Team Spirit

Chapter 287 Europa League Battle: Red-Green Derby at 30 Points?

"Quickly, 'My Love Diary in Asen Green' is about to be updated!"

In France, a little black bean is having a monthly gathering with his friends, and they watch Green Gun Movies together whenever a new episode is released.

These children were wearing all sorts of tattered jerseys and soccer gear, which showed that their families were not well-off.

"Ngolo, I heard you went to try out for a semi-professional team a while ago, how did it go?" a friend asked.

Little Black Bean's face darkened, but you couldn't tell. He shook his head: "I still wasn't selected."

His friends didn't know how to comfort him, after all, Ngolo was really too short. In the past two years, his teammates had left one after another because they had passed the trials and joined a semi-professional team.

Only those who aren't good enough stay in Surena—an amateur football club.

This episode of the documentary was surprisingly equipped with special effects.

I selected one goal each from Lu Kai's seven EFL Cup finals.

After seven shots were taken, Alfred, wearing a tortoise shell, and Ashley Young, wearing Klin's clothes, were talking to each other.

Master Roshi: "Legend has it that if you collect all seven Dragon Balls, you can summon Shenron and make a wish."

Ashley Young looked hopeful: "We've won the EFL Cup for seven consecutive years, what should we wish for?"

This is a great achievement, equaling Liverpool's seven EFL Cup titles accumulated over a century.

Third place goes to Aston Villa, who have won the title five times in their history.

The fourth place is held by Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Nottingham Forest, who have won the title four times in history.

Leicester City is fifth, with three appearances.

Arsenal finished sixth, alongside Norwich, Chelsea, and Wolves, despite winning the title twice.

Manchester United fared even worse, with both they and Newcastle having only won the EFL Cup once.

In fact, Dartford's seven EFL Cup titles have taken two from Liverpool and two from Chelsea, and one each from Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, and Middlesbrough.

To harm others for one's own benefit.

On television, the camera then cut to the faces of the Green Gunners players, each of whom said a sentence, all of which were then edited together.

Everyone's wishes are different, and for a moment it felt like a murmur of various human beings.

Finally, Lu Kai concluded with a fist pump: "I always hope we can win more championships!"

"No matter where you are, no matter your skin color, no matter how tall or short, fat or thin, whether you come from a developed country or the Third World, please always believe that you will win more championships!"

"This wish is for Dartford, and also for you watching on TV!"

After the shoot ended, Ashley Young tentatively asked Lu Kai, "Lu, don't you think you're being a little too fake right now?"

"I mean, it's a bit too positive, it makes people feel unreal."

"You talk about world peace and everyone being a dragon every day, but in reality you still have your own thoughts, joys, and sorrows."

Lu Kai spread his hands: "The real me should be reserved for people who actually interact with me, not for the internet or television signals."

"If everyone knows every single detail about me, then what privacy and sense of security do I have left?"

“I don’t want to be myself in front of the camera all the time. After all, it’s something that can be spread, so I need to be careful.”

Do you know what the point of following celebrities and choosing idols is?

Ashley Young shook his head.

Lu Kai: "Following an idol is not about how perfect your idol is or whether they are a perfect person. It's about what they bring to you."

"Even if he is a bad idol, if he makes you understand that you should do your best in life when you have the ability, otherwise you will regret it in the future, thus prompting you to become better in life and career... then he is a good idol for you."

"So who I am is not important; what matters is what kind of inspiration my fans can get from me."

The director thought this was a good point, so he kept Lu Kai's last part.

These words had a huge impact on Ngolu Kanté, who was watching on television.

Similarly, Mohamed Salah, a young player far away in Egypt, also performed Lu Kai's classic Siu celebration in front of the television.

He was greatly encouraged!
It's not just them; young players all over the world are rapidly becoming believers in the land.

If Ronaldo has fans all over the world, it's because he achieved success at a young age and was unstoppable.

Zidane has many fans because he, despite his advanced age, still retains a youthful spirit and remains as energetic as ever.

Ronaldinho has many fans because of his unparalleled football skills and his ever-present smile.

Beckham has many fans because he is impeccably handsome and captivating.

But there are actually differences here.

Ronaldo and Zidane possess a natural and top-tier level of attraction and personal charisma.

Beckham and Ronaldinho, on the other hand, reached the top level through deliberate manipulation, and thus even surpassed the top level by a slight margin.

Lu Kai's success stems from the natural attraction of his outstanding achievements combined with deliberate positive energy dissemination and guidance. As a result, the speed, breadth, and depth of his fan base growth are likely to be the sum of the aforementioned four Heavenly Kings... or even more (in the future)!
This once again proves just how powerful human initiative is.

……

March 3rd, the 29th round of the English Premier League.

Dartford are facing a double challenge: the EFL Cup final followed by the UEFA Cup Round of 16. They have no choice but to rotate their squad.

They ultimately drew 1-1 with Charlton Athletic at home.

March 8th, the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16.

Dartford will host Sevilla.

This team is currently third in La Liga and their strength should not be underestimated.

But what's even more formidable is that this is a team that renamed the UEFA Cup to the "Sevilla Cup".

Just like Dartford turned the EFL Cup into the "Green Gun Cup"!
They are the Europa League champions last season and will successfully defend their title this season.

Then they achieved a three-peat from 2013 to 2016, and subsequently won two more championships.

In just seventeen years, they won a total of seven Europa League titles, which is truly astonishing.

However, the miracle for Sevilla has only just begun, and they have encountered another miracle – Dartford.

When two miracles meet, one of them will inevitably fall.

Therefore, Lu Kai attached great importance to the pre-match preparations for this game, which even Guardiola found strange.

The third-place team in La Liga is indeed very strong, but isn't our Green Gunners currently third in the Premier League?

In the last two years, the British have overshadowed the West!
What's there to be afraid of, Dior?

But Alfred, having worked with Lu Kai for so many years, was already used to this, and he seriously warned everyone to take the game seriously.

Repeatedly ordered and emphasized!

As it turns out, the opponents that Lu Kai inexplicably values ​​are often the biggest rivals of Green Gun.

As expected, the match was extremely fierce.

Sevilla plays a very aggressive style of football, with both sides committing frequent fouls.

Mertens, who had previously won the Man of the Match award in the EFL Cup final, had a disastrous performance in this game and was substituted early in the second half.

Fortunately, he was substituted because Kompany was injured in the first half.

In the second half, Green Gunners took a 1-0 lead thanks to Lu Kai's playmaking, Motta's brilliant pass, and Duff's goal. However, Ashley Young was forced off the field during the next attack.

Ultimately, with both sides accumulating seven yellow cards, the match ended 1-0 thanks to Cech's outstanding saves.

Green Gunners narrowly won at home.

However, two key players were injured and will miss the second leg of the match.

Ashley Young is expected to be sidelined for four weeks, while Kompany is projected to be out for more than six weeks.

In addition, Greens' left-back Firo is suspended for the second leg due to accumulated yellow cards.

In addition to Ribery, who was previously sidelined due to injury.

Green Gun lost four key players in the second round.

On March 12, the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 matches kicked off.

All four Premier League teams have made it to the knockout stage, but they've all been drawn into tough groups; there haven't been any easy opponents.

However, the Premier League's fighting spirit was quickly demonstrated... and good news came one after another for two consecutive days.

Manchester United defeated Italian giants Roma.

Roma captain Francesco Totti was once very close to joining Manchester United. After retiring, he stated in several interviews that he was willing to join Manchester United, but ultimately the move did not materialize due to other reasons, which he found very regrettable.

Chelsea defeated La Liga powerhouse Valencia.

This team reached the Champions League final in previous years and also won the La Liga title. Unfortunately, their key winger Vincent suffered a serious injury this season and is unable to play in tough matches.

Liverpool drew the formidable Bayern Munich, but Bayern had lost the Bundesliga in the last two years and had many internal problems, so they were defeated by the united Liverpool.

Only Arsenal, after losing the EFL Cup final, unleashed a powerful force, winning both of their Premier League matches by large margins.

They even defeated Milan 2-1 in the first leg, avenging their defeat in last season's Champions League final.

But who knew that in the second leg at Milan's home ground, Arsenal would lose their way and be neutralized by Milan, who scored a 1-0 goal.

AC Milan eliminated Arsenal on away goals.

This is going to be quite something.

If Arsenal had suffered a narrow defeat in the Champions League last season, everyone would have thought they were still at a championship level.

If they lose again this time, it will give people the illusion that they are indeed inferior to Milan, and in the public's impression, they will fall from Champions League champion level to non-champion level.

He failed to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). He could have become a Tongjinshi (another successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but now even Tongjinshi is no longer available. He is at best a poor scholar!
Thus, the London European competition "F4" saw three teams celebrate their victories, while Arsenal were the only ones eliminated from European competition.

The only trophy they can pursue this season is the Premier League title.

But that's just theory.

They are significantly behind the leaders Manchester United and Chelsea in points.

At best, he could catch up with Green Gun.

But what's the difference between the third and the fourth?

The morale at Arsenal collapsed instantly.

For Henry and his teammates who were planning to leave, it would be perfect to leave behind the championship trophy before departing, but if that wasn't possible, they would have to take care of their health.

Otherwise, if he gets injured now, it's fine if the new club withholds his salary, but if they return him, they'll be in a terrible situation.

On March 14th, the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 kicked off.

Tottenham's match kicked off three hours earlier.

Like Green Gunners, they both defeated their opponents in the first leg, so theoretically they have a high probability of advancing... That's why it's said that there's only one heartbroken person in London, and that's Arsenal.

As the Celtics players warmed up at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium in Seville, the British media had already focused all their attention on them.

Tottenham Hotspur have just drawn with their opponents, Sporting Braga of the Portuguese Primeira Liga, and have successfully advanced to the Europa League quarterfinals.

Whether London has only one sixteenth-place finisher depends on Green Gun's performance.

……

"Hello everyone, I'm Shiliulang, oh no, I'm Huang Jianxiang." Huang Jianxiang was criticizing Arsenal, but he was also worried for Dartford. "This game is crucial for Dartford. If they fail to advance, they will be nailed to the pillar of shame in Premier League history along with Arsenal."

"Both Green Gunners and Sevilla rotated their squads in the weekend's league match, but Sevilla had a more complete lineup."

Their starting lineup is:

Fabiano, Kanoute

"Marisca, Matti, Upson, Hinkel"

"Puerta, Fazio, Navarro, Alves"

"Palop"

Zhan Jun then introduced the Green Guns' lineup, which was indeed worrying:

Duff, Dzeko, Vardy
Lu Kai, Motta, Modric

Marcelo, Vidic, Thiago Silva, Li Weifeng
Cech
-

"The main change is in the defense," Zhan Jun explained. "In fact, I think Pepe or Barton would be more effective in midfield than Modric."

"Because Green Gunners mainly need to play a defensive counter-attacking style today."

Most commentators follow this line of thinking.

But Green Gun's move also had its own purpose.

Guardiola: "Modric can effectively enhance the team's midfield control and form a strong ball control with Motta and Lukay."

“Our new defense might be a little weak, but Marcelo and Thiago Silva are both very technically gifted and have excellent passing skills.”

"Li Weifeng is a veteran of the team and is very familiar with the team's positioning and support."

"Overall, our midfield and defense control is actually very strong, and we can suppress Sevilla in terms of possession, thereby reducing their number of attacks."

"And it's easier to lure them out, increasing our chances of a successful counterattack!"

This is Lu Kai's approach: control over defense!
This tactic will be perfectly normal for Barcelona and Manchester City in the future.

However, at this stage, it is still one version ahead.

While Serie A teams are also adept at passing the ball around from the back, one uses three center-backs to deal with two strikers, wasting a center-back as a defensive redundancy.

On the other hand, they also rely on their big center forward to try and win long balls, resulting in a very low offensive conversion rate.

Under the double negative impact, they can't even score one goal per game on average.

If they really played like that, Green Gun would have stopped reflecting on their actions long ago.

Even when Green Gunners play defensively, their counter-attacks are far more lethal than those of Italian teams.

With the sound of a whistle, the match began.

The 47,000 Sevilla fans were dressed in a striking mix of red and white, with the players wearing white shirts and red shorts, creating a vivid contrast with the predominantly green jerseys of the Green Gunners.

British fans were momentarily stunned.

Is this the Red-Green Derby 3.0?
Is Sevilla carrying on Arsenal's glorious tradition and trying to redeem the red and white team?

(End of this chapter)