The Young Lion

Valencia has created a unique style of play, can score goals and win games, but a threshold before the end of the championship trophy is the quality they still lack: shrewdness and sophistication.

Millwall did not have this quality before, so Aldridge in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup, against Real Madrid two years ago, his instructions to the team were to attack wildly, forget all the pressure, attack wildly, and play yourself Style, don't worry about other things. Fortunately, two years ago, I ran into Real Madrid, which hadn't had a Champions League in 30 years. The opponent was also nervous, stressed, and unable to calm down.

The team that played in the final for the first time is most taboo to worry about gains and losses. Valencia may not have this kind of emotion, but because of the team's inherent shortcomings, it will inevitably give rise to this kind of emotion when the score is behind.

Today, Millwall has become very experienced, firmly dominating the situation on the field. More than 70% of the time, the tempo is slow, but suddenly the tempo is fast, and the impact of the tempo change makes Valencia difficult to parry.

While celebrating Larsson's goal, Aldridge also discovered a detail, a situation that he hadn't thought of before the game.

He walked back to the coach's bench and said to Boas: The opponent's left back, Herado, give me a brief introduction.

Boas stood up and whispered next to Aldridge: He was born in Real Madrid, but he didn't play an official game for Real Madrid. Then he came up from a low-level team, moved to Valencia in the middle of the season, and played a lot in La Liga. Less, one-on-one, Ronaldinho beat him!

Boas' introduction was really simple enough.

Aldrich nodded thoughtfully.

Gerardo's appearance is not a surprise, because Carboni is suspended.

How old is Carbone? 35 years old.

How old is Herado? 26 years old.

The former is obviously older, while the latter is just in his prime.

But for Valencia's defensive counterattack. Defend first. Fight back. If you can't defend well, you still have to fight back!

For their defense, if Caboni can play, then apart from Pellegrino who is 29 years old, the next youngest is 34-year-old Djukic, and the remaining two defenders are both 35 years old.

What do they rely on to guarantee defense?

experience!

It is impossible for them to run 10,000 meters in one game like young people.

12,3 or even more.

But the running distance of many young players is qualified and exceeds the average level. But in this, there may be 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters is running around, it is running around, it is a waste of physical energy doing useless work.

Veterans are different. With experience, veterans run less, but they all run on the right path. When the team needs them, they will be there!

otherwise. With an old defense line, can Valencia make it to the final?

Boas not only evaluated the opponent's ability. And it also provides a very important piece of information.

Herardo lacks top arena experience!

He played all the way from a low-level team and only moved to Valencia less than half a year ago.

What game is it today?

Champions League final!

Valencia itself lacks the pressure resistance of this level of competition as a whole, coupled with the unsatisfactory performance at a certain point, this is definitely an important information that can be used.

Aldridge didn't expect it before the game, because he didn't know much about Herardo, and no one could say for sure whether the opponent was a master or a mess.

In the first half an hour of the game, I didn't realize how vulnerable the opponent was, because Larson was good at passing and running. Larson himself didn't use one-on-one to entangle the opponent too much. At this point, it is not clear whether the performance is good or bad.

But just now Schneider assisted and easily wiped out Herrador, and that scene caught Aldridge's heart.

He walked to the sidelines and told Schneider not to rush the kick-off when a chance of a throw-in appeared. He called Larson to his front and said to him: You change positions with Thierry, let Thierry do more. Go into the space between the opposition's full-backs and centre-backs.

Larson took the order and went back to talk to Henry, and the two of them switched positions.

In the next game, Gerardo frequently worried about this.

First, he couldn't break Henry's ball.

Secondly, he will lose his position if he rushes up.

Henry's ability to get rid of, explosive power, and ball handling ability are slightly better than Larson's. The individual ability can completely explode Herardo on the right.

This forces the midfielders to help defend Gerardo more when defending.

In the 44th minute of the game, Henry faced the double-teaming of Gerardo and Farinos on the right. He was not reckless and knocked the ball back to Schneider who came from the edge of the set. The latter made a straight pass to find the center. larson.

Larsson hit Nedved, who started to rush forward at full speed. Due to Farinos' defense, Valencia had an open space in the middle. Larsson's pass also allowed Pellegrino and Djukic to Unexpectedly, Nedved shot the ball head-on on the penalty area line and blasted the ball into the gate guarded by Canizares.

2:0! Nedved's goal made the Wild Lions fans go crazy in the stands! This long shot is really beautiful. Nedved is worthy of the new Mr. Golden Ball. It seems that he can gain a new one today championship medal!

Leading by two goals, the first half is about to end. This time is very good. Millwall can return to the locker room and let Aldridge remind the team to calm down. At the same time, it also makes Valencia feel better before entering the locker room. heavy.

Aldridge applauded Nedved's goal with a smile on his face, without being overly excited.

Valencia overall performed much worse than he expected.

At least, they were not as amazing and unstoppable as they were on the way to the final.

With the lack of championship temperament and the limitations of lineup tactics, Valencia has begun to collapse!

It has to be said that Millwall’s controlled rhythm and high-pressure pressing make the opponent always close to collapse when the situation is unfavorable. The behavior on the field is to lose tactical discipline, rashly rush, and lose defensive positions in key areas. , It seems to be fighting fiercely, but in fact it is a dog jumping over the wall in a hurry.

The early part of the second half is the stage of life and death. Even though it is not uncommon for the game to be reversed and overturned at the last moment, the most critical time point in the routine is still in the first 20 minutes of the second half, because it is the last 25 minutes. less time. The party that lags behind is more likely to collapse. And the leading side can also use delay time and reduce offense to strengthen defense to keep the victory.

During the halftime break, Aldridge told the team to play more steadily in the second half, maintain the overall formation, pay attention to not giving the opponent's midfield space to cooperate when defending, and cut the opponent's formation when counterattacking.

Cooper can only go to Herrador. Maybe there was a little worry before the game, but optimistically, Lopez's attack on the left side of the front can also put pressure on the opponent and suppress the opponent's right attack.

But the reality is that Flea Lopez didn't get much chance to perform today.

Millwall suppressed the midfielder. It became difficult for Valencia to pass the ball forward. It was rare for the striker to get the ball comfortably. It became very difficult to advance the offense.

In the 58th minute, Ronaldinho controlled the ball on the left, Nedved advanced, Larsson pulled out the penalty area to cover Nedved, Valencia's defenders were on the verge of a big enemy, Ronaldinho played in Angloma After pulling the ball back in front of him for two steps, he suddenly made a cross.

His cross is of high quality. It is to find the back point directly.

The ball bypassed the central defender's defense and went straight to the back of the goal. Herardo had another problem!

He failed to keep up with Henry. Pellegrino went to chase the back point but was obviously a step slower. He was not as fast as the flying speed of the ball. Henry jumped up from the back point and headed directly to the goal!

Canizares blocked the near corner of the goal. Henry headed the ball towards the far post. Canizares opened his right hand and blocked the ball in a blink of an eye!

But the ball he blocked was in the penalty area. Nedved was about to make a supplementary shot, but he didn't step on the right point. He fell to the ground and failed to kick the ball.

But just behind Nedved, Larsson, who was one step faster than Herald, followed up and pushed the ball forward with his arch, and the ball was sent into the goal with a half-high ball!

Larson scored twice and Millwall led 3-0! This is a game that you can feel after watching the game: there is no suspense! Millwall not only suppressed Valencia in the scene, but less than 3 in 60 minutes The goal also destroyed Valencia! The Valencia fans who drew bats in the stands before the game must be very sad, and the Lions fans are now singing and dancing in the stands to celebrate their team is about to win the club's second seat The European Cup, and England's unprecedented Treble!

The Valencia players held their heads in disbelief on the field, but they were powerless to resist in a final.

Mendieta's expression was blank, and he didn't know why it became like this.

The midfield combination he led is one of the best in Europe. Even if we lost to Millwall today, it is still one of the best. This will not change.

The truth is, Millwall are stronger, it's as simple as that.

Cooper's stern expression only made people feel stubborn and sympathetic, and he was helpless.

Aldridge, Klinsmann and Jenson hugged to celebrate the team's third goal, and they could now take a little liberty.

Valencia did not give up and fought harder, making it hard to believe that this is a La Liga team. They used physical confrontation to gain the ball more actively. Although their movements were not rough, compared with Millwall, the two The team appears to be wearing their jerseys backwards.

In the 70th minute of the game, Aldridge made a substitution.

Neil comes on, replacing Southgate.

Six-year veteran Neil, today, Aldridge can give him some more time to enjoy the Champions League final.

Southgate put the captain's armband on Nedved before leaving the field, and then applauded to the fans. He did not delay, ran to the sidelines to hug Neil, walked out of the field, and Aldridge high-fived, and finally sat down Rest on the bench.

Valencia fought fiercely and grabbed fiercely, but this was not the rhythm of the game they were good at. On the contrary, it led to frequent loss of position and disjointed defense. In the 81st minute, the team suffered another blow.

After Ronaldinho entered the penalty area, he picked the ball back to the top of the penalty area, and Pirlo kept up with the non-stop ball and shot a long-range shot that blasted the world wave again through the gate guarded by Canizares.

4:0.

The game was completely one-sided.

Aldridge made another substitution, replacing Bout with Keller.

Is it humiliating to change the goalkeeper?

No, it's his reward for Keller. As a substitute goalkeeper, Keller has limited ability, but he works hard and has no complaints.

In the last 5 minutes he replaced Ronaldinho and let Grenshall play.

Valencia's defeat was set, and they had no ability to turn things around, and the whole team was discouraged when time was running out.

Aldridge stood on the sidelines with a smug smile. Beside him stood the Millwall coaching staff and other players. Everyone was waiting for the end of the game, and then rushed into the field to revel!

When the referee blew the whistle to announce the end of the game, most of the Valencia players fell to the ground, and there were loud cheers from the Wild Lions fans in the Stade de France.

The 1999-2000 season UEFA Champions League final game ended, Millwall 4:0 Valencia, Millwall, who has performed exceptionally well this season, has performed steadily in both the league and the Champions League. They have created an unbeaten league record The record of winning the championship, and also won the club's second Champions League trophy with an unbeaten record in the Champions League! This is now recognized as the strongest team in Europe! They defeated Varen with absolute dominance in the final today West Asia is the epitome of their performance throughout the season! Three league championship trophies in four years, three European championship trophies in four years, including two Champions Leagues, one suspended European Cup Winners' Cup champion, countless championship trophies, large and small, Millwall, a great team, Aldridge Hall, a great young coach, he made Millwall grow from nothing, he made Millwall's name shine all over the world, and he made the totem of the wild lion shock the whole of Europe , he also brought Millwall a new and luxurious top-level stadium. Starting next season, Millwall will be playing at their new home stadium. The new home called the Lion King Stadium ushered in the arrival of a real king. This is the era of wild lions, this is the era of Millwall's dynasty, from today on, please add a brief introduction when mentioning Millwall, the giants! The giants Millwall rule Europe!

Volume 6: The Invincibility of the Giants-The End

Next volume: Reorganize the mountains and rivers! (To be continued..)