After qualifying for the Champions League group stage this season, there will be the quarterfinals. The divisions will be drawn, and no team from the same country will avoid talking about it. There will also be no first place in the group against the second place in the group. After all, there are six teams that are first in the group and qualify.
Three German teams advanced strongly, but the draw was tragic. They were all in one half, plus Real Madrid.
Millwall and Juventus, Manchester United and Monaco, four teams are in the same half.
The situation in the two halves is evenly matched. If they want to reach the final, they will inevitably encounter a fierce battle. Millwall will have to play against Juventus, the Champions League champion two years ago and the runner-up last season. Juventus has won the Champions League in the past two years.
The result shows how powerful this opponent is!
At the pre-match press conference, Fleet Street was relatively pessimistic, believing that Millwall's luck was on their backs and that facing Juventus, who were at their peak, their chances of promotion were slim.
From player strength to coaching level, Juventus's advantages are obvious. Although Aldridge is highly praised, he really cannot be compared with Lippi, a famous coach who has won the Champions League and dominated Serie A.
After the League Cup final was a smoke bomb, coupled with previous psychological warfare in the league, Aldridge came to the Champions League with a low-key and pragmatic attitude. At the press conference, even the media from Italy acted with "dragon crossing the river" momentum.
Press him about his goals for the game and compare the strength gap between the two teams.
Aldrich admitted frankly: "Juventus is a giant club in Italy. First of all, they have a great coach. Coach Lippi's achievements make me envious. Juventus' lineup is also extremely strong. In recent years, they have won the first place in Serie A."
, your achievements in the Champions League are brilliant, you
People think Millwall is weaker than Juventus. I won’t refute it. In fact, there is a gap between us and Juventus. Juventus is stronger in terms of player ability and experience. If I emphasize that Millwall is stronger than the opponent or
On the same level. I’m afraid fans all over the world will
I think I am too arrogant. However, football matches are often not won by the strong. If Millwall wants to advance, they must first show the courage and determination to advance! My players are eager for honors. The European Champions League is the supreme club.
In front of the honor, of course you have to show your super strength
Only with the fighting will can we go further. If we are destined to be eliminated by Juventus, then the games at Wembley and the Alpi Stadium will be our finals! Losing is not terrible, and being eliminated is not the end of the world. But
Even if Millwall loses, they must leave with their heads held high!"
This neither humble nor arrogant statement was unanimously praised by the media.
Even the Italian media, which had ridiculed Aldridge in the past, believed that opponents like Millwall deserved respect.
A coach's style often reflects the club's style. Moreover, Aldridge's identity is not just a coach. On a stage that attracts the attention of football like the Champions League, he has made his position very clear.
It makes people feel humble, but does not make people feel that he has no confidence.
This reminds me that when he met Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona last year, Aldridge never made any rhetoric. The young coach gave his opponent enough respect. As for whether the opponent respected him, he didn't mind, just like Barcelona's
Coach Van Gaal despised him and he never said a word in public.
Justice comes naturally to people's hearts. Aldrich is not a chameleon. He becomes a gentleman when he meets a gentleman. When he meets a scum, he becomes a gangster. He has his own principles. Others like to ridicule him and belittle him. Slandering him may not be a personal grudge.
It's about psychological warfare. It doesn't matter. The demeanor he showed gave Millwall a special spiritual temperament.
Juventus coach Lippi also expressed his importance to Millwall when talking about the clash between the two teams. He believes that the English team has begun to fully recover. Manchester United reached the semi-finals last year and won the group stage this year.
, Manchester United made Juventus suffer a lot and narrowly advanced to the knockout rounds
, and Millwall was the Premier League champion last season, comparable to Manchester United in terms of strength. More importantly, Millwall is young and motivated. The players and Aldridge are both teachers and friends, and they can always lead in adversity.
Working together to overcome difficulties, Juventus must not underestimate the opponent if they want to advance.
When the day of the game arrived, Wembley tickets were sold out early. Not only the Lions fans, but also many neutral fans were eager to enter Wembley to watch this peak match.
Millwall was the Premier League champion last season, and this season's Champions League group stage is unstoppable. Juventus is dominating Serie A, the world's first league. At the same time, they have won the Champions League once and were runners-up in the Champions League in the past two years. Juventus is said to be the strongest in Europe.
The team is not an exaggeration. Even if some people disagree, there is no doubt that it is among the top three European teams.
What kind of sparks will be created when these two teams collide?
Compared with the other three quarter-final clashes, this battle between Millwall and Juventus is the most watched game.
Manchester United vs Monaco
Bayer Leverkusen VS Real Madrid
Bayern Munich VS Dortmund
These three games are far less exciting than the focus battle between Millwall and Juventus.
When the lights come on, Wembley Stadium shines brightly.
The players of Millwall and Juventus finished warming up before the game, the substitutes sat directly on the bench, and the starting players returned to the locker room.
Aldridge stood in the locker room, staring calmly at the blank tactical board, as if deep in thought.
When the starting 11 players all changed into their official game jerseys in the locker room, everyone looked firmly at Aldridge.
He turned around and spoke calmly.
"Since the day I took over the team, I wake up every morning and ask myself a few questions: What else does Millwall lack? How far is it from being number one in the world? Every day, I ask myself this, and then I
I thought about the answers while washing my face, brushing my teeth, and taking a shower, day after day, year after year. Until recently, when I asked myself these questions again, I could hardly think of an answer that convinced me."
He glanced at everyone in front of him, and then continued: "The 11 of you came to the team four years ago at the earliest, and three years later. You have played together for almost three or four years, and there are more than a thousand people here.
In the long process of days, you have turned from unknown people to stars. Your technical capabilities have matured.
, after experiencing many important games, the mentality will not be as trembling as when we were just starting out. We have created brilliance together, which represents our progress and maturity. The technical and tactical aspects have also reached the peak. Although it is not perfect, it has been
Close to the limit of what you can do. Yeah, you make up
As a team, how far are you from being number one in the world? Can you still be said to be young? But your average age is now 24 years old, which is your prime. You can run and rush, and you are full of motivation.
Do you still lack experience? We have played in more finals than any other team in the past two years. You guys
Some also play a pivotal role in the national team. We are a championship team, we have proven ourselves in England, and now. I think it is time, it is time to prove to the world that you are the number one in the world and we are fully capable.
Fight for the European Championship and use the trophy to prove our strength!"
The players' eyes became sharper and more alert.
Captain Southgate stood up and said impassionedly: "Boss, we will not give ourselves any excuses, never! In the past, we could think in our hearts that we were immature. We still need more games to improve and hone.
To practice football skills, we need to establish a tacit understanding with our teammates, but now, we can no longer give ourselves any excuses! Now we are the strongest team! Of course, Juventus is also very strong. They have honors that we do not have, but
Isn't this kind of opponent what we most hope to encounter?"
At the end of the sentence, Southgate turned around and asked each teammate with his eyes.
Everyone nodded in unison, showing great fighting spirit!
In three or four years, they have grown and improved, transforming from penniless to champion players. What reason can they give themselves to be afraid of powerful opponents?
Aldridge was happy from the bottom of his heart when he saw the confident and determined expressions of the players. He needs the players to not be afraid of their opponents psychologically, so that they can perform better. Otherwise, it will be bad if they are timid and hesitant.
The war has not yet begun, but the signs of defeat have been revealed!
"Today's game, play well. We have to play our own style and have a stronger fighting spirit than our opponents to advance. I believe you can do it. If we want to challenge for the championship, we must first defeat the former king, Juventus.
!”
After Aldridge finished speaking, he turned around and left. For the rest of the time, the three captains would also encourage their teammates to fight.
When Aldridge walked out of the tunnel and came to the sidelines, he went out to shake hands with Lippi. Lippi, the silver fox, is middle-aged and can still see his handsome appearance when he was young. The two exchanged a few words in Italian, and then Odridge
Delic turned around and the battle was about to begin. One of him and Lippi must fall after two battles!
Sitting down in front of the coach's bench, Aldridge took a sip of water to moisten his throat. Benitez and Jenson, the two assistant coaches, looked very nervous today.
It's strange to say.
It is difficult for you to measure whether the FA Cup final, the Premier League championship battle, the League Cup final, the European Cup Winners' Cup final, these four final scenes or the European Champions Cup quarter-final scenes, which one is more stressful?
.
But Benitez and Jenson felt unusually nervous today. In fact, Aldridge was not relaxed either. After thinking about it, he thought that maybe it had nothing to do with the occasion, but the opponent.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and other teams are not as good as the current Juventus in terms of strength impression, which is why people are more stressed.
"What a bad luck, playing home first! Lippi, that old fox, has an advantage in formation."
Jensen was too depressed, so he said something to relieve his tension.
It was rare for Aldridge to drink half a bottle of water before the game started, which was actually caused by nervousness.
He laughed and said nothing after hearing this.
First the host, then the guest, first the guest, then the host.
Which one has more advantages?
Statistically speaking, it is more advantageous to put customers first and then host.
But statistics are dead and not absolute.
In particular, this kind of statistics is not objective and fair because there is a difference in strength between teams.
If there are two teams with great disparity in strength, and the strong team plays first away and then at home, then the weak team will be very disadvantaged. The first round of the contest is at home. Should we choose to be conservative or unrestrained? If we are conservative, the fans will not agree, and if we can't get in
Is there still hope for the ball in the away game? If you are unrestrained, if a strong team beats a weak team to prevent counterattacks, is that still not chopping up the melons and cutting vegetables?
Under such a background, it is certainly beneficial to strong teams to play first before home, but on the other hand, even if a weak team plays first before home, its probability of advancement may not be much higher.
When there is no obvious difference in the strength of the two teams, there is no absolute advantage in whether to play home and then guest or to play guest and then home. Anyway, this theory will be subverted from time to time. For a certain period of time, it is better to play first for guest and then for home.
Time also thinks it is better to put the host first and then the guest.
The key is to perform on the spot, everything else is secondary factors.
Players from both sides entered the stadium, and the Champions League theme song played at Wembley.
The peak showdown between the Premier League champions and the Serie A champions is about to begin!
