Chapter 163 Battle of Wembley

Tottenham advanced to the League Cup final, and Degan continued his record of scoring in 28 consecutive games in various competitions. Although the process is a little difficult, it is reasonable for Tottenham to advance to the final. On the contrary, an unknown Swansea can reach the final of the League Cup, which is beyond everyone's expectations.

What is expected is not their victory over Bradford, but that this small team from Wales has eliminated two big teams, Liverpool and Chelsea, one after another.

In the second round of the competition with Bradford, when the referee sounded the whistle at the end of the game, the Liberty Court became a sea of joy. The media that were best at touting grassroots heroes were cheering the team. Swansea succeeded!

This night belongs to Swansea. No one will deny their tenacity, bravery and unyieldingness. Swansea fans are extremely excited. No one expected that such a small team from the Welsh countryside would now go to Wembley Stadium to participate in the final of this season's League Cup. You know, it is more than 80,000. Big stage.

Degan remembered that if he hadn't appeared, the final winner of this season's League Cup would have been Swansea, a small team that no one was optimistic about.

However, it is not surprising that Swansea can get to this day. Compared with Leeds United, Swansea's business philosophy is completely another extreme. Leeds United is betting on the fate of the team on tomorrow, while Swansea focuses on the present and steadily accumulating. They have never had a high price, and they don't have those stars. Any attraction, they rely on a vicious transfer vision, and every time they take action, they can win praise from the media.

Compared with those giants, Swansea is simply not worth mentioning. This Welsh club is a model of small business. Last summer, they introduced 5.5 million Spanish midfielder Pablo. Hernandez is the most valuable signing in the club's history. Joe Allen sold it to Liverpool and got 15 million pounds, which is the most expensive player in the history of Swansea.

Swansea does not have a rich boss like Abramovich, nor does it have a club leader like Levi who dares to gamble. He has been playing in the lower league all year round, making them develop a good habit of calculating.

With the money of selling Joe Allen, we can build a very combative team, 2 million to introduce central defender Chico, 2 million to buy La Liga's "middlefield striker" Michu, and get de Gusman of Villarreal at a low price. Swansea's extremely economical introduction, successful operation, and become The unique scenery of "Burning Money Premier League".

And Swansea itself is quite bloody. In the previous quarter knockout match between the League Cup and Chelsea, in the second round, midfielder Britton was stained with blood. Even those who don't care about this kind of game will be sincerely admired. This kind of hard work and masculinity, even the arrogant Degan , you can't help but applaud it.

If Swansea can beat Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final, they will play in the Europa League next season as the champion of the English League Cup next season, which is also a huge breakthrough.

Swansea last appeared in Europe in the 1991/1992 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup, but in the first round against Monaco from Ligue 1, Swansea lost 1:2 at home and 0:8 away, losing one 1:10 in two rounds, but now Swansea's strength to play against Europe In the United Cup, I'm afraid that not many teams dare to beat them.

If Swansea can really realize his dream, it can definitely be called a legendary "grassroots legend" story. In English football, people believe that money is omnipotent and nothing can be achieved without money, but such a miracle as Swansea can happen. It's really shocking.

However, if Swansea wants to create miracles, they must face a problem that is not only the English team, but also the unsolved problems of the whole Europe and even the whole world!

In the match with Aston Villa, everyone can see that Degan's physical fitness is on the verge of a critical point. After the game, Tottenham's team doctor said helplessly in an interview: "Rod! He should have taken a break a long time ago. In the previous two seasons, because he could not get a stable playing time, his physical fitness was not as good as before. In addition, in the summer, he represented Belgium in the European Cup and missed most of the pre-season training. Rod's physical fitness can be said to be different. It's always bad, but since this season, Rod's rest time is only a handful. Only when he is banned and some unrelated games can he take a little rest. In other games, he has basically maintained full attendance, which is very abnormal. I have told Coach Antiennis before, only Xi, my suggestion doesn't seem to have been adopted!"

The tone of the doctor of the Tottenham team is a little complaining, but what can Antienes do? "I know, I know, of course I know that I can't convince Rod. He is the most stubborn guy in the world. As long as he decides, no one can change what he decides, even if I am the head coach of the team. However, Rod will basically be out of my power! All right! As a football coach, I shouldn't complain about this issue. In other words, in fact, I also want to see what the limit of that guy Rod is.

When asked about Swansea's expectations for that game in the League Cup final, Antienes said: "Since we have reached the final, of course, we have only one goal, that is, the championship. There is no doubt that everyone in the world knows that Rod is eager for the championship honor. What's the point, and Tottenham has been away from the championship honor for too long! Every step and every step we take this season has gone very smoothly. Now I think it's time to earn honors. The club has invested so many pounds, so we can't let them continue to wait!"

The lack of honor is Tottenham Hotspur's biggest shortcoming now, and cultivating a team into a rich family is not something that can be completed in a short time, but what Tottenham Hotspur is doing now is to quickly become a rich family.

The championship of the League Cup is a beginning for Tottenham Hotspur, and whether this start can go out is crucial.

"My teammates and I will not let any unexpected situations happen. Our goal is only one, that is, the champion. Except for the champion, nothing else can be accepted!"

Unexpected situation?

Let Swansea create a miracle and become the back of Swansea's miracle. Sceneboard, are you kidding!

The final of this season's League Cup will be held at Wembley Stadium on February 27. Before that, Tottenham has three games to play, two league games, and one Champions League knockout match against Schalke 04.

In the weekend's league, Tottenham beat Wigan Athletic 3-0 at home without any suspense, continuing to consolidate their lead in the standings. In this game, Degan sat on the bench. Although he hoped to continue to play, he could not ignore his physical problems. If he After the game, once there is a problem, if he can't play at the end of the season and the team can't compete for the championship, it's really not worth the loss.

However, in the 70th minute of the second half of the game, Degan replaced Adebayor. After touching the ball for the first time, he headed the ball and continued to set a new record for consecutive goals in the official game.

Next, Tottenham will play at home against Schalke 04, who came to challenge. Schalke 04 was the runner-up team in the Bundesliga last season. Their competition with the final champion team Dortmund continued until the last round of the league, and finally lost by two points.

At the end of last season, Helt, the sports director of Schalke 04, vowed: "Our transfer budget for next season is 5 million."

But until the end of the transfer period last summer, Helt Zenno's 5 million was not cashed. Schalke 04 did not invest in the transfer market, which seemed to be just a false number to appease the fans.

Even when the summer transfer period closed last year, people were surprised to find that Hert not only did not invest, but also made more than 2 million yuan by selling people. The players who left the team were all redundant members of the team except Raul, and the team suddenly streamlined a lot.

Although he didn't invest a penny, Schalke was lucky enough to pick two free players, one was Banetta, a good sideline player who previously played for Leverkusen, and Neustadt, the main midfielder of Menxing.

The great Raul is gone, and people need to thank him for everything he has brought to Schalke 04. Raul played for two seasons in Schalke 04, leaving a brilliant record, with 61 league appearances, 27 goals, 8 assists, 12 UEFA Champions League appearances, 5 goals, 2 assists, and 7 UEFA Europa League appearances. He scored 4 goals, contributed 1 assist, and also helped Schalke 04 win the 2010/2011 German Cup.

Raul is the team's offensive hub. After Raul left, he left a blank, because no one in the team has Raul's rich combat experience and delicate foot skills.

However, judging from the current situation this season, Holtby and Draxler in the team have the potential to replace Raul. Holtby performed well in the first half of the season, and the front waist is also his favorite position, which is very promising.

In addition, the position of the goalkeeper is also a major problem at present. After Neuer's orthodox successor Fairman was injured last season, the fans met the substitute Unestal and took advantage of this opportunity to take office.

In the middle of the season, Schalke 04 also signed veteran Hildebrand. He still holds the Bundesliga record without goals and brings the team national team and European experience.

After Raul's departure, the team's top scorer Hunter has not renewed his contract so far. His contract will expire next summer. Whether he can retain the Dutch hunter is crucial to the team. Schalke has offered 8 million high salaries for the Dutch, and his attitude is very clear. , just don't sell it. Now it depends on the Dutchman's own choice.

Central defender Papadopoulos also attracted the attention of many giants during the winter break this season. Although the 92-year-old Greek central defender is very young and his face is still plateau red, he has excellent physical fitness, calm personality and fierce defense. He is the player with the highest steal success rate in the European Cup. The power reaches 76.9%. Papadopoulos' contract has been renewed until 2015, and he has repeatedly said that he has been very happy at Schalke 04, and in the future, he will become the backbone of the team's defense.

In general, although Shaker 04 is also a well-calculated team, its strength is definitely a big threat to Tottenham Hotspur.

In this UEFA Champions League knockout match with Tottenham Hotspur, if there is no accident, the starting goalkeeper will be Hildebran, who is experienced in European games. The main configuration of the central defender should be Papadopoulos Gamatif, living Hevides, Cameroon young Mattip has played 76 times for Schalke at the age of 21. Hevidus suffered some injuries last season and was not in an ideal state last season.

The head coach of Schalke 04 has also said: "Captain does not necessarily mean starting."

If Hevids wants to keep the main position, he needs to work harder to get back in shape. In addition, in the central defender position, Schalke 04 also has Metzelde, a veteran who is willing to be a green leaf, who is the best substitute.

The full-back is the team's biggest weakness. Left-back Fukes found his own state in the second half of last season. Originally, people hoped that he could continue this fierce momentum into this season, but the fact is that he is gradually losing the trust of head coach Magart. Right-back Atsushi Uchida is in this game. Ji has always been the starter of the team, but his performance is not stable. Maybe Magat will regret it. He gave up Chinese player Hao Junmin too early.

In terms of midfield, Schalke can be said to be full of talents. Jones, who has a strong style, has gradually changed his irritable shortcomings in the past and become more and more annihilated. New aid Neustadt is also a good defensive back. Draxler played on the left side last season. Banetta's joining will strengthen the thickness of this road, and Xiaode is also very It is possible to return to the middle to compete with Holtby in the midfield position. Spaniard Hurado was not happy last season, but so far this season, he has performed very well, and Farfan, a sharp weapon, will also occupy a position.

There is no doubt that the first striker is Huntelaar. After a failed season at AC Milan, Huntelaar regained the feeling of calling for wind and rain in the Netherlands in the Bundesliga. Last season, he won the Bundesliga Golden Boot with 29 goals. In this game, he will also become the biggest threat to Tottenham's defense. .

Like the past two seasons, the team will play three-line combat in the new season, but after the start of the season, Schalke 04 did not show the stability of three-line combat.

In the 2010/2011 season, Schalke 04 played amazingly in the Cup and finally won the German Cup and reached the top four of the Champions League, but they only ranked 14th in the league.

Last season, Schalke was in the championship group and finally finished second, but they were out early in the German Cup and UEFA Europa League.

Therefore, it is difficult to expect Schalke 04 to achieve a good record on many fronts. The Bundesliga championship may be a more realistic, meaningful and eager goal. After all, the team has never been involved in the Bundesliga championship. It has been 55 years since it won the last German championship.

But Magat's ambition is obviously greater. He put all his bets on the Champions League. In order to cope with Tottenham Hotspur, Magat even sent all the substitute lineup in the Bundesliga before the Champions League knockout, in order to concentrate on this key battle with Tottenham Hotspur.

"Hotspur is a very strong opponent. They have excellent players in the world. This is a fact recognized by everyone. There is nothing to avoid. The reason why I am willing to say it is because I always feel that no matter how good a player is, there is no way to change a game. Degan is the same. He can He did a good job on the court, but he is only a part of the game and can't be the deciding factor. Of course, I appreciate him, but in my team, there is no place for him. I prefer team football rather than standing on the sidelines and enjoying the performance of the stars like an audience!"

Magat said that he was obviously launching psychological tactics. Before that, there was a big discussion in international football about Degan's fatigue battle. One of them was to blame Antienes, believing that as the head coach, he could not control his players, which was really bad.

In response, Antiennis immediately fought back, but the Master of Psychology obviously needs to be more self-restraint: "Coach Magate's statement is very interesting, but his ideas do not represent everyone. Standing on the edge of the court and enjoying the wonderful performances of his players is also a kind of enjoyment, but unfortunately, Magart teaches Practice, there may not be such a chance!"

You said that I'm a coward as a head coach, which is very good. You don't have this super player to admire. What are you dragging?

The two head coaches satirized each other off the court and were very lively. When the two had almost quarreled, they had enough of their sense of existence. Next, it was time for the two teams to compete on the court.

"Shalk 04, of course, I know that they, like Tottenham Hotspur, have not won the league championship for a long time. However, as far as this game is concerned, there is no suspense about victory, and there is no need for two rounds at all. In one game, I can decide who will advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League this season. Er!"

said that I can't decide a game, so I decided to show you today, which will shock you!

Dry!