Now, the situation in European football is becoming increasingly confusing.
In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, Napoli, the Serie A team participating in the Champions League for the first time after the restructuring, shocked the world with a 4-0 victory, slaughtering Arsene Wenger's Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and capturing the Arsenal.
This battle surprised the media and fans around the world.
On another battlefield, Manchester United was sitting at Old Trafford. After conceding the ball in the first four minutes, they relied on Rooney's pass and shot to take the lead.
But at the last minute of the game, Manchester United conceded another goal.
In the end, the Red Devils tied with Porto of the Portuguese Super League 2-2 at home, which was another big upset.
Everyone is very confused. Could it be that this season is really going to repeat the subversion of 2004?
The day after the first half was played, the other two games in the second half also started.
Barcelona beat Bayern Munich 4-0 at home and won a hearty victory.
Guardiola's team continues to be the top favorite to win the Champions League this season.
Benitez's Liverpool drew 1-1 with Villarreal in the away game, and their promotion situation is also very good.
Generally speaking, the situation in the first half of the district is changing, while the second half is basically calm.
Although most people are still optimistic that Manchester United will advance, Porto may not have no chance of an upset at home.
Therefore, after the first leg of the quarter-finals knockout round, Napoli's odds of winning the championship increased significantly, jumping to third place, second only to Barcelona and Manchester United.
Of course, there are only eight teams left now.
…
This is true in the Champions League, and it is also true in Serie A.
The third-line battle has caused Naples' results to fluctuate, from a seven-point lead before to only a three-point lead now.
The better Napoli performs in the Champions League, the more worried the media and fans will be about their Serie A prospects.
The advanced rotation mechanism is going smoothly, but who can guarantee that Naples will not make mistakes again?
If they lose again, or even draw another game, the lead will almost disappear. By then, Inter Milan will be chasing closely behind, and all kinds of pressure will come up. It will definitely be a huge challenge for Naples.
Gao Shen also realized this early on, so he attached great importance to communication with the players. At the same time, he also had psychology experts stationed in Fort Volturno to be responsible for communicating with the players and calming their emotions.
Externally, Gao Shen has repeatedly insisted that the team has no problems and will continue to fight on the third front.
…
On the afternoon of April 11th, the thirty-round match of Serie A.
Napoli hosts Del Neri's Atalanta at home.
When visiting Sao Paulo, Del Neri still used the three-back midfielder tactics of 4312, with stabilizing defense as the first priority.
Since the second leg of the Champions League match against Arsenal will be mid next week, Gao Shen still made a substantial rotation of the lineup.
In order to prepare for the away game against Porto, Ferguson rotated nine players in the league, and Gao Shen was no less generous. He also rotated nine players, almost playing with a full substitute lineup.
The two sides fought inextricably.
Atlanta's defense is actually very good, especially when Delneri focuses on defensive counterattacks, it effectively limits Naples' offense.
Strictly speaking, Del Neri didn't do anything. He just moved four defenders and three defensive midfielders near his penalty area, then raised his fingers towards Naples and shouted in a very serious voice: "You Come here!"
Naples formed a siege on Atlanta, but never scored a goal.
Starting from the 55th minute, Gao Shen continued to make substitutions and adjustments, and tried a variety of different offensive routes, but was never able to penetrate Atlanta's defense.
Until the 84th minute, Atlanta blocked the ball out of bounds on the right side of their own half, giving Naples a throw-in opportunity.
Maggio stepped forward and quickly threw the ball directly to the front on the right.
Valencia sprinted forward at the fastest speed, got rid of Atalanta's left back Bellini, caught up with the football, cut into the right side of the penalty area, and passed the ball low to the goal.
Cavani and Pelle, who came on as substitutes, both rushed to the goal.
It was Cavani who made the first tackle and sent the ball into the goal within easy reach.
Atalanta players kept protesting, and midfielder Dhoni even received a yellow card for this.
Because they believed that Napoli's throw-in was against the rules, but the referee did not think so.
In the end, Naples defeated Atlanta 1-0 at home.
What really excited everyone in Naples was that in another game at the same time, Inter Milan led 2-0 at San Siro despite early goals from Balotelli and Ibrahimovic. , but the situation took a turn for the worse in the second half, with Inter Milan conceding two goals in a row on the 73rd and 75th within three minutes.
In the end, Inter Milan tied with Palermo 2-2.
Mourinho's team stopped their recent winning streak and got a draw.
Inter Milan tied, Naples got precious three points, and the lead once again expanded to five points.
This also made Gao Shen, Zidane, Carlo and others breathe a heavy sigh of relief.
There is no underdog in the Champions League, and there is no underdog in Serie A.
Any slightest bit of slackness and carelessness may lead to the loss of a good situation.
Naples almost capsized against Atalanta, and Inter Milan dropped points at the feet of Palermo. Although it was just one game, the entire trend of the league was formed by these games one after another.
But judging from the game process, Naples, who fought on the third front, was indeed a little tired.
…………
…………
The night after playing in Atlanta, Gao Shen went to the Hilton Hotel near the Bay Area.
The hotel is located to the north of the Citizen Park next to the famous scenic spot Egg Castle. It is probably less than three kilometers away from Gao Shen's home, and it is almost the same distance to St. Paul Stadium.
After Gao Shen arrived, he was greeted by hotel staff who took him all the way into the hotel's VIP room from a separate passage. As soon as he arrived at the door, the people inside had already received the message and someone came out to greet him.
"Hello, Mr. Gao, it's a great honor to meet you. I am Liu Wenda who is contacting you."
"Hello, Mr. Liu."
After Gao Shen shook hands with him, the group went directly into the private room.
This is Hilton's most high-end private box, with dedicated chefs and staff to entertain guests, absolutely ensuring guests' privacy.
Liu Wenda is the president of Emirates Airlines in China, and it was he who made the call to Gao Shen before.
But on this trip, the protagonist Gao Shen wanted to meet was not him, but two other people.
Richard Jobley, Emirates Regional President Asia and Oceania.
Another one that surprised Gao Shen was Manchester City's new chairman Mubarak.
Gao Shen had never seen him before, and was not even very familiar with him in his previous life. He didn't recognize him for a while. It wasn't until Liu Wenda introduced him that Gao Shen was a little surprised.
Unexpectedly, he would appear here.
But when I think about it, it doesn’t seem strange.
Although Emirates Airlines is headquartered in Dubai, it is also within the United Arab Emirates, and the major financier behind Manchester City is from Abu Dhabi. The Sheikh of Abu Dhabi is the President of the United Arab Emirates, but Abu Dhabi seems to have its own airline, which later became Manchester City.
Sponsor Etihad Airways…
Anyway, it's a mess.
Gao Shen was too lazy to think about it anymore.
…
After everyone met, shook hands and exchanged greetings, they began to take their seats.
Liu Wenda is also Chinese. He was the one who contacted Gao Shen before, so he was naturally responsible for the hospitality.
Gao Shen was used to such occasions in his previous life, and he was able to socialize with ease.
Previously, Gao Shen gave them tickets to a Naples game, the one against Atalanta, so he specifically asked them how they felt and also asked them if they planned to stay in Naples again to watch the game against Arsenal four days later.
But unfortunately, they were all busy and politely declined Gao Shen's proposal.
This meeting was mainly to discuss cooperation matters.
Emirates has been supporting and sponsoring sports projects over the years. For example, they sponsored Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. This business seemed very exaggerated at the time, but looking back now, I find that it is actually worth it.
In addition, in 2006, Emirates sponsored Beckenbauer, riding on the popularity of the World Cup, and now it is also beginning to prepare for the World Cup in South Africa.
This airline is also well-known in the field of sports sponsorship.
This is also why Gao Shen agreed to meet.
…
"Mr. Gao, when we meet this time, in addition to hoping to invite you to serve as our airline's global image ambassador, the UAE Tourism Authority also hopes to cooperate with you as a tourism promotion ambassador."
Gao Shen was secretly surprised by Liu Wenda's words.
It seems like a big deal.
"Why me?" Gao Shen asked with a smile.
This is also his consistent style.
When a piece of pie falls from the sky for no reason, Gao Shen will habitually ask himself, why me?
"There are many reasons." Liu Wenda was also well prepared. "Emirates Airlines entered China in 2004. In the past few years, it has experienced double-digit growth every year. The prospects are very promising, so the headquarters attaches great importance to Asia, especially Asia.
Chinese market."
"We are very optimistic that China's overseas tourism will reach a peak in the next few years. Therefore, the UAE has always attached great importance to official cooperation with the government and is about to sign the ADS agreement. Once the agreement is signed, places such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi will become
A very popular tourist destination and transit stop in China.”
"In addition, in addition to Asia and China, Mr. Gao has a very great influence in Europe, even the Americas, and even the United States. He has more than 10 million fans on the Internet. We are very much looking forward to cooperating with you."
Liu Wenda's words are really consistent with everything Gao Shen knows.
Indeed, in the next few years, Dubai will become a well-known destination for overseas tourists in China.
But when they said this, Gao Shen actually believed it.
Besides, Gao Shen was not completely unprepared.
We are just talking about cooperation now. Specific cooperation matters will be left to the people below to follow up and be responsible.
