Chapter 68: Battle at the Olympics

Chapter 68: Battle at the Olympics

The Olympic Stadium, just a week ago, Fiorentina just won the Coppa Italia here, and came to this place again in a short period of time. The trophy that Fiorentina wants to compete for has become the Champions League.

If you analyze according to Degan's fixed thinking, Manchester United should also be his favorite opponent. In fact, the teams from the Premier League should become Degan's favorite.

For two consecutive seasons, Fiorentina has basically touched all the strong teams in the Premier League. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and the three major players in the Premier League have all become the ghosts of Fiorentina.

Before the game, the media in England had already begun to shout "revenge". With the rapid development of the Premier League in recent years, its influence in world football has been increasing day by day, but compared with its prestige, the Premier League pales in comparison.

After Liverpool defeated AC Milan in a shocking comeback on the night of Istanbul, a team from the Premier League has never been able to aspire to the championship of this competition.

Last season, three teams from the Premier League entered the semi-finals and besieged Fiorentina, but in the end they were succeeded by Fiorentina and finally won the cup, which made the English football world feel sad for a while.

The same thing happened again this season, the only difference is that Arsenal took the place of Liverpool, but the result was basically the same, and it was still Manchester United and Fiorentina who entered the final.

"The same mistake won't happen twice to me and Manchester United! Manchester United not only have better players than Fiorentina on the field, but also stronger on the bench. Fiorentina are more afraid of Fiorentina than Manchester United. Manchester United, I don't see how Fiorentina can handle Manchester United, no matter who they play."

People can't remember how many times Sir Alex Ferguson has said the same thing, but this time, he is obviously full of confidence, giving people the feeling that he has grasped the way to deal with Florence.

All roads lead to Rome, but in the end it is doomed that only a king's army can stand on the top of Rome. Ferguson's self-confidence comes from the elite soldiers and strong generals under his command.

The sharpest weapon is undoubtedly Jin Maoluo. With unstoppable breakthroughs, wonderful goals, and even a fiery temper on the field, Jin Maoluo's football world will never lack passion. For the second consecutive year in the Champions League final, Facing the same opponent, the last defeat, the Portuguese will undoubtedly do their best and perform desperately. After experiencing the downturn in the first half of the season, Golden Mauro announced to the world with a series of key goals in major battles that he is the Red Devils Indispensable for the true soul.

If it is said that what Jin Maoluo ignited was passion, then what Rooney showed was patience. When he became famous as a teenager, Rooney was also arrogant and frivolous. Under the influence, the current Rooney's lethality remains undiminished, his maturity is getting higher and higher, and he has the demeanor of a general in every gesture. Countless times this season, Wayne Rooney's goals in the second half helped Manchester United save the day, and he was good at striking late. It proved that the reckless boy at the time became patient and tenacious. Once the Golden Retriever misfiring, Rooney will step forward at any time and take on the important task of saving the Red Devils. .

If Jin Maoluo and Rooney represent the youth of Manchester United, then those veterans in the team who have experienced the battle with Bayern Munich represent the experience of Manchester United.

Ten years ago, when the golden generation of the Red Devils reached the pinnacle of Europe, the young and handsome Giggs was already the absolute main force. Ten years later, Manchester United once again set foot on the final stage, and the Welshman is still the irreplaceable spiritual pillar of the Red Devils. As a player who can never realize his dream in the Welsh national team, the 36-year-old Giggs has already won all the honors a club player can get. Perhaps, he himself is the embodiment of honor and perfection.

Not as handsome as Beckham, nor as chic as Giggs, but among Manchester United's three midfielders, Scholes achieved as much as his two teammates with diligence. Although the 35-year-old Englishman can no longer have an unshakeable main position, he will always be the most reliable candidate under Ferguson. Firing cannons on the field is enough to become an opponent's nightmare.

Attacking is the nature of the Red Devils, but it does not mean that Ferguson's team does not have excellent defense. If Kompany and Thiago Silva hooked the strongest defense in world football, Manchester United's defense is because of Ferdinand's Existence, the perfect blend of strength and thickness. With a height of 190cm, he looks like an air bully. Manchester United's almost perfect defensive performance in the first half of the season is inseparable from the role of Ferdinand's Ding Haishenzhen.

Ferguson's self-confidence comes from the many stars under his command, and Prandelli's self-confidence is more direct-Degan!

With the world's number one star, Prandelli has absolute confidence. The match between Digan and Jin Maoluo in this game will undoubtedly become the biggest highlight of the game.

Before the game started, Jin Maoluo had already started to claim that Lao Tzu was the best in the world: "There is no doubt that in the football world, I am ranked ahead of Digan, the best player in the world, and Manchester United is also the best club ."

For Jin Maoluo's clamor, Digan didn't even have the interest to fight back, and he didn't need to explain his strength with words.

Who will mark Digan?

This has long been the number one issue facing every team that plays against Fiorentina, and Ferguson has already found a solution to this issue.

Ferguson's smoke screen reached Rome and had cleared. Ferdinand was confirmed to have recovered from his injury and will start in the final.

Because of calf injury, Ferdinand had missed Manchester United's game for nearly three weeks before, but since last week, Ferdinand began to return to the training ground, and after a few days of training sessions, the Manchester United team doctor believes that Ferdinand has reached the requirements for playing.

"The injury is over, I have been training with the whole team for the past few days, I feel everything is normal, I am ready for the final, if I feel that I am not 100% recovered, I will not be in the game I started in China, but from my training in the last two or three days, I can't see any problems. I am very happy to be back, I have worked hard with the team doctor, and the training situation is also very good. Now, there is no problem at all. No, I told the coach, I feel everything is normal, I will not do anything to harm the team, the important thing is not whether to play in the final, but the team's victory."

Even if the teenager Evans is trusted, Ferguson still believes that only the central defender combination of Ferdinand and Vidic can resist Fiorentina's No. 1 offensive power in Europe.

This is the first time Ferdinand has played against Degan. He was cautious in the interview before the game: "Facing a player of Degan's level, I feel like I am standing on the top of a pyramid. I am not stupid. I know that even if there is nothing There is no doubt that facing Degan will be an extremely difficult night, I am fully prepared for it, I have full respect for him, and I am also confident to deal with him."

Ferdinand is very clear that staying vigilant throughout the game is the key to successfully marking Degan: "I am so confident now that people may think I am conceited. If I have to face 20 challenges from him in the game, I know As long as there is one carelessness, he may seize the opportunity to score, and people will think that I am the loser in this contest. I will try my best to make this contest have a good ending. I hope I will not let Sir Alex Ferguson is disappointed."

This season's UEFA Champions League final is about to start at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The two giants in Europe, Premier League champions Manchester United and Serie A champions Fiorentina, will meet in the final. This matchup can be described as a matchup for European fans and even fans all over the world. It's a verdant feast.

Offense, or defense?

For Manchester United coach Ferguson, this is not a matter of survival or destruction at all, and it may be the opposite. Defense can make them win, and fighting Fiorentina is a dead end.

Ferguson understands this truth, and Florence also knows that malicious attacks are mixed with sugar-coated bullets, and the Florentines hope to "impress" the old man with aggressive methods.

It's a pity that this trick is impossible for Ferguson, who is so immersed in the football circle that he is almost perfect.

Exciting is not equal to victory. The word final is basically synonymous with "boring" in today's world football. The cautious attitude makes the game basically miss the excitement.

This season's Champions League final also has the potential to become "boring". As Ferguson said before, take a beating and learn to be good. In last year's Champions League final, Ferguson chose to attack and suffered a failure. This time he will definitely not Made the same mistake again.

"Ferguson's team has the guts to attack us!" At the press conference before the match, Fiorentina coach Prandelli, this elegant man looked murderous, and directly challenged him.

For the old fox Ferguson, this kind of psychological warfare is like putting a hundred yuan in front of a billionaire.

"We have our own style, and we hope that in the game, we can prove ourselves in the way we want."

To save face or win the championship, facing off against Fiorentina, who has the most terrifying offensive power in Europe this season, is tantamount to suicide. If Ferguson doesn't make a choice, he won't become the most successful club coach in the world.

To win but not to be exciting, Ferguson is worthy of himself, the team and the fans of the Red Devils, and there is no need to be responsible to the fans all over the world in front of the TV.

Of course, this game also has the possibility of mutating into a classic, that is, Fiorentina scored early and forced Manchester United to come up with an offensive trick at the bottom of the box. Defensive and efficient counterattacks complete a revenge.

This season's Champions League final will start in Rome, the "eternal city". This game has special significance for the two teams. They need to prove here who is the greater.

Greatness obviously can no longer satisfy Manchester United. Ferguson has coached Manchester United for more than 20 years and led the team to win numerous honors. After Sir Alex Ferguson has created one legend after another in the Premier League, obviously only Only the Champions League champion can enter the coach's eyes.

Indeed, if the "Red Devils" can win the third Champions League Holy Grail in team history, this will be an important indicator for Manchester United to become "the greatest team of this century".

The British media bluntly said: "Manchester United have won three consecutive Premier League titles. If they can successfully win the Champions League this time, then I really can't think of any team that can be greater than them in this century."

"Winning it would be without a doubt the crowning achievement of my coaching career. When I won my first Champions League trophy against Bayern, I thought, 'God, I finally got it done.' But after that, 442, We relied on wing attack and defense and were quickly spotted by our opponents. Another dry period began. We had to rethink our tactics. Luck was not on our side. Now we have a second chance. I can't think of any reason not to Win this game. I always ask my players, 'What is the most difficult achievement in life?' I think the hardest thing is to fight for life. I hear some people retire at 50, or 55 , It's unbelievable to me, what do they do with the rest of their lives? Sit at home and read the goddamn newspapers, or play with their thumbs? I try to show the players that it's not easy to work hard all your life, but this is football."

Ferguson hopes that his disciples can give a wonderful performance for his second Champions League trophy in the final: "To win the championship, you must express yourself in the best way. Our players can do this. Manchester United has its own style. , Fiorentina also have their own style, I hope the game will go in our direction, the final looks good, the lineup of the two teams hints at a great final, I hope it will be as exciting as expected, the Champions League final is usually impressive Disappointed, there are often 1-0 or 0-0 penalty shootouts, but I feel that this time will not be the case, we both have extraordinary football philosophy and great history, this will be a fantastic final!"

Opponent coach Prandelli also sent praises touchingly: "Sergeux has been a coach much longer than me and has more trophies. I admire his career very much. He transformed his team and let It's a great honor for them to be champions and to play against such a manager in the final."

Prandelli is leading the team to the UEFA Champions League final for the second time. Although his experience and resume are not as good as Sir Alex Ferguson's, Prandelli is also full of expectations for the upcoming final. He is eager to dedicate a wonderful game to the fans. duel.

When a reporter asked: "Fiorentina is already a five-time champion. This must be a successful season, so is it acceptable to lose the Champions League?"

Prandelli immediately retorted: "No, we must not think this way. If we think this way, we will lose the game 100%. If you want to succeed, you must play under pressure. We will play for the championship!"

Before the start of the game, the starting lineups of the two sides have been announced. There is nothing new about Fiorentina. The goalkeeper is Frey. The defense line from left to right is Pasquale, Kompany, Thiago Silva and Ma. Joe, the midfielder is equipped with Beckham, Fellaini and Modric, the attacking midfielder Montolivo, and the striker Degan partnered with Mutu.

The starting lineup here is goalkeeper Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra in defense, Carrick, Giggs, Anderson in midfield, Park Ji-sung and Kim Mauro as wingers, Rooney suddenly forward.

What is surprising is that Park Ji-sung, the Koryo stick, appeared in the starting lineup. He has also become the first Asian player to appear in the Champions League final.

After eliminating Arsenal in the previous semi-finals, Ferguson made a wish to the hero Park Ji-sung: "I will never put him out of the final list this time. He deserves a seat. I abandoned him last year, which made me feel heartbroken." Broken, I thought we needed a player who could score goals, but Ji-Sung Park has always given us a lot of energy and he won't disappoint this time."

Ferguson was referring to the allusion to the Moscow final last year. Although he played well in the semi-final against Liverpool, Park Ji-sung did not even make the 18-man squad for the final. At that time, Korean newspapers used "Moscow Nightmare" as the headline.

In the end, Manchester United lost the game, and the shameless Korean media accused Ferguson, thinking that it was Park Ji-sung who did not play that finally led to the loss.

After getting the coveted starting position, Park Ji-sung also became sentimental: "It was really heartbreaking, and it was hard to accept that I didn't even make the list. Which player doesn't want to play in the Champions League final? That was the biggest disappointment in my career, but I put This was taken as an incentive. At that time, I firmly believed that Manchester United would reach the final. I never lost confidence in my ability. Now the opportunity has come again. The boss group promised me to play. It would be great if this is the case, but He didn't say a word to me, I just had to work hard, show my quality, stay in shape to deserve the starting spot, and I'm very excited about the results."

As long as he plays for one minute, Park Ji-sung will become the first Asian player to play in the Champions League final. His predecessor Cha Bum-gen once represented Frankfurt in 1980 and Leverkusen in the UEFA Cup final in 1988 and won the UEFA Cup final. No Asians have ever touched it before.

The Korean media cheered for Park Ji-sung's first appearance, but it was obvious that Koryo Bangbang would not be the protagonist of the game. The little glasses had no star quality. Apart from running wildly all over the field, he really couldn't find any bright spots. be part of the game.

As for the protagonist of the game, with Degan on the field, is it still someone else's turn to steal the show?

The big battle was coming, but Degan didn't feel the slightest nervousness. Although he was only twenty-four years old, Degan had experienced too many big scenes.

"I don't want to say anything, I leave everything to the game to decide, the Portuguese said he is the best player, well, he can say as much as he wants, who makes him the World Footballer, that kind of boring title , he can take it as he pleases, all I want is the championship!"