March 16, western suburbs of Paris, Saint-Germain training base.

After the morning training session, Gao Han and his assistants went to the restaurant to have lunch, and sat in front of the TV at 11:30 punctually to watch the live broadcast of the UEFA draw.

As is customary for UEFA, the draw for the Champions League will be held after 15 minutes, followed by a break before the draw for the Europa League, both of which are draws for the quarter-finals.

During the period when the Champions League finished the round of 16, the Europa League played a total of two knockout rounds, Paris Saint-Germain first eliminated Turkey's Trabzonspor with an aggregate score of 8-1, and then eliminated Belgium's Standard Liege with an aggregate score of 6-1 over two legs, and successfully reached the quarterfinals.

Among the teams that entered the quarterfinals of the Champions League this time, La Liga was the most popular, with all four participating teams reaching the quarterfinals, accounting for half of the country, and the remaining four teams occupied two seats in the Premier League, Manchester two, Serie A and Bundesliga each with one seat, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.

According to the draw rules of the Champions League, this time the eight teams will be disrupted, and then the draw will be re-drawn, and there will be no circumvention principle with the same country, and all teams may meet, so it is very likely that La Liga teams will meet.

"How do you feel now?" Zidane asked, smiling, sitting next to Gao Han.

When the others heard it, they all thought it was funny, but they were really curious, what would Gao Han feel like?

"If I had to answer with a high-sounding answer, then I would definitely say that I am very satisfied that the team has come so far, so no matter who the next opponent is drawn, whether the game is won or lost at the end, I am completely acceptable, so I don't care at all now, and I don't care who is going to be drawn. ”

Gao Han took out the same tone as he dealt with media reporters to answer the assistant coach's questions, and his serious expression made everyone present laugh, and this answer was indeed too high-sounding.

"What if it's not so high-sounding?" Zidane asked with a smile.

Gao Han snorted, "Then I will definitely say that the seven teams in the quarterfinals of the Champions League are really strong!"

At the end, the assistants burst into laughter.

But this is indeed true, because Chinatown is definitely the weakest team in the top eight, so no matter who is drawn, they feel very strong, which is understandable.

"Mr. Gao Han, I'm a journalist for Paris Saint-Germain. Sergio Garcia also came over to join in the fun, "I want to ask you, among the seven teams, which team do you think is the most promising in your Chinatown draw?"

Gao Han's brows furrowed, and he looked very distressed, which made everyone present laugh again.

"Can I not answer?"

"No, it must be answered. ”

"OK, I would like to draw La Liga teams the most. ”

"Huh?" everyone suspected that they had misheard.

La Liga teams?

Barcelona is recognized as one of the two strongest teams in the quarterfinals, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also very strong, and they are both regulars in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

"Look, isn't it, you must all suspect that I have a bad brain, because according to your thinking, you should choose Inter Milan, right?" Gao Han himself thought it was funny.

"Then why not Inter?" Zidane asked curiously.

The situation in Serie A has declined in recent years, and Inter Milan can be described as a lone team, after selling a number of leading stars in a row, coupled with Adriano, Cannavaro, Cambiasso and a number of backbone forces such as Alpine and so on, Inter Milan's strength is also not as good as before.

Although there are still core players such as Hamsik, Bonucci, and Marchisio, and Prandley has also cultivated local rookies such as Thornton and Balotelli, the overall strength of the Nerazzurri is still weak in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Of course, Moratti has not invested much in recent years, but the team has raised a lot of money on the new stadium project, which is expected to be completed within a year, and once the new stadium is put into use, Inter Milan will usher in a new period of rapid development.

But judging from the current situation, Inter Milan is still in the dormant stage, and its strength is at best the level of the quarterfinals.

On the other hand, several other teams, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid and Manchester United Manchester City do not need to be said, Bayern Munich after firing Klinsmann, poached Heynckes, and this season is also skyrocketing, the three fronts are very outstanding, plus a set of teams left by Gao Han, at least the top four level.

Therefore, it is not surprising that everyone does not understand Gao Han's thoughts.

"I know that Inter Milan is relatively weak in these eight teams, and Chinatown may not be without a fight when it meets Inter Milan. Gao Han's words were also recognized by everyone present.

"But one thing you forget is that Chinatown is just a new team in the Champions League, they haven't even played in the Europa League before, they lack experience in dealing with the styles of teams in different leagues, Inter Milan's defensive ability is excellent, and the tactical rigor of Serie A will definitely pose a mortal threat to Chinatown. ”

Gao Han's words made everyone nod involuntarily, and it was true.

Purely from the point of view of strength, there may be a fight, but Chinatown is too inexperienced, and Italy's style is restrained by La Liga, which is well known.

"Although I don't want to admit it, I have to say that if Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Manchester City are drawn, China's chances of qualifying will be very slim, but Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, who know each other's league roots, I think they can fight together. ”

The knockout round of the Champions League is definitely more difficult to play than the league, but they know each other's roots, they are more sure to deal with it, and Pochettino's lineup will be more confident, so Gao Han will think that playing La Liga teams has a better chance of winning.

Of course, the odds here are just 10 percent and 20 percent.

Anyway, for Chinatown, these seven teams are like towering mountains, especially Manchester City and Barcelona, which are comparable to Mount Everest and insurmountable.

"Then you'd better pray to draw Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, if it's Barcelona......"

Before Zidane could speak, the draw ceremony on live TV began.

UEFA Secretary-General Gianni Infantino presided over the draw ceremony, and he took the stage to introduce the eight teams that reached the quarterfinals, and took a short time to review the knockout rounds of 16 that had just ended.

And after entering the lottery ceremony, the first to be drawn was Chinatown.

When the draw guest Breitner drew the results, even the team representatives on the scene were a little surprised.

Everyone knows that this is a cold team, and after being promoted every year, this season not only reached the final of the Copa del Rey, but also reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which was achieved in the case of selling four absolute core players in a summer, which shows the strength of this team.

But soon, everyone went from surprise to delight.

Because the second team drawn by Breitner is Barcelona.

This time it was Zidane's turn in front of the TV to cover his mouth, and he looked at the TV with his eyes wide in disbelief, and then looked at Gao Han, who had a wry smile on his face.

Who would have thought that Chinatown would draw Barcelona, this is two teams with a big gap in strength, Barcelona can be called the natural enemy of Chinatown, in the three seasons that Chinatown has entered La Liga, it has never defeated Barcelona, not even a draw.

Now it's in the Champions League again, playing Barcelona, and there is no chance of winning.

Gao Han also shook his head and exhaled heavily, the draws of the other groups were no longer his concern.

Bayern Munich drew Atletico Madrid, Manchester United had the best luck and drew Inter Milan, Real Madrid beat Manchester City, and in the subsequent draw, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid's group, along with Chinatown and Barcelona, were drawn to the bottom half, that is, the winners of the two duels will meet in the semi-finals.

"It's so depressing, isn't it?" Sergio Garcia shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I used up all my luck before, and now it's time to be unlucky." ”

Everyone felt that way, with Barcelona and Manchester City being the last teams anyone wanted to meet.

Gao Han always said on the surface that he was satisfied with the team's current results, even if he stopped in the quarterfinals, it would be an unexpected gain, but he still had thoughts more or less, what if he broke out again and entered the semifinals?

Judging from the results of the current draw, the odds are really slim.

But he quickly calmed down, nodded and smiled: "Actually, Barcelona is not completely without weakness. ”

"Left-back. "Sergio Garcia has followed Gao Han for many years and knows Gao Han's character very well.

Now that the draw is clear and cannot be changed, we should try to find a way to defeat the enemy.

'Abidal is planning a liver transplant and after selling Maxwell, Guardiola has always had two options on the left, one is Puyol and the other is Adriano, but either way, the left side is Barcelona's fatal weakness. ”

It should be said that neither of these players was an option for Barcelona on the left, but was only forced to do so.

'We know, and Guardiola knows for sure, he's going to be ready. Makelle analyzed.

Gao Han nodded, "Yes, but judging from last season, Guardiola has not many methods, and it is his strategy to replace defense with offense, and in European football, there are not many teams that can withstand Barcelona's attack." ”

After a pause, Gao Han continued: "With Barcelona's style of play and squad configuration, the loopholes on the left side will always exist, but not just any team can hit it, but as long as you can pinch Barcelona's seven-inch play, it may not be impossible to win, and I believe Pochettino must be very clear about this." ”

Barcelona's problems on the left side have been exposed since last season, and this summer because of transfer budget problems, they failed to strengthen on the left side, and continued to retain Abidal and Adriano, but they didn't expect that halfway through the schedule, Abidal's illness relapsed, which exposed the crisis on the left side of Barcelona.

Pochettino has played so many games against Barcelona in two seasons and he knows that for sure.

So, it's up to him to make the most of that.

This is arguably the only hope for another upset in Chinatown.

However, Pochettino should not be a headache for the Champions League quarter-finals now, as he will be able to ensure that his side are out of the game against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu at the weekend.

After the draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the draw for the quarter-finals of the Europa League also began, with Paris Saint-Germain drawing AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands to make it very likely to advance to the semi-finals.

(End of chapter)