PS1: This is an update on Monday, a little late. I hope that all book friends don’t care too much about the update time. I’ll guarantee that I will not stop updating...

PS2: Let me talk about the book friends group here. The group numbers are three, seven, zero, five, four, nine, nine, one, nine, and the verification answer is NTR Knight, well, that's it.

Italy played against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, something most people didn't expect before the start of the European Cup. In their opinion, Italy's most likely opponent should be the Czech Republic or Germany, rather than the strongest Orange Legion on the books in the Death Group!

In fact, the reason why Italy encountered strong opponents of the Netherlands after qualifying in the group stage was mainly due to the current Dutch coach Edvokat. If this guy hadn't replaced Robben like a cramp in the group stage against the Czech Republic, the Netherlands would not have been able to successfully turn the tables by the Czech Republic and would not have fallen to the second place in Group D, which made the Orange Army meet the defending champion in the quarterfinals early.

It is precisely because of this that the Italian players were very depressed at this time. They did not expect that the Netherlands would be so unsatisfactory this time. They could not even get the position of the top group with all the backbone in the team and were not bothered by the injury. They even made a big reversal by the Czechs while leading two goals!

If I had known this would happen, it would be better to let go of the group stage and qualify as second in Group C. No matter how you look at it, the Czech Republic is much easier to deal with than the Netherlands. This is the thought that Italian players knew that their opponent in the quarter-finals was the Netherlands.

Although many fans who like Czech Republic are not willing to admit this, it is true. Although the Czech Republic has well-known stars such as Nedved and Rosici, and its strength is considered to be the first-class European level, the Netherlands is much better than the Czech Republic, and it is even more difficult to deal with, both in terms of lineup thickness and overall strength.

The reason why the Netherlands has never achieved what people expected is, on the one hand, because the internal strife in the team has never been properly resolved, and the conflict between players of color and white players has caused serious damage to the combat effectiveness of the Orange Clothes Army; on the other hand, it is because the two head coaches have always been flirting at critical moments recently, holding good cards but are always unable to allow the team to exert their corresponding strength, and sometimes they even take the initiative to cause trouble...

Therefore, during this period, the Netherlands repeatedly played cup games in international competitions, not because their opponents were stronger than theirs, but because they were always busy with internal fighting and their combat effectiveness was wasted.

Think about it, the only time in the past decade when the Netherlands has not had infighting was in the 1998 World Cup in France, and that time the Orange Army also won their best record since the 1978 World Cup - fourth place in the World Cup. And in the semi-finals, they fell at Brazil's feet in the penalty shootout because of the lack of four main players. It can be seen that the Netherlands was wasted how many good opportunities to win the championship due to the infighting between players and the head coach's lack of strength.

However, compared with the Italian players who were unlucky in their hearts, most fans and media were looking forward to this game. After all, this was the first time that the two sides had confronted each other head-on in international competitions since the 2000 European Cup. Italy eliminated the Netherlands, which had a very high reputation for winning the championship with its tenacious defense and San Tordo's courage. The two teams formed a deep bond.

It is precisely because of this that, in the eyes of many Dutch fans and media, this quarter-final is undoubtedly a battle of revenge for the Dutch. Of course, Italian fans and media obviously do not see this way. Instead, they believe that the Netherlands, a defeated player four years ago, failed to defeat Italy at its peak, and it is naturally even more impossible now!

On June 26, the Algaff Stadium was crowded with people. Because soon, the peak showdown between Italy and the Netherlands will be staged here!

By the way, unlike most stadiums, the Algaff Stadium is not located in a certain city, but is built between the two cities of Faro and Rore. The name of the stadium comes from the Algaff region where it is located. However, as a well-known summer resort in Europe, the climate here is indeed very suitable for football matches. At least the players will not affect their health due to high temperatures or other factors.

After all, although Liverpool coach Shankley once said that football is higher than life and death, not many people will really choose football between life and football.

Although the group match with the Czech Republic and the extremely conservative strategy of employing people made Dutch fans strongly question Edvokat's coaching ability and therefore were not optimistic about the Netherlands' prospects in this European Cup, in this critical battle, the fans temporarily put aside these prejudices and united to cheer for the team.

However, when the Netherlands' starting lineup for this game was announced, the fans were still very disappointed with Edvocart, who had been labeled as conservative. Perhaps because the coach was too afraid of Italy's sharp and fast counterattack and did not have enough confidence in his own attack power, he sent a starting lineup in this quarter-final that obviously pays more attention to defense.

Goalkeeper Van der Sar, left-back Van Bronkhorst, center-back Stam and Frank Debor, right-back Rezig, this defense line has been together for nearly eight years, and there is no need to say much about the tacit understanding between the players; in the midfield, Koku and Davis are partnering with the midfield, AC Milan player Seidorf is in the center; on the forward line, Robben and Van der Mede are separated from the left and right wings, and they will shoulder the task of delivering shells as the "king of the small penalty area" Van Nystruei in the middle.

From Edvokat's arrangement of troops, we can see that the head coach's thinking on personnel is quite rigid. Even if the glory of the Ajax Youth Army was nearly ten years ago, he still held these older veterans and refused to give more opportunities to prove himself to those young players who have made a name for themselves.

Therefore, although the Dutch midfield and backcourt configuration looks very star-studded, in fact, Frank de Boer and Reziger, the two main players who rely on Edvocart, are already old at this time. Koku and Davis, who are over 30 years old, still firmly control the midfield, while Van der Fate, Van Bomel and Kuyt can only watch the performances of their teammates on the bench or even in front of the TV. This is a great irony.
Chapter completed!