Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 449 There are no losers in the Champions League
In the final match of the Champions League, Liverpool defeated Tottenham 2-0 and won the Champions League trophy for the seventh time in team history.

In the ranking of the number of Champions League titles in history, Liverpool has officially surpassed Bayern and Barcelona to occupy the third place, leaving only AC Milan and Real Madrid in front of them.

This is the seventh time in the history of the Liverpool team to win the Champions League. The specific years are 7, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005 and 2018.Liverpool has won 2019 titles before, and tied for third in the number of Champions League wins.Now after winning the championship for the seventh time, Liverpool officially tied for second with Milan.up
At present, there is only one team left in front of Liverpool, which is Real Madrid. Real Madrid has won the Champions League 1 times in history, and it is a well-deserved No. 12 giant.

For Liverpool, it is still a bit too far to catch up with Real Madrid, but it is already possible to surpass Milan. Considering the decline of AC Milan in recent years and the strength of Liverpool, it is possible to achieve surpassing.

Now winning the Champions League is also Liverpool's 13th European championship. In addition to 7 Champions Leagues, the team has also won 3 UEFA Cups and 3 UEFA Super Cups.

After last year, the Red Army finally stood on the top of Europe again.

After a lapse of 13 years, Liverpool won the Champions League trophy twice in a row!What's even more coincidental is that Liverpool's experience of winning the championship this time is extremely similar to the miracle 14 years ago!
Time goes back to the 2004-05 season, which is a season that Liverpool fans are destined to remember:
In the UEFA Champions League group stage, Liverpool's opponents were Monaco, Olympiacos and Deportivo. The middle stage of Liverpool's group stage was quite bad. First, they lost 0-1 away to Olympiacos, and drew with Deportivo at home. Lost.

Before the final round, Olympiacos was first with 10 points, Monaco was second with 9 points, and Liverpool had only 7 points. Considering that Monaco played against Deportivo, who was at the bottom of the group, Liverpool must beat Olympiacos at home and reverse the relationship between the two sides if they want to qualify. The relationship between victory and defeat.

Against Olympiacos, Rivaldo's goal put Liverpool on the edge of a cliff. In the second half, Liverpool launched a crazy counterattack. Pangele and Meller came off the bench to help Liverpool overtake the score.

But that wasn't enough, Liverpool needed a goal to advance, Gerrard stepped up at the moment of life and death, his long-range shot in the 88th minute helped Liverpool rewrite the score to 3-1, Liverpool won at the last minute Tickets to qualify for the knockout rounds.

After entering the knockout rounds, Liverpool went all the way through, and reached the final after defeating Juventus and Chelsea, the two favorites to win the championship, against AC Milan, which was in full swing at the time.

AC Milan led 3-0 in the first half, as if one hand had grasped the championship trophy, but the tenacious Liverpool miraculously equalized the score in the second half and dragged the game into a penalty shootout.

The goalkeeper Dudek became the protagonist in the penalty shootout. He saved the penalties of Sheva and Pirlo. Liverpool made a comeback and reached the top of Europe, achieving the Istanbul miracle that fans talk about.

This season, a similar plot comes again:
In the group stage, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, Naples and Belgrade Red Star are in the same group. This is considered a death group. Except for Belgrade Red Star, the three teams have the possibility of the first place.

After Liverpool defeated Paris 3-2 in the first game, they were beaten by Naples in the second game. In the two games against Red Star Belgrade, Liverpool won 4-0 in the first round, and lost 0-2 in the second round...

Then they were avenged by Paris 1-2, once again standing on the edge of the group out of the cliff, Liverpool need to beat Naples by 1-0 or by two or more goals to qualify.

In the end, Liverpool took the lead with Salah's goal, and then Naples launched a crazy counterattack, but Liverpool united as one to maintain 1-0 to the end, and once again entered the knockout round in a thrilling manner.

After defeating Porto, Liverpool stood in front of Barcelona.

In the first round at Camp Nou, Messi's god-level performance allowed Barcelona to win 3-0. Barcelona seemed to have entered the final with one foot.

But Liverpool's fighting spirit of never giving up once again shocked the world. In the first half, Zhang Mai's goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 lead, which was a little short of a miracle...

The situation changed suddenly in the second half, and Wijnaldum's lightning-fast two goals allowed Liverpool to tie the total score!The morale-boosting Liverpool chased after the victory, while Barcelona's army was already in chaos. In the 78th minute of the game, Zhang Mai scored twice, making the miracle a success. After the Istanbul miracle, the Anfield miracle will also be recorded in history .

In the final, this time Liverpool did not give their opponent Tottenham another chance and defeated Tottenham 2-0. Although the process was thrilling and exciting, the result was not too surprising.

Looking back at Liverpool's journey to the top of the Champions League this season, you can find too many similarities with the 2004-05 season.

So I have to sigh: Sometimes, fate is so magical.

……

After winning the Champions League, Liverpool returned to Merseyside, England, for a grand parade celebration.

Liverpool's championship celebration began at 6 pm local time on June 2. The team set off from Allerton Street, passed through Queen Street, West Derby Road, Leeds Street and other places, and finally arrived at Blundell Street for the final celebration.

Under the leadership of Klopp, the team first boarded the championship parade bus. The two captains of the team, Henderson and Milner, won the Champions League trophy. fan.

After the parade began, the Liverpool championship parade bus drove on the street where the parade route was finalized under the guard of security personnel. Fans on both sides of the road cheered and many excited fans even set off fireworks.

The Liverpool players and coaches on the bus were also very excited. Coach Klopp held a beer bottle in his hand, celebrating passionately and screaming for the victory.

At the grand parade, Van Dijk picked up the microphone, acted as the host, and interviewed his teammates Joe Gomez and Wijnaldum.

Van Dijk: "Brother, you are the Champions League champion now, how do you feel?"

Joe Gomez: "It's special, I want to share that feeling with you bro."

Van Dijk: "How do you feel, Wijnaldum?"

Wijnaldum: "I was just about to ask you how you feel."

Van Dijk: "I want to ask!"

Wijnaldum: "Great, great."

Van Dijk: "Can you describe it in words?"

Wijnaldum: "It's difficult, you can feel it too, how do you feel?"

Van Dijk: "I also feel great, I can't describe it in words."

Wijnaldum: "It's incredible that so many fans come to our bus parade, more people than I thought. You see people of all ages, grandmas, grandpas and children ...you know how important this Champions League title is to the city."

Van Dijk: "What a club!"

Joe Gomez: "What a club!"

Wijnaldum: "What a club!"

About 75 people came to the scene to celebrate with the team.In order to record this beautiful moment, Firmino broadcast live online during the parade, sharing the joy and excitement with fans who were not present.

Not long after, "a new friend" Griezmann entered Firmino's live broadcast room and commented on an "applause" emoji to congratulate him.

I don't know if Grid has double-clicked to light up and pay attention, but there is no doubt that Liverpool's grand event has attracted the French superstar.

This season, Klopp led Liverpool to achieve two consecutive Champions League titles after 13 years, and won the Premier League runner-up with a high score of 101 points. Such an excellent record also makes Liverpool want to keep Klopp for a long time.

The British "Daily Mail" reported that in order to lock Klopp in Liverpool for a long time, the Red Army will renew Klopp's contract with a condition of 1000 million pounds.

In the summer of 2016, Klopp, who led the team for less than a year, got a six-year contract extension with an annual salary of 6 million pounds, but given his excellent coaching ability, Liverpool's boss is willing to pay Klopp a raise salary, and extend the contract period again.

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner was full of praise for Klopp after winning the Champions League:
"When the players threw Klopp in the air after winning the title, they knew what all Liverpool fans know, that Klopp is looked up to by everyone who appreciates football. Klopp is a fantastic manager , but just as importantly, he is a humble, kind man. He is very happy today because he knows what this championship means to our supporters."

The UEFA Champions League final has come to an end, and UEFA soon announced the best team for this UEFA Champions League. Among them, only Messi and Ter Stegen were shortlisted for Barcelona, ​​no one for Real Madrid, and as many as seven for Liverpool.

UEFA best list: Alisson, Ter Stegen, Van Dijk, De Ligt, Vertonghen, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Sissoko, Ziyech, De Bruyne, Zhang Mai, De Jong , Ndombele, Wijnaldum, Neves, Sterling, Messi, Tadic, Mane, Ronaldo, Lucas Jr.

At the same time, the Spanish "Marca" pointed out that after Liverpool won the Champions League again, they also made many players candidates for the Ballon d'Or, such as Zhang Mai, Mane, Salah and Van Dijk.

On his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or, Van Dijk said:

"I think Zhang Mai, Messi are the best players in the world and they should win the Ballon d'Or. So I didn't think about it, but if I won the award, I would accept it."

If Van Dijk wins the Ballon d'Or, he will be another defender to win the Ballon d'Or after Cannavaro in 2006.

Zhang Mai was the Golden Globe winner last season, and he is still one of the favorites for the Golden Globe this season.He has scored 43 goals for Liverpool this season.

Salah and Mane are also Liverpool's champions. They scored 27 and 26 goals respectively this season, and they are also strong contenders for the Ballon d'Or.

……

Tottenham failed to carry out the miracle to the end!In this Premier League civil war, they lost 0-2 to Liverpool and missed the Champions League. After the game, the Tottenham players were also full of regrets, and Lucas Jr., the miracle hero in the semi-finals, burst into tears.

After the game, in stark contrast to the ecstasy of the Liverpool players was the loss of Tottenham.

Judging from the statistics, their possession rate, shots and shots on target were higher than Liverpool in the whole game, but the trend of the game was not controlled by them. Liverpool's goals at the beginning and before the end killed the game, and Bai Baihe also regretted Missed out on the Champions League trophy.

Sun Xingmin fell to the ground, covering his face with his hands, full of sadness, and Kane, who came back from the line of fire and started the game, had empty eyes. He did not help the team score a goal.

In the second round of the semi-finals, Lucas Jr., who completed a hat-trick in half a game and helped Tottenham to create a miracle to reverse Ajax, was even more difficult to hide his emotions. He was crying in the arms of his teammates.

Creating miracles all the way to the final, Tottenham have created a remarkable history, but missing this opportunity will definitely make them regret for life.

After the game, Wenger said that from Tottenham's point of view, the defeat was particularly hard, and it would be difficult for Tottenham to have such an opportunity to compete for the Champions League.

Wenger said: "Looking back at history, when you lose a game like Tottenham, it is very difficult for you to make another impact the next year like Liverpool."

"Like you said, it's Liverpool's seventh Champions League and Tottenham have done a miracle to get here."

"So from Tottenham's point of view you think, I really deserved to win the game, and to do it again is like climbing a mountain, it will undoubtedly make you more painful."

"Because you feel like it's a unique achievement to be here, next season? You're going to play Real Madrid, Barcelona and then Bayern, so it's definitely going to be more difficult for the Tottenham people."

Mourinho, who was also a guest commentator of beIN Sports, also talked about his views on Liverpool.

Mourinho believes that tonight's Red Army finally won the championship with a strong defense. Klopp's three midfielders are almost all defensive, and the performance is really too hard:
"I think Liverpool's three midfielders did a great job, if you look at their positioning, they lined up in front of the back four. Looking back at the game, you hardly remember Henderson, Wijnaldum, Zhang Mai and Milner used to approach the three attackers, to get closer to the penalty area, they never did that. They just held the defensive position, they played very pragmatically and defended very strong."

"If it was a Premier League game, or a Carabao Cup final, we'd all say it wasn't good, the quality wasn't good. But it's a Champions League final and you have to take the emotional side into account. Tottenham must be very upset because they lost. , they feel they could have played better, and in such important moments, you have to be at your best."

Mourinho also praised Alisson's steady performance by name:

"When Tottenham wanted to do something, the player that Liverpool lacked most last season appeared, Alisson. This time his performance was not phenomenal, he didn't make 5-7 saves, but just a few One save was enough to stop Tottenham's hopes of an equaliser."

Regardless of ball possession rate or technical statistics, Liverpool is the one behind. It can be said that Klopp's team won the Champions League in a slightly ugly way.

According to OPTA statistics, Liverpool's ball possession rate is only 35.4%. The last time such a low ball possession rate won the Champions League final was Mourinho in 2010. At that time, he led Inter Milan to a 2-0 final. beat Bayern Munich.

Liverpool's 14 shots are also less than Tottenham's 18 shots.

But Klopp gave full play to the advantages of the team's strong defense. Van Dijk and Alisson played very well. Although Tottenham had the ball, they still had no way to score.

Even UEFA's official website sighed: "Liverpool's defense is really rock solid."

Liverpool's trend this season is very similar to that of Inter Milan in 2010. The team also eliminated Barcelona in the semi-finals, and won the Champions League with an absolute disadvantage in ball possession, and the score was also 2-0.

For Klopp, although he is not a coach who likes to put on a bus, sometimes in the final, Klopp also has to steal Mourinho and win the championship in a slightly ugly way .

Mourinho said before the Champions League final that opponents should not be given any chance to take advantage of their advantages in the final, otherwise it would be very dangerous.

In fact, Tottenham's biggest advantage in offense is the quick counterattack. Sun Xingmin, Lucas Moura, and Kane are all very fast.

But when there is no space for them to rush up, Tottenham's offensive position will be greatly reduced. In addition, Kane has just recovered from his injury and was locked up by Van Dijk.

So in terms of tactics, Klopp completely strangled the opponent's offense.

A team that played well, Manchester City lost, Barcelona lost, so for the current Liverpool and Klopp, it doesn't matter if the win is not gorgeous, the most important thing is that the team won the championship.

Tottenham lost 0-2 to Liverpool and missed the championship.After the game, Uncle Po's old club, the Spaniard, tweeted to comfort him.

"It's impossible, but it's also very proud to see a member of the Parrots on the final stage of the Champions League."

"Congratulations, Pochettino, your performance with Tottenham in the Champions League is unparalleled, you will always be one of us!"

Pochettino played for the Spaniard twice in his player career, and in his coaching career, the Spaniard was Uncle Bo's first stop.

Despite the 0-2 loss to Liverpool, Tottenham's official tweet is still encouraging the team after the game:

"The journey has been unbelievable and the memory will stay with us forever, today is not our time but we are just getting started."

"Thank you fans for your unforgettable support and hope you are just as proud of the team."

"We are Tottenham and we will be back."

And after leading his team to win the Champions League, what did Liverpool coach Klopp do?
In an interview, Klopp revealed the secret himself: I called Guardiola.

Klopp said: "A second ago, I was on the phone with Guardiola. Our chief physio Lee Nobbs was working at Manchester City at the beginning of the season, but he wanted to win the Champions League (so he came to Liverpool. )... No no no, this is just a joke."

"Me and Pep Guardiola agreed with each other that next season we will kick each other's asses. We will give our all and see what we can get in the end."

"To win the Premier League with 101 points + to win the Champions League, it was an unbelievably difficult trek, but we did it, it was an unbeatable performance."

"Right now, we've won something and we've got to keep going. We've got to keep winning something, big, important stuff. I'm really happy."

(End of this chapter)