Midfielder.

Chapter 162

Porto's opponent in the semi-finals was fixed as Deportivo, which made the Portuguese media very excited, and they even shouted the slogan of winning.

Not to enter the final, but to win the championship. The caliber of those football commentators is almost the same. This time, no one is looking down on the Porto team.

After all, at this time in Portugal, there is no benefit in badmouthing the Porto team. These guys have become the embodiment of the country and a symbol of honor.

Even the president of the Portuguese Football Association and those high-ranking government officials are on the side of the Porto team. Who would be so self-indulgent and bad-mouthing them.

What's more, before the start of the European Championship, Portugal can have such a club that has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, which is definitely something to be proud of.

The semi-finals of the Champions League, this is usually something they dare not even think about. You must know that Portuguese clubs rarely even make it to the top [-].

But this time the Porto team is fighting for their face. Not only did they successfully reach the semi-finals, but they also killed several top teams in the five major leagues.

Lisbon, including their league rivals, exclaimed that this may be the best time for the Porto team to reach the top after winning the championship in 1986.

It is not accidental that these people dared to shout such championship slogans. After all, among the semi-finals, only the Porto team recently won the European championship.

The Uefa Cup champion last season was not just for show, it was actually played. Compared with the other three teams, they have experience.

The most important thing is that it has the experience of playing in the European finals. In the eyes of many people, this is the Porto team's greatest chance of winning, but other teams do not have it.

Even many English media have said that among the semi-finals, Chelsea's overall player level is the highest, and they have the strength to win the championship in the end.

But most of them are still not optimistic about the team led by Ranieri. After all, the Italian's luck is really too bad. He just has no championship life.

Claudio Claudio Ranieri, who has always been regarded as a solid character, is not suitable for such a tough arena atmosphere. He is still a bit too soft, which is the second.

The most important thing is that although Chelsea has many excellent players, its record this season is not so stable, and its state fluctuates greatly.

They can kill Arsenal, and they can still play against Manchester United in the league, which is inextricably linked, but they also dare to lose when they meet anyone.

Teams like Blackburn and Fulham can frequently steal points from Chelsea, which makes Stamford Bridge fans very embarrassed.

Moreover, although Chelsea has the strongest players and the thickness of the bench among the semi-finals, its internal management and team operation are also the most chaotic.

This is all thanks to Peter Kenyon's attempt to get rid of Ranieri earlier. If he hadn't interfered so much, maybe it wouldn't have been so chaotic.

The most reported by the English media now is not how mighty Chelsea killed Arsenal and advanced to the semi-finals, nor how confident they will be in the final, or even win the final championship, but what is Chelsea going to do? Time to fire Ranieri.

Gossip is what people are most concerned about, especially this kind of team that suddenly becomes popular, and any move they make will attract the attention of the public.

Moreover, those media targeting Chelsea will seize this opportunity to hype up the cruelty of the money team. This is an alternative media war.

Journalists and media like those who have always been loyal to the traditional forces and the Premier League giants will never miss this opportunity to slander the opponent team.

But Peter Kenyon has never cared about these things. Anyway, he is the kind of person who doesn't bite when there are too many lice and doesn't worry about debts. He likes to say whatever he wants!

He didn't care if the newspapers and television portrayed him as a lackey of the Russian tycoon, and he wouldn't even deny the idea of ​​firing Ranieri.

Firing a coach who ranks third in the league and has reached the semi-finals of the Champions League is probably something only a madman would do, but Chelsea is indeed a bit crazy.

This is definitely not groundless, and Ranieri already knows what his future will be like, just like what he said at the press conference after he eliminated Arsenal, "What can a victory in a game change?" Is it? Come on, my friends."

"My fate has been decided a long time ago, and it cannot be changed even a few weeks ago, but now I don't know when I will leave."

When this good old Italian man said these words, he was obviously helpless, but he still couldn't change his fate of being dismissed from get out of class.

Even if he has led Chelsea to the highest peak in the past ten years, he can't save his career future, which is really helpless.

This is the cruel reality of Chelsea. No one takes Ranieri seriously. The fateful battle to defeat Arsenal has long been forgotten by Kenyon.

Peter Kenyon now sees Ranieri's incompetence and flaws everywhere. No championship means failure. This is Chelsea's policy.

And don't forget, Ranieri is not the head coach appointed by the Russian boss and Kenyon, he is the legacy left by the previous chairman.

Even if they still have the suspense of winning the Champions League, Peter Kenyon doesn't care, anyway, the Italian is about to leave here.

Now Chelsea just have to choose the one that suits them among the many targets. Even Mourinho and Deschamps are just one of the choices.

Since Porto's biggest potential threat is now surrounded by so many bad things, there is no reason for the Portuguese media not to shout the slogan of winning.

The most important thing is that they still think that a team like Deportivo, which was sieved by Monaco in the group stage, really does not pose any threat to them.

If the opponent in the semi-finals is replaced by AC Milan, it may be a different matter, but it will not be so terrible if it is replaced by a Spanish League team.

Moreover, these Portuguese media have always been very reassured about Porto's home performance. The Dragon Stadium has not lost a single Champions League match this season.

Whether it is the traditional giants like Real Madrid and Manchester United, or the Ligue [-] powerhouses like Marseille and Lyon, they are not bargaining here.

Now the Dragon Stadium has become a taboo place in the eyes of many teams. The Porto people here are simply a group of invincible lunatics.

The first game of the semi-finals was played at the Dragon Stadium, and their opponent was the famous "away bug". This was simply a godsend.

If Porto can't successfully cross the barrier of Deportivo and enter the final, it will really disappoint the opportunity God gave them.

Not only is the media advocating the theory of finals and championships, but even the Porto team is gearing up to go to the Schalke Stadium.

The Porto team's substitute goalkeeper Nuno who used to play for Deportivo, when he heard that his opponent in the semi-finals was his former club, his first reaction was to be extremely excited and said to Mourinho, "head Boy, we're in the finals! We can go to Germany!"

It is not a problem to win the opponent, which has become the consensus of everyone. Although Mourinho is still very vigilant, he can't stand the advocacy of so many people.

This kind of excitement has continued into the league. The Porto people don't want people to disturb their interest at this time. In the next two rounds of the league, they defeated their opponents smoothly and scored seven goals in two games. , and ensure that his city gate is not lost.

Even those substitute players seem to have taken a stimulant. As long as they play, they can contribute their own strength, and each one is more fierce than the other.

Such a strong state even made Porto's local newspaper call for the Triple Crown, and the Porto team seemed to be making history.

The red record across the board has immersed the entire Porto city in carnival. The league championship has been won, and now only the cup and the Champions League are left.

The momentum of triumphant progress and the team's recent state of sweeping everything have indeed made many people full of confidence in winning La Coruña in the semifinals.

But even Mourinho inadvertently overlooked a problem, that is, when the team wins consecutive games, they will form a kind of inertia.

Players will rely on a certain rhythm, which is their weapon to destroy opponents, but also a chain that binds their feet.

But the consecutive victories have made everyone ignore this point, although Mourinho has reminded his players to maintain a calm state of mind.

But in the face of the temptation to break into the Champions League final, who can keep calm?I am afraid that even Mourinho himself cannot be as calm as usual.

After all, it is the highest honor in European football. Winning it not only represents honor, social status, and contract. The Champions League is a huge gold mine.

One is the home dragon, and the other is the away game. Too many people believe that the Porto team will lock their tickets to the final in the first round.

This is a beautiful wish, but it does not mean that this wish will definitely come true. The night of April 4 was a game that did not belong to the Porto team.

0:0, when the 90-minute game ended, the fans who had shouted for more than an hour all stared blankly at the score on the big screen.

This is the ending that Deportivo gave to the Porto team. This group of Spaniards used the purest defensive counterattack to kill the Porto team's offense.

They have completely abandoned the possession of the ball that is common in Spanish football, and on the pitch, this time they showed more tenacity than the Italians.

When the defense of the Deportivo team does not have the ability to fight 90 minutes all-weather, they can only temporarily give up the midfield in the away game.

Whether it was Belleron, Victor or Fran who played later, none of them were very "enthusiastic" about advancing forward.

The Deportivo team that appeared at the Dragon Stadium behaved more like an Italian team. They gave up the gorgeous offensive advancement and instead pursued the efficiency of offense and defense, rather than the good-looking and control of the scene. The advantage on the ball, even they will give up some offensive opportunities.

Because Irueta is too afraid of the threat of the Porto team's quick counterattack, he has an idea of ​​not making mistakes in the away game.

win?He never thought about this idea from the beginning. He even said in an interview that all he needs is a draw.

"Porto is a team with an orderly offense and defense. If our defense is not highly concentrated, it will pay a heavy price."

It is a miracle to be able to eliminate AC Milan in two rounds, but Irueta does not like to stage the kind of thrilling super reversal every time.

Irueta fulfilled his wish before the game and left the Dragon Stadium with a point. He and his team retreated from Porto.

The 0-0 score also made him seem to see the hope of advancing to the Champions League final. When the game ended, the group of Spaniards were cheering with emotion.

The fans of the visiting team sitting in the north stand were all happy and crazy. They waved the flag of Deportivo on their seats presumptuously and cheered loudly.

Deportivo players also ran over to thank them, and they sang together, as if they had won tickets to the final.

Mourinho knew that at the Dragon Stadium, the group of Spaniards would not be too risky, but defended with all their strength, hoping to get the score back at home.

So he also sent all the main players to try to win the opponent at the Dragon Stadium, but the reality was cruel to him, and in the end it was just a draw.

Although Deportivo's Andrade was sent off for infringing Lin Wing in the last 10 minutes of the game, they still managed to defend the goal.

If the opponent is usually sent off, the Porto team will definitely use the advantage in numbers to suppress the opponent's mad attack.

But this time they lacked one of the sharpest bayonets. While Andrade was sent off, he also successfully made Lin Yi retire due to a leg injury.

Brito swore that if Faria hadn't hugged Mourinho, the guy would have rushed to the field and punched Andrade.

Because that guy was murdering when he was defending, Lin Yi was knocked down by Andreide more than a dozen times in the whole game.

The damn referee didn't play cards frequently because of the too hot conflicts on the court, which also gave the opponent the courage to foul Lin Yi continuously.

The last time was after Lin Yi broke through with the ball, Andrade kicked him directly on the calf with a very bad defensive move next to Lin Yi.

This kid Lin Yi also encountered such a defensive intensity when facing Keane, but as long as he can get up, he won't hang around on the turf.

But that kick was too harsh. The moment Lin Yi was kicked to the ground, he didn't even have the strength to roll over, so he could only hold his calf with his hands.

It was his supporting leg when he broke through, and the opponent kicked him hard just in time for him to use that kick. This kind of flaw is fatal.

When being carried on the stretcher, Lin Yi could only feel that his left leg seemed to lose consciousness, and there were boos and abuse from all around the court.

Until he was carried into the ambulance by the team doctor, Lin Yi didn't open his eyes, but clenched his fists tightly. The team doctor thought it was caused by the pain in his leg, so he kept telling Lin Yi to relax, but Lin Yi Yi knew in his heart that this was a game where he was unwilling to leave the Champions League just like that.

Damn foul!If he didn't have this kick, he would definitely pierce the opponent's defense. Damn, this damn injury came at a really bad time!
Lin Yi's injury almost ignited a group brawl on the court. If the referee hadn't drawn out the card in time to tell Andrade to leave, no one can guarantee that the already angry Porto players would really PK him. Even so, both sides also each received three yellow cards.

Among the players, the language of greeting each other's eighteenth generation of ancestors has never stopped, and Carvalho is very vicious and warned the opponent not to be too complacent!
Mourinho was also verbally warned by the referee, but this guy ignored the warning at all, and he raised his middle finger gorgeously at Iruetta.

"Bastard son of a bitch!" Brito swore, this was definitely the first time he heard Mourinho open his mouth to swear, and swear so bluntly.

This roaring curse was enough for Irueta to hear clearly, but the guy didn't have any expression at the moment, and even pretended not to hear.

But Mourinho's roar was clearly heard by the Porto fans behind him. Then, hundreds of people uttered the same roar together, then thousands of people together, and finally the entire Dragon Stadium used the same voice Greeting Irueta, it is estimated that no one will be able to pretend this time.

Even the on-site commentary didn't care about any broadcast accidents at this time, he yelled into the microphone, "These spanish sons of a bitch."

But such insults will not bring substantial help to the Porto team. Without Lin Yi's flexible movement in the frontcourt, Deco is left alone. Under the siege of two or three opponents, whether it is the pass Both the ball and the organization seemed very difficult, and there was no rhythm of the game at all.

Sergio and Mauro Silva, the double defensive midfielders of the Deportivo team, began to stare at Deco after Lin Yi left the field. Sergio was closer to Deco. In charge of pressing forward, Mauro Silva's main task is to limit the movement of Deco at the front of the penalty area.

This made the Porto team's offense lose its fatal pass. The previous destructive penetration was gone, leaving only meaningless cross passes.

In terms of ball possession time, the Porto team even reached more than 10% in the last three 70 minutes.But even with such a big advantage, they only hit the ball inside the goal frame three times in the whole game, and Molina didn't even have to make a save for Deco's several free kicks.

The only threat was Maniche's long-range shot that found a gap on the outside, but the football was unlucky and hit the crossbar and failed to break through the goal.

The game ended in such an offense and defense. The angry Mourinho said a word to all reporters at the press conference after the game.

"Congratulations to the opponent for taking the point they wanted with a lethal tactic, but don't forget that there are two rounds in the game, let's see you in Riazor!"

Irueta won't care what Mourinho says at this time, after all, the next game is on their territory, and the Riazor Stadium is terrifying.

The Deportivo team will end the semi-final matchup at the Riazor Stadium, just like killing AC Milan, they will create their own miracles!

But Irueta ignored one point, that is, he killed Lin Yi in this way, which ignited the anger of the entire Porto team. . .

(Is Yao Ming a burden to the Rockets? Then why don’t you trade him? Isn’t Morey known as the most shrewd manager? How can such a mistake be made? Hurry up and make a deal! I think you can still make a real deal What do you get... a group of talents with unlimited IQ...)
(End of this chapter)