We agreed to play football together, and you will be the head coach?

Chapter 143 We want to be champions!

Palermo training ground locker room.

The atmosphere was unprecedentedly solemn.

Everyone whispered.

There is still a sparkle in some people's eyes.

Some people, however, became somewhat suspicious.

He Tianqi walked into the locker room and clapped his hands: "Everyone put down what you are doing, I have something to announce."

Everyone came over, feeling uneasy.

If possible, some people even want to cover their ears to avoid hearing words they cannot accept.

"I believe everyone knows the rumors outside." He Tianqi said.

"Ah? Are you talking about the rumor that you will coach Real Madrid next season? I haven't heard of it!" Valencia knew that the time had come for him to pledge his loyalty.

Apocalypse can fly wherever he wants, Valen will always be with him!
It doesn’t matter whether it’s Real Madrid or not, the Galacticos are in need of a right-back!

Originally, Valencia’s best transfer target was Manchester United, but if the opponent is Real Madrid, that’s not impossible!

He Tianqi blocked Valencia's interference: "First of all, Real Madrid and I have never had any communication about coaching. They have no intention of looking for me, and I have no intention of coaching."

As soon as these words came out, at least half of the people in the locker room breathed a sigh of relief.

"But there is one thing those media outlets said that is actually correct." He Tianqi glanced at everyone, "That is, we are likely to lose everything this season."

"I don't know how you define winning or losing, or how you define success. Everyone has different standards for this."

"When I coached Palermo as an assistant coach, the biggest task the team gave me was to upgrade.

"But I told Mr. Zamparini that I felt it would be a waste if this team only strived to advance to Serie C. It would be a waste of all our talent and youth. My goal is to win the Italian Cup!"

“And then I did it.”

"Last season, the biggest task given to me by the team was still to get promoted. I also handed Mr. Zamparini a new plan. I also think that Serie B is not a challenge for us."

"The players under my command, that is, you, are fully capable of creating more brilliant achievements. Even if the outside world, including you, do not realize this."

"Then we won the Europa League, we won the Treble, the Quintuplet! We won everything!"

"This year, I told Mr. Zamparini that we can only stay in Serie A this season. The environment here is different from before. It is very difficult to compete for the league title. It is not only about solving the problems at the competitive level, but also many more complex problems."

"But at the same time, I told him not to lose heart because we still have the cup competition and we can make a difference in the cup competition!"

"Mr. Zamparini smiled and told me that he was also looking forward to winning the Italian Cup three times in a row."

"I told him that the cup I was talking about was not the Coppa Italia, but the Champions League!"

Valencia nodded repeatedly: "Yes, we have a huge advantage in the Champions League. As the defending champions, we have won this competition for two consecutive years...Champions League?"

Everyone was stunned.

Champions League?

Wasn't their goal from the beginning to qualify for the Champions League group stage? Wasn't it to reach the quarterfinals?
What the boss means is, winning the Champions League?
He Tianqi nodded: "Yes, the Champions League! Winning the Champions League! This is what I want to announce today. I have chosen a very difficult path, probably hell-level."

"Not because I want to use Palermo as a springboard, but because I know what a great group of players I have in my team!"

"Champions League champions! You heard me right, this season... This is too challenging, so challenging that I was afraid it would overwhelm you, so I didn't tell anyone in advance."

"But I am relieved that no one questioned my decision to rotate in the league without knowing it. You all trusted me absolutely and gave me your best performance. So I think it's time to let you know all this."

"Ribery, fans have different opinions about your position in the French team. Some people think you should be a substitute for Malouda. But in my opinion, people should discuss who is better, Henry or Ribery? Or can the French team reach the next peak under Ribery's leadership!"

"Tony, most fans recognize your position as the starting center of the national team, but I still think they don't realize your importance. You are not only a supporting role, you can also be a red flower. The world has not seen the strongest Luca Toni yet!"

"Eduardo... Vidic... Modric... Toure... Ashley Young..."

He Tianqi called out the names of the players one by one: "We can't be on the same team forever, and I don't know when I will part with you."

"Palermo is a miracle. When the miracle ends, we will inevitably part ways."

"And if we don't win the Champions League this season, then this miracle will come to an end. Many of you will leave because of this, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Some of you may marry into a wealthy family."

"But for me, I hope this miracle continues. I want to fight with you for a few more years, I think we can win more! I think this Palermo team should be at the top of the world!"

"Therefore, the only thing I can promise you is that in the future, no matter when and where you have questions about your career, you can come to me for help, transfers, contracts, positions, technical and tactical issues, locker room issues, social life, etc. ... and I will do my best to help you."

"Football is our job, but it may also be our entire life. My life has been wonderful so far, and so have yours. But we can all be more wonderful!"

"No one outside is optimistic about us now. They list some upcoming futures for Palermo, and I must admit that what they say has the potential to become a reality."

“But at the same time, there are other directions in the future.”

"And winning the Champions League is one of them."

"Whether Palermo loses everything or wins everything depends on you, not on me or the media."

"Then the question is, do you want to win the Champions League and become the real king of Europe?"

There was silence in the locker room for a moment.

"I want to!" Ribery spoke before Modric, the defender, and Valencia, the bootlicker.

His eyes were filled with desire.

"I want to!" the other players spoke up.

He Tianqi: "Do you dare?"

This time, the players responded in unison, their voices filled with passion and enthusiasm: "Dare!"

He Tianqi pointed to the tactical whiteboard with Juventus' lineup drawn on it. This was the tactical preparation for the next game: "Let us use this game to tell the world that we, Palermo, want to win the Champions League!"

The locker room was completely boiling:

“Champions League!”

“Champions League!”

“Champions League!”

……

April 13, the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

All 37,000 seats at the Frederick II Stadium were full.

Palermo fans kept cheering, but there was less noticeable madness than before.

If there is morale among the fan base, then the morale of Palermo fans is currently quite low.

But on the contrary, the morale of Palermo's players is extremely high.

This puzzled many media outlets that came to the scene.

The head coach quits and abandons the team, isn't this a collapse?

Or are Palermo's players just holding on?
Will his true colors be revealed during the competition?
Before the game, a reporter asked about the "scandal" between He Tianqi and Real Madrid.

He Tianqi refused to respond to all of them.

This phenomenon is also very rare.

As the king of press conferences, He Tianqi never turns off his microphone.

This made the media even more curious.

At the post-match press conference, they will get to the bottom of everything.

In order to prove that he is not a loser, He Tianqi, who was reversed by Juventus, is likely to announce the wealthy clubs that are interested in him.

As for struggling for a season with Palermo, which has hit rock bottom and has no European games to play? The media generally believes that He Tianqi is not that stupid!

In this game, Palermo still used the same starting lineup.

Juventus hasn't changed much either.

Mido and Trezeguet are two 1.9-meter-tall center forwards who are both tall.

Piero replaced Nedved who was suspended for a red card and appeared in the attacking midfielder position.

The positions of the remaining players remain unchanged.

After both sides entered the field, just looking at the players' condition, you would think that Palermo was the losing side in the first round.

Their expressions were much more serious than those of the Juventus players.

It's like something happened at home.

With a whistle, the game officially begins.

In the first five minutes, the referee blew the whistle repeatedly and established his own standards for refereeing in this game.

A little more severe than the previous one.

Because this scale is more conducive to the performance of strong teams.

It’s not that UEFA was conquered by Juventus, but they just like to bring more exciting games to fans through this kind of "fine-tuning".

Proper support for the weak.

Let the situation and score be evenly matched, retaining the final suspense.

In the seventh minute, Modric was surrounded by Mido, Piero and Zambrotta.

He dribbled the ball back, swaying left and right, trying to keep the ball.

Piero was even a little anxious when he got to the back and used all his strength.

But it was bounced away by Modric.

What the hell... Croatian little steel cannon?

boom!
Modric pushed Piero away, creating a brief opening, and immediately turned half way and shot, launching an attack from the backcourt.

Palermo switched from defense to offense in an instant.

The speed of offense and defense transition is astonishing.

Eduardo was in sync with Buffon and successfully made an offside move in the frontcourt, challenging Buffon directly.

Such a scene occurred in the previous game, and Buffon saved Eduardo's one-on-one shot.

This time...it's the same!
Eduardo shot and Buffon saved it again.

But the difference was that this time Eduardo made a follow-up shot, and Buffon couldn't catch up even after crawling.

"GOAL! One to zero! Eduardo scores!"

"He proved himself!"

"Palermo leads 4-2 on aggregate!"

"This goal is of great significance to Palermo at this moment. What happened between He Tianqi and Real Madrid may cause the team to collapse!"

"Juve are a bit unlucky, their defense needs to concentrate and score a goal to catch up."

In the 13th minute, Piero and Mido cooperated and found space with the help of the two center forwards and made a long shot.

The football hit the crossbar with very high quality.

But then Palermo's offensive gradually overwhelmed Juventus.

This is not normal.

Some fans understood that Juventus deliberately lured the opponent out of its hole and then counterattacked so that they could quickly catch up.

But in fact, how could Juventus show weakness?

For strong teams, controlling the ball obviously means more offensive opportunities.

The reason why they failed to win the ball was that Palermo's players suppressed Juventus' players.

Each of them looked like they had beaten Wang Ziyi!
In the 26th minute, Grosso dribbled up and passed the ball to Modric.

Modric passed the ball horizontally to Toure, who then made a wide pass to Grosso on the left.

Grosso received the ball and passed it back, and Ribery made a cross with his left foot.

Toni jumped high in the penalty area. Montero, Cannavaro and Thuram were 179, 175 and 185 cm tall respectively, and none of them could beat him.

Swish!
Buffon pounced on the football, but Toni's header was so powerful that it still knocked Buffon's palm away and bounced towards the upper side of the goal.

"GOAL! Two to zero! Tony scores with a header!"

"Palermo's offensive has been very fierce recently!"

"What's going on? It will be hard for Juventus to catch up now! The total score is already 5 to 2!"

"They had to score three goals and it was just an equaliser."

"It seems that the tactic He Tianqi formulated today is to attack strongly in the early stage. But there are two problems with this. One is that it is easy to lose the ball if we are counterattacked."

"Another reason is that the physical strength of Palermo players is not enough under such a high-intensity attack after 70 minutes, and the next period of time is very dangerous!"

"Juventus's forward line, if given enough space, can decide a game in 20 to 30 minutes!"

In the 34th minute, Modric kicked the ball into the penalty area.

Toni held off Thuram, stopped the ball with his chest and swept it out without waiting for it to fall.

Whenever he waited for the ball to hit the ground, Thuram would be the first to destroy it.

boom!
Eduardo shot from the back post, but unfortunately the ball went wide.

In the 44th minute, Juventus finally found an opportunity to launch a high-quality attack.

Zambrotta broke through and made a horizontal pass. Piero received the ball and made a straight pass into the penalty area.

This is a great opportunity.

However, Mido and Trezeguet's runs in the penalty area overlapped.

Both of them rushed towards the football and raised their legs to shoot.

Eventually the two sides interacted with each other and the ball was knocked away by Trezeguet.

Lippi was furious on the sidelines.

It is not often that Mido and Trezeguet play at the same time. It is okay that they lack tacit understanding, but the key is that when faced with opportunities, neither of them will give up.

In fact, in this situation, the default is for the young players to step aside and let the veterans take over.

So Mido's behavior fully demonstrated that he did not take Trezeguet seriously.

The game then entered halftime.

Palermo's home stadium once again played an advertisement of opening champagne in the midfield.

Taunting Laman.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

In the 52nd minute, Eduardo retreated and received the pass from Toure.

He dribbled the ball one step toward the side, then suddenly made a long pass to the back of the penalty area.

But his footwork was not good enough and the kick went too far.

Ribery couldn't catch up at all, and it looked like the ball would fly straight out of the baseline.

However, Grosso rushed over, leaped, and kicked the ball back.

Juventus players raised their hands to indicate that the ball was out of bounds.

But the linesman did not raise the flag. The vertical position of the ball was partly against the baseline, so it was not considered out of bounds.

Ribery simply kicked the flying ball backwards, and Thuram, who was mainly responsible for Tony due to height issues, had no time to defend.

boom!
Turn around and shoot from a small angle!
It’s a limit!
The football brushed the goal post and went into the net, creating white waves.

"GOAL! Three to zero!"

"Palermo is like a god today!"

"Juventus' half-time adjustments didn't work."

"Then it will be very difficult for them to turn the tables!"

"It's incredible that Palermo beat Juventus in this atmosphere."

"To put it bluntly, if Udinese were to come and play, the situation might be better!"

The absence of Nedved is crucial for Juventus.

The iron man's running and covering are far beyond what Piero can compare to.

Modric was particularly brave today, and in terms of midfield organization, he almost completely defeated Piero, who was not good at this job.

The midfielder of this stadium today is named Mo!
On the sidelines, Palermo celebrated wildly.

All of them held their breath because they knew that the future of this team depended on them.

Can the effects of household contract responsibility system and communal dining be the same?
In the 53rd minute, shortly after the game resumed, Modric intercepted Piero in the midfield.

As a small midfielder, Modric's defensive ability is world-class among midfield masters!

Modric then passed the ball to Toure, who took two steps forward with the ball and made a diagonal pass to Toni in the middle.

Toni was pushed by Thuram and knew he had a hard time getting the ball, so he simply gave up holding the ball and fought with all his might, causing the ball to pass through.

The football rolled towards the baseline.

Cannavaro went over to chase the ball, but Ribery got there first and kicked the ball to Grosso on the wing.

Grosso swept the ball into the penalty area.

Toni, Eduardo and Toure were competing for the ball in the penalty area.

Finally, Toni, who was at the front point, touched the ball, and the ball flew towards the goal quickly. Buffon had no way to save such a ball.

"This...Did Palermo take medicine today?"

"Four to zero! What are they going to do?"

"Even if it's Siena, they wouldn't concede four goals to Palermo in less than 60 minutes!"

"Lippi can't sit still anymore!"

"The camera showed Juventus fans, some of whom were already crying. Because this score was almost impossible to reverse."

"The total score is 7-2. Not to mention Nedved, even if Zidane comes back, he can't help Juventus."

“Who would have thought that the Serie A champions who beat Palermo twice in the league would be beaten twice by their little brother in the Champions League!”

"Congratulations to Toni, he scored twice! He is likely to receive offers from Juventus and other top clubs in the summer!"

"These players of Palermo are all excellent. They used this game to help Palermo reach the semi-finals of the Champions League and also helped He Tianqi survive."

"If He Tianqi is smart, he should find a new club immediately after this game. Otherwise, the Champions League semi-finals may seem dazzling, but in fact it is useless."

"Without making the top four or top six in the league, Palermo simply won't be able to keep these high-quality players next season."

“In any case, this summer, the Palermo supermarket will be open!”

In the 66th minute, Cannavaro completed a steal and made a long pass to Camoranesi to launch a counterattack.

Camoranesi made an unselfish cross pass to the attacking Handanovic.

Mido scored.

Juventus scored a goal.

Handanovic rushed into the goal at the first moment and hugged the ball to prevent Juventus from taking the ball out and quickly restarting the game.

Seeing this, Mido could only go to the corner flag area to celebrate his goal.

At this time, Piero came over and told him not to celebrate.

It was as if Mido had never thought about seizing the time.

If you don't catch the ball, it doesn't take much time to go to the sidelines and raise your hands to celebrate.

The Palermo players had to delay the game for dozens of seconds.

Why don't you urge them?

What a fucking bummer!
Mido pushed Piero away, turned around and went back to his own half, and no longer had the mood to celebrate.

This action made Piero angry.

He, the Zebra Prince, has played football for Juventus all his life and has never met anyone who doesn't take him seriously.

Even Lippi doesn’t dare to be so nice to him!

Sell!
This one has to be sold!

Juventus has me but not him!

Palermo made substitutions.

Van Persie replaced Toni and then switched positions with Eduardo.

Ashley Young replaces Grosso.

In the 73rd minute, Ribery dribbled on the left and passed the ball back. Ashley Young received the ball and cut inside. Relying on his youth and endless energy, he devoured Emerson and made a high-quality long shot from the left side outside the penalty area.

But Buffon, who had conceded four goals, was still in great shape and saved the ball.

Modric made a follow-up shot at the top of the arc.

The football hit the defender and bounced towards Eduardo. Eduardo subconsciously stretched out his foot to make a follow-up shot, but he didn't put enough power.

Buffon also reacted quickly and subconsciously stretched out his hand to block the ball again.

But this time the rescue was not far away.

Van Persie also made a follow-up shot from the right side of the small penalty area.

Buffon couldn't save the ball anymore, but he still blocked it with his foot.

Performed a super triple save!
Unfortunately, before Juventus fans had a chance to applaud, the ball was gone.

Van Persie made two consecutive shots.

This time the ball finally defeated the Italian goalkeeper and went into the net.

Buffon also fell to the ground in the goal, covering his face with one hand, gasping for breath, and was unwilling to accept this result.

"Five to one! A tiger in a low position is bullied by a dog, and Juventus' Van Persie makes a follow-up shot!"

“This score is so shocking!”

"In both rounds of the Champions League knockout matches, Palermo scored five goals in a single game!"

"You know, their opponents are Juventus and Real Madrid!"

"This team has been really crazy this season! He Tianqi is definitely an artist of speculation! He is the founder of the opportunistic coaching route, and he has brought a brand new coaching concept to the football world!"

"If we say that Mourinho's coaching has made people see the power of defensive counterattack tactics."

"Then He Tianqi's coaching has shown people the horror of rotation rest."

"Whether it's bus defense or rotation, the damage to football is huge! They are all for the sake of competitive results but at the expense of the appeal and commercial value of football!"

"Modric stole the victory, Mourinho stole the attack, and He Tianqi stole the team!"

He Tianqi then replaced Ribery with Di Maria, who won warm applause from the fans.

There were no more goals scored by either side after that.

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Lippi's face turned blue.

And Moggi, who was far away in Turin, also picked up his phone.

Juventus has been without a championship for too long.

If you can't rely on your strength, then you can only rely on financial resources!

He actually topped up a full hundred yuan into his phone!
Inter Milan and Roma are not a concern, they have no calls.

But AC Milan and Juventus are in the same boat, and the person that Moggi is really trying to resolve with this call is not anyone else, but his partner!
Say sorry to the Holy Alliance first!
……

"Gazzetta dello Sport": "The underdog will win! Palermo beat Juventus twice, defeating the stronger with the weaker!"

"Corriere dello Sport": "Another slap! He Tianqi slapped Real Madrid and Juventus, even though the league is not good, he is a Champions League god!"

"Palermo slaughtered Juventus 5-0, Chelsea narrowly beat Bayern, and two of the Champions League semi-finals have been decided!"

Turin Sports Daily: "Mido was busy celebrating after scoring a goal. Piero reminded him to hurry up as the team was behind, but he was pushed? Mido, get out of Juventus!"

Sky Sports: "Find out the true core of Juventus in one battle! Juventus without Nedved was slaughtered by Palermo!"

After the game, He Tianqi attended the press conference.

Lippi left early.

He will also receive a fine from UEFA.

But compared with the cost of a series of treatments after a sudden heart attack, Lippi thinks it is cost-effective.

The reporters first asked some questions about the game.

He Tianqi's answer was very official.

The reporter then asked: "Since Palermo has the ability to prove that it can compete with Juventus, why would it give up the league?"

"Does the result of this game mean that you had a chance to win the league title?"

He Tianqi nodded: "Palermo is undoubtedly a championship-level team, no matter what competition it is. But we are not familiar with Serie A yet, and we may encounter many uncontrollable obstacles if we rush to compete for the championship."

"There are many league games, which require the team to have strong stability and a deep bench, which are what we lack at the moment."

Reporter: "Even if you fail to win the Serie A title, if you give your all and don't make random substitutions, you still have a good chance of finishing in the top four. That way you will still have a chance to play in the Champions League next season."

"But you chose to go all in on the Champions League semi-finals. Do you think this is a good deal for Palermo?"

He Tianqi smiled: "Is it worth going all in for the top four?"

Reporter: "What do you mean?"

He Tianqi: "There are many reasons why Palermo gave up the league this season, but in the Champions League, we definitely don't just want to be in the top four."

"As I said earlier, Palermo is a team that is ready to compete for the championship, no matter what competition it is in."

"Even though this is the first time in our history that we have reached the Champions League, our goal is very clear."

"champion!"

The reporters were stunned: "Champion?"

He Tianqi said affirmatively: "Yes, champion! Champions League champion!"

Wow!
The scene was in an uproar!
Did He Tianqi take the wrong medicine?

A reporter couldn't help but sarcastically asked: "Do your players know that you would say such things at the press conference? This is outrageous!"

He Tianqi spread his hands and said, "Of course they know. I told them this before the game, and this game is their answer to me."

"Serie C, Serie B, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup, European Super Cup, UEFA Cup... Palermo has always been the champion! Why can't the Champions League be the champion?"

"We...want to be! Champions!"

He Tianqi made his championship declaration in a very formal manner.

For a time, the whole of Europe was shocked.

This news is even more shocking than Palermo eliminating Real Madrid and Juventus.

Everyone in the football circle thought He Tianqi must be crazy.

……

Madrid, Spain.

After convening a meeting to dismiss Sanz's son from his consulting job within Real Madrid, Florentino attended his granddaughter's sixth birthday party.

This is his first granddaughter. She has excellent academic performance. She is very interested in numbers and is the best in addition and subtraction in the school!

During the period, everyone inevitably mentioned He Tianqi's Champions League title declaration.

Although the Champions League semi-finals are only three games away from the Champions League championship.

But that is definitely not something Palermo can covet.

Some people can do things but are not qualified to speak.

However, Florentino's granddaughter was puzzled: "Grandpa, why can't Palermo win the championship?"

Everyone looked at the little birthday boy with a smile and said, “You will understand when you grow up.”

The little granddaughter gestured with her fingers and repeated some of the words that everyone had just said: "Beat Manchester United 4-2, beat Real Madrid 5-0, beat Juventus 5-1."

“They are so strong, why can’t they win the championship?”

Everyone was stunned.

No matter what results Palermo achieves this season, it has nothing to do with the word "strong" for them.

Because being strong is a very complicated thing, there are too many things to consider.

But in the innocent world of children, Palermo is obviously and undisputedly strong!

So whose cognition is problematic?
The granddaughter's mother quickly apologized, saying that children only speak without restraint and that the father-in-law should not take it to heart.

Palermo defeated Real Madrid 5-0, which caused huge trouble for Florentino.

However, Florentino frowned. After a while, he kissed his granddaughter and said, "You are grandpa's little angel! You are smarter than grandpa! Grandpa will always love you!"

Florentino turned and walked out of the house, took out his phone and said, "Hello, regarding the handling of Lorenzo, I think we need to discuss it again."

"The resignation may be enough to show Real Madrid's attitude, but it is not enough to show my attitude."

"I want him to be permanently expelled from Real Madrid and banned from the Bernabeu for at least a year!"

The person on the other end of the phone was confused: "Ah? But Lorenzo is Sanz's son after all. He may join the board of directors in the future, and may even become a future Zhu Xi of Real Madrid!"

"If you do that, you're going to completely piss off a certain group of people, and that's going to make your situation even more difficult."

"Although this can help retain the Chinese market and Chinese fans, it won't help you in the short term."

Florentino looked into the distance: "If someone needs to consider the long-term future of Real Madrid, I think I will be that person."

"And I have a feeling that if we are not firm enough in dealing with Lorenzo, even if the fans don't mind, He Tianqi will."

"I want to keep the possibility of him joining Real Madrid in the future."

"He could be a phenomenal head coach."

[PS: I was so absorbed in writing a few days ago that rove beetles crawled onto my collarbone and shoulders. The pain and itching were bearable these two days, but it looked horrible. I almost vomited when I was applying medicine to the cicada. I suggest that you don’t search for pictures of wounds caused by rove beetle bites, I’m afraid you won’t be able to eat dinner! ]

(End of this chapter)