Chapter 941: The Legend of the Stickman (First Update, Please Subscribe!)

The European Cup is definitely a major international event second only to the World Cup.

Although it is an intercontinental event, due to the gathering of European giants, the overall competitiveness and competitive performance are more prominent.

It can be said that the team that can enter the European Cup finals is a strong team in the world.

And the entire European Cup is a process of strong teams competing and strong dialogue.

Starting from June 7, batches of fans began to pour into the Warsaw Airport in Poland.

There are fans from third parties, but more are fans from Greece, Croatia and Portugal.

On June 8, groups of Croatian fans began to pour into Poland.

They wore red and white jerseys and cheered in groups at the airport, raising the atmosphere of football excitement.

Among the fans, there are also some media reporters. They are on-site reporters, more for interviews and to feel the heat of the European Cup up close to the fans in front of the TV.

One of the Polish female reporters found an elderly Croatian fan.

The old fan is about 70 years old, but still energetic.

His jersey is also specially made, with Suker's photo on the front and Modric on the back.

Obviously, this is a die-hard fan of the Croatian twin stars!

"We are looking forward to this European Cup. In 2008, we won the European Cup. At that time, the average age of Croatia was only 25 years old. This is an absolute legend of the youth army!"

"But after four years, this group of players has become stronger and more experienced, so we believe they can create miracles again!"

After that, the old fan took out a match table from his hand, pointed to the Croatian player information on it and said:

"Let me show you our lineup!"

At this point, the old man was full of pride.

"Srna, Croatia's right back, currently plays for Real Madrid. He is Croatia's captain and the creator of three consecutive Champions League titles. He is definitely our defensive gate on the right wing!"

"Rakitic, one of Croatia's midfielders, plays for Sevilla in La Liga, the Europa League champion this season, and is also the team's midfield core!"

"Vukojevic, the main defensive midfielder of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, a single defensive midfielder!"

The old fan emphasized the single defensive midfielder, emphasizing its value.

"This season's Champions League runner-up!"

"Luka Modric, the No. 10 player for Manchester United, the core of the midfield, I don't think I need to introduce him, everyone knows him!"

"Let's take a look at the striker~~oh~~~"

The old man said with great interest; "Perisic, Dortmund's winger, the double champion of the Bundesliga and the German Cup, this guy has excellent shooting skills!"

"Mandzukic, also the starting center forward for Bayern Munich, the Champions League runner-up, and also the team's top scorer!"

"Finally."

The old man said proudly; "Suke! Four Golden Ball winners, now The best player of the tournament, Real Madrid's No. 9, and Croatia's No. 9, is our sharpest offensive weapon. He has a certain magic that helps us solve any difficulties! "

"Believe me, if someone had drawn us ten years ago, the opponent would be very happy because they had drawn a weak team!"

"But now, any opponent who draws us, they will not be happy! Because we will kick their asses hard!"

At this point, the old fan raised his arms excitedly; "I can't wait! Croatia! Long live!"

One call stirs up a thousand waves!

The surrounding Croatian fans raised their arms one after another. At this moment, cheers and shouts surged into the sky of Warsaw Airport, like thunder.

The training base where the Croatian national team is located is also preparing for the game.

Their game will be held on June 10, and there are only two days left now.

Some tactical preparations have been made for the Portuguese lineup, but more of it is to continue their own style of play.

Croatia's current lineup is still very strong, and they don't want to expose too much tactical content too early.

But they also need to be careful, after all, Portugal must be trying their best to beat them.

Although they don't want to be the focus.

But with a strong lineup and the status of defending champions, it is impossible not to be noticed.

"Tomorrow is the opening game, Poland plays Greece, who do you think will win?"

"Greece!"

"Greece!"

"I think it's Greece too!"

Greece is also a strong team in Europe. Although Poland has grown up in recent years, it has produced stars such as Lewandowski, Kuba, and Szczesny.

But in terms of overall ability, they are more optimistic about Greece.

Mandzukic turned his head to look at Suker; "What about you?"

Suker: "I'm more curious about the second game!"

"The Netherlands plays the Czech Republic?"

Mandzukic frowned and said; "It must be the Netherlands that wins!"

Everyone would think so, but the Netherlands would have internal strife at this time.

In fact, internal strife in national teams is not uncommon, and France and the Netherlands are both professional internal strife households.

The internal strife in the Netherlands can be traced back to the Cruyff era when the team refused to participate in the tournament due to a disagreement with the Football Association.

In the 1996 European Cup, black players led by Davis and Seedorf had an internal conflict with white players such as De Boer. This farce ended with Davis insulting coach Hiddink and being kicked out of the training camp.

In the 2012 European Cup, there was a small-scale turmoil in the locker room, which led to their early elimination from the European Cup without winning a single game.

In the 2014 World Cup, three major players, Sneijder, De Jong, and Kuyt, visited nightclubs in Brazil, which caused Van Gaal's displeasure. Later, it was revealed that Robben kicked his teammate Indi during training, and the legend of the "Three Stickers" spread.

The national team is a group organization.

The players in the team come from various groups and clubs, with different skin colors and beliefs. It is difficult to unify these people.

The reason why the Croatian national team is harmonious is also based on Suker's outstanding status and the fact that they came from the same club from the beginning.

Because Suker's small group has the power in the locker room and suppresses others, and Suker's reputation suppresses them, it seems harmonious.

If Suker and Modric have a bad relationship.

And the two of them don't like each other. With Suker's personality, this guy will definitely make trouble.

At that time, Croatia will also have internal strife.

In 2008, Suker's removal of Bilic was also a kind of internal strife, but at that time Suker had an overwhelming advantage and quickly removed Bilic, which did not affect the stadium.

However, it was also for this reason that the Football Association and other relevant departments were afraid that Suker would do such a thing again, so they asked Besic to come out.

After all, apart from Besic, no one in Croatia could suppress these fearless guys!

After chatting for a while, everyone quickly returned to the hotel.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremony and opening match of the European Cup.

The day after tomorrow is the game, and they also need to be prepared.

The next day, the sky was bright, and in the morning with a trace of morning mist and morning dew, accompanied by the surging of the crowd, a wild atmosphere began to rise.

The whole city has been in a hot state since the morning.

The Polish main fans began to move out, marching and shouting on the streets, becoming a unique landscape.

Greek fans were not willing to lag behind, and carried out street bombing activities along another road.

From morning to afternoon, the whole city of Warsaw was in a strong atmosphere of competition.

Time unknowingly came to five o'clock in the afternoon.

The Warsaw National Stadium is located on the banks of the Vistula River.

This stadium, which was built in 2008 and completed in 2011 after four years of construction, will be put into use for the first time in this game.

The entire periphery of the stadium is covered with a red and white checkered pattern, which looks like a waving Polish flag.

This stadium can accommodate 60,000 fans to watch the game together.

At this moment, under the lighting, the entire stadium is like daylight.

A large number of Greek, Polish and third-party fans poured in to cheer for the opening ceremony and the opening game.

At the same time, the 16 participating national teams also watched this scene on TV.

In the camera, the flags of the 16 national teams fluttered on the upper edge of the stadium roof.

At this moment, the tension came over me.

"Damn! So nervous!" Davor Suk rubbed his hands.

In the conference room of the hotel where the Croatian national team stayed, in addition to the members of the Croatian national team, Davor Suker and other football association officials also came here to watch the opening ceremony together.

Looking at the waving flags and listening to the deafening cheers, the passion in their hearts was instantly ignited under the shouting.

All this tells them that the quadrennial European Cup is about to begin!

The entire conference room was extremely quiet.

Some people looked calm, while others looked nervous.

But most of the nervous people were young people, such as Kovacic and Brozovic.

Vida, Strinic and other players who participated in such a big competition for the first time were also nervous.

"My hands are shaking!"

Vida held his shaking right hand tightly.

He couldn't help but get nervous when he thought about playing under the attention of everyone tomorrow.

This is Croatia's opening game!

Their performance determines the outcome of the game. If they can't get off to a good start, it will be difficult for them to deal with themselves.

"Just do a good job of defense!" Lovren comforted him; "The goal depends on them!"

Vida looked up and saw Suker, Modric, Srna and others sitting there calmly in front of him.

For these veterans who have experienced many battles, this little pressure can't shake them at all.

And it was at this moment that Vida's heart was slightly comforted.

The opening ceremony went smoothly.

There were invited bands singing!

There were also football legends who appeared to give speeches.

The president of UEFA even personally announced the start of the opening game!

The entire opening ceremony took a full hour.

At 5:55, the Polish and Greek teams appeared on the TV screen.

They lined up in the player channel and prepared to go out.

This moment was the most tense moment.

Even Suker and others narrowed their eyes slightly and became solemn.

"It's about to start!"

Looking at the stadium, both sides entered the game state, and everyone stared at the TV.

Poland took the lead in the first half.

After the kick-off, Polish player Kuba lobbed the ball forward, looking for Lewandowski, who volleyed the ball, which hit the crossbar and flew out.

Although they failed to score a goal, the first attack and dangerous shot in the opening game still made Polish fans enthusiastic.

After Poland attacked, Greece immediately launched a counterattack.

Continuous passes in the backcourt and a sudden change of pace. Greek midfielder Maniatis pushed the ball forward and Greek center Jekas tackled the shot. However, Polish goalkeeper Szczesny was extremely focused and successfully saved the ball.

At the beginning of the game, both sides showed no intention of probing at all, and just started fighting each other with fists and fists.

And this also made the fans at the scene even more excited.

"There is no temptation at all!"

Rakitic couldn't help grinning.

As the host country, Poland's style of play is really courageous.

However, they also relied on Lewandowski's scoring efficiency, so they attacked more fiercely in the hope of scoring first.

However, Poland has more ball possession, but in terms of threatening goals, Greece has more.

But Greece also has a problem, that is, it cannot seize the opportunity!

In particular, their center Yekas wasted several opportunities.

"If it were Su Ke, this would have been through!" Srna couldn't help but shake his head.

Others nodded. They also felt that Greece's handling of the final shot was too rough.

Suker did not respond, but he also believed that Greece's shooting was rough and Poland's defense was not cautious enough.

But considering that it is the opening game and has not yet fully entered the state of the European Cup, it is understandable.

As Suker said, after 20 minutes, the two teams clearly adapted to the rhythm of the game.

Poland took the lead in attacking. Midfielder Murawski found Kuba accurately. Kuba kept passing the ball and passed directly.

With the ball hanging in the air, Lewandowski jumped up and headed the ball into the net.

In the 27th minute, Poland, as the host, scored first.

"Poland scored a goal!"

"After being unable to attack for a long time, they will not be able to withstand Poland's counterattack!"

"Greece has wasted too many opportunities!"

Everyone made comments one after another.

"There is still the second half!" Modric said; "Greece's offense is still very threatening, and it should be able to get the score back in the second half!"

As Modric said, Greece started a crazy offensive mode in the second half.

Of course, their aggressive attack also brought some hidden dangers, that is, their center back Papastathopoulos had no choice but to foul during Poland's counterattack, received his second yellow card, and was sent off the field.

Already lagging behind, and with one less person to fight, Greece's situation became even worse.

But Greece is very stubborn and is still attacking crazily.

Finally, in the 76th minute, they seized a chance. Left winger Samaras rushed into the penalty area with the ball, and took the ball step by step, continuously getting through the defense and facing the goal.

Just when he was about to take a single shot, Szczesny gave up the goal.

Samaras calmly pulled the ball in disguise and got rid of Szczesny.

But at this moment, Szczesny was not willing to accept the opponent's sudden advance, and directly grabbed Samaras's ankle with his hand and dragged the opponent to the ground.

Beep!

A sharp whistle sounded.

The referee ran over and gave Szczesny a red card.

The Polish goalkeeper was sent off with a red card and had no choice but to be replaced by substitute goalkeeper Titon.

But even so, it still failed to prevent Greece's penalty kick.

Samaras leveled the score with a precise hit into the lower left corner of the goal.

80 minutes, Poland 1:1 Greece!

After this goal, the two sides seemed to have entered into a tacit silence.

Poland no longer attacks!

Greece no longer fights back.

Both sides seemed to have acquiesced in this score.

Until the end of the game, the score remained unchanged.

In the first game, the two sides tied 1:1.

"This is so intense!"

Mandzukic couldn't help but stretch: "Greece is still attacking aggressively even though it is lagging behind and has one less player!"

Duimovic; "But it was precisely because of this attack that they tied the score!"

Srna: "There is no problem with the goalkeeper, the defense should not miss anyone!"

"My concentration has dropped, and my physical fitness is not enough!"

Everyone said one after another.

"The Netherlands will play the Czech Republic in the next game, right?" Vukojevic grinned; "It should be difficult for the Czech Republic to win!"

Although they don’t like the Czech Republic very much, after all, these guys always want to compete with them for the title of ‘Eastern European Iron Cavalry’.

However, due to geographical considerations and the strength of the Netherlands, I still hope that the Czech Republic can upset this power.

Suk also grinned slightly.

Although the Czech Republic is not weak, even if there is internal strife in the Netherlands, it is difficult to be upset, right?

Soon, after the break, the next game begins.

Game time is 65 minutes.

Netherlands 1:3 Czech Republic.

At this moment, the entire conference room where Croatia was located was silent.

“This is the fucking Netherlands?”

"Internal strife! Definitely infighting!"

"None of them pass the ball!"

"What are you doing? Kicking like this!"

It seems reasonable, but as professionals, it is easy for the Croatian internationals to spot some of the Netherlands' unconventional passing options.

There is obviously a teammate in a better position, and they obviously use that position as the axis to move and further contain them.

But when the ball goes wide, it's like holding the ball and rushing forward without passing the ball at all.

Huntelaar was in the penalty area, his voice was almost smoldering, and Robben didn't even look at him.

Even if there is no shooting space in front of you, don't pass it, just shoot it yourself!

Isn’t this considered internal strife?

Suker was also watching the TV, and Huntelaar angrily found Robben to reason.

Robben ignored him at all, and soon his teammates pulled the angry Huntelaar away.

The lens was very damaged and gave Robben a shot.

I found that this guy turned his head and looked at Huntelaar, with a hint of ridicule in the corner of his mouth.

Suk thought for a moment, then turned to Vukojevic and asked, "Did Robben have any disfigurement on his face this season?"

Before Vukojevic could speak, Mandzukic suddenly said: "Yes! I remember it was in November last year. When he returned from the European Cup qualifiers, the corners of his mouth and eyes were a little blue. , even though he said he fell, he was definitely beaten!”

Suk grinned.

It was probably at this time that Robben was beaten by a group of young players he bullied in the national team.

In this conflict, Huntelaar clapped and applauded but was resented by Robben, and the legend of the iron rod will also begin.

If there are no accidents, in a certain game of this European Cup, the foul-mouthed Huntelaar will be played in a mixed doubles by Van Persie and Robben!