It has almost become a common practice, and every year in late August and early September, Monaco is the focus of attention of fans all over the world.

Not because of the UEFA Super Cup, but because of the draw for the first round of the UEFA Champions Cup.

Interestingly, every year before the lottery ceremony, there are hot news and reports.

Obviously, UEFA's hype and promotion of the Champions League is, to a large extent, borrowed from the conventional hype techniques of some Hollywood blockbusters, which is not surprising, because for the sport of football, the annual group draw for the European Champions League is a blockbuster in itself.

This year's hot news is mainly in Serie A, Juventus, who won the Serie A championship, got the treatment of the first round of the Champions League group stage seeded team, which is somewhat controversial, after all, Juventus's Champions League results in the past few years are not very ideal, especially after the expansion of the Champions League, Juventus has not played the knockout round.

AC Milan, who are in the same or even worse situation as Juventus, are likely to be relegated to Pot 4 this season, which makes this year's Champions League draw very mysterious, as can be seen from the bracket before the draw.

According to the list previously given by UEFA, the eight seeded teams are Real Madrid, Bayern, Manchester United, Barcelona, Valencia, Juventus, Arsenal and Inter Milan, and the strength of many of these eight teams has been questioned.

If the seeded teams in Pot 1 represent the most powerful teams in European football, then the teams in Pot 2 such as Roma, Deportivo La Coruna, Bayer Leverkusen, and Liverpool represent the strength of the major European leagues, and any of them have the strength to challenge the seeded team.

The most feared team in the third pot is undoubtedly Ye Qiu's Ajax.

Many people feel that this team should be placed in the first two pots, the reason is simple, Ajax has passed the League Cup last year, last year's Champions League semi-finals, and proved their strength to everyone, but because of points and various factors, Ajax can only be ranked in the third pot in the end.

As Ye Qiu said in an interview with the media before the game, his views on the team's classification, "We don't mind who is drawn, because it's the same for us, what we should mind is our opponent, I dare to pack tickets, the 16 teams in the first two gears are not willing to touch us!" ”

The first and second pots themselves are already very strong and highly competitive teams, according to the previous division of the Champions League, the first two brackets are also the favorites to qualify from the group, but if the team in the third pot has the strength to challenge the first two brackets, then it will not become the group of death?

For Ajax, it's not bad, anyway, from the moment they were placed in the third pot, they were destined to enter the group of death against strong opponents, not only Ajax, but also Newcastle, Dortmund and other teams, they are also destined to meet strong opponents.

But what is even more worrying is that there is an AC Milan in the fourth pot.

As analyzed by the French team newspaper, Ajax in Pot 3 and AC Milan in Pot 4 are definitely what no team wants to meet, because no one wants to compete with such a strong opponent for the right to qualify.

There are also some managers and club officials who complain about UEFA's unreasonable division of the teams, arguing that some teams in Pot 1 and 2, such as Galatasaray and Lyon, are not as good as Ajax and AC Milan, but they are placed in the first two pots, while these two superior teams are placed in the third and fourth pots.

"This makes us wonder if someone wants to arrange a surprise draw result through this kind of binding?"

Before the draw ceremony, this news had been fried by the media in the world, causing a huge discussion, and almost even ordinary fans were arguing about whether the division between Ajax and AC Milan was reasonable, and whether UEFA's classification method was reasonable.

After earning enough hype and publicity from the media in the world, and earning enough eyeballs from fans, the draw ceremony was long overdue in anticipation, but the result of the draw surprised everyone.

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When the lottery guests took out the note from the ball and shouted AC Milan through the microphone, there was a dead silence in the entire conference center, followed by a deafening uproar.

Everyone was taken aback by UEFA's big deal, even those involved.

Ye Qiu sat in the back row, his helpless head shake and bitter smile expression, which was clearly captured by the live broadcast camera of the scene, and was put on the big screen in the middle of the conference center, and everyone could see everything written on the face of the young Chinese head coach.

He and his Ajax are like puppets that have been manipulated, at the mercy of others, not only him, but all the managers and teams present, even the high-ranking giants, cannot escape the fate of being manipulated.

Bayern Munich, Deportivo La Coruna, Ajax and AC Milan!

This is definitely the group of death in the group of death, because these four teams are the strongest teams in Europe in recent years, Bayern Munich needless to say, Deportivo La Coruna is in the era of super Laco, Ajax and AC Milan are in a strong revival, put these four teams in the same group, doesn't it make them die?

Looking at the draws of the other teams, Barcelona were lucky, Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Moscow and Club Brugge, Juventus were also lucky, Feyenoord, Dynamo Kyiv and Newcastle, and Manchester United met Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiacos and Maccabi Haifa.

It can be said that the situation of several other groups is relatively clear, even if it is Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven, Dortmund and Auxerre, Arsenal's strength can ensure that there is no problem in qualifying from the group.

But there is only this Group G, and the four teams are all teams striving for the right to qualify from the group, and they are all strong teams with a certain appeal and influence in European football, but now they are in the same group, and it can not only be a tragedy or a comedy.

"In the coming months, UEFA will definitely focus on promoting this group you are in!"

Eliza, who accompanied Ye Qiu to participate in this draw ceremony, sat next to him, and her keen sense of smell made her immediately aware of UEFA's thoughts, because if the strength of each group is disparity and the suspense is lost, it will be difficult to attract the attention of fans in the Champions League group stage, and it will be difficult to drive the suspense from the beginning.

"That's why they said that if you want to win the Champions League, strength alone is far from enough, you have to have luck, luck in the draw!" Ye Qiuha shook his head and smiled, he was quickly relieved, because this itself was part of the rules of European football.

To complain is to complain, but you have to adapt, accept and do things according to this set of rules, at least in Europe, no club can compete with UEFA, not even the G14.

"It's the usual trick, it's just that the teams that are in this group may have been affected in the Champions League, but they have benefited in other ways, such as off-field attention and influence, and UEFA can't give you small shoes every year, and what you lose this year, it will make you up next year."

Eliza has a very thorough view of this set of unspoken rules, but to do this, the premise is still that sentence, strength.

If you don't have enough strength, even if you are placed in the best group, you may not be able to qualify.

"How do I feel like I've been unlucky in the draw for two years in a row?" Ye Qiu shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"The influence of the Eredivisie team has always been limited, so from the perspective of business operation, the four major leagues are the protagonists of the Champions League, while the teams in other leagues can only be supporting roles, and they can't escape the fate of the dragon and the green leaf."

Ye Qiu snorted, he didn't say anything in his mouth, but he was not convinced in his heart, but he also knew that this was reality.

With the draw over and the fixtures being laid out, Ajax's first match in the first round of the Champions League group stage is away to AC Milan, then at home to Bayern Munich and then away to Deportivo La Coruna.

"What? Seeing the results of the draw, a little unconfident? Eliza smiled and gently bumped Ye Qiu's arm with her elbow.

Ye Qiu turned his head sideways and smiled, "No confidence? Let me tell you, I can even take out Manchester United, Juventus and Barcelona, do you think I will be afraid of a Bayern Munich team that has clearly gone downhill? Afraid of an aging AC Milan? Afraid of that so-called Super Laco? ”

I'm afraid but I'm not afraid, since the Zhilu Dao team was assigned to the third gear, Ye Qiu has been mentally prepared for the group of death, but now that he has drawn three strong opponents, he feels that this is too unlucky.

"We'll see, I'll step on their corpses and get out of the Death Group!"

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If the draw ceremony just told Ye Qiu a truth, that is, the four major leagues are the core of European football, then at the award ceremony, Ye Qiu really appreciated that the giants are the protagonists of European football.

The best goalkeeper, Kahn from Bayern Munich, Ajax's old goalkeeper Van der Sar is even behind Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon.

According to Van der Sar's performance last season, coupled with Ajax's Champions League semi-finals, the performance of this old god definitely surpassed Buffon, but he is the first Serie A champion of the four major leagues, and Kahn's performance last season was also very good, because Ye Qiuzhen can't say anything about this award.

The best defender has nothing to do with Ajax at all, Robert? Carlos won the award, while Rome's Cafu and Liverpool's Hyypia won second and third respectively, which made Ye Qiu very strange, what can't Lucio win for him? Could it be that the Brazilian centre-backs are worse than them?

The best midfielder was Bayer Leverkusen's Ballack, Manchester United's Roy? Keane and Arsenal's Patrick Vieira finished second and third respectively, and there was still nothing to do with Ajax.

The same goes for the best striker, with Raul, Trezeguet and Ruud van Nistelrooy finishing in the top three respectively.

The most valuable player is the show of the giants, but this time it is Ajax that is mentioned, but it is a sad foil, because they were beaten by Real Madrid superstar Zinedine Zidane, who won the Most Valuable Player in the semi-finals last season.

Raul and Van Nistelrooy occupy second and third respectively.

Sometimes when I think about it, it's really sad, Ajax reached the last four of the Champions League, won the Eredivisie and the Dutch Cup, and the team showed enough competitiveness in the European arena, but it couldn't even get into a single award.

Ajax's only award nomination was the Best Coach Award, and Ye Qiu once again became the second millennium of sorrow.

Last year, it was Bayern Munich's Heathfield, and this year it was Real Madrid's Bosque, and Ye Qiu ranked second in the best coach award in the past two years, but they all belong to the kind that has been pulled far, far away.

Why do all the players, all the managers want to go to the giants?

Perhaps, from this award ceremony, and even from the various award ceremonies in the world of football, you can see the clues.

If you don't play in a wealthy family, people don't even know your name, who will know you? Who will choose you?

"I should go back and sing a song!" Ye Qiu looked disappointed, but he was smiling.

"What song?" Eliza thought it was strange.

"I'm a little bird!" After speaking, Ye Qiu couldn't help but laugh.

I'm a little bird, I want to fly, I can't fly......

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The results of the draw for the first round of the Champions League group stage, as well as the results of last season's European football awards, immediately made the headlines of the major newspapers in Europe and the world the following day, especially for Group G, where Bayern Munich, Deportivo La Coruna, Ajax and AC Milan are located, and the media has become the super group of death.

"Is there anything more cruel than four seeded teams that are placed in the same group and compete for two spots? UEFA pulled out this super group of death, pleasing fans who wanted to see more strong conversations, but brutally tormented these four superior teams. ”

There is no shortage of sympathy in the media comments for these four poor teams who are deep in the group of super death, but these four teams do not appreciate it at all, and no one is willing to show weakness in advance.

Heathfield said in an interview, "It's not a signing, on the contrary, I think it's a good draw, because we meet some familiar teams, but if we go to Kyiv or Moscow in the winter, I will have more headaches." ”

AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti said, "It's a very tough group, Bayern Munich is the strongest team in Europe, Ajax are formidable opponents, Deportivo is as high as ever, not bad at all, but we are not afraid, we are confident enough to come out of the group." ”

Super Laco coach Irueta remained equally optimistic about the appearance: "We are in a very balanced group, the other three teams are all great teams and very high level, and drawing an opponent like this will definitely make the game more difficult, but we will give our all and we will definitely get out of the group."

Ye Qiu also gave an interview to the media after the game, and also expressed his opinions and opinions on the group draw.

"No matter who the opponent is, I will not be surprised or afraid, because in the Champions League, all the teams are not simple, they are all superior, and if you want to beat your opponents and get out of the group, you have to prove that you are strong with games and wins."

'Yes, we did well last season but that doesn't matter to us anymore, we're going to start from the group stage now, we're going to win game by game, we're all ready and we're going to get out of the group.'

But it's clear that the bookmakers aren't bullish on Ajax at all.

After the draw results were released, William Hill updated the odds of winning the top 32 for the first time, and Real Madrid won the championship with 1 to 4. 5 is far ahead, followed by Manchester United at 1 to 5 and Barcelona at 1 to 8.

Judging from the top three, Real Madrid and Barcelona have each introduced superstar-level players, the former is Ronaldo, the latter is Riquelme, and Manchester United has introduced Leo? Rio Ferdinand has further strengthened the much-criticized backline, so it's no surprise that these three teams are in the top three odds.

Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Juventus are all 10 to 1, Inter Milan are 11 to 1, Liverpool and Roma are 14 to 1, Valencia is 16 to 1, Deportivo La Coruna is 18 to 1 and AC Milan is 20 to 1.

So, what about Ajax?

Ajax are priced at 66 to 1 and are in 22nd place, even behind Newcastle and PSV Eindhoven.

William Hill has his own views and analysis on the reason why Ajax's odds are so low.

"If it were based on the performance of the defending Eredivisie champions in the past two seasons, the odds should be higher, and even we thought that he should be within 1 to 20, but it is clear that being placed in the group of death has made it difficult for more people to look at this Eredivisie team, because everyone feels that Ajax should fight for third place in Group G and then go to the League Cup to continue playing."

And according to the analysis of some professionals, from the past two years, and this season, Ajax's attacking style of play has made many people worry about this young team, because the Champions League has always focused on defense, and it is difficult to laugh at the bottom of the competition if you pursue attack too much.

"Everyone has to remember that since Ajax beat AC Milan to win the Champions League in the 94/95 season, no team from the non-big four leagues has played in the Champions League, and since the 95/96 season, when Ajax reached the final, no team from the non-big four leagues has reached the final."

"One thing we all have to admit is that European football has completely changed, it has become more and more different, and the gap between the big four leagues and the non-big four leagues is widening, especially since the Bosman Act began."

"Therefore, we have every reason to believe that the last team to appear at Old Trafford must be the teams of the four major leagues!"