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Bayer Leverkusen base.
The locker room on the second day was already in an uproar.
Julian Brandt, Lars Bender, Harry Maguire, and others were yelling loudly, angrily denouncing UEFA for setting up Bayer Leverkusen for traffic, or that Bayern Munich had exerted influence through Franz Beckenbauer to affect UEFA, deliberately targeting Bayer Leverkusen.
These conspiracy theories were mind-numbing.
De Bruyne couldn't stand it anymore.
"Guys, it's not that bad, actually. Real Madrid and Liverpool are strong, but we're not weak either!"
"Last season, you almost knocked out Real Madrid; this season, you should at least make it out of the group stage."
Four teams in the group stage.
Leaving aside Real Madrid, Liverpool and Roma look strong, but are they really strong teams?
When Suárez was there, perhaps Liverpool would have been a bit more formidable.
Now that Suárez has gone to Barcelona, who does Liverpool have left?
As for Roma, there's even less need to mention them.
In recent years, only Juventus is good enough; other Serie A teams were simply not on the same level in terms of combat effectiveness.
In the so-called "Group of Death," Bayer Leverkusen, as long as they play normally, can at least make it out of the group stage.
Even if they meet Real Madrid, there's no need to be afraid; just go for it.
The other teams should be the ones who are afraid.
Perhaps because the first few matches of the season were all quite difficult, and even the victory against Werder Bremen started with a disastrous 0-3 deficit, it made the Bayer Leverkusen players lack confidence.
As soon as De Bruyne said this, everyone else was a bit hesitant to think that way.
"Kevin, it's still very difficult; we can't underestimate Liverpool and Roma."
"Yeah, I feel like every match will be a tough battle."
"Enough."
Lance walked into the locker room, stopping the argument.
"Brothers, what is your goal?"
"Goal?"
Lance's question stumped everyone.
It was Julian Brandt who spoke up weakly:
"I think we can try to contend for the championship this season."
Newcomers like De Bruyne, Harry Maguire, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Firmino, and other players also nodded in agreement.
Bayer Leverkusen is not a giant club, so why did they come here?
Especially Firmino; it was said that Liverpool were also scouting him at the time and were already preparing an offer.
Why choose Bayer Leverkusen, also in the Bundesliga, when he could have developed at Liverpool?
What's the difference from Hoffenheim?
The answer is naturally the championship!
Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen, who made a surprising splash last season and built momentum across Europe, were a prime example of an underdog triumphing over the strong, an object of admiration for many non-giant club players!
Such a team that broke the Bundesliga pattern to win the title and made a dark horse run in the Champions League might even have a chance to win the championship again this season!
They all came here for this fighting spirit.
It was just the early-season slump that made everyone a bit down, but Lance's question reminded the players of their original aspirations.
"That's right! I came here to win the championship, and what Lance and Kevin said makes sense; we don't need to be afraid."
"Otherwise, if we can't even get out of the group stage, what's the point of us being here?"
Sascha and Hyypiä had actually arrived in the locker room earlier, and hearing the players' discussion, they didn't go in to interrupt.
"I told you, Lance is definitely a good captain candidate; he's a natural leader."
"I said that first, didn't I?!"
Hyypiä was a bit unconvinced.
Clearly, at first, when everyone was not optimistic about Lance, it was Hyypiä who signed Lance against all odds and always valued him greatly.
"Why be so particular? It's the same whether you said it first or I said it first."
Sascha brushed it off with a laugh, making Hyypiä grind his teeth in frustration.
"This group is also good for us; this way, we can meet more strong teams for practice."
"Exactly."
It doesn't make much sense for Bayer Leverkusen to constantly play against weaker teams in Europe's secondary leagues.
Strong competition is what will truly unleash this team's potential.
To the outside world, the teams in the Group of Death were all quite unlucky, but for these young men, it was not necessarily a misfortune.
If they wanted to go further and complete their transformation.
When the draw results were announced, a wave of discussion swept across Europe.
Even the Chinese internet, far away in the East, was buzzing with heated conversations.
Apart from events like the World Cup and the European Cup, the Champions League is, after all, the highest level and most watched football competition.
"LeSports News, at 23:45 Beijing time on August 28 (17:45 local time in Nyon on the 28th), the draw ceremony for the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League group stage was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon."
"Defending champions Atlético Madrid will face Juventus, last season's dark horse Bayer Leverkusen will meet Real Madrid again in the group stage, forming a Group of Death with Liverpool and Roma."
Bayern Munich will face a challenge from a new Premier League powerhouse, Barcelona drew a favourable group, with their only strong opponent being Paris Saint-Germain…"
——
Group A: Atlético Madrid, Juventus, Olympiacos, Malmö
Group B: Benfica, Zenit, Basel, Monaco
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Roma
Group D: Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Anderlecht
Group E: Bayern Munich, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, Ludogorets
Group F: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Ajax, APOEL Nicosia
Group G: Chelsea, Schalke 04, Sporting CP, Maribor
Group H: Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, BATE Borisov
——
Seeing this group draw, Real Madrid fans were overjoyed.
"Last season we didn't win the championship, it was all Bayer Leverkusen's fault; this time we can finally get revenge."
"Beat Bayer Leverkusen twice!"
"Let Bayer Leverkusen see how powerful our Real Madrid is"
"Bayer Leverkusen play beautifully, Lance's matches are exciting, why wouldn't we support them? Bayer Leverkusen will beat Real Madrid twice!"
Even Barcelona fans came to join the fun.
"Then I'll bet on Bayer Leverkusen; give those dogs a good thrashing."
"Stupid Barcelona get out! Be careful, Bayer Leverkusen might thrash you then!"
Initially, no one realised that this was not just a casual argument.
According to European media and global fan opinion, the vast majority were quite optimistic about Bayer Leverkusen advancing from the group stage, with only the fight for first place potentially holding suspense.
Wolfsburg, Volkswagen Arena.
The Bayer Leverkusen players were very dedicated to the acclimatisation training.
They did not relax because of external optimism.
The schedule is tight, and there is no room for error in the matches.
They also wanted to capitalise on the comeback from the last match to reverse their slump and try to contend for the championship.
Playing away against Wolfsburg tomorrow won't be easy, and in four days, it will be the first round of the Champions League group stage: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Liverpool!
Lance felt the heavy pressure on his shoulders, but he showed even more fighting spirit.
"After this match, the integration value should be close to 80%, which means…"
"By the end of the Champions League group stage, it might reach 100%!"
"And I'll get the third template!"