Full-level pass, please call me the speaker of the Three Lions

Chapter 471 Appeared! The bus in the Champions League final!

December 2017, 6.

Cardiff, Wales.

Manchester United arrived at the parking lot of the Millennium Stadium on a red bus.

When the Manchester United players in suits got off the bus, the Red Devils fans who had been waiting for a long time on both sides shouted for them.
"Rooney!"

"Marcus, look over here!"

"The Red Devils will win!"

When Ling Feng, who was tall and handsome like a model, got off the car, the female fans on both sides burst into amazing screams:

"Ling Feng! I love you!"

"Ling, we believe you!"

"Down with Real Madrid!"

In addition to the excited female fans, male fans were also waving their Manchester United scarves wildly, or holding up the Red Devils No. 7 jersey and shouting at him.

Ling Feng also waved and smiled at the fans, showing a very calm and composed state of preparation.

Even though he was about to face his first Champions League final, he did not feel nervous or stage fright at all.

All we have is firm belief!
He only knew that this game was related to the most crucial part of his impact on the Ballon d'Or (Champions League title).

Therefore, he must win, and he will definitely win!
As the players from both teams arrived at the stadium by bus and began to scout the field, the Millennium Stadium, which can accommodate 82,000 spectators, was already bustling with people!
Due to the current worrying security situation in the UK, UEFA has further strengthened security during the Champions League final, and this game became the first Champions League final to be held in a fully enclosed stadium.

However, this did not cool the fans' enthusiasm, but instead attracted countless people to flock to it.

Tickets for the Champions League final were even sold for tens of thousands of pounds each!
After all, Real Madrid and Manchester United are the football clubs with the largest number of fans and followers, as well as the first and second clubs with the most traffic and attention in football!
And this game can also be called the traffic derby in football!
Whether it is the fans in the stadium or the audience watching on TV, everyone can't wait to witness the birth of a miracle!

Will Real Madrid break the curse of defending the Champions League title, or will Manchester United achieve a great revival and rebirth?

The answer will be revealed the moment the whistle blows at the end of the game!

It is worth mentioning that before the war broke out in the stadium, the fans of both sides outside the stadium had already staged a

English football hooligans encountered "very enthusiastic" Spanish fans on the street. After the two sides had a "friendly greeting", they couldn't help but start a fight on the spot.

Fortunately, the local city hall has deployed sufficient security personnel in almost all areas around the stadium.

With the intervention of the police, both parties went to the police station "friendly" before the winner was decided.

However, these little episodes also livened up the atmosphere before the game!
At the pre-match press conference, the head coaches of both teams tried their best to restrain themselves.

Mourinho did not mention Real Madrid's internal problems again, but continued to offer toxic praise in front of the media.

Zidane is also a smart man. He claimed that he respects Mourinho and the Manchester United team very much and will work together with Manchester United to contribute a great game and so on.

However, Real Madrid captain Ramos, who attended the press conference with Zidane, once again undermined his opponent's confidence in front of the media:

"Real Madrid is always the best team!"

"We have the greatest number seven in football! As for that English kid, although he is not bad, he is still far behind Cristiano."

"I'll show him the strength of Real Madrid's defense"

Obviously, Ramos was waging psychological warfare against Ling Feng, trying to attack him by publicly belittling him.

Or he could inspire Ling Feng's fighting spirit, and then provoke Ling Feng during the game, causing him to lose his mind.

Mourinho saw through Ramos's trick at a glance.

However, he did not fight back against Ramos, but laughed at him secretly in his mind:

If you, Ramos, think that Ling Feng will lose his cool because of the provocation of his opponent, you are wrong!
Ramos doesn't know Ling Feng, but Mourinho does.

After working together for a whole season, he knew very well the reason why Ling Feng had achieved such astonishing achievements at such a young age and was frequently compared with Melo.

It's not just his extraordinary physical fitness, kaleidoscopic technical abilities, explosive offensive talent, but also his basketball IQ that's as cool as an iceberg!

Ling Feng never behaves irrationally or uncalmly during a game because of his opponent's provocative words or actions.

Not even once!

Of course, it's not that he doesn't care, but he has his own way of dealing with it:
That is to fight back hard with goals or assists!

He believed that even without his help, Ling Feng would teach Ramos a lesson during the game.

Ling Feng has proved many times that he is a big-scene man who performs better in crucial and important competitions!

. . .

An hour before the game, both sides announced the starting lineups and the 18-man roster.

As for the defending champions, Zidane used a 433 formation as usual:

The goalkeeper is "Navas"
The back line consists of Marcelo, Varane, Ramos and Carvajal who has returned from injury;
In the midfield combination, Casemiro stayed slightly back, with Kroos and Modric on the left and right;

The front trident is Ronaldo, Benzema and Isco!
Except for Bale who was replaced in the starting lineup by Isco, this is definitely the strongest starting eleven of the second-generation Galacticos!
Not only that, sitting on the bench are many famous stars such as Bale, Morata, James Rodriguez, Asensio, Kovacic, Vazquez, Nacho, Coentrao, etc.!
Real Madrid's roster makes people sigh from the bottom of their hearts:

Damn, they are worthy of being the top club in Europe!

Except for Casemiro, who is the defensive midfielder, there is basically a substitute with a relatively small difference in strength for rotation in each position.

The thicker the team's lineup, the more varied and unpredictable it is, and it is difficult for opponents to target it.

This is also the key to why Zidane's team this season is always able to reverse and win when they are behind.

However, Manchester United's starting lineup is not weak either!

The goalkeeper is De Gea;

In the back line, Bailly and Rojo form a central defender partnership, while Luke Shaw and Valencia fly on the wings;

Kante and Herrera are Manchester United's most stable defensive midfield combination in recent years;

Three attacking midfielders, with the team's core Ling Feng in the middle, Rashford and Rooney on the left and right;
At the forefront is Ibrahimovic!
Both sides fought without reservation and sent all their main forces!
The Premier League champion and the La Liga champion, this is not just a competition between the two major league champions, but also a super showdown between the two best teams in Europe!

Half an hour before the game started, both sides completed the pre-match mobilization and training in the locker room, and then came to the player tunnel one after another.

In this game, both teams wore home jerseys.

The pure white Real Madrid and the fiery red Manchester United, the two strongest teams in this season's Champions League, finally met in the player tunnel of the Millennium Stadium.

Ling Feng also felt someone patting his left shoulder, then he turned his head to the left, but saw no one.

"Ha ha."

Hearing a familiar laugh coming from the right, Ling Feng reacted immediately and turned his head to the right with a little helplessness. What came into view was Luo Ge, who had succeeded in his prank and was smiling!
You are worthy of being me, Luo San Sui!

"Are you ok?"

"very good."

After greeting Ling Feng, Ronaldo, with a head full of instant noodles, took the initiative to come to the front of the Manchester United team and extended his right hand to Rooney.

"Wazza, long time no see."

"Chris"

Although it was just a simple handshake, when Ling Feng saw this scene, he couldn't help but recall the Red Devil Twins who founded the Red Devil Dynasty!
At that time, Ronaldo and Rooney were Ferguson's two favorite disciples, and they were the absolute heroes of Manchester United's three consecutive Premier League titles.

Unfortunately, with Ronaldo leaving Manchester United to join Real Madrid, the relationship between the two, which had already been broken due to the red card in the 2006 World Cup, became even colder.

Even before the final, a bookmaker offered a bet on whether Ronaldo would greet his old friend Rooney in the player tunnel.

And the answer to the bet is yes!

When the players from both teams were standing in line, waiting to go on the field, Ronaldo couldn't help but glance at Ling Feng, who was also standing at the end of the line with him. Ronaldo felt mixed emotions.

The Red Devils' No. 7 was once the jersey number he wore.

On the one hand, he was very pleased that Manchester United had a new number seven.

On the other hand, he felt a huge threat from Ling Feng!

Last year, the 21-year-old Ling Feng and the Three Lions reached the semi-finals of the European Cup and almost defeated Portugal.

At that time, Ronaldo felt that this young man was not just the midfield supernova who could only pass the ball and assist his teammates, but was becoming more and more lethal and comprehensive.

However, he never expected that in the summer transfer window, Ling Feng would join his old club Manchester United with a transfer fee that broke the football record, and even wore the legendary No. 7 jersey!

And what surprised him was yet to come!

In the first season after joining Manchester United, Ling Feng was very successful in the Premier League, leading the Red Devils all the way to the Champions League final, and once again stood in front of himself!
Ronaldo is also very clear that this battle is related to the ownership of this year's Golden Ball Award.

Whether it is himself or Ling Feng, whoever wins the Champions League will be able to win this year's Golden Ball Award!
Therefore, in order to win the Golden Ball, he must defeat Ling Feng again like he did in last year's European Cup and win the Champions League!
After the grand pre-match performances and opening ceremony, the UEFA Champions League theme song also sounded.

The players of both teams, who had been waiting in the player tunnel for a long time, also took their first steps.

When the players lined up and walked out of the player tunnel, the Millennium Stadium suddenly erupted in cheers that resounded through the sky.

Looking up, I saw that the court was clearly divided into two camps.

A sea of ​​red, symbolizing Manchester United;

A pure white, representing Real Madrid!

Immediately afterwards, amid overwhelming cheers, players from both teams passed each other on both sides of the Champions League trophy stand, and then officially stepped onto the stage of the final!

For Ling Feng, this is the first Champions League final in his career!
Even though I was excited inside and my adrenaline was rushing.

However, Ling Feng did not show it. He just held his head high and faced this final that was destined to be remembered for the rest of his life.

Rashford, who was in front of him, was obviously affected by the tense atmosphere of the final and was a little bit stage frightened.

Seeing this, Ling Feng patted Rashford on the back and reminded him in a low voice:
"Marcus, relax, just do it"

Ling Feng's voice seemed to possess an inexplicable magical power. Just by listening to it, Rashford's inner anxiety and uneasiness were relieved a lot.

Yes!

We have Ling Feng, what is there to be nervous about, what is there to be afraid of? !
Just do it and it’s done!
With the cheers of 2016 fans at the scene and the whistle of the famous German referee Blich, the 17- European Champions Cup final officially kicked off!

Real Madrid took the lead.

When Zidane and Real Madrid players thought that Manchester United would press forward and carry out high-pressure defense in the frontcourt like they did in previous games, the opponent's actions were beyond their expectations!
All Manchester United players, including Ibrahimovic, suddenly retreated back to their own half!

This scene also made the commentator exclaim:

"It appears! Mourinho parks the bus in the Champions League final!"

The final is a game that determines the outcome and who will win the championship.

Moreover, there will definitely not be a significant gap in strength between the two teams that can reach the finals.

Especially when both sides wanted to win and were afraid of losing, their relatively cautious mentality made them afraid to launch a large-scale attack, resulting in a slow pace of the game and a relatively dull scene.

This is also the argument of supporters of the "no-name game in the final" statement.

Of course, not every final is a dull one-to-zero or zero-to-zero.

On the contrary, the Champions League final alone has produced many classic duels!

In 1999, Manchester United vs. Bayern, the world witnessed the Red Devils' stunning comeback;

In 2013, in the match between Bayern and Dortmund, Robben broke his inner demons and scored the winning goal;

In 2014, Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid, Ramos' equalizing header was the 9248 miracle that went down in football history!

As a head coach who has led his team to the Champions League final twice and won the championship, Mourinho not only has rich experience in the Champions League final, but also has a 100% winning rate in European finals!

In other words, as long as he leads the team to the finals, he can win the championship!

And his secret lies in defense!
In Mourinho's football philosophy, the final is a competition to see which team makes fewer mistakes!

As long as they make fewer defensive mistakes than their opponents, their tolerance for error will be higher and they will be invincible.

As for scoring a goal, just a counterattack is enough to be fatal!
And defensive counterattack is the winning magic weapon that Mourinho will use for the Champions League final in this game!

At the same time, this is also the reason why he chose Rashford, who is faster and more willing to advance, as the starting left winger!

Of course, in addition to defensive counterattack being their best tactic, it is also the key to restraining Real Madrid.

Because Real Madrid's counterattack speed is also the sharpest in Europe!

This season, in games where opponents are of similar strength, Zidane's Real Madrid tends to play conservatively, then attract opponents to attack, and then launch deadly counterattacks through the speed of transition from offense to defense.

This is the case for Real Madrid, whether it is defeating Bayern or eliminating Atletico Madrid.

However, in essence, this is the set of defensive counterattacks and the transition between offense and defense.

As a master of counterattack who dares to say he is second to none in football, how could Mourinho not see what Zidane is up to? !
Playing defense and counterattack in front of me? Isn't that like showing off your sword in front of Guan Gong? !
Therefore, Mourinho changed Manchester United's high-pressure frontcourt style this season and used his own unique skills in this crucial final!

The purpose is also very simple. Don't you want to defend first and then advance through quick counterattacks to attack my back line?
Then I won’t let you do that!

I must force you to attack, fight a positional battle, and then seize the opportunity to launch your counterattack!

(End of this chapter)