Chapter 161 The Three Most Dangerous People

"Apart from what I've experienced personally, Ajax reached two consecutive Champions League finals in 1995 and 1996, the first time at the end of the game, beating AC Milan with Kluivert's lore. ."

"The second time we conceded a goal first, but veteran Litmanen equalized for us, and in the end the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes, but unfortunately lost in the penalty shootout. Juventus."

At the end, Ronald Koeman made a summary.

"Looking at the last few Champions League finals, there is no doubt that players are required to have the will of steel and the will to never give up. No matter what emergencies are encountered in the game, they can stabilize their minds and focus on the game. "

After Ronald Koeman, Litmanen, the team's only veteran who has ever experienced the Champions League final, also came forward, expounding the two Champions League finals he had personally experienced, one win and one loss, both of which are very useful for reference Meaning, because the defense of the two opponents AC Milan and Juventus is very good.

After the end of this season, the veteran Litmanen has basically decided to leave Ajax, but whether to retire or return to Finland for retirement, he has not yet made a decision.

For Ajax's Champions League final against AC Milan in 1995, Litmanen said the most about defense and mentality. He believes that the team can win in the end, inseparable from tenacious defense and a stable mentality.

In the UEFA Champions League the following year, Litmanen's evaluation was also quite high. He believed that Ajax had many chances in the regular game, but Juventus goalkeeper Peruzzi performed very well, frequently in front of the goal. Rescue, and in the second half, Ajax was almost beaten by Juventus.

"Edgar Davies was the best player in the game, he ran and defended everywhere, he kept us defending, and in the final penalty shootout, he was the first to come forward. He took the penalty, but unfortunately his penalty was saved by Peruzzi."

Everyone on the field could understand how much pressure was on the first player to take a penalty kick after 120 minutes of hard play, and Davis even missed the penalty. One can imagine the Dutch wild boar at that time. How depressed you must be.

"All of us have never blamed Davies. In fact, it was also because of his outstanding performance in the Champions League final that Juventus believed in his strength and fighting spirit, and it was only when he was seriously injured that he performed at AC Milan at the same time. In a downturn, we resolutely introduced him."

"No one can predict the outcome of the game, it's like we never know, if Overmars is not injured, we can beat Juventus and successfully defend the Champions League, and we have no way to judge if Davis is punished Penalties and whether we can win in the end, but we all tried our best."

"We have regrets, but no guilt."

Yang Yang sat in the group of players, silently watching the veteran, listening to his words, an idiom popped up in his mind, with a clear conscience.

Perhaps this is what Litmanen was trying to convey.

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Germany, thirty kilometers east of Gelsenkirchen, Kastrup-Rauxel.

European football has always been very superstitious, and Porto is no exception.

They deduced based on various data before the game and believed that twenty-six was the most favorable data for Porto, so they decided to carry out this luck to the end, and even the hotel they stayed in before the game specially chose to be two miles away from Gelsenkirchen. sixteen kilometers.

The reason why I chose this hotel is that the decoration of the hotel from the inside to the outside is all blue-themed, including curtains, tablecloths, tableware, carpets, etc., all of which are mainly blue, which is also similar to Porto's. The colors match very well.

Not only that, Porto has booked the entire hotel, players have a room for each player, and Mourinho has a suite alone. What’s more interesting is that Chelsea came here a year ago and stayed in this hotel, which Mourinho chose. The single room happened to be the room of Chelsea manager Ranieri at the time.

Not long ago, the British media took the lead in meeting with Chelsea boss Abramovich on the yacht of Phi Ertu coach Jose Mourinho. Everyone unanimously concluded that the Portuguese will switch to Chelsea this summer to replace Ranieri. .

At this time, Mourinho stayed in the single room of the hotel where Ranieri once stayed. Was this a coincidence or intentional?

The coaching staff of Porto also attached great importance to this Champions League final. They also arrived in Germany two days in advance and went to a nearby closed park for secret training the next day.

After returning to the hotel, having lunch and taking a short rest, Mourinho held the most important meeting before the game, in which he announced the team's starting roster and carefully prepared his own battle plan.

For Ajax, Mourinho has a very clear understanding. He is very clear about the ability of the Eredivisie team on the offensive end and the advantage of midfield passing and ball control, but he also mentioned the Ajax defensive line. weaknesses and deficiencies.

"We're a team, a group, and we've been able to go this far because we fight like a group every game, and we have to do it this time."

"Our advantage is in defense, as long as we are as focused as before, I believe that we can block Ajax's attack, and as long as we block their attack, then their back line will definitely be broken, that's us The opportunity is what we do best.”

Mourinho was like a charismatic orator who managed to get everyone in the room to believe him.

The fact that he really brought everyone to Gelsenkirchen couldn't be more convincing.

"Ajax have three players that everyone must pay attention to, one is their captain Van der Vaart, if I guess correctly, he should appear in midfield in this game, losing Galasek, Ajak Sneijder will want to grab the ball and dominate the game, and Van der Vaart and Sneijder in midfield would be a good choice."

"Our midfielder needs to be able to hold down and not allow him to get close to our penalty area. He is a very dangerous player, especially his scoring from the back. Sneijder is also very good in this regard. The midfielder has to be careful and watch out for that at all times."

The players on the opposite side all nodded.

"The other is the center Ibrahimovic. He is very tall, strong, and has strong confrontation ability, but his foot skills are very delicate. This is a very difficult center, and our center defender obviously needs shorter than him."

Carvalho is 1.82 meters tall, and captain Jorge Costa is 1.88 meters tall, both shorter than Ibrahimovic.

"Therefore, the two central defenders must be careful not to have any luck. They must stare at the Swede throughout the game and not give him the slightest chance, otherwise he will definitely teach us a painful lesson."

Captain Jorge Costa and Carvalho also realized the importance of this game and the difficulty of defending Ibrahimovic, and they all nodded, and they are not fuel-efficient lights.

"The last one is No. 99, Yang Yang."

Mourinho said this, and everyone in the conference room was a little stunned.

That seventeen-year-old teenager?

Seeing the reaction of the players, Mourinho knew, "I know what everyone thinks, it's just a seventeen-year-old teenager. Our coaching staff has carefully analyzed his characteristics before, and believes that his advantage is only in the side. Road breakthroughs and crosses, at best, good set-piece penalties in the frontcourt, but bad stops and passing, right?"

Everyone nodded in unison, that's true.

In Porto's coaching staff, Yang Yang's strengths and weaknesses are very obvious, and it is not difficult for such a player to defend.

For example, the strategy given by Mourinho is to let the left back Valente stick to Yang Yang, even if he can't stop him from taking the ball, he can't let him relax, especially he can't give him space to start with the ball.

In fact, defending Yang Yang is as simple as that.

"But the point I want to remind everyone is, why has Yang Yang been able to drive Ajax's offensive every time he comes off the bench in the past six months? Let this Eredivisie team release its offensive ability?"

Everyone was a little dazed when they heard it, and they all shook their heads.

"Because, Ajax with Yang Yang is the real and the most terrible Ajax, they will play better and sharper than without Yang Yang, and the attack will be smoother, so we must Mind you, I don't even want him to finish the game if he can."

Many players present, especially left back Valente, heard this, and their eyes lit up.

Mourinho changed the subject, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "But unfortunately, he is very good now, so we must beware of him."

Having said this, Mourinho turned to look at Nuno Valente, "Nuno, if Ajax arranges Yang Yang to start, it must be a rush attack, you have to concentrate on defense, if Koeman arranges him to be a substitute , I ask you, no matter what the score was or what the situation was, you must return it to me."

"In a word, as long as Yang Yang is on the court for a second, you have to give me a complete stare. This is what I give you, the only task, and you don't have to worry about anything else."

Nuno Valente nodded solemnly, "Understood."

"Take it easy." Mourinho laughed when he saw that Valente was a little serious, "After all, he is only seventeen years old, which is why Ronald Koeman has not arranged him to start. A seventeen-year-old boy is quite easy to deal with."

Nuno Valente, who will be 30 years old in September, played for Sporting Lisbon, but was not trusted and could only occasionally come off the bench. Later, he came to Leiria and played under Mourinho. Excellent performance. After Mourinho switched to Porto, he was dug from Leiria to Porto at the first time, which made him brilliant.

Last season's UEFA Cup champion, this season's Champions League final, this is an achievement that Nuno Valente could never have imagined before, and he also entered the Portuguese national team this summer, preparing to compete in the local European Cup.

"Don't worry, I won't give him any chance," Valente assured.