The Young Lion

In the past, when I was with Carter, I would drink a little wine and chat with friends about trivial matters in life, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Now to talk about business, Aldridge had restrained the idea of ​​having a drink with Carter, but when Carter talked about this topic, Aldridge couldn't help being somewhat complacent.

Although Millwall's Champions League wins have not surpassed Milan and Real Madrid, they have retained the Champions League genuine trophy forever.

This great feat has only been achieved by 5 contemporary teams.

The first team, Real Madrid, they permanently retain the old-fashioned Champions League trophy, not the current big ear cup. From the appearance point of view, it can be said to be a small ear cup.

The other three teams are Milan, who can permanently retain the Champions League trophy by accumulating 5 championships, which was achieved in the era of the Milan dynasty. Ajax and Bayern Munich have won three consecutive Champions League titles in the 1970s. Save the authentic Champions League trophy.

The last one is Millwall.

After winning the Champions League in the summer of 2002, they permanently retained the authentic Champions League trophy, also with the record of three consecutive Champions League titles.

The competitive reason why he retired from the club that year also has this part. The club retained the authentic Champions League, which can be called a great glory, especially in England. This is the first team in history to retain the authentic Champions League trophy!

When talking about these things, Aldridge couldn't be serious even if he wanted to, and he would feel a little bit smug, recalling the past and the past.

He went to get a bottle of good wine anyway, poured two glasses, handed Carter a glass, and touched the glasses. After taking a sip, he laughed and said, No problem, we can only keep one genuine Champions League trophy. According to the UEFA rules you just mentioned, three consecutive Champions League titles or a total of five championships. No matter which of the two is achieved, The number of championships won will be cleared, and then it will be recalculated. Therefore, in 2002, we were able to save the Champions League genuine trophy with three consecutive championships. According to UEFA statistics, we want to get the second Champions League genuine trophy, Then all the number of championships and consecutive championships before 2002 are all erased and recalculated. Therefore, last season, we won the Champions League, the fifth in the history of the club. However, according to UEFA statistics , we are still short of two consecutive championships before the next standard of keeping the real thing. Or we are still short of four championships. Uh, what I said, can you understand me?

Carter took a sip of his drink. Hearing this, he nodded and fell into deep thought.

Aldridge didn't bother him either.

On the issue of the authentic Champions League trophy, his thoughts were racing.

I thought UEFA changed the rules after 2009.

UEFA permanently preserves authentic trophies!

It is probably because the event has been held for a long time and more and more teams have won the championship, but the giants are always the main group of trophy predators, so many teams may be able to accumulate over time. The UEFA Champions League genuine trophy will be permanently preserved according to the rule of winning the UEFA Champions League 5 times in total.

As a result, authentic trophies flooded everywhere. It may cause certain challenges to the supremacy of the Champions League.

Therefore, since 2009, UEFA has permanently preserved the genuine trophy. The trophy is only used for the championship award ceremony, and even the club cannot keep the original trophy for a period of time, and can only get a replica of the exact same size after the award.

Carter finished thinking, and he sighed: I think the club and UEFA have a disagreement.

Oh, it's not like that. The relationship between the club and UEFA is pretty good. Especially, UEFA President Johansson and I occasionally talk on the phone and respect each other.

Aldridge is not bragging, UEFA President Johansson is Swedish, not to mention that he won the championship because of Millwall before, Aldridge will have an intersection with UEFA President, in 2002 because Larsson was about to quit the national team , Aldrich and Johansson have frequent private exchanges, and they have the same position. They hope to persuade Larsson to stay in the national team and play for the country. This incident makes the personal relationship between Aldridge and Johansson not bad. .

Although g14 put a lot of pressure on UEFA many years ago, Millwall's role in g14 is very calm, and he does not belong to the kind of big brother who rises up. UEFA's public relations have also remained tame.

Carter frowned and said, In this way, the issues I want to discuss with you may not be mature enough.

Aldridge shrugged his shoulders and smiled, It's okay, let's listen. I think you have a lot of creative ideas that I don't have. Hehe, who told me to read so few books.

Carter shook his head with a smile when he heard the words, and immediately said solemnly: I thought the club had two authentic Champions League trophies, then, the first one, we will exhibit it as usual, the second one, or even the third one, and the fourth one, in the future As long as the authentic Champions League trophy can be preserved, we will engrave the name of the meritorious player on this trophy! Then continue to use it for exhibition, which will make the authentic Champions League trophy not become monotonous, because if there is only one authentic trophy, then , this is very special and supreme, but if we have two or three, put it together, it seems that the shock will drop, but engrave the name of the legendary Millwall player on it to make that one real The Champions League trophy has become a story and a sense of history. What is it? This is our heritage, and it is our source of publicity, influencing the next generation, countless generations of Millwall players, fans, cultivating the market, promoting the brand, etc. However, now we only have one authentic Champions League trophy, so I don’t think I need to discuss this idea, let’s just keep it in the exhibition room for visitors to appreciate.”

Carter himself was a little disappointed. He lowered his head and took a sip of the wine, then raised his head to look at Aldridge, only to find that Aldrich was smiling and his eyes were shining, as if he was thinking about something and became a little excited.

Aldrich suddenly put down his wine glass and laughed loudly: Your proposal is very good! Think about it, put yourself in the shoes of yourself, if you are a player, you can engrave your name on the authentic Champions League trophy forever! , this may be more exciting than the excitement and encouragement brought by winning a Champions League!

Carter looked at Aldrich, suddenly felt dumbfounded.

He was thinking about commercial interests.

Aldridge is thinking about the player's position.

Although the two may not have the same ideas, they are on the same positive issue. But there is a perfect complement.

Carter couldn't laugh or cry: Calm down, we only have one authentic Champions League trophy now! At least one must be guaranteed, er, the original version. An original UEFA Champions League trophy must be exhibited in the club.

Aldrich was in high spirits. He laughed and asked: Why? Why keep that, the original one? The original one is not special! When tourists came to appreciate it, they suddenly thought, oh, this trophy in Millwall. Milan also has one, Bayern Munich also has one, Ah Jaques has it too! Real Madrid, uh, no. Real Madrid's one is the one that is truly special and the only one that will never appear in other clubs. A genuine Champions League trophy. Since it is not special, then, we will let It becomes something special and Millwall-branded, not just exhibiting at Millwall.

Carter will not go crazy with Aldridge, he is still thinking rationally.

It can be said that the UEFA Champions League trophy at the Millwall exhibition. There are now 5 seats in the world!

Millwall, Ajax. Bayern Munich, Milan, and UEFA each have one!

Simply speaking, the trophies are close to the same, even if there are differences. It must also be a problem of workmanship technology, from the external impression and sensory reading. no difference.

But if Millwall lets this genuine Champions League trophy, the names of legendary players appear.

whether. What would make this genuine UEFA Champions League trophy even more special?

getting thick?

Is it more helpful to Millwall's accumulation of heritage and future development?

Carter fantasized about countless pictures, with contrasts, and also with his own thoughts as a tourist to visit and appreciate.

Ultimately, he admitted that his initial thinking was slightly conservative.

He wants Millwall to keep an authentic Champions League trophy.

Engrave the player's name on the authentic trophy obtained later to reward the player or stimulate the club's commercial market.

But think about it carefully, if the player's name is engraved on the second authentic Champions League trophy.

Well, for the first authentic UEFA Champions League trophy, it must be unfair to the legendary players who gave their youthful blood and loyalty!

This will cause dissatisfaction among Millwall fans. Those legendary players who grew up with countless fans lost the opportunity to engrave their names on the trophy because they were old and did not wait for the second authentic Champions League trophy. It will definitely make the fans very, very dissatisfied!

Judging from Aldridge's words, he has already planned to implement Carter's proposal to engrave the names of Millwall's passing players on the genuine Champions League trophy permanently retained by the club.

But here comes the problem again.

Carter asked suspiciously: The first genuine Champions League trophy was obtained by winning consecutive championships in three seasons from 1999/2000 to 2001/2002. If we want to engrave the names of meritorious players on the trophy, Nedvi De, Larson and the players who stayed in the team are definitely fine, but what about the main players at the time, Pirlo, Zambrotta, Gattuso, and Materazzi?

Aldridge's enthusiasm slipped slightly.

Hearing this question, his brows furrowed.

It's tricky.

To maximize the prominence of Millwall.

Therefore, he first affirmed one thing: it is impossible to engrave Pirlo and their names on it!

This is not his selfishness, but the club must be selfish!

Because, if their names are engraved on it, does the subtext tell other players: As long as they achieve great success here, it doesn’t matter if they leave, they will still be remembered by the club, and they will still let their names appear where the supreme honor is. !

no!

That does not work!

If the club wants to be remembered, recalled, yearned for, and talked about in the next 20, 50, or even 100 years, the legendary player must have one important quality: loyalty to the club!

No matter how loyalty is obtained, as long as you do it, you are a loyal minister!

Since Aldridge decided not to engrave the names of Pirlo and other players.

Then, he has to think about how to reduce the negative impact of not doing so. (to be continued)

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