Chapter 1 The Second Champions League Group Stage Game

The Champions League match against Lyon was Napoli's second group stage game, and it was very important to them. After drawing with Liverpool away, Napoli only had one point. If they couldn't take advantage of their home field and defeat Lyon, their chances of qualifying would be in danger.

Lyon defeated Zenit St. Petersburg 1-0 at home in the previous group stage match and were currently leading the group standings.

If Lyon won this game, they would continue to occupy the top spot in the group. And as long as Liverpool and Zenit St. Petersburg could determine a winner on the road, Napoli, with only one point, would be at a disadvantage. If Liverpool won, Liverpool would be second; if Zenit St. Petersburg won, Zenit would be second, unless they drew... But if they drew, Liverpool would be second, and Napoli wouldn't know if they could rank third or fourth...

In any case, it wasn't a good result.

So, in order to firmly control their fate, Napoli had to win the home game against Lyon.

※※※

"Lyon is no longer the team that won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles a few years ago, but we still can't take it lightly." During the pre-match tactical briefing, Mazzarri was analyzing Lyon for the players.

With three games in six days, the schedule was too tight, and there wasn't enough time to do specific training, so Mazzarri was a little unsure.

He didn't know what kind of performance his team would be able to put on against Lyon.

Of course, Napoli wasn't without options. At least, even though Napoli had been thoroughly studied by their Serie A opponents, they still had enough mystery in the Champions League. Not all European coaches knew Napoli inside and out.

The heading tactics, which were becoming less and less effective in Serie A, could still be effective in the Champions League.

Because the opponents didn't know enough about Chen Hero and Napoli's tactics.

So, this game still had to focus on Chen Hero's head.

Chen Hero was very happy with this arrangement, because it meant that he would take on more offensive responsibilities and have more opportunities to score.

He just liked scoring goals.

"Their two center backs are quite good in the air, so we need to try to pull them out before crossing..."

To this end, many of the crosses in this game would be made by the two full-backs, because they wanted Arshavin and Cassano to enter the penalty area to attract the opposing defense for Chen Hero. Of course, they weren't going in to compete for headers with the opposing defenders. But as long as they could get into the penalty area, they could attract the attention of Lyon's defenders. You have to know that none of this trident was an unknown player. Chen Hero was the best scorer in the history of the UEFA Cup since its reform, Cassano had become famous seven or eight years ago, and Arshavin was the biggest discovery of the 2008 European Championships. No team's defenders could only defend one of these three people and let the other two enter the penalty area without paying attention.

Mazzarri's strategy for the team was that at least two of the three players had to be in the penalty area at the same time, dispersing the opponent's defensive strength. Whether Chen Hero attracted more or Cassano and Arshavin attracted more, as long as they could attract some, they could create opportunities for the others.

In Napoli's previous games, Cassano and Arshavin were used as wingers. They were more active on the flanks, and they did enter the penalty area sometimes, but not often.

This time, however, Mazzarri asked both of them to go inside, and not just as a feint. As long as there was an opportunity, they should aim for a goal.

If they could show a threatening state to the opponent's goal, they would naturally attract the attention of Lyon's defenders, and then Chen Hero would also have opportunities. The reverse was also true.

To this end, Mazzarri even changed the starting formation, from the 4-3-3 that Napoli had been playing this season to the 3-4-3 that Napoli had been playing last season. Three center backs, with Maggio moved from the right-back position to the right midfielder, and Sanchez replaced him on the left midfielder position. These two people would serve as the team's flank attackers and passers, and many of the passes to Chen Hero would come from their feet.

This adjustment was not too risky, because Napoli had played this tactic for a season last season, and they were relatively familiar with it.

Italian teams had already begun to adapt to Napoli's 3-4-3, because Reja had used this formation for several seasons. But Europeans were not used to it—the three-defender tactic had basically disappeared on the European continent, and very few teams used the three-defender tactic.

So Napoli's use of 3-4-3 could still "win by surprise" in Europe.

※※※

In the away team's locker room at the Stadio San Paolo, even with the doors and windows tightly closed, the huge roar from outside could still be heard.

"Napoli! Napoli! Napoli!" At this moment, there was still an hour before the start of the game, and the Stadio San Paolo was already packed.

This was the first time in eighteen years that the Stadio San Paolo had welcomed Napoli's Champions League group stage match again. Napoli fans had been eagerly flocking to the Stadio San Paolo since early in the morning, waiting to enter.

They wanted to release all the passion they had been holding back for eighteen years, just like Mount Vesuvius.

Use the fiery magma to overwhelm the invading enemy, Lyon!

At this moment, they were doing just that. In their shouts and songs, Lyon's fans couldn't make any noise at all.

Lyon coach Claude Puel was just about to say a few words: "Okay, gentlemen..."

Then he was interrupted by the sudden cheers from outside.

He had to stop and wait for the cheers to subside, and the momentum of the Napoli fans weakened slightly, before continuing: "...this game is away, we will face many difficulties..."

Interrupted again, the Napoli fans outside began to sing, their singing passionate and imposing.

Puel smiled helplessly and spread his hands to his players: "I believe you should have a very deep understanding now..."

The soundproofing in the away team's locker room at the Stadio San Paolo was very poor. This could be considered a small trick to deal with the away team and interfere with them. This was nothing new, and many teams had their own tricks to deal with away team players.

Logically speaking, the locker room should be a place to concentrate 100% and do what you should do. But in order to interfere with the opponent, the away team locker rooms in many stadiums were not as good as imagined. From playing loud music to pumping unpleasant gases into the vents, to changing the room temperature and only providing cold water, these tricks were the motto of some veterans: "If you can drive your opponent crazy, then he may not be able to play normally."

A British medical study showed that the level of stress a male protagonist felt the night before a performance was equivalent to the damage of a car accident. So, do football players suffer similar horrific stress? The answer is yes. Television broadcasts reflect the entire game, and while players gain great fame, they also endure enormous pressure. What if they perform poorly in a televised game? Immediately after the game, they will become sinners criticized by the media and spurned by fans.

Such pressure cannot be said to be small.

Therefore, most players are actually very worried before the game, and some with poor psychological quality are worried even from the day before the game. If the home team then uses its home advantage to create some trouble for them in the away team's locker room, it will have an even greater impact on their state...

The poor soundproofing of the away team's locker room at the Stadio San Paolo was a small trick of the Napoli club.

Everyone knew that Napoli had a "devil's home stadium," and the fans here were known for being extremely fanatical. If the soundproofing of the locker room wasn't very good, and the coach's voice was a little quiet... then everyone should communicate by cell phone text messages before and during the game!

Puel wasn't the kind of loud-voiced person, he waved his hand helplessly: "Forget it, let's go out and warm up!"

※※※

When the Napoli players appeared on the field to warm up, they were welcomed by tens of thousands of Napoli fans.

The Napoli fans cheered, sang, and shouted wave after wave, nonstop, to cheer on the team and continue to put pressure on Lyon.

The Lyon players could be considered veterans, but to be honest, they didn't often see such crazy fans as Napoli...

※※※

The Lyon players were obviously affected by the Napoli fans, and they were slow to get into the game from the start.

Puel sat on the sidelines, not anxious about the team's failure to get into the game. It didn't matter if they didn't score, as long as they didn't concede. So, if they weren't in the game yet, they should defend first, as long as they didn't let the opponent score.

He was well prepared for this game. He had heard that Chen Hero's header was very powerful. To this end, he let Cris partner with Jean-Alain Boumsong as the starting center backs. The two center backs had one thing in common: they were both good at headers.

Among them, Cris was slightly better at headers, and his other defensive abilities were also very comprehensive, while Boumsong's aerial defense ability was particularly outstanding, because he had a height of 1.90 meters, which was a natural advantage and the closest player to Chen Hero's height in the Lyon team.

These two defenders, combined with Lyon's defensive system, should be able to help them contain Chen Hero's goals.

※※※

Lyon's slow start was good news for Napoli. They wouldn't stand by and watch, waiting for Lyon to get back into the game, and then have a fair fight—that would be stupid.

The Neapolitans never acted like gentlemen. They were a group of cunning swindlers, full of tricks, and they were proud of it. Reflected in football, it was...

Strike while the iron is hot!

This was the wisdom of a team like Napoli.