For two consecutive days, the Espanyol team conducted summary and tactical discussions after training every day, making the most complete preparations for facing Monaco.
The club's top management also attaches great importance to this, and even regards whether it can reach the Champions League as an important criterion for the success or failure of this season.
The owner of the club, Chen Yansheng, personally won a huge prize: one million euros for a win in two play-off games, 500,000 euros for a tie, and another one million euros for advancing to the group stage.
This reward is definitely a big one.
But Chen Yansheng is not stupid, he wants more than just fame.
If you reach the Champions League group stage, regardless of whether you advance or not, UEFA will award the team 15 million euros. In the Champions League group stage, if you win a game, you will earn 2.7 million euros, and if you draw a game, you will earn 900,000 euros. If the team advances to the knockout rounds
There will also be an additional promotion bonus of €9.5 million.
This is not a small sum. Some small clubs spend less than 10 million euros on transfers in a season.
The players themselves also attach great importance to these two games.
In today's football world, the Champions League is becoming more and more important. In non-World Cup years, he almost determines the winners of major football awards.
If any player can perform outstandingly in the Champions League, even in one or two games, he will receive strong attention from the media and fans, and may even become famous with one goal.
In this era of eyeball economy, being famous means having everything.
On the afternoon of the 16th, the Monaco team arrived in Barcelona, and hundreds of French fans who had arrived in Barcelona in advance came to pick them up.
In addition to French fans and reporters, there are also many Spanish fans.
Naturally, these Spanish fans are not here to show their loyalty to the landlords, they are here to shock the guests coming from afar.
Amid cheers from their own fans and boos from Espanyol fans, Monaco players and coaches accepted live interviews with reporters.
Monaco head coach Jardim is only 42 years old this year. With his hairline reaching the sky, he looks like he is in his fifties.
Jardim is proficient in several languages. Spanish reporters interviewed him in Spanish, Portuguese reporters interviewed him in Portuguese, and French reporters interviewed him in French.
Even Spanish fans have to admire this language talent.
"I understand that everyone is very concerned about Falcao's injury, but unfortunately, his groin injury has not fully recovered. Whether he can play or not needs to wait for the team doctor's decision. This is not a smoke bomb. Even if he cannot play, Falcao will come.
Here, in such an important game, he must stand together with his teammates."
"Mbappe? Hahaha, he is a genius, an absolute genius, but he is only 17 years old. In addition to Falcao, we have many experienced forwards, Moutinho, Silva, Germain, Di
Lal, they all have the ability to give their opponents a fatal blow."
"No, no, no, I'm not saying Mbappe won't play. Of course he has a chance to play. I'm just saying that Monaco has enough forwards and we don't need to rely on a 17-year-old young man."
"The Espanyol team achieved surprising results last season, entering the Champions League as never before. Their players are not well-known, but their combat effectiveness is not weak. This season they have added Reyes and Demichelis.
Stars with rich Champions League experience are our biggest obstacles on the way to the Champions League."
"In a two-leg knockout match, away goals are crucial. In this game, a win, a draw or a loss is possible. Our goal is to get at least one away goal."
Monaco's right winger and No. 10 core, Bernardo Silva, has a similar temperament to his coach and is very cautious in his words.
"The Espanyol team is undefeated in seven warm-up matches and even drew with a giant like Juventus. No one knows who will win or lose in this battle. It relies more on on-the-spot performance. I hope God can stand on the side this time."
On our side.”
Monaco's left wing killer Lemar is just 21 years old this year. He is young and energetic and has the opposite temperament to Silva. He said arrogantly, "Although there is not a big difference in strength between the third in Ligue 1 and the fourth in La Liga,
Champions League experience and foundation are very important. We are regulars in the Champions League, and Espanyol are rookies in the Champions League. There is absolutely no suspense about our promotion."
Lemar's arrogance aroused the dissatisfaction of the Spanish fans. He was also chased and booed by the Spanish fans, and some radical fans even threw debris at the Monaco team.
When they arrived at the hotel, the Monaco players thought they would feel more at ease. Unexpectedly, the Spanish fans intensified their harassment and harassed them all day long, which made the Monaco players upset.
The Monaco coach understands that this is an off-the-table move by Espanyol, which is also part of the home field advantage.
Experienced teams can ignore this, but the average age of Monaco's players is too young.
Mbappe is 17 years old, Silva is 21 years old, Lemar is 20 years old, Bakayoko is 21 years old, Fabinho is 22 years old. Mendy is 21 years old, Jemelson is 23 years old, Sidibe is 23 years old.
Mann is 25 years old.
Falcao is relatively mature, he is 30 years old this year, but Falcao is doubtful about even playing due to injuries.
It is difficult for such a young team not to be affected by external factors.
The Espanyol team actually knew about this off-the-table move, and it was even ordered by many club staff.
If possible, the Espanyol team does not want to use these off-the-table tricks. They also hope to defeat their opponents in an upright manner.
But the more they study Monaco's performance in the Champions League qualifying rounds, the more unsure the Espanyol coaching staff becomes.
The strength and talent of these Monaco players are truly unmatched by those of Espanyol, and they are getting better and better and improving rapidly.
If it were a real sword fight, it would be hard to say who would win.
The Champions League main game involves at least more than 20 million euros in revenue. For a small team like Espanyol, this money can do a lot of things.
In the face of major interests, these little tricks that cannot be put on the table will inevitably appear.
The game will be held at 8:30 pm on the 17th.
In the morning, at the pre-match press conference, Monaco coach Jardim looked ugly. He complained and threatened reporters in front of Sergio: "Barcelona is a world-famous city, and the culture and scenic spots here are really eye-catching."
It's bright, but the quality of the fans is worrying. In the past two days, my players and I have not slept well. I am very worried that when we return to Monaco, our fans will follow your fans, and you will be the ones who cannot sleep well.
Already."
Perhaps influenced by the Spaniard's extravagant moves, Jardim also learned the lesson and did not announce tonight's starting lineup. He just answered a few questions and then shut up and watched Sergio speak.
After a season of training, firefighting coach Sergio also has a good ability to deal with such situations. He did not answer Jardim's accusations and rarely talked about the situation of the Espanyol team. He just kept complimenting Monaco, as if
This is not a life and death battle, but a friendly match.
Sergio did not disclose the starting list that reporters and fans are very eager for. He just said that most of the players have been determined, and only a few positions are still under discussion. If fans want to know, they can pay attention to the official website of the Espanyol team before the game.