[football] walk side by side

Prior to this, Porto's players had imagined countless times what would happen when Alex Ferguson met Jose Mourinho.

They have imagined countless possibilities for this: swearing at each other?Turn a blind eye?Or fight?Thinking of Mourinho's sometimes very excited performance on the sidelines, half of the players think it will be the last one.

The only thing that is "happy to talk with each other" is something that no one dared to think about before.

However, this impossible possibility happened in front of them.

After the initial somewhat gunpowder-flavored conversation, the conversation between Ferguson and Mourinho gradually became friendly. It seems that if it weren't for the fact that their respective teams had just fought on the pitch, the two of them might have Find a bar nearby and have a long chat with each other.

The Porto players were stunned.

Which stupid media said that the Porto coach and the Manchester United coach are in the same boat?Look at these two people, it's not an exaggeration to say that they are dating each other, okay?

Even Cyril was a little stunned at this time.

It was at this time that Cyril understood a truth that was constantly verified in his later football career: Don’t mistake two people for being on bad terms just because they spar in the media every now and then. Maybe they just do it for the outside world. watch.

***

Porto didn't get excited about eliminating Manchester United for long. In the next quarter-finals of the Champions League, they will face Ligue 1 champions Lyon.Although the Portuguese media up and down think that Porto has drawn a good lottery, Mourinho doesn't think so.

Lyon's home atmosphere is very good, and their fans are very loyal, which means that when Porto is away from Lyon, they will suffer a lot of pressure. Most importantly, Lyon's strength is not bad. Once the Porto players because of If the external media brags and slackens a bit, Porto will be eliminated next!

Porto, who returned to the Portuguese Super League, still performed brilliantly. They are still at the top of the list and further consolidated their advantage in points. At the same time, in the semi-finals of Portugal, they also eliminated Bravo with a score of 3-1 without any suspense. Kyrgyzstan, advanced to the final finals.

Soon, Porto ushered in the Champions League quarter-finals against Ligue 1 champion Lyon.

Mourinho was worried about this game at first, but the facts proved that all his worries were unnecessary.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!! Ricardo Carvalho! Goal! I gotta say, he's a fantastic defender and in this year's Champions League, that's what Ricardo Carvalho has scored The second goal! The most important thing is that he is still a defender with excellent defensive ability. I heard that the coach of the Portuguese national team Scolari also came to the scene. I believe that in the upcoming European Cup, the first team of Portugal There must be a place for him!"

"Nice free kick coordination! Deco chose to hang this free kick to the edge of the penalty area. The Lyon players couldn't react in time. The ball was pushed into the net by McCarthy who suddenly shot out! Now the score is 2-0, Porto absolutely We have won the Ligue [-] champion Lyon with the advantage! I dare say, we have half a foot into the semi-finals!"

In fact it is.

A week later, in France's away game against Lyon, Deco passed Cyril and scored a goal in only 6 minutes of the game-that is to say, if Lyon still wants to enter the semi-finals, at least in this game Porto scored four goals in the game!

Regardless of whether there is any team that can score four goals for Porto, even if there is, it will not be Lyon.

When the game continued to the end, Mourinho had already begun to think about how to deal with his semi-final opponent AC Milan.

Because just a week ago, AC Milan beat Deportivo 4-1 at their home court.

However, before the game was over, Mourinho learned about the score of AC Milan's away game against Deportivo from UEFA officials.

4-0.

When he first heard the score, Mourinho was shocked, 4-0? AC Milan beat Deportivo 8-1?He knew that AC Milan was very strong, but he never thought that this AC Milan led by Ancelotti would be so strong! How could AC Milan score four goals away from Deportivo?

Just when Mourinho was not feeling well, UEFA officials told him calmly: "It's not AC Milan."

Mourinho: "..." What do you mean?

The official reiterated: "The score in the other game is 4-0, Deportivo beat AC Milan 5-4 and Porto will face Deportivo in the semi-finals."

And when the game ended and the score was heard by the Porto players at the same time, Cyril, who was always rational and used to thinking about problems from the worst angle, couldn't help but said: "We are... going to the final gone?"

Although Deportivo beat AC Milan 5-4, frankly, no Porto player thought they could lose to Deportivo.

At the same time, the list of the Champions League semi-finals has also come out.

Porto, Monaco, Deportivo and Chelsea.

This list successfully stunned everyone - no Real Madrid, no Barcelona, ​​no Arsenal, no Manchester United, no Bayern Munich, no AC Milan.

All of Europe's top giants, for the first time ever, were wiped out by dark polo teams in the Champions League.

Among the four teams that entered the semi-finals, Porto has the longest history of glory and has won the most championships. In other words, Porto is the strongest among the four!

The people who realized this did not speak, but just met each other's eyes, and they understood each other's meaning.

For this sake, there is only one goal left for Porto: the European Champions Cup!

"Beautiful goal! Cyril Slade! After defending the league title early, Porto has won the Portuguese Cup. If they can win this year's Champions League, then they will become the Portuguese team. Unprecedented Triple Crown!"

May 2004, 5, Riazor Stadium, Spain.

Cyril raised his head and glanced at the scoreboard hanging above the stadium.

90 minutes, 1-0.

Combined with the 0-0 that happened at the Dragon Stadium, the total score between Porto and Deportivo is 1-0. If Deportivo wants to enter the final, they have to enter Porto within 5 minutes of stoppage time two balls.

There is no suspense anymore.

Five minutes later, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, Del Rey kicked the ball into the sky, and then he rushed into the celebrating crowd amidst the cheers of nearly 5.

"It's been a really great season! After winning the UEFA Cup last season, Porto have secured a place in the Champions League final against the winner at Stamford Bridge in five days' time!"

Five days later, at Stamford Bridge in London, Didier Deschamps' Monaco defeated Chelsea at home and advanced to the Champions League final.

2004年5月26日，盖尔森基兴，2003/2004赛季欧洲冠军杯总决赛就此开始！

When Cyril led a little caddy and walked out of the player tunnel, he was still in a daze.

From defeating Manchester United to now, just one month, but it seems like a dream.

They won the league championship this season, the Portuguese Cup this season, and now, they are about to compete for the European Cup this season-that is, for a player, the highest level that can be obtained at the club level of glory.

As a player, Cyril himself has imagined countless times when he is infinitely close to the championship. He thinks it should be a night many years later, when fans sit in the stands and sing loudly about the team. Song.

Not now, at this age when I am only 18 years old.

"Cyril?" The Porto captain standing behind him pushed him: "Why are you in a daze, the game is about to begin!"

Cyril nodded, took a deep breath, and looked up at the large expanse of blue and white in the stands.

That's where the Porto fans are headed, and it's the color that has accompanied him for six full years.

In the past month, with Porto's repeated victories, there have also been rumors about the transfer of the team's coaches and players.Mourinho and Chelsea, Deco and Barcelona, ​​Carvalho and Real Madrid, plus Cyril and Manchester United.

There are countless rumors like this, which makes Porto fans feel sad while being happy for the team's results.Some Porto fans knew early on that Mourinho and others were likely to leave, so they were calm, but not all Porto fans could accept this.

It is also for this reason that the vicinity of Cyril's house has been surrounded by Porto fans trying to make him stay. Cyril heard that this kind is considered the most moderate one. Oh, and even received death threats from Porto's gangster fans. They declared in their letters that Mourinho would never return.

In this regard, Cyril also didn't know what to do.

For him, Porto is a very important part of his life. Before being dug out by Mourinho, he even prepared to dedicate all his time as a professional player to Porto.

If it was before, Cyril might choose to stay in Porto without hesitation, but after the games against AC Milan and Real Madrid, Cyril is no longer satisfied with the Portuguese Super League.

As a player, of course he also has ambitions as a player-he also wants to go to a higher and bigger stage, collide with the most powerful teams on the green field, and become a real top player.

In this way, leaving is an inevitable situation.

At this moment, all Cyril can do is to do his best in this final final and try his best to leave the greatest season for Porto fans.

"Good evening, all fans and friends, now I will explain to you the 2003/2004 European Champions Cup Finals, I am the commentator Jimmy, in the next game, I will accompany you to spend 90 minutes of game time. For every fan who pays attention to the UEFA Champions League, this is probably a magical season. All the rich teams have been blocked from the semi-finals. The two sides in the final are also two dark horses-Portugal Super Porto vs Ligue [-] Monaco."

"It is worth mentioning that in this game, the head coaches of the two teams are relatively 'young'. In the generally older coaching circle, the two head coaches can be called 'young coaches'. When a dark horse meets a dark horse, and a young coach meets a young coach, which team will win the Big Ears Cup this season? Let us wait and see."