Chapter 70

The South Stand at Old Trafford is where the TV cameras are positioned, boasting the most VIP boxes in the entire stadium. Additionally, the match commentators representing various TV stations and live streaming platforms are all located here.

In the Sky Sports booth, the commentators are two seasoned figures in English football, and what will become the most popular commentary duo in the future: Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. Although their fame is not as great now as it will be in the future, their professional commentary has earned widespread praise, even earning them the title of the world's best commentary team.

However, the two men's faces today were not good.

In the new season's TV broadcast commentary plan, the two were given a task by the upper management of the station that left them both puzzled and angry.

It seemed that Sky Sports had lost its mind, as in the selected matches for the live broadcasts, out of the 38 rounds of the league, apart from famous matches like the Merseyside Derby, the England Derby, Manchester United vs. Arsenal, or the North London Derby, on other match days, one team was clearly given special treatment: Millwall!

The instructions from the upper management of Sky Sports were clearly stated in the broadcast plan: Millwall was to receive the second-highest number of live broadcasts, just behind Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal!

Not only that, but the live broadcasts of Millwall's matches had to be commentated by Andy Gray and Martin Tyler!

Whether a match was included in the key broadcasts directly affected the team's broadcast revenue. The Premier League broadcast revenue is divided into three parts: based on team performance, evenly distributed, and according to the number of live broadcasts, among others.

Clearly, Millwall's income from this part had already surpassed that of most mid-to-lower table teams in the Premier League.

Martin Tyler and Andy Gray, at the end of the day, were employees, and they had to follow the company's arrangements. However, if Millwall's matches were dull and affected the ratings, they would have a stronger case to argue with the upper management.

They naturally did not know that Barnet had almost driven Murdoch crazy!

Murdoch now regretted every day why he had not stopped the Hall family from investing in Sky Sports back then. In the summer, Barnet had made no secret of his intention to have Sky Sports give special treatment to Millwall, to assign top commentators, to broadcast in the best time slots, and to increase Millwall's exposure.

Murdoch had a heated argument with Barnet, but the result was that Barnet, in a very thug-like manner, issued an ultimatum: if not, then so be it, he would not hesitate to interfere with the management of Sky Sports. Barnet had shares, but he had previously been just an investor, a hands-off owner. With the weight of his shares, if he wanted to cause trouble at the Sky Sports board meetings, it would be enough to make Murdoch lose sleep, especially since Barnet was a native Briton, while Murdoch was an outsider.

O'Driscoll had not known about these matters beforehand, only being informed by Barnet after everything was settled. In response, O'Driscoll could only laugh and accept it, without much opinion.

Increasing broadcast revenue was secondary; the key was the rapid rise in fame.

Television broadcasts are a crucial way to influence a team's reputation. Fans, of course, would prefer professional commentators; otherwise, even if Millwall played well, a commentator who lacked passion would not excite the TV audience.

As for whether Millwall could play attractively, O'Driscoll was confident that it would be more engaging than the long-ball tactics.

As the players lined up to enter the field, the live broadcast by Sky Sports began.

"Hello everyone, welcome to Old Trafford. I'm Martin Tyler, and today I'm joined by Andy Gray. Hi, Andy."

"Hi, Martin. Today is the opening round of the new Premier League season. Manchester United, who missed out on reversing Blackburn's title defense in the last round of last season, are playing at home against Millwall, who impressed in the Third Division last season. United's manager, Alex Ferguson, has made a major overhaul of the team for the new season, and they have a young squad. Andy, what do you think about this?"

"Many fans have already heard Alan Hansen's comments, saying that Ferguson can't win any titles with a bunch of kids. Interestingly, Millwall's starting lineup is even younger on average than Manchester United's. Alan Hansen also commented on Millwall, saying he hopes the Millwall kids don't wet their pants in the adult game. I don't know if Millwall will wet their pants, but there's no doubt that Millwall surprised the Third Division last season. Today's match is a clash between two young teams. Compared to Millwall's overall youth, Manchester United's lineup seems more balanced, with Ferguson hoping to build the next generation of Red Devils through a mix of experienced and young players."

"Exactly. Let's see how the young O'Driscoll will lead his team at Old Trafford today. Now, let's introduce the starting lineups. The home team, Manchester United, is wearing their traditional red shirts and white shorts. The starting goalkeeper is Peter Schmeichel, right-back is Gary Neville, center-backs are Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister, left-back is Denis Irwin. Right midfield is David Beckham, central midfield partners are Roy Keane and Nicky Butt, left midfield is Ryan Giggs, and the forwards are Andy Cole and Brian McClair. Manchester United's formation is still the traditional 4-4-2, with Cantona suspended and Mark Hughes transferred to Chelsea in July, we see Ferguson starting the recently declining Brian McClair, who cost Manchester United only £850,000 and scored only 5 goals in 40 league appearances last season, compared to 20+ goals in a single season just three years ago."

"Manchester United's attack is a concern, so let's look at Millwall's lineup. They are wearing their traditional blue shirts. The starting goalkeeper is Cassley Keller, right-back is Lilian Thuram, center-backs are Jaap Stam and Gareth Southgate, left-back is Lucas Neill, right midfield is Bernd Schneider, central midfield is Claude Makélélé and Pavel Nedvěd, left midfield is Robert Pires, and the two forwards are Henrik Larsson and David Trezeguet, who together scored 66 goals last season in the Third Division, making them the most efficient strikers in the league. We'll see if they can maintain their goal-scoring form in the Premier League."

"Alright, viewers, the first round of the 95/96 Premier League season is about to kick off. We see Millwall will kick off first, moving from the left side of the screen to the right."

The players lined up to start the match.

O'Driscoll stood on the sidelines with a determined look, muttering to himself, "Boys, let's go!"

Although he had only turned 19 three months ago, he had lived for nearly 50 years in total. In his eyes, the Millwall players were just boys.

Paul Durkin, a highly respected referee who has been officiating in English football since 1974, was the referee for today's match.

With the sound of his whistle, the match between Manchester United and Millwall officially began.

Trezeguet gently flicked the ball, and Larsson passed it back. The two forwards quickly moved forward, and the ball returned to Nedvěd's feet. United's forwards, Cole and McClair, were already pressing forward.

Nedvěd calmly passed the ball to Makélélé, and the two United forwards continued to press. Makélélé kicked the ball forward, easily evading the pressure from the two United forwards through a quick combination with Nedvěd.

Nedvěd turned, and not far away, Keane, the tough midfielder, also pressed forward. He passed the ball diagonally, and it rolled to the right flank, where Schneider, who had been running forward since the kick-off, received it. Giggs had not quickly entered the game, allowing Schneider to easily advance and control the ball.

Elvin lowered his center of gravity to prevent Schneider from breaking through, but unexpectedly, Schneider took two steps forward after receiving the ball and passed it diagonally into the penalty area!

Larsson ran to the right, taking Pallister with him, while the ball flew over their heads toward the far post.

Trezeguet, who had developed a默契 (默契 means默契, which can be translated as "understanding" or "chemistry") with Larsson, appeared there. The 35-year-old Bruce did not expect the ball to reach the penalty area so early in the game. Just as he was setting his position, Trezeguet dashed past him!

As the old Manchester United captain turned to chase, Trezeguet accelerated with a powerful leap, diving headfirst to meet the ball!

Bang!

Trezeguet's bald head made perfect contact with the ball, and the angle was excellent. Even as he headed the ball, he did not close his eyes, his determined gaze and fearless momentum were like a wild beast unleashed!

This is Old Trafford!

The Theatre of Dreams!

Returning to the European stage from Argentina, I'm not here to be anyone's sidekick!

So what if it's Manchester United?

I, David Trezeguet, am determined to become the world's best striker!

How can one be a champion without defeating the strong?

Remember my name, Manchester United's Danish legend: David Trezeguet!

As Trezeguet dove headfirst, Schmeichel, with his arms spread wide, looked panicked, his eyes wide with disbelief: How long has the game been on? The echo of the referee's whistle still seemed to linger in the air!

Trezeguet's header was as powerful as a shot from the foot, not particularly tricky but incredibly fast, flying toward the near post.

The ball's trajectory was above Schmeichel's head. Unprepared, he only realized it when the ball flew past his head, and he jumped up to try to block it, but it was too late!

Schmeichel fell backward onto the goal line, and the ball, after hitting the net, slowed down and rolled gently into the goal, lightly bumping Schmeichel's head.

Trezeguet, who had dived to head the ball, watched its trajectory from the ground. Seeing the ball go in, he tried to get up but was so excited that he slipped and fell again. On his second attempt, he finally got up and ran wildly toward the away team's bench, roaring.

Camera, come over here!

Focus on me!

I am the star of the Theatre of Dreams!