knife guard

Chapter 825 The Mythical Gunner's Eighth-Final Opponent

(The first update is [-] words, and the next one is [-] words, and then see how much more can be added.)
At 18 o'clock in the morning on the 12th, the UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw ceremony kicked off in Nyon, Switzerland. The 16 teams that broke out from the group gathered together and waited for the draw to determine which hero their next opponent would be.

On the big stage of the Champions League, Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Manchester United and Milan are super giants, Olympiacos, CSKA, and Bordeaux are all small shrimps, and although Arsenal and Chelsea, which have never won the championship, are strong, but in this venue They are often very low-key in public, and the focus of reporters is not them.

This year is obviously different. When Arsenal's head coach Arsene Wenger and chairman Hill Wood appeared, a large number of reporters flocked to them, flashing lights kept flashing. Elwood also felt more face, and his waist became straighter.Arsenal's performance this year is really excellent. Every Arsenal person, even Arsenal fans, feel that they have a lot more confidence in speaking.

However, the few giants who fell to the second place in the group, such as the Milan duo and Bayern, looked at Wenger with hostility and guard, because the principle of the draw for the semi-finals is as follows: the No.1 team in the group stage The second place against another arbitrary group, and the team of the same group and the same football association will automatically avoid it.In addition, the second team in the group will play first home and then away in the two-round 1/8 finals.In terms of rules, conspiracy, and even commercial interests, these three giants are very likely to face Arsenal, the number one player in the group.

At the same time, all Arsenal players, including the injured Van Persie and Bendtner, were watching the draw ceremony in the broadcast hall of the Emirates Stadium. The two assistant coaches and the executive chairman can't hold back the scene. In fact, Arsenal's record is so good now. The relationship between the club's management, coaching staff and players is very harmonious, and they will not prohibit them as managers. The players were laughing and playing.

Van Persie embraced Li Huan's shoulder affectionately, and said, "Li, who do you think UEFA will assign to us?"

Assistant coach Rice, who was sitting not far from Li Huan, said, "Robin, don't talk nonsense, the lottery is not sure."

Gala snorted disdainfully, and said, "If you say there's nothing tricky in the middle, I wouldn't believe it if you beat me to death."

At this time, the manager of Real Madrid's public relations department, Blatt Geno, and the director of UEFA's competition department, Marchetti, came out. to assist with the draw.

The first place in the eight groups of this UEFA Champions League is Bordeaux, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Barcelona, ​​Sevilla and Arsenal; the second place in the eight groups is Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, AC Milan and Porto , Lyon, Inter Milan, Alkmaar, Olympiacos.

Infantino, the new secretary-general of UEFA, introduced the rules of the draw and the two guests who assisted him in the draw with a smile on his face, but the fans in front of the TV were not very interested in what he said , because fans have long been familiar with these things, and UEFA’s draw is not really completely open and fair. Although UEFA will not hack any team, but for commercial interests, UEFA often Some teams that are very gimmick and eye-catching are drawn together, so every draw will also attract criticism from some teams and fans.

Infantino is much more humorous than his predecessor David Taylor, and his big bald head is also very funny. He first captured a team that made all No.1 jealous, Alkmaar in the Netherlands, 8 In the second group, Alkmaar and Olympiacos are the weakest.No wonder the other groups were jealous at first.

The Arsenal players in the broadcast hall of the Emirates Stadium were also talking about it. Diaby said eagerly: "Drawing them is almost equal to the quarter-finals. We have no chance in Olympiacos. The best are Alkmaar and Central Moscow. Army."

Van Persie complained about his hometown team, saying: "Diaby, you can't underestimate our country's team. Their strength is not bad. At least better than Olympiacos."

Li Huan said slowly: "UEFA has always been reluctant to see us, and will not give us the softest persimmon."

At this time, Blattegno drew Barcelona, ​​and the Barcelona coach Guardiola suddenly showed a knowing smile on his face, and the head coach of Alkmaar also smiled. It doesn't matter, I am very happy to be able to enter the knockout round.Who can escape with their strength?

The Arsenal players in front of the TV suddenly booed.

"Damn, it's recommended to the quarter-finals again!"

"The life of a strong team is also good."

"When will we have a good life?"

The Arsenal players were all talking about it. Seeing that Barcelona had drawn such a good sign, their psychology was a little unbalanced.

Li Huan tried his best to recall which team Arsenal had drawn in the round of 16, but it was too long ago and it was only the quarter-finals, so he didn't remember it for a while.

The second one drawn by Infantino was another underdog, Olympiakos. This time, the Arsenal players don’t care anymore. They are in the same group as the Greek team. It is impossible for them to be drawn together in the quarter-finals. go.In the end, Olympiacos got the dark horse Bordeaux. Both sides were satisfied and saw the hope of advancing to the quarterfinals.

The next one to be drawn out was Inter Milan, and the conference hall became tense. Mourinho's team is the most difficult to deal with. Even if Inter Milan can be eliminated, I am afraid there will be heavy casualties. It can be said that any team I don't want to run into the second place in this team.

Fabregas said nervously, "I won't give them to us."

Assistant coach Rice was also visibly nervous. He took off his glasses and wiped them off, and said, "It's hard to say. We haven't been strong in the Champions League, and we haven't had any good signings over the years."

Just when everyone was nervous, Inter Milan's opponent was drawn out by Blatgno, which was Chelsea.

Everyone in the hall was obviously relieved. Except for Chelsea and Inter Milan, the expressions of Ancelotti and Mourinho froze, and then they smiled meaningfully.

Bendtner applauded: "Okay, it looks good now, dog eats dog."

Van Persie couldn't help sneering, and said: "Everyone knows the relationship between these two teams. Mourinho was the former coach of Chelsea, and now Chelsea's coach Ancelotti is the former coach of AC Milan. The arrangement is so eye-catching. I just don’t know which team to arrange for us, Bayern or AC Milan.”

The next ones drawn were Bayern Munich and Fiorentina, which made Arsenal breathe a sigh of relief. As long as AC Milan is not drawn, they like the three teams like CSKA Moscow, Porto and Lyon very much.

Next, CSKA Moscow and Sevilla, Lyon and Real Madrid were also drawn out, and there are four remaining teams. The first in the group is Arsenal and Manchester United, and the second in the group is AC Milan and Porto.

Arsenal's players are more nervous this time than before. 50.00% hope to meet the more difficult seven-time Champions League winner AC Milan, which can't help Arsenal not to be nervous.

Van Persie murmured to himself: "There is no doubt, it must be AC ​​Milan, and the theme of revenge is the same as Real Madrid's attack on Lyon."

Many Arsenal players held similar views, but Li Huan fully remembered that it was Porto, but he didn't say it out, he didn't want to spoil the surprise behind his teammates.

Afterwards, Arsenal was indeed drawn to Porto's group, and the hall of the Emirates Stadium suddenly cheered. This is not the best draw, but it is by no means a bad one. In 50.00% of the cases, they met Porto, not AC Milan. This is just luck, and it doesn't mean that Arsenal are afraid of AC Milan, but that in the early stages of the knockout round, they didn't want to play with scars, and when they played in the knockout round, they were seriously downsized and couldn't make up a complete lineup. Meeting a weaker opponent can avoid this situation from happening, especially for a team like Arsenal with insufficient bench depth, the danger of encountering a strong team in the early stage is even greater, and it may even make wedding clothes for others. '

After the result of the draw was announced, Ladbrokes and BWIN both offered the latest odds for winning the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal, which was drawn to the underdog, continued to rank first, Barcelona rose to second, while Chelsea and Manchester United ranked third and fourth respectively. , while the odds of winning the Milan duo have been raised, with Alkmaar and Olympiacos tied for bottom.

On the second day, various media also commented on the results of the draw. The Italian media believed that UEFA was deliberately suppressing Serie A. Gazzetta dello Sport said: Inter Milan drew Chelsea, Manchester United drew rivals AC Milan, and Same as last season, this year's Champions League round of 16 matchup is between British and Italian teams. The difference is that Fiorentina has drawn Bayern Munich, which bloodbathed Juventus, but all three Serie A teams have drawn traditional European giants.Last season, the three Serie A teams were defeated by three Premier League teams, and all were eliminated.Now a nightmarish lottery has been drawn again. If it wasn't for UEFA making things difficult for Serie A, no fool would believe it. "

The British media are also dissatisfied. Although AC Milan has drawn the powerful Manchester United, it does not mean that they will be caught without a fight, because in the history of the Champions League for more than 50 years, AC Milan has never been eliminated by Manchester United. In the knockout rounds, AC Milan scored 5 wins and 3 losses, and eliminated Manchester United four times, with a success rate of 100%. However, Inter Milan and Chelsea have never played against each other in Europe. It can be called an encounter. O'Neill knows everything about Chelsea, and the outcome is really hard to predict. How could the Premier League media be happy? If it weren't for Arsenal's good signing, the British media would have already started scolding.

The only ones who are satisfied are the Spanish teams. The top three in La Liga are lucky to draw. If Real Madrid can only be regarded as winning the lottery when they draw Lyon, then Barcelona and Sevilla will undoubtedly win the lottery this time.And this is not the first time that a Spanish team has won a good signing. Last season, when the Premier League and Serie A teams were choking one-on-one, the opponents of Barcelona, ​​Villarreal and Atletico Madrid were Lyon, Panathinaikos and Porto.However, the Spanish media didn't understand the truth of being bored and making a fortune, and made a lot of publicity after the game, saying that this time the Champions League final will be held at the Bernabeu.It is a good opportunity for La Liga. I hope that the three teams in La Liga will enter the quarter-finals and turn the final into a civil war among La Liga teams.

After the draw, Arsenal's head coach Arsene Wenger talked about his views on his opponent Porto when he was interviewed by reporters. The professor said, "Porto is weak? They used to be Champions League champions. Compared with Bayern, Inter Milan and AC Milan they It's a little bit worse, but they are much stronger than Olympiacos and Alkmaar. I think this is a 50% vs. 50% game. Porto has always maintained a high level and has never been difficult to beat. The one advantage we have maybe is that we can go back to play at home in the second leg. But we have to play the first leg first and try to get away goals."

Professor Wenger’s remarks are of course the product of modesty and caution. Arsenal’s total match record with Porto has given Arsenal a lot of confidence. However, the two centuries-old clubs have never had a confrontation before 2006. From the beginning, the fate of the North London tyrants and the Portuguese overlords had been entangled many times. In the two seasons of 2006/07 and 2008/09, Arsenal met Porto in the Champions League group stage. Except for the 0-2 loss at the Dragon Stadium last season, the Gunners have not lost in the other 3 dialogues. More importantly, Wenger's side have yet to concede a goal.

And Porto's coach Ferreira doesn't seem to have too many ideas, but Porto has been out of the group for four consecutive years. It is definitely impossible to say that there is no idea of ​​​​taking a step forward. After the draw, coach Ferreira La said, "Arsenal is the most powerful team in Europe right now. A 16-game winning streak in the Premier League is remarkable. If the Champions League is played now, we may lose 0:5, but what happens in two months? You know, maybe they are in better shape, maybe they are worse, I think now we still think about the league, the league is equally important to us."

As a member of the last Champions League champion, although Hoffenheim was eliminated, Li Huan is still alive. In an interview, Li Huan expressed his confidence in advancing to the top 8. Li Huan told reporters very easily, "Who the opponent is does not matter." Important, we will definitely advance. The only thing missing in Arsenal’s honor room is a championship trophy. I came to Arsenal to win this trophy for the fans. There may not be a defending champion team in the Champions League. I hope to be a defending champion player."

(End of this chapter)