The next day, the front page of the Manchester Evening News featured a photo of Yang Fan running in celebration after scoring Manchester City's fifth goal. Tomato Novels '-'.'f'q-

The headline reads: Manchester City move closer to another title.

In that FA Cup quarter-final, Manchester City won 5-4 away at Chelsea and reached the last four of this season's English FA Cup.

At the same time, the title race for the English League has really entered the white-hot stage.

Manchester City's next league opponent is Everton, who are not traditional giants, but they are traditional powerhouses, especially at their home stadium, Goodison Park, and it will not be an easy trip for any team who visit here.

"Before this round of the league, Manchester United are top of the league with 62 points, followed by Manchester City with 61 points, Arsenal in third place with 59 points, Chelsea with 54 points, eight points away from Manchester United, the top of the league, and the title hope can be said to be very slim......

"Manchester United's opponents are Bolton Wanderers and Manchester City are going to visit Goodison Park, so it's a test for them. Chelsea's rivals Fulham and Arsenal will face West Bromwich Albion Albion and overall, Manchester City will have some trouble this round. If they can't win away from home, they could not only be opened up by Manchester United, but also by Arsenal, and Chelsea could close the gap on points. ”

Experts analyze. Against Manchester City, and at home, Everton will give it their all, they still have a chance to play in next season's Europa League, and now they have to take every game and wait for the opponent to make mistakes. ”

"If Ferguson's team can beat Bolton Wanderers at home, then the Red Devils are getting closer and closer to another English trophy, although they are now only one point ahead of Manchester City, which is a very smiling point difference, although this difference is not very safe for Manchester United, but for the always solid Ferguson team, as long as they are in the lead pole position, it is not so easy to pull them down......"

"Therefore. We think Manchester City are away to Everton, it's the highlight of the game, Manchester City can't afford to drop points, and the same applies to Chelsea, who are knocked out of the FA Cup by old rivals Manchester City, and now Chelsea are tasked with retaining their top four spots, and they must show their quality against Fulham to defend their titles, otherwise Carlo Ancelotti could be sacked early!

Before the thirtieth round of the English League. All kinds of news and news about this round of the league have been reported in the newspapers, this season's English champions, Champions League qualifications, and Europa League qualifications, the competition is extremely fierce, the league has entered the final sprint stage, and the results of each round of the league may affect the final outcome of the league. Tomato ○☆△ net ☆ -'-.'f'q-x-s'-.-com

Who will win the title? Will Manchester United continue to dominate, or will Manchester City become the unprecedented, or will Arsenal be able to regain lost ground? Will Chelsea, who are now fourth in the league, put on a comeback show?!

Right now, the entire British media is most focused on two teams.

One is Manchester City, a team that can be said to have been piled up with money by the Arab consortium, and it is very likely that they will win the first top-flight trophy in the club's history, which in itself is news of great ability.

In the first half of almost the entire season, Manchester City is the leader, since they overturned Chelsea, has been the first in the standings, but with Yang Fan accompanied the Chinese team to play the Asian Cup, Manchester City team in the winter of January also fell into a freezing period, losing points one after another, which gave Manchester United the opportunity to catch up, now, don't look at Manchester City team only one point behind Manchester United, but, because this season's Manchester derby has been played, Manchester City has no chance to directly fight Manchester United to grab points, they can only make mistakes themselves now, keep winning, and expect Manchester United to make mistakes when playing against other opponents。

For Manchester City manager Mancini, Manchester City led all the way in the first half of the season, but now they are pressed by Manchester United by one point, which naturally cannot satisfy Mancini, he is extremely eager for the league title, leaving Inter Milan and coaching England, this is his chance to really prove himself to the world.

The other is Chelsea, as the defending champions of the English League, Chelsea were knocked out by Manchester City in the League Cup final, eliminated by Manchester City in the FA Cup, and the hope of winning the league is getting smaller and smaller, and now, this team is in crisis, such a team is undoubtedly a favorite of the media, because the team in turmoil has news.

The day after tomorrow is the thirtieth round. As soon as Carlo Ancelotti arrived at Chelsea's training base, he received a phone call from his immediate boss, the big boss Roman Abramovich, in which the Russian tycoon warmly invited him to a dinner in the evening. And to make it clear, this is not the kind of lavish party attended by many high-class people, just a more intimate dinner, a private dinner belonging to the owners and managers of Chelsea FC.

Ancelotti certainly knew that Abramovich was definitely not looking for him for dinner at this time, and it was mostly related to this year's championship goal. He had known for a long time that since he took charge of the team, he knew what kind of ambitions his boss had.

The league championship was won, it was won in the Mourinho era, and now in his Ancelotti era, Chelsea was also the league champion last season, in addition, the League Cup was won before, the FA Cup was also won, for Chelsea, although they claim to be giants, but, in the eyes of some harsh people, under their colored glasses, Chelsea still can't get rid of the hat of 'pseudo-giant', the reason is simple, Chelsea still needs the highest glory of the championship trophy. □Tomato Novels□ ''-.

To be recognised by everyone, to be called a true giant, to make Mr. Chelsea more respected in his dealings with London's upper class. Carlo Ancelotti also needs to bring a new title for his boss. A glory that Chelsea has not had in more than 100 years – the Champions League.

For Abramovich out dinner invited. Can Ancelotti refuse?

He couldn't.

Carlo Ancelotti is a good-natured man, and as a meritorious coach of AC Milan, he must have a good temper if he was able to allow Silvio Berlusconi to dictate his own personnel and work hard for so many years.

In addition, to be honest, the current situation is not good for Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea are currently fourth in the league standings, eight points behind Manchester United, and it cannot be said that there is no hope of winning the league title, but the hope is not great, in addition, in the English FA Cup, Chelsea was also eliminated by Manchester City, it can be said that in the English domestic competition, it is difficult for Chelsea to win the league title, the only good news is that in the Champions League, Chelsea have reached the quarterfinals, and they still hope to compete for the Champions League title。

Here, it has to be said that one of the most important reasons why Chelsea owner Abramovich values Ancelotti and invited Ancelotti to coach is Ancelotti's excellent performance in the European arena, or the Champions League. Suffice it to say, Carlo Ancelotti is one of the top five active coaches.

What Chelsea need most now is the Champions League title, and Roman Abramovich has brought Carlo Ancelotti to take charge with the ultimate aim of dominating Europe. Chelsea won the league title last season and regained the ground lost since the Jose Mourinho era, Abou is happy, but his target is Europe!

At the end of the call, Abramovich asked with great concern about the team's preparations for the Champions League. The Russians haven't even mentioned anything about the Premier League, and it's clear that the Chelsea owners don't have much confidence in the title, as long as Chelsea can hold on to a top-four finish. He only thinks about the Champions League, and although the quarter-finals are still more than 10 days away, Abramovich is now concerned about the team's preparation, which shows how strong the Russians' desire for the Champions League title is.

Carlo Ancelotti certainly replied that everything was going well and morale was high, suggesting that Chelsea would reach the Champions League final for the first time in two years.

"I hope to go one step further this time. Abramovich said. What does it mean to go further? Last time it was the Champions League runner-up, what is it to go further now? Naturally, it is the champion, the honor of the top of Europe!

"The whole team will work hard for it!" said Ancelotti.

"Very well, Carlo, I look forward to your anticipatory good news. Abramovich laughed, "You're the best coach on the planet in Europe, I believe in you." ”

Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final opponents are Manchester United, also from England.

Ancelotti fell into deep thought at the thought that the opponent in the semi-final was Manchester United, and to be honest, Ferguson's team was one of the opponents he was most reluctant to meet, he would rather meet the Bundesliga hegemon Bayern Munich, or even the La Liga giants Real Madrid under Jose Mourinho, rather than meet Ferguson's Manchester United. That old fox wasn't that easy to deal with.

At this time, at Manchester City's Carrington training base, Yang Fan was chatting with Ballack.

"The season is almost over. Michael, do you want to think about it again? You've been recovering from an injury in the first half of the season and you're only now recovering from injury, so I'm sure you're going to get better and better. ”

Hearing Yang Fan say this, Michael Ballack laughed: "Yang, don't persuade me, I have already decided, and for me, returning to the Bundesliga, returning to the place where my football dream began, and returning to the roots, this is not a good destination." ”

Ballack has been injured since joining Manchester City, and later after returning from injury, he was in average condition and was not reused by coach Mancini, which also made Ballack a little disheartened and had made the decision to return to the Bundesliga after this season.

When learning of Ballack's decision, Manchester City Club only made a show to stay, seeing that Ballack had made up his mind, Manchester City nodded and said that he would not embarrass Ballack on the issue of transfer fees.

This also made Ballack see the facts clearly, he really has no place in Manchester City, so it is better to leave.

"yes, that's a pity...... We've only been together for a season and haven't played a few games together. Yang Fan shrugged, when Ballack returned from injury, Yang Fan was playing the Asian Cup with the Chinese national team, even after he returned to the team, he did not play a few games with Balak, Yang Fan is the absolute main force, Ballack is more often a substitute.

"My biggest regret right now is that I didn't win the championship. ☆ Tomato ''-.- f-q-x's-'.-c'o-m'haha, maybe that's my fate!" Barak said self-deprecatingly.

Hearing the self-mockery of himself like the tough guy Barak, Yang Fan felt uncomfortable in his heart. Ballack is a tough guy and an iron-blooded star, but his career has been embarrassing, and he has even been ridiculed as the 'second oldest in 10,000 years'.

Life is like this sometimes, happiness is so sweet, so close to you, but in the end it becomes bitter and so far away from you. Since Ballack's own goal created the first league runner-up in 2oo, the German king has been constantly struggling with the championship and maintaining a close relationship with the runner-up. In 2oo2, he won four runners-up in the German League, German Cup, World Cup and Champions League, one Bundesliga runner-up in 2oo4, another runner-up in the English League and the Charity Shield in 2oo7, and this year, he won five runners-up in the Charity Shield, England, League Cup, Champions League and European Cup. The number 13 is taboo by many people in the West, and Ballack won 13 runners-up in the No. 13 jersey, which can indeed only be said to be fate!

No matter how great a tragic writer is, he can't bear to write such a vigorous tragedy for eight years. When the youth is gradually passing away, the opportunity to keep Ballack is getting less and less; when the gap between the equipment of the German tank and the world's top teams is getting bigger and bigger, will Commander Ballack have the next chance? When the tough guy Ballack returns to his career after many years, will he be sad and burst into tears?

Ballack's start was not good, with only five goals scored in his first season as an absolute mainstay, far below his goalscoring efficiency at Bayern Munich and Lewukusen. The good news is that Jose Mourinho and he still won the FA and League Cup, while the bad news is that Chelsea have lost the league title and lost three in a row. The incomparably cursed Champions League (really a mad pursuit!) - still fell to Liverpool in the semi-finals.

But Ballack won two titles – 'The Second Millennium?' at Chelsea when Ballack scored his goal in the final after 1o9 minutes of extra-time in the FA Cup semi-final. This catharsis has almost reached its extreme – there was even some sense of it coming naturally in the 1-o win over Manchester United in the final.

After the game, The Guardian wrote about Ballack's importance: like the captain of the Galacticos, he led Chelsea to the final step.

However, the ultimate in brilliance is not satisfied. In Ballack's first season, even though Mourinho could still win the title, he did "the ultimate compromise", which is an infrequent phenomenon.

England is a popular league system with a centralised coach-manager system, but Abu's distrust has begun to sprout after Mourinho's defeat in the Champions League for two consecutive years. Roman Abramovich began to install his henchmen in the upper echelons and within Chelsea, with Arneson at the helm as director and Deviser at the helm as scouting academy as a consequence of the 'separation of powers' – meaning Mourinho hasn't been happy this season. In a situation where Shepchenko has not been able to adapt, the addition of Ballack's midfield has provided an unparalleled advantage - this tactical contradiction of "unsatisfactory in front, awesome in midfield" has made Mourinho compromise until the end of the season.

Chelsea in the 2oo7-2oo8 season were very lucky for Ballack, suffering one injury and only making 3o appearances, but catching up with a couple of finals. But it's also sad that he has won four runners-up in the Community Shield, the league, the Champions League and the FA Cup, not counting the European Championships.

Speaking of this topic, Yang Fan soon stopped laughing. He asked Michael Ballack, "Michael, are you really not going to play 100 games for the national team?"

Barak nodded, "I wouldn't accept a gift that borders on charity. ”

Yang Fan is talking about Ballack's rejection of the German Football Association's proposal to hold a farewell match for him, and the flag-bearer of the darkest period of German football has made his 98-game international career a swan song. In recent days, the German media have bid farewell to the legendary hero of German football, with headlines such as "Good luck, Michael" and "The end of an era without Ballack", which jumped on the front pages of major German media.

Under the headline "Ballack refuses to participate in the farewell match", the German coach Loew has completely solved the problems of the national team, and he said that the "captain" will be used completely! Michael Ballack, who is nearly 35 years old, is no longer a member of the national team, and Ballack, who has played for the German team for 12 years and played 98 international matches, has ended his international career. Loew said in announcing the decision: "In the conversation with Michael, I think he fully understands that we have made such a decision and hopefully he can understand that it is in the interest of the entire national team. And Barak simply chose to remain silent.

The secretary general of the German Football Association, Nilsbach, invited Ballack to participate in the friendly match between Germany and Brazil in August, saying: "I want the fans to know that we will be inviting Ballack to participate in his 99th international match. Ballack will captain Germany for the last time against Brazil in August. However, Ballack refused to accept such a "handout", and Ballack, who originally hoped to complete the 100 great deeds of the national team, received hints from the Football Association before, when Loew conveyed two levels of meaning: either play a farewell game and leave, or quit the national team directly.

Although the president of the German Football Association, Zwan Ziger, said in an interview with Bild: "We want him to say goodbye with dignity, but Michael doesn't seem to think so. "You must know that Ballack's pain is understandable, and after the 2oo8 European Championship final, the conflict between Ballack and Loew has intensified. The defeat to Spain was frustrating for all the German team, but Ballack simply sat with his former team-mate Bierhoff and refused to talk to coach Loew. It is reported that the German Football Association has decided as early as January this year that Ballack will not be called to the team. The German media asked: Why was the farewell match announced two months later and five months later?

Originally, the German Football Association wanted Ballack himself to announce his retirement from the national team, but in several friendly matches and European qualifiers against weak teams, Loew would rather send full-back Lahm to play a cameo role in the midfield, rather than call on Ballack to strengthen the midfielder full of injured soldiers. Ballack has been waiting for Loew to change his mind, but the German Football Association has delayed until the last minute to announce the decision to abandon it, no wonder the German media have compared this to "bitter memories". "Kicker" is titled "National Team Without Ballack: The End of an Era", and uses 13 photos of Ballack fighting for the chariot in the past to commemorate the great international's national team career.

Sports Picture said: "Ballack's career and national team career are full of regrets, but that doesn't stop him from becoming the greatest player in the history of the German team, and every great moment about him records the hardships of the German team's rise." "********" said goodbye to Ballack: "Ballack's national team career is over, but he will always be unique, he is the greatest player in the history of the national team, and he has the memories of the championship - but we still have to say: Michael, good luck!"

Although he felt regretful, however, Yang Fan was very supportive of Barak's decision, and as he spoke, Yang Fan nodded and waited for him to finish. Yang Fan nodded again. "You're right, pure masters don't accept alms. We are iron-clad men. ”

"Michael, who do you think will be able to reach the final of this year's Champions League?" Yang Fan asked.

"Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as Manchester United, are all possible. Ballack thought for a moment and then laughed, "Do you want to ask me what I think of our game against Inter Milan?"

Yang Fan pouted, "This still needs to be asked, of course it's us, Inter Milan can't stop us from moving forward." ”

After the elimination of Roma, the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League was also in, and Manchester City faced defending champions Inter Milan in the quarter-finals. After the match against Roma, they met the Serie A side again.

Ballack laughed, "So confident, you know, Inter Milan is the defending champion! Haha, then if we win Inter Milan, it will be the semi-finals, if we go further-" Speaking of this, Ballack was suddenly startled and looked at Yang Fan, "God, you don't think about -"

'Man City have to go to the final, we've got to get to the final, Michael. That's what I'm giving you as a gift, farewell race, I hope you like it. Yang Fan squeezed his eyes and said, after saying this, Yang Fan stood up and laughed: "Michael Ballack's career needs a Champions League trophy as the biggest compliment, and he deserves this trophy!"

patting Michael Barak, who was still staying, Yang Fan turned around and left.

Looking at Yang Fan's back, Ballack was still stunned, he was stunned, after a while, there were some changes in the eyes of the Germanic star who came back to his senses, he took a deep breath, stood up and looked at the sunset in the distance, the sunset was really beautiful.