Chapter 177: Second Leg Kick-Off
In the Champions League Round of 16 second legs,
for the British press Manchester City were already out so no longer worthy of attention; Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all still had chances to progress, though none had ideal first-leg results.
Among them Arsenal hosting "the kings of London" — Bayern — was the focal match of the round; almost all of Europe's media came…
German media joked it was a Champions League final preview.
On January 17, 2014, Bayern's squad arrived in London by private jet.
That same evening Sky Sports aired interview clips from both teams.
First question:
"Are you nervous about the coming match? Please predict the score."
Xia Qi: "A little. I always overthink before matches, but once the game starts I focus completely. As for the score, 1–0 is economical and decent—we'd progress thanks to the away goal."
Lahm: "Nervous?? I wasn't nervous in the first leg. I'm near retirement—why would I be nervous now? Final score 1–2, we'll beat Arsenal twice—don't forget this is London, we are the kings of London!"
Reporter: "Last season you were beaten twice by them."
Lahm shot a glare at the reporter: "So this time we'll return the favor by beating them twice."
Kevin De Bruyne: "Not nervous. I don't put pressure on myself before games. Score 3–0—one goal and two assists from me…" Perhaps flattering himself a bit too much, De Bruyne shyly covered his face with his hands laughing.
Franck Ribéry: "Not nervous. They should be the nervous ones—we've got the aggregate lead. Score will be 2–4; we'll lead by two goals this time."
Other players also answered in turn.
Second question:
"Which opposing player gives you the most headaches?"
From Arsenal's side, the most troublesome Bayern players were named as Ribéry, Robben and Neuer… From Bayern's side, the players they named as most troublesome for them were Xia Qi, Martínez and Kevin De Bruyne…
Arsenal's reasoning: Bayern's wing play is the most penetrating in the world by a mile.
Xia Qi: "Bayern's wings are always a big problem. Ribéry and Robben can dribble, pass and shoot—they often put us on the back foot."
Müller: "Why pick Xia Qi? Like Real's Cristiano or Barça's Messi, his excellence and destructiveness need no more words."
Others gave their explanations likewise.
Third question:
"How do you evaluate your captain and coach?"
That question was unbearable to watch—endless flattery and sycophancy, more ingratiating than ever…
Spurs fans, disgusted, wrote in the show's comment stream: "Royal Salute to Manager Wenger and Captain Xia Qi!"
That lit a hornet's nest.
Arsenal fans flew into rage and a big group marched on White Hart Lane that night…
The morning paper read: "Injury casualties in Arsenal vs. Bayern clash; Spurs fans beaten."
…
At 1:00 a.m. on January 18, 2014, London Police.
Alice, with a lawyer, bailed her father Jack out.
"We could actually keep Xia Qi," she said.
"No!" Jack tousled his daughter's hair and said: "If one day you go farther for your dream and better development, I will unconditionally support you, because I love you. Likewise, I love Xia Qi.
"Before Xia Qi came, what were we like? And now? Loving someone doesn't mean clutching them tightly."
Though Arsenal purported to be a big club, even big clubs have hierarchical dreams—every player harbors a "Real Madrid dream" in his heart…
At 5 p.m., Arsenal fans heading to the Emirates were growing in number, most wearing Xia Qi's No.9 shirts and singing Xia Qi's song.
They avoided talking about last night's beating of Spurs or the captain joke…
…
In the home dressing room at the Emirates, Wenger delivered the final tactical talk… then took Xia Qi to the press conference.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola was asked first.
"In the first leg Bayern won, but Xia Qi scored a hat-trick. Such an efficient Xia Qi—how do you plan to defend him?"
"Xia Qi is excellent; in some ways he is like Messi. Players like that are very hard to defend. We can only try to limit him and make ourselves better than him…"
"Have you designed a special tactic against an Arsenal fighting for survival?"
"Of course. That's my job. But I don't yet know which card Professor Wenger will play—whether Xia Qi plays as a midfielder or a forward—so I can't tell you my tactics. I can only say we have two tactical plans…"
After the press conference Guardiola wore a serious expression.
He knew it would be a hard match tonight—neither Wenger nor Xia Qi would be easy opponents.
Wenger was asked similar questions and answered them one by one.
When it came to player questions,
Xia Qi was asked about the Ballon d'Or.
"The Ballon d'Or is the highest honor for a player; everyone wants it, and I'm no exception. Cristiano's excellence needs no explanation, but I'm the same. Right now my mind has only the match; progressing tonight is the only goal—everything else is empty talk."
…
"Penguin Sports!"
"Penguin Sports!"
"Dear viewers, welcome to Penguin's live channel to watch the 2013–2014 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 second-leg match.
"I'm your old friend Zhang Lu,
"I'm Zhan Jun."
"Tonight Arsenal, top of the Premier League, host the giant Bayern Munich.
"In the first leg Bayern's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer scored in stoppage time to snatch a win over Arsenal.
"However, Germany's Bild reported afterwards that Neuer and Guardiola argued over whether the goalkeeper should join the attack in the dying moments.
"Hopefully their dispute won't affect tonight's game.
"Arsenal, who lost, have been heavily criticized since the match—Xia Qi who scored a hat-trick included.
"We hope they will respond to shame by acting bravely tonight: not only to win this match but to eliminate their opponent and reach the semis.
"Otherwise, the Champions League season would be over for many of us—ha…"
"It's not just over for you, it's almost over for all Chinese fans."
"The match is about to start. Tonight Arsenal wear their red-and-white home kit, Bayern in black away.
"Both teams made slight changes to their starting XIs: Schweinsteiger replaces Thiago, Mandžukić replaces Müller, appearing in the starting lineup.
"For Arsenal, Theo Walcott starts in place of Gnabry.
"All other positions remain unchanged, and Neuer—who had the post-match argument with Guardiola—still starts in goal…"
"In the first leg Arsenal lost 3–4 away, the good news is they only need a 1–0 win at home to progress; the bad news is they must win tonight, while Bayern can progress with a draw."
In the players' tunnel Xia Qi held the ball boy's hand as the Champions League theme—"We've fallen apart"—played; Arsenal's poor Champions League record had its reasons: even the theme music felt unlucky!
(END CHAPTER)
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