deployed his signature 3-5-2 formation today."

"The goalkeeper will naturally be the young Buffon."

"This is the Italian national team's defensive lineup: Barzagli, Bonucci, and Chiellini lined up in a row!"

"Pirlo will partner with Vidal and Marchisio in the center, while Quagliarella and Matri will partner up front."

"Looking at the away team, Porto, coach Pereira is still using a 4-3-3 formation!"

Goalkeeper: Elton; Defenders: Danilo, Otamendi, Mangala, Sandro; Midfielders: Mario, Fernando, Moutinho; Forwards: Rodriguez, Martinez, Varela. On the sidelines, Conte was confident, having studied Porto's lineup for a long time.

Tonight, with a 3-5-2 formation, he aims to use control and attacking tactics to show Porto the strength of Juventus.

First, the team avoids excessive passing in the midfield and backfield, instead using Pirlo's long passes to send the ball directly into the attacking third, leveraging the advantages of the wing-backs to focus on attacking the flanks of Porto's defense and wear down the wing-backs' stamina.

Secondly, regarding Mario, Conte assigned Marchisio, who also shares the same surname, to carry out an attack, directly assaulting his defensive zone.

At the same time, Juventus' attack will deliberately draw Porto players to the strong side, and then quickly move the ball to the weak side where Mario is through Pirlo's long passes.

Facing Lichtsteiner's attacks and Quagliarella's runs, Mario, whose defensive positioning is extremely poor, is very likely to lose his position, thus leaving a huge gap in Juventus' defense.

During the defensive phase, Vidal can act as the young man's bodyguard.

When Porto transitions from defense to attack, Vidal can use his physical advantage to directly tackle or commit a tactical foul to disrupt their rhythm of receiving the ball.

In addition, the three defenders should also pay attention to compressing the empty space in front of the penalty area to reduce the threat of long-range shots!

In the blink of an eye, Conte, who thought he had the best of both worlds, was dumbfounded!

The whistle had just blown when Martinez gently flicked the ball to Moutinho in the center circle.

Moutinho passed the ball to Varela, who made a quick run, and Varela passed it back to Martinez. The Colombian then gave Mario the option to make a forward run!

24 seconds into the game.

When Mario received the ball on the left flank in the attacking third, Juventus' defense was not yet fully in position.

Lichtsteiner is moving from the right flank towards the center, in a somewhat awkward position, neither sticking close to anyone nor holding his own defensive zone.

His eyes were fixed on Varela, who was drifting towards the middle lane, completely ignoring Mario behind him.

Vidal, who was assigned by Conte to closely mark Porto's number 22, was somewhat unwilling.

In the eyes of Chileans, he is the strongest and most perfect midfielder in football.

There's no such thing as the most perfect player playing against a weak team and having to do dirty and tiring work.

This kind of arrangement is acceptable against Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich, or Real Madrid!

The opponent is just a small Porto!

Vidal, who is better than Busquets, the boss of Xabi Alonso, and more perfect than Pirlo, completely disregarded this eighteen-year-old!

Mario, having received the ball, looked up.

There was a large open space in front of him. Vidal was at least three meters away from him. Bonucci was still backing away. Pirlo had just run past the center circle and was looking back to check the position of the ball.

No one came up to interfere!

With Buffon, Chiellini, and Bonucci, how can you look down on yourself like that?

Without hesitation, and without adjustment!

Mario leaps with his left foot, his body spreading wide!

Vidal is getting a little anxious; he doesn't want to receive a hairdryer from Conte.

He strode forward, raising his foot to block the route, but it was too late!

Mario's instep struck the lower middle part of the ball hard.