With the Champions League final just around the corner, the Blues and Chelsea will fight for glory in Moscow on 20 May, with the smoke of gunfire filling the Russian capital before the tournament. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

From Domodedovo International Airport to the Luzhniki Stadium at the foot of Sparrow Mountain, red and yellow posters of football games appear every few hundred meters on dozens of kilometres of road, as if to guide tens of thousands of British fans. Inside the city, colorful flags printed with posters of the competition remind people that the big war is coming.

Faced with huge advertising expenses, the organizers apparently want to compensate by selling tickets. According to the head of an online ticketing company, the cheapest tickets currently cost more than $1,000, while VIP seats cost as much as 7,500 euros. In addition, Moscow's hotels and football bars are already fully booked.

Thousands of British fans had already arrived in Moscow before the 19th, and more than 70 hotels had received their first British guests, and police had stepped up their vigilance in these hotels and nearby areas. More UK fans are expected to arrive on the day of the game, who will be on an early morning flight back to the UK after the game.

It is estimated that 11,000 Chelsea fans and 17,000 Blackburn Rovers will come to watch the game. The British Embassy in Russia has opened a special hotline for fans. In order to receive the fans, the relevant authorities in Moscow have arranged for 900 buses and a large number of taxis to be on standby at the airport.

Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers arrived in Moscow on the 18th and had a 30-minute pre-match training session open to the media in Luzhniki on the 19th, with brief press conferences.

Lippi said that although the Chelsea players were very physical because they missed out on the league title early, Blackburn will play in their own style, attacking and defending quickly and playing tactical combinations.

Chelsea manager Grant says the league and the Champions League are two different things, and his players are desperate to win, and they are perfectly positioned to get what they want.

It is reported that the Moscow police will mobilize 14,500 police officers on the 20th to maintain order in the stadium and the city to prevent fans from making trouble. At the same time, 6,500 cameras installed in the stadium and in all corners of the city will monitor the security situation in real time, and relevant emergency plans have been formulated.

A win for Blackburn would have lifted both the Premier League and Champions League this season, and although it is a little short of the 2004-05 'six crowns' feat of Jose Mourinho's, it is clear that the competition in football today is fiercer, and Blackburn have faced more resistance in both the Premier League and Champions League than they did three years ago.

And if Chelsea win the title, they can at least compete with the Blue Devils in terms of the number of titles, not to mention that the influence of the Champions League will definitely surpass that of the Premier League, which can somewhat suppress the arrogance of the Blue Devils now.

Although relations between Britain and Russia were very tense due to the poisoning of former Russian agent Litvinenko that caused a lot of uproar last year, the police of the two countries also worked together to ensure the safety of the Champions League final: this time the British police specially sent dozens of experienced police officers to Moscow to assist the Moscow police in closely monitoring British fans in Moscow.

Within the UK, British Airways has added additional flights to transport fans from both teams; When the plane arrived in Moscow, the Russian side also arranged for fans from both sides to land at different airports, so as to avoid premature contact between them, so as to avoid the intensification of conflicts.

On May 20, at the final pre-match press conference of the day, the Blackburns will show their confidence one last time before the game.

It was Arthur, Lippi and the team's captain Duff who attended the press conference that afternoon - it was normal for the latter two to appear at the pre-match press conference, but Arthur's presence was extremely rare.

Unlike in the past, when he wore slim-fitting colored pennies, Arthur was dressed in black today.

Arthur naturally came for only one reason, and that was the bad news that happened in Chinese mainland a week ago.

The earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale in Wenchuan County, Sichuan, China, has not only shaken the people of Sichuan and Chinese, but has also brought shocks around the world. In the face of disasters, there is no distinction between regions, countries and nationalities, and people all over the world are quite concerned about Wenchuan after the earthquake.

Football is no exception, following Chelsea, Inter Milan and other giants issued official statements expressing condolences for the victims and encouragement for disaster relief, Premier League champion Blackburn also issued a statement on its Chinese official website before the Champions League, saying: "Blake is willing to join hearts with every Chinese and will provide relief and support to the people in the disaster area through various channels in the coming week." ”

Arthur was the protagonist of the accident at the press conference, saying: "Recently, the editorial department of our official website has received many emails, letters and phone calls from Chinese fans, who have expressed their deep sadness and grief over the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, and also have great hopes for Blackburn Club's active participation in the relief activities after this natural disaster. Therefore, we do not intend to disappoint the majority of Chinese fans who love them, and we will definitely do our best to help Sichuan after the earthquake. ”

Prior to this, Blackburn's official website published a letter from Chinese fans, as well as a picture of a Chinese junior team wearing Blackburn jerseys, all of whom were Blue Devils fans who had just finished celebrating the team's championship before they were hit by an earthquake, some of which had even been killed.

The fan used this letter and this photo to inspire Blackburn Rovers to win the Champions League, first of all to comfort the children's souls in heaven, and also to bring a spiritual encouragement to the affected Blackburn fans in China.

In this regard, Arthur said solemnly: "Here, on behalf of Blackburn Club, I would like to promise to the Chinese fans that we will not forget the precious friendship established with Chinese fans and the Chinese people, because the team and the club are currently preparing for the Champions League final, and the tournament is also held in Moscow, which has a certain impact on our immediate preparation and rescue activities after the disaster, but our players are paying attention to the Chinese people in the disaster area every moment. And silently pray in my heart for these affected people. Our players will also go all out to win the Europa League final, giving the greatest encouragement to the Chinese fans who support Blackburn, and at the same time, we will also provide relief and support to the people in the affected areas through various channels in the coming week. ”

Even if he lives again, Arthur will never forget the Wenchuan earthquake, but he has become a British in this life, and his greatest help can only be post-disaster assistance, and only in terms of financial assistance.

$5 million, which is Arthur's intention to make a personal donation to the disaster area.

$15 million, which is Arthur's intended donation in the name of all Blackburn Rovers and the club.

Arthur could have donated more, but the donation of 20 million was already the largest amount he could donate after weighing the pros and cons.

Arthur also knows that the $20 million will not do much to the disaster area, but he believes in the power of the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

When one side is in trouble, all sides support, and in the face of natural disasters, the Chinese will never be defeated.

The press conference finally returned to today's topic, which was the announcement of the starting line-ups for both sides.

In the semi-finals, Blackburn Rovers eliminated Barcelona to progress, while Chelsea kept Manchester United out of the final. In the just-concluded Premier League, Blackburn beat Manchester United and Chelsea to win the title, this time the two teams met again, Blackburn hoped to win the dream of a double, while Chelsea wanted to avenge the defeat in the league title.

It should be noted that this is the first time in Chelsea's history that they have reached the final of the Champions League, and it will be interesting to see if they can perform at such a high level in such an important game. Here is the list of starters and referees for both sides:

Blackburn Rovers starting line-up (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Cech

Defenders: Ashley Cole, Nemanja Vidic, Carvalho, McConn

Midfielders: Duff, Alonso, Ballack, Lampard

Forwards: Fernando Torres, Cristiano Ronaldo

Chelsea starting XI (4-4-2):

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar

Defenders: Bridge, Alex, Terry, Essien

Midfielders: Joe Cole, Gerrard, Mikel, Malouda

Forwards: Shevchenko, Anelka

Referee: Mitchell (Slovakia)

Assistants: Slisco (Slovakia), Balko (Slovakia)

Fourth official: Hrinak (Slovakia)

The starting lists of both sides can be described as star-studded, and the interesting thing is that for this game, major TV stations have also come up with a lot of tricks.

After representing AC Milan in the final round of Serie A, Dutch star Seedorf found a 'part-time' job in the ESPN's live studio to cover the 2008 UEFA Champions League final between Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea. A trip to Moscow may allow Seedorf to alleviate AC Milan's regret of missing out on next season's Champions League.

There has been a lot of news about Seedorf lately, starting with his decision to reject Van Basten's call not to play at Euro 2008.

Some people say he is not patriotic, some people say he is a "man", but in any case, the honor of "winning the European Champions Cup on behalf of different teams" cannot be replicated, and the unprecedented Seedorf has won the Champions League gold cup in Ajax, Real Madrid, and AC Milan, which is indeed worthy of respect.

Now, ESPN valued his "multi-Chinese" ability after playing in three countries, and invited Seedorf to join the final commentary.

The "pre-match talk show" half an hour before the final may be a rare opportunity to hear Seedorf's "revelations", and the veteran stars who have been in European football for many years are naturally familiar with the players of the two teams. And in the game, Seedorf will "walk" in various studios like a superstar.

In the first half, Seedorf, who is also fluent in English and Spanish, will first join the English commentary lineup to provide his commentary to the audience; In the 45 minutes of the second half, Seedorf will switch to a Spanish-language commentator and go to another live broadcast room to join Kempes, a member of the 1978 World Cup-winning team, to give you the commentary of the first and second halfs. (To be continued.) )