Chapter 2282 - 582: Portugal’s Witchcraft Counterattack

Chapter 2282: Chapter 582: Portugal’s Witchcraft Counterattack

Putting another midfielder on who fits Huang Kaiwen’s style, Bender joins Khedira in the middle.

That’s enough to go toe‑to‑toe with the Dutch on midfield toughness.

Once he’d figured out the plan, Löw subconsciously rubbed the top of his head, always feeling this head of hair was kind of in the way.

...

Halftime is over.

The German players have already started warming up on the touchline.

Not seeing Kroos, Huang Kaiwen shook his head with a bit of regret.

Looks like Kroos can only be a mascot at this European Cup.

A few minutes later, Löw’s substitution almost made Huang Kaiwen blurt out in excitement.

Lars Bender comes on for Thomas Müller!!!

Müller might have been awkward today, but his crosses from the right had still caused plenty of trouble for the Netherlands’ defense; with Müller off, he can finally relax about Williams’ flank.

If he just had a Van Bronckhorst, Huang Kaiwen wouldn’t be so on edge.

But Müller has gone off, and instead of playing, it’s that Mount‑like Prince Bolt out there.

This is practically doing the Netherlands team a huge favor.

Podolski is indeed heavily used in the German team; whether it’s Löw or previously Klinsmann, they both really like this second‑rate winger.

Of course, Bolt does pull out some eye‑catching performances for the National Team every now and then.

But even so, it still can’t cover up his technical flaws.

Precisely because his skill set is too one‑dimensional and he lacks enough one‑on‑one ability, he can’t cut it at many big clubs.

What delights Huang Kaiwen even more is the German team’s shape.

Schweini has gone out wide!

Huang Kaiwen pinched his chin—Löw must be possessed by Teng Hai.

He was doing perfectly fine in the middle, and now you send him to the wing—aren’t you just crippling your own kung fu? Back when Schweini played wide he never reached Bayern starter level; only after being converted to central midfield did he become world‑class.

Huang Kaiwen figured, next round Bento should get some "special arrangements" too.

Ten Hag really does have some level.

He has to find an even worse target.

On the pitch.

After Müller was subbed off, the German team’s attack got even more constipated.

Before, they were at least keeping the ball in the Netherlands team’s half even if they couldn’t find an opening.

But Schweini, who hasn’t played on the flank for ages, is even less threatening out wide than Müller was.

Williams still can’t get back to his own defensive zone, but Van Bommel covering for him has become much easier.

The German team’s attacks are now completely skewed toward Podolski’s left side.

But what disappoints Huang Kaiwen is that Lahm has still switched over to the left to match up with Robben, and Badstuber has gone to right back.

These Bayern center‑backs can all play wide; they’re pure utility knives, and they don’t even need to burn a substitution to swap flanks.

"Robin."

Huang Kaiwen turned and shouted.

van Persie sprang straight over to the touchline in one bound and asked excitedly, "Coach, you called me?"

"Yeah!"

Huang Kaiwen slung an arm around van Persie’s shoulder and covered his mouth with the other hand as he spoke: "I’ve always felt you’re a player with a really sharp eye for the game. Having you start on the bench today is mainly so you can spot the German team’s weaknesses, then go on and exploit them."

"Yes, I understand!"

van Persie nodded hard.

Huang Kaiwen saying this and Van Marwijk saying this give van Persie completely different feelings.

van Persie doesn’t accept anyone, but he does acknowledge Huang Kaiwen’s ability; he admits Huang Kaiwen is way stronger than him.

Getting Huang Kaiwen’s approval means a lot to him.

"So do you know who the German team’s weak link is?"

Huang Kaiwen asked.

"All of them. German players’ technique is crap."

van Persie said disdainfully.

Huang Kaiwen: ...

If the media hires some lip‑reading expert to decode that line, you can forget about ever playing in the Bundesliga in this lifetime.

Or those German defenders will just slide you into oblivion!

Still, Huang Kaiwen doesn’t actually dislike van Persie’s personality.

Arrogant, but with the ability to back it up.

van Persie and Ibrahimovic are basically the same type of guy.

Pointing at the pitch, Huang Kaiwen said, "You see that Badstuber? I want you to go wide and destroy him. We’ll hit the Germans from both flanks, and I think you can do better than Aryang has."

"Definitely, don’t worry, coach—I’ll score at least two!"

van Persie said, stripping off his training top, tossing it on the ground, and starting his jog.

Huang Kaiwen bent down with a grin and picked up van Persie’s jacket for him.

No wonder Old Maldini and Guardiola both love saying this kind of stuff to players.

It really does work wonders at key moments!

"The Netherlands team is getting ready to make a substitution."

"But isn’t bringing on van Persie for Huntelaar a bit questionable? Huntelaar has been excellent today."

"This substitution from Huang Kaiwen is really hard to read."

The commentators from the United Kingdom have a similar attitude.

Martin Taylor said, "van Persie wasted quite a few chances in the first match. Putting him on now completely overturns the Huntelaar target‑man setup and the system built around him."

Andy Gray agreed: "Yeah, long balls and counters—today the Netherlands have done that pretty well. Kevin should be locking down this one‑goal lead instead of taking off Huntelaar in pursuit of more goals."

"Right. On this point, Capello’s done very well; the England national team has been playing great lately. Kevin may be very imaginative, but he still lacks some experience as a coach."

A few minutes later.

Van Bommel fouled Ozil in midfield and got a yellow card.

Ozil stayed down, clutching his calf and rolling around on the turf.

The fourth official on the touchline raised the substitution board, but nobody was paying attention.

Because a fierce confrontation had broken out between the two teams.