Chapter 959 Derby Starter

wembley stadium

One of the greatest courses in the world.

The home ground of the England national team is also the final venue for various domestic cup competitions in England. It witnessed the glorious moment of the England team winning the championship in 1966 and was called the center and church of world football by football king Pele.

Entering the stadium through the 133-meter-high arch and seeing the 52-meter-high ceiling, the newcomers to Manchester United who came to Wembley Stadium for the first time were all in awe and felt a sense of solemnity. At this time, they finally understood what Bailey meant by the church.

"It's so majestic! If I can score a goal here, I can brag about it forever."

During the warm-up, Pogba excitedly muttered to himself next to Gao Xiaodong.

Due to poor performance in training, Pogba did not play in the league match with Fulham. Pogba thought that he had no hope of playing in the FA Cup semi-finals. Unexpectedly, Ferguson actually put him in the 18-man squad. , which surprised and delighted Pogba. Although he felt that he had little hope of playing, being able to make the Derby roster was enough to make him happy. After all, there was still hope.

Gao Xiaodong heard what Pogba said and said an old-fashioned lesson: "Paul, you are a midfielder. Don't always think about scoring goals. In the eyes of the coach, the role of the midfielder is not to score goals."

Although Gao Xiaodong is only three years older than Pogba, Gao Xiaodong is already Mr. Ballon d’Or. Pogba is convinced of Gao Xiaodong. He quickly laughed and said: "Brother Gao, I thought wrong. If I If you have a chance to play, you must defend well."

Gao Xiaodong nodded and said: "If you have the opportunity, you can go forward and assist. A midfielder who can assist is also an advantage. I scored a lot of goals when I played as a midfielder."

After Pogba heard this, his face became even darker, and he thought to himself, you just stopped me from thinking about scoring goals, and now you say that I scored a lot of goals as a defensive midfielder. This is what you asked me to do, but he only dared to slander me. , but he didn’t dare to say it out loud, so he could only continue to laugh and say: “I understand, I understand.”

Gao Xiaodong continued: "You will definitely not have a chance to start, but you must be prepared. Once you have the opportunity to come on as a substitute, you must seize it. The Manchester derby will be held at Wembley Stadium again and attract the attention of the world. If you play well, , you can become famous in one fell swoop.”

"Understood, I will always be prepared." Pogba nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, with a look of extreme longing in his eyes.

After warming up for more than ten minutes, Manchester United's players returned to the locker room to rest and prepare for the game.

In the mixed tunnel, Gao Xiaodong met Balotelli. Balotelli was very honest before the game and did not make any jokes. When he saw Gao Xiaodong, Balotelli ran over and put his arms around Gao Xiaodong's neck. Said: "Gao, I want to defeat you. The league and Champions League are yours, and the FA Cup is ours."

Gao Xiaodong was speechless and thought to himself, these championship trophies are produced by your family, you can give them to whoever you want? However, Gao Xiaodong knew that Balotelli was a nagging person, so he didn't mind and said with a smile: "Thank you for your blessing, but we also want the FA Cup."

Balotelli let go of Gao Xiaodong, clenched his fist and said, "Gao, you can't pass my level."

Gao Xiaodong hammered Balotelli's chest with his fist, "Then let's see you on the court."

"See you on the court." Balotelli and Gao Xiaodong waved, and they each walked into their dressing rooms.

When the players of Manchester United and Manchester City were making final preparations in the dressing room, the Wembley Stadium, which can accommodate 90,000 people, was almost full.

Manchester United is invincible this season and is very likely to win the Triple Crown. Manchester City is so popular that there is not much suspense about entering the Champions League. Both teams are very popular, and this semi-final is almost It is equivalent to the FA Cup final held in advance. The number of fans who come to watch the game is even higher than that of the league's focus game.

The game also attracted almost three to four hundred reporters and dozens of commentators.

At this moment, the commentators have obtained the starting lists of both sides and are introducing them to the fans.

Manchester City is Mancini's favorite 4-2-3-1 formation today. The goalkeeper is 25-Joe Hart; the four backs are: 5-Zabaleta.

4-Kompany, 19-Lescott, 13-Kolarov; double defensive midfielder: 18-Barry, 34-De Jong; three attacking midfielders 21-David Silva, 42-Yaya- Toure, 11-Adam Johnson; lone forward: 45-Balotelli

The abandonment of Manchester City's main forward and captain Tevez did not surprise the fans. Before the game, Tevez took the lead in attacking coach Mancini. On the eve of the war, this was something Mancini said he could not stand, especially now with Balotelli. In good condition, Mancini has more confidence to suppress the unruly Tevez.

Manchester City's lineup is relatively conservative. The two midfielders De Jong and Barry are mainly defensive. Yaya Toure and Johnson among the three attacking midfielders also have strong defensive capabilities. Only Silva and Balotelli are full-time offensive players.

Manchester United's starting lineup today is 4-3-3: goalkeeper 1-Van der Sar; four backs: 22-O'Shea, 5-Ferdinand, 15-Vidic, 3-Evra; 3 midfielders: 16-Ka Rick, 18-Scholes, 10-Gao Xiaodong; 25-Valencia, 9-Berbatov, 17-Nani.

Except for the suspension of Rooney and Fletcher, except for O'Shea's unstable position, the other positions are Manchester United's main positions, and Manchester United's starting lineup is very aggressive, with Carrick, Scholes and Gao Xiaodong in the midfield. They are all players who can go forward and assist, and the two full-backs Valencia and Nani are even more offensive and defensive. Using such a starting lineup to deal with Manchester City really makes people sigh at the courage of old man Ferguson.

In the luxurious VIP box, Manchester United's two deputy directors, Ephraim and Edward, the two sons of owner Glazer, also came. The two of them were waiting for the game to start while discussing Gao Xiaodong's contract extension.

Ephraim did not agree to give Gao Xiaodong too high an annual salary, and he did not want to set liquidated damages for Gao Xiaodong. He was afraid that Manchester United would repeat the mistakes of Inter Milan and suffer a big loss.

Edward very much believes that Gao Xiaodong is one of the best players in the world, comparable to Messi, and has potential. He feels that Gao Xiaodong should be satisfied with Gao Xiaodong's requirements, retain Gao Xiaodong's heart, and let Gao Xiaodong help Manchester United build a new club. dynasty.

In another VIP box, Mendes and Manchester United manager Dawei Gil sat together. The two did not discuss Gao Xiaodong, but Nani and Anderson.

Nani is in good condition and Mendes is not worried about his future, but Anderson's situation is not so good. He spent half a year in the hospital due to injury. After returning from injury, his condition was completely gone and his main position was no longer available. , Manchester United's attitude towards renewing the contract with Anderson was very ambiguous, which forced Mendes to come to the scene to watch the game and talk to David Gill about the future of Gao Xiaodong, Anderson and Nani.

The Derby war does not require mobilization. After the players of Manchester United and Manchester City warmed up, they took a short rest in the locker room to familiarize themselves with the issues to pay attention to in today's game, and then walked onto Wembley Stadium under the leadership of referee Quinn.