Manchester United legend

Chapter 207 Toyota Cup

At that time, it was gradually approaching the New Year's Day in 2000. Not only in the football field, but also fans and people had all kinds of anxiety for no reason, just like the alarmist talk of "Year [-]".There is indeed anxiety among Manchester United fans.

"I can't imagine Manchester United without Paul Jost. I don't know what it will be like at that time?" The fans didn't even dare to seek the answer, and the desperate mood was often cramped and dull.

Not only Manchester United, Jost's request for a high-salary renewal also seriously interfered with the continuation of the traditional Premier League player salary cap policy.Therefore, many powerful figures in England were very angry with Jost, and they even shouted for Jost to leave England and Manchester United.

Ferguson came out to appease everyone at the critical moment, "It is inevitable that players' wages will rise. Serie A and other leagues can offer crazy salaries. The Premier League also needs to study and balance this. But I think there is more to football than adequate salaries.

Faith, team, honor, respect and affection...these will be the key to a player's final destination.So, I believe that Jost will make the decision that is best for him and I believe that is also the best for Manchester United. "

This has been Ferguson's numerous explanations and statements on Jost's issues this season.This time his statement was speculated by Manchester United fans that Jost was about to agree to stay in the team and was overjoyed.

Manchester United's small defeat in the Champions League will not affect the overall situation, and they have more challenges outside the Champions League, that is, the intercontinental championship showdown - the Toyota Cup.

After playing the UEFA Champions League group match against Fiorentina, the Manchester United team prepared for the battle and flew to Tokyo, Japan.There, they will play a Toyota Cup match against the Copa Libertadores champions - Palmeiras.

The predecessor of the Toyota Cup is the Intercontinental Cup, which is an intercontinental club competition jointly organized by UEFA and CONMEBOL. Every year, the team that wins the European Champions Cup competes with the team that wins the Copa Libertadores to decide the champion.

At the beginning, the full name of this game was the World Club Championship, and later it was renamed "European South American Club Football Tournament". Finally, due to the sponsorship of Toyota Motor Corporation, the final name of the game was determined as "European South American Club Toyota Cup Football Tournament", referred to as the Toyota Cup.

Created in 1960, the competition began as an unofficial competition, but has gained importance as a competition between the club dominance of the two most important continents of football and is recognized by UEFA and CONMEBOL.

From 1960 to 1979, the competition adopted a two-round competition system. Before 1968, the winner was determined based on points. If the points were the same, a play-off match would be held.

Since 1968, it has been changed to the same points to determine the winner according to the goal difference.The cup was initially attractive, but problems began to arise due to low prize money, uncertain dates, frequent changes of venues, and the need for teams to travel long distances, affecting league results.

By 1967 and 1969, teams began to be reluctant to play. In 1971, the European champion Ajax directly refused to participate, and was finally replaced by runner-up Panathinaikos; in 1973, Ajax abstained again, and Juventus participated, and the game was only played once;

In 1980, there was another conflict on the date of the match. Nottingham Forest did not agree to hold two matches, and later decided to hold a match in a third country to determine the outcome. Initially, it was chosen in Los Angeles, the United States, but was rejected by the Forest team.

In the end, the competition was sponsored by Toyota Corporation of Japan, and the two sides agreed to hold it in Tokyo, with only one competition, and the name of the competition was changed to Toyota Cup.

Since 1980, the Toyota Cup has been officially changed to be organized by FIFA, UEFA and CONMEBOL, and the Japan Football Association is responsible for the specific competition organization.

The date of the competition is determined to be the second day of the last week of November every year, and the venue of the competition is also determined to be Tokyo.Main sponsor Toyota Motor Corporation agreed to pay each team 11 million pesetas (Spanish currency) as an appearance fee, and also reward the best player of the game with a Toyota.The championship bonus will be distributed separately by FIFA.

World football has long been divided between Europe and South America.In addition to national team competitions, competitions between European clubs and South American clubs are also valued, and the Toyota Cup is the best platform.

Manchester United publicly stated before the league that it would become the first English team to win the Toyota Cup.

Ferguson is looking forward to the game. He said in an interview with reporters: "Although we are exhausted, I am full of confidence in winning. The opponent also traveled a long distance, and everyone is similar. Because the game is only on Tuesday, I think we have enough time to recover and dedicate a wonderful game to the fans."

Ferguson said: "As far as I can remember, no English team has ever won this honor - so let's go for it! Because we are Manchester United, there is nothing impossible in our dictionary." Beckham, who has super popularity in Japan, is frantically chased by fans and heartthrobs are flattered.In an interview with Nippon TV, Beckham said, "We are very happy to be here to participate in the game. I am very touched by the enthusiasm of the fans. In fact, we came to Tokyo from a thousand miles, of course not just for a game, we want to win and take this trophy."

The competition officially begins on November 11.Cole did not accompany the team, and Manchester United's full main lineup has been affected to a certain extent.After the opening trials of the two sides, the Palmeiras team with better personal skills took advantage of the scene, but Manchester United played steadily and did not retreat across the board. Instead, they began to compete with their opponents in the midfield to compete for the initiative in the midfield.

In the 20th minute, Asprilla of the Pa team broke through the middle and made a wonderful pass to Alex. Alex formed a one-on-one one-on-one, but his lob shot was saved by Bosnich.

Then there was Alex's performance. He dribbled the ball past Manchester United and broke into the penalty area and was knocked down. The referee Kruger from Germany signaled the game to continue.

Although the Palmeiras team continued to take the offensive initiative, Asprilla and Nunes' offenses shocked the Manchester United players in a cold sweat, but the experienced Manchester United seized a fleeting opportunity in the 35th minute.

Manchester United's Jost steals the ball in the midfield, and then quickly launches an attack on the left. Giggs quickly breaks through after passing the two, and makes a pass from the bottom.

The precise cross showed the strength of Manchester United's wing attack. The ball passed all the defenders in the opponent's penalty area. The goalkeeper Marcos, who was completely out of position, lost his position and realized he had made a big mistake.Jost, who jumped in from behind, skillfully shot the ball through the net, giving Manchester United a 1-0 lead.

(End of this chapter)