"Honey, go open the door, the doorbell rings?"

"Check again, don't forget anything."

Hames Rodriguez looked at his girlfriend happily packing, yawned, and went to open the door.

"Hello, Mr. Rodriguez, your shipment."

Express?

Who sent it?

Rodriguez signed for the delivery, signed him at the request of the courier, took the air express back to the house, and opened it for a look.

Inside was a red envelope with the Aston Villa club crest on it.

Two red tickets for the Champions League final were shaken out of the envelope.

There is also a letter inviting him to watch the Champions League final between Aston Villa and Barcelona, and finally the signature and message of the club's head coach Fang Jue: Hames, we have been following your performance in Braga, we are glad that you have been improving, we are happy for you, the team sincerely looks forward to you coming to watch this great final of the team, every achievement of Aston Villa, with your support and dedication, come on, Villa boys.

"What's wrong? My dear? Daniela Ospina saw her boyfriend looking at a letter in a daze.

"Daniela, our plans to go on holiday to Sardinia are being postponed." Ha Meier said.

"What? Why? ”

"We're going to watch the Champions League final!" Rodriguez happily raised the ticket in his hand, "Champions League final, two tickets, mine and yours." ”

After a season on loan at Braga, Rodriguez almost 'forgot' to be an Aston Villa player, but the Champions League final ticket and the club's manager's handwritten letter suddenly brought the loanee's homeless player closer to his parent club, which also made him very excited.

It's not just James Rodriguez who has received tickets and letters for the Champions League final.

Chris Heard, who is on loan at Ibiza, has also received it.

They were all very happy and called Fang Jue and said that they would definitely go to the scene to watch the game and cheer for the team.

Fang Jue is very satisfied with the reaction of these loan players, which is also the collective atmosphere of honor that he has been committed to creating, and it is also a means to win the hearts of these players who have been loaned: the club has always paid attention to you, cared about you, you are Villa, you have always been.

……

On the same day that the whole Aston Villa team arrived in London, the whole Barcelona team also arrived in London.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola was interviewed at London Heathrow Airport, where he praised Aston Villa as a respectable rival.

However, Pep Guardiola also confidently said that he and the whole team are full of confidence that the team will stand at the top of Europe again after two years.

Messi, Barcelona's number one star, is also clearly the focus of media chasing.

'We haven't played against Aston Villa but I know it's a very good team. Messi said.

"And I know Mr. Fang Jue, he is a very good coach and we have to be ready to play a tough game."

The bus headed towards the hotel, and the Champions League final could be seen everywhere outside the window, and at a bend was a huge poster, which was a group photo of the entire Aston Villa team, with their manager Fang Jue in the center, Ronaldo on the left and Gareth Bell on the right.

Messi stared until he couldn't see it anymore.

He feels magical, the peddler who sold him noodles back then is now about to lead the team to Barcelona in the Champions League final.

It's an amazing feeling.

It's even more amazing than when I played Ibiza in La Liga three years ago.

……

"Now let's sort out the information and information at hand."

Upon arrival at the hotel, Guardiola immediately called a meeting of the coaching staff.

'Shevchenko and Sadio Mane have both recovered from injury and our guys have seen them practice together and seem to be in good shape.

"Where's Clement?" Guardiola asked, this is what he is most concerned about.

"It's certain that Clement won't be able to get on." "Clement is still on crutches." ”

"We also got the news from the hospital that the injury is indeed serious." Domenech Torrent said.

Guardiola smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

He and his coaching staff watched and studied the second leg of the semi-final between Aston Villa and Manchester United, and came to the conclusion that without Clement, Aston Villa's defensive ability plummeted, which was a boon for Barcelona, who had a strong attack.

In fact, inside Barcelona, there has always been an air of optimism and joy.

Spain internationals, including Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Villa, have all said that Barcelona will be very sure of beating Aston Villa without Clemente.

……

Two days passed quickly.

On May 28, London officially entered the Champions League final mode.

Aston Villa's players waited in the lobby of the hotel in twos and threes.

Some people are chatting.

Some people listen to songs with headphones on.

Others have serious expressions and don't say a word.

Only Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko have played in the Champions League final in the Aston Villa squad.

Among them, the former was also unable to play due to qualification issues.

Therefore, only Shevchenko is a veteran with rich experience in the Champions League final.

Young people, including Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly, gathered around the Ukrainian to listen to him talk about and present his experience in the final.

Ukrainians who have experienced the trophy at Old Trafford and the unbearable night in Istanbul can be said to be the most open-minded and calm.

"Don't be nervous, just treat it as a normal final."

"Mental tension can affect your movements."

"Also, the most important point, don't be anxious when you're behind, and don't be proud when you're ahead." Shevchenko said with a serious expression.

A group of little brothers nodded violently.

At this time, Fang Jue came out of the elevator with the coaching staff, he glanced around, and raised his hand very imposingly, "Let's go!" ”

Walked out of the hotel with the players hula and immediately flashed lights.

Fang Jue pushed his sunglasses, fortunately Lao Tzu had already prepared.

It's a really ...... feeling to be in the spotlight It's so cool.

……

Escorted by the London Mounted Police, the Aston Villa bus arrived at the new Wembley Stadium.

Outside the stadium was already crowded.

The arrival of Aston Villa caused a heat wave, and Aston Villa fans cheered and applauded the bus.

Fang Jue withdrew his gaze from the window and looked inside the car.

All the players, including a veteran like Shevchenko, who has experience in two Champions League finals, had excitement in their eyes.

Fang Jue took a special look at Ronaldo.

The 34-year-old Brazilian veteran looked eagerly off the court, just watching, watching......

Arriving at the exclusive car park, no one in the Aston Villa squad was interviewed by the media, and Fang Jue took all the trouble alone, he was surrounded by reporters, signaling his players to pass quickly and reach the dressing room.

……

The players warmed up on the pitch under the leadership of Ceballos and Werner.

Fang Jue looked at the 'empty' locker room, his brain was even a little confused because of excitement.

It's a Champions League final.

Fang Jue patted his head and scolded himself: Hillbilly!

In his nearly five-year coaching career, he has won only one La Liga title, two Premier League titles, two English League Cups, one Spanish Copa del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, one Community Shield, one UEFA Cup and so on.

Well, facing the stage of the Champions League final, nervousness is inevitable.

Bang bang bang.

Fang Jue glanced at Clement, who was influencing his train of thought, and the Spanish midfielder was kicking the ball against the wall of the south dressing room at the new Wembley Stadium for a warm-up activity.

"Alright, bear with me a little longer." Looking at Clement's resentful little eyes, Fang Jue laughed and said.

According to the regulations, the starting list is generally announced one hour in advance, but in special cases, it can be announced up to half an hour in advance.

Therefore, Fang Jue took the smoke bomb to the extreme.

He will have to wait for Barcelona to finish their warm-up before announcing Aston Villa's starting XI.

As for adapting to the pitch, there is no such problem on the Aston Villa side, who are very familiar with the stadium.

Soon, when the whole Aston Villa team came back from the warm-up, they saw Clement running laps and pressing legs by himself with a bitter face, and they all laughed.

When the players were done with their own business, Fang Jue put down the tactical board, stood up, and with his action, the locker room fell silent.

……

On the other side, the whole Barcelona team also returned to the north dressing room after warming up.

Seeing that Clement didn't even appear in Aston Villa's warm-up players, Pep Guardiola was completely relieved.

According to Pep Guardiola's idea, even if Clement can't play, he will watch his teammates warm up on the sidelines and cheer everyone on.

He pondered for a moment, and the only explanation was that Fang Jue didn't let Clement appear there in order to avoid affecting morale:

At a glance, the players saw Clement on crutches, and perhaps panicked.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that this is the case, Guardiola sighed and shook his head, in fact, he wanted to touch the full lineup of Aston Villa, but unfortunately, Manchester United ......

"In this game, for some reason, Pep Guardiola's team will definitely attack from the start."

"So, the first thing we have to do is defend it."

"Clement, are you ready to surprise our old rival?" Fang Jue asked.

"I've been suffocated for a long time." Clement said sullenly.

The crowd burst out laughing.

"Okay, listen to me, withstand the first wave of Barcelona's attack, let's play defensive counterattack."

"Attention, the defensive counterattack I am talking about is not a passive retreat, and the whole game is pressing against Barcelona."

"Harvey! He was the heart of Barcelona's midfield, pressing him and doing everything possible to cut him off from the rest. ”

"Once you have the opportunity to fight back, don't hesitate to press it out!" Fang Jue called Clement's name, "Your defense is under great pressure today, and when your teammates press out, the protection of the midfield will be handed over to you." ”

"The back line can press forward appropriately, and we have practiced the tactics of creating offside many times, pay attention, and we must move in unison."

"Messi!" Fang Jue knocked on the tactical board, "Messi's one-on-one ability is very strong, and others do a good job of filling the position." ”

"Messi has a well-balanced left and right foot, he has a lot of control on the ball, he is very fast and likes to connect all phases of the game with the ball. Therefore, it is necessary to interrupt him with a foul in time, without worrying about eating cards, the sooner the foul is better. ””

"Actually, defending Messi requires more mental preparation than physical. When you play against Messi, the first thing you have to do is prepare mentally. After that, there is a confrontation of real swords and guns on the field. Remember, we should respect this person, not fear him. ”

"It's the same thing, it's about defending Iniesta, defending Villa."

"Finally, I would like to stress that everyone should work together to limit the space of the opponent in the game. Individual ability is important, but what is more important is that the whole team works together as a team and acts as one.

Everyone listened attentively.

……

At this moment, in the north dressing room where Barcelona is located.

Pep Guardiola is also making his final tactical moves.

"In this game, I want you to be able to play your offensive ability to the fullest."

"Without Clement, I predict that Fang Jue will put Milner in the midfield and partner Ballack, although the Englishman is also aggressive, but his midfield sweeping ability is not as good as Clement, we are fully capable of controlling and breaking through the midfield defence......"

Just then, Villanova hurriedly pushed the door open and entered.

"Pep."

"Wait a minute, wait until I'm done." Pep Guardiola waved his hand.

'If Milner plays in midfield, then their left-back will be Danny Ross, a player who can run and run aggressively, but he is inexperienced and this is something we can use ......

"Pep!" Bilanova raised his voice.

"What's wrong?" Guardiola frowned.

'Pep, Aston Villa's starting line-up is out.' Villanova said eagerly.

"Oh, Fang Jue hesitated for so long, did he finally make a decision? Will Milner or Stroman play in midfield? Guardiola laughed and said, "Or is it Sidville?" ”

"Neither." Vilanova shook his head with a serious expression, "It's Clement!" ”

"Who are you talking about?" Guardiola was stunned and asked uncertainly.

Bilanova didn't speak, and directly handed the starting list of Aston Villa, who had just gotten his hands, to Guardiola.

Guardiola looked down, and the light was projected, and the bald head formed a subtle reflection, which became even brighter.

Guardiola saw Clement's name for the first time, his mind was a little confused, and most importantly, he was in a bad mood, and he felt uncomfortable in his heart.

It's not just because of his tactical arrangement, the starting line-up is arranged according to Clement's unavailable appearance, and it can be said that these have been affected - greatly disrupting his deployment.

What's more, he felt that he had been fooled, and he had even imagined Fang Jue's triumphant appearance in his mind, as if to say: You have already lost a game.

This liar!