The Young Lion

Millwall scored 7 goals in the away game. After the game, Stamford Bridge was in a storm. Chelsea's poor performance in the first half was beaten and collapsed. In addition, the team's internal dressing room problems broke out, and Gullit's coaching position was in jeopardy.

Fleet Street disclosed exclusive news that Betts has instructed Vialli and Gullit to jointly take charge of the seal.

This is another extremely wrong decision in Aldrich's view.

However, if Chelsea wants to rise, not only the strength must be strengthened, but also the reputation must also grow simultaneously. Gullit's coaching level is not good from an objective evaluation, but he was the head coach with a superstar halo in his player era, which brought Chelsea fame. Far stronger than some good coaches who are not as famous as him.

Millwall successfully won the league to stop the decline, and the confidence of the players also increased during the same period. Before ushering in the first European Champions Cup game in the club's history, Millwall quickly adjusted its state.

At the UEFA press conference the day before the game, Aldridge did not continue the excitement of beating Chelsea with 7 goals in the league. Instead, he solemnly expressed Millwall's respect for the game to the media reporters. Emphasis, emphasizing that the team should not underestimate the enemy, and should not be complacent because of the big victory in the league.

The league and the Champions League are two different stages. Our first game is against the Eredivisie champions last season. There is no doubt that this is a test. We are not familiar with the opponent. Therefore, if the players think As long as you face the Champions League with a normal mentality, you can easily win the game. This will be a dangerous mentality, especially the situation in our group qualifying is very cruel. Maybe you lose a game. You will fall into a passive situation. Hidden danger of being out.

Will Millwall fight for the top spot?

This question is stupid. We are the Premier League champions last season, representing England. We are not playing tricks in the Champions League. Of course, we will aim to qualify for the group. In view of the rules for qualifying, we will play every game well and strive for success. To win the first place in the group, you will never take chances to become the second in the group that is better than other groups.

Millwall confident of securing a landslide victory over Barcelona in their two group games?

Dynamo Kyiv and Eindhoven are also in the same group. Barcelona is just one of the opponents. We will play every game well and will not treat the three teams differently, because each opponent is very strong. They represent Different styles of football, having proven themselves in their respective national leagues, Millwall will not deliberately value or underestimate an opponent because of the attention from the outside world.

It's just your opinion, maybe the players don't think so.

I have confidence in the players, they are all playing in the Champions League for the first time, and they will play every game seriously.

Trying to make it to the knockout rounds, I don't believe anyone in Millwall thinks it's going to be easy.

Aldridge, as always, kept a low profile before the game. He never speaks loudly before the game, because it is obviously an unwise approach. Even if the final result is an unsuspecting victory, it will only show the outside world an arrogant coach. If he loses, it will be even worse , Outside public opinion and inside the club will point the finger at the coach. On the contrary, keep a low profile before the game. After the game, no matter whether you win or lose, the pressure on the coach will not be too great. Winning will bring praise, and losing will also make the coach appear prescient, and he can go to the locker room to criticize the players with confidence.

The game was played at night, and Aldridge spoke in the dressing room before the players went to warm up.

The players changed their jerseys and shoes, sat in their seats and stared at Aldridge.

To be honest, they all miss Aldridge a bit. In the past two league games, Aldridge did not walk into the locker room, which made them feel awkward. Benitez likes to emphasize tactical discipline before the game, which makes the players They can't take it.

It cannot be said that Benitez’s actions are right or wrong, but in the position of head coach, he and Aldridge have completely different styles. The players are grateful that Benitez is an assistant coach, and they only command the team temporarily. .

So Benitez talked about tactics before the game, and most of the players were not interested in listening. How to play the game was arranged at the game preparation meeting the day before. During this day, I digested the head coach's tactical arrangements, and when it was time for the game, I had a bottom line in my heart.

Aldridge looked around at the players and said softly: This is our first Champions League match, and it is also the first Champions League match in the history of the club. You will experience the enthusiasm of the fans, and you will also feel it before the game starts. The excitement in my heart, but I want to emphasize one point, don’t get too excited, most of you players came back from the national team a week ago, and played a league game on the weekend, today is a test for your physical fitness, I don’t ask you to spare no effort Run as fast as possible, but play smartly and adjust the speed according to the rhythm of the game. It is impossible for us to maintain high-intensity running for 90 minutes. Even if you do, then you will need a longer recovery period. It was a very bad match and we wanted to win, but the opponent also wanted to win and we had to take advantage of that.

The players looked at each other in blank dismay. Before this game, Aldridge had never talked about the Champions Cup in training. After the group results came out, the players excitedly chatted about it in training and would be severely reprimanded by Aldridge. , obviously don't want them to be distracted by the Champions League.

Boss, I have a question. We want to win, and the other side also wants to win. How can we take advantage of this?

Bout asked curiously.

Aldrich said calmly: In our group, Barcelona is the favorite to qualify, followed by us, then PSV, and finally Dynamo Kyiv. However, we have never played in the Champions League before, although last season we Winning the crown in the Cup Winners' Cup, but the growth of fame and influence has not covered so much. The Eredivisie champions must also want to qualify, so they must at least beat us and Dynamo Kyiv, and finally with Barcelona At least one draw or one victory, in fact, you probably think so, Dynamo Kyiv also think so, we have to get rid of the two weaker teams in the group. The real tough battle is against Barcelona. I think so I can't say wrong. But it caused a psychological deviation. I believe that PSV and Dynamo Kyiv will hold the belief of winning when they face us, and make good use of this. We defend first and then attack, so as to master ourselves In fact, in terms of pre-match tactical arrangements, you all know me, and you should guess what I am doing.

The players showed weird smiles tacitly.

Twenty minutes before the start of the game, Aldridge walked out of the locker room and went to the coach's bench ahead of time.

After he walked out of the Wembley Stadium channel. He was suddenly shocked by the atmosphere of the scene.

The stands were packed and Lions fans flocked to Wembley today.

Roar members put on a shocking cheering picture in one side of the stand.

In the stands, the fans outlined the lion on the Millwall crest in blue, and then there was a paragraph of text below.

Millwall, let's be prouder!

There is no limit to football, and there is no limit to the fans' love for the team.

The success of the Millwall club directly affects the life of every Wild Lions fan, which makes local fans more confident and happy in London, even foreign fans who cannot be present in person. They watched Millwall games on TV, especially when they were victorious with passion. This will excite them, excite them, and make them happy.

On the side of the main stand, a large number of fans also pulled out huge portraits and passed them in the crowd.

That colossal portrait featured Aldridge commanding from the sidelines.

He is like a general giving orders and pointing his right hand, his figure is straight, his expression is cold and his eyes are sharp.

The densely packed signs in the stands have various words of cheer for the team and players, and there are many posters printed with the heroic appearance of the team's star players.

I don't know when, the singing gradually started, and the team song of the Wild Lions enveloped the entire Wembley, and it lasted for a long time.

From the coach down to the players in Eindhoven, they were stunned by the atmosphere of this stadium.

This is the greatest stadium in Britain, and it is the British fan culture that is constantly imitated and spread to the world.

And with the sudden emergence of Wild Lion in Europe, fans in many countries are borrowing the slogan of Wild Lion.

No one likes us, it doesn't matter!

When teams in many other countries are relegated, or when fans think they have suffered unfair treatment, some fan groups will put up such slogans.

This is a tenacious and unyielding spirit.

Aldridge took the initiative to shake hands with Eindhoven coach Dick Advocaat, and the two separated after a few words of courtesy.

Aldridge returned to his position and stood still, with his hands in his pockets, thinking about the game in his mind.

There are two stars in the Eindhoven team, one is the midfielder Cocu, and the other is the winger Zenden. The former is the absolute core of the team's midfielder, and the latter is an offensive wing weapon.

But more importantly, the team has an excellent head coach.

Advocaat studied under Michels, the founder of modern football tactics in the Netherlands, and formed his own football philosophy under Michels. In addition to leading the Dutch national team to be eliminated by the final champion Brazil in the World Cup three years ago , he led the team to win the championship by overpowering the other two giants in the Eredivisie last season, which is enough to prove his coaching ability.

Aldridge looked at the players from both sides with his head held high. He really wanted to see if today's Eindhoven could play the essence of Holland's total defense.

The pre-match ceremony is still in progress. The Millwall players held their heads high with serious expressions, and the live broadcast camera scanned their faces one by one to record this milestone moment.

This is not only the first time in Millwall's history that they have played in the Champions League.

It is also the debut of this group of players in the Champions League!

They are full of respect for their opponents, and they are also full of expectations for this game.

The first round of Group C of the 97/98 European Champions Cup is about to begin. This is Wembley Stadium in London. The home team is Millwall, the Premier League champions of last season. It is worth mentioning that Wembley is not Not their home stadium, because their stadium, the Lion's Den, does not meet UEFA's stadium requirements for Champions League games, so Millwall borrowed Wembley as their home game, although the media analyzed Millwall's home field advantage before the game. However, looking at the atmosphere in the stands today, there is no doubt that in this stadium that can accommodate more than 80,000 people, the fans of Millwall have created a more terrifying home atmosphere!

In terms of economic income, Millwall’s Champions League home match is held at Wembley, but they can sell more than 70,000 tickets by themselves, and the price will be higher than that of the league. Playing at Wembley will definitely earn more , At the same time, the FA also increased the rental fee, requiring that the ticket share be increased by 5 percentage points compared with last year. Aldridge didn't want to argue in this regard, and directly agreed to Wiseman's proposal.

After all, Wiseman wants to calm internal voices and let Millwall use Wembley in a legitimate way, and it can't be justified without paying more.

This year is really different from last year. Last year's Cup Winners' Cup, even if Millwall did not borrow Wembley, they could play at the Lion's Den. But this year's Champions League, if they can't borrow Wembley, they can't find UEFA. It is doubtful whether Millwall can play in the UEFA Champions League or not. It is not surprising that the FA took the opportunity to extort money, but they dare not kill too hard. If Millwall does not accept it, they will not be able to play at that time. The UEFA Champions League will only cause losses to English football, not to mention whether the third place in the league can be shortlisted for the championship. UEFA agrees or not, and Millwall agrees not to agree to this possible chaos.

It's not too much to make a small fortune, and everyone will continue to live in peace, why not do it? (to be continued..) ()