Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"Real Madrid vs. Liverpool, Manchester United vs. Barcelona, ​​has UEFA changed its ways and not even planned a script?"

"Perhaps it's because the Manchester derby and El Clásico in La Liga are so frequently played in the league that UEFA is worried that fans will get tired of seeing them?"

"That's certainly possible. If you want to see these derbies, just watch the league matches. People watch the Champions League because they want to see the clashes between the top teams from different leagues, right?"

The Manchester derby and El Clásico happen every year, but the chances of seeing Manchester United vs. Barcelona or Liverpool vs. Real Madrid in official matches are rare.

Moreover, these two matches are quite interesting to watch.

Manchester United has a rising superstar like Cristiano Ronaldo, while Barcelona has a genius like Lionel Messi.

Given that the two are close in age and play similar positions on the field, one a left winger and the other a right winger, and both are key scorers and crucial players for their respective teams.

Therefore, the outside world has often compared these two supernovas, trying to determine who is better.

It's just that Manchester United and Barcelona are not in the same league, so they rarely have the opportunity to play each other directly.

Therefore, neither media analysis nor fan praise can prove who is stronger.

But now, the opportunity has come. Whoever can lead their team to victory in these two direct confrontations will undoubtedly gain a huge advantage.

Just like Lin Feng led Inter Milan to a clean double victory over Manchester United last season, after those two games, no one argued anymore about who was stronger between him and Ronaldo.

Because anyone with eyes that aren't blind would have no more doubts after watching those two matches.

Similarly, the situation between Lin Feng and Messi is similar.

From the distant past, there was Lin Feng leading the Chinese team to defeat Messi's Argentina team in the World Youth Championship, to the more recent past, Lin Feng scoring a hat-trick at Camp Nou, leading Real Madrid to a complete victory over Barcelona.

These solid achievements, along with Lin Feng's performance in the past few years where he has consistently outshone Messi in awards such as the Golden Boy and the Ballon d'Or, are enough to prove that he is now stronger than Messi.

Now, everyone is no longer in doubt about who is the number one player in football, but there are different opinions about who is the second best after Lin Feng.

Some people support Ronaldo, some support Messi, and some support Kaká.

However, Kaka's AC Milan was eliminated early, which led to a significant decrease in the number of people supporting him.

Currently, Messi and Ronaldo are the most popular choices.

Therefore, these two matches between Barcelona and Manchester United will not only determine who will advance to this year's Champions League final, but also who will be considered the second best player in football.

From this perspective, UEFA's arrangement of Barcelona versus Manchester United is indeed very interesting.

The situation is similar for Real Madrid and Liverpool, although Liverpool does not have superstars like Ronaldo and Messi.

However, there are significant conflicts and grudges between Liverpool and Real Madrid.

Real Madrid snatched the defensive midfielder Mascherano from Liverpool during the winter break.

In addition to Mascherano, Liverpool's other defensive midfielder, Xabi Alonso, is also reportedly interested in Real Madrid.

There are widespread rumors that Alonso will leave Liverpool this summer and return to La Liga.

His next destination is very likely to be Real Madrid!
If this is true, then Real Madrid's attack has completely dismantled Liverpool's midfield.

With the sudden loss of two key defensive midfielders, Mascherano and Alonso, Liverpool's midfield will likely struggle to recover for a long time.

Therefore, Liverpool fans naturally harbor resentment towards Real Madrid.

In addition, the personal feud between Real Madrid manager Mourinho and Liverpool manager Benitez, as well as the old and new grudges from Lin Feng leading Inter Milan to eliminate Liverpool last season, all make it unlikely that Liverpool fans will have a good impression of Real Madrid.

For Real Madrid, this is also a chance for revenge.

In the 1981 European Cup final, it was Liverpool, at the height of their power, who defeated Real Madrid, who had reached the European Cup final again after 15 years.

That defeat greatly delayed Real Madrid's recovery, and it wasn't until 17 years later that Redondo led Real Madrid back to the top of Europe.

If Real Madrid had won that final, they would have already achieved ten Champions League trophies.

Although Liverpool holds an overwhelming advantage in their historical head-to-head record against Real Madrid, maintaining a 100% win rate.

However, given that the two teams have only met once, and that was 27 years ago, when Liverpool had not yet been affected by the Heysel Stadium disaster and was the most feared team in all of Europe.

Liverpool have gone without a league title for years, and with a tight budget, they have to rely on Benitez's careful budgeting to make ends meet.

In terms of both squad strength and team spirit, this Liverpool team is incomparable to the Liverpool of the Shankly era.

Therefore, after the match results were announced, the outside world overwhelmingly favored Real Madrid to win, with very few voices supporting Liverpool. Most people believed that they would become another unlucky team to fall to Real Madrid.

The media hype seemed to affect the mentality of Real Madrid players. After learning that their opponent in the semi-finals was Liverpool, many Real Madrid players even opened champagne to celebrate.

"Liverpool is the weakest of the three teams. Both Barcelona and Manchester United are much tougher to beat. We are lucky to have drawn them!"

"Hehe, it seems even God favors us to win the championship!"

"Bro, have you guys figured out how you're going to celebrate winning your tenth Champions League title?"

Seeing his teammates so optimistic, Lin Feng secretly felt uneasy.

Popping champagne before a match is never a good sign!
Many teams have ruined themselves by underestimating their opponents before the game.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng stopped what he was doing, clapped his hands to attract his teammates' attention, and then shouted loudly:
"Hey guys, listen to me!"

"In our country, there is an old saying that goes, 'He who travels a hundred miles is only halfway there at ninety.' This means that the road ahead is easy, but the closer you get to success, the more difficult it becomes!"
I don't think we should be too happy yet. Right now we are facing the dilemma of fighting on two fronts, while Liverpool only needs to focus on the Champions League, which is very disadvantageous for us.

Therefore, we must not let our guard down before we win the league title. We must give it our all in every game from now on.

Liverpool's ability to reach the semi-finals demonstrates their strength, especially considering their past contributions to the Miracle of Istanbul.

Facing such a tenacious team, if we step onto the field with a mindset of underestimating them, we may very well pay the price for our arrogance, just like AC Milan did three years ago!

Upon hearing Lin Feng mention AC Milan, everyone tensed up and their expressions turned serious.

AC Milan's illustrious reputation was forever tarnished by a single loss, forever condemned to shame.

They certainly don't want to follow in AC Milan's footsteps.

"Well said! Let's win the league title first, then the Champions League!"

"Take down Barcelona first, then deal with Liverpool. No one can take those two trophies away from us!" As soon as Lin Feng spoke, his underlings, who had been following him around, naturally sounded the charge.

Pepe, Mascherano, Higuain, Gago, and others have all come forward to express their support for Lin Feng.

Cannavaro has a good relationship with Lin Feng and is on Lin Feng's side.

Captain Raul didn't take it too seriously at first, thinking it was just a joke from his brothers.

Seeing Lin Feng's serious attitude and the severity of the matter, he couldn't pretend not to see it, so he echoed his sentiments:
"Lin Feng is right. We haven't won a single championship yet, so we really can't open the champagne. Brothers, let's work hard for another month. Once we have both championship trophies, I'll treat everyone to a party, and all expenses will be on my tab!"

Madrid is a glamorous world, and the athletes are a bunch of guys bursting with hormones.

Upon hearing Raul's words, everyone immediately woke up and responded enthusiastically, cheering loudly.

Whether it was Raul's party pie-in-the-sky gesture that had an effect or not, Real Madrid, playing at home, seemed to have a cheat code in the 32nd round of the league.

Despite having a player sent off with a red card at the start of the game, they managed to dominate the entire match with ten players, ultimately securing a 3-0 victory over Murcia thanks to goals from Lin Feng, Raul, and Higuain.

In an earlier match, Barcelona were held to a draw by Recreativo Huelva away from home.

Real Madrid's lead over Barcelona has now increased to 15 points.

There are currently 6 games left in La Liga. If Real Madrid gets 3 points in the next game and Barcelona fails to get 3 points, then...

Real Madrid would then have secured the title five rounds early!
Barcelona's recent slump has greatly reduced the difficulty for Real Madrid to win the title early.

Considering that the next league match is very close to the Champions League semi-final, and Barcelona will be facing Espanyol, another teammate of their city rivals Real Madrid.

Therefore, they are very likely to conserve their energy during the match in preparation for the Champions League semi-final in midweek.

After all, judging from the current situation, Barcelona's chances of winning the title are only theoretical; in reality, they have no hope at all.

Since winning the league title is no longer an option, they should naturally focus their energy on the Champions League.

After their Champions League defeat last year, Barcelona have finally returned to the Champions League semi-finals, just one step away from the final.

This has fueled Barcelona's determination to lift the trophy again.

To achieve this goal, the Barcelona players have shown a completely new spirit.

Ronaldinho, who was previously in a slump, is now getting serious again.

Henry, who had previously struggled to integrate into the team, has become much more formidable in the Champions League.

He moved from Arsenal to Barcelona with his sights set on the Champions League trophy.

He just didn't expect Barcelona, ​​or rather Ronaldinho, to decline so quickly. He had just arrived when the opponent was already struggling, which made Henry feel very confused and regretful. He even began to doubt whether his initial decision was wrong.
Now that the opportunity is before him, Henry is not afraid, even when facing a formidable opponent.

Having experienced failure once, he is determined to seize this opportunity and fulfill his dream.

Barcelona can focus all their attention and energy on the Champions League, while Mourinho has many more things to consider for Real Madrid.

The league title is within reach, but due to the schedule, their first leg match will have to be played in England.

If we leave the key players to play in the league, it might be a bit too late to go to Liverpool for the Champions League after the league season.

It's not that there wasn't enough time to participate in the matches, it's just that the two matches were too close together, leaving no time for the players to rest properly.

Therefore, Mourinho was somewhat conflicted and didn't know how to make a decision.

He is not an indecisive person, but he desperately needs this championship to prove himself and boost the team's morale.

With the morale boost from winning the league title, they will be in a much better position at Anfield, and may even be able to upset Liverpool away from home.

But the risk is too great; it's easy to mess it up if you do it this way.

If Real Madrid players are rushed onto the field before they have fully recovered their physical condition, and Liverpool takes advantage of their superior stamina to overwhelm them, what if...

Even if he wins the league championship, he will probably still be criticized by fans.

The tenth Champions League trophy is of paramount importance to Real Madrid.

Real Madrid, from top to bottom, is eagerly anticipating the arrival of this trophy.

"The league title is already ours, and this game is away from home, so even if we win, we can't celebrate to our hearts' content. It's better to wait until the next game when we beat our opponent at home and celebrate with 80,000 fans!"

Villas-Boas's words dispelled Mourinho's last hesitation.

Yes, the league title is practically theirs again. With such a huge lead, how could they possibly slip up?
Whether Real Madrid wins the title five rounds early or four rounds early, it doesn't make much difference.

If this affects the Champions League matches, then it would be a loss.

With this in mind, Mourinho no longer hesitated and decisively handed over the task of leading the team in the 33rd round of the league to Villas-Boas, while he himself led the team to Liverpool to prepare for the upcoming Champions League semi-final.

Villas-Boas breathed a sigh of relief. His purpose in saying that was to get the opportunity to lead the team alone.

In the last match, he led Real Madrid's reserve team to a draw, earning praise from many Real Madrid fans.

If he can lead his team of substitutes to victory on the road this time...

His limelight will likely far surpass that of the previous round, and may even overshadow that of coach Mourinho!

Thinking of this, Villas-Boas was filled with excitement, as if he could already see himself receiving honors and being supported by thousands of fans.

He has already decided that he will leave Mourinho's coaching team at the end of this season, return to Portugal to build his own team, and then go out on his own.

Believing he has mastered Mourinho's tactical essence, he is full of confidence in his coaching career and believes he will one day become a top coach as well-known as Mourinho.

Mourinho was unaware of Villas-Boas's intentions at this point, but even if he had, he probably wouldn't have stopped him.

Assistant coaches are there to learn from the head coach; they don't stay long and will eventually leave to start their own teams.

Just like when he was learning from coach Robson, it's perfectly normal for Villas-Boas to do this.

Mourinho doesn't believe that Villas-Boas has truly mastered his style. Although Villas-Boas imitates him in every way, he has only scratched the surface at best.

If he were to coach according to the tactics he believes he has mastered, Mourinho is pessimistic about his protégé's future. (End of Chapter)