"In addition to the three times I have experienced firsthand, Ajax reached the Champions League final twice in a row in '95 and '96, the first time being at the end of the game when they beat AC Milan with a winner from Kluivert.

'The second time we conceded a goal first, but the veteran Litmanen equalised for us and in the end the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes, but unfortunately lost to Juventus on penalties.

In the end, Ronald Koeman summed it up.

"Throughout these Champions League finals, there is no doubt that players need to have an iron will, as well as a never-say-die fighting spirit, no matter what unexpected circumstances are encountered in the game, they can stabilize their minds and focus on the game."

After Ronald Koeman, the only veteran in the team who has experienced the Champions League final, Litmanen, also came out to explain the two Champions League finals he has personally experienced, one win and one defeat, both of which are very instructive, because the two opponents AC Milan and Juventus have excellent defending.

Veteran Litmanen has almost confirmed his intention to leave Ajax at the end of this season, but he has not yet made a decision on whether to retire or return to Finland for retirement.

Regarding Ajax's Champions League final against AC Milan in 95, Litmanen said the most about defense and mentality, believing that the team can win in the end without tenacious defense and steady mentality.

In the Champions League the following year, Litmanen's evaluation was also quite high, he believed that Ajax had many chances in the regular game, but Juventus's goalkeeper Peruzzi performed quite well, and there were frequent saves in front of the goal, and in the second half, Ajax was almost pressed by Juventus.

'Edgar Davies was the man of the game, it was his ubiquitous running and defending that kept us defending, and in the final penalty shoot-out, he was the first to take the penalty, but unfortunately his penalty was saved by Peruzzi.

Everyone present could understand how much pressure was on the first player to step up to take the penalty after 120 minutes of hard play, and Davies actually missed the penalty, so you can imagine how depressed the Dutch wild boars were at that time.

"None of us have ever blamed Davies, in fact, it was because of his performance in the Champions League final that Juventus believed in his quality and fighting spirit that led to the decisive introduction of him when he was seriously injured and AC Milan's performance was sluggish."

'No one can predict the outcome of the game, as if we never know if we would have beaten Juventus and defended the Champions League if Ovimars hadn't been injured, and we couldn't tell if Davies had taken a penalty and we would have won in the end, but we all did our best.

"We have regrets, but no guilt."

Yang Yang sat in the group of players, silently looking at the veteran, listening to his words, an idiom came to mind, and he had a clear conscience.

Perhaps, this is what Litmanen is trying to convey.

…………

…………

Germany, thirty kilometres east of Gelsenkirchen, Katrop-Lauxel.

European football has always been very superstitious, and Porto is no exception.

Based on the pre-match data, they thought that 26 was the most favorable data for Porto, so they decided to carry out this luck to the end, and even the hotel they stayed in before the game was specially chosen to be 26 kilometers away from Gelsenkirchen.

The reason why I chose this hotel is very important because the decoration of the hotel from the inside to the outside is blue-theme, including curtains, tablecloths, tableware, carpets, etc., all of which are mainly blue, which also matches the color of Porto very well.

Not only that, Porto chartered the entire hotel, the players were one room per person, Mourinho had a single suite, and what is even more interesting is that Chelsea came here a year ago and also stayed in this hotel, and the single room Mourinho chose happened to be the room of Chelsea manager Ranieri at the time.

Not long ago, the British media took the lead in the British media to meet with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich on a yacht, and everyone agreed that the Portuguese would switch to Chelsea this summer to replace Claudio Ranieri.

And at this time, Mourinho stayed in a single room in the hotel where Ranieri once stayed, is this a coincidence or deliberate?

The Porto coaching staff also took the Champions League final very seriously, arriving in Germany two days early and training in secret in a nearby enclosed park the next day.

After returning to the hotel, having lunch and taking a short break, Mourinho held one of the most important meetings before the game, at which he announced the team's starting line-up and carefully prepared his battle plan.

Mourinho has a very clear understanding of Ajax, he is well aware of the Eredivisie's attacking ability and the advantage of passing the ball in midfield, but he also mentioned the weakness and shortcomings of Ajax's backline.

'We're a team, we're a collective, and we've been able to go so far because we fight like a collective in every game, and this time we have to do that.

'Our strength is in defence and as long as we are as focused as we were before, I believe we can hold off Ajax's attack, and as long as we block their attack, then their back line will show their flaws, that's our chance, that's what we do best.'

Jose Mourinho is like a charismatic orator who has managed to convince everyone in the room.

In fact, he really brought everyone to Gelsenkirchen, and it doesn't get much more convincing than that.

'Ajax have three players that you have to pay attention to, one is their captain Van der Vaart, if I guessed correctly, he should be in midfield for this game, without Galasek, Ajax will want to seize the ball and dominate the game, Van der Vaart and Sneijder in midfield will be a good option.

'Our midfielder has to be able to hold down and not get him close to our box, he's a very dangerous player, especially when he scores from behind, and Sneijder is very good at that, so we have to be on the lookout for that in midfield.

The players on the opposite side nodded their heads in response.

'The other one is the centre-forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he's very tall, he's strong, he's very tough, but he's very delicate at his feet, he's a very difficult centre-forward, and our centre-back is obviously a little shorter than him.

Carvalho is 1.82 meters tall and captain Jorge Costa is 1.88 meters tall, both of which are a cut short of Ibrahimovic.

"So, the two centre-backs have to be careful, there is no fluke, you have to keep an eye on the Swede for the whole game, you can't give him the slightest chance, otherwise he will definitely teach us a hard lesson."

Captains Jorge Costa and Carvalho, both aware of the importance of the game and the difficulty of defending against Ibrahimovic, both nodded their heads and were not fuel-efficient lamps.

"The last one is the ninety-nine, Yang Yang."

When Mourinho said this, everyone in the conference room was a little stunned.

The seventeen-year-old?

Seeing the reaction of the players, Mourinho had a clear idea: "I know what everyone thinks, a 17-year-old youngster, our coaching staff has carefully analysed his characteristics before, and think that his strengths are only in the wide breaks and crosses, at best, the set-pieces in front of the field are good, but the stops and passes are bad, right? ”

Everyone nodded in unison, and it was.

In Porto's coaching staff, Yang Yang's strengths and weaknesses are very obvious, and it is not difficult for such a player to defend at all.

For example, Mourinho's strategy is to let the left wing-back Valente stick to Yang Yang inch by inch, even if he can't stop him from taking the ball, it can't make him easy, especially not to give him space to start with the ball.

In fact, it's as simple as defending Yang Yang.

"But one thing I want to remind everyone is, why has Yang Yang been able to drive Ajax's offensive every time he comes on as a substitute in the past six months? Let this Eredivisie team unleash their attacking prowess? ”

Everyone was a little dazed and shook their heads.

"Because, Ajax with Yang Yang is the real and the most terrible Ajax, they will play better than without Yang Yang, they will be sharper, and the attack will be more fluid, so we have to be careful, if I can, I even hope he can't finish the game."

Many of the players present, especially the left wing-back Valente, heard this, and their eyes lit up.

Mourinho shook his head and smiled bitterly: "But it's a pity that he's fine now, so we have to watch out for him." ”

Speaking of this, Mourinho turned to look at Nuno Valente, "Nuno, if Ajax arranges Yang Yang to start, it must be to attack, you have to concentrate on defense, if Coman arranges him as a substitute, I ask you, no matter what the score is at that time and what the situation is, you must give me back." ”

"All in all, as long as Yang Yang is on the court for a second, you have to give me a thorough stare at him, this is what I give you, the only task, you don't have to care about anything else."

Nuno Valente nodded solemnly, "Understood." ”

"Take it easy." Mourinho saw that Valente was a little serious, and laughed, "After all, he is only seventeen years old, which is why Ronald Coman has not scheduled him to start for a long time, a seventeen-year-old kid, quite easy to deal with." ”

Nuno Valente, who turned 30 in September, had previously played for Sporting Lisbon but was not trusted and could only play as an occasional substitute, before moving to Leiria, where he played under Jose Mourinho and performed well, and after Mourinho's move to Porto, he poached him from Leiria to Porto in the first place, which made him brilliant.

Winning the UEFA Cup last season and reaching the Champions League final this season is something Nuno Valente could never have imagined before, and he has also made it to Portugal's squad this summer in preparation for the European Championships on home soil.

"Don't worry, I won't give him any chance." Valente assured.