After being rejected, I became Shi Yijiao

Chapter 439 Another Cheating Man
On March 3, three days after the Champions League round of sixteen, Chelsea went away to challenge Everton.

This is the sixth round of the FA Cup, which is the focus of the quarter-finals.

Now for Pan Yi and Chelsea, no matter which game in any competition, they attach great importance to it.

Perhaps, as Pan Yi said before, the Premier League, which is now leading a lot, is a game that can be "give up" relatively.

Of course, this is also a joke. After all, there are still 9 rounds left in the league. If you are not careful, there is still a possibility of capsized.

You can't relax for a moment until you get the final champion!
And the FA Cup, where the outcome is determined by a battle, cannot be relaxed.

Therefore, Chelsea also used a half-main and half-rotation lineup in this game to let those players who feel a little tired after playing in Paris rest.

And players like Kanter and Van Dijk who didn't feel tired at all continued to start the game!
Despite encountering stubborn resistance from Everton, Chelsea won the game smoothly.

Facing his former owner, Lukaku unceremoniously scored twice, helping the team beat Everton 2:0 and advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

This also means that Chelsea will go to Wembley Stadium again to compete in the semi-finals!
Arsenal, who entered the quarter-finals after defeating Hull City in a playoff in the last round, had an upset in this round.

They lost to Watford 1:2 at home and were eliminated!

And Crystal Palace defeated Reading, the only non-Premier League team in the quarter-finals, 2:0, and also entered the semi-finals.

The final four places will be produced between Manchester United and West Ham United.

They drew 1-1 at Old Trafford and needed another play-off at West Ham United's home ground.

Although the semi-finals were not fully produced, the draw for the semi-finals was carried out in advance.

Chelsea draw Watford, while Crystal Palace face the winner of Manchester United or West Ham United.

It can be said that Chelsea has drawn a good lottery.
-
March 3, noon, Cobham Training Base.

In the head coach's office, Pan Yi and the members of the core coaching staff were sitting around the coffee table, eating melon seeds while watching the TV hanging on the wall.

On the TV, a live broadcast of the football channel is being broadcast, and the camera is on the other side of the UEFA headquarters hall in Nyon, Switzerland.

Representatives of all the teams that have entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League have gathered for the next stage of the draw.

As usual, when it comes to the quarter-finals, the draw will be completely random. There will be no seeding teams, and teams in the same league will not avoid them.

In other words, any team can run into the other seven teams.

Of these eight teams, Spain has three, the Bundesliga has two, the Premier League also has two, and Portugal has one.

This can also be seen in the current European football. Basically, the three leagues in West Germany and England are the strongest, while the competitiveness of Serie A has been weakening, not to mention Ligue [-].

In other leagues, the Portuguese team is basically the best performer. Porto entered the quarter-finals last season, and Benfica this season.

Today's draw ceremony was presided over by Marchetti, director of UEFA competitions, and Zanetti, the ambassador of the final organizer, was the guest of honor.

This is mainly because there are fewer teams in the quarter-finals. As long as Zanetti is a guest, Maldini will not be used.

"Let's see, which team representative is the most nervous..." Arteta joked from the sidelines.

On the TV, the camera is scanning the representatives of the eight teams one by one.

Representing Chelsea at the draw today was CEO Ron Gourley.

But seeing him smiling, he greeted the camera.

"I don't know who is the most nervous, but I can see who is the least nervous." Steve Holland said with a smile.

Obviously, as a representative of Chelsea, Ron Gourley certainly doesn't need to be nervous, because his team can touch any team, but other teams don't want to touch Chelsea!
This is the confidence that Pan Yi gave him.

A few days ago, Guardiola made it very clear in an interview that the last thing Bayern Munich wants to encounter is Chelsea.

"This is my last season at Bayern, and of course I hope to lead the team further."

"Since I am going to Manchester City next season, I will have more chances to play against Pan Yi in the future."

"Then, try to meet him as late as possible in the Champions League this season, God bless!"

This season, Bayern Munich is still advancing all the way in the Bundesliga. After 25 rounds, it has already led No.2 Dortmund by 7 points. If there is no accident, it will win the Bundesliga again.

In fact, whether in Pan Yi's previous life or now, Guardiola is really very stable in the league.

Let's just talk about the previous life, that is, the normal timeline. Guardiola has only lost the league championship a few times in so many seasons from coaching Barcelona to Bayern to Manchester City?

three times.

From coaching Barcelona in 2008 to Manchester City in 2023, in 15 years, they have only lost three league championships!

分别是输给了2011-2012赛季的百分皇马，2019-2020赛季的99分利物浦，以及他刚到曼城的第一个赛季。

And in the seasons when he won the championship, he often raised his scores to a very high threshold, such as winning the championship with 99 points and 100 points several times in Barcelona.

After arriving in Manchester City, the history of winning the Premier League with more than 80 points in the past can hardly be reproduced. If you don’t score more than 90 or more than 100 points, you will be ashamed to say hello to others!

——Here you can check the mental state of Liverpool fans who won the Premier League runner-up with 97 points.

And even in the three seasons when he didn't win the championship, the teams he led were all ranked in the top three and had a strong impact on the championship.

It can be said that at least in the field of the league, there is really no other player in world football who is more stable than him.

He also won a lot of domestic cups. He won the Copa del Rey twice in Barcelona, ​​twice in Bayern, and three League Cups and one FA Cup in Manchester City.

The only thing Guardiola has been criticized for is that his performance in the Champions League is not conspicuous enough, but in fact he is also a two-time champion and has entered the semi-finals six times-it is very likely that he will add another champion in 2023.

However, a coach of Guardiola's level would actually express in public that he did not want to meet Chelsea, which shows how much psychological shadow Pan Yi has caused him.

Of course, this is inseparable from the good private relationship between the two.

They often exchange some tactical details with each other, and they also make a lot of jokes when chatting, so it doesn't hurt to make some jokes that are both true and false in front of the media.

For example, Guardiola would say that Pan Yi came from time travel, otherwise how could he be so accurate in judging the players?

But Pan Yi is not to be outdone, saying that Guardiola is the one who really owns the FM system, and he can definitely see the potential of the players!

Then the two laughed and continued to talk about tactics.

To be honest, the jokes of these two people are also half-truths and half-false.

Guardiola felt that it was understandable for Pan Yi to be a time traveler, and Pan Yi also really suspected that Gua Shuai was also a man with a system, at least in his previous life.

First of all, Guardiola is the head coach with the most varied tactical formations, none of them.

Although it is often said that he works hard in the competition, this also proves from another aspect that there are so many formations that can be applied in his hands.

Isn't this a bit similar to Pan Yi's situation in this life?
And Guardiola's contribution to promoting formation play is really unmatched by other coaches.

From the advancement of ball possession, to the frontcourt pressing, to the goalkeeper's release of the ball, to the full-back's retraction, including the use of the 3-2-4-1 formation, etc., either he created it or he carried it forward.

Secondly, many players were not actually the top stars in the world before they came to Guardiola, but they often played out.

Take the latest Manchester City lineup as an example. In this lineup, except for a few players such as Harland and Glarish who were very popular and sought-after before they came, most of them are the same thing.

For example, these few on the back line, such as Ake, Akanji, Ruben Dias, Stones...including goalkeeper Ederson, who was also bought from Portugal.

The same is true for the B seat in the midfield. Even De Bruyne was bought back from the Bundesliga with the reputation of "premium parallel imports", and many people feel that he cannot adapt to the Premier League.

Then to the young Alvarez, Lewis...

This has to make people suspect that Guardiola is playing FM with nuclear weapons. They can see the potential value and hidden spiritual attributes of these players, and I believe they will definitely become talents.

The players who fell under his hands seemed to be only the original goalkeeper "Regent" Bravo, and Mendy who was competing for the "Prisoner King", and then basically disappeared.

If you look at Manchester United next door, this contrast is even more obvious.

What Sanchez, Falcao, Ronaldo, Sancho... are all big-name buys, but they don't have much effect, at least they don't improve the performance.

Compared with Manchester City and Manchester United, Dortmund is the best evaluation.Those who come out of Dort wear blue if they are good at it, and red if they are not good at it.Sometimes not working, wearing red and blue...

It is precisely because of this that Guardiola has become a rare head coach in world football who has never been fired.

Not only that, but his employer wants to lick him.

Manchester City Chairman Hosni Mubarak's famous dog-licking quote is: "Our job is to make Guardiola happy. Guardiola is happy, so are we."

Listen, what are these words?Is this what a chairman can say?Absurdly right at home!

The "Süddeutsche Zeitung", which represents Bayern Munich's mouthpiece, said something more cryptic, and also expressed regret for Gua Shuai's departure from Bayern:
"Guardiola is like a beautiful and sexy but crazy lover to Bayern. Every morning you wake up and look at her proudly, but you never know what mood she is in after getting up. Bayern put in a lot of effort, Hoped to make this somewhat eccentric bride a good companion, but failed."

In short, even such a cheating head coach met Pan Yi who was really cheating in this life, and he could only bow his head and admit defeat in the end;
Then, he became Pan Yi's friend and admirer, and then eagerly absorbed more nutrients from Pan Yi...
-
While several Chelsea coaches were laughing and chatting, the draw ceremony on live TV also began.

The first team to be drawn out by Zanetti was Atletico Madrid, followed by Barcelona, ​​also from La Liga!
"I feel that there must be a domestic war." Arteta said, "The chances of encountering the three teams in La Liga are not low."

"The duel between these two teams is worth seeing." Pan Yi nodded and smiled, "It should be quite interesting when the ultimate ball-handling attack meets the ultimate defensive counterattack."

The first team to be drawn in the second game was Guardiola's Bayern Munich.

"I hope it's Real Madrid, or Manchester City." Pan Yi smiled mischievously.

Pan Yi himself doesn't really want to touch Bayern Munich. After all, he and Guardiola are friends. Wouldn't it be good to save it until the final?

But he doesn't want Guardiola to pass the test easily, so it is quite interesting for Bayern to gnaw hard bones like Real Madrid or Manchester City.

As a result, unexpectedly, Zanetti pulled out the ball, handed it to Marchetti, and unscrewed it for a look.

"Man City!"

Pan Yi and the others all let out a wow, and then all burst into laughter.

"Boss, you can't say what you say, you can choose whatever team you want." Arteta leaned over and said.

"I see, this is still UEFA's gimmick." Steve Horan snorted and came up with a conspiracy theory, "Is there anything more news-worthy than Guardiola facing his old club in advance? "

"I should send him a text message to congratulate him." Pan Yi laughed.

Guardiola's luck should really buy lottery tickets. After all, Manchester City is still very strong, at least stronger than Wolfsburg and Benfica that have not been drawn yet.

As he said that, Pan Yi really took out his mobile phone and sent a text message to Guardiola, just a few words: "Congratulations, you have met a new club early."

Soon, Guardiola sent him a text message: "Thank you. Thank God you didn't get drawn."

Well, Pan Yi wanted to make fun of Guardiola, but he didn't expect that Guardiola really felt that he had drawn a good lottery.

Perhaps in his heart, only Chelsea is the most terrifying opponent.

The lottery on TV continues.

Now there are only four teams left, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Wolfsburg and Benfica.

Obviously, many people are already praying for Chelsea to draw Real Madrid...

Even if Real Madrid can't stop Chelsea from moving forward, at least it can make them not so easy, and they will have to peel off their skins to pass the level!
And the first team to be drawn in the third game was Chelsea.

"Who will it be?" Arteta seemed a little nervous.

On the surface, Pan Yi smiled calmly, but in fact, he was a little expectant in his heart.

After all, as long as Real Madrid is not drawn, the pressure on Chelsea in the quarter-finals will undoubtedly be much less. This is still very meaningful for Chelsea, which is fighting on multiple lines and entering the end of the season.

In the live TV footage, Zanetti reached into the ball cylinder again, took out a small ball, showed it to all the guest representatives present and the live TV footage, and then handed it over to Marchetti.

Marchetti twisted his hands, opened the ball, took out a note from it, glanced at it, and turned it over with a smile.

"Benfica!"

Wow! ! !

There was cheers in the coach's office.

Even though Steve Holland and others have already experienced many battles, they are still very grateful for this draw.

Although it is said that it can enter the quarter-finals of the Champions League, there is no weak team in the strict sense.

But compared with Real Madrid, of course it would be better to play Benfica.

And how should I put it, sometimes it depends on luck if you can't make it to the top eight.

For example, Juventus, which was eliminated by Bayern in the round of 16, did they play poorly?They played against Bayern until overtime.

As for Benfica, they defeated Zenit St. Petersburg, which is relatively weak in the top 16.

So, sometimes it still depends on the sign and shipment.

And Chelsea's signing luck this time is very good!
It may be said that Chelsea has indeed changed luck recently. Whether it is the League Cup, the FA Cup, or the quarter-finals of the Champions League, it seems that the goddess of luck is favored.

The remaining matchup did not require a draw, with Real Madrid meeting Wolfsburg.

Then, the final battle situation appeared in the center of the TV screen:

Barcelona VS Atletico Madrid.

Bayern Munich VS Manchester City.

Chelsea VS Benfica.

Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg.

At the same time, the schedule of subsequent games has also been determined.

1/4决赛两回合分别于4月5/6日和4月12/13日进行；
半决赛抽签4月15日举行，两回合分别于4月26/27日和5月3/4日进行；
The final will be held at the San Siro Stadium in Milan on May 5!
As soon as the lottery results came out, Pan Yi soon received a text message.

Guardiola asked in a text message: "You paid UEFA money? I always thought you would draw the strongest opponent."

Pan Yi laughed and replied, "It's not much, only 998."

But it is.

From the beginning of the Champions League group stage to the knockout round of the sixteenth, Chelsea's signing luck was not ideal.

The group stage they are in is the strongest overall group in the Champions League group stage, and Paris Saint-Germain is also the second team with the best strength in the top sixteen.

Including when Pan Yi took Hamburg and was in Milan before, he fell into the death group again and again.

It seems that as Pan Yi's performance is getting better and better, even UEFA has begun to take care of him!

After a while, Guardiola replied: "Let's work hard together and strive to reach the final!"

"Okay, see you at the San Siro Stadium."
-
As soon as the results of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals draw came out, the media all over the world were of course focused on it.

If, like the civil war between the two heroes in La Liga, the media and fans have long been psychologically prepared, then Bayern's draw to Manchester City and Chelsea's draw to Benfica have made many people feel tricky.

Some tabloid media even directly began to speculate irresponsibly:

"Bayern played against Manchester City, and Guardiola faced his old club ahead of schedule. This is definitely the biggest focus of this round. UEFA drew them together, and the traffic will be full at once."

"At this time, it's not easy for Chelsea to steal the limelight, so they arranged to play against Benfica, the weakest team, and let them pass easily. Their role will be reserved for the next round!"

"This is also UEFA's god-making campaign. They are secretly helping Pan Yi reach the Champions League again!"

But many people still think that this is just a lucky draw.

Their argument is that if Chelsea are to pass all the way easily, they will not "assign" Paris Saint-Germain, the strongest group second, to Chelsea in the round of 16.

"Is Paris Saint-Germain strong? Didn't they get 8-0 by Chelsea?"

"You can't use the result to reverse the process... How did you think that such a strong dialogue would lead to such a score before they played?"

"Yes, this only shows that Chelsea are too strong, no matter who draws them, it will be a tragedy!"

Then there are all kinds of verbal battles on the Internet.

Of course, in addition to these two games, Barcelona's game against Atletico Madrid is also of great concern.

The media and fans are also more optimistic about Barcelona's ability to enter the semi-finals.

The reason is simple, Barcelona's MSN combination has become more tacit, and they also have an advantage in the La Liga championship battle.

More importantly, Barcelona has won 2:1 in both rounds with Atletico Madrid this season, which is a double-killed opponent!
As for Real Madrid's game against Wolfsburg, of course it is overwhelmingly convinced that Real Madrid will pass.

Although Wolfsburg's performance this season is very good, it is still a little tender in front of the "old world" like Real Madrid.

In an interview, Pan Yi still solemnly stated that this is not good luck as the outside world said, because Benfica is a team with superior strength.

"Benfica have produced many good young players in recent years with great potential."

"To be honest, I really don't think the teams that can reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League are that weak."

"When facing them, we must not relax, otherwise we will definitely be punished."

These remarks did not fit Pan Yi's sometimes high-profile style.

The main reason for this is that Pan Yi needs his players to calm down and deal with every next game seriously.

Now that the League Cup is in hand, Chelsea is still going hand in hand in the FA Cup, League, and Champions League, and their morale has been boosted. This is a good thing;

But the problem is that young players are easy to be proud. If the media fans are "smug" when they praise them, then it's okay?

In this case, players are likely to become slack.

The season is a very long process, and every player must tense their nerves. Once this nerve is relaxed, it is likely that it will never be tensed again.

And now, Benfica has been drawn in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It can be said that it is the weakest of the eight teams. Almost everyone even believes that Chelsea will pass the test smoothly, including the players themselves.

Coupled with such praise from the outside media, the atmosphere of the team is a bit too optimistic.

Under such circumstances, how dare Pan Yi make a high profile?
This is the same as playing FM. If the team has played a difficult game well, it should be praised vigorously;

If you don't win the game you should win, then you have to scold hard;
And if you exaggerate too much and the players are a little drifting, then you have to hit it immediately, so that everyone can calm down and not be proud...

In short, it is to grasp a degree.

Under such a "speed" that is neither high nor low, the team's game state can be maintained at its best!
(End of this chapter)