Volume 1: Males Come and Go, People Pay Attention Chapter 123 Before Drawing Lots (Second Update, Please Vote for Me)

Chapter 123 Before the drawing of lots (Second update, please vote for me)

After the game, many Italian media and even local Naples media mentioned this sentence in their reports: "Today's Naples has surpassed the Naples of Maradona's era."

If this statement was made a year ago, it would have caused an uproar and led to protests and anger from countless Naples fans.

But today, nothing happens.

Yes, no one voiced their displeasure.

As if they didn't see this sentence, Naples fans were talking about last night's game with great interest, but they didn't care about the media's "contempt" towards Maradona.

Maybe they still don't want to admit it, but Chen Yingxiong's original words have always been in their hearts. It is constantly fermenting, eroding and changing their ideas bit by bit.

At least many people now tilt their heads and think that Naples today can really be compared with Naples in Maradona's era, and this is not a disparagement of Maradona.

Everyone is beginning to look forward to what opponents Naples will encounter in the quarterfinals. Although the top eight list has not been released at this time, this does not prevent fans from fantasizing about it.

※ ※ ※

Real Madrid lost, and the happiest person was Barcelona.

The next day, the Catalan media ridiculed and ridiculed Real Madrid with great fanfare, but this time they did not have anything to do with Naples.

They ridiculed Real Madrid: "...It seems that the glory of Spanish football can only be maintained by us Catalans! So just wait for us Barcelona to avenge you, Madrid people! Hahaha!"

"You can't even handle Naples, but you still have the nerve to say you want to win the 10th Champions League trophy at your home court? Real Madrid is really confused!"

"Having two superstars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, in exchange for six years of dreams, the cruel reality gave Florentino a hard slap in the face, telling him that football cannot be played only if you have money. Yes. Barcelona’s model is the way of football!”

Real Madrid fans gritted their teeth in response to the ridicule from the Catalan media, but in the face of the cruel reality, they were unable to fight back, because they did lose, and they lost to Naples, who they thought they could easily handle before the game... …

Until now, they still don't think that they were eliminated because Naples was too strong. They still think that they lost on themselves. Because Real Madrid simply did not perform at its normal level in these two games.

What is a normal level?

A 4:1 away win over Valladolid in the league is normal, a 3:2 home win over Sevilla is also normal, a 5:1 away win over Tenerife is also normal, and a 6:2 home win over Villare. Yair is at a normal level...only the two Champions League games with Naples included in these games are not at a normal level.

This seems to be the case, because Real Madrid played really poorly in these two games. They had no decent offensive attack at all. The players were like headless flies on the court, bumping around everywhere.

"... This Real Madrid team is full of superstars. Even if it can only perform half of its usual level, it will be enough to eliminate Naples and reach the final... What a pity!"

In the end, the media in Madrid could only sigh like this.

They also admitted that Naples is really not a difficult opponent, and losing to Naples is really a humiliating defeat.

Since the team itself failed to perform at its true level, then who is responsible?

"...Real Madrid club executives revealed to us that they are already looking for a successor for Pellegrini!"

"It is rumored that Mourinho is likely to take over the 'Chilean Engineers' next season and serve as the helm of the Galacticos..."

"After the game, it was said that a violent conflict broke out in the Real Madrid dressing room. Pellegrini has lost control of this team and look at the performance of the team on the field. I have no idea who the coach is. What did he do, and what role did he play in these two games..."

…

Look, it’s all the head coach’s fault!

※ ※ ※

"The curse of the quarterfinals continues to plague Real Madrid!" 》

"The biggest dark horse in this Champions League-Naples!" 》

"Naples returns strongly in the post-Maradona era!" 》

…

There are many newspapers on the table, all talking about the game last night.

Platini, who was sitting at the table, was fascinated by the names repeated in these newspapers.

Naples…

I really didn't expect them to be able to defeat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals!

You must know that this Champions League final is held at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Real Madrid has enough reasons and motivation to attack the Champions League final.

Unexpectedly, they fell at the gate of the top eight again... This is really ironic.

But that’s okay…

Platini was originally dissatisfied with the dollar policy implemented by Florentino's Real Madrid. Last summer, they spent 159 million euros in one week to buy Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, which became active news. In Platini's eyes, this news is indeed a serious impact on the order of European football!

He believes that it is teams like Real Madrid and Chelsea that have destroyed the purity of football and tainted this beautiful game with the stench of commercialization.

Real Madrid has still failed to reach the quarter-finals for six consecutive years despite spending so many years. Platini hopes to make the Real Madrid club realize that their business philosophy is completely wrong.

Who has the best business philosophy in Europe? Of course it’s Barcelona, ​​La Masia has become a model for European youth training. Winning the championship for such a team will help promote the football image and concept he hopes for. In the past, people always said that "good-looking football cannot win championships", "offensive football does not equal championships", "win fans rely on offense, and win championships rely on defense". He wants the entire Europe, and even the world, to change this backward view. Nowadays, beautiful offensive football and artistic football can also win championships!

Only when teams all think this way can the exciting and beautiful flower of football bloom again across the European continent.

This is Platini's great ideal.

He wants good-looking football to become the mainstream of world football, so he especially hates "negative football", "conservative football" and "utilitarian football" represented by Mourinho.

If someone like Mourinho is allowed to lead his team to win the championship, it will be a humiliation and a blow to the football philosophy he advocates. I am afraid that by then, negative utilitarian football will have the upper hand in world football. , everyone plays defensive counterattack.

People like Mourinho must be nipped in the bud.

But he didn't expect that he actually broke through Chelsea's obstruction and successfully entered the quarterfinals...

Platini shook his head, feeling like he was overthinking. It's not Mourinho's problem now, it's Napoli's.

His dislike of Mourinho can also rise to a different level of football philosophy, and his dissatisfaction with Naples is completely personal.

He was very unhappy when he thought that the players on this team would slap him in front of him. Chen Yingxiong's arrogant and wild celebration was still replayed over and over in his mind, and it was not easy to forget.

But... that's it, Naples, your luck is over!

※ ※ ※

A week later all the Champions League quarter-finals are over.

The Champions League quarter-finals were subsequently produced, and they are: Bayern Munich, Lyon, Arsenal, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Naples, Barcelona, ​​and Sevilla.

These eight teams will draw lots to determine the quarterfinals and semifinals.

This week, Naples played a league match and they drew 1:1 with Fiorentina at home. Chen Yingxiong returned from his suspension and scored a goal in the game. However, his goal still did not help the team win. Naples was tied at home. Fortunately, Palermo lost, otherwise Naples' fourth place in the league would not be guaranteed.

The only good news is that Chen Yingxiong's competitor Di Natale did not score a goal this time. Chen Yingxiong once again topped the scorer list with 19 goals.

※ ※ ※

After the top eight were announced, UEFA held a lottery ceremony in Nyon, Switzerland. The head coaches of the participating teams were not invited to the lottery ceremony. Only some representatives came, not even the club president, but there were many media present. Observe the drawing ceremony.

The drawing ceremony is also very simple. You invite a lottery guest, and then draw all four groups in one go.

Before the draw, Napoli fans were speculating on which team they would face in the quarter-finals. In view of the good memories of the group stage, everyone hopes that Naples can be drawn with Lyon again. Naples has a psychological advantage and defeating Lyon will not be a problem, so that they can reach the semi-finals.

Of course, the opponent no one wants to encounter is...Barcelona!

Judging from the match between this team and Stuttgart, there is no team in European football that can stop their progress.

This kind of longing and speculation is not only circulated among Naples fans, but also exists within the Naples team.

"I think it's good to play against Lyon, but it's really not possible... Sevilla is fine too, they're not strong anyway! This is the safest way!"

"Why not Inter Milan? We have beaten them twice in the league, and I think it is entirely possible to double beat them again in the Champions League!"

Teammates expressed their wishes for the draw result in the locker room.

Chen Yingxiong sneered at them: "You losers! How can you be timid before fighting? We have even eliminated Real Madrid. Are we afraid of other teams? If you ask me, we might as well just go with Brazil..."

Before he could finish his words, a group of teammates pounced on him and pushed him to the ground. Everyone scrambled to cover his mouth.

"Fuck! Don't let him say it!"

"You must not let him say that name! He has such a crow's mouth!"

"Towel towel! Stuff his mouth! Stuff it in, yes!"

A group of people worked together to capture Chen Yingxiong and finally blocked Chen Yingxiong's mouth.

But when the teammates got up from the ground, they were surprised to find that what was stuffed in Chen Yingxiong's mouth was not a towel, but... someone's long socks...

Everyone was frightened.

Chen Yingxiong obviously also discovered this. He ripped off his smelly socks and pounced on his teammates like an angry giant bear.

"You bastards! Die-!!"

"Wow! Run! The hero is angry!"

"Hero, spare your life!"

"I didn't do it..."

The teammates dispersed one after another, and the locker room suddenly became filled with smoke...

Before the draw ceremony for the Champions League quarter-finals, Napoli's players didn't feel nervous at all.