This season's Champions League group stage qualification is followed by the quarterfinals, the draw division, there is no avoidance of the same national team, and there is no group first against group second, after all, there are six teams that are the first in the group.

Three German teams qualified strongly, but the draw turned out to be tragic, with all of them in one and a half zones, plus a Real Madrid.

Millwall and Juventus, Manchester United and Monaco, all four teams are in the same half.

The situation of the two halves is equal, to reach the final, there will inevitably be a fierce battle, Millwall side to play two years ago Champions League champions, last season's runner-up Juventus, just listen to Juventus's results in the Champions League in the past two years, you know how strong this opponent is!

In the pre-match press conference, Fleet Street was pessimistic, believing that Millwall's luck had come home and that there was little hope of qualifying against Juventus, who were in full swing.

From the strength of the players to the level of coaching, Juventus's advantages are obvious, although Aldridge is highly praised, but it really cannot be compared with Lippi, the Champions League winner, the famous coach who dominates Serie A.

The League Cup final put off smoke bombs, coupled with the previous psychological warfare in the league, Aldridge came to the Champions League, low-key and pragmatic, at the press conference, even if the media from Italy had a "cross the river dragon" momentum to ask him about the goal of the game, compared with the difference in strength between the two teams.

Aldridge admits frankly: "Juventus is a big club in Italy, first of all they have a great coach, Lippi's achievements make me envious, Juventus has a very strong squad, in Serie A in recent years. The achievements in the Champions League have been nothing short of magnificent. You think Millwall is weaker than Juventus. I don't argue with it, in fact we do have a gap with Juventus, in terms of player ability and experience, Juventus are stronger, and if I emphasise that Millwall is stronger than the other side or on the same level, I'm afraid that the whole world of fans will think that I am too arrogant. However, football matches are often not guaranteed to be won by the strong and Millwall want to advance. First of all, we must show the courage and determination to advance to the death! My players are hungry for honours, the European Champions Cup, the supreme honour of this club, of course we have to show a strong will to fight to go further, if we are destined to be eliminated by Juventus, then the game at Wembley and at the Alpi Stadium is our final! Losing is not terrible, and being eliminated is not the end of the world, but Millwall is even if it is lost. Leave with your head held high! ”

This remark was neither humble nor arrogant, and was unanimously praised by the media.

Even the Italian media, which had previously ridiculed Aldridge, thought that an opponent like Millwall deserved respect.

A manager's style is often a reflection of the club's style. Moreover, Aldridge's identity is not only a coach, in the Champions League, he has put his position very clearly.

It feels humble, but it doesn't make people feel that he has no confidence.

Thinking of the meeting with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona last year, Aldridge never made any bold statements, the young coach gave enough respect to the opponent, as for whether the opponent respected him, he did not mind, just like Barcelona coach Van Gaal despised him, he did not fight back in front of the public.

Justice is at ease in the hearts of the people, Aldrich is not a chameleon, he is not a gentleman, he is a gentleman, he is a scoundrel when he meets a scumbag, he has his own principles, others like to ridicule him, belittle him, slander him, maybe not a personal grudge, but psychological warfare, it doesn't matter, the demeanor he shows gives Millwall a special spiritual temperament.

Juventus coach Lippi also expressed his importance to Millwall when talking about the meeting between the two teams, he believes that England's team has begun to fully recover, Manchester United reached the semi-finals last year, and this year in the group stage, Manchester United made Juventus suffer and narrowly advanced to the knockout round, while Millwall was the Premier League champion last season, comparable to Manchester United in strength, and more importantly, Millwall is young and driven, and the players and Aldridge are also teachers and friends, and they can always overcome difficulties in adversity. Juventus must not take each other lightly if they want to qualify.

When the day of the match arrived, Wembley tickets sold out early, and not only the Lions fans, but many neutral fans were eager to walk into Wembley to watch the showdown.

Millwall is the champion of the Premier League last season, this season's Champions League group stage is like a bamboo, Juventus is the world's first league Serie A dominant, and the past two years have won the Champions League once, once the Champions League runner-up, it is not an exaggeration to say that Juventus is the strongest team in Europe, even if some people disagree, but among the top three European teams, there is no doubt about it.

What kind of sparks will be created when these two teams collide together?

Compared to the other three quarter-finals, this battle between Millwall and Juventus is the most watched match.

Manchester United vs Monaco

Bayer Leverkusen vs Real Madrid

Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund

None of these three games will be as exciting as the focus clash between Millwall and Juventus.

At the beginning of the day, Wembley Stadium shines brightly.

Millwall and Juventus players warmed up before the game, with the substitutes sitting directly on the bench and the starting players returning to the dressing room.

Aldrich stood in the locker room, his gaze calmly staring at the blank tactical board, as if in deep thought.

When the main 11 players in the starting 11 changed into their official game shirts in the locker room, everyone looked firmly on Aldridge.

He turned, and opened his mouth lightly.

'From the day I took over, every morning I woke up asking myself a few questions: What are Millwall missing? How far is it from being the first in the world? Every day, I ask myself these questions, and then I think about the answers by myself while I wash my face, brush my teeth, and shower, day after day, year after year, until recently, I ask myself these questions again, and I can barely think of an answer that convinces me. ”

He glanced at everyone in front of him, and then continued: "You 11 people first came to the team four years ago, three years later, and have been playing together for almost three or four years. In this long process of more than a thousand days. You've gone from nobodies to stars. The technical ability has matured, we have experienced many important competitions, and the mentality will not be as trembling as when we were just starting out, we have created brilliance together, which means that we have improved and matured, and the technical and tactical aspects have also reached the peak, although not perfect, but it is close to the limit of what you can do. Oh, yes. What is the team you have formed that is still close to being the first in the world? Can you still say that you are young? But your average age is now 24 years old, which is your playing age, you can run, you can rush, you are full of energy, are we still inexperienced? We've played more finals than any other team in the last two years, and some of you have played a pivotal role in the national team as well. We are champions, we have proven ourselves in England and now, I think it's time. It's time to prove to the world that you are the number one in the world and that we are more than capable of challenging for the European champions. Prove how strong we are with trophies! ”

The players' eyes became sharper.

Southgate, the captain, stood up and said impassionedly: "Chief, we will not give ourselves any reason, never!" In the past, we could think in our hearts that we were immature, that we needed more game training, that we needed to hone our skills, that we needed to build a tacit understanding with our teammates, but now, we can't give ourselves any excuses! Now we are the strongest team! Of course, Juventus are also very strong, they have the honour that we don't have, but isn't that what we want to face the most? ”

Speaking of the last words, Southgate turned his head and asked each teammate with his eyes.

Everyone nodded in unison, and the fighting spirit was majestic!

In three or four years, they have grown and improved, from penniless to champion players, what reason can they give themselves to be afraid of strong opponents?

Aldridge was happy to see the confident and resolute looks of the players, and he needed the players not to be afraid of the opponent psychologically, so as to play better, otherwise, it would be bad if the war was not started, and the defeat was revealed!

"Today's game, play well, we have to play our own style, we have to show a stronger fighting spirit than the opponent, I believe you can do it, we want to challenge the championship, first of all, we have to defeat the former king, Juventus!"

Aldridge turned to leave, and the rest of the time, the three captains will also boost the morale of their teammates.

When Aldridge walked out of the player's tunnel to the sidelines, he deliberately walked to shake hands with Lippi, the silver fox Lippi is middle-aged, and he can still see the handsome appearance of his youth, the two exchanged greetings in Italian, and then Aldridge turned around, the big war is about to start, he and Lippi, one must fall after the two big battles!

Sitting down in front of the coach's box, Aldridge moistened his throat with saliva, and Benitez and Jenson, both assistant coaches, looked very nervous today.

It's strange to say.

It's hard to gauge whether the FA Cup final, the Premier League title race, the League Cup final, the European Cup Winners' Cup final are the more stressful of these four final scenarios or the quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup.

But Benitez and Jenson just felt unusually nervous today, in fact, Aldridge was not relaxed in his heart, thinking about it, he thought that maybe it had nothing to do with the occasion, but the opponent.

Manchester United, Arsenal, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and other teams, in terms of strength, are not as good as the current Juventus, which is what makes people more pressured.

"It's bad luck, play at home first! Lippi, the old fox, has an advantage in arranging his troops. ”

Jensen was overly depressed, and said something to ease the tension.

Aldridge's rare half-bottle of water before the start of the game was actually caused by nervousness.

He laughed and said nothing.

The host before the guest, the guest before the host.

Which one is more advantageous?

Statistically, it is more advantageous to come first and then host.

But statistics are dead, and they are not absolute.

In particular, this kind of statistics is not objective and fair, because there is a difference in quality between teams.

If it is two teams with a huge disparity between strength and weakness, the strong team will be away first and then the home, then the weak team will be very disadvantaged. If you are conservative, the fans don't agree, in case you can't score a goal, is there any hope of going away? If you are unrestrained, the strong team beats the weak team to defend the counterattack, so it's not cutting melons and vegetables?

In this context, it is of course beneficial to the strong team before the away team, but on the contrary, even if the weak team comes away before the home, it is estimated that the probability of promotion will not necessarily be much higher.

When there is no obvious difference in the strength of the two teams, there is no absolute advantage between home and away or away and then home, anyway, this theory will be subverted from time to time.

The key is to play on the spot, everything else is secondary.

Players from both sides entered, and the Champions League theme song resounded at Wembley.

The pinnacle showdown between the Premier League champions and the Serie A champions is about to kick off! (To be continued......)