It's cheating, but Hazard

Chapter 340: Blues and Miners (I)

Compared with the big win in the first round, the second round seemed uneventful.

Not only Chelsea did not give Manchester United any chance, the other three teams did the same.

The end result was that no team completed a comeback in the second round.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Chelsea and Schalke 04 all advanced to the semi-finals.

According to the rules of the upper and lower half, the semi-finals will see the century showdown between Real Madrid and Barcelona. As for the match between Chelsea and Schalke 04, it is not as dazzling in comparison.

Real Madrid's current jersey chest advertising sponsor also gave the latest Champions League winning odds.

Although Chelsea is also very strong, Barcelona has won the Champions League twice in the past two years, so Barcelona ranks first with 2.1, Chelsea ranks second with 3.6, Real Madrid ranks third with 4.0, and Schalke ranks fourth with 13.0.

In the odds of advancing to the final, Barcelona's odds are as low as 1.45, and Real Madrid's odds are 2.55, which means that Barcelona is basically optimistic about entering the Champions League final.

The odds of Chelsea reaching the final are 1.30, and Schalke's are 3.20. Basically everyone believes that Chelsea will definitely reach the Champions League final.

Time flies.

On April 4, the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals is about to start.

Chelsea travel to Germany to face Schalke 04.
Schalke 04's name is a bit strange compared to other league clubs.

Most teams use place names as their club names, but German team names are not only long, but often contain numbers.

For example, Schalke 04, Munich 1860.
The numbers in their names generally refer to the year the team was founded, like Schalke 04 was founded in 1904.

However, the numbers in some team names are not the years they were founded, such as Cologne Football Club (1. Fuball-Club Kln 01/07 e. V.), whose number appears first.

Generally speaking, 1. It represents that the club is the first football club in the area, or represents the status of this football club in this place.

As for the 01/07 at the end, it does not mean that they were founded on January 1, but refers to the year when the club’s two predecessor teams were founded.

The two predecessor clubs of Cologne were the Cologne Ball Sports Club and the Cologne Schulze Sports Club.

As for e.V., it is the German abbreviation for a registered club (association).

So the full name of Cologne translates to Cologne's first football club, which was founded on 01/07 and is a registered club.

But it is worth mentioning that Cologne is not the first football club in Cologne, and its predecessors Cologne Ball Sports Club and Cologne Schulze Sports Club are not the first clubs either.

Similarly, before the merger, one of these two clubs was a second-rate team and the other was a third-rate team, which was not in line with their status in the region.

So what does 1. mean in Cologne?

The meaning of gilding one's own ego is simply to show off and exaggerate the history or status of one's club.

The game is about to begin.

The streets and alleys of Gelsenkirchen are bustling with activity.

Passing through the mine tunnel-like player passage of the Veltins Arena, Charles and others finally arrived at the away locker room.

Schalke 04 is also called the Royal Blue, although the club prefers to call itself miners.

Schalke 04's theme color is blue, which is very similar to Chelsea's, but brighter than Chelsea's blue.

"Do you think the water pipes at the stadium will burst today?"

Torres looked up at the ceiling.

It seemed as if the water on the ceiling would flow to the ground in the next second.

"If there really are miners here," Charles carefully adjusted his shin guards, "the water pipe might really burst."

"Charles, has anyone ever told you that your jokes are as dull as the Germans'?"

The whole locker room was filled with laughter.

Ancelotti laughed and tapped the whiteboard. "Okay, okay, let's not discuss which is funnier, Charles' jokes or the Germans' jokes. Let me first talk about the points to pay attention to."

The players in the locker room sat upright, and Ancelotti finally started the class.

"Schalke 04 is not an easy team to play against. We must remain vigilant."

"It is currently ranked 10th in the Bundesliga, but it has beaten Inter Milan twice, so it should not be underestimated."

"Especially at home, whether it's Valencia or Inter, they all went in and never came back."

"Chelsea need a Champions League but the club has reached the semi-final so few times."

“看看其他豪门，皇马在冠军杯中赢得了9次冠军4次亚军，AC米兰7次捧杯4次第二，拜仁慕尼黑4次夺冠4次获亚军，阿贾克斯4冠2亚，利物浦5冠2亚。”

"Chelsea have to get as high as those teams as well and we have to progress to the Champions League semi-final."

"I heard they have Saint Neuer, but I think our Holy Child will be stronger than this Neuer."

……

"Zhuangdianertai, Zhuangdianertai, you are now watching the first leg of the 2010-11 Champions League semi-final, Schalke 04 vs. Chelsea at home."

"Schalke 04 is the biggest dark horse in this season's Champions League. With an impressive record of winning all five home games, the German miners set a record by reaching the Champions League semi-finals, while Chelsea has remained unbeaten in 11 games in the Champions League."

"Schalke 04, who have reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in history, can be said to be quite relaxed both physically and mentally. If they can upset Manchester United, they will have the potential to create a new myth. Even if they stop in the semi-finals, Schalke 04 will have accomplished a great feat in the club's history. "

"In comparison, Chelsea have more pressure and burden. After Abramovich took over Chelsea, he has been eager to win a trophy, but he still hasn't gotten what he wants."

"Now that we have reached the semi-finals again, the whole Chelsea team has only one goal, which is to defeat all the teams and win the Champions League."

"This game is particularly important for Chelsea."

"Chelsea's performance in the Champions League this season is very impressive, just like they are currently unbeaten in the league."

"Schalke 04, who made it to the semi-finals, had a total record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss against English teams at home before this season, which is also a gratifying record."

"Schalke 04 has performed very well in the Champions League this season, especially at home. So far, they have won all the games at home before reaching the semi-finals."

"Chelsea are most proud of their offensive ability, but their defensive ability is relatively inferior."

"This game may be a war of spears against spears."

"In terms of players, it is a pity that our young player Hao Junmin was not selected for the 18-man squad."

"In fact, Hao Junmin has had two appearances for Schalke 04 this season, but both were as a substitute and the playing time was not long."

"In the two rounds of the quarter-finals, Schalke eliminated Inter Milan with a total score of 1:4."

"Hao Junmin was included in the 18-man match list, but did not get any chance." "In fact, in addition to Hao Junmin, Chinese players have appeared in the Champions League more than once. Dong Fangzhuo even won the Champions League trophy with Manchester United. Of course, in terms of contribution to the team, Sun Xiang is still the best Chinese player in the Champions League so far."

“Joined PSV on loan during the winter break of the 2006-07 season.”

"He is the first Chinese player to start for his team in the Champions League and the first Chinese player to appear in the Champions League quarter-finals."

"Especially in the away game against Arsenal in the 1/8 final, Sun Xiang, who started the game, made great contributions to the team. The free kick he created near the corner flag area led to a header from his teammate Alex. With this goal, PSV advanced to the quarterfinals with a total score of 2:1."

“I hope he can get more playing opportunities in the future.”

"Raul, the King of the Rings who just transferred from Real Madrid this season, is Schalke 04's biggest reliance in the semi-finals."

"In the match against Inter Milan, Schalke's King Raul scored his 71st goal in the history of the Champions League, firmly occupying the top spot in the Champions League scoring list."

"If Raul can score again in this game, the goal record in the history of the Champions League will be broken again."

"The rest of Schalke's starting players have relatively little European experience and can only be considered rookies in this regard."

"Despite this, Shakhtar still has four magic weapons that can threaten Chelsea."

"The number one magic weapon is goalkeeper Neuer."

"Although he is only 25 years old, Neuer is now regarded by many as the number one goalkeeper in today's football world, at least the number one goalkeeper in Germany."

"In the 2007-08 Champions League quarter-finals, Schalke 1 played against Portuguese powerhouse Porto. The young Neuer showed a very high level of performance, not only saving the opponent's header, but also saving two penalties."

"Neuer is now in a position where one man can block a thousand men's way. It will probably take some effort for Charles and Torres to break through the city he is guarding."

"Jefferson Farfan has been rumored to be leaving the team for most of this season."

"But after Magath left in March this year, his form quickly improved and helped the team to win big."

"Farfan, who is extremely fast and has excellent breakthrough and assist abilities, will be a huge threat to Manchester United's left-wing defense. Once Bosingwa loses the advantage in the confrontation with him, Chelsea's situation will become difficult."

"Another great weapon is the newly appointed coach Rangnick."

"When Rangnick was appointed, he was not favored by the outside world. However, the new coach led the team to play with unprecedented momentum, especially in the Champions League, where the home and away double wins over Inter Milan were breathtaking."

"Rangnick is very focused on self-improvement and even spent a year in Brighton, England, to learn about multiple cultures and British football. This is somewhat similar to Mourinho."

"Ancelotti's understanding of German football may not be as deep as Rangnick's understanding of English football."

"In addition, up to this stage of the game, Rangnick has no pressure at all, which will help him lead Schalke to another upset."

"The last point is Raul, the immortal legend of the Champions League, who has injected championship qualities into the club."

"Chelsea's defence needs to be careful against him."

"Schalke 04 lost 0-1 to Kaiserslautern in the league last weekend. The team has obviously been saving its strength and focusing on the Champions League semi-finals."

"However, Schalke 04 had a serious injury problem in this game. Seven players, including Hoglander, Pander, Kenia, Moritz, Gavranovic, Huntelaar and Hvids, were unable to play."

"Chelsea beat West Ham United 1-0 in last week's league thanks to Neymar's goal, and Ancelotti also kept most of the main players on ice."

"At present, Chelsea has basically secured the Premier League title and has already defeated Manchester City to win the FA Cup. All attention is focused on the Champions League."

"Here are the rosters for both teams."

“沙尔克04（4-4-2）：1-诺伊尔/22-内田笃人，32-马蒂普，21-梅策尔德，2-萨尔佩/11-鲍姆约翰，14-帕帕多普洛斯，18-胡拉多，17-法尔范/7-劳尔，9-埃杜。”

“切尔西(4-4-2)：1-切赫/3-科尔、26-特里、2-伊万诺维奇、17-博辛瓦/5-埃辛、8-兰帕德、18-日尔科夫、37-拉米雷斯/7-夏尔、9-托雷斯。”

After changing his equipment, Charles prepared to go on the court to warm up.

Schalke 04's home stadium was originally called Aofus Schalke.

Very domineering and cool.

Now, the name of this stadium is Veltins Arena.

Veltins is the name of their sponsor.

This is a devil's home ground.

The most famous devil's home stadium in Europe is the Westfalenstadion. Schalke 04 is Dortmund's arch-rival in the Ruhr area, so their stadiums are naturally equally devilish.

As soon as he arrived at the stadium passage, Charles met an acquaintance he hadn't seen for a long time.

Raul in a blue jersey.

“How many goals have you scored in the Champions League now?”

Raul asked with a smile.

After Charles left Barcelona, ​​he also left Real Madrid.

I never thought that we would meet again and compete on the same stage in this way.

A year ago, he had thought of making Charles his successor.

"16. How about you?"

"As for me," Raul smiled and shook his head, "I won't tell you. Do you want to change your jersey after the game?"

Seeing Charles nod, Raul continued, "...Can I ask you a question?"

"what is the problem?"

"I watched your early game videos and they always felt familiar to me," Raul laughed. "Later Guti told me that your early playing style was a bit like mine, so did you learn from me?"

"If it's true, after the game, I'll let Torres write about it in his storybook. That way, I can be considered your former idol."

Torres followed the two men and pricked up his ears.

Ciel finally spoke.

"Yes, I have learned it. Now I can see through all your fake moves."

"Hahahaha—Did Xia see through this?"

Ciel smiled and nodded.

"Okay, okay, then I must try my best in this game and not let you see through me."

(End of this chapter)