Ground football: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him

May 24, Wiesbaden Stadium, Borussia Dortmund.

More than 60,000 fans made preparations well in advance.

More than 50,000 people were wearing red jerseys, and Liverpool fans completely took over the stadium at this moment.

In contrast, the Green and White Army has a pitifully small number of supporters, less than 10,000.

There were even more fans wearing yellow and black Borussia Dortmund jerseys than Sporting Lisbon fans.

This demonstrates the overwhelming prestige of the top five European leagues over their counterparts in the lower leagues.

The commentators started their work while both teams were still warming up.

"Hello everyone, this is the 2000-2001 UEFA Cup final. I am Huang Jianxiang. Today, our special guests are Fan Zhiyi, a Chinese player from Crystal Palace in the English Premier League, and his former teammate at Crystal Palace, Sun Jihai, a national team player who currently plays for Dalian Shide."

Today's match is between Premier League giants Liverpool and Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon. Sporting Lisbon's Chinese player, Deng Kai, is very popular among Chinese fans and is the team of choice for most Chinese supporters.

"Whom does Fan Zhiyi favor in this match?"

Fan Zhiyi laughed: "Of course it's Liverpool. I've played against Liverpool in the Premier League, and they're very strong. Their lineup today is basically their starting lineup for the league."

"Owen and Heskey are Liverpool's golden duo, and they are also the first choice for England's attacking lineup. Owen has been the Premier League's top scorer for two consecutive years, and his momentum is very strong. English fans believe that he is a superstar who can surpass Ronaldo."

"Heskey is 1.9 meters tall. He is a great fulcrum and can also fight one-on-one. Apart from being slightly weak in shooting, he has almost no weaknesses. His explosive power is also extremely strong for his height. He was once called a larger version of Eusebio the Black Panther."

"Drogba and Heskey on Sporting Lisbon's side are somewhat similar, but Drogba is far too inexperienced; the difference between him and Heskey is like dust compared to stars."

Sun Jihai gave a thumbs-up, indicating that Fan Ge (Fan Ge) knows how to use metaphors.

Encouraged, Fan Zhiyi became even more enthusiastic and brought out the Liverpool intelligence analyzed by the team's assistant coach: "Liverpool's midfield is also not weak. The left and right wingers, Berg and Danny Murphy, are both strong players. The midfield pairing of McAllister and Vladimir Smicer has returned to its peak this season and is getting better with age."

"Especially Smicer, as one of the three musketeers of the Czech national team, although his development is not as good as Nedved's, who was a star at Lazio, he is slightly better than Poborsky, who wasted his time at Benfica."

Five years ago, the Czech Republic shone brightly in the European Championship, reaching the semi-finals, and Smicer played a crucial role in their success. Last year, although the Czech team's overall performance was poor, Smicer's individual brilliance was undeniable. His brace in three minutes to defeat Denmark was another highlight. It's worth mentioning that the goalkeeper he pierced twice was none other than Sporting Lisbon's goalkeeper, Schmeichel!

"Liverpool's defense is equally strong. The central defensive pairing of Hyypia and Henjos has excellent understanding, and Carragher has performed exceptionally well at left-back. At right-back, they have the renowned Marcus Babel, brought in from Bayern Munich."

"Speaking of which, Babel also has a score to settle with Schmeichel and Duncan. Two years ago in the Champions League final, after Bayern was defeated by Manchester United, the image of Babel angrily pounding the turf was the most heartbreaking scene for all Bayern fans."

"In addition, Liverpool has several high-level players on the bench. Robbie Fowler is definitely one of the strongest substitute strikers. Dietmar Hamann and Liverpool's own academy midfielder Gerrard also have the ability to start."

"This squad is several times stronger than Sporting Lisbon's. Moreover, Sporting Lisbon just played a league match two days ago, while Liverpool's schedule is relatively easy. With that advantage, it's hard for them to lose!"

After Fan Zhiyi praised Liverpool, Huang Jianxiang expressed a different opinion: "Although Liverpool's lineup is stronger, Sporting Lisbon has already created many miracles before, and they might be able to do the same in this match."

"Sporting Lisbon's starting lineup can be described as an all-star team in the Portuguese league!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Quaresma"

"Viana, Deng Kai"

"Mateusz, Deschamps"

"Terry, Fonte, Barzagli, and goalkeeper Schmeichel!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo is an extremely prolific goal scorer and is very likely to score in this match! He is definitely a player Liverpool needs to keep a close eye on..."

Fan Zhiyi reached out to interrupt Huang Jianxiang's introduction: "Um, regarding Cristiano Ronaldo, a friend of mine has an evaluation of him that I think is quite fair."

Huang Jianxiang: "I would like to hear the details."

Fan Zhiyi: "His playing style relies heavily on his physique, but while his physical attributes are acceptable in the second division, they are somewhat lacking in the top five leagues. Therefore, based on his playing style, he can play for a maximum of three more years."

Huang Jianxiang seemed to be deep in thought, feeling that there was more to this statement than met the eye.

……

Soon, both teams returned to the locker room and then lined up to walk out of the players' tunnel.

With the sound of a whistle, the competition officially began.

Perhaps because this match was of great importance, both teams were being exceptionally cautious, or rather, conservative.

After all, whichever team wins, they will be the new treble champions!

In the first ten minutes, neither side created any threatening attacks.

But this does not mean that this period of time is useless.

Both teams used this period of probing to assess each other's strength and form, and then developed corresponding countermeasures.

On the Liverpool bench, manager Gerrard Houllier, beaming with delight, chatted with substitutes like Bamby, Hamann, and Gerrard: "Sure enough, they have stamina issues!"

"The workload of playing two games in three days is too heavy, and their running ability has declined significantly."

"The attacking third is fine, but in the backline, a three-center-back plus two-defensive-midfielder system, if the players aren't physically mobile, practically leaves the flanks completely exposed!"

"If you come on in the second half, be sure to make good use of these opportunities!"

After saying that, Houllier waved his hand, signaling the Liverpool players on the field to change their attacking focus.

Smicer then passed the ball to left winger Berg.

In the next ten minutes, Liverpool created several dangerous opportunities, and Sporting Lisbon gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Twenty-first minute.

Fonte headed the ball away, and Deschamps, under pressure, kicked the ball forward.

Liverpool midfielder McAllister intercepted the ball and passed it to right-back Babel.

Babel dribbles the ball, beats Murphy one-two, and then crosses from the byline.

Heskey, England's black gem, outjumps Fonte to head the ball into the net.

Schmeichel reacted quickly, instinctively making a save from the powerful header.

But the next moment, Owen, the white gem, darted past the goal and scored on the rebound.

One to zero!

After a grueling 20 minutes, Liverpool finally broke the deadlock and took the lead!

I like playing football on the ground: Ronaldo thought I was going to assist him.