Chapter 301: Champions League Draw, Semi-Death Group!

The appearance of such an interview result undoubtedly dispelled all doubts from the outside world. Real Madrid is now unprecedentedly united.

After all, although the media has exaggerated the split of Real Madrid, the discord between generals and generals, and the factional struggles, they are all nonsense. Isn’t it enough for both parties to come out to explain the problem?

All misunderstandings have been broken. Real Madrid, a terrifying team, has reappeared again, overlooking the strong teams in Europe, without any fear, with pride and confidence!

Bai Ran and his teammates also returned to their own rooms in the base to rest, and Zidane continued to study the strength of the next opponent.

Tomorrow is still a holiday as usual, and Bai Ran decided to use this day to manage his recent affairs.

Various tasks of the system, as well as the reduction and increase of attribute slots, and various things in the game need to be sorted out.

Of course, the premise of all this is that his training tasks are still completed as usual.

And tomorrow is also a more grand day. The draw ceremony for the top 32 of the Champions League will be held soon. Real Madrid does not know which three teams will meet in the group stage.

After the 2015-16 season, UEFA has new rules for the division of seeded teams.

The 8 seeded teams are composed of the defending champions and the top 7 league champions in the UEFA League.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Bayern, Leicester City, Juventus, Benfica, Paris, and CSKA Moscow are the seeded teams. The remaining 24 teams are ranked according to the "UEFA European Cup Points in the Past 5 Years", and every 8 teams are divided into one tier.

Bai Ran was thinking about the prospects of the new season when the door of the room was suddenly knocked.

After a moment of hesitation, Bai Ran got out of bed and went to open the door.

As Bai Ran had guessed before, it was James Rodriguez who came in.

He smiled and gave Bai Ran a high-five and hug.

"Hey! Brother, thank you."

"I don't know what words to use to describe it. This is the best day of my life. You have solved the most difficult problem in my heart."

"It is no exaggeration to say that you have saved my career, Bai Ran."

"Otherwise I really don't know what to do."

Bai Ran also showed a calm smile and patted James's shoulder: "We are all teammates, and we should do it."

"We gather here to form Real Madrid. We are a team, so your business is also my business."

After hearing this, James nodded repeatedly: "There is nothing wrong with what you said. I will pay attention to my words and deeds for our team."

The next day, the grand draw ceremony was held at the Grimaldi Conference Center in Monte Carlo for the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League group stage draw and UEFA European Player of the Year awards ceremony.

All members of Real Madrid gathered together, waiting for the opening of the ceremony.

In front of the TV, Bai Ran and a group of Real Madrid players were concentrating on watching the developments on the big screen.

Ramos laughed and said, "Who will we draw? Milan?"

Bai Ran shook his head and looked at Marcelo beside him: "I think Arsenal."

"Arsenal? Didn't you watch the Premier League last season?"

At this time, Marcelo looked at Bai Ran blankly.

"Last season's Premier League was a mess. The traditional strong teams fell. Leicester City, as a newly promoted team, won the Premier League championship. Arsenal is not weak!"

"Arsenal ranked second in the Premier League last season, second only to Leicester City."

"If it weren't for this newly promoted team's huge upset, I'm afraid the champion last season would have been Arsenal."

"Are you sure?"

Bai Ran certainly knew that last season was the 15-16 season. The Blue Fox Leicester City won the Premier League championship unexpectedly, and Vardy shined in that season.

Leicester City was re-promoted to the Premier League in the 2014-15 season. That season, they had a record of 11 wins, 8 draws and 19 losses. They stayed in the relegation zone from the 13th to the 32nd round, and only got out of the relegation zone in the 33rd round, and finally got the 14th place.

Under such circumstances, before the start of the 2015-16 season, the head coach was directly dismissed, and the old man Ranieri, who had coached for many years but had few honors, took over the coaching of the Blue Foxes.

Ranieri's team was not favored by anyone. Football practitioners all over the world never thought that this team could enter the top four of the Premier League. Even professional football betting institutions have opened the odds of Leicester City winning the Premier League at 1 to 5,000.

Not only that, in the summer of 2015, Leicester City only spent 20 to 30 million pounds on transfers and reinforcements, making Leicester City a hot favorite for relegation that season.

You know, this amount of money can't even afford a top player in the Premier League, let alone compete with the Premier League's strong teams.

Even a position in a mid-level team costs more than this amount of money. There is no doubt that this lineup with no major changes will be beaten up in the Premier League. It seems that their relegation has become a foregone conclusion before the Premier League has even started.

But no one expected that the players introduced by this team from all over the world would set off such a storm in the world football in the future.

Fans should know that this is something that everyone is talking about now. That summer, Leicester City’s signings included spending 5.6 million pounds to sign French midfielder Kante, whom no one knew. It cost 3 million pounds to buy German central defender Huth from Stoke City, spent 7 million pounds to introduce Okazaki Shinji from Mainz, and exempted Schalke 04 full-back Fuchs from signing.

These familiar names, no one even knew their names before joining Leicester City.

However, the beginning of a legendary story is often so inconspicuous that you may not even know that you are witnessing a miracle happening.

In the first two rounds of the 2015-16 season, Leicester City defeated Sunderland and West Ham. In the following four rounds, they drew with Tottenham, Bournemouth and Stoke City, and defeated Villa. Time Blue Fox has maintained its position in the top four in the standings.

"Football is a game where luck can change the future, but if you want to achieve real success, luck alone is impossible."

This was the response of a well-known football commentator to Leicester City's performance at the start of last season.

This has also become everyone's view of this team.

Of course, no one expects them to stay in this position for too long. After all, how can a newly promoted team fight against the monsters of the Premier League without making major personnel changes and adjustments?

Luck can be good in one or two games, or even half a season, but without the support of strength for a long time, this fox will soon reveal his true face.

According to this, in the not-too-distant future, in the sixth round of the Premier League, Leicester City faced Arsenal at home. The Blue Foxes were humiliated 2-5 by the Gunners at the King Power Stadium and fell to sixth place in the Premier League. They said: "This The fox is starting to show its tail."

However, after losing to Arsenal, Leicester City showed super resilience, rebounded directly and achieved an impressive record of eight wins and two draws. Their ten-game unbeaten record greatly increased their confidence, and at the same time, it also made the outside world Others have a new perspective on the team.

Among these games, there are even good performances such as a draw with Manchester United and a victory over Chelsea at home.

Facing the powerful teams in the Premier League, Leicester City was not afraid at all, and was even able to use a suppressive attitude to defeat their opponents.

Starting from the 11th round, Leicester City once again returned to the top three in the Premier League, briefly ranked first in the 13th round, and continued to rank first from the 15th to the 18th round.

After losing to Liverpool in the 18th round, Leicester City drew with Manchester City at home in the 19th round, defeated Tottenham away in the 20th round, and then defeated Manchester City 3-1 at home in the 25th round. A wave of four wins and three draws, seven games unbeaten. Their record allowed them to maintain the lead in the standings starting from the 22nd round.

In the 26th round of the Premier League that season, Leicester City lost 1-2 away to Arsenal and suffered a season double defeat. However, in the remaining 12 rounds of the league, the Blue Fox remained undefeated in the Premier League, with a record of 8 wins and 4 draws. During this period, there were away draws with Manchester United and Chelsea.

Their legend continues this season.

Those who were not optimistic about Leicester City were blushing at this moment.

On May 1, in the 36th round of the Premier League, Leicester City drew 1-1 with Manchester United in an away game. On May 2, in the 36th round of the Premier League, Tottenham was tied 2-2 by Chelsea on the field, completely declaring that they would miss the championship.

Since then, Leicester City has won the Premier League championship in the 2015-16 season, which is also the first Premier League championship in their team history, creating a Blue Fox fairy tale with a loss of 5,000. In the final season, Leicester City had 23 wins, 12 draws and 3 losses in 38 rounds, scoring 68 goals and conceding 36 goals, accumulating 81 points and winning the championship with a 10-point lead.

Looking at the Leicester City team at that time, their main goalkeeper Schmeichel was the less accomplished son of a legendary goalkeeper, and the two main central defenders Morgan and Huth were 32-year-olds who spent most of their time in low-level teams. Veteran left back Fox is an Austrian player who has just landed in England.

The right back and midfielder Simpson and Drinkwater are abandoned players from Manchester United's youth training, as well as an "unknown" French midfielder Kante.

An Algerian winger Mahrez who had never even heard of Leicester City when he first joined last year, an English winger Albrighton who was born in the Villa youth training, and a part-time factory worker a few years ago. Striker - Vardy.

There are also unknown players such as Ulloa, Shinji Okazaki, Schlupp, Delet and Andy King, plus coach Ranieri who is known as the "tinker", but It is such a "motley team" that despite the doubts and cynicism of the world, they snatched the Premier League championship from the six giants of the Premier League.

Fans who followed the Premier League that year may still remember that Ranieri kept saying "relegation" in interviews, and it was not until late in the league that he dared to change his words and said "will try to compete for the championship." When he wins, he treats the players to pizza, and early exits from the FA Cup (third round replay) and League Cup (fourth round) also give Leicester City more time and energy to prepare for the Premier League. , the good-guy style allowed Ranieri to successfully unite this group of "rabble".

Huth and Morgan, two big central defenders who are slow to turn, greatly reduce the chance of being beaten because of the retreat of the defensive line. At the same time, their strong frontal confrontation and obvious aerial advantage make them a solid fortress and a battering ram for set pieces.

Simpson and Fox, the two full-backs, are conscientious and low-key. Simpson has strong confrontation ability, Fox has a set-piece and cross. In the Premier League where full-backs are used as wingers, they always put the team first and keep at least three defenders in the back line - diligent and low-key tactical executors.

Kante, the perpetual motion machine, has caused endless troubles to the opponent with his endless running, and can also invest more troops in counterattacks. His short stature allows him to use his brain more than brute force to play football.

We can see that the little giant is running tirelessly and making countless interceptions and steals on the field. His observation ability behind him and the precise timing of stealing the ball are also a high manifestation of his football IQ.

And his short and strong stature can also make him lower his chassis and not lose the wind in the confrontation.

And Vardy, he has grown into a "lone hero". Fans who have watched Leicester City's games last season should know that he is always so confident, one dribble, one pass, one shot, without any hesitation or other fancy moves, just such a simple, pure goal.

That season, Vardy scored 24 goals in the Premier League, won the Premier League Golden Boot, and scored in 11 consecutive Premier League games, breaking the 10-game record previously held by Van Nistelrooy.

Mahrez, the team's second-highest scorer, scored 17 goals in the Premier League, becoming the first African and Algerian player in history to win the PFA Player of the Year.

Coach Ranieri won three monthly coach awards that season, and was named the 2015-16 Premier League Coach of the Year, the 2016 LMA Coach of the Year, the 2016 FIFA Men's Coach of the Year, the 2016 World Soccer Magazine Coach of the Year, the 2015-16 European Coach of the Year, the 2016 BBC Sports Coach of the Year, the 2016 Gazzetta dello Sport Coach of the Year, the 2016 Enzo Bearzot Coach of the Year Award, and entered the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

On the other side, in Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain is also unstoppable. In the 15-16 season, they broke the world record and won the championship eight rounds in advance.

In La Liga, under the leadership of Bai Ran, Real Madrid caught up in the second half of the season, defeated Barcelona and won the La Liga championship.

The champion of the Bundesliga is still Bayern Munich.

Although Bai Ran already knew that the Premier League champion last season should be Leicester City if nothing unexpected happened, this reminder from his teammates made him realize a problem again.

He is now in the 16-17 season.

This means that the football environment has changed dramatically.

This season is full of strong players. Not only Messi and Ronaldo are at the top of their peak, but many world superstars have also emerged in the football world.

This situation is more difficult than the time period in his previous life.

Not only will players like Messi, Ronaldo, Modric and Iniesta, who are strong from beginning to end, shine in this era, but even many short-lived players will only "appear short-lived" in this era.

This Champions League will definitely be more exciting than last season, and it is also a huge challenge for Bai Ran.

Although in the long river of history, Real Madrid should still be the champion of this season, but with the arrival of Bai Ran, it is obvious that too many things have been changed in this world.

The appearance of Bai Ran affected this timeline, which is a completely new branch. Bai Ran himself recreated a history.

So although it has happened once in Bai Ran's mind, it is not 100% successful this time.

You still have to rely on your own efforts!

"Hey! What are you daydreaming about!"

"Look, the draw has begun!"

"Ah?" Bai Ran pulled back from his thoughts, and saw that on the big screen, the draw guest smiled, and the 8 groups displayed on the electronic big screen came to mind.

A: Paris Saint-Germain

B: Benfica

C: Barcelona

D: Bayern Munich

E: CSKA Moscow

F: Real Madrid

G: Leicester City

H: Juventus

This is the first round of the draw, and it is also the number one seed in each region.

As the strongest team, they are waiting for their group opponents to appear.

Real Madrid players held their breath and watched what was happening on the screen, and Bai Ran's thoughts were also pulled back, hoping that Real Madrid could draw a good lot.

Although playing against strong teams can better increase their game experience, the Champions League championship is more tempting.

Next is the much-anticipated second round of draws, and the audience in the audience is also very nervous.

A: Paris Saint-Germain-Arsenal

B: Benfica-Naples

C: Barcelona-Manchester City

D: Bayern Munich-Atletico Madrid

E: CSKA Moscow-Leverkusen

F: Real Madrid-Dortmund

G: Leicester City-Porto

H: Juventus-Sevilla

The second round came out and caused a huge sensation.

Not only did all the Real Madrid players exclaim, but even the audience at the draw ceremony couldn't sit still.

This time, a lot of "quasi-death groups" were drawn!

Paris and Arsenal, one is the French Ligue 1 champion, the other is the Premier League runner-up!

Barcelona and Manchester City, a strong showdown!

Bayern and Atletico Madrid, it's another fateful match. Last season, they also met in the Champions League knockout round.

Real Madrid and Dortmund, of course, are also exciting. The Hornets of that era were still in their heyday and could definitely compete with Bayern.

Dortmund should not be underestimated! Especially at home, their home court is notoriously terrifying!

Dortmund, with its devilish home court, can definitely bring countless troubles to Real Madrid.

Sure enough, the draw this season is very interesting. Bai Ran looked calm and indifferent, looking at the screen without any waves.

The teammates talked a lot, they were all discussing Dortmund's signings and lineup this year.

"I heard that they introduced a young player named Ousmane Dembele, who seems to be very talented."

"Is he new this season?"

"Yes, and Schurrle also went to Dortmund."

"Not only that."

"Götze and Guerrero are their latest introductions this season."

"Plus, their original lineup is very luxurious, and this battle is not easy to fight."