Chapter 938 Saints' Supremacy
Saints Supremacy!
On the second day of the Champions League final, the Sun had this eye-catching headline on its front page!
Chief reporter Steven Howard personally wrote a commentary, highly praising Southampton's outstanding performance in this Champions League final and in the past season, and gave the Saints extremely high praise.
"Southampton has completed another fantastic season. Apart from the useless League Cup and FA Cup, they have won all the honors they can win. Even if we don't pay attention to them, they have reached the semi-finals in the League Cup and FA Cup with the help of young players, which is enough to prove their dominance in the Premier League."
"If we include this year's Champions League title, the Saints have won four European titles in a row in the past four years, two Europa League titles and two Champions League titles. This is an unprecedented great feat in the history of European football."
"Watching Southampton play is a pleasure. The exhilarating offensive, the gorgeous coordination, and the overwhelming pressure are all talked about by the Saints fans."
“It’s hard to imagine that all of this was built in just five years!”
"Five years ago, when a Chinese named Yang Huan parachuted into the English football world like the queen at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, many people joked that he would be like London Mayor Boris Johnson, suspended in mid-air and become the laughing stock of everyone."
"But five years later, he became the savior of English football and the savior of the Premier League team!"
"It is hard to imagine that without Southampton, the Premier League will be seriously uncompetitive in the European arena, and may even be surpassed by Italian teams and fall to fourth place in European competitions, thereby losing the fourth Champions League spot."
"Yes, Inter Milan won the Europa League this season, and Klopp's team gave people hope for the revival of Serie A, but more importantly, apart from Southampton, almost no other Premier League team showed any encouraging signs. They all stopped in the round of 16, which is incredible."
"You know, Premier League teams are not short of money. On the contrary, as the richest football league in the world, even the relegation teams in the Premier League have amazing purchasing power. But why are the Premier League's giants so weak in competition in the European arena? Shouldn't this arouse our attention and reflection?"
"Southampton, as a team that has only risen for less than three years, has become the standard-bearer of the Premier League in Europe. This is the luck of the Premier League, but it is also a shame for other teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and even Manchester City. They should reflect on why they are the Saints."
"When the Premier League was in crisis, it should have been the traditional giants like them who stepped up. Why couldn't they do it? Why the Saints?"
"Previously, this newspaper conducted a questionnaire survey on British fans. The results showed that in the past three years, Southampton's popularity among British fans has increased the fastest among the Premier League teams. Why is that?"
"Don't fans in England tend to be loyal?"
"As a reporter, I have had face-to-face contact with fans many times. I found that one of the important reasons why they support Southampton is that this south coast team has almost no feuds with other teams except Portsmouth."
“But more importantly, the Saints have been the flag of the Premier League in Europe over the past few years!”
"Interestingly, even in Portsmouth, Southampton's fan base is growing.
"Moreover, in the past few years, Southampton has trained popular international players for the England national team, such as Sturridge, Ravel Morrison, Luke Shaw, Chambers, etc. If we also count Harry Kane who has risen this season, and local international players such as Gary Cahill, Chamberlain, Adam Lallana who have already left the team, the contribution of the Saints to English football is evident."
"The Saints lived up to the fans' expectations of them, winning the double for two consecutive seasons, three consecutive Premier League titles, and successfully defending the Champions League title. This made all the fans who supported him excited and reaped the rewards."
"Now, the Premier League needs the Saints, and English fans also need the Saints!"
"There is no doubt that we are witnessing the rise of the Saints in the Premier League. They are dominating the Premier League just like Liverpool in the 1980s and Manchester United in the early years!"
In addition to Steven Howard's column from The Sun, the British Daily Mail also reprinted a column by Charlene Lahrie, a famous reporter from The Southern Echo, titled, Another Double Crown!
Charlene Lahri spoke highly of Southampton's successful title defence in her column, praising head coach Bielsa and the players for their outstanding performance, believing they had made history.
But behind the scenes, Charlene Lahri attributes the Saints’ success at the Berlin Olympic Stadium to the merits of the Saints’ management.
"When we see the Saints' star-studded superstars, we will be amazed at the team's powerful and almost luxurious lineup. We will wonder if the Saints have surpassed Real Madrid and become a new galactico."
"But one thing we often overlook is the shrewd operation of the Saints management."
"Suarez transferred from Liverpool with a price of 40 million pounds, but now, Real Madrid has offered a sky-high price of 150 million pounds, but the Saints rejected it without hesitation. Ron Gourlay said, we are not short of money, there is no need to sell Suarez. What a domineering and confident person!"
"Di Maria came from Real Madrid as part of the transfer of Luka Modric and James Rodriguez. Fabregas came from Barcelona for only 20 million euros. Sanchez came to the Premier League, Matic left Chelsea, and Neuer left the Bundesliga. Their prices were all very low, but now they are all worth a lot more."
"The most expensive player introduced by Southampton is Toni Kroos. Although there have been doubts about the actual transfer fee of Toni Kroos, even if it is 60 million euros, judging from Toni Kroos' performance in the past few years, it is definitely worth it!"
"All the players Southampton brought in were brought in when other teams were not satisfied and were cheap. But after they came to Southampton, they shined and their prices increased a hundredfold. Doesn't this explain the problem?"
"The most typical case is Harry Kane."
"This center forward, who had been tepid and unpopular in Tottenham Hotspur's youth training camp, became the top scorer in England in his first season after joining the Saints. This was achieved even though he was on the bench many times."
"A year ago, Harry Kane was a free transfer, but now, a year later, how much is Harry Kane worth?"
"It is reported that Manchester United is willing to pay a high price of 20 million pounds for Harry Kane, but can they convince Southampton?"
"The Saints' success is indeed very important in terms of competitive factors, but it is the management that plays a decisive role."
"It is precisely because of the management's artistic operation that the Saints have such a brilliant lineup of superstars and the Saints' dominance in the Premier League and European arenas today."
"A lot of people are worried about Bielsa leaving, but I think that's unnecessary."
"According to the accurate information I have received, Bielsa is not leaving the Saints, but will move behind the scenes to specialize in football tactical theory research. This is another major performance of the Saints ahead of other European teams."
"We have every reason to believe that with the shrewdness of the Saints management and the execution and efficiency they have shown in the past few years, they may have already found the ideal head coach for the Saints, but have not yet announced it to the public!"
In addition to newspapers such as The Sun, The Southern Echo and The Daily Mail, British media such as The Times and The Guardian have also reported and paid attention to the Saints' great feat of defending the Champions League in the European arena.
Even the Guardian believes that the Saints are leading English football to complete the great revival of the 1980s!
Not only the British media, but also German football players gave Southampton high praise.
However, unlike Charlene Lahri’s perspective, Kicker is more focused on Saints’ ability to develop players.
Because in this game, although Southampton's starting lineup also included Sanchez, Suarez, Di Maria and Fabregas, who were already successful superstars before joining the Saints, there were also some players who grew up rapidly under the training of the Saints.
For example, Neuer and Toni Kroos.
These two core players of the German national team had already shown their talents before joining the Saints, but they did not have convincing strength. However, they completed their transformation in the Saints and became world-class superstars.
In addition, French central defender Varane is now recognized as one of the top central defenders in world football and the future No. 1 central defender. It was with the Saints' strong cultivation that he grew from an unknown young player to a superstar.
The same is true for Danilo, David Alaba, Nastasic, Hazard and others.
In the view of Kicker magazine, the reason why the Saints have achieved their current glory is inseparable from their outstanding youth training and their excellent ability to train players.
Kicker magazine also believes that with a group of outstanding post-90s stars such as Pogba, Kovacic, Varane, Nastasic, Ravel Morrison, Luke Shaw, Chambers, Oscar, Martial and Harry Kane, the Saints will still be the most competitive team in Europe in the next few years.
Kicker magazine even compared the Saints to Barcelona in 2009.
However, in the end, Kicker magazine believes that, like Barcelona's problems, Southampton will face a series of problems in the future, including metabolism, the risk of being fully understood by opponents after the playing style has matured and stabilized, etc.
Among them, the departure of Bielsa, the meritorious coach this season, was mentioned.
While the media across Europe and even the world were singing praises of Southampton, UEFA also announced the best team list of the UEFA Champions League in the past season.
Everyone was surprised to find that among these eighteen people, saints occupied ten of the positions.
They are goalkeeper Neuer, defense line Danilo, David Alaba and Varane, midfielder Toni Kroos, Fabregas and Di Maria, and front line Suarez, Hazard and Sanchez.
Except for the left center back, all the players in the Saints' starting lineup were selected.
Among the remaining eight players, Atletico Madrid selected Otamendi and Isco, Bayern Munich selected Javi Martinez and Lewandowski, Monaco selected Navas and Biglia, and Barcelona selected Messi and Neymar.
From this list of the best teams, it is not difficult to see the Saints' dominance in European football.
This also made all the media unable to help but shout once again, that is, who can end the Saints' hegemony?
That is, when the media and fans around the world were hyping up the Saints' hegemony, Southampton's Glory Square attracted hundreds of reporters from all over the world.
In addition to witnessing the Saints' grand championship parade around the city, they also wanted to make a big announcement!