Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 114 The Eve of the Game
The next day, the Roma team gathered at the hotel and then went to the training pitch. Because the training locations were very close, the whole team jogged in a line to the assigned training pitch.

Many fans gathered on the street to watch.

Hamburg is Germany's third-largest city, home to two football clubs, Hamburger SV and St. Pauli. It has a very strong football atmosphere and a large fan base.

The Europa League final will be held at the Nordbank Arena, Hamburg's home stadium, and Hamburg fans have shown great enthusiasm for Roma, who eliminated Hamburg in the quarterfinals.

They certainly hope that Roma can defeat Atletico Madrid to win the title, so that they can have a good reason to do so.

"Hamburg wasn't eliminated because it was too weak,"

"In fact, we absolutely have the ability to win the championship."

"We were just very unlucky to have encountered Rome too early."

"..."

This is the most basic thought in the hearts of Hamburg fans, so many Hamburg fans chose to support Roma.

"Look, that's Totti!"

"And De Rossi too!"

"Luca Toni, that guy has finally left Bayern!"

"Look, look! That's Shan Yongzhuo!"

"Shan Yongzhuo? Where is he?"

"That's right, that's Shan Yongzhuo."

"He's... Chinese? China has such a great football star?"

"You guys are so ignorant!" A German girl standing to the side, looking at the fans with a lovesick expression, gave the unsuspecting fans next to her a look of disdain: "He's amazing! Hamburg lost to him. Now I'm his fan. I even bought a ticket to support him. He's so handsome..."

When the Roma team ran over, the German girl immediately stopped talking, waved her arms at the team, and shouted: "Dan! I love you! Come on! You can definitely beat Atletico Madrid!"

Dan Yongzhu smiled awkwardly, but still waved politely to the girl.

The girl immediately became excited and exclaimed to the person next to her, "He waved at me! Oh my god! He's so handsome! I wish I could go on a date with him!"

The men around her didn't know why the girl was acting so crazy, but most Hamburg fans knew Shan Yongzhuo, the Chinese striker, very well. In their eyes, Hamburg had been defeated by this guy.

However, Hamburg's male fans were convinced by Shan Yongzhuo's performance, but they wouldn't go for the kind of support that girls would give him.

The male fans were alright, but the female fans went completely crazy. Since the last time, many female fans had been captivated by Shan Yongzhuo's appearance and skills, but they couldn't openly support him because of the team.

Now, they don't care about anything else and have all gone into a frenzy.

"Damn, these German girls have no taste at all." Mexes next to him curled his lip, feeling both envious and jealous.

He was a recognized blond heartthrob back then, but he had never enjoyed this kind of treatment. The huge "Shan Yongzhuo Female Fan Cheerleading Team" spontaneously established by some female fans in Rome was already enough to make him jealous. When he came to Germany again, he didn't expect Shan Yongzhuo to be so popular.

This guy is the culprit who eliminated hamburgers, shouldn't you be furious with him?

"It seems that the Germans' aesthetic sense is quite problematic." Mexes could only insincerely shift the blame to the German aesthetic sense.

Dan Yongzhuo sighed, "Sigh, Philip, do you know? Yes, with your looks, you certainly wouldn't know how much trouble being too popular can bring. I've suffered from it myself! Let me tell you, I don't even dare to date, because if I do, I'll break the hearts of so many girls, and my girlfriend might even be hated by women all over the world. Kind-hearted me doesn't want to see anyone who supports me heartbroken, nor do I want to see my girlfriend under such immense pressure..."

As Mexes listened to Shan Yongzhuo's incessant chatter, his face grew increasingly dark until finally, he simply ran over to Baptista's side.

"That's right, standing next to this guy is too humiliating."

Mexes thought to himself, then glanced at Baptista, who had dark skin, and instantly his backache and leg pain disappeared, and all his confidence returned.

"It's better to be with Julio. If I'm with Julio, the girl will see him first, and then she'll see me. Maybe she'll support me too!"

"Of course, I'm not doing this for a romantic encounter or cheating. I, Philip Mexes, am loyal to my family and loved ones. But I can't stop other girls from falling for me, can I?" Once the Roma team entered the stadium, they began their scheduled training session.

The training mainly consisted of warm-up and conditioning. Of course, there were also some targeted running and tactical drills in preparation for the match. Spalletti also kept explaining the tactics during the training.

After much deliberation, Spalletti ultimately resorted to the 4-4-2 formation.

The attack mainly relies on the three forwards: Totti and Shan Yongzhuo as the forward pairing, plus Vucinic on the left wing.

As for defense, Spalletti not only paid special attention to the two center-backs, Mexes and Burdisso, but also gave special reminders to the two full-backs, Riise and Motta.

"Philip, Nicholas, you two must keep a close eye on Aguero and Fran!"

"Aguero is a very agile striker in the penalty area, with the cunning of Romario. Don't let him get to the ball!"

"Philip, you need to keep a close eye on Fran. He has a very good long-range shot, so be careful not to give him any chances!"

"John, you're dealing with Reyes. Show the same ferocity as Gary Neville, tackle him aggressively, and make him afraid of you!"

"Marco, you too. Simão is very fast, don't let him get past you easily!"

"..."

Spalletti's instructions were thorough and comprehensive.

Since Flores took over as manager last October, Atletico Madrid has adopted a 4-4-2 formation that leans towards counter-attacking. Their key midfield duo, Raúl García and Asensão, are primarily defensive players. Their attack relies heavily on the flanks, with Reyes and Simão being quick and adept at dribbling down the wings. Their crosses from these wings are the main initiation point for Atletico's attacks.

Five p.m.

The Roma team arrived at the Nordbank Stadium by bus.

The Northern Bank Stadium is not small, but it is smaller than the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, though it is more luxurious.

"Coming here again, I still feel like the Olympic Stadium is a vegetable garden."

Dan Yongzhu complained.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

“There’s nothing we can do, all the stadiums in Italy are rented.” Totti shook his head. “Damn Italian football policies, those politicians are all idiots.”

The Italian players largely agreed with Totti's criticism.

The bus arrived at its destination, and the players got off. Many reporters raised their shutters and started taking pictures.

Shan Yongzhuo didn't care, after all, this was the Europa League final, and there would naturally be many more media reporters than at a regular match.

"Shan Yongzhuo!"

Just then, Shan Yongzhuo heard someone call his name in Chinese.

Shan Yongzhuo stopped in his tracks, only then realizing that it was a reporter from CTV.

As the first Chinese player to win both the Serie A and the Coppa Italia titles, Shan Yongzhuo also broke various goal-scoring records and was the first Chinese player to reach the Europa League final. He has long been a popular figure in China.

This time, CTV learned from its previous experience and purchased the broadcasting rights for the Europa League, meaning they will broadcast the entire match live. Moreover, this final is being held in Hamburg, Germany, which is exactly 10 PM in China. CTV is taking this very seriously, switching to the live feed an hour early.

At this moment, Chinese fans watching on television could already feel the atmosphere leading up to the big match.

When CTV then filmed the Roma players getting off the bus, the camera angle naturally switched to theirs.

Then, the reporter saw Shan Yongzhuo come down. The camera immediately followed Shan Yongzhuo, and the reporter called out to him. However, Shan Yongzhuo just smiled and waved before leaving with his teammates.

"It's clear that Shan Yongzhuo is very relaxed and calm. Even when facing a competition like the Europa League, he didn't show any nervousness. As the team's key striker, his performance is crucial..."

(End of this chapter)