Christmas races, not very good results. George was somewhat dissatisfied.

But the game is over.

George was helpless.

After playing against Newcastle, George went to the draw for the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

This is the first Champions League knockout draw since the elimination of a group stage. It was also the first Champions League knockout draw to take place at the end of December.

When George arrived at the draw, George saw a lot of young faces.

Or it can be said that from this season onwards, the Champions League has become more of a stage for young coaches.

Mourinho, who has a rebellious face, is more like a star when he stands among the coaches. However, among the coaches present, Mourinho is indeed very handsome. Qualified to be cool there.

Jose Mourinho and the managers around him are out of place. He is worthy of being a madman, he has not yet arrived at Chelsea, and he has not yet become famous. But that arrogance has been shown.

However, Mourinho did not make a name for himself in European football because of the Champions League title. In fact, Mourinho was already famous in European football last season. And in the selection of the best coach in Europe in 2003, he beat last season's Champions League manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Madman Jose Mourinho won the treble with Porto last season, leading them to the Portuguese league title, cup title and UEFA Cup. Although Mourinho is still very new to some fans in Asia and Africa.

But Mourinho is already famous in European football, and everyone knows it.

And now Mourinho has just turned 40.

At the age of 40, he became the best coach in Europe, and Mourinho is indeed one of the best coaches of the new generation. The head coach, who has been taught by Robson and has been an assistant coach at Barcelona for several seasons, is quite extraordinary from the start.

He also led Porto to to a great performance in the Champions League group stage. If it weren't for Real Madrid, Porto would have topped the group.

Porto have 11 points in the group.

In addition to Mourinho, there is also Monaco coach Didier Deschamps, who has played against George. This is even younger.

Deschamps, like George, is only 35 years old this year.

The results go without saying. It's also quite outstanding.

In addition to a few of them, Carlo Ancelotti, who won the Champions League last season, still belongs to the category of young coaches. Carlo Ancelotti was only forty-four years old. At the age of forty, in the coaching industry, they all belong to the category of young marshals.

Of course, old faces are also indispensable.

Including Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Lippi, Heathfield and Ferguson's former assistant coach, Queiroz.

These are some of the biggest names in European football.

George isn't a nobody now, either.

During his years at Blackburn, George has also left a great name in European football. So even though George was only thirty-five years old, there were still a lot of coaches who greeted George when he came in.

Now George's main concern is which opponent he will meet.

Lyons? Real madrid? Sparta Prague? Juventus? Milan?

George secretly prayed in his heart that he would draw Sparta Prague. Be sure to draw Sparta Prague!

Don't look at Sparta Prague as the first place in the group. But their group team is scum. Not to mention the first place in the group, even if they all win, George is not afraid of them at all. It can be said that all the runners-up in the round of 16 of the Champions League are praying that it is best to meet Sparta Prague.

Of course, there is no problem in dropping back and letting Blackburn draw Lyon. Lyon are soon on the verge of their club's most glorious seventh consecutive title. But seven consecutive titles are in the French First Division, and if you change to any of the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, or Bundesliga, then you are remarkable.

Ligue 1?

Cut, not George underestimates the armor. Ligue 1 has allowed Lyon to win seven consecutive championships, which can also see the competitiveness of Ligue 1.

The seven consecutive titles of Ligue 1 are not even as valuable as winning the championships in the four major European leagues.

The Ligue 1 champion is much better than Real Madrid, Juventus, and Milan. Playing a strong team from the knockout stage would be a waste of the team's energy. After that, it's really hard to fight.

George looked calm on the surface.

But the heart kept praying. Sparta Prague, Sparta Prague! Of course, Lyon, Lyon!

It's a pity that I'm afraid of what's coming.

Blackburn Rovers did not draw either Sparta Prague or Lyon. Sparta Prague was drawn by Stuttgart, while Lyon was drawn to Galatasaray.

Compared to their good fortune, Blackburn Rovers turned out to be drawn to Juventus. Didier Deschamps' Monaco drew the locomotive to Moscow.

George only then got a taste of the benefits of topping the group stage.

How good it is to finish first in the group stage. Once Blackburn finished first in the group stage, they will avoid many of the big European teams. They faced teams like Stuttgart, Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Moscow. When the time comes, the road to promotion will be smooth.

Now it turned out to be Juventus.

When George heard Juventus' name, he was furious. Mommy, Juventus?

If there is one team that George is most reluctant to touch, Juventus is definitely included. Juventus, Old Woman.

The nickname of the old woman was definitely not given to Juventus casually. George doesn't like to play with this kind of calm club because they can suffocate you to death. George believes that there is absolutely no team in the whole of European football who is willing to play against Juventus.

Why was he so unlucky, he actually ran into Juventus.

Lippi heard it was Blackburn, so he turned his head to look at George.

This is the first time George and Lippi have played each other. But between the two sides, the names of each other are like thunder. Needless to say, George is the youngest Champions League champion manager. Even now, he is the youngest manager in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

Like Deschamps, both are thirty-five years old.

In addition, Giorgio has an eccentric temper and has a deep grudge against Italian football. Lippi also knew a lot about George.

George smiled at Lippi in return.

If Lippi knows more about George, it comes from the media. George, then, knew Lippi far more than anyone else.

Who is Lippi?

Lippi was the best manager in Italian football in the 90s. Led Juventus not only to win successive league titles, but also to lead Juventus to the Champions League. Even Giorgio knew that Lippi would lead the Italian national team to a World Cup title in the future.

How about George winning three consecutive Premier League titles? What about George winning the Champions League?

Anyway, now Lippi's fame is much higher than George's. Lippi has been around for many years and is starting to make a real name in Naples. After that, he came to Juventus, which was considered a big hit. Just how good is his results at Juventus?

In fact, it is slightly better than George in Blackburn.

Blackburn was built by George. Unlike Juventus, which is a giant in its own right. But when people talk about George and Lippi, they will definitely say that Lippi is even better. That's the prerogative of a big manager.

Drawn to Juventus, George was very unhappy. The game was home and away, and George was even more unhappy.

The host before the guest, that is, to give the initiative to Juventus. But George also had no way to complain about the others, who made Blackburn come second in the group.

However, George has been in European football for so many years, and he has long developed a skill that is invisible. On the surface you can't see what George really meant.

George kept comforting in his heart.

I don't want to meet Juventus, is Juventus willing to meet me?

Cut!

Now Lippi is probably in the same mood as I am.

George was smiling as he left the scene. Even when the reporter asked a question, he did not hide his smile. "In the round of 16 of the Champions League, there are no weak teams at all. Those who can enter the top 16 are the strong teams in the leagues of various countries. Whoever draws it is a tough battle. ”

"Juventus is a team with a glorious history. I'm also very happy to be able to play against him. ”

Looking at George, the reporters present suddenly felt that the George in front of him was not pretending?

But the moment he returned to the hotel, George's face turned cold. Damn, later many fans said that the Champions League title in the 03-04 season was the easiest to get, which bastard said it. You see, just after coming out of the group stage, they met Juventus.

………… With the draw for the knockout rounds of the Champions League over, 2003 is over.

It has been a tumultuous year.

In the 02-03 season, all the Premier League teams did not perform very well. In the Champions League, the Premier League teams were eliminated early, and there were no Premier League teams in the Champions League semi-finals.

They also performed poorly in the league.

It's just that among them, Blackburn is slightly better. So the Premier League title fell to Blackburn. Blackburn Rovers also became the first team to win the Premier League three times in a row since its inception.

Of course, these are only the first half of the year.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovic came to English football in the summer. Throwing £130 million in one summer shocked European football. It caused a major earthquake in English football. Chelsea bought players in a summer to almost make up a playing squad.

Chelsea have done well, too.

Chelsea are now second in the Premier League, just behind Arsenal and even two points above Blackburn. The landscape of the Premier League has completely changed.

In the past, the top four in the Premier League were basically Arsenal, Blackburn, Manchester United, Liverpool, and of course, occasionally Newcastle could also intervene. In the past, when Gullit and Vialli were there, they were able to finish in the top four.

However, since Vialli and Ranieri have taken over, Chelsea have not finished in the top four for a long time.

Now Chelsea's results are up.

Even beating the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. Chelsea's performance shocked everyone.

Of course, European football is more worried about how much money will the ambitious Abramovic invest in the next transfer period?

Except for this bit of in English football, it's a matter of European football.

England's handsome man, David Beckham joined Real Madrid. And the World Cup-winning coach Scolari left Real Madrid in disgrace.

As for the head coach, 2003 was almost the stage for young coaches. Jose Mourinho won the UEFA Cup and Carlo Ancelotti won the Champions Cup. European football will be their stage from this year onwards.

Anyway, the mixed year of 2003 is finally over.

(To be continued)