Chapter 243 Promotion to the top 16
At the end of October, the Dutch Cup also kicked off. Alkmaar's schedule became closer. A week's double match has become the norm. After hurriedly fighting for the top of the list with Eindhoven, they immediately ushered in the third round of the Dutch Cup with their old opponent Cambuur.
Cambur's strength is average. Jiang Mu replaced more than half of the starters in the battle with Eindhoven, mainly playing with substitutes and young players. This is not Jiang Mu's intention to give up the Dutch Cup. This is due to a comprehensive consideration of the actual situation of the team.
Next year is the 2000 European Cup. The time of the league is shortened and the events become more intensive. In the second half of the league, playing one more game is unbearable for players. Alkmaar is not as good as the rich family. Most of them sit on their benches are inexperienced young people and players in the Eerste Divisie. Jiang Mu has to consider the final sprint stage.
Last year, Alkmaar was a promoted horse. No one knew what he would play in the end. He went all out at the beginning. However, at that time, they did not have the Champions League, and there was not much fatigue in the final stage. They won the double championship of the league and the cup.
Now Alkmaar is already the double champion of the Dutch League and the Dutch Cup. He wants to play three events, and each opponent is proud to beat them. At this time, Alkmaar's situation is much more dangerous than last season. Jiang Mu has been ready for the second half since the beginning. He wants to win Europe this season. The possibility of the championship is too small. His goal is to complete the goal of the quarterfinals and the quarterfinals with all his strength. The league and cup championship must be preserved. He must first stabilize Alkmaar's dominance in the Dutch League, and then seek to advance to the Champions League.
For Cambuur, after rushing to the Eerste Divisie last season, he was relegated that year, which is in sharp contrast to Alkmaar's scenery. However, his relegation is only due to lack of experience. After returning to the Eerste Divisie, most of their players have stayed, and there is great hope of upgrading again this season. They hold a watching attitude towards the Dutch Cup, and they can go as far as they can.
In the face of the Eerste Divisie, Alkmaar's players were a little under against the enemy. After playing for half an hour of the game, they did not open the door of Cambre. In the final stage of the first half, they were attacked by Cambre. At halftime, Jiang Mu was furious and scolded the players. In the second half, the substitutes finally broke out. At the beginning, the substitute Klose scored a header. Then Huntelaar scored two goals in a row, reversed Campbell 3:1, and entered the top 16 of the Dutch Cup.
The opponent in the 12th round of the Dutch League on the weekend is still a weak team. Maastricht, the middle and lower reaches of the league team, Jiang Mu, in addition to replacing Ronaldinho, other positions continue to use the lineup of the Dutch Cup.
Jiang Mu's lineup is a little adventurous. Maastricht is playing at home in this game. In the face of the opponent's substitute lineup, they have played a high level. Although they have no stars, this civilian team cooperates very tacitly and has a certain physical advantage. The two teams are hard to distinguish. Difficult to solve, the score rose alternately, and it was a 3:3 draw in 60 minutes. Jiang Mu saw that the situation was not good and changed three players in a row to suppress the opponent's morale. It was not until the final stage that Ronaldinho locked the victory with a wonderful long-range shot.
The weekend match with Rosenberg is a walk for Alkmaar. They have locked the first place in the group in advance, and the victory or draw are acceptable, but the bonus of 800,000 euros is still very attractive to Alkmaar, so although Jiang Mu sent It is the substitute lineup. Before the game, Jiang Mu has been encouraging players to win.
Rosenberg is also a formality. After defeating Boa Vista in the last round, they led the abnormal Dortmund by five points and also locked a promotion place in advance. This game is only a matter of 800,000 euros and face for them.
Alkmaar, who played at home, was obviously more determined to fight. With the encouragement of 8,000 fans at home, the substitutes also played a very high level, making the Norwegian Super Champions tired of dealing with it. However, the substitutes' ability to seize the opportunity was very average, and they did not score until 70 minutes in the second half, and Rosenberg was in a state. It was not good and had no intention to fight. In the end, they lost 0:1 away to Alkmaar, and the two teams joined hands to qualify.
In early November, all eight groups in the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League group stage ended, and the teams with 16 expenditure lines were newly released.
Group A: Dynamo and Lazio in Kiev
Group B: Barcelona and Frolensa
Group C: Alkmaar and Rosenberg
Group D: Manchester United and Marseille
Group E: Real Madrid and Porto
Group F: Bayern Munich and Valencia
Group H: Bordeaux and Sparta Prague
Group G: Chelsea and Hertha Berlin
There is no Serie A champion in this qualifying list, five-time Champions League winner AC Milan, no Premier League former overlord Arsenal, no UEFA Champions League former overlord Borussia Dortmund, but there are more Alkmaar and Sparta Prague, which is the biggest surprise in the qualifying round.
AC Milan's Group H is indeed not weak. Galatasaray, Chelsea and Hertha Berlin are not weak. If you want to evaluate a death group in the qualifying match, then Group H is indeed well-deserved, but this AC Milan has Bill Hoff, Shevchenko, Albertini, Maldini and Kos. Takuta, Abiati, Leonardo, Via, Ayala, Rossi, Boban and many other famous generals. Even if they replace Galatasaray and Herta Berlin with Bayern and Real Madrid, they have a great chance of qualifying, but the fact is the most cruel. This red and black army that once created an era and a dynasty. The team did not even climb out of the group stage, which made people sigh and have to lament the cruelty of the Champions League.
Another amazing team is Wenger's Arsenal. Last season, he was the Premier League champion. Last season, they were robbed of the championship by Manchester United by only one point. Among the four teams in Group B, Barcelona is super strong. Sweden's AIK Solna is obviously a soy sauce, with only one draw in six games. But better than Boavista, Boavista has won at least one win over Dortmund.
Arsenal's main competitor is Frolensa, the third place in Serie A. According to its strength, the difference between the two teams is not big. It is not unpopular for anyone to qualify, but Arsenal has shown his usual weakness, that is, poor performance in the strong dialogue. They lost two to Barcelona and one draw and one loss with Frolensa, which is also a direct decision. They will be out of the group qualifying match.
Dortmund is more complicated. They played quite well in the first few rounds of the group stage, but not only did they lose in the league in a row, but also couldn't find a direction in the Champions League. In the end, the previous champion of the Champions League was squeezed by Rosenberg and Alkmaar to the UEFA Cup.
Alkmaar and Sparta Prague are the two dark horses in the Champions League. Relatively speaking, Alkmaar's dark horses are more beautiful. Their strength in Group C is similar to that of Sparta Prague's Group G. Rosenberg is similar to the Russian Premier League's Spartak Moscow. This season's Ligue champion Bordeaux and Duo Tmund is also on a horizontal line, but Feyenoord is slightly better than Boa Vista, but there are many problems with Feyenoord this season, and his strength has not been shown.
In the actual game, Sparta Prague has three draws and three wins and is unbeaten, while Alkmaar has 5 wins and one draw, two rounds ahead of schedule, which is obviously stronger. The odds of the UEFA Champions League after the game also illustrate the problem. Alkmaar has climbed to eighth place, while Sparta Prague is 14th, which shows that many seniors are more optimistic about Alkmaar's progress.
After the UEFA Champions League group stage, major European media commented and summarized the competition:
Germany's Bild said: "At the end of the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League group stage, the top 16 are newly released, including 2 teams in the Premier League, two teams in the Bundesliga, three in La Liga, 2 in Serie A, 2 in Serie A, one in the Dutch League, one in the Norwegian Super League, one in the Ukrainian League, one in the Czech First Division, and one in the Portuguese Super League. This time, the distribution of the top 16 is relatively uniform, which also appropriately reflects the real strength of the major leagues. It is a pity that strong teams such as AC Milan, Arsenal and Dortmund did not appear in the more exciting group stage of the top 16, but it is surprising that new teams such as Alkmaar and Sparta Prague have reached the top 16. Their performance has brightened the fans. Maybe in the top 16, they are also Be able to be a spoiler."
Spain's As commented: "The top 16 of this season's Champions League are a little shabby compared with previous seasons. The only big teams are Real Madrid, Bayern, Manchester United and Barcelona. The rest can only be regarded as second-rate, and the proportion of the five major leagues in the top 16 has further narrowed, accounting for only 11 seats, not the mainstream. The league has four seats. This also means that it is difficult for us to see a real dialogue between rich families in the top eight.
England's Times reported: "This is a civilian Champions League. Among all 16 spending teams, only Real Madrid, Bayern, Manchester United and Barcelona have the experience of winning the Champions League. Maybe we can find a new king after the end of this Champions League. Of course, this The probability is relatively low, because the overall strength of this new army does not seem to be too strong, and the four teams that have won the championship are superior. But in any case, this battle of the top 16 composed of civilians is more likely to surprise us.
Italy's Milan Sport expressed regret for AC Milan's exit. "This is AC Milan's Waterloo, and this is also Serie A's Waterloo. After Inter Milan and Juventus were unable to participate in the Champions League, AC Milan was also eliminated from the periphery. Only Lazio and Foro can support the Serie A situation. Lenzah, compared with the exit of the rich, the most surprising thing is the rise of teams such as Alkmaar and Sparta Prague. We hope to see these young teams have a greater impact on the rich. It is always a little aesthetically tired for so many teams to win the championship.
The Dutch League now has only one unique seedling, Alkmaar, and the Dutch media has no choice but tout Alkmaar.
International Football News said: "Alkmaar defended the honor of the Dutch League. After the decline of the three big families in the Dutch League one after another, Alkmaar, who came from a civilian background, broke through the group with a record of five wins and one draw and entered the top 16. Judging from their momentum, the young legion of magical coach Jiang Mu also The energy to keep moving forward.
Hendley, a reporter from The Telegraph, said: "There is another Ajax. Alkmaar is like a replica of the Ajax in 1995. The youth storm they set off has frightened the European powers, and their odds of winning the championship have also risen sharply. Now they have ranked eighth, becoming major teams want to avoid. The big dark horse, we don't know where they will go and whether they will really become the second in the 95th version of Ajax, but as long as they are not divided into a group of death, they will definitely go very far.