Chapter 62: An escalating war of words
Chelsea's draw at home to Sparta Prague came as Manchester United beat Panathinaikos 1-0 in Athens thanks to an 85th-minute goal from Forland, who had been on the verge of a late pace.
Although the goal was more like a back-and-forth "pass" from the Manchester United, it still helped the Red Devils to qualify for the group stage with 12 points, making the final round of fixtures against Stuttgart routine.
As for which is more important, the Champions League group stage or the weekend game against Chelsea, judging from Manchester United's starting line-up for this game, it fully shows that the old man values the latter more.
Qualified from the group early does not mean that the Red Devils can prepare for the game, and on the second day back in Manchester, the Reds' official website revealed that Ryan Giggs and Cristiano can prepare for the game. Ronaldo will attend a hearing convened by the FA to question the two for 'misconduct' in the match against Arsenal.
It was the "Oman conflict" two months ago, after a verdict, Lauren was banned for four games on two charges of violence and misconduct, Keown was suspended for three games, and Vieira and Parl, who were less serious, were each suspended for one game.
Giques and Crestiano initially "escaped" severe punishment because of their vehemently denial, but they had to confess their innocence at this hearing.
There is no doubt that the two had nothing to do with the violent clash of that match. But after the hearing, the two were blocked at the door by reporters from all over the country.
"Mr. Cristiano, what do you think of the Chinese player Dong Fangzhuo who is about to move to Manchester United? Do you think the arrival of this rising star from the Far East will affect your appearance? A Mirror reporter squeezed to the front and asked.
"Dong Fangzhuo? Sorry, that's the pronunciation! Young Xiao Luo's eyes were resolute, but his brows were slightly furrowed. In the past few days, not only has to "prove his innocence" to the FA, but also has to deal with the overwhelming questions about Dong Fangzhuo from the media, which makes Xiao Xiaoluo very annoyed.
"I don't know about the player you're talking about, and as for whether he's coming to Manchester United, I think it's the club's decision, it has nothing to do with me. As long as I do my best in training and in games, I'm sure Sir Alex Ferguson will judge for himself. ”
"So you're not worried that the young man from the Far East will start like Chelsea's TOM?"
"I repeat it again!" Faced with questions from the media, Xiao Xiaoluo began to be a little angry, "Sir Alex Ferguson is not a pinch and Manchester United is not Chelsea. Sir Alex Ferguson has been doing a good job in the starting line-up and I have no complaints about that. ”
"In other words, Manchester United will really bring in Dong Fangzhuo in order to sell jerseys?"
Dong Fangzhuo, Dong Fangzhuo again!
In the past few days, Xiao Xiaoluo's ears have been surrounded by these three words.
"I don't know!" Cristiano pushed away the microphone in front of him, "If Manchester United are going to sell jerseys, they might as well bring in a Hollywood superstar!" ”
Wow!
There was an uproar in the audience.
Under the guidance of the media, Xiao Xiaoluo finally said the wrong thing.
'Mr. Cristiano, it's Manchester United's Premier League game against Chelsea at the weekend. Chelsea's goalkeepers are also Chinese, I don't know what you think? ”
Since Dong Fangzhuo in Xiao Xiaoluo's eyes is an unrealistic "vase", will Chelsea's "TOM" be a "pig" on a luxury warship?
In the past few days, due to Jimmy's remarks on the camera, there has been a lot of controversy among fans.
Even among Chelsea fans, there are two factions.
One faction believes that Tang Wu is just a puppet of Chelsea to open up the Chinese market, and the real level cannot accompany Chelsea's victory today; One faction believes that Tang Wu's performance is more than enough for Chelsea and can be regarded as a qualified goalkeeper.
Coupled with the fact that the outside world deliberately slandered Tang Wu, as well as some British "gentlemen" who were naturally prejudiced and arrogant against Chinese players, a heated discussion about Chinese players swept through the British Isles like a storm.
The Manchester City and Everton managers stepped up in time to affirm the recent performances of Sun Sun and Li Tie, and took the lead in pulling the two out of the whirlpool that was about to form.
Dong Fangzhuo has not yet landed in the Premier League, and the remaining Tang Wu has become the only Chinese player in this storm.
"Chelsea?" Ronaldo's eyes wandered for a moment, as if he suddenly remembered something, "Chelsea's performance this season has been really expected, they have the best players in the world, and it makes sense that they can get where they are now. As for their goalkeeper, I don't know him very well. But if I meet him in the next game, I'll kick the ball through his fingers! ”
......
"Little Luo's bold words, pointing directly at Chelsea's six-fingered door god"
"Whether it is a teammate or an opponent, Xiao Xiaoluo is not afraid of Chinese players"
"Portuguese youngster wants to get real and expose the scam of Far Eastern stars"
Under the exaggeration and instigation of the media, such reports were quickly reported.
"HELLO MR. TOM, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE PORTUGUESE YOUNGSTER CRISTIANO SAID THAT EVEN IF YOU CAN SAVE HIS SHOT, DON'T TRY TO STOP HIM FROM SCORING?"
On Tang Wu's latest advertising poster, his left hand reaches for the camera, holding five bottles of drink between his six fingers.
Xiao Xiaoluo said that he could kick the ball in from Tang Wu's fingers, and it was made up by the media brain that Tang Wu's goalkeeping had a big gap.
“... There is no doubt that Manchester United are one of the strongest teams in the Premier League and it will be a test that we all cannot escape. Tang Wu paused into the microphone, "However, my teammates are looking forward to the game against Manchester United, because only the duel with the strong can find out their own shortcomings." For myself, I'll do my best to keep the gate. Of course, if the opposing striker wants to get past me, it's better to go around the goalpost! ”
Since coming to Manchester United, Ronaldo has been known for his dribbling skills.
On one occasion against Leeds United at Manchester United, Ronaldo's bike in the box was a little too big, and he stepped the ball off the line and hit the side-netting.
This incident once became a joke in the media, and everyone said that Xiao Xiaoluo stepped on a bicycle and even thought about the goalpost.
Behind Tang Wu is Chelsea, even if he understands that the media has made up for the lack of instigation in it, he can't miss the cowardice and use this example to fight back in time.
What's more, everyone is a young person, and now they are on the cusp of such a storm, who is afraid of whom!
After the media wrote it down, they rushed to Manchester United non-stop to "report" the news to Xiao Xiaoluo.
This time, Xiao Xiao Luo seemed to have received some instructions, and said from another aspect: "... Since coming to Manchester United, I've been taking care of my health. I think that a standard body shape and body type can help a player have a normal state on the pitch and can better control his body. Especially balance, a little more or less can't be..."
“... I don't think it's a physical defect, although I do agree that health is the most important element of a footballer. Tang Wu moved his finger in front of the camera and continued: "But health needs to be maintained by yourself, not just casually talking about it after evading the drug test..."
A little more than a week ago, Ronaldo, Viana and Postiga were investigated by UEFA for refusing to take a drug test for Portugal's under-21 national team at Paris, France.
In that match, Portugal Under-21s won on penalties.
And after the departure of the Portuguese team, syringes were found in the garbage they left behind, so the French suspected that they were injected with illegal drugs.
came and went, Tang Wu and Xiao Xiaoluo's "-for-tat" remarks became more and more exaggerated under the hype of the media.
As the match between Chelsea and Manchester United approached, the original meaning of the war of words was forgotten and it was seen as a pre-match demonstration between the two teams against each other.
Blues fans took to the streets with banners reading 'Pull the Reds down' and Red Devils fans clashed in the streets with slogans that read "You want to challenge Manchester United, you're still 100 years early".
Curiously, Chelsea and Manchester United officials have been surprisingly consistent in their attitude towards the matter.
In this way, with the "acquiescence" of the two clubs, the stars of their respective teams spoke one after another, standing behind Tang Wu and Xiao Xiaoluo, cheering for the little brothers in the team.
A "needle-to-needle" between stars quickly spread among the British people.
As the parties to the incident, Tang Wu and Xiao Xiaoluo, under the protection of the club, gradually faded out of the eyes of fans and no longer made "provocative" words.
But the fans and the media obviously didn't want to let the two go, and the day before the match between the two teams, the streets of Manchester were plastered with posters of Tang Wu and Xiao Xiao Luo facing each other, their foreheads glaring together.
Unconsciously, fans are not only concerned about the upcoming red and blue CP, but also the offensive and defensive battle between a shield and a spear, an east and a west.