Midfielder.

Chapter 434

The media is looking forward to the decisive battle between Manchester United and Chelsea. Their motives are understandable. After all, Chelsea is really boring if it continues to stand alone. The strong also need a suitable opponent.

Otherwise, there will always be a feeling of loneliness. After all, there is no such thing as Dugu seeking defeat in the football circle. AC Milan has been unbeaten in more than 50 games, but in the end they still have to accept losing.

However, Manchester United and Chelsea will have to wait for two more rounds. Maybe it was deliberately done by the guys who arranged the league schedule. Anyway, this peak confrontation was scheduled for the week before Christmas Eve.

Maybe those guys are planning such a peak confrontation to celebrate the arrival of Christmas for the fans.

In addition to being concerned about the re-collision with Sir Alex Mourinho, he is more concerned about the grouping situation of the Champions League. His premonition has always been accurate, especially when predicting bad news.

"I really don't know how to describe this Champions League match, look at the damn ranking!"

Mourinho looked at the coaching staff in front of him in his office at Stamford Bridge, and said with a little complaint, it's no wonder he complained, because everything in the Champions League this time revealed a little bit of weirdness.

If it is said that Inter Milan, AC Milan, Lyon, Chelsea, Juventus, Villarreal and Arsenal can successfully win the first place in the group, it is quite reasonable.

Although Villarreal and Lyon left Manchester United and Real Madrid behind, Lyon has been very strong in the Champions League in recent years. It is not surprising that their stability can kill Real Madrid.

The Lyon team led by Juninho has completely defeated the magnificence created by Zidane and others this time.

Although only three goals were scored in those two games combined, it was enough for Lyon to take four points.

It's just that such a result makes Florentino a little depressed. After all, Lafayette is still looking forward to relying on his superstar policy to reverse the defeat in the Champions League, at least he must be able to break into the semi-finals.

However, the Lyon team's tactical arrangement of winning at home and keeping a tie at the away game made Lafayette's ideas come to nothing. The once luxurious super "Galaxy Battleship" is stepping towards the brink of sinking.

The French media even claimed after the game, "The Lyon team that sells Essien can also go very far in the Champions League. Compared with Real Madrid's practice of relying on buying people in exchange for results, Lyon behaves more like a team. A well-run club, not only are they doing well, they are breaking even."

Faced with the ridicule of the French, the Spanish media chose to remain silent this time. After all, what the French said was true. It is really a shame that Real Madrid has not yet been able to win the opponent with such a luxurious lineup.

It is estimated that Florentino is still complaining about the depressed mood of trying to buy Lin Yi for 6000 million, and Real Madrid's performance in two-line combat this season is indeed very bad. Their league performance can only be ranked fourth in La Liga. Both Rencia and Villarreal have surpassed Real Madrid.

Not to mention Real Madrid's old enemy Barcelona, ​​those guys have already locked the first place in the league. From the first round, Rijkaard's team led the way.

Now Barcelona leads Real Madrid by as many as seven points. This gap is really desperate.

It can be said that this is the most depressing period for Real Madrid. It is difficult for them to restore the gorgeous style they once had.

Once their offense is decent, the damned defense will make fatal mistakes again.

If it weren't for Casillas' amazing performance in front of the goal, it is estimated that Real Madrid has fallen out of the top six in the league. Such an embarrassing record is really depressing.

This kind of pressure has already spread to Florentino's re-election plan. Now there are unfavorable rumors from the upper echelons of the Real Madrid Club. Although it has not been made public, this rumor still has a certain degree of credibility.

If Florentino can't change the team's performance in the short term, even if he can sell 10,000+ jerseys for every superstar, he won't be able to save his position as the chairman of Real Madrid.

Moreover, the superstars he accumulated in the early stage have begun to show their own fatigue. These veterans who are on the verge of the end of their careers will hardly become an important pillar for Real Madrid's resurgence.

Florentino may also know that at this time, the team cannot be forced to win honors in multiple lines, but he requires the team to at least reproduce the glory of Real Madrid in the Champions League, which is the only bottom line to be kept.

But now it seems that this task is quite arduous. The superstars who have gradually aged are not the majestic killing gods of the past. The once extremely sharp attack is losing its power.

Even if Ronaldo has the strong support of Raul, Zidane and Beckham behind him, it will be difficult for him to save Real Madrid alone, although he is in good form this season and has scored six goals.

But compared with the overall strength of competitors who attack in groups, the power of one person is very limited.

Otherwise, relying on Lyon's defensive strength, it is still difficult to trap the progress of the Madrid people.

If Real Madrid's fall to the second place in the group is still a bit inevitable, then it is not surprising that Villarreal eliminated Manchester United and qualified first in the group. The Spanish submarine has played in La Liga since last season. Without their gorgeous football, their strength has risen rapidly.

Ever since Riquelme arrived at the Estadio Verde from Barcelona, ​​the guy has unleashed the kind of creativity the Catalans have been looking for, dominating teams that are not only flamboyant but also impactful.

With the striker combination of Figueroa and Forlan in excellent condition, Villarreal's trident can still make many opponents feel shuddering even in the Champions League.

Especially Forlan, who transferred from Manchester United. After this guy left from the Premier League, he has changed completely.

He alone has almost arranged half of Villarreal's offense so far this season.

I really don't know if Ferguson regretted letting him go so easily when he saw the Uruguayan in this state. Although the guy's performance in the two years at Manchester United was indeed a bit disappointing, but now it seems that he is not Fran's ability is not good, but there is a problem with the tactical arrangement.

It's just that there is no place to buy such regret medicine, and Ferguson can only blame himself for making a loss-making deal.

Not only was it a loss, but when Forlan and Figueroa defeated Manchester United together, many Red Devils fans lamented, "We let go of a sharp knife, and now he is back!"

In fact, Fran is not considered revenge, but this guy wants to prove that he still has value.

Of course, such a proof came at the cost of Manchester United's loss. Forlan successfully proved his ability, but he also ruined Ferguson's idea of ​​leading the team to the top [-] of the Champions League.

One win and one draw against Manchester United has made Ferguson lose his temper. It can be said that after three games in Group D, the Villarreal team has basically locked a place to qualify.

It's just that even they themselves didn't expect that they would break out of Group D with the excellent results of the group's first place, but many commentators have said on various occasions that this team will definitely become a dark horse.

Just like Porto the year before, they have a tough defense and also have a very crazy offense.

With a standard playmaker, Riquelme's classic attacking midfielder can still tear apart the defense.

Even Lin Yi sighed after watching the match between Villarreal and Manchester United, "The Argentine's game style is too different, the rhythm is not fast, but the passing timing is very accurate."

But compared with Villarreal and Lyon, the most unexpected thing is the qualifying order of Group C. Originally, Barcelona and Bremen, plus Panathinaikos and Udinese, had already Some people have already said that Barcelona must be the first time, and the remaining teams will compete for second.

Even Mourinho thinks that this is the order that will not change, and judging from the progress of the game, after the end of the four rounds, although Barcelona did not qualify early, it is already the first in the group, but the last two In the first round of the game, Rijkaard's team fell unexpectedly.

Two consecutive defeats, it is estimated that no one can predict such a thing, but there is also a reason for Barcelona's loss. Their first national derby with Real Madrid was interspersed, which affected their performance.

But losing two games in a row still put Rijkaard's team into a rather depressing situation. They had to give up their first place in the group and could only watch the chasers behind them complete the miracle of reversal.

Bremen completed the overtake in the standings in the last round of the group stage. Their two consecutive victories ended up one point more than Barcelona, ​​which also made the third in the Bundesliga the most unexpected first in the group.

Although their results are not outstanding, football matches are so dramatic. Werder Bremen, who had already sat firmly in the second place in the group, unexpectedly became the first this time, which stunned many people, including many German media. No one thought that Bremen could complete such a reversal.

"The nerve knife of the Bundesliga, it seems that it will also be very crazy in the Champions League." This is the evaluation of the German media team Bremen.

The Barcelona team has become a very troublesome second place in the group. Now those teams that thought they could find a soft persimmon by keeping the first place in the group, now this wishful thinking is completely invalid.

This time, not only the traditional top two of La Liga have become second in the group, Bayern Munich, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven are among them. Such a lineup of second in the group is really fucking weird!
"Apart from Benfica, Everton and Rangers, the only thing we don't need to worry about is PSV. After all, that is our opponent in the group stage and it is impossible to meet in the round of [-]."

"But apart from these four teams, there are still four strong teams that have the chance to meet us. Neither Bayern Munich nor Ajax are easy to deal with, let alone Real Madrid and Barcelona. Now I'm probably most worried about those two from La Liga, they are the most likely."

It is no wonder that Mourinho would lament the weirdness of this competition. It is a strange situation in itself that the giants are rushing to the second place in the group, and now he has a hunch that his team will definitely pick the best team. Difficult to deal with opponents, this group of old men in UEFA may have deliberately done it.

Maybe this is not a conspiracy, but in order to maintain the attention of the Champions League, they definitely did it.

After all, the massacre scene where the group No. [-] kills the group No. [-] will make many people not interested in paying attention. It will only be interesting when the group No. [-] list is full of those big-name teams.

Everyone wants to watch the drama of strong confrontation, especially those fans, who like exciting games.

If the battles started from the round of [-], it is estimated that this kind of Champions League can win more ratings. It must be remembered that those broadcasters may not necessarily watch football, but they can recognize the broadcast data.

Only a high enough broadcast data can bring them more advertisers, and also bring more revenue to UEFA. This kind of business account has been calculated since the day there was the Champions League.

It's just that the gradually rising TV broadcast costs have allowed them to see more benefits.

UEFA may not be a clever behind-the-scenes manipulator, but it is not impossible for them to operate this damn draw ceremony in order to make money, or in other words, this is just the unspoken rules of the UEFA Champions League.

Before the start of the recent draws, some people would predict most of the matches. This is no coincidence. In addition to the analysis in place, many people have grasped UEFA's tone of strong dialogue.

Moreover, some reporters once exposed the tricks in the lottery ceremony, such as throwing the numbered balls of the teams to be drawn into the refrigerator to freeze, and then allowing the lottery drawers to accurately judge which one to take.

Although there is no way to confirm such news in the end, don't think it will be groundless.

What Mourinho has to worry about now is that this time UEFA must not target him as the defending champion in the strong dialogue. The strength of those second in the group is no worse than the current Chelsea team.

Even for teams like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​Mourinho is not fully sure to kill his opponents, especially Barcelona, ​​which has settled old scores last season, is even more difficult this season. In addition to Neo's performance is still eye-catching, they also added a lot of new aid, especially the few guys selected from the youth team, their performance can make people shine.

Even Mourinho said after watching the national derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid, "That little novice is definitely a problem for our defense. He is very difficult to deal with."

The little guy that Mourinho told Brito was a new rookie from Barcelona. He was a little guy from Argentina. His performance in the last few games was amazing, and even Mourinho had already paid attention to it. When it came to him, the kid's dribbling and breakthrough were very sharp and brave.

When he scored in three consecutive games, this kid's name has been known to all Catalans, and now even Real Madrid fans know that the kid is called Messi.

An Argentine little man, although he has not yet reached Ronaldinho's level, many Catalans believe that as long as this kid gives him time, he will become an important member of the Barcelona team , judging by his age, this little guy's potential can be infinitely improved.

Although Barcelona lost the No. [-] ranking in the group at the last moment, Mourinho will not underestimate them because of this. On the contrary, such a performance will make Mourinho very vigilant.

"A beast that has just been wounded by others is the most dangerous. It will devour the next opponent."

It can be said that the second group Mourinho is most vigilant about is Barcelona. As for Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, both have their own flaws, and the overall level is also in a decline stage. If there is no large-scale personnel adjustment, they It is difficult to have a blowout outbreak in the short term.

Needless to say, Ajax is a traditional giant in the Eredivisie, but their overall strength is not enough to shake the status of other giants, and the trouble they can bring to Chelsea is also very limited.

Even if he meets them, Mourinho is fully confident of winning the battle, but for Barcelona, ​​Mourinho is most worried about it now, and his old club has never been easy to mess with.

Last season's ability to kill the opponent was also due to the team's overall explosion, which turned the game around at the last minute. Chelsea conceded two goals at home in just one game last season, and that was Ronaldinho at Stamford Bridge. Created, because of those two conceded goals, almost ruined Chelsea's Champions League journey. If it happens again, Mourinho dare not say that Chelsea can complete the final reversal.

That is a very dangerous opponent, especially after the start of this season, Barcelona's state and personnel are unprecedentedly fierce. If they encounter it, it will definitely be a terrifying battle.

Especially now that Barcelona's midfield organization ability has become more and more free, even if Ronaldinho is not present, they can still find a way to tear through the defense in the back and forth.

And compared with last season, Barcelona's defense has obviously become stronger now. In the first dozen rounds of La Liga, they conceded less than one goal per game, and their efficiency is indeed amazing.

If the top [-] is really going to be against Barcelona, ​​then for Chelsea, the defending champion, this is the most vicious stumbling block. Mourinho only hopes that this will not really be as expected.

But those guys in UEFA are not sure whether they want to see such a fight between dragons and tigers. Perhaps in their eyes, this kind of confrontation between the needle and the wheat is the high level that the Champions League has always advertised.

It's just that for Chelsea, this is not good news, but the Catalans must be waiting for a chance of revenge. If there is a chance to meet head-on, Mourinho bets that the group of Barcelona guys will definitely It's going to be crazy, it's going to be a damn tough game.

"I hope those guys don't want to kill us so early..." Mourinho murmured silently while holding the match sheet, wondering if the Almighty God could be quite clear.

maybe. . .

(End of this chapter)