The loss to Troyes in the league did not attract criticism from the media, on the one hand, because Troyes is a relegation team, and everyone knows that the relegation team is the most difficult to play, so there is nothing abnormal about losing to this team that is not as strong as Metz. On the other hand, of course, the focus is on the French Cup quarter-final against Lyon – three days after the Troyes match, Metz will be away from home to current Ligue 1 giants Lyon.

That's the game that Metz fans are most interested in – there's no reason not to pay attention to such an important opponent in such an important match.

The media have been following this match since the first time the opponents came out. The local media in Metz think that this game may be the most important game of the whole season for Metz, and the local media in Lyon think that they have drawn a good sign, maybe the current ranking of Metz has improved greatly from last season, which has made many people fall through the glasses, but Lyon is not afraid at all. Because the two sides have played twice in the league this season, Lyon beat Metz by a large score of 4:1 and 4:0, and psychologically, Lyon has a complete advantage. Other national media outlets focused more on another cup match on the same day, Paris Saint-Germain vs Lille. This game is a "strong dialogue", because anyone can win, and anyone can write.

And the match between Metz and Lyon, if nothing else, Lyon will definitely qualify for the semi-finals.

'The other thing that didn't work for Metz was that it was Lyon's home stadium, and the Stade Gérland was notoriously the home of the devil, and any team playing at that stadium would feel a lot of pressure. Even a galaxy battleship like Real Madrid lost 3-0 to Lyon at the Stade Gerland this season. ”

The dude is talking about the Champions League group stage this season. Real Madrid and the duo were grouped together. In the first game, Real Madrid challenged Lyon away, and as a result, Kalou, Juninho, and Wiltott scored one goal each, beating Real Madrid 0:3 and losing completely. The luxurious galactic battleship was beaten without a temper at all.

Even AC Milan, who eliminated Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, were unable to beat Lyon at the Stade Gerland, and the two sides ended in a 0-0 draw. In the end, AC Milan relied on a 3-1 win back at home to eliminate Lyon.

Real Madrid and AC Milan are among the best teams on the continent, with the two clubs winning the Champions League the most times. It was these two teams that failed to capture the Stadio Gerrand. Not to mention Metz, who is completely out of the same world as these two teams.

After the arrival of the Metz team in Lyon, they went to the Terrain Gerland for acclimatisation training. Fernandes was fearless in his pre-match press conference: "Of course we know Lyon are strong, but that's football – there's no rule that the strong will win. We also have a chance. ”

A reporter mentioned two embarrassing games for Metz this season: "But Mr. Fernandez, your team has lost to Lyon in both league games this season, will this have any impact on your players......

"I don't think it will make a difference." Fernandes was tough at his press conference today and was reluctant to show weakness in front of the Lyonnais. 'It's the league and the cup is not the same as the league because after two defeats in the league there are still 36 games. I think the position we are in the league today speaks for itself. And the cup is different, the cup is a single knockout match, there is no after. If you lose here, you lose the whole season. I think my players will have a different mentality and fighting spirit when they face this cup game than they do in the league. ”

Fernandez's attitude has surprised many people - does the Metz manager really have any secret weapon that can compete with Lyon? Otherwise, how did he get this self-confidence?

Lyon has basically won the championship in advance this season, after 34 rounds of league games, Lyon has 75 points with one less game, and Bordeaux is second in second place, they have also played one less game, with 61 points, and the difference between the two sides has reached as much as 14 points. With four league games remaining, and with five games to play each, the 14-point margin could have declared Lyon to win the title ahead of schedule. Bordeaux's comeback is only theoretical, but Lyon are in perfect form and losing five games in a row in the league is simply not possible.

Now that the league title is basically in hand, Lyon can naturally put all their energy into the competition for the cup. Is there too many champions? Why not win the Hull Cup double?

With this analysis, Metz has little chance of beating Lyon.

The last time they eliminated Marseille at the Stade Virodham, it was considered a fluke and a stroke of luck. Or maybe it's Menez's sudden outburst, but football games can't always rely on the sudden outburst of a certain player...... Fernandez didn't explain it to the media, and neither could he explain it. In fact, it is not so much that he has the confidence to defeat Leon, but that he has the determination to defeat Leon. Football matches are like that, and if you don't even have the determination, why bother to participate in such a game? Get eliminated early and go home.

After Fernandes left, Lyon's head coach Houllier (gerard_houllier) came up to the reporters to answer their questions.

Like Fernandez, the Lyon boss expressed confidence in winning the game.

"I have a lot of respect for Mr. Fernandez, but I would say that we will be the winners in this fight."

The manager, who once coached Liverpool and helped Liverpool win the "Five Crowns", returned to his native France after leaving Liverpool because of the team's poor record, coaching Lyon, replacing Lyon's former coach Paul. Löguin. In his first season in charge, he led Lyon to successfully defend the league title, and it was time for the spring to be proud.

The media then interpreted Fernandez's performance at the press conference as a kind of psychological warfare - an attempt to distract Lyon from this confident display and make them not understand Metz's true intentions. Or just to boost the morale of your players. Of course, the manager has to tell his men to have the confidence to beat the opponent, otherwise how can they lead the team?

Naturally, the players on both sides will also be interviewed by reporters before the game.

Compared to coach Houllier, Lyon's captain Juninho is very calm: "Metz is a very strong team, we have to give it our all. The result? No, I predict this. I just know that as long as we give it our all, the end result will not be bad. ”

Despite his composure, the Brazilian is confident in his victory over Metz.

Ribery's side is a little unorthodox. Facing the microphones and cameras of many reporters, he smiled and said: "I like Gerland very much, because we have very good memories here last season. Especially this friend of mine......"

Saying that, he pulled Chu Zhongtian over, put his arm around his shoulders and asked, "Right, Chu?" ”

After asking, he winked at Chu Zhongtian.

Chu Zhongtian knew what that meant, so he nodded: "Yes." I have great memories here, the first goal I scored for Metz, and the first goal for a Chinese player in Ligue 1, was scored here, against Lyon. ”

Ribery patted him on the shoulder, signaling that he was right.

"So I'm looking forward to this game here." Chu Zhongtian continued. "I've been looking forward to it since I found out that my opponent was Lyon."

Ribery gave a thumbs up and picked up: "Don't worry about us, ladies and gentlemen. I promise it's going to be a great game tomorrow! ”

After the reporter left, Ribery patted Chu Zhongtian on the back and laughed: "Well done, Chu!" Did you see the expressions on the faces of those reporters? It's even better than tomorrow's game, haha! ”

"It's really exciting." Chu Zhongtian shrugged.

Just now, when Ribery and Chu Zhongtian said that they had scored a goal at the Stadium in Gerland and had good memories, the group of reporters, especially the local media reporters in Lyon, showed surprised and puzzled expressions on their faces, not only that, but they could read their inner thoughts at that time just from their expressions - "These two are joking, right?" "Are they talking nonsense because they're under too much pressure?" "It's definitely a smoke bomb!" "They're too self-conscious, aren't they?"

Sure enough, these speculations were formalized in the newspaper the next day.

The local media in Lyon have ridiculed the words of Metz players Ribery and Chu Zhongtian.

'Ribery says he has great memories of the Gerland Stadium and obviously so do we. And our fond memories are a little closer. Just some time ago, Lyon beat Metz 4-0 at this stadium. I wonder if this game is a 'good memory' for Ribery and Chu? ”

Ribery threw the newspaper aside and said to Chu Zhongtian: "I knew they would talk about this game, hum!" After today, let's see if it's a good memory! ”

※※※ "Leave those idiot-like analysis articles alone!" 'These are Ribery's words to his team-mates in the dressing room at the Terrain Stadium.

At this moment, there is less than half an hour before the kick-off of this hugely important game. They have just returned from a warm-up and head coach Fernandes is yet to deliver his final pre-match speech. Now Ribery is the protagonist in the dressing room.

"Data can only represent the past, not the present! As long as we all want to win, there is hope for this game! But as long as there is one person who does not want to win, then the final result will not be satisfactory! 'Ribery told everyone that this game has to be a concerted effort.

"We've got nowhere to go, guys! If we can't get past Lyon, then don't expect us to qualify for the UEFA Cup with the French Cup! We are seventh in the league table and have four games to go, so don't put your hopes on the games that haven't been played yet. Let's get this game done first, guys! ”

Ribery called out and stepped back. It was Fernandez's turn.

"I agree with Frank."

Ribery puffed out his chest triumphantly.

"We don't have to be afraid of them, even though they're really strong. But we're not weak. Who would have thought before the start of the season that we would be in seventh place now? Football is like that, as long as they are on the field, either side is entitled to win. Now we're on the same starting line with them, lads. As long as we play at our level, I don't think it's that difficult to win against them. ”

"We've been training for Lyon for over a week now and I'm sure each of you should know what you're going to do in the game." Fernández looked at his disciples. It's a team he's spent a few years working on, and it's now taking shape. Nearly 10 million euros invested this season, there must be a return, right?

You must know that the financial investment of Metz in the previous seasons did not add up to that much. The 2003-2004 season was Metz's first season back in the first division, and their budget for all the season's expenses was only 20 million euros. The 20 million euros will be used to keep the club running, a large part of which will be used to pay the players, and how much will be left to buy people in the transfer market?

So every season, Metz can only try to pick up as cheap as possible, or tap potential players from his own youth army, mention the first team training for two or three seasons, play it and sell it at a good price, use the money to maintain the operation of the club, and then continue to dig for treasure in the youth army. How can such a team not aim for relegation?

This season, Molinari has been "pressed" by Fernandes to renew his contract and has invested a lot of money in the transfer market, hoping that the team can make a breakthrough in results, as Fernandez said. If Metz doesn't do well, the team will have to wean off for two seasons.

Fortunately, so far, Metz has finished seventh in the league, which is already a breakthrough. It's not enough, if they can win the French Cup and participate in next season's UEFA Cup, then Metz's budget for next season will be much more relaxed, and Fernandes will have more money to invest in the transfer market.

And if they don't do well in the cup, next season's revenue will be greatly reduced, and then the salesman chairman Molinari will have to use the knife against the team's main squad again.

So this game is really a fight for next season. If Metz wants a brighter future, this game must be won!

Bruno Fernandes didn't tell the players about it, that's not the pressure the players should be on. They just need to know how to play this game well and how to play it well.

Fernandes summed up the lessons learned from the heavy defeat against Lyon in the previous two league games. Last season, Metz and Lyon played two games, both of which were draws, 1:1 at home and 2:2 away, at least without losing. It's remarkable to be unbeaten against Ligue 1 giants. It stands to reason that this season the team has improved in terms of squad compared to last season, and they can't say that their results against Lyon will be better, but they can't be worse, right? The truth is that they are even worse than last season.

Why is that?

It's a matter of mentality.

Last season, the Metz players knew they were weak and put themselves in the right place. And this season, after the excellent results, the Metz team also followed suit, and began to be arrogant and wanted to attack when facing Lyon, and the result was a miserable death.

Of course, this is also inseparable from Fernandez.

So in this game, Fernandez reformulated the tactics of defensive counterattack for Metz.

With Menez, Chu Zhongtian can take more care of defense, which is conducive to his defense of Juninho. In the second leg of the league between the two sides last season, Metz was able to draw 2-2 away from Lyon, which was inseparable from Chu Zhongtian's successful defense against Juninho at the beginning.

Fernandez's tactics in this game were very flexible, which can be seen from the formation - he looked like 451, but in fact, it was no different from 442. Menez, a player who can play both as a midfielder and a shadow striker, was used by Fernandes, and if Chu Zhongtian's main task in this game is to contain Juninho, then Menez will take over the responsibility of organizing the attack.

And if Chu Zhongtianteng's attack is organized, Menez will turn into a shadow striker, ambush behind the center, and find an opportunity to give Leon a fatal blow.

So Menez and Chu Zhongtian's performance in this game is very important. Both of them have to know very well how to judge the situation.

And Promans continued to defend full-time, except for set-pieces in the front court, and Chu Zhongtian had to withdraw to defend at this time to make up for Promans' leaks.

If Fernandes had allowed Chu to step up and compete from set-pieces, he would have scored more than two goals this season...... But it can't be helped, individual goals are far less important than the whole team victory. Chu Zhongtian knew this very well, so he never expressed dissatisfaction with the head coach's decision.

Menez repeated everyone's task in this game again. Make sure everyone remembers it, and then put your mind at ease.

That's the end of what he can do, and it's up to the players to play on the pitch...... "I'm done with my job, gentlemen. Fernandez glanced around the locker room. Now it's your turn. He pointed to his players.

※※※Chu Zhongtian and Ribery stood in the players' corridor at the Gerland Stadium one after the other, waiting to play. When they lined up, Lyon's players came up from behind. It was obvious that they were relaxed, and most of the players in Metz were actually a little nervous.

Just a month ago, they lost 4-0 on this pitch.

Unforgettable...... The scar is not healed yet, and the teeth are grinning in pain when I touch it.

It is not easy to be able to muster the courage to stand here and challenge the hegemon. On the surface, everyone has a unified idea, but everyone has their own little Jiujiu, who knows what the people around you think in their hearts?

Ribery could of course see everyone's reaction, and he shrugged his shoulders at Chu Zhongtian, a little helpless.

Chu Zhongtian did not respond to Ribery. This scene is no stranger to him, he was away for a while, and suddenly he felt as if he had returned to the day when he challenged Chelsea on behalf of Wimbledon, and his opponents and teammates were like this.

It seems that the most effective way to boost morale is never to say a lot of sensational words in the dressing room, but to show our teammates that we have hope of winning!

(To be continued)