Midfielder.

Chapter 244

After a UEFA Champions League season lacking in stars, the fans were already hooked before the draw ceremony for the round of [-] was over, because this round of knockout rounds will definitely not lack the strength of the strong teams. The peak confrontation between them, and it's not just one or two games.

Chelsea, which has been in the limelight recently, has bumped into Barcelona, ​​and Manchester United, who are in the Premier League with them, also encountered a very difficult opponent AC Milan. From the moment the draw was announced, it is estimated that Ferguson's two eyebrows have already frowned. Let's go together, this time the opponent is really troublesome.

For a Manchester United team that has been in turmoil recently, the opponent AC Milan is indeed a bit too strong. Even after the draw, Ferguson began to ask people to help him prepare AC Milan's recent game videos. Dare to have any entrustment.

Ferguson doesn't want to be shut out of the Champions League quarter-finals for two consecutive years. Last year, Mourinho's Porto suddenly emerged, but this year, a real strong man stands in front of him. Even Ferguson, who has always been tough, is against him. This time the result of the game feels uncertain.

The Rossoneri in the Champions League has always been unstoppable, and Sir Alex can only hope to settle the battle at home. San Siro is not that easy to win. Ferguson really has the urge to scold at the moment , if it weren't for the constant competition with Chelsea in the league, Manchester United would not have been preempted by Lyon in the group stage of the Champions League. As a result, they can only compete with AC Milan now.

But who can blame this problem?It can only be said that Ferguson needs to win a championship too much, so he has been competing with Chelsea in the league. As a result, the Lyon team completed the final surpass quietly. This may be the Manchester United team. Biggest embarrassment of the season.

They were not only crushed by the Chelsea team in the league, but also encountered the strongest opponents in the Champions League. Many Manchester United supporters are a little worried at this moment, whether the great Red Devils will go through two consecutive times. A season that is so depressing to death?

Of course, Ferguson will not let others know that he is a little depressed. He even smiled to the reporters from all walks of life after the draw, "A great opponent, but Manchester United is also a great team. It’s going to be a very exciting round, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Looking forward to it?It is estimated that only the old man knows that after leaving the reporter's sight, Ferguson will not have any smile on his face.

Similarly, AC Milan coach Ancelotti also expressed his respect for Ferguson in front of the media, but behind the respect, this guy who is proficient in the Champions League schedule is definitely not the kind of person who will let his opponent go because of respect. He must be thinking about how to get rid of Manchester United.

The fans cheered not only in these two games, but Real Madrid, which is in the second place in the group, also encountered a hard stubble. The old lady Juventus from Serie A became the one they had to overcome in order to enter the quarterfinals A threshold, maybe Real Madrid's Brazilian coach Luxenberg also realized that this is a big crisis for the Galacticos, and he may only have to win the game.

What kind of team is that? It is impossible for Luxenberg not to know. Tenacious defense, tenacious will, coupled with a stable state, no matter how you look at it, this is the toughest opponent Real Madrid has encountered in this Champions League However, it seems that it is not easy for the Galaxy Battleship to advance.

For Luxenberg, the most dangerous may be the head coach of Juventus, Capello, who usually likes to have a gloomy face. Everyone knows what the team can do under the command of this guy, and recently It is also rumored that Florentino is infinitely close to the Italian.

It is obvious that Florentino is very dissatisfied with Luxembourg leading Real Madrid to lag behind the rival Barcelona in the league. He has been thinking about changing the head coach for the team. A good candidate, maybe this round of confrontation is the duel to decide the next season's Real Madrid coach, Luxenberg really can't afford to lose this game.

The confrontation between Bayern and Arsenal is also highly anticipated, especially the Bundesliga madman Magath has publicly declared after the draw that Bayern Munich's goal is to enter the final, no matter who the opponent is in this round , They all have to break through the obstacles and get the tickets for promotion.

Compared with Magath's tough attitude, Wenger's usual performance has not changed. He just said in an interview that this opponent is very strong. If Arsenal want to break into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, they must Give it your all, otherwise, they will lose the game.

However, this kind of confrontation also gave Wenger a little benefit, that is, Lehman, who has been in a state of war with him recently, gave in. That guy took the initiative to find Wenger to discuss his own problems. As for the content of the conversation, no one knows, but The German has since been training with the team.

Who can let Lehman take the initiative to seek peace?Of course, it is Bayern's main goalkeeper Kahn. As the two guys compete for the position of the main goalkeeper of the German national team, this kind of direct confrontation may add an important weight to their final victory.

Four peak duels, this arrangement probably makes many fans' adrenaline rush rapidly, and they even have to worry about which game to watch, because every game may be as crazy as sparks hit the earth, and miss it Any confrontation is a waste.

In contrast, the confrontation between Liverpool and Leverkusen seems to have been ranked behind these four games. At least their eyeball effect is not as attractive as this peak duel between giants, but this also makes Benny Tess that bald Spanish guy can have a break.

But at the same time, Benitez also knows that if he can't win this time, then he will wait to pack his bedroll and get out of Liverpool directly.

When Mourinho saw all the matchups listed in front of his eyes, he couldn't help putting a smile on his face, "It seems that UEFA is trying to balance the loss of last year. It is estimated that when the final list of the top eight is finalized, they have recovered the ticket revenue lost last year, and may even set a new record for TV broadcasting, they are really willing to invest the cost."

Mourinho never believes that there are no human factors behind such a draw. Maybe the heads of UEFA will not arbitrarily arrange who will fight against whom, but never believe that these things are fair. In order to ensure the ratings , They will also make some small movements behind their backs.

Although such small actions will not determine who will fight against whom, they will always have some hints. They can always control the frequency of dialogue between strong teams. After all, such a game still depends on these giants to support the scene. Yes, UEFA never loses money.

It's just that they obviously want to give a boost to last year's low ratings this time, so they would rather arrange four strong dialogues, and let the Champions League set off a climax in the round of [-], so that the excitement of those fans will start from the first knockout round It was ignited by fierce competition from the beginning.

However, there are only four teams in the final winners, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, there are enough rich teams this time, and UEFA is not afraid of the embarrassing scene last year when there were no rich teams in the top four. For conventional phenomena, collective release once is enough.

For such an opponent, Mourinho did not say much after the draw, he just told reporters, "Barcelona is where I have worked, and the Nou Camp is nothing strange to me, so my It's nice that the team doesn't have an obstacle to play on the road."

Mourinho's words reminded many people, don't forget, this guy is not only the head coach of Chelsea now, but also this guy has worked in Barcelona for several years, but this guy who used to be an assistant coach next to Robson Man, this time will be the enemy of Camp Nou.

And Rijkaard faced such a team that has shocked the Premier League this season, he seemed a little cautious, "Chelsea's overall strength is very strong, especially in defense, they are as tough as an Italian club. , I have to remind my players about this."

"But the first round is at Camp Nou, no matter who the opponent is, Barcelona will beat the opponent and defend the honor at home, I don't think that will change, but against such an opponent, we can all feel Pressure, but it's not a bad thing, at least it will remind me that if you want to win the Champions League for Barcelona, ​​​​you must surpass these powerful opponents on the field."

"In addition, on behalf of the Barcelona team, I will welcome Jose back to the Nou Camp. After all, he has worked here for four years. The Barcelona fans have not forgotten his time here. Of course, except for the final score, we will use it. Greet this old friend in your own way."

No guns and gunpowder-flavored dialogues, perhaps this is the first time that Mourinho has not provoked others, but he can keenly detect Rijkaard's edge from such dialogues, this time the trip to Camp Nou , for him, it is definitely not a trip, but a fierce battle.

On February 24th, it was the day when Chelsea played away against Barcelona. Mourinho made a big splash on the Champions League schedule, and then said to all the players, "This is our first opponent, very strong , I don’t deny this, but the winner must be us!”

"Before we meet Barcelona, ​​we still have four league rounds and a Carabao Cup semi-final to play. My request is to try to get all [-] points and tickets to the final, and then let us go to the Nou Camp to see It’s been a long time since I played against Barcelona, ​​and I don’t want my old Catalan acquaintances to laugh at me this time, this time it’s an away game, but on the pitch Chelsea is the dominant team!”

After experiencing the depression of falling to the semi-finals last season, the current Chelsea team is too eager for the big scene of the Champions League final, so when Mourinho uses words to tease the desire of these beasts for the championship trophy, you still don’t want to win. Can these guys be expected to quiet down?
It was a dream. . .

(Chelsea vs. Manchester United... Well, maybe God doesn't want to see the Premier League too glamorous. Maybe there will be no English team in the final at Wembley... This civil war is purely self-harm...)
(End of this chapter)