Once the capital of Constantinople, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and now the capital of Turkey, this former political center that ruled Europe is full of complexity and conflict, economy, culture, religion,
It is conceivable that a city located on the dividing line between Europe and Asia will not simply look like a clear sky.
The sky turned, and the daytime curtain was replaced by dark light and shadow. On the way to the Ali Samyan Stadium, home of Galatasaray Club, the closer the Millwall bus got to the stadium, the "greeters" on both sides of the road became more and more popular.
The more.
Aldrich didn't have time to appreciate the city's unusual scenery, but the banging sound brought back memories from many years ago.
On the street outside the Galatasaray club, fans wearing red and yellow jerseys held up banners with ferocious expressions. Some even held torches and set off fireworks. They were carried shirtless by the crowd and roared crazily at the Millwall bus.
Said: "Welcome to hell!"
Henry opened the car window to look at the scene outside, and happened to know which fan threw a small stone and flew in front of him, hitting the car window in front of him with a bang. He was so scared that he lowered his head reflexively, causing
The fans outside laughed wildly.
Not only did the fans outside laugh, but Larson, who was sitting next to Henry, also laughed when he saw Henry shrinking his head.
Henry was still frightened. Although he knew that there was a car window blocking him and he was not worried about being hit, he suddenly saw a UFO flying in front of him from far to near. Who is not afraid?
He turned around and found Larson laughing at him. He said fearfully: "The people outside are like a group of devils. Will there be any problem with the stadium security?"
After playing football in the UK for more than a year, Henry also learned about the Turkish football atmosphere from British media reports.
It may sound like a fanaticism, but in the eyes of the British media, it is a chaos that has been criticized both verbally and in writing.
The world is full of crows, and the British media also defend their shortcomings. A few years ago, Manchester United visited Turkey, which caused large-scale riots both on and off the field. Foreign media believed that the chaos was caused by British football hooligans, but the governments of both countries came forward to intervene.
Denying this, a British media investigation found that it was actually the Turkish official management that failed to
The situation got worse and worse. However, when British fans left the UK at that time, they were regarded as football hooligans and beat everyone to death. Therefore, whenever a Premier League team visits Turkey in recent years, the media and clubs will focus on it.
In terms of security, no one wants to see riots happen. That would be a tragedy for football.
Larson closed the book he was reading along the way, turned to Henry and smiled: "If you came to the team earlier, you would not be touched by the current scene. Look, Pavel, Gareth, Bernd,
They, like me, are very calm."
Henry asked curiously: "Early years? Millwall has never been to Türkiye before, right?"
"Well, it's the first time, but we had an opponent before. Their fans are not like those Turkish fans outside. They really hate us and grit their teeth. I think it is your regret that you have not been able to experience the East London Derby.
, let’s see if there are any opportunities in the future, I don’t know if West Ham United has been relegated from League One.”
West Ham United?
Henry thought thoughtfully. Speaking of which, when he first joined Millwall and was recuperating from his injury, he really learned about the history of Millwall in detail.
In Millwall's official diplomatic relations, only Manchester United is a competitor when leaving London. Within London, Arsenal is a competitor, and Tottenham are all in harmony and do not compete at the same level. The most important thing is that they are the team's mortal enemies.
As a Millwall player, you must understand who the club's mortal enemy is. The first one is West Ham United. Secondly, it used to be Crystal Palace. Now, the second one should be Chelsea.
Coincidentally, Aldridge was thinking about West Ham United as he sat in the front row.
To get to the competition venue, police cars were needed to clear the way, and mounted police escorts. The bus was besieged by fans who looked like monsters. Haha, it was a familiar scene.
"Babu, does the back of your head still hurt?"
Aldrich suddenly raised his head and asked loudly, and everyone in the car was stunned.
Babu sat on the seat behind him and asked inexplicably: "Why does it hurt?"
"West Ham United, East London Derby."
"Fuck! It really starts to hurt again!"
Babu couldn't help but touch the back of his head, and the players and coaches who knew the joke laughed heartily.
During the popular East London Derby that year, Barb was hit in the back of the head with a metal lighter by a rival fan. He was escorted to the hospital on the spot. The fan was not only banned from entering the stadium for life, but was even sentenced to six months in jail for intentionally injuring others.
Prison, that's no joke, someone could be killed if not careful!
"By the way, how is West Ham United doing lately?"
Aldrich turned to look at Jenson.
Jensen looked strange and said: "In the first season after relegation, they sold many people to reduce the salary pressure on the team. Lao Lei failed to lead the team back to the Premier League in the first season and was fired by the club.
, then the team was in chaos last season and almost relegated to League Two. This season it seems that Glenn Roeder from the youth team took over the team and stabilized the situation again. What? Do you miss them?"
Aldridge chuckled and said: "I don't feel anything, but when I was browsing the club's official website forum recently, I found an interesting picture. 13% of the fans actually hope to see West Ham United return to the Premier League next season. Hahaha
."
"Haha, there were actually signs of this last year. They wanted us to draw lots in the cup and meet West Ham United to reignite the East London Derby."
Aldridge spread his palms and shook his head with a smile. I have to say that the mentality of fans is actually easy to understand. As a mortal enemy, no matter whether the other party is doing well or not, stomping the other party into the abyss is the scene they want to see the most. West Ham United
Fans must also hope to meet Millwall in the cup. This mentality is different from when Millwall was in the lower leagues and West Ham United was in the top league. Millwall also hopes to meet West Ham United in the cup.
The touch is the same.
Millwall's bus safely drove into the Ali Samyan Stadium. When the bus stopped, the noise from the outside world became quieter. Only then did Millwall's players feel that they had come from one world to another.
The game was held in the evening, and the team began pre-match warm-up training. There were already many fans in the stadium waiting for the game to start.
After the players all returned to the locker room, Aldridge stood in the center of the locker room and wrote lightly: "This is a stadium known as hell. It will exert a great psychological impact on you. In itself, the fanatical home atmosphere will not
Let your technical ability decline. It won’t deform the football, and it won’t let mines appear out of thin air on the field, but don’t laugh!”
Before Aldrich finished speaking, Ronaldinho burst out laughing. Aldrich glared at him and immediately suppressed it.
"However, this will distract you and allow your attention that should be 100% focused on the game and football to be attracted by other things. This is the key point that will affect your performance. I only ask for one thing from you.
:Ignore the fans in the stands and play our style of football for 90 minutes, that’s enough.”
After saying that, Aldridge turned and left the locker room.
When he walked out of the tunnel, he frowned. He smelled a pungent smell without even stepping on the turf of the stadium. He turned around at the exit and saw, "Hey guys, there are fans setting off fireworks in the stands behind."
, at first glance, I thought the stands were on fire!
Galatasaray fans "showed off their talents" in the stands. The mainstream ones were singing, singing their own team songs, repeating lyrics such as madness, passion, and winning the championship. Aldridge was curious about the singing.
What does garem mean.
Various huge banners came into view in the stands, the most shocking of which was the huge banner that read "Welcome to Hell".
The crazy fans greeted Millwall's arrival with exaggerated body movements. Looking around the stadium, Aldridge couldn't help but lower his head and smile.
There were demons dancing wildly in the stands, it was like a hellish atmosphere.
But whose hell is this?
Aldridge was booed wildly by the home fans after he appeared. He calmly walked to the coach's bench and sat down. Sometimes the head coach must learn to assess the situation.
If he remembered correctly, there was an English head coach who had coached a Turkish giant in history, and then won a decisive battle between two rival clubs, and then made an exaggerated provocation, which directly brought him death threats.
, almost his body and soul stayed in Turkey permanently.
The coach later explained his behavior, saying that his provocative behavior was common in England and he did not expect that Turkish fans would react so radically.
This has nothing to do with the quality of the fans, but rather the legal system of the social environment and the difference in management efficiency in the football field. The same provocative behavior will cause dissatisfaction among fans in England, and fan conflicts may break out outside the field, but the personal safety of the coach
It is guaranteed, but in Turkey, especially between mortal enemies, any excessive provocation may lead to its own tragedy.
Aldridge doesn't have to come to "hell" to show his domineering attitude. He is here to lead the team in the game, not to invade.
"The second match day of Group H of the Champions League is about to begin. Galatasaray will play at home against Millwall from the Premier League. Galatasaray currently wants to qualify from this group. The situation is quite optimistic. They tied with AC
Milan, now welcoming Millwall, as long as they can get points from Millwall, they will
There is still hope of advancing to the top 16. Millwall easily defeated Hertha Berlin 4:1 on the first match day in London and ranked first in the group. Their strong offensive firepower is the guarantee of victory, but they don’t know that they have it in Turkey.
Will they be able to perform normally in front of Galatasaray at home?"
When the game started, the fanatical atmosphere continued. Millwall started the game by controlling the ball and got a corner kick 3 minutes later.
Ronaldinho ran to take the corner kick, but was met with a "rain of coins" at the corner flag. He held his head and complained to the referee, but that obviously didn't help.
Nedved ran over and stopped Ronaldinho from entangled with the referee. After pulling away from Ronaldinho, he whispered to him: "Don't be disturbed by off-field factors."
Ronaldinho picked up a coin on the ground and asked: "Is this also an off-field factor?"
Nedved nodded seriously and said to him: "Concentrate on the game. If you continue to complain to the referee and your attention is distracted by the behavior of the fans, isn't this the situation Galatasaray wants to see the most?"
Ronaldinho reacted and followed Nedved's advice. The experienced Nedved has accumulated rich experience in the East London Derby. This kind of rain of coins is really nothing to make a fuss about. Sometimes players just
You must endure the attacks, abuse, humiliation, and even threats from hostile fans, endure the pressure, and not be disturbed in order to develop a big heart and a psychological defense line that cannot be broken. (To be continued...)
