Su Yun is not very unfamiliar with this ancient city.
When Su Yun was in school in China, he was familiar with the name Istanbul. Because this ancient city was once the capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire.
These empires were very important dynasties in European history.
It can be said that as long as you look at European history, you can know the scenery of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. And ancient Istanbul was their political and economic center.
Back then, Su Yun liked to read some historical stories, so he was also familiar with Istanbul at that time.
Of course, at that time, I only knew Istanbul from books. But after coming to Europe, Su Yun visited Istanbul more than once.
As the political and economic center of Turkey, Istanbul is also the center of Turkish football. Several of Turkey’s top teams are based in Istanbul, and even one-third of the Turkish Super League teams are based in Istanbul.
Like London, England, Istanbul has many professional teams.
Of course, unlike London, London's professional teams have never been the center of English football, but Istanbul is the center of Turkish football.
Türkiye's best players are all in Istanbul.
Türkiye's three giants Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray are all located in Istanbul.
Chelsea has played in the UEFA Cup and Champions League, and has been to Istanbul. They have played against Besiktas and Galatasaray.
Therefore, Su Yun has been here several times.
When Chelsea came to Istanbul, Turkish fans knew it was Chelsea and booed Chelsea hugely. Almost all Turkish fans disliked Chelsea.
Of course they are not organized.
But just a person.
Almost every Turkish fan I met booed Chelsea.
Su Yun was very calm.
Although Chelsea and Turkish fans have nothing to do with each other, historically England and Turkey have not had a close relationship. There is even less friendship between English clubs and Turkish fans.
There were even bloody conflicts.
During the UEFA Cup match between Leeds United and Galatasaray in the 1999-00 season, a Turkish fan stabbed a Leeds United fan to death. And it happened at Galatasaray's home ground, in Istanbul.
.
At that time, Leeds United lost the game and their fans died.
Very sensational.
Türkiye also came under tremendous pressure from public opinion. At that time, the English media severely criticized Türkiye.
Therefore, the relationship between both parties is not good.
Su Yun didn't care either.
Chelsea don't need any Turkish fans.
Turkey's economy is not very bad and its population is large. It is also a big market. But for Chelsea, apart from England, the most important thing is Asia.
Turkey is not a place that Chelsea must pay attention to. The giants in Europe have their eyes set on the Far East, not Turkey. The same goes for Chelsea.
Turkish fans do not welcome Chelsea, but reporters are different.
This is a team that may create two consecutive Champions League championships or a triple crown. Once it really wins, it will be a team that can create a history. Only such a team has the value of interviews. Therefore, many reporters came to greet them.
Chelsea.
Also included are local journalists in Türkiye.
Turkish fans don't like Chelsea, and maybe Turkish reporters don't like Chelsea either. But regardless of whether they like Chelsea or not, of course they will follow the news.
"Coach Su Yun, this is your first time meeting Milan. What do you think of Milan?"
Su Yun has played against almost all European giants.
But the only two teams that have not played against each other are Milan. Including Inter Milan and AC Milan. Apart from these two teams, the European giant Su Yun has played each other.
This is Su Yun's first encounter with Milan. Unexpectedly, he will be in the Champions League final.
"Milan is very strong. Their history is glorious. They are a great team. When I was in China, I was a Milan fan and loved watching the Dutch Three Musketeers. Of course, my favorite player in Milan was Alberti.
Ni.”
At first everyone thought Su Yun was being polite.
But when the last sentence came out, the Milan reporter's face darkened.
Because Albertini is a player born and raised in Milan. Like Maldini, the current flag of Milan, the team grew up from the Milan youth training camp. Albertini was once the vice-captain of Milan, and his wish is to retire in Milan.
Just like Maldini. But Milan, who was considered the most humane, was kicked out.
This is a taboo for many Milan fans. However, although Su Yun's words have some disgusting meaning towards Milan, they are actually true.
Su Yun really liked Albertini.
When he first trained Williams, Su Yun still asked him to develop according to Albertini's template.
In Milan and the Italian national team back then, Su Yun was very fond of the low-key and indispensable Albertini.
"Coach Su Yun, congratulations on winning the double. Now there is only the Champions League final left. What do you think Chelsea's chances of winning are?"
"I will work hard to win."
Su Yun walked forward while answering reporters' questions.
"Coach Su Yun, who do you think is the best player in Milan? Who is the most threatening?"
"Gattuso."
The short answer made many reporters dissatisfied. Moreover, when they asked Su Yun who was the most threatening, Su Yun turned out to be Gattuso who did the dirty work. Isn't this just teasing us?
"Okay, everyone. If you have any questions, just watch the game and you will know."
Su Yun blocked the reporters who continued to follow him, and then led the team onto the Chelsea bus.
As soon as the reporter heard Su Yun's words, he began to curse Su Yun in his heart.
There are still several days before the game. What can I write if there is no good news? Could it be that we have all been drinking from the northwest in the past few days? Isn’t it because of your verbal quarrels before the game that we can have good news?
When Chelsea came to Istanbul, Ancelotti also led his team to Istanbul.
Ancelotti is a good old man.
He was very humble when facing reporters.
He said that Chelsea is a strong team and this game will be difficult, etc. It should be said that coaches from Italy all have this character. They will not be as lively as the Premier League before the game.
It's very common for managers in the Premier League to be at each other's throats.
And the English football community thinks this is normal. But the Italian football community is very disgusted with this.
This kind of thing is very rare in Serie A.
In Serie A football, they believe that the head coach is the one who leads the team in the game. He should focus on how to train the team and how to arrange tactics.
Not like a Premier League manager.
Like a big cock.
Not doing business properly.
This is what Italian football thinks of English coaches.
Ancelotti is a head coach who grew up in this kind of atmosphere. So he was also very low-key before the game.
In this way, Chelsea and Milan came to Istanbul one after another in a relatively low-key manner.
Since Chelsea and Milan came to Istanbul, the Turkish police began to deploy various security measures.
nervous.
Hosting the Champions League final is a privilege.
But there must also be no room for any mistakes.
During the UEFA Cup match five years ago, Leeds United fans died tragically on the streets, which can be said to have put great pressure on the Istanbul police. The whole of Europe was condemning Turkey.
In addition to condemning the Turkish fans, it is also condemning the Turkish police.
So this time they didn't dare to be careless at all.
Because all Europe is paying attention to Istanbul.
The Champions League final is about to begin, and Chelsea fans and Milan fans have integrated into Istanbul in large numbers. The venue for this Champions League final is the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.
The stadium, which can accommodate more than 75,000 people, is the largest stadium in Türkiye.
But fans of both teams could get less than 30,000 tickets each.
However, according to current statistics, the number of fans from both sides pouring into Istanbul has reached 100,000. This is not an ordinary figure. And judging from the situation, fans from both sides will continue to pour in.
By then, the number of fans from both sides may reach 130,000 to 40,000.
There are so many fans.
If something happens, everyone will look ugly.
Moreover, English fans and Italian fans have had a big feud in history. Although they are not Chelsea fans and Milan fans, they are also English fans and Italian fans.
The "Heysel Massacre" caused a sensation that year and led to the decline of the English league.
That's when a brawl broke out between Liverpool fans and Juventus fans.
English football hooligans are famous far and wide. Of course, the performance of English fans has been much better recently. However, the order of the Italian league is very poor. This is recognized by European football.
Fans from both sides are not easy to mess with.
Who can know what will happen if we meet now.
Therefore, the Turkish police are quite nervous.
Tens of thousands of police officers were mobilized.
The atmosphere of the final was overwhelming.
The Champions League final is about to begin.
Four days after arriving in Istanbul.
May 26, 2005.
Ataturk Olympic Stadium. This is not only the largest stadium in Türkiye, but also a five-star team in Europe.
The stadium is very luxurious.
The fans are very enthusiastic.
And this competition received a lot of attention.
It’s different from last season. Last season was a dark horse Champions League final and didn’t attract much attention. But this game is different. There are European giants like Milan in it.
In addition, Chelsea is no longer an ordinary upstart.
It also has enough influence.
The Champions League final between Milan and Chelsea was twice as influential as last season's Champions League final. The attention was also much higher.
In last season's Champions League final, most Chelsea fans and Porto fans were present. There were very few neutral fans. But this game was different. There were as many neutral fans as fans from both sides.
