Starting with saving Manchester United

Chapter 98 The First Person in Champions League History!

"We won! We won!!"

The moment Rizzoli blew the final whistle, Woodward, sitting in the stands, jumped up in excitement, shouting and yelling wildly, more excited than anyone else.

Ferguson and the others sitting next to him were equally shocked.

Who could have imagined, who would have dared to imagine, that Manchester United would actually reach the Champions League final this season?

Moreover, they eliminated super favorites like Barcelona and Bayern Munich one after another!

Now, this scene has actually happened!

I'm getting old! I'm really getting old!

This young man actually did something I never even dared to dream of!

"You know what? Sir, the morning I put him in charge of Manchester United temporarily, I witnessed his exceptional qualities."

"But I never expected that he would bring such a big surprise to me and to Manchester United."

Woodward was so excited that he almost lost his composure.

Ferguson certainly knew what had happened on the morning Yang Fan took over Manchester United.

Led by Giggs and Gary Neville, Class 92 attempted to take over Carrington, coercing Woodward to relinquish power.

This was a huge secret to outsiders, but it was never one to Ferguson.

Ferguson was well aware that Woodward was also terrified and had rushed from the Laurie Hotel in downtown Carrington to try and stop it from happening.

But by the time Woodward arrived, Yang Fan had already resolved the matter.

Ferguson was equally surprised when he heard about this.

The way young people do things is truly unique!

However, Ferguson was also in a good mood.

Manchester United's performance under Moyes was a complete mess.

Ferguson has said publicly several times that he left behind a championship-winning squad, but nobody believed him.

On the contrary, many people spoke out in defense of Moyes, believing that he inherited a mess.

Now, Manchester United have not only reached the semi-finals, but also the final.

They even have a chance to win in the final.

From now on, will anyone doubt what Ferguson said?

Would anyone still question whether Ferguson left behind a championship-winning squad?

"He is indeed a genius!" Ferguson exclaimed.

This wasn't the first time he had praised Yang Fan like this.

But this was definitely the most sincere he'd ever been!

Woodward laughed loudly, as if praising Yang Fan made him happier than praising himself.

"Ed, you'd better reward him and the players when you get back," Ferguson reminded him with a smile.

Woodward nodded hastily at first, but then a bitter look flashed across his face as if he had just remembered something.

Woodward was so caught up in his joy that Ferguson's reminder brought him back to reality.

Yang Fan's contract includes a £200 million bonus for reaching the Champions League final.

The reward for winning the Champions League is £500 million.

My God, this is an enormous prize!

If the Glazer family in the United States found out, Woodward would probably be in deep trouble.

The problem is, Woodward never expected Manchester United to reach the final in the first place!

The Glazer brothers instructed that Yang Fan be paid as little salary as possible and that his contract should have little or no penalty for breach of contract, so that they could fire him at any time without having to pay compensation.

Woodward wanted to make the contract look better, so he increased the amount of the bonus.

Surprisingly, he actually managed to do it!

The £200 million advancement bonus is more than the players' prize money.

What should we do?

Woodward started to panic.

The moment Rizzoli blew the final whistle, all the Manchester United players on the bench and the staff on the coaching staff rushed onto the pitch.

The Manchester United players, who had just finished the game, were extremely excited. They didn't care about their physical exhaustion and started celebrating on the field. They even had the energy to run and chase each other.

Yang Fan was actually the most composed person in the entire room.

He stood in the coach's command area, watching people rush out one after another, and he didn't feel comfortable competing with them.

Especially when he saw Guardiola walking quickly toward him.

The Spaniard was wearing a grey suit with a black turtleneck sweater underneath.

It has to be said that Guardiola even has an exceptionally sophisticated and intellectual air about him when it comes to clothing.

Congratulations! That was a fantastic match!

"Thank you!" Yang Fan shook hands with Guardiola and then hugged him.

"Although it's a pity to lose the game, this game exposed a lot of our problems, which is a good thing for us."

After a pause, Guardiola added, "If we had Lewandowski up front, the game might have been over in the first leg. I mean, if."

Yang Fan smiled slightly, "If it were Lewandowski, we would probably use a different approach, and the result would likely be similar."

The implication is that there are no "what ifs".

Guardiola was slightly taken aback, but he smiled, waved to Yang Fan, and turned to walk into the players' tunnel.

Yang Fan actually understood Guardiola's meaning to some extent.

Mandzukic's goal-scoring efficiency and scoring ability are indeed inferior to Lewandowski's.

Given Bayern's ability to create chances, Lewandowski is indeed a better fit than Mandzukic.

Bayern Munich almost signed Robert Lewandowski last summer.

Unexpectedly, Dortmund preferred to let the Polish striker leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2014 rather than let him stay for another year.

After joining Guardiola's team, Lewandowski completely transformed his professional career.

But Guardiola's problems cannot be solved by Lewandowski alone.

In Yang Fan's previous life, even after he acquired Lewandowski, Bayern Munich still failed to win the Champions League.

Of course, this does not mean that Bayern Munich is not strong enough.

There's a saying in the world of football: every team that makes it to the Champions League semi-finals deserves to win the title!

Guardiola led Bayern Munich to the Champions League semi-finals in all three of his seasons managing the club.

This in itself is a recognition of Bayern's strength.

Why is it always the last step that's missing?

If Bayern's three years at the club aren't enough to illustrate the point, then look at his Champions League record after taking charge of Manchester City.

Yang Fan believes that it's not that Guardiola's Bayern Munich and Manchester City aren't strong enough.

On the contrary, because both teams are too strong!

If they're so strong, why can't they win?

Because Guardiola and Barcelona's possession-based system is fundamentally ineffective in defense.

In cup competitions, especially knockout stages, defense is of paramount importance!

From Barcelona to Bayern Munich to Manchester City, Guardiola's tactics are basically about pinning the opponent back in their own half.

To keep the opponent pinned in their own half, the entire formation should be spread out as much as possible.

Wouldn't that expose a lot of gaps behind you?

In the league, the opponents are generally weaker than the teams coached by Guardiola, so they can only be dominated.

This makes Guardiola's team appear exceptionally dominant.

Looking at the two matches between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, isn't Bayern incredibly dominant?

That's absolutely amazing!

However, in cup competitions, especially when the opponent can defend well and launch counter-attacks, Guardiola's teams often suffer heavy defeats.

After the Dream Team reached its peak, more and more coaches and teams began to learn how to counter Barcelona.

Mourinho's Inter Milan achieved success, Hiddink's Chelsea almost succeeded, Di Matteo's Chelsea achieved success, and then there was Heynckes' Bayern Munich's thrashing of Barcelona last season—

All of this makes it increasingly clear how to counter Barcelona and Guardiola's teams.

As Yang Fan watched Guardiola's departing figure, a sense of anticipation suddenly arose in his heart.

In his previous life, when he was a football fan, he had thought of a set of tactics and lineups to defeat Barcelona and Guardiola, and even tried it in Football Manager.

But that's just a game.

Now, he's starting to look forward to it.

If given the opportunity to build his own team, Yang Fan would be happy to teach Guardiola a lesson.

"If we have the chance to meet again next time, I promise I won't be in such a sorry state!"

"Guardiola, you absolutely mustn't cry then!"

Yang Fan silently thought to himself with a wicked sense of humor.

Manchester United thrashed Bayern Munich 5-0 away from home, advancing to the Champions League final with a 7-0 aggregate score!

As soon as the match at Allianz Arena ended, the world was in an uproar.

Bild published a commentary immediately after the match, titled: "Manchester United rookie humiliates Guardiola!"

The article states that the 0-5 scoreline was a huge humiliation for Guardiola.

"What's even more outrageous is that Guardiola's opponent is someone who doesn't even have a coaching certificate and has only been coaching a professional team for less than 2 years."

A 25-year-old newbie.

Kicker magazine commented after the match, "Manchester United breached the Allianz Stadium, ending Bayern Munich's dream of defending their Champions League title."

"Yang Fan has dethroned Guardiola!"

This authoritative German magazine believes that this match was a complete defeat for Bayern Munich and Guardiola.

Tactical shortcomings and player performance deficiencies: Lahm's red card leaves Bayern Munich with a man down.

Even the indomitable spirit that German football prides itself on has been defeated!

Kicker magazine commented that although Guardiola pointed out after the match that possession was by no means the reason for the loss, Bayern president Rummenigge also commented after the match that the team lacked its usual passion in the game.

After the team's defeat at Old Trafford in the first leg, Beckenbauer criticized them for going down the wrong path of possession-based football.

Bayern Munich legend Oliver Kahn also stated after Bayern's crushing defeat that "pocket possession should be a means, not an end."

Kicker magazine pointed out that compared to Guardiola and Bayern's poor performance, Yang Fan and his Manchester United became the biggest surprise.

"Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia played their best game of the season!"

"It was Yang Fan who helped them transition to playing as left wing-backs for Manchester United."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also believes that "Yang Fan led Manchester United to inflict Bayern Munich's most humiliating home defeat in European competition history!"

The Süddeutsche Zeitung went further, stating that "the 0-5 defeat is the darkest moment in Bayern's history."

"Throughout the entire match, Bayern Munich, playing at home, had absolutely no chance!"

This authoritative German media outlet also conducted a special interview with former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after the match, saying, "Through the two legs of the semi-final, Yang Fan showed the world his talent."

"He's a genius!"

Even the German media were completely convinced of their defeat, while the British media were celebrating as if it were a holiday.

While Manchester United were still in Munich, Fleet Street in England was already in complete chaos.

From Sky Sports to the BBC, from The Sun to the Daily Mail to The Times and The Guardian —

British media outlets and websites were abuzz with excitement.

This is the Champions League semi-final!

Manchester United defeated Bayern Munich, their arch-rivals from Germany!

The Times even went so far as to celebrate Yang Fan's passing on its website.

First person in Champions League history!

What do you mean?

Yang Fan is the youngest head coach in the history of the Champions League!

Moreover, in his very first season as coach, he led the team to the Champions League final!

Every step he takes in the Champions League is making history!

"25 years old, this age is still considered young for many players."

"Yang Fan, at 25, has already taken on the managerial role at Manchester United."

"In this disastrous season, at the lowest point in Manchester United's history, Yang Fan led the Red Devils step by step out of the mire and struggled to reach the Champions League final."

The Sun went even further, seemingly eager to stir up trouble, suggesting that Van Gaal might be becoming the next Guardiola.

In January 2013, Guardiola announced that he would take over Bayern Munich.

At the end of the season, he took over a treble-winning team from Heynckes.

Van Gaal has already reached a management agreement with Manchester United.

Yang Fan led Manchester United to the Champions League final.

If Manchester United wins the title, then Van Gaal will be taking over a Champions League-winning team!

"Van Gaal, are you ready?"