Coaching legend

On May 5, 2004, Blackburn Rovers welcomed Porto, who came from afar, at home.

The sky was gloomy that day.

It had been raining since morning. But the bad weather did not stop the enthusiasm of Blackburn Rovers fans.

Two hours before the game, many fans had already entered the stadium at Ewood Park. Half an hour before the start of the game, Ewood Park was already full. Because this was a Champions League semi-final.

Even in ordinary Premier League games, the attendance rate of Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park was 99.9%, which can be said to be almost full. Not to mention the Champions League semi-final.

Although there were some Porto fans who followed the team, they were almost insignificant to the tens of thousands of Blackburn Rovers fans. Not only was Ewood Park full, but there were tens of thousands of fans around Ewood Park.

They all came today to celebrate Blackburn Rovers' entry into the Champions League final.

Although there was still one game to go, in Blackburn Rovers' minds, Blackburn Rovers had already entered the Champions League final.

"The second game of the Champions League semi-final is about to start. Blackburn beat Porto 2-0 in the first game. Blackburn played this game with two away goals."

"Andy, what kind of play will George adopt in this game?"

Martin Taylor started his work before the game started. He asked Andy Gray next to him with a smile.

"Martin, I guess anyone in the English football world will tell you this question. And the answer will definitely be the same, there will definitely not be any different answers." Andy Gray also laughed.

"Martin, I can bet. George will definitely play a defensive counterattack in this game. And the front court must be full of speed players."

Martin Taylor shook his head.

"Andy, how can I bet with you on such an obvious thing. As you said, if you find anyone in the English football world to bet with him, I believe no one will bet with you."

The two commentators really know George too well.

Just as they said, George is blatantly playing a defensive counterattack.

So what if the opponent is Porto? Who stipulated that George cannot play defensive counterattacks against a team weaker than him?

When Mourinho saw Blackburn's starting lineup, his face was already dark. Because just by looking at this starting lineup, Mourinho could understand what George meant. Look at the front, Klose, Kaka, Ribery, which one is not a fast player.

Especially Kaka, he is a good counterattack player.

In the past two years, I don't know how many strong teams died from Kaka's long-distance raid.

Mourinho is a coach who pays great attention to details. Before the game with Blackburn, he watched all the important games of Blackburn in the past two years. Therefore, seeing Blackburn's starting lineup, Mourinho could imagine George's thoughts.

Gnashing teeth, it is impossible to describe Mourinho's mood at the moment.

But there is no way. Who made the first game lost. Now the initiative is in Blackburn's hands.

Everyone can see it when the game starts.

Mourinho is impatient, it is Porto.

Blackburn is not in a hurry at all. Needless to say, Essien and Alonso, even Hargreaves, who had recovered from injury, played in this game. Although George played defensive counterattacks, he rarely used a formation of three defensive midfielders.

But in this game, George sent three defensive midfielders.

Alonso, Essien, and Hargreaves are all defensive midfielders with strong defense.

In this game, Pires and Miku did not play in the midfield. George just wanted to carry out the defensive counterattack to the end.

Mourinho had no choice but to continue attacking.

Porto's original strength was limited. In history, Mourinho had another general under him, that is Deco. Unfortunately, Deco is now in Real Madrid. If Deco is in Porto, he can completely improve Porto's midfield strength to a higher level.

Now Maniche plays the role of Deco.

Unfortunately, Maniche's strength is really not as good as Deco.

Now Porto is out in full force, and there is not much threat to Blackburn. Maniche and Mendes, their greatest ability is to attack from behind. Especially the shot after the back-up, which was very good.

Unfortunately, under the interception of the three midfielders, it was difficult for them to get a chance to shoot after the back-up.

Except for the back-up of the two of them. Porto's biggest attack is on the right. Ferreira and Alenichev's cooperation on the right is a major offensive method of Porto. Unfortunately, George left Hargreaves on the left and cooperated with Riise to defend.

In addition, Ferreira could not go forward to assist without any scruples. Therefore, it was difficult for Alenichev to create any threat on the right alone.

After the game started, although Porto played very lively, the real threat was always limited. Blackburn, on the other hand, was not in a hurry and just kept wasting time with you. What was wasted was time.

"Look, if someone told you that the current Blackburn is a team that has won the Champions League and three consecutive Premier League titles, would you believe it? He is too negative."

Martin Taylor couldn't stand it anymore.

Blackburn's style of play was too negative. But George didn't care about other people's opinions.

George wants to reach the Champions League final in the most energy-saving way.

The longer the game goes on, the more anxious the Porto players become. The two balls are like swords hanging over their heads, reminding Porto players all the time. You are still two goals behind.

But at the end of the first half, the Porto players were completely desperate.

After forty minutes of offense without any effect, the Porto players were really anxious. Their offense was a little cautious at first, but by the end of the first half, they had forgotten what caution meant.

The whole army pressed forward, but Blackburn unexpectedly counterattacked.

But it's not the Kaka that George left in front.

But Lucio. He rushed forward and stole the ball from Mendes, and then instead of passing the ball, he directly charged with the ball. Lucio is very fast, so fast that even within the Blackburn team, there are few who can compare with Lucio in terms of explosive power and speed.

Even the two forwards, Klose and Drogba, cannot compare to Lucio in terms of explosive power and speed.

Therefore, Lucio, a central defender, suddenly stepped in, leaving Porto with no one to defend at all. Even if someone wants to defend, the speed can't match it. In addition, Porto's midfielders are all here in Blackburn's half, so Lucio drives straight in.

In the frontcourt, Klose even played a two-on-one.

Klose's pass was just right. Lucio used his speed to get rid of Porto's defender, faced Baia with a shot, and scored the first goal of the game.

With Lucio's goal before the end of the first half, everyone knew that Blackburn had entered the Champions League final.

After Lucio scored, the entire Ewood Park was about to explode.

It's really going to explode.

The fans at Ewood Park cheered loudly. The cheers were loud. George, who was in the middle of it, felt like he was at the center of the explosion.

"Final! Final! Final!"

"We're going to the finals!"

Martin Taylor also shouted loudly.

"Three to zero, Blackburn leads Porto with a total score of three to zero. With this goal, Blackburn has completely locked in a place in the finals. Blackburn will soon enter the Champions League final. Congratulations to George, congratulations to Blackburn."

"Blackburn will soon play in their second Champions League final. George will also lead Blackburn to their second Champions League final!"

Compared to the excitement of Blackburn fans, Porto was completely silent.

Porto players were even more frustrated.

Although they also knew before the game that this game was not easy to play. But at least there is a little bit of hope, as long as we can score a goal first. Then the game is still possible. But now we are three goals behind, and it is really impossible to come back.

They began to truly despair.

The second half of the game was tepid. Porto has little fighting spirit, and the same goes for Mourinho, the personality coach. Mourinho sat on the bench and looked at the field expressionlessly.

Blackburn is unwilling to continue fighting with Porto.

Don't think they have any fighting spirit now. But once you piss them off and let them take advantage of you, the gains outweigh the losses.

So the second half of the game was almost uneventful.

Waiting until the referee blew the whistle, Ewood Park became a sea of ​​joy. The cheers of the fans gathered into a huge torrent, rushing through Ewood Park.

George stood in the center, hands raised.

I shouted in my heart: Blackburn is here for the Champions League final! Champions League final, I, George, am here again!

Mourinho next to him had already returned to the locker room at the end of the game. He simply ignored George, who was about to come over and shake his hand. George looked at Mourinho's back and said nothing.

And Mourinho's defeat is not at all to blame.

Because of this kind of thing, George himself did a lot.

Mourinho is a character coach and very arrogant at heart. How can we watch George celebrating there and remain indifferent.

George shook his head.

At this time, the group of reporters had already arrived at George's side.

This time George still did not embarrass them. They almost answered whatever they asked.

"Coach Levi, what do you think of Jose Mourinho?"

This reporter happened to see the embarrassing scene just now. George wanted to go over and say hello to Mourinho, but unfortunately Mourinho ignored him at all. That's why he asked this question.

George shrugged.

"Jose Mourinho, Coach Mourinho is a very good coach. It's just that Porto's stage is too small. I sincerely welcome him to England. I think Chelsea and Liverpool should achieve good results by Invite an excellent head coach like Mourinho.”

Although he beat Mourinho, George was not proud at all.

Because Mourinho's Porto is too weak. Mourinho simply couldn't use all his talents.

So George still speaks highly of Mourinho.