Golden Greenery

On May 20, 2008, Zhuo Yang traveled from China to the City Stadium, running through the crowded streets of Manchester, and led AC Milan to a 3:2 victory over Zenit St. Petersburg.

That day was the UEFA Cup final of the 2007-08 season, and that scene was the most classic moment in the history of the UEFA Cup. And that time, AC Milan also won the only UEFA Cup in team history so far, achieving the three major European Cup Grand Slams.

It wasn't that AC Milan was timid before, it was actually because of its strong strength. Either playing in the Champions League or the earlier Cup Winners' Cup, it was difficult for the UEFA Cup to accommodate the Rossoneri's size.

The same is true for Manchester United. The Red Devils have won the Champions League and the Cup Winners' Cup, but have never been able to qualify for the UEFA Cup. There have only been seven battles in history, and none of them went very far. At that time, the influence of the UEFA Cup was too low and it was not attractive to wealthy clubs.

The most recent one was the absent-minded Manchester United who were eliminated by Rotors Volgograd in the first round.

Manchester United does not have the UEFA Cup, and Sir Alex Ferguson has never cared about it. In May 2017, Mourinho led Manchester United to the UEFA Cup final for the first time.

Mu Niao rarely cares about the UEFA Cup because his career as a coach started in this tournament. After leading Porto to win the UEFA Cup 14 years ago and the Champions League the following year, Mourinho hopes to replicate this process at Manchester United.

201 ushered in Gua and Mourinho, and Manchester United and Manchester City also spent heavy sums of money to pave the way for them. But after one season, Gua and Mu were competing in the league. In the end, one was fourth and the other sixth. The limelight was completely overshadowed by Zha Kongbo, and the voices questioning them never stopped.

If Gua and Mu were not fighting all the way through the European battlefield, the media should focus on discussing who of the two will be dismissed first.

At the beginning of the year, Mourinho won the League Cup, and the media jokingly called it his life-saving straw, like Wenger's 'thermos cup'. Mourinho did not refute, but he was very unconvinced. After the league was hopeless, he shifted all his focus to the UEFA Cup.

Along the way, Manchester United defeated Saint-Etienne, Rostov, Anderlecht, and Celta Vigo. The process was not smooth, but they finally entered the final.

Manchester United's opponent is Ajax.

Dutch football has been experiencing a downturn in recent years, and a lack of talent is a very important reason. But it would be unfair to say that there are no people born in the 1990s in the Netherlands.

In the final, there was only one born in the 1980s in Riga's starting lineup. Of course, it is also true that seven out of ten born in the 1990s are not Dutch.

Defender Jero Riedewald, who is not yet 21 years old, is Dutch and of Suriname descent. He and the defender Matthijs de Ligt, who also started today, who is under 18 years old, have attracted close attention from European giants.

Just five minutes into the game, Riedewald was injured while defending Fellaini and could no longer continue the game. After careful consideration, coach Peter Botts did not continue to play young people, but replaced Heiko Westermann, the 34-year-old former German defender Heiko Westermann, the second oldest player in the team.

Zhuo Yang did not watch the FA Cup final, but he watched the live broadcast of the UEFA Cup final today. It's not that he has a choice in watching the game, but that he is free today.

Seeing the young and green defenders in Jia's family, and seeing the ravaged Westerman, Zhuoyang was happy for his old teammates to appear in the finals, but at the same time, his thoughts were wandering.

Once upon a time, my Fort Madi also had a young and talented defense line, but who else is there now?

Rigbert Lao Song retired after the 2010 World Cup. After working as a head coach in his hometown for several years, he found that he was not that good at it, so he honestly became a profiteer. Now I travel to China all day long, and I still live broadcast on the Internet to sell goods. I have a lot of fun. Lao Song is not short of money. He has two oil wells.

Pompon Louis was in Paris. Chelsea wanted to repurchase him last year, but Pompon didn't let them think about it.

Thomas Vermaelen was injured all day long in Barcelona, ​​as if he was in confinement. Except for receiving wages, it was difficult to see people at other times. But Barcelona does not dislike him, because Vermaelen has the attribute of "injury blessing". As long as he is injured, there will be no major injuries in the team.

In the past two years, all the important players in Meishangjian have been free of serious illnesses, and Vermaelen deserves the most credit.

Grosso retired at the end of 2012. He is now a member of Juventus U1. Also retired is Rock Dras, who is now working as a youth training assistant in Madiburg.

After the god of wine Yuri Zhirkov left Chelsea, he went through several changes. Now Zenit St. Petersburg has regained his form and returned to the Russian national team.

'Jesus' Zygrinski finished playing this season and plans to leave Dortmund, either to Turkey or the Chinese Super League. He plans to start retirement with no future prospects.

The above are the ones that left Madibao relatively early.

‘Waste wood’ Michail Zepek retired from Madiburg in the summer of 2015, not because of his 34-year-old age, but mainly because of injuries. In the past two years, he built a ditch in the mountains to raise pigs, which was very profitable.

Marcel Schaefer moved to Wolfsburg in 2014. After playing for three years, he plans to go to the American Major League this summer.

Sasa Ritter moved to Schalke 04 in 2015 and is still there today. He is called "Little Ram", although Ritter is actually half a year older than Ram, and he is also 34 years old.

Salvaretto Boccetti moved to Spartak Moscow last summer and is the main center back there this season.

These people all left Madibao after they were 30 years old, and they could be regarded as devoting their youth to the peninsula. Madibao's defense in that era was such a gathering of heroes.

Now, the only remaining veterans of the defense back then are the 34-year-old ‘Bangchui’ Ackerman, and the 30-year-old Serdar Tashcher, who was loaned out several times to practice and finally became a great player. Zhuoyang played his last home game in Madibao. Before the last game, Tasheche came on as a substitute for the first team for the first time. It was a barely acquaintance.

Before I knew it, so much time had passed.

.

Ajax is very young, but it is still immature after all. Although the team has potential new stars such as Traore, Kluivert Jr., Frenkie de Jong, Davinson Sanchez, and De Ligt, they are still defeated. Old Manchester United.

Today Ibrahimovic was injured and absent, and Rashford was a cover in front. Manchester United took a 2:0 lead in the first half with the goals of two long-established midfielders Pogba and Mkhitaryan.

Westerman was unlucky. Although he was not responsible for the two goals conceded, coach Peter Botz adjusted his tactics after falling behind and replaced him with 20-year-old Brazilian forward David Neres at the beginning of the second half. .

After coming on as a substitute and being replaced early, Westerman ended his one-year trip to Jiafu in frustration. After this game, he will return to Fort Madi and will not go anywhere until he retires.

Westerman's defeat failed to bring about a turnaround for Ajax, and 2:0 was the final score. Mourinho did what Sir Alex Ferguson failed to do, he made Manchester United a Grand Slam team in Europe.

Next, all eyes are focused on the Champions League final between Manchester City and Real Madrid.