After spending a quiet Christmas with his father, Jose started to be busy again - he was busy not with anything else, but flew to Lausanne, Switzerland on December 28 to participate in the draw ceremony of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Mallorca advanced to the top 16 of the Champions League as the second in the group stage. In the group stage, the biggest upset was probably that Inter Milan, one of the semifinals last year, was eliminated in the group stage. They defeated Arsenal three-to-zero away in the first round but were swept five-one by Arsenal at home. In addition, their poor record against two former Soviet teams made them finally ranked third in that group and could only play in the League Cup. Famous teams that were almost miserable are Eindhoven, Marseille, Galatasaray, Lazio and Ajax, who is in the same group as Mallorca...[]

The first in the eight groups, namely, Mallorca's possible opponents are Lyon, Arsenal, Monaco, Juventus, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea and AC Milan. Among them, Real Madrid is a team from the same league as Mallorca. According to the rules, in the quarterfinals, teams in the same league need to be avoided, while AC Milan and Mallorca are teams in the same group, so Mallorca cannot meet AC Milan. Therefore, Mallorca's possible six opponents are three teams from the Premier League, Juventus from Serie A and two teams from France.

Among these teams, the most difficult thing to deal with is naturally Juventus and Manchester United. Juventus is difficult to play. Jose is very clear about this. Manchester United has rich experience in the Champions League. Although they have begun to decline this season, Chelsea and Monaco are both teams that have performed well this season and can be regarded as dark horses in the Champions League. As for Arsenal and Lyon, one is about to complete the unbeaten record of the league this season, and the other is about to start completing the seven consecutive Ligue 1 championships... It can be said that these six opponents are actually the best deal with Juventus and Manchester United...

In the eyes of outsiders, maybe if Mallorca strives to win the first place in the group, the situation will be better. However, in Jose's opinion, there is actually not much difference between first and second in the group. Even if Mallorca wins first in the group, there will be strong opponents like Bayern and Porto. Even the relatively weak Locomotive of Moscow is backed by the cold weather - Moscow is still very cold at the end of February! And Mallorca, the two La Liga teams, La Coruna and Celta, cannot meet. The only good choice among the seven possible opponents is probably to draw Stuttgart and Sparta Prague - but Jose really doesn't think UEFA will make Mallorca this season easier...

Mallorca's performance was so outstanding last season. Just for balance, UEFA had to let Mallorca encounter a very harsh schedule. They have always done this. When a team performed well last season or won the Champions League championship, their schedule will definitely be more miserable next season. No matter who it is, this is also an important factor in the fact that no team can defend the title after the reform of the Champions League.

Jose came to Lausanne alone, and he did not bring his assistant coach. The club is still on holiday now, and he doesn't want others to give up their vacation and come to Switzerland. After all, there is a New Year after Christmas.

After a leisurely day in Lausanne, although for Switzerland, Lausanne is not as good as Zurich and Geneva, two cities that have always ranked among the top two cities with the highest living standards in the world, Lausanne is an ancient capital with a long history, with unique harmony and tranquility - no wonder UEFA often leaves Zurich, where its headquarters is located and uses Lausanne as the draw ceremony for large-scale competitions.

After almost the time was over, Jose hiked to the hotel where the lottery ceremony was. When he arrived at the hotel gate with a stroll, the reporters who had already been waiting there rushed forward and asked various questions, including why he came to attend the lottery ceremony - is Mallorca's finances so scarce?

"Why are you walking? Because I'm young." Jose replied with a smile.

His words aroused laughter from the reporters present. Jose is not the youngest head coach in mainland Europe. However, among all the coaches in the quarterfinals this time, he is the youngest. The second youngest is Monaco's head coach, former French national team captain Deschamps, but he is also 35 years old, seven years older than Jose.

"Because I am young, I am physically good, so I prefer to walk... because I plan to coach for twenty, thirty, forty, and forty years, until I was seventy. I don't think my enthusiasm for football will decrease, because I always love the sport - and everyone knows that my idol is Guylu, Guylu has been coaching in Aussel for forty-three years now, and I hope to coach in Mallorca for longer than him."

Although Guyru underwent heart surgery in 2001 and was forced to rest for two months, he still did not leave the position of coach Ausselle. It seems that he will continue to do it. He became Ausselle's head coach at the age of 22. If Jose, who was three years later than Guyru, wanted to break Guyru's record, it seems that he had to do it until he was 70 years old...

After hearing this, the reporters didn't take it seriously. After all, Jose has only coached for three and a half seasons in total. It's too far away to consider continuing to coach for 40 years...

"What do you think of today's lottery ceremony?" The reporters got to the point.

"No opinion. We are second in the group, so we will definitely meet a first in the group. Whether it is Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus, Lyon or Monaco, they are not easy to deal with. Mallorca has only had two matches with Monaco before (the knockout match of the 2000 League Cup). Although we all won, Monaco is no longer the Monaco of the past. Lyon is the Ligue 1 champion and they have many outstanding and outstanding players. Needless to say, we won the victory last season and the strength of the Premier League team will cause us a lot of trouble. I can only say that no matter what team we encounter, it will not be easy to play. If we want to get a good result, we have to play our best in the next game."

"Etoo, Drogba and Kameni are going to participate in the African Cup. Will this affect your plan?"

"There must be an impact, but we also have Torres, Guysa and Roa Mallorca have many outstanding players, and the departure of several players will not have much impact on us. Moreover, they will hardly affect our preparation for the knockout round, because on February 25, the first leg of the knockout round, the African Cup final has ended for ten days, and they will also be able to play."

After answering several questions from the reporters, Jose waved his hand and walked into the hall - the reporters did not chase him, because a car drove over and Arsenal head coach Wenger walked out of the car...

Jose looked back at Wenger, but walked into the hall without stopping. Wenger behind him was talking to the reporters: "We have a good momentum recently. No matter who we encounter in the Champions League, we will take it seriously... unbeaten in the season? It is too early to say this, but we are indeed at a very good level now."

Jose didn't listen to the following words, and he had already walked into the hall.

There are not many people in the hall now. Compared with the crowds of group draws in the group stage, the hall is much cleaner now. After all, half of the teams have already returned home. If it is still so lively, it would be unscientific.

Jose came relatively early, but many people arrived in front of him, including Deschamps, the third youngest Mourinho, and Ranieri, who was both bitter and tenderloin.

"Mr. Mourinho, it's so early." Jose walked over and greeted Mourinho. The Portuguese's mouth curled up and just laughed: "Jose, you're not too late now."

The two teams are both second in the group and it is impossible to meet in this round of games, so there is no hostility between them. Although Mourinho has been thinking about what Jose knows to say such a sentence to himself in the Super Cup, he still feels a little kind of intimate when he sees Jose.

After all, he is a newcomer in the European arena and doesn't know most people.

Jose, the coach in the quarterfinals, didn't know much. Apart from the three coaches from La Liga, he only had dealing with Wenger, but he was not familiar with him. He was a little familiar with Ancelotti. After all, he was a gambling friend on the table, and he basically didn't know other head coaches very well, and he had never encountered them in the previous Champions League matches.

"Oh, a few more familiar guys are all in the League Cup. It seems that I am really a newcomer."

Jose's pretentious sigh almost made Mourinho choke - you are so embarrassed to say that you are a newcomer? He won a Grand Slam in one go except the Winners Cup - if you are a newcomer, most of the coaches in Europe will commit suicide...

"What team do you want to be with this group?" Jose asked Mourinho.

"Is that what I hope can get? What a joke?" Mourinho answered angrily.

"Can you guess... Real Madrid is impossible. The rest are three teams in England, two teams in France, Juventus and AC Milan. I think Porto will not be separated from the French team, because there is no buying point. Last season you defeated Lazio. UEFA may separate you and a Serie A team, but it is too obvious that you do it. I think your opponent will be from England." Jose said mysteriously.

Mourinho looked up at Jose, and he thought Jose was nonsense: "So what team do you think Mallorca will be with?"

"The French team is basically impossible. UEFA will not let Mallorca encounter a better match situation... It is a gimmick to play with Juventus last season, because we defeated three Serie A teams last season, but Juventus' performance this season is not very good. UEFA is also worried that they will not stop us. I think the opponent may still be from England, maybe Arsenal... We have defeated Arsenal before and won the League Cup championship. This is a gimmick. Moreover, Arsenal has not lost in the Premier League this season, and we have always been unbeaten at home... I'm afraid UEFA will not let go of such a gimmick." Jose said with a smile.

"Are you so sure?" Mourinho said speechlessly at Jose.

Jose shrugged: "Who can tell... After all, it depends on what those UEFA men think."
Chapter completed!