With the eager anticipation of the fans, time finally came to May 22. Tonight, there will be a major sporting event in Rome's Olympic Stadium, that is, the 1995-96 European Champions League final!

The Olympic Stadium, which can accommodate more than 70,000 fans, is full, with only about 27,000 spectators among them being Ajax fans. It seems that more than 20,000 tickets sold to neutral fans have been digested in Italy.

The staff in charge of ticket sales at the Olympic Stadium said that they were definitely selling tickets impartially. As for why the 20,000 tickets were bought by Fiorentina fans, they said they were unaware of it...

It is precisely because of this that the stands at the Olympic Stadium tonight saw more purple representing Florence, and there were fewer fans wearing Ajax jerseys, which looked a little inconsistent.

...

Since the Champions League final officially started at 8:00 pm, at 6:00, the Fiorentine players took a bus to the Olympic Stadium to prepare for the last adaptation training and warm-up before the final. Then, under the guidance of the team's coaching staff members, the players entered the home team's locker room through the player channel, where Ranieri will make the final pre-match mobilization and the tactical arrangement of this game.

Although Zhuang Mingge is the chairman of the Fiorentine Club, he does not have the right to enter the team's locker room without the permission of the head coach. Zhuang Mingge, who knows that he should make the players calm as much as possible at this time, naturally would not commit this taboo at this time.

So, Zhuang Mingge, who honestly brought three beauties to the VIP box he borrowed from Rosella Sensi, unexpectedly found that there was an unexpected visitor sitting in his room. Zhuang Mingge, who did not dare to be negligent, hurriedly walked up to express his welcome to the visitor:

"Chairman Johnson, I'm glad to see you here!"

"Haha, Chairman Corleon, I hope I did not disturb your interest in watching the game. This time I just greeted you half of the host. My seat is in the No. 1 box." Although Johnson was old, he still noticed the three beauties around Zhuang Mingge. He didn't know the details of the three girls, and only regarded them as some irrelevant people. He teasedly gave Zhuang Mingge a look that even men knew, and said.

Zhuang Mingge knew that the other party was wrong when he saw Johnson's expression, but he would not specifically correct the other party's wrong perception: "Where is it, Chairman Johnson, you are so polite. It should be that I went to visit you. To be honest, I really want to thank you very much."

"Oh? How do you say this?"

"If UEFA was not under your leadership, we European clubs would not have received such a generous prize for the match, and European football would not have been as famous and attractive as it is now." Zhuang Mingge's words are the truth. During Johnson's tenure as UEFA President, most of the quarterfinals of each World Cup came from Europe, and the three major European Cups held by UEFA became very exciting, and European clubs' performance in the Toyota Cup was no longer inferior to South American teams.

It can be said that without Johnson, European football's popularity would not have reached its current height.

"Haha, Chairman Corleon, you have won the award. This is just my job." Although he was very modest, Old Man Johnson obviously enjoyed Zhuang Mingge's words very much. "After that, I have something to thank you. I have never forgotten the help you extended to me when I was in Amsterdam."

With "outsiders" present, Johnson was obviously a little worried and did not directly point out what happened in Amsterdam, but both Zhuang Mingge and Johnson knew it well, so naturally they did not say it clearly.

"By the way, Chairman Johnson, I plan to discuss some things with you..."

Next, taking advantage of the less than half an hour before the start of the game, Zhuang Mingge and Johnson discussed the reform plan for the three major European Cups in the private room.

"Antonio, what you mean is that it's better not to expand the Champions League and League Cup at the same time. You can only choose one of them, right?" Although the two talked for less than half an hour in total, the names between the two have changed unknowingly.

"Yes, I think the Champions League expansion can indeed make the cake bigger and bigger. All teams participating in the Champions League can also receive more TV broadcast fees and game bonuses than before. But if the League Cup is expanded, the situation will be completely different. Chairman Johnson, think about it, the Champions League expansion will inevitably lead to a lot of strong teams being poached from the League Cup field, resulting in a sharp decline in the attractiveness of this event. If the League Cup also chooses to expand, the influx of a large number of weak brigades will probably further reduce the attention of fans to this event."

In short, Zhuang Mingge's meaning is to tell Johnson not to continue to pour water into the already watery League Cup event. Doing so will inevitably further reduce the appeal and attention of the event.

In Zhuang Mingge's previous life, UEFA handled the League Cup this way. As a result, this event, one of the three major European Cups, has dropped rapidly after a significant expansion. Many fans would rather go to La Liga Serie A than pay attention to the League Cup. At most, they would take a look at who the champion is at the end of the season.

Are fans willing to watch the four major leagues with countless strong teams, or are they willing to watch a group match between two teams, Cyprus and Malta? You can think of it with your heels!

Seeing that the time was getting closer and closer to the start of the game, Johnson had to temporarily stop the exchange between the two. He felt that the trip was rewarding a lot, and after he and Zhuang Mingge made an agreement to "conversate further in detail if they have time in the future", he stood up and said goodbye.

"This time the draw for Fiorentine's Champions League was just an accident. I hope you don't mind Chairman Corleone. I personally promise that this situation will not happen again in the future." While the two hugged and said goodbye, Johnson gently said this in the ear in a volume that others would never hear, and then floated away, leaving only Zhuang Mingge who was a little stunned in the box.

What is this situation? Did I unknowingly worship a godfather for Florence?
Chapter completed!