Chapter 773 There is Only One Winner

A Boeing 777 with red and white arrow stripes painted on its fuselage slowly landed on the runway of Lisbon International Airport.

Reporters and fans who had been waiting outside the airport heard the news and rushed forward immediately.

If they had not been blocked by airport ground staff and security, they would have rushed in and surrounded the entire plane by now.

Two luxury buses waiting in the distance, also printed with red and white arrow stripes and with the conspicuous Southampton Saints team logo, slowly drove towards the plane.

If you are a media reporter who often picks up Southampton's planes, you will not be surprised, because in almost every away game, the Saints' bus will arrive two or three days earlier than the team.

Their task is to familiarize themselves with the away environment and roads in advance to avoid congestion when the team arrives.

Reporters in the distance quickly set up their long cannons and aimed at the open cabin door in the distance, wondering who would be the first person to walk out of the plane?

No surprise, it’s still Bielsa!

The Saints' head coach has always been at the forefront. Even though the team is filled with superstars such as Ibrahimovic, Drogba, Hazard and Neuer, he is still the undisputed leader of the Saints.

If the Saints can only have one boss, it must be Bielsa!

Following closely behind were players such as Neuer, Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Hazard and others, who came out one after another.

The fans waiting at the scene suddenly screamed and cheered, shouting the name of each player.

Although the distance was a bit far, the players still heard the noise here and raised their hands to greet the fans and reporters.

This friendly gesture immediately brought another round of cheers.

"Very handsome, isn't it?"

"Look at that suit. When worn by those professional players, they are so handsome!"

"Isn't it? He is a natural clothes hanger. It looks good on everyone, even Bielsa!"

"Wow, Bielsa's suit must be tailor-made, it has the effect of making you look slimmer and hiding your belly!"

"What brand of suits do our players wear? Are they expensive? I'll buy one later!"

"Versace, tailor-made for the team."

“Isn’t Tommy Hilfiger the sponsor of the Saints?”

"Oh, that's the casual wear sponsor. The Saints' formal wear sponsor is Versace, and a set costs several thousand euros!"

"My goodness, when did the saint become tall, rich and handsome?"

"Isn't it? Not even Real Madrid has this kind of treatment."

"So handsome, handsome on the court and handsome off the court too!"

"I love you so much, Saint!"

As the players walked out of the cabin one after another, they got into the buses parked nearby, and then the two buses drove away in a cloud of dust.

The reporters and fans at the scene were suddenly excited and shouted to catch up with the team bus.

So, we saw the crowd rushing towards the parking lot frantically.

There's nothing we can do about it. Who prevented them from enjoying the treatment of saints?

They have a way to get Lisbon International Airport to allow them to drive the bus onto the tarmac, but the reporters can't!

The Champions League final will be held tomorrow night, so today, the whole city of Lisbon is filled with a strong football atmosphere.

The bus was driving on the street, with flags representing Southampton and Atletico Madrid on both sides.

Although these two teams are not top giants, as super dark horses, these two teams from the Premier League and La Liga have attracted much attention since last year. Now that they have both met in the Champions League final, it is even more exciting.

After all, after so many years, the Champions League has always become a one-man show for the top teams, and fans are inevitably a little aesthetically fatigued.

Moreover, in the past few years, there have been very few teams in the Champions League that have impressed the audience.

Klopp's Dortmund was certainly good, but they failed to perform a miracle and eventually lost to Bayern Munich in the final.

But now, Bielsa's Southampton and Simeone's Atletico Madrid are both making their final push for the championship.

Who can carry the dark horse miracle to the end has undoubtedly become the biggest suspense before the game.

Especially in the past half month, the publicity and hype about this Champions League final has been almost overwhelming.

All major brands have done their best to carry out marketing for the Champions League final, which has greatly increased the popularity and attention of the two teams, Southampton and Atletico Madrid.

That's why the media and fans are so crazy at the airport!

They even followed the team bus all the way from the airport to the hotel.

Because the Saints and Atletico Madrid booked two hotels respectively, except for a few familiar newspaper reporters who accompanied the team, all others were blocked outside the hotel and were not allowed to enter.

Even though they couldn't get in, there were more and more reporters and fans outside the hotel gate.

That scene made all the Southampton people who entered the hotel stunned.

"My goodness, is this the treatment for the teams participating in the Champions League final?"

"It doesn't have to be so outrageous, does it?"

"Kaka, you've participated in several Champions League finals. How was it? Are they always like this?"

Hearing his teammates throwing questions to him, Kaka smiled slightly and nodded: "It's all like that!"

Everyone couldn't help but feel amazed.

"The level of attention paid to the Champions League final is unmatched by any other league. In this final, any tiny bit of brilliance or mistake will be magnified infinitely."

"For the winners, it's heaven; but for the losers, it's hell!"

At the end, Kaka also looked stern, which was rare.

Everyone seemed to sense the solemnity in Kaka's heart and stopped smiling.

Yes, this is the first time in Southampton’s 100-year history that they have reached the Champions League final. They are carrying the hopes of the entire city and even the entire English fans. How can it not be heavy?

And everyone suddenly realized that Kaka was a person who had experienced the test of heaven and the baptism of hell.

During his time at AC Milan, he once led 3-0 but was tragically defeated by Liverpool, becoming the tragic hero of the Miracle of Istanbul.

But it was also in the Champions League final that Kaka led AC Milan to complete revenge on Liverpool and successfully ascended the throne of European dominance.

Perhaps, for Kaka, this experience has given him a more unique feeling about the Champions League final.

For such a life-and-death game, everyone who steps onto the court has only one thought in mind, and that is to win!

But in cruel times, there is only one winner!

Even if both sides have tried their best, even if both sides have performed beyond their level, even if both sides have given everything they can, in the end, there will still be losers!

This sentiment quickly spread among the players and was also seen by an Englishman in his forties who was standing outside watching.

I saw him turn around and walk away, and then go straight to the coach's room.

I knocked on the door, got recognition, and walked in.

"Dan, we've been waiting for you for a long time, where have you been?" Louis Borini shouted as soon as he saw him.

Dan Abraham, an Englishman, is a sports psychology expert with more than ten years of experience in sports psychology coaching, but he was previously more involved in the field of golf because he is a professional golf player himself.

But not long ago he was poached by Southampton and moved to the Saints to serve as the team's sports psychology consultant.

"The situation is a bit bad!" Dan Abraham said solemnly.

When everyone present heard what he said, they were stunned. They put down their work and looked over.

The sports psychology expert has been demonstrating his abilities on a daily basis over the past few months.

It was because of him that Kaka overcame his psychological barriers. It was also because of him that Southampton maintained strong competitiveness in the final stage of the season and eventually successfully defended the Premier League title with an unstoppable momentum. The team's form so far has also been quite good and they have not relaxed because of winning the championship early.

So, he says things are bad, and that's something that deserves everyone's attention.

"What's going on?" Marcus du Sartoi asked, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose.

It was he who recommended Dan Abraham to Southampton.

"Most of the players in the team are participating in the Champions League final for the first time. They have rarely experienced such a battle. This is the highest level of competition in the professional football league. They are under a lot of pressure!"

"Isn't this normal?" assistant coach Pablo Queiroga asked curiously.

"Yes, but my job is to help the players perform as well as possible on the court and play to their highest level, rather than letting them play under pressure!"

When Dan Abraham said this, everyone present immediately looked at Bielsa.

The sports psychology consultant was hired with Bielsa's consent, was paid a high salary and played a role.

Bielsa thought about it, nodded and said, "What do you think?"

Dan Abraham came over and said, "I need a ten to twenty minute sit-down meeting. I need you to help me set three or four competition goals for them."

“The closer it gets to such a crucial event, the more complicated the issues people consider tend to be, and the more likely they are to get confused. If they are confused, they can’t perform at their best, so I need them to focus, know clearly what their specific goals are, and then focus all their energy to achieve these goals!”

"But don't have too many targets. Too many will cause chaos. Three or four is best!"

Bielsa listened, nodded, and looked at Luis Borini, who nodded.

"Okay, Dan, Louis will help you!"

"Thank you!" Dan Abraham nodded.

"The human brain is very strange and cannot distinguish what is real and what is unreal. Therefore, if the players are imagining how to complete this game all day, their own brains and nerves cannot distinguish between truth and falsehood."

"In that case, they release adrenaline too early until it runs out, and then when it comes time to actually compete, it makes them tired."

"So, from now on, we need to arrange the players' activities as compactly as possible to prevent them from thinking and paying too much attention to everything in the game. Even the tactical preparation meeting, I suggest to hold it two hours before the game."

"Because two hours is just enough for them to be in peak condition during the game!"

Everyone present was silent for a moment.

Because according to Dan Abraham's approach, it will undoubtedly completely disrupt Southampton's preparation plan.

Therefore, everyone turned their eyes to Bielsa again, asking the Argentine madman for his opinion.

Dan Abraham also looked at Bielsa, “Marcelo, trust me, give them to me!”

Bielsa thought about it and hesitated, "How sure are you?"

"I don't know!" Dan Abraham shook his head and said, "But I guarantee it will be better than it is now!"

Bielsa listened, thought about it again, and nodded, "OK, then do as you say!"

After finishing speaking, Bielsa looked at Luis Borini again and said, "Luis, cooperate with Dan to modify our training plan for the next two days. I believe in his expertise and our players!"

After hearing this, everyone present immediately began to prepare to adjust their plans.

Dan Abraham looked at everyone, and after a few months of getting along with them, he finally understood why Southampton was successful.

It's not just about money.

It’s because they respect and value scientific opinions from professionals!