Chapter 602: Once a Saint, Always a Saint!
"Thump, thump, thump~thump, thump, thump~"
As the bassist started playing, everyone at the scene immediately turned their eyes to the center of St. Mary's Stadium.
The place was covered with red carpet, and the members of the jazz band were already sitting in front of their instruments.
With the crisp sound of the cymbals on the drum set, the drummer was already having fun playing the drum set.
There was an overwhelming burst of cheers and screams at the scene.
Then, piano, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and other instruments gradually came in, and the atmosphere became more and more intense.
The band played a reinterpretation of the Southampton anthem with a very jazzy feel.
Especially when the lead singer and bassist of the band stood in front of the microphone and sang the first sentence of the Southampton team song with his unique voice and rap style, the whole audience entered the first round of excitement.
Almost all the Southampton fans stood up from their seats and sang happily along with the band.
No matter what their voices were like, and no matter how many of them were singing completely out of tune, when they came together, it became a spectacular, charming chorus of tens of thousands of people.
The momentum quickly infected everyone in the stands!
When Yang Huan and Zhuang Ziqing walked out of the passage, they happened to see the long east stand directly opposite the chairman's stand. More than 10,000 Saints fans had dyed the stand into red and white arrow stripes with the jerseys they were wearing.
Not only the East Stand, but also the Chairman's Stand, as well as the North and South Stands!
Each of them stood up, and moved one after another along with the music, giving a spectacular scene like surging waves, which was enough to make all the guests who came from afar drop their jaws.
It's crazy, isn't it?
This is no longer a celebration of fans, but more like a performance art by more than 30,000 people!
The venue was hosting the UK’s most popular jazz band, specially invited by Southampton.
This was their first time performing live at St. Mary's Stadium. As a result, they were also infected by the strong atmosphere on the scene. The band members were obviously more passionate, more involved, and more crazy!
The fans in the stands also went wild!
"This is St. Mary's Stadium, the holy temple of the saints!"
Sky TV's top commentator, Martin Taylor, was sitting in the stands of St. Mary's Stadium and praised the match with great enthusiasm.
Martin Taylor, who is 68 years old this year, has been a football commentator for decades and is the best commentator of the Premier League for the past decade. He is well-informed and has long been numb to any scene on the football field.
But tonight, at St. Mary's Stadium, he was still infected by this group of fanatical saints.
So crazy!
It's really crazy!
"Many people say that Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium is the most fanatical home ground in the Premier League. What do you think, Charlene?"
After a moment of excitement, Martin Taylor quickly regained his composure and asked his commentary partner beside him.
Charlene Lahri was still a little excited and nodded slightly. "Yes, I think this has a lot to do with the strategy of Southampton's management. They have always insisted on a low ticket price policy."
"Well, Southampton's ticket prices are among the lowest in the Premier League," Martin Taylor agreed.
“And they also provide insurance and other supporting services and facilities.”
Martin Taylor nodded and said, "So, it's always hard to get a ticket to Southampton!"
"Yes!" Charlene Lahri nodded. "I think this stadium is gradually becoming the hottest football market in the Premier League. I have received news that Southampton will launch a series of fan activities in the near future, among which they will try a free ticket policy."
"Free tickets?" Martin Taylor was surprised.
"Oh my god, the tickets are going to be free?"
"Yes!" Charlene Lahiri nodded and smiled, "Although it was just an attempt on a small scale."
"This is incredible!" Martin Taylor was a little moved.
"I saw your interview with Southampton chairman Yang Huan three years ago. He mentioned the free ticket policy at the time, but my first reaction was that it was just a gimmick, but I didn't expect it to be true!"
Charlene Lahri also smiled. "It is said that they may start the trial in the first season after the team moves into the new stadium. If the effect is good, they will gradually promote it, and it is very likely that they will implement a completely free policy in the end!"
"Oh, then Southampton will become the first and only top league team in Europe with free tickets!"
Martin Taylor looked excited and full of anticipation.
"Who said it wasn't?" Charlene Lahri also laughed.
Coincidentally, the camera was turned to the chairman's stands at this time.
Yang Huan and Zhuang Ziqing were seen walking to the center of the podium one after another, and having a polite meeting with Premier League Chairman Richard Scudamore and FA Chairman David Bernstein and others.
The jazz band's performance lasted for ten minutes, heating up the atmosphere of the entire St. Mary's Stadium.
But just as they finished their performance, the live commentator at St. Mary's Stadium was obviously unwilling to let the atmosphere in the stadium fade away again, and went straight to the next stage, which was to introduce to all the Saints fans who came to the scene the former Southampton stars and past celebrities who were invited to the scene tonight.
This is a very meaningful session!
Especially when Adam Lallana, Stroman, Lambert and a large number of famous players who may not be known to fans at all but have played for Southampton for too long and made contributions to the Saints, appeared in the stands one after another, the atmosphere in the stadium became more intense.
"Charlene, I suspect that tomorrow there will be some tabloids questioning whether Southampton is hyping things up!"
Martin Taylor said with a laugh.
Charlene Lahiri also smiled. The British tabloids have no moral integrity at all. What can't they do?
"But I have to say that Southampton's management is amazing. This move not only won the fans and the recognition of former stars, but will also win more loyalty and a sense of belonging from the current players."
Charlene Lahiri nodded continuously.
Southampton's move may seem like a waste of money, but so what?
Yang Huan and others launched this activity to tell everyone to concentrate on playing football for us. We will never forget you. Even if your contribution to the team is extremely insignificant, we will remember your name!
Once a saint, always a saint!
At the end, before the players entered the stadium, former legendary stars such as Mathieu Le Tissier and Alan Shearer appeared together at St. Mary's Stadium, standing in front of the player tunnel to cheer for the Saints players entering the stadium.
"This is a spontaneous action by Southampton legends. They hope that these players wearing Saints jerseys can make up for this huge regret for countless predecessors in Southampton over the past 100 years!"
The on-site commentator explained the significance of the actions of Mathieu Le Tissier and others.
Not only the fans, but even the players walking out of the tunnel were obviously deeply moved and inspired!
As the players of both teams walked onto the field one after another, there was not much suspense about the starting lineups of both teams.
Southampton fielded their strongest attacking lineup.
The goalkeeper is Neuer and the defense is David Alaba, Javi Martinez, Varane and Danilo.
The Brazilian right-back has been in impressive form for Southampton this season, with his assists on the right wing showing much like Maicon at his peak. He has excellent physical fitness, great speed and great footwork, and can be described as a wild dragon on the right.
This season, on Southampton's right side, Danilo is used for attack and Azpilicueta is used for defense, so Bielsa has many options.
The midfield still uses a technical double defensive midfielder configuration, with Modric and Toni Kroos partnering up, plus Vidal who is both offensive and defensive. This is also Southampton's strongest midfield combination this season.
The front trident is Neymar, Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale.
These three players plus Vidal have scored more than 80 goals in the Premier League. Their offensive power is quite amazing when compared with the entire European league.
On the other hand, Tony Pulis' Stoke City team fielded the best lineup combination.
Among the team's starting eleven players, only Etherington, who is 1.78 meters tall, is under 1.8 meters tall.
In fact, apart from Etherington, the only ones who are shorter than 1.9 meters are midfielder Whitehead and Walters.
The other eight players, including former Chelsea German player Robert Huth, former Manchester United youth rookie Shawcross, Wilson, Cameron, Shotton, N'Zonzi and others, are all over 1.9 meters tall.
Goalkeeper Begovic is 1.96 meters tall, and center forward Crouch is 2.01 meters tall.
It is precisely because of Stoke City's highest average team height in the Premier League and even in the four major European leagues, as well as Tony Pulis's traditional high-altitude playing style, that Stoke City earned the nickname Sky City.
"This is also what many people are worried about in this game!"
Martin Taylor was somewhat worried when he saw the two teams lined up in front of the player tunnel.
Stoke City's defense is also well-known in the Premier League.
"Although Southampton's offense is very strong, it tends to be technical. It is unknown whether they can suppress Stoke City in this game, especially in the midfield!"
Charlene Lahiri feels the same way, but she is more optimistic.
"Although Southampton's Modric and Toni Kroos both prefer a technical style, it does not mean that they are afraid of confrontation. In fact, they are not at a disadvantage when facing tough teams in the Premier League!"
After a pause, the most beautiful anchor in the UK smiled and said.
"I think if Bielsa was unsure, he would definitely choose Matic, but the fact that he still chose the combination of Modric and Toni Kroos shows his confidence in his team."
Martin Taylor thought the analysis made some sense.
But it’s hard to say what happens on the football field.
Although Southampton's double technical midfielder configuration has been tempered by a season in the Premier League, it is not completely impossible for Stoke City to successfully exert its midfield strength to counterattack and suppress Southampton's midfield.
Besides, the Saints must win this game to win the championship, which is a pressure in itself.
Isn't it that Bielsa wants to defeat his opponent by fielding such an offensive lineup?
If Stoke City adopts a defensive strategy away from home, as long as they can withstand Southampton's attack, why would they be afraid of not having a chance to counterattack?
So, there is no such thing as a sure win in this world!
The ball is round, everything is possible!
As Martin Taylor introduced the starting lineups and substitute lists of the two teams, everyone noticed that a former superstar like Michael Owen was sitting on the bench of Stoke City.
But unfortunately, even after moving to Stoke City, Owen failed to gain the trust of Tony Pulis and win a starting position.
It was amid Martin Taylor's sighs and lamentations that this much-anticipated game finally kicked off.
However, no one expected that Bielsa would be more radical than anyone imagined in this game! R1148