In fact, the answer to this question is very simple! Any fan who is familiar with the five major European leagues can easily answer this question!
So, isn't there only one thing that can be more important than the league - the Champions League?
That's right! During the interval between the second and third rounds of the Premier League, the draw ceremony for the UEFA Champions League group stage of the 2008-09 season will be held!
On August 27, after finishing the day's training, Li Yi accompanied Friedman and Bell overnight and took an evening plane to Monte Carlo, Monaco, where the lottery ceremony was held!
In fact, as a very professional player, and because later generations are used to seeing all kinds of shady stories, Li Yi, who really has no interest in this kind of award ceremony, does not want to come with Friedman at all.
However, Friedman only used a simple sentence, which was not even an explanation, to completely give up the idea of Li Yi not coming. What did Friedman say to Li Yi at that time? Friedman only said:
One sentence - Lee, don't you know that during the Champions League group stage draw ceremony, this year's best European player award will also be awarded? And you are the first candidate to win the championship? [
"What?" Hearing Friedman say this, Li Yi immediately felt that it was unscientific! In other words, he usually only plays football according to his own wishes and rarely cares about the off-field. In other words, some
Sometimes, some people often don’t care too much about what happens to them. For example, Li Yi is the same. Before Friedman said this, he was not afraid of others laughing. Li Yi really didn’t think about it.
, how much these awards will have to do with yourself.
Of course, if Friedman really breaks through this layer of paper, Li Yi will not ask Friedman to explain anything.
The European Cup winner's Golden Boot and Golden Goal broke Platini's record of more than 20 years. The Premier League winner's Golden Boot and Golden Goal also broke the Premier League scoring record.
These, if we use the political language of the Celestial Dynasty, are all real political achievements!
What? Among Li Yi’s honors, there is no Champions League? His Crystal Palace didn’t even enter the Champions League last season?
Okay, let’s just say that the Champions League plays a large role in the reporters’ selection of the best players. However, in the years of the European Cup and World Cup, no matter how good the Champions League is, can it be better than these two major intercontinental events?
Isn't that a joke?
Therefore, there is no need for Friedman to say more. Li Yi, who thought of this, already knew that Friedman not only did not joke with himself about this issue, he should even have received some inside information! Otherwise, Li Yi explained
, how could Friedman say such a thing in the UK, which is much more rigorous than China?
So, since it seems that he is definitely going to go on stage to receive the award, can Li Yi still be moved and not go to the award ceremony just because of chatting? Maybe in the future, when Li Yi becomes more awesome, with such confidence, labor and management will not go if they don’t want to.
Go, but the current Li Yi did not dare to do this. Therefore, there was no need for Friedman to explain anything, and he quickly went home to pack his baggage. Later that day, Li Yi and the two people rushed
Before we knew it, the day came when the draw ceremony for the UEFA Champions League group stage of the 2008-09 season was held.
At the beginning of the ceremony, we first reviewed the situation of the UEFA Champions League last season. Among them, the most eye-catching one was Cristiano Ronaldo, who performed extremely well in the Champions League.
However, when the on-site cameraman pointed the camera at the former at the right time, it was easy for everyone at the scene to see that Luo was unhappy! He was very unhappy!
As a member of the Champions League winning team last season, the core of the Manchester United team, and was elected the best player in the Champions League, it stands to reason that at this time, Luo should be full of glory. Why are he unhappy?
The reason is simple! Luo is unhappy because a non-human Li Yi appears! [
I will shed tears if I talk too much. Luo played very well in the Champions League last season, and Manchester United also successfully won the championship. However, whether it is the league or the European Cup, Li Yi's performance is obvious to all and is worthy of recognition.
Call him crazy! Under such circumstances, even though Luo has always been a very confident person, he also knows that this time, the award for the best player in Europe has little to do with him!
So, as a conceited and arrogant person, if you let Luo act as a spectator and sit in the stands and watch his biggest Premier League competitor Li Yi come on stage to receive the award, would he be happy?
Obviously, no!
Look back to the scene.
After a short review, the draw ceremony for the UEFA Champions League group stage of the 2008-09 season has officially begun!
While the commentator was explaining the rules of the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony, the legendary international football star John Kelly took out the Big Ears Cup from the backstage, which is extremely coveted by all the giants and can be called the club's highest honor.
However, what the two commentating guests did not expect was to explain the rules of the lottery. This is an item that in normal times, all the wealthy families would not be able to do anything, and had to do it just because of the procedures. Today, it seemed that everyone in the stands was
The rich and powerful are all listening very carefully?
As the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be monsters. Today the big clubs are so concerned, naturally it is not because their representatives are stupid and don't even remember the rules! Speaking of which, what are the rules of the Champions League group stage?
To put it simply, isn't it just to divide all the teams into four levels according to the Champions League points in the past few years, and then avoid them in the same country? In Chinese, it can be summarized in one sentence, and no matter how stupid they are, they can't remember it.
You can’t live anymore, right?
So, what do they care about?
Well, at this time, Li Yi, Friedman, and even Bell, who are the parties involved, are not aware of it at all!
As mentioned above, the Champions League group stage draw will divide the teams into different levels!
And, needless to say, as Crystal Palace is entering the Champions League for the first time, it will be useless for anyone to use the back door. They are definitely going to be assigned to the fourth tier!
And then, need I say more? As the new Premier League champions, and with the crazy investment in the summer transfer market, they purchased many powerful players with huge sums. In terms of real combat effectiveness, this damn Crystal Palace is the best among the cocks.
Fighting chickens! As a fourth-level team, they can responsibly say that they will definitely create a death group with their own hands!
Soon, we came to the moment that all the giants at the scene were most concerned about. On the podium, the commentator began to introduce the team's classification situation!
Tier 1: Chelsea, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Lyon, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid.
Third tier: Bordeaux, Panathinaikos, Basel, Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, Fenerbahce, Zenit St. Petersburg, Fiorentina.
Finally, there is the fourth tier where Crystal Palace is: Cluj, Anroxas, Shakhtar Donetsk, Atletico Madrid, Aalborg, Dinamo Kip, BATE Borisov, Crystal Palace.
After introducing the division of labor among grades, the work of introducing the commentary has come to an end.
All the guests present today were not kept waiting. Soon, the famous French star Zidane and UEFA's top leader Platini came out from the backstage.
First he smiled and said hello to everyone, and then, as the first-level lottery guest today, Zidane started his own lottery work.
To be honest, the first draw that Zidane is responsible for is actually the most important draw. After all, which seeded team goes to which group is just a matter of determining the order and has no other substantive meaning.
Zidane, who was well aware of this truth, did not delay or create any suspense during the entire drawing process, and quickly fulfilled his duties.
Finally, the first level grouping situation is as follows:
