Capítulo 137: Champions League draw
The day after the game was the weekend, and as usual, Wang Feng returned to the villa after his morning training. When he entered the living room, the aroma of eggs wafted from the kitchen.
Approaching, he saw that Lu Yao, who was staying at the villa for the weekend, was preparing breakfast. Wang Feng asked in surprise, "Why aren't you sleeping a bit more? You're usually busy with classes, you should rest more on weekends, like Wang Tian, that lazy pig, who can't get up before noon."
Lu Yao smiled and said, "Brother Feng, with your level of activity, I thought I'd make breakfast for you in advance. It saves you the trouble of making it yourself when you come back."
"That's too much trouble for you." Wang Feng scratched his head, and Lu Yao brought the dishes to the dining table. "No worries, I can't go with you when you have away games anyway, it's not even twice a month. Let's just consider it a thank you for letting me stay at the villa."
They enjoyed their meal and conversation, feeling content. Lu Yao was no longer as embarrassed around Wang Feng as she used to be. Even when Wang Tian teased her, she could maintain her composure, a sign of her growing maturity.
"You read sports newspapers too?" Wang Feng asked, looking at the Milan Sports News on the table. Lu Yao stuck out her tongue, saying, "I still need to practice my Italian, reading newspapers is one of the better ways."
Wang Feng picked it up and saw the headline on the front page: "AC Milan 4-0 Rout of Promoted Side Modena, Shaking off Last Season's Slump." Intrigued, he continued reading.
The article praised AC Milan's summer transfers as the most reasonable in Serie A, stating that the team now had no obvious weaknesses, whether in attack or defense.
"They are definitely strong contenders for the league title, even Wang Feng's Inter Milan can't match AC Milan now."
The newspaper also mentioned Inter Milan's 3-0 victory over Torino: "Although Inter Milan defeated their opponents, the players' performance was inconsistent, with the attack sharp as always but significant issues in midfield and defense."
"Torino suffered casualties in the summer transfer window and failed to strengthen adequately. Their level is much lower than even newly-promoted teams, making them hot candidates for relegation this season. So, Inter Milan's victory was expected, but the problems it masked should not be ignored."
Seeing Wang Feng reading the news, Lu Yao blushed slightly and said, "I think you guys can definitely beat AC Milan." Wang Feng confidently replied, "Of course, I will defeat any opponent standing in my way!"
After breakfast, Wang Feng went to Pinetina for training. He would have lunch and dinner there. Lu Yao waited for Wang Tian to wake up. The two would either cook together or go out shopping. They would return to school together at night.
Wang Feng was urging them both to get their driver's licenses. It would make traveling much more convenient, and he planned to buy them a moderately priced car. This way, it wouldn't seem like showing off.
In early September, the annual UEFA Champions League group stage draw and UEFA Awards Ceremony would be held in Monaco. As Inter Milan had secured a spot in the Champions League this season, Wang Feng received an invitation from UEFA, hoping he could attend this European football event of the year.
With his last season's European Golden Boot, Wang Feng successfully made it to the Best Forward shortlist, but that wasn't the focus. All clubs were focused on the draw results for the group stage.
As the Serie A and Europa League champions, Inter Milan was placed in the first seed group. The second seed group included strong teams from the top five leagues, including Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen, and Deportivo La Coruña.
Even the third seed group had strong teams like AC Milan, Ajax, and PSV Eindhoven. So, if luck wasn't on their side, they could face tough competition in the group stage.
When the draw results came out, Wang Feng seemed to hear cheers from the club members. They surprisingly drew a favorable group, avoiding most of the strong opponents.
Inter Milan's opponents were Lyon, Ajax, and Norwegian side Rosenborg. Even the presenters in the studio couldn't help but exclaim, "Inter Milan has secured a spot in the knockout stage."
The other Serie A teams weren't as lucky. Juventus would face Feyenoord, Dynamo Kyiv, and Newcastle United, while AS Roma would encounter Real Madrid, AEK Athens, and Genk.
AC Milan had the worst luck, dropping to the third seed group, and had to face Bayern Munich, Deportivo La Coruña, and Reims.
AC Milan coach Ancelotti accepted interviews about the draw results, stating, "Our performance last season wasn't satisfactory, which is why we dropped to the third seed group and face strong opponents."
"Bayern Munich and Deportivo La Coruña are formidable opponents, and Reims is also a strong team from Ligue 1. We must give our all to break through. This is not only a challenge and test for the players but also for the coach. We will not give up easily."
Even though Ancelotti's words were encouraging, the Italian media changed their tune, no longer boasting about AC Milan's strength.
At the awards ceremony, Wang Feng missed out on the Best Forward award, which went to Raúl, who helped Real Madrid win the Champions League last year. Watching the Spaniard talk confidently on stage, Wang Feng silently vowed to win this award sooner or later!
Whether Raúl could win the European Golden Ball again became a hot topic. However, most people thought it unlikely because this year was a World Cup year, and the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards were likely to go to the best performer in the World Cup.
Ronaldo would be the top contender, and many media outlets believed he would easily win both awards. Marca, the Spanish newspaper, commented, "Ronnie won the FIFA World Player of the Year and the Ballon d'Or in 1997. Now that he's back, he'll definitely bring these two trophies back to Real Madrid."
"I wonder if Inter Milan will regret selling a double award winner for €45 million. It's definitely a loss-making deal."
Of course, some thought it could be Ronaldo's compatriot Roberto Carlos, as he not only won the Copa America but also the Champions League with Real Madrid. The only disadvantage was that he was a defender, and winning as a defender was much harder than as a forward.
After attending the awards ceremony, Wang Feng returned to Milan and was soon to accompany the team to Norway for their first Champions League group stage match against Rosenborg.
Rosenborg was the most dominant team in Norway, winning the Norwegian Premier League every year since 1992. However, on the Champions League stage, they were considered weak, having to go through three qualifying rounds to enter the group stage. To other teams, they were no different from a walkover. Such was the cruelty of the Champions League!
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