knife guard

Chapter 721 The Gunner Mythical Lottery Subject: Going Home ([-] words)
(Two-in-one, Dazhang, it’s mid-month, please ask for a few monthly tickets by the way)
On the afternoon of August 8th, Morocco, the smallest and richest country on the southwestern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was full of stars. Famous European players gathered here to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony to be held at the Grimaldi Convention Center in Monte Carlo. The major awards of the UEFA Champions League this season will also be announced tonight.

This is the second time Li Huan has come to the scene of the lottery ceremony. The difference from the last time is that this time he came here as a candidate for the two awards of the Champions League. I understand that there is no suspense about the defender and best player awards, and Li Huan will definitely be elected without a doubt.

The difference from last time is that this time Li Huan came here in a hurry, and after the draw ceremony, he will fly back to London by plane to prepare for the match against Manchester United. He has no time to travel around this beautiful small country like last time After shopping around, of course, it is impossible to meet the beautiful French queen Alizee again.Li Huan admired Alizee very much. He understood how difficult it is for a girl to maintain a pure and shy demeanor after being famous for so many years.

Maybe it's all because of the weekend league. Manchester United and Arsenal are the last two clubs to come. Although there will be a brutal contest two days later, Ferguson, Edwin van der Sar, Li Huan, Arsene Wenger Still said hello, and then walked side by side to the hall together.

Although the scene was full of heavyweights in European football, the arrival of Ferguson, Wenger and Li Huan caused quite a stir, and many football stars and famous football stars stood up to greet them, or nodded their heads.

Li Huan looked around in the hall, and soon he found Hoffenheim coach Rangnick, chairman Rothaus and goalkeeper Hildebrand.Lannick had noticed Li Huan a long time ago. When Li Huan's eyes swept over him, the eyes of the two men came together. Lannick and Li Huan both nodded at each other, and Rothaus and Hildebrand even waved to Li Huan. He waved his hand in greeting.

Arsenal happened to be sitting on the side of the Barcelona club, and Li Huan was not far away from Messi. The two most talented young people in the world looked at each other without speaking, and then naturally shifted their gazes elsewhere.At the end of today's ceremony, it will be up to them to compete for the club's best player award, and their rivalry will obviously go on for a long time.

Less than 5 minutes after Li Huan sat down, the two hosts who presided over the lottery ceremony came out from behind the stage. The male host was Pinto, an American cable television host, and the female host was Veroni, a famous Swiss model.

The slender and graceful Veroni announced to the audience the process of tonight's draw ceremony, reviewed the scene of last season's Champions League final, and then invited the former Portuguese goalkeeper Baia to present the best goalkeeper award.

The three candidates for this position are Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United, Petr Cech of Chelsea and Hildebrand of Hoffenheim. The votes are for the coaches who have reached the top 16 of the Champions League. This selection is very authoritative. In the end Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was elected.

Then UEFA Secretary-General Taylor and the vulture Butragueno, the representative of the Bernabeu, the Champions League final this season, stepped onto the podium. With the help of the best goalkeeper Van der Sar, the first process of the draw ceremony began: the seed The teams are divided into 8 groups.

According to UEFA's club rankings, 32 teams are divided into four grades.The teams in the first tier are Barcelona, ​​Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan, Arsenal, Sevilla and Bayern Munich; the teams in the second tier are Lyon, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, CSKA Moscow, Porto, Hoffenheim, Juventus and Rangers; teams in pot three are Olympiakos, Marseille, Dynamo Kiev, Alkmaar, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Bordeaux and Besiktas; pot four The teams are Wolfsburg, Standard Liege, Maccabi Haifa, Zurich, Rubin Kazan, Uniria, Apple and Debrecien.

The draw for the first round of seeding teams was just going through the motions. Everyone didn't pay much attention to it. They were still talking in low voices with the nearest club or with their friends.

Van der Sar first drew Liverpool, who were divided into Group E by Taylor.Bayern Munich, which was then drawn, was drawn in Group A.Manchester United are in Group B.Arsenal were the fourth to be drawn, and they were in Group H. AC Milan are in Group C.Chelsea are in Group D.Barcelona are in Group F, with Sevilla in Group G.

Next, UEFA President Sepp Blatter handed out the Champions League special award winner, and Paul received this award.Maldini, who played for AC Milan for 25 years and won five Champions League titles, played until he was 41 before retiring.

After the Champions League special award was issued, it was Maldini who presented the award for the best defender. Li Huan undoubtedly won the best position. Under the applause of the audience, Maldini sent the small golden ball to Li Huan's arms, laughing Said: "You are the most goal-scoring defender I have ever seen. In fact, I think the best striker award should also be given to you."

Li Huan said sincerely: "I'm a bit out of business, you are the model of a defender, the role model for us to learn from."

Maldini said: "I can't say that. Players are becoming more and more versatile. In addition to defending, defenders can assist and score goals. I just play longer. If you want, you can also play. Can play until over 35 years old."

The two best defenders in the world had a brief exchange, and the host Veroni said to Li Huan: "You got the best defender, what do you think about shooting?"

Li Huan thought for a while and said with a smile: "My dream is: sleep until I wake up naturally, win prizes and get hand cramps, and become a professional player. The first one is difficult to achieve, and I hope to achieve the second."

Veroni and Pinto laughed when they heard this, but few of the guests in the audience laughed. They knew that even if the team could not win all the championships, Li Huan could still win a lot of individual awards every year. It's not out of the question to get hand cramps.

The first round of lottery was just a cutscene. The second round of lottery was more important to what kind of team they could be assigned to. It was very important for whether they entered the death group. At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Li Huan and Taylor.

Li Huan first drew Porto, and he was placed in Group D, the same group as Chelsea.Although Porto is also difficult to deal with and caused a lot of trouble for Manchester United last season, their strength is limited after all. In the past 4 matches, Chelsea has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss against Porto.Chelsea coach Ancelotti and Kenyon both breathed a sigh of relief, and they applauded lightly.But Porto coach Ferreira's face was expressionless. For them, the most important thing was the third round draw.

Li Huan's second draw was Real Madrid, who were assigned to Group C where AC Milan was.The two teams with the most championships met together, and the transfer of Kaka was also involved in the middle. It can be said that sparks hit the earth, and it will definitely attract the attention of countless fans.

Li Huan's third draw was that Lyon was assigned to Liverpool's Group E.Liverpool's head coach Benitez looked indifferent, neither sad nor happy. Lyon is not too famous, but its strength is not weaker than other giants. For Liverpool, it can only be good or bad, which is acceptable.

Li Huan was then drawn out of Inter Milan, and then Taylor was drawn out of Group F where Barcelona was.After seeing the results shown by Taylor, the faces of Inter Milan coach Mourinho and Barcelona coach Guardiola changed. Their strengths are all within the top five in Europe. They are assigned together. After three rounds, a stronger one will come in, and the group of death will be formed immediately.Both Guardiola and Mourinho are secretly afraid.

But when they saw this, all the guests in the audience suddenly had a very strange feeling, and they all felt that Arsenal might draw a group with Hoffenheim.Because among the teams that Li Huan drew before, Porto's head coach Mourinho once moved to Chelsea, AC Milan's Kaka moved to Real Madrid, Barcelona's Eto'o moved to Inter Milan, and Ibrahim Simovic came to Barcelona.According to this logic, it is normal for Arsenal to touch Hoffenheim. Although the draw is random, many times, people still believe in fate, that is, coincidence in philosophy.Of course, it is also a shady scene that conspiracy theorists believe,

With CSKA Moscow being drawn into Group B with Manchester United.At the moment, there are only three teams left in the second tier, Glasgow Rangers, Hoffenheim and Juventus. These three teams are not easy to mess with. Hoffenheim was the treble champion last season , swept the Bundesliga and the Champions League, although the core and spiritual leader Li Huan left, but the strength is not trivial, no one dares to underestimate.Juventus is a century-old brand, so needless to say, the Sucha giants Glasgow Rangers have become the weakest one at this time.

The sixth one drawn by Li Huan was Glasgow Rangers. They were with Sevilla in Group G.Sevilla's higher level than Real Madrid is mainly due to their record in the UEFA Cup. They are also the weakest seeded team. Glasgow Rangers are naturally delighted to have drawn this group. Coach Smith and club officials high-fived.However, this angered Sevilla's coach Jimenez, who also applauded with club president Del Nido to fight back. In fact, for Sevilla, Glasgow Rangers is indeed the best choice.Both teams applauded to express their satisfaction, but it was not known who would have the last laugh.

There are only two teams left in the third tier, and there are only Group H where Arsenal is in and Group A where Bayern Munich is in the group. Neither Bayern nor Arsenal will be satisfied if they are drawn. They no longer pay attention to these, they are concerned about whether Arsenal will be drawn with Hoffenheim.

Even Li Huan himself had this premonition, but in Li Huan's view, if the two teams were destined to meet, he hoped that the two teams could meet in the group stage, and he didn't want the two teams to meet in the knockout round. Forced to fight to the death.If he really met him, of course he would not show mercy, but after so many years in Hoffenheim, he didn't want to eliminate his old club with his own hands.

Li Huan reached out and took out a ball, which was Hoffenheim, and then Taylor also took out a ball. Everyone's eyes were fixed on his hand. After Taylor opened it, a smile and a hint of Surprised, he announced: "Group H."

There was an uproar in the hall.

"It's Arsenal!"

"Sure enough, it's Arsenal!"

"I know it's Arsenal, how can I make money without any gimmicks."

Others talked a lot, and the face of the person involved was also very exciting.Wenger and Fryer looked at each other with a strange face, and then the two looked in the direction of Hoffenheim, without saying a word.

Lannick smiled wryly, and said to Rothouse, "Damn it."

Rothaus snorted and said, "It's not a ghost, there must be a ghost."

Lannick shook his head and said, "Look at the third round of lottery."

After Hoffenheim and Arsenal are in the same group, Juventus can only be in Group A with Bayern Munich, and the two giants can only wait to see what kind of team will be assigned to him in the third tier.

There are a few tough teams in the third tier. Atletico Madrid, Ligue [-] champion Bordeaux, and Fiorentina in Italy all have good strength.Most teams would like to be able to avoid them.

After Figo awarded Harvey the small golden ball for the best midfielder, Harvey began to be responsible for drawing the third-tier team.Alkmaar, who were drawn first, were placed in Group G.

The second one drawn was Bordeaux from Ligue [-], and they were drawn into Group A. Seeing that it was Bordeaux, Bayern and Juventus turned a little ugly, and gloating laughter sounded around them.Bordeaux can pull down Lyon, who has won the championship six times, and their strength is definitely not weak. They almost don't need to look at the draw of the fourth grade. They can also be sure that they are in the death group.

Besiktas then entered Group B where Manchester United and CSKA Moscow were.Ferguson squinted his eyes with a smile when he saw this, his heart was so good, he wished he could open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.An easy group stage is very important for a wealthy team fighting on several lines.

Fiorentina were drawn into Group E where Liverpool and Lyon were.Liverpool is the strongest and doesn't really care about it, but Lyon feels uneasy. They are in poor form this season and only finished third in Ligue [-] last season. Facing the challenge of Fiorentina, who just returned to the Champions League, the game is definitely not good. would be too easy.

Dynamo Kiev entered Group F where Inter Milan and Barcelona sit. Mourinho and Guardiola felt relieved, but Dynamo Kiev almost gave up. With the La Liga champions in the group, even a little hope is almost gone.

Chelsea and Porto in Group D are not very comfortable, because their third opponent is Atletico Madrid. In terms of strength, Atletico Madrid is not weak, and its performance is very unstable. No one knows what level he can play in the game. , Unpredictability itself is a danger.

Arsenal and Hoffenheim breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Harvey had drawn Olympiacos. The Greek champions hope that their strength is not weak, but it is still impossible to pose too much threat to them. It is best to be able to qualify together. It couldn't be better.

Ligue 16 runner-up Marseille is in a group with Real Madrid and Milan. It is almost impossible for them to shake the two giants who have won the Champions League 3 times. For them, the best result is to get No.[-] and play in the UEFA Cup. This year it's called the Europa League.

Li Huan, the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League who scored 20 goals last season, became the best defender. Messi also became the best forward for granted. After the former Manchester United star Dennis Law gave him the award, Messi helped UEFA Secretary General Taylor draws lots for teams in the fourth tier.Teams of this level are basically fishy, ​​but there is one team that all teams don't want to meet, that is, the No.2 Wolfsburg of the Bundesliga. How many points, so ranked in the fourth tier, but being able to threaten Hoffenheim's championship seat when Hoffenheim is so strong, and being able to beat Bayern to become the runner-up, makes other teams full of vigilance , Which group they draw into, which group will be difficult to play.

Messi's first draw was Belgium's Standard Liege, and he was sent to Arsenal's Group H, which made Wenger and Fryer overjoyed.Pots 16 and [-] did not draw a strong team. They have not seen such a good draw for many years. This time they are almost guaranteed to enter the round of [-]. They just need to compete with Hoffenheim for the top spot in the group.

The most difficult Wolfsburg was finally assigned to Group B where Manchester United, CSKA Moscow and Besiktas (Turkey) were. Such a result made Wolfsburg very satisfied, which was almost what they could think of They don't want to shake Manchester United's first place in the group, but it is still possible to grab another spot from CSKA Moscow. Not only Wolfsburg thinks so, but the third tier Turkish powerhouse Besiktas also thinks they have a chance to qualify.Only CSKA Moscow complained secretly, lamenting that it was bad luck, and even got a strong team in the fourth tier.

With the Israeli champion Haifa Maccabi being sent to Group A by Messi, the draw ceremony is over, and the eight groups are:
Group A: Bayern Munich (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Bordeaux (France), Maccabi Haifa (Israel)

Group B: Manchester United (England), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Besiktas (Turkey), Wolfsburg (Germany)
Group C: AC Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Marseille (France), Zurich (Switzerland)
Group D: Chelsea (England), Porto (Portugal), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Apple (Cyprus)
Group E: Liverpool (England), Lyon (France), Fiorentina (Italy), Debrecien (Hungary)
Group F: Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Rubin Kazan (Russia)
Group G: Sevilla (Spain), Rangers (Scotland), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), Junilia (Romania)

Group H: Arsenal (England), Hoffenheim (Germany), Olympiacos (Greece), Standard Liege (Belgium)
Some families were happy and some were sad. In the hall, some people laughed, some scolded, some sighed, some complained, all kinds of noises were everywhere, and at the end of the moment, the hall was even bustling like a farmers' market.But soon they stopped, because there was another important award to be awarded, and that was the Champions League Player of the Year award.

The candidates are Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi and Li Huan. The last winner of this award is the last Champions League winner, the best defender Li Huan. UEFA President Michel Platini personally presented the award to Li Huan.The audience burst into applause. Amidst the applause, the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony and award ceremony were all over. Then the reporters began to interview the head coaches of the top 32 teams.

Teams like Hoffenheim, Arsenal, Barcelona, ​​Real Madrid, and Manchester United naturally attract the most reporters, and clubs from other small countries also have reporters interviewing them, but it is impossible to compare with these giants in terms of the number of reporters.

Wenger is very satisfied with today's draw, but when interviewed by reporters, Wenger said very smoothly: "Maybe everyone will think that this will be a very easy group match, and Arsenal is almost equal to automatic promotion. But We don't think so, the competition will definitely be fierce, it's a very direct group and we have to focus ourselves. It's very satisfying that the shorter journey is very helpful for the team. We hope to The group stage has had a good start, and it is our goal to advance to the knockout stage as quickly as possible.”

The UEFA Champions League group match against his old club is an important topic in this group match, and Li Huan's return to Hoffenheim is one of the most eye-catching ones. Naturally, reporters will not let go of a good opportunity to hype this topic.Both German and British journalists interviewed Li Huan about this matter.Li Huan also frankly talked about his views on returning to Hoffenheim. Li Huan first talked about the team's situation in the group. He said: "Our signing is very good. We will not be hypocritical. This is a fact. But this is the Champions League, you can't think too easily, such as qualifying in three games, we will not be so arrogant, we will work hard to qualify early and get first place."

Then Li Huan talked about Hoffenheim, "It's a good signing for us, and it's the same for Hoffenheim. Although I left Hoffenheim, they are still very strong. I believe they can join us. Qualified. Although I left Hoffenheim due to personal reasons, I miss it very much. Hoffenheim Village is small, but the environment is very good, and the fans are very warm and simple. I really want to go back and see it. Now it seems that God is here Create opportunities for us. As for winning or losing, I don’t think that is the most important thing, the important thing is qualifying.”

However, when Hoffenheim talked about Arsenal, they were not as humble as Arsene Wenger and Li Huan. Maybe last season was too smooth. What Lannick said was hidden, "This is a very good signing, and we will try our best to get it." First in the group, first is very important, although Li Huan is very familiar with Hoffenheim, we are equally familiar with him, we beat Arsenal last season, I think we have the ability to achieve this goal."

(End of this chapter)