Selected for This Season's Serie A Team of the Year! Let's Go to Berlin and Win the Trophy!
"The UEFA Europa League final is coming!"
Can China player Tang Long create his own miracle?
"Put down your work and let's witness this together!"
The UEFA Europa League final sparked a viewing frenzy!
Many Chinese fans put aside their work and studies to fly to Berlin, eager to witness Tang Long's triumph in Europe.
Suddenly, the prices of direct flights from major China cities to Germany skyrocketed!
Fans who couldn't buy tickets had no choice but to reluctantly pay several times the price to scalpers.
The exorbitant airfares and accommodations, along with the outrageously expensive scalped tickets, did nothing to dampen the fans' enthusiasm for watching the game live.
Even though many fans knew they wouldn't be able to buy tickets, they still got their visas early and came to Germany.
More than 100 media outlets of all sizes from China sent reporters to Berlin!
Many media outlets that are not professional sports media also rushed to follow suit, scrambling to be the first to release information, fearing that their competitors would surpass their own.
All the attention was focused on Inter Milan, and the entire spotlight was on Tang Long.
Among them, CCTV -5, China's largest sports media outlet, dispatched a luxurious team of 50 people to Germany.
As the most authoritative and leading sports media in China, CCTV -5 must win this media competition.
They had a premonition that once Inter Milan won this match, Tang Long's golden era would begin!
For many years, China football has not produced a professional football player with such high popularity and superb skills.
A national idol is about to be born!
Spain, Sevilla, inside the Sevilla Football Club.
The head coach is holding an intense meeting with his coaching team.
Inside the large conference room, about ten members of the first team coaching staff engaged in a heated debate.
The crux of the debate lies in what tactics Sevilla should employ to contain Inter Milan in the UEFA Europa League final, which kicks off in two days.
The key to containing Inter Milan undoubtedly lies with Tang Long.
Let alone professionals like those at Sevilla, even an ordinary fan who has watched one or two Inter Milan matches can immediately tell who the key player in Inter Milan's formation is.
"To contain Tang, at least two players must press him throughout the entire field, preventing him from having any chance to get the ball and turn."
A member of the first-team coaching staff said.
"That's utter nonsense," another coach retorted. "I've watched a lot of Inter Milan's footage. It's not like no team has tried to target him like that before. For example, in the first Derby della Madonnina, AC Milan did it, but what was the result? Two-man marking creates a lot of gaps behind him. Tang is cunning; he's waiting for that moment when he'll be tackled!"
Some suggested abandoning the defense of the flanks and instead packing the players into the middle.
"Tang's threat mostly comes from through balls down the middle. Let them play on the wings and cross the ball high!"
"Their center forward is only Bonazzoli, but our defenders are experienced enough to hold them off."
However, some quickly countered that abandoning the flanks would only hand over possession to Inter Milan.
"We, Sevilla, are a typical La Liga team that focuses on possession and passing. If the ball isn't on our players' feet, how would they know how to play? We can't play a defensive counter-attacking style."
"So what? Are we going to go toe-to-toe with Inter Milan? This is the UEFA Europa League final, we'd better be cautious!"
"Hey, hey, hey, the match hasn't even started yet, why are you already praising others? We, Sevilla, are last year's UEFA Europa League champions, we are the defending champions! Why should we be afraid of them?"
"Inter Milan has indeed been in good form recently, but they are only third in Serie A. If they were really that strong, I didn't see them pull Juventus down!"
The meeting room was filled with arguments; everyone was talking past each other, and everyone had a different opinion.
Emery sat in the main seat, his arms crossed over his chest, his brow furrowed.
He hadn't seen a series of colleagues arguing so fiercely in a meeting room in a long time.
After 38 rounds of La Liga this season, Sevilla has accumulated 76 points, just one point behind Valencia, ranking fifth in La Liga.
This also cost them a direct qualification spot for next season's UEFA Champions League.
People often joke that UEFA Champions League qualification isn't that important to Sevilla.
Even if you go to play in the UEFA Champions League, after six group stage matches you'll still be ranked third anyway, so going to play in the UEFA Europa League is pointless. You might as well just go play there directly.
From a fan's perspective, there is some truth to that.
However, from the perspective of Sevilla as a whole club, they are still willing to play in the UEFA Champions League!
Even just six rounds of the group stage can generate a substantial bonus from the UEFA Champions League viewership distribution.
This is much more worthwhile than going directly to play in the UEFA Europa League.
For a second-tier La Liga team like Sevilla, their financial resources are not strong, and they need more broadcast revenue and ticket revenue.
Therefore, before the match, Sevilla's management gave a firm order: they must win the UEFA Europa League final against Inter Milan to secure a valuable direct qualification spot for the UEFA Champions League next season!
In recent days, Sevilla's largest local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo, has been continuously advocating for the team.
"It's unforgettable that we defended our UEFA Europa League in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons."
"And during that period, they held the number one spot in the Europe official world club rankings for 21 consecutive months!"
Last season, the team won its third UEFA Europa League in club history.
Calling the UEFA Europa League the "Sevilla Cup" might be a joke, but historically, Sevilla certainly has the ability to win the UEFA Europa League multiple times.
"We're looking forward to the team defeating Inter Milan this season and winning the Europe once again. If that happens, the team will have won the UEFA Europa League for the second time in a row!"
"This is not only a miracle in football, but also a momentous chapter in the history of Sevilla, a club that is not very large!"
"Many years from now, this sense of honor will not disappear; it will serve as a legacy, something that future generations of fans will talk about with relish."
With the Serie A season coming to a close, most teams have begun their vacations, and players have left their teams with a variety of feelings, embarking on a rare beach vacation during the year.
However, only two teams are still making their final, intense preparations for the European final.
Juventus are preparing for the UEFA Champions League final, while Inter Milan are preparing for the UEFA Europa League final.
Italy football is very proud that Serie A teams have been represented in both of these European finals!
That day, Inter Milan finished their final training session in Milan, and the entire team would board a plane that afternoon to fly to Berlin.
Inside the locker room, third-choice goalkeeper Berni pulled out a newspaper and spread it out in front of Tang Long.
"Hey kid, look at that! You made the All-NBA team in your first year as a professional, that's impressive!"
Tang Long took the copy of the "La Gazzetta dello Sport" and saw that it contained UEFA's official announcement of the Serie A Team of the 2014-15 season.
Among them, Juventus has 4 players selected, Lazio has 2, Roma has 1, Inter Milan has 2, Turin has 1, and Verona has 1.
The best coach is Juventus manager Allegri.
Goalkeeper: Buffon (Juventus);
Defenders: de Vrij (Lazio), Bonucci (Juventus), Glik (Turin);
Midfielders: Candreva (Lazio), Tang Long (Inter Milan), Pogba (Juventus), Nainggolan (Roma);
Forwards: Icardi (Inter Milan), Luca Toni (Verona), Tevez (Juventus).
Tang Long looked at the forward position and saw his teammate Icardi's name on it, and felt a momentary daze.
There was a time when China fans affectionately referred to the combination of Tang Long and Icardi as "Sugar-coated Cannonball".
As a prolific finisher, Icardi capitalized on Tang Long's numerous chances and broke the Serie A record for Serie A goals in a single season with 40 league goals.
But now, this striker, who was selected for this season's Serie A Team of the Season, will never be able to play alongside him again—at least not at Inter Milan.
"Guys, are you all ready?"
Mancini pushed open the door and walked in.
Yesterday, he specially dyed all his half-gray hair black, making him look ten years younger and full of vigor.
"Don't wander off after lunch. Meet at 2:30 sharp to head to the airport. We're going to Berlin together to win the championship!"