ball magic

This is September 1999, 9, a day that countless Chelsea fans have been looking forward to for a long time.

It was the first time the Blues were in the Champions League since returning to the top flight in 1989.And it has been 44 years since their last trip to the Champions League!

How can fans not look forward to the reunion after 44 years?

And their first opponent in the group stage was last season's defending champion, Inter Milan.

After drawing such an opponent, Chelsea fans mourned at first, but then found solace in this misfortune

They can see Raphael running on Stamford Bridge!

Before the game, a reporter from Sky Italy interviewed Chelsea fans at the entrance of Stamford Bridge: "Rafael has chosen to represent the Argentine national team, why do you still choose to support him?"

"Can you not mention this?" The young female fan looked unhappy at the moment, "This is a fact that everyone knows, and we don't need to be reminded repeatedly!"

"As for why you support him, does it need a reason? He's the best player on the planet and he's going to put on a show at Stamford Bridge tonight! I didn't get a chance to see Best play, but I can now see La Phil, isn't that enough?"

The reporter was speechless, and while continuing to interview the fans, he wisely changed his entry point.

"Is Rafael the best player on the planet for you? How about Best?"

The subject of his interview this time is a middle-aged gentleman in his 50s. He spread his hands and said: "I have seen Best play football. He was the best in his era. Now I am going to watch Raphael play football. Watch this The best player of his time."

"And what about him and Best?"

The uncle smiled and said: "They don't belong to the same era, and they are also completely different players. What they have in common is that they did not choose to play for England. Considering that Best belongs to Manchester United, I will choose Raphael."

"What if Raphael is in Chelsea's academy?"

The uncle immediately gave an exaggerated "wow" and laughed loudly: "Then we will take the nickname of Fowler's Liverpool player. He is not our angel, but our God!"

By the time the interview was over, the live room of Sky TV Italy was already filled with laughter.

The commentator Fabio Caresa smiled to the guests: "The game hasn't started yet, we don't know the result of this game yet, but we got another answer unexpectedly

Obviously, among the England fans, Rafael has left his teammate Ronaldo far behind. "

This made the live broadcast room burst into laughter again.

Fabio Caresa then introduced this Chelsea team to the fans. It is so special among English teams because its head coach and captain are both Italians.

"I think many people's impression of Chelsea is Vialli!"

For Italian fans, this is a name that does not need much introduction by Fabio Caresa, because this is their meritorious international footballer, and he is the only player in the history of world football who has won the championship and runner-up of the three major European cups , represented Italy in the 1986 World Cup, the 1990 World Cup and the 1988 European Cup.

He played for Victoria for 8 years, helped the team win 3 Italian Cups, 1 league championship, and is a great "sailor".

While playing for Juventus, he was also Juventus' famous "captain bald", and he also won everything in Juventus.

In 1996, former teammate "braided coach" Gullit moved to Chelsea and became a part-time coach.

At the invitation of Gullit, Vialli and compatriot Zola came to Stamford Bridge together.

At that time, Vialli was 32 years old and had reached the end of his career, and Zola was also 30 years old. He thought that going to Italy was for the elderly, but it turned into technical poverty alleviation.

Under the leadership of Gullit, Chelsea in the 19961997-4 season became a "giant killer" and also broke into the FA Cup final. They won Manchester United 0:26 and helped Chelsea win the FA Cup again after [-] years.

In 1997, Gullit had a huge conflict with the top management. After Gullit left Chelsea, the Chelsea top management, who had tasted the sweetness from Gullit, handed the coach to Vialli.

Vialli thus became the manager of Chelsea.

He did quite well, and the following season, Vialli led Chelsea to a 1-0 win against Stuttgart in the European Cup Winners' Cup final.

In the last season, Chelsea made great progress in the league, competing with Manchester United and Arsenal to the end, keeping the suspense of the Premier League championship until the final round, and finally achieved third place.

Fabio Careza is still introducing Chelsea, the signal from the front has been given to the stadium, and the players are warming up!

For the former Rafael, Stamford Bridge was never special. Although it means sacred in the hearts of Blues fans, in his heart, it is just one of the home stadiums of countless teams.

But on this night, he got too much here.

He will always remember the blue waves of people under the lights, the tidal applause, and the banner that read "Rafa, welcome home".

In the applause of the fans, Rafael raised his hands and surrounded the surroundings to express his gratitude to the fans.

When the fans were seated and the warm-up resumed, Figo asked, "How does it feel now?"

He believed that Raphael must have been touched.

"It's weird," Raphael replied, "Even though I've never been here, they make me feel like I'm coming back."

Figo thought of the "battle" staged by those London teams, first smiled, and then made a joke: "I hope they don't regret it at the end of the game."

This made Raphael smile.

When the warm-up was over, he saw Cannavaro and Vieri running towards the opposite Chelsea players. Vialli, Zola, and Deschamps were all there.

But Raphael's gaze stayed on the "bald coach" not far from the "bald captain".

This coach is not well-known at this time, but in the future his name will be deeply imprinted in the hearts of every player because of the fm game. He is Antonio Pintus.

The most famous fitness coach in football in the future.

Of course, he is also a top physical coach now, a devil among devils.

Juan followed his gaze and only saw a bald man. Before he could ask a question, he saw Raphael look away and walked towards the main stand.

He didn't follow, and knew that Raphael was looking for Hughes and Byron.

After seeing the draft that Raphael brought back to the hotel yesterday, he became a fan of Byron, because the "Batmobile" is so handsome!

To make such a handsome car a reality, of course he will dedicate his knees to Jean Byron.

Raphael saw Hughes and Byron without much effort, and they were smiling and waving at him at the moment.

Before he could greet them, he heard Byron yell, "Goal, go for it!"

The surrounding Chelsea fans glared at him one after another, but this guy remained unafraid.

Seeing that he was taking such a big risk, Raphael waved at him, then patted his chest, and turned to leave.

And Hughes watched his back until he disappeared into the player tunnel.

Byron couldn't bear it and said, "Didn't he say he wanted to spend your birthday with you? He didn't play that day. Or you can choose to watch the Milan Derby or the Italian Derby."

Good proposal, Hughes readily agreed: "When the time comes, I will say that it was your suggestion."

Byron couldn't take it anymore and said, "I just want to see my son, do I need to be ashamed to admit it?"

Hughes listened: "No, I just don't want him to think I'm a clingy dad."

Byron: "..."

You are!

In the locker room of the visiting team, the old Robson was also making the final emphasis before the game.

"As I said in tactics class, today we were playing not so much a Premier League team as an Italian team. So, believe me, boys, it was a bit of a game. Tough game.

Our opponents will not let us play good football easily, and we will obviously encounter some firm and rough defense.

Especially Desailly, Deschamps, Petrescu and Dennis Wise, these are all players with great fighting spirit, but I believe we are not inferior to them in this regard. Our goal is to defend the title! "

The old Robson then emphasized: "Considering that we are in the British Peninsula, not the Apennines, so wing attack is their important method, and they must pay special attention to their positioning when defending. I don't want to see Zuo Rafa's free-kick, oh Rafa, I miss your free-kick already!"

Raphael nodded.

The old man looked at their little goalkeeper, Frazzolini.

"Don't be nervous, but you will face a very experienced and cunning opponent today, so you must be wary of high-altitude shots..."

Frazzolini, who has become the starting goalkeeper of the Champions League, nodded vigorously because he injured two goalkeepers in a row.

Anyone could see the tension on his face.

But there is no way, and the old Robson has no way to make him not nervous. He can only look at Stam and Cannavaro and ask them to mention him more.

When Mourinho reminded him of the time, the old man looked at Rafael and said, "Rafa, you said you will give me the answer today?" Μ.三彡ㄚQxS.CǒM

Raphael smiled clearly: "After the game, I will tell you after the game."

What it feels like to be in the British Peninsula, of course he will not know until he finishes playing.

When queuing up, as the captain of Chelsea, Zola extended a hand of friendship to him when he saw him, "Welcome to Stamford Bridge."

Raphael smiled and shook hands with him.

Desailly came over at this point and the Frenchman wanted his jersey.

This is of course no problem, Raphael readily agreed.

The pre-match atmosphere was very good. Under the leadership of the referee team, they entered the field holding the hands of the little caddy, and the home commentator announced the names of the players one by one.

"Number 32 Vieri"

"Shh!"

"Ronaldo No. 9"

"Shh!"

"Number 10 Rafael! Rafa, welcome to Stamford Bridge!"

Players belonging to the home team are always applause, while boos are always the best courtesy to the visiting team. This is the constant melody in football.

On this match day, more than 3 Chelsea fans gave Raphael their applause.

Children of London, welcome home!

The author has something to say: Chelsea, a team that can always win the championship after a coaching change, is also a team that always surprises with an Italian coach.

There are two more, at 20 o'clock.