coach legend

Chapter 453 The Complicated Year of 03

In the Christmas game, the results were not so good.George is a little dissatisfied.

But the game is over.

George was helpless.

After playing against Newcastle, George went to the Champions League knockout draw.

This is the first Champions League knockout draw since the Champions League abolished a group stage.It is also the first time the UEFA Champions League knockout draw has been held at the end of December.

When George arrived at the lottery scene, George saw many young faces.

Or it can be said that starting from this season, the Champions League is more a stage for young coaches.

Mourinho, with a rebellious face, is more like a star standing among the coaches.But among the coaches present, Mourinho is indeed very handsome.Qualified to be cool there.

Mourinho and the coaches around him are out of place.As expected of a madman, he hasn't arrived at Chelsea yet, and he hasn't yet become famous later.But that arrogance has already been shown.

But Mourinho did not become famous in European football because of the Champions League.In fact, Mourinho was already famous in European football last season.And in the selection of the best coach in Europe in 2003, he beat last season's Champions League coach Ancelotti.

Madman Mourinho won the Triple Crown in Porto last season, leading Porto to the Portuguese League Championship, the Cup Championship, and the UEFA Cup.Although Mourinho is still very unfamiliar to some Asian and African fans.

But Mourinho is already well-known in European football, and everyone knows it.

And now Mourinho has just turned 40.

He became the best coach in Europe at the age of 40, and Mourinho is indeed a leader among the new generation of coaches.The head coach, who has been taught by Robson's words and deeds and has been an assistant coach in Barcelona for several seasons, is quite extraordinary when he makes a move.

He led Porto's performance in the Champions League group stage is also very good.If it weren't for Real Madrid, Porto would definitely be number one in the group.

Porto has accumulated eleven points in the group.

In addition to Mourinho, there is also the Monaco coach Didier Deschamps who played against George.This is even younger.

Deschamps, like George, is only 35 years old this year.

Needless to say the results.It's also pretty good.

In addition to a few of them, Ancelotti, who won the Champions League last season, is still in the category of young coaches.Ancelotti is only 44 years old. At the age of 40, in the coaching industry, they all belong to the category of young coaches.

Of course, old faces are also indispensable.

Including Ferguson, Wenger, Lippi, Heathfield and Ferguson's former assistant, Queiroz.

These people are all well-known head coaches in European football.

George isn't nobody now either.

During these years at Blackburn, George has also left a great reputation in European football.So although George is only 35 years old, when he came in, there were still many coaches who greeted George.

Now George is most concerned about which opponent he will meet.

Lyon?Real Madrid?Sparta Prague?Juventus?Milan?

George secretly prayed in his heart that he must draw Sparta Prague.Be sure to draw Sparta Prague!

Regardless of the fact that Sparta Prague came first in the group.But their team is scum.Don't say that the group appeared first, even if they won all the matches, George wasn't afraid of them at all.It can be said that all the No.2s in the top [-] of the Champions League are praying for the best possible encounter with Sparta Prague.

Of course, the next best thing is to let Blackburn get Lyon. There is no problem.Although Lyon will soon usher in their club's most glorious seven consecutive championships.But the seven consecutive championships are in the French First Division. If you change to any league in the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, or Bundesliga, then you are really amazing.

Ligue [-]?

Cut, not George Little Law A.Ligue [-] actually allowed Lyon to win seven consecutive championships, which also shows the competitiveness of Ligue [-].

The seven consecutive Ligue [-] championships are not even as valuable as winning consecutive championships in the four major European leagues.

The Ligue [-] champions are better than Real Madrid, Juventus, and Milan.Playing against a strong team from the knockout stage would be a waste of the team's energy.After that, it's really hard to fight.

George looked calm on the surface.

But I kept praying in my heart.Sparta Prague, Sparta Prague!Of course Lyon is fine, Lyon is fine too!

It's a pity that I'm afraid of something.

Blackburn did not draw either Sparta Prague or Lyon.Sparta Prague was drawn by Stuttgart, and Lyon was drawn by Galatasaray.

Compared with their good luck, Blackburn actually got Juventus.Deschamps' Monaco drew Lokomotiv Moscow.

Only at this time did George appreciate the benefits of No.1 in the group stage.

How good is No.1 in the group stage.Once Blackburn is No.1 in the group stage, they will avoid many European teams.They are facing teams like Stuttgart, Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Moscow.At that time, the road to promotion will be smooth.

Now it turned out to be Juventus.

George was furious when he heard Juventus's name.Mom's, Juventus?
If it is said that the team that George is least willing to meet, Juventus must be included.Juventus, old lady.

The nickname "Old Lady" was definitely not given to Juventus casually.George doesn't like to play with this kind of calm club. They can suffocate you to death.George believes that there is absolutely no team in European football that is willing to play against Juventus.

How could I be so unlucky that I met Juventus.

Lippi heard that it was Blackburn, so he turned to look at George.

This is the first time George and Lippi have played against each other.But between the two parties, the name of the other party is very familiar.Needless to say, George is the youngest champion coach in the Champions League.Even now, he is the youngest head coach in the Champions League knockout round.

Like Deschamps, both are 35 years old.

In addition, George has a weird temper and has deep grievances with Italian football.Lippi also knows George very well.

George also smiled at Lippi.

If Lippi knows more about George, it comes from the media.So George knows Lippi far more than anyone else.

Who is Lippi?

Lippi was the best head coach in Italian football in the 90s.Leading Juventus not only won the league championship one after another, but also led Juventus to win the Champions League.Even George knew that Lippi would lead the Italian national team to win the World Cup in the future.

How about George winning three consecutive Premier League titles?So what if George won the Champions League?
Anyway, Lippi's reputation is now much higher than that of George.Lippi has been tossed and turned for many years, and he has truly become famous in Naples.After coming to Juventus, it was considered a big hit.How good is his record at Juventus?
In fact, it is slightly better than George at Blackburn.

Blackburn was built by George.It's different from Juventus itself, which is a giant.But when people talk about George and Lippi, they will definitely say that Lippi is better.This is the prerogative of a rich head coach.

George was very upset when he was drawn to Juventus.The game is the host first, then the guest, George is even more upset.

First the host and then the guest, that is to hand over the initiative to Juventus.But George can't complain about the others, who made Blackburn second in the group.

However, George has been in European football for so many years, and he has long cultivated the ability to hide his emotions and anger.On the surface you can't see what George means at all.

George kept comforting in his heart.

I don't want to meet Juventus, so is Juventus willing to meet me?
cut!
Now Lippi probably feels as upset as I am.

When George left the scene, he was always smiling.Even when the reporter asked questions, he did not hide his smile. "There are no underdogs in the top [-] of the Champions League. Those who can enter the top [-] are the strong teams in the leagues of various countries. It will be a tough battle for anyone drawn."

"Juventus is a giant team with a glorious history. I am also very happy to be able to play against him."

Looking at George, the reporters present suddenly felt that George in front of him was not pretending to be.
But the moment he returned to the hotel, George's face turned cold.Damn it, many fans later said that the 03-04 UEFA Champions League is the easiest to win, who the hell said that.You see, just came out of the group stage and met Juventus.

…………

2003 came to an end with the draw for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

It's been a turbulent year.

In the 02-03 season, all the Premier League teams did not perform very well.In the Champions League, the Premier League teams were eliminated early, and there were no Premier League teams among the top four in the Champions League.

He also performed poorly in the league.

It's just that among them, Blackburn performed slightly better.So the Premier League title fell to Blackburn.Blackburn also became the first team since the establishment of the Premier League to win three consecutive league titles.

Of course, these are only the first half of the year.

Russian oligarch Roman Abrahimovich came to English football strongly in the summer.Throwing down 3000 million pounds in one summer shocked European football.It set off a big earthquake in English football.The players that Chelsea bought in one summer can almost form a starting lineup.

Chelsea's results are indeed good.

Chelsea is now ranked No.2 in the Premier League, just below Arsenal and even two points higher than Blackburn.The structure of the Premier League has completely changed.

In the past, the top four in the Premier League were basically Arsenal, Blackburn, Manchester United, and Liverpool. Of course, occasionally Newcastle can also get in.When Gullit and Vialli were there before, they were still able to enter the top four.

But after Vialli and Ranieri took over in the later stage, Chelsea has not entered the top four for a long time.

Now Chelsea's results are coming up.

Even beat the Premier League teams such as Blackburn and Manchester United.Chelsea's performance shocked everyone.

Of course, European football is more worried about how much money will the ambitious Abrahimovic invest in the next transfer period?
Apart from this shitty thing about English football, it's about European football.

England handsome guy, Beckham joined Real Madrid.The World Cup champion coach Scolari left Real Madrid in despair.

As for the head coach, 2003 was almost a stage for young coaches.Mourinho won the UEFA Cup and Ancelotti won the Champions League.European football will be their stage from this year.

Anyway, the 2003 has finally come to an end.

(End of this chapter)