Chapter 252 Manchester United is back on track, Part

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash. Manchester United's desire for the Champions League is stronger than last season, and they hope to win the final championship to comfort their ancestors.

但是在欧冠取得开门红并不容易；曼联此前八次前往葡萄牙的客场战绩是3胜1平4负，与主场对阵葡萄牙球队留下的4胜1平相差悬殊，另外红魔此前冠军杯14个客场只有2场胜利……

Sporting Lisbon's tactic of grabbing the start was very effective, and they suppressed the visiting team Manchester United for a long time in the first half. Of course, this was partly because Manchester United had played intensive away games and were in poor physical condition, and partly because Wayne Rooney had just returned from injury and was in very poor condition.

After all, the forwards couldn't hold the ball, so whether it was a counterattack or a positional attack, it was very difficult...

Just 4 minutes into the game, the home team almost scored. Sporting Lisbon midfielder Romagnoli cut in from the right at high speed, and Evra and Giggs had a misunderstanding in defense, and neither of them intercepted the other in the first time. Romagnoli faced the defense of Manchester United's central defender at the front of the penalty area and fired a powerful shot with his left foot.

Ferdinand, who was blocked in place, stretched his legs to block the ball, then bounced up and changed direction, drawing an arc, and turned it into a lob shot that fell into the far corner of the goal! Fortunately, Van der Sar was focused and did not lose his center of gravity in advance. He flew back in time, stretched out his arms, and with his 1-meter height and wingspan, he barely dragged the lob shot that was accidentally hit over the crossbar!

Then, the home team tested the Red Devils goalkeeper Van der Sar with long shots from Moutinho, Izmailov and Liedson in the 6th, 10th and 18th minutes respectively.

Fortunately, the Dutch goalkeeper also withstood the test. His superior reaction and body coordination showed the world what a world-class goalkeeper is. He held the ball firmly and said it was a piece of cake. It was not difficult...

It was not until the 20th minute that Manchester United finally found their footing and began to gradually launch a counterattack. However, Rooney made two consecutive mistakes in stopping the ball, wasting the wonderful passes of Giggs and Li Qi.

In the 24th minute of the game, C Ronaldo received a pass from Scholes and cut inside to the top of the penalty area and shot hard. It was Manchester United's first shot on target and the first shot on goal in the game, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper Stojkovic.

However, in the 28th minute, Sporting Lisbon had its second chance to score in the game.

Outside the penalty area, 20 meters away from the goal, Liedson suddenly turned around and shot with his right foot! Liedson's powerful shot was very powerful, and the ball was very accurate in the right place. The ball was shot very fast, and after it penetrated the defense line, it also drew a slightly upward spin and went straight to the blind corner of the goal!

Many people saw the first half of the ball and believed that the ball was basically in the bag. After all, the angle and strength were great, and it was basically a world wave! Moreover, the ball was so fast that even if the goalkeeper reacted, he might not be able to make a save in time...

However, standing in front of Manchester United's goal was Van der Sar, who was in peak form. He jumped to the left like a spring without hesitation, stretched his body to the extreme in the air, and accurately judged the flight path of the ball. Then, he nimbly supported the ball under his big hand, used the force of the ball, and changed the flight direction of the ball at the critical moment, causing the ball to fly sideways out of bounds.

This was a save that was more authoritative than a textbook save! The extremely wonderful performance on both offense and defense made the audience in front of the TV and on the scene feel the beauty of sports competition...

After that, Rooney realized that he was in poor form, so he began to try to withdraw from the double-team of Sporting Lisbon, frequently switching positions with Ronaldo and Li Qi, and moving on the wing where it was easier to receive the ball, to find his form.

In the 33rd minute, Manchester United successfully played the first cooperation of the game. It was Rooney and Li Qi who switched positions and launched an attack from the right side.

Rooney moved to the right side and received the pass from Carrick and then sent a low pass directly into the penalty area. Unfortunately, the ball was a little too far.

Li Qi made a high-speed run but couldn't reach the ball at the back post, so he could only barely fly and shoot from 12 meters away from the goal. Fortunately, the ball hit the defender who came to defend and bounced out of the bottom line, winning a corner kick...

After that, both sides attacked and defended, but the performance was lackluster. Most of the attacks ended with long shots, and there were many fouls on both sides. Carrick, Romagnoli and Veloso all received yellow cards.

In the second half, Sporting Lisbon was unable to maintain the high-intensity pressing at the beginning of the first half, while Manchester United gradually adapted to the away game environment, recovered, and began to gradually take over the game.

However, Rooney's condition was indeed poor. Six minutes into the second half, Evra and Giggs played a wonderful combination on the left, breaking through the defense and sending a precise cross. Rooney, who was unmarked in the middle, flew up and volleyed the ball, hitting the air and letting the ball slide straight past the goal...

The air seemed to freeze. It was extremely awkward. The core attacker, the mainstay of England's front line, actually kicked an airball!

However, Li Qi was also somewhat helpless. Even if Rooney was in poor condition, as long as he was on the court, he was the terminator of the attack. The team's tactics were to send the ball to his area, and he had to give the ball when he waved for it.

Due to the household registration, Rooney's priority for the ball is higher than Ronaldo. Of course, I don't know if it's because of the excitement of returning home, Ronaldo's condition is not right. It can't be said that he is not good, but his rhythm is obviously half a beat faster than the whole team.

For example, in the 57th minute of the game, Ronaldo, who had moved to the wing, rushed into the penalty area from the left at high speed, then knocked the ball past the defender with his heel, and then made a powerful cross! However, Giggs, who had switched positions and moved into the middle, jumped half a beat too late, and as a result, his forehead only hit the bottom of the ball 9 meters in front of the goal, and the ball was pushed high into the stands...

The rhythm of the team is controlled by the two midfielders, Scholes and Giggs. These two have top experience and skills, but they seem to be not as good as the youngsters in terms of speed change, and they feel a little overwhelmed.

As for Li Qi himself, although he is not in great form, he still feels OK overall. However, Li Qi's current position in the team is still below Carrick, and he is the type who cooperates well with the team's big players and does his best to provide support.

So Li Qi can't say that he plays very comfortably. Although the overall level of the team is very high, Li Qi is always unable to exert his full strength and state. After all, the team's offensive and defensive dominance is not in his hands. At this stage, the task given to him by Sir Alex is also positioning, which is to cultivate tacit understanding and integrate into the rhythm of the team.

So Li Qi looked at the other big guys in the team and saw that they were not in good shape. He was also powerless and wanted to take over the baton of organizing the offense, but he estimated that the big guys would not pay attention to him, a little Karami. He had to wait for his chance...

Just when Li Qi was complaining about the team's big guys who were just occupying the toilet without doing anything, oh no, they were just monopolizing the ball without making any contribution, the deadlock on the court was broken.

In the 61st minute, Scholes continued to handle the ball slowly and steadily. Facing double-teaming, he calmly passed the ball to Carrick.

The latter received the ball in the middle and made a wall-to-wall match with Li Qi. Then Carrick passed the ball diagonally to Giggs at the top of the penalty area.

Captain Giggs did not impulsively turn around and attack the enemy directly. Instead, he protected the ball with his back to attract double-teaming, and then calmly passed the ball to the empty space on the wing again.

At this time, Wes Brown, who played for Manchester United for the 11th time in 260 years, had quietly inserted himself on the right side. He was being defended in the air, but he calmly received the ball, adjusted his aim, and sent a cross...

Ronaldo was seen coming from the back point, and 5 meters away from the goal, before the defender could make up for the defense, he dived and headed the ball! The ball flew out of the barrel like a cannonball and hit the dead corner of the goal! This was Ronaldo's first official match goal of the season, helping Manchester United to open the record in an away game, leading 1-0 against his old club Lisbon Sport, which was also a victory over his old club!

After scoring the goal, Ronaldo changed his usual arrogance and did not celebrate in a high-profile manner. Instead, he was very restrained and put his palms together while running, and then bowed deeply to Qiu Min, the host team in the stands, which was to pay tribute to the old club and former fans for their cultivation and support! The fans of Sporting Lisbon's home team naturally responded to the big boy who walked out of here with applause...

Well, Li Qi, who was celebrating with Ronaldo, could only continue to patiently follow the big guys and do his job as a small assistant: what the big guys said was right, what the big guys did was good...

The game fell into a stalemate again. Manchester United did not continue to attack, but began to control the tempo of the game. The home team wanted to counterattack, but they were too exhausted after fighting too hard in the first half, and they were also very afraid of Manchester United's counterattack.

Because not long after the goal, Manchester United took advantage of the opportunity when Sporting Lisbon pressed forward in an attempt to equalize the score as soon as possible, and Scholes planned an extremely simple long pass counterattack.

Ronaldo dribbled the ball along the side at high speed, and the defenders of Sporting Lisbon could not stop him at all, and they did not even see the taillights. However, when Ronaldo passed the ball in front of the goal, Rooney, who was flanking in the middle, was half a beat late again and failed to catch up. Li Qi at the back post did stop the ball, but his powerful shot from a small angle was bravely blocked by goalkeeper Stojkovic and went out of the bottom line...

As the game entered the final 30 minutes, both teams began to make formation adjustments. The home team made three substitutions in the 63rd, 67th and 71st minutes, with the obvious intention of strengthening the running and pressing in the midfield and frontcourt, trying to equalize or even overtake the score.

Sir Alex Ferguson also made three substitutions in a row. First, in the 69th minute, Saha replaced Rooney, who had returned from injury but was in poor condition. Then, in the 75th minute, Anderson replaced Giggs, who was probably running out of energy and was a little slow in handling the ball. Finally, in the 85th minute, Tevez replaced Ronaldo, who received cheers and applause from the audience...

In the 88th minute of the game, Sporting Lisbon's last chance of the game was once again blocked by Manchester United's goalkeeper Van der Sar.

Athletic made a diagonal pass from the left, and Toner headed the ball 8 meters in front of the goal, but Van der Sar miraculously blocked it with one hand on the goal line! Then De Jallo's left-footed follow-up shot from 7 meters to the left of the goal did not hit the empty goal, but missed the near post!

It has been 12 years since Ajax won the Champions League. Even if there are still players who have not retired in the championship team, their condition is not as good as before. Only Van der Sar is still the guardian of the goal and the mainstay who is trusted by his teammates and coaches!

With the final struggle and counterattack in vain, Sporting Lisbon could only accept the 0-1 home defeat to Manchester United in the first round of the Champions League group stage. However, this was the 100th European victory in the history of the Red Devils Manchester United...

@

Voice-over: About the two air crashes that affected European football, one victim was a British club and British football, the other victim was an Italian club and Italian football:

The first was the Munich air crash on February 1958, 2.

At that time, Manchester United eliminated Red Star with an aggregate score of 5-4 at the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade, taking a solid step towards the difficult road of dominating the Champions League for the first time in history.

However, the wheel of history turned in another direction when Manchester United was on their way back to England on a special plane. The British European Airways (now British Airways) flight 609, which was carried by Manchester United's first-team players and coaching staff, crashed on the snowy runway of Munich Airport in West Germany after refueling in Munich during its third attempt to take off.

Of the 44 passengers and crew on board, 23 died on the spot, including 8 Manchester United players and 3 club staff.

Many of the survivors were seriously injured. Duncan Edwards, a 21-year-old player who was hailed as "England's rising star", died several days later. The team's coach Busby and core player Bobby Charlton were seriously injured. Blanch Fowler and Barry were the most seriously injured. Although their lives were saved, they could never play football again.

The Munich air crash was undoubtedly a devastating blow to Manchester United at the time. The backbone of the team and the starting lineup were lost overnight. In the subsequent games, Manchester United had to urgently draw many young players who had never played from the reserve team and the youth team to barely get enough players for the game.

If there hadn't been this plane crash, perhaps the England national team would have won the World Cup trophy eight years earlier; perhaps Edwards would not have been the best player of the generation instead of Pele; perhaps Real Madrid would not have won the Champions League five times in a row...

However, there are no ifs in history. Despite this, Manchester United's response after the plane crash was amazing. They were able to persist despite such a huge blow, which is a manifestation of their tenacity. Although some of the main players suffered serious injuries, their fighting spirit was not dampened!

After the Munich air crash, it took Manchester United nearly a decade to recover. However, after the air crash and the difficult reconstruction, the Red Devils Manchester United also forged a more tenacious and indomitable fighting spirit.

In 1968, under the leadership of Busby, Manchester United became the first team in English football history to win the European Cup. This victory not only represents the honor of Manchester United, but also a milestone in the rise of the Red Devils and English football.

The second air crash occurred earlier, the Superga air crash on May 1949, 5.

On that day, when the "God Team" of Torino, Italy, was returning home after playing the Latin Cup in Portugal, the plane the team was on crashed into a church on Mount Superga due to weather reasons, causing the "Superga air crash" that shocked the world of football.

All the players of Turin's "God Team" were killed on the spot, no one survived. This loss was even more serious than Manchester United's, and they were all wiped out.

The Turin "God's Team" was the undisputed giant in Italian football at that time, gathering a large number of Italian internationals and the country's elite.

The plane crash plunged Italian football into the Dark Ages; the chain reaction was that Italy was eliminated from the World Cup the following year in the group stage.

The Superga air crash set Italian football back more than 20 years. For a long time, Italian football was in a slump, with constant substitutions and losses in various games, and the results continued to decline. It was not until the 60s that the two Milan giants emerged and Italian football began to improve.

It was not until the 1968 European Cup, when Manchester United won the Champions League for the first time, and the 1970 World Cup, that the Italian national team returned to the level of a world-class team.

But the most injured team Torino could never regain its former glory, and slowly fell into a middle-lower team, even playing in low-level leagues for a long time. Its glorious history has become a thing of the past.

So now, when talking about the Italian Torino team, almost no one knows it. But when Juventus is mentioned, people will remember that there are two great teams in Turin, a major city in northern Italy, one is Juventus, and the other is... Juventus Youth Team!

……