The Parc des Princes stadium in Paris was packed with seats, and the stands were buzzing with excitement.
In the visiting team's locker room, Millwall's players were ready to go. Everyone was sitting on the benches with their heads high and high spirits.
Their eyes were fixed on Aldrich, waiting for the final encouragement before the game.
Aldrich stood by the door with his hands in his pockets. The handsome young marshal Fubo Furui's face finally changed and became softer, turning into a faint smile.
"Almost three years ago, that's when most of you joined the team, David, Henrik, Pavel, Claude, Michael, Gareth, Bernd, Hans and others.
I came to the team two years ago. Maybe you don’t know what I once said to these seniors. I can repeat it. I said, your opponents are Manchester United and Arsenal.
, Liverpool is a well-known giant in Europe. Three years have passed and we have conquered England. We have had several encounters with England's traditional giants. They are not terrible. We have proved through hard work that we are better than them! But this
It is not our end. Today, I want to say something new to all of you. Where is our limit? It is the European Cup Winners' Cup.
No? In other words, our limit is not the championship, but history. We want to leave a glorious chapter in the history of football. On the way forward, we will encounter Paris Saint-Germain who has entered the European Union for five consecutive years.
The strong teams that compete in the semi-finals may also encounter AC Milan, Real Madrid, German giant Bayern Munich, or other strong teams in the future, but
Our goal is not just to defeat them. It is definitely not that defeating a certain opponent means that we can stop. We must keep winning. Until you can no longer play, we will look back together.
Look, we will create many classic moments in this journey, leaving them for future generations to look up to. I am confident that we can do it. What about you?"
The three captains of the team took the lead and shouted in unison: "Yes!"
Aldridge took his left hand out of his trouser pocket, opened the door to the locker room, and said with a faint smile: "Crazy Lion, go ahead, the stage outside is yours, and it is the game you should enjoy. Let the world know you, and bring everyone to life."
A game is the starting point of your legend, keep this mentality, never, never, never be satisfied!"
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
...
Every player with a strong face would give Aldridge a high-five with his left hand when they walked out of the locker room.
Aldrich closed his eyes and enjoyed this moment. He was filled with excitement and enjoyment for today's game.
His promises to his players continue to be fulfilled.
Entering the Premier League and shaking up the dominance of the giants, now they are on the stage of the European War, the arena where the whole of Europe is focused!
The previous games of the European Cup Winners' Cup were just small fights. But it was completely different in the semi-finals.
The two semi-finals were both strong battles.
The other two teams competing against each other are La Liga giants Barcelona and Serie A Fiorentina.
Millwall is the new Premier League champion, facing Paris Saint-Germain, last year's French Ligue 1 runner-up and defending European Cup Winners' Cup champion.
Coming to the semi-finals, the attention of the European Cup Winners' Cup suddenly increased by countless levels.
So in fact, today's match against Paris Saint-Germain is Millwall's first tough match on the European stage. The previous knockout rounds were just bullying small fish and shrimps, with nothing to show off.
When the players walked onto the field, Aldridge was the last one to come out of the tunnel. When he saw the flashing lights of the entire stadium, he stood on the sidelines with his head held high and looked around the stadium, just like when he stood at Anfield for the first time.
The actions are exactly the same.
The home team coach Luis Fernandez walked towards him. The two met in Auxerre last summer and exchanged football experiences together, but they had no personal relationship. Unlike the other party and Wenger, who would sell Anelka for 500,000 pounds.
Wenger.
"Aldrich, I never thought we would meet again here."
Fernandez shook Aldrich's hand warmly and smiled.
Aldrich shrugged and smiled: "I didn't expect it either. I thought we would meet again in the Netherlands."
Fernandez laughed and said: "But God only allows one of you and me to go to Rotterdam."
"Then I can't wish you good luck today."
"Wish me luck!"
"Hehehe."
The two exchanged greetings and then separated. Aldrich walked slowly to the visiting team's coaching bench and stood there. His expression changed, and he looked at the field solemnly and coldly, with fighting spirit intertwined in his eyes.
"The first leg of the 1996-1997 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals is about to start at the Parc des Princes. The last champion Paris Saint-Germain is sitting at home. They obviously have an advantage over Millwall, who are competing in Europe for the first time, but they still have to divide the points.
In the Premier League, they are now only ranked second in the league. Millwall from the Premier League has been crowned the Premier League champion four days ago five rounds in advance. Millwall is
Many people may not be familiar with this team. If you don’t care about English football, you might not have even heard of it a year ago, but they are indeed a strong team, with a record of 18 consecutive wins in the Premier League and 31 rounds so far.
With an undefeated record in the league, many people may not believe that it was their coach, Aldridge Hall, who is about to turn 21, that made this team go from being penniless to the European stage."
The commentator spent a long time introducing Aldridge. After all, Aldridge set many unprecedented new records. Just because of his age, when he appeared on the sidelines to command the team, it was definitely a shocking record.
When the game was about to start, the commentator began to introduce the starting lineups of both sides.
Paris Saint-Germain played 442.
Goalkeeper: Rama.
Defenders: Fournier, Ngodi, Legane, Domi.
Midfielder: Guérin, Leroy, Coe, Rai.
Forwards: Loco, Leonardo.
Judging from the formation position, Paris Saint-Germain's midfielder is a big diamond, with defensive midfielder Guélan, attacking midfielder Rai, left midfielder Coet, and right midfielder Leroy.
It is not unexpected to have two strikers in front, but their four-back system is different from the parallel positioning. Central defender Ngoti is forward. Legane is deeper, one is in front to intercept, and the other is behind to destroy, obviously targeting Millwall.
Prepared for being good at through balls.
There are only two changes to Millwall's starting XI.
After Stam had a showdown with Aldridge, Aldridge made it clear to him: Since you have decided to leave, I must put the successor in place for the sake of the team. Therefore, in the remaining games of the season, unless you encounter someone
Otherwise, you will be excluded from the squad.
Although Stam was dissatisfied, he took the initiative to leave. Millwall is a young team, and he should understand how severe the blow of missing a main central defender is. In order to prepare for the future, Aldridge did this
There is nothing wrong with that.
Everyone took a step back, Aldridge did not stop him from transferring, and Stam waited for the countdown to the opening of the transfer window.
So Aldridge chose to let Helguera take the position. He officially became Southgate's new partner. Originally, based on his seniority, Materazzi should have taken the position, but Materazzi was still a little frizzy on the court, so Aldridge chose to be calm.
The Spaniards who have entered the country rapidly in the past two years, anyway
Terrazzi will play a lot of times, and Materazzi understands this. He is not the kind of person who messes around. His strength is there, and everyone knows who is higher and who is lower. It is not the head coach who chooses based on his preferences.
If hiring is really based on preference, then Materazzi is obviously the first choice.
As for Pirlo, in this kind of away game in Europe, Aldridge naturally has to defend first and then attack. It is not surprising that Ballack, who has stronger defensive ability, starts.
The referee blew the whistle to start the first half, and the battle quickly began.
Paris Saint-Germain started a blitzkrieg as soon as they started. The players were like motors full of electricity, starting at full speed. After getting the ball in the frontcourt, Rayi used his skills to deceive Ballack. After passing the opponent, he wanted to pass again.
However, Makelele, who was watching behind him like a "venomous snake", accurately intercepted the ball.
With lingering fear, Barak glanced at the eldest brother, Layi, who was in his thirties, the younger brother of Socrates, and a Brazilian. His skills were so delicate, and he had been passed so easily just now.
Aldridge didn't mind Ballack being passed at all on the sidelines.
Millwall has been invincible in the Premier League, and when they come to the European competition, they finally encounter a team with a completely different style. The boys also need to open their eyes and adapt.
French football is one of the representatives of the Latin faction in Europe. The Latin style has been established since the generation of Platini in the national team. There is also a Latin tradition in the league. Their football style is exquisite and gorgeous, and it combines the ability of rapid passing and cutting.
Overall, free-spirited and "crafty".
However, this style of football is still a bit over-reliant on stars. It requires organizational players with excellent foot skills to open up defensive holes. Millwall only needs a period of time to adapt. Aldridge firmly believes in his team. Tough and concise team football is not enough.
The truth is lost to their opponents. What they lack is experience. They definitely have the heart for big scenes!
Paris Saint-Germain attacked fiercely, but failed to score.
Like many teams that Millwall has encountered, they have a very reasonable offensive formation, but often the offensive players get into position early and block their positions. When the ball reaches their feet, they are already being marked closely by the defensive players.
, most of the time it depends on the players' one-on-one ability to open the gap.
Millwall's defensive formation is also in good position. Trezeguet retreats to harass the opponent's midfielder. Larsson and Shevchenko retreat to half-court to cut the opponent's full midfielder's offensive formation. Nedved swims
Walking in the half court and Ballack formed a double-team on Raiyi. If Raiyi chose to break through one-on-one, Makelele, who formed a zone defense, would never give him a second chance to pass.
After ten minutes of play, Paris Saint-Germain's offensive eased off and began to slow down the pace, using pass and cut coordination to wear down the opponent's patience.
It was their change of pace that caused Millwall's players to subconsciously pounce forward, which directly led to a gap in the backcourt defense.
Legane made a big clearance in the backcourt, and the ball fell at the feet of Leroy. He passed the ball directly to Rayi. The latter took the ball with his back, but wiped the ball with his feet. The ball changed direction slightly.
Makelele rolled past Makelele's feet, and Leonardo, who retreated to receive the ball, took the ball with his back. He took a step laterally and then turned sharply. Southgate defended from the front and did not rush to make a move. Instead, he lowered his center of gravity and pressed the opponent's space.
Leonardo suddenly stopped on the spot with the ball. In this space, he passed the ball between Southgate's legs. Loco made an emergency stop and then accelerated to run away from Helguera, just in time to receive the ball.
When Leonardo passed the ball, he half-turned to meet the ball and pushed the ball.
The shot came suddenly. He neither stopped the ball nor turned around and shot it head-on. Bute guarded the near corner of the goal, but found that the ball was heading for the far corner. He immediately fell to the ground and threw himself out, but his fingertips touched him.
He couldn't catch the ball and watched helplessly as the ball hit the inside of the far post and bounced into the goal.
"In the 16th minute of the opening, Paris Saint-Germain scored! It was Loko who made the contribution. He and Leonardo completed an exquisite cooperation. Rai Yi passed the ball as he pleased, Leonardo assisted through the crotch, and Loko cleverly
The shot into the far corner of the goal, what a pleasing combination! Paris Saint-Germain has taken a crucial step towards defending the title!"
After losing the ball, Aldridge called Ballack in front of him and said to him calmly: "Don't put pressure on yourself, just play normally. Today you will go back deeper and cover our penalty area, and then tell Pavel that he
Know how to do it."
Ballack nodded and returned to the court to talk to Nedved, who immediately understood.
Aldrich miscalculated one thing.
The Latin players in Paris Saint-Germain's lineup have excellent personal abilities, and their ability to create one-on-one opportunities is stronger than the teams they have encountered before. Therefore, restricting Lai Yi is not enough. If the opponent's two forwards are allowed to play two pairs,
If Southgate and Helguera are beaten twice, Millwall may be in big trouble. Although they may not succeed every time, seizing two or three opportunities in a game will be a disaster.
