There is a dream called football

When Villarreal's yellow bus drove into Highbury Stadium, the players felt as if they were going on an expedition. This was the semi-finals of the Champions League. Apart from the World Cup, the Champions League is the highest dream of all football players on the planet.

The players got off the bus one after another, with Riquelme and Forlan walking at the back, while Pellegrini looked relaxed.

On the other side, the Arsenal players were a little more serious when they got off the bus. This is still related to pressure.

After all, at this time, the pressure on Arsenal is definitely greater, and Villarreal, as a civilian team, has a sense of being barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes.

At this time, Li Qiao also met Fran.

But the two of them just laughed, because Fran's English is very poor. In fact, the difficulty of many South American athletes in the UK is closely related to the language. For example, Ferguson said that many South American athletes do not learn English, such as

Veron also performed poorly when he was at Manchester United because he didn't speak English at all.

But what Fran didn't expect was that Li Qiao knew Spanish.

"You actually know Spanish."

“It’s almost like Portuguese.”

"Haha." Fran gave a thumbs up, "Then I have to tell my teammates. They have to cover their mouths when arranging tactics, because the opponent has players who can speak Spanish."

"hehe."

Li Qiao admired Fran, not only because of his playing skills, but also because he had to take care of his disabled sister, which moved many people.

Riquelme on the other side is a complete boring gourd. Even if you talk to him in Spanish, he will only say hello.

****

In the locker room, both sides were making final arrangements.

The most difficult thing about the Champions League is facing teams from different countries with completely different styles. Real Madrid has a lightning-fast attack, while Juventus has a staggeringly slow pace.

When facing different teams, the style of the game is completely different. Villarreal's style is similar to Real Madrid, but not as fast, so Wenger was particularly worried about the first 10 minutes.

As long as these 10 minutes have passed and the opponent's trump card has been revealed, everything actually means nothing.

"The start is the most important. When we played against Real Madrid and Juventus, our starts were not very good. This is the semi-finals, and we must start well."

Everyone nodded.

Wenger tapped the tactical board.

"Don't let me fall asleep on your lower back again."

"Boss, we are always in high spirits." Flamini said with a smile.

"Hahaha."

"The other two wingers move closer to the center. There is no need to spread the formation so wide at the beginning."

This means that Li Qiao and Fabregas both nodded, and they also nodded.

"The most important thing is to be prepared for a protracted battle. This game cannot be solved so easily."

In the Villarreal dressing room.

Pellegrini is also making the final arrangements. He is really like an engineer, treating the football game as a science. Every step is done very rigorously, even the movement of the players.

"Diego, run more toward Senderos. This is the weakness of Arsenal's defense."

Fran nodded.

"Go around a big arc, run a fishhook route, take the defender away, and then Jose Mari can take advantage of that route."

With two forwards, movement and coordination are very important. After Forlan takes Senderos away, Jose Mari can make use of the space here to do something.

"Juan, you must pass the ball quickly today. The pace in La Liga is not good. You don't have to defend, but you must pass the ball quickly."

Riquelme nodded. The coach has emphasized this point many times, because the ball in the Premier League is very fast, and Riquelme is a dribbling master, but his movements are a bit slow and he likes to stick to the ball.

"I know, you showed me the Arsenal game video. I don't want to be kicked out by my opponent."

Pellegrini also explained to full-back Solin that in his tactics, full-back assists are very important. It can be said that this is also the strength of Villarreal.

"Wide wing, wide wing, you must go down and tear apart the opponent's defense."

Thorin nodded.

"Okay, kids, we're going to the finals and let the world see our strength."

Pellegrini knows that if you want to enter the hall of fame of top coaches, then the Champions League championship is a must, just like Mourinho.

When the players came out, there were a lot of tifos at Highbury.

Decades of waiting, just for a Champions League.

Farewell to Highbury Stadium with the Champions League trophy.

We are champions.

Seeing this, Villarreal is envious. The history of this team is so glorious. This is a team with a story.

In comparison, Villarreal is truly grassroots. They have no money and no glorious history.

Wenger walked towards Pellegrini. The two of them sympathized with each other. One was nicknamed "Professor" and the other was "Engineer". They were both top tacticians and both were head coaches of similar levels.

After the greetings, it was time to confront each other. Henry went to challenge Riquelme, and finally Arsenal got the chance to kick off the first half.

At this moment, an episode occurred. The referee wanted to check the net behind Lehmann because the assistant referee reported that Lehmann had placed a water bottle on the net.

Although the chance that the shot just hit the water bottle and then refracted was lower than winning the lottery, according to the rules, the referee was still cautious just now.

"This needs to be moved."

"I drink water."

"According to the rules, you have to move."

"All right."

After the interlude, the referee blew his whistle and the game officially started. The game was also broadcast in China and attracted a lot of attention.

*****

At this time, CCTV did not have the copyright of the Champions League, so it was broadcast by local stations, usually narrated by Zhan Jun and Yan Qiang.

"Coach Zhan, what do you think of this game?"

"It's not easy. Villarreal seems to be incomparable to Arsenal, but looking at their results this season, they are really not weak in La Liga, and their head coach is a very powerful and ruthless character.

"

"Then what do you think of Li Qiao? He's still a little injured."

"Haha, this is very contradictory. As an Arsenal fan, of course I hope he starts every game, but if I consider the interests of the national team, I hope Li Qiao can rest because the World Cup is coming soon."

"Yes, it is very contradictory. This is the cruelty of modern football. On the one hand, there is a lot of money, but on the other hand, the players are too tired."

"This is very different from Pele's era, when players couldn't play many games a year and there were no obstacles to participating in the World Cup."