Football giants

Chapter 937 Saint Hegemony
Saint supremacy!

On the second day of the Champions League final, the headline of the Sun newspaper had this eye-catching headline!
Chief reporter Steven Howard personally wrote a review article, speaking highly of Southampton's outstanding performance in this Champions League final and the past season, and gave the Saints a very high evaluation.

"Southampton has completed another fantastic season. Except for the tasteless League Cup and FA Cup, they have won all the honors they can win. Even if they don't pay attention, they have reached the semi-finals in the League Cup and FA Cup with their young players, which is enough to prove their dominance in the Premier League."

"If you count this year's Champions League champion, the Saints have won four consecutive European championships, two Europa League titles and two Champions League titles in the past four years. This is an unprecedented feat in the history of European football."

"Watching Southampton play football is a pleasure. The hearty tide of offense, the gorgeous coordination like mercury pouring down the ground, and the pressing and oppression that can overwhelm everything, these are what Saints fans love to talk about."

"And it's hard to imagine that all of this was established in just five years!"

"Five years ago, when a Chinese named Yang Huan parachuted into English football like the queen at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, many people joked that he would be hung in mid-air like London Mayor Boris Johnson and become everyone's laughing stock."

"But five years later, he became the savior of English football and the savior of the Premier League team!"

"It's hard to imagine that without Southampton, the Premier League would be severely lacking in competitiveness in the European arena, and might even be overtaken by an Italian team, falling to the fourth place in European competition points, and then losing the fourth place in the Champions League."

"Yes, Inter Milan has won the Europa League this season. Klopp's team has shown hope for the revival of Serie A, but more importantly, apart from Southampton, there are almost no other teams in the Premier League. Show signs of gratification. They all stopped in the top [-], which is unbelievable."

"You know, the Premier League teams are not short of money. On the contrary, as the richest football league in the world, even the relegation teams in the Premier League have amazing purchasing power. But why, as the superpowers of the Premier League, they are weak in competition in the European arena? Shouldn't this be taken seriously and reflected upon?"

"Southampton, as a team that has risen for less than three years, has become the standard bearer of the Premier League in the European arena. This is the luck of the Premier League, but it is also a shame for Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and even Manchester City. They should reflect on why they are Saints?"

"When the Premier League encountered the crisis of the European War, it was supposed to be them, the traditional powerhouses, who stood up, but why couldn't they do it? Why the Saints?"

"Before, this newspaper conducted a questionnaire survey on local fans in the UK. The results showed that in the past three years, Southampton's popularity among domestic fans has improved the fastest. Why is this?"

"Don't you say that in England, the fans are always consistent?"

"As a reporter, I have had face-to-face contact with fans many times. I found that one of the important reasons why they support Southampton is that this South Coast team hardly has any enemies with other teams except Portsmouth."

"But more importantly, the Saints have almost been the banner of the Premier League in Europe in the past few years!"

"It's interesting that Southampton's supporter numbers are growing even in arch-rivals Portsmouth."

"And in the past few years, Southampton has cultivated popular international players such as Sturridge, Ravel Morrison, Luke Shaw, and Chambers for the England national team. If Harry Kane, who has risen this season, and local international players such as Gary Cahill, Chamberlain, and Adam Lallana, who have already left the team, the contribution of the Saints to English football can be seen."

"The Saints have lived up to the expectations of the fans. The double crown for two consecutive seasons, the three consecutive Premier League titles, and the successful defense of the Champions League have made all the fans who supported him feel excited and reaped rewards."

"Now, the Premier League needs saints, and England fans also need saints!"

"There is no doubt that we are witnessing the rise of the Saints' hegemony in the Premier League. They are dominating the Premier League like Liverpool in the 80s and Manchester United in the early years!"

In addition to the column of Steven Howard of The Sun, the British Daily Mail also reprinted the column of the famous reporter Charlene Lahiri of the Southern Echo. The title is, Another Double!

Charlene Lahiri spoke highly of Southampton's successful title defense in her column, and highly praised the outstanding performance of the head coach Bielsa and the players, believing that they made history.

But behind this, Charlene Lahiri attributed the success of the Saints at the Berlin Olympic Stadium to the achievements of the Saints management.

"When we see the star-studded stars of the Saints, we will be amazed at the team's strong lineup that is almost extravagant. We will feel whether the Saints have surpassed Real Madrid and become a brand new galaxy battleship."

"But we often easily overlook one thing, and that is the shrewd operation of the Saints management."

"Suarez switched from Liverpool and was worth 4000 million pounds, but now, Real Madrid offered a sky-high price of 5000 million pounds, but was rejected by the Saints without hesitation. Ron Gurley said, We are not short of money, and there is no need to sell Suarez. What arrogance and confidence this is!"

"Di Maria transferred from Real Madrid. He was a transfer addition to Modric and James Rodriguez. Fabregas transferred from Barcelona and was worth only 2000 million euros. Sanchez came to the Premier League. Matic left Chelsea. Neuer left the Bundesliga. Their worth is pitifully low, but now they are all worth a lot."

"The Southampton team has the most expensive introduction of Toni Kroos. Although the outside world has always had doubts about the real transfer fee of Toni Kroos, even if it is 6000 million euros, judging from Toni Kroos' performance in the past few years, it is definitely worth it!"

"The players introduced by Southampton, without exception, were all brought in when other teams were unsatisfactory and cheap. But after they came to Southampton one by one, they shined brilliantly and were worth a hundred times. Isn't this explaining the problem?"

"The most typical case is Harry Kane."

"This center, who had been tepid in the Tottenham Hotspur youth training camp before, became the top scorer in England in the first season after he came to the Saints. This was achieved when he was on the bench many times."

"A year ago, Harry Kane was a free transfer, but now, a year later, how much is Harry Kane worth?"

"There are rumors that Manchester United are willing to pay £2000m for Harry Kane, but can they convince Southampton?"

"The success of the Saints is indeed very important at the competitive level, but it is the management that really plays a decisive role."

"It is precisely because of the shrewd operation of the management that is like art, the saints have created a brilliant lineup of superstars, and they have created today's saints' dominance in the Premier League and in the European arena."

"A lot of people are worried about Bielsa's departure, but I don't think that's necessary."

"According to the exact information I got, Bielsa did not leave the Saints, but will move behind the scenes to specialize in the study of football tactics theory. This is another major performance that the Saints are ahead of other European teams."

"We have every reason to believe that, with the savvy of the Saints management, and the execution and efficiency they have shown in the past few years, maybe they have already found an ideal coach for the Saints, but they haven't announced it yet!"

In addition to newspapers such as The Sun, Southern Echo and Daily Mail, British media such as The Times and The Guardian have reported and paid attention to the Saints' great feat of defending the Champions League in the European arena.

Even the Guardian believes that the Saints are leading English football to complete the great revival of the 80s!
Not only the British media, but German kickers also gave Southampton a very high evaluation.

However, unlike Charlene Lahiri, Kicker pays more attention to the Saints' ability to train players.

Because in this game, Southampton's starting lineup included Sanchez, Suarez, Di Maria and Fabregas, etc., who were already famous superstars before joining the Saints, but there are also some players who grew up rapidly under the cultivation of the Saints.

Such as Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos.

These two core players of the German national team, before joining the Saints, although they had already emerged, they did not have convincing strength, but they completed their transformation in the Saints and became the world's top superstars.

In addition, like Varane, the French central defender is now recognized as one of the top central defenders in world football, and he will be the number one central defender in the future. Under the vigorous cultivation of the Saints, he has grown from an unknown teenager to a superstar.

Danilo, David Alaba, Nastasic, Hazard and others are all like this.

According to Kicker magazine, the reason why the Saints have today's brilliance is inseparable from their outstanding youth training and their excellent ability to train players.

Kicker magazine also believes that with Pogba, Kovacic, Varane, Nastasic, Ravel Morrison, Luke Shaw, Chambers, Oscar, Martial and Harry Kane, Saints will still be the most competitive team in Europe in the next few years.

Even, Kicker magazine compared the Saints to Barcelona in [-].

However, in the end, Kicker Magazine believes that, like Barcelona's problem, Southampton will face a series of problems next, including metabolism, including the risk of being figured out by the opponent after the game is mature and stable, and so on.

Among them is the departure of the famous coach Bielsa who has made great contributions this season.

And when the media throughout Europe, and even the world, were singing and praising Southampton, UEFA also announced the list of the best team for the UEFA Champions League in the past season.

Everyone was surprised to find that among the 18 people, the Saints occupied ten of them.

They are goalkeeper Neuer, defense Danilo, David Alaba and Varane, midfielders Toni Kroos, Fabregas and Di Maria, and frontcourt Suarez, Hazard and Sanchez.

Except for the left center back, all Saints starting lineups were selected.

Among the remaining eight players, Atletico Madrid selected Otamendi and Isco, Bayern Munich selected Javi Martinez and Lewandowski, Monaco shortlisted Navas and Biglia, and Barcelona shortlisted Messi and Neymar.

From this list of the best team, it is not difficult to see the dominance of the Saints in European football.

This also makes all the media can't help shouting again, that is, who can end the rule of the saint's hegemony?
That is, when the media and fans all over the world were hyping the Saints' hegemony, the Glory Square in Southampton attracted hundreds of reporters from all over the world.

In addition to witnessing the saints' grand parade around the city to win the championship, they also wanted to announce a big event because the saints wanted to announce it!
(End of this chapter)