The Midfield Master

On April 10th, the last round of the Portuguese Super League, Benfica played at the Stadium of Light at home and faced Maritimo. In the previous 29 rounds, Maritimo ranked third, and Benfica was two points behind and ranked fourth.

The result of this game will determine which team will be the third team to represent Portugal in the Champions League next season.

Porto has already defended the league title and Sporting Lisbon is ranked second. Next season, the top three of the Portuguese Super League will continue to compete in the Champions League, or Maritimo will suddenly emerge and grab a Champions League seat. It depends on this game.

Maritimo didn't need to mobilize from top to bottom, he just went up and down, knowing that he had to retreat from the Stadium of Light before he could keep his qualifications for the Champions League.

Once entering the UEFA Champions League, it will bring tens of millions of euros in revenue to the club, as well as the opportunity to increase its popularity among fans around the world.

Such an opportunity cannot be missed.

As for Benfica at home, they are facing an opponent who took away their easy-to-get League Cup title a month ago. Naturally, the generals are united and want to find the field back.

No matter who the two sides are, they cannot afford to lose this game.

This will be a duel between Mars and Earth, and it will never lose to any game played at the same time in the five major leagues.

Maritimo's flight to Benfica landed slowly at Lisbon Airport. After getting off the plane, the team quickly boarded the bus prepared for them by Benfica.

Although Benfica lost to Maritimo in the League Cup final and lost the championship, the team's staff is still quite dedicated and very polite to Maritimo's players and coaches.

But along the way, what Xia Ze and Zhang Wei saw, the Benfica fans did not intend to give them friendly treatment, but followed the team bus all the way, constantly shouting at the Maritimo players inside the bus, Even swear words frequently.

In order not to affect their mood, many players hang curtains by the windows, put on headphones, close their eyes and rest their minds, and pay no attention to things outside of them. In the face of provocation, the counterattack on the field is undoubtedly the most powerful.

Xia Ze didn't want to waste his energy fighting against the Benfica fans, but he couldn't help but look out the window.

The last time he came to Lisbon, it was the first time he went out with the team, and it was also the first time he entered the daimyo. At that time, they challenged another strong team in the Portuguese Super League-Sporting Lisbon. It was his professional debut, off to a fantastic start.

In the last round of the Portuguese Super League this season, he came to Lisbon with the team to challenge another Portuguese capital team. This may be destined.

Although Xia Ze has already been to Lisbon once, the route of the bus this time is completely different from the last time, and Xia Ze can also see another side of Lisbon.

Although the route is different, the buildings and scenery on the road are also different, but the fans of Benfica outside the bus are very similar to the fans of Sporting Lisbon.

They all have the arrogance of being a capital team and one of the top three in the Portuguese Super League. To put it bluntly, they have an aristocratic temperament, which is completely different from a civilian team like Maritimo.

The bus traveled for more than ten minutes, and there were more and more Benfica fans wearing red jerseys on the side of the road, and they all headed in the direction of the bus. Xia Ze knew that the destination was approaching.

Otherwise, after turning the corner, a huge circular building appeared in front of Xia Ze's eyes.

Although he had seen giants like the Alvalade Stadium and the Dragon Stadium before, when he saw the Stadium of Light, he was still shocked by its grand guard.

The red and white exterior walls, white ceiling, and four curved domes above the ceiling make the whole stadium look very imposing and give people a strong oppressive force.

Next to the stadium, a modern building gathered a large number of home team fans in red jerseys.

Vendors appear outside every stadium, shuttling through the crowd.

Tens of thousands of fans began to enter the stadium one after another, and some came out of the stadium,

It was lively and orderly.

The Stadium of Light, the largest football stadium in Portugal, can accommodate 65,000 people. In 2004, it was used as the final venue of the European Cup. It witnessed the tears of the Portuguese and made Greek mythology a reality.

The 2014 UEFA Champions League final will be held here. The two sides of the final have been decided. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will compete for the Big Ears Cup here.

Benfica sits at the Stadium of Light and has a glorious history in the European war. They once defeated Manchester United here, making the Red Devils hate the Champions League and suffering the shame of being at the bottom of the group stage. Of course, that was nearly 10 years ago.

Looking at the stadium, Xia Ze knew that his biggest challenge in this season in Portugal was coming.

Portugal's three major football meccas, the Alvalade Stadium made him famous with one goal in his debut, and the Dragon Stadium allowed him to win the first trophy in his career. Now he has come to the Stadium of Light. I don't know what the result is waiting for. with him.

He knew that this game must be extremely difficult. Benfica has never lost at the Stadium of Light this season, whether it is the League Cup or European competitions, they have remained unbeaten.

Even with the visits of Porto and Sporting Lisbon, it is difficult to get out unscathed.

The bus listened on the side of the field, and Maritimo's players and coaches entered the field through a special passage.

However, during the walk, a fan avoided the eyes of the security guards, rushed to Xia Ze's side, stuffed a magazine into Xia Ze's hand, and murmured: "We will defeat you, you will fight for that day." Pay the price for your actions, Nicholas is better than you!"

When Xia Ze was still confused, this fan disappeared from everyone's sight. Only the pre-match information in Xia Ze's hands confirmed that this fan had appeared.

In this pre-match material, the cover is an eagle hovering in the sky, and the title is: "The Eagle Comes Again!"

Benfica's nickname is the Eagles, and the meaning of this title undoubtedly means that they will dominate the game again.

This fan's behavior also made Xia Ze feel a little flustered. He knew that the other party's purpose of doing this was to disturb his mind. He should not be disturbed, but he felt uneasy for no reason.

He casually put the magazine in the trash can beside him, shook his head, dismissed distracting thoughts, and followed the team into the locker room.

As a modern stadium, the internal structure of the Stadium of Light is not far from that of the Dragon Stadium. The facilities are very advanced and brand new. Even the visiting team's locker room is better than the home of Maritimo and the home team of Dos Barreiros Stadium. The changing rooms are bigger and more luxurious.

"Wow! This place is great. It seems to be better than the Dragon Stadium. It would be great if we can play here often." Zhang Wei touched the surrounding facilities and said enviously.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Xia Ze walked over and patted Zhang Wei's head, and reprimanded him.

Fortunately, Zhang Wei spoke Cantonese, and the rest of the team couldn't understand them at all, they just thought they were arguing.

Zhang Wei touched his head aggrievedly, and did not speak any more.

Xia Ze sat in his seat and changed his equipment. Because he was a little restless, he put on the wrong socks twice in a row, and he couldn't even listen to what Martins said.

After finally putting on his socks and training clothes, Xia Ze walked through the long corridor and stepped into the center of the court, but was still overwhelmed by the aura of this huge stadium.

There are red stands all around, most of which are already full of fans, flashing lights are constantly ringing around, and in the north stand, which is a stand behind the goal, a large number of Benfica fans are holding cards, as if they are preparing to make a painting for the home team Players cheer.

Even though the fans hadn't all entered the arena at this time, the buzzing noise from tens of thousands of fans still made Xia Ze feel very depressed. He has always been calm, but for the first time he felt irritable when faced with the voices of the fans.

All of this stemmed from the uneasiness in his heart.

"Dear viewers, good afternoon everyone, welcome to the 30th and final round of the Portuguese Super League, a key battle in which Benfica, ranked fourth in the league, will play at home against the third-ranked Maritimo, the result of this match will determine the third team to represent Portugal in the Champions League next season."

Christine's iconic smile and magnetic voice appeared in front of the TV camera, and beside him were two middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes, both exuding the charm of a mature man.

"Today we invited Benfica legend Ruy Costa and former Portuguese national team captain Luis Figo, two representatives of Portugal's golden generation, came to our studio to share this story with you. A crucial battle."

"Hello everyone." Rui Costa and Figo greeted the audience with smiles.

"Rui, which side do you like in this game?" Christine asked with a smile.

"I came from Benfica, of course I support Benfica. However, Maritimo is very strong. It can be seen from their ability to beat Benfica in the Portuguese League Cup final. Benfica wants to win at home and qualify for the Champions League. Play at 120%. It will be an uphill battle," Rui Costa said slowly.

"Ruy, you support Benfica, what about Luis?" Christine threw the same question to Figo.

"Now that Maritimo is two points ahead of Benfica, it should be said that it has a certain advantage, and judging from the past two matches between the two sides, Maritimo has one win and one draw, and has an advantage. Benfica has not lost at home this season, but if Maritimo can be more conservative, and has a great chance to take a point from the Stadium of Light, thus keeping their third place in the league." Figo's view seems to be in favor of Maritimo.

"Then you are optimistic about Maritimo, right?" Christine wanted a clear answer.

"For Maritimo, as long as they draw, they can say they have won, so I am still optimistic that they can take away a point at the Stadium of Light."

"Okay, thank you Luis, let's take a look at this game together. Players from both sides are on the field!" With the starting players of the two teams appearing on the screen, Christine's voice began to rise. Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 188 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 388 Red Devils Manchester United Rewards Grain 88