Chapter 109 Chapter 109 He's still just a little kid, can't he hear...

Amidst a chorus of boos, Fino ran to the right side of the penalty area and embraced tightly with Pirlo, who had provided the assist.

"Andrea, no praise is too much for you. Watching you play is like appreciating art." Fino was full of praise. He never boasted; Pirlo was truly amazing.

Pirlo was filled with joy. He reached out to adjust Fino's headband and said with a smile, "Then you are art itself."

The Inter Milan players nearby were disgusted by the mutual flattery between the two and urged the referee to start the game immediately.

With only one or two minutes left in the game, Inter Milan were unwilling to give up, but Milan's defense was not to be underestimated.

Time ticked away until the end of the match. In the final half minute, all the Milan substitutes stood up and walked to the sidelines to await the final result.

Even the usually composed Ancelotti started checking his watch frequently. He was disgusted by Mourinho today, and his desire to win was stronger than ever before.

When the referee blew the final whistle, the Milan substitutes rushed onto the field, past the dejected Inter players, and embraced their teammates tightly.

Ancelotti breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't shake hands with Mourinho, nor did he bother to show any courtesy.

"As the referee blew his whistle, the second Milan derby of the season officially came to a close. In Mourinho's first year at Inter Milan, they were defeated twice by Ancelotti's AC Milan in the derby. Congratulations to Maldini, his final Milan derby of his career ended in victory..."

After the match, the commentators, as usual, began listing the statistics.

"All matches of the 24th round of Serie A have concluded, and the standings have changed. AC Milan has finally caught up with Inter Milan, with both teams tied for first place with 53 points. Juventus, in third place, only has 44 points, still quite a distance from the leaders. Fiorentina is in fourth place with 42 points, Genoa in fifth with 41 points, and Roma in sixth with 40 points. The teams in third through sixth place are very close in points, and the rankings may change after just one more round..."

Ancelotti, in high spirits, attended the post-match press conference with Maldini and Fino.

As soon as he sat down, enthusiastic applause erupted in the interview room, all directed at Maldini, paying tribute to the soon-to-retire legend.

Maldini glanced at Ancelotti, who smiled and gestured for him to proceed.

Maldini pulled the microphone over his shoulder, and after the applause stopped, he cleared his throat and made a joke.

"Thank you for the applause. I'll pretend that your applause isn't for Finney who won the Man of the Game, but for this old guy who's about to announce his retirement."

Fino immediately led the applause again.

Maldini gently tidied Fino's hair, and only continued speaking after the applause stopped again.

"Seeing Fini beside me reminds me of when I was 20. Back then, I was alongside our captain Baresi, forming one of the best defensive lines in European football, with superstars like Donadoni, Gullit, and Van Basten in front of me. Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I've reached the end of my professional career. I will officially retire at the end of this season. For more information, please visit AC Milan's official website. Now, let's hand the reins over to Carlo!"

After speaking, Maldini pushed the microphone to the far end of the table and waved his hand to indicate that he would no longer speak.

Applause broke out for the third time in the interview room. Fino was a little sad, but still smiled and clapped along.

The post-match press conference for the Milan derby officially began only after the applause subsided.

While Ancelotti was giving his instructions, Fino couldn't concentrate on listening to him at all; his mind was filled with the news that Maldini would retire at the end of the season.

Although he had been prepared, Maldini still couldn't help but feel sad when the news was actually announced to the public by Maldini himself.

He hesitated for a moment, then tentatively reached out and placed his hand over Maldini's hand, which was resting on the table, as if to offer his captain some support.

Maldini was somewhat surprised, and he turned to look at Fino.

Fino's gaze was fixed on Maldini's hands. He didn't look up to meet Maldini's eyes, but Maldini could still sense the attachment, sadness, and reluctance in Fino's eyes.

He's still just a little kid; he can't bear to hear about parting.

After a few seconds, Fino prepared to pull his hand back, but Maldini grabbed Fino's hand and pulled it under the table. For the rest of the post-match press conference, they held hands under the table.

Fino felt support and strength from Maldini's rough, large hands.

Two days later, AC Milan's official website announced that Maldini would retire at the end of the season.

Since joining AC Milan's youth academy in 1978, Maldini has spent 31 years with the Rossoneri. He witnessed Milan's deep decline and Berlusconi's rise to power. He made great contributions to the establishment of the Milan dynasty and was appointed captain after the retirement of the old captain Baresi, leading Milan to the top for the second time.

In recognition of Maldini's contributions, the club decided to retire the number 3 jersey after Maldini's retirement. The number 3 jersey will only be reused when Maldini's eldest son, Christian, joins Milan's first team and is inherited by Christian.

Having overcome the Milan derby, the next league match is in a week, and Ancelotti, as usual, gave the players two days off.

Feeling melancholic, Fino is back to producing content in front of the computer.

Before he knew it, he had been running the social media account "Red and Black Faith-3" for almost a year. Diligence can make up for lack of talent, and practice makes perfect. The quality of his pictures and videos is now quite good.

The internet is developing too fast. The fan forum he first stumbled upon is gradually declining, with fewer and fewer active users. Fino also stopped updating on the fan forum and only operates this social media account that he registered later.

Over time, the account "Red and Black Faith-3" has gained over 10,000 followers.

Because Fino only creates content and never expresses his own opinions or emotions, and rarely appears in the comments section, his presence is extremely low. Gradually, his comments section has become a gathering place for Maldini's die-hard fans. Fans often chat and build threads in the comments section. Although it is a personal account, the comments section has a forum-like atmosphere.

The front row is for discussing and praising the output, and then everyone starts chatting and building their own threads in the back.

In the past two days, the comment section has been filled with crying and hugging emojis, with fans comforting each other.

Unbeknownst to Fino, Mourinho was calling Mendes to complain about him.

Mourinho gritted his teeth and said, "Do the players you signed have a grudge against me? Is that Cabrini someone I can't beat? He ruined both Milan derbies!"

Mendes wanted to laugh out loud. The better Fino performed, the higher his commercial value would be. This cash cow was growing thicker and thicker.

But he dared not laugh; he couldn't control Mourinho when he went berserk.

So he offered a hypocritical consolation: "Oh, José, Fino has a different perspective than you. Giving your all in the derby is a sign of respect for the game! This is only your first season in Italy, and you're still getting used to Serie A. Don't worry, you'll definitely win next season."

"Bring him to Inter Milan next season."

"Huh?" Mendes thought he had misheard.

"I said, bring him to Inter Milan next season."

“I thought you hated him!” Mendes said, somewhat surprised.

"Of course I hate them as opponents." The implication is that I don't hate them as my own players.

Mendes was somewhat smug, believing he had the best eye for signing players, but he still poured cold water on Mourinho's enthusiasm.

"Give up, José, Milan won't sell Fino. Kaká's salary is seriously affecting the rationality of Milan's salary structure. Although the transfer failed in the winter window, Kaká will definitely leave in the summer window, and Fino will replace him. Actually, you can see that Kaká is getting more and more injured. For Milan, he is not that important on the field anymore, at least he is no longer indispensable. Milan has Ronaldinho!"

"Moratti is willing to spend money on strikers, I don't believe Galliani isn't tempted," Mourinho said dismissively.

Mendes shook his head: "Although Berlusconi is no longer funding Milan, Milan's financial situation isn't that bad. This season, Galliani, for some reason, suddenly got the hang of commercial development and brought in a lot of sponsorships for Milan. In addition, with the image rights of many popular stars in the team, Milan is doing much better than outsiders imagine. Moreover, selling Kaká brought in a large transfer fee, so Milan won't sell any more of their future core players."

Mourinho was not giving up: "Plans can't keep up with changes. Who knows what will happen at the end of the season? Find an opportunity to introduce us. I don't believe there's any player I can't convince."

"Uh..." Mendes thought to himself, "You're really confident. Let's talk about it at the end of the season. It's not good now. Be careful that Fino doesn't report you for illegally contacting players. He's a kid who grew up in Milan's youth academy."

Mourinho had no choice but to temporarily abandon the plan.

...

On February 22, in the 25th round of Serie A, Milan easily defeated Cagliari 1-0 at home, bringing an end to their single-front campaign and officially adding the Champions League knockout stage to their schedule.

Milan's first opponent in the knockout stage is Villarreal from La Liga, nicknamed the Yellow Submarine.

This is an extremely auspicious draw.

In the knockout stage draw, the eight group winners will face the eight group runners-up.

Based on the principles of avoiding teams from the same league and avoiding teams from the group stage, Milan avoided Porto and Inter Milan in the draw. The other six teams that qualified as the second-placed teams in their groups were Chelsea, Arsenal, Sporting CP, Villarreal, Lyon, and Real Madrid.

Of these six teams, five, including Chelsea, are regular participants in the Champions League, while Villarreal is the weakest.

Villarreal have very little experience in European competitions, having only participated in the Champions League once, in the 2005/06 season. This season marks their second appearance in the Champions League.

In a draw where Manchester United faced Inter Milan, Liverpool played Real Madrid, and Juventus faced Chelsea—draw results that would have left club executives and managers devastated—Ancelotti, who had snagged a bargain, couldn't suppress a smile.

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Author's Note: Thank you all for your support! [Let me see...]