super storm

Chapter 579 Stable!

Every year at the end of August, the eyes of media and fans all over the world will fall on the Grimaldi Conference Center in Monaco.

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony and awards ceremony were staggered, and the time was set at [-]:[-] pm.

When night falls, the Grimaldi Conference Center is already brightly lit, as bright as day.

Media reporters from all over the world gathered outside the gate, as well as some fans who heard the news.

The invited guests also came to the scene one after another.

Different from FIFA's award ceremony, there are not many guests at UEFA's grand event, mainly representatives of the 32 teams that entered the UEFA Champions League group stage, as well as some invited players and coaches.

Especially for the head coaches, after this grand meeting every year, UEFA will hold an annual head coach summit at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland in the next few days in early September, and will invite head coaches who have performed well in the past year to communicate.

With Liverpool winning the Champions League twice in three years, Benitez has also become the limelight in this head coach summit.

Since both Liverpool and Sevilla have arrived in Monaco and are preparing for the next UEFA Super Cup, Liverpool has more players invited to participate in this grand event, basically all the top players in the team have received invitations.

The only disappointment is that the St. Blair Cup that was brought back to Liverpool from Athens last year has been handed over to UEFA.

In the past few months, the Liverpool Hall of Fame, where the St. Blair Cup is placed, has always been the favorite place for local fans and foreign tourists to visit. After returning the real cup, Liverpool can only display an imitation souvenir in the future.

……

The Liverpool players arrived at the Grimaldi Conference Center at the same time and immediately attracted the attention of the whole audience.

The main reason is that the starlight of this team is not shining, and even to some extent, the stars in the Liverpool team are not as good as AC Milan, but before the final of last season, Liverpool's overall strength was considered to be better than AC Milan.

The training of Benitez, the head coach, is definitely the key factor for Liverpool's success.

Of course, only people inside Liverpool know that Yesterdam's support is also crucial.

Without the lubricant of Yesterdan, Benitez's personality doesn't know how many people he will offend, and it may be difficult to be harmonious in the locker room.

Although they arrived at the same time, they were assigned to different locations.

For example, Yang Yang was shortlisted for the best striker, Gerrard and Harvey Alonso were shortlisted for the best midfielder, Carragher was shortlisted for the best defender, and Reina was shortlisted for the best goalkeeper. Therefore, they were all arranged to sit in the front row.

But when Yang Yang and others came to the front row under the guidance of the staff, they found that many players had already been seated.

……

"Hey, Kaka."

"Hello, Yang!"

Seeing Yang Yang, Kaka immediately stood up with a smile, shook hands and hugged him.

"Hello, Paul."

Yang Yang also politely shook hands with Maldini, Pirlo, Drogba and others.

Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech is regarded as the most promising goalkeeper to win this award tonight, because after Buffon fell with Juventus, Casillas and Real Madrid stopped in the top [-] consecutively, Petr Cech can almost be said to be one of the best top goalkeepers in the world. No one can compete with him.

Even last season, whether it was Liverpool's Reina or AC Milan's Dida, they were not stable enough.

Yang Yang has always felt that successful professional players may have different personalities, but everyone is very straightforward and will not sneak up on any tricks in private. If you like it, you like it, and if you don't like it, you don't like it.

For example, Dida, the Brazilian goalkeeper of AC Milan, doesn't seem to like Yang Yang very much, so after meeting and shaking hands with Yang Yang, he simply stepped aside and refused to say a word.

Yang Yang is not stupid enough to hope to be liked by everyone. After all, he is a scorer and always breaks the opponent's goal. It is only natural that he is not liked by the goalkeeper.

On the contrary, Cech took the initiative to talk to Yang Yang about the direct free kick a week ago, and talked a lot.

Yang Yang's position is next door to Kaka, which also means that in UEFA's mind, the two of them have equal status.

"Recently, your state has been really bursting." Kaka said with a smile.

He was always so kind, and there was no other meaning in the tone of his speech, it was all admiration and congratulations.

how to say?

Whether Kaka treats people or his performance on the court, they all belong to the type that people can't hate.

Yang Yang also smiled, "Aren't you too?"

"I was also pushed by you." Kaka smiled unabashedly.

In the just-concluded Serie A opener, Kaka scored twice to help AC Milan beat Genoa [-]-[-].

Obviously, the Brazilian superstar has also been stimulated and is working hard to express himself and prove himself.

This is a gentleman's battle between him and Yang Yang, and it is aboveboard.

…………

…………

With the advent of the information age, many things are becoming less and less secret.

In the subsequent awards ceremony, Cech from Chelsea really won the best goalkeeper. This is an affirmation of his stable performance last season, but it is also an encouragement to Dida and Reina.

Next came the grouping of the first group of teams, and the defending champion Liverpool was assigned to the first group.

It is worth mentioning that all four Premier League teams have been assigned to the first pot, which shows the strength of the Premier League teams.

After the Calciopoli incident, the decline of Serie A has been very obvious, but the Premier League has begun to rise strongly, gradually replacing the status of Serie A, and there are even faint signs of surpassing La Liga and becoming the world's number one league.

The selection of the best defender is also quite without suspense, because Maldini's election is a sure thing.

This does not require any work at all, because Maldini's own performance, as well as the various special meanings and auras he carries, make it impossible for this award to be left behind by others.

Many people believe that this is likely to be the last Champions League final of Maldini's career.

Then in the second draw, Liverpool drew Porto from the Portuguese Super League.

This team is strong and has been among the seeded teams many times before. However, after a group of stars such as Mourinho and Deco left, Porto has gradually shown a decline. As long as the two sides play normally, Porto will be difficult to shake Liverpool's position.

There is also no suspense in the selection of the best midfielder. If Kaka does not participate in the election for this position, Gerrard should be able to win the award. However, after Kaka is placed in the midfield position, even if he is the captain of the Champions League champion team, it is difficult to shake Kaka's best midfielder position.

In the third draw, Liverpool drew Marseille from Ligue [-].

Like Porto, it is also difficult for this team to shake Liverpool's position, but the overall strength is still acceptable.

There is also no suspense in the selection of the best forward, because Yang Yang scored [-] goals last season, far ahead of other players, so he has no objection to being the best forward.

Among the several major awards tonight, the only one that is more suspenseful is the best player.

It should be said that this is also a problem that will inevitably be encountered in all best player selections.

Liverpool's overall strength has a slight advantage. Yang Yang performed the best and won the championship. All conditions are impeccable; but the other, Kaka led the weaker AC Milan all the way to the final. Although he lost to Liverpool in the end, Kaka's personal performance was brought to the limit.

So is Yang Yang better?Or is Kaka better?

This is a question where the benevolent sees benevolence, and the wise sees wisdom.

Not only is it difficult to choose the best UEFA player this year, but even the subsequent European Ballon d'Or and World Footballer are equally difficult to choose.

That is to say, in the midst of everyone's entanglement and anxiety, the draw for the fourth round is over.

Liverpool drew Besiktas from Turkey in pot four.

Porto, Marseille and Besiktas, the strength of these three teams is not bad, but it is unrealistic to say that they can shake Liverpool. As long as Liverpool play steadily and play their own strength, there should not be much suspense in defeating their opponents.

Therefore, for such a draw, Liverpool is very satisfied.

After the lottery was over, Gerald sneaked into Yang Yang's ear and said with a smile, "Stable!"

Obviously, the Liverpool captain is also extremely satisfied with the draw.

In contrast, Chelsea's draw was not very smooth. Valencia, Schalke Zero Four and Rosenborg were drawn. The competition must be more intense, especially Valencia and Schalke Zero Four. They are very likely to challenge Chelsea.

Manchester United met Roma, Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev, and it was also not easy to play.

Arsenal met Sevilla, Slavia Prague and Steaua Bucharest.

Judging from the draw for the semi-finals of the Premier League, as long as they basically perform at their due level, they are guaranteed to advance to the top [-], and the top spot in the group is not too difficult, but they still cannot be careless.

Whether it is Liverpool's Porto and Marseille, or Chelsea's Valencia and Schalke Zero Four, or Manchester United's Roma, or Arsenal's Sevilla, they may in turn occupy the top spot in the group.

……

After the fourth-tier teams of the eight groups were drawn, the results of the draw for the final eight groups were also displayed on the big screen on the stage.

UEFA President Michel Platini then slowly stepped onto the stage.

Everyone gave warm applause to this former legendary star and the UEFA president who just took office at the beginning of the year. They all clearly realized that the biggest suspense tonight is about to be revealed.

After Platini came to power, he took the lead in saying a few words on behalf of UEFA, introducing UEFA's work and achievements in the past year, and also expected the UEFA Champions League in the new season.

Over the past few years, the Champions League has been making money, and the money is getting more and more, and all participating teams have also shared a share.

Platini said that this trend will continue.

In the end, he also commented on Yang Yang and Kaka, two of the best European players in the past season, and believed that they both represent the highest level of European football.

But the cruel choice between the two leaves only one final winner.

(End of this chapter)