The Young Lion

Thanks to 2, Forget Me with the Cloud and Thieves for their rewards!

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On the day of the game as a guest at Manchester United, the weather in Manchester is very changeable. The sun is shining and the autumn wind is cool, which is the most suitable for the players to play.

On the Millwall bus to Old Trafford, Aldridge sat in the first row, with Jenson sitting next to him, flipping through a football magazine in his hand, staring at a color picture with great interest.

Jansen glanced at the magazine in his hand, snatched it unceremoniously, stared at the young man wearing the Barcelona jersey in the colorful picture, and praised: Manchester United missed a genius.

The color picture is actually just a screenshot of the live broadcast of the game. The main character in the picture is a Brazilian named Ronaldo, wearing a Barcelona jersey with open arms and celebrating after scoring a goal.

Although the summer came to Barcelona with a transfer value of 20 million U.S. dollars, the most sensational player in the Spanish transfer market in the summer of 1996 was not him at all, but a player who transferred from Real Madrid to Camp Nou on a free transfer. - Enrique.

But under Bobby Robson, Ronaldo quickly became a star and favorite from his first game for Barcelona, ​​against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. .

Even the media in England began to pursue this football super icon with the nickname of Alien with mixed emotions of envy, jealousy and hatred.

Aldridge's feeling in his heart is very complicated. Millwall's two-month series of battles and victories have been wonderful performances every game. But lost to a superstar who relied on individual performances.

Even in London, Millwall's limelight was completely snatched by Ronaldo.

The reason is that just 20 days ago, in the seventh round of La Liga this season, Ronaldo, who has always been eye-catching, scored a goal that turned him from a man into a demigod.

In the away game against Compostela, Barcelona scored the third goal. Ronaldo took 14 seconds from touching the ball to breaking the goal. Judging the situation, physical fitness and other aspects of comprehensive ability to the extreme, and then scored the goal that made Bobby Robson hold his head in shock.

What's more interesting is that after this goal was born, the first person on the Barcelona coaching bench to rush out to celebrate excitedly was named Mourinho. Perhaps it was he who participated in the coaching team this season and witnessed Ronaldo's rise. It was only then that he said later that the best player he had ever seen in the world was called Ronaldo,

But not Ronaldo.

Robson sighed after the game that Ronaldo does not belong to this planet, and the aliens began to become famous all over the world!

Later, Nike marketing played back the process of this goal, and then typed the subtitles: Imagine asking God to make you the best player in the world...and God heard.

Jenson was still joking about Manchester United missing Ronaldo, but Aldridge turned his head and looked out the window, feeling a little disinterested.

This is a good time, because I have been fortunate to witness the rise of many superstars. But this is also a bad time for him, because you know the trajectories of some superstars, there are only a handful of stars that can become stars, and too many are just meteors passing by in a hurry.

Ronaldo went to La Liga, where he played to the world, but missed the opportunity to be strictly taught by Ferguson.

If the historical trajectory can be skewed, Aldridge will imagine that Ronaldo can get some good advice before he becomes famous, instead of facing the two biggest enemies of his career: injury and degradation.

He was great, but he could have been a football god. But he didn't. Apart from the World Cup and classic goals, his club's honor book is lacklustre.

Aldridge laughed at himself, feeling that his thoughts were too harsh, just as people demanded that Messi and Ronaldo carry the national team to dominate the world more than ten years later.

But he just regrets his position as a head coach. There are many talents, and it is not impossible. Instead, he gave up, or lost to the temptation.

Back to reality, Aldridge and Jansen casually chatted about this Brazilian genius, but the two chatted more about his technical characteristics and the league environment he was in.

Except that La Liga pays attention to possession of the ball. Their defense is not particularly good. Basically, whoever controls the midfield has the upper hand will control the initiative of the game. The defeat, even the giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​​​also have this problem. From the perspective of the head coach, analyze the many individual performance goals scored by Ronaldo. Many teams in La Liga have terrible defense. They only stare at the ball at the feet of the ball holder. And he also likes to grab the ball, which gives the ball-handling and breakthrough offensive players a lot of room to play. Seeing that there are many people, they are often passed by an acceleration without a sense of hierarchy.

The two chatted and the bus stopped.

The Millwall squad arrive at Old Trafford.

On a sunny weekend, Old Trafford was shrouded in gloom.

After changing the jerseys and shoes in the locker room, Aldridge asked the players to warm up on the field, while he stayed in the locker room and sat quietly.

Compared with Millwall coming from behind and riding the dust, Manchester United can be described as driving high and low this season. Today, Manchester United has almost fallen into the bottom since the establishment of the Premier League!

Since the start of the new season in August, Manchester United has won the Community Shield and defeated Wimbledon in an away game in the league, which shocked England. In the middle of the season, they achieved four wins and one tie, and they were in good form, but in the next two rounds of the Premier League, Manchester United went directly back from the spring to the cold winter!

Newcastle United beat Manchester United with 5 goals at home.

Southampton beat Manchester United 6-3 at home.

Three days ago, Manchester United unexpectedly lost 0:1 at home to Fenerbahce in the Champions League.

The Red Devils' 40-year European home unbeaten record was wiped out in the hands of Ferguson!

All of a sudden, the overwhelming voice from the outside world was: The Manchester United dynasty has fallen!

It's hard to say how great this forty-year unbeaten home record in European wars is, because it was before 1993. Manchester United has missed the top league championship for nearly 30 years in the past, so they did not play in the Champions League, and occasionally played in the UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup. , and most of the years during this period did not even have a European war.

But United's poor form is beyond dispute.

Now, Manchester United is also paying the price for their youth. Ferguson let those young players in the team play a full 90 minutes in the Champions League. The fatigue of running back and forth and the pressure of public opinion from the media when they have a poor record seem to be about to overwhelm them.

What worries Manchester United even more is that Cantona suffered a great blow mentally. In the European Cup in the summer, the French team stopped in the semi-finals without him. He opened, this mental blow is even more serious than the physical injury. Because the motivation of the players will be lacking in the game, in the first half of the year, in order to be selected for the national team, his spiritual leadership and personal performance are extreme. Under his leadership, other young people in the Manchester United team united as one, and grew rapidly while withstood the pressure. .

But since the new season, Cantona's performance has been unsatisfactory. Before Manchester United's two-game losing streak, his red card directly caused him to miss the last two big defeats, and the young Manchester United players were almost on the verge of collapse.

Under the shadow of a three-game losing streak, Manchester United will face the challenge of Millwall today. At this time, the league has only played 11 rounds, but Millwall has 28 points and Manchester United 19 points. The distance between the two teams has been widened It's 9 points!

After the players warmed up and returned to the locker room, Aldridge stood up and put his hands in his pockets.

Look around at each player with a calm face. He said lightly, Do you need me to say something?

All the players shouted in unison: No!

This is Old Trafford, Theater of Dreams.

I almost took away three points here last season. Today, I will never leave any regrets!

Aldridge, with sharp eyes and a cold face, said softly: In the past three months, we have conquered Highbury and flattened Anfield. Today, we will rule the Theater of Dreams! Wild Lion. Let's go!

He turned around and opened the door of the locker room, and was the first to walk out. The players walked out behind him confidently.

The Manchester United players waiting to play in the player tunnel are very different from the past. They lack some of the domineering of the Red Devils. The three defeats in the past ten days have caused them to suffer too much mental blow, which is reflected from the inside out.

Aldridge walked along the sidelines towards the coach's bench of the visiting team. He held his head high and expressionless. The Red Devils fans in the nearest stand leaned out and attacked him with various words, and even gestured the middle finger.

Aldridge doesn't mind, on the contrary, if the home team fans applaud your arrival, it will only prove that you are a softie, and you are here to give the Red Devils three points!

Ferguson also sat down early, chewing gum grimly.

Two months ago, he still provoked a psychological war in the media, causing other teams in the Premier League to fight against Millwall. Recently, he has died down first. Because of Manchester United's internal and external troubles, he has no energy to provoke a war of words at this time. Even Liverpool are ahead of Manchester United in the standings.

Aldridge has kept a low-key attitude towards the media for the past two months. No matter what Ferguson said, he responded in an official tone: If Manchester United can maintain a high level of performance, then it is normal for them to win the league championship. is stronger and more experienced than us, we just want to play well in the next game, champion? Manchester United are the favourites.

Looking at the lack of Cantona and the tired Manchester United lineup, Aldridge stood still on the sidelines, with his hands in his pockets to watch the players come out.

How important is a spiritual leader?

That is an invisible force that will raise the strength of the team to a higher level!

Manchester United's recent defeat is closely related to Cantona's state and suspension.

On the Millwall side, the team that Aldridge is committed to building has become the mainstay of the team from the central axis that was delineated from the beginning.

Larsson, Nedved, Southgate, this does not involve a power struggle. Although no one can shake the status of the three in the locker room, the spirit of hard work and never-say-die can infect the entire team!

The game is about to start, and the players on both sides look solemn.

The focus of the twelfth round of the English Premier League is about to start at Old Trafford. The defending champion Manchester United will face the current league leader Millwall. Victory, nine consecutive victories in the Premier League, Hall's team is now not only difficult to find a defeat, but even a draw is beyond the opponent's reach. In the pre-match media survey, it was believed that even though Manchester United had the advantage at home, Millwall Er are the favourites, oh man united, conceding 11 goals in two games, their worst losing streak in 66 years, three days after they ended their 40-year unbeaten run at home in european wars, Has the Red Devils dynasty come to an end?

Martin, if Manchester United can't attack Millwall today and suppress the opponent's winning streak, then Manchester United can basically declare that they have failed to defend their title.

Why? Is the gap of 12 points difficult to chase? There are only 12 rounds in the league! Last year, Newcastle United also led by 12 points.

Because Millwall's defense is better! They can score goals, but the defense is also very strong. Hall's team is still improving. Now all the Premier League teams are at a loss against Millwall because you contain it. Can't stand their midfield, Nedved and Pirlo's tandem configuration is simply a stroke of genius. Should it be man-marking or zone defense? Should it be a frontcourt press or a backcourt siege? Millwall always has a response They can open the gap from the middle, and the wing attack is also very mature, and the offensive scoring points are distributed very evenly. Larsson, Trezeguet, Shevchenko, Nedved, the four of them have played in the past nine league rounds A total of 20 goals have been scored! Among them, Larson has up to 7 goals, Pirlo, Schneider, and Stam also scored goals. Millwall's offense is now hard to guard against. Once they can play today in Old Trafford Ford got away with it, and I think as long as the team has no problems, nothing can stop them from winning the first top league championship in the club's history.

But in order to make the Premier League more exciting and suspenseful, we hope that Manchester United can show the momentum of defending champions. At least at Old Trafford, they can no longer accept blows. Now I will introduce the starting lists of both sides, Manchester United, goalkeeper: Schmei Chelsea, defenders: Neville, May, Pallister, Irwin, midfielders: Butt, Keane, Scholes, Beckham, Solskjaer, forwards: Cole. Manchester United played today A 451 formation, it seems that Ferguson is trying to curb Millwall's strong midfield control, Cantona missed the game because of a direct red card suspension, and he will come back in the next round, Giggs has been out for a long time due to injury , the Red Devils fans have begun to miss his breakthrough on the wing like no one's land.

Millwall side, starting goalkeeper: Bout, defenders: Schneider, Stam, Southgate, Capdevila, midfielders: Makelele, Pirlo, Nedved, forwards : Larson, Trezeguet, Shevchenko. Hall's goal this season is obvious, his main lineup is going all out for the league, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup have sent substitutes, which makes his The players got a good rest, full of stamina, and played steadily and well in each game. Well, the game has begun. The guest Millwall kicks off first. What strategy will they adopt to face Manchester United? We will wait and see!