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The UEFA Champions League is the top honour that all European football clubs can dream of, and it is the top teams in each national league that can participate in this competition. www.biquge.info At the beginning, this competition was only allowed to participate in the first place in each national league, not even the second place, and the Champions League at that time was a veritable European Champions Cup, and all the people who could participate were the champions of the national leagues. Later, after several restructurings, now it is called the Champions League, and the number of teams that can participate in this event has also changed, no longer the champion of each national league can participate, in order to allow more powerful teams to participate, as well as to expand the influence of the Champions League, UEFA allocates different places for different leagues, and the countries to which the teams that perform well in the Champions League can often be divided into several places. For example, the Premier League has a maximum of four places, while the Bundesliga believes that only Bayern Munich has performed well for a long time, and most other Bundesliga teams can't even play in the group stage, so the number of places has dropped to three, and the third place can only participate in the Champions League qualifiers.

Bayern Munich have come up this season through the play-offs, beating Timisoara (fc_timisoara) 2-0 on aggregate over two legs to qualify for the main draw.

Hoffenheim qualified directly for the Champions League as Bundesliga champions.

This is one of the things that deserves to be written about in Hoffenheim's history.

In recent days, the local media in Sinsheim have been talking about it. The residents of Sinsheim could not hide their excitement in an interview with German television: "I can't wait to find out the results of the draw." We can see the wonderful performances of those European giants on our own doorstep, and it feels like a dream! ”

'If someone used to tell me that I could watch a team like Barcelona play without having to go out of Sinsheim, I would have thought he was crazy. But now...... Hey! ”

"I'd love to see Messi play, I love him!"

"Kaka is really handsome!"

…… Fans always want to see big names in action, but for the team, their goals are different, they want to leave their mark in the Champions League.

"We'll let the whole of Europe know where Hoffenheim is." Before the draw ceremony, Hoffenheim's captain Chu Zhongtian said confidently in an interview.

German television has made a special program to introduce the Champions League newcomers Hoffenheim to Europe before the live broadcast of the draw ceremony.

In fact, many media outlets in other countries have also paid attention to Hoffenheim, and they have set up special columns to introduce readers and viewers to the new Bundesliga champions. However, their knowledge of this team is also lackluster, and there is not much to say. Just a general introduction, Hoffenheim has a very rich owner, Hoffenheim played attacking football last season, Hoffenheim won the Bundesliga title...... They can't even report Hoffenheim's main lineup.

This is the situation for Hoffenheim – the whole of Europe is interested in them, but they don't know enough about them. For the rest of the teams in Europe, they are a mystery division.

Many people don't even know how Hoffenheim were able to beat Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg in the league titles. They blame it all on Bayern Munich's nap last season – their information is lagging behind and they apparently don't know about Hoffenheim's win over Bayern Munich in the first round of the league.

It was in this context that Rangnick flew to Monaco with the club's general manager, Rothouse, for the Champions League group stage draw.

Before the draw ceremony, the Champions League brackets for the 32 teams had already been released. The Champions League brackets are based on European points from the past five seasons, including the Champions League and UEFA Cup, with the 32 teams divided into four brackets from the highest to the lowest eight.

Because Hoffenheim has never had a European record before, and naturally has no European points, although it is the champion of the Bundesliga last season, it has been placed in the fourth tier of teams, and it is likely to be placed in the group of death with strong players.

Regarding this prospect, Ribery made a special phone call to Chu Zhongtian to express his schadenfreude.

Chu Zhongtian's answer made him feel very bored: "This is exactly what I dreamed of, Frank." I just like playing against the best teams. It's better if Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan are all in a group with us, haha! ”

Ribery: "......"

On the afternoon of the Champions League draw, the team ended training early and sent the players home to watch the live broadcast of the draw ceremony. Chu Zhongtian said hello to everyone, drove back home, turned on the TV, and prepared to watch the live broadcast.

I'm afraid no one cares more about the results of the draw than he does.

On television he saw Rangnick and the club's general manager, Rothouse. The television broadcast gave a close-up of the two men, and the TV host introduced: "The head coach of the German champion Hoffenheim, Ralph. Rangnick and the club's general manager, Jochen. Rotthouse, which will be the most eye-catching dark horse in the Champions League this season. Last season they shocked Germany by lifting the Bundesliga trophy as promoted horses. What will they do in the Champions League now? ”

Hearing the host praise his team like this, Chu Zhongtian laughed in front of the TV, and his vanity was not much satisfied.

The draw was preceded by a medal ceremony to present the awards from last season's European competitions.

Sitting in last season's Champions League, Spain's FC Barcelona emerged as the biggest winners, winning the best player, best striker and best midfielder.

Xavi won the best midfielder, best striker and best player were Messi's, he scored nine goals.

The best goalkeeper goes to Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar, while the best defender goes to Chelsea's John Terry.

Live TV kept giving close-ups of the Barcelona players, and tonight was the most beautiful of them.

Barcelona were the treble-winning champions of European football last season, winning the domestic league, the Spanish Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

If nothing else, this year's European Ballon d'Or and World Footballer of the Year are also Messi's.

When will you be able to stand on such a stage? Chu Zhongtian looked at Messi, who was smiling a little shyly on the TV, and thought.

The award ceremony was followed by a draw of lots.

The ping-pong balls, which contained small slips of paper with the names of the thirty-two teams, were packed in four transparent boxes, which represented four different grades. Guests will appear one after another, drawing different teams from the boxes, and then taking their seats in different groups.

Chu Zhongtian had been staring at the first-grade box. Which giants will Hoffenheim team up with? It certainly won't be Bayern Munich, because teams from the same country can't be in a group.

Chu Zhongtian himself does not want to be in a group with Bayern Munich, if he wants to play Bayern Munich, it is enough to be in the Bundesliga. To be honest, always running into Bayern, Chu Zhongtian is a little aesthetically tired, and he is eager to meet those opponents he has never met before, such as ...... Barcelona.

The head coaches of the 32 European teams were all gathered together, and the camera camera swept over the audience at will, and there were several familiar faces of Chu Zhongtian who jumped into view.

The draw officially began, and the seeded teams were drawn first. The seeded team in the first group is Bayern Munich, the representative of German football. The second group is Manchester United, with AC Milan in the third. The fourth group is Chelsea. Group 5 is Liverpool, Group 6 is defending champions Barcelona, Group 7 is seeded Sevilla and Group 8 is Arsenal.

After the first pot team is drawn, there is the second pot team.

Juventus were drawn in the first group, in a group with Bayern Munich, in the first big talk.

CSKA Moscow, as a team in the second tier, was drawn to the second group, a group with Manchester United.

When the team in the same group as AC Milan was drawn, the hall erupted in laughter and applause for the first time, as the host pronounced the name of the team very clearly: "Real Madrid." ”

The camera quickly crossed the faces of AC Milan coach Leonardo and Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini. This summer, Real Madrid spent a lot of money to poach Kaka, the core of Milan's Champions League wins in the previous two seasons, from AC Milan, and the two teams were grouped together, which means that Kaka will face his old club, which is a rather interesting two games. Originally, in this season's Bernabeu Cup, Real Madrid invited AC Milan, but unfortunately AC Milan gave up coming to the competition because of the conflict between the Bernabeu Cup and the domestic league schedule, otherwise the meeting between Kaka and his old club would have been earlier.

When he thinks of Kaka, Chu Zhongtian will think of his own European Super Cup, the scene of running long distances and then destroying Kaka's shot. He still feels good when he thinks about it now...... This is the European arena...... The reason why Real Madrid are a second-tier team is because their results in the Champions League have not been satisfactory in recent years, always stopping at the quarterfinals.

The draw continues. Portugal's Porto have been placed in Group 4 and Chelsea.

France's hegemons, Lyon and Liverpool, are in Group 5.

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan and Barcelona burst into laughter when they were grouped. Jose Mourinho is an old enemy of Barcelona, and despite his origins from Barcelona, he seems to have little affection for his old club, and Barcelona always dismissively refer to him as a "translator" when it comes to him. Jose Mourinho played against Barcelona several times when he was in charge of Chelsea, winning more and losing less, and every time his team played against Barcelona, there was always a spark between the two sides, and there were things to watch on and off the field. Everyone even wondered if Mourinho's team played Barcelona so frequently whether UEFA had deliberately arranged it, because it was interesting to watch, and everyone liked to watch it.

The seventh group is Glasgow Rangers and Sevilla from Scotland. The second team in Group 8 is AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie.

The teams in the third bracket will be drawn from the first to the eighth groups of Bordeaux in Ligue 1, Besiktas in the Turkish Super League, Marseille in Ligue 1, Atletico Madrid in La Liga, Fiorentina in Serie A, Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine, Wolfsburg in Bundesliga, and Olympiacos from Greece.

It was the turn of the fourth-tier team, and Chu Zhongtian sat up slightly straight, staring intently at the TV screen. Judging from the current grouping, there are only two groups that he is most interested in, one is Group C, which has the giants of AC Milan, Real Madrid and Marseille, and the other is Group F, which has Treble winners Barcelona and Inter Milan coached by Jose Mourinho. Only the opponents in these two groups are strong enough.

Chu Zhongtian didn't know that the head coach Rangnick sitting at the venue at this time kept muttering in his heart, hoping to avoid Group C and Group F. It is better to be placed in the last group, which so far, only Arsenal are sure to advance, and neither AZ Alkmaar nor Olympiacos is a big threat to Hoffenheim, as long as they play normally, Hoffenheim should qualify as second in the group.

The first team to be drawn from the fourth pot was Maccabi Haifa from the Israeli League, a team that has been in the Israeli league but is typical of the belly of the fish when it comes to Europe. Perhaps all they can count on is that precarious domestic situation, playing in that dangerous place, maybe distracting the visitors – and that's exactly what happened.

It's the turn of the last team in Group B.

The lottery guest unscrewed the ping pong ball in his hand, then spread out the note and glanced at it, and then handed it to the host.

The host took the note and read it, then smiled and showed the camera: "Last season's Bundesliga champion - Hoffenheim." This is the darkest dark horse in this season's Champions League, and they will be in the same group as Manchester United, CSKA Mox and Besiktas. ”

"Manchester United!"

Chu Zhongtian clenched his fists, and it was not bad to play against Manchester United.

The televised footage gave a close-up of United manager Alex Ferguson and Hoffenheim manager Rangnick respectively, with Ferguson sitting next to him as the club's chief executive, David Fernandes. Jill was saying something while glancing at the grouping results on the big screen. Rangnick, on the other hand, seemed a little relieved, and in his opinion, the group was not bad, Manchester United were sure to qualify, and the remaining three teams were in contention for second place in the group. The two opponents, Besiktas and CSKA Moscow, still have a chance to win, and they may have a better chance of winning.

With the draw results out of Hoffenheim already out, Chu Zhongtian was not interested in following other teams, he took out his mobile phone and called Emily and told her that his team was going to challenge the most successful team and coach in the history of the Premier League.

"To the UK? Then you can give Boss John a call to them! As soon as she heard that Chu Zhongtian was going to the United Kingdom to participate in the competition, Emily was very excited.

Of course, Chu Zhongtian had to call.

After calling Emily, Chu Zhongtian dialed Boss John's phone, and when the phone was connected, he could hear the noise over there, as before, as if he was still working there.

"Hello!" Boss John greeted him almost with a shouting voice. "This is the Wimbles Bar!"

"Hi Boss John, I'm ...... Chu"

"Chu?!" Boss John over there was taken aback.

Then Chu Zhongtian could hear the sudden silence over there.

"You kid...... Remember to give us a call? ”

"Ha......" Chu Zhongtian scratched his head and laughed.

"It's really Chu?"

"The big star who walked out of the Wimbleds!"

"Let me listen to his voice, and I'll tell you at once whether it's the real Chu or the fake! I was very, very ...... to his voice."

"Alright, you all be quiet! I can't even hear him say anything! Boss John yelled, and it was quiet again.

"I haven't said anything yet, Boss John." Chu Zhongtian said with a smile. "Are you watching the Champions League draw?"

"Well, of course, we're talking about you. Are you coming to England? ”

"Yes, Boss John."

'It's a shame it's not against Chelsea or Arsenal...... But don't worry, we'll be watching you play at Old Trafford! ”

"That's right!"

"It's more realistic to go to Manchester than to Germany, haha!"

"You're doing a good job in Germany, Chu! We hear your team's name all the time. Last season's Bundesliga title? Sounds handsome! Boss John whistled. Sometimes when I see your name on the news, I can't believe that you are the Chinese student who worked with me, ha! ”

"John, John......" shouted someone on the other end of the line.

"What!" Boss John seemed to be unhappy that someone was bothering him and Chu Zhongtian to catch up.

"Tell him about our team's ......"

"Oh, yes! You know what, Chu? Wimbledon Athletic won the South Division of the North and South League this summer! We're in the English National League! This is the fifth division! As soon as Wimbledon was mentioned, the old man's spirits soared, and his voice was noticeably louder than before. Just through the voice, Chu Zhongtian could imagine what the expression on Boss John's face was at this moment.

"You know what's going on one level further up? Clear? It's the Second Division! Pro League! The 'Crazy Gang' is coming back, Chu! It's coming back! ”

"Yes! We're coming back!! On the other end of the line, more people shouted.

"Crazy Gang! Gang!! The terrifying Berserkers are back! ”

"This time, I'm really coming back!"

In the summer of 2002 at the humble King's Ranch Stadium, the voice of the fans shouting together seemed to echo in Chu Zhongtian's ears: "Go back to where you need to go, go to the top league!" Back to where to go, South West London!! ”

Now, seven years later, Chu Zhongtian has become a professional player, and Wimbledon Athletic, an amateur team that was in the ninth division of the league, is only one step away from the professional league.

In fact, there is no need for Boss John to tell him, he also knows these things. As a paid member of Wimbledon Athletic, he has always cared about his parent team. Wimbledon has seen the progress of Wimbledon every year.

Originally, he called back to tell everyone that he was coming back, but in the end, everyone scrambled to tell him that they were coming back.

In the end, Boss John and Chu Zhongtian agreed that when Chu Zhongtian led the team back to England, they would go to cheer him on, and they hoped that on the day Wimbledon Athletic was successfully promoted to League Two, Chu Zhongtian would be able to come back as a guest to meet everyone.

Such a request was not difficult for Chu Zhongtian, and he agreed to it. In fact, he wanted to wait until that day to see the teams he had played for.

※※※Attached: 09-10 Champions League grouping:

Group A: Bayern Munich (Germany), Juventus (Italy), Bordeaux (France), Maccabi Haifa (Israel); Group B: Manchester United (England), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Beśktas (Turkey), Hoffenheim (Germany); Group C: AC Milan (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Marseille (France), Zurich (Switzerland); Group D: Chelsea (England), Porto (Portugal), Atletico Madrid (Spain), Nicosia Apoel (Cyprus); Group E: Liverpool (England), Lyon (France), Fiorentina (Italy), Debrecen (Hungary); Group F: Barcelona (Spain), Inter Milan (Italy), Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine), Kazan Ruby (Russia); Group G: Sevilla (Spain), Glasgow Rangers (Scotland), Wolfsburg (Germany), Urzicheni (Romania); Group H: Arsenal (England), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), Olympiacos (Greece), Standard Liège (Belgium).

(To be continued)