Chapter 1116: Blue Eagle with Broken Wings (Part I)
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The reason why Bayern, who had four games, one draw and three losses in the group stage, has not yet confirmed in advance that they will not qualify for the round of 16 is because in another game in Group G, Lens finally showed the style of a French runner-up, and overturned Deportivo La Coruna at home without being favored, giving the La Liga powerhouse a victory and snatching three points from its hands.
In this way, after all the first four rounds of the group stage were over, the qualifying situation of Group G gradually became clear: Fiorentina, who won all four games, took the lead in the group standings with twelve points and locked the qualification in advance; Deportivo La Coruna, with two wins and two losses, is in second place, while Lens, who managed to win their first group game, is close behind with four points; As for Bayern Munich, they are five points behind Deportivo La Coruna with two rounds left in the group stage, and there is still a theoretical hope of qualifying!
So, in a sense, Bayern Munich has a lot to thank Lens at this time. If they hadn't beaten Deportivo La Coruna in this round, Bayern would have lost that hope by now. Although Bayern's hopes of completing a comeback in the last two rounds of the final two rounds and securing a place in the round of 16 are very slim, if Heathfield can lead the team to two consecutive victories, and Fiorentina can play a fair play spirit to beat Lens and Deportivo La Coruna, then Bayern are clearly worth salvaging.
The hope of qualifying is in the hands of Fiorentina, which is the most worrying thing for Bayern at the moment. After all, from Fiorentina's point of view, they have already qualified early, and they have no obligation to spend the rest of their games trying to win, because it will not do them any good.
Maybe they will look at Beckenbauer's face as less passive, but it is obviously very unrealistic to want Fiorentina to go all out for Bayern.
As a result, Bayern fans are now generally pessimistic about their team's Champions League qualification, believing that they are now most likely to fight Lens for third place in the group, guaranteeing a trip to the UEFA Cup after the group stage, rather than saying goodbye to Europe altogether. As for the Champions Cup round of 16 spots, they didn't expect anything at all.
After all, Florence has a history in this kind of thing. In the 1995-96 season, the Purple Lily lost to Glasgow Rangers after ensuring qualification, which directly led to La Liga giants Real Madrid returning home after the group stage, making Real Madrid a topic of conversation and laughter for fans for a long time afterward. It wasn't until Florentino came to power, signed Figo and Zinedine Zidane for a record price, and won the Big Ears Cup last season, that Real Madrid really came out of that shadow.
Fiorentina, for their part, obviously don't pay special attention to Bayern's dynamics, and after securing qualification in advance, Heynckes can finally focus on the domestic arena and no longer have to distract the team from fighting for the Champions League.
On November 17, the 11th round of Serie A was held as scheduled, and the Fiorentina team was ready to meet the challenge of Lazio Blue Eagle at the Stadio Franqui.
The year 2002 was undoubtedly a disastrous year for Lazio FC, as its parent company, the Cirio Group, was mired in a serious financial crisis due to heavy debts, and the team's president, Craniotti, was investigated by the Italian judiciary for alleged capital flight and investment fraud, further deepening Lazio's crisis.
Coupled with the fact that the Blue Eagles have not yet paid off the balance of several blockbuster acquisitions in previous years (note: Cragnotti has taken the installment method when running the transfers of Mendieta and Claudio López, etc.), Lazio, who have always shown themselves to be big in the transfer market, finally experienced the feeling of financial embarrassment this time.
As a result, in the European transfer market this summer, this luxury team created by Cragnotti with countless efforts has become the object of competition among many giants: when center forward Crespo was taken away by Inter Milan in exchange for a mere $10 million in cash and local center Corradi; Mendieta, who moved to the Blue Eagles for a whopping €48 million last summer, was sent back to his familiar La Liga scene by Lazio, eager to cut back on wages, before he could prove himself again after a nightmarish season, and Barcelona acquired the former Spanish midfielder without spending a penny.
And for the Blue Eagles this summer, the fatal blow is undoubtedly the transfer of team captain Glendoni. The player, who changed his premature fall after Nesta was poached by Zhuang Mingge ahead of schedule and grew into a first-class centre-back at Lazio step by step, announced that he had thrown $35 million into the arms of AC Milan at the moment before the transfer gate closed, stabbing his parent team hard at Lazio's most difficult time!
By the way, unlike in the previous life, Galliani did not put pressure on Lazio through his power in the professional league, and naturally there was no bullshit such thing as Lazio being unable to register in Serie A due to lack of funds. In other words, Glendoni's transfer to AC Milan was entirely out of the player's personal wishes, and had nothing to do with Lazio FC!
It is precisely for this reason that Grandoni did not receive forgiveness from Lazio fans after his transfer to AC Milan, as Nesta did in his previous life. In the eyes of Blue Eagles fans, Glendoni, who did not hesitate to choose to leave after the club's troubles, rather than being in the same boat with his parent club, is an out-and-out traitor!
It is important to know that, unlike the expatriates such as Crespo and Mendieta, Grendoni, as the captain of the team and the leader of the local players, has always been regarded by Lazio fans as a symbol of his own person and the club. Therefore, Glendoni's choice will make Lazio fans angry, because his betrayal has almost announced the disintegration of the Blue Eagle to everyone in advance!
After all, even the captain who has worked hard for many years has chosen to transfer and leave at this time, what capital and reason do the Blue Eagles have to keep others?
However, despite the heavy losses of the past summer, Lazio's performance after the start of the season has been a surprise. Having lost their sharps and the heart of their defence, the Eagles did not slump as one might expect, but were rejuvenated under manager Roberto Mancini.
As of now, Lazio is fourth in the Serie A standings with five wins, three draws and one loss with 18 points, only behind Milan and Fiorentina, and even Juventus has been left behind!