Frenzy [football]

As the league schedules of the five major European leagues have ended one after another, the champions of the major leagues have been announced one after another.

Serie A champions Torino, Bundesliga Bayern Munich, La Liga Barcelona, ​​and Premier League Liverpool all held grand celebrations in their cities.

But the league is over, the competitions between European clubs have not yet ended, and the highest level of battle between the two European clubs has not yet competed for a champion.

On Thursday, Torino will take on Liverpool at the top of Europe.

On Friday, two teams from the Portuguese Super League, Porto and Sporting Lisbon, will face off in the Europa League final.

Now, fans of the major leagues will focus on these two games.

Because that's all they'll get to see before the end of the season...the last two official games!

Then they will usher in a panic period of two months or more.

Since the finals of the Europa League and the European Champions Cup are determined by one battle, the finals of course cannot be held at the home court of any club on both sides of the competition.Every year, UEFA will select two of the highest-standard five-star stadiums in Europe to hold the championship and runner-up finals of these two events.

This year, the stadium used for the final of the Europa League happens to be the Rome Olympic Stadium shared by the Roman duo.

Perhaps, it is really incredible that the Rome Olympic can become UEFA's five-star stadium decades ago.Because... when the European giants had their own high-standard professional stadiums, the Stadio Olimpico was still a multi-purpose stadium.

The so-called multi-functional stadium is that there is a plastic runway between the auditorium and the stadium.And the bigger the stadium, the wider the runway will be.That will make the fans feel much worse watching the game, and it will make the fans, especially the fans sitting in the front row, feel that they are too far away from the players and the stadium, so far away that they seem to be sitting in twenty rows of a professional stadium Even thirty rows away.

Coupled with the obsolescence of various facilities, UEFA has been disgusted with this stadium that can accommodate more than [-] spectators for a long time.

As for UEFA's disgust, the Italian Football Association stated that it does not need to be used.

Of course, for the sake of the fans' watching experience, the Roma duo have jointly funded the reconstruction of the Rome Olympic Stadium, transforming it from a multi-functional stadium to a professional stadium.After that, the attendance at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome has been much better than before the renovation.

On Tuesday, a bus carrying the Porto team departed from Rome Fiumicino Airport and drove to a hotel selected by the Porto team not far from the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

They arrived in Rome a day earlier than UEFA stipulated.

This is not surprising, Rome is not close to Porto, and the land here is different from many places in Europe.

Porto, which has ended its domestic league, has the conditions and needs to get familiar with the soil of this eternal city earlier.

"Is Rome here?"

"How long will it take to get to Rome?"

"A friend of mine told me that Rome is a modern city built on top of ancient ruins."

This is Lei Yi's first visit to Rome, the capital of Italy!

He originally thought that the capital city of a country would definitely be the city with the highest consumption level in the country, and it would also look very shiny.But before departure, his friend Domingos, who played for Inter Milan in Serie A, told the long and short legs that what he thought was completely wrong!Rome, the capital, is actually much poorer than cities in northern Italy like Milan and Turin...

Regarding this point, Dominguez spent a lot of time explaining to his short-legged friends that the southern part of Italy mainly focuses on the development of agriculture, while the northern part of Italy mainly focuses on the development of industry. Therefore, the economic level of the north and the south will vary a lot.Dominguez even explained to Lei Yi the origin of the contradiction between the north and the south of Italy.But... the long and short legs with one tendon can't remember these at all!When he heard the phrase "Rome is a modern city built on top of ancient ruins", his eyes lit up! !

Many scenes of ancient Rome that he had seen in movies flashed in Lei Yi's mind one after another.That made him so excited! !Although he saw the dilapidated Fiumicino Airport as soon as he got off the plane, and the airport that had been built and used for many years looked dustier than Porto's subway station, but it didn't matter!None of these affected the good mood of the long and short legs!

It's just that after getting on the bus, he learned from the local driver through the team leader that they haven't arrived in Rome yet!This is just a suburb outside Rome!

It seems that the locals only refer to that central area as Rome, and the rest of it is not.

So Lei Yi sat on the seat and looked at the large piece of barren suburban land outside the car window with anticipation.

Obviously, he is very interested in Rome. Even now, even if he stretches his neck, he can only see a single house appearing from time to time, among a large area of ​​farmland and weeds.

Seeing Lei Yi's excitement, his club teammates laughed at him one after another.

"You should be thankful that we are only borrowing the Stadio Olimpico to play the final this time, instead of coming here to play an away game."

Hearing someone say this to him, he immediately looked at him with long and short legs, his head full of question marks.So the teammate was completely incredulous and asked back: "Haven't you heard of it? The Rome Derby can basically be regarded as the most popular derby in Europe. During the few days of the Rome Derby every year, many people dare not even go out! "

"You mean... Roma and Lazio?" Thankfully, the long and short legs finally remembered that Roma and Lazio are both teams based in Rome, Italy. Facing his teammates' retorted questions, Lei Yi seemed very puzzled: "But where do we go?" What's the deal with away games?"

Hearing this sentence, Lei Yi's club teammates burst into laughter: "If the city derby is not popular, how much home court advantage do you think this team will have?"

Lei Yi also laughed when he heard this sentence.

Clearly, he agrees with what his club mates said.

And while they were talking and laughing, the bus that the Porto team was riding in had already driven into the urban area.The long and short legs looking at the scenery outside the car window very seriously even have smiles in their eyes.

This is really a city... much bigger than Porto! !

As Domingos said, Rome, the capital of Italy, does not look as polished, stylish and urbane as Milan.But it's not that "shabby".Or, it might look old in places, but it's never broken.

Almost only in the distance that the bus passed by, Lei Yi could see many ancient and not elegant buildings that looked very grand.That's something you can't see in Porto, Portugal's elegant port city.

It was at this time that Long Short Legs received a text message from his good friend Tigos: [Portuguese Super Champion!We're off too!I'll let you call me Europa League winner after Friday! 】It seems that every year in the UEFA Europa League and the Champions League finals, there are always so many stories behind the games that are worth talking about.And this year is no exception.

Two teams from the Portuguese Super League, Porto and Lisbon respectively defeated the favorites to win the championship, and Atletico Madrid in La Liga and Manchester City in the Premier League advanced to the Europa League finals.As teams belonging to the same league, Porto and Sporting Lisbon have of course encountered each other before the start of this game.In the two games this season, Porto and Sporting Lisbon have each won once at their own home courts.

Before this game, the coach of Sporting Lisbon said that the Europa League final is very important to them, because they need to prove that they are not worse than this season's league champion team.

The deep friendship between Porto right winger Lei Wing and Sporting Lisbon's talented left winger Tigos has become another highlight of the game in the eyes of the fans.

But compared to Turin and Liverpool who want to prove to the world who is the best in Europe this season, the story between Porto and Sporting Lisbon is obviously not enough.

As the veteran players of the Turin team, Francisco and Yue Yihuang have publicly stated more than once this season that they hope to win the Champions League for the club again before retiring.But fate made a joke with them.Liverpool became the last opponent they will meet in the final of the European Champions Cup.

And Liverpool's current head coach... is the man who brought the Turin team, which was still in the quagmire of the second division, to the Champions League champions in seven years.

Legendary coach Delo, he has a nickname in football - the savior of the fallen nobles.

Fifteen years ago, Delo, who was kicked out of the club because of his bad temper and distinctive personality, was appreciated by the new boss of the Turin team, Karl, and became the head coach of the Turin team.

Eight years ago, Delo led the team to win the Champions League as he promised.After that, Delo retreated bravely and chose to leave Turin that summer.Subsequently, he returned to the Premier League and became the head coach of Liverpool.And this year is his eighth year in charge of Liverpool.

Last year, Liverpool unfortunately lost to Manchester United in the semi-finals.

This year, the menacing Liverpool team met their coach's most proud child in the past, the Torino team, in the Champions League final.

Of course Delo has special feelings for the Turin team, because Delo was born in Turin, and God let him coach Turin when his coaching career was at the lowest point. When world football made great achievements and became the all-time champion that year, as the head coach of the Torino team, Delo also got everything he wanted.

It can be said that Delo is the meritorious creator who helped the Turin team return to the altar, and when he helped the Turin team return to the altar, he himself... also stepped onto the altar at the same time.

And now, he needs to lead another team to defeat the child he once loved most in order to achieve his legendary life.

What's more dramatic is that the venue of this year's Champions League final... is the home of Bayern Munich, which was defeated by Turin in the semifinals, the Allianz Arena.

All of these things make this game very meaningful.

Because of this, the whole world is watching everything related to this game before it arrives! !

And the major European newspapers carried out various special reports on this gunpowder-filled game every day.

This week, as long as you are in Europe, as soon as you turn on the TV, you can see interviews about those two teams, special recaps of this season, or pre-match press conferences.

They are overwhelming, so dense that you almost forget... On the second day of this season's European Champions Cup final, there will be a Europa League final.

It seems that the speeches of every key person in this game will be magnified, which makes people feel more refined.

"You guys want to know who I'm most impressed with in this Torino team? I guess you think it's Francesco. He's a great player, yes I did the hard work of convincing him to go. But Yue Yihuang left a deeper impression on me. When I first met him, he was a stupid boy who could only play as a substitute in the second division. I witnessed his growth from a boy to a The years of the man. Now, I think he has grown from a man to a hero again. But it doesn't matter, Liverpool have beaten many teams with heroes. Who can say that Torino will not be next?"

This is what former Turin coach and now Liverpool coach Delo said when reporters interviewed him. Within a few hours, this interview was translated into multiple languages ​​and published To the major network news pages of countries all over the world.

Such is the frightening, global attention that a ... ultimate contest between European champions clubs can bring.

Even if you also play for clubs in Europe, for clubs that have a lot of fans and a high attendance rate, if you don't get this far, you will never, never understand the kind of football that stands at the top of world football. peak feeling.

This year, people are still talking about the extraordinary years when the last No. 11 of the Chinese team grew from a boy to a man, and then from a man to a hero.

This year, the current No. 11 of the Chinese team still has some faint longings for those people. That lofty dream is still hidden in the heart of this boy who wants to be a source of happiness for people, and has not been realized.

This year, Liverpool defeated Turin in the Champions League final, and finally crowned the European champions again after many years.

Also in this year, Sporting Lisbon, ranked second in the Portuguese Super League, defeated Porto in the Eternal City of Rome, Italy, and became this year's Europa League champion team.

Some people say that this year's European Golden Boy Tigos deserves his name, proving that he is not inferior to last year's Golden Boy Javier.

Some people also say that Porto's No. 99 winger can have such a terrifying ability to influence the situation on the field by himself, making it impossible to imagine what he will be like ten years later.

Perhaps every year, some people feel that their beloved players have slowly entered the twilight years of their careers.

But if you are willing to take a look and look at every young player outside of the rich clubs with a tolerant eye, you will find that there are so many young players in football every year that you can be dazzled by, and have an infinite future young people.

Perhaps, when they first appeared, you would always say that they were just brats.

But the growth of those brats will not stop every day.

Every one of them yesterday will be more childish than they are today.

And each of them tomorrow will definitely be more mature than today, and more worthy of relying on and relying on.

Then, one day in the future, you will suddenly discover that they are no longer those football golden boys and demon stars you saw at first sight.

2039, October.

Madrid, Spain.

"Old buddy, I have nothing else to say to you. I have already given an official reply in the email I sent to you about the opinions on Javier's transfer contract. I will not sell it for 3700 million!"

"Yes, yes, we agreed at the beginning that it was indeed 3700 million, but I changed my mind."

"Damn it, you don't need to remind me that we only reached the semi-finals of the Europa League this time! If you think Javier is not worth the price, you can choose not to buy it! Tell you, don't try to provoke me! I am not calm When I get emotional, I will have even more irrational thoughts about what price our club's players should sell! Javier's contract with our Atletico Madrid will expire in three years! If Real Madrid doesn't want me, there are many options. Alternatives."

In the headquarters building of Atletico Madrid, the chairman of Atletico Madrid is arguing fiercely with the chairman of Real Madrid over Javier's transfer fee this summer.In the lobby on the ground floor of the headquarters building, Garrincha, the right winger who shined in the Portuguese Super League Porto team last season, waited with his father for the receptionist to take them to meet the club president of Atletico Madrid.

"Don't be nervous! Don't be nervous, Dad! You've been preparing for a long time!"

Lei Yi, who was sitting on the sofa, keenly noticed that his father's body even began to tremble when he was breathing, so he couldn't help cheering up his father, and even gave his father a hug when the receptionist lady hadn't looked over. Rubbing his chest and smoothing his breath.

Papa Lei felt that he was so nervous that his voice was trembling after speaking. The next thing they were going to meet... was the chairman of the club!The club presidents of the top three teams in La Liga in recent seasons!Club President! !

Oh, no, no, I need to take a deep breath!

"Dad, don't be so nervous, haven't you been preparing for three days to talk about things later?"

"Stinky boy! How can your dad only prepare for three days!! I always prepare for your possible transfer at the beginning of every transfer season!! Who knows if those psychopaths will negotiate the transfer fee today? Let you sign the contract tomorrow!"

Papa Lei gets excited when he gets nervous and speaks, but why does he feel so strange after saying this... His son, why doesn't he look nervous at all?

"Son, why are you...not nervous? Why aren't you nervous at all?"

"Oh, it's a big deal to go back if you don't sign. Anyway, Atletico Madrid is also the loser."

"you!!"

Hearing his son say such a sentence, Lei's father simply hated iron for being weak! !Can Porto and Atletico Madrid compare? !How big is Porto!How big is Madrid! !How many people watch the Portuguese Super League!How many people watch La Liga! !In the five major leagues in Europe, there can still be the Portuguese Super League! ! ?Seeing Lei Yi's indifferent look, Lei's father wished he could beat him up on the spot! !But after having such an idea, Papa Lei changed his mind again, and now he seemed to have thought of something else that was wrong...

Dad Lei: "Son, don't you want to come to Atletico Madrid?"

Lei Yi: "No. I just didn't expect Porto to sell me to Atletico Madrid after only one year. But... Anyway, Tigos won't stay at Sporting Lisbon after this summer..."

Dad Lei: "Don't hide it from Dad. Are you worried that you beat Atletico Madrid too hard in the Europa League before, and the fans don't want to see you here, and the players bully you?"

The conversation between the father and son was not concealed or concealed. Anyway, this is Madrid, Spain. The father and son speak Chinese, and Atletico Madrid is not an international giant like Real Madrid and Barcelona. The headquarters building No one here could understand what they were talking about.

Lei Yi never thought that his father would think of the problem in that way, and what Lei's father said made him look at his father strangely after being stunned: "Atletico Madrid players and How can the fans dislike me because I beat them? Just because I beat them, they will be happy that I come here. Very happy, very happy."

"This..." Seeing what his son said with such certainty, Father Lei didn't believe it, but he said after being silent for a while, "Okay, I believe it."

Lei Yi: "But you don't look like that at all."

Papa Lei: "..."

Lei Yi: "Dad, you really don't understand football..."

Papa Lei: "..."

The two were still talking, and the receptionist lady of the Atletico Madrid club had come over with a smile on her face and told them that they could go with her to meet the chairman of the club now.

Although the club chairman of Atletico Madrid was still in a phone call with the club chairman of Real Madrid just now, when he started meeting with Lei Yi and Lei's father, he put a smile on his face again and offered the previously proposed contract.

Porto only spent 600 million euros to buy Lei Yi from Sao Paulo, Brazil during the last summer transfer period. Only a year later, they sold Lei Yi for a transfer fee of 1600 million euros. Atletico Madrid.No, just after negotiating the price with Atletico Madrid, I sent Lei Yi to Madrid to sign the contract.

Although Lei Yi has proved that he is indeed worth the price in the Portuguese Super League and the Europa League this season, when these two figures and the time interval are taken together, it is still staggering.

It is such a player who is only full, and Porto can make a net profit of 945 million euros in one year, excluding salary expenses.

"Nice to meet you, Garrincha, and Garrincha's father. I can speak Spanish, Portuguese and English. Now, let's take a look at the contract I have for Garrincha?"

Only one year later, Lei Yi's transfer fee increased by 1000 million euros.

And his annual salary also went up.What Atletico Madrid prepared for him was an annual salary of 150 million euros.

Thinking of the "advance salary" of 55 euros in Porto, Lei Yi's father couldn't help but feel complicated.

Although the size of Atletico Madrid's club is not that big, their performance in La Liga has always been good. As the capital double star of La Liga, Atletico Madrid has always had a large number of fans.Also, they are a very fair club.

On the draft contract handed over to Lei Yi and his father by the club chairman of Atletico Madrid, it clearly stated an annual salary of 150 million euros, paid out on a weekly basis.This looks very good, and Lei Yi's father has no intention of continuing to bargain with the chairman of Atletico Madrid on the issue of annual salary.This time, he set his sights on some contract details.

"I hope that the final contract we sign will include some details that are not included here."

Since the other party had told him that he could speak English, Lei Yi's father went up in stumbling English. He couldn't let his son translate every sentence into Portuguese for people to listen to, right?How can you sing and sing together, one pretends to be a red face, and the other plays a bad face?Fortunately, Lei Yi's father took the English broker course before burning the lights, so he is still very familiar with these terms.

"Although you bought Lei Yi for 1600 million, which shows that you are very optimistic about him, but I think he should be more valuable than you expected."

The club chairman of Atletico Madrid smiled and signaled Lei Yi's father to continue talking.

"If Lei Yi can become the top five scorers in La Liga at the end of the season, I hope the club can give him an additional bonus."

"There is also the issue of portrait rights. I want to fight for some portrait rights for Lei Yi. However, I propose to use another way to count. If it is a commercial order that we accept ourselves, we will give 20% to the team. If it is a ball The team picked up Lei Yi, and the team gave Lei Yi 20%, how about that?"

The two requests made by Lei Yi's father are not too much. Although the issue of portrait rights is not what Atletico Madrid's club president expected at the beginning, Atletico Madrid's business operation ability is not strong. , so the chairman of Atletico Madrid gave an agreeable reply after thinking about it.As for the request for bonuses for entering the top five scorers, that made the other party feel a little more interesting.

Just like Lei Yi's father said, Atletico Madrid's willingness to spend 1600 million euros for Lei Yi's transfer fee shows that they are very optimistic about this Asian player.But no matter how optimistic they are, they don't think such a small player can become the top five players on the scorer list in the upcoming new season.

That's because La Liga is not actually so full of flowers.Although many teams in La Liga have achieved good results in European club competitions.But in the Spanish domestic league, it is difficult for the third team to break the monopoly of the La Liga duo, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Most of the time, at least two of the top three players in the La Liga scorer list are from these two teams.Sometimes players from these two teams can even take four of the top five scorers.In other teams in La Liga, if the top scorer in the team cannot enter the top scorer list, it can only be because he does not score many goals.

In Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​if their first-line forwards are not ranked high enough in the scorer list, it is more likely that they do not get enough playing time because there are other good forwards in the team.

This also means that if you are not a striker in Barcelona or Real Madrid, if you want to enter the top five scorers in La Liga, you must be the number one in the other team shooter.And, the team you're on has to be doing really well.At least... when facing the La Liga duo, he can occasionally win once.

Regarding this point, the club chairman of Atletico Madrid will of course be more clear than Lei Yi and his father.

So, after hearing the bonus request from Lei Yi's father, he smiled instead.

"A great idea." Mr. Chairman looked at Lei Yi after saying this, "Garrincha. I heard that your Portuguese is very good."

Lei Yi's English is not good, and he didn't listen carefully to the conversation between his father and the club chairman at all, so when the club chairman of Atletico Madrid said this sentence to him in Portuguese, he suddenly snapped. Woke up with a jolt, and said, "Yes, sir!"

When Lei Yi answered this sentence, his eyes were bright, it seemed that such a brat could easily make people of all ages have a good impression of him.The club chairman of Atletico Madrid asked: "Your father said that if you can enter the top five scorers in La Liga at the end of the season, I hope the club can give you an extra bonus for this. Yes What do you think about this?"

Regarding the question from the chairman of the Atletico Madrid club, Lei Yi obviously couldn't find the point. He thought about it very seriously and with difficulty, and then said: "If the team thinks it's not good to give me more bonuses, I don't have to... "

When Lei Yi said this, Father Lei was so anxious!His ancestors! !Don't mix things up again, say some nonsense and let the money you want fly away! !

Unexpectedly, Lei Yi's words actually made Mr. Chairman laugh out loud after being stunned.

"Boy, it sounds like you're pretty confident you'll be in the top five."

"Ah...ah."

Lei Yi who answered with a nod looked a little silly, because he didn't know why the chairman of Atlético de Madrid was smiling so happily.He thought and thought, trying to figure out why this seemingly unapproachable Mr. Chairman was amused, but he couldn't figure it out... So he could only continue to explain to others what he thought : "Actually...not so confident in myself. But what you said is only the top five...not golden boots, silver boots or copper boots..."

When he said this, his long and short legs felt that his tongue was about to get knotted. In fact, his real thought was... the golden boots are too absolute, and it depends on how many penalty opportunities there are. As for the boots...you can fight for it. As for the top five on the scorer list, isn't it possible to achieve it?Wouldn't it be nice to have people pay you extra bonuses for achievements you could have achieved anyway?

But before coming here, Domingos repeatedly told him that if Atletico Madrid's top management asked him if he was confident to perform well there, he could say yes, and he would.But what exactly is good performance?He must never say anything about this.

Although Lei Yi has a stubborn temper, it is only stubborn in some places that he hopes to stick to.

Many times, if he understands that the other party is doing it for his own good, and that thing is something he is not sure about, he will of course choose to follow his friend's advice.

So halfway through the length and length of the legs, he stopped embarrassingly, looking extremely embarrassed.

That look made Atlético's club president amused, and he wrote something on the contract and said: "I like our club's players to be confident and energetic, and I agree with both of your requests. "

Obviously, the sentence spoken in English was addressed to Lei Yi's father.Hearing this sentence, Father Lei couldn't help showing joy, but soon, he remembered that he was going to hide his emotions, so he straightened his face again, trying to pretend to be very deep, and quickly said to the other party: "Thank you. Atletico Madrid is really a more enlightened and fair club than I imagined. I am very happy."

Mr. Chairman smiled back at Lei Yi's father, and then turned his attention to Lei Yi.

"What we talked about just now was proposed by your father as your agent. What about you? Do you have anything you want, and do you want to make a request with the club?"