Chapter 45 The Young Guards

Fiorentina is enough to make people envious. Just look at their lineup, the oldest in the first team is only 29 years old, and the youngest Ranocchia is only 19 years old.

future!

They represent the future!

When the Italian league is in a downturn, and all the powerful teams are facing the embarrassing situation of aging lineups and lack of success, Florence, the Viola, who has been reborn from the ashes, has completed the reform of rejuvenation.

The core player of the team, Digan, is 21 years old. With his physical fitness and technical characteristics, he can still fight on the court for at least fifteen years. What does fifteen years mean? It won't take that long.

At the end of last season, there were many teams thinking of poaching Fiorentina's corner. Those young talents made many giants jealous, but in the end, only Roma succeeded, but Gambet who was poached by them Rini is not the absolute main force in the Fiorentina team, at best he is an important young player.

The new season has begun. Fiorentina's youthful storm is clearly on the rise. In the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, they defeated the Dutch powerhouse Feyenoord at home and away. In the first round of the league, they swept last season's Serie A 7-0. Dark horse Empoli.

Last season, some people said that the age structure of Fiorentina players was too young and lacked game experience, but looking at it now, those who said those words should shut down.

Young Guards!

Who doesn't want to own such a team, but it is not so easy to build a truly competitive young guards.

The Young Guards that fans are familiar with now are nothing more than the former White Corps Leeds United and Ferguson's 92 golden generation.

For Degan, what he appreciates the most is the Leeds United Youth Guards, which once caused a sensation in England. The story of this white team began in 1998.

In the 38-man registration form of Leeds United at the beginning of that season, 17 were under 22 years old, 4 were under 25 years old, and only 5 players were over 30 years old. The youngest Alan Smith was only 18 years old, 9 times He scored 7 goals when he played, how enviable this age structure is.

After the old fox Graham came back that year, he took Leeds United as his first team to coach because he saw the youth and plasticity of the team.

The quality of the youngsters at the time was astonishing, with two playing for England Under-21s, five playing for England Under-19s, several youngsters playing for the Irish national team and the Northern Ireland Under-21s The following teams.

Graham predicted at the time: "In three years, these players will play an important role in the England team, and Leeds United will also shake the English football world."

Facts have proved that Graham's prophecy at that time has become a reality in the future. In the 2000/2001 season, three years after Graham said that, the "White Rose" from Yorkshire, England, was in full swing. , the energetic Leeds United elite made it all the way to the semi-finals in the Champions League, and wrote the most glorious chapter in the club's history with their strength.

After a brief glory, on May 8, 2001, Spain, Mestalla Stadium. Sanchez, who scored twice, and Mendieta, who was the icing on the cake, helped Valencia beat Leeds United 3-0, and the Champions League legend of the "Youth Guards" came to an end.

If it is said that after the 0-0 draw with Valencia at home in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, Leeds United was still considered by the hot-headed British media to have entered the final with one foot, then the head-on blow of the "Bat Army" is enough. Let the flowering period of "White Rose" end early.

Even so, the White Roses from England are still worthy of respect. They stood out from the death group. They were the only Premier League team to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League this season. They achieved the best results of the club in the Champions League.

When Leeds joined Barcelona, AC Milan and Besiktas in Group H, the vast majority of fans believed that the young Premier League seedlings could "die after enjoying themselves". The two giants of Italy and Spain are the favorite teams to qualify. Leeds United's 0:4 loss to Barcelona in the first game seems to illustrate this point.

But the nightmarish start did not defeat Leeds United's ambitions. In the second round of the group, Bowyer's long-range shot in the 88th minute caused Dida's low-level error. With this goal, Leeds United beat AC Milan 1-0 and won Precious three points.

Immediately after Leeds United beat Besiktas 6:0, the third round of the group was a classic. After Bowyer opened the scoring for the home team, the "White Rose" fired with full firepower. Viduka, Smith, Buck, Ha Kobe's goal completely collapsed the opponent's psychological defense. In the end, Bowyer's push in stoppage time brought an end to the team's massacre.

In the following three group matches, Leeds United drew consecutively with three opponents in the group stage and successfully entered the second stage of the group stage.

In the second stage of the grouping, Leeds United, Real Madrid, Anderlecht, and Lazio were in Group D. Compared with the first grouping, O'Leary's team had a better life, but Lazio was still a tough nut to crack. bones.

In the opening game of the group, Real Madrid gave Leeds United a 2-0 blow, but the "Youth Guard" quickly adjusted their status and narrowly beat Lazio 1-0 in the second round with Smith's lore.

Next, facing the "ambassador of points" Anderlecht, Leeds United will certainly not let go of the opportunity. In the first confrontation with the Belgian powerhouse, they relied on the goals of Hart and Bowyer after conceding a goal first. The ball was reversed to win 2:1; in the second round of the encounter between the two teams, Leeds United defeated their opponents 4:1 and played a three-game winning streak.

In the fifth round away game against Real Madrid, Leeds United lost 2:3 to their opponents. In the last round of the group, O'Leary's team played a high score of 3:3 with Lazio, and finally reached the championship with three wins, one draw and two losses. League quarterfinals.

In the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Leeds United and La Coruña met on a narrow road. In the first round of the contest between the two sides, the "Youth Guards" battle was decisive. The goals of Hart, Smith and Ferdinand gave the home team a 3-0 victory , The British media's commentary after the game was concise: the boys of Leeds United have grown beards, and they have become more mature.

Although they lost to their opponents 0:2 in the second battle, Leeds United still reached the semi-finals with a total score of 3:2.

But in the end, the White Rose failed to break through the encirclement of the Iberian team twice in a row. Valencia ended the progress of Leeds United, and this legend of fluttering white clothes came to an abrupt end.

However, in the Champions League that season, Leeds United used their actions to explain why a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. The miraculous journey of the Champions League also made many young talents in the team famous in the first battle, and thus opened the glorious and thorny road of their careers.

That season, Leeds United had a brilliant record in the Champions League, and Leeds United in the Premier League was also not far behind, ranking fourth after Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, and it seemed to have become a very competitive iron army.

The following 2001/2002 season was the last glory of Leeds United. After successively introducing Fowler and Robbie Keane in the summer of 2001, Leeds United's investment reached an astonishing level.

From 1995 to 2001, the team's total investment in the transfer market reached 126.08 million pounds. However, during the seven years, the "White Rose" earned only 10,000 pounds from selling players, and its transfer deficit was as high as 80.09 million pounds. million pounds. The most important thing is that Leeds United's high investment did not return high returns. After the end of the season, they were squeezed out of the top four in the Premier League by Newcastle United. Financial problems have also become an important factor that plagues the team. It is no exaggeration to say that the 2001/2002 season became a turning point for Leeds United.

In the following 2002/2003 season, the wise head coach David Ollie quit quickly and handed over the mess behind him to Venables, but the latter was simply unable to control the "Youth Guards" who were increasingly infighting.

In the middle of the season, although the team changed coaches, no one could knead the team into a whole. This season, Leeds United's performance in the Premier League plummeted. In the end, they only ranked 15th and barely relegated. Many problems of the team began to surface.

At the beginning of the 2003/2004 season, Kewell, Bowyer, Martin, Woodgate, Dacourt, Fowler and other famous players left the team one after another. The departure of many stars caused a serious setback to the strength of Leeds United. Throughout the season, Leeds United only achieved 8 victories, and the "White Rose" ranked 19th in the standings with 33 points. Relegation is inevitable.

After relegation, Leeds United had no capital to retain the stars in the team. Players such as Viduka, Mills, Robinson, Smith, Hart and others left the team one after another for their own future. Although the White Rose began to make a surplus in the transfer market, they paid The cost of achievement.

In the first season of the British Championship in the new century, Leeds United only ranked 14th. After the end of the season, the South African defender Radebe, who had played for the "White Rose" for 11 years, announced his retirement.

Leeds United's nightmare lasted until last season, when they completely accepted euthanasia. Due to their poor financial situation, Leeds United was fined 10 points by the FA before the start of the season. Complete the team's run-in as soon as possible, and the fate of the "Youth Guards" is doomed.

Leeds United only won 13 games throughout the season, and finally ended their journey to the British Championship as the "deputy squad leader" and fell into the League One.

The Leeds United youth guards, who were heavily in debt due to the massive purchase of star players, changed from the initiator of the youth storm to the "Fallen Angels". Eye-catching corners.

A glass of wine in the spring breeze of peaches and plums, ten years of night rain in the rivers and lakes, today's Leeds United has already changed its appearance in the years of erosion, but people will still remember the shining names of Viduka, Ferdinand, Dacourt, Smith, and remember that team The "Young Guards" in fluttering white clothes conquered the Champions League, even though they are no longer in the center of the stage, even though their stories are as far away as dreams. Even, those memories do not need to be awakened at all, they are always extremely clear.

Degan doesn't want his team to become synonymous with Leeds United. What he wants is conquest, complete conquest. Today's Fiorentina has a more youthful age structure than Leeds United back then, and has more potential.

In Degan's plan, what Fiorentina should imitate is not the Leeds United who flaunted their charm for a short time, but the more attractive Ferguson Class of 92.

Now people generally say that Manchester United's 92 golden generation, the children of Ferguson, generally refers to the youth team that Manchester United won the FA Youth Cup in 1992.

At that time, Manchester United's 1992 youth team was full of talents and superstar embryos, which can be said to be rare in history. At that time, the coach of the Manchester United youth team was Harrison, and the players were: goalkeeper Kevin Pilkington, defenders Gary Neville, John O'Kane, Chris Casper, George Switzer, forwards Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Simon Davies, Colin McGee, Gillespie, forwards Ben Thornley, Robbie Savage, Larry Phil Booker, Andy Noon, Richard Irvine, Jovan Korowski.

Of course, the class of 92 that people are talking about now also includes Philip Neville and Scholes who joined the team later.

This boy from the class of 92 later became the pillar of Manchester United, including Beckham, the Neville brothers, Giggs, Scholes and Butt.

They created the first wave of glory for Manchester United under Ferguson, three consecutive championships, three crowns, and a Champions League title. Ferguson's children won unimaginable achievements and glory back then.

Of course, Degan can't count on it. Fiorentina, whose background and reputation can't compare with AC Milan, has grown from scratch, and a group of young people have been discovered by the youth team to dominate the world football.

What Degan wants is to follow the model of Leeds United and achieve the success of Manchester United. For two consecutive summers, Fiorentina in the transfer market, according to Degan's request, aggressively acquired young talents. , Kneading, and gradually growing into a young guard capable of shaking the hegemony of any wealthy family.

If the last season was just a warning, then this season is the time when the storm will officially hit. What the Fiorentina youth guards led by Degan have to do is to destroy all opponents in front of them. Empoli is nothing but Fiorentina's whole season's campaign started money, the victim of the flag sacrifice, and the real opponent should be a giant team like AC Milan.

What level will the Fiorentina Young Guard reach?

Digan didn't want to predict!

All he knew was that the Viola would overtake the White Rose and go after the Red Devil!

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