Chapter 237: Widening the Gap

As the backbone of European football, especially Dutch football, from the 1929 domestic football league championship to the European Champions Cup, the pinnacle of European football, Eindhoven has created numerous honors for the small town of Eindhoven and the country of windmills (another name for the Netherlands) in the past 90 years.

For almost a century, the Philips Arena has witnessed all the ups and downs of PSV Eindhoven.

The majestic stadium that still stands on the north-west side of Eindhoven's city centre has accompanied PSV Eindhoven for more than 90 years.

With the introduction of the "Bosman" bill, the minor league teams have all been greatly affected, Eindhoven is also one of them, and now they can only be regarded as the giants of Dutch football, compared to the giants of the five major leagues, such as Barcelona and AC Milan, it is nothing, nevertheless, it must be said that Eindhoven has cultivated many world superstars, the closest is Van Nistelrooy, who first played for Real Madrid, on the day of Van Nistelrooy's 22nd birthday, he joined Eindhoven for 4.2 million pounds, Breaking the record for transfer fees in the Netherlands at the time.

In Eindhoven's first season, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored 31 goals to become the top scorer of the Dutch league and finished second in the European Golden Boot by two points to England's Kevin Phillips, but he became the Dutch Footballer of the Year.

Another superstar worth mentioning is the Brazilian 'lone wolf', Romario, who was named one of the 125 best footballers in the history of football by FIFA in March 2004.

Romario played for PSV Eindhoven from 1988 to 1992 and won the Dutch First Division title in 1989, 1991 and 1992.

The reason why Van Nistelroy and Romario are mentioned is not to show that PSV Eindhoven is good at cultivating production pitches, but during the period when the two played for PSV Eindhoven, Eindhoven's results in the league, including in the Champions League, were quite good, but unfortunately it was old at that time.

Wan Sheng didn't care too much about PSV Eindhoven. He said bluntly, "They were really unlucky to draw us." ”

In the face of a large group of media interviews from various countries, Wan Sheng seemed very relaxed, "I am leading the team to play the Champions League for the first time, and I am not familiar with the knockout stage of the competition, but I dare to say that we have a good start!" ”

"You mean Eindhoven is weak?" A Dutch journalist complained.

Wan Sheng shrugged, completely unconcerned, "I'm just telling the truth." I have a lot of confidence in my team. PSV Eindhoven are good. But among the opponents we could draw, they are very good, and if we meet PSV Eindhoven, we will be afraid, then I think we will have to stop at the round of 16. ”

The English media are well aware of Wan Sheng's temper and are not at all surprised that he said this.

Media reporters from other countries were quite surprised, some of them were interviewing Wan Sheng for the first time, although they heard that this young Chinese was difficult to get along with, but they did not come first to say so.

How can that also be Eindhoven, the wealthy aristocracy of Europe!

Even if you have confidence in the team. At least to be subtle, not to mention, they didn't see the specific advantages of Manchester City and PSV Eindhoven.

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The next day. After the draw ceremony, what Wan Sheng said in an interview with the media appeared on many report pages, and the Dutch "Telegraph" published Wan Sheng's words word for word.

The Dutch newspaper De-Telegraaf is the largest daily newspaper in the Netherlands. Founded on January 1, 1893, it has a daily circulation of about 700,000 and is headquartered in Amsterdam.

The Dutch newspaper Telegraph is part of the Telecom Media Group. Ranked 71st in the world in terms of newspaper circulation in 2006 published by the World Newspaper Association, it has a considerable influence in the Netherlands and Europe.

When Wansheng's speech in an interview with the media was reported by them in a high-profile manner, the eyes of the Netherlands and Europe took notice of Wansheng.

This is the result of the media's encouragement, and also because Wansheng is already very influential.

The just-concluded Manchester derby shook the whole of England and even Europe, Wan Sheng couldn't attract attention if he didn't want to, no matter what he said, the media would report it word for word, not to mention, Wan Sheng said this kind of words against his opponent.

PSV Eindhoven coach Ronald Koeman was quick to respond, and he was very unhappy with Wan Sheng's words, "If Manchester City think that meeting PSV Eindhoven is a good sign and getting into the quarter-finals is not a problem, it would be great, I like to play against a proud opponent the most!" ”

This is just the beginning, Koeman also continued to talk about PSV Eindhoven's advantage, "Maybe he thought Manchester City had a good result in the Premier League and the Champions League group stage, but I want to tell him that the Champions League knockout stage is different, it is a bloody and cruel battlefield, and there will only be one winner in the end, and I will tell him this with practical actions." ”

Ronald Koeman was a big star as a player, having played for Barcelona and helped the Netherlands win the European Championships.

Koeman doesn't have a lot of experience as a manager, but he has already achieved remarkable results.

In January 2000, two years after retiring from the game, Koeman became the manager of Eredivisie side Vitesse, and in December of the following year, Koeman was officially appointed manager of Eredivisie giants Ajax, and led the team to win the Eredivisie in 2002, 2004 and the Dutch Cup in 2002.

After losing to Auxerre in the UEFA Cup in 2005, Koeman left Ajax and succeeded Terpattoni as Benfica boss of the Portuguese Super League, leading the team to the Portuguese Super Cup.

Under Benfica's coach, Koeman's most famous 'battle' was to eliminate defending champions Liverpool in the Champions League, when Coman led Benfica to play two classic battles, relying on set-pieces at home to score and then defending the game, and at Anfield he scored twice with sharp counter-attacks to finally eliminate the defending champions Liverpool.

Last season, with Benfica only third in the Portuguese Super League, Coman submitted his resignation to Benfica, and then he took over the reins of PSV Eindhoven and successfully led the team to the last 16 of the Champions League, while they also have a good record in the league, and are currently at the top of the Eredivisie ahead of Ajax.

It is precisely because of the experience of Benfica that he eliminated Liverpool, and now that he meets Manchester City, Coman feels that he has confidence. 'I have experience of beating Premier League teams in the knockout stages of the Champions League and now I have a stronger team than Benfica, so I have more confidence. I don't know where that young Chinese's confidence came from, but my confidence is real! ”

When Koeman said this, the Dutch media were delighted.

In their eyes, Coman is a former big star in the Netherlands and one of the best coaches now, and that young man is leading the team to play in the Champions League for the first time, in front of the 'experienced' Koeman, what qualifications does he have to be so crazy. So dragging?

Is it 'good to sign'?

Manchester City vs. PSV Eindhoven is a good sign!

However, obviously, Koeman knows too little about Wan Sheng, and the Dutch media does not know much about Wan Sheng, when the Dutch media reporter put Koeman's words and his 'experience' in front of Wan Sheng, Wan Sheng only smiled and said, "Don't you know, when I was in charge of Derby County." led the team to defeat PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Cup", he slapped his head and said suddenly. "Oh, yes, I really wanted to win the UEFA Cup that time, thanks to PSV Eindhoven. Otherwise, we may not make it to the finals! ”

The Dutch media, who listened to these words, turned black.

How could they not have expected such a result, this young Chinese led the team to defeat PSV Eindhoven? In the UEFA Cup? Won the UEFA Cup that year?

Is that really the case?

Soon, a media reporter remembered that there was indeed such an incident. PSV Eindhoven were also in a group with Derby County, and there was no small war of words between the two teams, and Derby County did win the UEFA Cup that year.

This is also Wansheng's European experience.

So putting the experience of the two together, Coman led Benfica to knock out the Premier League team Liverpool, and Wan Sheng led Derby County to defeat PSV Eindhoven directly; Koeman is now in charge of PSV Eindhoven and Wan Sheng is in charge of Manchester City...... Which of the two has more telling?

It's obvious.

So the Dutch media stopped talking.

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The 18th round of the English Premier League is Manchester City's first league game after sitting on the top spot in the league.

Manchester City are playing at home, but their opponent is not easy to play against, and that is Tottenham Hotspur from north London.

Tottenham Hotspur were the focus of the transfer of English teams in the summer, and they "riveted" with the Red Devils Manchester United, first snatching two of United's prey - Berbatov and Zokora, and then seizing the opponent's must buy the back midfielder, knocking it back and selling it to Manchester United for nearly seven times the price (Β£18.6 million) that Carrick bought two years ago.

Between buying two and selling one, Tottenham Hotspur not only earned one more man, but also reached breakeven.

However, the addition of HΓ©ctor, Delvette and Pike Hart, the transfer fee has not been announced, and with Chim Bonda on the right, Tottenham Hotspur must have invested more than they earned.

This has to do with the goals of Tottenham Hotspur FC, a team that is going to challenge for the Champions League is bound to make a big move.

Among the players brought in, three-time Bulgarian Mr. Berbatov is the most eye-catching, contributing 21 goals in 34 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen last season, and is a consistent and prolific goal-scoring hitman, and the interest of winning the two giants of Manchester United and Arsenal before the transfer is enough to illustrate Berbatov's quality.

Jokora has also been on the radar of giants Chelsea and Manchester United, and after the baptism of Ligue 1 and the World Cup, he is unanimously favored to take over Carrick's team.

HΓ©ctor, Dervette and Pike Hart could complement the squad.

Tottenham Hotspur's transfer strategy is to supplement and strengthen the weakened position, Berbatov replaces Mido, Zokora replaces Carrick, and the arrival of Zim Bonda makes up for the right side, but the overall skeleton has not changed significantly, with the strength of Tottenham Hotspur, plus some additions, many media believe that it is enough to have the ability to compete for the league title.

Tottenham Hotspur's results also speak for themselves.

The Premier League has been played 17 rounds so far, Tottenham Hotspur with 9 wins and 5 draws, ranking at the top of the league's 'second army', Arsenal drew with Chelsea in the last round, Tottenham Hotspur also took the opportunity to surpass Arsenal by 1 point, and is now only behind Chelsea in fourth place in the league.

The first place in the league and the fourth place in the league are still very eye-catching.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Joel believes they have the quality to challenge Manchester City away from home, "It's not impossible for us, no team has beaten Manchester City so far, I'm sure we can do it. ”

But Wan Sheng only responded with a smile, "Then let the game still speak for itself." ”

No one dares to say that a football game will definitely be won, but against Tottenham Hotspur, Wan Sheng is still very confident, the team's best tactic is the controlling 'killing' style of play, and the opponent who likes to play offensive football the most, then Manchester City can take advantage of the stronger pressing ability, control the game, and gain an advantage in the situation, and naturally score goals and win the chance.

Against Tottenham Hotspur, there was no pressure on the whole Manchester City team.

Fresh off the derby win over Manchester United, the Manchester City players were full of fighting spirit and played very well in the game, and as a result, Manchester City handed over a 3-0 answer at the Manchester Stadium.

"We did a great job, it was a perfect answer!" Wan Sheng said after the game.

In this regard, Tottenham Hotspur coach Joel can only smile bitterly.

Joel thought his team had a chance to beat Manchester City, but when he got to the game and saw that the situation was in the hands of Manchester City, he knew that the chances were much smaller.

It can only be said that the tactics that his team is good at are too restrained by Manchester City's tactics!

Manchester City continue to sit at the top of the league with this victory.

At the same time, they also received good news, perhaps due to the derby defeat, as United lost a very valuable three points to West Ham United by one goal.

――――

Historically, Manchester United have lost the Premier League title twice at Upton Park, but Manchester United are not afraid of this, the last 11 visits to the Red Devils 7 wins and 4 draws have not tasted defeat, and their new manager Kubishli is also Ferguson's favorite opponent, the two have fought for 16 years, Ferguson has not lost once.

However, the final result was a positive defeat for West Ham as Leo Cork scored the only goal of the game as United suffered their third league defeat of the season and their first away defeat.

After the final whistle, West Ham's new boss Jubil Kubishli pumped his fist in celebration and owner Magnussen was elated, while Ferguson walked into the interview area with a look of frustration and regret, and he was frank about United's problems with the final kick.

'We played well and created a lot of chances, but we should have done better with the last shots. Manchester United had 24 shots on goal, 14 more than their opponents, but all of them were "empty bullets": "We shouldn't be losers, but now that it's a fact, the next thing for United to do is to regain confidence and start again, and we have to show mental strength." This is the true hallmark of a champion team, and United have shown that quality in the past. ”

Seven days ago, Manchester United still had a 2 points advantage over Manchester City, but after losing the Manchester derby and being defeated by West Ham United, the points situation of the two teams was completely reversed, Manchester City has 4 points advantage over Manchester United, Manchester United was also overtaken by Chelsea, ranked third in the Premier League, and now Manchester United has not visited Manchester Stadium, not visited Stamford Bridge, they are already third in the league, which makes many people not optimistic about Manchester United.

After the game, Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson warned Manchester City not to rejoice too soon, "Today [the result] was very, very crucial for Manchester City, but not for Manchester United. However, December is not the time to decide who will win the championship. There are many important games ahead. ”

"The league is very competitive right now, and if they are not careful, they are likely to lose the top spot." (To be continued.) )