Super Marshal

Due to its proximity to London, PSG did not arrive in London until noon the day before.

After checking into the hotel, the team took a short rest and headed to Wembley Stadium to familiarize themselves with the competition venue under the arrangement of UEFA.

Gao Han is more familiar with Wembley Stadium than anyone on either side. During his coaching career with Manchester City, he led his team to play countless finals at this stadium. As a result, Paris Saint-Germain was more fully prepared and arranged better. To be calm.

As the teams participating in the Champions League final arrive in London, security in the UK has also been upgraded.

According to Agence France-Presse, both the French and British governments have received reliable intelligence that individual suspects are planning bomb attacks at the Champions League finals, especially in areas with dense crowds of fans. This has made the entire Europe on tenterhooks.

The British government has also stated that it will do its best to ensure the orderly conduct of the Champions League final. They have basically identified the suspect, but they are not yet completely sure of the time and location, but they promise to be fully vigilant.

Affected by the threat of terrorist attacks, every move of Paris Saint-Germain after arriving in London was strictly protected. During the familiarization training, the venue was cleared and no one was allowed to enter or approach.

Fortunately, under strict protection, the potential threat of terrorist attacks did not affect the preparation mood of Paris Saint-Germain players, and the entire familiarization training was carried out in an orderly manner.

It was already sunset after the training. The team left Wembley Stadium and returned to the hotel under the leadership of Zidane and other assistants. Gao Han, accompanied by UEFA officials, went to attend the pre-match press conference. and UEFA’s official dinner.

When Gao Han arrived at the venue, many protesters gathered outside to demonstrate. They were mainly protesting against UEFA's recent decision to hand over the hosting rights of the U21 European Youth Championship to Israel. There were also many protesters holding banners at the scene.

Gao Han was already used to such scenes, as long as order was maintained on site.

"We have just received notification from the London police that a group of extreme Catalan fans just arrived in London and had a fierce conflict with Paris Saint-Germain fans, and the situation got out of hand."

After the UEFA official in charge of the reception received Gao Han, the two walked quickly to the venue and said with a somewhat depressed expression.

Before the Champions League final every year, off-field news always takes up the news.

In European football, the influence of professional football pervades every corner of society and is deeply rooted. Countless fans regard it as a belief and try every possible means to kill their opponents. Off-field conflicts are also frequently prohibited.

"Is anyone injured?" Gao Han was already used to this.

Not to mention the Champions League final, even in the French Cup final not long ago, local Paris fans clashed with Bordeaux fans, but the Paris police controlled the situation very well and did not lead to bloody conflicts.

"Three fans were injured. They have all been properly treated and are no longer serious. They were mainly caused by some iron rods."

Gao Han was slightly stunned, then shook his head and smiled bitterly.

This kind of focus event where large-scale fans gather often poses a huge test to the security and police force of the host city.

"In addition, we have issued a notice to the team to come to Wembley Stadium in advance tomorrow afternoon. We will hold an international superstar senior game as a warm-up event in the afternoon, which will include Edwin van der Sar, Figo, Cardiff, etc. Legendary stars such as Navarro and McManaman attended and fought in separate teams."

Gao Han had received this news before. This was a special arrangement by UEFA and a special event for this year's Champions League final. A total of twenty-four retired legendary stars were invited to participate.

"You can see them at the official dinner later."

After hearing this, Gao Han happened to come to the press conference hall. After nodding, he opened the door and entered the backcourt.

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The entire Champions League final has a complete process and the time is planned in an orderly manner.

Not long after Gao Han arrived at the venue, Barcelona coach Vilanova ended his pre-match press conference.

Winter in Europe came and went late this year. Although it is late May, people generally still wear long-sleeved autumn clothes.

However, Vilanova was obviously wearing more clothes. He was wearing a thick black suit and a gray scarf. His face looked a little pale, and his whole person gave people a feeling that he was not energetic enough.

In the past six months or so, he has been traveling between Spain and the United States to treat his parotid gland cancer. Judging from his appearance, his body must still have not fully recovered and is relatively weak.

"Hey, Tito."

As soon as Gao Han saw Vilanova, he immediately greeted him.

Although the two have never agreed upon each other, as Guardiola's assistant, Vilanova is no stranger to Gao Han.

"How is it?" Gao Han became concerned about Vilanova's condition.

Vilanova smiled and nodded, "It's basically no serious problem anymore, but my body is a little weak."

It can be heard that his treatment in New York, USA, went well.

This also made Gao Han very happy for Vilanova and wished him a speedy recovery.

Vilanova is also gearing up for the Champions League final, saying that he can't wait and asking Gao Han to be careful.

Gao Han smiled and said that he would not show mercy to Vilanova.

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Like all pre-match press conferences, the process of the press conference before the Champions League final is similar.

Gao Han took the lead in announcing the 18-man roster for the game. Except for Yaya Toure who was suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards, all other players who should be selected have basically been selected.

Gao Han expressed regret that Yaya Toure missed the Champions League final, because Yaya Toure is one of the most important players in the team's midfield, but he believes that Paris Saint-Germain has enough bench thickness to fill it well. The vacancy left by Yaya Toure will not have much impact on the game.

"For me, Wembley Stadium has always been a place that brings good luck. When I was coaching the Premier League, I directed games in this stadium many times. Returning to Wembley Stadium again will give I have a very strong and familiar feeling.”

"This is a football game that does not require mobilization. Being able to enter the final is the best motivation for professional players. I believe that my players will go all out in the game and we can have the last laugh."

Regarding Barcelona, ​​the opponent in this final, Gao Han said that this team is still superior.

"In the past two years, many people have been talking about Barcelona starting to decline and leaving its peak, but what I want to say is that the level of this team is still extremely high, and Vilanova is a very high-level player. He has his own coaching style, and he will adjust tactics according to the actual situation of the team. They won the La Liga title with an absolute advantage, which was not easy."

"Messi, Ibrahimovic, Iniesta, Xavi and other players are all very familiar to me. They are all players with extremely strong personal abilities. There is no doubt that Barcelona is still the best player in football today. One of the strongest teams, so I think this game will be very competitive because both sides are eager to win.”

Gao Han also mentioned Paris Saint-Germain.

"All of us, including the whole of France, are looking forward to us bringing the championship trophy back to Paris. The level of Ligue 1 is not low and the development is very rapid, but they have missed Europe's top honors for too long. Maybe a The Saint-Bride Cup can very well stimulate the development of the French Ligue 1."

"Whether it was before coming to London or after I came to London, I heard the voices of the French fans and I hope I can not disappoint them."

At the end of the press conference, Gao Han made an exception and talked about his plans for the future.

"Yes, such a final is destined to be a supreme honor for any head coach and player, and it is also for me, but I will be more calm because I have won it several times, so I'm pretty sure I won't lose sleep tonight because it's an important game, but it's just a game."

"I want to say that tomorrow's game may be the last Champions League game of my coaching career, and it will be the last time I lift the Saint-Bride Cup. I have extremely strong confidence that we will have the last laugh, and I The players will also fight to fulfill what we all want."

This confession is equivalent to acknowledging the rumors that he will retire. As for his plans after retirement, Gao Han said that he may take a break first and devote more energy to the management of Chinatown.

"I believe that no one will hype the topic of my confrontation with Chinatown again in the future." Gao Han said with a teasing smile.

The media reporters also burst into laughter, but there will definitely be other hype topics by then.

For example, if Chinatown's performance is unsatisfactory, Gao Han will fire the head coach in anger and take over the coaching job himself.

This kind of news will definitely attract attention, and it is also something that fans like to hear.

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After the press conference, Gao Han was taken by the staff to the official dinner venue.

At this regular dinner, in addition to the head coaches and officials from both sides, not only the British royal family arranged for Gao Han’s neighbor Prince William to come in person, but also the masters and apprentices of Ferguson and Beckham, as well as Arsenal’s head coach Arsene Wenger and other celebrities. The handsome guys are all there to keep me company.

What makes Gao Han most gratified is that the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham has improved a lot, and they have begun to communicate.

Obviously, after leaving the coaching position of Manchester United, Ferguson has gradually let go of his depression.

However, an unexpected incident occurred at the dinner party.

Although the London police tightened security measures due to rumors of terrorist attacks, there were still three extreme fans from Catalonia who disguised themselves as security guards and sneaked into the dinner. Afterwards, they raised slogans to protest against the cold. Two of them He even rushed towards Gao Han, with the intention of beating Gao Han severely.

Fortunately, the three men were restrained immediately and the police arrested them on the spot.

UEFA President Platini and Secretary General Infantino also came forward to calm the situation and expressed regret for this unexpected incident.

Later, Platini personally apologized to Gao Han and said that UEFA had approved Gao Han's appeal at this afternoon's executive committee meeting and decided to adjust the yellow card suspension mechanism of the Champions League and Europa League. Once they enter the semi-finals, all previous yellow cards will be cleared, ensuring that something like Yaya Toure will never happen again.

Gao Han is also very happy about this. Although Yaya Toure is no longer available, this is undoubtedly good news for other players and ensures that similar tragedies will not happen again.

But after the unexpected incident, Gao Han was not at ease with the team staying in the hotel. Before the dinner was over, he apologized to Platini, Ferguson and others and left the dinner early.

He hopes to be better prepared for tomorrow night's final.