Chapter 146 Before the game

The final of the UEFA Champions League is approaching. Red Devils Manchester United and Purple Lily Florence will fight for honor in Moscow, and the smoke before the competition is also spreading in the Russian capital.

From Domodedovo International Airport to Lujniki Stadium at the foot of Sparrow Mountain, red and yellow ball posters continue to appear on dozens of kilometers of roads. This kind of oil-painted posters on the road surface appear every hundreds of meters, as if it is leading tens of thousands of fans. Colorful flags with game posters in the city are also reminding people. The war is coming.

In the face of huge advertising expenses, the organizer obviously hopes to compensate by selling tickets. The head of an online ticketing company said that the cheapest ticket price is more than $1,000, while the ticket price for VIP seats is as high as 7,500 euros. In addition, seats in Moscow's hotels and football bars have already been reserved.

At present, tens of thousands of fans have arrived in Moscow, and many hotels have received these guests from the United Kingdom and Italy. The police have strengthened their vigilance in these hotels and nearby areas.

As the last football highlight before this summer's European Championship, this game not only touched the hearts of fans around the world, but also tightened every nerve of the game security personnel. Especially after the UEFA Cup final last week, there was a serious violent conflict, and the police paid unprecedented attention to the security of the game.

It is reported that about 40,000 British fans and more than 30,000 Italian fans began to pour into Moscow from the beginning of this week, which made the Moscow police more vigilance. About thousands of police have begun to conduct 24-hour patrols in many key areas in Moscow to intensify the investigation of suspicious people.

The British police also sent dozens of experienced police officers to Moscow to assist the Russian police in their work. These police officers mainly help the Moscow police and closely monitor British fans in Moscow.

However, before this, the police had taken some strategies to divide Manchester United and Fiorentina fans. When the fans of the two teams arrived in Moscow by plane, the police arranged for the fans of the two sides to land at different airports, so as to avoid premature contact between the fans of the two teams and avoid the intensification of the conflict. Of course, the British police directly banned those British football hooligans who are already notorious to leave the country.

Differed from the police's vegetation, Moscow's citizens are much more calm about the arrival of a large number of British and Italian fans. Some residents even made exquisite posters of Moscow's scenic spots and historical sites for fans of the two countries to refer to and use.

The Russian government also specially regarded the competition as a warm-up for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, providing strong support, especially simplifying the cumbersome and complicated visa procedures.

The new Russian President Vedev issued a special decree allowing foreign fans to enter the game only with their passports and regular tickets to the Champions League final.

The British and Italian governments also reminded fans on their websites to carefully abide by Russian laws while watching the game in Moscow, especially reminding fans that smoking and drinking in Moscow's Red Square are illegal, and those in serious cases will be arrested.

It can be said that all aspects are ready for the arrival of the Champions League finals. I hope that while the game on the court is wonderful, it can also be calm outside the court.

However, considering the notoriety of British football hooligans, the police dare not relax at all. British football hooligan activities can be traced back to the 1880s. At that time, there were often different degrees of violent clashes in the same city derby. Although the number of spectators who went to the away game was limited at that time, home team fans still attacked the referee and visiting team players from time to time.

In the early 1980s, in order to avoid attracting the attention of the police, football hooligans began to appear around the stadium and bars in high-end designer fashion. This phenomenon was called "meal clothes" and then gradually developed into a subcultural phenomenon.

Football hooligans in the cloak of fans like to provoke, promote violence, advocate fighting, and go to the court is nothing more than trouble. In order to achieve a certain purpose and desire, football has nothing to do with them. Organized and premeditated attacks have become their characteristics.

With the increased control over football hooligans, the fights on the court have been controlled to a certain extent, but this does not stop the fists of football hooligans. In Europe, some organized football hooligans aimed at the fighting place outside the stadium. They will choose to make an appointment for a roughly equal number of football hooligans to fight in an open space in a suburb or park, and regard the fight as part of self-realization.

British football hooligans are undoubtedly the most famous. Football hooligans have caused many tragedies on the football field. Since the 1960s, British football hooligans have been notorious worldwide.

The British domestic media described it as a "disaster in England". From the 1980s to the 1990s, the British government spent a lot of manpower and material resources to rectify football-related violence.

In view of the bad records of British football hooligans in the past, other parts of Europe often cooperate with the British police to include football hooligans with criminal records on the monitoring list, closely monitor their every move, and even prohibit them from entering the territory.

Some people think that football hooligans are a kind of resistance to vulnerable groups who are excluded by society. British police investigations have found that most of the behavior of football hooligans is caused by psychological factors, such as broken family relationships, venting dissatisfaction, etc. Walgrave, a psychologist specializing in football hooligans, believes that it is racist and right. The manifestation of wing fanaticism.

For example, the famous Hessel tragedy is a classic of football hooligans. On May 29, 1985, Liverpool and Juventus met in the UEFA Champions League final at Hessel Stadium in Brussels. A stand behind the goal was assigned to Liverpool fans before the UEFA Europa League, but there were many Juventus. The fans bought tickets to the stand from the Belgians.

There are not enough police and staff in the stands to separate the fans of the two teams. In the game, there were continuous abuse and throwing behavior of fans on both sides. Football hooligans mixed with Liverpool fans fought with Juventus fans, resulting in the collapse of the stands, killing 39 fans on the spot and injuring more than 300 people. This is the famous "Haeser tragedy". That night, Juventus relied on Platini A controversial penalty 1-0 won the European Cup. The result of the game is no longer important, and no one wants to remember the game. Liverpool not only lost the Champions League, but all British teams were banned from participating in European competitions for five years after the game, and Liverpool teams were banned for seven years.

22 years have passed since the Surrle tragedy. Once again in the final of the UEFA Champions League, two teams from England and Italy stood together, and the police were not nervous.

Putting aside the disgusting things off the court and returning to this game, Manchester United has gained a lot this season. Not only did they defend the Premier League title, but the core player Kim Mauro won the league's golden boots, but also went all the way to the UEFA Champions League finals in Moscow.

The same performance of Florence this season has also made people see what a strong rise is. In the league, it won six rounds ahead of schedule, and the top three in the north can only be expected. The domestic cup has also reached the final, and it is even stronger in the Champions League.

If Manchester United wins, it will win the two gold cups of the Premier League and the Champions League this season. Although it is a little worse than the 1999 Triple Crown, it is obvious that the competition in football is more fierce today. Manchester United's resistance in the Premier League and the Champions League is much greater than nine years ago.

And if Fiorentina wins the championship, they will be very promising to become the first triple champion in the history of Italian football and achieve their ultimate goal of dominating Italian football.

Before the game began, supporters of both sides had begun to build momentum for their beloved team. In an interview, Beckham talked about the upcoming Champions League final in Moscow. He said bluntly that he would hope that Manchester United would defeat Florence and win the Champions League as a Red Devils fan.

"I always thought that Manchester United can win all the championships they can, because I am a Manchester United fan. Manchester United is a great team with great players on every line. The club has a spirit that cannot be said, and the fans deserve such a victory, because there are no better fans in the world than them. Manchester United is now the champion of the league, so they will be more confident. There is no doubt that I will sit in front of the TV and watch the final nervously and hope Manchester United will win the final victory.

As one of the members of Manchester United's Triple Crown in 1999, Beckham has said goodbye to the Red Devils, but his two old teammate Gary. Neville and Scholes may hold the Big Ear Cup again after nine years. However, in 1999, Scholes missed Manchester United's Champions League final at Camp Nou because of the suspension, but Moscow will let Gingerhead make up for the regret of nine years ago.

In this regard, Beckham said: "I grew up with some players in the team. Scholes missed the final in 1999 because of the suspension, and this time, I am sincerely happy for him and hope he can succeed this time."

Giggs, who still plays for Manchester United, also expressed his support for Scholes: "Paul will definitely be on the starting list. This is a tribute to his efforts for a season and a symbol of his strength. He has always been the best person in the team. This time, we will win the championship trophy together!"

Some people support Manchester United, and of course there are others who support Florence. For example, Gerard, the head of Liverpool of the Red Army, said bluntly in an interview: "If I watch Manchester United win the championship with my own eyes, it will be more uncomfortable than killing me!"

On the 19th, two days before the start of the game, the two sides arrived in Moscow, conducted 30-minute pre-match training for the media in Lujniki on the 20th, and held a brief press conference. The words of the coaches of both sides also burst out the smell of gunpowder.

Manchester United head coach Ferguson said that although Fiorentina's players are very physical, Manchester United will play their own style, quickly attack and defend, and play tactical cooperation.

Florence head coach Prandelli said that his team members were extremely eager to win, and they had the conditions to get what they wanted and finally won the cup.

The UEFA Champions League final will be held at 2245 Moscow time at Lujniki Stadium on the 21st. This is the first time that the UEFA Champions League final will be held in Moscow.

After a season of fighting, Manchester United and Fiorentina, the two best teams this season, will play the ultimate battle in Moscow. What game will the two top masters offer to the fans?

Daily Telegraph believes that this will be a "art and muscle battle".

And another famous media, The Times, is more direct: "Beauty vs. Barbarism, who will win?"

Manchester United plays gorgeously and is more artistic on the basis of maintaining England's strong confrontation. In particular, the gorgeous performance in the midfield and front court is amazing, while Florence's fight is faster, emphasizing tough defense and fast attack, just like a high-performance machine running according to the program.

Manchester United is undoubtedly the favorite of this game. With the aftermath of the defending league champion, the team's lineup is very neat, while Fiorentina seems much younger. In addition, the midfielder main player Modric's absence due to injury will have an impact on Fioren's overall strength to a certain extent.

The general optimism made the whole Manchester United team come to Moscow very relaxed. The young players smiled. No one in the main lineup except Giggs and Van der Sar has experienced the Champions League final, but the Lord is not worried that the players will feel nervous: "My children are not afraid. They have The quality of the masses, when I was a child, I was able to climb the church tower for pigeons, but now I feel dizzy as soon as I climb high, which means that you won't feel afraid when you are young.

Compared with Manchester United, Fiorentina is cautious. This is Purple Lily's second Champions League final. A season's efforts and accumulation will have to wait until this game burst out. The team's coach Prandelli is very clear about the significance of this game. If it can win the cup in Moscow, Florence will truly dominate Italian football.

Outside the lineup, Manchester United will not have any variables. The Lord will still follow the usual main lineup. Gemmello is still the core of the Red Devils' attack, while in Fiorentina, Prandelli may make some minor adjustments to the configuration of the three midfielders, which will catch Ferguson off guard, and the two full-backs are still uncertain. It is also a question who will be Degan's partner in the finals. It can be said that this is a very critical position. Manchester United will definitely guard against Degan during the game, so in the case of Degan being stared to death, who will give Manchester United a fatal blow is particularly critical.

Less than a day before the game, Manchester United coach Ferguson said, "Fate has already had an answer, and the champion belongs to us."

Although in modern sports, it depends more on strength to speak, there are various strange fates in the arena, which has to make people believe in fate, which is no exception on the football field.

"Maybe this is fate. It's hard to explain all this, but there are always so many coincidences." Less than 24 hours before the decisive battle, in order to inspire the confidence of the team members, the Lord talked about fate in an interview with the media and listed all the factors in Manchester United's history that are conducive to winning the championship.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Manchester United's Munich air crash. In 1968, Manchester United won the European Cup for the first time, and 40 years have passed this year. In 1999, Manchester United miraculously won the European championship trophy for the second time at Camp Nou, and that day was the founder of Manchester United's first dynasty. On Sir Busby's birthday, Manchester United defeated Real Madrid in the final of the Winners' Cup. This time, Ferguson led Manchester United to win the first European championship trophy. 25 years later, that is, a week ago, Manchester United defended the Premier League championship under the leadership of Ferguson.

In this set of data, the most important thing is that the Red Devils have entered the European finals three times and won the cup three times, with a success rate of 100%.

"I have told my team members more than once that once we reach the finals, the opportunity is in front of us, and we have to rely on our own strength to fight for it. However, I also admit that when the game comes to this, the element of luck will often determine the outcome of the game. I am full of confidence in our players that they have the ability to win the Champions League is the peak of life for the club, coaches and players. Each of us knows it.

Before the game, Ferguson fought a psychological battle. It seems that the Lord is really old-fashioned and knows what is most needed for the Red Devil Warriors at this time.

For Florence, although this young guard from Italy is the first time to play, through pre-match analysis and research, in fact, there are no secrets between the two sides. The most critical factor for who can laugh to the end is mentality. Perhaps there is really some fatalism in football. If so, it seems that this year's European champion is really Manchester United.

However, Prandelli obviously disdained Ferguson's tone: "I don't believe in fate. I only believe in strength. Strength on the football field determines everything. I know that people are not optimistic about our future, but the more so, the more we have to do something to let everyone know that Florence is equally great. Big, like Manchester United, we have the reason, qualifications and the strength to win the championship trophy.

People are waiting to see whether the night in Moscow will be a continuation of fatalism or whether it will be broken. Who will get the honor? And who will return with hatred again, the upcoming final will reveal the final mystery for people!