long live football

Bernabéu Stadium.

Although the door of the visiting team's locker room has been tightly closed, the noisy noise still came in through the door panel, which made the players and coaches of Munich 1860 have to amplify the volume when communicating.

"Capello just said to let us experience the home atmosphere of the Bernabeu, and the Real Madrid fans followed suit." When another wave of noise sounded, Karl raised his right hand and pressed it down, signaling the players to stop discussing temporarily, and waited. After the sound passed, he chuckled and said: "But unfortunately, although the Bernabeu is big and spectacular, it has nothing to be afraid of. Think about the Allianz Arena, think about the Signal Iduna Park Stadium, the Bernabeu is the There are a little more seats."

The players followed Carl's wishes and laughed loudly.

Indeed, in terms of stadium atmosphere and fan enthusiasm, the Bundesliga is second to none among the five major leagues.Although the fans of Real Madrid made a very good atmosphere and showed great enthusiasm today, perhaps it has something to do with 1860 Munich instead of Barcelona as the guest team at the Bernabeu today. The hostility and boos of the Real Madrid fans are far from To the extent that the Lions players can feel scared.

Another noise came.

Anyway, I have already finished talking about the tactical issues earlier, Karl simply stopped avoiding these voices, looked directly at Beckham and asked: "I have always been interested in the locker rooms of the home and away teams at the Bernabéu. There is really a difference between them. Is there a big difference?"

Karl asked this question because the poor sound insulation of the visiting team's dressing room aroused his curiosity: In the Premier League, there is a default unspoken rule of the dressing room, that is, the visiting team's dressing room is always worse than the home team's.For example, Manchester City's visiting team's locker room is more like a public bath in a slum area. The heating will not be fully turned on in winter, and there is no shower, only a small pool for the visiting team players to clean their bodies.Another example is Arsenal’s new home stadium, the Emirates Stadium. The home team’s locker room is super large and luxurious, with a special massage room, spa, shower, and even a swimming pool, but the visiting team’s locker room is much poorer, with only simple wooden boxes and Benches, showers are also small and cramped.

By doing this, the clubs are demonstrating the superiority of the home team and causing discomfort to the visiting team. Of course, it would be even better if it could affect their competitive state.And not only the Premier League, but almost the entire British professional football league is generally not so generous to the visiting team. It is said that this is also the case in Serie A. So, is it the same in La Liga?

Other players are also interested in looking at Beckham, or Portillo, they are very interested in Real Madrid's home team dressing room.The locker room is a sacred place. Except for the coaches and players, few people are admitted, and players from other teams, unless they transfer to Real Madrid, don't even want to see the style inside during their careers.

Beckham looked around and said, "Well, the locker room of the home team is wider than here, with higher-end facilities, and the sound insulation seems to be better." After a pause, he pointed to the wooden bench under his buttocks: " Oh, and the home team has leather cushions on every stool."

After letting the players discuss along the topic for a few minutes to relax their tense emotions, Karl raised his wrist and looked at his watch. It looked like there were still five or six minutes before he played.

He is preparing for the final mobilization.

Clapping hands, the locker room fell silent within a few seconds.When the eyes of all the players were focused on him, Carl smiled and said: "Last night, I made a simple statistics - more than 70% of the media are not optimistic that we will achieve good results in this game, Because the venue is the Bernabeu, and our opponent is the mighty Real Madrid."

"Real Madrid, the superstar Madrid, the best football club in the 20th century as judged by FIFA, and the 'Galaxy Battleship' recognized by media fans. "Aspen" said, "The combined worth of Real Madrid superstars can buy ten Munich 1860s, So 1860 must be destroyed by Real Madrid'—tell me, is this sentence correct?"

Most of the players were shaking their heads, and Beckham said very calmly: "The simple addition of the strengths of the players on both sides cannot determine the outcome of the game."

Beckham is more composed than he expected, Karl thought, but Portillo... seems to have lost his mind twice.

"That's right, if the words of "Aspen" are correct, then the team that has gathered the most superstars in the world will win all the championships and will never lose."

The players laughed again, and someone asked: "Is "Aspen" trying to comfort itself, or is it self-motivation?"

"In my opinion, they are guilty and trying to use a flashy illusion to stabilize the hearts of the fans." Carl said wildly: "Because the Galaxy Fleet we have to deal with is already crumbling."

Many people were taken aback. Many of them blinked and looked at the team coach, wondering: Why did the boss suddenly say such an explosive word?And Real Madrid, this world football giant, where is it crumbling?

"Under the dazzling cloak of Real Madrid's superstars, there are many problems. There are too many stars, the locker room is chaotic, the field is discord, the tacit understanding is low, and there are only a few players who play very hard on the field." Carl raised his chin slightly, Meaning: "I don't need to talk about these in detail. From your teammates, I think you already know enough." In the first team of Munich 1860, there are only 3 players with Real Madrid blood on their bodies. Karl It is not taboo to point them out, this scar is already well known to everyone.

"Why did Real Madrid get the nickname Galacticos? Because of Raul, Carlos, Casillas, Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo, Beckham, Irving, and now, half of these stars have Not in Real Madrid anymore." After a pause, Karl made a cold joke: "We are honored to be one of the teams that demolished Real Madrid."

Some people laughed out loud, but more people were holding back their laughter.

"Three years. For three consecutive years, Real Madrid has not won even an important championship. They have not won the league, Copa del Rey, or the Champions League. Faced with this team with an uneven lineup and has been empty for several consecutive seasons, don't you have to compete with us? Do you have the confidence to fight and fight for victory?"

"Yes!" The response was uneven at first, and then became neat and loud.After thinking about it carefully, the players found that what the head coach said was indeed true. Although Real Madrid is well-known, the problem is almost as many as the number of stars in their team. On the other hand, in Munich 1860, their hearts are united and their morale is high. Many players think they are strong It's not bad, so why can't you grit your teeth, work harder on the court, and strive to become a blockbuster today?

Karl opened the locker room door for his players with his own hands: "Go, lads, and hope that after tonight, you can have another record worthy of boasting to the world."

The Lions players walked out of the locker room one by one with full confidence.

When Beckham passed by Carl, he stopped and said: "Hey, boss, I am no longer a young man."

Carl raised his eyebrows and glanced at Beckham, then slapped him out: "Hurry up and warm up, boy."

……

"As I said before the game, 1860 Munich is a team made up of a group of brats and abandoned generals from Real Madrid. As long as you are serious, you will have no problem dealing with them."

With the same rhythm as the visiting team's locker room, in the Bernabeu's home team's locker room, Capello is also trying to belittle their opponents.

Although both are boosting morale, there is a subtle difference between the two: Karl is trying to eliminate the subconscious anxiety and uneasiness of those first-timers on the team when they first played against the giant Real Madrid, so that the Lions finally became Fearless - not afraid of wealthy families, not afraid of superstars.He succeeded.

And Capello, even if he doesn't ridicule the Lions' weakness, few of the Real Madrid superstars really pay attention to Munich 1860-look at the history of this team, the last time they participated in a European competition was decades ago, right?Like who would really take it seriously.

After boosting morale as usual, Capello pointed out a few players in the Munich 1860 team that he considered more threatening, explained their strengths and weaknesses one by one, and asked the players to prepare well during the game.

However, although the locker room was calm on the surface, few players really listened to Capello's words.The stars have their own thoughts, and some are even thinking: should we have pasta for dinner or curry?

Capello has been coaching for many years, and it is impossible not to see the players' distraction.But he is also very helpless. The problem of Real Madrid’s dressing room is not one or two famous coaches in the world. It has been completed, and it will take some time for him to establish absolute authority in the team.

Perhaps in the entire locker room, Ruud Ruud is more afraid of Munich 1860.

Although the world has many misunderstandings about Beckham, Van Nistelrooy knows what an underestimated good player his old partner is. Beckham's competitive career was affected by his commercial fame, and he The role on the court is definitely not a tasteless existence. If given the opportunity, Beckham will become a man who can influence the game.

As for Carl.Van Nistelrooy still remembers that last season, when Manchester United did not even appear to be eliminated in the Champions League group stage, Ferguson once sighed privately: "If Calken stayed in Manchester and practiced for a few more years, he and Queiroz, perhaps We have already passed the painful period of replacing the old and the new, and running into the new core.” At that time, Munich 1860 was gaining fame, and a youthful storm was hanging over Germany.

Now the mainstream public opinion in Spain is 'Munich 1860 is nothing to fear, this small Bundesliga team is doing well in its own league, once it comes to the Champions League, it will definitely be scared by the big scene and shrink back' - this is also true Indirectly affected the thoughts of many Real Madrid players.

But Van Nistelrooy knew that even if the players in Munich 1860 were not good at big games, Karl Oston would definitely have a way to deal with it—many people think about small teams in 1860, but they may have already forgotten that Karl was still young and immature. When he was not well-known, he had already been Manchester United's interim coach for several months, and he managed such a big team as the Red Devils.

Regardless of what his teammates think, Ruud himself will definitely take this game seriously.

……

Every time a 1860 Munich player appeared in the warm-up area, the Real Madrid fans in the stands booed violently.

Even Beckham was booed even louder.

In the several seasons of playing for Real Madrid, Beckham and these fans had a honeymoon period, and there were times when they were hostile to each other. Generally speaking, the bitterness was greater than the sweetness.

For the sale of Beckham, only a small number of fans feel sorry, but most fans are rejoicing.

Now that the heartthrob has returned to the Bernabeu, as an opponent, how could Real Madrid fans not boo him?

For these boos, Beckham was very calm.He has always been a man of self-control, both mentally and on the court.

Looking at the thumbs down all over the sky, Beckham even thought optimistically: If Michael and I appear here together, will the effect be doubled?

Perhaps among all the Lions players, there is only one exception.

Portillo.

Real Madrid fans have a strange attitude towards him.

No boos.Because Portillo was born in the Castilla youth training camp, he has the purest Real Madrid blood, and most fans here still remember him.

But there was no applause either.Although Portillo is not what it used to be, he still represents Munich 1860, the opponent of Real Madrid.

silence.

The home fans stand closest to Portillo was eerily quiet.

These home fans in white just watched last season's Bundesliga top scorer repeat simple and boring warm-up actions on the turf with complicated eyes.

That figure, that movement, that face, all are familiar.

Only the jersey has changed.

……

Karl has rarely seen a hesitant expression on Portillo's face.

This once fragile and meek, delicate and kind Spanish player has already become firm under the baptism of German football.

Perhaps returning to his hometown triggered some love-hate emotions in his heart.

If it were another player, he might have been gearing up to start a revenge battle, but that was not Portillo. Portillo would only love and hate Real Madrid who abandoned him, not pure hatred. .Because simple hate means betraying his youth and dreams.

Entering the game with such emotions, Portillo is not going to enter the game anytime soon.

Carl waited for the opponent to warm up, and waved him over: "Javier, do you think you are successful now?"

Portillo shook his head without thinking for long.

"why?"

Polti hesitated for a moment, and said honestly: "Because I have received very few honors, and I haven't proven myself in state-level competitions."

"Now is your chance." Carl looked directly at the other party and said, "But I don't see the courage to succeed from you."

"I..." Portillo puffed out his chest: "I will work hard to succeed. I will work hard to play the game."

Karl felt that the opponent's actions were a bit lacking in confidence: "Real Madrid has left a shadow in your heart." He simply picked it up and said: "It once shaped you, and then destroyed you with one hand. You have too many things in your heart, I suspect you can't show a good side in the game, for the sake of the team, I would rather consume a substitution spot than-"

"No!" Portillo was anxious: "Boss, please don't replace me!"

Although he was crazy, it was much better than the lifeless expression before.Carl was a little more satisfied: "Is your family here today?"

Portillo nodded, subconsciously looking towards the neutral stand: "Come, all my family members are here."

"Are they Real Madrid fans?"

"Yes, my parents and siblings have tickets to Real Madrid, but in order to support me, they bought tickets for the neutral stand today."

"Did they expect you to score today?"

"Yes."

"Since your parents are Real Madrid fans, why do they want you to score goals at the Bernabeu?"

"Because..." A hint of warmth appeared on Portillo's face: "Because they want to see me become more successful."

"Is this your wish too?"

Portillo licked his lips, and his tone became more affirmative: "Yes, this is my wish too."

"If you want to succeed, you have to get out of the shadows of the past." Carl stepped back and let the opponent look at the entire stadium: "And to get out of the shadows of the past, Javier, you have to stand up from where you failed .And then, let the world see what an amazing person you've transformed into."

After a while, Portillo replied with a few very light words: "Okay, boss."

When Karl saw the other party's expression, he nodded slightly, turned around and returned to the coach's bench in silence.

Portillo stood alone on the sidelines, breathing the air of the Bernabeu, packing all useless thoughts out of his mind.

When he stepped onto the Bernabéu turf, he thought: It's time to get rid of the nightmare.