Chapter 369: Chapter 368: Whoever Wins Becomes the Triple Crown Winner
May 24, Signal Iduna Park.
Over sixty thousand fans were already prepared.
Among them, more than fifty thousand were clad in red jerseys; Liverpool fans at this moment completely occupied the stadium.
In contrast, the supporters of the green and white team were pitifully few, less than ten thousand.
Even those wearing the yellow and black Dortmund jerseys were more numerous than the Sporting Lisbon supporters.
This is the prestige of the top leagues crushing the lower ones.
The players from both sides were still warming up as the commentary began.
"Hello everyone, this is the 2000-2001 UEFA Cup Final. I’m Huang Jianxiang, and today our special guests are Fan Zhiyi, the Chinese player from Premier League’s Crystal Palace, and his former team-mate at Crystal Palace, now playing for Dalian Shide, the international player Sun Jihai."
"Today’s opponents are Premier League powerhouse Liverpool against Portugal’s Primeira Liga heavyweight Sporting Lisbon. Among them, Sporting Lisbon’s Chinese-Portuguese player Deng Kai is beloved by our country’s fans and is the main team for most Chinese supporters."
"I wonder who Fan Zhiyi favors in this match?"
Fan Zhiyi laughed, "Of course, it’s Liverpool. I’ve played against Liverpool in the Premier League, and they’re very strong. Their lineup today is basically their starting lineup in the league."
"Owen and Heskey have been called Liverpool’s golden duo; they’re also the first-choice strikers for England. Among them, Owen has been the Premier League’s top scorer for two consecutive years, his momentum is fierce; England’s fans believe he is a superstar who can surpass Ronaldo."
"Heskey is one meter ninety tall with a strong pivotal role, and while his shooting is slightly weak, he hardly has any weak points. His explosiveness is incredibly strong for his height, and he was once known as a larger version of the ’Black Panther’, Eusebio."
"On the Sporting Lisbon side, Drogba and Heskey are somewhat similar, but Drogba is much too inexperienced. The gap between him and Heskey is like that between dust and the stars."
Sun Jihai nodded in approval at Fan Zhiyi’s side, indicating that ’Fan Ge’ knew how to use metaphors.
Encouraged, Fan Zhiyi became even more enthusiastic, as if he had brought out the Liverpool scouting report he studied as an assistant coach: "Liverpool’s midfield is equally tough, with left and right wingers Berger and Danny Murphy both being powerful players. The midfield duo of Gary McAllister and Vladimir Smicer are experiencing a peak this season that’s like an old-age revival, the older they get, the more demonic their performance."
"Especially Smicer, as one of the three key players of the Czech national team, his development may not have been as prominent as Nedved, who made waves at Lazio, but he’s done better than Popovski, who’s been wasting away at Benfica."
"Five years ago, the Czech team shone brightly in the European Championship, reaching the semi-finals, and Smicer played a crucial role. In last year’s European Championship, although the Czech team did not do well, Smicer’s personal performance was outstanding. Among them, his brace in three minutes that defeated Denmark is another of his representative works. It’s worth mentioning that the goalkeeper he beat twice that day was none other than Sporting Lisbon’s Schmeichel!"
"Liverpool’s defense is also strong. The center-back duo Hyypia and Henchoz have a great understanding, Carragher is performing exceptionally well at left-back, and the right-back is none other than the great Markus Babbel, brought in from Bayern."
"Speaking of which, Babbel has a score to settle with Schmeichel and Deng Kai too; two years ago in the Champions League final, after Bayern was defeated by a last-minute goal from Manchester United, Babbel’s image punching the turf became the most heartbreaking sight for all Bayern fans."
"Moreover, Liverpool’s bench boasts several high-caliber players, with Robbie Fowler definitely being one of the strongest substitute forwards. Dietmar Hamann and Liverpool’s own academy midfielder prodigy Gerard also have the skills to be starters."
"With such a lineup, they’re definitely several times stronger than Sporting Lisbon. Moreover, in terms of scheduling, Sporting Lisbon had a league match just two days ago, while Liverpool’s schedule has been relatively relaxed. Rested and ready, it would be hard for them to lose!"
After Fan Zhiyi praised Liverpool, Huang Jianxiang offered a different perspective: "Although Liverpool has a stronger lineup, Sporting Lisbon has already created many miracles before, and they might be able to do so in this match too."
"Sporting Lisbon’s starting lineup could be called the all-stars of the Primeira Liga!"
"Ronaldo, Drogba, Quaresma"
"Viana, Deng Kai"
"Matthaus, Deschamps"
"Terry, Feng Te, Barzagli, Goalkeeper Schmeichel!"
"Among them, Ronaldo’s goal-scoring ability is incredibly strong, and it’s very likely he will score in this game! He is definitely a player Liverpool needs to pay close attention to..."
Fan Zhiyi extended his hand to interrupt Huang Jianxiang’s introduction, "That, regarding Ronaldo ah, I have a friend who made a comment about him that I think is quite fair."
Huang Jianxiang responded, "I would like to hear the details."
Fan Zhiyi said, "His style of play relies heavily on his physique, but his physical fitness is okay in the lower leagues. However, in the top five leagues, it doesn’t quite measure up. So according to his style of play, he could play at most for three more years."
Huang Jianxiang pondered thoughtfully, feeling that there was more to this statement than met the eye.
...
Soon, both teams returned to the locker rooms and then lined up to walk out of the players’ tunnel.
With the sound of a whistle, the game officially began.
Perhaps because this match was of great importance, the players on both sides were particularly cautious, that is, conservative.
After all, whichever team won would become the new champions of the treble!
In the first ten minutes, neither side had created any threatening offense.
But this did not mean that this period was useless.
Both teams used this time to probe and assess the strength and condition of the opposition, and immediately formulated corresponding strategies.
On the Liverpool coaching bench, Head Coach Gerard Houllier was seen with a smile as he discussed with the likes of Thompson, Hamann, Gerrard, and other substitutes, "As expected, they have problems with their physical fitness!"
"The burden of two games in three days is too much, and their ability to move around has significantly weakened."
"The front line is still fine, but if the abilities of the three central defenders plus the double defensive midfielders to move are insufficient, this almost completely leaves both flanks open!"
"If you get on the field in the second half, you must take advantage of these opportunities!"
After speaking, Houllier waved his hand grandly, signaling for the Liverpool players on the field to shift their offensive focus.
Schmeichel immediately passed the football to the left forward, Berger.
In just ten short minutes, Liverpool consecutively created dangers, and Sporting Lisbon gradually fell behind.
The twenty-first minute.
Feng Te headed the ball clear, and when Desailly was under pressure, he punted the football upfield.
Liverpool’s midfielder Gary McAllister intercepted and passed the ball to the right-back Babbel.
Babbel dribbled the ball, played a one-two with Murphy, and crossed from the bottom line.
England’s Black Rose, Heskey, overpowered Feng Te with a header at goal.
Schmeichel reacted swiftly, instinctively parrying this powerful header.
But the next moment, the White Rose, Owen, dashed from in front of the goal and fired in the rebound.
One to zero!
After twenty minutes of fierce battle, Liverpool finally broke the deadlock and took the lead!
