Chapter 68: The Battle of the Olympics

The Stadio Olimpico was just a week before Fiorentina lifted the Coppa Italia and has come back to this place in a short period of time, and the trophy that Fiorentina is going to compete for has become the Champions League.

If you analyze it according to Degan's stereotyped thinking, Manchester United should also be his favorite opponent, in fact, teams from the Premier League should become Degan's favorites.

For two consecutive seasons, Fiorentina has basically touched all the strong teams in the Premier League, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and the three strong players in the Premier League have become the ghosts of Florence.

Before the game, the media in England was already shouting "revenge", with the rapid development of the Premier League in recent years, its influence in world football has increased day by day, but the Premier League pales in comparison with the prestige.

Liverpool's stunning comeback win over AC Milan on a night in Istanbul has seen a Premier League side fail to win the tournament again.

Last season, three teams from the Premier League reached the semi-finals and besieged Fiorentina, but in the end they were successfully broken through by Fiorentina and finally won the cup, which made the English football world mourn for a while.

The same thing happened again this season, with the only difference being that Arsenal took Liverpool's place, but the result was largely the same, with Manchester United and Fiorentina reaching the final.

"The same mistake doesn't happen twice to me and Manchester United! Not only do they have better players on the pitch than Fiorentina, but they are also stronger on the bench, and Fiorentina are more afraid of Manchester United than they are of Florence, and I don't see how Fiorentina can deal with United, no matter who they are sent to. ”

Sir Alex Ferguson has lost count of the first time Sir Alex Ferguson has said the same thing, but this time he was visibly confident and gave the impression that he had seized the solution to Fiorentina.

All roads lead to Rome, but in the end, only one army of kings is destined to stand on the top of Rome, and Ferguson's self-confidence comes from the elite soldiers under his command.

The sharpest weapon is undoubtedly the Golden Mauro, unstoppable breakthroughs, wonderful goals, and even a fiery temper on the field, the Golden Mauro is never short of passion in the football world, for the second consecutive year of the Champions League showdown, facing the same opponent, the last defeat, so that the Portuguese will undoubtedly do their best, play hard, after the first half of the season slump, Golden Mauro with a series of key goals in a series of major battles to announce to the world that he is the indispensable true soul of the Red Devils.

If Camero ignites passion, then Rooney shows patience, he became famous as a teenager, and Rooney was also arrogant and frivolous, but with the tempering of the years, especially under the influence of Giggs and Scholes, Rooney's lethality is not reduced, his maturity is getting higher and higher, and his gestures have the demeanor of a general. Countless times this season, Wayne Rooney's second-half goal has saved United from danger and proved that the reckless teenager has become patient and resilient, and once the Golden Mulr is dumbfounded, Rooney will be ready to step up and take on the responsibility of saving the Red Devils.

If Camuro and Wayne Rooney represent Manchester United's youth, then the veterans of the squad who have played Bayern Munich represent Manchester United's experience.

Ten years ago, when the golden generation of the Red Devils reached the top of Europe, the young and handsome Ryan Giggs was already the absolute mainstay, and ten years later, Manchester United once again stepped on the stage of the decisive stage, and the Welsh is still the irreplaceable spiritual pillar of the Red Devils. As a player who could never achieve his dream in the Welsh national team, the 36-year-old has already won all the accolades a club player can receive, and perhaps he is the embodiment of honour and perfection in his own right.

Not as handsome as David Beckham or as dashing as Ryan Giggs, but in United's midfield trio of the year, Paul Scholes achieved as hard work as his two team-mates. Although the 35-year-old Englishman can no longer hold an unstoppable place in the main field, he will always be the most reliable candidate under Alex Ferguson, and at any given moment, Scholes' tireless tackles and trademark midfield shots are enough to be a nightmare for opponents.

Attacking is in the nature of the Red Devils, but that doesn't mean Ferguson's side doesn't have a great defence. If Silva hooked the strongest defence in world football, Manchester United's defence was the perfect blend of strength and depth because of Rio Ferdinand's presence. WITH A HEIGHT OF 190CM, LIKE AN AIR TYRANT, MANCHESTER'S NEAR-PERFECT DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON IS INSEPARABLE FROM THE ROLE OF FERDINAND IN SETTING THE SEA GOD'S NEEDLE.

Ferguson's self-confidence comes from many stars under his command, and Prandelli's self-confidence is more direct one by one!

With the world's No. 1 star, Prandelli has absolute confidence, and the matchup between Deegan and Kim Mauro will undoubtedly become the biggest attraction of the game.

Before the start of the game, Camuro had already begun to shout that Lao Tzu was the best in the world: "There is no doubt that in the world of football, I am ahead of Degan, the best player in the world, and Manchester United is also the best club. ”

For the clamor of the Golden Maur, Degan is not even interested in fighting back, and his strength does not need to be explained with his mouth.

Who's going to keep an eye on Degan?

This has long been the number one issue facing every team that plays against Fiorentina, and Ferguson has found a solution to this problem.

The smoke screen set by Alex Ferguson has cleared up in Rome and Rio Ferdinand has been confirmed to be back from injury and will start in the final.

Rio Ferdinand has been out of action for almost three weeks with a calf injury, but since last week, Rio Ferdinand has been back on the training pitch and, after a few days of training sessions, the team doctor believes Ferdinand has met the requirements to play.

'The injury is behind us, in the last few days I've been training with the whole team and I feel like everything is normal, I'm ready for the final and if I don't feel like I'm 100 per cent back I won't start the game, but from the last two or three days I've been training I don't see any problems. I'm glad I'm back, I've worked hard with the team doctor and I'm training really well. Now, there is no problem at all, I told the coach that I feel that everything is normal, I will not do anything to harm the team, the important thing is not whether I can play in the final, but the victory of the whole team. ”

Even though youngster Evans can be trusted, Ferguson still believes that only the centre-back combination of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic can withstand Fiorentina's number one attack in Europe.

Rio Ferdinand was playing against Deegan for the first time and was cautious in his pre-match interview: "I feel like I'm at the top of the pyramid against a player of Degan's level, I'm not stupid, I know that even the slightest mistake will make me fall in embarrassment, there is no doubt that it will be a very difficult night against Degan, I am fully prepared for it, I have a lot of respect for him and I have confidence against him." ”

Rio Ferdinand was well aware that being vigilant throughout the game was the key to a successful target for Degan: "I'm confident now, people might think I'm conceited, if I had to face him 20 times in the game, I knew that if I was careless, he could have taken his chance to score and people would have decided that I was the loser in this contest and I would try to make it end well and I hope I wouldn't let Sir Alex Ferguson down." ”

This season's Champions League final is about to kick off at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, where two of Europe's biggest clubs, Premier League champions Manchester United and Serie A champions Fiorentina, will be a feast for European and international football fans.

Offense, or defense?

For United boss Alex Ferguson, it's not a matter of survival or destruction at all, and it could be the opposite, with defence allowing them to win and Fiorentina being the way to go.

Ferguson understood this, and the Florentine side also knew that the malicious attack was mixed with sugar-coated shells, and the Florentines hoped to "impress" the old lord with the method of agitation.

It's a pity that this trick can't have any effect on Ferguson, who is almost immersed in the football circle.

Wonderful is not equal to victory, the word final in today's world football is basically equated with "boring", and the cautious mentality makes the game basically not exciting.

This season's Champions League final also has the potential to become "boring", as Ferguson said before, take a beating, learn to be obedient, last year's Champions League final, Ferguson chose to attack, but suffered a defeat, this time he will certainly not make the same mistake again.

"Ferguson's team has a kind of attacking us!" At the pre-match press conference, Fiorentina coach Prandelli, the elegant man who looked murderous, issued a direct provocation.

Such psychological warfare is like putting a hundred dollars in front of a billionaire for the old fox Ferguson.

'We have our own style and hopefully we can prove ourselves in the way we want to play.'

Fighting against Fiorentina, the most terrifying attacking force in Europe this season, would be tantamount to suicide, and if Ferguson didn't make a choice, he wouldn't have become the most successful club coach in the world.

Ferguson is worthy of himself, his team and the Red Devils' fans, and he doesn't have to be responsible for the fans around the world in front of the TV.

Of course, there is also the possibility that this game will mutate into a classic, that is, Fiorentina scored early, and Manchester United had to come up with a bottom-of-the-box attacking trick, but such an unlikely situation seems unlikely, and perhaps people should believe that United will use solid defence and efficient counter-attacks to complete a revenge.

This season's Champions League final will be played in the Eternal City of Rome, and this match will have a special meaning for both teams, as they will need to prove who is greater.

Greatness is obviously no longer satisfying Manchester United, Ferguson has been in charge of Manchester United for more than 20 years, leading the team to win numerous honors, when the old man has created one legend after another in the Premier League, it is obvious that only the Champions League winner can enter the old manager's eyes.

Indeed, if the Red Devils can win the third Champions League in the club's history, it will be an important indicator of Manchester United's status as the "greatest team of the century".

The British media bluntly stated: "Manchester United have won the Premier League three times in a row, and if they succeed in winning the Champions League again this time, then I can't think of any team that can be greater than them this century." ”

"It would be the highest achievement of my coaching career if I won the title, and when I won my first Champions League trophy against Bayern, I was like, 'Oh my God, I've finally done it once.'" But after that, we played 442 and relied on attacking and defending on the wings, and we were quickly spotted by our opponents and started another dry period, we had to rethink tactics, luck was not on our side, and now that we have a second chance, I can't think of any reason not to win this game. I often ask my teammates, 'What's the hardest thing to achieve in life?' I think the hardest thing is to fight for life. I've heard that some people are 50 or 55 years old and they retire, and it makes me unbelievable, what are they going to do for the rest of their lives? Sitting at home reading a newspaper, or playing thumbs up? I'm trying to show the players that it's not easy to work hard all your life, but that's football. ”

Ferguson hopes his disciples will put in a great performance for their second Champions League trophy in the final: "To win the trophy you have to express yourself in the best possible way, our players can do that, Manchester United have their own style, Fiorentina have their own style, hopefully then the game will go our way, this final is selling well, the two teams hint at a great final, I hope to play as expected, the Champions League final is usually disappointing. There are often 1:0 or 0:0 penalty shootouts, but I don't think it will be like this time, we have an extraordinary football philosophy and a great history on both sides, and it will be a dream final! ”

Opposition coach Prandelli was also touched to praise: "The lord has been a coach much longer than me, he has more trophies, I admire his career a lot, he has transformed his team and made them champions, it is a great honour to play against a manager like this in the final. ”

Prandley is leading the team to the Champions League final for the second time, and although he is not as experienced and resume as Sir Alex Ferguson, Prandley is also full of anticipation for the upcoming final, and he is eager to give the fans a good matchup.

When a reporter mentioned: "Fiorentina is already a five-time champion, this must be a successful season, so is it acceptable to lose the Champions League?" ”

Prandelli immediately retorted: "No, you can't think like that, if we think so, we will lose 100% of the game, if you want to succeed, you have to play under pressure, we will play for the championship!" ”

Before the start of the game, the starting line-ups of the two sides have been announced, there is nothing new on the Fiorentina side, the goalkeeper is still Frei, and the back line is Pasquale, Kompany, Thiago from left to right. Silva and Maggio, Beckham, Marouane Fellaini and Luka Modric in the back three, attacking midfielder Montolivo, striker Digan partnering Mutu.

The starting line-up was goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, with O'Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Evra at the back, midfielders Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs and Andersson, Park Ji-sung and Kim Mauro as wingers, and Wayne Rooney up front.

Surprisingly, Koryo star Park Ji-sung appeared in the starting line-up, and he also became the first Asian player to appear in the Champions League final.

After knocking out Arsenal in the semi-finals, Ferguson made a wish to Park Ji-sung: "I will never put him out of the final list this time, he deserves a place, I abandoned him last year, it just broke my heart, I thought we needed a player who could score, but Park Ji-sung has always contributed a lot of energy to us, and this time he will not be disappointed." ”

Ferguson was referring to last year's Moscow final, when Park Ji-sung failed to make the 18-man squad for the final despite his impressive semi-final performance against Liverpool, when South Korean newspapers ran the headline "Moscow Nightmare".

In the end, Manchester United lost the game, and the shameless South Korean media blamed Ferguson, believing that it was Park Ji-sung's failure to play that ultimately led to the loss.

Getting the coveted starting position, Park Ji-sung also looked sentimental: "It was really heartbreaking, it's hard to accept that I didn't even make the list, which player doesn't want to play in the Champions League final?" That was the biggest disappointment of my career, but I took it as a motivation and I was convinced that United would go to the final, I never lost faith in my ability and now the opportunity has come again, the boss has promised me to play, it would be great if that was the case, but he didn't say a word to me, I just had to work hard, show my ability and stay fit to match my starting position and the result made me very excited. ”

Park Ji-sung will become the first Asian to feature in a Champions League final after just one minute on the pitch, having previously won the UEFA Cup final for Eintracht Frankfurt in 1980 and Bayer Leverkusen in 1988, but no Asian has ever played in the Champions League final.

The Korean media cheered because Park Ji-sung will make his debut, but it is clear that Koryo Bangbang will not be the protagonist of the game, that little glasses, without star temperament, except for running all over the field, he really can't find any bright spots, he can only be a part of the game at most.

As for the protagonist of the game, with Deegan on the field, is it still the turn of others to come over and steal the show?

The big war was coming, but Deegan didn't feel the slightest nervousness, although he was only twenty-four years old, but Degan had experienced too many big scenes.

"I don't want to say anything, it's all up to the game, the Portuguese guy says he's the best player, okay, he can say as much as he wants, who makes the world footballer of the year, that boring name, he just takes it, all I want is the championship!"