Chapter 342 Leverkusen

July 1, 1904 by Bayer Company in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Lun founded Bayer 04 Leverkusen Club, which is mainly divided into 14 departments, including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, archery, gymnastics, judo, etc. The most famous is the football department. Leverkusen is one of the three strong clubs in the Bundesliga and one of the European teams.

In the history of the Champions League, Leverkusen's best result was in the 2001/2002 season. They defeated the Premier League's two giants, Liverpool and Manchester United, and finally lost 1-2 to Real Madrid, which was at its peak.

In that season, Leverkusen returned to home and reversed Liverpool's promotion 3-1 in the 0-1 away game in the eighth quarter-finals of the Champions League. In the semi-finals, the thrill was further intensified. Leverkusen's first round, Old Trafford, scored the score to two when he was two times behind. Returning home with two away goals, Manchester United had an advantage in the whole game and leading by one goal, striker Neuville equalized the score with a very irregular shot. In the end, Leverkusen advanced to the final with the advantage of more goals away.

On the eve of the Champions League final, Leverkusen had a feeling of falling from heaven to hell. They collapsed with a huge lead of five points with three rounds left in the league, ceded the Bundesliga champion to Dortmund, and lost to Schalke 04 in the German Cup final.

In the UEFA Champions League final, in the face of the star-capped Real Madrid, Leverkusen also failed to get rid of his fate. Although he once equalized the score with Lucio's goal, he finally lost to Zidane's "God's foot". The name of Sanya King made people sigh.

Such an experience has become the regret of Leverkusen. Although the performance of the King of Sanya is not bad, it is really a pity. Because of this, the Leverkusen Club has become more and more mature. In the competition last season, Werde Bremen rose strongly, squeezing out Bayern Munich to become the league champion, and Bayern can only succumb. In second place, even so, Leverkusen defeated Stuttgart in the competition and won the third place in the UEFA Champions League this season.

And now, they have entered the top 16 again, and their opponent is Liverpool.

Seeing this duel, many people can think of the second year of the century. At that time, Leverkusen eliminated Liverpool. Of course, the score they played at Anfield was 1-0. Now they are still visiting Anfield first. The same scene will always make people fantasize. Leverkusen will It will not create the miracle of that year again, eliminate Liverpool and enter the next round, which is really expected.

However, this is really just a reverie.

In fact, neither the record nor the mental advantage, Leverkusen does not stand in the position.

In the past dialogue with the English team, Leverkusen was completely at a disadvantage, with only 2 wins, 4 draws and 9 losses in 15 matches. Even in the peak of the 2001/2002 season, the group stage and six knockout matches against England were only 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. In the recent Champions League, Leverkusen's opponent was Liverpool. It is not a good memory that they lost 1-3 at home to Liverpool.

In the confrontation with the Spanish team, Leverkusen also failed to take advantage of it. In the past 23 games, 6 wins, 5 draws and 11 losses, the only Champions League final was lost to Real Madrid.

So Leverkusen can only be regarded as a strong team in the Champions League, not a strong team. On the contrary, Liverpool's performance in the Champions League has always been good. Although Liverpool has not achieved any good results after 90 years, the team's performance has not been better than its competitors on the European stage. What's the difference between Senna and Manchester United?

And Liverpool this season is even stronger. It is the fastest to qualify in the group stage. The league is only one point behind Chelsea and ranked second, and even the FA Cup that he wants to give up has not been eliminated. This form makes Benitez can't think of a reason to lose to Leverkusen. He does not underestimate his opponent, but says that the team does not have The reason for losing, he felt that in the current situation, if Liverpool really lost to Leverkusen, then he really wanted to think about whether it was the club's fault or his own fault.

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When the 20th came, Liverpool City was already full of pre-war atmosphere.

Every morning, some fans gather in the streets and alleys to discuss Liverpool's current form, imagine Liverpool's future and so on. What they talk about most is the team's next opponent. For Liverpool fans, Leverkusen is a very familiar opponent. From 2,000 years later, they even I have met twice. The first time was not a good memory, because they were turned over by their opponents, and the second time was an easy victory.

What about this time?

The European game is different from the league. It is really difficult to guarantee the victory or defeat. Even if Liverpool is strong this season, there are still no fans who are sure that the team can win, which has nothing to do with confidence in the team.

However, in the interview, many fans were extremely sure about one thing: "I'm sure Jack can score!"

"Jack must be able to score two goals. Let those dull Germans get out of here!"

"Jack will let them know what the spirit of Liverpool is."

This is really not very pleasant, and it is also unreasonable. You know, a year ago, Don Jack was still in the Bundesliga. At that time, Leverkusen was still a huge thing for him, but it was also a Bundesliga team, that is, now that Jack Don is in Liverpool, Liverpool fans say so.

But this is the reason for the most 'gold content'.

In fact, Liverpool fans don't have a very good impression of Leverkusen. Although there is not much contradiction between the two teams, only from the point that Leverkusen often encounters Liverpool, unless Leverkusen loses all, Liverpool fans will definitely not like them. After all, they have eliminated their own team, who How do you like the enemy?

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By this time, Jack Don had already returned to Liverpool.

This trip to Germany was not very good. Don Jack and Vanessa were a little angry. Although Vanessa called him later to apologize, he was still a little uncomfortable. He could understand that the other party was busy with work, but he was so busy that he didn't have time to see him. It was a little hard to say. Did he take a day to do it when he saw him? No?

Work seems to be more important than him.

Men always think so. Don Jack is a little macho. He thinks that his women should listen to him, which is different from the idea of ordinary European men. As a result, he is very depressed to find that he does not seem to do this. He feels that he should go back to Liverpool to think about the current situation.

In general, my sister is the best.

At home, Li Xue has always listened to herself, and everything is centered on herself. It seems to be a little too much to ask Vanessa like this, but Jack Don just feels that she has a knot, especially thinking that she has to continue to be busy, so what is she?

With such thoughts, Jack Don returned to Liverpool. When he came back here, he suppressed his feelings and put aside his feelings. He didn't think about these things, and reason told him that no matter what he thought, there was no result.

At present, we still have to face the next battle with the team.

At the end of February, this is also the only important game. In the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, any team will try their best to fight. It is impossible to win easily. Although Liverpool's comprehensive strength is stronger than Leverkusen, there are too many teams that lose to the weak team. Many teams have made such a mistake. Wupu was eliminated by Leverkusen in the last match. For Liverpool in the first round of home games, victory is the bottom line. The requirements for the game should be to widen the score as much as possible to prevent Leverkusen from tying the score at home.

Don Jack is also looking forward to the game.

In terms of its realization stage, Don Jack has almost no personal honor in the Premier League. Even if he doesn't score now, Henry is unlikely to catch up with his goal number. That is to say, he is already the best scorer in the Premier League, and in Europe, he has not been able to determine this honor. Historically, the European single season The highest number of goals is 14, which is Altafini from AC Milan. This is Donjak's goal.

But for now, there is still a gap of six goals away from this goal.

Six goals are not a small number. Although it can score eight goals in the group stage, it is already very appalling. However, in the European Champions League knockout stage, if every team wants to advance, it will not fight for attack, but to see whose defense does better. The defensive team is often more likely to win. This is also Arsenal, although The reason why they were invincible in the Premier League last season, but the results in Europe were not very good. They only scored goals and did not do well in defense. As a result, when they met a strong team, they were always eliminated by others 1:0. It is not easy for opponents to do a good job in defense and want to score goals. Then if there is a problem with their own defense, they don't want to have good results in the Champions League.

That's the reason why the defense wins.

The same is true for Liverpool. Benitez is also considering this issue, which is also the reason why he is dissatisfied with the team's defense.

The team's front line is very strong. With the Liverpool front line supported by Don Jack, it can almost be said to be the first in Europe. But when they meet a rich team, not to mention the rich team, even if they meet the team at the level of Leverkusen, it is not easy for Liverpool to score a goal. So how can they win?

In the attack, the team's defense is even more unstable, which is Liverpool's biggest concern.

When the media from all over the world analyze the team's strength, Liverpool's biggest obstacle to winning the championship is also in defense. From this point of view, Chelsea has a lot of the advantage. Although they met AC Milan in this round, Chelsea is still high in the winning odds of the championship, even surpassing Liverpool. Ranked first.

Liverpool's odds of winning the championship also increased a little, just because the team was lucky and met Leverkusen in the first round.

This is not a game that has attracted attention. On the 23rd, in the first round of the Champions League knockout match, there was a Anglo-German match between Bayern and Arsenal, as well as the classic match between Real Madrid and Juventus. The match between Liverpool and Leverkusen will be behind, and the match between Eind and Monaco It was almost forgotten by the media.

But for some media that pay attention to Liverpool Club and Leverkusen Club, the game is still very important. Two days before the game, interviews between the media in England and Germany began to be frequent. As the fans of the two teams continue to appear in the camera, important figures of the two teams also began to accept intermittently. Interview.

The first camera is Leverkusen coach Ogentalle, which originated from the press conference held by Leverkusen on the 21st. As the head coach of the team, the biggest game to face now needs to be explained first. At the press conference, Ogentalle was asked about the next game. He said, "I We have played against our opponents a lot. In recent years, the two teams have met twice in succession. We won once, and they won once.

"For us, what is beneficial is that we are the guest first and then the host. In this way, the suspense of the game will be saved at home, and we will hold the hope of victory in our own hands."

"I think the key to what we want to win is in defense. Liverpool's forward players have strong personal ability, and the team will work hard in this regard. As long as we can hold it, we will seize the opportunity to win.

These words are equivalent to not saying anything. Everyone knows that Liverpool players are very capable. The key is how to defend Leverkusen?

Soon, some reporters raised this question.

Unfortunately, Ogentaller will not be stupid enough to tell his opponent about his tactics before the game. He has been talking for a long time. To sum up, we need to defend, and we will try our best to defend!

All the media reporters were helpless, and soon they shifted the topic to the Liverpool players. Of course, Don Jack and Gerard were the focus. They asked about how to defend Don Jack and Gerard.

Recently, Don Jack is in a brave state, but he can't hide Gerrard's performance. The latter is actually the same strong. In the game, Gerrard's role is very obvious. With Gerrard, Liverpool's attack has improved by a level.

Now, Augenteller has to face this problem.

Liverpool have never had such a troublesome problem before, because when they played against each other two years ago, Gerrard still looked immature and was not the core player of the team. Now it is completely different. Ogenteller not only has to face Don Jack, but also has to face a more and more courageous Gerard.

It's really a headache.

But of course, Ogentale has also considered this point, so he revealed a little to the reporter. Anyway, it doesn't have much impact on the game: "I want to talk about defense." This sentence made the whole reporter almost sigh.

Ogentale changed the content and said, "We will focus on restricting their side roads and how to limit them. This needs to be kept secret, but the team will do some tactical drills for this. I believe it will be very effective."

In just one sentence, there is no need to explain.

This is also the most important sentence of Leverkusen's press conference. With this sentence, media reporters can imagine Leverkusen's defensive tactics and tell Liverpool the news to see the reaction of the old-fashioned middle-aged man of Benitez. It is very meaningful to simulate the game between the two sides before the war. This is the best thing for the fans.

But when it comes to Liverpool, the situation is different.

In Germany, media reporters are concerned about how Leverkusen restricts Liverpool's attack. When it comes to Liverpool, media reporters are more concerned about issues, such as Gerrard's state, Alonso's state, and of course, Don Jack's state, and one more thing about Don Jack in the Champions League. The number of goals scored.

Don Jack himself paid attention to this point, not to mention the media reporters who eat with data. In the group stage of the Champions League, Don Jack Don scored eight goals alone. This goal number may even directly make him the top scorer in the Champions League. Now the public is concerned about whether it is possible for this black-haired boy to break Europe. The goal record of the championship season.

Fourteen balls!

Compared with eight goals, 14 goals actually don't sound like much, but that's when Liverpool can reach the Champions League finals. If Liverpool is in the top 16, top eight or even the top four, then won't there not be more than six goals? In the UEFA Champions League knockout match, scoring a goal in one game, the efficiency itself is a little appalling.

This is still the case of scoring goals, so this requirement is a little too much. Even at the peak of Maradona, it is unlikely to score a lot of goals. Of course, Maradona is not a pure striker. This is just a metaphor.

That is to say, this record is a little difficult.

In the news report the next day, The Sun talked about this issue, and they mentioned it in the text: "... If Jack can really break this record, he must be the most outstanding talented shooter since the beginning of the 21st century... Although he has scored a lot of goals now, the corresponding honor is still missing. He needs to prove himself with his personal honor..."

This is the truth. Don Jack has scored a lot of goals, but his personal honor is almost zero.

At this point, he is much worse than Rooney, who is always put out by the previous media. The latter is also the main striker of England, and he has also won a lot of dispensable honors, and Don Jack has been in the professional league for a short time. Except for the fifth place in a Golden Globe Award, this can actually be ignored.

So, some media reporters who follow Liverpool began to expect record-breaking players to appear in the Premier League.

This is Don Jack's honor, and it also belongs to England, because although the Premier League now ranks first in the five major leagues with Serie A, in fact, many international awards and records, most of which come from Serie A, and La Liga have many more honors than the Premier League. This is because 2,000 years ago, the Premier League was basically not worth one. But it's different now. They have also begun to pursue honors. A player who breaks the Champions League goal record is something to be proud of every Englishman.

This is easy to understand, just like the mentality of Chinese fans.

If Messi, C. Luo Du appeared in the Chinese Super League, so Chinese fans will definitely be very happy. Even when they appear, it is when they are about to retire and are in a state of nothing, but Chinese fans will still be a little interested. They can think that the best players in the world are in China, even if these players actually do not belong to China. .

So what?

The English people have the same idea about Don Jack breaking the record, and they want to see this happen.