Chapter 128: The Eve Before the Final Against Dortmund
At the post-match press conference, José Mourinho was the first to appear.
This proud magic bird unusually bowed his head and admitted defeat:
"...I'm sorry, we lost. We led 5–1 away, we took five away goals as an absolute advantage, and yet we lost.
My mind is a blank. To lose 1–6 at the Bernabéu — it's unbelievable.
I cannot fully pin the blame for the defeat on Fábio Coentrão. His early red card was the main reason we were placed on the back foot, but it wasn't the reason we were eliminated.
When he was sent off we still had a three-goal aggregate advantage.
I don't want to single out any player; they are all heroes.
I don't want to congratulate Arsène Wenger, but I must admit that at the Bernabéu he and his team performed ten times better than us — they deserved to reach the final more than we did."
"Mr. Mourinho, after this season, do you plan to renew your contract?"
"Real Madrid is the world's number-one club; they won't talk contracts with a coach who returns empty-handed. This season we had an unlucky start in the league, so we gambled on the Champions League,
but as you've seen, I lost — there's no excuse. Renewal is not something I can decide alone.
I will discuss things with the club. Even if I don't coach Real next season, we must find out why this squad has ended up empty-handed so that next season we avoid the same fate..."
"Could you comment on the performance of the 'Ice Cream Prince' — Xia Qi — tonight?"
"Prince? I wish he were a prince. Tonight he was a chieftain-king. The Emirates is much smaller than the Bernabéu, so tonight we actually fought two Henrys…"
After saying this, Mourinho stood up and left.
Spanish media watched his retreat with gloom; this magic bird may fly away — who knows when he'll return...
The match was over, but the aftermath kept reverberating.
Every Arsenal fan leaving the Bernabéu excitedly discussed the match; many cheered to friends: the players conquered Madrid, now it's our turn to conquer their women.
Then they headed straight to bars and clubs — they wouldn't go home sober.
Arsenal players did the same, though they went to more discreet venues.
Late into the night media scribes wrote feverishly: "Real lose a golden chance, Arsenal return to the top tier." "The young are ferocious; the '90s generation rises..." "Arsenal already show champion signs; no one can stop them."
In the following days, the internet and media hailed Arsenal, Arsène Wenger and Xia Qi to the heavens — especially Wenger.
What had been RVP's back-stab turned into a narrative that van Persie was a "poison cake" Arsène threw at Sir Alex Ferguson.
Conspiracy theories always sell better than facts.
Mindless fans: "Wenger, so wise! He saw van Persie's 'cursed-without-titles' trait and planted a trap for his old rival Ferguson..."
Such mindless plots are strangely popular.
Van Persie's "no-titles" tag was chewed over by fans; Manchester United supporters demanded refunds on Arsenal's website and hurled abuse at Wenger.
But the most pitiful were not van Persie, dragged and flogged by Arsenal and United fans alike,
but Roberto Mancini and the Manchester City hierarchy, who had already been largely forgotten.
If there's a "title-immune" there's also a "lucky charm." When Xia Qi debuted he helped Manchester City's 9,320 miracle secure their first title in 44 years; upon joining Arsenal he immediately sat on the throne — was that luck or pure skill?
Think that way and City and Mancini didn't just sell a player; they sold a Premier League title and half a Champions League title.
Some jokers did the math: excluding sponsorship increases, the 2013 Premier League champions earned prize money of £15m + £50m, while third place got £13.5m + £33m (league position + broadcast share), a massive shortfall of £18.5m.
The 2013 Champions League winner's total revenue was €55m, the runner-up €51.4m. City's Champions League revenue was guaranteed only €9.3m — a loss of over €40m.
City sold Xia Qi for €5m (not counting youth training costs).
So City took a transfer loss of over €60m, not counting hidden revenues like sponsorship, advertising bump and merchandise increases.
If you count everything, they likely lost close to €100m.
This must be one of the bleeding-est transfer deals in football history.
The giveaway child — Mancini!
Money-rich fools — the white hat!
Became a popular internet joke.
No matter how stormy the outside world became, Xia Qi himself remained calm; his routine didn't change despite overnight fame. He didn't ease up on training even for a moment,
which made scouts from the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United secretly marvel and praise him...
...
The next day Arsenal flew back to London at midday.
On the plane Arsène Wenger announced first-team players would have three days off and substitutes one day — since Arsenal were already league champions, first-teamers like Xia Qi would be rested for Premier League matchday 36.
Manchester City's heir Jack Wilshere let out a pitiful scream on the spot, but won no sympathy from prankster teammates.
Xia Qi and the others warned him he must win the match, or face house discipline.
Somehow Arsenal's flight information was leaked.
At arrival, at least thirty thousand Arsenal fans came to greet them, seriously affecting normal airport order in London.
Under urging from security and police, Wenger briefly thanked the fans and remarked that halfway is ninety of a hundred miles, and that if they couldn't beat their opponents at Wembley everything was ephemeral...
That night Xia Qi and the others didn't go home but gathered at Mario Balotelli's villa to watch Borussia Dortmund host Paris Saint-Germain.
In the match Dortmund shed the gentleness of the first leg, bared their teeth and demolished PSG 5–0, advancing to the final by a crushing aggregate 7–1.
"This Lewandowski is something else!"
"A prolific striker, probably one of the best strikers of the era."
"Xia, do you think he's better than me?"
"Of course. Mario, if you keep partying every night you won't be top-five striker material. This Lewandowski is stronger than your peak, let alone your current self."
"Mario, you wound me..."
"Mario, we're brothers, so I tell the truth. I want to build a dynasty with you, that's why I demand more."
Balotelli nodded and said no more.
Captain Thomas Vermaelen comforted Balotelli:
"Xia, don't belittle yourself. We have you as a big scorer up front; we're not weak up front — it's midfield that worries me..."
"That Gündoğan is stronger than me." Santi Cazorla admitted straightforwardly his own limitations.
"But Reus and Götze aren't better than Kevin and Wilshere."
Jack Wilshere said sadly: "I still don't know if I'll play."
"None of us do, so you must take the last two league games seriously..."
"There are three league matches left; are you saying the starting XI for the Champions League final won't play the final league match?"
"That's certain!"
"Now's not the time to talk about the starting XI. That defender Mats Hummels is pretty strong, Xia Qi you need to study him…
"Hummels, Subotić, Schmelzer are all good, but if we're strong on all three lines then winning the Champions League isn't a big problem."
"We can't be complacent. On paper which Real team was weaker than us on this run?"
"Xia Qi's right. The Yellow Wall were in the same group with City, Ajax and Real — expected to finish bottom, but they topped the group ahead of Real... In short, this is a team stronger than its paper suggests; we mustn't be careless."
This Arsenal squad had not yet won the Champions League; their hunger for the trophy surpassed their desires.
After watching the broadcast, the group chatted a bit and then dispersed to their homes — not like some teams who make clubbing part of every group event.
Whether they remain so disciplined after winning the trophy is another matter.
Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo still consistently sustain their hunger for titles; others tend to relax their self-discipline after honors.
On 5 May 2013, Arsenal fielded a substitute lineup away and, led by Wilshere, eked out a 1–0 win at Queens Park Rangers.
On 15 May at home, by tradition Wigan Athletic lined up to welcome the league champions onto the pitch before kick-off.
As is known, relegation struggers are the hardest to play in the late season.
This season Wigan gambled on the FA Cup and are third-from-bottom in the league — already one of the relegated clubs.
Every point is lifesaving medicine; they must fight to the end.
Tonight was Arsenal's title celebration; losing would be bitter!
A draw was not acceptable to Xia Qi or Arsenal.
The first-team attacked fiercely from the start.
The gap in quality was too big; Wigan could only resist for five minutes before Xia Qi and Mario Balotelli each scored twice, running the score up.
Ultimately Arsenal thrashed them 7–0 at home.
Notably, Balotelli, chastened by Xia Qi's criticism, became more active in training and matches.
After the match, the FA held the award ceremony.
Xia Qi and others first returned to the dressing room, showered, changed into champion shirts, queued and went on stage as the FA president handed out winners' medals.
When Xia Qi stepped off the stage he bit the edge of his medal and smiled sweetly — the image became many people's desktop wallpaper.
After medals were handed out, captain Thomas Vermaelen invited Xia Qi to stand with him in the center of the team to lift the trophy together.
When the pair raised the trophy overhead, confetti rained down and "We Are the Champions" played!
Then the Barclays trophy was hoisted around by every player in turn...
Finally players' families and fans poured onto the pitch. Xia Qi and others lifted Arsène Wenger onto their shoulders and paraded him around the stadium.
Because Arsenal still had the Champions League, which was the top priority, the celebrations were kept brief — about an hour.
Arsenal's Premier League title news trended for a day before being overshadowed by Chelsea's UEFA Europa League triumph the next day.
On 16 May at Amsterdam Arena, Chelsea beat Benfica 2–1,
becoming the fourth club — after Juventus, Ajax and Bayern — to have won all three major European trophies.
This was a remarkable achievement.
Fernando Torres, following Xia Qi, became another lucky charm!
On 19 May the final Premier League matchday kicked off; as Xia Qi predicted, Arsenal fielded a substitute lineup and narrowly beat a disinterested Newcastle United 1–0.
The 2012–2013 English season drew to a close.
Arsenal were Premier League champions.
Meanwhile Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea qualified for the Champions League; Arsenal, United and City entered the group stage directly, while Chelsea had to play the playoff.
Europa League qualifiers: Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan Athletic, Swansea City.
Wigan, as FA Cup winners, qualified directly for the Europa League group stage; fifth-placed Tottenham and League Cup winners Swansea entered in the fourth and third qualifying rounds respectively.
Relegated clubs: Queens Park Rangers, Reading, Wigan Athletic.
Golden Boot winner: Xia Qi
Championship promoted teams: Cardiff City, Hull City
The final promotion spot to be decided between Crystal Palace and Watford.
Also the big five leagues crowned their champions:
Premier League: Arsenal
Serie A: Juventus
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich
La Liga: Barcelona
Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain
Aside from Arsenal's title surprise, the others were all within bookmaker predictions.
The day after the league ended, bookmakers sharply cut Arsenal's Champions League odds.
The British media rallied behind Arsenal. In recent years the Premier League has indisputably been the world's top league, but that doesn't mean it's the strongest — that debate remained.
This year was different: Chelsea set a precedent by winning the Europa League; if Arsenal also won the Champions League,
it would cement the Premier League's claim as the strongest league.
So all of Britain's passion stirred; print media, TV, radio and the web daily ran pre-final speculation, studio visits and predictions...
This mood seeped into players and coaches.
Wenger dreamed two days in a row of the 2005–06 Champions League final where he lost 1–2 to Barcelona.
Wenger took this as a divine sign, locked himself in his office for a day and a night, then overturned his original tactics and drew up a new plan for Xia Qi and the others.
To Xia Qi the tactical change from 4–4–2 to 4–2–3–1 (mirroring Borussia Dortmund's usual 4–2–3–1) was essentially the same soup with different broth — not much changed; it was more to soothe Wenger's mind so he could sleep.
On 24 May Borussia Dortmund flew to London a day early.
The Champions League final was approaching.
Xia Qi could feel the smell of gunpowder in the London air.
Firstly, fewer fans lingered outside the Colney training ground asking for autographs,
they feared disturbing the team's preparations.
Secondly, Germans were appearing more frequently on the streets; many hotels hiked prices.
Lastly, the atmosphere at Colney grew tense; fringe players seemed dazed throughout the day.
Aaron Ramsey was on the fringe of the squad, hoping to make the match list;
Jack Wilshere was on the fringe of the starting XI, hoping to start.
These men had things on their minds; training wasn't great, and Pat Rice humanely toned down his usual loud reprimands.
On the afternoon of the 24th Wenger announced the match squad... (END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Bankai10