Chapter 87: Chapter 87: The Shining Three Stars of Bayern U15 (Thanks to the Helmsman Reward from 嗷嗷嗷嗷奥)
"Youth Champions League Quarter-Final Preview: Atletico and Ajax are shoo-ins for the semi-finals, the main focus is on the battle between Bayern and Sporting Lisbon!"
"Bayern Manager Hitzfeld: I’m very optimistic about the U15’s performance in the Champions League, just as the Bayern first team easily defeated Kaiserslautern in the first leg of the quarter-finals!"
"Bayern’s Youth Director: There are players in the youth team who could become starters for Bayern in the future! Players like Philipp Lahm, Schweinsteiger, and Hitzlsperger have the most potential!"
"Bayern youth star player Lahm: I won’t go to the left to avoid Sporting Lisbon’s Ronaldo. On the contrary, I’m eager to face him. A good defender always takes pride in freezing out a good forward."
"Schweinsteiger: We won’t be afraid of Sporting Lisbon’s offense or defense, my golden partnership with Lahm on the right can blow through anything!"
"Hitzlsperger: Freezing Sporting’s Deng Kai is my main task in the next game, and I will also try to score to help the team win big! I can handle both these aspects well."
"Portugal’s alien Ronaldo responds: The last player who claimed to have a golden right side was Robben, and we sent him back home. This one might as well pack his bags in advance!"
"Football Caesar Deng Kai: Lahm is a full-back capable of playing on both the left and right sides, but whether he is good or not depends on if he knows to stay away from Ronaldo! If they face off, he will be blown apart by Ronaldo! As for Schweinsteiger and Hitzlsperger, they are decent defensive midfielders!"
The Youth Champions League quarter-finals are about to begin.
Some interviews from both sides have been released.
The most sensational one was from Deng Kai.
Because... If Hitzlsperger could barely be considered a defensive midfielder, then Schweinsteiger is actually one of the best wingers in Bayern’s youth ranks, with his primary positions being winger and attacking midfielder.
Yet Deng Kai called them defensive midfielders.
If this isn’t an insult, what is it?
It is reported that Schweinsteiger lost his temper upon reading this news, vowing to use goals to show Deng Kai who really is the defensive midfielder!
To this, Deng Kai expressed his deepest apologies.
Because Schweinsteiger will indeed become an excellent central midfielder in the future, shining as a defensive midfielder with good passing, shooting from distance, and defense, known as a truly all-around midfielder.
To say that a defensive midfielder is good at defense is definitely not an insult.
In fact, due to his speed, Schweinsteiger would not make it as a winger.
Perhaps he can still stand out as a winger and attacking midfielder in the youth team due to his talent.
But compared to true top wingers like Robben and Ronaldo, he is rather mediocre.
And Lahm, the captain of this Bayern U15 squad, is the real top-class winger.
Although he’s not much taller than Deng Kai, he excels in both offense and defense, is fast, with good passing and soccer intelligence, and can play on both flanks. In the future, he’ll become a legend for both Bayern and the German national team.
As for Hitzlsperger, this midfielder will also become an international player for Germany in the future, all-around in offense and defense, and known as "The Hammer" for his strong long shots.
But his most notable feat was coming out as gay in 2014, stating that after a long period of self-acknowledgment and reflection, he gradually realized that he preferred the company of boys.
This "coming out" even garnered him support and praise from many professional footballers.
...
On March 10th, Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-0 to advance to the FA Cup semi-final.
Manchester United fans were jubilant.
However, professional football media generally believed it was not a good thing.
Because just three days earlier, Manchester United had already played a quarter-final match against Chelsea.
It ended in a draw, which led to the replay a few days later.
For Manchester United, it was an extra match out of the blue.
As everyone knows, the latter half of the season is generally more intense than the former due to championship battles and so on.
One or two extra games could lead to player fatigue and a wave of injuries, spiraling into a vicious cycle that ultimately results in a losing streak.
This year’s Manchester United, as it stands, is fighting on three fronts, with an already packed schedule of games.
The fact they played an additional match for the FA Cup could end up causing them to bow out of the Champions League or drop the ball in the league.
Moreover, winning this match means there will be another one to play.
Many veteran fans had previously called for Manchester United to give up the FA Cup, but they were influenced by Deng Kai’s statement that "I even think Manchester United could become the first genuine treble winners in the top five leagues this year."
United’s Godfather, Ferguson, decisively chose to fight on all three fronts!
Professional media thought Ferguson had gone mad.
But Ferguson had his reasons.
He and his coaching staff had noticed that lately, the players were in better form and their fighting spirit was stronger than ever.
After individual talks, Ferguson realized that many of the players were influenced by Deng Kai’s remarks.
They might not have agreed with everything Deng Kai said, they might not have known whether they could win the Champions League, but they drew strength from Deng Kai’s belief in them.
If a kid all the way in Lisbon believed in them, why shouldn’t they strive for it themselves?
That’s why, during a Manchester United internal meeting, Ferguson announced that the team’s goals for the season were championship, championship, and championship!
Upon hearing this, the players immediately erupted into excited howling, and the team atmosphere reached an unprecedented level of harmony and positivity!
The spirit of Manchester United, which had slightly dispersed after Cantona’s sudden retirement, was now reforged to its ultimate firmness.
The spirit of Manchester United... had reached its peak!
...
March 13th.
The Youth Champions League quarter-finals officially kicked off.
This time, the match was held at the Munich Olympic Stadium, which was also Bayern’s current home field.
Bayern U15 won the lucky draw, so they got to arrange the venue.
In a single-elimination match, the home-field advantage was significant.
This was also why people generally favored Bayern U15 to advance.
Less than a week ago, Bayern’s first team had just defeated last season’s Kaiserslautern miracle team with a 2-0 victory here, stepping half a foot into the Champions League semi-finals.
Now, their youth team was here to face their European opponent, aiming to make it into the semi-finals of the Youth Champions League.
Bayern U15 stuck to the traditional 4-4-2 formation.
Lahm played right back.
Schweinsteiger was the right midfielder.
Hitzlsperger was playing as the right central midfielder.
Sporting Lisbon stuck to their usual 4-3-3 formation.
Wu Xudong, who received a red card in the last match, was banned from this round and missed the big list.
With the whistle, the match officially began.
After five minutes of tugging and jostling, the situation on the field became relatively clear.
In terms of overall strength, Bayern had the advantage.
The prowess of German football training, was that even if you were a piece of scrap iron, they could forge you into a fine blade.
The players they trained had a high degree of tactical compatibility, well-rounded abilities, and robust physical confrontation and strength.
Their players had an advantage during their developmental stages.
Of course, this kind of "assembly line industrial product" also had its flaws; the players’ flair could be worn down, making it difficult to produce top-tier stars, let alone superstars.
Regrettably for them, Lahm was an incredibly rare future superstar to come from the German football training system.
His flair had not been dulled.
He and Schweinsteiger completely dominated the right side of the field, turning it into "Bayern’s corridor."
The golden right side was no empty boast!
To counter them, Veloso even abandoned his mission to protect Deng Kai and stationed himself on that side, along with Araujo and Angelo, in a tight defensive formation.
Yet Bayern’s attacks still played out vibrantly.
On the same side, Ronaldo found himself in a difficult position.
Without teammate support, he struggled to cause any trouble upfront alone.
Going back to help his teammates and assist in defense meant losing his sharp edge, causing the team to become even more passive.
For a while, Sporting Lisbon was completely overwhelmed by Bayern.
