Chapter 53 Champions Cup
Chapter 53 Champions Cup
When was the last time Fiorentina played in the Champions League?
Even the old fans who are a little older are about to forget that since being called "Damn Cherigori" by the Fiorentina fans and playing Fiorentina to death, Fiorentina has always been insulated from the European war, don't say The UEFA Champions League is over, and even the UEFA Cup has not seen the name Fiorentina for a long time.
Now, Florence is finally back, and Viola, after being subdued for several years, has finally returned to the European competition in one fell swoop.
An away game against Shakhtar Donetsk, there are still three days before the game, and the fans can't sit still. Tickets for the away game are even more difficult to find. For them, the team can re-enter the European war , especially the UEFA Champions League, which symbolizes the world's top club competitions, is like a dream.
Especially for fans who have experienced the worst period in Florence, the current Champions League, if viewed at the time, was simply unimaginable.
But the truth is, Florence is really back.
Shakhtar Donetsk, a giant team from Ukraine, is somewhat unfamiliar to fans of mainstream European leagues.
But in Ukraine, or even in Eastern Europe, Shakhtar Donetsk is definitely a club at the level of kings. In the Ukrainian domestic league, Shakhtar Donetsk has already replaced Dynamo Kiev, which is more familiar to people, and has become the top club in the league. absolute supremacy.
Donetsk is a well-known coal city in Ukraine, and Shakhtar Donetsk's home stadium, Donbass Stadium, is the best stadium in Ukraine. It cost 320 million euros to build. At the moment when football is getting more and more sluggish, It is unimaginable that such a large sum of money can be spent on the construction of a football field.
The owner of the team is Akhmetov, the richest man in Ukraine. The Shakhtar Donetsk team he owns has brought Ukrainian football to the world.
Akhmetov is not only rich, but also has a heart. Since taking over the Shakhtars in 1996, Akhmetov has been determined to build a world-class club.
Akhmetov is to Ukraine what Abramovich is to Russia. According to the United States' "Forbes" wealth magazine, his personal wealth is as high as 2.3 billion US dollars. He is the richest man in Ukraine, and his power even touches Ukrainian politics. But he is not a football layman. For example, today's Shakhtar team has already replaced Dynamo Kiev's dominance in the Ukrainian league.
In 1996, after the former chairman of Shakhtar Donetsk, Bragin, was killed, Akhmetov, who had served as a consultant for the former, took over the club.
The deepest impression Akhmetov left on people is that once, after the Miners lost at home, Akhmetov was so angry that he kicked the luxury cars of almost every major player several times in the parking lot.
His passion for football is known throughout the country.
Degan is familiar with the Shakhtar Donetsk team because in his previous life, this team had several outstanding Brazilian players who went abroad, and the transfer value broke records. The most famous William transferred to Chelsea. It even reached 14 million euros, and Fernandinho's transfer to Manchester City also had 10 million euros.
It is the joining of these players that gives the miners the ability to win in the European arena. In addition to foreign aid, the local players trained by the miners themselves are also quite good. In this Ukrainian national team, a total of six international players play for the miners team, second only to Dynamo Kiev's nine.
Although many people regarded the miners team as a role to accompany the prince to study during the group draw, and perhaps their ending would be the same, but the strength of this team must not be underestimated.
Although there are already Fiorentina fans who have recorded the three-pointer in the first game of the group stage in Fiorentina's name, but in the Fiorentina team, Digan asked all players to pay attention to this opponent.
Degan's reason is very simple. Which of the teams that can reach the UEFA Champions League group stage is really meaty?
Digan was the same as everyone else. He didn't think that Shakhtar Donetsk had the strength to reach the knockout rounds, at best, they were contenders for the UEFA Cup qualification.
But who can guarantee that the Donetsk miners will not become the spoilers in Florence's group, if the gang of miners make a revolution on the bamboo boards and make troubles on Florence's head, the fun will be great.
Degan asked his teammates to be vigilant. As the team's head coach, Prandelli would not let any of his opponents relax. After the game with Atlanta, he began to collect all the information about Shakhtar Donetsk. .
In fact, this work has already started after the group draw ceremony. This summer, while continuing to repair the lineup, Prandelli is also starting to build his coaching team, including a role dedicated to collecting opponent data .
Among the three most threatening players in the Shakhtar lineup, one of them is the Croatian left back and the international player Srna. This player gives the impression of Carlos when he was young. Fierce, as a full-back, he actually scored seven goals last season, which shocked European football a little bit.
Another is their core midfielder, the Brazilian Fernandinho. As a defensive midfielder, Fernandinho not only contributes his strength in defense, but also often plays a role in offense. Gained, in Shakhtar Donetsk, the role he played is basically AC Milan's Pirlo.
Since joining the miners in 2005, in his first season, he played 34 games, including 23 league appearances, and scored 3 goals in the league.
In the next two seasons, Fernandinho shined even more, leading this emerging Ukrainian powerhouse for two consecutive years, defeating Dynamo Kiev to win the championship.
There is another player who is an old acquaintance in Serie A - Cristiano Lucarelli!
Although most of his career has been spent in small teams, this powerful center from Livorno is indeed a prolific shooter. In 1997, he represented the Atlanta team in a 4-2 home victory against Bologna. The game first appeared in Serie A.
Since then, Lucarelli's career has had some twists and turns. Although he has a strong scoring ability, he has never been favored by giants. In the league, Lucarelli scored a total of 29 goals.
In the 1998/1999 season, Lucarelli also had a brief experience abroad, but because of unacceptable conditions, Lucarelli only scored 1 goal in the 12 La Liga games he participated in on behalf of Valencia.
After returning to Italy, Lucarelli joined the Lecce team and quickly became popular in Serie A. After two seasons he moved to Torino, and in the 2002/2003 season as a striker he did not perform well, scoring only 1 goal in 26 league games, so the team was eventually relegated.
After the team was relegated, he returned to his hometown Livorno to join the team in the summer of 2003. After a season in the second division, Livorno rushed to Serie A, representing his hometown team in the first Serie A season. With 24 goals, Lucarelli won the second place in the Serie A scorer list only after Digan, who played crazy that season. Parma's darling Gilardino and Montella, who saved the Roma team several times, were left behind by him. behind.
The outstanding performance made Lippi, the head coach of the national team at the time, have begun to pay attention to this prolific shooter.
At that time, Lucarelli became the player everyone wanted, but his position was firm, and he would not make another wrong step. Even Sparta Moscow offered Livorno a £3 million offer. In addition, the Russian Super League team also offered Lucarelli a two-and-a-half-year contract with an annual salary of £1.7 million. The above is far more than his current salary level in Livorno, but Lucarelli refused.
For Lucarelli, perhaps staying in Livorno is the best choice, because there is no strong opponent to compete with him for the main position. He doesn't have to be afraid, he will sit on the bench with a group of big-name stars.
It is difficult for a player over 30 to experience glory, especially now, in today's football world, whoever does not score goals will quickly disappear from people's eyes, especially for shooters.
The original story should be like this, but this summer, Lucarelli suddenly decided to join Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine. Shakhtar Donetsk paid Livorno a transfer fee of 8 million euros. The 31-year-old Luka Reilly will get a three-year contract from Donetsk, with a three-year salary contract of 4 million euros. This transfer contract totals 12 million euros, which is unimaginable for a 31-year-old player , Lucarelli also became the first Italian player to play in the Ukrainian league.
Last season, Prandelli's Fiorentina had the experience of playing against Livorno. Although the team won at that time, Lucarelli scored a goal in each of the two games.
In this Champions League group match, Fiorentina faced Shakhtar Donetsk. Obviously, the most important task for the players is how to defend Lucarelli in the penalty area and not give him a chance to show himself.
Now Prandelli had a headache. He thought that Fiorentina could easily open up the situation by meeting the weakest opponent in the first round of the group stage.
However, after watching a few games of Shakhtar Donetsk last season, especially the match against Dinham Kiev, another giant in the Ukrainian League, Prandelli found that this opponent is not weak at all. .
If their lack of experience in the European war can be used, it is a pity that in this regard, Florence is not the same as the opponent.
"It's really the same as what Rhodes said. There is really no weak team that can participate in the Champions League group stage! It seems that we really have to play 12 points!"
The European experience of the two teams, let alone anyone, can be called new faces. The strength of the team may be better than that of Fiorentina, but Shakhtar Donetsk has the advantage of home court. With the consistent iron-blooded style of football, this opponent can also be a tough nut to crack.
"Cesare! The main players of the Shakhtar team are all young, maybe~~~~~~~" Antonelli swallowed it in the middle of his words. When it comes to youth, there are several teams in Europe now. Comparable to Florence, the title of Young Guard is not for nothing.
Prandelli stared at the TV screen, pondering the opponent's weaknesses. On the back line, the central defender was tall and burly, the two full-backs had sharp assists and fast speed, and the midfielder was fierce in defense and good in attacking ability. Not bad, especially the two wingers and the front line are still unknown. The Ukrainian league has not yet started, and no one knows whether Lucarelli will explode.
Loophole! ?
Prandelli watched several games in a row. Facing such a completely unfamiliar opponent, not being familiar with the opponent's tactical characteristics is the most troublesome part. He can only understand the opponent through the game video.
Suddenly Prandelli's eyes lit up!
On the TV screen, a dark-skinned Brazilian was holding the ball in the midfield, observed it, and then made a long pass to the opponent's penalty area. Center Bran smashed the opponent's goal with a header.
Maybe it can be done!
Prandelli's brows were also stretched, feeling that the smell of smoke in the room was like Dior's perfume, and the dark room became brighter. The head has become cute.
The next day, the Fiorentina team took a plane to Donetsk, their next match location, to challenge Shakhtar, their first group opponent back in the Champions League, at the top stadium in Europe.
The enthusiasm of the Fiorentina fans is unimaginable. In this game, the Fiorentina fan organization convened a total of tens of thousands of fans to go to the away game to cheer for their beloved Viola.
At the practice meeting at the airport, Degan also issued a victory declaration on behalf of the whole team: "We do not underestimate any opponent, and we will not be afraid of any opponent. Fiorentina has been away from the top European competition for many years. , now is the time to tell our opponents that Fiorentina is back, Viola will bloom in the UEFA Champions League, and Fiorentina must win this game!"
Degan's victory declaration drew cheers from the fans. They all knew that Degan would never break his promise. If he said he would win, then the final winner of this game would definitely be Fiorentina.
Raise the flying purple flag
On the court of challenge and courage
An eternal hope inspires us
inspiring eleven players and one heart
Oh Florence!
You are the queen of the football world
Oh Florence!
Wherever you are, you fight bravely
In the years of failure and victory
History records all your legends
Florence's team song resounds through the sky!