green star

Chapter 231 Cardiff

At the post-match press conference, Eddie Gray once again made a surprising statement. He faced most of the reporters from London: "...It was a beautiful game...Fulham are at their home court, Showed great combat effectiveness...It is a pity that Lee's hat-trick and 28 goals did not bring him the honor of being the league's top scorer."

The reporters present all hated their teeth itching. You said that Fulham showed a strong combat effectiveness at home, so what is Leeds United who defeated Fulham 4:2?Isn't this a different way to boast about your team... However, at any rate, Eddie Gray also mentioned that Li Rui did not win the top scorer, which also made the London media feel a little bit more balanced, but next, Eddie Gray's words surprised everyone at the scene even more, or it made the pro-London media outraged.

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Eddie Gray shrugged, paused, glanced at the reaction from the reporters, and smiled, "However, in my opinion, Lee is the top scorer this season, because he has 28 goals. , while Henry scored only 25 goals..."

The reporters on the scene were stunned for a moment before they realized that Eddie Gray had subtracted 29 penalties out of Henry's 4 goals...

This aroused the dissatisfaction of media reporters in London, and they condemned one after another. The press conference was in chaos. Facing such a situation, Eddie Gray was obviously prepared. He grinned and said to the reporters, "In my In the calculation method, the scorer list does not count penalty kicks..."

After finishing speaking, he ignored the noise of the reporters, turned around and left the press conference site. His goal had been achieved, making those Londoners who were about to watch a joke more disgusting than eating flies. I bickered with these guys at the meeting...

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On the bus back to the hotel where Leeds United stayed, Li Rui was already much better. Failure was failure. Although it was hard at the time, Li Rui couldn't accept it all at once. He performed a hat-trick in this game, At first, I thought that I could at least share the honor of top scorer with Henry, but I didn't expect that I still had one goal less than Henry, and I couldn't accept it all at once.

Besides, this is already Li Rui's second professional season. He has also experienced the cruelty of professional football. If you lose, you win. At this time, Li Rui also comforted himself. In the semi-final of the FA Cup , I helped Leeds United eliminate Arsenal. Arsenal have been empty-handed this season. Henry must feel not much better than he does now...

However, what really opened up Li Rui's heart was because of Albertini's words. The Leeds United captain deliberately chose to sit next to Li Rui in the bus on the way back to the hotel. Albertini said to Li Rui In a word, "You are only 20 years old, you can't get the top scorer this season, what about next season, and the next season?... Your next season will start from the FA Cup final..."

As he said that, Albertini patted Li Rui on the shoulder.

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"Eddie, the team is really lucky to have a captain like Demi." Gustavo Poyet saw that Albertini took the initiative to talk to Li Rui, and judging from Li Rui's expression, It should have come out of the loss, and the effect seems to be good.

Eddie Gray also turned his head to take a look, smiled and said to his assistant, "Demi will definitely help Lee shift his attention to the FA Cup final with Manchester United."

In today's game, Li Rui's state was really excellent. Of course Eddie Gray was very happy. He seemed to see the FA Cup champion blowing kisses towards Leeds United...

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Leeds United defeated Fulham 4:2 away, marking the end of the 2004-2005 season with a victory.

The 2004-2005 Premier League season ended. Under the leadership of the new head coach Mourinho, Chelsea won the championship one round ahead of schedule. This is also Chelsea's first top league championship in the past 50 years.

Arsenal, which won the championship with undefeated results last season, ended up as the runner-up. The only thing that makes Arsenal people feel comforted is that after winning the honor of top scorer with 30 league goals last season, this season, Henry once again Top scorer with 29 goals.

Manchester United, which had a poor start this season, only won No.3. The only consolation for Manchester United is that the growth of two teenagers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, gave the Red Devils hope of recovery.Of course, Manchester United fans still hope to look forward to a championship trophy. A week later, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff City, the capital of Wales, Manchester United VS Leeds United, this season's FA Cup champion is about to be produced.

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League No.4 is Everton led by young coach Moyes, who can beat the traditional giants Liverpool and qualify for the European Champions Cup next season. Everton surprised everyone, which also aroused cheers from the Chinese media. Everton's Chinese players are celebrating that they will be able to participate in the European Champions Cup next season. One website even stated that Li Rui helped the team enter the UEFA Cup and Li Tie helped the team enter the Champions Cup. "Big Li and Xiao Li's performance made the English admire..." In fact, everyone knows that Da Li didn't play a single game at Everton this season...

The most unbelievable thing is that Liverpool, which ranks No.5 in the Premier League this season, under the leadership of the new coach Benitez, Liverpool's performance in the league is terrible, but in the Champions League, they Even against strong enemies, they made it all the way to the final of the Champions League. On May 5, in Istanbul, Liverpool will compete with AC Milan for the highest honor in Europe this season...

League No.6 is Bolton, Bolton also won a UEFA Cup tickets.

The league's top scorer is Arsenal's French star Thierry Henry with 29 goals, No. 2 is Leeds United's Li Rui with 28 goals, followed closely by Chelsea's Ivory Coast striker Drogba's 25 goals...

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The league is over, but Leeds United's 2004-2005 season is not over yet, and the team still has the most important game of the season——
On 5.22, the FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Leeds United VS Manchester United, the War of the Roses continued!

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On the official website of the Leeds United Club, a fan posted a post called 'Going to Cardiff' on the forum, asking for fans to go to the Millennium Stadium to watch the game together. In less than half a day, the number of followers of this post It reached a few hundred, and the enthusiasm of the fans can be seen.

In fact, this man is already one step behind. After Leeds United eliminated Arsenal and reached the FA Cup final, the Leeds United fans organization is already planning to organize fans to go to the Welsh capital to cheer for the team.

Especially after Manchester United, the opponent in the final, was confirmed, the enthusiasm of the fans was even stronger than a volcanic eruption. For Leeds United fans, there is nothing more important than the game against Manchester United, and this game is even more important for the FA. In the final of the World Cup, Leeds United is expected to win the first championship trophy in the past 13 years. How can Leeds United fans not be very excited.

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"Go to Wales! Let's go cheer for our team! Go to Cardiff! Let's witness the birth of the champion!! The champion belongs to Leeds United!"

"I've waited so long for this day! Are you excited? Are you passionate? Then join the march to Cardiff Come on! Come on bro! Come on! March to Cardiff! March to Millennium Stadium! Go on ! Leeds United! White roses forever!"

Fan organizations posted posts in the major fan forums. Their slogans were very inspiring, calling on all Leeds United fans to go to Cardiff Millennium Stadium to cheer for Leeds United as much as possible, and every die-hard Leeds United The home of the fans received a call from the Leeds United Fans Association, asking if they planned to go to the Cardiff Millennium Stadium to watch the game...

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In fact, now, it is no longer a matter of whether the fans are willing to go to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to watch the game, but whether the fans can get the tickets for the final match. Now, the FA Cup final It can be said that one ticket is hard to find.

The Cardiff Millennium Stadium, which can accommodate 75000 people, can provide Leeds United fans with about 32000 tickets, Manchester United fans can also get about 37000 tickets, and the remaining about 6000 tickets go to neutral fans. However, according to According to past experience, most of the tickets in the hands of these neutral fans will be purchased by fans of both sides of the final at a high price.

Therefore, in the end, there are about 35000 Leeds United fans who can get tickets, and Manchester United fans will be close to 40000. This is a veritable War of the Roses!
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Just when the entire small town of Leeds was mobilizing, the bus for Leeds United started to set off, and its destination was Cardiff, the capital of Wales. In fact, almost all away games in England required transportation, the bus Just enough for all needs.

The Leeds United bus first drove onto the M6 ​​highway, wandered around the city of London for a while, then made a turn and drove into the M4 highway. The whole journey took less than 4 and a half hours, and it could already be seen from a distance. Beautiful views of Cardiff Bay too.

Although Cardiff is the capital of Wales and a beautiful city, Li Rui feels that it is similar to a larger county in China. Of course, Li Rui refers to the size of the city, the beauty of Cardiff Li Rui, who came here for the first time, also exclaimed again and again. In this small town, it is said that there are about 1200 parks. It can be seen that the local people attach great importance to the environment and greening.

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However, Leeds United did not come here to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Cardiff. After checking into the hotel where they stayed, the coaching staff issued a rule that night. Everyone must stay in the hotel and not go anywhere. If you are not feeling well, you can go to the massage room and find the team doctor for a massage. If you have nothing to do, you can go to bed early, and you have to train the next day.

That night, after receiving a massage in the massage room for about half an hour, Li Rui was refreshed. He went back to the room and took a shower. He lay on the bed and called Jessica, but the other end of the phone was There was a notification sound that the user had turned off the phone, and Li Rui, who did not give up, called again several times, but still prompted 'the user has turned off the phone'... Li Rui finally gave up, wondering if Jessica was busy on the set again.

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In the afternoon of the next day, after training, Li Rui took a shower in the lounge and was getting dressed when the cell phone in the closet rang a familiar ringtone.

It was Jessica who called. Jessica told Li Rui on the phone that she had arrived in Cardiff and was here to watch Li Rui's game...

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Li Rui can even imagine that Jessica must have been busy for many days in advance, so that she can come to Cardiff to watch the game. He can also imagine that on the other end of the phone, Jessica pouted her cute mouth and smiled smugly on her face. She must be proud of the surprise that another surprise attack brought to herself.

Li Rui felt a wave of emotion in his heart, and he was very moved by Jessica's understanding.

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In fact, Jessica and her agent Marco rushed to London from Los Angeles, and then came to Cardiff on the private jet of Leeds United Chairman Paul Stubbs, and the hotel where Jessica stayed was just Next to the hotel where Leeds United stayed, but Li Rui didn't know it.

When choosing how to go to Cardiff, the agent Marco had a difficult time. Since he couldn't stop Jessica from going to Cardiff to watch the football, he had to find ways to arrange it so that he could watch the football without attracting attention. This is not so easy Can do it.

In the end, Marco remembered that his Yale alumnus, Mr. Chairman of Leeds United, Paul Stubbs would definitely go to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to watch his team's game. Then, Jessica will take Mr. Chairman The plane must not be a problem, and there is no need to consider confidentiality. Although Paul Stubbs will guess the ambiguity between his player and Hollywood actress Jessica, he will also pay attention to confidentiality.

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Jessica and Li Rui talked on the phone and told Li Rui that they hadn't seen each other since they came to Cardiff. The head coach Eddie Gray issued a 'abstinence order', prohibiting players from seeing their wives and girlfriends. As for having no girlfriend If you want to do something else with your wife, it is even more forbidden.

Jessica didn't come, but Leeds United chairman Paul Stubbs, who arrived on the same plane as Jessica, came to the hotel where Leeds United stayed. As the chairman, he checked his players before the big battle. necessary.

Paul Stubbs is undoubtedly satisfied that the team can reach the FA Cup final. Of course, Mr. Chairman will be even more satisfied if they can finally win the championship, especially if they can win the championship against rival Manchester United... So , Mr. Chairman still attaches great importance to this FA Cup final.

However, Paul Stubbs, who is an MBA from Yale University, of course knows that at this time, as the chairman, he is not able to boost the morale of the team by giving lectures, although he should not doubt that The players are eager for championships and honors, but in order to further stimulate the players, this time, the chairman of Leeds United, Mr. Paul Stubbs, came to the hotel with a checkbook.

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In a lobby of the hotel where they stayed, the Leeds United players who had just finished a simple buffet saw a scene of excitement. Mr. Chairman first raised his glass in a very gracious manner, wishing the team a victory over Manchester United and winning the championship. Then Paul In front of the whole team, Stubbs made a promise of bonuses for the FA Cup championship:
"This is the closest Leeds United has come to the championship trophy in the past ten years. Although this is only the final of the FA Cup, the club will not be stingy. If they can win the championship, every player will receive 1 pounds. Bonuses, starting players will receive an additional bonus of 1 pounds, and players who come off the bench will also receive an additional bonus of 5000 pounds. In the final, each goal scored will be rewarded with 1 pounds, and the player who assists will be rewarded with 5000 pounds. Pound sterling, creating a penalty kick counts as an assist..." After saying this, Paul Stubbs waved the checkbook in his hand, looking very much like a king of the hill who wanted to reward his merits.

However, Paul Stubbs, who was born as a businessman, knows very well that his behavior is what the players want to see most. What the players play for is not just honor and money. Now, both With that, how could the players not work hard.

Paul Stubbs didn't say what rewards he would get for winning the runner-up, and the team members didn't ask either.All they have in mind is one thought: only champions, only champions!The runner-up is meaningless to any team, the runner-up is the foil of the championship!

Leeds United are obviously not willing to be a foil, even though their opponent is the mighty Manchester United!

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PS: Let me just say that the FA Cup is not as dispensable as some book friends imagined. In England, the FA Cup has a very high status. In the hearts of some fans, this cup with a long history, It even has the same status as the league champion, which is different from the tasteless status of cup competitions such as the Coppa Italia, the Copa del Rey, and the German Cup.

Therefore, to correct the views of some book friends, the FA Cup is not optional, on the contrary, it is very important.In England, if a club can win the FA Cup, it is definitely qualified to be proud for a long time,

Another point, about this season, Li Rui did not get the top scorer, which is not depressing, 28 goals, is already a good result for Li Rui, in reality, it is definitely a great score It was a miracle.

As for Henry scoring 29 goals this season in the book, in reality, this season, Henry scored 25 goals, and in the previous season in the book, Henry scored 30 goals. I think that in this book, the number of Henry's goals is set at 29... It's not too much of an exaggeration.

Finally, let me say it again, the FA Cup is not a tasteless event, but a very important event... Hey, I feel like I have become Mrs. Xianglin...

(End of this chapter)