Chapter 167

On the night of the Champions League final, Manchester United drew the home team draw. The Red Devils trotted into the stadium in red jerseys, while Barcelona wore away jerseys with a light blue base.

This match attracted widespread attention, not only because it was the night of the Champions League final, but also because it featured two young and promising players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi. All media attention was focused on this match, and all 500 media seats were packed.

Cristiano was standing next to Ferdinand, and he heard the tall defender laughing and asking him in a low voice how he felt. This was the first time he and Leo Messi faced off in a game, and no matter who won or lost, it would be a media carnival.

Cristiano grinned and shrugged nonchalantly: "Feeling? I feel great. We are so close to the Champions League trophy."

Ferdinand laughed when he heard this, raised his hand and ruffled Cristiano's curly hair: "That's good."

Rooney made a face and covered his mouth, jokingly saying, "Don't be stubborn, Ronnie. The media is talking about who is better between you and Messi. Some people even open the market. It's normal to feel a little stressed and nervous."

Cristiano curled his eyes when he heard this, and covered his mouth and said to Rooney: "British tabloids have mentioned you and me before, and I didn't feel any pressure."

Rooney: “…”

That's because the answer later became obvious.

Rooney doesn't want to deal with Cristiano anymore.

Cristiano laughed when he saw Rooney's reaction.

He has never felt any pressure from the media comparing him with anyone else. At most, he feels a little annoyed, but he doesn't take it seriously - of course, this does not mean that he despises the other party, but simply that he thinks there is no need to compare them.

In his eyes, he will be the best and the best in history, and in the eyes of many fans, the same is true. As for what other people think, those people have their favorite players and teams to support, and it is understandable that they have different ideas.

He and Leo Messi have faced off more than once or twice. The only connection between them is that they both play football in the 21st century, that's all.

Being on stage with Leo Messi is the same as being on stage with anyone else. In his eyes, the only thing that matters is the football and the championship trophy placed in the center and in the front.

Players from both teams shook hands and greeted each other in the Champions League. Messi walked in front of Cristiano. He raised his head slightly and looked at the tall and thin young man with curly black hair in front of him. The other seemed to notice his gaze, and turned his eyes from looking at Puyol, then nodded and smiled at him slightly.

Messi froze for a moment, as if he had not expected that his scrutiny would be noticed by the other party's owner, and he suddenly became a little flustered.

He was just a little curious about the man. They had never had any direct interaction before, and this was their first time.

——But in fact, they have met several times. The most recent one was at the European Golden Boy Award ceremony, where he was one of the guests present. He guessed that Cristiano Ronaldo should not have noticed him because his attention was only on a few people, such as Buffon of Juventus, Ramos of Real Madrid, and the guest who presented the award to him.

He saw the Portuguese standing in the center of the stage, his eyelids red and tears of excitement, and he thought to himself that this seemed different from the Cristiano that Puyol and others had talked about.

He asked his Barcelona club and teammates - even though his home ground was in La Liga and the other side was in the Premier League, he always saw reports everywhere, good, bad, and gossip about the other side, but he only paid attention to the football side -

For example, the opponent always appears in his field of vision with keywords such as "reversal" and "big heart". He is particularly curious whether these are true or just exaggeration. He knows how exciting a reversal can be for fans, but this requires too high a quality of the players. Such keywords can be bound to a player, as if it is in a script, full of incredible drama.

But regarding Ronaldo, his teammates always told him with disdain that the Portuguese was more famous than capable, arrogant, lacked discipline, and could dive. But Messi thought, if it were him, he would rather stay on the Barcelona bench than play at the intensity of the Premier League, which would really break one's legs. Of course, this doesn't mean that he doesn't love it enough, it's just human instinct.

And when he asked about the opposing team's goal, his teammates skipped the topic.

- Despite this, he knew that Barcelona was indeed in contact with Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer. They wanted this young talented striker, and he thought that if the other party really came here, then his teammates would probably have a different explanation.

Messi was secretly observing Cristiano, but apparently his peeping was too blatant and was caught by his host.

Cristiano nodded to the short, long-haired Argentine. He had almost forgotten what the other person looked like with such a hairstyle. He almost couldn't help laughing. He sincerely hoped that he didn't make the Argentine feel rude.

He had to say that he was still used to the other side's beard and short hair, a hairstyle that only Croatians had.

"The referee blew the whistle! The game officially begins!"

"Manchester United, wearing red jerseys, are attacking from the left side of the screen to the right, while Barcelona, ​​wearing light blue jerseys, are pressing towards Manchester United's goal from right to left!"

The commentator's passionate voice sounded simultaneously, and dozens of live broadcast media on the sidelines were also providing simultaneous commentary.

The Barcelona team that now stands on the stage of the Champions League final has ended AC Milan's Champions League dream and Real Madrid's dream of winning the La Liga title. It has won several championships including the King's Cup and is the undisputed overlord of the giants. It is also the team that is more favored to win the Champions League this season.

Barcelona's media and newspapers had already made bold statements before the game started, as if they already knew the result of the game, and as if Barcelona would be guaranteed to win the championship.

The English media are naturally not willing to be outdone - they can make up gossip about the Red Devils' No. 7, but that doesn't mean other foreign media can unscrupulously step on the prince of their Theatre of Dreams to build momentum for their own young players. That's really impolite.

It's exciting enough just to watch the media fight between the two sides.

"This match was also a contest between former Portuguese teammates. Deco, the former big brother of the national team, kicked the new captain of his national team... Wow, the live broadcast screen was actually given to the audience! Luis Figo appeared in the audience! And Rui Costa!"

Figo nodded slightly to the camera, and Costa beside him also smiled and waved at the camera, then continued to look at the court.

Costa muttered in his heart that Deco was really cruel - he selectively forgot that he was also one of the people who kicked Cristiano when they played against Manchester United before.

After Deco committed a tactical foul to clear Manchester United's attack, the referee blew the whistle for a timeout. He bent down and pulled up Cristiano who had been pulled down by him.

Cristiano grabbed Deco's hand to stand up, smiled, patted the other's chest, and quickly ran again.

He saw Figo on the big screen at the scene and looked towards Figo a few times, but couldn't find him so he gave up.

"Barcelona's control of the ball exceeds that of Manchester United! Their offensive is simply unstoppable! So far in the game, the first ten minutes was a two-way melee, with both sides trying to score a goal into the other side's goal, but after twenty minutes, it is obvious that Barcelona is gradually taking control of the game!" said the commentator.

The Spanish guest nodded and smiled, "Yes, at present, Barcelona is mainly attacking, while Manchester United is defending and counterattacking. But to be honest, with Puyol and Van Bronckhorst in charge of Barcelona's defense, it is not so easy to be beaten into a counterattack!"

As soon as they finished speaking, Cristiano quickly retreated from the half, stole the ball from Barcelona striker Eto'o, and immediately made a large-scale transfer to Neville on the other side.

"The ball is back in Manchester United's hands! Cristiano Ronaldo's long pass was extremely accurate and his vision was excellent!" The English guest suddenly became excited and said loudly, immediately suppressing the voice of the Spaniard who had just spoken.

"Neville made a cross, Rooney and Alan cooperated to press forward into Barcelona's frontcourt! This counterattack led by Cristiano was incredibly fast!"

"Cristiano overtook the opponent! Look at his speed! God! It only took him less than ten seconds to run from the backcourt to the frontcourt!"

"Barcelona's defense quickly caught up, and Rooney was defended by two players. He passed the ball to Cristiano! This is not a good choice, as Cristiano also has two players..." The Englishman took a breath and felt a little nervous.

Soon, on the screen, the Portuguese player was seen stepping on the ball flexibly and swiftly changing speed, dribbling past Xavi on the left, and then passing through the crotch of Van Bronckhorst who was blocking him in the front, and the opponent didn't even have time to react.

"Ronaldo dribbled past two players and broke into Barcelona's penalty area without any reason! Barcelona's goal seemed to be wide open to the Portuguese!" The Italian guest opened his eyes wide in surprise and exclaimed, "It's Ronaldo again. As long as you pass the ball to him, no matter how many people are in front of him, he will always find a way out!"

Cristiano still had the ball, but his sides were quickly filled with Barcelona players retreating back.

He adjusted his feet slightly, quickly glanced around, and was about to kick the ball to Alan who was waving at him, but he was suddenly knocked to the ground!

His fragile waist was hit by a deflection, and at the same time his thigh collided hard with the opponent's knee. Cristiano fell to the ground in pain and couldn't help but curl up and gasp, holding his thigh with one hand and pressing his waist and abdomen with the other hand.

Kaka and Dolores, who were sitting in the VIP seats, stood up suddenly and grabbed the handrails, looking nervously at the Barcelona goal.

"Is this a foul?!" Hugo said angrily.

Alan and Rooney quickly ran to Cristiano's side. Rooney angrily pushed the Barcelona player away and growled: "Get out! Stay away from him!"

Alan looked at Cristiano. The Portuguese was gasping for breath to adjust his breathing. The team doctor was spraying him with ice spray. He had one arm across his eyes, his chest heaving violently and quickly, as if he was sobbing in pain, but when Alan pulled his arm down, the other party just closed his eyes tightly, with a red spot under his eyelids.

The team doctor said to them: "Okay, that's it."

Cristiano opened his eyes and reached out to Alan. Alan pulled him up and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"

"I can go on," Cristiano replied.

Alan frowned, but soon relaxed his brows. He followed Keane and Ferdinand to the referee, who was surrounded by several Barcelona players.

Keane is strongly demanding an explanation, this is clearly a foul in the penalty area!

"Barcelona might have had a penalty in the first half. The defender was too bold. This was in the penalty area!" The Italian said with a sigh of relief when he saw this.

The referee blew the whistle quickly, signaling the game to continue.

No penalty, no foul.

The entire Athens Olympic Stadium was suddenly filled with the noise of "get out".

Even the commentator was a little surprised: "This is not considered a foul! Does the elbow movement count as a natural, drooping, mishit? Or..."

"The penalty for fouls in the restricted area was more or less flexible, and the opponent's actions did have room for maneuver. It can only be said that the refereeing standards in this game seemed to be relatively loose." The Spanish guest said, "Or maybe considering that it has only been less than half an hour since the start of the game, the penalty kick cannot be given so easily, which is very likely to directly affect the final result of the game."

The English guest simply snorted and laughed without saying anything, leaving the commentator to try to smooth things over with a few perfunctory remarks.

Ferguson's face was gloomy in the coaching booth. He said nothing, as if he had known it for a long time.

"Neville made a mistake in passing! Barcelona midfielder Xavi intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack!" The commentator exclaimed softly. The situation on the field changed rapidly, and Barcelona regained the rhythm of the game in almost the blink of an eye.

After a few passes from Barcelona's midfield, Xavi passed the ball directly to Messi's feet. Messi dribbled past the Manchester United defender and broke into the opponent's goal penalty area within 12 yards!

"Messi shoots! The ball hits the Manchester United defender and refracts and flies out!"

"Several Barcelona players quickly raised their hands to signal the referee! Was there a handball?!" The commentator's eyes widened. "It was too dramatic in less than two minutes! There were two controversial issues in the penalty area! It all depends on how the referee decides the penalty!"

"The judgment of handball depends on the part of the body that touches the ball on the one hand, and on whether the body expands unnaturally after touching the ball on the other hand, and whether the handball action of the defensive player is the result of a natural stretch of the body, such as the range of arm movement during normal movement of the opponent, etc..." The guests in the broadcast room were explaining the definition of handball, and the screen on their side was playing back the handball touch in slow motion.

Before the commentators and guests in the broadcast room had time to analyze the handball scene, the referee had already made a quick decision.

"A penalty!!! Thirty-one minutes into the first half! The referee gave a penalty for handball!! Barcelona got a penalty!"

The commentator exclaimed, and the Englishman in the guest seats almost pulled out the microphone.

"This penalty was really... the referee's lenient standards for fouls and handballs cannot be equated at all." The Italian said, looking at the English guest sitting on his left and coughed lightly.

The Spanish guest sitting to the right of the Italian cleared his throat and said: "These are two different judgments and cannot be compared."

On the screen, Leo Messi came to the penalty spot with the ball in his arms. The commentator said: "It seems that the ball was given to Messi to take his own penalty."

"Shoot, the ball goes in!"

"Leo Messi scores a point for Barcelona! Leading the game!"

Evra, who regretted conceding a penalty for Manchester United, shook his hands in frustration, hugged his head and turned away, refusing to watch.

The first half of the game ended with this penalty goal. After that, both sides were in a stalemate and neither side was able to pose any effective threat.

In the second half, just as the game started, Ferguson made a substitution, replacing midfielder Carrick with Giggs.

Out of consideration for Giggs's recovery from injury, Ferguson did not include him in the starting lineup, but now he needs Giggs to bring something different.

After Giggs came on the pitch, he immediately brought Ferguson's new requirements and new tactics, quickly exchanged a few gestures with his teammates, and the offensive on the field suddenly tightened.

Giggs's ball accurately found Cristiano, providing a cannonball for the Portuguese who was ready to go.

Barcelona clearly felt that the threat posed by Cristiano was increasing. The sharp intimidation made everyone involuntarily tense up.

Cristiano dribbled the ball through midfield and found Alan with a precise curve ball.

As soon as the ball left his feet, he received a heavy push from behind, causing him to fall forward uncontrollably, leaving a shallow scratch on the grass.

"This foul is unnecessary! The ball is no longer at Ronaldo's feet. What's the point of hitting him from behind?" The Italian guest immediately said upon seeing this.

The Englishman curled his lips and said, "It's really unnecessary, but this kind of foul is far from being worthy of a card."

The commentator nodded in agreement: "It doesn't require a card, but it makes the offended player angry and affects the player's mentality. It's also a method, although it's not positive... but it is indeed a method. Who can blame Cristiano Ronaldo for being in front of them?"

"But this should not have much effect on Cristiano. Although he is very young, he has encountered countless violations. Such mentality and means will not have much impact on him." The Englishman said confidently and proudly, with a smirk of contempt.

The referee did not blow the whistle. Cristiano got up from the ground. He didn't say anything, but quickly returned to his position and participated in the team's offensive organization.

"Ronaldinho dribbled past Ferdinand and Keane! He shot directly from outside the penalty area!!! Van der Sar flew over and hugged the ball! A great save! He temporarily secured a goal for Manchester United, who were in a precarious situation! He didn't let Barcelona expand the lead!"

Van der Sar held the ball. After taking a look at the frontcourt position of Barcelona, ​​he saw Cristiano waving at him for the ball from afar. He kicked the ball with a long kick, and the ball went a little wider and rushed towards the opponent's baseline quickly.

"Cristiano saved the ball before it went out of the line! Cristiano paused for a moment, looking for it, and then passed the ball to Alan at the back post!"

"Alan shot directly without making any adjustments!!"

"The ball brushed goalkeeper Valdes' fingers and flew out of the goal post! What a pity!"

Cristiano gave Alan a thumbs up. Although the ball failed to enter the opponent's goal, such cooperation showed the tacit understanding and strength of the Red Devils.

The fans in the stadium sang the Red Devils' song to cheer for their home team!

"Again! Ronaldo was knocked down from behind again! Still without the ball under his feet!" The commentator looked at the screen and saw Neville making a long pass, Cristiano chasing the ball in front, and Puyol knocking Cristiano down from behind.

Cristiano staggered and fell to his knees. Although it didn't hurt that much, he was speechless because his attacks were repeatedly interrupted.

He looked in the direction of the referee and made a gesture to the other party - twice! Twice already!

"Ronaldo gestured to the referee, indicating that he had been fouled twice. The referee should do something! But the referee said that these were two different players. Ha." The commentator couldn't help laughing and shook his head helplessly. "It can be seen how lenient the referee's standards were in this game. In this case, shouldn't Manchester United also make some adjustments?"

"If Manchester United plays too politely when facing such a 'strong' opponent, they will be at a disadvantage," echoed the Italian guest.

Sure enough, as the broadcast room said this, Ferguson in the coaching booth was also red with anger, shouting at their defenders to do something. Their players were kicked and hit, and if they just stood there and watched, they would be punished when they go back!

The action on the field began to intensify. Leo Messi clearly felt that the restrictions on his side were becoming more and more stressful. He couldn't help but glance at Ferdinand who was defending against him, and screamed in his heart, God, this guy looks like he ran out of a land of giants!

"Manchester United's defense is generally tall, which is not very friendly to Barcelona's right winger." The Italian said upon seeing this.

In the 77th minute of the game, Giggs caught the long ball from Neville, dribbled forward through the midfield and passed the ball to Alan. Two Barcelona players immediately surrounded Alan, and he moved away and passed the ball to Cristiano at a small angle.

"Cristiano has the ball! The ball is very close to the goal! Puyol and Van Bronckhorst are chasing Cristiano!"

Three players surrounded Cristiano. Cristiano stepped on the ball and suddenly and quickly made a horizontal move to the left and right, deceiving Puyol in front of him. The opponent staggered and left a gap!

Cristiano immediately accelerated! He dribbled the ball and blocked the defender's position. Before he ran into the penalty area, he kicked the ball directly!

The ball whizzed past the post in an incredibly fast and curved arc and hit the blind spot in the upper right corner of the net! !

"A piercing arrow!!! Cristiano scored a goal for Manchester United in the 77th minute! The score was tied!! The suspense of the game continues!!" The Englishman almost jumped up from his seat with excitement, and he screamed loudly, "The best interpretation of the Red Devils' No. 7 in the 77th minute!!"

Cristiano ran to the edge of the court, raised his arms and waved at the stands, then jumped high, swung his arms down naturally in a smooth arc, and roared as if to vent his excitement!

"A goal in open play! A perfect reflection of Ronaldo's personal ability!! Dribbling past opponents, physical confrontation, finishing in front of the goal! Ronaldo demonstrated his strong personal qualities and strong mentality!" the commentator said loudly.

This goal is so wonderful!

Neville happily rushed forward, jumped on Cristiano and slapped the Portuguese boy on the face: "You are awesome, Ronnie! Well done!"

Cristiano's eyes were surprisingly bright, he was determined and indomitable, as if he was born to be the nemesis and king of the Champions League.

Neville suddenly felt a little dizzy and overlapping, as if he saw a different Cristiano, but also as if he didn't.

The game goes on!