knife guard

Chapter 1046 The Myth of the Gunner
Arsenal has taken a great step forward. As the defending champion, there has never been a champion team that has gone as far as Arsenal. Even the Milan Dynasty, Galaxy Battleship and Dream II all stopped in the quarterfinals. , the Red Devils and Manchester United have only reached the semi-finals, and now Arsenal are only one step away from breaking the curse of the Champions League.

After the game, Cruyff, the godfather of Barcelona who likes to comment after the game, said, "Arsenal is too strong and has good luck. If they can't break the curse of the Champions League, then it will be difficult for any team to break it again. It's a curse."

And Arsenal coach Wenger was naturally overjoyed after the game, humiliating his opponent Mourinho was sent to the stands, in the post-match press conference, Real Madrid only assistant coach Karanka attended, like Wenger Compared with the famous world-class coaches in China, Karanka naturally has no weight at all. Wenger has completely become the protagonist of the press conference, stealing the limelight.

"... a big away win is encouraging, but I want to hear better news tomorrow Schalke 04 win..."

"Some people like to do things off the court, and some people like to do things on the court. I am the latter, and Mourinho is the former. Of course, I am not belittling his coaching level. This is everyone's habit."

"Entering the finals is not the same as defending the title. There is an old saying in the East that goes ninety and half a hundred. I hope the players will use it to encourage themselves after the game."

. . . . . .

Wenger was in a good mood, with a set of beautiful words and famous quotes, but Wenger did not forget to praise his players. "Their performance today was very exciting, much better than I expected. They are all big-time players. Of course, I would like to give special praise to Li Huan. Although everyone may be tired of hearing it, I believe that without Li Huan, there would be no great player today." Li Huan's ability to break the deadlock is unprecedented. Even Maradona and Pele can't catch up with him. Although he doesn't have a World Cup, I believe he still has a chance to become No.1 in football, of course Cesc Fabregas and Arshavin are also heroes today, they and Li Huan are our three Musketeers..."

Faced with such a domineering performance of Arsenal in the away game, the two teams in the other semi-finals were also terrified. Ferguson, the head coach of the Red Devils Manchester United, said helplessly, "Arsenal is invincible now, but whether they can win or not To win the title, we all have to go to the final and it would be an honor for any team to challenge Arsenal again."

The head coach of Schalke 04, Rangnick, used to be the coach of Li Huan. To his former disciple, Rangnick once again said emotionally, "If I can go back to the past, I will never let Li Huan go. He is irreplaceable for me. Now If Schalke 04 had Li Huan, I believe we would be able to win the Champions League."

Although the strength of Schalke 04 is not enough to threaten Arsenal at all, and the Red Devils and Manchester United are Arsenal's defeat, Wenger and his coaching staff still flew to Gelsenkirchen, Germany to watch the match. Players are ordered to watch live broadcasts whether they are at home or at the club.

Of course, the semi-final between Manchester United and Schalke 04 will not be as earth-shattering as Arsenal and Real Madrid. Even if Manchester United is playing away, bookmakers, reporters, fans, and even underground gamblers are optimistic about the Red Devils winning.

However, the process of the game was full of twists and turns. After the game started, the Red Devils had such a big advantage that people once misunderstood the Veltins Arena as Old Trafford or even the Carrington training base. Whether it was Ferdinand's header, Giggs' single-handedly, whether it was his teammate's own goal or Rooney's long-range shot, they were all saved by God-possessed Schalke 04 goalkeeper Neuer.The British Sky Sports commentator joked: Halftime score: Neuer 0-0 Manchester United.

The situation in which Neuer singled out Manchester United in the second half continued, and it was like a curse to torture Manchester United players and fans, because as long as the fans who have watched the game for more than three years know that it is very dangerous to gain power and not score Yes, it is often the party that loses power in the end that wins.

Anxiety was instantly transformed into joy in the 77th minute, and it was Red Devils veteran Ryan Giggs who sowed the seeds of happiness!After receiving Rooney's through ball, the Welshman quickly stepped in to form a single goal. When facing the amazing Neuer again, Giggs calmly pushed the bottom right corner of the goal with his left foot and scored!This is the 20th goal Giggs scored for the club in Manchester United (first team) in 159 years. Among them, 28 goals in the Champions League are second only to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Only 3 minutes later, the Red Devils took advantage of their rich experience and took advantage of Schalke's unstable mentality. Valencia made a pass from the wing to the center. Hernandez sent the ball to Rooney, who calmly sent the ball to the bottom left of the goal. Corner, 2-0, Manchester United quickly expanded their lead.

Affected by this, no one in Schalke can stand up and save the defeat like Li Huan of Hoffenheim. After all, Raul is old, Hao Junmin?He didn't even play for a minute.In the end, Schalke 1 lost 04:0 to Manchester United at home.

After the game, the British National News Agency even directly used the bold headline that Manchester United entered the final with one foot, while the "Sun" even bolder said that Manchester United and Arsenal basically entered the final, and the Champions League will become a civil war in the Premier League.

At the press conference, Rangnick also admitted that the possibility of advancing to the final is very small. Schalke 04 has too little experience in Europe. 04 is also satisfied to reach the semi-finals.

European betting companies also proved that Rangnick’s statement is not that grapes are too sour. Among the given odds of winning, Arsenal ranked first, far surpassing No.2 Manchester United. Of course, Real Madrid and Schalke 04 The odds of winning the championship cannot be lowered. In history, after the first round of the semi-finals, it is the first time that the promotion situation is so clear.

The situation of Manchester United and Arsenal is so good that the entire British football world is like a frying pan. From the FA to the media and down to the fans, they all compare the current Premier League with the Serie A back then. Known as the Little World Cup, it is the highest level league in the world.

The old "Times" claimed that the best era of the Premier League has arrived. Although the Premier League often occupied half of the Champions League quarter-finals before, it did not have absolute dominance in the championship. However, after the decline of Liverpool, the Premier League The rising powers of Tottenham and Manchester City, Arsenal's domination of the world, not only made up for the shortcomings of Liverpool's decline, but also made the Premier League more competitive. The Times believes that the era of the Premier League dominating the Champions League will continue for three to five years.

"The Sun" has a good relationship with Arsenal because Li Huan and Cesc Fabregas wrote columns on it. They think that Manchester United's old and weak soldiers have reached the final of the Champions League, mainly because the Premier League champion lost the suspense early. If, as in previous years, the competition for the league championship was in full swing in late April and early May, Manchester United's veterans would certainly not have the physical fitness to support them until now, and there would be no such feat that the Premier League is likely to meet in the final.

"The Sun" also believes that it is almost inevitable that the curse of defending the Champions League will be broken, because no matter whether it is Manchester United or Schalke 04 who reach the final, it is impossible to threaten Arsenal. Now Arsenal is an alien team. Teams, as long as they have their games, other teams can only take the runner-up. This is the case in the Premier League this season. The league is not over yet, and Arsenal has won all the winners. Also entered the final, their opponent is also from Manchester, but not Manchester United, but Manchester City.But it is impossible for Manchester City to stop Arsenal from winning the championship. This season, Arsenal is very likely to become the first team to win all the championship titles.

Pires, a senior commentator of "Sky Sports", analyzed the reasons for the strength of the Premier League in his own column. He said, "In the past five years, only in 09 did the Premier League team enter the semi-finals, and three Premier League teams won the championship. In 08, Manchester United and Chelsea also met in the final. This has a profound reason. In addition to the fact that Arsenal has continuously combined the technology of mainland teams with the physical confrontation of the Premier League over the past decade, the continuous entry of foreign capital has also affected the Premier League. To provide the necessary financial help for the rise of the Chinese Communist Party. Foreign capital not only makes the club more advanced in terms of hardware facilities, but also attracts some big-name players, such as Li Huan. Without Kroenke, Arsenal is absolutely hopeless. Got it."

At the same time, Pires also believes that although La Liga can gradually accept the entry of foreign capital, it will take some time for them to compete with the Premier League. For the stubborn Bundesliga and the stubborn Serie A, Pires believes that if they continue to do this If it goes down, it is likely to be overtaken by the Russian Super League and Ligue [-].

In addition to the British media, mainland European media have also discussed ways to deal with Premier League teams. The German media believes that the Bundesliga should start with youth training instead of absorbing foreign capital. Without capital, the club may be greatly hurt.

Serie A believes that they should lower taxes and attract more big-name players instead of buying cheap newcomers and outdated old people. It is impossible to win the championship with old people and children alone. Just like Arsenal, without Li Huan and Arshavin, there is no With the rise of Cesc Fabregas and others, they will continue to have no championship.

Only the Spaniards, who are the only ones who can compete with the Premier League, are more flexible. They think that just like the British learned the technology of the continental powers to defeat the mainland, Spain should learn from the successful experience of the Premier League, absorb foreign capital, buy stars, and increase the number of middle and lower teams. Competitiveness, not only Real Madrid and Barcelona singing duo.

(End of this chapter)