Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 111 Nobody knows the Champions League final better than me!

May 24, evening, Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, home team locker room.

There are 4 minutes left before he goes on the field.

All the Manchester United players were seated, intently watching what lay ahead.

Among the players was a 34-inch high-definition monitor playing a video carefully edited by Paul Brand.

Total time: 3 minutes.

The video begins with a fast-paced flashback, featuring representative scenes from Manchester United's humiliating defeats before Yang Fan took over the team this past season.

The background music consisted of interviews with media, fans, rivals, and legends from around the world, where they commented on Manchester United.

It also contained contempt and ridicule.

This short flashback, lasting just over a minute, immediately brought all the players back to the painful memories of Manchester United this season.

A bleak and oppressive atmosphere permeated the entire locker room.

Just as the atmosphere was building up, the scene suddenly shifted seamlessly to the time after Yang Fan took over the team.

From Olympiacos to Barcelona to Bayern Munich, from Manchester City to Everton to Southampton—

A series of flashback clips brought the players back to the matches of the past two months, showing familiar scenes;

It allowed them to relive the exhilarating victories from those matches.

Finally, the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon and the Champions League final matchups were revealed last!

The final shot of the video shows the locker room where the players are at this moment.

The camera panned across the jerseys hanging on the rack.

Every time I scan a jersey, I immediately picture the player training hard and sweating profusely during the past 10 days of training camp in southern Spain.

This deeply inspired and encouraged everyone in the locker room!

Every team and every individual who stepped onto the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon tonight has made an unprecedented effort.

But Manchester United has more this season!

More than most people can imagine!

Without experiencing the despair and pain of Moyes' tenure, it's impossible to imagine the feelings of the Manchester United players right now.

The video is only 3 minutes long.

But it made everyone feel as if they were reliving that cruel season.

After the video finished playing, Yang Fan walked up to everyone.

He just stood there, as usual.

There was no lengthy mobilization speech, no impassioned address.

"I don't know how many people outside will believe us tonight."

"It doesn't matter!"

"The important thing is that all of us here, we've been through so much together, and we trust each other completely—that's enough!"

"We're not here tonight for the championship, for the trophy, for the fans, or for the club."

"Tonight, we're doing this for you, for me, and for every comrade in this locker room who fought alongside us this past season!"

"Set off!"

Just as Yang Fan finished speaking, the Dutch referee, Keppers, rang the bell to urge the players to come onto the field.

The timing was perfect.

Yang Fan stood at the locker room door, shaking hands and hugging each player who came out of the locker room.

"Come on, buddy, fight for yourself!"

"Well done, Wayne, you're the best!"

"Robin, you're the person I trust most, there won't be any problems."

Yang Fan saw the players off one by one.

Finally, he saw off the coaching staff.

After everyone had left, he slowly turned around and looked back at the now empty locker room.

"Go for it, Yang Fan, you can do it!"

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the locker room.

"CCTV, this is CCTV."

"To all viewers at home, welcome to the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League final."

"This is the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal."

"We can see that the fans of the two teams in the stands are already seated in a clearly defined manner."

"Tonight, the team wearing red jerseys is Manchester United from the Premier League."

"We must emphasize that Manchester United's interim head coach is Yang Fan, who is only 25 years old and comes from China."

"He took over the Manchester United managerial position from Moyes in late March of this year."

"At the time, no one had high hopes for him. Everyone thought that Manchester United's season was terrible."

"However, after two months of hard work, Yang Fan led Manchester United to a series of victories, not only rebounding in the Premier League, but also almost securing a Champions League spot in the top four."

"In the UEFA Champions League, they even came back from behind to defeat Olympiacos, then beat both Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and made it all the way to the Champions League final."

"Manchester United's opponent in this match is Real Madrid from La Liga."

"This is the most successful club in the history of the Champions League, having won nine titles."

"Judging from the current lineups and starting rosters of both sides, Real Madrid has a clear advantage in overall strength."

"Now, we can see that both teams are entering the field one after another, led by the referee."

"Let's start by introducing the starting lineups for both teams."

"Manchester United will still use the three-defender formation that Yang Fan has been using since taking over."

Goalkeeper: De Gea;

Defense: Smalling, Vidic, and Phil Jones

Midfielders: Ashley Young, Cleverley, Carrick, and Valencia, with Fellaini and Rooney up front;

Forward: Robin van Persie.

"This is Manchester United's best and most consistent starting lineup in the last two months."

"Looking at Real Madrid, Ancelotti is still fielding a 4-3-3 formation."

Goalkeeper: Casillas;

Defense: Coentrao, Ramos, Pepe, and Carvajal;

Midfield: Xabi Alonso drops deep, Di Maria and Modric in the center:

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale.

"The BBC attacking trio is currently the most potent attacking duo in world football, and it's what Manchester United needs tonight."

The biggest test we face.

"Looking at the starting lineups, neither team has produced any surprises or unexpected moves."

"The rest depends on the game strategies of both head coaches and the players' performance on the field."

"Since there's still some time left in the match, let's have our commentator, Coach Zhang Lu, analyze the situation for everyone."

"Hey everyone."

"To be honest, the strength difference in this match was quite obvious. Real Madrid had a clear advantage in strength, and Manchester United would definitely have to adopt a defensive counter-attacking strategy."

"So what's the choice now?"

"Hehe, the question is whether Manchester United's defense can stop the BBC's attack?"

"These three superstars are all very strong offensively, with outstanding individual abilities, and when they work together, their destructive power is astonishing."

"Defense and counter-attack, defense and counter-attack, you must defend first before you have a chance to counter-attack."

"Hehe, Real Madrid's defense still has problems. They have many star players, strong strength, and excellent attack, but if Manchester United plays a counter-attacking style, there are still hidden dangers."

"Of course, one problem with Manchester United's counter-attacking style is that they lack speed."

"Real Madrid, on the other hand, is best known for its speed."

"In addition, Manchester United should pay extra attention to Real Madrid's two full-backs, Coentrao and Carvajal."

"These two full-backs are very strong at making runs into the box. Hehe, Real Madrid's BBC attacking trio all have very strong individual scoring abilities, so Manchester United's defense will definitely be put to the test."

"I saw many people worrying before the game that Manchester United might lose by a large margin."

"We can't rule out that possibility, but I believe that although Manchester United's manager is young, he has led the team to the final and must know the team well and have made some arrangements."

When Yang Fan walked out of the players' tunnel, the entire Manchester United fan stadium applauded him.

He politely waved to the fans, then turned and walked toward Ancelotti in front of the Real Madrid coaching bench.

Ancelotti is usually serious, but when he shook hands with Yang Fan, he didn't use much force, which made him seem very polite.

In addition, Yang Fan also noticed the young man on the coaching bench behind Ancelotti. If he remembered correctly, it should be Ancelotti's son, David Ancelotti.

The other person was also looking at Yang Fan with great interest. The two were about the same age, and after looking at each other, they nodded to each other.

To be fair, Ancelotti is also someone who likes to cultivate connections.

His son, son-in-law, old friend, and his old friend's son and son-in-law all work in his team.

This is no longer just ordinary nepotism.

However, Yang Fan has always felt that no matter what some experts on the internet say, they may be right and wrong, and they may talk a lot about nepotism and so on.

In reality, anyone who is frequently in a leadership position knows that whoever takes the lead will almost always be a nepotist.

Why?

In reality, trustworthiness is more important than talent!

Even if we take a step back and say that talent is something that is often not as valuable as we imagine, it is still a valuable asset.

Because people are trained.

Yang Fan dislikes Steve Bruce because playing football really depends on talent.

Zidane's approach to grooming his son wasn't as blatant as Steve Bruce's.

But when it comes to coaching, training, experience, and growth are actually more important.

Ancelotti looked puzzled.

Why is Manchester United's rookie staring at his own precious son?

What does that mean?

Also, David, son, there's something off about the way you look at that newbie.

What are you so envious of?

He was just a rookie, a complete novice. He became Manchester United's manager by sheer chance and led the team to the Champions League final. What are you envious of?

Your dad, me, has not only played in the Champions League final, but also led a team to several Champions League finals?

What storms haven't I weathered?

Even with a 3-0 lead, I could still lose the Champions League title.

Throughout history, who understands the Champions League final better than me?

Why haven't I seen you looking at me like that before?

With that thought in mind, Ancelotti turned and walked back to the coaching bench.

Newbie, get lost!

Yang Fan, unaware of Ancelotti's thoughts, turned and walked back to the home team's coaching bench.

At this moment, both teams' players have already set up their formations.

Real Madrid kicked off first.

Yang Fan stood in front of the home team's coaching bench, his gaze first sweeping over the Manchester United players.

All 11 players have three green lights above their heads.

After this period of adjustment, they are all in top condition.

Both physically and mentally, it's the best.

Yang Fan couldn't see what was happening at Real Madrid.

However, Yang Fan could glean some insights from Real Madrid's formation.

Standing in the center circle, the player kicking off alongside Benzema was not Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale, but Luka Modric.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Coentrao are on the left side of the center circle, while Gareth Bale and Carvajal are on the right side.

Di Maria, Xabi Alonso, and two center-backs are all near the bottom of the center circle.

What does this mean?

Real Madrid will launch an attack right from the start.

Moreover, it involves finding two side roads.

"Antonio".

Yang Fan walked to the sidelines, and Valencia's side was right in front of him.

"Be careful," Yang Fan said, pointing in the direction of Cristiano Ronaldo and Coentrao.

Valencia nodded emphatically and called out to Phil Jones.

Vidic was also reminding Ashley Young and Smalling.

As expected, referee Keppers blew his whistle, and Benzema passed the ball to Modric, who then launched a low cross to the left wing.

After controlling the ball with his chest, Ronaldo stopped it at his feet and then dribbled forward.

At this moment, Coentrao had already rushed along the left flank to the vicinity of Manchester United's defensive line.

Fortunately, Manchester United were prepared this time.

Valencia blocked Ronaldo in time, forcing the Portuguese player to pass back.

But Fellaini, Rooney and Van Persie in the attacking third have already put pressure on the front line.

Van Persie, in particular, charged straight at Pepe, who was at the back and had the ball, while Rooney was focused on Ramos.

Fellaini roams between Xabi Alonso and Modric, and can immediately pounce on any pass from the opponent.

Ultimately, Pepe passed the ball to Carvajal, who was running back down the right flank.

The highly anticipated Champions League final has officially begun!

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