Chapter 1128 Draw

The guest responsible for drawing the lots unfolded the paper, showed it to the camera, and announced Real Madrid's opponent.

"Naples."

Cassano, Hamsik, and Paolo Cannavaro, who were watching this scene on television, leaned back simultaneously, their faces full of shock and dismay.

"Oh, no!"

"Damn it!"

"How is this possible?"

The three of them exclaimed and lamented at the same time.

This was the worst possible outcome.

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On-site, Mazzarri slowly unclenched his tightly clenched fists. He tilted his head and looked directly at Platini on the podium.

Suddenly, as if he understood everything, he smiled.

At the same time, the camera gave him a close-up shot.

"Uh... Mazzarri is smiling, what kind of smile is that? A wry smile?" The commentator broadcasting the draw live wondered.

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Meanwhile, in the studio watching the draw, Chen Hero also laughed.

"Haha!" He even laughed out loud, a stark contrast to his frustrated teammates around him. "I called it!"

He was referring to his previous statement that "even if we face Real Madrid, we still have to win."

"You jinx!" Hamsik said unhappily.

Cassano glared at his carefree friend.

Seeing his teammates' disappointed expressions, Chen Hero comforted them, "What's there to worry about? Hasn't Real Madrid failed to reach the quarterfinals for many years? I'm telling you, they have psychological barriers as long as they play in the round of sixteen. What the [beep] are you afraid of?"

Chen Hero's swear word was quickly censored, even in a live broadcast, thanks to powerful technology.

But captain Paolo Cannavaro didn't know that. He reminded Chen Hero, "Hero, don't swear, be careful not to set a bad example for the children." Football players are idols for children, so they have to pay special attention to their words and deeds. Of course, most of the time, they don't pay attention...

"Anyway, there's nothing to be afraid of. What is Real Madrid? I'm not even afraid of Barcelona!"

Hamsik really wanted to cover Chen Hero's mouth. He had just said "even if we face Real Madrid," and they really faced Real Madrid. What if he really did face Barcelona now that he said "even if we face Barcelona"?

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Platini didn't show any change in expression from beginning to end. He didn't smile when Lyon drew CSKA Moscow, nor did he smile when Napoli drew Real Madrid.

It looked perfectly normal.

However, many Italian journalists immediately thought of him after Napoli and Real Madrid were drawn together.

Napoli almost prevented Lyon from advancing from the group stage and snatched Lyon's first place in the group, slapping Platini in the face. How could Platini swallow this anger?

So, look, at the draw ceremony, Platini finally completed his revenge on Napoli.

Napoli, you think you're so great? I'll arrange for you to play Real Madrid!

"This is really forcing Napoli to their death..." a reporter muttered to himself outside the venue while watching the draw progress on the big screen.

The Neapolitan journalists were angry with the draw result. They were even ready to attack UEFA's black-box operation in the next day's newspapers. It was simply too easy to find specific examples to prove their anger. UEFA had too many precedents of manipulating the draw to talk about.

For a time, discussions arose among the gathered reporters.

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After the draw results came out, the coaches were immediately surrounded by reporters who wanted to hear their comments on their respective draw results.

Barcelona's sporting director, Begiristain, spoke eloquently to the camera, "We can't complain about anything because we got a good draw. But we can't be proud and underestimate our opponents. In the Champions League round of sixteen, no opponent is easy to deal with..."

But everyone knew that this was just a formality. In fact, Begiristain and other Barcelona supporters were probably laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.

The media was not surprised that Barcelona got a good draw. After all, as the defending champion, Barcelona was the team with the most entertaining style of play today. In order to ensure the viewership and advertising revenue of the Champions League, UEFA had to ensure that the defending champion could go further.

It was just a pity for Stuttgart... Perhaps getting a ticket to the round of sixteen in the last round of the group stage already foreshadowed that they shouldn't have waded into this muddy water at all?

Mourinho was also surrounded by reporters who wanted to hear his thoughts on returning to Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately, they failed to do so, because Mourinho, who was engaged in a "war" with the media, avoided the interview. No matter what the reporters asked him, he just walked forward with his head buried, looking very cool.

Moratti talked about this topic when he was interviewed by reporters, "If we distinguish each opponent by high and low, then it is an insult to them. Chelsea is the same as other opponents, there is no difference. But I admit that encountering Chelsea is a challenge for Inter Milan, and I look forward to such a big scene. Our coach Mourinho used to be the coach of Chelsea. I am looking forward to seeing what the scene will be like when he leads the team back to Stamford Bridge. And I also hope that the boys can bravely face the strong opponents and maintain their level..."

Chelsea's chief executive also talked about the result. He said that the battle with Inter Milan would be very difficult, and of course, he welcomed Mourinho's arrival. He believed that Mourinho would definitely receive warm applause from Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge.

The match between Manchester United and AC Milan was also a focus of attention. This was the result that the media had "guessed" before the match. The interviewees from both sides also seemed well-prepared.

Ferguson was looking forward to the game, but he seemed indifferent to Beckham, a controversial figure, and did not talk much about the headline-grabbing topic of Beckham's return to Old Trafford. However, Manchester United's press officer said in an interview that Beckham would definitely receive an unparalleled warm welcome.

AC Milan's manager, Gantini, believed that avoiding Ancelotti's Chelsea was a blessing. "Manchester United? Oh, this is a huge challenge. We hope to break all the curses and get the promotion opportunity."

As the coach of Naples, the biggest dark horse in this Champions League so far, Mazzarri was also surrounded by many reporters. Everyone wanted to hear what he felt about being drawn to play Real Madrid.

Coincidentally, Real Madrid's coach, Pellegrini, was not far from him, being interviewed by a group of Spanish reporters. The two were so close that they could even hear each other's voices, but unfortunately, one spoke Italian and the other spoke Spanish, so they couldn't understand each other.

"I should have thought of it earlier. When we squeezed out Lyon and became the first in the group, I should have thought that the round of sixteen would not be easy. We had a good chance of encountering a strong team. Don't ask me why I know, I just know." Mazzarri very vaguely expressed his dissatisfaction with Platini. "But it doesn't matter. Naples is a great team. We have a style of not fearing power. We will go all out against Real Madrid. Real Madrid has many world-class stars, and our players are not bad either."

As the coach of Naples, he still behaved quite humbly.

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Several Napoli players, watching their coach's interview through the big screen in the studio, also gave their thumbs up to their coach's confident attitude.

"He's right. We're not afraid of Real Madrid!" Chen Hero told the host.

"Now that the opponent has been determined, I think it's useless to complain and feel frustrated. We will go all out to prepare for the game against Real Madrid." Team captain Paolo Cannavaro also expressed his support for the coach.

The host smiled, "If you can say that, I think all the fans of Naples can breathe a sigh of relief. I am very happy that you have not lost courage."

The new vase, of course, would not miss any opportunity to show herself, "Go, Napoli! Go, Hero!"

Seeing Chen Hero's confident performance just now, she felt even more fond of the number one shooter in Naples. She was even so busy cheering for Chen Hero that she forgot the other three Napoli players.

Unfortunately, the male protagonist who made her eyes sparkle did not return her encouragement with a charming smile. He simply ignored the beauty...

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People who got a good draw tried their best to suppress the joy in their hearts and behaved humbly and cautiously, while people who got a bad draw behaved differently. Some were straightforwardly frustrated, such as Stuttgart, while others said some harsh words, saying things like "we will not admit defeat" to boost morale.

In the eyes of many people, Napoli coach Mazzarri belonged to the latter...

At least, that's how it seemed to the Spanish media.

The next day, the Spanish newspapers Marca and As both reported and analyzed the draw results and published the original text of Pellegrini's interview.

In the interview, Pellegrini talked about Napoli. He first admitted that he was not very familiar with Napoli, and he also said that Real Madrid was a great team, a team with a good tradition in the Champions League, so no matter who the opponent was, they would go all out. His most recent goal was to lead Real Madrid to break the curse of not being able to enter the Champions League quarterfinals.

Apart from mentioning Napoli out of politeness at the beginning, the Real Madrid coach talked about reaching the quarterfinals afterwards, completely ignoring Napoli.

But it was also quite normal. What kind of team was Real Madrid? The team with the best historical record in the Champions League. Even if they had bad luck in recent years, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse, and it was more than enough to compare with Napoli.

Moreover, the team was full of superstars. Pellegrini felt that instead of spending time studying the opponent, it would be better to spend time thinking about how to bring the superstars together. To put it bluntly, but truthfully, any one of these superstars shining would be enough to solve an opponent like Napoli.

Everyone would admit this - the key to Real Madrid breaking the "dream eight" curse was not who their opponent was, but themselves.

Therefore, he really didn't think Napoli was a threat.

He felt that looking at the entire Europe, Real Madrid only had one opponent, and that was... Barcelona.

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ps, the second update is here, asking for monthly tickets!