Chapter 17: Defending the Title and Taking the Lead
On the evening of 2 May 2003, the 2002-2003 Premier League champion was decided in the penultimate round. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info
Ahead of the 36th round of the Premier League, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United were both fighting for the title, with Blackburn Rovers needing only a win to secure the Barclays Cup, while United not only had to win, but also count on Leeds United to draw and even beat Blackburn.
In the end, with two goals from Cambiasso and Didier Drogba, Blackburn managed to snatch the trophy with a brilliant sixth consecutive league win, leaving Manchester United in second place.
And the biggest suspense of the Premier League this season is also lonely, Blackburn Rovers won the title, Manchester United won the second place because of the breakup between Beckham and Ferguson, Arsenal locked up the third place in the Champions League next season, and Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea will compete fiercely for the fourth place in the Champions League qualifying round in the last two rounds.
If Blackburn Rovers repeated the miracle of "Kaiserslautern" last season and completed the dark horse to win the championship, they have been the favorites to win the championship this season, and they have truly achieved the domination of the Premier League all season, and this title has also convinced the likes of Ferguson and Wenger.
Blackburn Rovers chairman Arthur has set an astonishing record: after he joined the team, Blackburn Rovers have never let the trophy of their league go aside!
At this point, the situation in the Premier League has completely changed, and a triumvirate of Blackburn, Arsenal and Manchester United has been formed.
"Jose, the results of the next two rounds don't matter, let the main players who have been busy for a season have a good rest, and the boys of our reserve team also need to hone on the big field." During the celebration meeting, Arthur deliberately talked to Mourinho, who was full of red light.
"No problem, Arthur, that's exactly what I planned." Mourinho agreed, after all, the championship has been reached, and no matter how much he loses in the last two rounds of the league, he will not be able to get the championship trophy in hand.
"Well, especially in the next round of away games, I don't think you have to travel long distances, I'm going to buy a yacht, and when the time comes, you can accompany me to see it, and occasionally take a weekend off, which is also a good choice." Arthur suggested.
"Huh?" Jose Mourinho quickly came back to his senses, with Arthur saying that letting him accompany him to the yacht was just a pretense, and that the real reason was to make Blackburn lose in their next league game.
Mourinho was quick to remember his opponent for the next league game:
Newcastle?
Liverpool, Newcastle and Chelsea are currently battling it out for fourth place in the final two rounds of Champions League qualification. Newcastle United sit fourth in the table, four points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea, who are equally on points, and a win over Blackburn Rovers next game would see them finish fourth in the league one round earlier, while Liverpool and Chelsea will have to play in the UEFA Cup next season.
Seeing a trace of confusion in Mourinho's eyes, Arthur explained: "I just want Liverpool and Chelsea to only play in the League Cup next season, as long as Liverpool can only play in the League Cup in the future, not a higher level of the Champions League, then gradually they will no longer be the Premier League giants, after all, where are the giants who can only play the League Cup?" And we can take their place in English football. ”
"And Chelsea...... "Arthur sneered, and asked, "Jose, you should have heard rumors about the Russians buying Chelsea, right?" ”
"Yes, it's the most eye-catching news in English football lately, after all." Mourinho also began to understand what Arthur meant.
"This Russian is rich, very rich, dozens of times more than mine, but so what?" Arthur said confidently: "As long as Chelsea don't play in the Champions League next season, and they are not big teams like Manchester United and Liverpool, then they will have little attraction to first-class stars, even if they offer skyrocketing salaries in vain." ”
"And if you hold down the Russian's first season at Chelsea, it's going to be a lot easier, isn't it?" Arthur chuckled.
"Then I'm going to thank you for Ferguson!" Mourinho and Arthur clinked glasses slightly.
"By the way, where do you go to see the yacht on the weekend? I don't know much, so I can't give you much of a reference. "Mourinho changed the subject.
"I don't understand either, but I've hired a professional, let's just wait to be fooled." Arthur smiled heartily.
……
On the evening of May 8, 2003, in the 37th round of the Premier League, Blackburn, which had just completed the defense of the title, lost 0:1 away, and Newcastle, which won the victory, won the fourth place in the league one round ahead of schedule and obtained the last ticket to the Champions League next season.
After Newcastle's victory, although Chelsea and Liverpool also won and beat their opponents by a big score, they can only finish fifth and sixth in the league table, and can only play in the League Cup next season.
While Chelsea and Liverpool supporters were accusing Blackburn of not being a footballer, Arthur and Jose Mourinho were picking yachts at the Lürssen shipyard in Germany.
The 60-metre-long yacht is designed by Espen-Oeino Monaco, one of the world's leading design yachts. She is a world-renowned Lloyd's Register and MCA certified yacht management company imperial_yachts oversee the entire construction and interior process. Mark Mark, general manager of the Lürssen shipyard, said.
Arthur and others came to the interior of the yacht, and the interior of Arkley was in charge of the yacht's interior design master Mark-Berryman, presenting a fresh, young and thoughtful modern style as a whole. Guests generally access Arkley's luxurious and modern main deck via the starboard main walkway. A hallway with beautiful bookshelves separates the master area from the main salon. ”
Arkley windows feature state-of-the-art electronic blinds with noise resistance to ensure a good night's sleep for the owner. Directly in front of the bed there is a huge TV screen with plenty of storage space on either side of the screen.
There is a minibar on the starboard side of the suite, and you can walk past the dressing room to the central bathroom. The extensive use of marble creates a sense of luxury, the floors are heated to ensure the owner's perfect touch, and the bathrooms also feature bathtubs, showers and steam rooms. Two wash basins are designed to meet the special and trendy requirements of Arkley owners. The TV screen is integrated into the mirror, so you can enjoy the bath and the audio-visual at the same time.
With a large hidden projector and screen in the ceiling and special cushions on the floor that can be used as lounge seating, the home theater experience is at your fingertips.
On the upper deck there is a VIP room, the spectacular large windows are a must-mention, and when you enter the room, you will be attracted by the beautiful benches, which are made of historic oak. The marble bathroom, shower and toilet are separated by glass doors.
The upper salon offers a huge open space for guests to entertain: a nice bar, a lounge area made of incredible teak artwork, two chess tables and an audiovisual area. The audiovisual area is unusual and user-friendly, with two TV screens facing each other and comfortable sofas of all lengths and heights for ergonomics. The advantage of this setup is that both groups can watch different programs at the same time, depending on their interests.
At the front of the upper deck is the wheelhouse, which is top-notch and integrates state-of-the-art technology, with a wide view and optimal visibility. The spacious captain's cabin and audio-visual room are adjacent to the wheelhouse. ”
The top deck has a Jacuzzi and sunbathing area at the fore, while it is designed to reduce the force of the wind, so that the frameless experience does not interfere with the unobstructed viewing experience.
The large indoor area on the top deck is used as a bar and sofa area with a TV on the one hand, and a gym on the other. The aft sliding door is receded to reveal a comfortable and spacious sunbathing area.
The cockpit on the sun deck is a great place to dine, with beautiful dining tables, ceilings with integrated air conditioning, plenty of sunlight and natural flow of fresh air, suitable for breakfast, lunch or dinner. A sun mattress can be used both as a sunbath and as a romantic night under the stars. The rescue boat is hidden under a daylight mattress and the karaoke system is ready to be connected for guests to be entertained.
Four guest bedrooms of the same size are located on the lower deck. You can choose between a double bed or a twin room, while the twin beds can be easily converted into double beds. The TV screen is integrated into the wall, and the oversized portholes bring in plenty of natural light.
At the forward of the lower deck is the crew quarters, which can accommodate up to 14 crew members, as well as supporting laundry, storage, refrigerator, refrigeration, dry storage and other services.
The Arkley is equipped with a wide range of auxiliary boats and sports equipment: two 7.5m speedboats, two high-performance jet boats, two Seabob jet skis, a sailboat, bicycles and diving equipment.
For Lürssen, the 60-meter superyacht Arkley is a small piece, but the choice of partners, the attention to detail, the overall layout and the user-friendly design are enough to show the skills of this industry leader.
The reason why Arthur wants to buy a yacht is also related to the new owner of Chelsea, Abramovich, after all, the yacht of Abu in the previous life is so famous, Arthur does not want to meet Abu in the future, who always shows off his yachts to him.
The most famous of Abu's yachts is the Eclipse, which was built in 2009 and costs 800 million euros, a superyacht worth 800 million euros that took three years to build. What's more, with a length of 557 feet (about 170 meters), Abu's Eclipse occupied the throne of the world's largest private yacht until the Saudi king's Azam was launched in 2013.
However, there is no shadow of the Eclipse yet, and the yacht owned by Abu is the Compass, which is 377.3 feet (115 meters) long.
Although Arthur's current net worth cannot be compared with Abu, it is still reluctantly acceptable to buy a yacht worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
"Jose, Abby, what do you think?" After a conversation with Bobby, the yacht consultant, Arthur asked.
Arthur traveled lightly this time, bringing Mourinho, Abby and a yacht consultant, Bobby, because he knew that when buying things, especially expensive luxuries such as yachts, everyone's opinions may not be the same, and the reference value is not large.
"Well, I don't know, but it should be pretty good." Although Mourinho now has the nickname "madman", he still doesn't know anything about it, and he still doesn't know how to pretend to understand, especially when facing such a deal of up to 80 million euros.
"It looks beautiful, it's much better than the previous one!" Abby was blunt.
Unlike Mourinho, Abby, as Arthur's personal secretary, is Arthur's real "side", so it is more direct to talk to Arthur in private.
"Hey, since you guys said yes and Bobby said it was okay, then it's it!" Arthur decided on this nearly 100 million euro deal in one word.
I have to admit that this feeling is really intoxicating!
"José, next, it's time for us to be busy! We've had a lot of work to do this summer! ”