Beast King Costa

Chapter 328
2006-2007 Europa League season.

As the No.4 team in the Portuguese Super League last season, Benfica was directly grouped into Group C of the group stage.

The other four teams in Group C are Alkmaar, Sevilla, Liberec, and Grasshopper.

Alkmaar!
Alkmaar, a small town team in the Netherlands, has gained momentum since returning to the Eredivisie from the Dutch second division. With a very young lineup, Alkmaar continues to challenge Feyenoord, Ajax, The four giants PSV and Twente dominate the Eredivisie.

However, it is very helpless. Alkmaar is a team that operates on a small budget. Although their youth training is doing well in the local area, due to financial problems, there is no way to attract famous stars to join the team. They mainly have to rely on their youth training to provide support for the team. The team continued to transfuse blood.

However, it is very rare for a small town team to be able to qualify for the Europa League under the strong rule of the four giants of the Eredivisie.

(PS: In the past, the Chinese translation of the team Alkmaar AZ Stichting in the media was Alkmaar. Later, I don’t know why it became Alkmaar. But as an old fan, I still prefer the translation of Alkmaar. So the following will continue to use the previous translated name.)
Seville!

Sevilla is another team in Group C that is positioned as one of the Europa League champions this season-the first choice must be Benfica, which reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season.

The La Liga powerhouse Sevilla has a solid background and a strong player team. Although the "Yellow Submarine" Villarreal and the "Bat Legion" Valencia have many Spanish international players who are more in line with their positioning in La Liga. Comparing the two teams, Sevilla will have slightly fewer national players and less star power, but the team's overall combat capability is quite strong.

Liberec!

The Czech giants Liberec faced difficulties in advancing from the Europa League qualifying round to the group stage, but they still did not give up. After all, for a team that has reached the wealthy level in the Czech league, their pursuit in the league is no longer high. Yes, more is to hope to achieve brilliant results in the European war, so as to break the team's current prestige ceiling.

Grasshopper!

A veteran giant team in the Swiss Super League and a frequent visitor to the Europa League.

The Swiss Super League is ruled by the absolute giant Basel. This team, which has a certain historical connection with Barcelona, ​​has dominated the Swiss Super League for many years.

The failure to break Basel's dominance in the Swiss Super League does not mean that Grasshoppers are not strong. This veteran team has always performed very well in the Europa League. It has been able to enter the knockout stage all year round, and even often won against players from the five major leagues. The team caused trouble and upset its opponents to advance to the next stage.

There are five teams in the group stage, and three teams will advance to the knockout stage.

Since Group C has Champions League-level teams like Benfica and Sevilla, the group stage has not yet started, and Benfica and Sevilla have basically booked two places to advance to the group stage.

For Liberec, Grasshopper, and Alkmaar, they will compete for the last place to advance to the group stage.

Therefore, for the three teams, whether it is the "six-point battle" between them, or the games against Sevilla and Benfica, don't lose by a big score, and they are at a disadvantage in terms of goal difference. will become very important.

At least, the goal of Benfica's opponent Alkmaar in the first round of the group stage is very clear-the goal of the Europa League in the new season is to compete for the championship!
The chairman of the Alkmaar club spoke in front of the media on the topic of the Europa League: "The Eredivisie has always been positioned higher than the Portuguese Super League, so we are not worried about the match against Benfica, even if they reached the Champions League last season. Strong, but that’s all in the past. We will beat our opponents smoothly and win the Europa League group stage for the first time! Our goal for the Europa League in the new season is very clear-even if we give up the domestic league, we must compete for the Europa League Cup champion!"

In this regard, Benfica club chairman Felipe Vieira responded very strongly: "Benfica used to be a semi-final team in the Champions League, and it will not change because of time. Although Benfica does not have a Champions League field to show in the new season, it is true that the Champions League is the best team in the Champions League. In the League Cup, we will also show the strength that a strong team at the Champions League level should have! In the first round of the expedition to Alkmaar, our goal is also very clear-to beat the opponent by a big score like the Portuguese Super League debut in the new season! The next hearty big score victory!"

……

Alkmaar is located in the north of the Netherlands and is a typical Dutch town.

The population here is very sparse, with the permanent population not exceeding 10.

Local residents prefer to go to work in Amsterdam, which is about 30 kilometers away from Alkmaar, instead of staying here to continue making cheese.

That's right, the pillar industry of the small town of Alkmaar is cheese crafting.

The urban residents of Alkmaar, apart from working, watch football.

However, it is a pity that the Alkmaar City Stadium (AFAS Stadium) has a seating capacity of only 7000 people. Although as Alkmaar has entered the Europa League all year round, the club has officially announced that it will raise funds from various channels to The stadium will be expanded, and the open space of the North Stand will be developed to expand the capacity of the stadium to more than 15000.

But judging by the style of this small town and city where the economy is not developed and people's work enthusiasm is not high, it will take at least five or eight years for this expansion project to start, land, and put into use.

Because the capacity of the Alkmaar City Stadium is so small, and Alkmaar's football market is very hot, Benfica did not call on fans to go to the away game in Alkmaar this time.

The journey is one thing, but Alkmaar's failure to leave tickets for the visiting team is another.

Although UEFA requires that the home team must reserve between 5.00% and [-]% of the tickets for the visiting team's fans from the away team, the Alkmaar stadium is too small, and the local fans Our enthusiasm for the Europa League is so high that we really can’t save tickets for the visiting team.

Therefore, the other four teams in Group C have no reluctance, and leave the tickets to the local fans in Alkmaar.

Anyway, the UEFA Europa League game is played in the middle of the week, and the enthusiasm of the fans to go to the away game to support the team is not high, and most of them have to work the next day.

It was already evening when the Benfica team came to Alkmaar.

However, the head coach Fernando Santos did not let the players experience the style of the Dutch town. Instead, after having dinner at the hotel, he borrowed the conference room of the hotel and had a general discussion about the Alkmaar team. anatomy.

That's right!

Fernando Santos didn't take the Alkmaar team seriously at all.

Even, Fernando Santos himself didn't do his homework on the Alkmaar team at all, he just asked his coaching team to simply collect information.

After all, Benfica's lineup is a lineup that can reach the knockout stage of the Champions League. Such a lineup with the main players of the Portuguese national team and the Brazilian national team will be crushed in the Europa League.
What else is there to do?
In Fernando Santos' view, the only team in Group C that needs to do their homework seriously is the La Liga powerhouse Sevilla. One position qualifying, it is basically a certainty.

As for Alkmaar, Liberec, and Grasshopper, they are all point-giving boys in my own eyes, so there is no need to waste too much time on them.

With this energy, it is better to put it in the Portuguese Super League and strive for the new season to regain the Portuguese Super League championship that has been lost for a season.

however……

Fernando Santos quickly slapped himself in the face.

When Fernando Santos' assistant coach introduced at the meeting: "Although Alkmaar doesn't have any big-name players, their head coach is very famous! Alkmaar's head coach is the former Barcelona head coach and Ajax technical director. Van Gaal."

At that time, the players directly blew up the pot.

"Van Gaal!?"

"Ah! Van Gaal! Former Barcelona coach Van Gaal!"

"Ajax legend! A famous coach in Dutch football!"

"Oh my god! I didn't expect that the head coach of Alkmaar, a small town team, would have such a big background!"

"This is a champion coach! The famous coach who once led Barcelona to win the Champions League!"

……

Fernando Santos' face was also very shocked at the time.

"My God! After Louis van Gaal left Ajax, I thought he was poached to Feyenoord or to Eindhoven. Unexpectedly! He actually went to Alkmaar as the head coach Already!"

In this regard, the assistant coach in charge of information collection of Fernando Santos' team was stunned. He seemed to have overestimated the information of his team leader?
"Uh... Coach Santos, it's not surprising. The last team Mr. Van Gaal played for before retiring was Alkmaar. Moreover, Mr. Van Gaal's resume says that his first team after retiring One job is to work as an assistant coach in Alkmaar."

"That……"

Now Fernando Santos finally started to face up to Alkmaar's opponent.

I saw Fernando Santos saying seriously: "Then tonight we have to study the tactical style of the Alkmaar team! Coach Van Gaal's tactics have always been very distinctive. Whether it is the attack in the frontcourt Coordinated with the design, it is also his understanding of the football philosophy of Dutch football player Cruyff, who has high attainments in Dutch football."

(End of this chapter)