UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Draw Ceremony, Guardiola gave a wry smile, it's actually them!
"Test complete!"
"Upgraded curveball data!"
"85--88!"
"Skill synthesis to begin..."
"Compositing..."
"Progress 87%..."
"99%..."
"Synthesis complete!"
"Combining the Winged Shot Tiger Shot creates a new skill: Tiger Spreads Its Wings!"
Diletta has been very busy lately.
The high-intensity work kept her constantly busy, to the point that she had to take prescription drugs to delay her period so that she could be in a better mental state to face the spotlight of various media outlets.
She first hosted the draw for the UEFA Champions League knockout stage.
The 16 teams that successfully advanced from the group stage gathered with their head coaches and management teams in a brightly lit venue, awaiting the results of the draw.
This was a long process, and UEFA, for the sake of the show, did not rush to end the draw ceremony. First, they played highlights of the group stage matches from various teams.
Tang Long and Cristiano Ronaldo naturally became the focus of the highlights!
The two of them, one with 11 goals in 6 group stage matches and the other with 10 goals, achieved astonishing efficiency, overshadowing his strikers.
Diletta naturally wouldn't waste this opportunity to promote Tang Long; she specifically mentioned it:
"Tang, the China player who plays for Manchester City, has scored 11 goals in 6 group stage matches, equaling the record of 11 goals in the group stage set by Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal player for Real Madrid, in the 2015-16 season."
"Now Cristiano Ronaldo can no longer keep this record alone; he will share it with Don."
Upon hearing this, the head coaches and management of more than a dozen top Europe clubs in the audience began to whisper among themselves.
Although they already knew that Tang Long had scored 11 goals, many people did not know that Tang Long had actually equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record from last season.
"Tang is really amazing! 11 goals in 6 games, almost two goals per game!"
"Luckily we weren't drawn into the same group as Manchester City, otherwise we would have been in big trouble, haha. Look at Barca, they're all playing in the UEFA Europa League."
"Barca Bartomeu is a good friend of mine. Two days ago, when we were having dinner, he was still complaining that he never wanted to be grouped with Manchester City again, haha!"
"When Cristiano Ronaldo scored 11 goals in the group stage, he was already 30 years old, while this China player is only 20. His future is limitless. If he continues on this trajectory, he will definitely win the Ballon d'Or in the future!"
"If Manchester City wins the UEFA Champions League this season, it's very possible."
"That's great. For years it's been a two-man show between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. As a neutral observer, I'd really like to see some fresh blood!"
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was watching on television instead of being there in person, was furious when he heard Diletta's words.
What he can't tolerate most is his record being broken, especially by a 20-year-old kid.
"Damn it! If it were Lionel Messi broke my UEFA Champions League group stage goal record, I would feel a little better, but why did it have to be a 20-year-old!"
Born in 1985, Luo is now 31 years old.
Although he maintained an extremely high goal-scoring efficiency at Real Madrid, his physical indicators were like those of a person in their 20s.
But time flies, and lost youth can never be returned!
No one can live forever, and naturally, no one can escape the natural aging of the body.
Cristiano Ronaldo is perfectly aware that he will eventually face a decline in his career. All he can do is try to prolong his professional life through regular diet, sufficient sleep, a disciplined private life, and scientific training.
Provoked by Tang Long, he simply turned off the TV, no longer caring whether Real Madrid would be drawn, and went to the basement gym to continue his extra training.
For him, the goal this season is definitely to win the UEFA Champions League, adding another important weight to his title as the King of the UEFA Champions League.
In that case, what difference does it make who Real Madrid draws?
To win the championship, you must defeat all the strong teams in the first round!
Ronaldo was also invited to the draw as a guest.
As luck would have it, it was his turn to draw the lots during Manchester City's draw.
Ronaldo felt a surge of nervousness. Looking at the little footballs with UEFA Champions League designs painted on them in the glass basket, he broke out in a sweat. He reached inside and circled the ball seven or eight times, but still didn't dare to take it out.
"God help us, God help us! Please let Manchester City draw a weak team, preferably like Monaco, Benfica, or Zenit."
Seeing that Ronaldo hadn't pulled his hand out and was instead drawing circles inside, Diletta knew that Ronaldo was really nervous, so he gently reminded him to quickly take out a ball.
As the sweat dripped from Ronaldo's forehead onto the stage, he closed his eyes and pulled out a ball.
Upon opening it, my heart skipped a beat – Bayern Munich!
Dilita was secretly shocked, inwardly cursing, "Your luck is really good, thank you!"
However, she maintained her smile and spoke calmly to the head coaches and management of the 16 teams in the audience:
"UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Manchester City vs. Bayern Munich!"
Bayern Munich's head coach Ancelotti shuddered slightly and quickly grabbed the armrest of his chair to stop the swaying.
This summer, after Guardiola left Bayern for Manchester City, Italy manager Ancelotti began his coaching career at Bayern.
Ancelotti has extensive coaching experience and has achieved success at major Europe clubs.
After joining Bayern, they played exceptionally well in the league, completely disregarding other strong teams like Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. They also held a commanding lead in the standings.
However, Bayern brought in Ancelotti with higher expectations, valuing Ancelotti UEFA Champions League achievements, particularly his UEFA Champions League trophies won with both Milan and Real Madrid!
"What Guardiola couldn't do, I will do!" This was Ancelotti's declaration to Bayern Munich president Hoeness at his inauguration ceremony.
But to everyone's surprise, in the round of 16, their first opponent was Manchester City.
Bayern president Hoeness was sitting next to Ancelotti at that moment.
He pouted in dissatisfaction, as if complaining about God's injustice and the cruelty of fate!
The head coaches and management of other teams were gloating.
Especially those teams that finished second in their groups, such as Paris Saint-Germain, Eindhoven, Monaco, Juventus, Roma, Dynamo Kyiv, Gent.
Everyone was all smiles, and some even clenched their fists and waved them.
These teams aren't from the Premier League, and they could have faced group winners Manchester City. Now they've avoided their strongest opponent—who wouldn't be happy?
On the other hand, Manchester City's situation wasn't much better.
Guardiola gave a wry smile, touched his bald head, and pondered, it was unclear whether he was thinking about his time at Bayern or considering tactics for playing against Bayern;
Newly appointed Manchester City CEO Berrada puffed out his cheeks, let out a deep breath, and looked utterly helpless.
He thought to himself, "If we get past Bayern, we absolutely can't let Ronaldo draw the quarterfinals next time. What terrible luck! Of all the teams we have, he had to draw Bayern."
Ronaldo stood on the stage, looking completely innocent, thinking, "Is it my fault? It's just bad luck, I can't help it!"
China fans watching the draw live were excitedly sending comments in the chat.
-[Oh dear, now Bayern can go after Manchester City, Juventus can run away first~]
-[Look at the close-up, look at Hoeness's expression, his face is as red as rotten liver, haha, no one's to blame but Bayern only managed second place in their group.]
- [Haha, Guardiola is going to face his former club.]
I just want to see if the Bundesliga champions can keep Tang in check!
-[That's right, Ancelotti is a renowned coach; it's time for him to show his abilities!]
- [Wait, why is everyone talking about Bayern? Manchester City's draw was terrible too, so many weak teams finished second in their group, and they just had to draw the strongest team, Bayern. What kind of draw is that?]
-[I'm going to ask that fat Ronaldo, he's really unlucky, even unlucky than my own luck!]
My roommate, Bayern fan, has gone to the balcony to smoke. He looks really down. Should I go over and comfort him?
-[I'm speechless. Ronaldo is Tang Long's agent, and this has really ruined him. If Manchester City doesn't win the UEFA Champions League, they can blame Ronaldo.]
Manchester City fans are not afraid. If they're going to win the title anyway, they'll have to beat all the top teams in Europe. Better to wait than wait. Beating Bayern would be great!
- [Tang Long hasn't played against Bayern before, has he? Looking forward to his performance!]