On December 7, Hamburg welcomed Augsburg at home.
Hamburg won this game easily.
Hamburg, which played most of the main players, quickly took over the game and scored early.
In the 5th minute, Vardy took advantage of an indirect free kick and opened the scoring for the team with a header.
Before the end of the first half, Kanter scored another victory, 2:0.
After changing sides in the second half, Salah and Wu Lei, who came on as a substitute, also scored goals one after another.
In the end, Hamburg defeated Augsburg 4:0 at home.
And this score is not the biggest disparity in this round of Bundesliga.
Werder Bremen played against Bayern Munich at home and actually scored a score of 0:7!
Bayern went absolutely crazy, with Muller, Gotze, Robben, Mandzukic, Ribery and almost all other attackers scoring goals.
This score seems like Bayern is demonstrating against Hamburg.
Because in the next round of the Bundesliga, which is the 16th round, they will face off against Hamburg!
Due to a strong dialogue in this round, Dortmund lost 0:1 at home to Leverkusen, which caused the gap between the top three and the top two to become even wider.
It can be said that the game between Bayern and Hamburg will definitely be a game that can determine the trend of the Bundesliga championship this season!
……
Before this game, Hamburg and Bayern will go to the European arena respectively to usher in the final round of the Champions League group stage.
In the first five games, Bayern's record was even better than Hamburg's. They had won all five games!
But they did not lock in the first place in the group like Hamburg.
That's because there is another team in Group D where they are still competing with them!
That is the new strong team in the Premier League, Manchester City.
Although Manchester City lost to Bayern 1:3 in the first round, they also achieved complete victories against the other two teams.
Therefore, in the final round of games, if Bayern overturns at home and loses to Manchester City by more than 2 goals, it will still give up its first place in the group!
This is Hamburg's biggest advantage before the decisive battle with Bayern.
That is, Hamburg can play a "friendly match" with Barcelona, and then play Bayern in a leisurely manner.
Bayern, on the other hand, cannot be as relaxed as Hamburg. After all, Manchester City's strength cannot be underestimated. If they are accidentally snatched away from the first place in the group, it will be a big joke.
For Bayern, playing at home may be the best news for them.
……
On December 11, in the final round of the Champions League group stage, Hamburg played Barcelona away.
Since the top two teams in the group were determined one round in advance, this game is not of great significance to both sides.
In addition, in the Spanish Serie A, the championship competition between Barcelona and Madrid has also reached a fierce stage, and they naturally do not want to be distracted by this kind of competition.
As a result, both sides tacitly sent in substitute lineups, but they actually played a wonderful game.
After all, substitute players are sometimes more expressive than the main players, and when playing without pressure, the players can give full play to their imagination and play more relaxedly.
This is why the third and fourth place finals of the World Cup are often more beautiful than the finals.
The two sides ended up playing 2:2.
Among these four goals, one was Paulinho's long-range world wave from 35 meters away, while Barcelona had a delicate team goal after more than a dozen passes, which also made Nokan
Pu’s fans are delighted.
So, after six rounds of games, Hamburg had a record of four wins and two draws with 14 points, officially qualifying as the group leader!
Barcelona has two wins, two draws and two losses, accumulating 8 points and qualifying second in the group.
In another match in Group H, AC Milan tied with Ajax 0:0 at home and ended up at the bottom of the group with only 4 points.
Ajax ranked third with 5 points and qualified for the Europa League.
Other groups have also successively determined their final rankings, and this season's Champions League top 16 has been born.
Manchester United is first in Group A and Leverkusen is second.
Real Madrid is first in Group B and Galatasaray is second. The Turkish giants suffocated Juventus to finish third in the group and qualified proudly.
Paris is first in Group C, Olympiacos is second.
Bayern is first in Group D, and Manchester City is second.
Chelsea is first in Group E and Basel is second.
Dortmund is first in Group F, second is Arsenal. This group is the tragedy of Napoli being eliminated with 12 points as mentioned before. Correspondingly, Marseille was repeatedly tortured by the other three teams, losing all 6 games and finishing last. Atletico Madrid is first in Group G, and Zenit St. Petersburg is second. Zenit can laugh at Napoli upstairs: I qualified with only 6 points, do you accept it?
Hamburg is first in Group H, Barcelona is second.
It can also be seen from this arrangement that in the highest level competition such as the Champions League, strength does still dominate.
Those who can rank first in the group are either traditional wealthy families, recent newcomers, or local tycoons.
The names ranked second are much inferior to those ranked first.
That is to say, Barcelona encountered Hamburg and was pushed to second place, causing one person in the second list to be particularly conspicuous...
Manchester City is relatively strong in the second place in the group, but it has only just emerged in the past two years. It is not a shame to be suppressed by last season's Champions League champion Bayern.
Including Arsenal, they have the same points as Dortmund, but they are ranked second because of their goal difference.
Two days after the group stage, the draw ceremony for the Champions League knockout rounds was held at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Because he had to prepare for the crucial battle with Bayern, Pan Yi did not go to the scene this time.
In fact, even if he is free, he is too lazy to go.
The process of this kind of lottery ceremony is almost the same every time. Just observe it once to satisfy your little wish. There is no need to go every time.
For the European media, the draw of the top 16 this time is actually mainly about seeing which lucky ones will take away the "big gift packages" for the second place in the group.
It seems that in order to create suspense for everyone, the crystal ball containing the names of the teams in these "gift packages" was not taken out until the end.
One match after another began to appear in front of the TV screen.
Galatasaray vs. Atletico Madrid.
Zenit St. Petersburg vs. Dortmund.
Olympiacos vs. Manchester United.
Basel vs. Real Madrid.
Leverkusen vs Chelsea...
When we get here, everyone can actually predict what will happen in the end.
Because the only remaining top teams in the group are Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and Hamburg.
The second place in the group is the recognized strongest teams, Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City.
For Hamburg, due to the principle of avoiding the same group, their opponents at this time are actually Arsenal and Manchester City.
As a result, Arsenal was drawn out first, and their opponent was their old friend Bayern Munich!
"Don't kill Bayern, thank you Barcelona..." The theme song of the Champions League does not deceive me.
And the last two pairs don't even have to draw, because it's impossible for Barcelona to encounter Hamburg again.
So here it is:
Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester City vs Hamburg.
They are all powerful conversations like Mars hitting the Earth!
In addition, there is another highlight of this round of 16 matchup, which is the comprehensive dialogue between the Premier League and the Bundesliga.
In addition to Manchester United and Dortmund being the first in the group and unable to be drawn together, Leverkusen vs. Chelsea, Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich, and Manchester City vs. Hamburg are just three of them fighting against each other!
After the draw results came out, the German media mainly expressed their unoptimism about the prospects of Leverkusen and Hamburg.
In this season's Premier League, the four best teams are Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Although Arsenal currently ranks first in the Premier League standings, the German media still believes that Bayern can still handle Wenger's team and there is no need to worry too much.
But this year, under the leadership of new coach Mourinho, Chelsea has returned to the championship. With Leverkusen's current state, it may be difficult to pass this level.
Manchester City also has great momentum. Chilean engineer Pellegrini's team also defeated Bayern in the last round of the group stage, and finally ranked second with 15 points with King Nan.
Of course, the strength of a team that can defeat Bayern in an away game cannot be underestimated.
Therefore, even though Hamburg is currently in good shape, the German media still expressed concerns, believing that Manchester City is likely to be the biggest dark horse in this Champions League. Hamburg should be careful.
The German media all saw it this way, and the guests on Sky Sports were naturally more optimistic that the Premier League team would win overall.
Especially in the focus of the battle between Manchester City and Hamburg, Gary Neville believes that Manchester United does not need to take action personally, as long as the "noisy neighbor" can help them teach Hamburg a lesson.
……
As usual, after the draw results come out, as the team's head coach, Pan Yi still has to be interviewed by media reporters and express his views.
Pan Yi still firmly expressed his confidence that he can advance.
"We drew Manchester City, maybe it was indeed a draw."
"After all, everyone knows that among all the second-placed teams in the group, Manchester City may be the strongest, and no one wants to encounter such an opponent early."
"But as I said before, Hamburg's goal is not to qualify, nor to the quarterfinals, but to win the Champions League this season!"
"So, no matter who our opponent is, whether it is Manchester City, Arsenal, or any other team, we will make the same effort, play every game well, and then eliminate them until we achieve the final goal." Some reporters said that Hamburg may lack experience in the Champions League knockout rounds. Pan Yi said with a smile:
"You also said the same thing when we were drawn against Milan and Barcelona in the Champions League group stage, saying that new Champions League players like us would have a hard time in the group of death. But what happened in the end, everyone saw it, we were ahead of schedule
We qualified in just two rounds."
"And it is not rigorous to say that we are a new team. After all, we have a genuine Champions League trophy in our honor room! And Manchester City, do they have it? Therefore, they are the new ones, and they need to give
We respect enough..."
Finally Pan Yi said:
"Didn't some people say before that we wouldn't be able to play against the Premier League teams? Well, let's start by playing Manchester City to prove that this view is wrong!"
Pan Yi is full of confidence, and Hamburg is naturally also full of confidence.
Not only the players, but also the coaches, as well as the club chairman Yachov, said in an interview that the team will definitely be able to advance.
"I believe in Pan Yi, he is a miracle worker!"
"His performance in the Bundesliga and the Champions League group stage has proven his strength. If he says he can advance, he will definitely advance!"
"Oh no, he said he could win the championship. Yes, I believe that our Hamburg team is now the most competitive team in European football, and we have the strength to win the championship!"
……
That night, Pan Yi received a call at home, but it was from Fan Zhiyi!
He said that he was visiting Hamburg for the past two days and wanted to have a meal and chat with Pan Yi.
Pan Yi still has great respect for the captain who once led the national football team to the World Cup finals and was the Asian Footballer of the Year.
Including that after he retired, he also dared to criticize some bad phenomena in domestic football. Just like his scolding after the national football team lost to Thailand not long ago, it has become the bible of Dragon Kingdom football for more than ten years.
I often use it to "recite" it over and over again.
Pan Yi also admires Fan Zhiyi's upright character and attitude of daring to love and hate.
So he happily went to the appointment.
Then Pan Yi discovered that he seemed to have been tricked.
Because Fan Zhiyi did not come alone.
The person who appeared in the hotel with Fan Zhiyi was not another person from the Dragon Kingdom, but an Englishman who looked a bit mysterious.
This British man's name is Steve Parish. He has a neat hairstyle and looks very sophisticated.
And his identity is the current chairman of the Premier League Crystal Palace Club!
After hearing Fan Zhiyi introduce this Parrish, Pan Yi immediately understood the purpose of the other party's trip.
Obviously, this is specifically to invite Pan Yi to be the head coach!
And in today's world football world, Pan Yi is like Qin Shihuang's fart - he has the sound of winning.
I don’t know how many teams are eyeing this rising star in the coaching class!
So Parrish knew that if he came alone, he would probably be rejected, so he asked Fan Zhiyi to help introduce him.
The British understand the human affairs of the Dragon Kingdom.
Who is General Fan?
In addition to his high reputation in domestic football, his experience in Europe is also very good. In particular, he has a good relationship with Crystal Palace. He is a real celebrity.
When he and Sun Jihai jointly moved to Crystal Palace, which was still in League One (now the English Championship) at the time, he immediately established a foothold and won the title of best player in his first season at Crystal Palace.
Fan Zhiyi also served as captain during his time with the team and is regarded as one of the most successful foreign players in the team's history.
In 2001, Fan Zhiyi helped his Crystal Palace team defeat Liverpool in the League Cup. Later, Liverpool and Newcastle Football Club made offers to Fan Zhiyi, but the premise was to limit Fan Zhiyi's time in the national team. In the end, Fan Zhiyi chose to refuse.
This incident shows that Fan Zhiyi's performance at Crystal Palace did reach a very high level at that time, otherwise it would be impossible to attract the attention of the Premier League giants.
[By the way, the best app for reading and listening to books is currently Yeguo Reading. Install the latest version on yeguoyuedu.]
After retiring, Fan Zhiyi readily accepted the invitation from Crystal Palace and became the club’s image ambassador.
Now that the club chairman wants to personally recruit Pan Yi, Fan Zhiyi naturally takes the opportunity!
Before the halfway point of the season, Parish was anxious to find Pan Yi because the current situation of Crystal Palace was so bad.
They have been in the English Championship for a long time, and finally finished fifth in the English Championship last season, that is, the 2012-13 season, and defeated Watford 1:0 in overtime in the qualifying final.
Return to the Premier League after eight years.
But today’s Premier League is really difficult.
The big6 group consisting of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Manchester City is already taking shape, as are established teams such as Everton, Newcastle, Aston Villa, including Southampton and West Ham United.
Everyone is not easy to mess with.
There are even those "mysterious mid-to-lower Premier League teams" that can often overturn strong teams!
After 15 rounds of the Premier League this season, Crystal Palace has only achieved a poor record of 4 wins, 1 draw and 10 losses, ranking 19th among all 20 teams, which is the second to last.
If this continues, Crystal Palace will soon return to the Championship!
As the club's president, Parish certainly doesn't want to see this happen.
He is also ambitious!
He hopes that Crystal Palace can stay in the Premier League permanently, and also hopes that Crystal Palace can become a truly strong team!
It is precisely because Parish has such an ideal that since he took over Crystal Palace from former boss Simon Jordan in 2010, he has increased investment year by year, so that Crystal Palace no longer sinks in the English Championship and has a place in the Premier League.
Fighting hard today.
The current Crystal Palace head coach, Ian Holloway, obviously cannot satisfy Parish's ambition.
He is just a very ordinary coach with no advanced tactical concepts. His poor record this season has made Parish lose patience with him.
Parish is looking for a replacement, a leader who can lead Crystal Palace out of the trough and truly towards glory!
And Pan Yi is obviously the most suitable candidate.
His magic on the court, his management skills in the locker room, and his influence in the transfer market are all needless to say.
Before coming to Pan Yi today, Parrish had also done his homework. He knew what Pan Yi wanted.
So Parrish soon showed his cards: Whatever you dare to ask for, I will satisfy you!
"We all know that you have achieved great success in the Bundesliga in the past two years."
Parrish said:
"However, your expectations and ideals are likely to be constrained by the 50 1 policy of German football. The level of your players is getting higher and higher, and the salary will also rise, and Hamburg will soon be unable to meet their needs.
, and then I will run away."
"Are you willing to watch the team you have worked so hard to fall apart next summer? If you have such worries, the team will never reach a new height."
"But the Premier League is different. You may also know that as long as the team can stay in the Premier League, we may have more than 100 million pounds of revenue invested in the team every year. And I also promise on behalf of the team's holding group,
We will continue to invest more and try our best to meet all your financial requirements."
"We aim to become a top team! We can provide you with the best platform. You will have all kinds of team affairs in Crystal Palace - including of course the decision-making power on transfers. Anything Ferguson can do at Manchester United
You can do anything at Crystal Palace!..."
Pan Yi can really feel Parrish's sincerity.
Putting aside his appreciation and commitment to Pan Yi, what he said is also true.
Hamburg's players are growing into world-class stars one by one under Pan Yi's guidance, and world-class stars will need world-class treatment to match.
The current maximum salary in the team is Sun Xingmin’s weekly salary of 80,000, but can you imagine that after these players win various championships, their wages will still be far lower than this level?
De Bruyne, Kante, Salah...are these players likely to have "child labor contracts" for the rest of their lives?
To be honest, for players of this level, it is not too much to get 200,000 yuan each, or even 300,000 yuan or more.
They will all become top figures in world football!
But in this case, a player's annual salary will exceed 10 million euros, and 10 players will earn hundreds of millions...
This is simply unbearable for a Bundesliga team, because the bonus income from winning the championship alone can no longer make up for the expenses here.
But Premier League teams can.
First of all, the income of their club itself is very considerable.
Parish said that as long as the team stays in the Premier League, it will have an annual income of more than 100 million pounds. This is not an exaggeration at all.
Thanks to the Premier League's excellent business operations, their television broadcast rights are sold as a whole package, and then divided according to different proportions according to the performance of each club.
Doing so means that even teams with poor results can get a share of the overall prosperity.
This is why we can often see that relegation teams in the Premier League are able to complete large-scale player transactions worth tens of millions or even tens of millions of pounds. The purchasing power of the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League exceeds that of many European giants.< /p>
Take the 2022 summer transfer window as an example. When Comrade Maldini of Serie A champion AC Milan is bargaining around for one million or two million, Nottingham Forest, which has just been upgraded to the Premier League next door, has already thrown away nearly I spent 200 million euros to buy an entire team...
And with this kind of investment, it can barely rank among the top five in the summer expenditure list of Premier League teams.
But such lavish spending will naturally pay off, not only for the team itself, but also for the entire league.
More and more stars are gathering in the Premier League. Excellent competition has brought a steady stream of sponsors, and the money from sponsors has increased the capital for Premier League teams to purchase players. With outstanding players, the excitement of the game Naturally, there is a guarantee.
Competition - money - players - competition, this forms a perfect closed loop, with each link closely linked and each link crucial.
As the league with the highest ratings and the most fierce competition in the world today, the Premier League is full of gold.
Live TV rights, advertisements on chests, billboards on the sidelines, various endorsements of the team...
Taking recent data as an example, the total chest advertising sponsorship of the 20 Premier League teams is 280 million pounds!
It’s all money!
In such an environment, not only the best players in the world, but also the best coaches will be slowly attracted.
In Pan Yi's previous life, it can be said that most of the best coaches came to the Premier League to compete!
Not to mention those "Premier League veterans" like Ferguson and Wenger, but also Mourinho, Guardiola, Klopp, Ancelotti, Conte, Tuchel... Here are also A battlefield where outstanding coaches compete in tactics!
Seeing Pan Yi bowing his head in deep thought, Parrish asked with a smile:
"Let me ask you an interesting question. Do you know which sports game is the most profitable in the world?"
———
ps: After the World Cup starts in the evening, to celebrate, an additional chapter will be added.