Chapter 288: Inter Milan draws Real Madrid, Lin Feng enters the top five of the Ballon d'Or
At 12 o'clock in the evening on December 15, the eyes of countless football fans around the world were focused on Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw ceremony for the round of 2006 of the 2007-16 UEFA Champions League will be held here.
The 16 teams that entered the knockout stage sent representatives to the scene early.
Among them are famous coaches who coach top clubs such as Mourinho, Ancelotti, Capello and Benítez.
However, because the situation this year is extremely complicated, the expressions on these people's faces are very serious, and each of them looks as if they are facing a great enemy.
Although they are coaching top teams, everyone hopes to draw a good lot and does not want to encounter too strong opponents on the road to promotion.
After all, this will cause them to expose their cards too early, and in the knockout stage, they will have difficulty playing in the next round due to excessive consumption.
For the teams that are the first in each group, the four teams that they least want to face among the eight runners-up are Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern and Real Madrid.
Among the remaining four teams, Celtic of the Scottish Premier League and Lille of Ligue 1 are the weakest and are the soft persimmons that everyone wants to meet.
Serie A's Roma and Eredivisie's PSV Eindhoven are slightly stronger than these two teams, but are clearly not as strong as giants like Arsenal and Bayern.
For the top clubs, meeting these two teams like Roma is not unacceptable, but the game may be a little more difficult.
As for the remaining four tough opponents, everyone is trying to avoid them, especially the defending champion Barcelona. No one wants to face them in the round of 16.
What is supposed to come will eventually come!
The first team drawn by the draw guests from the No. 1 seed pool was the defending champion Chelsea from the Premier League, and their opponent was PSV Eindhoven from the Eredivisie.
When Mourinho saw the result, there was no change in his expression and it was impossible to tell what his mood was.
This signing is not the best for Chelsea, but it is not bad either and is acceptable.
The second No. 1 seed drawn was AC Milan, and their opponent was Celtic from the Scottish Premier League.
For AC Milan, this was a good draw, so after seeing the result of the draw, Ancelotti's originally slightly nervous expression immediately relaxed, and he even high-fived the people around him to celebrate.
Although this move was suspected of opening champagne at halftime, from the outside world's perspective, AC Milan, which had a clear advantage in strength, was unlikely to lose to the Celtics, so drawing this opponent basically confirmed AC Milan's advancement to the quarterfinals.
When the first two No. 1 seeds didn’t draw those four powerhouses, the representatives of the remaining six No. 1 seeds began to worry.
The third No. 1 seed drawn is the French Ligue 1 champion Lyon, and their opponent is Roma from Serie A!
As soon as the result came out, there was a burst of discussion from below.
Three of the four relatively easy-to-play teams have been drawn, and now four of the remaining five second seeds are tough opponents!
How could such a coincidence happen in the world?
Many people began to wonder whether this was another script deliberately arranged by UEFA?
At the end of the scene, he was facing Lyon's manager. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if a huge stone in his heart had finally fallen to the ground!
Roma is quite strong and it may not be easy for Lyon to play against them, but it is easier to deal with than those four giants, right?
He couldn't help laughing when he thought about what would happen to the remaining five No. 1 seeds.
Mancini's face looked a little ugly when he arrived at the scene, and Ancelotti and Spalletti both looked at him with sympathy.
Among the three Serie A teams, if AC Milan's draw is the best, then Roma's is at least a draw, neither good nor bad.
For them, among the several number one seeds, the best choices are probably Lyon and Porto.
The draw ceremony is still going on, the fourth one drawn is Manchester United, and their opponent is Lille!
When the name of the second seed was revealed, all the Manchester United players who were watching the draw ceremony at the club cheered!
There is a one in five chance that they would run into him!
This luck is simply incredible!
Seeing that the last weak spot was picked by Manchester United, the representatives of the remaining four teams looked at each other, with bitter smiles on their faces.
"UEFA has started again. If this isn't a script, I'll eat the TV alive!"
"It seems that Inter Milan will inevitably face a tough battle. UEFA is really abominable!"
"Yes, now it depends on who the opponents of these four unlucky guys will be!"
"Look at the representative from Porto, he looks like he's about to cry!"
"Haha, they finally beat Arsenal in the group stage and won first place, but they didn't expect the result to be like this. If they had known this, I think they would definitely not fight for first place!"
Although Porto won the Champions League a few years ago, the Porto under Mourinho has little to do with the Porto today. Almost all the main players in that championship team have been poached by major giants.
Although Porto still dominates the Portuguese Super League, it is no longer as strong as it used to be in the Champions League.
Last season they didn't even qualify from the group stage, and this season they finally qualified, but they didn't expect to encounter this situation.
Now, their journey in the Champions League will most likely end in the round of 16.
Just as everyone was talking, the fifth team was drawn.
Liverpool from the Premier League became the first unlucky team. Their opponent was last season's defending champion - Barcelona!
The camera turned to Benítez, and the Spaniard's face was livid.
Barcelona is the strongest team in the second seed pool and the opponent Liverpool least wants to face, but they were drawn.
Benítez looked unhappy, and Barcelona coach Rijkaard's expression was equally solemn.
Liverpool may not be the strongest team in the number one seed pool, but this team is very resilient and very difficult to play against!
What's worse is that Liverpool's home ground is a well-known devil's home ground, and Barcelona, as the second in the group, their schedule is to play at home first and then away, which is obviously not favorable to Barcelona.
The fans obviously understood this, so when they saw the guests draw these two teams together, they couldn't help but start discussing it excitedly.
"Liverpool vs Barcelona, a direct dialogue between the defending champion and the former defending champion, this game is exciting!"
"Barcelona has a high ceiling, Liverpool has strong resilience, I wonder who will have the last laugh in the clash between these two teams!"
"There are such exciting matches in the round of 16. UEFA has arranged the script very well!"
After Liverpool, the sixth team drawn is Valencia from La Liga, and their opponent is Arsenal from the Premier League! "
Wenger's expression did not change, and there seemed to be a hint of smile at the corner of his mouth, while the Valencia coach smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Although they were not as unlucky as Liverpool, and faced the defending champions directly, their luck was not much better to be drawn against last season's runner-up. After all, Valencia is not as strong as Liverpool. After the first six groups were drawn, only Inter Milan and Porto were left in Pool 1.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich remain in Pool 2. Since Inter Milan and Bayern Munich are in the same group, their opponent has been determined, which is another La Liga giant - Real Madrid!
This result made Ancelotti and Spalletti look strange.
Real Madrid coach Capello was the coach of Juventus last season.
The two played two extremely hot national derbies in Serie A last year, and now they meet again in the Champions League.
This is truly a profound fate!
"What did I say? I said UEFA would arrange for Inter Milan to play against Real Madrid. What do you think? Was I right?"
"Inter Milan's luck is really bad!"
"Yes, meeting Real Madrid so early, it's hard to say whether we can win or not. Even if we do win, we will definitely pay a heavy price!"
"Although Real Madrid is not in good shape this season, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. Real Madrid's foundation is there. It is almost impossible for Inter Milan to beat them easily. I just hope that there won't be too many injuries and too many red and yellow cards!"
After Inter Milan confirmed their match against Real Madrid, the result of Porto's match is self-evident. They will fight against the Bundesliga champion Bayern.
The Champions League knockout stage will start on February 2 next year, leaving more than two months for the teams to prepare.
During this period, they can focus on the league and try to get as many points as possible in the league. In this way, when the Champions League knockout stage starts, they will have more room for maneuver and can strategically give up some league games.
……
After returning from Switzerland, Mancini's temperament changed drastically. He locked himself in the office all day, studying the opponent's game videos day and night and analyzing the opponent's tactical characteristics.
He pushed all the daily training work to the assistant coach.
It's not just the head coach who feels the pressure, the players are also affected.
Even their performance in the league is much more positive than before.
In the 15th round of Serie A, Inter Milan defeated their opponent 3:0 away from home. Lin Feng completed one assist and one goal in this game, helping the team win eight consecutive league victories.
It’s a pity that Roma also won this round and the gap between the two teams was not widened.
In the 16th round of the league, Inter Milan returned to their home court and once again swept Messina with a score of 3:0, extending their league winning streak to 9 games, approaching the record of 11 consecutive wins they created last season.
Inter Milan scored in many places in this game, with Lin Feng, Torres and Figo scoring three goals each.
During this period, Inter Milan has performed very well on three fronts, making great strides and becoming the best performing team in the entire European league during this period.
And Lin Feng was selected into the best team announced by UEFA this year due to his outstanding performance and the team's excellent record!
Even in the list of candidates for the Golden Globe Award, his voice has been much higher!
Last year, Lin Feng made it into the top ten of the Ballon d'Or thanks to his outstanding performance in the league and the Champions League.
This year, with his even better performance in all areas, his ranking will definitely improve further and he has a good chance of making it into the top five for the Ballon d'Or.
If the final ranking list is really like this, it will be a historical first for Lin Feng and even Asian players.
It is also because of this that this year's Golden Globe Awards attracted the attention of countless Chinese fans and even Asian fans.
Of course, because this year is a major tournament year with heavyweight competitions like the World Cup, players who lack the support of national team performance are unlikely to win the Golden Ball in such a year.
Therefore, it is very likely that Lin Feng will accompany the prince to study in the end. Not to mention him, even if Ronaldinho leads the team to win the Champions League, he will not be able to win the Golden Ball this season.
But the fans didn’t think that Lin Feng could win the Golden Ball. After all, the only honors he had were a Serie A title and an Italian Cup title, which were not valuable enough.
But for the majority of fans, as long as Lin Feng can make it into the top five of the Golden Globe Awards, they will be satisfied.
Everyone is now eagerly waiting for the results of the Golden Globe Awards to be announced so that they can see what place Lin Feng will get in the final ranking.
“I think the top five is a sure thing, but the top three is not going to be easy to win!”
"Yes, the fact that our Chinese team did not make it to the World Cup alone has held us back. In a World Cup year, the national team's performance accounts for too much!"
"So the stars from the French and Italian teams will most likely take the top two spots in the Ballon d'Or, and the third spot will most likely go to Ronaldinho?"
"Well, I think this is the right ranking. Ronaldinho has excellent results in the club and his performance in the national team is also good. Although the Brazilian team lost to the French team, Ronaldinho's performance is still good. There is nothing wrong with giving him third place!"
"In that case, Lin Feng is either fourth or fifth!"
"I don't think so. Italy is the champion of this year's World Cup, but the team lacks an iconic star like Zidane. Who do you think performed best in the Italian team? Some people support Buffon, some think it's Pirlo, and some people support Fabio Cannavaro. The final winner will definitely be an Italian, but I feel that these people may all be in the top five. If that happens, Lin Feng may be squeezed out!"
This statement has been recognized by everyone. Usually, the Golden Globe Awards in previous years are mostly announced in late November and early December.
This year's Ballon d'Or has not been announced until mid-December. Apparently, France Football is also hesitant and doesn't know who to choose to receive this honor.
After all, if the awards are given out randomly, it will damage the prestige of the Golden Globe Awards.
There is still some suspense about the Ballon d'Or, but there is not much suspense about the 2006 Golden Boy Award.
Messi, who was overshadowed by Lin Feng last season, has taken his performance in the club to a higher level this season. His appearances, goals and assists have all increased significantly compared to last season.
His main rival is Fabregas, who also came from the La Masia youth training camp. Compared to Messi, Fabregas has more appearances, but his statistics are not as impressive as Messi, and he lacks the famous scenes of Messi's devastating performance on the court.
So Messi finally got the Golden Boy Award as he wished, but he didn't seem very happy. Winning the award last year and this year have completely different meanings for Messi.
(End of this chapter)
