Real Madrid's mouthpiece Marca issued a final appeal on the morning of the match day.
"God, save Real Madrid!"
This sentence almost echoes the inner cry of all Real Madrid fans, because tonight's battle at London's Highbury Stadium will determine Real Madrid's fate in the Champions League this season, and even the fate of countless people.
Marca carefully wrote an article. On the one hand, it elaborated on the dire situation of Real Madrid. At the same time, it also called on Real Madrid to work together to create miracles in the away game and to show the spirit of Juanito, even if they lose.
Kick out the spirit of Real Madrid.
At the end of the article, Marca believed that if Real Madrid wants to win, they can only turn to God for help.
In another article on the second page, Marca criticized the absurd decision of acting head coach Gao Shen, believing that he did not bring the team's top scorer Ronaldo to London, which was tantamount to suicide.
"He is destroying Real Madrid!"
When Gao Shen saw this sentence, he couldn't help but sneer.
Because these media also said the same before the game against Atletico Madrid.
…
Compared with Marca's reports, AS's reports are no less impressive.
Their front page cover is a photo taken at the Madrid Capital Airport. There are many Real Madrid fans sending the team off to London. One of them made the sign of the cross on his chest and prayed to the sky while watching the team leave.
"God, I hope Wednesday doesn't belong to Henry!"
This is what Aspen said when he later interviewed the Real Madrid fan.
At the Bernabeu, it was Henry who caused Real Madrid to suffer the pain of a home defeat, and everyone concluded that at Highbury Stadium, Henry would still be Arsenal's most threatening player and the biggest opponent for Real Madrid's defense.
This Real Madrid fan said that Arsenal are completely different from Atletico Madrid. The Gunners are stronger, have a stronger defense, and have better attack power. This will be a huge test for Real Madrid. More importantly, in the history of the Champions League knockout rounds, except for ten
Ajax years ago, no one had created such a miracle.
As long as they don't lose their minds, no one should think that Real Madrid today is in any way comparable to the Ajax team ten years ago.
AS reported that Real Madrid needs God's mercy if they want to win at Highbury Stadium.
…
Not only Marca and AS, but other Spanish media, and even some European mainstream media including L'Equipe, are pessimistic about Real Madrid's Highbury battle and believe that the possibility of a reversal is slim.
Especially after experiencing the turmoil of the coaching change.
To paraphrase El Pais, no one would expect a 25-year-old rookie to lead Real Madrid to defeat the powerful and arrogant Arsenal, especially if Ronaldo is blocked.
This seems to make sense.
Unlike the mainstream media in Spain and Europe, which sing the tragedy of Real Madrid, the British media are generally optimistic about Arsenal winning Real Madrid at home. This is partly because of the support of historical data, and partly because of Arsenal's current good state.
The Gunners beat Fulham 4-0 in the last round. They played very excitingly and the players were in very good condition. This made everyone believe that Arsenal might even perform a wonderful slaughter at Highbury Stadium.
to advance to the quarterfinals.
Gao Shen's decision not to bring Ronaldo and Carlos also excited the British media. They all believed that this was a signal that Real Madrid would take a defensive stance.
Without Ronaldo, the only superstars Real Madrid can rely on are Raul, Zidane and Beckham. However, these three players did not perform well against Arsenal, especially Beckham.
After playing for Manchester United for eight years, Beckham went to Highbury seven times and only won twice. The winning rate was impressive.
In addition, there is another thing that is quite disadvantageous to Real Madrid, and that is the size of Highbury Stadium.
As we all know, UEFA has strict size requirements for all Champions League competition venues, but they only stipulate a range. Clubs can choose the size that best suits their interests based on their own technical and tactical characteristics, such as longer or wider, as long as
As long as it's within the prescribed range.
Highbury Stadium is 101 meters long and 67 meters wide, making it one of the smallest stadiums in Europe, while the Bernabeu Stadium is 105 meters long and 68 meters wide. In other words, it is 4 meters longer and wider than Highbury Stadium.
1 meter.
Don't underestimate the gap of a few meters. For the highest level player competition like the Champions League, especially for players of the level of Real Madrid and Arsenal, this deviation is still very obvious.
More importantly, this season will be Arsenal's last season at Highbury Stadium.
Starting next season, the Gunners will move to a new stadium further north, which will be named the Emirates Stadium in the future. Highbury Stadium will be demolished and transformed into a residential area.
Everyone at Arsenal hopes to leave a good memory at Highbury Stadium.
This is why Arsenal have performed so well at Highbury this season.
Regardless of Arsenal's own factors, everyone in England has now put aside their grudges and fully supports Arsenal.
Since Liverpool won the Champions League last season but failed to reach the top four of the league, UEFA made an exception and allowed Liverpool to participate as the defending champion. Starting from the first round of qualifiers, there are five Premier League teams participating this season.
But it is a pity that Everton stopped in the qualifiers, Manchester United failed in the group stage, and in the last 16 knockout games, Liverpool and Chelsea lost to Benfica and Barcelona respectively.
It was originally the league with the most participation in the Champions League, but in the top 16, there was only one Arsenal left. How could the proud British media and fans accept this?
The Guardian said that Arsenal is the last dignity of the Premier League!
After defeating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, everyone in the UK believed that the Gunners' promotion was a certainty.
The right time, the right location, the right people, and Arsenal, who play at home, basically took advantage of everything.
How could one lose such a game?
…
Every match day is busy and fulfilling.
From the morning meeting to the afternoon preparations, the team even kept the time accurate to every minute.
Even the distance and time for the team to depart from the hotel and go to Highbury Stadium must be confirmed repeatedly.
This is Real Madrid. If it is a team like Bayern Munich or Manchester United that prepares for the game more carefully and professionally, they will even arrange the team bus to the away game in advance to familiarize themselves with the route.
When Real Madrid took the bus and arrived at Highbury Stadium, the place was already brightly lit, as bright as day.
Fans were everywhere, like a tide, rushing towards Highbury Stadium crazily.
When they saw the bus with the Real Madrid emblem, they immediately showed the bravery of the British fans. The boos were considered mild. Many fans even rolled up their sleeves and tried to break through the obstruction of the security personnel and rushed directly to fight with Real Madrid.
Players get into a fight.
The Real Madrid players didn't stay outside for long. They got out of the car and went directly into the players' tunnel and headed to the locker room.
The next thing is step by step.
Pack your things, train before the game, and then return to the locker room for final preparations before the game.
It was at this time that Gao Shen took out the reports and comments from media in various countries that Lucas had carefully prepared and collected from various channels such as websites and newspapers, and all of them were negative.
Gao Shen was spread out directly in the locker room, which looked really spectacular at first glance.
"These are the reports of this game by the mainstream media in several European countries today. Basically, they all believe that we are destined to lose." Gao Shen shrugged helplessly and reached for his hands.
"The game hasn't started yet, but they have already sentenced us to death."
Everyone in the locker room was watching the reports, some they had seen and some they had not, but the content was basically the same.
Real Madrid loses!
"I don't know when we have fallen to this level. Looking at European football, it is difficult to find an optimistic media that thinks we can win, and we have Raul and Zidane.
, the world’s top superstars like Beckham and Casillas, and our other players are also quite outstanding.”
"But we've fallen to this."
Everyone in the locker room was silent.
In fact, this situation did not start when we were in high school, because Real Madrid has been "falling" for some time.
From 2004 to now, Real Madrid has had five head coaches. Among them, Camacho angrily resigned before the season started, while Gao Shen is only a 25-year-old rookie who has just stepped out of school.
It can be said that the absurdity in football history has been repeated in Real Madrid in the past two years.
Every time there is a coaching change, every time something goes wrong, the stars will come out and say we are responsible, but every time the storm passes, it's still the same.
"I know that you don't want this either. Those who can sit here are all people who want to change the current situation of the team, who are not willing to sink like this, and who want to prove themselves again in front of the world.
"
"Now, there is an opportunity right in front of us."
"Since everyone in the world believes that we can't beat Arsenal, then we have to break their prejudices. We have to use a victory to tell them that you are wrong. We can defeat all opponents because we are Royal
Madrid!”
At the end of the sentence, Gao Shen almost roared and clenched his fists.
Many players were also deeply affected because Gao Shen expressed their feelings.
"Both AS and Marca are asking for help from God, but I am Chinese. We Chinese do not believe in God. We believe in ourselves. We only believe that with our own hands, we can create all miracles!"
Gao Shen spread his hands and looked directly at the players in front of him, his eyes passing over their faces one after another.
He could feel that even big names such as Zidane and Beckham were emotionally aroused by his words.
Because they are unwilling to do so.
"The decisive battle is imminent. Everything that needs to be said has been said before, and preparations that need to be made have been made before."
"Now, I just want to give you a message."
“Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho said in [The Shepherd Boy’s Fantasy Journey] that when you pursue a dream wholeheartedly and religiously, the entire universe will conspire to help you realize it.”
"Now, let us forget the past, forget all prejudices, forget all impossibilities, go onto the pitch and kill Arsenal!"
