The Godfather of Football

Andy Townsend, the former captain of the Irish national team and Aston Villa general, had such a passage in his autobiography.

In the first round of the Premier League in the 1995/96 season, Aston Villa led Manchester United 3:0 in the first half. Alan Hansen, who was in charge of the commentary, sarcastically said to Ferguson, "You will never win the championship with a bunch of kids!", I'm here When heading to the home team's locker room, he passed by the door of the visiting team's locker room. The door was open, and Ferguson was standing less than 15 centimeters away from Steve Bruce.

Both of them were gasping for air and their faces were red, but don't get me wrong, they were not those lovers kissing passionately, it was because Ferguson was turning on his hair dryer, but the impression they gave me was that of two fighting cocks. !

If you thought simply from Andy Townsend's autobiography that the relationship between Ferguson and Steve Bruce was bad, then I'm sorry, you are wrong. An interview in The Times will prove it.

When a reporter asked Birmingham head coach Steve Bruce about the news that Ferguson was retiring, Steve Bruce put on his signature expression of disdain and sneer that was almost exactly the same as Ferguson's, and replied with a sneer, " Nonsense, this old man can still work for a long time, and he may not retire even if you retire!"

Some people say that Steve Bruce is regarded by Ferguson as his favorite disciple. Ferguson has said many times that Steve Bruce is the person most like him, not only in terms of personality, but also because the two have an irrefutable mentor-student relationship.

Therefore, when Manchester United was in trouble and Chelsea was leading the way, a reporter asked Steve Bruce, what do you want to do most when your Birmingham meets Chelsea?

Steve Bruce put on the same confident expression as Ferguson, "What the old man can't do, I can do it for him!"

As a result, his team drew an incredible 1:1 with Chelsea in the game, and it was still on the road.

This is definitely something that no one could have imagined. Chelsea has been in great shape recently. They are in the Champions League, FA Cup and league. But now they are forced to a draw by Birmingham City. This has to be said to be a big deal. blow.

So after the game, when reporters told Ye Qiu that Ferguson called Steve Bruce for advice before the game, Ye Qiu jokingly cursed, "I hate that damn Ferguson the most. !”

But soon, Ye Qiu returned to his seriousness and shook his head: "Being tied by Birmingham City is nothing. To be honest, we can't maintain a high level of performance and state forever. There will definitely be ups and downs, and we just followed up with them in the middle of the week. Bayern Munich played a game, which somewhat affected our state."

When a reporter asked if he was worried that this draw would interrupt Chelsea's excellent form, Ye Qiu said that he was not worried at all, "If we would be affected by a draw, then we would not be able to reach this level. today."

When another reporter asked Ye Qiu about Ferguson's support for Steve Bruce, Ye Qiu did not forget to attack his old rival.

"I think this statement is ridiculous. If Ferguson really has a way to defeat me and Chelsea, then he doesn't need to borrow Steve Bruce's hand at all. He will definitely take revenge himself!"

Ye Qiu's words made all the reporters present burst into laughter, and they must all be thinking that if these words were conveyed to Ferguson, he would be bombarded with his character. The indiscriminate war of words must be extremely lively, especially when the FA Cup semi-finals and the 33rd round of the league between Manchester United and Chelsea are coming.

In fact, everyone knows that this draw will not affect Chelsea's championship plan. At best, it can only delay Chelsea's championship date. It can even be said that this season's Premier League championship already belongs to Chelsea, and others It is simply difficult to win, even if Chelsea will focus all their energy on the Champions League and FA Cup.

But the tactics adopted by Steve Bruce's team when they met Chelsea were, in Steve Bruce's words, brave, and in Ye Qiu's words, brutal and brutal tactics. Bayern Munich also followed suit.

Before the second round of the Champions League quarter-finals, Magath and Kahn were interviewed by the media. They expressed their confidence in the second round against Chelsea at home, but they also said that Bayern Munich must use more strength. There were aggressive tactics to suppress Chelsea.

What is aggression?

In the first minute of the game, Robert Kovac demonstrated this well with his performance. After Drogba had passed the ball, he still stepped hard on Drogba's ankle. The Ivorian As a result, he was taken off the field for treatment for several minutes, and later he was still limping when he returned to the field.

But less than 10 minutes later, Robert Kovac brought down Drogba again. This time the referee finally couldn't stand it anymore and gave the Croatian a yellow card.

Robert Kovac's roughness is only part of Bayern Munich's fierce tactics. Other players have also adopted the same type of tactics to restrain Chelsea. This resulted in Chelsea being constantly violated during the game and unable to show their state. The entire first half was sluggish.

Chelsea performed poorly, and Bayern Munich, who only thought about fouling, also performed poorly.

During the halftime break, Ye Qiu repeatedly cheered the players and kept calling on the players to unite and unite as one.

"I firmly believe that as long as we all work together and work together, we will have nothing to fear no matter how brutal our opponent is, because we will definitely be able to defeat our opponent!"

"Don't they want to fight more bravely? Okay, as brave as they are, then we will be braver than them. If they kick us, we will kick them back, but it will not be revenge on them, but on them. The ball at our feet hit their goal, allowing those cowards who only know how to commit fouls to have a taste of our power!"

"Don't be timid, don't be afraid, because we are the strongest!"

Bastian Schweinsteiger is still playing his right midfielder, and his task is to help Sagnol contain Chelsea's left wing.

This young German is a little afraid of Ronaldinho, because he can never guess what the Brazilian will do next. He guesses wrong almost every time, and many times, guessing wrong about the opponent's intentions often means that A fatal mistake.

However, you should never doubt the willpower and game execution of German players.

Therefore, every time Ronaldinho gets the ball, Sagnol will definitely be able to see Bastian Schweinsteiger around him. His arrival rate is even higher than that of the midfielder who was entrusted with the important task in this game. Midfielder Demichelis, the Argentinian exists to liberate Ballack, but in fact he did not do a good job.

At the very least, every time Ronaldinho gets the ball, Bastian Schweinsteiger can immediately double-team Sagnol.

But Brazilians are so slippery, just like a loach that doesn't stick to your hands, so slippery that you can't even catch it.

When Schweinsteiger thought about catching it, Ronaldinho had successfully dribbled the ball quickly through the gap between him and Sagnol, and dribbled the ball horizontally close to the penalty area line. Cutting inside, heading towards Demichelis.

Because of Schweinsteiger's grab, although he didn't catch it firmly, he grabbed Ronaldinho's jersey, causing the Brazilian's body balance to be broken, and he staggered a little while dribbling the ball, which made him look a little big. .

Argentinian Demichelis' eyes suddenly lit up. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Being able to steal the ball from Ronaldinho, the World Player of the Year, was not an opportunity that any player would have. It would definitely make him famous.

But just when Demichelis stretched out his leg to steal the ball, and even thought that he should use the inertia to knock down the Brazilian and let him restrain himself and stop being so arrogant, Ronaldini Austrian suddenly accelerated his pace incredibly and dunked the ball to his right, barely allowing the ball to avoid Demichelis' kick.

The ball reached the right side, Ronaldinho poked forward with his right foot, and the ball rolled forward gently like a straight line.

Lampard quickly rushed up from behind. He had already cooperated with Ronaldinho countless times in the same cooperation. The two had already cooperated extremely skillfully, so he almost didn't need to think about it when he came up, because He knows very well that Ronaldinho's pass can always reach his step point, allowing him to volley more easily.

Standing firm, swinging his feet, and using all his strength, Lampard hit a powerful volley before Lucio made the move.

The entire Olympic Stadium can clearly hear the sound of air blasting when the sneakers hit the ball. This shot seems to hit everyone's heart, and the ball seems to be mixed with the force of thunder, like A cannonball went straight into Kahn's goal.

The moment the whistle sounded that the goal was valid, everyone's focus was on Lampard, who made a fist with his left hand, raised it above his head, and made a victory gesture. They all knew that the Blues vice-captain was using this method. This is a way to retaliate against Bayern Munich's brutal tactical style, and tell them with facts that we don't need to be brutal, because that is what the weak will do!

Chelsea players also rushed to Lampard's side and surrounded him. Through this goal celebration, everyone felt the unity of Chelsea and made everyone feel that they were fearless.

Don't you want to be rough? Not a foul? Isn’t it going to attack our bodies?

bring it on! bring it on! We are not afraid at all!

Because, we will use goals to destroy you!

This was not just a goal. The total score was 5:1 behind, which also had a huge psychological impact on the Bayern Munich players, especially when they collapsed and found that their so-called brave tactical style could not scare Chelsea at all. When the players angered the blue lion from England, they didn't know what else they could do!

Yeah, what do you do when you face a team like that?

But Chelsea obviously had not calmed down yet. Deco found Ronaldinho with a diagonal pass. After the Brazilian superstar quickly got rid of Sagnol on the left, he passed the diagonal pass into the penalty area. Drogba beat Robert Kovac. Before, he shook his head and hit the goal, hitting the ball into the upper left corner of Kahn's handle. Kahn had nothing to do about it, 2:0!

After Drogba scored, he slowly stood up in front of Robert Kovac, clenched his hands into fists, roared like an elephant, and glared at Robert Kovac, as if he was looking at the Croatian. Say, you know how powerful it is, right?

From 4:1 to 6:1, with less than 30 minutes left in the game, everyone at Bayern Munich knew clearly that they could not reverse the situation, and ultimately had no choice but to accept defeat.

This score remained until the end, with Chelsea defeating Bayern Munich with a total score of 6:1 over two rounds.

Ye Qiu was dissatisfied with Bayern Munich's rough style at the post-match press conference after the game.

"I am satisfied with the team's performance. We encountered difficulties in the game, but my players and I withstood the pressure very well. We are very united, just like a family. If we encounter any problems, we It’s great that we are all fighting side by side, and I firmly believe that as long as we stick to our beliefs and confidence, we can have the last laugh.”

As for Bayern Munich's head coach Magath, Ye Qiu also gave a rare harsh comment.

"I finally understand why Mr. Magath can't win even one championship trophy in his life, because as someone who can win at least one championship trophy every season, at least I won't be like him and spend all the time. I focus all my energy on how to violate the opponent's players' bodies, and I will think about how to play my own football well!"

Magath, who was sitting next to Ye Qiu, was livid, but looked embarrassed. He did not dare to refute because he was not qualified to refute.

As a loser, you have no right to refute the winner's remarks!

And Ye Qiu didn't leave him any dignity at all. After complaining, he turned around and left the press conference.

It is understandable that he is in a bad mood, because the league is in the final stage and every player is injured to some extent. Now that they are fighting so hard with Bayern Munich, will the injuries on Chelsea players be affected? Ye Qiu was unsure about the situation, but Peter Brandt was not optimistic about Drogba's injury.

The Ivorian was able to hold on in the first half. After scoring in the second half, he finally couldn't hold on any longer at the 73rd minute. He raised his hand and asked Ye Qiu to make a substitution, and limped off the field.

It wasn't that Ye Qiu didn't want to substitute in the first half, but Drogba said that he was fine and could continue, and the team doctor also felt that there was no problem. Due to the needs of the team, Ye Qiu ultimately did not make the decision to substitute in the first half. Didier Drogba continued to play after the break, but he came off due to injury in the second half. This was definitely not what Ye Qiu expected.

It was also because of this that Ye Qiu was so mean to Magath, even sarcastically mocking him for not winning a championship trophy after more than ten years of coaching. Normally, Ye Qiu would definitely not do this.

In fact, even Beckenbauer believed that Magath's tactics in this game were really clumsy when he served as a commentator on the live broadcast of the TV station, while Chelsea showed world-class standards.

"Our players were very relaxed when defending and were not alert at all. Perhaps they were thinking more about how to commit fouls rather than defending, especially Robert Kovac, who was repeatedly teased by Drogba during the game. This is definitely not the performance a Bayern Munich centre-back should have."

"Looking back at Chelsea, this is definitely one of the top teams in the world. I even doubt who else in today's football can stop them from continuing to move towards the European throne?"

However, Beckenbauer supported Magath in the end and he also defended Magath.

"Hitzfeld coached Bayern Munich for 6 years and won 4 league championships, 2 cup championships and 1 Champions League championship. This will definitely put some pressure on Magath, and Magath coached Bayern Munich before , the highest achievement is the league runner-up, he is the first head coach Bayern Munich has hired in the past 20 years who has not won any championships.”

"At this point, Magath is under tremendous psychological pressure, and with Bayern Munich's strength, performance in the Bundesliga can no longer meet the requirements of fans and management. What they want is the Champions League and the European competition. To prove his strength and defend the dignity of the giants, the disastrous away defeat in the first round undoubtedly made Magath almost collapse. "

"Therefore, any decision he makes under these circumstances should be forgiven, and I also believe that Magath should continue to stay at Bayern Munich, and we should continue to trust and support him!"

Chelsea once again eliminated Bayern Munich by a big score and successfully advanced to the semi-finals. European and world media generally gave high praise, believing that Chelsea is definitely the top favorite in the Champions League this season. Even betting companies such as William Hill have even quoted Chelsea winning odds. The rate also keeps falling.

Almost the whole world believes that this season's Champions League will become Chelsea's bag. Ye Qiu will lead Chelsea to become the first European team to successfully defend the Champions League since the restructuring, completely establishing Chelsea's status as a giant.

While Chelsea eliminated Bayern Munich, the match between Porto and AC Milan was also very brutal. The two sides played with a tragic score of 0:0 in both rounds, but in the end, Mourinho's Porto won the penalty shootout. Obviously more lucky, they defeated Ancelotti's AC Milan in a penalty shootout and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.

Last season's Champions League champions and runners-up gathered in the semi-finals, which undoubtedly greatly increased the attention and influence of the semi-finals. Although Mourinho's team played rough and unbreakable defense, they were called by the media. The Greek team in the Champions League, but the fighting capacity and willpower of this team cannot be underestimated.

At the very least, Porto's performance in reaching the Champions League semi-finals for two consecutive seasons is worthy of recognition. Many people even think that Mourinho's Porto may not have the possibility of winning the championship in an upset like the Greek team.

In the other half, Liverpool eliminated Capello's Juventus with a total score of 2:1 over two rounds, and successfully met Ajax, who eliminated Lyon, in the semi-finals.

Chelsea, Porto, Liverpool and Ajax, among the four semi-final teams, Chelsea is undoubtedly the top favorite no matter from which aspect.

But the more optimistic and flattering the outside world is, the more uneasy Ye Qiu feels.