long live football

In many Hollywood movies, when the protagonists are faced with important choices, flashbacks of past life fragments often appear in front of them.

Art comes from life, and many ordinary people have had this experience.

How ups and downs a person's life is, how wonderful his memories are.

But Michael Owen, when he ran with the ball on the field, the various images that flashed in his mind were neither the glory days in Liverpool, nor the painful hesitation when he suffered from injuries twice this year, but Carl.

That's right, Karl Alston - his boss, his friend, the man who pulled Owen out of the mud when he was at his most helpless.

If there is no help from the other party, Owen thought, he might still be lying on the hospital bed in the Newcastle team infirmary at this time, counting with his fingers that he still has a few days before he can fully recover.He will not return to the game so soon, let alone discover that besides the Premier League, there is another open soil suitable for his life in the football world.

Irving is a grateful person, and he also cares about what others think of him. When the doctor finally told Owen that "you are ready to play", the first thought in his heart was: "I must hurry up and contribute to the team. Meritorious service, let the fans know that I really want to make a career in Munich, let Karl know that his euros have not been wasted in vain."

The club complied with their original agreement, gave him a relaxed treatment environment, and gave him the opportunity to start in the league immediately after his injury.

But Irving's performance cannot be said to be very good. He has been stumbling in the game.

No one blames him, the attitude of coaches, fans, and teammates towards him is the same as before, but Irving can't convince himself with such results-if he has been so tepid, isn't it just taking the salary the team gave him to advance? Entering retirement living?He couldn't bear to be in this state for a long time!

Therefore, when he learned that he had another chance to start in the second group match against Lyon, Owen's first feeling was not joy, but impatience.He worried that he would disappoint everyone.

The heavy burden has been weighing on his heart since the team's starting roster was announced, making Owen unable to sleep for a long time.

And his friend, who seemed to have seen through what he was thinking, called his cell phone the night before the game.

As soon as the bell rang, Owen picked it up: "Hello."

"I knew you must be awake. When the training ended in the afternoon, your face was so bad." Carl joked on the phone: "Why, are you tossing and turning nervously on the bed now?"

"Nonsense, I was about to fall asleep, and your phone woke me up again." Owen retorted guiltily. He believed that Carl could not see the situation in his home through the illusory mobile phone signal.

But Owen forgot how keen his friend's intuition is...

"You're talking nonsense. Can a person who is about to fall asleep have such an energetic voice when answering the phone?"

Owen didn't know how to answer for a moment.

His friend suddenly became serious: "Michael, you know that my team doesn't have that kind of savior player, right? It's the kind of guy who shines as soon as he joins the team."

Owen thought about it carefully: "It seems not."

"When Portillo arrived and started playing, everyone said I was losing money, and it wasn't until a few months later when he showed his true talent on the pitch that those doubts died down. As for Koch, I don't need to tell you about his deeds. From the youth team to the first team, from the frontcourt to the backcourt, he played almost all positions, and suddenly found that he is suitable to be a goalkeeper. Will."

Owen laughed together: "Yes, I know all of this." Portillo and Koch, their experiences are not only talked about by the media, even in the locker room, teammates often use their past Let's make some good-natured jokes. As a member of 1860 Munich, Owen is naturally familiar with these.

"Maybe they can't be called late bloomers, but you know, I really spent a lot of energy to get them both to play out."

Hearing this, Owen seemed to understand what Carl wanted to say.

"I've survived even Portillo's slow progress, Michael, don't doubt my patience." After a pause, Karl seemed to be joking with good intentions, and seemed to be hinting bluntly: " It's silly to put too much psychological pressure on yourself, don't you think so?"

"I don't know what you're doing with such a call in the middle of the night." Owen was still trying to pretend to be confused, and found a way out for himself: "But I'm about to die of sleepiness, can you let me go to sleep?"

Carl bade him goodnight quickly and hung up the phone.

Strangely, after Carl's interruption, Owen felt his eyelids start to twitch, and he fell asleep within 10 minutes after his head touched the pillow, and he slept extremely soundly.

It's one of the reasons why he's running the court so powerfully now.

……

"Owen! Michael Owen! He took the ball a long way, through the midfield, towards Lyon half-time!"

"Malouda was swayed... Irving ushered in a head-to-head confrontation with Tulalan... Ohhh, there was no head-to-head confrontation at all! Owen dribbled the ball past Tulalan at high speed!"

"In the last three games, it's the first time he's running so fast on the court...Look at those nimble feet, it can bring out an afterimage when crossing positions! To be honest, when Irving was at his peak , I haven't watched a few of his games, but now I understand why the British fans at that time preferred him so much - when a speed player breaks through, he can really bring a feeling like racing against the wind Passion! Just like people love racing..."

When running at high speed, Owen's body seemed to be flying in mid-air.

The goal is always the goal in sight, and nothing can be heard in the ears-no cheering or boos from the stands, no intentional harassment from the enemy, and even the loud calls of teammates It felt like the whole world was cut off from him, only the wind accompanied him.

Huh-huh-huh.

There was a lush green lawn in front of him, and the movement of dribbling the ball had already become a kind of physical inertia after years of training. As long as there was no intentional obstruction, the little black and white things would always roll obediently under his feet.

The body quickly passed one Lyon player after another. There were several times when the opponent was about to hit him or the football under his feet, but Owen avoided them all in a thrilling manner.

Owen didn't know how he got into this state. He hadn't had a similar experience for a long time, but he knew that from this moment on, he wanted to keep it forever.

Because it feels great.

When he was about to break through the Lyon penalty area, Owen vaguely caught several players in black jerseys attacking him from the corner of his eyes. His body automatically adjusted to a posture suitable for shooting. Shooting the football towards the goal.

The football took off in place, and when the Lyon defenders arrived, it happened to pass over their heads, and it spun strongly towards the goal.

Lyon goalkeeper Coupe rushed towards the left of the goal.

He was heading in the right direction, but his reaction speed was still a beat slow. The football had already crossed the goal line before his palm reached it!

"GOOOOOOAL!"

The England commentator yelled louder than anyone else: "Incredible! A typical Owen-style goal! No fancy dribbles, no gorgeous fake moves, just speed! Speed! And speed!"

"What an efficient long-distance attack! What an easy goal! With a strong Owen style!"

"When the fans are used to seeing wonderful and complex goals on the field, Michael Owen used his actual actions to show the world that he can also create hearty goals with only speed!"

After the goal, Irving stood in the shooting position for a few seconds, and didn't react until his teammates patted him on the shoulder.

"Did I score?" He asked in disbelief.

Beckham hugged him excitedly: "You scored a goal! God, I didn't know you could recover so quickly! Your performance just now was amazing!"

"Before today, I didn't know either." Owen murmured to himself.

"It seems that you had a good rest last night." Beckham said sincerely.He knows his friends very well. Michael Owen is a person who is easy to worry, especially after this year's World Cup. It is rare to see him have such a good face on the court. It can be said that he is refreshed.

Owen smiled: "I woke up naturally in the morning, ran around the park downstairs a few times, and had a hearty breakfast in the best coffee shop on the street."

"Well, what good thing happened to you?" Beckham looked at his friend's expression: "Michael, you don't seem like the kind of person who would eat, drink and sleep well before a big game."

"I received a harassing call in the middle of the night last night." After a long while, Owen stuttered and confessed half of it.

Beckham smiled knowingly, of course he could guess who made the call.

"Now if someone tells me that he has carried the Holy Light since he was born, I will not doubt it." Owen quietly shared his thoughts with his friends: "I think he will achieve extraordinary things when he becomes a priest, maybe decades Then he can become Pope."

Beckham laughed out loud.

And the person they were talking about at the moment was standing on the edge of the field with his arms folded, raising his eyebrows suspiciously, and his expression was like saying: You two guys don't hurry back to defend, you two are going to fight back. What are the whispers in front of Lyon's goal! ?

Beckham and Irving looked at each other, Qi Qi turned and ran towards the midfield.

"Can you still run?" the heartthrob asked his friend.

Owen replied confidently: "I can run as fast as the wind."

"It doesn't have to be as fast as the wind, man, as long as you catch my pass right."

……

Lyon coach Houllier looked at Owen's performance on the field with a complicated look.

The new No. 1860 of Munich 11 was brought out by him alone - Houllier became the head coach of the Red Army Liverpool in 1998. He established Owen as the core of the team. During the highlight period of his career, even under the guidance of the French, Owen also won the European Footballer of the Year in 2001.

The master-apprentice relationship between the two lasted until 2004. Houllier led the team with poor performance due to long-term heart disease, and was finally kicked out after the end of the season. Owen also ushered in a new coach Benitez in the team. Finally, chose to go to Real Madrid.

At the end of the season in 0304, Houllier and Irving wished each other smooth sailing.

But Houllier never imagined that two years later, he and his former lover actually met on the court as opponents.

And Owen also threatened Lyon's gate several times.

Houllier was awakened by a sudden cheer at the Allianz Arena, and he hurried to the field: In a quick counterattack by Munich 1860, Owen received the ball from Beckham's back and went to Lyon with ease. In the restricted area, a single pole was formed.

Goalkeeper Coupe took the initiative and wanted to defuse Owen's offense.

Owen suddenly kicked the ball away.

Coupe thought it was a shot, and he hurriedly judged the direction, trying to stop the football before it flew towards the goal.

Unexpectedly, Owen's kick was a real pass. Dzeko, who followed up in the middle, had already appeared at the football landing point. He took off on the spot, and with a flick of his head, he pushed the football into the empty goal.

The score became 2:0.

He was scored again.

Houllier once again cast an extremely complicated glance at Irving, who was celebrating with his teammates on the court.

Throughout the first half, Lyon has been tightly suppressed by 1860 Munich.

When the first match between Lyon and 1860 ended and all the German media were complaining about the turf of the Gerland stadium, Houllier was still a little disdainful: some teams just blame the turf when they lose, haha.

But now, seeing the rock-solid defense of Munich 1860, the imposing offensive power of the midfielders, and the appearance of the Lyon players retreating step by step under their pressure, Houllier suddenly felt: maybe The German media was right. If they played against each other again at the Gerland Stadium, Lyon might not necessarily win.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, Houllier couldn't help but relax his tense nerves.

The Lyon players also let out a sigh of relief: they can finally take a break from the 1860 Munich offensive.

At half-time, Houllier told his players to strengthen their defense in the upcoming game, but it is best not to give up attacking.

Because Houllier had a little hope in his heart: he felt that according to the way of playing in the first half, the players of Munich 1860 would definitely feel tired in the second half. Once tired, they would slow down and relax. Then it would be Lyon's chance. .Moreover, Irving has been running for a full 45 minutes. Will he be replaced by Orston in the second half?

After the 15-minute break, the two teams switched sides and fought again.

Houllier was a little disappointed to find that none of the two things he expected to happen happened.

The offense of Munich 1860 was still so unstoppable.

Think about it too, how could the Lions, who are already addicted to offense at their home court, suddenly become merciful to the enemy?

Houllier has used defensive counterattack tactics in Liverpool for a long time. Owen has been perfectly integrated into the Red Army's system and has become the only single arrow on the team's offensive line.

But now, the Lyon coach has seen with his own eyes that the opponent is adapting to the multi-point offensive tactics like a duck to water.

Not only that, after the non-stop running in the first half, although Irving looked a little tired in the second half, he still worked hard for the team wholeheartedly.

Owen seems to have grown up again.

And this time it is not an increase in physical fitness, but in will.

After careful observation, Houlier came to such a judgment.

Really tough opponent.

Michael Owen, plus Portillo, Dzeko, the offense is simply unstoppable.

The entire Lyon defense line was almost destroyed by these three people.

How to stop them?

The first thing that popped up in Houllier's mind was the way to deal with Owen: Owen is most proud of his dexterous speed, but he is thin and not good at confrontation, and has no advantage in positional warfare .

It is very simple to stop Irving, let the guards foul him roughly.

But Houlier is a person who cherishes talents, he can't bear to use such means to deal with his former lover.

What's more, if Michael Owen is eliminated, 1860 Munich also has Portillo and Dzeko, as well as those midfielders who are not weak in attack. When a player ends up on the court, his strength will be greatly reduced.

If it is said that this team will really collapse without anyone...

Houllier couldn't help looking at Karl Oston on the sidelines.

This is the boss behind the scenes.

Sighing, Houllier also started to walk up and down the court, loudly reminding his players to change tactics immediately according to the instructions.

When Houllier coached Liverpool before, he proudly told reporters in many post-match press conferences: "Every time Irving gets the ball on the court, we can expect a miracle to happen."

Now, it is the turn of Munich 1860 to say this sentence.

……

Those who don't know how to watch the excitement, those who know how to watch the doorway.

However, some fans who can watch the ball are gradually showing symptoms of dizziness at this time: the football is being passed back and forth at the feet of the 1860 players in Munich. But the frequency of passing the ball on the field is too high, and the route the football passes through gradually forms a tight and seamless spider web, which is really dazzling for people to see.

Later, some fans in the stadium didn't follow people at all. They just stared at the goals of the two teams and waited for the shots to appear.

Lyon attracted a lot of attention in front of the goal, and goalkeeper Coupe felt the pressure.

In the 71st minute of the game, another group of dark crowds headed towards Lyon's goal.

Cooper held his breath and tensed his nerves.

He saw the football being passed back and forth under the feet of the people wearing blue and white socks, and just when he thought the scene would extend to no end, there was a sound of "boom!", and the football was caught in Kupe's eyes Suddenly turned into an afterimage!

coming!Kupe didn't care to see who the shooter was, and just rushed towards the middle of the goal based on his feeling!

Feeling that his ten fingers touched the ball, the Lyon goalkeeper was overjoyed, mustered up his breastfeeding energy, and threw the ball away!

Falling from the air to the ground, although his butt took a hard hit, Kupe's expression was joyful.

He felt that he had once again resolved Lyon's goal crisis.

but……

"Whoosh!" With a sound, something scraped the air around him and flew into the goal.

Kupe looked back into the goal in confusion, only to see a chubby football lying obediently in the net.

His expression froze immediately.

Turning his head mechanically, Kupe saw a Munich 1860 player with a shaved haircut a few meters in front of him, slowly retracting his right foot.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the player was thrown down by a large group of blue and white figures, and was crushed hard to the ground.

"Miraculous shot in front of the goal, Michael Owen is an opportunist! He used just two seconds to change the world of Lyon goalkeepers from paradise to territory!"

"3:0, 1860 Munich staged a perfect revenge at their home court!"

The game was coming to an end, but Lyon did not score a point. Not only that, but also let the opponent pour in three goals. In the 73rd minute, Lyon changed again and completely set up the bus in front of the goal.

1860 Munich will no longer be able to penetrate Lyon's defense so easily.

It's just too late.

No matter how many times Lyon blocks 1860 Munich, it will not matter anymore, because they have already lost this game.

……

The score was finally fixed at 3:0, and 1860 Munich won.

"This is a high-level Champions League group match" every fan watching the game said so.

Lyon played at a normal level, while 1860 Munich played exceptionally well.

However, the protagonist of this game will neither be Munich 1860 nor Lyon.

Because of Irving's "resurrection", he is destined to replace the two teams and become the focus of media fans after the game.

In fact, England is already boiling at the moment.

At the beginning of the second half, the ratings of the game in the UK suddenly increased by several percentage points, and immediately there were many discussion topics related to Irving on the Internet.

I don’t know how many newspaper editors are calling their reporters in Munich, asking them to interview Irving after the game and get his first-hand consultation.

Allianz Arena.

When the referee blew the final whistle, Lyon striker Benzema wanted to find Owen to change his jersey, but the latter was busy hugging every one of his teammates on the court. Without reaching out, the person disappears.

Benzema had no choice but to walk up and down the field with Owen, walking around, until the French striker was helpless in the end, it was Beckham who saw this scene and ran over to signal Owen, and Owen knew that he was followed by a little tail.

After exchanging jerseys with Benzema, Irving gave him a big hug, and the French forward's ears were a little pink.

Irving is the kind of person who can't help himself when he gets excited. After spreading the excitement on the court, he still feels that he is not happy enough. When he saw the team coach, he rushed over.

Just had a few polite words with Lyon coach Houllier, and when Karl, who was about to return to the locker room, turned around, he saw the enthusiastic Michael Owen.

Before the other party rushed over, Karl pointed to the other party's shirtless upper body after exchanging jerseys, seemingly considerately: "It's cold, put on your clothes first."

"I'm not cold at all. On the contrary, I feel like I'm full of energy now." Owen didn't mind, he grabbed Carl's arm, pulled him over forcibly, and shared a strangler's hand together. Embrace.

Karl was tightly held in a warm embrace, he was a little moved on the one hand, but couldn't help complaining on the other: Can't we put on some clothes first?