Chapter 146 Before the Match

Chapter 146 Before the Match

The UEFA Champions League final is just around the corner, the Red Devils Manchester United and Viola Fiorentina will fight for honor in Moscow, and the smoke of gunpowder before the big game is also filling the Russian capital.

From Domodedovo International Airport to the Luzhniki Stadium at the foot of Sparrow Hill, red and yellow posters of football matches appear continuously on the tens of kilometers of roads. These oil-painted posters appear every few hundred meters. It seemed to be leading the way for tens of thousands of fans, and the colorful flags with game posters in the city were also reminding people that the big game was coming.

In the face of huge advertising expenses, the organizer obviously hopes to compensate by selling tickets. The person in charge of an online ticketing company said that the cheapest tickets are priced at more than 1,000 US dollars, while the ticket price for a VIP seat is as high as 7,500 euros. In addition, hotels and football bars in Moscow are already fully booked.

Tens of thousands of football fans have already arrived in Moscow, and many hotels have received these guests from the UK and Italy. The police have stepped up vigilance in these hotels and nearby areas.

As the last football highlight before this summer's European Championship, this game not only affects the hearts of fans all over the world, but also tightens every nerve of the game security personnel. Especially after last week's UEFA Cup final, serious violent conflicts occurred, and the police paid unprecedented attention to the security work of this game.

It is reported that since Monday, about 40,000 British fans and more than 30,000 Italian fans have poured into Moscow. This made the Moscow police feel like they are facing a big enemy, and immediately stepped up their vigilance. Thousands of police officers have begun to conduct 24-hour patrols in many key areas in Moscow to step up the investigation of suspicious persons.

The British police also specially sent dozens of experienced police officers to Moscow to assist the Russian police in their work. These police officers mainly help the Moscow police to closely monitor the British fans in Moscow.

However, before this, the police had already adopted some strategies to divide the fans of Manchester United and Fiorentina. When the fans of the two teams arrived in Moscow by plane, the police arranged for the fans of the two parties to land at different airports, so as to avoid the suspicion of the two teams. Premature contact with fans to avoid intensification of conflicts. Of course, for those already "notorious" British football hooligans, the British police directly banned them from leaving the country.

Different from the police's paralysis, the citizens of Moscow? Skool are more calm about the arrival of a large number of British and Italian fans. Some residents even specially made the tourist guide of Moscow's places of interest into exquisite posters for the reference of fans of the two countries. and use.

The Russian government also deliberately regarded this competition as a warm-up for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and provided strong support, especially simplifying the tedious and complicated visa procedures.

The new Russian President May's Vijev issued a special decree, allowing foreign fans to enter and watch the game with only their passports and regular UEFA Champions League final tickets during the game.

The British and Italian governments also reminded fans on their websites to strictly abide by Russian laws while watching the game in Moscow, especially reminding fans that smoking and drinking in Moscow's Red Square are illegal, and those who commit serious crimes will be arrested.

It can be said that all aspects are ready to welcome the arrival of the Champions League final. I hope that while the game on the court is exciting, the outside of the court can also be peaceful.

However, the police dare not relax in the slightest, given the notoriety of British football hooligans, which can be traced back to the 1880s. At that time, violent conflicts of varying degrees often occurred in the same city derby. Although the number of spectators who went to the away game to watch the game was limited, there were still incidents of home team fans attacking the referee and visiting team players from time to time.

In the early 1980s, football hooligans began to wear high-end designer fashion around stadiums and bars to avoid the attention of the police. This phenomenon was called "casual clothing", and it gradually developed into a subcultural phenomenon.

Football hooligans in the cloak of fans, they like to provoke, promote violence, and advocate fighting. Going to the stadium is nothing more than causing trouble. It is their characteristic.

As the controls on football hooligans tightened, brawls on the pitch were somewhat under control, but that didn't stop football hooligans from punching. In Europe, some gangs of organized football hooligans have targeted brawls outside the pitch. They will choose an open space in a suburb or a park, and make an appointment with roughly equal numbers of football hooligans to fight in groups, and regard fighting as part of self-realization.

English football hooliganism is undoubtedly the most famous, football hooliganism caused many tragedies on the football field, from the 1960s onwards, the British football hooligans became notorious around the world.

The British domestic media called it "the disaster of England". From the 1980s to the 1990s, the British government spent a lot of manpower and material resources to rectify violent activities related to football.

In view of the bad record of British football hooligans in the past, other parts of Europe often cooperate with the British police when hosting large-scale events to put football hooligans with criminal convictions on the monitoring list, closely monitor their every move, and even prohibit them from entering the country .

Some people think that football hooliganism is a kind of resistance of disadvantaged groups excluded by society. British police investigations have found that most of the behavior of football hooligans is caused by psychological factors, such as family relationship breakdown, venting dissatisfaction, etc. Psychologists who specialize in football hooliganism Walgrave sees it as a sign of racism and right-wing fanaticism.

For example, the famous Heysel tragedy is a classic act of football hooligans. On May 29, 1985, Liverpool and Juventus met in the European Champions Cup final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. The stand behind the UEFA goal Allocated to Liverpool fans, but many Juventus fans bought tickets for the stand from the Belgians.

In the stands, there were not enough police and staff to separate the fans of the two teams. During the game, there were continuous insults and throwing behaviors by fans from both sides. Football hooligans mixed with Liverpool fans fought with Juventus fans, causing the stands to collapse, killing 39 fans on the spot and injuring more than 300. This is the famous The "Heysel tragedy", that night, Juventus relied on a controversial penalty scored by Platini to win 1-0 and won the European Champions Cup. The result of the game is no longer important, who I don't want to remember this game anymore. Not only did Liverpool lose the Champions League, after the game all British teams were banned from participating in European competitions for five years, and the Liverpool team for seven years.

Twenty-two years have passed since the Hunsel tragedy. Once again in the final of the Champions League, two teams from England and Italy stood together. The police couldn't help being nervous.

Putting aside those unappetizing things outside the field, and returning to this game, Manchester United has achieved a lot this season. Not only did they defend the Premier League title, but the core player Jin Maoluo won the league Golden Boot, and he also played triumphantly all the way Reached the Champions League final in Moscow.

Similarly, Fiorentina's performance this season has also shown people what it means to be a strong rise. In the league, they won the championship six rounds ahead of schedule, and the top three in the north can only be held back.

If Manchester United wins, they will win the two major gold cups of the Premier League and the Champions League this season. Although it is a little worse than the Treble Champion Albert in 1999, it is clear that the competition in today's football is more intense. Manchester United will encounter resistance in the Premier League and the Champions League. Both are much bigger than they were nine years ago.

And if Fiorentina wins the championship, they will very much hope to become the first triple crown born in the history of Italian football and realize their ultimate goal of dominating Italian football.

Before the start of the game, the supporters of both sides had already started to build momentum for their beloved team. In an interview, Beckham talked about the upcoming Champions League final in Moscow. Identity hopes that Manchester United can beat Fiorentina to win the Champions League.

"I always thought Manchester United could go for all the titles they could because I'm a Manchester United fan. Manchester United are a great team with great players on all fronts. There is an unspeakable spirit at the club that has always been there. In Legacy, the fans deserved a victory like this too, because there are no better fans in the world than them. Manchester United will be more confident now that they are league champions. No doubt I will be sitting in front of the TV nervous Watch the final with care and hope that Manchester United wins in the end."

As one of the members of Manchester United's 99-year Triple Crown, Beckham has bid farewell to the Red Devils. However, his two old teammates Gary Neville and Scholes may, after nine years, Holding up the big ear cup again. However, in 1999, Scholes missed Manchester United's Champions League final at Camp Nou due to suspension, but Moscow will allow Ginger Head to make up for the regret nine years ago.

In this regard, Beckham said: "I grew up with some players in the team. Scholes missed the final in 1999 because of suspension. This time, I am sincerely happy for him. I hope he can play this time." success."

Giggs, who is still playing for Manchester United, also expressed his support for Scholes: "Paul will definitely enter the starting list. The best one among them, this time, we will lift the championship trophy together!"

Some people support Manchester United, and of course some people support Fiorentina. For example, Gerrard, the captain of the Red Army and Liverpool, said bluntly in an interview: "If you let me watch Manchester United win the championship with my own eyes, it would be worse than killing me." I'm uncomfortable!"

On the 19th, two days before the start of the game, the two teams arrived in Moscow. On the 20th, they conducted a 30-minute pre-match training in Luzhniki, which was open to the media, and held a brief press conference. The words of the coaches of both sides also burst out. The smell of gunpowder.

Manchester United coach Ferguson said that although Fiorentina's players are very physically strong, Manchester United will play their own style, attack and defend quickly, and play tactical coordination.

Fiorentina coach Prandelli said that his players are extremely eager to win, and they are fully qualified to get their wish and finally win the cup.

The UEFA Champions League final will be held at the Luzhniki Stadium at 22:45 Moscow time on the 21st. This is the first time that the UEFA Champions League final will be held in Moscow.

After a season of fighting, Manchester United and Fiorentina, the two best teams this season, will have the ultimate battle in Moscow. What kind of game will the two top players dedicate to the fans?

The Daily Telegraph thinks it will be a "fight of art and muscle".

Another well-known media "The Times" was more direct: "Beautiful vs brutal, who will win?"

Manchester United plays gorgeously and pays more attention to artistry on the basis of maintaining England's strong confrontation. In particular, Jin Maoluo's brilliant performance in the midfield is breathtaking, while Fiorentina's dismissal is faster, emphasizing tough defense and fast offense. A high-performance machine that runs on program.

Manchester United is undoubtedly the favorite of this game. With the lingering prestige of defending the league champions, the team lineup is very neat, while Fiorentina looks much younger. In addition, the main midfielder Modric is absent due to injury. The overall strength of Florence has an impact.

The general optimism of the outside world made the Manchester United team very relaxed and came to Moscow. The young players were smiling. Except for Giggs and Van der Sar, none of the main lineup had experienced the Champions League final, but Sir Alex Ferguson did not. Worrying about the players getting nervous: "My kids are not scared, they have great qualities, when I was a kid I was able to climb the church tower for the pigeons, but now I feel dizzy when I go up, it's It means that you are not afraid when you are young."

Compared with Manchester United, Fiorentina is cautious in words and deeds. This is Viola's second Champions League final. The hard work and accumulation of a season must wait until this game explodes. The team coach Prandelli is very clear about this game meaning. If they can win the cup in Moscow, Fiorentina will truly dominate Italian football.

Outside of the lineup, there will be no changes for Manchester United. Ferguson will still use the usual main lineup. Golden Mello will still be the core of the Red Devils' attack. As for Fiorentina, Prandelli may make some changes in the configuration of the three midfielders. The subtle adjustments caught Ferguson off guard. The two full-backs are still uncertain. Who will be Digan's partner in the final is also a question. It can be said that this is a very critical position. Manchester United will definitely play against Digan during the game Gan strictly guards against death, so in the case of Digan being marked to death, who will give Manchester United a fatal blow is particularly critical.

Less than a day before the game, Manchester United coach Ferguson said: "Destiny already has an answer, and the championship belongs to us."

Although in modern sports, strength speaks more, but in the arena, there are all kinds of weird fates, which make people believe in fate, and this is no exception on the football field.

"Maybe this is fate. It's hard to say clearly, but there are always so many coincidences." Less than 24 hours before the decisive battle, in order to inspire the confidence of the players, Sir Alex spoke about fatalism in an interview with the media , Listing all the factors that are conducive to winning the championship in Manchester United's history.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Manchester United's Munich air disaster. In 1968, Manchester United won the European Champions Cup for the first time. This year, exactly 40 years have passed. In 1999, Manchester United miraculously won the European Championship for the second time at the Nou Camp. The trophy, and that day happened to be the birthday of Sir Busby, the founder of Manchester United's first dynasty. In 1983, Manchester United defeated the La Liga giants Real Madrid in the final of the Cup Winners' Cup. 25 years later, that is, a week ago, Manchester United defended the Premier League title under the leadership of Ferguson.

In this set of data, there is the most important point that makes people feel horrible, that is, the Red Devils broke into the European finals three times and won the cup three times, with a success rate of 100%.

"I have told my players more than once that once we reach the final, the opportunity will be in front of us, and we have to rely on our own strength to fight for it. But I also admit that it is a matter of luck that the game has reached this level." Components often determine the outcome of a game and I have full confidence in our players, they have this quality, winning the Champions League is the pinnacle of life for the club, the coach and the players, each of us knows that."

Before the game, Ferguson played a psychological battle. It seems that the old man is really quite experienced, knowing what the Red Devils need most at this time.

As for Florence, although this is the first time that this young guard from Italy has played against each other, through pre-match analysis and research, in fact, the two sides have no secrets at all. The most critical factor for who can have the last laugh is mentality. Maybe there really is some kind of fatalism in the football world. If that's the case, it seems that this year's European champion is really none other than Manchester United.

But Prandelli obviously dismissed Ferguson's tone: "I don't believe in fate, I only believe in strength. Strength determines everything on the football field. I know that people are not optimistic about our future, but the more this is the case, the more we will The more we do something, let everyone know that Fiorentina is equally great, and like Manchester United, we have reasons, qualifications, and strength to win the championship trophy."

Whether the Moscow Night will be a continuation of the fatalism or a break of the fatalism, people will wait and see. Who will be honored? And who will return with hatred again, the final mystery will be revealed in the upcoming finals!