.Yang Cheng can be the head coach who knows UEFA's best mind in football today, or even one of them can be crossed out. Chinese website

All old fans who have watched football for many years know that a large part of the reason why European competitions attract attention is the confrontation between the giants, so UEFA is happy to create a series of so-called grievances, such as the grievances between Yang Cheng and Barcelona. UEFA is not the initiator, but it is definitely the behind-the-scenes promoter.

Why is this so?

In order to maximize profits, to gimmicks, and to allow more people to participate in this event.

In 2019, three Serie A teams monopolized the semi-finals of the Champions League, and the final final became a Milan derby, which obviously did not meet the definition of UEFA and the demand for marketing. After all, it became an Italian civil war and would lose some fans.

Last year, the finals became the lead role of second-rate teams like Monaco and Porto, which caused unprecedented sarcasm and even suspicion, thinking that UEFA intends to target the giant teams in G4, but in fact, UEFA itself is also very depressed because they don’t know how much money they have lost for this.

This season, from the Champions League group draw to the current knockout draw, UEFA has put in a lot of effort. Every team has been analyzed by them, and every group has to be carefully considered.

First, in order to ensure ratings and eye-catching needs, a highlight will be staged in each round, preferably a showdown between top giants; second, to avoid the rampant dark horses like last season, avoid early fighting between strong and weak teams; third, to avoid a certain country's team monopolizing most of the quotas, it is necessary to artificially create some difficulty.

Of course, the third point must be kept at the end, such as drawing teams from the same country together, but this will only last until the quarterfinals of 88 knockouts.

Therefore, when these elements are taken into account, and the opponents in the top 16 knockout round will not come from the same country and group, and must be the first in the group and meet the second in the group, you will find that in fact, there are only a few teams of opponents.

Before the entire lottery ceremony begins, it is obvious who will meet whom.

"It seems that this year's Champions League round of 16 will be a showdown between the giants again!" Beckenbauer shook his head and smiled.

"Is it abnormal?" Yang Cheng sat next to him and asked.

Beckenbauer nodded. In the group stage this season, the giants have recovered, which has led to UEFA putting a lot of effort in the knockout round and creating some giants' feasts from the first round of knockout rounds, which will take a break and attract fans.

"I have a premonition that we will draw Arsenal!" Beckenbauer said with a wry smile.

Although Arsenal has not won the championship for many years, no one can be seen in the strength of this team. Of course, Bayern is also an awesome character, and it is not certain who wins and loses. However, such a showdown between top teams is always terrifying.

Playing one more round and one less round is not just a nominal loss, but also a huge loss in money.

On the contrary, those teams with relatively weak strength will be arranged by UEFA to avoid encountering the giant teams too early. First, they are afraid of being unpopular and worried that they will be unpopular again like last season, which will lead to a second-rate showdown in the final. Second, the showdown with a huge gap in strength is not strong enough.

The final draw seemed to be moving in the direction everyone guessed. Liverpool once again "coincidence" to Barcelona. God knows how this group of guys could be such a coincidence, every time it is like this.

"I'm a little aesthetically tired!" Yang Cheng smiled bitterly.

"Who made them so popular this season?" Beckenbauer cursed.

Barcelona is in La Liga and Liverpool is in the Premier League. These two teams can be the four most popular teams this season, the other two are Chelsea in the Premier League and Inter Milan in Serie A.

No matter from which perspective, Liverpool's encounter with Barcelona is far more gimmick than any duel, and this game will definitely become the game that UEFA pays the most attention to.

From the perspective of an event organizer, they don’t need to pay attention to who loses and who wins. They just need to be responsible for drawing these two teams together, which is attractive enough in itself.

But what makes people feel more unpleasant is that every time UEFA has to show off how fair, fair and open it is. It is clear that there is no silver here and there. Do you still have to pretend?

He didn't believe that Yang Cheng was killed, and he always got Barcelona so by chance. (Update the latest chapter of this book)

Ferguson also guessed it right. Manchester United met AC Milan, just like Mr. Furman himself. He had never met AC Milan before. He was very excited about it and was very excited.

Inter Milan faces Porto, a showdown between the old and new kings; Bayern Munich also faces Arsenal as Beckenbauer did; Real Madrid faces Juventus; Chelsea faces Leverkusen; Monaco faces Eindhoven; Werder Bremen faces Lyon, almost all draws without surprises.

"I have a premonition!" Yang Cheng said with a smile after the lottery draw.

"Hmm?" Beckenbauer was surprised.

"No matter which team we and Barcelona qualify, they will encounter Chelsea in the quarterfinals!"

Beckenbauer was stunned, but the old man figured it out at once.

Mourinho and Barcelona are also a gimmick in avoidance. If Liverpool qualifies, then the showdown between the country can reduce one Premier League team to enter the semi-finals, which is also in the interests of UEFA.

If Inter Milan and Chelsea had not won the first place in the group, perhaps the two teams would have encountered ahead of schedule in the round of 16 knockout round, which is why so many strong teams were desperately trying to compete for the first place in the group stage.

"In this way, we are likely to encounter the winner between Real Madrid and Juventus!" Baek ● Al also analyzed it, familiar with UEFA's operating model, and the so-called draw of lottery can be guessed indefinitely.

"Go past Arsenal first!" Yang Cheng said with a smile.

But on the plane back to Liverpool, he used his laptop to watch the schedule of the Premier League this season, and suddenly he discovered that if Liverpool really crossed Barcelona and really encountered Chelsea, they would play three consecutive games with Chelsea in April.

Two Champions League knockout matches and one Premier League match, this is simply deadly!

But Yang Cheng didn't know that the truth was more than that.

Playing the league on the 26th | Going to Nyon to participate in the draw on the lottery on the 27th, the team won the Saints Southampton at home on the 28th. Liverpool played two consecutive games in three days. Although with Yang Cheng's rotation, Larson scored a goal to help Liverpool overcome the Southampton hurdle, the team's condition is still a bit worrying.

｜Month｜Day, New Year's Day, Liverpool; o Portsmouth tied, Yang Cheng's overall condition was obviously affected by the busy schedule, and his performance was very weak. Although he controlled the initiative in the game, he scored a goal.

｜On the 3rd of the month, Liverpool once again challenged Norwich.

In the 88th minute of the first half, the home team took advantage of Vidic's mistake and then began a conservative defensive counterattack tactic, even defending to the death.

Liverpool stubbornly organized an attack, but was unable to break Norwich's goal.

"It seems that Liverpool is in trouble." Andy Grey is a little worried for Liverpool.

In such a intensive schedule, any team will encounter various difficulties. After all, not every team can have a strong lineup that is enough to equip two or three Premier League teams like Chelsea.

"All Premier League coaches know that the schedule around Christmas is very dense, and it has a great impact on the second half of the league. A barrier is a threshold. Only after crossing it, can you be qualified to challenge the league championship."

"Liverpool performed well in this period last season, but the winter break schedule last season was not as intensive as this season. After all, from February 26, 4 to 5, 5, 3, in just 99 days, the Premier League played a total of ˉ leagues. With such a intensive schedule, even the Iron Man couldn't hold on."

"The strongest momentum is Chelsea. With its strong bench thickness, the Blues continue to lead the league standings with a proud record of winning the Christmas schedule. Liverpool currently has 22 wins | draws, but it is very likely that Norwich will be upset. If Yang Cheng cannot find a solution to the problem as soon as possible, perhaps Liverpool will suffer the second defeat of the season."

Andy = Gray's view also represents the ideas of many people, because Liverpool performed very poorly throughout the game.

After playing for 99 days, every game is a head-on Premier League event. Even if Liverpool rotates, they still can't withstand such a schedule, and the rotation also requires certain risks. For example, if Vidic's mistake was replaced by Hypia, this mistake would not have happened.

When the game jumped 60 minutes, just when everyone felt that Liverpool should make adjustments, Yang Cheng did make adjustments. He replaced Drogba with average performance and inserted Luo An on the left side of the team. Ribery was switched to the right side by him, and Ashavin played in the middle.

"Does Liverpool have to give up the attack after taking Drogba?"

Everyone thinks that this substitution is very puzzling. Drogba's condition is indeed very average, but he cannot ignore his contribution to the team. You must know that he has always been the frontcourt fulcrum that Qi Cheng relies very much on.

But did Yang Cheng really give up?

"Find more gaps in the opponent's defense and midfield! Be calm and patient!"

This was the task that Yang Cheng gave him when Luo was on the court, but he couldn't tell him what to do.

The Portuguese had several chances as soon as they came on the court. He could get a pass on the left and he would hit the opponent's defense line. However, it was obvious that this was not effective because the opponent's defense line retreated very deeply and did not leave much room for him to use his speed and technical advantages.

In just 0 minutes, he had three dribbling breakthroughs without any effect, and Liverpool's offense still seemed very messy.

"It seems that Cristiano = Ronaldo has not brought much change to the game after he played." Andy = Gray was a little puzzled. Why did Yang Cheng choose to replace Drogba with Ronaldo?

"Would it be too risky?" Benitez doesn't like adventure. He likes to count everything.

Yang Cheng nodded, "Of course, but I have no choice, right?"

After playing in 99 days, Robben, Gerald, Davis and Hypia were all injured. Nowadays, Liverpool can bring many changes to Yang Cheng.

"He is a smart person, he will understand!" When he arrived here, Yang Cheng walked to the sidelines again, waved at Luo and signaled him to calm down and observe with his eyes more, so that he would not be anxious.

The biggest problem with this is that it is easy to be anxious and becomes anxious, making it difficult for him to see something clearly.

Luo saw Yang Cheng's gesture. After a season and a half, he had been together, and the progress he could feel himself, he believed in Yang Cheng without doubt. He also respected this head coach who is still urging him.

He took a deep breath and stood on the left and looked to the right. The matchup on the court appeared clearly in his eyes, from the opponent's back line standing at the front of the penalty area to the midfield that was oppressing Liverpool.

When Ashavin returned to the middle ■ Liverpool's midfielder started to get the ball Murphy, Essin and Ayala were more behind Ashavin, and in order to freeze Ashavin, the opponent's midfielder pressed a little higher in the midfield defensive line.

When Luo saw this scene, a vague outline appeared in his mind.

Is this a gap for the head office?

At this moment, he was disturbed after seeing Ashawen get the ball and had to knock the ball back, but the opponent's defensive midfield did not fall, so he simply ran directly from the left to the middle, and the area he was moving in was just between the opponent's midfield and defense line.

Riselo, on the left, cut in and ran forward immediately, attracting the attention of the opponent's wing defender.

The ball returned to Ashaven's feet again, and a defensive player immediately pressed it up. However, Ashaven passed the ball directly and came directly to Ronaldo's feet. The Portuguese turned around calmly without anyone to defend, and this immediately caused chaos in the opponent's defense.

The opponent's central defender realized the threat of Ronaldo's ball in this area and immediately grabbed it, but Ribery also chose to move closer to the middle at this time.

Before the opponent's central defender approached, the Portuguese knocked the ball across to Ribery who cut in from the right. The French immediately knocked back and passed the opponent's central defender diagonally behind. The two immediately formed a two-pass and one-slamming wall-like cooperation.

"Novich is dangerous!" Andy Grey exclaimed.

"Liverpool has a beautiful two-pass one-on-one cooperation, Ronaldo takes the ball, goabd Du Dinged"

"The ball is in!" Andy Gray couldn't help but shout, "Cristiano Ronaldo completed a beautiful low shot in the penalty area, broke Norwich's goal and tied the score for Liverpool!"

"So beautiful! The opponent's central defender realized the danger, but the Portuguese's short-range sprint was too fast. It was also a fault for leaving their area rashly, which left a large gap behind them."

"But there is nothing to do. If you don't get robbed, you can't guarantee that you will not be penetrated directly by Luo. Moreover, his long shot is also very threatening. In addition, Ribery cuts inward and dilutes some defensive pressure for him!"

"This is a tug-and-pull run in a narrow range. Norwich's solid defense line collapsed with the cooperation of three Liverpool players!"

After the team scored a goal, Liverpool fans all stood away from their seats, and a thunderous cheer broke out in the stands, and excitedly shouted the name of the goal-scoring hero Cristiano Ronaldo.

After breaking through Norwich's goal, Ronaldo was the first to react and rushed to the sidelines excitedly, making a celebration of kneeling and roaring. Ribery, Ashavin and other players behind him rushed over one after another.

Yang Cheng immediately pulled all these players over, "Continue to play like this, remember to pull more, run more space, pass more, cooperate more, be patient, do you understand?"

The players nodded together, "I understand!"

"Go and kill them!" Yang Cheng patted their shoulders hard and sent them to the stadium.

It is naturally impossible for the live broadcast of the TV to miss this scene, and everyone also saw Yang Cheng's on-site command from this attack.

Yes, maybe Norwich's defense is a piece of iron barrel, but even if it is reinforced and concrete, I will still have a hole in it!
To be continued...