Chapter 52 Can't wait

"Barcelona is ready!"

The headline on the front page of the World Sports Class reads, and underneath the headline, is a large photograph of Messi. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoThis is the darling of the whole city of Barcelona and the Catalan region.

The headline of the Daily Sport newspaper was "Barcelona Goal - Champions League Winners!" ”

Barcelona have been very strong in the Champions League in recent years, which has also given them a lot of confidence.

As the Atletico Madrid players walked towards the Camp Nou in a bus, they could see the sidewalks on both sides of the road, with Barcelona fans wearing red and blue jerseys and holding the Catalan Lone Star flag towards the Camp Nou.

"Hmph, these independents!" Gabi said indignantly. As a native of Madrid, he naturally can't get used to the Lone Star Flag.

In Catalonia, the difference between the Catalan regional flag and the lone star flag is only the presence or absence of stars.

The official regional flag of Catalonia is a red and yellow striped flag, while the Lone Star flag has a star added to the red and yellow sword bar.

Don't underestimate the star - in Catalonia, there is a big difference between a star and a star in the red and yellow "Catalan flag". In general, the absence of a star indicates obedience to the central government of Madrid and the "collective Spanish identity", while a star indicates a political claim to Catalan independence or greater autonomy and identification with the "independent cultural identity of Catalonia".

For historical reasons, the Catalan independence movement has a long history. Catalonia is one of the seventeen regions of Spain, with the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona as its capital. In the thirties of the nineteenth century, Catalonia gave rise to Catalanism, which at first was only a cultural movement aimed at preserving the special history and culture of Catalonia. But with the development of Catalanism, political independence movements also joined in, and they continue to this day.

In recent years, as Spain's overall economy has continued to decline, the call for Catalan independence has become more and more loud.

Especially at the Camp Nou, taking the lone star flag into the stadium to watch the game is almost a reserved program for Barcelona fans. Especially in the Champions League.

Although UEFA has issued many warnings to Barcelona and issued more than one fine, Barcelona fans just insist on bringing the "lone star flag" to the Champions League. And FC Barcelona did not heed UEFA's warnings. In fact, the Barcelona club itself has a tendency towards the Catalan independence movement.

FC Barcelona's slogan is: more than just a club. And it can be perceived from the changes in Barcelona's jersey in recent seasons, in recent years, the Catalan elements on Barcelona's jersey have become more and more prominent, which fully illustrates Barcelona's attitude.

Of course, the Spanish government is firmly opposed to Catalan independence, because the Barcelona club has a huge influence in Catalonia, this team can influence 30%-40% of the vote, therefore, the Spanish government hopes that Barcelona will not participate in the Catalan independence movement.

However, the hopes of the Spanish government are more wishful thinking, with Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola supporting independence in the past, and former Barcelona president Aymeric Laporte is also like Pep Guardiola.

The Spanish government has warned the club that if Catalonia becomes independent, then Barcelona will lose their qualification to play La Liga. Because according to Spanish law, teams from other countries cannot participate in the Spanish league, therefore, once Catalonia becomes independent, the two Catalan teams Barcelona and Espanyol, will not be able to participate in La Liga.

It's just that Barcelona has been prepared for this for a long time. Spanish media have reported that as early as two years ago, Barcelona began to hold secret talks with the French Football Federation, once Catalonia became independent, Barcelona would join the French league. The French Football Federation is also welcoming Barcelona to Ligue 1, and there is no problem in terms of laws and regulations - in Ligue 1, Monaco is also participating in Ligue 1 as an independent country, and Barca in Catalonia can follow suit.

Political topics are still very sensitive, and political differences can turn brothers against each other, and fathers and sons become enemies, so everyone is smart not to pick up Gabi's words.

"Camp Nou has arrived!" Assistant coach Bistano stood at the front of the car and clapped his hands and said, reminding the Atletico players to get out of the car.

Li Qingshan followed his teammates and got off the bus in turn. He looked at the majestic stadium in front of him with some curiosity. It was his first time playing in this stadium.

Other Atletico players weren't as curious as he was, after all, they were tired of coming to the stadium at least once a season.

The stadium was remodeled in 2007 to accommodate 109815 spectators.

When Li Qingshan walked into this stadium, he couldn't help but sigh, it was really magnificent.

The 100,000 fans created a frenzied atmosphere that gave goosebumps to the players involved.

Although Li Qingshan has been to San Diego. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, in terms of the scale of the building, is not inferior to the Camp Nou, but he feels that the Bernabéu fans are too "gentle". Real Madrid fans sit in their seats like gentlemen, wearing Real Madrid scarves, creating a home atmosphere that is far worse than that of other giants.........

Is the team an aristocrat, and the fans are aristocrats?

Li Qingshan doesn't know much about Spanish football culture, but relatively speaking, he still prefers the fan atmosphere at Camp Nou.

Although surrounded by hostile Atletico Madrid fans, ordinary people may be weak under the boos of 100,000 people, but Li Qingshan is the bigger the boo, the more motivated. When Atletico Madrid entered the stadium to warm up, the fans at the scene erupted in huge boos, but Li Qingshan enjoyed it as if he heard the sound of heaven, his hot blood quickly accelerated the flow rate, and his muscles trembled with excitement.

If the Barcelona fans knew that their boos had instilled a stronger fighting spirit into Li Qingshan, I don't know what they would think at the moment.

...........

"In this game, Barcelona will definitely press it out! This is their home turf! So we have to defend well at the back and take advantage of the counter-attack. ”

Before the start of the game, Simeone was busy giving the team the final touch.

'In this game, our most important goal is to score away goals without losing, and I don't even accept a 0-0 scoreline. We've got to score, as long as we score away goals, it's going to be in our favour in the second leg! ”

'Don't press easily at the back, don't leave the gaps behind you. After breaking the ball, play a simpler game and make a long pass directly to the frontcourt. ”

In this game, Simeone's tactic was to defend and counterattack away from home.

At the Camp Nou, Barcelona must attack. If they can't win at home, they're in trouble at Calderón.

When Barcelona pressed on the attack, Atletico's chance came.

What Simeone's Atletico Madrid do best is give up possession and counter-attack with pressure from midfield and tough defensiveness.

Stick to the midfield and counterattack quickly. Manufacture of set-pieces and corners.

That's how Simeone approached this game.

In a way, Simeone is the new exponent of utilitarian football. He doesn't want the process to look good, he just wants a good result.

When Simeone, who was wearing a black suit, black shirt and black tie, walked into the stadium like a big brother in the underworld.

His players are lining up on the tunnel at the Camp Nou.

Li Qingshan stood at the back of the queue, looking at the front exit without squinting.

In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, he can't wait!