When Ronaldo went to Spain from the Netherlands and went to the world, almost no club in Europe did not pay attention to his performance. As early as last October, Aldridge would also appreciate his performance with a bystander mentality. I really feel that Millwall and Barcelona have no intersection. Even though he made some remarks because of the Ballon d'Or selection, he did not target Barcelona. He felt that it was just a distant debate.
But in April, he belatedly remembered that one of Ronaldo's two club continental titles was the European Cup Winners' Cup in his only season with Barcelona.
Today, as expected, Millwall and Barcelona met in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to compete for the championship!
Two teams that have never met in history have sparked many topics.
Aldridge was portrayed by the Spanish media as an arrogant boy who despised Barcelona, and Millwall's achievements were also attributed to the fact that there is no overlord in the Premier League and a clown usurped the throne!
On May 15, the European Cup Winners' Cup final was about to start, and the stadium was packed. In addition to fans of the two teams, more than 10,000 neutral fans came here to enjoy this pinnacle battle.
There was a pre-match performance in the stadium, and the players from both teams were getting ready in the locker rooms.
Millwall has been preparing for the game longer than Barcelona, and the players have been adjusted to their best condition. In the locker room, Aldridge saw 11 energetic warriors.
The players are full of energy and ready to go against opponents like Barcelona. This not only makes them excited, but also makes them feel hungry.
Yes, they can't wait to play against the strong European teams, and the two-leg battle with Paris Saint-Germain is still unfinished.
Aldridge walked past each team member, checked their mental state, and nodded with satisfaction after making sure the boys were in high spirits.
"Today is a final that determines the championship. It is a final that if you lose, it will become a stepping stone for your opponents. If you are waiting for a certain moment to make yourself special, waiting for a certain game to make Europe... let The world will remember you, so today is the day! I have a beautiful ideal and want you to be the first love of the new generation of fans."
Aldridge's words made the players a little confused.
First love?
We are here to play football, not to fall in love!
The players thought about it carefully and roughly understood what Aldridge meant.
Aldridge said lightly: "Everyone has an opportunity to fall in love with football. A certain game, a certain star, a certain moment, a certain name, a certain photo, etc. Busby's Manchester United... Sli's Liverpool, Sacchi's Milan, the European Red Devils Belgium, Chain Defense Italy, Maradona's Argentina, Selecao Brazil, Barcelona Dream Team and so on. I hope that Millwall can become the favorite of countless fans. First love, let them fall in love with our football, remember each of our players, and reminisce about the journey we have taken, and this requires great moments and exciting games. It requires us to have our own style and our own football philosophy , with our fighting spirit, etc., etc., I think we already have the conditions to achieve greatness, and what we need now is to show up our fighting spirit to achieve all this. Do you have confidence?"
The players looked at each other and saw their teammates around them. Instead of shouting excitedly today, they puffed up their chests and vowed: "Yes!"
Aldridge nodded and said: "Our opponent is Barcelona, but we are not weaker than the opponent. I think we are stronger! Today, we have to use Millwall's football method to defeat them, otherwise, I think I will have no face to reply. London."
Larson asked in confusion: "Why?"
"Because our neighbors will laugh at me, not counting Manchester United, Manchester City, Everton, these three clubs have won the European Cup Winners' Cup, London City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham United, our four My neighbors have all won this cup. If we can’t go back with the trophy, I feel really ashamed. How can we deserve to be the King of London? Hahaha.”
Aldrich smiled and helplessly spread his hands.
Simply counting the number of clubs that have won the three major European Cups, England has the most clubs in the Champions League and the European Cup Winners' Cup. So far, three clubs have participated in the UEFA Cup. Even if England has a five-year ban from European competitions, this is enough. This illustrates England's status in the nearly half-century history of the European League. Although the past few years have been a low period, with the commercialization of the Premier League and the overall recovery of major clubs, England has begun a new round of catching up.
Southgate stood up and said solemnly: "In order for the boss to go home openly, guys, we worked hard today!"
"Fight!"
The players shouted in unison and followed the captain out of the locker room.
Aldridge then walked out. After he walked out of the tunnel, the courtside cameras quickly focused on him, and the staff ran three meters in front of him to capture a close-up shot.
Aldridge turned and walked towards Barcelona's coaching bench and politely extended his right hand to Bobby Robson. The other party, a respectable elder, smiled back at him and the two began to talk cordially.
"Jazz, my team and I are very excited to play against you here."
The gray-haired Robson smiled and said: "I didn't expect that England would have such a young and excellent coach like you. It seems that I am really old."
"But you are still able to coach a giant club like Barcelona, are you really old?"
Aldridge looked at him and smiled, and then he said: "I have no ill will towards Barcelona, but there are some reports in the media..."
"Hey, ignore them, what's written in the newspapers is bullshit most of the time."
Aldridge smiled knowingly. He didn't want to become a coach who criticized others without restraint, but he had his own opinions and thoughts to express. However, in the process of dissemination through media platforms, he would be criticized for being unethical. journalists easily distort the facts.
Turning his head and looking at the other people in the Barcelona coaching bench, Aldridge unexpectedly walked towards a young man. He was said to be young, but in fact he was more than ten years older than Aldridge.
Yes, it is the assistant who has followed Bobby Robson since Lisbon, the madman "under God", Mourinho.
Mourinho has been watching Aldridge. From the moment Aldridge walked out of the tunnel, his eyes have not left Aldridge. He carefully looked at the young man who was well-dressed and full of confidence. Rinho was full of doubts.
Why was he successful at such a young age?
Did you just have the money to buy the club?
This is impossible!
What is his recipe for success? What is his management philosophy? What is the foundation of his tactical philosophy?
As Robson's assistant, one of Mourinho's responsibilities is to collect intelligence. Therefore, he should know Millwall best among all the people on the Barcelona coaching bench, but he still cannot sum up Millwall simply in words.
If we discuss your tactics in depth, Barcelona obviously does not have that much time to prepare. Moreover, the proud giants always focus on highlighting themselves and will never be led by their opponents. Most giants are determined to stand firm.
Suppress the opponent with a motionless posture and take control of the game into your own hands.
"Hello, Mr. Mourinho."
Aldridge shook hands with Mourinho very formally, and the latter stared at him warily. After shaking hands, Aldridge found that the other party seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, so he smiled slightly and said: "If you
If you want to discuss tactics, you can come to me. I am also a person who likes to study tactics."
After speaking, Aldrich turned and left.
Mourinho stared at his back with suspicion.
In fact, Mourinho's days at Barcelona will be very difficult.
After Robson left, Van Gaal took over, and Mourinho's work was completely marginalized. Robson left all tasks such as team training to Mourinho, but Van Gaal did not allow him to interfere.
, but for Mourinho, who already had a lot of experience, he began to sum up his experience, explore his own football philosophy, and began to discuss it with all the people in the football circle he could come into contact with, but in Spain, he
He has always been a minor character who is not favored by the mainstream.
Aldrich's words actually have a subtext of poaching.
Regardless of whether Mourinho will be the head coach in the future, and whether he will also join Chelsea, at least if a workaholic like him can join Aldridge now, it will definitely make Millwall even stronger.
Aldrich walked back to his seat while maintaining a smile, and murmured in a low voice: "Fortunately, they didn't notice."
Before that, Aldridge was worried about whether he would be recognized by Robson and Mourinho. He was the one who made a scene at a press conference in Lisbon five years ago, which made Mourinho chase him out in anger and almost turned into two people.
The "little reporter" who got into a street fight.
Fortunately, Aldrich asked him to disguise himself at that time, and the other party would not take that kind of thing to heart. Aldrich's figure has changed since then, and his voice has also changed.
Smiling at himself, Aldrich felt that he thought too highly of himself. Why should others remember him?
At this moment, players from both sides entered the field. Aldridge stopped smiling and his eyes became sharp. Invariably, the players on the field also looked at him. He made eye contact with each player. The encouragement in his eyes was
He is more like a friend to the players, as if he simply supports them, but the players can gain confidence and strong confidence through Aldrich's presence!
He is like a monument to victory, always standing strong on the sidelines, conveying confidence to every player.
"The 1996-1997 European Cup Winners' Cup is about to begin. The two teams that have reached the finals this year are Millwall from England and the Spanish giant Barcelona. Millwall is the new Premier League champion. Barcelona has already won the Spanish Super Cup this season.
Champion, trailing by 2 points in the league to
Real Madrid, they also reached the final of the Copa del Rey. This is definitely a clash between the king's teams. The two teams are star-studded. Let's introduce the starting lineups of both sides. Millwall's starting lineup is 433.
Goalkeeper: Bute. Defenders: Schneider, Helguera, Southgate, Capdevila. Center
Berardo, Sergi. Double midfielder: Popescu, Guardiola. Midfielder: Figo, De La Pena, Enrique.
Forward: Ronaldo. This is a contest between two young teams. The youngest player on both sides is 18 years old and the oldest is 29 years old. The average age of Millwall's starting lineup is close to 23 years old, and the average age of Barcelona's starting lineup is
At nearly 26 years old, there is no doubt this is a young matchup!"
Players from both sides took a group photo before the game, and before getting ready for kick-off, Millwall's teammates formed a circle and bent down to hug their teammates' shoulders. Southgate shouted solemnly: "Millwall!
"
The whole team shouted in unison: "Go, go, go!"
"Millwall!"
"Go, go, go!"
"Millwall!"
"Go, go, go!"
After the third shout, everyone stood up together, cheered and encouraged each other, and then the formation dispersed, ready to kick off.
