Chinese players in Europe

Chapter 592
The time for the first round of the UEFA Champions League semi-final came quickly amid the anger of AC Milan and the silence of Tottenham Hotspur.

At noon on April 4st, the weather in London was extremely hot under the sun, and the originally deserted West Ross Airport was filled with noisy fans scolding and reporters talking and laughing. It looked like a mess. It is the largest farmer's market in China.

Not long after, a dull rumbling sound pierced the sky, and AC Milan's flight finally arrived in London.

The atmosphere around the airport became lively in an instant. The fans who had been waiting anxiously immediately shook the slogans and banners such as "Milan must win!" and "Long live the Rossoneri!" rushed towards the airport exit.Most of these fans are red and black supporters from Italy, as well as journalists from various European countries.As a traditional giant in Europe for more than 100 years, AC Milan will have many followers no matter where it is.

The first one to walk out of the passageway was Milan's head coach Massimiliano Allegri. This Italian coach was wearing a black windbreaker and walked past many fans and reporters with his back straight.His face was a little dignified, he didn't say anything to the fans, and walked directly to the bus parked outside the airport.

Fans and reporters didn't care either.Although Allegri's performance in coaching AC Milan this season is not bad, but the fans are not interested in this handsome Italian coach. In their view, with the strength and background of AC Milan, it is a matter of course to achieve good results. matter.Everyone's attention is still focused on the upcoming Milan players. These talents are big names, so they are worthy of attention.

The first player to appear in the eyes of the fans is AC Milan's number one star Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic. This big man with a height of more than 1.9 meters is wearing a sportswear with the Milan flag logo, and his ears are plugged. Putting on the earphones, seeing so many fans coming to pick him up, he smiled, and then waved like a star.

Immediately, Robinho, Cassano, Pirlo and other big-name players also came out through the entrance, and the fans at the scene burst into cheers, holding up the scarves in their hands, and kept shouting "Long live Milan!" "Ibrahimovic is mighty!" The slogan of "Robby is invincible" is like a crazy believer.

And the spotlight also flashed like lightning. Hundreds of reporters on the scene were frantically chasing shots of these stars, and countless microphones were stretched over.

From the warm atmosphere at the scene, it can be seen how much appeal and influence AC Milan has in Europe.

However, the AC Milan players just smiled and did not respond to the enthusiasm of the fans, nor did they accept an on-site interview with reporters. Milan captain Ambrosini left a sentence: "We are here to win the victory." Take them back to the city of Milan", and under the protection of the security guards at the scene, the AC Milan team boarded the bus prepared for them by the Tottenham club, and quickly left the airport to the hotel they booked.

In the afternoon, after completing the field adaptation training before the game, Allegri held a brief press conference in the hotel to express his views on the first round of the superstar semi-final tomorrow.

"We're going to give it our all here, no one is going to see this game as a tourist trip. Of course, although we will try to win, this Champions League semi-final is just a normal Champions League for us. We have the opportunity to play in the Champions League every year, so we approach this difficult game with joy and peace of mind."

"The one I still have doubts about tomorrow's starter is Alexander (Pato), he hasn't returned to training. Two or three days ago I would have thought there would be encouraging developments, but unfortunately, until now, there hasn't been one that can. A sure result. We all know how important he is to us, he is an integral part of the team's offensive system. Of course, this is not to say that we have no determination to win without him. In fact, Boateng , Zlatan (Ibrahimovic), Robbie are all good attackers."

"I will determine the final starting lineup at the end of training tonight... My preparation for this game does not depend on any opponent. I think that as long as we play our football well, victory is a matter of course... Mo? He is a very good and promising young man, but being good does not mean invincible. I hope he can be more restrained. Milan has many good defensive players, such as Ivan (Gattuso), such as Mark ( Van Bommel) ... I think they will show the art of defense in Italian football to the fullest."

"This game is very difficult from every angle, because Tottenham are very strong individually and as a whole. The victory over Real Madrid and Inter Milan reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League is the best proof. White Hart Lane is not an ordinary team. The stadium, with the voice of more than 5 fans eager to win, will bring pressure to everyone, even the referee, in a huge home crowd, it takes a lot of courage for him to make the right judgment. I don't Not a dark allusion, just a statement of fact... I think that in the face of this pressure, we have to face it with determination and peace of mind. I have spoken to my players today about this, I look forward to a proper response from them."

"I think Tottenham are under more pressure than we are. They're playing at home, they've never been to a Champions League final, and that hunger can turn into motivation, or it can turn into pressure. Motivation or pressure, everything matters It's up to them. All we have to do is increase the pressure and put it on them..."

"I still say the same thing. Although the process of the game will be very difficult, the result is beyond doubt. The great red and blue team must win in the end!"

At the Tottenham player training base, Redknapp and his disciples are having dinner.Today was the last training session before the battle. After the end, the coaching staff gave the players a short tactical meeting. So after all the preparations for the battle were ready, Redknapp simply kept the players and played together. Have a meal.

Seeing on the rear-projection TV on the wall, Allegri was making a resolute "declaration of victory", Redknapp put down the knife and fork in his hand, smiled and said to the players: "Coach Massimiliano Said we were under a lot of pressure..."

Could it be that he smiled, did not argue, and continued to concentrate on dealing with the food on the table.

On the other hand, Aaron Lennon grinned and said, "Pressure ass, that old boy Allegri is obviously talking nonsense with his eyes open. He was so depressed by our 'psychological warfare' before the game." , and now they look like dead parents again, to say they have no pressure, that would be nonsense!"

Van der Vaart grabbed Lennon's neck and laughed loudly: "Aaron is right, this is the White Hart Lane Stadium, just with the old guys in Milan City, it is impossible to make a fortune on our site." Go? There must be pressure, but it’s the pressure to kill them, and it’s our pressure that we can’t score three goals!”

The surrounding players burst into laughter at the vulgar but confident remarks of Van der Vaart and Lennon.In fact, everyone is determined to win this game. Of course, they will not underestimate each other because of this.They all know that although AC Milan's team is seriously aging, it is a traditional powerhouse in Europe after all. If they can reach the semi-finals, they will have two brushes anyway.The reason for "molesting" the other party in this way is not only to hit the other party's morale and make the opponent's mind disordered, but also to make one's own mentality more peaceful is also an important reason.

Redknapp felt that it was still necessary to cool down the players whose morale and fighting spirit were obviously bursting. He shook his head and reminded: "Don't be careless. Although this is our home court, Allegri is a very good player." A capable head coach has a tacit understanding of the individual abilities and overall coordination of the players under him. We must be cautious. Although they are older, the older they get, the worse they get. We can't let them score goals first, let alone boost their morale. Otherwise, this game will be difficult to play, and these 'old monsters' have all become masters, and they are very proficient in how to turn their advantages into victories."

The players nodded in agreement, saying that they would never have the slightest contempt, and would definitely go all out in the game.

That night, the world-renowned first round of the UEFA Champions League semi-final kicked off. The first game started was the duel between the Bundesliga champion Hoffenheim and the La Liga giants Barcelona's dark horse and veteran forces.Hoffenheim, which is playing at home, has been doing well in the league for a while, and the team's morale is booming. They thought they would occupy the home court, and there were tens of thousands of fans cheering on the scene. They were able to kill Barcelona in one go and create another miracle. Where Thinking that the Catalans had completely taken the initiative from the very beginning, they directly stunned the home team with three goals in the first half.Barcelona slowed down their offensive rhythm in the second half, but Messi's goal in stoppage time still fixed the score at 4:0.

Hoffenheim, who played at home, can be said to have lost without even underwear left. They conceded four goals at home and ate a big duck egg. This has already been eliminated from the Champions League final.The second round of the game was just going through the motions.

Barcelona's astonishing performance on the second day attracted great attention from the European media. The reporters believed that Barcelona's 4-0 defeat of Hoffenheim sent a signal.This signal is that in a match of the semi-final level, the home and away factors are not the most important. The key to the promotion is the strength of both sides, as well as the state of the game and the level of performance.

The Tottenham players all watched the game. To be honest, they could have expected Hoffenheim's defeat. After all, Barcelona was in its heyday. In terms of real combat power, Barcelona has also dropped them by at least two grades.

It's just that the loss was so embarrassing, but it was really unexpected by Tottenham.Hoffenheim's big defeat at home also reminded Tottenham's boys, they realized that these long-established European giants are really not easy to deal with.Everyone knows that today's game will never be better than the one just past.

The next afternoon, the two teams held their final pre-match press conferences at the stadium. During the meeting, the two managers launched a verbal contest, and Redknapp was cautious and confident. , expressing that Tottenham will definitely win as much as possible at home and lay the foundation for advancing to the final.

And Allegri continued to issue his unchanging "victory declaration": "This will be a difficult game, but we will go all out to win. Tottenham are very strong, but we have a glorious tradition of more than 100 years. Will not be afraid of any team's challenge! Barcelona's victory is a good encouragement for us, upstarts will always be upstarts, and their strength and heritage will never be able to compete with traditional tycoons in a short period of time! Therefore, the final winner , will be the great AC Milan!"

(End of this chapter)