574. The quarter-final draw
Wen Sheng told reporters bluntly at the press conference after eliminating Basel, "In fact, it doesn't matter who the opponent in the quarterfinals are, because this year's quarterfinals team is very strong!"
Manchester City is the defending champion. Although they seem to have declined a bit this season, in public opinion, Manchester City is still regarded as the popular teams who won the championship. They, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, have the highest voices. Therefore, after the game, Wensheng was also asked by reporters whether they are confident of winning the Champions League this season.
Wen Sheng didn't dare to say all the words, mainly because he was afraid of slapping himself in the face, so he should not be talked lively here. If he was sent out when he saw the quarterfinals, he would be very embarrassed.
"There is no precedent for defending the title since the reform of the Champions League. I think my players and I want to achieve this goal! But this is definitely an extremely difficult thing. The other opponents in the quarterfinals are very strong, and we will do our best to fight for it!"
At 12 noon on March 20, UEFA held a lottery ceremony at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
It was Friday. Wen Sheng watched it at the training base as usual. This time everyone was watching in the tactical room. They didn't ask the players to watch it, but everyone was concerned about this matter. Without Wen Sheng's greeting, many players came here to watch the live broadcast.
Suarez is extremely active. Unlike most people in the team who won the Champions League, he has never won the Champions League, and his desire for the Champions League is also very strong.
The draw was Infantino's opening remark as usual, with UEFA President Platini and representatives of various teams sitting off the stage.
The TV screen just happened to sweep the TV to Manchester City CEO Soriano. Soriano's expression was still very relaxed, and he was sitting in his seat and talking and laughing with Malwood beside him.
Soriano is confident in the team. Manchester City has a very good foundation and is strong enough. He thinks his team is the strongest among all teams. Of course, he still hopes that the team can draw a good lottery, which is specifically for Monaco.
Monaco Vice Chairman Vahiev actually smiled happily. Monaco is small and the audience is not too large. Although the boss is rich, he does not have unlimited investment. Compared with the rich Paris Saint-Germain, they are simply an excellent representative of doing business. Because of this, Monaco has been a force that cannot be ignored in the Ligue 1 field in the past two years, but its strength is not very strong. It is very difficult to advance to advance to the quarterfinals.
Vahiev, who knows his own team, just do his dream of the Champions League championship at will. Seeing that none of the other seven teams in the quarterfinals are fuel-efficient, Vahiev knew that Monaco should be unlikely to enter the semi-finals.
That being the case, why not enjoy the competition?!
There are no representatives from various clubs who don’t want to win Monaco, but who can get what they want?!
The location of this year's Champions League final is Berlin, Germany, and former German national football team Riddle serves as club ambassador.
The name Riddle is associated with Dortmund. In the 1996-97 season, Dortmund reached the final. It was with Riddle's goal that Dortmund defeated Juventus and won the Champions League championship. That was the most glorious time for Dortmund.
However, Riddle, who appeared in the Champions League draw ceremony, expressed his wish and said, "I hope a German team can appear in the Berlin final!"
"He is a famous Dortmund!" Lawrence muttered. The name Riddle may not be familiar to some young people, but he knows it to the older generation Lawrence, not to mention that Riddle also played for Liverpool in the Hollier era.
"But he is also a German!" Wen Sheng smiled. Among the quarterfinals, Bayern Munich is the only German team. Riddle obviously hopes that Bayern Munich will appear on the final stage.
Dortmund fans may be sad because of Riddle's words. Schalke 04 in Ruhr is naturally a big hatred among Dortmund fans, but no matter how many Dortmund fans in Bayern Munich, Schalke 04 does not have to be much better in Schalke 04. Riddle is a Dortmund legend.
But then again, what else can Riddle say if he doesn't say that?! In such an occasion, we must still safeguard the "national interests".
"You still want to meet Bayern Munich?!" Hawking interrupted and asked Wensheng.
Wen Sheng shrugged. "If you really want to reach the finals, will you meet sooner or later!"
"It's too early to meet now! It's better to be late!" Hawking whispered. He was still a little worried about Bayern Munich. First, this team is so fucking strong. Their offensive firepower is very fierce in the Champions League group stage, including the top 16. Second, Bayern Munich is too familiar with Manchester City. These two teams have met frequently in the past two years. Last season, they have to be wary of Bayern Munich. This season, people must be wary of it. Third, Guardiola is too famous. Compared with Wen Sheng who lives with him day and night, Guardiola, who is not as good as Wen Sheng, has put heavy pressure on Hawking.
Wen Sheng didn't say anything. In fact, it doesn't matter who he meets in the quarterfinals. Manchester City's goal is definitely the final. They will always have to kill one or two popular teams along the way. Whether it is Bayern Munich or Barcelona, they can get rid of them first, so that the team can form a momentum and make other teams feel psychologically scared.
The players were also discussing the draw behind Wen Sheng. Wen Sheng pricked up his ears and listened carefully. The attitudes shown by the players were actually consistent with Wen Sheng. Everyone was not afraid of anything. This made Wen Sheng even more relieved. This problem of being afraid of before the fight. Wen Sheng did not want to appear on his team!
The lottery ceremony has begun.
The first one was drawn was Paris, and then the opponent they drew was Barcelona. The camera on the scene pointed the camera at the club officials who attended the draw ceremony on both sides. Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser smiled with a reserved smile. He was unhappy about the draw result. His opponent Barcelona is the third on the odds list, but the odds are a little higher than Manchester City and Bayern Munich. But Barcelona's chairman Bartomeu is really happy. This cannot compare to Monaco, but it is good enough.
The team of Paris Saint-Germain is invincible in the Ligue 1, but in the European game, this team is known for its unstable character. In fact, it is because it lacks training in China and cannot play well in the Champions League knockout stage, which is an old problem.
Barcelona draws Paris Saint-Germain and appears in the semifinals.
In January 2014, Bartomeu took over as chairman of Barcelona after Rossell resigned, but Barcelona must hold the general election ahead of schedule. If Bartomeu wants to win the general election held in 2015, he must have outstanding results. Athletics is the most important part of the members, so it is really good to draw Paris Saint-Germain.
Chapter completed!