Wembley Stadium

England's greatest stadium in history is back today with the longest-running FA Cup final.

In England, the FA Cup once surpassed the league, and later the league surpassed the FA Cup, but the FA Cup, as the oldest competition in England, still has an important place in the hearts of fans.

On the day of the match, the streets of London City were filled with Manchester United fans and Stoke City fans.

Teams like Stoke City have limited fans, and there are hardly any fans other than in the region, with the vast majority of people in London City being Manchester United fans.

The FA Cup is the lightest of the championships that Manchester United can compete for, but Manchester United has not won the FA Cup for 7 years, and this is the first championship trophy won by Manchester United, which has a significant impact on the morale of the team.

After lunch at the Little Grove Hotel, United had a tactical meeting before taking the bus to Wembley Stadium.

At this moment, the Wembley Stadium is already full of fans, there are five or six hundred reporters on the sidelines, and the football celebrities in the VIP box are also seventy, seven, eighty, eight, and eight, everyone is waiting for the players to appear.

The on-site commentators are in place and have already got the starting lineup, and now the players have not yet arrived, and the fans are already seated, so they take this time to introduce the lineup formation and tactical play to the fans.

Stoke City, who reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 100 years, fielded the strongest squad they could field today.

Goalkeepers: 29-Sorensen, defenders: 12-Mark Wilson, 17-Shawcross, 4-Hut, 28-Wilkinson, midfielders: 16-Pennant, 24-Delap, 6-Whelan, 26-Etherington, forwards: 9-Kenverny Jones, 19-Watkins

There are not many well-known players in this starting line-up except for Pennant and Hut, but goalkeeper Sorensen is still a first-class player in the Premier League, Depra's grenade throw-in is the only one in football, and homegrown player Etherington is the core and spiritual leader of Stoke City, which is known for its strength and defense, desperately needs Etherington's playmaking and passing.

Stoke City's squad is naturally not comparable to Manchester United, but Stoke City does not rely on fame, Stoke City relies on strong fighting spirit, as well as emphasizing team spirit and fierce and rigorous defensive system.

Manchester United did not dare to be careless in this game, and they also lined up their strongest line-up. In an event like the FA Cup, if the giant team is eliminated in the quarterfinals and the round of 16, no one laughs at it, because the giant teams are not eye-catching, and it is possible to give up in advance, but if you lose in the final, it will be too embarrassing.

Manchester United's starting line-up were: Goalkeeper: No. 1 Van der Sar

Defenders: No. 21 Rafael, No. 5 Ferdinand, No. 15 Nemanja Vidic, No. 3 Evra

Midfielders: No. 17 Nani, No. 18 Scholes, No. 10 Gao Xiaodong, No. 25 Valencia

Forwards: No. 7 Rooney, No. 14 Hernandez

Ferguson's line-up did not follow the principle of offensive and defensive balance, but was an extremely attacking line-up.

Although it was a final, it would not be risky for Ferguson to line up like this, after all, they will not face strong teams such as Chelsea and Arsenal, but Stoke City, who are ninth in the Premier League.

Against an extremely conservative Stoke City, if you think about the balance of attack and defense, then Ferguson just looks down on himself too much.

Although a very aggressive starting line-up was fielded, in the dressing room, Ferguson repeatedly stressed to the Manchester United players that they should not underestimate the enemy, not to look down on Stoke City, not to think that the title is secure, there is never an easy final.

The morale and fighting spirit of the Manchester United players are at their peak, but there is definitely a desire to underestimate the enemy.

A team like Manchester United, the opponents who are pondered every day are giants like Chelsea and Barcelona, and the players are at least at the level of international stars, and against a team like Stoke City, even if they meet in the FA Cup final, it is difficult to take it seriously.

After a brief command from Ferguson, the players came out of the dressing room to warm up.

The fans had been waiting for a long time, and when they saw the players come out, the stands suddenly passed like a hurricane, triggering a tsunami-like cheer and applause.

Manchester United have a lot of superstars in the team, and legends like Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, and it is normal for them to win such support.

The Manchester United players were not arrogant, waving to the fans as they walked up the pitch.

There was no intensity in the warm-up before the game, and there was nothing exciting, just passing, shooting, catching the circle, and moving your muscles.

However, the fans have been here for too long, and they have nothing to do except look at the highlights on the big screen, listen to the commentator's nonsense or their own nonsense, and it is already very happy for them to be able to see their idols moving in front of them.

Soon the Stoke City players also came to warm up.

Compared to the Manchester United players, the Stoke City players warmed up with little fan applause.

Towards the start of the game, Stoke City owner Ketts came to the box in the stands, and reporters shot him wildly, but the fans reacted mutedly.

In addition to the fact that the owner of Stoke City runs a bookmaker, it is mainly because Ketts has invested very little in the team, and the fans are not happy with them.

Everram, the son of Manchester United club owner Glazer, also came to the stands, and compared to the Stoke City owner, Glazer's son not only did not receive applause from Manchester United fans, but even received sporadic boos.

Efram's face was a little uncomfortable, but fortunately the players from both sides were already on the pitch by this time, and the shouts and applause from the crowd muffled some of the boos.

Alex Ferguson was also on the pitch and was the first to shake hands with Stoke City manager Palis Just.

"You guys played well! Win or lose this game, you can leave with pride. ”

Pulis said lightly: "Thank you for the compliment, we don't want to be a spectator today." ”

Ferguson smiled and said, "God bless you, see you on that field, if Stoke City wins, I will treat you and red wine." ”

Ferguson turned back to his dugout, and Pulis stared at Ferguson's back and clenched his fists, he could hear the contempt in Ferguson's words.

While Ferguson and Pulis were talking, the players of Manchester United and Stoke City had already completed the pre-match handshake and photo exchange ceremony to exchange the team flags and badges, and each came to his own half, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle for the start of the game.