Chapter 1019

Wembley Stadium

the greatest stadium in England's history, today ushered in the oldest FA Cup final.

In England, the status of the FA Cup once surpassed that of the league. Later, although the status of the League surpassed that of the FA Cup, the FA Cup, as the oldest tournament in England, still plays an important role in the minds of the fans.

On the day of the game, the streets of London were filled with Manchester United fans and Stoke City fans.

Stoke City such team fans are limited, in addition to the region, almost no other fans, the vast majority of London are Manchester United fans.

The FA Cup is the lightest one that Manchester United can compete for. However, Manchester United has not won the FA Cup for seven years. Moreover, this is the first trophy Manchester United has won, which has a significant impact on the team's morale. Therefore, all levels of Manchester United attach great importance to it, and the fans who come to watch are no less than a double red cross.

After lunch at the Grove Hotel, United held a tactical meeting and then took the bus to Wembley Stadium.

At the moment, Wembley Stadium has been full of fans, the reporters on the sidelines have also come to 500 or 600 people, the football stars, businessmen and celebrities in the VIP box have also arrived at 7788, and everyone is waiting for the players to appear.

The on-site commentators have been in place, and they have got the starting lineup. Now the players have not arrived, but the fans have already been seated. They take advantage of this time to introduce the lineup formation and tactics to the fans.

Stoke City, who made it to the FA Cup final for the first time in 100 years, today produced the strongest team they could.

Goalkeeper: 29 Sorensen; guard: 12 Mark Wilson, 17 Shawcross, 4 Huth, 28 Wilkinson; midfield: 16 pennant, 24 Delap, 6 Whelan, 26 ethrington; forward: 9 kenveni Jones, 19 Watkins

there are not many famous players in the starting lineup except pennant and Huth, but goalkeeper Sorensen is still the first-class in the Premier League, Depra's hand grenade out of bounds is the only player in the football world, while local player ethrington is the core and spiritual leader of Stoke City. Stoke City, which is famous for its strength and defense, desperately needs ethrington's organization and passing.

Stoke's lineup naturally can't compare with Manchester United, but stoke does not rely on fame, stoke relies on strong fighting spirit, as well as the emphasis on team spirit and fierce and rigorous defense system.

Manchester United did not dare to be careless in this game, they also ranked their best team. In an event like the FA Cup, if the top teams are eliminated in the last eight and the last 16, no one will laugh because the top teams look down on them and it is possible to give up ahead of time. But if they lose in the final, it will be too humiliating.

Manchester United's starting lineups are: goalkeeper: No.1 Edwin van der Sar

guard: No.21 Rafael, No.5 Ferdinand, No.15 Vidic, No.3 Evra

midfield: No.17 Nani, No.18 Scholes, No.10 Gao Xiaodong, No.25 Valencia

forward: No.7 Rooney, No.14 Hernandez

Ferguson's lineup does not follow the original balance of attack and defense It's a very aggressive lineup.

Although this is a final, it is not a risk for Ferguson to arrange such a team. After all, their opponents are not strong teams like Chelsea and Arsenal, but Stoke City, which ranks ninth in the Premier League.

Against the extremely conservative Stoke City, if you think about the offensive and defensive balance, then Ferguson is too despised.

Although a very aggressive starting line-up has been drawn out, in the dressing room, Ferguson has repeatedly stressed to Manchester United players that they should not underestimate the enemy, do not look down on Stoke City, and do not think that the championship is stable. There has never been an easy final.

The morale and morale of Manchester United's players are at their peak, but there must be a sense of underestimation.

For a team like Manchester United, the opponents they think about every day are giants like Chelsea and Barcelona. The players are at least international stars. It's hard to attach importance to a team like stoke even if they meet in the FA Cup final.

After Ferguson's brief instructions, the players came out of the dressing room to warm up.

The fans have been waiting for a long time and have been waiting anxiously for a long time. Seeing the players coming out, the stands suddenly swept like a hurricane, causing a burst of cheers and applause.

It's normal for Manchester United to win the support of superstars, legends like Scholes and Giggs.

Manchester United players are not arrogant. They wave to the fans as they walk on the pitch.

The warm-up before the game is not strong, and there is no wonderful content, that is to pass, shoot, shoot, catch the circle and move your muscles.

However, the fans have been here for a long time. They have nothing to do but look at the highlights on the big screen and listen to the commentator's bullshit or their own bullshit. It's very happy for them to see their idols moving in front of them.

Soon Stoke's players are warming up.

Compared with Manchester United players, Stoke City's warm-up players hardly received much applause from fans.At the beginning of the game, the boss of Stoke City, Katz, came to the box of the grandstand. The reporter shot him wildly, but the fans had a flat reaction.

In addition to the fact that Stoke City's owners operate a gambling company, the main reason is that KETZ has little investment in the team and the fans are not satisfied with them.

Then, the son of Manchester United club owner Glazer evram also came to the stands. Compared with Stoke City's boss, Glazer's son not only did not get the applause of Manchester United fans, but also received sporadic boos.

Evram's face some hang, fortunately at this time the players of both sides have appeared, the scene of shouting and applause covered up a little hiss.

Ferguson also came to the pitch, he was the first to shake hands with Stoke City Manager Pulis.

"You played well! Whether you win or lose, you can leave with pride

Pulis said faintly: "thank you for your praise. We don't want to be a spectator today."

With a smile, Ferguson said: "God bless you. I'll see you at that game. If stoke wins, I'll invite you and red wine."

Ferguson then turned back to his coaching position, Pulis staring at Ferguson's back clenched his fist, he recognized the contempt in Ferguson's words.

As Ferguson and Pulis speak, Manchester United and stoke players have completed the ceremony of shaking hands and exchanging flags and badges before the game. They come to their own half, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle of the game.