The Godfather of Football

The section of the Moscow River that passes through the center of Moscow is clearly M-shaped, and the Luzhniki Stadium is located in the middle of this M-shaped river section, so it is surrounded by the Moscow River on three sides and the Olympic Sports Center in Moscow.

The scenery around this stadium is beautiful, especially the Moscow River flowing around it, which makes it easy for people to like this place from the bottom of their hearts. The only regret is that it rains.

Moscow has a lot of rain in the summer, and it is unpredictable. It is difficult for anyone to predict whether the weather will improve in the final tomorrow night. If it is still this kind of light rain, it will definitely cause some trouble for the game.

Luzhniki Stadium, or more strictly speaking, it should be called Luzhniki Stadium, because it is not a simple football field, but has an athletics track. The distance between the stands and the stadium is also far, and the venue looks relatively empty, but the atmosphere of the game will be more or less affected.

Tottenham Hotspur started training to adapt to the field earlier than Manchester United. This was an open training, so many fans and reporters gathered at the scene. They were all in the stands watching the training of Tottenham Hotspur.

This training session was mainly to adapt to the field. All training items were for this purpose, so there was nothing big about the training content. They were all common and everyone was accustomed to them. There was no secret.

But from the emotions of the players, it can still be seen that they were all cautious and nervous.

Even for Ribery, Messi, Fabregas and others, they had experienced the Champions League final, but this was their first time to play the Champions League final alone, and the pressure they had to face was completely different from before.

In order to adjust the team's atmosphere and relieve the players' nervousness, Ye Qiu specially arranged a lot of relaxing activities, and even asked the team to watch a private movie of "Iron Man", hoping to relax the players as much as possible, but Ye Qiu himself was not sure about the effect.

After finishing the training to adapt to the field, everyone in the team was soaked. After that, they returned to the locker room to take a shower and change clothes, and then got on the bus and returned to the hotel. That night, Ye Qiu took Beckham and Mascherano to attend the press conference held by UEFA at the Luzhniki Stadium.

As early as April, AC Milan captain Maldini completed the handover of the Champions League trophy to the Russian side. Now this golden big-eared cup is placed in the most conspicuous place in the press conference hall of the Luzhniki Stadium, silently accepting the photos of all reporters and media in the audience.

Ye Qiu has won two big-eared cups, but he is still full of desire for this trophy.

In the past, he helped other teams win the big-eared cup, and from now on, he will win the cup for his own team!

"Very charming, right?" Beckham asked Mascherano with a smile on his side.

The Argentine won the Champions League when he was at Ajax, but this time is obviously different because this time he is the captain of Tottenham Hotspur. The same is true for Beckham, who also won it once when he was at Manchester United.

"We have an unwritten rule in the Premier League, or superstition, that is, before the game, when you see the championship trophy, don't touch it, but tell yourself in your heart that I will definitely hold it high tomorrow!"

Although Beckham said this with a smile, his tone was full of determination, but he may not be able to start tomorrow, because for a long time in the past, Modric, Fabregas and Mascherano's midfield combination have performed very well.

After listening to Beckham's words, Mascherano nodded slightly, "We will definitely be able to add a Champions League trophy to the club's century-old history, we will definitely be able to do it!"

Beckham didn't say much, but patted Mascherano on the shoulder and smiled, "Relax, don't be nervous, just treat it as an ordinary league game."

That's right, but how many people can do it?

Even if Beckham is trying to persuade others, is he really calm about this final?

"Gary, Ryan!" After entering the venue, Ye Qiu was invited to the side by the organizing committee. Beckham and Mascherano met Manchester United's captain and vice-captain, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, who also came to attend the press conference.

"David!" Two old friends of Manchester United also came over to say hello.

"How is your injury? Can you play?" Giggs asked with concern.

Beckham looked at his old friend and shook his head, "Are you here to get information?"

The four of them all smiled. Whether Beckham would start was a question that all the media and Manchester United coaching staff were very concerned about before the game, because Beckham and Modric had two different tactical styles. Who Ye Qiu chose to start directly affected Tottenham's midfield configuration and offensive methods.

Of course, Manchester United had plans for both situations. No matter what configuration Tottenham adopted, Manchester United would be able to make targeted arrangements and arrangements in the shortest time.

"I'm standing here now, and I have a feeling that it's calling me. It wants to go home with me!" Giggs stared at the big-eared cup and said with a smile. People who didn't know thought he was talking about a woman.

Beckham also laughed, "When we stand together, it will choose me more no matter how you look at it!"

"Just because you are more handsome?" Giggs asked back.

Beckham was not polite, "What do you think?"

Everyone laughed again. They were talking about the Big Ear Cup, but in fact, it is always easy to associate it with women, a group of YD guys, but in Mascherano's ears, he felt that the conversation between the two was very relaxed, and there was no pressure before the big game at all, as if this was not an important final at all, and what they were discussing was just a woman standing on the street.

While the captains and vice-captains of the two teams were talking, Ye Qiu and Ferguson also met in a corner of the press conference.

"Leading a young team, it's very stressful, right?" Ferguson asked with a smile.

Maturity is the biggest advantage of this Manchester United over Tottenham Hotspur, especially the psychological advantage.

In the final, especially such an important and crucial final, psychological quality plays a decisive role, and even to some extent, it is more important than the tactics of the head coach and the strength of the players.

Compared with the mature players of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur's age is indeed much younger. Even though they have played in the Premier League for two seasons, it is difficult to say whether they have experience or not. The players' psychological self-regulation ability is not mature enough.

Imagine that when you are about 20 years old, is your psychological maturity similar to that when you are 25 or nearly 30 years old? By comparison, you can feel the disadvantages and shortcomings of Tottenham Hotspur in this regard.

Facing Ferguson's provocation, Ye Qiu also smiled and responded, "I like the momentum of young people. It is not easy for you to lead this elderly team. By the way, is Gary Neville's injury okay?"

Ferguson smiled. The two can be said to be evenly matched, and the two are at loggerheads.

It should be said that maturity has its advantages, and youth has its advantages. It is difficult to say who is more advantageous and who is more disadvantaged, but one thing is certain, that is, whoever can dominate the game can win.

The two famous coaches didn't talk for too long in the corner. Soon the organizing committee announced the start of the press conference. Ye Qiu and Ferguson were the protagonists of this press conference, and the captains and vice-captains of the two teams were also present.

When Ye Qiu and Ferguson both took the position of head coach, all the reporters and players on the scene saw that they were relaxed and not nervous at all. It seemed that this kind of thing was as common as eating and sleeping for them, but everyone knew in their minds that this was actually a smokescreen.

No one can underestimate the influence of the Champions League final on professional players and professional coaches!

Ye Qiu felt the look in Mascherano's eyes. He smiled at his captain, as if to tell him, don't be nervous, I'm here for everything, what are you afraid of?

It was the first time for Mascherano to appear in such an occasion. He felt that there were at least hundreds of media reporters on the scene, and the crowds were surging. The scene was a bit scary. Compared with Ye Qiu, he was like a soldier who was under the command of a battle-hardened marshal and went to the battlefield for the first time. He always had an uneasy mood.

Also attending the press conference was the referee of the Champions League final, Michel from Slovakia. This referee is the top international referee in Europe. He is proficient in English, German, Russian and Polish. He can be said to be a language expert. He has also officiated the 2004 European Cup and the 2006 World Cup.

Ye Qiu and Ferguson had no problem with arranging Michel to officiate. Ferguson even secretly joked with Ye Qiu because the only poor language of this language expert referee was Portuguese, and Tottenham Hotspur had many Latin American players including Alves, Vargas, Thiago Silva, Mascherano, Messi, etc.

"Ha, Sir, I should consider letting my players scold you in Portuguese, so that I can escape the referee's punishment and make you feel good. What do you think?" Ye Qiu laughed back.

Ferguson was stunned at first, then laughed. He didn't feel angry because Ye Qiu was joking and had the idea of ​​making him angry. If he got angry, he would really fall into the trap.

"Maybe, you can try!" Ferguson responded indifferently.

But soon, in the interview with reporters and media, he retaliated against Ye Qiu.

"Yes, there is no doubt that we are stronger than Tottenham. In the past two matches this season, we have undoubtedly defeated Tottenham. I believe this will definitely have an impact on their psychology, and we will also gain valuable experience from these two victories and build up confidence to win the game."

"Tottenham is a team with clear strengths and weaknesses. When they play well, they are almost invincible and unbeatable, and their offensive ability is enough to make any team in the world tremble with fear, but they will always have some time when they are not in good shape."

"In the past season, we have proved in two games that we always have a way to make Tottenham look very out of shape in the game and then beat them!"

Ferguson's series of answers greatly excited the reporters present. This was a naked tit-for-tat, especially when facing Tottenham Hotspur. Ye Qiu held two Champions Leagues in his hands, while Ferguson only had one. , the war of words between the two famous coaches is definitely a highlight before the game.

Ever since, after Ferguson finished answering, the reporter immediately threw the question to Ye Qiu, hoping that Ye Qiu could counterattack.

"I can understand Sir Alex Ferguson's arrogance and arrogance, because he has always been like this!" Ye Qiu glanced at Ferguson and replied with a smile. He saw Ferguson's eyes widening, obviously stimulated by Ye Qiu. , but soon calmed down, as if he was constantly telling himself, I can't be angry, I can't be angry, I absolutely can't be angry.

"We Chinese people have had many proverbs about this situation, such as boxing is afraid of the young, and arrogant soldiers will lose, and sad soldiers will win. I have never felt that there is a big gap in strength between us and Manchester United. , If you have watched the past two games, it is not difficult to find out what the specific situation is.”

"Yes, in the past, Manchester United won two consecutive games against us, but this does not mean that they can continue to win the next Champions League final, but I am happy to see Manchester United so proud and look at it with this attitude Us, come and stimulate us, because in the past, all the teams that stimulated us only ended up one way.”

After a pause, Ye Qiu smiled confidently and said, "That means we lost miserably!"

After hearing this, Ferguson could only shrug and said to Ye Qiu with a smile: "Then I can only wish you good luck tomorrow!"

Both men stood up and shook hands politely in front of hundreds of reporters.

After the press conference, Ye Qiu and Beckham returned to the hotel. At this time, there were more and more fans inside and outside the hotel, because tomorrow night is the Champions League final, and many people arrived in Moscow tonight. .

After Ye Qiu returned to the hotel, he first went to the floor below to see his wife and two children, as well as his mother and mother-in-law.

Huang Jinsong and Ye Changming are currently still in China, working hard for earthquake relief work. Ye Qiu has also made a small contribution to earthquake relief in his own way, not only donating money, but also because of the series of work he has done in advance. , saved many lives.

Chen Zhong also came to Moscow with his wife and two children. He also specifically discussed with Ye Qiu the construction of a five-star hotel in Stratford Olympic Park. He said that the design of the hotel has been released and he plans to wait for it. After the Champions League final, we went to London to further discuss the next step.

After returning to the hotel floor, Ye Qiu found that none of the players could sleep. They were all gathered in Beckham's room, discussing the Champions League final that was coming tomorrow. Many people were asking about Beckham. Ham, how did he spend his time before Manchester United played Bayern in the Champions League?

It was obvious that they were still very nervous even now.

It is definitely right to be nervous, because if you are not nervous, there will be problems, but the key is how to resolve your own nervousness and avoid being nervous and affecting the game. This requires the players to find a way on their own.

"I've played in so many Champions League finals, why doesn't anyone ask me?" Ye Qiu walked in with a smile, immediately attracting the attention of all the players. After hearing Ye Qiu's words, they all also A questioning look appeared in his eyes.

Looking at the players' eyes, Ye Qiu felt a sense of dependence. He looked a little solemn, but pretended to smile.

"I have played in three Champions League finals, winning twice and losing once. I will be nervous in every Champions League final and even before every game, because no one knows what the outcome will be before the game. No one knows if we can win, and none of us want to disappoint the people who are sitting in the stands cheering us on and supporting us, right?"

Many players couldn't help but nod. No one wants to disappoint the fans, that's for sure.

"I'm thinking again, why is there still pressure when reaching the Champions League final? Which team is born to win the Champions League? Even Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​if they reach the Champions League final, that's amazing. What about us? Before the season, who would have believed that the team could come to Moscow?”

"I guess at that time all of you, even all Tottenham Hotspur fans, were thinking that when others were playing in the Champions League, we had already had a holiday, but in the end we were standing here. This in itself It’s a victory, even if we lose in the end, it’s still a victory!”

Many players nodded after listening to Ye Qiu's words, obviously feeling that Ye Qiu's words made sense.

"Also, I will also ask myself, what am I afraid of? Afraid of losing? Why am I afraid of losing? Or afraid of disappointing those fans? But they originally had no hope of the Champions League, and now they have reached the final. If you win, why would you still be disappointed?”

"Then, I kept telling myself that we can come to this place and walk into this stadium. This is an affirmation of our hard work in the past, so we don't need to be pressured or afraid. , On the contrary, we should be brave, play hard, and tell our opponents with facts that we finally entered this stadium after countless arduous games and the hard work and sweat of countless teammates.”

"The purpose of our coming to the Luzhniki Stadium is not just for a victory, but more importantly, we want to prove to everyone and the world that we are Tottenham Hotspur. Maybe we are not a wealthy team, but we are not the foil of the wealthy teams. We are not here to make up the numbers in the Champions League final. We come here to win the championship!"

"Also, what I want to tell you is to put away your unnecessary fear and tension, because those can't help you. Since we are here, we must go all out and fight with the opponent!"

"It can be said that when you walk into the Luzhniki Stadium, you have only one way, either win, you win everything, win unprecedented honors; or lose, you lose everything and become a stepping stone for Manchester United's double crown!"

"Is it a dragon or a worm? I have no say, you are qualified to decide!"