After nearly eight months of competition, the title of this season's European Champions Cup has gradually been decided, after eliminating Monaco and Lyon respectively, Blackburn Rovers and Deportivo La Coruna will go to the final of the Schalke Champions Cup on May 26. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Two European middleweight teams like Blackburn Rovers and Deportivo La Coruna would have faced off at the top of the season, which was almost unthinkable at the start of the season. Blackburn Rovers and Deportivo La Coruna are both reaching the final of the competition for the first time. It's a reward for both coaches and their defiance of the big names in Europe.

When the Champions League group stage kicks off, Deportivo La Coruna is priced at 46 to 1 and Blackburn Rovers are 24 to 1.

Deportivo La Coruna's game could be more intriguing than its opponents, especially with a better performance against AC Milan, and boss Irueta will be hoping his players will go into the final with the same spirit.

"It's not a game of chess between two managers, it's a duel between two teams that want to kill each other," Irueta said.

Jose Mourinho is equally keen to see his players continue their excellent form over the past two years.

"I just want my team to perform at the same level in the final." Jose Mourinho says Blackburn have won the Premier League title for the past two seasons.

Before leaving for Germany, Arthur provided a newspaper on the charter plane for all the soldiers to analyze their victory.

Geographical advantage: "stability" wins

Despite fighting their way out of the siege, Blackburn seem to have a unique advantage over Deportivo La Coruna. As the champions of the Premier League in the past two years, Blackburn's steady tactics have been played as well this season as ever, from the group stage to the defeat of Monaco, Blackburn have remained unbeaten in all Champions League games except for the final round of the group stage, which is also a key factor in Black's instinctive victory all the way to the final.

But what this same phenomenon reflects in A Coruña is a strong contrast of ups and downs. It is conceivable that without the guarantee of the home stadium, Deportivo La Coruna's promotion will not be possible.

However, unlike the group round-robin and knockout rounds, the final is a winner, and the impact of home and away factors is no longer relevant to Blake, but against Deportivo La Coruna, who has lost the right time and place at home, their performance will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.

Time: Recharge your batteries

Half a month's rest and plenty of time to prepare for the game was a big advantage for Blackburn ahead of Deportivo ahead of the decisive battle. In front of the unbeaten Arsenal, Blackburn has already started a large rotation of players, so Mourinho has more energy to plan this decisive battle.

Compared with Blackburn, who are recuperating, Deportivo La Coruna, which is still immersed in the lengthy domestic league, is far from getting out of the bitter sea of civil war. When there is still hope for a league title, Irueta will never give up easily, but the combination of the two will inevitably distract the team's spirit and fighting power.

The day after the end of the domestic league, Irueta had to appear thousands of miles away in the Champions League final, and there was no doubt that Deportivo La Coruna had lost to Blackburn Rovers in preparation on two fronts.

Harmony: Honor first

At this time, it is no longer meaningful to analyze the tactical level of the two teams and the quality of the stars, and the fact that they can save themselves in the eyes of the European powers and reach the final speaks for itself.

Honour will be the best motivation for dark horses to meet, and after dominating England over the past two seasons, Blackburn Rovers have begun to look at the European battlefield this season, and their thirst for victory has been catalyzed by the passion for fighting for glory in the European final.

Compared with their opponents, Blackburn also has an overwhelming advantage, that is, they drew the home jersey in the final, and their club's main color is blue and white, which is simply poured out of the same mold as Schalke 04 who hosted the game, so some people say that Blackburn will play at home.

Another coincidence is even more intriguing, as Mourinho stayed in the same suite that Ranieri had stayed in a year earlier, and in the final round of the Bundesliga, it also became the Hannover manager's room.

On the afternoon of the 24th, the whole Blackburn team wore a new suit and collectively boarded a charter flight to the destination, this suit changed the previous dark blue color, and changed to dark gray as the main color, but the tie highlights the team's true color, which is a striking blue and white striped twill, which looks particularly spiritual.

The dress Arthur was distributed not only to club officials and the team, but also to veterans such as Henning Berg, who set off at random.

At 6:15 p.m., the plane landed at Mulst Airport, where more than 300 Blackburn Rovers welcomed them with waving team flags and scarves, and warmly presented them with many gifts - a shy Alonso was stuffed with a bottle of champagne in his hand, and the tall Ibrahimovic was even buttoned up with a coloured hat.

Indeed, Blackburn will not feel alone, not only will more than 12,000 local club fans cheer on and off the stadium, but there will also be 30 charter flights from Portugal on the 26th, the largest one will transport 300 people, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry of the British royal family are all guests.

Blackburn stayed at the Mercury Hotel, and it just so happened that the hotel itself was mainly blue and white, whether it was curtains or tablecloths, or cutlery and carpets, this coincidence made them feel at home.

The hotel has a total of 85 suites, Blackburn booked all the suites, and the hotel will not be open for three days, only for the team.

It's a very quiet environment, which is perfect for adjusting your mindset before the race, and the 15-minute drive from the stadium is also satisfying. The players must have been overjoyed as they lay in their rooms, thinking about the excitement of the championship and the generous £200,000 prize money per person.

At 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday, at the Schalke Stadium, UEFA first arranged a press conference for Deportivo La Coruna, and at 1 p.m. for Blackburn.

Eusebio and Klinsmann escorted the large silver earrings to the press conference. Accompanied by Blackburn press officers, Jose Mourinho played alongside captain Jeff Kenna. When passing by the table where the Champions Cup was held, the 34-year-old captain reached out and touched it, and a day later, he might lift the trophy.

Is the final good?

Agreeing with the narrative that tournament finals are usually dull, Irueta believes that the two sides will be a tactical battle of wits and tactics, "Finals are rarely exciting because they are so important. Blackburn are very tight defensively, have a spicy style of play, and are very good at limiting the opponent's play. ”

But Mourinho has the opposite view and believes the game will be exciting: "We will definitely make the game look good because this final was unexpected by everyone, no one expected these two teams to come here, we want the world to know that the underdog can also play beautifully." ”

But it is unrealistic to expect Blackburn to play attacking football, with Mourinho saying: "Whatever the result tomorrow is, I want to lead a happy team and keep our style going. We like to keep the ball and get it back as quickly as possible if we concede it. We're not going to play against each other, we're not going to try to win 5-4. ”

Who's Hot?

Irueta said: "Blackburn were favourites before the game, they don't have the same reputation as AC Milan but they have gained a lot of experience. Our opponents are theoretically stronger, but that doesn't mean we can't win. ”

But Mourinho believes the two teams are quite close: "We all got here with a holistic approach and if you don't have the best 10 players in the world, you have to get the most out of the players to win the game. ”

Who is the scariest?

Ibrahimovic is looking to become the top scorer in a single season since the Champions League was restructured in 1992 and is currently the top scorer with 10 goals, just two away from Ruud van Nistelrooy's 12 Champions League goals.

Mourinho said: "There are always great players in big games and Ibrahimovic is such a player. Without him, we wouldn't have made it to the final. He's a world-class player and he's scored a lot of decisive goals. With him there, other teammates can rest assured. ”

Speaking about Deportivo La Coruna's dangerous man, Mourinho said: "They have players who can turn the game around at any time with their individual skills, but I found a way to limit them, a tactical secret that I don't want to reveal. ”

The final of this year's Champions Cup will be presided over by Danish Nelson, and the two assistant referees and the fourth referee are all Danes.

Nelson, 43, began working as a football referee in 1976 and began officiating international matches in 1988 when he was not yet 30. In 1998, Nelson impressed fans when he sent off David Beckham in England's match against Argentina at the World Cup in France. To date, Nelson has officiated 134 international matches and is one of 12 referees appointed by UEFA for this summer's European Championships in Portugal.

Prior to the Champions Cup final, Nelson had made 44 appearances in the Champions Cup, but had yet to referee the final.

Speaking about the final, Nelson said: "It's an honour to officiate the Champions Cup final and I'm looking forward to the race day. I wasn't nervous at all. ”

Before the decisive trip to Schalke, there were signs that Blackburn Rovers, once an outcast of English football, had become the darling of England today. The blue and white Blackburn shirts are also starting to pop on the streets of London, and wishes from all over England are flying like snowflakes to the club.

At Blackburn's specialist shop, shirts are selling extremely fast, with at least 600 pieces sold every day, with the best-selling ones being Ibrahimovic and Frank Lampard. And Gyuli's jersey especially attracted the attention of fans who were not very tall, and many fans were relieved to say: "He looks as short as me, but he is so fierce on the field!" ”

This season, English Television Television has broadcast six Blackburn Rovers Champions League matches, each of which has been watched by more than 7.7 million people, far more than Manchester United, the Premier League's most popular club.

The sporting director of English Television said: "Since beating Arsenal, Blackburn has taken root in the hearts and minds of the audience. ”

Under the popularity of Blackburn, the England team training in Montpellier has become a collective Blackburn fans, and they will watch the final on May 26.

Beckham, captain of the Three Lions, boldly predicted that Blackburn would win, while Campbell, while regretting that Arsenal were eliminated by Blackburn, believes that Blackburn, who beat him, is undoubtedly stronger.

On Tuesday afternoon, the president of the Blackburn Supporters' Association, which sells tickets and organizes fans to watch the game, told me on the phone: "This is the biggest operation we have organised, and everyone has never been so excited and busy." ”

For a small city with a total population of only 100,000 even counting babies, it is already a miracle that more than 30,000 fans can "gather" to travel long distances to cheer on the scene.

The news on England TV 1 at 8pm on Wednesday will be rescheduled to the Schalke Stadium, a match that is expected to reach 12 million viewers.

A total of 27,500 Blackburn Rovers fans have bought tickets for the Champions League final, with Lancashire Airport arranging 14 flights to Dorsef on Wednesday.

With an investment of 191 million euros and a capacity of 53,804 spectators, the Schalke Stadium is home to Schalke 04 Football Club, and the stadium was officially opened in August 2001 with the ingenious design of the new benchmark. The UEFA governing body rated the multi-purpose stadium as a five-star rating and commented: "The stadium is so much more than the necessary and basic level that it could perhaps be defined as a six-star rating. ”

On the day of the game, a grand theatrical performance was organized at the Schalke Stadium before the UEFA League, but neither the players from both sides who were about to participate, nor Arthur and the members of the British royal family who were implicitly saying boring greetings to each other, did not want to appreciate it.

The Schalke Stadium became a sea of blue and white flags, with the trophy laid on the sidelines, and players from both sides hoping to lift and kiss the trophy after the game.

In this game, the two sides no longer had a trace of reservations, and all the hole cards were taken out.

Blackburn Rovers starting line-up (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Friedel

Defenders: Ashley Cole, Stam, Carvalho, Finnan

Midfielders: Maronso, Makellele, Lampard

Forwards: Gyuli, Ibrahimovic, Duff.

Deportivo La Coruna starting line-up (4-3-1-2):

Goalkeeper: Molina

Defenders: Pablo, Romero, Naibet, Mauro Silva

Midfielders: Andrade, Sergio, Victor

Forward: Belleron

Forwards: Luke, Pandiani.

"Drop!" With the whistle of the referee on duty, Nelson, the 2003-04 Champions League final officially began, and Arthur couldn't help but clench his fists and concentrate on it.

"Victory or defeat is here!" (To be continued.) )