Chapter 390 They are the winners!
"Congratulations, Su!"
When Su Dong walked towards Gerrard, the Liverpool captain composed himself, forced a slight smile, and took the initiative to shake hands and hug Su Dong to celebrate his goal and victory in this game.
0-0 away, 1-1 at home, Liverpool lost the Champions League semi-final because of away goals.
This was a devastating blow to everyone at Liverpool, especially Gerrard.
"Thank you, you performed very well. We almost lost." Su Dong comforted.
That's true, because Liverpool played really well.
Gerrard shook his head and smiled bitterly. He knew that the team had defended quite well in both rounds of the game, especially the cage that Benítez had set up specifically for Su Dong, which left Su Dong with almost no way out.
It can be said that in the 180 minutes of the two games, Su Dong did not get a truly absolute chance.
Even the goal just now was a fierce shot from the front of the penalty area, which was not a good scoring opportunity.
But even in this situation, Su Dong managed to score a goal for Barcelona.
"That's good, this way we can focus on the league." Gerrard said with a smile.
Liverpool is currently only ranked fifth. If they want to qualify for the Champions League, they must enter the top four of the league, which is still very difficult because Everton has also performed very well this season.
The fans at the scene sang the iconic song of Anfield Stadium, You'll Never Walk Alone.
Despite losing the game and being eliminated, Liverpool fans still stick with the team and still stand with all the players and continue to fight side by side.
"What an impressive group of fans!" Su Dong praised enviously.
The atmosphere at Barcelona's Camp Nou is also excellent, but in terms of fan enthusiasm, Liverpool's Anfield impressed him the most. It can even be said that it is the home stadium with the most fanatical fans he has ever experienced so far.
He has played at Stamford Bridge before, but to be honest, the atmosphere at Chelsea's home ground is pretty bad and cannot be compared with Liverpool.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that Chelsea has just been reorganized and Abramovich has introduced a large number of foreign players.
The home fans of European teams are still rooted in the surrounding areas of their locations. Only teams like Liverpool, which have fan groups in the surrounding areas of cities all year round and have a rich football cultural heritage, can have a good home atmosphere.
…
After shaking hands with Gerrard and exchanging jerseys, Su Dong walked back and went to meet Benítez and Jestedan. He did the same thing at Camp Nou a week ago.
The difference is that last time Benítez could still smile, but now he has an expressionless dead face.
On the contrary, Jestedan had a very good attitude towards Su Dong and praised his performance highly. He encouraged him to keep up the good work and strive to win another Champions League. Then he would have firmly established himself among the world's top superstars.
"How can it be so easy?"
Hearing Yestdan's encouragement, Benítez unexpectedly poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"With a defense like Barcelona, can they get any advantage against AC Milan in the Champions League?"
Su Dong deeply agreed with what Benítez said.
Another matchup in the Champions League semi-finals has come out, and AC Milan has entered the final.
Barcelona is actually not unfamiliar with AC Milan, because the two teams only competed once in the Gamper Cup before the season. At that time, Barcelona won by chance, but AC Milan caused the team a lot of trouble.
It was a warm-up match before the season, so it doesn't count at all.
Now, both teams have reached the Champions League final, and a fierce battle is bound to follow.
Benítez's tone was not very good, but he was actually reminding Su Dong.
AC Milan's defensive ability is not inferior to that of Liverpool and Chelsea. You know, this team has world-class midfielders and defenders such as Nesta, Stam, Maldini, Gattuso, and the frontcourt also has players like Shevchenko, Inzaghi, Seedorf and Pirlo, and even Kaka who has become famous recently.
It can be said that Ancelotti's team has no shortcomings in any aspect.
Such a team does not need any conspiracy at all. They can just openly and honestly set up their formation to fight Barcelona, and Barcelona's weak defense line will not be able to withstand it.
"Ancelotti said after the Gamper Trophy in August that if he met Barcelona again, he would definitely win. Go back and think about it. This guy never talks nonsense. He saw through your weaknesses in August."
After saying that, Benítez looked at Su Dong deeply again, then turned and left.
From his eyes, Su Dong saw helplessness and relief.
Perhaps, this is how Benítez feels at this moment, feeling both painful and happy.
"Ignore him, that's just his personality. He means well but can't say things nicely. He offends people all the time."
Jestedan pointed at Benítez's back and said to Su Dong with a smile.
Su Dong nodded. He actually knew Benítez quite well and knew his character.
“But, Su, to be honest, you have no chance of winning against AC Milan. You must be extra careful.” Jestindan reminded earnestly, “Rafa said long ago that he has no confidence against AC Milan. It all depends on the situation. But you also know that your situation…”
When it comes to Rijkaard, Su Dong remains silent.
Barcelona's on-the-spot command is notoriously weak. Whether facing Chelsea or Liverpool, or even before against Bayern Munich, Rijkaard's tactics have never won.
This is very frustrating.
The team didn't win tactically, the defense was full of mistakes and loopholes, and they could only rely on the stars in the frontcourt to fill the gaps.
"The benefits are obvious, everyone is praising you, but the pressure is also very high, so you have to be careful."
"Thank you Paco." Su Dong nodded.
Jestedan had the most to talk to him, but Benítez taught him the most.
Sometimes, that's just the way things are, the truth hurts.
…………
…………
"Sudong! Sudong!! Sudong!!!"
When Barcelona's charter plane arrived at Barcelona Airport, everyone was shocked by the enthusiasm of the Barcelona fans waiting there.
The last time Barcelona reached the Champions League final was in 1994 during Cruyff's Dream Team.
What’s interesting is that Barcelona’s opponent at the time was AC Milan, coached by Capello.
As a result, the Champions League final at the Olympic Stadium in Athens became one of the most shameful games in Barcelona's history. They were slaughtered 4-0 by Capello's team in the Champions League final.
That was also one of the most lopsided finals in the history of the Champions League.
It was that match that made the world clearly see that Barcelona's Dream Team dynasty had completely collapsed! After that, Barcelona entered a dark period that lasted for ten years. Even after Van Gaal's brief revival, they were unable to regroup in the Champions League until this season, when Barcelona was able to return to the Champions League final.
Eleven years!
For a team like Barcelona, this is such a long time! Barcelona fans are crazy about the team, especially Su Dong, the number one contributor this season, who has become the darling of Barcelona fans. They are shouting his name crazily.
Thousands of people gathered in the airport, and the scene was somewhat chaotic for a while.
Once again reaching the Champions League final, the opponent is AC Milan, it seems like it was destined.
…
Under the arrangement of the club, Su Dong did not stay at the airport, but left as soon as possible with other teammates.
If he stayed at the scene, the situation would definitely be chaotic, which would be bad.
But even after Barcelona boarded the bus and left the airport, fanatical fans still followed closely, with more and more fans joining the ranks of followers along the way.
They even chased the team all the way back into the city, back to Camp Nou.
At the Camp Nou, there were even more Barcelona fans gathered.
When they saw the team bus arriving, the atmosphere on the scene was pushed to its highest point.
More and more fans took to the streets, celebrating and cheering wildly, as if the team had already won the Champions League in advance and they couldn't wait to celebrate.
Su Dong and Barcelona players were all sitting in the bus, witnessing everything they saw and heard along the way. Seeing the Barcelona fans cheering, everyone's heart was filled with pride.
They are the winners! At this moment, they are the heroes of this city and the favorites of these fans!
But fans are also very realistic. They need you to keep scoring goals for them and win games.
If one day in the future they find that you cannot meet their expectations and that you are different from what they thought, then no matter how much they praise you today, they will be more cruel to you in the future.
Su Dong couldn't help but recall what Mendes said to him when he was about to join Barcelona.
Figo, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Romario, Maradona...even Guardiola, I believe these people have all received the highest treatment from Barcelona fans, and they were all heroes in the hearts of these fans.
But gradually, I don’t know when it started, they stepped down from the altar.
Su Dong believed that there would be such a day for him too.
This is not only true for Barcelona, but for almost all the top teams in the world.
So, at this moment, facing everything in front of him, he always remained calm and restrained.
…
That night, Barcelona, returning triumphantly from Liverpool, England, received a heroic reception from the fans.
The next morning, media all over the world were frantically reporting Barcelona's victory, especially Su Dong's final goal, which made media and fans all over the world praise it.
After an absence of eleven years, Barcelona returned to the Champions League final and faced the superstar-studded AC Milan, which undoubtedly made the media and fans around the world full of expectations.
After all, the Champions League finals in the past two seasons have not been satisfactory.
Before that was the defensive battle between AC Milan and Juventus, followed by the battle between Porto and Valencia.
Now, the two superstar-studded and beautifully played teams meet again in the Champions League final, which undoubtedly makes the media and fans who have been waiting for two years even more excited.
Especially Su Dong, who has shown amazing fighting power for two consecutive seasons. Everyone is looking forward to whether he can continue his magical performance this season in the Champions League final?
(End of this chapter)
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