The Godfather of Football

Many people only know that UEFA's headquarters is in Nyon, Switzerland, but they don't know that the specific location is not in the city of Nyon, but in the south of Nyon, next to the main road to Kron and Serigny, located in Geneva Lakeside.

Because it is a suburb, the land is vast and sparsely populated. People living here are either luxurious villas and estates, or some famous lakeside vacation homes. UEFA owns a large area of ​​real estate here, except for the one next to Lake Geneva. The two-story headquarters is just across Geneva Avenue from the headquarters. Opposite it is a public stadium with relatively simple facilities.

Surrounding this public stadium, there are 3 standard football fields and 2 smaller football fields.

Not only that, the headquarters faces Lake Geneva, and there is a large piece of grass between the back of the house and Geneva Avenue, which is about the size of a football field. It can be seen that the UEFA headquarters here is a standard landlord and wealthy person.

It was the first time for Mourinho to come to UEFA headquarters. When he listened to Jorge Mendes introducing these UEFA properties, the Portuguese had a sneer on his lips because he knew very well , UEFA where all this comes from.

"The Chinese have a saying, the wool comes from the sheep!" Mourinho said lightly.

After hearing this, Mendes glanced at Mourinho. He obviously wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say it. However, he still saw some of Mourinho's changes and just kept them in his heart.

The UEFA headquarters is a two-story building facing the lake. It is in a narrow square shape along the lakeside. The exterior walls are all designed with transparent glass curtain walls. This is to allow people in the office to appreciate Geneva. Beautiful scenery of the lake.

Not only that, there is a small pier on the lake in front of the house, and several small curved breakwaters have even been specially built. Between the breakwater and the pier, there are several small boats docked. Needless to say, they are all from UEFA of private property.

As soon as you enter the door, you can see the scenery of Lake Geneva at a glance, and occasionally you can see some yachts passing by.

The staff have been greeting and receiving the visitors here for a long time. These people are all guests who came to participate in the UEFA Champions League top 8 knockout draw. There are not many people, they are the eight teams that have reached the top 8 of the Champions League. The team's club officials or head coaches, among them, Mourinho noticed Peter Kenyon as soon as he entered the door.

The appearance of Peter Kenyon means that Ye Qiu is not here. This makes many people know very well that the Chinese are angry with UEFA. No one is willing to bow their heads easily. The reason is not difficult at all. Guess.

There are quite a few dark horses in this year’s Champions League quarter-finals. Among the top eight are European giants such as AC Milan, Real Madrid, and Arsenal. Others are powerful teams such as Deportivo La Coruna, Lyon, and Chelsea. Among them, Chelsea The limelight has completely changed those wealthy families.

Mourinho of Porto and Didier Deschamps of Monaco are two young coaches who have risen rapidly in Europe in the past two years. Although they are not as good as the one from Chelsea, they are still somewhat famous in Europe, especially It's Mourinho. Because he beat Ye Qiu in the two major UEFA awards, his popularity and influence have skyrocketed.

"Hello, Mr. Kenyon!" Mendes smiled and greeted Peter Kenyon beside him.

This made Mourinho unable to pretend that he didn't see it, so he nodded lightly, which was considered polite.

"Hello, Mr. Mendes!" Peter Kenyon replied and looked at Mourinho, "I never thought that Mr. Mourinho would come to this lottery ceremony in person despite his busy schedule."

Peter Kenyon said it in a joking tone, but it always sounded a bit unpleasant to Mourinho's ears. Because he hated Ujiwu's relationship, he didn't like Ye Qiu, so he naturally treated him from Chelsea's Peter Kenyon falls into the disliked category, a bad impression that has been created since the first meeting.

People are usually the same. When you have a bad impression of a person, what they say will make you have some bad associations involuntarily, and you can't help but think about the bad, which can easily lead to some misunderstandings. .

Mourinho did not answer or even give any reaction. Peter Kenyon did not expect that his casual words would receive such a cold response. He was suddenly embarrassed and very angry. The Portuguese was too arrogant. Order it?

As everyone knows, it is not entirely Mourinho's arrogance, but the result of a combination of circumstances.

"Hey, Mr. Kenyon, are you here alone?" Mendes didn't understand why Mourinho was so cold, and immediately smiled awkwardly to help Kenyon resolve the embarrassment.

"Yes, Ye Qiu is very busy, and he has rich experience in the Champions League. He doesn't care what opponent he draws, so I can only do it alone!" Peter Kenyon's tone this time clearly meant something else, but he said After that, he apologized and left.

To Mourinho, this sentence seemed to be a sarcasm. He has no experience in the Champions League, so he attaches great importance to his opponents. He even came nervously to participate in the lottery ceremony. As everyone knows, he didn't want to come at all. He just wanted to come. Both Costa and Mendes feel that this occasion should be used to praise UEFA.

"Don't look, he obviously doesn't take us seriously!" Jorge Mendes saw Mourinho staring at Peter Kenyon fiercely, and smiled bitterly at the corner of his mouth. He obviously felt that Mourinho was Maybe he took his jealousy towards Ye Qiu out on Peter Kenyon.

Speaking of which, the relationship between people is indeed complicated enough, especially for Mourinho, who seems arrogant on the surface, but in the eyes of Mendes, who has witnessed his ups and downs in the past few years and has experienced all kinds of things, he is actually a very inferior and fragile person. The emotions towards a person are often very complicated and difficult for outsiders to understand.

Mourinho's arrogance is disguised, and he is actually very inferior in his heart.

But please note that the inferiority here is not a derogatory word, but just describes a person's mentality.

Many people also say that Ye Qiu is very inferior, because he comes from a weak football country and has been looked down upon since he came to Europe, so he has an inferiority mentality in his bones, but what he embodies is a tenacious and unyielding pride.

The same is true for Mourinho. In Mendes's view, he actually has a lot in common with Ye Qiu, but what is interesting is that the two seem to be incompatible, and as long as Ye Qiu is mentioned in front of Mourinho, the Portuguese's face will definitely make you deeply understand what a knife-like look is.

But except for those who know Mourinho well, no one knows that before the two-round knockout match with Manchester United, Mourinho watched Chelsea's 3:0 home victory over Manchester United dozens of times, and he has always paid attention to Chelsea in the past, but his reason and excuse is to care about his old player Deco.

I don't understand, it's really confusing!

Mendes finally smiled bitterly and shook his head in his heart. If you don't understand, don't try to understand it, just let it go!

After everyone waited in the hall for a while, the draw ceremony started on time at 12:30.

Among the eight teams that entered the quarterfinals, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and AC Milan are recognized as the four strongest teams among all teams. Among them, the Premier League duo are the only two unbeaten teams in Europe in the past six months. Many people have listed them as the favorites to win the Champions League this season.

Real Madrid's strength has declined a lot this season, especially Makelele's transfer, which has caused serious problems for Real Madrid's midfielder. In addition, the decline in strength caused by the departure of Hierro in the back line and the aging of the superstars in the front and midfield have become the most serious problems for Real Madrid.

But there is a saying that a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even if Real Madrid is in a bad state, it is still one of the strongest teams in Europe.

As for AC Milan, Ancelotti's team has greatly improved the speed and efficiency of the midfield after getting Kaka this season, and the Brazilian has become the hottest top star in today's football.

The final draw result is surprising, because Chelsea drew Arsenal and Real Madrid drew Monaco. The two teams are gathered in the upper half, Porto met Lyon, and AC Milan drew Deportivo La Coruna, and they are in the lower half.

As soon as the draw results came out, everyone in the venue started talking about it. Peter Kenyon's face became even more ugly, because no one would have thought that the two Premier League teams that were hailed as the most promising to win the championship would actually face off in advance.

It's strange to say that Chelsea has encountered Arsenal twice this season, and both were draws, which shows the strength of these two teams.

"You say, who would believe that such a draw result is not against Chelsea?" Mendes said with a bit of amusement.

Among the four strongest teams, three are arranged in the upper half, and Chelsea and Arsenal are arranged to fight to the death in advance, and Real Madrid has become a line of defense in the semi-finals. The meaning is already very clear, and the teams that are most likely to restrict Chelsea are arranged in the upper half.

Not to mention, if Lyon, Monaco, Porto and other teams are allowed to play Chelsea, it would be purely courting death, and even Ancelotti can't do anything, because Ancelotti's performance against Ye Qiu is not ideal, and Serie A teams have always been more afraid of Premier League teams.

"If the strength is strong enough, it's useless to target anyone!" Mourinho replied coldly.

Mendes wanted to retort that you took advantage, of course, but he didn't say it in the end, because this draw was most favorable to Porto. Lyon was the weakest team among all the teams, only better than Monaco. As for Deportivo La Coruna, the power of Super La Coruna was still there.

So, for Porto, it was not very difficult to enter the semi-finals. The key was to cross the semi-finals.

In Mendes' heart, he would also think, it can't be that weird, right?

Ye Qiu also won the League Cup in the first year, entered the semi-finals in the second year, and won the Champions League in the third year. Could it be that UEFA also wanted Porto to stop at AC Milan?

Just as Mendes was thinking, he saw Mourinho suddenly stand up and walk towards Peter Kenyon not far away.

The Portuguese stood in front of Peter Kenyon, still with a cold face, "Go back and tell Ye Qiu that I'll wait for him in the finals!"

…………

…………

"I'll wait for you in the finals!"

In Ye Qiu's office at the Harrington training base, Peter Kenyon, who rushed back to London from Nyon, Switzerland, was relaying Mourinho's words. It was rare that this bald guy even pretended to be very lifelike and did not forget to add fuel to the fire.

There is a saying that goes, three people make a tiger. Originally, Mourinho's tone did not have so much hatred, but because Peter Kenyon did not like Mourinho, he naturally put in some emotions and turned his tone into a deep and deep tone.

Of course, Peter Kenyon didn't do it on purpose. He was a person who disdained such tricks. He just made such a move inadvertently, not his personal conscious behavior.

"Why didn't you slap him directly, spit on him, and then ask him in a pretentious way, like me, get out of the way, wait until you can enter the finals!" After hearing what Peter Kenyon said, Roland also deliberately imitated Ye Qiu's retort.

Everyone in the office couldn't help but laugh, especially Fatty Luo, who found it funny no matter how he looked at it.

"Porto is still very strong. Lyon can't trap him, and AC Milan and Deportivo La Coruna may not be able to do the same!" Ye Qiu was very calm, because he knew very well that AC Milan would fall at the feet of Deportivo La Coruna, and Super La Coruña would also fall at the feet of Porto.

Although AC Milan got Kaka this season and the strength of the midfield has made a qualitative leap, Ancelotti is still familiar with and adjusting the operation of the team. In other words, AC Milan's entire operating mechanism is not mature enough, and many places need further running-in. Moreover, the team's defects are also obvious, and it is still on the wing.

And you have to know that from last year's control flow play to this year's addition of Kaka and some changes, AC Milan's adjustment is an improvement, but it still needs further integration and formation. After all, improvements and reforms cannot be achieved overnight.

Ye Qiu's Chelsea can be formed in one summer. An important reason is that Chelsea, especially the midfield, is a group of very experienced stars. These stars know and are good at adapting to new environments and new teammates. It is faster to run in, and Ye Qiu's division of labor is also very detailed.

If it is a group of younger rookies, after such a big change as Chelsea, don't expect to achieve results in one season.

Playing in the Champions League knockout stage is different from playing in the league. The knockout stage is more targeted. As long as you have obvious loopholes, you may be sniped by your opponent. The reason why Chelsea has no effective way to deal with Arsenal is because Arsenal does not have too obvious loopholes. Both teams are very balanced and neither can do anything to the other.

"Do you think UEFA really intends to get rid of us?" Ten Cate was a little worried on the side.

Ye Qiu smiled after hearing this, and Roland got ahead of him, "Need I say that? When I was in Ajax last year, it was already crazy outside, saying that UEFA was going to get rid of us, but in the end, who got rid of whom?"

Many people even speculated that it was because UEFA lost face because it failed to get rid of Ye Qiu and Ajax last season, so it was unwilling to award the two major coaching awards to Ye Qiu, but no one knew what was going on, so they could only rely on conspiracy theories.

Ye Qiu has always believed in one thing, that conspiracy theories cannot be fully believed in the world's affairs, but conspiracy theories cannot be completely absent.

In the words of our ancestors, where are the waves without wind?

"No matter who we meet, as long as we are strong enough, we can still advance. If we are not strong enough, even if we advance, can we make it to the finals? Can we win the championship?" Ye Qiu said with a proud smile.

"I am thinking now, since Mourinho, that arrogant guy, said such a harsh word in front of me, should I make a phone call and say something harsh as well?" Ye Qiu said with a bored smile.

Sure enough, everyone in the office almost fell down. How boring would someone be to do such a childish thing?

…………

…………

On March 13, Chelsea defeated Bolton 2:0 away and continued to maintain its unbeaten record in the league.

The last time the Blues conceded a goal was in the last round of last season, when Ranieri's team lost to West Ham United, so Chelsea's unbeaten record is now 28 games.

Arsenal also played away in this game, beating Souness' Blackburn Rovers 2:0. The last time the Gunners conceded a goal was in the 37th round, when they lost 2:3 to Leeds United at home. However, because the 33rd round of the league was played later, strictly speaking, their unbeaten record in the league is 2 more games than Chelsea, that is, 30 games.

The competition between the two Premier League teams is so fierce that it naturally attracts the attention of fans all over the world, but Manchester United is not so good. After Ferguson's team was eliminated from the Champions League, their morale was hit hard. They lost 1:4 to Manchester City away and lost this city derby. It seems that they have completely lost the possibility of competing for the championship.

It's true that Arsenal and Chelsea seem to be really competing.

A week later, in the 29th round of the Premier League, Chelsea played a 2:1 game against Fulham at home. As a result, a day later, Arsenal played against Bolton at home. After 90 minutes, the score was still 1:1. Wenger roared loudly on the sidelines. As a result, Reyes, a Spanish rookie introduced during the winter break, came off the bench at a critical moment and scored the winning goal for Arsenal.

Both teams scored 2:1. This is the same number of goals scored and conceded for two consecutive rounds. This also caused jokes among English fans, who thought that if this continued, maybe both teams would really keep this unbeaten record until the end of the season.

After the 29th round, the first round of the Champions League quarter-finals was ushered in in the middle of the week. Chelsea challenged Arsenal away.

The schedule is obviously favorable to Chelsea, not only because they have one more day off than Arsenal, but also because Arsenal will face their arch-rival Manchester United at the weekend. This is a key highlight. If Arsenal loses at home, the Gunners will be in a very dangerous situation. Relatively speaking, Chelsea's opponent is Wolves, and they are sure to win.

Ye Qiu is obviously not worried, because for him, playing away at Highbury will be a very interesting thing. I believe Wenger must be having a headache at this moment, because if the main force is arranged to play Chelsea, then playing Manchester United on the weekend will become very dangerous, but if the main force plays Manchester United, then Chelsea will definitely swallow it up in the middle of the week.

In the final analysis, the team's bench lineup is not big enough.

It seems that Ye Qiu, for the midweek game, even Davis, Ronaldinho and others are resting when playing against Fulham, because Chelsea's bench is good enough.

League or Champions League, I believe Wenger should make a difficult choice!